Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, allegedly remarked, “We are not a family; we are a firm.” Hence the royals’ self-appointed nickname for the family: The Firm. Now that we have the newest royal George on our hands with the arrival of little Prince George last week, I can’t help but draw the parallel. With this statement, it’s obvious that the early 20th century British monarchy already understood the importance of treating the royal family as a business—and they also understood every business needs a strong brand.
Today’s British royals are well aware of the power behind a strong family brand: it unites their kingdom, encourages confidence in the upper crust, inspires more tourism and presents the family to the world in a positive diplomatic light. Most importantly, a strong brand serves to boost the economy, both short- and long-term.
Baby Boom
The long-term economic benefits of Prince George’s arrival are HUGE. As the monarchy continues to present itself in a fresh, new light, and as the country climbs out of an economic slump, Britain’s younger generation is latching on to The Firm’s brand as well.
According to Brand Finance, the royal baby’s arrival could provide an impressive economic boost of $780 million dollars, from immediate purchases of souvenirs and baby products bought in the spirit of celebration, to the long-term renewed public investment in the royal family as a whole. Meanwhile, the overall value of the British monarchy rose to a staggering $83.8 billion this year.
Crashing the Royal Birth
Add to the mix an important and happy event like the royal birth of Prince George, and you’ve got yourself a massive opportunity for an even bigger brand bump. Royals aside, businesses the world over have jumped on the Prince George bandwagon as a way to boost their own brands and capitalize on the royal birth. It’s called “brand crashing” or “trendjacking” …and, hey, we would never do that here on The Branding Spot blog! 😉
Here are some of our favorites…
Warburtons family bakers featured a pair of British flag themed potholders pulling a bun from an oven. And yes, it said, “One’s bun is done.” I can’t decide if I love it or hate it. Perhaps a little cliché, but definitely relevant.
Oreo (always quick with a tweet lately) hit Twitter with a picture of a milk bottle on a plush royal red pillow, complete with an Oreo cookie, of course. The tagline? “Prepare the royal bottle service!”
The Sun went literal, temporarily renaming their publication “The Son” and running this lineup of famously decked out babies with the line, “Your Royal Highness—Meet Your Fellow Future Rulers of the World.”
Game, an England-based gaming console and game seller hit us with this plain and simple ad featuring block text reading, “You Weren’t Given A Kingdom At Birth? Never Mind.” The idea was to grab more gamers to explore the vast array of fantasy video games in which you can, indeed, rule over your own in-game kingdom.
Play-Doh went all out with a tweet complete with a colorful Play-doh version of Will and Kate with baby George. I say cute!
Comedy Central cracked us up with this tweet: “The Royal Baby was born weighing 8 pounds, or 5 dollars US.” Come on; now that’s funny!
What do you think? Are these examples of brand crashing cringe-worthy or clever? Which one is your favorite? Tell us in the comments below!