Wednesday 19 January 2011
The latest innovation in street furniture
OK, I have just been wowed by the most unlikely of sources...a crossing light!
As a busier Londoner I have almost been run over many times trying to cross the road before the green man disappears! Not sensible, I know.
But this latest invention my help save my life more than once. In Balham high street they have installed new lights that help people know how long they have left before the red man appears with a large digital countdown.
This may not be anything new? You may have it in your high street already. But either way, I'm impressed.
Click the video and see for yourself.
Happy crossing :)
Wednesday 5 January 2011
Top brands - what you said...
Welcome back to one and all! A happy new year to you and may we wish you all the best for 2011.
It seems that the overwhelming response to the last blog has show several clear winners who you all thought were the top brands for 2010. Here is what you all said:
Number 3: Red Bull
The brand that started off as just an energy drink back when Lucozade was sitting comfortably all on its own, has triumphed it the world of extreme, fast, action sports. And 2010 was the cherry on the ever-expanding cake, double champion F1 winners! As Roger Williams from Rail Gourmet put it 'beating the F1 giants at their own game' has been a huge success for the brand and rightfully given them a place in the top 3.
A great example of a brand thinking differently. Want the best selling drink in our market place - lets get involved in all the 'cool' sports and spend our budget there instead of TV ads. And not just get involved but radically change the face of that sport. By sponsoring Travis Rice's new snowboard movie That's it, That's all, they were able to change the way we view the sport forever by shooting in HD for the first time. Now every rider wants a bit of Red Bull and they are everywhere in the world of snowboarding.
Number 2: Waitrose
The supermarket everyone wants to shop at but for most it's simply too expensive and the lack of branded goods makes it inconvenient. But this has been part of the brand make-up for a long time and is part of what makes it different. However, along comes a recession, one of the worst ever. So what do Waitrose do now? People have much less to spend and competition is fierce. Of course their most loyal of customers are still in the stores but the brand needs more customers.
It's a very brave thing to change the DNA of a brand but sometimes it's the right thing to do. In come the independent brands and along comes their very own value range - 'essentials'. In our mind, the right step forward and clearly the right thing for the business. LFL sales are up 5.9% in a time when many others are finding it tough.
As if that wasn't enough, they even created a new format and entered the ring by opening high street stores. Something tells me we'll be seeing more of these in 2011.
A great example of looking ahead and facing the reality of a changing market and doing something about it before it happens. Well deserved second place!
Number 1: Comparethemarket.com
What an advertising campaign. Can you imagine being the board who had to sign off a meerkat copycat site to spearhead the business and take them forward to great and wonderful things?!!! Hats off then to those people who had the belief in VCCP to create such an amazing campaign. As Ian Hetherington from SSP puts it 'The way they have taken something as boring as insurance and made it fun is truly brilliant! Its incredible how many people talk about it in the pub'.
With pop up meerkat doing book signings and topping the Amazon book chart some would say it's 'Simples' others would simply say remarkable.
So congratulations to the meerkats for winning the 2010 Top Brand. But who will shine in 2011? Who will take that next leap of faith the show the world that you can do things differently?
Perhaps your brand...
It seems that the overwhelming response to the last blog has show several clear winners who you all thought were the top brands for 2010. Here is what you all said:
Number 3: Red Bull
The brand that started off as just an energy drink back when Lucozade was sitting comfortably all on its own, has triumphed it the world of extreme, fast, action sports. And 2010 was the cherry on the ever-expanding cake, double champion F1 winners! As Roger Williams from Rail Gourmet put it 'beating the F1 giants at their own game' has been a huge success for the brand and rightfully given them a place in the top 3.
A great example of a brand thinking differently. Want the best selling drink in our market place - lets get involved in all the 'cool' sports and spend our budget there instead of TV ads. And not just get involved but radically change the face of that sport. By sponsoring Travis Rice's new snowboard movie That's it, That's all, they were able to change the way we view the sport forever by shooting in HD for the first time. Now every rider wants a bit of Red Bull and they are everywhere in the world of snowboarding.
Number 2: Waitrose
The supermarket everyone wants to shop at but for most it's simply too expensive and the lack of branded goods makes it inconvenient. But this has been part of the brand make-up for a long time and is part of what makes it different. However, along comes a recession, one of the worst ever. So what do Waitrose do now? People have much less to spend and competition is fierce. Of course their most loyal of customers are still in the stores but the brand needs more customers.
It's a very brave thing to change the DNA of a brand but sometimes it's the right thing to do. In come the independent brands and along comes their very own value range - 'essentials'. In our mind, the right step forward and clearly the right thing for the business. LFL sales are up 5.9% in a time when many others are finding it tough.
As if that wasn't enough, they even created a new format and entered the ring by opening high street stores. Something tells me we'll be seeing more of these in 2011.
A great example of looking ahead and facing the reality of a changing market and doing something about it before it happens. Well deserved second place!
Number 1: Comparethemarket.com
What an advertising campaign. Can you imagine being the board who had to sign off a meerkat copycat site to spearhead the business and take them forward to great and wonderful things?!!! Hats off then to those people who had the belief in VCCP to create such an amazing campaign. As Ian Hetherington from SSP puts it 'The way they have taken something as boring as insurance and made it fun is truly brilliant! Its incredible how many people talk about it in the pub'.
With pop up meerkat doing book signings and topping the Amazon book chart some would say it's 'Simples' others would simply say remarkable.
So congratulations to the meerkats for winning the 2010 Top Brand. But who will shine in 2011? Who will take that next leap of faith the show the world that you can do things differently?
Perhaps your brand...
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