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Archivio Graphica Italiana – A tribute to Italian Graphic Design.

Today’s post is unashamedly for our brand design obsessed readers. Apologies to those who don’t suffer this affliction, but for those who do – enjoy! Archivio Graphica Italiana is an online archive dedicated to the Italian graphic design heritage. This work of passion covers ‘the…

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A brand model for SMEs to build long term business value.

The case for increasing the focus on branding in your business. Watching a video by US brand educator Chris Do recently I came across this simple illustration that captures the concept of the brand circle of behavior. Many brands, especially for start-up, early stage and…

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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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The psychology that drives resistance to branding change.

A Critical Step in Rebranding Strategy. Over recent months (and maybe years) we’ve tracked a growing consumer activism speaking out against changes to brand identity. Whether it’s global fashion retailer Zara, U.S. grocery chain Giant Eagle,  The City of Frederick in Maryland or most recently,…

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Doritos ‘No Logo’ ad misses the point.

Doritos Clever Thinking Only Outsmarts Themselves. Doritos is set to launch an ‘anti-ad’ campaign to appeal to Gen Z, who is research tells us are averse to traditional advertising tactics. The snack food brand plans to ditch its logo, replacing it with a recognizable triangle…

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Why heuristic bias is bad for your brand

A highbrow challenge for brands of every description. As defined by Wikipedia; A heuristic technique is any approach to problem solving or self-discovery that employs a practical method, not guaranteed to be optimal, perfect, or rational, but instead sufficient for reaching an immediate goal. When…

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THE:5th’s Swiss Brand Strategy Masterstroke

  How do you launch a category leader to the next phase of growth? This was one of the challenges facing THE:5th when we sat down with them to develop the brand strategy for their next business phase (you can check a case study of…

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French’s Mustard reminds us of the power of crazy.

When it comes to branding, standing out is tougher than it ever has been. Compared to a decade ago, there are many more brands doing more things to differentiate and stand out in the market. The challenge for brand managers, owners and marketers is to…

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The true story behind BMWs iconic branding

The History of BMW’s brand mark. As brands evolve and mature the rationale behind the design of their logo often becomes folklore, coloured as much by popular myth than historical fact. Recently global automaker BMW published an article clearing-up the story behind their iconic brandmark.…

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Solving the Branding Challenge for Startups

Branding for Start-Ups – A critical challenge. There are few things I enjoy more than sitting across the table with a founder of a start-up. The energy, excitement, vision and optimism are often at their peak in the excitement of launching a new enterprise. Over…

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Branding – Has the consumer empowerment pendulum swung too far?

Brand Backlash – Important feedback of ill-informed hot air? I read with interest this week of a city in the US State of Maryland who launched a new brand identity for the town, only to backtrack in the face of resident dissatisfaction. Having worked on…

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A sneak peek into the art of designing film titles for Disney Pixar.

The art of branding meets the world of film. When we think of the classic films from our childhood, we often just as powerfully can picture the title design – especially those iconic titles such as Star Wars, Pulp Fiction or Vertigo. Effectively the title…

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Inspiring branding – Apple’s latest TVC

More brand building mastery from Apple. Whenever I spot a new piece of inspiring branding from Apple I find myself vexed. As a consumer I’m enraptured, immediately engaged and continue to build-on the loyalty and enthusiasm I hold for the brand. As a writer of…

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A Lesson in Retail from Hanoi’s Shoe Street

Is this the toughest retail environment on the planet? On a trip to Vietnam this month I spent a couple of days sweltering through the streets of Hanoi Old Town. The mercury hit 37 degrees and the humidity was thick enough to cut with a…

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Which global cities have built the best brand for business?

