Blog entries

Halloween Marketing

Tony Franco — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 11:44:05 +0100

According to this article, Tango will seek to become the 'official sponsor' of Halloween with a raft of Halloween focused marketing activity. I'm sure they won't be the one brand seeking to cash in.

Every year, Halloween gets bigger and more popular. What I can't understand is why and how Halloween has become such a big deal. When I was a kid it was all about Bonfire Night which seems to have decliRead More...

The New Kindle

Tony Franco — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:45:09 +0100

I’ve written about e-books a couple of times in the past, speculating as to whether they would really take off. Well, according to Amazon it is now selling more electronic books than hardbacks. So, it appears that the Kindle is here to stay and that electronic book readers will continue to grow in popularity. This is largely due to:

Whilst on holiday one of the biggest decisions we had to make was whether to buy Moretti or Peroni at the supermarket. In the end Moretti always won. Both brands cost about the same, taste quite similar and are both ‘authentic’ Italian brands.....so why did we always choose Moretti? Well, it only goes to prove that ultimately brand choices areRead More...

Twitter and Brand Building

Tony Franco — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:26:13 +0100

Nice piece from Mark Ritson where he questions the role of Twitter in building brands. Click here to read. Essentially he argues that it’s a great tool for human interaction, but has limited use for brand interactions. I have to agree that it’s role in brand communications is hyped and at best marginal. I can see the point in following the activities of yRead More...

Cool Stickers

Tony Franco — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:12:09 +0100

My old friend Beverly has just started a new business - Boogogo, which sells fabulous stickers for cars, scooters and all kinds of stuff. Click here to view the site. It just shows how with a great idea and a beautifully designed website its easy to set up a new business.

It also demonstrates that people from Derby are natural entrepreneurs!

The People Behind Brands

Tony Franco — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:59:57 +0100

One of the developments that I’ve noticed in the food industry is the success of relatively small, premium food brands that feature ‘real people’. Examples include

Debbie & Andrew's, Ella’s Kitchen, Cully & Sully, Charlie Bigham’s

A few months ago Dove decided to launch a range of male products under the name ‘Dove Men+Care’. Essentially this is a range of deodorants and shower gels. I’m not close enough to the category to make a judgement as to whether it will be successful or not, but experienced commentators reckon it’ll do pretty well.

However, I still think it’s shame theRead More...

Latest John Lewis Ad

Tony Franco — Sun, 09 May 2010 18:05:52 +0100

The latest John Lewis TV commercial is the best ad I’ve seen for a long time. Click here to view it.

It’s an ad that’s uplifting, aspirational and rather sad. There’s also a strong, self confident brand message. Plus of coursRead More...

Kellogg's Krave

Tony Franco — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:19:37 +0100

I was really surprised at the Kellogg's launch their new breakfast cereal Krave. The website describes it as:

'a crispy cereal shell made of oats, wheat and rice and devilish smooth chocolate hazlenut flavoured centre'

Should they really be launching another chocolate based cereal in this era of healthy eating and childhood obesity? Feels very anti-trend and not particularly innovative. I guesRead More...

Creative Creatures

Tony Franco — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:12:11 +0100

Check out this new website which takes a fresh and enlightened look at creativity in the workplace.

The New Liberal Party Slogan

Tony Franco — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 07:45:32 +0100

Am unimpressed with the Liberal party slogan - see above. It's too long and appears to be an amalgam of the other party slogans. Labour are promising us 'a future fair for all' and the Conservatives' are hoping for a 'year for change'. It only serves to reinforce the perception that the Liberals are a bit wishy washy.
However, over the course of the election campaRead More...

Santander - Now with Jenson Button

Tony Franco — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:05:00 +0100

The Formula 1 Season is about to begin, with all eyes on the McClaren dream team of Hamilton and Button. And guess what, Santander is going to feature Button in their latest advertising. This offers another creative challenge. What will he do in the ads? Will he just stand around with nothing to say or do, as Hamilton did ? Will they appear together. Can't wait.

Packaging Reduction Likely to Accelerate in 2010

Tony Franco — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:28:33 +0100

I read recently that a number of big brands have signed up to a government initiative to reduce waste throughout the supply chain. Of course, reducing waste is not a new development, but being such powerful brands their actions are likely to have a bigger impact on our lives in 2010.

For example, Tesco is trialling plastic bottles for itRead More...

The Kenco Sustainability Story

Tony Franco — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:31:14 +0100

In a previous post I talked previously about the importance of sustainability in defining future brand strategy and how important it was to get to grips with this topic

One brand that’s addressed this in a simple and powerful way is Kenco. What I like about this is the fact that they&rRead More...

Yotel

Tony Franco — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:40:50 +0100

Last week I stayed at Yotel in Schiphol airport, Amsterdam. I arrived very late and needed to get a really early connection. As I just wanted to get some kip, it was the ideal solution. It also meant I didn’t need to leave the airport.

Yotel was the invention of Simon Woodroffe, founder of Yo SusRead More...

Santander Advertising. What's the Point of Lewis Hamilton?

Tony Franco — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:37:23 +0100

Over the past few weeks I’ve been trying to work out what role Lewis Hamilton is playing in the Santader advertising and have come to the conclusion that he’s a waste of space. In the latest ad, there’s a kid asleep in the car, the bridge they are crossing turns into lego....and Lewis Hamilton just happens to be Read More...

Anchor Butter. Good Old Fashioned Label Collection

Tony Franco — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:39:27 +0100

Often we marketing folk make life difficult for ourselves. We try to build deep meaningful relationships with consumers when in fact they want nothing of the sort.
That's why I really like the Anchor Great Rewards Round Up. Just collect 'cow codes'on Anchor packs, build a herd and swap your cows for cute rewards. And that's it. It's easy, you get free stuff and you get a nice waRead More...

Creative Inspiration

Tony Franco — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:44:00 +0100

I'm still doing my best to watch TED videos, as per one of my New Year resolutions. Not quite every day, but pretty often.

Here's a good one that a friend forwarded to me. (Thanks, Hanne.) It's from Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity. She's the author of bestseller Eat, Pray, Love. Someone who stayed at our house left a copy. I guess I'm meant to read it.

Click here to view it.

10 Reasons Why You Should Start Up Your Own Marketing Agency

Tony Franco — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:05:09 +0100

Thinking of packing up your marketing job and working for yourself? Here’s why you should.

1. You get to work on interesting stuff, not the boring stuff

2. Read More...