Archive for October, 2009

10.19.09

Recycling Brandmarks – Why Not

You may be right in thinking Melbourne has a love affair with the letter ‘M’. Not sure whether Sydney has the same feeling towards the letter ‘S’. Regardless, in this age of recycling how about we start a movement in Melbourne where organisations wishing to jump on board the ‘M’ wagon be required to use one of the discarded ‘M’s’ floating around the place.

We are not sure what MTR, our new train operators, paid to have their ‘M’ created for the newly branded train network, Metro Trains Melbourne, but we do have a custom built alternative that may have been available cheap.

We went through the very same exercise in 2001 for the National Express Group, who were operating Melbourne’s Swanston Trams and Bayside Trains. Yes , in a fit of imagination we came up with the letter ‘M’ (surprise, surprise) and rebranded the train and tram operations to M>Train and M>Tram.


Recycling Brandmarks

But as you would expect to operate a profitable transport system you need more than a great big ‘M’. In a little over 12 months from the rebranding, National Express spat the dummy, packed their bags and retreated back to the UK in December 2002. So anyone in the need of a ‘M’ feel free to contact us as we have some hardly used M’s – driven only to church on a Sunday, and when you throw in all the cancellations that is not a lot of use!

Peter Singline
Brand Scientist

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10.16.09

Cultural sponsorship or merely advertising?

In the past Venice was thought of as one of the most romantic cities in the world, these days it seems that the romance is fading and advertising is taking its place. Today the Venetian authorities are doing restoration work on the Doge’s Palace and the Prigioni Nove, and to get funding they have sold scaffolding to clothing company Sisley. The Bridge of Sighs has all but disappeared. This type of ‘cultural sponsorship’ where companies pay for their brand to be visible in prominent locations and
the money goes towards restoring the cultural monuments, seems to be happening all over Europe
and opinion is divided.

sisley1

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10.15.09

A Sneak Peek at the new Burger King Store Design

Battle of the Burger Giants
Global burger giant; Burger King are about to kick-off the process of overhauling the design of their 12,000 stores worldwide. Partly driven in response to the McDonalds global McCafe evolution, Burger King are looking to stay relevant with the times and with the every changing consumer by refreshing the look of their ‘restaurants’. Beginning in North America, the re-modelling  will take years before all of the Burger King locations are transformed. The first restaurants remodeled have reportedly seen sales climb about 12 to 15 percent, while restaurants that are torn down and completely rebuilt at the same location have seen sales climb by as much as 30 percent.

Burger King Store 1

A Burger King in Houston featuring the company’s new store design (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) Read the rest of this entry »

10.13.09

Brand it like Coke – Developing Unique Brand Properties

Walking the streets of Paris recently I was struck by the appearance of the latest point of sale campaign for Coke. It wasn’t the visual language of the campaign that struck me, nor a stunning creative execution, there were no bronzed & cut young French guys or girls. In fact what struck me wasn’t anything that I saw, more what I didn’t see. There was no photographic image, no brand colours, no copy line, strictly speaking there was not even a product shot – an unusual approach for retail point of sale to say the least.

Coke Paris point of sale

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10.09.09

Woolworths choking on an Apple

Woolworths vs Apple

What an intriguing battle there is playing out between Australian supermarket chain, Woolworths and Apple. The question at the center of the struggle is; when is a stylised green W (Woolsworths new logo) really an apple? At first glance we may feel that Apple is being a little too precious about their logo. I must declare for as long as the new Woolworths logo has been in the market I have not looked at it as anyway associated with Apple. But then again I am not the custodian of the Apple brand.

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10.07.09

Microsoft Launches Windows Phone Brand

htc-touch-diamond-Window's Phone

Global Marketing Push hits the Streets
Just hours after the launch of the new Microsoft Windows Phone, teams of orange-clad Windows Phone Warriors have hit the streets of Paris talking New Phone Technology to anyone who’ll listen. The Windows software debuts today on 30 different phone models made by Samsung, HTC and LG. The phone’s operating system includes Microsoft Office, Outlook, and applications sold through an Apple iPhone-like ap marketplace.

The Revolution has been Postponed
Three years ago this system would have been the kind of revolutionary masterstroke Microsoft are looking for to regain their flagging market share. But following the success of the iPhone, this looks like another reminder of the fate of brands who spend too much of their energy focussed on the competition and not enough on revolutionizing the marketplace. The feedback on the web has been generally critical of the new OS for being too little too late. A review on Gizmodo blog opined: “Windows Mobile 6.5 isn’t just a letdown – it barely seems done … It’s an interim product and a vain attempt to hold onto the thinning ranks of people who still choose Windows Mobile despite not being somehow tethered to it until the tardy Windows Mobile 7 comes out, whenever that may be. And it won’t work.” Unfortunately for Microsoft, the Windows Phone looks less like the answer to the iPhone, and more like a me-too product.

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10.06.09

Best New Packaging from around the World

The Pentawards
The Pentawards have just announced their 2009 winners. Ten packaging designs were awarded ‘Best of Show’, these ten designs represent a wide range of categories, brands and products. We think they’re rippers – so we’ve reproduced them below.

Pentawards are the only worldwide competition exclusively devoted to recognizing outstanding packaging design in all its forms, open to entrants from all countries. The 2009 Pentawards were judged by an international jury including: Gérard Caron (Chairman), France; Michael Aidan, France; Oleg Beriev, Russia; Stanley Church, USA; Mark Cowan, Australia; Bruce Duckworth, UK; Brian Houck, USA; Noji Nobuto, Japan; Adrian Pierini, Argentina; Olof ten Hoorn, Nederland; Jennifer Tsai, Taiwan; Lars Wallentin, Switzerland; and Adrian Whitefoord, UK.

Enjoy the brand design inspiration,

David Ansett, Brandamentalist.
If you’d like daily updates of our brand thinking, you can follow me on Twitter here. Read the rest of this entry »

10.05.09

Coffin Bay Oyster Farm – A Brand Awakening

In a recent blog on the premium nature of artisan food brands I mentioned our dear friend Lester Marshall from the Coffin Bay Oyster Farm. Lester is a truly interesting character. Two years ago he was a passionate Oyster Farmer in the majestic waters of Coffin Bay, near Port Lincoln, South Australia. Today he is an astute master of branding. He has had a paradigm shift that is transforming his business. He has set in play a strategy that is moving his business from simply selling his succulent oysters unbranded in hessian bags to one that markets a portfolio of premium branded oysters. His awakening to the power of branding has also seen him become an inspirational speaker and educator on how to build premium regional food brands.

Lester Marshall - Brand Awakening

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