How important is branding to the management of your company?
Dallmayr is one of the leading coffee brands in Germany, the third-largest coffee market in the world (after the US and Brazil). The single product Dallmayr Prodomo is the favorite coffee of Germans and the third-strongest single product in the German food retail sector (after Kerrygold butter and Coca-Cola liter bottles, by the way).
Our brand is effective and central to us, both internally and externally. Internally, it provides us with guidance and calibrates our actions every second. Many decisions can be made habitually or intuitively based on the benchmark: "Does this advance the brand?" or "Does this fit with the brand?" without having to question or calculate everything in detail. The brand also creates internal identification for the people who work here. I think that, when in doubt, they cannot distinguish whether they are working for the brand or for the company. Externally, without the brand, we would be "nothing," a "nobody."
How does the brand help you to manage your company and make decisions?
I think I've already answered that above.
In your opinion, what are some mistakes in brand management that should be avoided?
– Making important decisions based on a consumer panel without your own opinion or intuition.
– Being overly optimistic about being able to "reposition" a brand within a short period of time.
– Rotating product managers or agencies who constantly question everything.
What advice would you give other companies about brand management? Understand
and internalize the true core of the brand, and don't change its positioning, or only do so very slowly.
Which company do you admire for its brand management?
Lindt and Apple. Apple is kind of obvious, everyone loves it. Lindt has been outstanding in its long-term focus on quality and in keeping this promise throughout the entire process chain for decades.
