Strategic Brand Consultancy
(From Carol Pearson) Mythic stories are like bridges that connect people and organizations with the best, most authentic, and most distinctive parts of themselves.
NEWS FLASH: Around the world, the place branding failure rate is 86%! Over the past ten years, k629, a place-branding consultancy, has developed a database of more than 5,000 place brands. From that data source, they have found that only 14% of place brands continue a year from launch, meaning the rate of place branding failures …
Continue reading "Place branding failures caused by consultants"
I’ve been writing about branding for years, yet only one of my articles talks about the greatest brand of our time: Apple… Here is why: As soon as we start talking about brands and branding, it becomes extremely difficult to find an article that doesn’t refer to Apple. Every conference I attend, analyzes Apple as a …
In the intricate dance of place branding, merely twirling to the tune of stereotypes often leaves cities spinning in circles. With 86% of place branding projects failing, it's high time cities looked inward, seeking their true archetypes— their unique, universal narratives. Take Ottawa's attempt to reshape its 'boring city' stereotype through advertising. Instead of straining to change perceptions—an endeavor as fruitless as convincing a lifelong cat person to favor dogs—cities should excavate their archetypal stories, just as Washington DC, Minsk, and Izmir have done. Through their efforts, these cities have painted vibrant, authentic narratives that resonate deeply, turning their stereotype 'shadows' into archetypal 'light.' In this quest, remember: a city, like its people, is a tapestry of stories—your stereotype is merely a single thread, not the entire weave.
Below, is the comment I left on an article on Brand New. My thoughts on Canada's new campaign generated some interest, so I decided to share them with you. Enjoy it! "I like the simplicity of the design, as well as applications and the selection of images. As usual, BMD has done an excellent "design" …
NBA lockout is about to end. The hot topic of discussion is what's the damage to Brand Jordan? Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest basketball player of all times. But his skills and will are not enough to explain how he became the magnetic person that he is. During his Hall of Fame induction speech, …
There are some brands that I find so successful. I call them magnetic. One of those brands is Maui Jim, the sunglass company. The brand is best known for its high quality, reasonably priced and fashionable polarized sunglasses. I bought my first Maui Jim sunglass in 2008. Since then, I bought two more. As rational …
Do you love "the Office?" I do... In one of my favourite episodes, Michael Scott got herpes and wants to know who gave him the disease. He starts working backwards through his partners, chronologically. Michael Scott, being the man he is, instead of informing his past partners of his infection, he asks them relationship-related questions …
Continue reading "You and me: The Brand Relationship Theory"
All of a sudden, the earth has started to spin too fast. So much going on in the world. We are all overloaded with information and choices. It is not a surprise that brands that simplify our lives are very successful these days. Googles and Apples strive by actually giving their customers less! About a …
Carl Jung once said, “Never do human beings speculate more, or have more opinions, than about things which they do not understand.” Unfortunately, brand storytelling is one of those things. Let's try to unearth its meaning and find ways to leverage brand storytelling to support brand strategy. “Never do human beings speculate more, or have …
I recently read an article by Mr. Martin Bishop from Landor about Starbucks serving regional wine and beer in some of its Seattle locations. Lately, Starbucks successfully updated its identity and announced that it aims to be more than a coffee company. The brand’s little experiment clearly shows that it means it. But I think such …
Continue reading "Alcohol and Starbucks… Success or failure?"