Warriors on the High Wire: The Balancing Act of Brand Leadership in the 21st Century

Citation

Matulich, E. (2002), "Warriors on the High Wire: The Balancing Act of Brand Leadership in the 21st Century", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 186-188. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpbm.2002.11.3.186.1

Fiona Gilmore has written a welcome sequel to her successful Brand Warriors (Harper Collins, 1997). In Brand Warriors, Gilmore demonstrated the importance of commitment of brands and the active role of the CEO in managing brand warfare. While this particular battle has not yet been won, the importance of brand management as a key to delivering shareholder value has been more widely accepted. The new Warriors on the High Wire is intended to convey the fact that brand warriors face a daily balancing act to balance the requirements of shareholders for short‐term performance as well as needs for long‐term growth and security.

Warriors on the High Wire is more than just a sequel. The book addresses topical issues faced by all CEOs and marketing professionals such as brand globalization, organizational structures that support branding, migrating brands to new positions, the new paradigms of e‐business, and building sustainable competitive advantages through brand architecture and communication. Gilmore uses 13 well‐known international companies to provide case histories, and through the words of the CEO or brand manager illustrates markets that are dynamically focused on their brand, whether corporate or individual.

The book begins with an impressive listing of the contributors’ biographies. Do not skip these pages, as this background knowledge is crucial to understanding the mindset of each brand strategist. Gilmore then writes an impressive introduction that is key to the strategic value of this book. Her introduction contains clearly divided sections dealing with the new challenges in branding.

The first section of the introduction is on globalization, which is a relatively new challenge for the corporate brand. The challenge is not so much the globalization itself, but successfully communicating that the brand and the company behind it stand for high standards of ethical behavior and cultural sensitivity. The second section challenges traditional organizational structures and proposes a new model in which all departments and functions revolve around the brand, because everyone in an organization has responsibility for the brand.

Next, Gilmore discusses brand migration strategies, specifically dealing with brand management after mergers and acquisitions, which has been an increasing trend throughout the last decade. Related to this issue is the challenge of aligning internal corporate culture values with external brand values. How does one get employees to be committed to the brand and align their personal and professional goals with those of the brand?

Gilmore’s fifth section of her introduction covers her newly‐coined term, brand shifting². This technique involves using a company’s core ideology as a springboard for brand positioning; brands can shift and move to where the core business will be in the future. She then goes on to discuss a new kind of branding: the complex challenge of a country or region. Countries not only have to market themselves as destinations for tourists, but also vie for international airports, corporate headquarters, or special events such as the Olympics.

The introduction goes on to contrast the challenges of the new paradigms of e‐business thinking and the old ones of consumer goods companies – each has paradigms that can apply to the other. Finally, Gilmore concludes with a section that discusses building sustainable competitive advantages through architecture and brand communication equities.

To illustrate each of the concepts brought forth in her introduction, Gilmore then provides 13 case studies based on interviews and contributions from a star‐studded cast of branding experts. She provides a brief introduction to each case, and then lets the experts speak for themselves. Gilmore also adds a helpful concluding commentary to every case. Each of these cases, provided in alphabetical order by company, is briefly described below:

1. 1.

   (1) Armani: the cult of the fashion brand: defining style across six continents. This case is based on an interview with Robert Triefus, corporate vice president of Armani, an Italian brand icon. Armani has survived the challenge of the fickle fashion consumer and has maintained a truly global aspirational brand.

2. 2.

   (2) Disney: managing a magical brand. Michael Eisner, chairman and CEO of Disney, explains how the Disney brand maintains its values, integrity, and relevance, despite the fact that the Disney brand spans films, televisions, leisure parks, hotels, and cruise ships.

3. 3.

   (3) INSEAD: management education with a mission. The dean of this Euro‐business school is Gabriel Hawawini, who writes about how this upstart business school has only recently harnessed the power of its brand, and how globalization strategies have strengthened the relatively young brand name.

4. 4.

   (4) Psion: the battle for wire‐free working. David Potter, founder, chairman, and CEO of Psion, explains how his innovations company plans to stay one step ahead of Microsoft with a powerful global alliance and unique brand management.

5. 5.

   (5) Reuters: transforming the brand for the information age. Peter Job, CEO, and Jean‐Claude Marchand, chairman and group marketing director, both explain how Reuters transformed itself from a news agency to a global business information provider that exploits the Internet as its new delivery vehicle.

6. 6.

   (6) Sony: reinventing itself to keep ahead in the networked world. President and CEO of Sony Europe Jean‐Michel Perbet explains how an entrenched brand like Sony must still make changes to keep its strong market position and brand reputation in a changing marketplace.

7. 7.

   (7) SUNDAY Communication Ltd: new brand building through a unique personality. This is written by Craig Ehrlich, the group managing director for SUNDAY. This mobile telephone provider in Hong Kong outscores McDonald’s and Coke in recall and awareness in Hong Kong, despite having only been launched in 1997.

8. 8.

   (8) Visa International: the serendipity of a name. Malcolm Williamson, CEO and Caroline McNally, the executive vice president of Global Brand Management contributed to this case. Like any world‐class brand, Visa cannot afford to rest on its success with new competition, new technologies, and alternative channels of commerce. Visa has increased its commitment to protecting and building its brand in order to meet the demands of the future economy.

9. 9.

   (9) Vodaphone: post‐acquisition: the challenge of brand migration. This was contributed by Chris Gent, chief executive. Vodaphone, through a massive series of strategic acquisitions, has been transformed into one of the largest companies in the world. What are the challenges of branding such a conglomeration?

10. 10.

    (10) Vorwerk: building a brand without media advertising. Achim Schwanitz, the managing partner of Vorwerk, explains his company’s strategy to maintain brand leadership, powerful brand values, and strong awareness without spending money on conventional media promotion.

11. 11.

    (11) Wales: can a country be a brand? This is written by Roger Pride, the marketing director of the Wales Tourist Board. This unique case illustrates country and regional brand building to show how to amplify the unique meaning of a country rather than fabrication of a brand image. Destination marketing is a challenge because of fragmented target markets and service providers that have limited brand vision.

12. 12.

    (12) Wal‐Mart Asda: the revival of a brand. Allan Leighton, former CEO of Asda, and Richard Baker, group marketing director of Asda Wal‐Mart, show how two retailer brands with an identical set of brand values could be quickly and successfully merged.

13. 13.

    (13) Yahoo!: the beginnings of a brand. This is written by Jerry Yang, co‐founder and chief of Yahoo!, and Karen Edwards, senior vice president. The founders of Yahoo! did not set out to create a brand, but to provide a service and have fun. But once they found they had a brand, they vigorously protected the integrity of the brand to hold them through rapid expansion.

Warriors on the High Wire provides comparisons of different strategies to cope with similar problems, definitions of best practices, and an exploration of the relationship between the corporate brand, individual brands, and sub‐brands. Gilmore’s style is an attractive, easy‐to‐read style that punches right to the point without technical jargon or abstract theoretical concepts (although a handy glossary is provided). The book serves as both a useful set of insights for any CEO or brand manager, as well as an excellent instructional case tool for marketing and strategy students. Of course, the book was published just before the tragic terrorist events of 2001 and the resulting economic turmoil. However, good brands that are managed well should survive these tests of time.