Marks and Spencer’s copycat case – honest mistake or huge marketing blunder?

Marks & Spencer started selling a line of T-shirts featuring a floral pattern. A young textile designer, Rachael Taylor, spotted the T-shirts in the show window of M&S Oxford Street shop. She noticed the striking resemblance with her own signature design of hand-drawn flowers.

As shown in the image, the design is almost identical. Ms. Taylor never gave permission to use her design, stating: “This design is my hand drawn original and has been part of my signature collection for quite some time. It's sold on my own branded products 'Rachael Taylor Designs' from kitchen textiles through to stationery. The design has also achieved international success as a licensed design, appearing on numerous home decor products in the UK, Europe & USA.”

Marks & Spencer have withdrawn the garments from sale while it investigated the complaint. M&S emphasized that they had bought them 'in good faith' from a direct supplier. A spokesperson stated: “We are sorry for any disappointment caused to Rachael Taylor Designs from the sale of a T-shirt that we bought in good faith from a direct supplier.”

Ms. Taylor started legal action, stating: “I believe a copyright infringement has been made by Marks and Spencer from using my design and making it into a garment, then selling in their stores. Not only has my design been used for profit without my permission, I believe in standing up for the civil rights of myself and anyone else who has encountered this in their own professional life.”

In a statement, Patricia van den Akker, Director of The Design Trust, said: “I hear daily of cases like this. It really hurts these small designers, both financially and emotionally.”

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(Image ©Rachael Taylor Designs Ltd. as featured in the Daily Mail)

Is your brand a masterbrand, an umbrella brand, a powerbrand, or a superbrand?

Nothing is simple when it comes to branding.

Let’s have a look at the different brands an try to make some order. Let’s start with a masterbrand, aka an umbrella brand. Masterbrands are corporate brands that have a number of sub-brands underneath.

For example, British Airways is a masterbrand, with its Concorde, First Class, Club World, Club Europe, and Skyflyers as sub-brands. Other examples of strong masterbrands are Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Virgin, that all have a slew of sub-brands.

A powerbrand is a brand that has instant recognition, such as Starbucks, Ford, Google, Nike, Apple, Delta, Microsoft, etc. Ideally, a masterbrand is also a powerbrand and reflects the corporate strategy and image of the company.

A superbrand is a brand that:

1) has a strong message and image

2) stays faithful to it corporate mission over time

3) makes sure that all sub-brands are in sync with the masterbrand

Examples of superbrands are Gilette, Coca-Cola, Davidoff, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, and Lacoste. Branding is the lifeblood of all companies – big and small.

No matter if you are a multinational or a SMB/SME or a ZZP, your brand is what defines you. Make sure you keep your brand strong, consistent and inspiration

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Virgin America's Brilliant Marketing Move

Virgin is brilliant at marketing. Keeping up with its tradition, Virgin cooked up another clever marketing move for Virgin America.

Starting August 8, Virgin America's more than 2,000 pilots, flight attendants and other crew members will wear their new and sleek uniforms designed by Banana Republic.

Virgin Airline describes the line as "utility chic", with lots of black with red and purple accessories, sophisticated scarves, a red trench coat and a leather jacket. Several items will be on sale at select Banana Republic stores and through the shopping section of Virgin's in-flight entertainment system. Due to security concerns, the airline does not want to sell the exact uniform. However, fashonistas will be able to buy coats, aviator sunglasses or tote bags for $78 to $250.

Luanne Calvert, Virgin America's vice president of marketing, stated: "We felt it is time to refresh our look. … We felt this is the right time to hearken back to the golden age of flying."

Airline apparel has evolved since the 1960s, when looks mattered as shown in the TV series Pan Am. At that time, all-female attendants wore colorful, sexy uniforms. Over the years, the outfits became more professional and men joined the ranks. Only a few airlines have redesigned their uniforms in recent years. 

It took Virgin America 18 months to come up with the new look. Simon Kneen, Banana Republic's creative director, designed the uniforms so crew members could move around without losing buttons or getting stuck on chairs.

"We wanted to respect the heritage of in-flight uniform design while injecting a modern twist that's both functional and fashionable," he says.

With the new uniforms, Virgin achieves:

1. Great publicity
2. Great branding
3. A new income stream

The US and EU Should Learn from Germany’s Mistake

German economists are warning the US and the EU of the mistakes made with former Eastern Germany (GDR).

Joachim Ragnitz of the Ifo-institute in Dresden pointed out: "we should have stopped in Eastern Germany at the end of the 1990s". He referred to the hundreds of billions in support that have been transferred from Western to Eastern Germany, totaling € 1300 billion to € 1600 billion for a population of 16.5 million.

Ragnitz explained: "In the beginning, the support made sense. Also from a political standpoint, it was impossible to let the Eastern Germans go to the dogs. But after a decade, the support did not make any sense. Productivity was not improved, and even worked counterproductive."

Karl Brenke of the DIW in Berlin comes to the same conclusion: "Even during the first years after the unification, lots of money was wasted. But there were also some achievements. Eastern Germany could have benefited from support of its industry. There were polluted industrial areas that should have been cleaned up. The country was also faced with a brain drain due to high unemployment. Financial support would have been understandable."

A huge part is the result of the harmonization of social legislation. Eastern Germans suddenly got the same rights as Western Germans in 1990.  However, since there are far more unemployed and pensioners in Eastern Germany, a lot of money is pumped into that region. Spending was meant to improve the economic structure. Ragnitz explained: "In reality, funds are used more and more for consumption, without any positive impact on growth."

The investments in infrastructure or culture also relate to subsidies for commerce. Ragnitz gives as an example the shaky Eastern German solar energy sector, which has been massively supported by the government. He explains: "The subsidies have contributed to the laziness of companies. They are not m motivated to be innovative and are facing strong completion from China, which makes them collapse one after the other."

Stefani Weiss of the European division of the Bertelsmann Foundation states that there is an important lesson to be learned. "If you hand out subsidies, make sure that the aid is limited, and that there is a fixed end date." Weiss doubts that Europe and the US are able to do that. Especially the plans for large projects such as telecommunication networks could be problematic. "This kind of projects might be good for PR and the electorate, but will not contribute to higher economic productivity."

The US and EU would be wise to learn from the German lesson....