Passion Branding Harnessing the Power of Emotion to Build Strong Brands

In a world of switched-off and disenchanted consumers, the time is right for a new approach to communicating with customers. Passion Branding is that approach. Centred on a passionate relationship between brand and consumer and the leverage of that passion in order to create value for all involved in the relationship, Passion Branding can be a great way to drive brand awareness at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising, particularly for brands that don't enjoy high emotional affinity with customers. Drawing on major case studies from around the world (including Shell and Ferrari, Hyundai and the FIFA World Cup, and Guinness and the Rugby World Cup) as well as interviews with top practitioners, Neill Duffy introduces Passion Branding, shows why it is about much more than simple sponsorship, and details the many areas in which this versatile business tool can play a role.

<b>Neill Duffy</b>, together with colleague Stewart Banner, combined his passion for media and sport to start what is now Octagon South Africa, the country&#8217;s leading sports and event marketing consultancy. Octagon has been named as 2001 and 2002 Financial Mail AdFocus Specialist Agency of the Year and are thought leaders in the area of sponsorship marketing. It employs over 100 staff in offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. Neill is Group Managing Director. <br> Octagon Worldwide works with over 100 major brands, global and regional events, star athletes and television properties including the likes of MasterCard, Guinness, BMW, Coca-Cola, Vodafone, World Cup Soccer, Olympic Games, Rugby World Cup, World Cup Cricket, Western Union World of Soccer, World of Rugby, FA Cup, Gravity Games, FIM World Superbike Champs, Anna Kournikova and Lleyton Hewitt. <br> He has also been intimately involved in the sports broadcast media, having commentated and presented sport on television and radio for over 12 years. <p> <b>Jo Hooper</b> has spent 8 years at Octagon South Africa and is currently responsible for Strategic Planning and Research.<br> Working together with Neill, Jo has been instrumental in developing many of Octagon South Africa&#8217;s proprietary sponsorship tools including Game Plan and evalu8 and has worked closely with a diverse range of clients including the Cape Town 2004 Olympic Bid, Coca-Cola, Castle Lager (SAB Miller), Major League Baseball, Engen Petroleum (Petronas) and Old Mutual.