Talkback: Go for quality, not quantity

One benefit of being a young country is that we're unencumbered by weighty tradition. We have the ability to think afresh - to look at the world in brave new ways and come up with clever solutions.

We have to get serious about acting on this advantage. That was one of the messages to come out of Better by Design 2005. The evident success of companies such as Fisher & Paykel, Orca, Icebreaker, Formway, OBO, and 42 Below showed how fresh thinking has turned into world-leading products.

These companies have earned their laurels. But New Zealand needs a lot more like them if we're to prosper as an exporting nation. So what do companies need to do to emulate the OBOs and the Orcas?

They need to live by the notion of selling less for more. It seems so obvious, and I find it difficult to see why so many companies, primary producers in particular, are still doggedly pushing their high-volume, low-price prams up a steep hill.

You don't need a soothsayer to see the way the world's turning. Volume and low prices are games for the big boys to play. Really big boys like China, recently let off the leash on tariffs, offering Italy 10 million bras (a quarter of Italy's annual sales) for 50c a dozen wholesale.

Water is a classic case of selling less for more. In New Zealand, it can sell for 3000 times more than tap water. At two of Auckland's premium restaurants - Ottos and Hammerheads - a bottle of San Pellegrino will set you back $8. At the Hyatt Regency, New Zealand's own Antipodes brand sells for $9 - that's $3 more than Perrier. New Zealand tap water is perfectly fine, but we have a new generation of health-conscious people who are nevertheless prepared to fork out $23 million every year on non-carbonated bottled water.

To attain the price premium needed to support this "less for more" positioning, a company needs a readily discernible point of difference; a unique position in their market category which they can set about owning. That is not something an advertising agency, graphic designer or market research company can come up with. It's got to come from the person that best understands the company and its market. It's a process of self-discovery.

Having ascertained this point of difference, factors such as product and service design come into play and reflect that point of difference. Without exception, those New Zealand companies which have carved out a premium position in their respective markets have a strong design ethos that makes their unique positioning manifest.

Some, for pragmatic reasons, have decided to manufacture abroad, but they've gone to great lengths to ensure their intellectual property - all the valuable brand and design components that underpin their premium status - stays firmly on New Zealand soil. With a combination of astuteness and creative flair, these companies are now getting a solid return on their investment, and that's what brands are all about.

* Brian Richards is principal at Brian R. Richards Brand Strategists, and has been behind campaigns like the branding of New Zealand venison as Cervena.