The Royal Wedding, whilst promoted as a light hearted event for the nation, will have been planned to within an inch of its life to ensure the day goes without a hitch. However, whilst the wedding is undoubtedly good for the UK and promotes the Royal Family, I can't help but feel Buckingham Palace has missed an opportunity to rebrand and address issues associated with the Royal family's current image.
William and Kate have been hailed time and again as the modern face of the Royal family and in part I would agree. Their relaxed, informal and seemingly natural style, which is very much at the core of how people perceive them, creates a much more modern image. However, there has been no effort to cement exactly what this natural style constitutes, let alone communicate it. In the same way that there was no 'brand' for Charles and Diana, there is no consistent 'brand' for William and Kate, which is surprising in today's world of brand awareness. To shift public perceptions and make Kate and William's style synonymous with the Royal household, their style needs to be conveyed at a brand communications level.
Looking at the commemorative merchandise that has been created ahead of the wedding it is clear that, despite the time available to plan for the big day, no cohesive brand image for the couple has been created. As a result there is a definite lack of consistency surrounding them as a brand - the classic example being the coin that looks nothing like Kate. Many may brush this aside as a minor point. However, haphazard memorabilia items have arisen because there is a lack of understanding of the underlying brand and the essence of the couple. Indeed, without a clear essence, William and Kate cannot be heralded as the new face of the Royal family as there is no instantly recognisable difference between them and the House of Windsor that came before.
With friends like Victoria and David Beckham, who have been extremely successful in creating a brand for themselves, you'd think that William and Kate would have access to the tools, guidance or advisors that would be able to assist them in the creation of an official brand for themselves. Indeed, the principles that have created and maintained the strength of brand Beckham and the media and commercial personas of both Victoria and David, could easily be applied to the Royal couple - it just has not happened yet.
William and Kate are undoubtedly a very modern couple and have the potential to propel the monarchy back to the levels of popularity not seen since the 1980s. However, if this is to become the reality, their personas, both individually and as a couple, must be consistently developed across all media. If a consistent identity is not established and promoted quickly, William and Kate may not be able to continue to resonate with their people on the same level they have to date. In the battle of the personal brands today, resonance is everything. If William and Kate fail to communicate a brand identity that engages the public then they could fail to maintain the edge they have on other public personas, which would be a real shame; Kate and William stand for authenticity and I sincerely hope that they can communicate this effectively and translate this into success for themselves, the Royal family and the UK. Good luck to them on Friday and beyond!
Martyn Withers is co-founder of Embrace Brands.