last updated 2010 June 07
see also  witiger.com/internationalbusiness/globalization-of-markets.htm
see also  witiger.com/marketing/branding.htm
see also  witiger.com/internationalbusiness/brandinginternational.htm
see also  witiger.com/marketing/Canadian-Culture.htm
see also  witiger.com/ecommerce/OnlineBranding.htm
 

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This Branding unit is used in     o MGTC44 and may be referenced in     o MGTD06     o MRK106     o CCT322

Not all of the material in this unit will be used in each of these courses; the amount of material covered will be indicated by the actual lecture given in class by the professor. Some courses cover this topic extensively, some courses deal with it briefly.

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Style Magazine www.style.ca is one of the leading publications of the Canadian fashion industry. Prof. Richardson has, in the past, been involved in the garment trade as a business owner and had written various articles on marketing and international business topics. In the edition of Style for Jan 2004, Prof. Richardson wrote an article about "Branding" and the influences of the 6 environments.

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In this article, Prof. Richardson is discussing the challenges of developing a "Canadian Brand" for the clothing industry. In addressing this formidable challenge, Richardson explains that the ability to do this depends on how we can deal with the influences of the    o  competitive environment   o  social / cultural environment   o  technological environment   o  political / legal / regulatory environment   o  economic environment   o  geographic environment Richardson explains that these environments make it difficult for Canada to consider having a global brand for clothing similar to the Italians or French, instead it is recommended that we "embrace" the extreme weather challenges of our geographic environment and "brand" Canadian clothing as being the most robust and strong for cold weather.

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I (WTGR) wrote the article on branding for the Canadian clothing industry in 2004. Six years later one of my students in the int'l business class (MGTC44) at UTSC emailed to say that my recommendations had come true. Shawn T. in the first week of June 2010 emailed to say Shawn writes "I was just doing some late night studying for the test on monday and I got around to reading your article about Canadian branding in Style Magazine. I thought it interesting that in the closing arguments you mentioned about how a canadian brand in the garment industry should embrace the geographical environment that we are in and capitalize on it. This immediately brought to mind the brand Canada Goose. These outerwear pieces have become ubiquitous in recent winters. There wasn't a day this past winter in toronto that I did not see someone sporting the trademark Black Parka with the Canada Goose Patch on it's side."

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Shawn adds "What is even more interesting is how this brand has become internationally known, or at the very least gaining international acclaim. It has been in many movies such as: The Day After Tomorrow, National Treasure, and Snow Dogs among others. It has also graced the pages of numerous magazines, most notable for me GQ, but it has also been in Maxim, Men's Health, and People Magazine."

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Shawn concludes "I think this is probably exactly the company that you were imagining when you wrote about a Canadian company that produces the best outerwear, as the jackets are undeniably the warmest jackets you can pick up."

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Laura Bogomolny, Staff Writer at Canadian Business magazine, put together an interesting article in June 2004 titled "Land of the Bland: Why most Canadian Brands lack Global Prestige" Bogomolny quotes Prof. Alan Middleton (York U) et al to conclude we have not had any brands which are well known outside of Canada as being Canadian. Bogomolny suggests that the reason for this situation is our resource based economy Bogomolny says "...Canadian culture may be the true culprit. "We don't celebrate our brands," says Rob Guenette, Toronto president of the advertising firm Taxi. "When we have great brands, we tend to whisper instead of shout. The great brands of the world have been shouting for a long time." Tudhope thinks the Canadian psyche is just not promotional or aggressive enough."

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Witiger's list of Canadian Brands known outside of Canada
- to "educate" those people who think we have nothing
- email me and add to the list
 
 

1. ski-doo - everybody all around the world calls it a ski-doo (whether it is made by Bombardier or not) after the brand name of Bombardier's snowmobile invention

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2. CCM skates - thousands and thousands of American and European hockey players know CCM hockey equipment as being one of the oldest and highest quality brands in sports equipment.

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3. Canadian Club Whiskey - one of the leading alcohol exports of Canada to the U.S.A., Europe and Asia. Very famous among Tokyo businessmen. (originally a Canadian company, now owned by Allied Domecq PLC of the U.K.)

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4. Buffalo Jeans in Jan 2008 got an email from Tom S., student in MGTC44 at UTSC, Tom says "Hello Professor Richardson, Just a quick potential addition to your list of Canadian brands known outside of Canada: Buffalo: David Bitton (designer jeans) David Bitton began designing and put out his line of jeans in Montreal (one of my sisters went to school with his daughters), and Buffalo - David Bitton now has stores in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Mexico, Cuba, Panama, El Salvador, the Philippines and Mexico. Personally, I'm not much for designer jeans, but the brand came to mind when reading that section on your website. Regards, Tom S"

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5 Lear Jets (by Bombardier since 1990) in Feb 2010 got an email from Felix C., student in MGTC44 at UTSC, Felix says "When talking about the life of high-rollers (and off-the-scale bling factor), private jet is a must for traveling in style and luxury. Learjet, a company famously known for its "Learjet" business air crafts, is (since 1990) a company, though not many people realize, of Canadian ownership.

Currently, Learjet is owned by Bombardier (Hence, it being Canadian). The Learjet family consists of four models - All models have cruising speed of about 0.81 times speed of sound, which is comparable to commercial jet liners. The prices range form $5M USD to high $50M. Trivia: The lyrics of Pink Floyd's "Money" makes reference to LearJet as a "First Class traveling set"

6. Magna in Felix's Feb 2010 email about LearJet he also suggested auto parts company Magna is a good example of a famous Canadian brand - but i (WTGR) am not sure people associate Magna w Canada specifically - it is widely diversified and has grown by acquiring many European companies that are still thought of as European. There is now doubt Magna has done well. There is no doubt that Canadians are proud of Magna But, since it sells in a B2B (not B2C) market, its' brand is maybe not in the mind of regular consumers, IMHO

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8. Inniskillin Icewine student Tushar C. in MGTC44 at UTSC in early April 2010 emailed to say "After doing research on Inniskillin Icewine, I feel as if this should be added to your list of Canadian brands known outside of Canada.  Wine enthusiasts around the world are aware of the fact that the finest Icewine is made in Canada due to our varying climate and since it is available in over 69 countries, sold on over 29 airlines, and is one of the leaders in terms of spirits sold in duty free shops across the world, I would have to say this is Canadian brand which is known internationally. " WTGR adds "Don Ziraldo has almost single-handedly made this a Canadian brand and for that he and his company should be remembered among the list of Canadian brand makers" - the pic supplied by Tushar was taken outside the Inniskillin winery to which his C44 group went as part of their C44 final project.

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9. Canada Goose Added by Student Shawn T. In June 2010  I think Canada Goose would also make a great addition to your page on prominent Canadian Companies that are known outside of Canada

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Roots - Canadians love it and are proud of it, but some people outside North America who buy it have said they thought it was American

Blackberry - is well known around the world - but most people think it is American

Labatts beer - nope - it is now owned by a European conglomerate
Molsons beer - no - merged with Coors in the U.S.

Four Seasons Hotels - well known around the world, but most people think it is a U.S. company

Chips ! - Humpty Dumpty Snack Foods Inc. - headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario with a strong market presence throughout eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. Not enough international activity to make it really famous worldwide