Managing Innovation, Design and Creativity

Chapter 7. Branding and innovation

Our brand is our most important asset. It's more valuable than all the other assets on our balance sheet. It is more valuable than our factories, our buildings, our warehouses and our inventory. ^[28]

—Joe Middleton, European president of Levi Strauss

Strategy and branding issues were closely related in the ihavemoved.com case study, and brands can provide a shared framework within which innovation can take place. This chapter looks at what 'brands' and 'brand equity' actually mean, what their role in innovation can be, and what role brands play for web-based companies.

WHAT IS A BRAND?

Some may ask, why actually talk about brands in the context of innovation? On its website the British Brands Group (www.britishbrandsgroup.com) declares, "In a world that is ever more complex and sophisticated, brands stand out as beacons of familiarity and reliability. As reference points with known characteristics with which consumers can identify and trust. As symbols of hope and new prosperity in the fast emerging markets of the world. As vehicles for delivering continuously improving value." People might want to argue that if familiarity is a major characteristic of a brand, than surely brands must be a rather unsuitable subject to discuss for innovation? Well, I think that is just why it is important to discuss brands. There are two reasons. First, as Haigh (1996) points out, "It [the brand] must be separable from the underlying product or service, permitting transfer ...