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Adidas shoes are garbage

The UltraBoost sneaker from Adidas’ Parley ocean plastic collection   After the recent controversy with Coles supermarkets back flipping twice on providing single use plastic bags for free, here’s some good news stories on brands getting it right when it comes to the issue of sustainability.…

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Research shows experience driven brands drive stronger business performance

A recent study for Adobe shows that investing in experience transformation across people, process and technology delivers superior business performance. Experience-driven businesses (EDBs), as defined by Forrester Consulting, consistently deliver on metrics that align to their revenue growth, customer acquisition, and customer retention goals. The…

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The retail brand who never used plastic bags

Finally, there’s movement on plastic bags We’ve been entertained by the carry on over plastic bags by the giant retail brands Coles and Woolworths over the last few months. While the brands themselves may see this as them taking a leadership roll in an overdue change…

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Massive brand growth sees Luckin Coffee go from zero to $1Bn in less than a year

More than just luck. The coffee unicorn brand that’s the talk of China. China’s thirst for their own ‘new retail’ brands continues to fuel investor and consumer frenzy and coffee is the latest battleground. Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi now dominate over Apple in…

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Global shopping centre giant Westfield’s vision for the future of retail

The future of shopping centre retail – A disruptive view. Global entertainment brand Cirque du Soleil announced their plans recently to launch a family entertainment concept inside a Canadian shopping centre. The move reflects the shift in retail thinking as consumer continue to evolve the…

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2018 Craft Beer Branding Trends.

Beer + artisanal craftsmanship + great design. What’s not to love about craft beer? Show me an consumer category dominated by large corporations, and I’ll show you a craft revolution waiting to happen. After decades of the world beer market being owned by the big,…

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8 Predictions for the Future of Retail in 2030

A glance into the future of retail. Global Retail real estate business CBRE has produced a forward-looking market research, perspectives and industry insights piece called The Future of Retail 2030, an interesting piece of futurist thinking with some well considered suppositions. The retail industry is…

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Infographic. The power of AI for brands

The power of AI in helping brands promote, sell and enhance their products As artificial intelligence (AI) gathers momentum in our lives, our friends at 16best.net have compiled an interesting infographic to look at its impact on brands and how we engage with them. Many…

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Choice, the evolution of a brand.

More than a rebrand. There’s been something interesting going on at Choice. More than a logo refresh, it seems the stalwart reviewer is starting to develop its activist side. While Choice is known for its product reviews and buying guides more than it’s disruptive activist…

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A lesson in Branding from online retailer Brandless – #ironic.

Another Retail Disruptor Gets Physical. US online retailer; ‘Brandless’ made waves this week when it opened it’s first physical pop-up in West Hollywood, LA. The proposition of this retailer is an unbranded (plain label) $3-everything approach, taking the private label mindset and disrupting it. Brandless…

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How this Dutch company made €44.9m in sales without advertising.

Today’s guest article has been penned by the very smart people at eatbigfish. eatbigfish is a strategic brand consultancy with a single focus: challenger thinking and behavior. Founded by Adam Morgan after he wrote Eating the Big Fish – the book that popularised the term ‘challenger…

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Consumer activism; a powerful vehicle for change

Now more than ever consumers are turning their everyday purchases into a form of protest or demonstration of ideology to create change, sending strong signals to brands by using their purchasing choices as votes. How a brand produces and delivers its goods and who they…

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Food Delivery Vs Supermarkets – Woolworths CEO first to get the UberEats threat in Australia.

The Ultra-Convenience Consumer Trend Disrupting… Everything. So much has been written about Amazon’s launch into the Australian retail market (we wrote about it ourselves recently) that it has created its own ecosystem of disruptive buzz. There’s no doubt a business the size of Amazon with…

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Why Amazon is forcing retailers to finally pay attention to their customers.

