Umbrella brands can get too big for their own good

I read with interest the newspaper headlines that Cadbury has been forced to freeze all ads and withdraw many products because of the salmonella scare at the plant.

This brings into question the rationale behind branding most of the best-known brands under one umbrella brand. All the company’s products become tarred with the same brush because of the sub-branding of old favourites such as Turkish Delight, which has largely vanished under the Cadbury Dairy Milk brand.

If the company hadn’t done this, would it be faced with the same public lack of confidence in the product? Can branding be too aggressive? I leave that up to your readers.

Martin Dawe, Managing director, Martin Dawe Design, Slough, Berkshire SL1 4TU