Interview with Carlos Corral, CEO of Baud in MarketigDirecto.com
They won a gold and a silver at the second edition of the
AEBRAND with its project for Clarel, could you tell us about the
award-winning initiative?
The project of repositioning of the Clarel brand by Baud is
an example of how to transform and revaluing a retail brand which was not being able to compete in its category due to the entry of large retailers into Household.
Our focus has been on competitiveness, being able to generate relevant connections with new audiences and preparing the Clarel brand to consolidate and continue its growth path. We accompanied Clarel in its integral transformation from a local drugstore to a personal care concept that reaches every corner of Spain.
We realized that there is a public (especially in neighborhoods and rural areas) that travels many kilometers to reach a beauty and care store, and the capillarity of Clarel in the territory offered us the opportunity to respond to this forgotten demand.
We work from the conceptualization to the execution of new stores, rethinking their philosophy and approach to the customer, redefining your business model to offer a comprehensive, premium and differentiated experience.
What was the objective of this project? What challenges did you face?
during the development process?
Clarel faces the challenge of innovating and redefining its business model to not only maintain their current audience but also to enhance their relevance and differentiation to new generations. It is not enough to sell products, it is also important to promote a lifestyle that reflects the aspirations of customers and enhances their well-being.
Among the objectives were:
- Consolidate the positioning of Clarel as a specialist brand in beauty and personal and home care. This implied both the inclusion of services and products aligned with consumer trends as a specialized brand, as well as the definition of a coherent brand concept that transmits this evolution.
- Rejuvenate the brand, achieving be attractive to new generations. Since the lack of differential experience and the absence of an omnichannel strategy limited their ability to attract new audiences with new needs.
- Because their current experience was very much related to the conventional supermarket image, it was necessary to generate a new image of the supermarket. differentiated and effective experience.
Clarel had to transfer all its potential, evolving its business model, modifying its positioning to continue taking care of its customers: from a local drugstore to a beauty and care store.
What are the benefits of a good branding strategy?
executed?
From my point of view, the biggest benefit that a well-executed branding strategy can offer is that it can is the growth of the businessbecause of the strong connection that can be created with people. To achieve this business growth, it is obvious that this strategy must provide us with a competitive differentiation that explains why we are unique and why we do things differently.
When you achieve this strong connection with audiences and differentiation with others, it will increase our perceived value, as well as the intangible value of our brand itself, which will translate into an inevitable increase in turnover if we do not fail in other areas.
In order to achieve ambitious objectives, an integral vision executed by top management is necessary, since these drastic increases cannot be achieved either with changes in visual identity or with opportunistic advertising actions.
Do you believe that branding can help a brand stand out in a
saturated and competitive market?
From my point of view, a good strategy is the only way to compete in a saturated market.
It is obvious that we can grow a lot through a product or a basic value proposition in relation to quality / price, if we are a challenging player. But we all know that this can help us in a short term way, but we are missing the opportunity for growth exponential growth that comes from being a desired brand.
Every time I see a marketing action or an advertising spot, which is not supported by a company vision and a cross-cutting strategy, I see is a great opportunity lost and a lot of money invested in vain.
Having a good branding strategy is a very cost-effective way to optimize all the efforts my organization is going to make in the future. Anyone who is not very clear about who they are as a brand, where they want to go, and why people will want to relate to them, is literally throwing money away.
What are the pillars of a well-executed branding strategy?
From my point of view, every company must have a unique value proposition to be valuable. In addition, it is key to have a clear vision that our entire organization must know and that must be transmitted with a strong culture. If we are able to deliver that vision in the form of relevant experiences to our audiences, our brands will be unstoppable.
How important will branding be in 2024?
2024 I believe will be a before and after.
More and more every day, branding is crucial for organizationsand it is on everyone's lips. The theory is clear to everyone (which is a great advance) and all that it encompasses (which is extremely important) can be overlooked.
However, every day I see more and more that little time or resources are dedicated to it, or that it is delegated to unsuitable professionals, or that they are given an incorrect interlocution to a job that is going to involve the heart and future of our organization.
A part of our own sector has also been relegated to a secondary interlocution and to jobs that end up in desk drawers. At Baud we are working very hard to change that, and Clarel is a clear example of brand work in each and every area of the company.
What are the biggest opportunities for branding today?
The great opportunity to integrating branding in all areas of the company is one of the biggest opportunities I see in companies, especially Spanish companies.
The cost-benefit ratio is very high if it is worked in the right way and, above all, in each and every area of the company (top management, human resources, marketing, operations, etc.).
Within these areas I would highlight:
- Personsalization of the experiences through data to make the best impacts and connect more deeply.
- The omnichannel understood as a tool to convey in a coherent way all that we can do for our clients and society.
- The digitization and emerging technology to create immersive and personalized brand experiences (both employee and customer).
- Sustainability as a transversal pillar of our business and capable of energizing our companies with new generations through a purpose that makes us all feel more relevant in the world.
Interview MarketingDirecto.com