Did retail set itself-up for disruption? In Australia we’ve heard alot of talk over recent years of how tough life is for retail brands. There’s no doubt the category is under pressure as competition increases and consumer behavior and expectations shift. In a recent interview,…

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Customer Centric is the new brand strategy for banks.

Are banking brands finally getting ahead of the consumer curve? Reading an article this week about Chase Bank in the US, I noted for the second time in a week a services brand seeking to be “the apple genius bar” for their category. Not surprisingly,…

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5 Strategies for brands marketing to Gen Z

Is Gen Z the toughest consumer group to market to yet? The answer to that question depends on the brand, it’s product and mindset. With each new generation of consumers, established brands find themselves challenged to connect with a new collective mindset. However, there are…

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The 8 ways online has changed the way we shop and what traditional retailers should do about it.

  Intel’s global head of retail Jon Stine recently spoke with a group of Australian retail managers ahead of the National Retailers Federation’s annual expo in in NYC. Given Stine works with Intel, he has a pretty strong view on the future of online retail,…

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How Bud defied consumer research to create a viral campaign

Creating a viral campaign with moments of nonsense and fun. If you’ve come across the “Dilly Dilly” movement on social media recently, you can thank Bud Light for turning the phrase into a catch-cry for the end of 2017. In a recent interview with Business…

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5 charts that explain the growth in experiential retail

Brands find innovative ways to merge entertainment and technology with traditional shopping to survive. ‘Experiential Retail’ or ‘Retailtainment’ is one of the biggest growth areas in retail at the moment. Just like Google’s pop up store in Manhattan, brands are constantly seeking innovative ways to…

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Westfield’s OneMarket platform shapes up against Amazon

Westfield acts to level the playing field in this increasingly Amazon dominated marketplace. The world of retail has been shaken by the emergence of Amazon as the world’s leading platform like no other development in my 25 years of branding. If retailers aren’t kept awake…

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Online and offline become one but brands still slow to adapt

The end of the digital offline divide is in sight or it should be. FSFK’s Future of Retail 2018 outlines how companies can transform their stores into experience centres that extend their supply chain and digital commerce platforms, creating mutual value with a focus on…

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Infographic: The Rise of Social Media Customer Care

Why social media customer care is an integral part of every business’s success. Our friends at Website Builder have put together this nifty infographic that highlights the benefits and the importance of social media customer care. For just about any consumer brand, customer service is…

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Death of the Shopping Mall – The changing landscape of retail

The world of retail has changed. Online shopping, online product and brand comparison, and the new shopping habits of consumers have significantly changed the retail landscape. Retailers, shopping strips and shopping centres have had to get agile in evolving the way they connect with and…

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Tips for Bloggers – Micro Brand Influencers

If there’s one brand trend we’ve seen explode over the last five years it’s the role of micro-influencers. Typically bloggers (but also instagrammers, facebookers and Twitterers), micro influencers stand at the center of a community, attracted and bound by a shared interest. These influencers produce…

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Why brands need to be good

Many people have very negative feelings towards brands. They’re associated with conformity, mediocrity and the suppression of individuality. They are seen as money making machines who would say anything to get customer to purchase from them to increase profits. But is that is because we…

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Fashion designer creating profit from scraps

When a high end fashion designer decided what he was doing was no longer meaningful he decided to create garments from factory scraps to create affordable, comfortable and on trend fashion.  He wanted to tackle the wasteful fashion industry and create a zero waste product…

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Design for Social Good

  After a conversation with my nurse friend over the weekend, I was suddenly reflecting on the significance of my role as a designer. We talked about the differences between our daily routines in the workplace and I concluded that running out of coffee beans…

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Email still best for brand offers but it must be relevant and informative

Key insights from Adobe’s third annual consumer email survey, essential reading for brand marketers. The survey shows that email significantly trumps direct mail, mobile apps and social media as the best way to deliver offers to consumers. However, there is still a great degree of…

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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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Graph puts iPhone’s brand growth in context

