A Tale of Two Editorials
Brands are worth more than companies and, going after the brand may be the best way to get the unchangeable to change.
Sebastian Mallaby, the Washington Post columnist, is the go-to guy for subjects slightly off the mainstream and, while I don’t always agree with him, the man has a brilliant mind. Today he’s writing about company brands and how (in this multinational culture of global markets) they’ve become the most valuable corporate asset. Off the books, that is. They’re not found on the balance sheet.
When a company gets bought or sold for way more than its book-value, branding is what they used to call ‘good-will.’ The main point Mallaby makes is that the old template of supporting Coca Cola or Nike by vast advertising campaigns is now vulnerable, as never before, to blogs. Public opinion, actually, but blogs are how public opinion flashes across time and space. Make a misstep public-relations wise and the net will kill you.
The blistering speed with which Mel Gibson was strung-up f…