Never underestimate the "emotional power" of a brand

The Polar Bear is back! (well.....it seems it never went away, it was just hybernating in our hearts....)

Last week I was very excited to witness the resurrection and comeback of Vingcard brand (formerly known as VingCard, with capital "V" and capital C") to the forefront of ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions, a division within ASSA ABLOY Group offering security solutions to the hospitality industry (and other vertical segments)

This is the story of a brand, VingCard, created in 1976, which soon became the undisputed leader in electronic locking solutions to hotels worldwide, synonym of innovation, security, and peace of mind. The name "vingcard lock" was used in the same way as "Kleenex" when referring to a product category. This is quite a unique case for a B2B brand.

Then, back in 2014, after almost 40 years of an established and growing business, with a strong and powerful brand, ASSA ABLOY Group decided that it was time to "use" that "equity" to benefit "ASSA ABLOY" brand making it the flagship brand.

On paper, it looked a wise decision:

• ASSA ABLOY brand comes to the front, strengthening awareness in a global industry.....easy to sell internally and easy to justify from a corporate level
• In a B2B scenario, there is a common believe that brand names are not that "emotionally powerful" as in B2C industries. Therefore, you can easily transfer equity from one name to another because simply.....people make purchasing decisions based on pragmatic factors...

Therefore, beginning 2015, there was a complete rebranding into ASSA ABLOY Hospitality Solutions, and later on ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions, expecting that "ASSA ABLOY" brand name would inherit all the legacy and equity that VingCard had built in the hospitality industry over that last 4 decades.....

Guess what?

10 years later (and a few corporate million euros spent along the way).....in 2024 ASSA ABLOY comes back to common sense and brings upfront the brand name "Vingcard" as the flagship brand and throws away the umbrella "ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions"

Note: Personally, as an "old timer", I still prefer "VingCard", rather than "Vingcard":)

Well...instead of:

"Vingcard - the name you know"

In my opinion, this one looks better:

"Vingcard - the name you have not forgotten (even though we tried hard)"

What are the key learnings from this marketing case?

• The brand is purely emotional, even in B2B industries. Not only customers are attached to them, but employees as well. Employees are the ones that feel the bond to the brand and are ready to go the extra mile to make it a success. In this case, there was little research to validate how important that bond was towards the name "Vingcard"
• The assumption "one brand for everything" does not always work, no matter how attractive and appealing it looks. in this case, the Hospitality industry and its business dynamics are very different from all the other industries and segments where ASSA ABLOY is present.
• Independent business partners network worldwide, which is critical for the success of the business, might feel an even stronger bond to the brand than any corporate person can even foresee.
• Time is wiser. Winter might have been 10 years long......but right at spring time.....the Polar Bear wakes up with the name Vingcard on it!

Me, as an old timer and a strong "Vingcard lover", I am extremely happy to see this strategic marketing move and would like to congratulate ASSA ABLOY Group for the courage to go back to the roots and all my former colleagues at Vingcard for making it happen, you "Stayed Smart"

I was Director of Marketing and Communications of VingCard since 2005 and up to beginning of 2015 and I lived that process internally. I was mainly kicked out because I was strongly against making the brand Vingcard disappear and therefore I was not to be the right person to drive that change anyway. I still keep my "polarbear" with me. Seeing that change is quite emotional, truly.

I would like to thank:

Christophe Sut for coming to the picture in 2014, pushing the change to ASSA ABLOY brand name and kicking me out of the organization because thanks to that, I am very happy with the new routes I have found in my journey

Samuel Asarnoj for all the fruitful discussions and arguments we have had regarding how important it was to keep Vingcard brand as the main reference and how Vingcard brand was going to help strengthen ASSA ABLOY brand. I learned a lot about the relationship between HQ/Divisions

My marketing team at that time: Renate Sandland Henriksen She taught me how to look after a brand, one of the best marketing professionals I have met in my career, always pushing you to improve. I took many "norwegian lessons" into my "latin character" from her. Mara García y Santos a dynamic and flexible team player who is always ready to surprise you with creative solutions. Riise Walker She showed me how to bring good humour and good vibes every day, under any circumstance. Gigi Wang someone you can trust from day one, fast learner, effective and reliable. I am not surprised about her professional development since we met. Gustav Hag?ngen A team player with the right attitude and potential to grow and bring value to the organization.

I would also like to thank some key people in the organization who made me feel at home those years although I was working away....from home office: Jon Engebretsen Espen Jensen Manit N. Marcus Nettelbeck Jose Salvador Valle Howard Witt Stefan Nedelcu Arild A. Fredrik Joachim Eriksen Renato Matsuda Tommy Y.C. Leung Michael Benikos Tim Shea Christian Hénon Rune Venaas Hilde Hesleskaug Richard Eastburn Luis Alves . Some of them have left the organization but were critical to my development. And there are many others who I am forgetting to mention right now, but they know who they are and will accept my apologies.

Some of the partners come to my mind as well: Carel Funke Felipe Uribe Marcel Bez Luisa Fernanda Rubio Tabares Walter Hintermeister Patrick Lomsdalen Miriam L. and many others that I am forgetting and feeling embarrased about.

Rani D. Salehi who hired me for HID right after I was kicked out of Vingcard. A "genuine" marketing top professional. I learned a lot from her while being peers within ASSA ABLOY division marketing committee. We shared a common view on global/division brands.

And last but not least, I would like to thank PASCAL METIVIER the best mentor and boss I have ever had. An out-of-the-ordinary strategic mind who is constantly 2 steps ahead of the curve, with the unstoppable energy to make the impossible possible, but most importantly, a very funny person to work with. I had the privilege to understand and enjoy his sense of humour.

I think I am going to write a comprehensive marketing case for business schools. It opens some interesting questions: How easy it is to spend corporate marketing budget when it is not your money, food for thought.

PS: I thought about using ChatGPT....but didn′t because there is some hidden messages between the lines that ChatGPT would not make it "genuine"