EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE

“Brands aren’t just

names on packages!”
An interview with Charles Berger, by Karl Speak

rands are about relationships with consumers. Products and services are critical
B elements in building these relationships, but they are not, by themselves, brands.
Brands are long-term investments. With support from the CEO and managers, they
can thrive for generations. Effective brand management is the ultimate path to revenue
and profits. For more details on these and other insights, Karl Speak’s interview with
Chuck Berger, CEO of The Scotts Company, is must reading.

Charles Berger, CEO of The Scotts Berger is a gracious man, always willing
Company, is one of the most success- to share his wisdom with young mar-
ful brand management professionals keting professionals and fellow execu-
in America. tives. Chuck Berger and I spent a
After receiving his undergraduate gorgeous fall evening on Cape Cod,
degree from Princeton and MBA from discussing his insights on brand
Harvard, Berger started his career in management. It was a thrill.
marketing management at Procter & Charles Berger, CEO, Speak: Chuck, if a brand
Gamble, and then moved to Heinz to The Scotts Company management professional could write
manage the Heinz ketchup brand. He the perfect resume, it would look
next served as chief executive of exactly like yours. What is it like to be a
Weight Watchers, a Heinz affiliate. CEO with a passion for brands?
Berger has been CEO at Scotts for the Berger: Well, first of all, you have
past five years, during which time he the power, as well as the responsibility,
has firmly established the company to create seriousness about brands and
as the leader in the lawn and brand equity. You can make things
garden category. Karl Speak, President, happen. And I believe you’re in a posi-
In addition to being a consummate Beyond Marketing tion to actually act on the value of
brand management professional, Thought Inc. these brands. It’s a value that may not

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Designing Identity—Designing Brand

appear on the balance sheet, but you know it’s

there. Being a CEO places you in a position to
inspire employees to build stronger brands.
There isn’t much magic to building them. It’s
a matter of having a passion for your consumer
and always adding something new to the rela-
tionship between the brand and that consumer. I
believe a CEO can use his or her position and
perspective to maintain brand building as a very
high priority for the organization.
Speak: Brand is an overused word. How do
you define a brand?
Berger: Brands aren’t just names on packages.
And that’s the crucial thing that anybody work-
ing in a company, from the marketing manager
to the CEO, must understand. Companies own a
lot of things that are trademarked, but they’re
not all brands. Only a handful really, really more and more money.
count, and they’re the ones that are multi- I reject entirely the idea of a brand life cycle as
dimensional. A brand isn’t simply a word or a something you can’t control. Without adequate
logo on a plastic bottle or a paper bag or a metal support, it’s true—brands will mature and finally
container. A brand stands for a valued relation- die. But that doesn’t have to happen to a brand.
ship with a consumer. The products you’re selling under the brand have
A real brand owns a very tiny but important to keep changing and evolving, and so some of
piece of “real estate” in a consumer’s mind. A the items or some of the concepts that are
strong brand represents a relationship between encompassed by that brand can change. But
consumer and product that extends beyond there’s no reason the brand can’t be immortal.
the product by having a meaningful emotional Some of the most admired brands have
connection. proven that the brand relationship can outlive
Speak: As a seasoned and successful execu- the original product. Let’s take Apple Computer
tive, what advice would you give to other senior as an example. Apple would be dead if it were
managers about building brands? still the original Apple II computer. That’s easy
Berger: Brands are not products—they’re to understand, because technology is changing
long-term commitments to relationships with all the time. At the other end of the spectrum are
consumers. I think the biggest risk in brand classic and venerable consumer goods brands,
management is when a such as Heinz ketchup, which actually looks and
company spends a lot tastes the way it did in 1890. In most cases,
“A real brand owns a of time, money, and
employees’ attention
although you have to keep changing the prod-
uct, the brand should be immortal. Loyal con-
very tiny but on building a brand, sumers expect the brand will always be relevant
but then fails to nur- to them and lead them through changes in
important piece of ture and reinvest in it. lifestyle and technologies.
That’s letting the equity Speak: Building strong brands requires the
‘real estate’ in a slip away. effort and passion of a lot of people in an organ-
consumer’s mind.” Companies some- ization. Many middle managers confide in me
times make financially that they feel it is very difficult to build a strong
driven decisions that brand without an enlightened CEO—someone
inhibit continued growth of a brand. It’s almost like you. They believe in brands, but they need
like they’re saying: Now that the brand is strong, to know how to influence their senior managers.
we’re going to move on to something else. What advice do you have for them?
Properly supported brands create real momen- Berger: It does help a lot if you have people
tum. A well-supported brand will make you at the top who care about brands. But as with

