Defensive Strategy

The Royal Wedding and Branding

1 May 2011  

The marriage of Kate and William was a joyous event but also an incredible bit of brand building.

It all looked effortless and natural, but of course it wasn’t. I am quite confident the entire affair was carefully constructed with an eye on the brand.

The organizers deserve an enormous amount of credit; it is hard to imagine a more powerful brand building moment.

The event received extraordinary coverage. Perhaps two billion people watched it around the world. Eleven networks in the U.S. covered the event, and more than 22 million people watched, according to the Associated Press. This is a fairly remarkable number given the rather early hour it aired in the U.S.

More remarkably, virtually all of the coverage was positive. People applauded the dress, the kiss, the ceremony, the guest list. The right people were apparently invited and the right people were not. I didn’t see a single negative article or comment.

I was most impressed at how the event reinforced the brand. The ceremony embraced continuity and tradition. It would have been easy for Kate and William to make at least symbolic breaks with the safe, standard approach. But they didn’t. And this was brilliant; the event was a powerful brand building tool because it reflected the best things we know about the royal family.

Vast, positive media coverage is what builds strong brands in the world today. Kate and William showed us how to do it.


2 Responses

  1. this was definatley done to build the “royal brand” and to bring some love back to the family

  2. Uday says:

    Though Kate and William followed the safe, standard approach I guess Harry provided a refreshing departure through his prank (where he attached a learners plate to their Aston Martin). I wonder if this kind of joke is common in royal occasions or symbolic of a changing of the guard.

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