Brands, Brands, Brands
Few people remember it now, but there was a time in our industry—and other consumer goods sectors as well—when the concept of the brand was considered an old-fashioned anachronism, bound for the scrapheap of history. That sentiment was triggered by an incident in 1993 called Marlboro Friday, when tobacco giant Philip Morris slashed the price of its most famous brand in order to compete against generic cigarette products. The doomsday chorus went to full volume. Brands were now officially a phenomenon from a bygone era, these so-called experts told us. Brands of all types would soon go the way of the horse and buggy, to be replaced by the efficiency and affordability of generic goods. As usual, the experts got it wrong. Since 1993, we’ve seen great brands be nurtured to…
