Many of you will have heard that Carphone Warehouse is merging with Dixons, Currys and PC World to become Dixons Carphone. I’m probably not alone in thinking they’ve come up with a terrible name – not least because the associations that spring to mind are somewhat dubious. One could of course argue that it really…
Another election, another Twitter blunder. A clutch of political hopefuls has (once again) come a cropper in the run-up to this week’s local elections. Tory council candidate David Bishop resigned earlier this month after retweeting anti-Islamic messages, while UKIP council candidate Harry Perry has been suspended by his party after tweeting that Islam was ‘evil’…
I have come across a number of stories recently, about brands that have tried to ignore their customers or their brand values (or both) in the process of repositioning. The outcome is rarely a good one. So, what does happen when senior management runs with a vision that doesn’t fit with what customers believe about…
The power of branding will be proved if a review on plain packaging for cigarettes leads to new laws in England. Since last December cigarette packets in Australia have been confined to a drab olive green (a colour with a proven low appeal), bear photos of smoking-related disease, and, crucially, are only differentiated by the…
Jens Lundgaard looks at some of the recent charity rebrands One of the biggest success stories in the third sector, Movember is well underway and is the UK’s most talked-about charity of 2013, according to the Charity Brand Index this month. Movember was hatched by a group of pub-mates in Australia in 2003 and in the…
He’s been saving the world from assorted villains these past 50 years – and now James Bond is backing Britain. Currently being aired in 21 countries, VisitBritain’s new promotional campaign has put 007 on the case. VisitBritain’s ‘GREAT Britain’ campaign also draws together major events, sporting achievements and commercial partners to promote the UK as a…
Poverty, struggle, dignity, purpose and pride aren’t often terms used by banks. But these make up the central message of TSB, Britain’s self-proclaimed ‘newest bank’, following its release on to the high street by Lloyds Banking Group, which acquired it in 1995 and will resell it next year, according to EU competition rules. What is…
Any brand manager will be only too well aware of the pressures that go with a new rebranding strategy. But the recent run of high-profile rebranding launches that have backfired badly, including Everton FC (as reported in Design Week recently), has pointed up even more sharply the need for caution and prudence in rebranding strategy…
A rebranding exercise is an exciting project for any company. But it will present challenges too, not least because the process, from concept to roll-out, can take months if not years to implement. The value that your brand represents to your overall company value can be as much as 15%, and in the case of a business…
During a recent trip to the United Sates to meet Brandworkz brand management software clients, I also had the opportunity to meet up with people from Facebook, Method, and MetaDesign. It was a fascinating trip, loaded with interesting experiences and stimulating meetings with some great people. The collective insights of professionals I met, coupled with…
