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Pantone announces the colours set to dominate in 2020.

‘Trecking’ is the colour theme for brands to pay attention to. Each year PANTONE Colour Institute announces the colour or colours set to influence the way brands go to market in the year ahead. Driven by consumer psychology, these colours are often reflected through fashion,…

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Convenience stores; The hidden fast food player.

Consumer trend breathes new life into the Servo pie. Anyone who owns or manages a cafe, restaurant or fast food business knows how tough the market is. Over the last decade the way people eat has changed dramatically with out of home eating (including delivery)…

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Chain restaurants inspired by independents

Popular UK restaurant chain, Wahaca, has rebranded to appear more like its independent competitors. When I first visited London in 2005, I was shocked to find a chain café or restaurant on almost every corner, and struggled to find a local independent option. Fast forward…

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Retail Brand Hack; Rethinking the butcher store with vending machines

Applestone Meat Co. turns old tech into a new convenience brand proposition. Applestone Meat Co. is a butcher brand with two outlets in NYC. They are butchers who use their philosophy as a brand differentiator. As they say on their web site: The meat industry…

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The Experience Economy – Airbnb trips available on Zola wedding registry

The days of the casserole dish wedding gift are done. Global wedding registry site Zola has partnered-up with Airbnb to offer Airbnb gift cards as part of their offering. The move makes perfect sense to me. The experience economy shows no sign of weakening with the…

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The 7 Golden Rules for Marketing to Chinese tourists in Australia

A growing tourism market with rich potential. There’s never been a better time to dust off your Mandarin textbook and shake the dust off of your Chinese New Year Dragon, because the number of Chinese visitors to Australia continues to grow rapidly and opportunities abound.…

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Meet Hygge, the Cosy New Consumer Trend.

Feel like staying home this weekend? curling-up on the couch under a cozy rug in your PJs with candles burning, a glass of red from Vino Mofo, dinner from UberEats and a movie on Netflix?  Turns-out you’re not alone, but part of the global consumer…

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Data overtakes oil as the world’s most valuable resource

Data is the new black – an interesting thought for the week. For the 20th century, oil was the most lucrative industry in the world spawning billionaires, creating wealthy nations from sand, and keeping antitrust regulators on their game. After fleetingly handing the mantle over…

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The Rising Need for Brands to Change and Expand Competitive Sets

Today’s post is an article written by Brandhook, good friends of ours and the sharpest brand research and insights agency around. At BrandHook we talk about the 7 ways consumer behaviour has changed but after attending last week’s Mumbrella Retail & Marketing Summit it was…

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One in a Billion – Adidas aims for a new China market

Interesting times for brands as the Chinese market evolves. Global sports brand adidas have launched a new and noteworthy ad campaign aimed at the Chinese market. The last two decades are choc-a-block with beautifully shot, inspiringly heart-racing ads from all of the brands in this…

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The Trump Effect – When Consumers Say One Thing and Do Another

Today’s post is an article written by Brandhook, good friends of ours and the sharpest brand research and insights agency around. As we all know, recently Donald Trump was elected President of the United States of America, defying nearly every prediction and pre-poll. In the lead…

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Hotel brand plans to make a global impact by growing their own vegetables

Global hotel brand AccorHotels taps into key consumer trend to build brand affinity In the highly competitive world of hotel brand loyalty the battle is raging for the hearts of consumers. Air bnb – the worlds largest hospitality brand that doesn’t own a single room,…

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