Sorry for not posting

Hi everybody. I have not posted in a while; I am just too busy at the moment. Promise to be back soon :)

Love Branding book 5 Us dollar

My book "Love Branding" is now for sale at Amazon, Kindle version. Only 5 dollar!! Unfortunately the format is a little odd... if you prefer me sending you a pdf, just email and I send a paypal request. Thanks

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Branding-people-brand-ebook/dp/B00BKQ5QA2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361856099&sr=8-1&keywords=carolin+dahlman

Can I have a pizza and that blue table please?

Springwise reported in their latest newsletter about a pop-up restaurant in Netherlands that is not just letting diners choose the dish, but also the furniture, the table cloth and the decoration. Interesting how bored we all must be to need all these odd little unnecessary enjoyments to make life a little richer. I guess deep down the pleasures from love, a dip in the sea or a hug will be what really counts, but in a society hungry for multiple impressions, we need more, more, more. Cool idea for sure :)

"We’ve seen personalization in the dining world through the Hoppit site, which allows a user to select a restaurant based on ambience. Similarly, the IkHa temporary restaurant in the Netherlands recently allowed customers to select their choice of Ikea furniture to populate the space while they dined.

Created by Oatmeal Studio, the café was erected as part of last year’s Nordic Film Festival and aimed to make the experience of eating out more customizable for diners. Upon arriving, customers filled out their preferred furnishings – and meal choice – in pencil onto a paper slip, much like the process found in the Ikea store. As well as selecting from a range of tables, chairs and decorations, diners could cut their own tablecloth from wallpaper hanging from the walls. The space invited those using it to personalize it according to their tastes, providing a more engaging experience for diners, as well as doubling as a showroom for Ikea – despite the company not being officially involved in the project.

While the festival is now over, the IkHa restaurant is still available to hire. How else can others in the hospitality industry offer customers a greater role in designing the spaces they use?"

Oh, and the cute pic is just to cheer you up :) 

Be meaningful, different and salient - SHINE

Wisdom from Millward Brown.

GROW VOLUME THROUGH BEING SALIENT

If growing volume is the goal, then salience is the next most important consideration after meaning. But salience is not simply top-of-mind awareness triggered by the category name; our pilot work confirmed that salience is best measured in association with category needs. For example, British Airways was the strongest brand on traditional top-of-mind awareness for the airline category in the UK. But when we applied a needs-based approach to salience, it was easyJet that came through as the most salient brand. That's because easyJet has built an extremely strong association with low price, one of the most important category needs. So, to build salience, you must not only shout louder than the competition, but you must shout about things that relate to category needs.

TO COMMAND A HIGHER PRICE, BE DIFFERENT

If your objective is to sell your brand at a higher price, focus on being different. For an example of great brand differentiation, we can look to Apple, the most valuable brand in the world according to the 2011 BrandZ Top 100. Though Apple does well on each element, its most outstanding performance in nearly every category and country is on being different. The basis for this success is Apple's consistently great product innovation, but Apple also goes beyond functional differentiation to project a unique personality and a clear set of values.

Not all product innovations can capture people's imaginations as the Macintosh, the iPhone, and the iPad have done, but all brand owners should work to establish genuine points of meaningful product differentiation. And even where there is limited scope for functional differentiation, brands should still strive to differentiate through their personality and values.

CONSIDER THE POWER OF THREE

The most successful brands are not just meaningful, just different, or just salient—they are all three. Don’t sell your brand short by using a myopic model of brand building that only acknowledges one of the three ingredients. Instead, acknowledge the importance of all three and use consumer insight, knowledge of the category, and brand objectives to identify the best area of focus.

Wow, this is branding!! Well done Virgin

From PSFK:

With a series of innovative and luxurious airport lounges, airline Virgin Atlantic has truly perfected the art of waiting. Their Clubhouses have been designed to provide travelers with an oasis of comfort and relaxation amid their busy travel schedules. Recently, PSFK had the opportunity to take a closer look at Virgin Atlantic’s Clubhouses at JFK and London Heathrow Airports. The stylish lounges offer a refined and elegant experience for the discerning traveler.

The new JFK-based Virgin Atlantic ‘Uptown’ Clubhouse offers a range of amenities for their premium passengers. The Clubhouse features the first ever complete airport spa in the US, with stylists and registered masseurs on staff to knead away travel stress. The full service salon is stocked with organic Dr. Hauschka products and staffed with Bumble & Bumble trained stylists. The salon overlooks the tarmac and luminescent flight control tower, creating a calm oasis amid the hustle.

