How to sell a kettle

www.economist.com · 2026-07-23 · by Long Nguyen ·generic
A satirical exploration of brand positioning strategies for kettles, from luxury and heritage to environmental and populist messaging approaches. | Business

How to sell a kettle

Business | Bartleby

How to sell a kettle

Brand positioning reaches boiling point

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Illustration of a person in a gallery viewing a painting of a blue kettle on an easel, with additional kettle images displayed on the walls.

Illustration: Simon Bailly

Jul 16th 2026|4 min read

You asked me to develop ideas for a new brand strategy. As a reminder, this is the messaging that we use at the moment: “If you want to boil water, you need a kettle. If you need a kettle, you want the Brewmaster. The fast, reliable and affordable way to make the perfect drink.” The positioning is practical, price-conscious and successful. But it is also unexciting. If we want to grow, we need to take a higher share of mind with a different sort of consumer.

I have put some sample copy for each positioning strategy below, and taken the liberty of adapting the product name and stressing planned new features where that feels appropriate. I look forward to hearing your comments when we meet in a couple of weeks.

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Sell me this kettle”

From the July 18th 2026 edition

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