Amy Forbes
Design for Industry 2
Contextual and Critical Studies
December 2003
Quotation:
...Orange has established itself as the largest mobile
phone provider in Britain. Its appeal is emotional as
well as rational focussing on people and their need to
communicate in a clear and straightforward way but,
brand consultants Wolff Olins argue, also allowing the
company “to own a colour” that expresses “warmth,
friendliness and energy”...
Q1. Choose either a local, national or global brand and
discuss how a particular product is branded.
Amy Forbes: 0207680 Critical and Contextual Studies
03/03/2016
“Branding is principally the process of attaching a name and a reputation
to something or someone.
The most recognisable feature of a brand is a name, logo, symbol or
trademark that denotes a product’s origin.”1
To think of the branding process in this way is, however, too simplistic. The
process of branding a product involves not only assigning it a trademark, but
also developing an image to be attached to the brand and therefore the
product. As more and more new products appear on the shelves, brands
become an easy way for consumers to choose between them. When
confused by too much choice, we will choose the brand with the best
reputation.
In ‘On Brand’, Wally Olins says that all successful businesses are made up of
three strands, technical, financial and ability to sell (or seduction). Branding is
about seducing and manipulating people into buying products or services and
so would be included in this third strand. One company that does this very
well is Virgin. It has a cool, non-conformist image and is strongly associated
with youth culture. It is this image that they use to seduce the consumer into
buying their products.
There is a common feeling that we are defined, at least in part, by the
products we buy.
“We are encouraged by advertisers and the media to see the acquisition
of goods as a means to constructing a social persona”2
Thus people will buy Virgin products as they make them feel young and
fashionable and they want to buy into this lifestyle. More and more
companies sell us a packaged lifestyle and in some ways Virgin does this. All
its products are branded in the same way, although usually they are promoted
separately, as they are too diverse to be so closely linked.
1
2
P21 PAVITT J. Brand.New, London, V & A Publications, 2000
P44 PAVITT J. Brand.New, London, V & A Publications, 2000
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Amy Forbes: 0207680 Critical and Contextual Studies
03/03/2016
Recent times have seen a trend for brands to expand their ranges to include
new types of product. For example, it is now very common for clothing brands
to release scents promoted under the same brand name as their clothes.
However, there are few brands, if any, whose range of products is as diverse
as Virgin’s. Virgin began as a mail-order music company in 1969, but after
only a couple of years, Branson had opened a record store. As his music
business thrived, he took any chance he saw to branch out into new fields.
Now the range of Virgin products includes music, transport, cola, cosmetics,
mobile phones and financial services, amongst others. It may even be easier
to list the products Virgin is not involved in. Although Virgin’s products are
often totally unrelated in function, almost all of them are linked by being
branded with the same name and logo, see Fig1. Our attitude toward Virgin
Atlantic (Virgin’s airline) is surprisingly similar to how we feel about Virgin
cola. For example, we associate both products with the same young funloving image.
Figure 1: Virgin Logo Advertising Various Products
Virgin’s image is closely related to the personality and lifestyle of its founder,
Richard Branson. Although Branson is probably Britain’s best-known
entrepreneur3, his fame derives less from his business activities than from a
series of publicity stunts.
P1 JACKSON T., Virgin King: Inside Richard Branson’s Business Empire, London,
HarperCollins Publishers, 1995
3
2
Amy Forbes: 0207680 Critical and Contextual Studies
03/03/2016
“The brand image, or brand value, results from the ‘dialogue’ that takes
place between producer or brand owner and the consumer or user”4
Branson obviously understands very well the importance of just such a
dialogue. By making public appearances, he distinguishes his ‘friendly’
company from faceless multinationals. Branson is seen as a loveable, funloving, friendly millionaire in touch with the public. He is known for his sense
of fun, often dressing up to attract more attention to his stunts and therefore
his company. He also promotes himself as an intrepid adventurer. He is a
keen balloonist and in 1986 he broke the Atlantic sea speed record (on his
second attempt) in Challenger II. He even persuaded the then Prime Minister,
Margaret Thatcher to join him on his lap of honour, see Fig2.
Figure 2: Richard Branson and Margaret Thatcher in Challenger II
4
P21 PAVITT J. Brand.New, London, V & A Publications, 2000
3
Amy Forbes: 0207680 Critical and Contextual Studies
03/03/2016
“One of his party pieces was to upturn attractive women”5
Figure 3: Richard Branson and Ivana Trump
His own wedding even became a publicity stunt and a comment on the power
of advertising when he parachuted in to the ceremony carrying a box of Milk
Tray chocolates.6
Branson is also well known for making charitable gestures. When he made a
bid to control the national lottery, he said he would give the profits to charity
and when he launched a new range of condoms, he gave the profits to the
Healthcare Foundation. It is interesting to note that in this case the Virgin
officials stopped Branson from using the Virgin name for these condoms.
