How to damage to a brand – a true story… Ever since it was invented in Australia in 1922, the Vegemite commitment to naming comedy has been relentless. When Cyril P Callister (apparently true) came up with his Marmite-esque spread in 1922, he didn’t know what to call it, so decided to give the Fred Walker Cheese Company (also apparently true) responsibility for naming it. Th...

The Royal Mail has an amazing heritage. Its origins can be traced to 1635 when Charles I opened up his “royal mail” for usage by the general public. Oliver Cromwell was responsible for establishing the General Post Office in 1657 and Charles II allowed it to distribute the “royal mail” shortly after the restoration in the early 1660’s. Few brands can claim anything like such...

The idea of individuals being brands is old hat. David Beckham, Elle Macpherson, Paris Hilton, Derren Brown, the list is endless. But, don’t forget, you too are a brand. I bet Danny MacAskill’s pals on the Isle of Skye would never have dreamed of the brand he would become when they were growing up. When he was riding his bike, they probably thought he was pretty cool, but I ...

I’m not sure if it is my fault or not, but at least two major brands seem to have completely misunderstood my last blog post. When I urged brands in general to be very careful about not going the way of Formula One and fundamentally damaging their brand in a short term desire to chase money, I must somehow have confused both M&S and BA. Almost immediately after the last