Last Wednesday, The Value Engineers were delighted to be asked to contribute to ITV1′s Daybreak show.

Lou Ellerton appeared on the show at the ungodly hour of 6:40am to talk about Tesco’s trials and tribulations with its Fresh ‘N’ Easy brand in the US, Philip Green’s decision to sell a 25% stake in Top Shop to a US investor, and the opportunities that a Royal baby might create for British brands. It’s an eclectic selection of topics, we agree!

If you’d like to see for yourself how Lou got on, the show is available here on ITV Player until Wednesday morning (12th December). Her comments start at 00:37, just after the ad break.

On September 21st, iconic children’s series ‘Where’s Wally?’ celebrates its 25th anniversary, and we at The Value Engineers were delighted to be asked to contribute to a recent Metro piece to commemorate the stripy lad’s birthday. The full piece can be found here.

Created by British illustrator Martin Handford, the ‘Where’s Wally?’ children’s books consist of a series of incredibly intricate double-page spreads. Each scene features the eponymous star hidden somewhere on the page for readers to discover. It’s a simple recipe, but as the lasting success of the franchise has shown – including translations into more than 30 languages, comics, a film and multiple fancy dress costumes – one that is capable of capturing kids’ interest from generation to generation.

So what’s behind the success of a character who looks like nothing so much as the original geek? The answer lies in his versatility…

On the most basic visual level, the superbly drawn illustrations and the intricacy of each spread make them a pleasure to come back to, over and over.  The level of detail in the visuals – requiring only basic text – makes it perfect for sharing across generations and across cultures, as there’s room for everyone to enjoy it.  At the same time, the ‘discovery’ format is both educational and entertaining for children, who love the sense of achievement they get from finding Wally.

It’s not just children who like a game of hide and seek, though – we’ve seen the format used for everything from Top Gear (‘Where’s Stig?’) and meerkats to terrorists (the ‘Where’s Bin Laden?’ picture book was a hot Christmas gift choice a few years ago).

Of course, there’s also something very appealing about brands and properties that one generation can pass on to the next. It’s a phenomenon we’ve called ‘retrotainment’, and it’s something that Generation Xers seem to be especially keen on. Think of the recent return of brands like the Cabbage Patch Dolls and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or the on-going cult appeal of Dangermouse and Thunderbirds.

For proof, why not check it out for yourself the next time you’re browsing in a bookshop? But be warned: finding Wally can prove to be a dangerously addictive pastime…

Brand necromancy - or how brands are being brought back from the dead - is a phenomenon that we’ve seen more and more in recent months here at The Value Engineers, across everything from toys and entertainment to FMCG. Of course, nostalgia brands are frequently heroes of childhood, and are therefore well worth bearing in mind when thinking about family audiences – something Lou Ellerton, head of our kids and family marketing practice here at The Value Engineers, spends a lot of time doing.

So we were delighted that an article written by Lou on the subject of kids brand necromancers was published by Toy News magazine this month – you can read the article on page 32 of this month’s edition online here.

If you’d like to find out more about brand necromancers and some of the other key trends in the UK kids’ and family marketplace, you can get in touch with Lou on lou.ellerton@thevalueengineers.com.

Rebranding is a notoriously tricky business – just think of PwC’s brief flirtation with Monday, the Post Office trying on Consignia for size, or the awkwardness that Kraft suffered following the recent Mondelez debacle.

It’s something that many brands have tried, but here at The Value Engineers we believe there are a few key principles to keep in mind to avoid catastrophe – so we were delighted when our co-founder, Paul Walton, was invited to draw on his 30 years’ experience in the world of brands and branding to comment on the perils and pitfalls of rebranding in The Independent this Saturday.

Click here to read Paul’s thoughts and the article in full, and let us know: which rebrands make it into your hall of fame or shame?

… but we’re glad The Telegraph agrees – particularly as they happen to have picked our offices as the feature photo!

Ahead of the trend as ever, our founders relocated to Buckinghamshire from London 25 years ago  - perhaps after this we’ll see more people doing the same!