Brand Mix

Early edition this week because I'm off to LA for a UCLA reunion weekend to reminisce and compare.

1) Those were the days: Mary Hopkin
As the helpful notes say on the video, this song, produced by Paul McCartney, was a UK hit in 1968. And, no, that wasn't the year I graduated.


2) Why Budgeting Drives Us Batty: Harvard Business
Love budgeting? This took me right back to my Nestlé days: "As one manager said, 'We start budgeting around the middle of the year and finish around the same time the following year.' " Never was so little accomplished by so many for so long. According to Ron Ashkenas, some companies like HP and GE have found ways to make the process easier and faster. In the spirit of humanity, they should send out missions to convert those needing help.

3) Post-recession branding: What Next? Part 1: The brandgym blog
Remember the recession? It's over! (Maybe) Anyway, not too soon to start thinking about branding post recession. Here David Taylor shares the results of his survey of 60 UK Marketing Directors where he asked them: "What comes next?" Four strategies stood out: Sharpening the positioning, growing the core, boosting differentiation and fueling the fan club of employees and consumers.

4) London Underground: To save your rep, you have four hours: Thought Gadgets

Where have those days gone where you used to be able to abuse passengers on the underground without having the altercation plastered all over the Internet? Honestly, it's ridiculous. You can't even smash a guitar these days without some idiot writing a song about it and then another 5.8 million idiots watching it. Or not pay your restaurant bill for a couple of days and get away with it tweet-free. Nuts.

5) Which is easier to understand? Google Wave (41%), Combinatorial Game Theory (59%)
I remember, way back when, having an argument with a co-worker about whether email would ever amount to anything. (I was the cutting-edge guy arguing "for" the motion.) I also remember that, in those early days, we had to send a printed copy in one of those brown, internal envelopes of everything we emailed, just in case the person being emailed didn't check his/her mailbox. Well now Google is trying to reinvent email with the Wave. Main criticism is that it's just too complicated. (If you're listening to the background music on the link and trying to remember the song, here it is.)

6) Almost the Truth: The Lawyer's Cut: Monty Python
Now, if you've been reading my posts and committing them to memory, you will recall that I already posted about this new DVD celebrating Monty Python's 40th anniversary last week and that post made reference to an earlier post on the same subject. I also mentioned, to my FTC readers, that no money or goods had yet changed hands for my review. I'm happy to report that this is no longer the case and that I do now have a free copy of the DVD. I haven't opened it yet but I can assure you that it's the finest, most incredible piece of documentary work I've ever been freely given. But, if anyone cares to send me the latest work by Ken Burns on National Parks (which I haven't had nearly enough unallocated Wednesday night space to watch), I am more than prepared to re-evaluate.

That's it! Back soon with more stories from the world of brand strategy (and related areas). More thoughts and comments also available on Twitter (@martinjbishop).