In theory, brand positioning can be an immensely useful tool for creating growth. But in practice, it is often a complete waste of time, money and effort.
Brands and the Economy of Mistrust
In the economy of mistrust, businesses create profit by outsourcing the policing of behaviour to their online communities: they establish spaces in which people are encouraged to act as judge, jury and executioner.
What makes a brand great?
Great brands don’t just deliver on expectations; they play with those expectations. They inspire us to see more of life’s infinite possibilities.
The future of brands is… Circular?
What do milk floats and glossy leggings have in common?
Building brand engagement in a post-trust world
Brands have established a new model for growth: fostering an economy of mistrust.
No more disruption please, we’re British.
The most consistently profitable innovators are not relentlessly disruptive: they are capable of introducing radical new ideas to the world, but they hone and perfect the delivery of those ideas through years of incremental improvement to improve efficiency and profitability.
New luxury: a triumph of excess over experience?
The truth is that the modern concept of luxury remains stubbornly wedded to excess, despite all the optimistic column inches devoted to new luxury’s more balanced, less materialistic, more experiential, less conspicuous, more ethical stance.
How Ocado embraces what makes their brand weird.
Best practice can’t happen unless we’re prepared to step away from the comfort of the usual once in a while. That’s why so many of the retail world’s most notable innovators have embraced weirdness.
Challenger banks: not radical enough?
We’re learning to love contactless and mobile forms of payment, but we’re a long way from digital banking nirvana.
Why commercial brands should look to not-for-profits for inspiration
A compelling charity brand is spontaneous, collaborative and delivered with charm and a warm imperfection that reminds us what it means to be human.
Does business class travel have a future?
Business class travel – whether by air or by train – is one of the most weirdly wasteful and anachronistic aspects of modern working life.
Brands and emotional dishonesty
This form of positivity is toxic precisely because it robs us of our right to call something out as damaging, or depressing, or shameful.
Lessons from brands that deliver great experiences
Iconic brands have been delivering great experiences for centuries before the term ‘experiential marketing’ was coined. Here are a few things I’ve learned from working with some of them.
Baron Sauvage 