The Wall Street Journal compared Apple’s iPhone to other iconic consumer brands and the results are staggering. The iPhone has eclipsed the sales of Barbie, Zippo, Rubik’s Cube, Nintento Game Boy, Sony Playstation and Walkman. What’s even more mind blowing is how quickly it’s done…

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Adidas & Alexander Wang second collab breaks the retail rules

A Masterclass in New Retail Brand Mindset Following-on from their first collaboration in 2016, Alexander Wang and adidas have again steered clear of a standard retail approach. Last year’s collaboration was released through pop-up trucks in New York, London and Tokyo. Staying true to their…

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The Success Story of The Biggest Online Payment System

Recently we wrote about the healthiest brands in Australia and Pay Pal came in at number two on the list. This infographic by Play and Pay illustrates their  journey to becoming one of the worlds largest brands. PayPal is a Revolutionary platform transformed the world…

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Brandless but far from being unbranded

Introducing a brand called Brandless™ (yes, trademark is noted). A start-up riding the unbranded trend and set to shake-up everyday retail in the USA and they’ve raised $50 million to get going. Way back when, our ancestors bought basics supplies from their local store. They…

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8 Strategies for Australian Retailers to take on Amazon

Head of Salmat eCommerce, Ben Popplestone recently attended the Magento Imagine 2017 event in Las Vegas which brought together 2500 eCommerce experts from 45 countries to discuss the latest in online retail.  A hot topic at the event was the expansion of Amazon into new…

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Moby Mart – A Disruptive Convenience Retail Model

From the same crew who brought us Wheely’s bike cafes, comes Moby Mart. A few years back we wrote about Wheely’s an organisation looking to disrupt the cafe market with their new model of pedal powered, solar powered, low on carbon footprint, high on smarts…

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What will peak sugar mean for food brands?

It was interesting last week to see Coca-Cola get some local blowback from Woolworths on their new No Sugar Coke. Coke, a cornerstone in most supermarkets has been attacked over the years from many angles: constantly by perennial #2 Pepsi with the taste challenge; for…

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Cheers to Toast – A Beer Brand With A Heady Purpose

All Beer Brands Are Not Born Equal. Researching this new craft beer brand from the UK I came across an interesting stat. The fresh bread consumer trend that has swept the globe has led to more than 40% of the bread baked daily around the…

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New Brand set to disrupt the Pharmacy Category

No More Late Night Trips to the Pharmacy Coined a ‘digital pharmacy’ Capsule’s brand strategy is about adding simplicity and convenience to their category. Capsule launched in New York last year and  although only based in NYC currently, the business model provides an insight into…

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Culture eats strategy for breakfast

It doesn’t matter how much you spend on strategy, branding, creative, media or reputation if there’s something wrong with your culture. As Uber is currently proving. It’s impossible in today’s society to mask an internal culture with brand. Sooner or later the truth will out…

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Ikea’s Cook This Page campaign is another smart brand gesture

Swedish home furniture brand Ikea continues to be at the heart of affordable stylish urban living. We always solute brands who continually look for interesting ways to engage and add value for the lives of their customers. That’s why we love this clever idea from…

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Counting the WWWebsites

Have you ever questioned how big the internet is? Like, we know its big, but HOW big? Similar to the stars that dot our universe, the exact number of websites seem to be forever multiplying, with no one really knowing the exact total. Here are…

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Unyoked leverages the digital disconnect trend for new type of eco-tourism

Creating easy escapism for hipsters, Unyoked is all about easy disconnection in the wilderness. Unyoked is a simple yet smart brand story, built on some solid brand beliefs and brought to life with beautiful styled eco-cabins set in stunning semi-remote locations. The Unyoked brand philosophy…

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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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What if we could re-design everything from scratch? #waronwaste

What if we could start from scratch and re-design everything in our lives so that they were good for people, for the planet and for business? What if every product and service had an overhaul and it was developed not only with this thought but…

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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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Orchard Thieves launches brand inspired reversible ad

