Square. Slack. Sea. These words could soon mean a lot more to you than their literal meaning. They are all on Interbrand’s 2017 list of Breakthrough Brands, the companies that are rising head and shoulders above their peers and breaking through to the level where they are soon to become household names. The 40 companies … Read more

Brand Architecture – Maximising Synergies from Complex Portfolios Brand architecture may at first sight seem like the tediously dull end of the otherwise exciting area of new brand development with its creative naming, cutting edge logo design and glitzy launches.  But look at the detail and you’ll see that this is the world of brand strategy … Read more

The guys down at Mortgage Finance Gazette have covered the recent launch of Propertymark. Previously known as ARLA, NAEA, NAVA, ICBA and APIP, we created the new name and the new brand with the focus on increasing consumer awareness of the business. Find out more here.  

Names – as Waitrose has just discovered – can be unintentionally misleading. Waitrose has found itself on the end of negative publicity from both the National Farmers’ Union and customers for calling its range of ready meals “British”. Waitrose chose the name to reflect the origin of the recipes, for example lamb hotpot and shepherd’s … Read more

The National Federation of Property Professionals (NFoPP) has rebranded and repositioned as the umbrella brand Propertymark and the changes, developed by Grain Creative, are aiming to significantly disrupt the estate and letting agency market in the UK. Through its membership associations, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents … Read more

Changing a well-established and well-known brand with all its existing brand attributes, brand promises and emotional ties can be like the clichéd oil tanker which needs a very long time to change course. There are still people who call a Snickers bar “Marathon”! It can be a challenge to say the least. But to rebrand the biggest … Read more

Relations between Iceland the country and Iceland the supermarket chain have been frosty for quite some time. And the cold war warmed up in November as the country announced it was going to legally challenge the use of the company’s trademark, arguing that while the supermarket has attempted to freeze them out from using the word … Read more

A £600m name that no-one will ever know. DAMAC, the Dubai-based property company, has been in the news lately as it has appointed Australia’s Lendlease to build the high rise property, now known as Aykon London One, on the site in Nine Elms Battersea London. The interiors of the 50-storey building have been designed by … Read more

Why Farming Out Branding Is A Good Idea If you go back to the 1960s and 1970s, supermarket own label brands were almost universally the equivalent of today’s value brands and the Tesco Delamare and Golden Ring brands were seen as relatively poor quality but very low cost. A reflection of the Jack Cohen “pile … Read more

Sometimes Nougat Sticks in Your Teeth! After the unimaginative Android Alpha and Android Beta, Google has historically named its Android updates after sweet products (or as Google calls them “sweet treats”). In compulsory alphabetical order we’ve had; Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat, Lollipop and Marshmallow. When they arrived … Read more

I was recently interviewed by Managing Intellectual Property magazine, one of the leading sources worldwide of news and analysis of all things relating to IP. The interview covered many of the specialist areas where the expertise of branding agencies are important in helping clients avoid the pitfalls they might experience if they try naming and branding … Read more

Spring has sprung and summer is well on its way. A lot has happened since February 29th, when we were in touch last, and we’re itching to tell you all about what we’ve been up to. This time we also have a free giveaway that’s just perfect to get you in the summer mindset! Win two tickets to … Read more

The synergies of naming, branding and trademark protection There’s a political adage that you should bury bad news on a big news day. You have to wonder if the rebranding of Hyperloop Technologies to Hyperloop One took advantage of this maxim. The big news was that Hyperloop One were going to test their levitating electromagnetic … Read more

After attending the Westminster Media Forum seminar “The UK fashion industry – digital strategies, IP, international competitiveness and policy priorities,” I had the opportunity to contribute an article for the delegates and policymakers in Westminster, Whitehall and Brussels. “Brand is the number one driver (or barrier) to purchase in the fashion industry.” – Richard Danks, Head … Read more

The great bard once wrote “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” a phrase sometimes quoted by modern day detractors of the branding industry to imply that you could pick any name out of a hat for a new brand and it would not affect that brand’s fortunes. … Read more