Author Archive

Product placement and Tigerballs

Product placement crops up in the most unlikely of places. Since February this year Denmark remains the only EU country to still impose product placement bans on TV. The UK rules have since been relaxed and require a “P” logo to be visible on screen to pre-warn viewers of imminent placements.

Reviving old habits: what can whisky learn from gin?

The term Revivalism has been coined over the last 12 months to capture a mood in some developed markets towards simpler, traditional pastimes and hobbies. In an over-communicated digital age urban dwellers are becoming interesting in local initiatives and reviving and adapting rural practices into their busy urban lifestyles.

Old tricks from new whisky brands

It was to the envy of all I told that I headed to the World Whiskies Conference in Glasgow last week. What better way to spend two days than discussing and tasting the hallowed firewater?

Posted on Apr 21st 2011 by · Permalink · One Comment
In: Food and Drink, Luxury, Seminars/talks, Viewpoints · Tags: , ,

Newport the high rider can’t shake off Cardiff bogey!

Nothing beats the power of music and sport in bringing people together. Consumer brands have known this for years, seeking out appropriate associations with such pastimes in the hope that they will add magic and meaning to their consumers. Coke is a perfect example. This year it sponsored the FIFA World Cup as well summer [...]

And if you look out the right-side of the plane…

In two years minus a day the London 2012 Olympics will officially start: 27 July 2012. Much was made of yesterday’s two year milestone – even Michael Johnson came out of retirement and donned his spikes for a test lap round the track. It was nice, therefore, to hear British Airways (the official carrier for [...]

Our Feelosophy on Clerkenwell for London Design Festival 2010

It’s amazing to think that our ears can detect frequencies ranging from 50Hz to 18,000Hz, that we have the ability to smell and decipher human pheromones, that in giving us feeling across our entire body our skin is our largest organ, weighing about 6 – 10 lb. It is surprising to think how much of [...]

Posted on Jul 20th 2010 by · Permalink · 3 Comments
In: Exhibitions, What are we up to? · Tags: ,

Brunel’s Design Futures: The devil’s in the detail!

Last week we were visited by two groups of students from Brunel University accompanied by Chris Holt, Senior Lecturer in Design Management at Brunel. The students are reading MA Design & Branding Strategy and represent a number of countries: Israel, USA, Taiwan, UK, China, Korea, Japan and Brazil.

Posted on Jun 25th 2010 by · Permalink · 2 Comments
In: What are we up to? · Tags: ,

Global branding, air wars and the Rainbow Nation World Cup

I always admired what British Airways did with those tailfins. What an inspired idea: the people’s carrier linking the nations of the world through design. But alas it was ahead of the curve. Famously derided by Prime Minister Thatcher, who unceremoniously draped her hanky over a scale model of an offending fin in front of [...]

Copycat branding goes beyond packaging

Copying is a sensitive subject. Depending on your stance (shopper, retailer, brand owner) you might have any one of the following reactions to a supposed copycat brand: •         Fume at the blatant plagiarism •         See it as a smart alternative •         Bristle at being called a cheat •         Pride yourself on getting away with it [...]

Posted on Jun 1st 2010 by · Permalink · 4 Comments
In: Retail, Seminars/talks, Viewpoints · Tags: , ,

The colourful art of subliminal branding

Tying in your sponsorship or joint venture with a brand of a similar colour is not a new idea. Think Chelsea Football Club and Samsung (Blue), BP and M&S (Green) or Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 team and their links with Santander (Red). It makes sense for like minded brands to compliment each other and one [...]