How did David Beckham become such a successful global icon? And why aren't more British brands as successful as he is? You have to look to France fo...
Abercrombie & Fitch has never made me feel good. I've always left the store feeling a) robbed of money b) cold (the fabric is thin), fat (it's hard not to), and also angry in general that I'd succumbed to the societal pressures of attempting to prove I am living a certain lifestyle.
So what exactly are these products made of and what are the risks? Fundamentally, I learned it boils down to two chemicals; Phthalates and Bisphenol, which worryingly can be found in a number of products that have been designed for babies and young children to put in their mouths.
The board is eyeing up other industries - with pilots underway in clean water technology, new concepts for retail, and sustainable homes. And it's also probing new markets, beginning with the US...
Several big name British brands have blown out the candles on the birthday cake recently, including the London Underground and Aston Martin, which turned 150 and 100 respectively in January. And, the hallowed pink pages of the Financial Times turned 125 only a couple of weeks ago.
Problems can be resolved before they even begin. By monitoring key words and conversations you may also be able to spot sales opportunities. If someone is looking to buy something that you sell, get in there before your competitor does.
In the global village the rules of conventional journalism have become redundant. The grammar of what passes for journalism has been completely re-written.
This month sees beer brand Heineken celebrate its 140th birthday, and after posting some punchy results in a market that has seen the number of beer d...
Formed in 1979, Ecover's mission was avowedly green: it aimed to reduce the amount of phosphates flowing into the water ways. Only later did it emphasise hygiene and the efficacy of its products. Last year it restated its mission as 'making a healthy and sustainable lifestyle easy'.
Armstrong's statement implies that he crossed the line between wanting to be better at his sport in order to win, and winning at any cost. That the winning became more important than the sport itself.
Retailers need to ensure that any personalisation strategy they do use to target consumers is fair and when they get this right, the result is beneficial for both parties.
The story should act as a stark warning to those hungry for fame. Anyone eagerly queuing up for 'talent show' auditions or bands gigging furiously, determined to be the 'next big thing', would do well to remember that the right to use and commercially exploit their name cannot always be guaranteed.
Brands beware - there is pent-up consumer demand for simplicity and transparency. To many it's a scary idea. A company that knows us so intimately it can give us what we want, almost before we know it ourselves.
Blogging represents an opportunity. If you are authentic and interesting, you will see numerous benefits, from SEO to greater engagement on social networks. Like any business opportunity there is a cost associated, which is why those who will benefit most will blog smart in 2013.
With a mobile wallet the process could be quite different. Consider this: you're walking past your favourite Indian take-away on the way home. As you walk past you get a text offering you half-price on your favourite curry. The next day you walk in and order the curry, paying by flashing the back of your phone at the point of payment with the offer applied automatically.
In the past, marketers often had to second-guess the issues that mattered to their customers. Today, we have the richest and most comprehensive source of customer insight at our fingertips.
A business's success isn't determined by its strategy, it's determined by what it actually does - products, service, markets, prices etc. - so for organisations that fall into this meaningless strategy trap the resulting lack of action is a major problem.
Are there ways to save a friend? Emily needed water. Badly. She needed water not in the way Pete Doherty needs a bath - more in the way a car needs a...
Boris Johnson stood on the Mall and bid a passionate farewell to the London Games. While I've seen American friends do it, this was the first speech by a politician that I've seen Brits post on Facebook. What was the difference? Well tone wins the day. Yes, Boris has a delicious mastery of the English language.
Every few weeks, my wife receives text messages from her hairdresser reminding her about appointments or checking if she would like to book an appointment via a special offer. This started a number of years ago and has become a welcome part of her life. This approach has now been adopted by a number of other local businesses we use. We now receive alerts about offers, sales, Christmas opening times and other activities. For us, it's a useful addition that we find far less intrusive than a phone call and more likely to be read than an email.
Two-thirds of the Olympic organising committee's £2bn operating budget has been raised through sponsorship. This means we have big brands to thank fo...
We are in the middle of a celebrity endorsement tsunami; never in the field of brand marketing has so much been endorsed to so many by so few. To walk London's streets right now is to be introduced to a bewildering array of sports and sports stars; Sunday magazines display their chiseled bodies and ghost-written autobiographies sit in their millions waiting to be shipped.
When considering the current crop of advertising, seeking to tap into the patriotic Olympic spirit, how many of them are succeeding in this aim? Which are born British, and which are trying to thrust Britishness upon themselves?
So yes, the branding rules are strict. And yes, people's attentions have been more focused on their TVs than shop windows. But small businesses can - and have - used the Games to their advantage. BrandGB is a powerful thing; so let's use it both now and beyond London 2012.
In today's globalised, interconnected and service-dominant economy, the pressure to create compelling, distinctive and meaningful engagements with customers and consumers is becoming evermore challenging.
