If Howies, Innocent and Rachel’s Organic are the star brands now, well what’s next?

Posted on August 12, 2009 by John Lyle

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and flattery will get you everywhere, perhaps that’s why all of the best brands of our age are all becoming a bit, well, samey.I think a change is a coming. I believe that brands grow so fast these days that they are likely to die just as fast. In the perfect market that we now live, where all of the people have all of the information a new brand can literally come out of nowhere and achieve the status of our current heroes.

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The cleverest ‘simple’ TV ad ever made?

Posted on August 11, 2009 by John Lyle

I am totally captivated by this ad for Johnnie Walker. It looks so massively simple and yet has a huge production team behind it. Robert carlyle is an amazing brand spokesman who hits every cue, every line and every nuance perfectly.

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Where do ideas come from?

Posted on August 11, 2009 by John Lyle

One of the things that has always amazed me when working with brilliant designers is where they get their ideas from. Great branding comes from great thinking and great graphic design. One cannot exist without the other.

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Buildabrand – Automatically generated branding?

Posted on August 10, 2009 by John Lyle

I noticed a huge number of Retweets in one of my followed areas about a new beta experiment called Buildabrand. I suspect that the Buildabrand algorithm uses rather basic technology. Building a brand is far more than throwing a logo at a set of values. It’s about living them in everything you do and the logo showing people they have arrived at the branded experience.

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What branding was and what branding is

Posted on August 10, 2009 by John Lyle

When I started out in this industry back in 1990, I used to work on projects that were broadly in the area of corporate identity. This used to be about designing a new logo and then applying it to stationery and occasionally putting the logo on a jaunty angle on the side of a van. Its rather wider now. To be a brilliant brand, you have to be brilliant at everything, not great at some and barely okay at others.

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WordPress is a brand that lives what it promises

Posted on August 7, 2009 by John Lyle

Earlier today, I was helping a friend get a blog site set up, and as I have done before with my colleagues Mich and Abi, recommended that she do it using Wordpress. I was telling her about how easy and foolproof it was to use and in the very best spirit of pride coming before a fall, I fell over. Big style. But Hanni at Wordpress sorted it all. Any brand that can be this consistent in delivering its brand values, deserves huge success. I’m not just a fan any more, I’m a raving fan.

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The etiquette of Twitter – That would be Twittiquette then!

Posted on August 6, 2009 by John Lyle

Twitter isn’t that new to many people, but its scarily new to others and as such, the etiquette of how to use it is only now beginning to emerge. If it is about relationships, then speaking without listening won’t keep you in a relationship for long. See how you get along for a day at work ignoring everything your colleagues say to you. As Innocent Smoothies taught me in their book. If you’re talking you’re not listening.

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Up Knob Creek without a paddle

Posted on August 5, 2009 by John Lyle

Knob Creek isn’t a brand we see too often in Britain and now I know why. You can’t get any until November 2009, as they have sold all of their production for this year. In this age of brand extensions for the sake of it, leaving your potential customers wanting a little bit more seems like a remarkably clever strategy.

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Is this the end of the road for Harley Davidson?

Posted on August 4, 2009 by John Lyle

Harley Davidson is one of those brands you just have to have a bit of respect for. Kevin Roberts listed it as one of his Lovemarks brands, which are those brands that are apparently loved beyond all reason. But then I started thinking about it and discovered that the average age of their audience has gone from 38 to 46 in the last ten years. This is the whole root of the problem.

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The effective way for Margate and Derby to fight back

Posted on August 3, 2009 by John Lyle

Margate and Derby have a glut of retail space, so they need to make it incredibly attractive to independents to come along and give it a go, without the huge downside risk they would normally face, so that independently minded people will come and shop there. As with any recession, this is a chance for Derby and Margate to define their character. They have already sold their souls and found that it isn’t as great or profitable an experience as they once hoped. Lets hope they take this chance now to recover their fighting and independent spirit and maybe even save their souls

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