Living inside the Brand Newsletters
Rome’s Old Goat, Brand Kenya, Toilet Bike
November 13, 2011
We’re very international for this week’s Brand Thoughts. We’re in Italy first thinking about Rome’s Old Goat and the Brand lessons for politicians to heed, then we zoom across to Africa investigating the good and not so good of Brand Kenya. Then it’s over to Japan for a ride on a Toilet Bike and how…
Grand Theft, Beaver vs Polar bear, Plug Me In
November 5, 2011
Welcome to this week’s Brand Thoughts. There’s lots to get our teeth into. Brand credibility gets tested in Grand Theft, whilst in Beaver vs Polar Bear we take a look at the importance of symbols in supporting Brands. Finally, we examine how the an attacker’s innovation can destroy a market leader in Plug Me In….
Barbie Marries Bob, Tax Take, Police Live
October 30, 2011
We’re offering congratulations to a couple of much loved characters on the occasion of their marriage, or at least living together under the same roof, in Barbie Marries Bob. In Tax Take, we find that Greece and Goldman Sachs might together diminish our trust in authority. Our last item Police Live looks at a new…
Apps-pology, Divorce with Dessert, Swiss Ice Cream
October 23, 2011
A train journey this week started me thinking about the power of news reports over advertising in Apps-pology. And a walk down the high street brought us face -to-face with major changes in the legal market that mean there’ll be plenty of new Brands out there in Divorce with Dessert. Our final item mourns the…
Keep the Lion, Brand Essence, Black Fox Down
October 16, 2011
What a week. Plenty of Brand issues to think about. And we’re off to Belgium first to think about the importance of symbols in Keep the Lion. Then we go to Italy to see what Brand Essence is all about in Sell Out. Finally in Black Fox Down we look at two cases where Brand…
Dog Days, Not To Be, Freedom Car
October 9, 2011
There have been lots of Brand-related stories this week and we’ve had a hard time selecting these three. We visit Athens in Dog Days for an unusual story about an animal with a Personal Brand (okay, okay – I mean Canine Brand!) then we travel back to London’s Globe Theatre for our second item about…
Now Stelios is Fast, Magic Clothes, Bopping Surgeons
October 2, 2011
Our first items looks at how Easyjet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou has his hands full in Now Stelios is Fast. Then there’s news of a potential world changing invention in Magic Clothes. Our final piece, Bopping Surgeons, sets alarm bells ringing when you’re under the knife! Read the complete edition…
Electronauts Arise, Angry Birds, Vertigo
September 24, 2011
A new BMW promo campaign launched and caught our eye in Electronauts Arise. In Angry Birds we examine the power of co-branding with another company and finally in Vertigo we take a look at the relaunch of Blackpool Tower. Read the complete edition…
Poles Apart, Swiss Cheese, I Robot
September 16, 2011
Ex Communist era kayakers, Emmental cheese and Swiss banking plus a great promo campaign by Panasonic are this week’s features.
Remembrance, Swiss Funk, Damaged Goods
September 11, 2011
We remember 9/11, look at the money and cheese problems Switzerland has by being too safe a haven for money and comment on the rape charges being dropped against Dominique Strauss Kahn.
Plucky 70 Year Old, $10bn Bounty, Techno-dosh
September 3, 2011
We think about Brand Management by looking at Channel Swimming, Steve Jobs’s personal brand and the power of patents for making money.
Carrot Head, Afghan Dream, Stick Boot In
August 15, 2011
We travel from China to Afghanistan and then to France in this week’s Brand Thoughts.
Scorcher, Nuclear Fallout, Radio 4 Forever
August 7, 2011
In Scorcher British summer weather gets us thinking about the importance for Branding of spotting trends. And we’re looking ‘up north’ a bit to Cumbria for an unlikely story about creating a Brand to reposition a region in Nuclear Fallout. And in Radio 4 Forever, we discover the station’s success “formula” that’s led to its…
Empire Strikes Back, Angry Brother, Trouble at Mill
August 1, 2011
In Empire Strikes Back, a David vs Goliath Copyright case shows the importance of protecting your Intellectual Property, whilst my Angry Brother got me thinking how the language we use helps support Brand personality. The final item Trouble at Mill is about the BBC itself and a complete re-orientation of its Brand, one which isn’t…
Zut Alors! Brr It’s Cold, More Hot Dog
July 25, 2011
We’re still in France and we’ve gone in search of a truly Gallic shopping experience in Zut, Alors! whilst in Brr, It’s Cold you’ll see why we’ve joined what seems like the whole French nation in search of the sun on the south coast. Our final story again features Dominique Strauss Kahn, former IMF Chief,…
Vive la France, Yoghurt Wars, Hot Dog
July 17, 2011
We’re in France this week so Brand Thoughts has a distinctly Gallic feel. In Vive la France we focus on July 14th to look at symbols and how they influence people, and in Yogurt Wars we look at the French secret weapon, its food. Our final story Hot Dog takes the French love of politics…
Toxic Waste, Pottermore, Passage from India
July 9, 2011
I was glued to the radio this week listening to the stream of revelations about the News of the World newspaper – it’s our lead this week in Toxic Waste. The world of make-belief and wizardry is featured in Pottermore, describing a very commercial approach to building on a cult following in the ‘digital age’….
Pig’s a Dog! Runaway Merc, Legal Spanners
July 2, 2011
I honestly thought the silly season had started early this year, after all the hot weather did! We’ve got dogs and pigs with identity crises yet providing us with ideas about innovation in Pig thinks he’s a Dog. We take a trip to Russia where President Medvedev gives us a lesson in how not to…
Baa-rmy, Bland Ed, Mystery Mountain
June 18, 2011
It’s been a good week for news with a branding angle. In Baa-rmy we meet a farmer who’s got around an advertising ban using the materials to hand, his sheep. Bland Ed looks at a politician in trouble because he doesn’t have a distinct brand whilst in Mystery Mountain we travel to France and a…
Mood Music, Of Good & Evil, Doggy Cake
May 21, 2011
Another busy week for Branding news. The Queen managed to set a new direction in Anglo-Irish relations. We take a look at how in Mood Music. And in Of Good & Evil using Brand Archetypes we take a look at Facebook vs Google and Dominique Strauss Kahn’s arrest. Finally we travel to China for a…
