Voxpop

Cigarette displays are to be banned in 2011. What branding strategy can you take with an invisible product?

If I remember correctly, the Invisible Man went around doing things normally forbidden to the average bloke. Maybe cigarette brands should take a leaf out of the same book and employ outrageous tactics they formerly thought they could never get away with – like buying space at the counter for dummy packs of Silk Nuts or M Light chewing gum, or by sponsoring the man behind the counter to change his name for the day to B Hedges. After all, desperate straits call for desperate measures.
Martin Grimer, Executive creative director, Blue Marlin

A modern brand is so much more than the visible part of its product. I could name ten important prescription drugs, all in the public psyche, if not in the public eye. A brand succeeds in the hearts and minds when it is clearly defined, understood and endowed with a strong emotional pull – a cause. In our YouTube/MMS-swapping world, few products are truly invisible, even if their legality is debatable. So first and foremost, be clear and know for yourself – before letting others know – what your brand stands for.

Nicolas Mamier, Managing director, Elmwood