Posts Tagged ‘peter-singline’

07.30.10

The Branding of Politics

Applying branding frameworks to politicians and political parties is a very much established practice. In fact, some may even argue that politics is increasingly about symbolism as opposed to policy implementation, image rather than content. A little harsh perhaps, but certainly in Australia we are seeing our major political parties trying to position themselves on populist mandates over political ideology. They are trying something we strongly advise our clients against, and that is to try and be all things to all people. It never works in commercial settings and it is of highly dubious value in politics – it simply gives strength to the brand positioning of minor parties (eg. the Greens) and independents.

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07.16.10

Discovery, the new advertising for brands!

More and more brands are foregoing the big chest beating advertising campaigns that attempt to broadcast their presence to the world. This is particularly the case for those wishing to position themselves in the  cool end of the market. The onus is on savvy shoppers to find them, particularly when it we are talking fashion and bars. Certainly this was our experience on a recent visit to Berlin.

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07.02.10

Authenticity – Real or Fake

Recently on a trip to Europe I had the pleasure of hearing a presentation by American author and strategy consultant Joseph Pine on authenticity in branding. Pine has co-authored several books in the brand space. Namely the ‘Experience Economy’ and his more recent offering simply titled ‘Authenticity’.

Luigi Zuckermann sign

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05.21.10

Brand Australia

The big wait is over. In September 2009 Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean announced the call for tenders from creative agencies to assist with the task of enhancing Australia’s brand overseas. In the last week we have seen the launch of a new visual identity for Brand Australia, created by Re, a small group of designers working out of M&C Saatchi’s Sydney office.

Mr Crean said, “We want a clear vision of how Australia should be seen by the rest of the world in the 21st century. We will be looking for agencies to build a contemporary national brand – one which captures the essence of Australia – not just a great place to visit but a great place to live, work, and invest – a trusted trading partner and a great place to pursue an education. This is not just about a slogan and it goes beyond the on-going promotion of Australia as a global tourist destination – a reputation that is well established. Building Brand Australiais about promoting Australia as a nation producing quality products and services across a diverse field of activities. We need to get the message out that we are an innovative nation and a quality supplier to the world of key products such as clean energy and clean food.”

So with Mr Crean’s aspiration in mind what do you think of Australia’s new brand mark?

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05.07.10

Australian Power & Gas: The right brand name makes virtual a reality!

Brand names should work as hard as possible to support the business aspirations of an organisation. Names play a role far greater than simply being an identifier. They should convey something of the promise of what is on offer. For some brands that may mean communicating a certain personality. For others it may mean playing up a functional or emotional attribute that connects with the target market. Whatever the approach brand names should support the desired market positioning of the product, service or organisation.

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04.23.10

Brand Claims – When Pigs Fly

All Food is not Born Equal
We are currently working with food producers around the Cairns region in Australia (Tropical North Queensland) to develop a proposition for their regional food brand. The region is a great reminder of the magic of nature. It is such an incredibly lush and fertile region with diverse eco-systems giving birth to an amazing array of fresh healthy food. A true Garden of Eden.

Great Flying Pig Photo: uk_serendipity (Flickr)

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04.16.10

When We Throw a Party… More pics from our Truly Deeply Launch

More pics of the frivolity and shenanigans from the re-launch party for our agency’s new brand Truly Deeply.

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04.09.10

Branding – Owning a niche helps

Strategically carving out a niche you can own with a powerful value proposition makes creating a strong brand a lot, lot easier. The challenge is to identify a niche that has a distinctive set of needs, that are not being well met by existing players in the market, and that represents a large enough market segment that a more targeted brand offering can be viable. The final requirement is that the identified niche can be accessed in a cost effective manner. It has to be viable, and if it is why go head to head when you can find exciting white space?

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03.26.10

Qantas in Hot Pants – Melbourne F1 Grand Prix

Melbourne has the hype of the Grand Prix this weekend, when petrol heads from around the country descend on our fair town for some thrills and spills. The event is a highly subsidised marketing program designed to build the profile of Melbourne internationally and, along the way, inject some dollars into the local economy. There is always heated debate about the merits of hosting this event. The suggested cumulative $622m cost to tax payers since the circus began in the mid 90’s in Melbourne means that the event represents a huge ‘opportunity cost’ to the communities of Victoria what ever way you cut it.

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03.12.10

You are a Brand, regardless of what you say MUJI

MUJI is a highly successful Japanese retail company that sells a wide variety of household and consumer goods. What is interesting is their ‘non brand’ market positioning. They decree for themselves the status of not being a brand, but paradoxically it is the great clarity they have around who they are and who they are not that makes them such a distinctive and compelling brand.

MUJI works very hard at claiming its non brand positioning. It’s name was derived from the first part of Mujirushi Ryohin, which translates into ‘No Brand Quality Goods’. It’s website declares in the very first sentence ‘… MUJI is not a brand.’ Instead it claims that MUJI creates products with a view toward global consumption of the future. That it does not create products that lure customers into believing that ‘this is the best’ or ‘I must have this’. Instead they like their customers to feel the rational sense of satisfaction that comes not with this is the best, but this is enough. Best becomes enough.

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