The 9th Brands Lecture

In brands we trust 

Each year the BBG hosts its flagship event, the Brands Lecture, where a leading figure from the brands industry is challenged to deliver a speech on a topical and controversial topic affecting our industry. This year Lord Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer, told us how he started the business, built the brand, and kept it relevant in the marketplace.

Brands have existed throughout our human history. Symbols, crests, Coats of Arms are all brands that have stood for something in which we believe and have faith. A brand promises trust, respect and consistency. In essence a brand is what a brand does.

In this lecture, Lord Bilimoria presented the challenges of creating a trusted and respected brand in a fiercely competitive market, talking about the obstacles facing a start up business and how he positioned and communicated the brand to break through. He paid particular attention to the challenge of trying to control and change the perception of a brand as it grew.

But brand perception is not unique to business. Politicians and countries are also brands and are equally susceptible to change and renewal. Brand ‘Obama’ provides a powerful example of linking branding to leadership, and also the most emphatic example of successful branding in the internet age.

For a copy of this lecture, please download here or contact us if you wish to receive a hard copy.