Brand Mix

Another crazy week on the financial front but it's time to get back to branding issues. Here's my summary of the best and most interesting posts from the week:

1) Calvin Klein: Renaissance Brand: Branding Strategy Insider
Calvin Klein is back! A post that summarizes all that's gone right for the brand since it was acquired by PVH (a conglomerate that owns Van Heusen and Kenneth Cole among others). Before it was acquired, it was heading over the Pierre Cardin cliff.

2) An Inconvenient Bag: Wall Street Journal
People's intentions to use reusable shopping bags are running way ahead of actual usage. Many of these bags are bought and then forgotten at the back of a car trunk or kitchen closet. Professor Baba Shiv talks about the "road blocks" facing reusable bags and that habits will only change when there's enough of a reward or an obvious taboo. "Is it taboo yet to be carrying plastic bags? I don't think so."

3) Bagels, Donuts and Cupcakes: eyecube
Rick asks a good question. Why is it that people think of national chains when it comes to donuts but think of local mom and pop's when it comes to bagels? Is there a market gap for an artisnal donut or have cupcakes filled the void? Meanwhile, Andy Sernovitz predicts the cold, sad end to Krispy Kreme now that it has decided to add ice cream to the menu.

4) Entertainment is Not Branding: Dim Bulb
If entertainment is not branding and Branding Only Works on Cattle does that mean that cattle can't be entertained or that entertainment works on everything except cattle? Jonathan has a new book coming out. I think I'm going to disagree with everything in it based on his last few posts but I'm sure it will be a fun (and entertaining) read.

5) New Hovis Ad: "As good today as it's always been" (via Very Short List)
Before his famous "Big Brother" Apple ad and before he started making movies like Alien, Ridley Scott made what some consider to be England's favorite advertisement. It was made in 1973 for Hovis bread and it featured a delivery boy on his bicycle. (Here it is.) Hovis decided to revisit the theme of this ad showing a new delivery boy on a route that takes him from 19th century Liverpool all the way through to today. It's an incredible follow-up to the original, although similar in some ways to this Macy's spot: