Why Pacific Brands might have rewritten the marketing textbooks: Gottliebsen

It’s too early to draw a final conclusion, but the Bonds brand may be set to join Coca Cola, Arnotts, Vegemite and Cadbury as the kind of brand that is so strong it can survive tough treatment. If that proves to be the case, then Pacific Brands has a rare asset.

You may remember that at the time of the Pacific Brands announcement of its massive plan for closures and other cost reduction exercises, my colleague Stephen Bartholomeusz and I argued different points of view on the situation.

While we both agreed that Pacific Brands had to undertake major surgery to lower its cost levels to placate its bankers and so that there was no risk to its minor brands, I argued that where there was risk was in the key brands that drive profit led by Bonds.

The massive popular campaign against the company and the brand was totally predictable. My belief was that if the adverse publicity did sustained harm to the key brands, and particularly Bonds, then irrespective of the cost advantages some of the measures would have to be reversed and the CEO Sue Morphet might not keep her job. In that situation there would have been no other choice for the brand marketing company.

On the other hand, if the brands survived the battering, Sue Morphet would have pulled off a great coup. It was a defining moment for the CEO and the board.

Not many brands could have survived the tabloid, TV and internet attack that was launched against Bonds and the other key brands. Pacific Brands is one of Australia’s best marketing companies and their marketers must have been holding their breath as they wondered whether their brands would come through.

This week’s 2008-09 profit report clearly indicates that Bonds will come through and if, as seems likely, that turns out to be the case, then the Pacific Brand marketers and their brands will rewrite the brand marketing textbooks for the next decade.

This article first appeared on Business Spectator.