Heinz Salad Cream is reportedly changing its name to Heinz Sandwich Cream. This is, we’re told, because people use it more in sandwiches than on salad. But if people have already figured out they can use salad cream in a sandwich, there’s no need to change the name.

Marketers seem to forget that most people think more about whether to pay for one hour or two in the car park, where there’s 50p at stake, Read More

Bud Light’s Dilly Dilly campaign is a useful reminder that Britain and America are divided by a common language. Apparently it’s a big hit in the USA, where the medieval background to the ads connotes Game of Thrones and is therefore, presumably, quite cool. Whereas here in the UK, any self-respecting beer-drinker who shouts “Dilly dilly!” in a bar can expect a lifetime of mockery.

Coca Cola is another global brand that’s traditionally been loved for its upbeat American values. Read More

There’s a sort of Elon Musk cult on Quora, with questions like: How did Elon Musk learn so much? Is Elon Musk a visionary or just a crazy man? Does he think ten times faster than other people? Why doesn’t he wear the same outfit all the time like Mark Zuckerberg does? Does he take vacations? And also: Has Elon Muck committed any crimes? With Elon Musk hurting so many people’s business, how does he stay safe from people that want him “gone”? Read More

“April fools day. The one day in the year when people pause to think whether what they read on the internet is true.”

Sophie Christiansen, GB Paralympic gold medallist Read More

Coca Cola is selling alcoholic drinks in cans. Only in Japan, and it’s low alcohol, but it’s still something I could not have imagined from The Cola Cola Company twenty years ago. It’s reported this week that they are experimenting with a uniquely Japanese alcopop called Chu-Hi, containing alcohol, fizzy water, and flavouring.

This tells us one thing for sure, and a couple of maybes. For sure, this looks like a level of flexibility being permitted in local markets that has not been seen since the sacred formula was standardised and the syrup production process centralised. Read More

It’s easy to project altruistic motives onto young, Gap-clad, seemingly naïve, computer-gaming geeks who appear to care more about coding than about money. This book makes a strong case that it’s the rest of us – including governments – who are the naïve ones. Taplin spent his life in music and film, and started an early legal content-streaming business. He uses personal stories to show how the internet’s biggest jockeys Google (with YouTube) Facebook and Amazon have built their profits from the pockets and creativity of others. Read More

Looking for a New Year’s resolution? Some people eschew jargon but if you?re going to use it, make sure you have the latest. Here are some suggestions for words to bandy about, plus a few to drop.

Youthquake

Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year for 2017, defined as “a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people”. I’d got by without it. Clearly I’m not part of the youthquake, Read More

Brand-building is a huge industry. From large b2b organisations through to one-person businesses, people aspire to build their brand. I meet many great businesses that don’t have in-house marketers to help them do this. There’s lots of good help available, but before you talk to them, challenge yourself. Here’s how.

1. Forget about building a brand

As an end in itself, it’s pure vanity. Think about brands you know and admire, Read More

“A point of view can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding.”

Marshall McLuhan, academic and visionary author of “Understanding Media” Read More

Paperchase is in the news for the wrong reasons. They ran a free gift-wrap promo with the Daily Mail last weekend. It’s news because it triggered a campaign against them on Twitter. This in turn prompted them to tweet, “We now know we were wrong to do this – we’re truly sorry and we won’t ever do it again. Thanks for telling us what you really think, and we apologise if we have let you down on this one. Read More