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November 26, 2014
Very interesting listening to the first of the Reith Lectures from Dr Atul Gawande yesterday. Dr Gawande is nothing if not brave. He is taking on some serious vested interests with his view that operating theatre data should be made fully available in the interests of improving medical performance. He likens what he’d like to see to the Black Box Recorder in an aircraft cockpit. If Dr Gawande had his...
Read MoreOctober 13, 2014
I am meeting more and more people who used to be Social Media fans who are now trying to wean themselves into less digital interaction, seeking more head-space they can call their own. I gather that more and more people are trying to have Digital Free Weekends, or at least iPhone-free dinners. (One friend tells me that they went to a business lunch recently, and everyone had to put their...
Read MoreSeptember 12, 2014
The news of an arson attack by a teenager on a Dogs Home in Manchester is shocking. And nobody would criticise the motives of the person or people who set up a JustGiving Page as a response. I have a JustGiving Page. I used it to raise money for Cancer Research when I rode the Ride London 100. But, it’s only recently that I have fully clocked that JustGiving is...
Read MoreJuly 10, 2014
Before the World Cup, if you googled the phrase “Brazil as a brand” you’d find all sorts of upbeat stuff. Clever marketing folk were positioning Brazil as “the marketer’s dream”, citing a culture buzzing with the sound of the Samba, and the roar of a crowd enjoying the jogo bonito. As one commentator from Think With Google writes: “When the rest of the world’s perception of your country is one of outgoing and sun-soaked...
Read MoreJune 10, 2014
Nike’s immensely expensive and very impressive 5 minute cartoon for the World Cup is sweet – and perfectly on brand. Anyone who has ever tried (even a little bit) at any sport knows that you do have to “Risk Everything” if you want to be a Great Player. It’s a fabulous strategy. See film: My quibble is less about brand strategy and more about current affairs. Watch the cartoon and...
Read MoreMarch 25, 2014
I usually have a view on technology. As soon as I saw my first Sony Walkman, I was convinced it would be a game-changing hit. Same with my first iPOD. Same with my MacBook Air. Same with SONOS and Spotify – especially combined. But when I saw 3DTV a few years ago, I felt guilty that I wasn’t impressed. I’m still not. And nor are most other people. Is it...
Read MoreFebruary 14, 2014
As today is Valentine’s Day, it is time to lay aside talk of brands and marketing and concentrate on the love-stuff. If ever there was a word that divided opinion, it seems to be Love. Katharine Hepburn is one of the more Romantic Souls, who said (no doubt in a husky love drenched voice): “Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get — only with what...
Read MoreJanuary 17, 2014
I’ve been drinking Guinness for years. For too many years. Many moons ago, drinking Guinness was all about Aran Jumpers, the glow of log fires and Irish accents. At the time, I recall exaggerating my Irish Ancestry (I am 3/8th Irish, so my Mother tells me) just to feel closer to the Guinness Brand. I wore an Aran jumper. I sought out log fires. I grew floppy hair, and tried...
Read MoreNovember 28, 2013
I am usually a fan of super-cheesy Christmas TV commercials. John Lewis never lets us down. But this one, from Harvey Nichols, is surely the best example for a long time of an anti-Christmas Christmas Ad: Of course, Harvey Nichols are no strangers to garnering publicity from controversy. The Daily Mail got suitably upset back in 2012, when Harvey Nichols advertised their sale with women – shall we say –...
Read MoreNovember 26, 2013
I used to own a Blackberry. In fact, I think I have owned about five. Maybe more. As a family, we seem to have a drawer-load. But now, like most ex-Blackberry users, I put up with the dreadful keyboard on an otherwise beautiful and nifty iPhone. I mis-type mor eth an I type. But I persevere with the iPhone because the idea of owning a Blackberry is no longer tenable...
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