The day Mr.Bond blinked

Despite warnings from friends and well wishers, I purchased a ticket to watch Quantum of Solace. And I was utterly distressed at the end of the event.

How can one imagine Bond with no gadgets, cars that are only driven (how boring!) and no besotted women in various stages of undress. Heavens forbid - they even managed to bleed Bond and stain his rather crumpled shirt in this one. The James Bond we know could be beaten, punched, tortured and kicked but his shirt never crumpled and he never ever bled. And I particularly love this characterization by the Rolling Stone magazine – “Bond seems to have come down with a serious case of Jason Bourne penis envy”

So, I am forced to subscribe to the majority point of view – It’s a great movie, but it’s not Bond. And I could not but help think that this is how great brands come undone and ultimately cast aside in the sands of time.

The challenge in front of brand manager and the 007 scriptwriter is exactly the same - How does one keep the story contemporary while being authentic to soul of the hero? Seen from another lens, how does one satisfy both the die-hard loyalist and the new-age flirter – each with differing expectations?

Well, here are two possible pointers to address this challenge (from yours truly) …

1. To have a strong, passionate and singular custodianship of the brand so that brand consequence is not sacrificed at the altar of creative impact.

I shudder to think of what the late Mr. Albert R. Broccoli would have thought of Mr. Bond’s latest adventure. To use an oft used cliché, there needs to be a single person who lives and breathes the brand. And this person then serves to be the arbiter of what is ‘on’ brand and what is not. In the absence of this person, a sub optimal solution would be to get all constituents to owe allegiance and to uphold a richly articulated brand charter.

2. Patience as a necessary and essential requirement because brand refurbishment is a series of infinitesimal tweaks rather than one fell swoop.

Dramatic change always seduces and tempts with the dangle of instant recognition, but it also disassociates from the responsibility towards its current franchise. One should always experiment with the peripheral symbols of the brand, but never tamper with its core. This experimentation with the peripheral symbols ensures that the brands cache is current and contemporary, while its unchanging core ensures timelessness. Tobacco and alcohol brands seem to have cracked this code rather well.

I do hope these two pointers help the 007 scriptwriters re-discover the quintessential Bond. I will have a drink on that. A martini please - shaken, not stirred.