WH Smith’s decline: A cautionary tale of bad branding March 31, 2025 As WH Smith disappears from the high street, Will Bosanko looks at why the brand failed, and asks whether there is a future for TG Jones.
Jaguar rebrand shows the risk of embracing the fleeting ‘now’ November 22, 2024 The Jaguar rebrand has been dreadfully misconceived. The fatal mistake? Throwing away their heritage, writes Eliot Wilson.
How Samsung, Pampers and NBC struck gold at Paris 2024 Olympics August 14, 2024 The Paris 2024 Olympics marked a cultural shift in how brands connect with global audiences, with the games being dubbed the “TikTok Olympics” due to many sponsors’ digital-first approach. As the International Olympic Committee (IOC) acknowledges an ageing fanbase—the average age has risen by approximately 10 years in just a decade—the need to captivate younger [...]
The meaning behind Banksy’s latest London murals? His brand needed a boost August 13, 2024 Banksy’s London murals have found many searching for a hidden meaning, but a look at the artist’s declining value suggests it’s just needed marketing, writes Andy Blackmore For weeks now, I’ve been trying to solve a partially perplexing riddle: just what do a gorilla, a goat, a rhino, some fish and a whole menagerie of [...]
Summer of Sport: Insights from the Cannes Lions Jury Room June 29, 2024 The Summer of Sport was a key topic at the Cannes Lions, and Louise Johnson, CEO of Fuse, was president of sports and entertainment on the Cote D’Azur. She lets us into the secrets of what hits the jackpot. For one week every year the great and the good of the marketing and advertising industry [...]
How can brands embrace the Games Wide Open ethos of Paris 2024? June 15, 2024 The Paris 2024 Olympics has chosen “Games Wide Open” as its slogan for the summer. Leo O’Mahony, Junior Strategist at firm Imagination, looks at how sports brands can embrace the ethos and how they must adapt to changing and evolving audiences. Sports brand messaging since the Nike boom in the 1980s has been about the [...]
Has Thames Water’s public esteem sunk to new depths? June 13, 2024 Earlier this year, Thames Water entered a standoff with water regulator Ofwat over attempts to raise customer bills by 40 per cent. At the time – when investors pulled £500m of funding from the utility supplier – YouGov data showed that the company was more disliked than not among the UK public. With media outlets [...]
Euro 2024 branding: There will be no escaping football fever this year May 28, 2024 Euro 2024 is not just about football on the pitch. Brands use this period of captive audience for their own benefit. Either way, as Daniel Sproul writes, there’s no escaping football fever. The summer of sport kicks off in earnest on 14 June with Euro 2024 – and brands across Europe and in the UK [...]
After Lidl v Tesco: Business branding may seem like a snoozefest, but get it wrong and it may cost you April 20, 2024 After a legal battle of Lidl v Tesco, trademark disputes has been at the forefront of people's minds as the thought of expensive litigation highlights just how important branding is for a business