Welcome to the first in a series of three papers on Cannabis Branding. It is as if the Gold Rush and the end of Prohibition crossed paths. The legalization of recreational cannabis use includes Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, the District of Columbia, and the Northern Mariana Islands, with all but Vermont and D.C. permitting […]
Being a child of the mid 1960’s I, like many of a similar age, have had a certain discussion with our kids. You know, the one that goes, “we had a rotary phone”. It is like my dad telling me he walked an amazing distance to school. When you describe the quaint challenges of your […]
Recently, I met with a fashion technology startup. They are building an interesting secondhand marketplace whereby consumers can sell “lightly used” bespoke clothing. Perhaps you wore a Chanel dress once but have no call for it now or the Ralph Lauren tuxedo in the closet is gathering dust. You get the idea. An additional service […]
We we’re feeling nostalgic for the nostalgia of Mad Men.
Place branding counts among the most difficult of all types of branding. Shoestring budgets and critics from all quarters put these under pressure and under scrutiny. Having worked on a handful of such engagements, I have felt both firsthand. One place brand continues to be used after more than twelve years. Chile’s “Always Surprising” was originally […]
There are a few confessions in the following paragraphs. The first is, I was a mediocre student. Prescribed reading and set curriculum fired up my rebellious nature. Unfortunately, that meant denying myself the love of reading until my twenties. When I had choice of what I wanted to read, when I wanted to read it, […]
A press release from September 4thgot me thinking. And that is saying something, given press releases to me are an archaic form of communications. It proclaimed: KFC is offering a college donation to the first child born on the Colonel’s birthday (Sept. 9, 2018) named Harland…. As a birthday gift from the Colonel and KFC, […]
Wow. It is hard to believe that it has been over 30 years. In 1984, London Life Insurance Company hit on an insight through consumer research that would become part of Canadiana. It is the country’s Just Do It or Got Milk? or Reach Out and Touch Someone. London Life established the idea of Freedom 55. […]
This will make for a great airplane, beach or two-scotch reading. After two scotches, it may even seem brilliant. Download it here… SWYSTUN_Capabilities_2018.
Recently, I passed an advertisement in Toronto’s underground PATH walkway in the downtown. Well, I probably passed scores without noticing. Oversized posters, television screens, storefronts, employees offering samples, consumers with purchases in bags with retailers logos. These were just a few examples of marketing on a relatively short walk to an ATM at my bank […]