Little remains to be said about the rise and scandalous fall of Texan energy giant Enron. In the relatively short space of 15 years, Enron rose from nowhere to become the seventh-largest company in the United States, and the most well-known energy supplier in the world. It boasted over 21,000 employees and had a presence in more than 40 countries. For further story listen to the complete podcast.

On 6 January 2009 the last of the 813 Woolworth stores that had operated for the best part of a century in the United Kingdom closed their doors for the last time. At one level this could just have been a story about another victim of the prevailing credit crunch, but Woolworth’s brand problems predate that. for further story listen to the full podcast.

Tommy Hilfiger is one of the world’s best-loved designer clothing brands. During the 1990s Tommy Hilfiger moved from being a small, niche brand targeting upper-class US consumers to becoming a global powerhouse with broad youth appeal. But then, in 2000, the brand was suddenly in trouble. From a high of US $40 per share in May 1999, Tommy Hilfiger’s share price fell to US $22.62 on New Year’s Day 2000 and was cut in half again by the end of that year. Sales were slowing and, most tellingly, flagship stores in London and Beverly Hills closed down. Various runway shows at fashion events worldwide were also canceled. for further story listen to the full podcast.

In 1994, food giant the Quaker Oats Company bought a quirky soft-drink brand called Snapple for US $1.7 billion. The company felt confident that the drink brand was worth the price tag because it had already achieved astounding success with the sports drink Gatorade. However, in terms of brand identity, the two drinks couldn’t have been further apart. Gatorade was about sports and a high-energy, athletic image. Snapple, on the other hand, had always been promoted as a New Agey and fashionable alternative to standard soft drink brands. for further story listen to the full podcast.

One of the most popular and influential books ever written about marketing is The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout and first published in 1993. Their fifteenth ‘law’ is ‘the law of candour’. This states that if a company admits a negative aspect about a brand, the consumer will think more highly about that brand because of the company’s sheer honesty. for further story listen to the full podcast.

Celebrity endorsements can help greatly in boosting sales of a product or service. For instance, when Oprah Winfrey recommended books via her branded book club, they were guaranteed bestseller status. Some brands also benefit from having their founder evolve into a celebrity, à la Richard Branson. Then there are cases of celebrities turning their hand to business ventures. David Bowie lent his name to USABancshares.com, an internet bank where you could get Bowie-branded cheque books and credit cards. Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson was a shareholder at toptable.co.uk, a restaurant information and booking service. U2 own a hotel and a nightclub. Bill Wyman owned his own restaurant. for further story listen to the full podcast.

Pear’s Soap was not, by most accounts, a conventional brand failure. Indeed, it was one of the longest-running brands in marketing history. The soap was named after London hairdresser Andrew Pears, who patented its transparent design in 1789. During the reign of Queen Victoria, Pear’s Soap became one of the first products in the UK to gain a coherent brand identity through intensive advertising. Indeed, the man behind Pear’s Soap’s early promotional efforts, Thomas J Barratt, has often been referred to as ‘the father of modern advertising.’ for further story listen to the full podcast.

In the 1960s Nova magazine was Britain’s ‘style bible’, and had a massive impact on the fashion of the era. Alongside the fashion pages, it carried serious and often controversial articles on subjects such as feminism, homosexuality and racism. At the time, the magazine was unique, but by the 1970s other magazines started to clone the Nova concept. Nova itself soon started to look tired and fell victim to sluggish sales, and closed in 1975 after 10 years in operation – a lifetime in the magazine industry. for further story listen to the full podcast.

In 1986, Gerber, the German baby food manufacturer, made a critical PR mistake. When incidents of glass shards were found in its jars of baby food, Gerber remained tight-lipped and failed to issue a recall. This decision invited a lot of criticism with articles in Business Week, Newsweek, and Time openly attacking the company on ethical grounds. Although the pieces of glass had not caused any fatalities, some babies had been severely hurt. for further story listen to full podcast.

In late 1999, computer manufacturer Dell launched the Web PC. The computer was small (a mere 10 inches in height) and came in five different colors. The aim of the computer was to simplify the experience of surfing the internet, while at the same time being attractive. ‘The quality of the customer’s experience will be the defining source of loyalty in the internet era,’ Michael Dell told the press at the time. ‘The Web PC is breaking new ground for our industry as we take our one-on-one relationships with customers to a new level of helpfulness.’ For more listen to the complete podcast.