The spacious lounge opens up with a cozy reading library and well equipped internet cafe-style computer bay for professionals who need to work on-the-go. For those who would prefer to catch up on some sleep, a section of comfortably equipped and private sleeping alcoves might be just what they are looking for. As all of the Virgin Atlantic flights from JFK depart at night, at the center of the lounge is the sleek ‘uptown’ style cocktail bar complete with full restaurant service and billiards lounge. The clubhouse at JFK has a little something to offer for everyone.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the flagship lounge at London Heathrow offers the ultimate airport experience. The sumptuous and sleek interior is designed to enhance any travelers experience, whether they are looking to relax, work, play, dine, or sip. The airside spa offers travelers the chance to completely refresh themselves before a long trip with showers, spa treatments, and a full salon. Along with restaurant service, the clubhouse at Heathrow features an entertainment den, fully equipped desks for working, several relaxation lounges each with a unique theme, and the indulgent Grey Goose Loft Bar with wide open views of the sky above.

Virgin Atlantic has created peaceful enclaves to make traveling a truly luxurious experience. With 10 Clubhouses currently in service across the globe, we hope to be able to try them all.

Check out more images in the gallery below:

Images via: Virgin & American Architects 

 

Pepsi: A do-good-brand

The Inspiration Room presented today this interesting project. I love when companies are starting to do good. Sure, it´s to earn money in the end, but as long as they are actually doing good, I can´t see a problem with that. When states are overspending and causing nations to fall, it highlights the importance of having your finances in order. When you do, you have room to help. Just as you need to love yourself before you can love someone else, capitalistic values lead the way to altruism and generosity. 

"Pepsi‘s partnership with the My Shelter Foundation Liter of Light project in the Philippines has won Gold for “The New” at the London International Awards. The Isang Litrong Liwanag (A Liter of Light) project, based on research by students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), involved installing solar bottle lights to provide a unique daytime lighting solution for urban poor communities living in homes without natural light sources. Pepsi sponsorship involved the installation of used plastic Pepsi bottles on roofs to refract sunlight into 55W of light. This cuts down electric bills and helps reduce carbon emission. The brand has installed over 20,000 lights through the combination of volunteer action, online donation and direct sponsorship.

To spread the project, Pepsi helped establish a center to train volunteers and educated companies, schools and people on how to create and install lights. A model community, wherein every home is lit by at least 2 bottle bulbs, was established to help take the model across the global Pepsi system.

The project was covered by TedX, BBC and NHK. It received ‘Best of the Best’ at the 2012 Global Pepsi Performance with Purpose Awards and was specially commended at the 2011 World Climate Conference.

See more on the Liter of Light project at aliteroflight.org and the Liter of Light Facebook page.

Credits

The Pepsi Bottle Light project was developed at BBDO Guerrero, Makati City, by chief creative officer/executive creative director and copywriter David Guerrero, group creative director/art director Dale Lopez, copywriters Rachel Teotico and Raymund Sison, art directors Dennis Nierra, Tim Villela and Ley Mababangloob, agency producers Jing Abellera and Ino Magno, account directors Carmella Q. Montilla, Fran Gonzalez, Dalla Sucgang and Denise Gamo, working with Pepsico International brand manager Michael Eric Rosales and marketing director Steve Romasanta, and My Shelter Foundation founder Illac Diaz. The production team included creative technologists Marissa Manaloto and Xerg Aguilar, social media strategist Roshan Nandwani, programmer Dennis Billano, production manager Al Salvador, graphic designer Manny Vailoces, photographers Karel Sevilla, Leo Dino, Joy Aquino and Aids Tecson, technical developer Chico Jabines and editor Ed Santos."

Coke keeps celebrating happiness - now on an Instagram look-alike

Psfk reports today about Coca-Cola´s new photo site, filled with pictures of Happiness.

It´s so simple but yet so clever how Coke keeps repeating its love for "happiness" and sticks to the value, the message, the theme. It makes all communication attempts line up nicely and strong. In the eyes of people its clear and consistent, making people trust the brand. Repetition is the key, and even if a marketer gets bored of a certain message or way of doing things, it´s important to understand that the consumer meets a LOT of messages and brands every minute, and will need some time to pick up your marketing idea. Dare to stay focused, dare to keep still.

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• COCA-COLA LAUNCHES
• INSTAGRAM COMPETITOR

Coca-Cola is planning to launch a new photo-sharing service called ‘Happy Places‘, and has released a free iPhone app that shows what it will be like. The app, which looks similar to Instagram, lets users take photos and share them with their social networks. It focuses on what makes people happy, letting them search by relevant hashtags such as #music, #beautiful, and #joy.

Your day, your friends, your trips, your music… your life is full of happy moments worth storing and sharing. Happy Places by Coca-Cola is that place where you can upload photos of your happy moments, share them, and remember them any time you want. Take a picture or pick one from your albums, add it to your profile, and share that moment of happiness with your followers in Happy Places, or your friends in Facebook or Twitter.

Popsop reports that the app lets Coca-Cola fans create a profile, browse photos, and get notifications on new photos added in their interests. Users can also create their happy moments offline and then upload them when they have a wi-fi or 3G connection.

Happy Places