Executive Touch Responds to Battle of the Brands

    LEEDS, ENGLAND, July 16, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Brand battles are now a growing marketing tactic for major brands, not only to outwardly attack competitors or as a reactive approach but also as a proactive initiative that allows for a bit of healthy rivalry with market competitors. Although brand battles generate a lot of hype and publicity, there are limitations that should be applied to ensure brands attract the right attention so that their approach doesn't have a detrimental effect on their overall brand. Executive Touch believes that if done tastefully such campaigns can be hugely successful as it allows brands to be witty, clever and show creativity. The outsourced sales and marketing firm share their opinions on some of the top brand brawls in recent years.

In 2012, Audi launched a billboard war against BMW with an image of its latest model stating, "Your move, BMW." BMW quickly responded with a "Checkmate" campaign before then going on to target Mercedes, Jaguar and Audi once again, from which Subaru and Bentley also joined in. "This was an incredibly bold play for Audi but it resulted in an effective campaign. It may have started as a war between BMW and Audi but it quickly escalated throughout the automotive industry and was a perfect example of showing personality, creativity and healthy rivalry among competitors," says James Sagar, Managing Director of Executive Touch.

Ariel vs Persil are also well known for their longstanding battle and YouTube videos comparing the effectiveness of their stain removal products. "This approach is common between many brands and although it is very direct, it isn't a derogative approach. We simply view it as play fighting; a battle centered purely on marketing and nothing else," says James Sagar of Executive Touch. Another example is that of Nescafe, in 2009 Nescafe's attack on Starbucks' instant coffee showed a white cup with an unbranded round green logo: "A lot of hype or a lot of flavour. Taste for yourself." "In this situation Nescafe gave the impression that they were threatened by Starbucks. It was a more abrasive tactic that appeared to be unprovoked and not overly effective against the global coffee giant," says Executive Touch's MD.

British Airways had brand blunder when in 2011 they spent GBP20m on a new campaign only to realise the TV commercial contained a shot of a rival Virgin Atlantic plane. "Unfortunately, this is an example of a failed campaign. It certainly made headlines but for all the wrong reasons, it was a truly unfortunate situation given the substantial investment in the campaign," says James Sagar. The battle between Pepsi and Coke is probably the longest running brand war and has certainly made its mark. "This brand war would have to be the biggest in the history of advertising and has played a major part in the movement of brand battles. Not only has their approach forced consumers to pick a side but many pubs and restaurants now only stock one or the other, almost making the battle more of a focus than the brand itself - a smart play but the rivalry is now so ingrained in the brands that it is difficult to break out of," states MD, James Sagar.

Executive Touch Ltd is a vibrant direct marketing and sales firm which offers clients a wide range of services including brand and campaign management; direct sales and marketing and customer acquisition.

Executive Touch is an outsourcing solution firm that specialises in direct marketing.

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