Case study: Red Cross
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Aid organisation Red Cross comes an impressive eighth on the most desirable list, surrounded by luxury or more aspirational brands such as Emirates (6), Prada (12) and Nintendo (11).
But this does not surprise British Red Cross head of marketing and brand development Fiona Smith, who claims the brand’s logo is more recognisable than Coca-Cola’s. “People know that the Red Cross is a symbol of neutrality, that it is there in war zones and disaster zones. It has got an iconic status over and above Coca-Cola, dare I say it. And we have the same kind of footfall and global presence as Coke,” she says.
The simplicity of the brand’s proposition has universal appeal, claims Smith. “When you think about what we do in disasters, conflicts and emergencies around the world, [being high up on the desire list] is not as surprising as you might think.
“We have a universal appeal because we have a universal benefit: we will help you in a crisis wherever you are,” she adds.
But this universal appeal does not dilute the brand’s proposition, she says. Working broadly across conflict zones abroad as well as in emergencies in the UK, such as the floods in Cumbria in 2009, means that people can easily digest the proposition of helping people wherever they are.
