Gordon Ramsay IS a Brand Genius
July 20th, 2007 by Chief Nut
A couple of posts ago I ranted about The Learning Annex offering to pay $1 Million to Paris Hilton to have her teach her branding secrets. It’s been two weeks now and I’ve calmed down. Breathe in … breathe out… repeat.
Next up; Watching Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, however, is a different story. I’ve decided that HE IS a branding genius. In his first two episodes, he ’saved the bacon’ of a traditional English pub and an Ex-Pat owned English Cuisine restaurant located on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Here’s what Gordon did in both cases:
- Came in and fully assessed the situation (Can’t fix something unless you know how it’s broke).
- He kicked some booty and effected immediate changes.
- He cleaned house. By this I mean he identified the inefficiencies, waste, redundancies, etc., and chucked ‘em in the bin.
- He simplified, BIG TIME! In each case, as the restaurant owners formerly found their success slipping away, they scrambled to pile on recipes, processes and ideas. All for naught. They would “mix it up” trying one thing one day and three more the next. They each completely lost focus and created what was, essentially, a big mess.
- He got them to focus on what REALLY creates a successful restaurant. This is the tough one … the bit that makes Gordon a restaurant branding genius. In each of these episodes, he got the owner to focus on one powerful idea. In Spain it was on “simple English fare”. In the pub, it was “real gravy”. This focus brought a beautiful simplicity to the operation.
After a couple of seasons of Hell’s Kitchen and now seeing him come to the rescue in this BBC series, I’m convinced that Mr. Ramsay possesses an innate sense of what makes a powerful brand. More to the point, he knows how to identify the essence of what people want. What better idea is there to wrap YOUR brand around?!
July 22nd, 2007 at 7:39 pm
I can not agree with this post more! His success is directly related to the high standards he operates at. What continually amazes me is his ability to get other people believing that THEY can do what he can do. Although he is intense, that intensity creates an environment that forces growth.
Branding aside, he gives the term, “great tv” a new meaning!