Branding expert says K-Mart just the beginning for Martha Stewart brand rebound

Branding expert Rob Frankel - business consultant and author is once more proven correct in his prediction of Martha Stewart's brand strength, with K-Mart being the first to step up to the plate.

(PRWEB) April 27, 2004 -- Over two months ago, Branding expert Rob Frankel - business consultant and author of "The Revenge of Brand X: How to build a Big Time Brand on the web or anywhere else" (ISBN 0967991218) went on record to predict that the chances of Martha Stewart coming back are greater than ever.

Today's K-Mart announcement extending Stewart's deal is just the beginning, says Frankel.

Can the Martha Stewart brand be saved? Absolutely, says Frankel, but only by a team that understands what a brand is and how to grow its value. Frankel outlined five basic points on why the world should not count Martha out just yet:

1. Despite the gloom-and-doomsayers, Martha's brand value lies in the devotion her fans have personally invested, not the cash which shareholders have invested. Martha's brand strength is based on her ability to relate to her fans about the issues they care about. That value will not fade away.

2. Because Martha did not "drain the corporate coffers" (the way Ken Lay and Bernie Ebbers did), the typical K-Mart shopper sees Martha in a completely different light. While Lay and Ebbers stole money from shareholders and wrecked the pension funds of millions of hard-working people, Martha has only been convicted of "covering up a mistake" -- a little white lie for which virtually all of her fans can easily forgive her. After all, who hasn't told a little white lie before?

3. This could actually be the best thing to ever happen to the Martha Stewart brand. Because her management team doesn't understand the power of her brand (focusing too much on Wall Street), Martha can easily sit out 12 to 18 months - even longer - and wait for them to pursue their ill-fated crisis-driven plans. Should Martha do time, she can emerge free of those bonds and return to a faithful corps of millions who will buy into whatever re-vitalized Martha Stewart brand she chooses to launch.

4. Another reason why the brand is now totally under-valued is that analysts are looking at the wrong places to base its value. Wall Street is fueled by fear, not brand value. The brand needs to be shaken loose from the pundits and analysts, once again allowing Martha to re-emerge after the storm. The brand will be stronger than ever within 12 months of that re-emergence.

5. The big winners - right now - are major brands who are wise enough to understand Martha's brand value and pick up what's left at fire sale prices. K-Mart was smart to revitalize that deal.

Frankel - a frequent source for print media reports on the art and science of branding - and a regular guest on radio, network and cable news business programs - has (in a column he published on December 7, 2003), with near-prescient foresight, detailed what was going to happen to Disney's Michael Eisner, and why. His predictions were uncannily accurate.

Frankel also has a keen insight into how Martha Stewart mis-managed her brand image at her trial, and how that helped ensure a "guilty" verdict - and he has specific projections on what will happen to the retail Martha Stewart brand (for publishing, television programming and product lines) in the wake of her conviction on all counts.

Rob Frankel is available for phone or studio interviews about the Disney brand, and why Eisner's inability to effectively manage and leverage the brand has been his undoing. He can be reached at rob@robfrankel.com or 818-990-8623 (Pacific Time).

For more information, or to schedule an interview with author and branding consultant Rob Frankel, contact (Michele Revson, michele@robfrankel.com, 818-990-8623.

About the source: Rob Frankel is the CEO of RobFrankel.com (http://www.RobFrankel.com). He is a frequent consultant to Fortune 1000 corporations, and is a regular source featured on business news shows and in the business press. His book, "The Revenge of Brand X" was an Amazon business best-seller for 53 weeks beginning in late 2000; a significantly revised and updated version of this trend-setting book will be published in November, 2004. Frankel's next book, "Beyond the Brand" is scheduled for publication early in 2005.