Brand euthanasia. Part 1

By Gonzalo López Martí – LMMIAMI.COM

• A brand is, broadly speaking, a two-pronged concept.
• Intellectual property + reputation.
• (The latter includes notions such as awareness, visibility, credibility, good will, trustworthiness &, duh, purchase intent).
• The survival and profitability of a brand depends on its power to enforce intellectual property plus its ability to protect & expand reputation.
• This week we will discuss intel prop.
• Well, it’s defunct.
• Gone.
• Kaput.
• Why?
• Because China & India.
• That’s why.
• In Chindia nobody can hear you cry.
• Roughly half of the world population lives in Chindia.
• If you add the Latin American block, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria & Russia, the sum adds up to two thirds of all living, breathing, shopping earthlings.
• In these fast-growing nations, needless to say, your intellectual assets are fair game.
• If some Red Army general or his cousin likes your song, your movie or your patent, he’ll take it.
• In broad daylight.
• No wonder Chindia is an ocean of blatant knock-offs.
• All we westerners can do is watch & whine.
• To no avail.
• The ability of western multinational companies to license and monetize their brands is extremely hamstrung in Chindia.
• Some big ones, say, Coca-Cola, have made headway at an enormous, grueling effort.
• The price?
• Allowing the Chinese politburo to be their business partner.
• A business partner who closely monitors and influences their operations.
• With two conditions: substantial profit reinvestment & massive transfer of technology.
• Now that’s a steep price.
• The profits you make in Chindia stay in Chindia.
• In short, Western companies doing business in Chindia are being played.
• And fleeced.
• Big time.
• Exhibit A: the Apple Foxconn entente.
• Just so you know, Apple’s entire output of iPhones & iPads is manufactured by Foxconn in China.
• Who needs who more?
• How long until Foxconn decides to launch Apple products under another brand (if they are not doing it already)?
• These would not be knockoffs.
• These would be, literally, Apple products with a different logo on them.
• Point is, as soon as the locals decide the carpetbaggin’ capitalist chaebol have been duly milked and squeezed, they’ll be thrown under the bus.
• Bye bye gaijin, you’ve overstayed your welcome.
• We’ll keep your know-how, your factories & your industrial secrets.
• And don’t try to push us around with international sanctions: we got nukes.
• I know, I know, chaebol is a Korean word & gaijin Japanese but you get the pic.
• Can we blame the Chinese for taking a page from our very own business manual?
• Course not.
• We should be flattered.
• By the way, do Xiaomi & Huawei ring a bell?
• How about Micromax?
• Hint: they are smartphone brands.
• Never heard of them?
• You will.
• Soon.
• In the meantime, google them.
• And buy some stock.
• OK.
• Back to the so-called west.
• In our neck of the woods (that’d be the US, Canada & Western Europe), IP still can be somewhat enforced, for the most part (IP is shorthand for intellectual property).
• The rule of law still protects it.
• In real life, that is.
• The moment you turn your head into the vast virtual/digital realm, protecting intellectual property becomes a bit of an exercise in futility.
• Infringement is rampant & commonplace.
• Chasing IP pirates around is like herding squirrels.
• Billions of squirrels.
• IP attorneys, brace yourselves for what’s coming our way.
• Seems like you’ll be very very busy in coming years.
• Or hopelessly unemployed.
• We’ll see.
• However it doesn’t mean brand managers, graphic designers or corporate identity theoreticians will be out of work anytime soon.
• Quite the opposite.
• Keeping up will be the challenge.
• The life cycle will be a constant rollercoaster ride.
• Euthanize your brand (before others do it for you).
• Create a new one.
• Repeat.
• Brands are dead.
• Long live branding.