BRANDOPIA

Swoon Editions: Pop-Up Shop, Soho, London

 

'Brand' the Marketect says:

"Create an off-line brand experience for your online brand"

Marco's Hand-Crafted Pizza

 

'Brand' the Marketect says:

"When competing with the 'Big Boys' in your market, do not just focus on their weakness, but look for the weakness in their strength - their 'Achilles Heel'"

PhotoShoot at CharlieCHOYs - World Buffet Restaurant

'Brand' the Marketect says:

"When building your destination brand, focus half your efforts on internal marketing - your staff and stakeholders - the brand champions"

BrandWagon: Choiroke Promo in Greater Gatwick

 

'Brand' the Marketect says:

"Co-branding your product with a place is one of the most powerful destination brand strategies available today"

Tweepeats: Top Twenty Tweets in November 2011

 

 

1. GuilFAST: BRAVO brandstorms at VinesBMW in Guildford's Auto City for a speednetworking April event featuring Surrey: Stockbroker Belt 
2. Queen Vic: Fab Victorian Xmas Market @Gloucester Quays http://t.co/kNhmo4u1 [vid]
3. Final GrandPrix 2011: Congrats MarkW & RedBull on FI Brazil win. That's 18-from-19 wins for MotorSport Valley, England
4. Lytrography: RT @paulhardycarter At last! Digital photography comes of age http://t.co/0aOcezjK
5. Les Marks: M&S should succeed 2nd-time round in France http://t.co/4bcLA7mO if its cultural branding is on-code http://t.co/IxlfqkVf
6. Thanksgiving: CanAm's annual cultural ritual http://t.co/ztST8vxZ [blog]
7. Imaginacres: HamishTaylor - "Innovate by borrowing ideas from outside your industry" http://t.co/L36xQQjM [vid]
8. United Colors: RT @Brandamentalist Benetton - Brand Building on a Higher Purpose: http://t.co
9. I Amsterdam: RT @EdBurghard Amsterdam is a great case study in place branding - http://t.co/r4Rvey7K 
10. PricePlosion: How brands remain profitable during an era of price pandemonium http://t.co/QV8ivuRD
11. Field of Dreams: Olympic hockey stars feature @EastGrinstead - Epicentre of the Free Spirits of Wealdonia http://t.co/BAd22Ip7
12. The Choir: RT @Choiroke Military wives build a cultural bridge between town & army base http://t.co/YZ2oBdsf
13. Vintage Rally: Crawley's branding stays on-code: Staging Post for Horses (on 4 vintage wheels) http://t.co/OzvIb0LP [vid]
14. GatQwick: RT @interacter RT @MarketingWeekEd Gatwick invests in digital media network http://t.co/3uGzWcGD
15. TheGuy: Lewes Bonfire http://t.co/TzrZIP8g [flickr] courtesy of Sussex: England's Festival County http://t.co/e3SOrsU8 [vid]
16. Co-Housing: Totnes in Devon builds its big brand idea by launching a co-housing group http://t.co/1jJnsbVk
17. Food Hospital: From 'Conventional' therapy (1st Way) & 'Complementary' therapy (2nd way) to a 3rd way 'Culinary' therapy http://t.co/kTaO6fzU
18. England's Garden: Co-brand your product (visitor attraction) with the place it's located in (county) http://t.co/De0u2Gzo [vid]
19. Branded Ritual: TeamBRAVO: World's First InfraCulture Social Enterprise performs an Elvis 'Choiroke' after its brand-stormin session
20. Bear vs Beaver: A Canadian Tale of Two Animals - http://t.co/WVYProfG How to tell if someone is really Canadian http://t.co/GwPbw9M4 [vid]

Tweepeats: Top Twenty Tweets in August 2011

1. Pow-Wow: Creative conversation with @Louisecamby & @EveTaylor88 about Putting the Show into Business with the Wow Factor
2. Risk/Reward: Risk management for brands http://t.co/Rrta3cY [vid]
3. GrandPrix: Congrats SebV & RedBull on FI Spa Belgium win. That's 11-from-12 wins for MotorSport Valley, England
4. SuperFish: & Jane's Upstairs restaurant http://t.co/Rw8WdkX the best fish & chips in England's Vineyard - UK's Newest Regional Destination. Unless you know different?
5. Flocabulary: Five essential elements of a branded story http://t.co/9Y65eVd [vid]
6. Obituary: RIP Indian test cricket, which died at The Oval on 22 August 2011. Mourned by 1.2 billion fanatical friends
7. Lawnatic: Nice website for Lawnatics - from Novices to Enthusiasts http://t.co/vpWILbX
8. Dream Destination: Where to dream up big brand ideas http://t.co/VQ4KmP4
9. Hotlanta: A branding opportunity for Atlanta, Georgia - host of the USPGA Golf Championship 2011 http://bit.ly/q1paCz [blog]
10. Branded Rituals: World's strangest festivals http://t.co/VvZQoiJ
11. CraicingUp: via @Louisecamby How Irish dancing got started http://t.co/OyLlsEn How to tell if someone is really Irish http://t.co/pKnlBaD
12. Brand Hierarchy: Are the current street riots perceived primarily as London or England or Britain?
13. Brand USA 2: RT @adrielhampton Branding Blunders - The Fall of Brand America http://t.co/Y5cppHW
14. Brand USA Valuation: @FelixWetzel says -The tea party stand off will have a negative impact, the (credit) rating hardly at all.
15. Brand USA 1: Will the downgrading of its credit rating have a negative impact on the valuation of the world's most valuable country brand?
16. Fizztival: Festival of Fizz at LingfieldPark, Surrey featured on @ukvine website http://t.co/gU2NrWD
17. Branded Rituals: Attendances UP at UK's biggest sporting events http://t.co/aEvefZL Of Top 10, five are horse racing events
18. Heathropolis: Author jets into Heathrow as writer-in-residence http://t.co/Z5O9qgP
19. Name-That-Neighbourhood: London 2012 Olympic Park neighbourhood names revealed http://t.co/CxvLD3H
20. GrandPrix: Congrats JensonB & McLaren on FI Hungary win. That's 10-from-11 wins for MotorSport Valley, England

