Branding Expert Andrew Sabatier Comments on Yesterday's Post

Yesterday's post, "BP, Branding and ... You?" has generated some positive feedback. First, our Simple Facebook page has received several new friends, which is great and we welcome you.

Also, Andrew Sabatier, the author of the Layars magazine article that I cited in my post, took the time to leave a comment on the Simple blog in response to my post. He mentions a few factors that provide a bigger picture of his thoughts on BP and I wanted to make sure that everyone who read yesterday's post got a chance to read his comments as well:

Hi Julianne

You are correct in your assessment that I wrote the article before the oil disaster for which BP has taken responsibility. Had the accident happened before I wrote the article I would probably have caveated what I wrote more heavily. I would also have emphasised the fact that the leadership who committed themselves to the branding has since been replaced.

I stand by what I wrote. BP is still considered a break-away brand. Now, more than ever, BP's brand identity serves to remind us of the relationship of a company's image to its behaviour. At the risk of loosing all credibility BP now has to demonstrate a renewed commitment to their brand. The branding as it stands in all its apparent falsity will, in all likely-hood, become its saving grace.

I agree with Mr. Sabatier that BP is motivating people - everyday consumers - to think more about a company's image vs. its actual behavior, and that kind of awareness is a very good thing.

Mr. Sabatier's thoughts on BP changing their actual behavior to reflect their green branding also inspires hope; the current BP brand does provide them with a positive direction in which to move. If he is correct and BP can actually manage to put that brand into practice, whether they are sincerly helping out the environment or sincerly trying to save their business, the company actually executing more environmentally friendly business practices is a win for everyone.

Maybe more importantly for you, the small business owner, is whether or not BP can pull this off and illustrate the power of branding. Imagine, if they can go from the exact opposite of what they are today, what could you do with your branding?

One final thought for today: I want to point out that the BP rebranding was just one example in a very thought-provoking six-page article that Andrew Sabatier wrote for the May/June issue of Layers. The article as a whole is really insightful and a recommended read for anyone who wants to get a quick yet thorough overview of branding today.