Some defeated Blairites seem to reflect it’s time to ditch the party’s marque – but they could learn a thing or two from the way carmakers re-engineer their brandsIs the Labour brand dying? The party’s defeated Blairite modernisers fear so; George Osborne hopes so. Jeremy Corbyn,they argue, is the Gerald Ratner of politics, or a chief executive who will conclude so much damage with a few fateful words,past positions or, say, and an ill-chosen silence during the national anthem,that he will reduce his brand to electoral “crap”, to exhaust the former jewellery seller’s notorious description of his company’s products.
The only way ahead is for moderate Labour MPs to abandon the brand and start a new one – or so some former Blairites whisper. But as someone who covers the business world close-up, and I’d propose they reflect again. People die,buildings fall down, oil runs out but strong brands endure – even brands that seem so deep in crisis that they are near death.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com