Adapt or Die - Lord Bilimoria and the Cobra Story

It was a delight on Thursday night to host Lord Karan Bilimoria, Founder and Chairman of Cobra beer who spoke to our school’s Entrepreneurship Society. The Cobra Beer story has taken many twists and turns in recent years but a pivotal moment came with the Great Recession of 2008-09 when the highly-leveraged (and loss-making) business was forced to enter a pre-pack administration to prevent closure.

Eventually Cobra entered into a ten-year joint venture with Molson-Coors the US/Canadian drinks giant and prospects for this leading UK brand have brightened considerably in the intervening period. Cobra plans to be the first business in UK corporate history to repay all of their creditors in the wake of going into administration. The chances of doing this are growing with the business having just posted it’s first ever full year profit.

One of the many fascinating aspects of Karan Bilimoria’s talk was the focus on what makes a superb brand. The business itself wants to become a top 10 UK beer brand and this spring launches a £4 million multi-channel marketing campaign focusing on Cobra’s Indian heritage, using the strapline, “Cobra, splendidly Indian, superbly smooth. The three values the brand has identified are fashion, food and drink and music. Here is their latest video:

So what in Lord Bilimoria’s opinion makes a superb brand? He points to six key factors:

1 … tell a compelling story based on an undeniable brand truth - “It is not slickness, polish, uniqueness, or cleverness that makes a brand a brand. It is truth.” (Harry Beckwith - Brand Strategy ‘Guru’)

2 … live by and refuse to compromise on their principles - “Customers must recognise that you stand for something and that something never changes.” (Howard Schultz - Starbucks)

3 … have an instantly recognisable iconic look - In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer … but to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of any man-made creation.” (Steve Jobs)

4 … deliver a unique, relevant, consistent experience - A brand is a living entity – and it is enriched or undermined cumulatively over time, the product of a thousand small gestures.” (Michael Eisner – CEO Disney)

5 … that inspire people to become loyal brand champions - “Companies can boost profits by 75-100% by retaining as few as 5% of their current customers.”
(Harvard Business Review – Sept ‘01)

6 … that deliver enduring, extraordinary profits - “Companies that put their money behind their brand and not their business fail to realise that the business is the brand.” (John Moore, “Brand Medic”)

It was a superb talk with a huge amount of interesting and valuable insights into the challenge of overcoming the odds to grow a top brand and a great product.