I've just finished Andrew Marr's excellent 'A History of Modern Britain' and one of the things that struck me was that although British business is often good at inventing brands, its poor at growing and sustaining them.

This has been going on for decades. The decline of the automotive industry has been well documented - Rover, Leyland, Triumph and many more are buried in the Brands Graveyard. However, British brands perform  badly in many other categories - sportswear (Dunlop?), consumer electronics (Amstrad?), even beer.

Those that are successful are often niche (MG) and/or foreign owned (Kit-Kat, the Mini, Manchester United, even Harry Ramsdens). There are exceptions of course (Tesco, BA, M&S) - but not that many.

There are a number of possible causes - global competition, union power, bad management, our poor relationship with Europe, government policy. However the fact is, consumers (including British consumers)  don't have a burning desire to buy British brands.

However, our marketing services are world renowned. Our advertising agencies continue to lead the world in terms of creative output and we've got some thriving design, market research, training, consulting and media agencies with global reach. Some of the biggest marketing services groups are UK based eg WPP, Saatchi and Saatchi.

Why is this the case? I think the fact that English is the international business language helps. However, it could be that British creativity and our intellectual capital are more valued than our brands. Maybe its because Brits enjoy thinking and talking about brands much more than undertaking the much more difficult task of building them.

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I guess we can forgive Ben & Jerry's for this particular innovation. They've always prided themselves on inventing quirky names for the their products. And the brand was created in the USA. I wonder else is in the pipeline?

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When Bush first met Blair he declared that they had a lot in common. They both used the same toothpaste - Colgate. I'm not sure what the impact was on the Colgate brand. Pretty negligable, I would imagine.

However, I read on the BBC website today that Obama is being 'allowed' to keep his precious Blackberry and to use e-mail. Apparently neither Bush nor Clinton used email - which amazes me. I'd love to be in the Research in Motion offices right now. I bet they're cracking open the champagne and cancelling all future advertising budgets.

The Blackberry is and will continue to be an important part of the Obama persona. It shows he's a President in tune with the digital world and like us, needs to keep in touch with family, friends and pressing work matters.

All the brands that the Obama family use will be scrutinised in minute detail. If you're one of the chosen few then you've really made it.

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People are desperate for good news. We all need an escape from the negative headlines and find a means of feeling better. Brands can help promote the feelgood factor we all crave . Here's how.

1. Friendly Packaging

Witty messaging and quirky imagery can put a smile on your face. Innocent is still the best example. Also, by using less or recycled packaging and making it easier to dispose of we can all feel we're being good citizens.

2. Being Generous

In the week before Obama's inaugeration, Krispy Kreme gave away a free cup of Americano coffee to anyone who said 'Yes We Can' to a barista. Go to an Apple store and you'll get free, expert advice at the Genius Bar.

3. Making Donations

Waitrose allocates £1 000 each month for each store to give to a local charity. Three projects are chosen by the local community and each shopper is asked to vote for which project should be given the money by putting a green token into a perspex tube. The tokens are then weighed and each project is given the appropriate proportion of cash.

4. Feel Good Events

Provide experiences that people enjoy. For example, there's Ben and Jerry's 'Sundae on the Common' which is an annual music festival on Clapham Common.

5. Entertaining Advertising

I know advertising is meant to sell and not to entertain...but its even better if it does both. The recent Virgin and T-Mobile campaigns are great examples.

Of course, we're all more value conscious than ever, but don't forget to market the feelgood factor. Your consumers will thank you for it and remember you for it.

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The advertising of the film Slumdog Millionaire displayed on London buses at the moment, describes it as 'the feel-good movie of the decade' with a picture of the central young couple being showered with what looks like confetti.

I saw it recently on the strength of recommendations from friends and its a fabulous film, well worthy of the 4 Golden Globes that it's won so far. However, its nothing like the light, frothy rom-com that you imagine from the advertising. There is a love story at the heart of the film and moments of comedy, but in-between there's violence, poverty and cruelty.

I guess the distributors figured that feel-good sells in today's depressing times, having seen the phenomenal success of 'Mamma-Mia'. However, I can't help feeling that even more people would see the film if they'd depicted it more accurately and fewer people would be disappointed when they'd realised that the film wasn't quite what they were expecting.

Key lesson - tell the truth in your advertising and more people will be happy.

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During last Friday's Celebrity Big Brother, T-Mobile showed a 2 minute ad featuring a flashmob dancing stunt, filmed at Liverpool Street Station the day before.

Whilst flashmobbing is not a new phenomenon it was an innovative approach for a mainstream brand to take and shows the efforts required in today's media jungle to try and get cut-through.

I think that the link with the brand message 'Life's For Sharing' is a little tenous, but its nice to see an upbeat, cheerful piece of communication as a break from the daily diet of misery that's served up on the news channels. And it's much more entertaining than Big Brother.

Click here to view

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In the cut-throat world of supermarket retailing, Sainsbury's seems to be doing better than most, with sales over Christmas much better than expected.

I really like the way they've been encouraging consumers to be resourceful in the way they approach feeding their families. Firstly via their 'Feed The Family for a Fiver' campaign, but more recently with their TV ads on how to use up leftovers. Helpful, supportive advice, rather than endless ads highlighting price cuts - which everyone else does.

Taking a thrifty approach to living is obviously in vogue at the moment - or rather a necessity. Other sources of help are India Knight's The Thrift Book which is becoming this year's lifestyle bible and Fiona Beckett's blog the Frugal Cook

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There are 2 ways to survive the recession

 1. Get Lean and Fit

This means, cutting costs, becoming more efficient, offering customers better value, managing cashflow, avoiding profilgacy. All businesses are doing this and those who aren't doing it well enough will soon go under.

2. Innovate

Necessity is the mother of invention. Budgets are cut, but you still need to grow your brand? Need to attract new consumers as your existing ones are spending less? Your market is in freefall and you need to grow? To resolve these conundrums, you need to think differently and act differently. There needs to be a greater emphasis on creativity.

By innovation, I don't just mean investing in blockbuster new product launches - although this of course is important. It also means thinking creatively about how you acquire consumer insight, communicate with your customers, build partnerships with suppliers, organise the way you work. You need to re-visit and re-invent the way you think and act.

Today, there are fewer barriers to innovation than ever before. Information and advice is freely available. You can access manufacturing resource anywhere. You can find partners. You can (if you're lucky) find finance. You can even access existing ideas - click here. All of this is enabled by ever more powerful and affordable technology and in particular the internet which is of course an incredible resource as well as a global shop window.

Both approaches are not mutually exclusive - you need to do both. However, my predication is that over the next couple years there will be an explosion of innovation and that the faster, nimbler and ultimately more creative businesses will emerge even stronger than before.

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