Everything is awesome as Lego brand outpaces Ferrari
Wrong.
The supercar is a slow-coach compared to Lego, which has made child’s play of overtaking Ferrari as the world’s most powerful brand.
The Danish toy company has this year topped Brand Finance’s “strength” list, which measures a brand’s ability to enhance a company’s performance.
“Lego was the surprise riser, overtaking last year’s winner Ferrari as the strongest brand,” said Robert Haigh, communications director with the UK consultancy group.
“A lot of that has been down to the success of The Lego Movie, but Lego’s underlying strength is that it appeals to both sexes, and all ages. Kids have an affection for playing with it and parents see it with a sense of nostalgia.”
Ferrari’s decline has been hastened by its lack of success on the track as well as the company becoming more mainstream. The sheen of glory from its 1990s golden era is beginning to wear thin.
“Ferrari’s been slipping since the end of the [Michael] Schumacher era but it’s really fallen as the F1 team has done badly this year.
“A poor season or two will not always hurt a brand. We also evaluate football brands and Manchester United is still up there as the most power UK brand but Ferrari has now gone several years without an F1 title and last season struggled even to mount a challenge. That makes a difference.”
There has also been a change in strategy at Ferrari’s road car division with the departure of chairman Luca di Montezemolo who kept a strict cap on production to maintain brand exclusivity. New chairman Sergio Marchionne has suggested this policy will be relaxed to boost revenues.
Haigh sees this as a mistake. “People don’t see it as being so exclusive anymore. Ferrari owners see themselves as part of a club. Broadening its customer base may have short-term benefits but could be harmful in the medium to long-term. Owners are passionate about their cars and worry that the value of their investment is declining, as a result.”
David Haig, Brand Finance founder and CEO, adds: “Ferrari is still in a strong position and its brand value has actually increased 18% this year to $4.7bn (€4.1bn). The new strategy to capitalise on the brand will certainly drive short term value but over-exploitation risks lasting damage.”
Lego scores highly on a wide variety of measures on Brand Finance’s Brand Strength Index such as familiarity, loyalty, promotion, staff satisfaction and corporate reputation.
“Lego is a uniquely creative and immersive toy; children love the ability to construct their own worlds that it provides,” says Brand Finance.
“In a tech-saturated world, parents approve of the back-to-basics creativity it encourages and have a lingering nostalgia for the brand long after their own childhoods. The Lego Movie perfectly captured this cross-generational appeal. It was a critical and commercial success, taking nearly $500m since its release a year ago. It has helped propel Lego from a well-loved, strong, brand to the world’s most powerful.”
Top 10 brands
1.
(toys) Denmark.
2.
(professional services) US.
3.
(beverages) Austria.
4.
(professional services) US.
5.
(food) UK.
6.
(cosmetics) France.
7.
(apparel) UK.
8.
(apparel) Switzerland.
9.
(automobiles) Italy.
10.
(apparel).
