Brand Bond: brand rejuvenation

Booking tickets for the new Bond movie, Casino Royale, reminded how good a job has been done with the Bond brand at balancing two conflicting needs: i) being loyal to the roots that made you famous, ii) updating the brand to be relevant for today.

A quick "rewind" over the brand’s history shows just how many powerful equities the Bond brand has. The "brand proposition" has stayed pretty consistent: Bond beats The Baddie to save the world. And there loads and loads of "executional equities" including:
– the theme tune
– the catchprases ("Bond. James Bond"; "Martini. Shaken not stirred" etc.)
– the gadgets
– the cars
– the girls

Each of these key equities has been refreshed over time to keep the brand relevant. The world has got more dangerous, and so the Bond Baddies have got more evil. Dr No looks like a suave gentleman now. Technology has become more advanced, and Bond has to compete with a host of new competitors such as 24 and The Bourne Supremacy. And the role of women has changed, with Bond girls now wanting to be on top (in more ways than one….), even if Halle Berry did wear the same orange bikini as Britt Ekland in that sequence.

Will report back on Brand Bond after seeing Casino Royale!

5-minute workout: do the Bond test on your brand. Start by looking back at the key equities that made your brand famous. Then think about the key trends in your market and the wider world. What do you need to do to refresh the equities and keep them relevant for today. And are there some you need to ditch altogether?