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 “Brands aren’t just names on packages!”

anything else, there’s no hard and fast rule. It is it is very important.

possible to build a brand without a lot of top- A strong corporate brand can be a very
down support. Middle managers should be important company asset. It gives a brand
aware that the people in the senior management manager another way to talk to and relate to
jobs may be facing a lot of financial pressures, consumers. The communication
particularly if they work for a public company.
My first suggestion for middle managers is The Scotts Brand
that they show enthusiasm and tenacity for the
business, as well as the brand. I would also sug- The Scotts Company, headquartered in
gest that as a group, they try to come up with a Ohio for more than 130 years, is the
big idea that can lift the brand to the next level world’s leading supplier and marketer of
with its consumers. Build a case backed up with consumer products for do-it-yourself lawn
real, solid data, and it will be very difficult for an and garden care, with a full range of
executive to reject it. products for professional horticulture, as
As far as I am concerned, a good idea clearly well. The company owns what are by far
demonstrates how the brand can deliver addi- the industry’s most recognized brands,
tional value to the consumer. There are lots of and Scotts relies heavily, almost exclu-
good ideas out there. A big idea is a good idea sively, on its product brands, placing lit-
supported with numbers that demonstrate how tle emphasis on its corporate identity as
the investment in the brand will deliver more a master brand. In the US, consumer
revenue and bigger profits. I always emphasize awareness of the company’s Scotts,
the importance of thinking strategically and Miracle-Gro, and Ortho brands outscores
having real, hard facts to back up an idea. When the nearest competitors in their cate-
I am approached with a new idea, I often chal- gories by several times, as does aware-
lenge people by saying, “ Tell me what you know, ness of Monsanto’s Roundup brand, for
not just what you think.” which Scotts is the exclusive marketing
Speak: I want you to ratchet your perspective agent worldwide. In the UK, Scotts’
up a notch and think about the brand concept brands include Weedol and Pathclear,
for companies: How can a company have an the top-selling consumer herbicides;
intimate, enduring relationship with consumers Evergreen, the leading lawn fertilizer
that meets the same criteria as a strong product line; the Levington line of lawn and gar-
brand. I’m talking about a relationship that is den products; and Miracle-Gro, the lead-
unique because of its distinctiveness, relevance, ing plant fertilizer. The company’s
and consistent relationship with its targeted con- leading brands in continental Europe
sumers. Do you think brand management in include KB and Fertiligène in France, and
that context makes sense? Nexa Lotte and Celaflor in Germany.
Berger: Yeah, I do. Although I don’t know if I The Scotts Company and Stern’s
am as crisp on this as I am on product brands. Miracle-Gro Products merged in 1995.
At Scotts, we’re facing this opportunity right The Scotts brand, of course, revolves
now: How do we build a corporate brand image around lawn care, which is primarily a
when we have so many powerful product male-dominated activity. Miracle-Gro’s
brands? And what do we want the corporate brand equity, the strongest in the garden
brand to stand for? I think consistency is impor- category, centers around gardening
tant, but sometimes at a big corporation, main- activity, which is predominantly a female
taining consistency can be a challenge. Take activity. Having a broader brand
General Electric as an example. Is it an aerospace portfolio, which covers both lawn and
company? Is it an appliance company? Is it a garden, allows Scotts to have more
finance company? Those are three things that leverage with its retailers and therefore
come to my mind. Or is it a whole bunch of ensure that their products are easily
other things that I don’t even know about? I’m accessible to consumers no matter
still not exactly sure how best to maintain where they shop.
consistency on the company level, but I do think

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Designing Identity—Designing Brand

