Tag: brand

Jun 182013

A brand is…

Measurement, Personal productivity No Comments

A brand is (at its core)…a promise. What is it you or your product commit to doing for, or adding to, someone’s life?

We like this actual stated ‘promise’ on the contact card for our local noodle bar:

“ to serve great tasting noodles, in generous portions, using high quality ingredients and outstandingly fresh produce, giving our customers outstanding value for money each and every time.”

And like the way the manager responds to even critical reviews…all part of the promise…

Makes me want to go back soon.

Tags: behaviour, brand, communication

Posted in Measurement, Personal productivity | No Comments »

Mar 252013

Global customer service??

Personal productivity, Values No Comments

From this hotel chain customer service programme (see the third section: People-ology) marketed nicely to staff with this high end video production (which, by the way, I think is making a difference to my experience of their hotel group)….

…to this concern for important consumer issues around the world from the campaigning organisation CI.

From the sublime to the ridiculous? From the service to the haves, to the exploitation of the have not’s?

Consumers? Users? Buyers? People?

‘Customers’ unite??

Tags: brand, change, culture

Posted in Personal productivity, Values | No Comments »

Oct 12012

Execution, a case study…

Measurement No Comments

Apple maps remain newsworthy – and a powerful case study in poor execution (despite the strength of the competitive strategy).

It is making me cautious of the iphone 5….a previous non-brainer switch from my old Sony Ericsson.

Tags: brand, communication, confidence

Posted in Measurement | No Comments »

Mar 222012

More on chatty brands

Reflect No Comments

Our recent post and the one before got some interest …

Here is a relevant angle from the BBC.

Tags: brand, communication

Posted in Reflect | No Comments »

Jan 302012

The power of brands

Reflect No Comments

Do you like brands?

No, not just D&G or Gucci or Louis Vuitton…but John Lewis, Oxfam, Amnesty International, IPCC…

Is the gap they fill a sign of a weak ego and co-dependency? Or is it a deeper connection in terms of fashion or philosophy?

It seems most of us love some brands – commercial or charitable. We endow them with properties in response to the promise of improvement and fulfilment they offer us.

In a world where status is increasingly less due to our born class position (as that can change) or cultural appreciation (high and low art are blended and enjoyed in surprising places and ways), the brands we consume and the identities we construct matter like never before.

Tags: brand

Posted in Reflect | No Comments »

May 162011

Still the 2 global cities?

Do No Comments

Two pictures on sale at a provincial John Lewis store.

Both London and New York get the funky mood board treatment.

Since posting this on World Class Cities a year ago, most people seem to agree that only these two places have lots of things in them that many (most) people in the world would know about – from red buses and yellow taxis to tall towers and distinctive bridges.

And with two billion viewers tuning in to the Royal wedding on 29th April, there are now many more who will know 10 sights within a couple of hundred metres of St James’ Park!

Tags: brand, global

Posted in Do | No Comments »

May 32011

Tulips from Amsterdam?

photos, Think No Comments

A scene from…

…The Netherlands?

Nah,

Near

London Theatre Land

(though they’re almost certainly Dutch bulbs!)

Tags: brand, lean

Posted in photos, Think | No Comments »

Apr 182011

Naming great service

Do No Comments

Having walked past a phone pole with some coiled up cable at head height for a few months, I decided to try to sort it out.

I posted a comment on the BT Openreach website to report it.

Within 24 hours it was acknowledged, sorted and notified (by a call from the engineer).

Impressive!

This contrasts with 3 months of repeatedly ringing the local council to get a street light bulb replaced.

Tags: brand, culture, service

Posted in Do | No Comments »

Apr 72011

Surprisingly good coffee

Think No Comments

Further to a recent post on the (slow) speed of innovation transfer in the hot drinks market, we now find that in the hunt for a great Flat White coffee:

1) lots of places serve a white Americano instead (not the double shot of espresso, in a small cup, topped with velvety milk)

2) Starbucks (perhaps against expectations?) do a good job at it.

Being the biggest doesn’t mean you can’t be the best at ‘stealing with pride’.