Tweepeats: Top Twenty Tweets in July 2011

1. BrandStorm:TeamBRAVO brandstorms MeetGatQwick - A speednetworking event for networkers. Diary Date - Wed 19th Oct http://t.co/SMYrBy6 [vid]
2. Taboo: Did you know that in the Ukraine whistling is considered to be bad manners and will bring bad luck http://t.co/dSARyMM
3. MatchMaker: Which English county has the greatest number of 'Bride&Groom' shops? Hint: It's 'The Garden of England' http://t.co/oZuz2h6 [vid]
4. GrandPrix: Congrats LewisH & McLaren on FI Nurburgring, Germany win. That's 9-from-10 wins for MotorSport Valley, England
5. CultureClash: After Belgium Day, still no government - A big brand idea within the Flanders & Wallonia culture clash http://t.co/lwE3xes
6. LeTour: Final week of destination brand leader France's finest brand-building event http://t.co/RYWw0Vl
7. VendaBack: Fun ad posters on vending machines http://t.co/25YaoBV Who said Germans don't have a sense of humour http://t.co/jQXls53 [vid] 
8. EthicalTravel: World's Top Ten Ethical Destinations for Travellers 2011 http://t.co/XSD5PG3 dominated by Central & South Americas
9. Hotlanta: Following yesterday's conversation about Atlanta, Georgia, here's a previous blog post on its branding http://t.co/ZQmaRmI 
10. Brand India: Are the new Yoga classes http://t.co/NhMyihi diluting or enhancing India's spiritual branding? http://t.co/bHnVjlp [vid/blog]
11. North-South Divide: RT @marketingwizdom National stereotypes: Map of Europe according to Italy | @flickr http://t.co/fgcKAjT <Benissimo!
12. PowerNap: German unions call for siestas http://tinyurl.com/6yeof67 Should they copy the sleep-any-time Japanese? http://tinyurl.com/37y7qfk [vid]
13. DADology: The changing relationship of Dads & their Kids http://bit.ly/qzEN6a Could brands learn how to adapt their marketing & branding?
14. CultureClash: @Louisecamby 'The Voice' invades the Channel Islands: Capital of Cultural Collisions http://t.co/WSTJmVO [vid] 
15. Stealth Branding: Is Superdry quietly taking over the fashion world? http://t.co/OCYLpGZ
16. BastilleDay: An insight into French culture http://t.co/cmAzH4g
17. Afri-Brand: On 9th July a nation is born - Republic of South Sudan http://t.co/Qt6FybZ Pity about the brand-extended compass name
18. Shabitat: Nice article on Habitat's identikit crisis http://t.co/QBc9iJW A brand lesson from IKEA http://t.co/vEgAO6G [blog]
19. Cast of Characters: Inspiration for branded stories from Harry Potter vs Star Wars http://bit.ly/lpubEn
20. When Cambridge Met Canada: Could Kate&Wills inspire Canadians to find their big branded identity? http://t.co/TWQEmyN [blog]

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Tweepeats: Favourite-Fifteen Tweets in February 2011