A place branding guide for the worlds greatest business cities. Brand agency Saffron have just released their City Brand Barometer for 2019 which explores which cities around the world have built the strongest brands to attract businesses and investors. The report gives an insight into…

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Truly Deeply named one of the top 25 branding agencies of 2019 by Designrush

Truly Deeply’s Branding Excellence Recognized. DesignRush.com, a B2B marketplace connecting brands with agencies recently released their list of the top 25 branding agencies of 2019. The list which combined local as well as global agencies has been published around the world has been published across…

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The branding data behind Social Influencers

  84 facts every brand owner and manager should know about Social Influencers. Arguably this decade’s greatest disruptor to the way brands go-to-market has been the emerging force of social influencers. In a conversation recently with the founder of Australia’s leading cosmetic retail brands when…

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Viral cinematic brand ad fails to convince.

Never make a brand promise you can’t keep. A three-year-old TVC has gone viral recently, as social media users have enthusiastically shared it as much for its beauty as for the disconnect between the ad and the brand it represents. The stunning film was made…

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Truly Deeply & THE:5th Present at Platinum Partners Conference.

A collaboration of client and agency with a shared view on the value of brand. Truly Deeply Founder; David Ansett and Alex McBride founder of THE:5th were recently invited to present at a conference run by Reliable Education for their platinum partners. The conference delegates…

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Sexist brand icon Playboy gets with the program

The power of re-imagining a brand icon. In a shift that has even me surprised, iconic global brand Playboy has moved with the times, evolving from a ‘sexist and proud of it’ brand proposition to one of understanding and tolerance. Playboy CMO and Rachel Webber…

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A peek behind our brand strategy work for THE:5TH

THE:5TH – A watch brand worth watching. We’ve recently begun working with next gen watch business THE:5TH. For those not familiar with the brand (which makes you over 35 and not fashion savvy) THE:5TH is a stellar example of new businesses disrupting old categories –…

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Reinventing the wheel – A brilliant brand strategy

The new product innovation set to disrupt the passenger tire category. We much more often hear from clients; “We’re not reinventing the wheel here”. We hear it so often it’s almost become a default starting point for approaching branding projects; ‘How do we get growth…

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Say “hi” to our branding for StartOut

StartOut is an inspiring not-for-profit organisation who match young people with role models to help build resilience, self-acceptance, help break negative self-image and to help navigate their sexuality. We worked with StartOut to create a brand that was inclusive of all diverse sex, sexuality and gender…

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Microcations – the latest trend hitting the travel category.

The Microcation is officially a trend Being driven predominantly by millennials, the microcation is a short getaway that is gaining popularity fast. Research from the U.S. (The 2019 Vacation Confidence Index* released by Allianz Global Assistance) has shown that 72% of millennials, 69% of Gen…

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Lacoste goes brandless to help threatened species

What stronger way to use globally recognized branding than to make it disappear? In another example of brands tapping into the growing consumer trend of social and environmental activism, Lacoste has created a bold social brand campaign to raise awareness and funds to help threatened…

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Uber’s effortless conservation gesture

The dual benefits of brands behaving responsibly. It’s not by good fortune that Uber has become one of the world’s most recognizable brands. From it’s earliest days, Uber and UberEats have demonstrated an effortless ability to weave branding gold whilst retaining the edge of a…

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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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Say ‘hi’ to our catalogue design for Cammino.

Our first catalogue design for Cammino marries product with brand story telling. Cammino is a local footwear brand who marries Italian artisan shoe making with contemporary design to create their signature ballet flats. Camminos are an everyday luxury for tired feet, to suit every mood,…

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Why AV business Scene Change spent their entire marketing budget on a private jet (and why it was a good decision).

Marketing Strategy Madness or Branding Genius. In a marketing strategy that sounds lifted from a Vegas comedy about three guys on a bachelor party, Australian corporate AV company Scene Change invested their entire marketing budget for two years to buy and run a private jet.…

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High fashion footwear – The latest branding billboard

The latest branding trend for fashion takes to the streets. As the on again / off again relationship with fashion brands featuring their logos on their clothes continues, the latest trend is high fashion featuring their branding loud and proud on the feet of their…

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Did brand mark design predict Trump’s rise to power?

How brand marks reflect social & cultural trends. Just like uncovering a time capsule or the remains of a petrified Mammoth, a collection of branding from any given period tells us much about that point in time. A case in point is this great snapshot…

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Social Media platforms are disconnecting from Brands.

No more sharing the love. In a move reflecting a growing frustration among brand owners and manager, global beauty brand Lush announced it will be shutting down its social media channels in the UK. For a brand as popular as Lush in a category where…

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Our Brand Strategy for Fonda Mexican sets the path for future growth.

Brand Strategy provides clear direction for business growth Fonda Mexican is a group of eight restaurants located in Melbourne and Sydney. Fonda have redefined Mexican in Australia, shifting market awareness from unhealthy Tex Mex to a healthier, more contemporary Fresh Mexican. Fonda are seen as…

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The surprising case for multiple brand mark identities.

The argument for breaking the conventions of brand identity design. One of the strongest principles of branding is less is more. A simple brand proposition with a single clear point of difference expressed consistently through a brand mark and brand identity design have long been…

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The Impossible Whopper – A brave new fast food frontier.

One small bite for man but one big bite for meat free mankind. Recently Burger King and Impossible foods announce the launch of the Impossible Whopper – a meat free twin to the global burger brand’s hero product. For those who’ve been watching the meat…

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Retail Brand Whole Foods Trials Convenience Format in NYC.

Retail Leader Tweaks Brand to Stay in Front. Recently US retail brand Whole Foods launched a new convenience format of their grocery store model. Since Amazon bought the business the upmarket grocery retailer has been active in trialing new formats aimed at different niches to…

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When it comes to Branding Popular ≠ Best

When it comes to branding – the approval process is a critical component. I was reading recently about a project to rebrand New York City’s privately owned public spaces (or POPS). The rebrand is being run by The New York City Department of City Planning,…

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How Rebranding Transforms Retail Street Appeal to Drive Increased Sales

Measuring the positive impact of rebranding. One of the challenges for many businesses looking to rebrand is establishing hard metrics to measure impact and return on investment. We always like our clients to come to a branding project with clarity on what these metrics may…

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Sweden’s Place Branding Campaign for Happiness

Creating Positive Emotional Place Branding. There’s a reason why we think of place branding it is often the Northern European countries we think of as leaders in this space… it’s because they continually invest time, energy and an open mind in their place making brand…

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Volvo Brand Walks the Talk on Sustainability.

In branding, doing is more important than saying. How do you build a unique and valued dimension to your brand proposition, one that connects your values with those of your core audience? You walk the talk, demonstrating your beliefs through remarkable brand gestures. It’s not…

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Tiffany Co shows the value of brand – and then take it too far.

The web is ablaze with ‘social commentary’ on Tiffany’s ‘Everyday Object Collection’. At first sight the US$1500 Tiffany 18k gold paperclip is a brilliant example of the power of brand. After-all, anyone can head down to the local stationery store and pick-up a regular gold…

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Ball and Chain Shoppers – A challenge for retail brands

Finding the hidden opportunities for retail branding. An interesting piece of the puzzle for retailers is managing the reluctant customer. So much focus goes in to setting up the store design and merchandising to cater to the customer whose interest brought them into the store.…

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A Guide to marketing to Gen Z

For as long as I’ve been working in branding, I can’t remember a target audience our clients felt they knew as little about as Gen Z. To be fair, part of this confusion comes from a lack of clarity around the age bracket Gen Z…

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The fallout of Nike’s very public product fail.

Ouch! When brands crash to earth. This week Nike suffered a high profile wardrobe failure when the shoe of one of their star college athletes imploded mid-match, sending Zion Williamson tumbling, shortly after followed by the Nike share price. A challenge for all high profile…

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DJ Marshmello + Fortnite. The biggest concert to never happen.

Branding in the Virtual Experience Economy In the hullabaloo of last week’s Super Bowl you may have missed the news that DJ Marshmello played a gig to an audience of 10 million. Yep, not a typo. In a first (of many?) an estimated 10 million…

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The surprising Brands behind the world’s most loved Auto Brands

Few brand purchase decisions we make are as strong a reflection of how we see ourselves as consumers and how we wish the world to see us as  choice of the car we drive. Even those who claim to not care what brand of car…

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Retail Brand Innovation – Self Select Customer Service

An engaging way to deliver the service experience your customers want, when they want it. Understanding when to provide service to the contemporary consumer and when to leave them to shop under their own steam is a challenge for retailers. Bug them with unwanted offers…

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Employee Branding – The Power of Thanks

We wanted to share a great pic from our client Yarra Trams. A part of their annual celebration to show their appreciation, our client had these delicious and beautifully branded cupcakes baked. A feast for the eyes, heart and tummy.  

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Tasty Brand Identities & Delicious Business Card Design

Loving this smart business card design created for Pasta Boy Pete, an Italian cooking instructor in Canada. They say the medium is the message, and in this case the clever crew at Rethink Canada have taken that as their mantra, laser etching the branding and…

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Mastercard drops their logotype

The Power of Brand Recognition. Global credit card brand Mastercard have announced they’ll be dropping the wordmark from their brand identity. For brands this is the holy grail of recognition and the equivalent of celebrities like Madonna or Kylie being referred-to by their first name…

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The 5 Most Interesting Consumer Trends for 2019

The very clever guys over at Trendwatching.com have released  an overview of the five most interesting consumer trends they’re seeing for the year ahead. This is part of a much deeper piece of thinking they produce each years for businesses across every category. You can…

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A Passionate & Unapologetic Defense of Brand Marketing for B2B Growth

A strong case for the growth power of B2B brand marketing. Over the summer break I caught up on some reading (the best part of six months worth of recommended articles sitting in my email Inbox). One of those articles was sent to me by…

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2018 – A Year of Truly Brilliant Branding

Where did 2018 Go? We had a great year, working with businesses of all shapes and sizes to create new propositions, launch new products and refresh brands across more than fifty different categories. We captured just some of that activity in this 12 second vid.…

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Why engaging your harshest critics makes good brand sense.

Brands that see criticism as all bad are missing the message. For brand owners and managers it can be tough to receive critical feedback. However, behind the criticism is often an opportunity to transform a critic into a powerful advocate. As tempting as it is…

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Bonds ad campaign breaking female stereotypes with ‘The Queendom’

New Bonds ‘Originals’ brand messaging on female stereotype’s in their recent ad campaign ‘The Queendom’ is an inspiring piece of brand communication strategy and a refreshing change in women’s underwear marketing. Powerful and playful, the ad is set in remote Australian ‘bushland’ known as ‘The…

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Our Agile Branding Process

Born out of the Entrepreneurial Masters Program Truly Deeply Founder; David Ansett undertook at MIT in Boston, we’ve developed our own agile approach to branding. Today’s business environment demands organisations across every category be more responsive; to changing technology, category disruption and fast changing customer…

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Why Rebrand?

The how and why of rebranding. Whether you’re planning on attracting new clients and customers, selling more products and services, growing awareness or growing margins, re-branding is a truly effective strategy for your business. Your brand can require updating for a multitude of reasons including;…

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Truly Deeply named best Branding Blog in Australia and the fourth best Agency Branding Blog in the world.

A little recognition It’s always nice to get some external recognition of the something we are so passionate about. We’ve been channeling our insights, interest and love for all things brand design into our blog since 2009. We have built a community of almost 200,000…

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Vero – True Social. Just another social app?

First of all, lets start with this disclaimer. If you can’t be bothered to keep up with yet another social media app then there’s no need to find out more about Vero. Because that’s exactly what it is, but apparently ‘with a twist’. Vero is the…

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No Logo – What would a world without branding look like?

Imagine a world without brand design. Watching the opening round of AFLW over the weekend I spotted a sponsor sign that took me back to my childhood. The match was being played on a suburban ground in Adelaide and the huge metal sign was promoting…

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