Posted by Ned Colville on June 5, 2009
1. “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” (George Bernard Shaw)
2. “If you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” (Will Rogers)
3. “The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order.” (Alfred North Whitehead)
4. “Without deviation, progress is not possible.” (Frank Zappa)
5. “The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says a thing can’t be done is interrupted by someone doing it.” (Elbert Hubbard)
(Borrowed with pride from all over the place)
Posted by Guy Chalkley on June 4, 2009
The first in a regular series, thinking about branding from a design viewpoint – this time from our Senior Designer, Guy Chalkley.
This week’s design focus is on Packard Bell in an identity overhaul…
Packard Bell has launched a new identity, along with a new notebook range designed with Italian car design group Pininfarina.
The new identity, which features the initials ‘PB’ as well as Packard Bell’s full name, aims to help the computer company drive the branding towards the acronym PB over time. It has ditched purple for red, and now carries the tagline ‘Puredesire’.
The ‘red’ in the middle of ‘Puredesire’ is picked out in the appropriate colour, which is intended to communicate ‘passion and desire, as these are the driving elements behind the new brand and the new products’, according to a Packard Bell spokeswoman.
Overall I’m not sure about this. Nice lines yes, but I feel it belongs more to Fiat.
It would seem the car design influence has been a decisive factor in ‘driving’ the identity. Carving out their own niche should have been achieved by a brand this high profile.
It’s easy to criticise but apart from a beautiful graphic execution, the design seems to have no corner-stone of rationalisation from the what we’ve seen so far… just shiny and red don’t do it!
Posted by Gavin Galloway on June 3, 2009
Last week on Doomwatch we considered the impact of the downturn on consumers and businesses: http://www.thevalueengineers.com/2009/05/26/doomwatch-the-marketing-survivors-guide-to-the-economic-downturn-part-1/
In this post we will examine how to assess its impact on your category, brand and business model.
Firstly, what is the nature of the category that you operate in?
- Is this an essential or non essential purchase?
- Is it easily substitutable by another (lower cost) category?
- Do competitors with a strong value proposition exist within the category?
How about the consumers in your category?
- To what extent are your consumers insulated from downturn: by wealth, security of employment, other sources of income?
- How sensitive are they to downturn psychology: what is their orientation to spending / lifestyle maintenance; how important is the category for self identity?
Turning next to the resilience of your brand:
- How strong is your brand as a generator of cash flow and margin bulwark?
- How clear is the brand proposition?
- How relevant / potent is it in a downturn?
- How strong is consumer emotional attachment to the brand?
And finally (possibly most crucially), how sustainable is your business model?
- How do you sustain your margin: differentiated added value or low production cost?
- What is the driver of cash flow: fundamental necessity (needs) or marketing driven aspiration (wants)?
- How resistant is your cash flow to downturn effects: competitor pressures, category substitution, delayed purchasing?
In the final instalment of this Survivors Guide we will look at investment for the future – in insight, marketing support and innovation.
