Sex: part of the oldest profession and one of the most powerful forces of human nature. Unsurprisingly, sex is used extensively in communications and advertising. The day after Hugh Hefner passed away, Grain director Madelyn Postman discussed the Playboy brand on BBC’s Talking Business with Aaron Heslehurst. Here’s the segment, and an analysis of how Playboy branded sex itself. Whether men really think about sex…
1. How do we position ourselves to get maximum benefits from the merger? First and foremost, further education colleges (which mostly serve learners aged 16-18) need students and so a merged college needs a brand that is memorable and attractive. Existing students need to welcome and identify with the new identity, but it is also vitally important to reach new audiences and attract students who…
Thanks to our guest author, Hazel Garcia of Investment Zen, who has provided us with this infographic showing the cost breakdown of pricing of a shirt. Branding and marketing costs also need to be considered, and in the world of luxury, the markup for added value – the brand magic – will be substantial. Think about the last time you went shopping for a new shirt. What were…
The glass entrance of the recently reopened Amersham Museum draws in passers-by, and once they’re inside, the new displays are captivating. The entire space is welcoming and encourages visitors to move from one area to another, learning about the area’s history. The many local stories, some of which go back centuries, come to life and interweave with current landmarks and events. Grain is excited to be part of the re-imagined…
Square. Slack. Sea. These words could soon mean a lot more to you than their literal meaning. They are all on Interbrand’s 2017 list of Breakthrough Brands, the companies that are rising head and shoulders above their peers and breaking through to the level where they are soon to become household names. The 40 companies that have made it onto the list have some factors…
Politics has long depended on marketing, with a leader’s image being critical to any political campaign. But marketeers, and brands in particular, have historically tried as hard as possible to avoid politics. However as the political scene has become more divisive, especially in the wake of Brexit, the rise of Marine Le-Pen in France and the election of President Trump in the US, brands have found themselves…
Mégane Osio is Grain’s intern this summer and is enjoying putting her design skills to use whilst rapidly improving her English. She is a student of graphic design at ECV Creative Schools & Community in Bordeaux, France. She particularly likes all aspects of corporate design and print, including the visual identity of a brand, packaging, typography, page layout and illustration. Mégane loves music, especially singing,…
In the mid-1990s, well before the internet had tangled us all in its worldwide web, Michael Porter set the benchmarks for marketing strategy which still resonate today. To sum up some quite complex theory, he argued that brands either had to achieve cost leadership or they had to differentiate. In a nutshell, differentiation is what allows luxury and fashion brands to charge so much more…
The National Federation of Property Professionals (NFoPP) has rebranded and repositioned as the umbrella brand Propertymark and the changes, developed by Grain Creative, are aiming to significantly disrupt the estate and letting agency market in the UK. Through its membership associations, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), the new Propertymark brand has over 4,000 member branches…
Changing a well-established and well-known brand with all its existing brand attributes, brand promises and emotional ties can be like the clichéd oil tanker which needs a very long time to change course. There are still people who call a Snickers bar “Marathon”! It can be a challenge to say the least. But to rebrand the biggest brand you’ve never heard of, in essence an invisible brand…
Driving Positive Change Sponsoring F1 gives brands huge exposure in Europe, Latin America and Asia combined with important (and relatively unique) access to growth markets in the developing world. The associations with speed, glamour and excitement are tempting for any global company and for FMCG brands these associations can be promoted through branding around the race tracks, TV commercials, social media, live fan experiences and…
Sometimes Nougat Sticks in Your Teeth! After the unimaginative Android Alpha and Android Beta, Google has historically named its Android updates after sweet products (or as Google calls them “sweet treats”). In compulsory alphabetical order we’ve had; Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat, Lollipop and Marshmallow. When they arrived at Android N they took a different turn and asked…
I was recently interviewed by Managing Intellectual Property magazine, one of the leading sources worldwide of news and analysis of all things relating to IP. The interview covered many of the specialist areas where the expertise of branding agencies are important in helping clients avoid the pitfalls they might experience if they try naming and branding development in-house. It was a good interview and I was…
The synergies of naming, branding and trademark protection There’s a political adage that you should bury bad news on a big news day. You have to wonder if the rebranding of Hyperloop Technologies to Hyperloop One took advantage of this maxim. The big news was that Hyperloop One were going to test their levitating electromagnetic propulsion system the next day. This is potentially the transportation…
The answer is not blowing in the wind! A recent article by Rebecca Coleman explains why brands in the digital age are forever in Beta mode. Rather than creating a rigid brand manual based on a fixed brand position you use the opportunities afforded by the digital age to allow consumer interactions to help constantly evolve and refine the brand. IBM, expanding on the concept of “design thinking”, talks…