Grow the Core: How to Focus on your Core Business for Brand Success

Growing your core business is key for sustainable, profitable growth, yet advice on how to do it is thin on the ground. Grow the Core is the first practical guide on focusing your core business for brand success, illustrated with inside stories on brands including Apple, James Bond, Heinz, Nespresso and McDonald s. A programme of six Workouts helps you harness the whole marketing mix to grow your core, including product, design, communication, distribution and packaging.

No–one has a better grasp of what is fundamentally important in marketing than David Taylor. Now he s turned his sights brilliantly I might add on the vitally important topic of growing the core. Kevin Lane Keller, E.B. Osborn Professor of Marketing, Tuck School of Business

This book is an inspiring guide to help companies face the biggest challenge of today – how to successfully grow their core. Martin Glenn, CEO, Iglo Foods Group Limited

Grow the Core is another excellent example of David Taylor s uniquely practical, bottom–line focused approach to branding. Alfrédo Gangotena, Global Chief Marketing Officer, MasterCard Worldwide

An easy–to–read, no nonsense journey to the core of your brand, packed with fresh and practical advice. Markus Kramer, Global Marketing Director, Aston Martin Lagonda

These brandgym workouts have enabled our big brands to deliver bolder, more consistent and focused plans that have driven sustainable business growth. Ian Penhale, Marketing Director, SAB Miller

Too often marketers are distracted by diversification. How refreshing to have someone as experienced and able as David Taylor to show how to grow your core brand. Mark Ritson, Associate Professor, Melbourne Business School

This is the bible for driving profitable growth by refreshing what made your core business successful. Carol Welch, Marketing & R&D Director, Jordans & Ryvita Co.

Growing the core is a business imperative today, and this book brings road–tested tools to help you do this. Yvan Bonneton, Marketing Director, Henkel France

David Taylor again helps solve a crucial business issue: how to develop waves of brand building activity to grow your core. Claus Kühlcke, Chairman of the Board, Akapol S.A.

At last, a book on how to creatively grow your core business and brand; principles we ve applied with great success on WD–40. Garry Ridge , CEO, WD–40

Once again, David Taylor has homed in on the essential success factors of great brand marketing to deliver a tangible, commercial return on investment. April Adams–Redmond, Chief Marketing Officer, Kerry Foods

Brand extensions can be fun, but growing your core is a must, as is reading this excellent book. Pierre Chandon, L Oréal Chaired Professor of Marketing, Innovation, and Creativity at INSEAD

In this highly readable book David Taylor builds further on the brandgym idea of brand fitness by taking you on a journey to the core of your brand strength. Niraj Dawar, Professor of Marketing, Ivey Business School

In a world awash with advice on brand extension, it′s great have a book focused on the harder and strategically important discipline of growing your core business. Jon Goldstone, VP Brand Building, Unilever Foods and Ice Cream

Introduction xiii

PART I: WHY GROW THE CORE? 1

1. Defining the core 3

What is the core? 3

Anchoring the core 7

Key takeouts 9

Checklist 9

2. Stretching the brand, forgetting the core 11

Getting it right brand stretch can work Apple 11

Getting it wrong brand ego tripping Virgin 13

Snow White and the 17 dwarves 20

Neglecting the core Bausch & Lomb 24

Key takeouts 25

Checklist 26

3. The case for the core 27

Two ways to make a million Heinz soup 27

The case for the core 30

A new marketing mind–set Scooty 30

The challenges of growing the core 32

Key takeouts 36

Checklist 36

PART II: GROW THE CORE PRINCIPLES 37

4. The core growth drivers 39

Core growth driver 1: Penetration 39

Driving penetration with distinctiveness 44

Fresh consistency James Bond 48

Driving penetration with distribution 57

Core growth driver 2: Premiumisation 58

The Grow the Core workouts 59

The best brand in the world Nespresso? 61

Key takeouts 65

Checklist 66

5. Renovation or re–invention? 67

Renovate the core Walkers 69

Re–position the core Lucozade 72

Re–define the core Bertolli 76

Re–invent the core Kodak and TomTom 77

Key takeouts 82

Checklist 83

PART III: GROW THE CORE WORKOUTS 85

6. Workout 1: Bake the brand into your product 87

Bake in your brand The Geek Squad 89

Using product to grow your core 1: Amplify a

product truth Morrisons and Castle Lite 92

Using product to grow your core 2: More of what you want McDonald s 97

Using product to grow your core 3: Less of what you don t want Walkers 99

Key takeouts 100

Checklist 100

7. Workout 2: Create a distinctive identity 103

Identity crisis 105

Being the 1 in 1000 106

Balancing freshness and consistency Tropicana 108

Updating your identity Nivea 110

Creating your identity Charlie Bigham s 111

Suggesting a benefit Waitrose Essentials 113

Re–positioning Green & Black s 115

Adding value Molton Brown 115

Packvertising innocent 116

Family ties Nescaf´e and Red Bull 118

Amplifying brand properties Felix 121

Five–minute focus groups 122

Key takeouts 124

Checklist 124

8. Workout 3: Communicate with cut–through 127

Communication breakdown 129

Fresh consistency 132

Think like a TV producer 137

Creating a campaign Sainsbury s 138

Refreshing what made you famous Hovis 140

What about social media? 144

Key takeouts 161

Checklist 162

9. Workout 4: Go beyond promotion to activation 163

Grab and go innocent s Big Knit 166

Creating an activation property Carling Be the Coach 168

Amplifying the property Nike 172

Key takeouts 175

Checklist 176

10. Workouts 5 and 6: Drive your distribution 177

Workout 5: Existing channels 180

Workout 6: New channels 182

Key takeouts 188

Checklist 189

11. Workouts 7 and 8: Extend the core 191

Delivering a double whammy 193

Workout 7: Pack extension WD–40 196

Workout 8: Product extension Ryvita 199

Key takeouts 202

Checklist 202

PART IV: THE GROW THE CORE WORKPLAN 203

12. Grow the core getting started 205

Stage 1: Insight 207

Stage 2: Ideas 214

Stage 3: Exploration 214

Stage 4: Action 215

Key takeouts 220

Checklist 221

References 223

Also by 227

Index 229

David Taylor is founder and Managing Partner of the brandgym, a network of senior brand coaches that help teams create a clear brand vision and the action plans to turn this into growth. Clients include Sainsbury s, LVMH, Unilever, T–Mobile and SAB Miller.

David as been named one of the world s 50 leading marketing thinkers by the CIM. He is the author of four successful books on branding published by John Wiley: The brandgym, Brand Vision, Brand Stretch and Where s the Sausage were all number 1 on Amazon s branding books ranking.  He also writes brandgymblog.com, one of world s top 60 marketing blogs.

David started his career in brand management with P&G before doing an MBA at INSEAD. He then started the Paris office of Added Value in 1993 and grew it to 50 people, leaving to create the brandgym in 2001, to spend more time on brand strategy, and less time bored in board meetings.

david@thebrandgym.com