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Marks & Spencer have withdrawn the garments from sale while it investigated the complaint.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.

Virgin America's Brilliant Marketing Move

Virgin is known for its brilliant 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.

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