Vote for your ‘most loved’ brand

50 Golden BrandsTo celebrate their 50th Anniversary the Marketing Society has selected 50 brands from last 50 years, and asked visitors to vote for their favourite.

Although some of my favourites such as Apple and The Body Shop do appear on the list, they have missed some truly iconic names such as Walkers Crisps, Marmite and my personal favourite Alessi.

In true social media style the site allows comments, and I was amused to see “No Marmite No vote” from Michele.

1959 was the year The Marketing Society was founded and the birth of modern marketing. Today, The Marketing Society is the most influential network of senior marketers dedicated to championing marketing in the UK. Fifty Golden Brands is our exploration of the changing role of brands since our foundation.

Selecting a brand for each of the past 50 years was not easy. Our shortlist was assembled using a variety of different criteria. Which brands were launched, relaunched or revamped? Who was winning awards? Who were the top spenders and the top sellers? And which brands encapsulated the zeitgeist of the year?

This is not a definitive list. It’s a work in progress, a platform for discussion and now we need you to get involved. Who have we missed? Where were you? Which brands shone more brightly? Share your memories and insights of the last 50 years. Your involvement will enable us to finalise the definitive 50 Golden Brands in time for our anniversary in 2009.

Update to our first Free Live Webcast – Mothers of Invention

After a few minor technical hitches I managed to watch the webcast of our Mothers of Invention Inspiring Entrepreneurs event last night.

Although the image was small and a bit grainy the sound was excellent and it almost felt like being there, particularly during the question and answer session.

Highlights for me were Liz Jackson the founder of Great Guns Marketing who had left school with just one GCSE, but through the help her first boss who became her mentor and an unofficial apprenticeship, has become a leader in her field.

Her top tips were:

Gurinder ChadhaIt was also fascinating to hear how difficult it was for Gurinder Chadha the director of Bend it Like Beckham to get funding for the film, even with a previous success under her belt.

Let’s hear it for the blog

That’s not a quote from me, but is the title of a short but proselytizing discussion with marketing guru Seth Godin author of Purple Cow and legendary management author Tom Peters.

According to Tom, “no single thing in the last 15 years professionally has been more important to my life than blogging”.

There are lots of other interesting and inspirational snippets on the Open Forum website courtesy of American Express.

Many thanks to Leon for pointing out this free resource for aspiring entrepreneurs.

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Trendwatching’s six trends for 2009

trendwatching_logo1From the same people who produce Springwise the marvellous source of entrepreneurial ideas which I frequently blog about, comes Trendwatching‘s predictions of consumer trends for 2009.

As always, they have invented an intriguing set of ‘new’ words to cover their predictions for the year ahead.

1. Nichetributes, which is about the power of making products and services relevant by incorporating ‘attributes’ and features that cater to distinct (if not niche) consumer lifestyles and situations.*

2. Luxyoury: On to every brand professional’s favorite topic (or so it seems at times): The Future of Luxury. How will luxury brands fare this year? What will define luxury over the next few years? The answer to a large degree is, ‘luxury will be whatever you want it to be’. After all, what constitutes luxury is closely related to what constitutes scarcity. And while scarcity in traditional consumer societies was for decades defined by the biggest, the best, and the most expensive ‘items’, the ‘2009 consumer arena’ shows a bewildering number of ‘scarcities’, some of them invented purely to overcome the abundance now found in traditional sectors. More than ever, scarcity is in the eye of the beholder, especially those beholders who are desperately trying to be unique.

