Brands are made. Or: in the beginning there was courage.

Dear readers,

Please don't misunderstand: we are delighted that Telekom, a German brand, has been rated as the most valuable European brand. Even if we briefly ignore the fact that the calculated value corresponds to 75% of the group's turnover, an unusually high ratio (even very unusually high, considering that Telekom's assets certainly consist largely of mobile phone licenses and property, plant and equipment).

A high brand value was undoubtedly created as part of the magentamorphosis from a German authority to a global player through product and service improvements, internationalization, communication, attitude initiatives and campaigns. This deserves recognition.

However, the basic decisions made at the time to create the brand as part of the postal reform of the 80s/90s deserve respect. Today, hardly any management would be allowed to push through and defend a color like magenta against negative market research results ("babyish" was still the most positive feedback at the time), a rebellious chancellor's wife and later aggressive imitators. Similarly, the courage to turn a single letter into an international brand has become rarer in today's corporate decision-making structures. In this respect: another chapeau for the decision-makers at the time.

Fortunately, they are still more common in owner-managed companies, the decision-makers with courage and a long-term perspective who make stable brand development and thus value creation possible. Working for them certainly requires a lot of persuasion, but the decision-making power in implementation creates all the more satisfaction.

Click here for the article: https://www.absatzwirtschaft.de/wie-die-telekom-zur-wertvollsten-marke-europas-wurde-268108/