1. SpellCheck: When you're stressed you eat ice cream, cake, chocolate. Why? Because STRESSED spelt backwards spells DESSERTS 
2. N for Notts: Could things get worse for Notts? - #1 worst for East Midlands Retail Decay @ a vacany rate of 23.5% http://bit.ly/iggLw5
3. Friendly Bombs: Is there any hope for Slough with a 21.2% shop vacancy rate in its Town Centre? http://tinyurl.com/6l67dv4
4. Retail Decay 1: Vacancy Rates for UK Top 6 Worst Large Town Centres http://tinyurl.com/6ds4zmt [vid]
5. Retail Decay 2: Top 6 Worst Large Town Centres in South East England. Discover which county dominates? http://tinyurl.com/5rhjsk4 [vid]
6. Retail Decay 3: Top 6 Worst Vacancy Rates of London High Streets. Shock! - The No.1 worst is a wealthy London suburb http://bit.ly/eOAUPs
7. Marketing P: Borrow from Aristotle - A Marketing P for Philosopy http://tinyurl.com/5u7mece [vid]
8. CultureClub: David Cameron - "State multiculturalism has failed" Could Canada lead EU to a new cultural cohesion? http://tinyurl.com/ya9zmsk
9. Valentine's World: Top Ten Romantic Place Names - Worldwide! http://bit.ly/hTEbX0 [Vid]
10. HorseSense: Racecourse - A Country Club with a Racetrack attached. A magical metaphor
11. MetaMagic: 'The Subconscious Mind is an Incubator'. A magical metaphor
12. Metaphoria: 'Company Choirs are the new Yoga' - A magical metaphor http://bit.ly/ignfN2
13. Ruburbia: Ruban the Fox http://bit.ly/g10wit - a symbolic mascot for the next-gen Ruburban Cities of Medway, GreaterGatwick & Heathropolis?
14. Brandelicious: When Mr Cadbury Met Ms Rowntree http://bit.ly/h9BgVN
15. 2 More Ps: Adding the Ps of Philosophy (eg Socrates) & Physics (eg. Heinsenberg) to the Marketing Playbook

 

Tweepeats: Favourite-Fifteen Tweets in January 2011

 

 

 

1. CultureClash: Channel Islands - Capital of Cultural Collisions - the mother-lode of big brand ideas http://bit.ly/ePCn47 [vid]
2. Confucion: Starbucks say: Picture worth 1000 words. Google say: Word worth 1000 pictures. What you say? http://tinyurl.com/yzfenlt [vid]
3. Brand Italy: Ten ways to tell if someone is really Italian http://bit.ly/gesnDt [vid] 
4. Re-positioning: 1. Airport - Shopping Mall complete with Runway.  2. Racecourse - Country Club complete with Racetrack + Hotel, Golf Course & Helipad 
5. NameGame: The trend of personal naming to move away from religious sources? And towards places & objects? http://tinyurl.com/6coeouz
6. No SWOT?: New use of the old SWOT http://bit.ly/eYvHlG [vid]
7. Flagdom: Welcome to the Unimaginative Flagdom of the Red, White & Blue http://tinyurl.com/6xhac9a [vid]
8. Crawley Together 3: Could a culinary renaissance re-vitalise Crawley's Town Centre? http://tinyurl.com/6hxlase [vid]
9. Simples: Experience Orlov's Mansion Tour at Destination Meerkovo - Home of the Meerkovians http://www.meerkovo.com/ 
10. Oz-tra-lia: Celebrate Oz Day on 26th Jan with Brand Australia - Ten ways to tell if someone is really Australian http://tinyurl.com/687qnhp [vid]
11. SuperBrand: Can the host City of Arlington, Texas overcome the confusion of SuperBowl XLV's 'North Texas' regional compass branding?
12. FocusHocusPocus: Why VooDoo Doughnut would never have got through the Focus Group http://bit.ly/g9CAQO
13. Tribalism: Inspiration from the tribal rituals of The Racing Tribe of HorseWatchers http://tinyurl.com/6gjzx6f [vid]
14. Clandom: After Burn's Night celebrations Scotland should develop a big brand idea based on its Cultural Source Code http://bit.ly/9V0tkH [vid]
15. HocusPocusFocus 2: Alternative to Focus Groups: Anthropology - Observation in real situations with little or no artificial interference

Brand Wyevale R.I.P: War of the Roses

A creative conversation between Des and Tina, Brandopia's mythical brand developers

DES: Wyevale, the UK's largest chain of destination garden centres, has not only emerged battered and bruised by corporate inner-fighting and outer-takeovers, but it also seems to have left its branding brains splattered all over the business battlefield.
TINA: The company has announced that its well-established brand name - Wyevale - is being ditched on the compost heap for the more generic corporate name - The Garden Centre Group.

DES: Remember what happened to GM - the generic General Motors Corp name? And ICI - the generic Imperial Chemical Industries corporate name? The notable exception being GE - the generic General Electric Company led by the brilliant Jack Welch - now sadly retired. (Hint: GE's competitors in many of their categories are moving quickly from generic, un-focused positions to take up focused, specialist positions).
TINA: And to make matters worse, just a couple of months after being voted 'UK's Best Garden Centre' by 7,500 gardeners in an online BBC Gardener's World poll, the company also announced that the Wyevale name would be pruned from every customer-facing garden centre - nationwide.

DES: Only to be replaced by either well-established local names such as Blooms and Bridgemere or local place names such as Slough Garden Centre.
TINA: Poor ol' founder Henry Williamson must be turning in his well-manicured grave as he witnesses the toll that the War of the Roses 2001-09 is having on his beloved Wyevale brand.

'Brand' the Marketect says:

"Cherish the legacy of a brand that you inherit, then future-focus its cultural source-code."

Note: This post was inspired by Jo Allen, Creative Director of brand development agency Savvy&Victor located in Sussex: England's Festive County

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