3. Feeeback 3.0: Which major consumer trend will continue to give (or take?) in novel ways in the next 12 months? Try TRANSPARENCY TYRANNY. Big in 2007, bigger in 2008, and even bigger this year. To get a feel for all transparency sub-trends, get your hands on our 2009 Trend Report (not free), but for now, let’s focus on FEEDBACK 3.0, which is one of the trends-within-a-trend that is starting to make waves. Basically:

* FEEDBACK 1.0 (one of those early web phenomena) saw outraged individuals posting scathing reviews, feedback and complaints, often to the delight of other netizens. Brands remained unaware or chose not to listen, dismissing these outbursts the way they’d dismissed any kind of customer dissatisfaction for decades.
* FEEDBACK 2.0 (which we’re in right now) is about these rants—and some raves—having gone ‘mass’(no, make that MASS!). The long-predicted conversation is finally taking place, albeit amongst consumers and not, as intended, between corporations and consumers. Companies have started to take note, but to a large degree still choose to listen, not talk back, trying to ‘learn’ from the for-all-to-see review revolution. Which is surprising, to say the least, since a quick and honest reply or solution can defuse even the most damaging complaint.
* FEEDBACK 3.0 (which is building as we speak) will be all about companies joining the conversation, if only to get their side of the story in front of the mass audience that now scans reviews. Expect smart companies to be increasingly able (and to increasingly demand) to post their apologies and solutions, preferably directly alongside reviews from unhappy customers. Expect the same for candid rebuttals by companies who feel (and can prove) that a particular review is unfair or inaccurate, and want to share their side of the story.

4. Econcierge: No, there will be no ‘eco fatigue’ in 2009, mainly because it’s hard to ignore or to dismiss the mind-boggling fortunes (and the accompanying power shifts and reductions in pollution) that are in store for those who figure out how to get the world off its addiction to oil and coal. Which means a steady stream of eco sub-trends. While we hope the likes of ECO-EMBEDDED and ECO-ICONIC are now firmly on your radar, here’s one more to start the new year with fresh, green brainstorming inspiration:

ECONCIERGES are firms and services dedicated to helping households go green in any possible way. And while any advice that reduces a household’s (harmful) consumption is beneficial enough, the fact that such advice leads to savings makes this a very 2009 development. In the coming 12 months, count on cash-strapped consumers to embrace sustainability with a vengeance, but first and foremost for monetary reasons. Next? How about helping consumers to make money by being green, by for example letting them generate and sell excess power to the ‘grid’?

5. Mapmania: Will this year be the year in which all things ‘contextual’, ‘app’, ‘local’, ‘urban’, ‘tags’, ‘lidar’, ‘smartphone’, ‘convenience’, ‘Cell ID’, ‘spontaneity’, ‘infolust’, and ‘GPS’ finally come together in one orgasmic celebration of map-based tracking, finding, knowing and connecting? Embraced by eager consumer masses who will flock to anything from friend-finders to lowest-gas-price-locators? Aided by services that already know which street users are on?

6. Happyending: The umbrella trend for the next 12 months? HAPPY ENDING!
2009 is an excellent year for those businesses keen on showing consumers that they really care. Much more on ‘caring’ in our upcoming February 2009 Trend Briefing, which will focus on GENERATION G, but for now: offering respect and relevance (NICHETRIBUTES), listening to real-time needs and wants (FEEDBACK 3.0), helping people to save money while being green (ECONCIERGE): all of this will not be forgotten by consumers that are currently feeling the heat.

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Dead Wringers and the Thatcher Nut Cracker

I’m not sure if the current trend for politically inspired products indicates a growing disenchantment with politicians (of all flavours). Or is just another unexplored niche in the crowded household products market.

One of our success stories Bill Anderson has developed a range of salt and pepper grinders under the brand Dead Wringers. He hopes to expand the range beyond the existing set of politicians and royals to include celebrities. You get the chance to vote for who’s neck should be next on the line.

Bill hopes Dead Wringers will put some much needed colour and fun back into politics. “For seven years I lived directly underneath Screaming Lord Sutch of the Monster Raving Loony Party. Some of his spirit of mischievous wit must have trickled down through the ceiling.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjyebOFZpys]

A more recent, and even less respectful, product is the Thatcher Nut Cracker

“The Iron Lady is back one last time to serve her country, crushing nuts between her steely thighs. Walnut, Macadamia, you name it – there’s no nut that’s a match for Maggie’s mighty pins!”