between a product brand and the consumer is ships over the years? Don’t get me wrong—the
generally focused on getting the consumer to buy factory, products, trademarks, and patents are
or use a product. The corporate brand has to talk all very important. But companies with strong
in broader, yet still relevant, terms with con- long-term consumer relationships are the ones
sumers. A strong corporate brand can provide that can sustain growth most efficiently. Look at
consumers with added confidence to buy and use today’s stock market. Many companies have
branded products. An important role for a cor- extremely high market capitalization based
porate brand is to communicate the organiza- upon their consumer relationships and other
tion’s core values. If consumers understand and intangibles. Telecommunications companies are
believe in those core values, it will give them great examples.
more confidence to buy new products from the Recently Scotts launched a lawn-service
company or try new things, such as doing busi- business. We were able to leverage the consumer
ness with that company on the Internet. relationships that Scotts developed over the
Speak: I am seeing something in today’s years to launch a business that is off to a great
intense, short-term-oriented business start. In less than three years, we have been able
environment that bothers me. There appears to to develop significant market share in the mar-
be this overriding emphasis on generating kets we have targeted. Moreover, our ability to
transactions—that is, on selling products, but acquire new customers and retain them, two
neglecting the importance of nurturing and important success factors in the service busi-
growing the consumer relationship. Are you wor- ness, are much better than that of our competi-
ried that the shift in balance is a bit shortsighted? tors, who have been in the business for many
Berger: Let me address that this way. years. We think a good service, coupled with
Everything I needed to know about marketing I strong consumer relationships, will allow us to
learned in one day in the Harvard Business continue to grow this business at the expense of
School marketing course. That may be oversim- our competitors. In effect, our brand equity is
plifying it, but there are just a few basic things helping us to grow the business quickly, and at
that every brand manager must keep in mind. the same time, this new product is adding value
The first thing is the importance of being con- to our brand equity because of the quality serv-
sumer-oriented as opposed to being manufac- ice we deliver. It reinforces our relationship with
turing- or product-oriented. Do you really think the consumer.
your business is just a factory? Or is it all the Really good brand managers are obsessed by
consumers with whom you’ve built relation- market share and total category growth, and I

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 “Brands aren’t just names on packages!”

am too. However, we must always remind our- Another learning experience that stands out
selves not to let this short view of counting sales in my mind was working for my father when I
cloud our understanding and commitment to was a young man. My dad owned a small drug
consumer relationships. Every consumer trans- wholesaling business called the Scranton Drug
action has two purposes—generating sales and Company. I remember schlepping 20 cases of
reinforcing the consumer relationship. One Alka Seltzer for every 5 cases of Bromo Seltzer
without the other is truly shortsighted. and every 1 case of Bicodol and wondering why
Speak: Where would you place package the heck my dad bothered with the Bicodol any-
design as a tool to build strong consumer rela- way. The next year, I was taking a marketing
tionships? course in business school, and the teacher was
Berger: There is no doubt that package talking about the power of a brand name. I real-
design is important in adding value to the con- ized he was talking about the same thing I’d
sumer relationship. There are two ways I think noticed in my father’s warehouse! Even though
about package design. First, a package that adds all three of those products were fundamentally
value to the consumer experience is definitely a the same product, the one with the strongest
strong brand-building tool. When Scotts name—Alka Seltzer—sold more. Carrying case-
switched from paper to plastic bags for our lawn loads of antacids from a dusty warehouse onto a
fertilizer it was a big hit with our consumers. truck gave me an innate appreciation for brands.
Second, consistency is important. Of course, I Speak: Do you have any final advice for
don’t claim to be a design expert, but I look at brand enthusiasts?
the design of a package in terms of consistency. Berger: At the risk of sounding too pedantic,
Package designs must be consistent from pack- I would like to mention a few of those simple
age to package and whenever the brand is “brand basics” that have served me well during
extended over a family of products. my career. Avoid being a product manager; be a
Consistency is not always easy. Young brand brand manager. Focus
managers are often tempted to change the pack- on the relationship
age design of an established brand, but a dra- with your consumer, As a brand manager,
matic change in a design can cause great peril. not just your product.
Strong brands have created a familiarity with As a brand manager,
your brand is your
their consumers. In some cases, if you had to do your brand is your flame, and it’s your job
it all over again, you might design that package flame, and it’s your job
differently, but it’s too late for that. Don’t get me to keep it alive and in to keep it alive and in
wrong—I’m not against updating a brand’s good condition.
package design. I just prefer that the package Respect the power of good condition
design be given a “Hollywood haircut”—a slight the brand and give it
change, so that the brand’s character looks fresh more power by putting
but still maintains its familiar personality. Every the right new products under its umbrella. Avoid
brand manager should remember that consis- constantly adding new brand names for each
tency is the hallmark of all strong brands. new product. Finally, be passionate and
Speak: As you look back on your career, are charismatic about your brand.
there any particular mentors or learning experi- Speak: Thanks for sharing your real-life
ences that stick out in your mind? lessons about brand management.
Berger: Tony O’Reilly, the guy who ran Heinz Berger: My pleasure. 
for 35 years, had a big impact on my profession- Reprint # 01121SPE19
al life. Tony had a great sense of brands and their
power. Although there were times when Tony Find related articles on www.dmi.org with these
was forced to cut back on the marketing budget keywords (see page 81): brand, brand management,
for some of Heinz’s touchstone brands, he knew consumer relationships, corporate identity, package design
how to strike the right balance between manag-
ing tight financial resources and supporting the
long-term health of a brand. He was very com-
mitted to the power of the brand.

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