Posted on July 31, 2009 by John Lyle
Red Bull cannot possibly be confused with Slow Cow. They have nothing in common but the shape of the cans. Beans come in the same sized can as peaches and are also sold in supermarkets, but you would hopefully think it was yourself at fault if you accidentally had them on toast, not the people who put them in the can in the first place.
Filed under: brand values, branding | Tagged: Aldi, branding, Red Bull, Slow Cow, Tesco | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 30, 2009 by John Lyle
This is one of the most exciting and informative presentations about Social media I have ever seen. There are so many lessons to come from it that it seems obvious to pick to what I think are the main few for us to learn from in case you don’t have time to go through it yourself.
Filed under: branding | Tagged: branding, Innocent smoothies, Slideshare, Social media | 1 Comment »
Posted on July 29, 2009 by John Lyle
Wilkos has for years been the dowdy daughter of the British high street, toiling away as a cheap hardware store with no particular positioning and not enough real reasons to visit them regularly. With their rebrand they have proved that you can occasionally polish a turd and its like seeing Woolworths with evolution.
Filed under: branding | Tagged: branding, Jupiter, Wilkinsons, Wilkos, Woolworths | 3 Comments »
Posted on July 28, 2009 by John Lyle
Every time Pepsi change their logo, they create a level of uncertainty in a potential customer, rather like going into a pub or office you don’t know, that it may not be to your taste. You will naturally ask yourself ‘Will it be the Pepsi I know? Or have they changed it to make it more relevant to a new more exciting and younger audience? Will I look silly if I drink it? My very own equivalent of dad dancing in the wrong room.
Filed under: branding | Tagged: brand values, branding, coca cola, Coke, Pepsi | 5 Comments »
Posted on July 27, 2009 by John Lyle
I read a great article on Brand Strategy Insider entitled ‘Customer Experience Defining Value In Retail’ Where the writer gives a great example as to how he can tell whether a restaurant is in trouble. He claims they get rid of the rustic rolls in favour of a more ‘stock’ white item. Little cuts in service or quality are ALWAYS detected by clients in the end. You may think you’re getting away with it and no-one will notice. But we do, and we tend to tell others about it too.
Filed under: branding | Tagged: All Bar One, branding, Ember Inns, Mitchells and Butler, Niall Fitzgerald, Unilever | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 24, 2009 by John Lyle
Considering we’re meant to be in a recession, Nottingham genuinely feels like it is really fighting back. It’s become proud and innovative again and is building its brand by acting different and by actually being innovative. Branding is about the sustained differentiation of a product, service or place. In this regard Nottingham is practicing some of the best branding you will see from any city anywhere.
Filed under: branding | Tagged: branding, English Riviera, Innovation, Landor, Melbourne, Nottingham, Place Branding, Sven, Torbay | 1 Comment »
Posted on July 22, 2009 by John Lyle
When we are little, we look at the world around us and everything seems scarily big and scarily new. It’s similar to starting a business. We look through excited young eyes, doing almost anything for anyone to pay the bills and make ends meet whilst learning our craft. If we’re lucky, the business grows up and we stay with it for the ride. But like the blogpost I wrote yesterday about stopping to think, I really believe that any business or brand owner needs to keep referring back to where it came from, to see if that is still directing its future.
Filed under: branding | Tagged: Big, branding, Freitag, Hard Graft, Howies, Tate, Tom Hanks | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 21, 2009 by John Lyle
Another brilliant piece from our hero’s at Trendwatching with their latest work entitled ‘Catching up is the new looking ahead’. I have always thought that the quiet summer months are for drinking and relaxing in the sun, but perhaps if we use them for looking back at what we should have read, should have done and should be doing when we come back, it will make our businesses even more productive and successful.
Filed under: branding | Tagged: branding, Azazel, Asimov, Trendwatching | 1 Comment »
Posted on July 20, 2009 by John Lyle
The hire car I have been given is an almost brand new Alfa Romeo 159 Saloon 2.4 JTDm 200 Lusso Q-Tronic 4dr – which is quite a mouthful, but one hell of a car. It goes like stink, makes an amazing Alfa like growl – despite being diesel – and looks beautiful. I’m sure Alfa Romeo will be one of the brands that Fiat may eventually cull as we move towards the worldwide homogenisation of everything. But it will be a disaster if it does. If you’ve never tried one, give me a call and I’ll pop round and take you out for a spin.
Filed under: branding | Tagged: Alfa Romeo 159, branding | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 17, 2009 by John Lyle
Call me a cynic if you want, but looking at the stats behind Swine flu, compared to the unbranded ‘seasonal flu’, you’re actually better off catching Swine flu. Like H5N1 Bird flu or the Y2K bug before them, they never quite came to much. As a branding and marketing exercise for the people at Roche who own Tamiflu or GSK, who own Relenza, they couldn’t have planned a better campaign if they tried.
Filed under: branding | Tagged: branding, H1N1, H5N1, Relenza, Swine Flu, Tamiflu, Y2k bug | 2 Comments »