Maybe you prefer numbering the things you have to do. Your list would look something like this:
1) go to the hairdresser
2) call customs office
3) design print ad for new product
4) make a deposit at the bank
5) send documents to the lawyer
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It is his ability to orchestrate publicity for his business venture which, perhaps more than any other facet, singles out Richard
Branson from every other business leader. Even the likes of Anita
Roddick, Bill Gates and Ted Turner don’t generate positive coverage like Branson. Public relations is Branson’s special gift.
As Tim Jackson, author of Virgin King, observes: “Achieving good
press has been as important in Branson’s business career as making
sure the books balance at the end of the year. From his fi rst days as a magazine publisher and record retailer, Branson knew that descriptions of his ventures as successful and expansionary could become self-fulfi lling.”
But with the launch of Virgin Atlantic Airways he learned a new trick. The big airlines spend literally millions of dollars on advertising every year. Branson soon realized that free media coverage was the only way he could hope to survive. This gave rise to a series of daredevil escapades and publicity stunts. Apparently, the decision to challenge for the Blue Riband – attempting to break the record for the fastest Atlantic crossing – was made when Branson discovered he couldn’t afford New York TV advertising rates to promote his airline.
It is a tactic that Branson has used to remarkable effect ever since, setting aside about a quarter of his time for PR activities.2 Although there are signs that Branson’s relentless PR engine may be slowing down a little.
Taken From: Richard Branson 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder
Remembering numbers is no longer a problem for you since you learned how to set up a number - letter association system. By paying attention, you can convert a number into words in very little time. For example, the numbers 488 - 4039 could be represented by the words RiFF RaCe MaP. If you imagine riff raff at a horse race, fighting over a map, you should be able to remember the image without too much trouble!
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“There are some who believe that in his own charmingly haphazard way, Branson runs the slickest public relations operation in Britain.”
– Andrew Davidson, journalist
He may not look like a fi nely tuned PR machine, but Richard Branson has turned himself into a walking, talking logo. Where McDonald’s has the red haired clown Ronald McDonald, and Disney has a six foot mouse; Virgin has its goofy chairman. Every time his picture appears in a newspaper or magazine, it promotes the Virgin brand.
This is entirely deliberate, and probably one of the most effective
promotional strategies ever employed by a company. The risk to the reputation of the brand, of course, is correspondingly high should Branson’s personal image become tarnished. To date, however,1 it has proved highly successful, enabling him to build the Virgin brand on a shoestring advertising budget.
Calculating the advertising value of Branson’s failed attempt to
circumnavigate the globe in a hot air balloon, one American advertising executive said “there aren’t enough zeros to do the maths.”
Taken From: Richard Branson 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder
I’m sure you’ve had to say “Who’s speaking?” to someone whose voice you knew but could not identify.
Many people spend a lot of time on the phone as part of their job. It’s important to be able to identify the people who call: it tells them we haven’t forgotten them, which always makes a good impression.
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To date, Branson has persuaded customers and employees to board the Virgin tour bus simply because it offered an advenc04. ture that was something different to what the suits were offering. In the future he may fi nd that passengers expect him to have a destination in mind – a kinder, more caring version of what business is for, perhaps. This legacy seems to occupy him more than it used to.
Increasingly, he seems to sense that some sort of explanation of
where the adventure might lead is expected of him. This is starting
to show in his rhetoric. The great question for Branson is where now for his vision of business? Will Virgin simply crumble to dust when he vacates the premises, or has he built a lasting monument to a new form of capitalism?
The brash adventurer is being asked to put his telescope to his good eye and tell the world what he sees just over the horizon. Branson is starting to think about what it all means, and his place in history.
He is an admirer of what he regards as other like-minded businesses.
He detects a kindred spirit at the famously eccentric Southwest Airlines. As he recently explained: “Southwest employees have bought into the company for the principles for which the airline stands. A piece of legislation that advocates higher landing fees, for example, isn’t seen just as an affront to their profi tability; it’s also an affront to their idealism. They are fi rmly entrenched in the idea that profi tability is the precursor to job security, shareholder return, and investment in the community. They are in the business to make a difference. This is what a brand should stand for.”8
Taken From: Richard Branson 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder
As we’ve said, the first thing to do when you meet someone is to associate an image with their name.
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There is one other intangible but vital ingredient to the Branson
marketing mix. Whatever Virgin does, it adds a sense of fun or
cheekiness. “In the early days,” he says, “the actual Virgin name
itself was perceived as slightly risqué. We weren’t even allowed
Branson on brand reputation: “If you have 20 or 30 years of good
reputation behind you, the public get to know you like you’re a brother or sister.” to register it for three years with the Patent offi ce because they felt it was ‘rude’.”
“But sometimes you have to take some risk in developing a brand. EMI felt that having the Sex Pistols on their books would damage the company’s reputation. We felt that it was just the ticket to take Virgin out of the hippy era and to attract more modern artists. Court cases over the name of the album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols only helped strengthen Virgin’s image.”
And it’s not just Virgin record covers that tease the establishment.
Every Virgin product or service has a slightly tongue-in-cheek
approach. It is not that the company goes into anything in an
unprofessional way – far from it. It’s simply that it has a sense of humor. Often the joke is at the expense of its venerable chairman.
Consider, for example, the advertising campaign for the company’s
fi nancial services company Virgin Direct. At a time when another leading UK provider was running a campaign based around the sensible and somewhat staid image of its chief executive, Virgin offered 1960s footage of a young and geekish looking Branson, complete with Joe Ninety specs and a haircut from hell. The message? Presumably, that even wayward entrepreneurs have to grow up sometime.
Then there was the double-page advertisement placed in The Times and other leading newspapers. The full-color promotion for the Virgin designer clothes label featured a grinning picture of Branson in one of his most dreadful patterned jumpers. The caption read: “Georgio designs. Ralph designs. Calvin designs. Richard doesn’t.”
Taken From: Richard Branson 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder
Use the same technique to remember first names. Create an unusual image for each name, one that you can remember easily.
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If you’ve got a great brand and can see a market opportunity, you shouldn’t let a little thing like whether you have any experience of that market get in the way. According to Branson: “If you know how to motivate and deal with people, it doesn’t matter whether you are taking on the airline industry, the soft drinks industry or the fi lm industry. The same rules apply.”
“But you should never go into an industry just with the purpose of making money. One has to passionately believe it is possible to change the industry, to turn it on its head, to make sure that it will never be the same again. With the right people and that conviction, anything is possible. And you can then ignore those who go on about brand stretching.”
Lately, however, Branson’s belief that Virgin can change the way that industries are perceived has come under pressure. The company’s involvement with trains – especially the investmentstarved British railway network – has drawn criticism.
After initial excitement that Virgin would bring a breath of fresh air and punctuality to parts of the famously tardy British Rail network, commuters were disappointed. Virgin services quickly gained a reputation for being both dilapidated and late. Branson explained that it would take fi ve years to bring the service up to the standards
Virgin expects. (and recent evidence of improvement suggests he was right). Some critics argued the adventure was damaging the Virgin brand. Branson believesthe company’s good name is more robust than that.
“If you have 20 or 30 years of good reputation behind you, the public get to know you like you’re a brother or sister,” he says. “They know you and the companies’ strengths – they know your weaknesses. A brand built on that length of reputation should
be able to withstand the occasional slip up and even come out
stronger as a result.”5
Branson on brand reputation: “If you have 20 or 30 years of good
reputation behind you, the public get to know you like you’re a brother or sister.”
Taken From: Richard Branson 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder
