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Truly Deeply rebrands Midland trailers

Stunning new brand for iconic Australian trailer manufacturer.

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Recruitment firm brand ad leverages the 2020 US election.

The Brand Power of Leveraging Current Affairs. We promise this wont turn into a Festival Trump-bashing- although that could be kinda fun, but we spotted another clever ad looking to leverage off the world wide interest in the car crash that is American politics and…

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Which global cities have the strongest Place Brands in 2020?

The Pinnacle of Place Brand Reports. Each year Saffron, a global branding agency with specialist experience in Place Brands publishes a report looking at the strongest city brands around the world. The Saffron City Brand Barometer 2020 explores which cities have built the strongest brands…

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KFC brand adjusts for Coronavirus

Time for a brand strategy re-calibration. If I read one more coronavirus article stating how we’re all going to need to adjust to the new normal I’ll punch myself in the face. But like it or loath it, for brands of every shape and size…

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Burger King’s stand for Love & Equality

Love Conquers All – And Builds Brand Affinity. The relationships we have with brands are alot like the relationships we have with people. Our friends and loved ones reflect who we are, the values we hold dear and behaviors we want to associate with. Social…

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New Font Fights Online Bullying

An activist font designed for our times. Over our thirties years as an agency developing branding for clients across almost every sector we’ve seen, used and designed alot of fonts, but never have we seen anything quite like this. TietoEVRY, a leading Nordic digital services…

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Branding Lost In Translation

IKEA prove that even the branding experts occasionally stuff-up. They say to err is human, and the branding folks at IKEA Bahrain have given us a refreshing reminder of how true that really is. IKEA as a global brand has a reputation for being well…

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Blockbuster Leverage their Brand Nostalgia

Why Blockbuster’s Last Summer Sleepover is a Showstopping Brand Strategy. The Blockbuster brand is synonomous with others such as Kodak and Melways that were once an iconic part of life, but by missing a critical opportunity to shift with consumers and technology have become dinosaurs.…

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Is Apple’s protection of its brand unreasonable?

Have Apple overstepped the mark and caused more harm than good to their brand? Apple has files a notice of opposition with the US Trademark office, against a start-up trying to trademark a logo based-on a pear. The developers of Prepear, an app that helps…

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Cultural Misappropriation Remains a Minefield for Brands.

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t – A challenging brand management dilemma. Following-on from our recent article out the re-branding of the Washington Redskins NFL team in the US, this recent announcement (among many) about Mutual of Omaha, a Fortune 500 insurance and…

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Netflix shows how to build a brand with genuine compassion.

In branding, compassion is often seen as taboo. Compassion for customers and commercial optimization are typically considered to be diametrically opposed concepts, but Netflix has demonstrated how this doesn’t necessarily need to be the case. This month Netflix announced they would begin contacting inactive customers…

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Stunning New Yorker Cover pays tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement

Stunning New Yorker Cover demonstrates the powerful role design can play in social issues. Kadir Nelson’s recent cover image titled ‘Say Their Names’ depicts the murder of George Floyd embodying the history of violence inflicted upon black people in America. The image reminds us of…

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2020 Trends in Brand Identity Design

The power of understanding branding trends. As with all aspects of brand and marketing, consumers and businesses over time build firm associations between how a category of brands look and what that means for the way they associate the positioning of those businesses. As categories…

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ESPN Jordan Ad reminds us of the power of lateral thinking.

When was the last time your brand thinking came from left field? The say; ‘Necessity is the mother of all invention’, and for many brands things have never been more ‘necessary’ than they are now. Budgets are tight, consumer behavior is shifting, the world is…

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Is the new normal for business a once in a lifetime opportunity for brands to innovate?

Inspiring Brands Innovating for the New Reality. WFH is a Japanese start-up who’s brand name is an acronym for ‘Work From Home’. Their first product which we spotted on Kickstarter is a range of Jammies designed specifically for working from home. Brainchild of design agency;…

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Heinz Ketchup Puzzle – brilliant brand relevance

Branding Inspiration from Big Red. As so many people around the world become stir-crazy from self isolation, Heinz has come-up with with an inspired brand gesture. The Heinz Ketchup Puzzle has 570 pieces, each the exact same colour of Heinz’s tomato sauce. Heinz is giving…

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A Sneak Peek at our new Branding for Straight Bat PE

  Recently we’ve been developing the branding of Straight Bat – a new breed of P.E. Fund. Straight Bat is a new kind of Private Equity Fund that plays the long game. They invest in “good” businesses, to deliver exceptional income, wealth preservation and wealth…

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Iconic Brand Identities Redesigned to Fight Coronavirus.

Redesigning brands to create affinity. In our 30 years of branding experience we’ve never seen the level of global community the current battle against caronavirus has created. This sense of community has sprung from a common cause and for brands they are battling to be…

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The 6 steps to managing your brand through coronavirus-19.

Now is not the time for your brand to batten down the hatches. For any brand born since the Great Depression, the current global pandemic is creating an environment of challenges and chaos never seen before. The extent, speed and impact of these changes have…

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McDonalds releases burger scented candles

Branding Madness or Genius? As part of its Quarter Pounder Fan Club, McDonald’s have released a set of candles that smell like the ingredients of a Quarter Pounder, including; 100% Fresh Beef, Ketchup, Pickle, Cheese, Onion, and Sesame Seed Bun. Before we claim this as…

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Truly Deeply recognized as one the top 30 brand strategy companies in the world.

NEW YORK (PRWEB) February 20, 2020 Recognition for our brand strategy expertise. One of our favorite topics to write on is brand effectiveness, and specifically the positive commercial impact of brand strategy and brand identity. A growing body of research continues to demonstrate that consistent,…

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Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Branding

When it comes to brand identity briefs, they don’t get grander than this. Every four years when the Olympic Games roll around we are treated to perhaps the most plumb job in the world of branding. The games combine the perfect branding brief – a…

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In-N-Out Burgers launches branded kicks

The Holy Grail of Branding. When designing a brand identity for any brand, but especially a consumer brand, we look to develop visual brand assets than can become instantly recognizable to their loyal fans. These assets allow a brand to be creative in what it…

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McDonald’s de-brands to make a bold brand statement.

The power of brandless branding. Loving these new ads for McDonald’s by Leo Burnett in London. The holy grail for branding is when you’re able to remove your logo and the visual language of the brand, the product or the product description alone communicates who…

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You’ve come a long way Barbie

The 2020 Barbie range steps-out with inclusiveness. Loving the way the Barbie brand has kept pace with society and arguably takes a leadership role in diversity and inclusiveness. The range of Barbie dolls includes35 skin tones, 9 body types, a Barbie in a wheel chair,…

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Burger King’s invitation to Harry and Meghan.

A Right Royal Bit of Branding Fun. I’m loving this brand campaign from Burger King leveraging the global interest in the current Royal family split. Creating timely brand ads that connect with something as newsworthy as the royal split is not a new idea, but…

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Apple impresses with Chinese New Year short film shot on iPhone

It’s not an entirely new trick, but Apples latest piece of brandertainment has been shot entirely on the latest iPhone. And there’s plenty to like beyond showing-off the capabilities of the iPhone 11 Pro. The film, about three generations of Chinese women coming together at…

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The Future of Retail Branding for 2020 & Beyond

The changing face of consumer behavior raises a red flag for retail brands. When I think back even just a decade ago, the demands of retail customers were not so different from the decades before. Essentially most retailers could add a functional web site and…

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‘Tis the Season for lovely Christmas Brand Ads

It’s beginning to look alot like Christmas (well a little at least…) This Christmas season John Lewis has teamed-up with Waitrose (a member of their brand family) to create their festive commercial to play on its social media chanels. The charming piece of brand communication…

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Recognizing the World’s Best Type Design for Branding.

Celebrating typography as a valuable branding asset. Type foundry Monotype have this year launched the Type Champions Award, to recognize brands for their creative, innovative, and memorable use of typography in developing and maintaining their brand identities. A panel of branding experts selected 12 companies…

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The power of customer-centric brand thinking.

Now that seems like a valuable brand proposition. All to often we find brands working in a market driven paradigm. That-is, their mindset of how they go to market is based upon the collective history of how the category has always operated. What was will…

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Apple’s store design beautifully integrates branding and product.

The power of a beautiful design idea. Wander round Apple’s iconic 5th Avenue store in NY and you’ll come across this brilliant piece of retail brand design. Whilst the easy solution would have been a wall full of product (after all the beautifully simple Apple…

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Is supporting a competitor the most noble brand gesture of all?

The Power of Brands Behaving Admirably. It’s not every day that the second biggest global brand in a category stops selling their number one product for a day and runs an ad campaign asking their customers to buy from their competitor instead – but that’s…

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Make America Greta Again – A brilliant brand parody.

We love a good brand parody. OK, so I have to admit I’m a fan of brand piss-takes of any variety, but when they come to political branding parodies, my appreciation goes up-ten fold. When I first spotted the ‘Make America Great Again’ brand positioning…

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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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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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Truly Deeply Creates a brand for Social Impact Enterprise; Change Coffee.

A branding project to change the world. Every so often we come across a project that seems like our destiny to work on. It’s not every day that we get to create a brand with the potential to have a significant and enduring impact on…

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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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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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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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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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