First published in National Times
A Guest post by Melbourne-based writer James Schloeffel
We now know that Colonel Sanders’ poultry empire isn’t just about dishing out greasy chicken and fake potato. It is also racist. At least that is what some American YouTube viewers and parts of the mainstream American press would have you believe.
This year we began writing a regular column on branding for The Melbourne Review. This second of our articles explores the impact of private label brands on the retail landscape.
Whichever way you cut it, the growth in private label brands is going to continue within Australian supermarkets.
Consumers in Australia are increasingly seeing private label products as representing great value. A recent AC Nielsen research report into the power of private label brands globally found an average of 69% of all respondents agreed that ‘supermarket own brands are usually extremely good value for money’. In Australia 81% shared this sentiment.
A Brand Centric Snapshot of Social Media Use
New data from international social media monitor Visible Technologies reminds us why brands absolutely must have a play in the ‘social’ game. Visible studied 125 million social media posts over a three-month period, finding that 17% of the messages conveyed purchase intent — with women responsible for 69%f those messages.
Aesop has teamed up with the french APC fashion brand to create an awesomely daring brand extension. Post Poo Drops! What appeared to many to be an April fools joke is an actual product, available from both APC and Aesop stores. As a continuation of the collaberation that created a special fabric wash they’ve gone on to extend into what I could only call luxury home care line.
Where do you go when you own the home furnishings market?
The Swedish brand famous for its affordable furniture and accessories has come up with a genuine game changer — an IKEA house in which you can put all that IKEA furniture. An architectural firm in Oregon has collaborated with furniture giant IKEA to come up with a flat-pack home costing just US$86,500.
In a world where just about every company seems desperate to be global, it is refreshing to still find great local brands that are proud of who they are and where they come from.
An avid reader of our blog from down south, has put me on to Betta Milk, a Tasmanian brand that has stirred up Tassie pride to fight off competition and entertain The Apple Isle.
Not all Brands are Born Equal
’Not all brands are born equal’ — a statement worth making before I launch into a review of this cranking New Zealand brand who’s taking on the world. In our world as brand strategists and identity designers we work with brands of almost every description; retail brands, wine brands, FMCG brands, professional services brands — you name it, we’ve got a pretty good fix on what makes it tick. One thing we know is some brands get a free hit from social media, they are just more suited to this method of brand communications and more attractive and sticky to the people who most often frequent these new channels of connection. But before you dismiss this article as not relevant for your business, I implore you to take pause, read and consider where the opportunities may lie for your business as social media takes hold of the way we interact in the way email did fifteen years before it.
First published in National Times
A Guest post by Melbourne-based writer James Schloeffel
Picture this. You are the marketing executive for a large multinational stationery company; you come back from your lunch break and discover you’ve got 100 missed calls, 1000 unanswered emails and a corporate disaster rapidly unfolding at your desk. What do you do?
This may have been the scenario facing one or several unlucky employees at Paperchase — one of Britain’s largest stationery retailers — last Thursday.
Within the space of a couple of hours — little more than the length of an extended lunch break — the company had become the subject of a global Twitter onslaught that may well damage it beyond repair. The attack was in response to the allegation that Paperchase had plagiarised an independent British artist’s drawings for use on a range of its products.
The recent half yearly financial reporting season has brought the spotlight well and truly onto Australia’s department stores. David Jones has flagged a possible 35–40% full year decline in net profit, with some newspaper headlines suggesting that DJ’s were in a fight for their survival.
I think we are all across the woes in retailing with the current economic climate and an enduring sentiment of caution amongst consumers. But what has been engrossing of recent times is the new business lexicon being bandied around. To this end, the following blog is sheer indulgence — simply sharing some of these, and importantly reflecting on the fact that it is the new world of retailing mandating attention be given to the labels expressed here.
As a brand design agency, we are constantly looking at new and innovative ways for brands to interact with their customers and stakeholders. A brand which is constantly looking at new ways to push the boundaries is Heineken and their latest idea is certainly no exception. With the winners announced at the end of this week, the Heineken Limited Edition Design Contest has been a monumental gesture for the brand, and one that has seen over 30,000 designs entered, over 6 million ‘likes’ on Facebook and 20,000 connections made via social media. Read the rest of this entry »
