Les stratégies de commercialisation utilisé pour sécurisé l'image de la monarchie britannique jusqu'au mariage du prince William et Catherine Middleton.

“In the age of democracy the crown has to be like any other brand. It has to win the respect of the people.”

David Starkey

CONTENTS

1 Outline 4

2 What? 4

2.1 The Wedding as a product 4

2.2 The Wedding as a brand 5

2.3 The Wedding as a tool 6

3 How ? 9

3.1 A story to tell 9

3.1.1 Beauty 9

3.1.2 ‘From pit to palace’ 9

3.2 Power of symbols and myths 10

3.2.1 The new Diana 10

3.2.2 Blue 11

4 Why? 12

4.1 Interest for the British Monarchy 12

4.2 Interest for the country 13

5 Conclusion 15

6 Appendices 16

7 Bibliography 17

1 Outline

We are currently witnessing one of the most mesmerizing fairy tales that history has ever seen. Move over Cinderella, there is a new ‘ordinary girl’ here to steal the Prince's heart… and that of a whole country. Yet nowadays it is going to take a lot more than a bottle ink and a good story to indulge the dreams of a nation and to get a point across.

This project attempts to understand what is really at stake in such a display of romance and wealth. I will discuss the marketing tools used by the Royal Family and in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the stakeholder interest in this wedding.

As this subject can be regarded as extremely complex in terms of the number of avenues that it explores, we will examine it in three broad – but accurate – sections; what, how and why?

2 What?

According to the Office of National Statistics, the number of registered marriages in the UK has plummeted since 1971. Despite this, one such event is soon to become the event of the year and perhaps of the entire decade. So what is it all about? What are we, the general public, being sold? And to what extent will marketing techniques be used to emphasize the unique quality of the event?

2.1 The Wedding as a product

Marketing is “a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others” (Kotler, 1996). If we apply this definition to the Royal Wedding we can easily identify :

•The ‘groups’ – The British, Europe, The World;

•The ‘want’ – to feel included as part of the big event; and

•The ‘need’ – no need – for as Kotler (1996) states a need is a “state of deprivation”.

Nevertheless, it is somehow complicated to understand what the exchange process is and more specifically, what exactly the product is that we are sold. According to Kotler, a product has three facets; I shall try to define each of them with regard to this context:

Three levels of Product

Core Benefit The fundamental need or want

that consumers satisfy by consuming the product or service. Dream, taste for gossip

Actual Product A product's parts, quality level, features, design, brand name, packaging and other attributes that combine to deliver core product benefits. A sophisticated and

mind-blowing royal wedding, fully communicated to the public.

Augmented Product Additional consumer services and benefits built around the core and actual products. The bride is immensely likeable and admired, and will likely become the future Queen of Great Britain.

2.2 The Wedding as a brand

Another –and perhaps more comprehensive– way to understand what exactly the ‘product’ is, would be to use Jean-Noel Kapferer’s brand prism in order to treat the event as if it were a brand:

This prism clearly shows us that the event we are sold aims at rebrand Monarchy itself in line with modern standards. It is a real attempt to redefine the very image of British Monarchy. In fact the turmoil caused by what has been referred to as the ‘Camilla-gate’ is mainly due to tabloid gossip. In order to avoid a ‘Catherine-gate’ or similar type of scandal, it seems that the marketing advisors have come up with a very different strategy. As former Royal Couples have been hounded and even trapped by the media, Catherine and William will have to master the art of public communication. Hence they will include the whole nation, and even the whole world, in their ‘big day’, which will be broadcasted live on both BBC and ITV television and on Youtube, amongst other sources. In addition, the date of the wedding has been announced as a public holiday across the UK in order that the Great British public can feel more included in the event.

It seems like a very well-put-together show, except that William and Catherine themselves do not seem to ardently embrace this idea. BBC’s journalist, Peter Hunt states that the two billion people who are estimated to watch the Royal Wedding “may not be satisfied with a "now you see them, now you don't" approach to royal life in the coming months and years. But that's precisely how Prince William wants to play it. After the wedding there will be demands, for William and Kate to be more and more on display. However, these are demands that William will be determined not to satisfy” (Hunt, 2011).

If Catherine and William stop playing the political marketing game after their wedding, the consequences could prove disastrous for the British monarchy. Their wedding can be viewed as a marketing tool to promote British monarchy; it is therefore vital that the story does not end here. If they do not remain in the public eye as their story further develops, everybody

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