A brand narrative that’s built around Orchard Thieves’ simple worldview that if you start bold, you’ll end bold. Heineken’s cider brand, Orchard Thieves keeps true to the brand’s mantra of ‘Be bold’ with it’s latest ad. The story follows a group of friends on their…

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Three Ways Retailers Are Scaring Away Ready-to-Buy Customers

The way customers buy has changed I recently read a great article on Curalate by Jarred Shelley, Head of Content Strategy that captured one of the great challenges fro retail brands in today’s ever-changed marketplace. The article talks through a shopping experience that is reflective…

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Brutalist web design and what we can learn from it

Grids, rules, order, harmony — qualities that typically define ‘good design.’ What happens when all of this is thrown out? When chaos is embraced and celebrated? It’s called brutalist web design and it’s taking the design world by a storm. In this post we will take…

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Wow! Elon Musk’s Tesla brand keeps booming

We live in disruptive times for brands and business. You might have missed the news coming out of the US on Monday this week that saw the share value of Elon Musk’s Tesla brand continue to rise strongly. If there’s been a noteworthy trend in…

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21% of consumers boycott brands and most don’t come back

YouGov’s ‘Inside the Mindset of a Brand Boycotter report’ gives us some insight into consumers who boycott brands and why they can’t be ignored. Just about every week a major brand is under attack from consumers. Last week it was Pepsi, the other week it…

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Marketing with meaning: Creating brand connections

As a marketeer I have recently started to notice the increase in meaningful marketing and the extent to which brands are seeking to create meaningful experiences that consumers can connect with and move people emotionally. Thank goodness, a change has been in the air for…

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Heineken fights to protect its brand and trademark red star

Global beer brand forced to defend its iconic red star and perceptions of it promoting communism. Dutch brand Heineken is recognised globally for its green cans and bottles. Another core brand asset is the red star. Unfortunately for Heineken, the red star is also seen…

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Budweiser’s Immigrant Campaign creates a storm in a pint glass

How should a brand react when a campaign gets this kind of backlash? Budweiser’s 2017 Superbowl commercial features the story of the beer company founder’s ambitious journey from Germany to America in pursuit of his dream: to brew the ‘King of Beers’. The story combines…

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Gatebox and the brave new world of AI

Has artificial intelligence come of age? Tech firm Vinclu has created the ultimate companion for a new generation of overworked Japanese. Her name is Azuma Hikari, and she’s the AI persona at the heart of Gatebox, a $2,500 product that acts as a home assistant…

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Is your male marketing off pitch?

Linx brand connects with the 21st Century Man One of the most significant trends for any brand marketing to males under 30 is the blurring and fragmentation of what it means to be a man in the 21st Century. Long held stereotypes of muscular, masculine,…

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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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Big brand Marvel releases their 2017 Superhero NRL Jerseys!

  The NRL’s ongoing collaborative superhero campaign with comic brand Marvel continues with their new jerseys for 2017! Wether your a fanatic fan of Marvel AND/OR the NRL sport, you can’t deny it is a compelling campaign and shows the power of collaboration between two forceful brands…

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How will our favorite brands leave the world for future generations?

I recently had the once in a lifetime experience of seeing David Attenborough in Melbourne and hearing him the has left me feeling touched, moved and inspired and wondering what role brands can play in protecting the natural world for generations to come. David Attenborough…

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Moët vending machine creates more instant brand moments

Moët & Chandon continues to flirt with their vending machines to extend the brand’s accessibility but does it cheapen the brand? The Moët vending machine has been making appearances in London bars and even Selfridges, now it’s popped up in a Vegas Hotel. You can now enjoy a Moët…

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From Bandwagon To Brand Wagon?

AFL Women’s League An Untapped Brand Sponsorship Treasure Chest. If  last Friday night’s opening game of the AFLW is any indication, the belief that there’s no interest in women’s sport is fading fast. Even the AFL themselves were not prepared for the crowds that came…

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