This is one of the few products owned by Virgin that is not branded under the
Virgin name.
This public persona is well considered and conceals his ruthlessly businesslike side. The way he promotes himself as friendly, caring and socially aware
is an excellent way of promoting the Virgin brand. When we think of the brand
Virgin, Richard Branson always comes to mind, even after he has sold on that
Section1 of Illustrations, JACKSON T., Virgin King: Inside Richard Branson’s Business
Empire, London, HarperCollins Publishers, 1995
6 Section2 of Illustrations, JACKSON T., Virgin King: Inside Richard Branson’s Business
Empire, London, HarperCollins Publishers, 1995
5
4
Amy Forbes: 0207680 Critical and Contextual Studies
03/03/2016
particular sector. Few brands are as closely related to the persona of their
founder as this. One example, however, is Chanel. During her lifetime, the
Chanel brand was associated very much with the personality of Coco Chanel
as she often appeared publicly to promote her products. In my opinion,
Virgin’s logo also stresses this very personal approach. The font is in a hand
written style, like a signature, as though Branson himself may even have
written it. See Fig4.
Figure 4: The Virgin Logo
Unusually, when sectors of Virgin’s business have, in the past, made
mistakes (for example Virgin trains proved to be unreliable), the rest of the
Virgin empire has remained unaffected. Normally when one branch of a
company fails it proves detrimental to the brand as a whole. This suggests to
me that the personality of the Virgin brand is strong enough that we trust the
whole company, and so, are willing to overlook flaws in individual branches.
To conclude, I believe the strength of Virgin’s personality is due to the
willingness of Branson to appear in public. He promotes himself as the British
small businessman (relative to the big multinationals) and appeals to the
public because of his charitable work and his reputation as a bit of an intrepid
adventurer. His willingness to be involved in public events means we feel
closer to him, which, in turn makes us feel closer to Virgin. Our impression of
and feelings towards Virgin are inextricably linked to our feelings towards
Richard Branson. We trust Branson, so we trust Virgin.
5
Amy Forbes: 0207680 Critical and Contextual Studies
03/03/2016
Bibliography
Books
BERGER W., Advertising Today, London, Phaidon Press Ltd., 2001, ISBN
07148 3923X, p422, p427, p442
BUCHHOLZ A. & WORDEMANN W., What Makes Winning Brands Different,
West Sussex, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., 2000, ISBN 0 471 72025 9
DICKINSON P., It’s Not About Size: Bigger Brands For Smaller Businesses,
London, Virgin Publishing Ltd., 2001, ISBN 0 7535 0558 4
INTERBRAND, Brands An International Review, London, Mercury Books Gold
Arrow Publications Ltd., 1990,
JACKSON T., Virgin King: Inside Richard Branson’s Business Empire,
London, HarperCollins Publishers, 1995, ISBN 0 00 638267 3
LEVY S. J., Brands, Consumers, Symbols, and Research, California, Sage
Publications, 1999, ISBN 0 7619 1697 0
OLINS W., On Brand, London, Thames and Hudson, 2003, ISBN 0 500 51145
4
PAVITT J. Brand.New, London, V & A Publications, 2000, ISBN 185177 324X
RIVERS C., Identify: Building Brand Through Letterheads, Logos and
Business Cards, East Sussex, RotoVision SA, 2003, ISBN 2 88046 723 3
STERNQUIST B., International Retailing, USA, Fairchild Publications (A
Division of ABC Media, Inc.), 1998, ISBN 1 56367 103 4
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Amy Forbes: 0207680 Critical and Contextual Studies
03/03/2016
WILLIAMS G., Branded?: Products and Their Personalities, London, V & A
Publications, 2000, pp60-61, ISBN 1851773258
Internet Sources
http://www.virgin.com/uk/
Accessed 1/12/03
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Amy Forbes: 0207680 Critical and Contextual Studies
03/03/2016
List of Illustrations
1. Virgin Logo Advertising Various Products (page 2)
http://www.virgin.com/uk/
Accessed 1/12/03
2. Richard Branson and Margaret Thatcher in Challenger II (page 3)
JACKSON T., Virgin King: Inside Richard Branson’s Business Empire,
London, HarperCollins Publishers, 1995, Section1 of Illustrations
3. Richard Branson and Ivana Trump (page 4)
JACKSON T., Virgin King: Inside Richard Branson’s Business Empire,
London, HarperCollins Publishers, 1995, Section1 of Illustrations
4. The Virgin Logo (page 5)
http://www.solarius.com/dvp/wdw/virgin-megastore.htm
Accessed 2/12/03
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