10 Branding Trends for 2010: Value is the New Black

Though US economists are cautiously predicting an uptick in consumer spending next year, the post-recession landscape will present brand marketers with new challenges, new engagement realities and new rules, and will increase pressure to prove how and why branded products deliver value, according to (pdf) Dr. Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys.
Using what Passikoff calls “predictive loyalty [...]

Most Watched “Branded” YouTube video of 2009 and more…

Evian’s Skating Babies was watched over 27 million times, making it the 5th most popular YouTube video of 2009, and the year’s most watched commercial on the site.
This year has been the biggest yet for online video, and for the first time we’re sharing our official Most Watched lists and some of the fastest-rising search [...]

Made in China, made with the world

China wants to change the world’s perception of “made in China.” 

To that end, China’s Ministry of Commerce recently launched a beautifully crafted advertising campaign—”made in China, made with the world”—designed to change poor perception of products made in China. It focuses on the undisputed fact that China is the manufacturing center of the world [...]

The 7 wonders of branding

I’m going to come clean with you. I’ve become brand saturated and blogged out. In my quest to keep up with, and influence, the evolving “body of knowledge,” I’ve been increasingly subjected to a bunch of babble about brands and branding. Everything from what a brand actually is to the critical importance of brand names [...]

Patagonia: They also sell clothes

There are brands and then there are affinity brands.
The difference? Community.
You don’t just experience an affinity brand. Your identity is enmeshed with it. You are a proud member of the club.
“Cult Brands aren’t just companies with products or services to sell,” says BJ Bueno, co-author of The Power of Cult Branding: How 9 Magnetic Brands [...]

The Language Of Brand Names

Names not just “are,” they “do.” As a part of language, names identify a business or brand, but also subtly suggest certain types of action.
To explain, we must wade into the pond of language. Scholars have pointed out that every utterance has three functions:
# The locutionary function involves what the expression denotes.
# The illocutionary entails [...]

10 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2010

Trendwatching.com, a great resource for highlighting emerging trends around the world, recently released their “10 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2010” briefing and described the coming year as “it’s going to be another interesting year.” You can read the briefing here. A very brief executive summary of the trends is below:
1) Business as Unusual – Forget [...]