The Hearse and Trike Company

I wouldn’t want you to think that I spend a lot of time dwelling on the topic of funerals given my previous blog post on Crazy Coffins.

However as a confirmed biker, I couldn’t resist this story in the latest edition of Springwise. Instead of using an ‘old-fashioned’ horse to pull the nineteenth-century style hearse they go for a trike motorbike instead.

I have to say it doesn’t appeal to me, but it shows there is no niche too small when it comes to speciality services.

A dog’s dinner

Another reminder spotted on the streets of Seattle, that the United States is the home of innovative products and services, and that nothing is too niche.

Dine with your Dog is an ‘additional’ service provided by the Three Dog Bakery.


As seen on Dragon’s Den

I am aware that the producers of Dragon’s Den select some of their ‘victims’ purely for their entertainment factor, rather than as a serious business proposition.

The couple who ‘invented’ the idea of the Layline must surely fall into this category. I have to admit that the idea of buying a sheet with a tactile line woven through the middle to avoid arguments about who has taken the lion’s share of the bed does seem somewhat nutty.

However, despite being dismissed as “ridiculous” by the fearsome dragons it would appear that Ros Adams and John Foster-Smith had the last laugh. According to Real Business they were knowingly using the show as a way of publicising themselves and their serious business, FilmCircle – a DVD website.

But even their website for the Layline product shows how they have been able to use their opportunity to maximum benefit. For a start they have used the classic “As seen on TV” quote on a nice red banner in the top right-hand corner. Even more cheekily they have used used the following quotes out of context: “Television gold”, The Daily Telegraph – “This pitch..is a gem”, RealBusiness.co.uk.

I have to say I admire their chutzpah.

Healthy marketing goes bananas

As a regular commuter and walker through London I am used to having flyers and more recently newspapers thrust in my face. Even more annoying are the chuggers (charity muggers) who seemed to have resisted attempts to control their behaviour.

So I was somewhat surprised to have a banana proffered in my direction as I was entering St Paul’s Thameslink railway station on Wednesday morning. Admittedly there was an accompanying leaflet promoting a special offer at L A Fitness, but what caught my eye was the sticky label on the banana extolling me to enjoy the healthy snack on them.

Associating a free healthy snack with a similarly healthy product or service makes good sense but is all too rare an approach to ‘bribing’ customers.

City Business Library – Under One Roof with guest speaker Jo Fairley of Green & Black’s chocolate.

Wednesday 1 November 2007

Jo_FairleyWhat an inspiration Jo Fairley is. Not only did her partner found the Whole Earth but when he refused to sell chocolate because “it contains added sugar”, she set up Green & Black’s the worlds first organic chocolate.

Here is a snippet of their ground-breaking story:

It all started back in 1991 when Craig Sams, founder of Whole Earth – the pioneering organic food company – was sent a sample of dark 70% chocolate made from organic cocoa beans. His wife, environment columnist for The Times and confirmed chocoholic, Josephine Fairley, found the half eaten bar on Craig’s desk and sampled some for herself. The intense flavour was unique and unlike anything she had tasted before. Jo was convinced other chocolate lovers would appreciate it in the same way she had and they set about making the world’s first organic chocolate. The final product was a high-quality, bitter-sweet dark chocolate bar, packed with 70% cocoa solids – enough to make chocolate fans sit up and take notice..

FairTrade_logoAs the brand began to gain a loyal following, Maya Gold was added to the range in 1994 – the product of a holiday Jo & Craig made to where they discovered cocoa farmers were being penalised, as some larger confectionery companies tried to drive cocoa prices down. They agreed to pay the farmers a fair price for their crops and created the flavour of Maya Gold to capture the taste of the rainforests where the cocoa is grown. This way of doing business didn’t seem different to them – it was what came naturally but it subsequently earned them the UK’s first Fairtrade mark.