Honesty is the best policy when building a brand

Mr Kipling redesigned itself recently with a more premium look but, according to BBC radio this week, the brand has fallen into decline. So what went wrong and what should be learned? I would suggest that perhaps the ‘exceedingly good’ pack design belied an ‘exceedingly average’ product.

Brand owners like RHM need to realise that consumers aren’t stupid and no amount of great photography or stylish type can disguise what the products are like. Honesty is always the best policy.

We know Mr Kipling isn’t a real person and we know French fancies have never turned the head of a Frenchman. Brands need to build on reality. Pot Noodle is a lads’ gut-filler and portrays itself in that way. Marmite knows that some people love to hate it and uses this to its advantage. Brand owners and designers need to make sure that what’s on the inside of the brand does not become over-promised on the outside, and that brands deliver relevant meaning to consumers.

Allison Miguel, Creative director, Ziggurat Brand Consultants, London EC1