Brand Authenticity, Values

As seen with Madonna, in order for a brand to be adopted by a culture, it needs to project authenticity, but Aerosmith’s introduction of urban music into suburban markets also shows that acceptance in a new market often depends on how the product is introduced.

Milka’s long history as a leading manufacturer and popular brand of chocolate gave it authenticity among European consumers, which translated into brand authenticity among chocolate lovers in the United States. Consumer acceptance of the brand, however, was facilitated by Kraft-an established, accepted conduit through which to enter a new market. Today, you can find the lilac cow at your local Wal Mart or Kroger.

Kraft’s Front Woman Kraft’s brand and marketing strategies are built on six core values that serve as guiding principles or inner beliefs that define how the company operates. Some are similar to the values of other leading firms, including innovation, speed, trust, and teamwork. But two of Kraft’s values pop out as different from those of the typical firm, and they parallel lessons to be learned from studying enduring rock bands. Those values are passion and focus. The company’s brand includes the promise to bring a passion to win to everything it does, with a confidence to set high goals and an uncompromising drive to achieve them, and a focus on what matters most to consumers, and what’s most important for building its people, brands, and business.

Kraft’s corporate structure is unique in that it has co CEOs- Betsy Holden and Roger Deromedi. Just as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards lead the band in different ways at different times, so do Holden and Deromedi; it is Holden’s personality, however, that makes her the Jagger of Kraft. She embodies both passion and focus in the way she energetically leads the company. A former fourthgrade schoolteacher, she entered the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where she energized case teams to excel.