Gillette's obsession with brand

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Gillette’s Fusion branding is pretty eye catching.  With it’s distinctive metallic orange and blue colouring, the Fusion razor fairly leaps off the shelves.

What I didn’t understand was the extent to which they have taken their brand identity.  At least, not until I visited the supermarket this weekend. Having travelled to visit family in Kitchener, and having left my razor in Ottawa I was forced to pick up a new razor and a can of shave gel at the local supermarket.  I was struck by how Gillette has changed the identity scheme for all of their products — not just the razor, but also the gel and aftershave — to the same orange and blue.  The effect at retail was as if there was an entire wall of Gillette products, and nothing else to choose from.

Paying attention to brand at this level isn’t something that just the big guys can focus on.  In the software industry, we can incorporate UI, corporate image, and more in the identity that we create for our businesses.  Gillette just happens to be very good at it.

And how far did Gillette take their identity?  Well, even the gel dispensed from the can was coloured Gillette Fusion blue.

Obsessive?  You decide.

Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.