Anywhere, better, best – in an age of austerity, it just makes sense

If you were in New Orleans when the floods hit, you needed to get anywhere to save yourself. Up a tree was okay for a short time. It was about survival. When the water subsided and you could get to safety, a better situation was in a football stadium with hot water and a bed for the night.
When you eventually were rehoused in a new and safe area, you reached the best position. In some ways, many companies and brands are in the same position. Parts of what they are doing are in the anywhere section and parts are in the better, or maybe even the best, so why change all of it at once?

ITV’s new TV series Identity

Anyone see that programme on ITV last night called ‘Identity’ about a crack unit working to solve identity theft related crime? I did.

Anyone going to be watching it again next week?

No me either.

iPhone 4 works with new iHolder

And Nokia haven’t missed the chance to take the michael either. have a look at their helpful site here. It’s the first real test for Apple since the early accusations of screens that were too easy to scratch on the original iPhone in 2007. How they handle it will be a good barometer for the [...]

Why have the Liberal democrats done so well? – A brand perspective

I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the last few weeks since the first debate and thought it would be good to relate the huge surge of support for the Liberal Democrats to a consumer brand – which they have effectively become when they are ‘advertised’ in such a high profile manner. I think the answer is simple. By allowing Nick Clegg to stand on the stage next to the two major brands of Labour and Conservative, they were giving them the equivalent of a supermarket listing for a minor brand.

Jimmy Bullard’s Wash and Go Ad

Jimmy Bullard’s Wash and Go ad is all very funny and that , but in what way is this adding to the brand value of Wash and Go. As an April fool it may have worked, but this came out in mid March. What on earth were they thinking?

Nike Ad with Tiger and Earl Woods

A few months ago when the Tiger Woods scandal first started to unfold, I wrote a piece about what the brands he was associated with would do, how they would react and which would desert him. Tiger can claim outrageous shot making, but the respect for even his father at the behest of his sponsors has gone – and I don’t see him ever getting it back. Maybe the American public haven’t noticed this yet, but this is the beginning of the end for me. Not the affairs, the lies or even the car crash. Once you lose respect for yourself, your days as a brand icon are numbered.

Domino’s Pizza six fingered box model

I’m all for a bit of clip art here and there. I’ve used it myself on this blog occasionally. But to use it as a central part of your box design is a disgrace for any brand and Domino’s should be seriously embarrassed about this. It sends all the wrong signals. Eating pizza is already [...]

I read it in the Daily Mail

You know your brand is in some sort of trouble when you get genius comics Like Dan and Dan writing brilliant skitts of what you do and tearing apart everything that your hateful, petty minded, bigoted brand stands for. Nice one Dan. And Dan. Love it.

Liverpool

I was in Liverpool at the weekend and as some of you will know, I am a huge fan of the City and the people. It was my birthday and rather than travel abroad for a few days, we decided to stay within the UK and immerse myself as a total tourist and I simply [...]

Saving your brand reputation in the media

I’ve been catching up with some of my Podcasts over the holiday period and this one by Jack Welch seemed to be good advice for all sorts of situations from MP’s expenses to any bad publicity your brand faces.