Entries Tagged 'On Brand' ↓

On 28th April 2010 twelve candidates from nine countries are competing for the European Inventor Award 2010, a highly regarded innovation prize presented annually by the European Patent Office together with the European Commission.

Unfortunately there are no British inventors in the final dozen. Let us hope they are all inventing hard, filing strong patents and growing innovative businesses instead of chasing this prize free award.

The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance Between Business Strategy and Design by Marty Neumeier

“Take-Home Lessons” include a definition of Brand as “…. a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It’s not what you say it is. It’s what THEY say it is.”

“Differentiation has evolved from a focus on ‘what it is,’ to ‘what it does,’ to ‘how you’ll feel,’ to ‘who you are.’ While features, benefits, and price are still important to people, experiences and personal identity are even more important.”

Where is your business on this journey?

Yorkshire – God’s Own County

Mill towns, Ship builders, Building societies and Car manufactures have all benefited from locating their businesses near  similar  activities.  Science and technology parks are the new Glasgow or Coventries and it still makes sense to locate your business where industry talent is being developed.

Coal, Steel and Textiles may be synonymous with traditional Yorkshire businesses but this article highlights some of the many  sweet brands that have been developed in Yorkshire.

The European Commission is at it again with an investigation sparked by three of Google’s potential competitors. Alleging ‘abuse of its dominant position’ this investigation is a penalty of having over 80% of the UK search market.
Google’s customer loyalty has been earned through technical excellence and a customer service that provides a high level of satisfaction such that customer eschew other offerings.
Customers can always vote with their feet or a click of their fingers in this case.

Julia Holtz, senior competition counsel for Google says ‘increased scrutiny comes with the territory when you are a large company’. Envy and commercial practice can attack your Intellectual Assets.

Batman or the Caped Crusader was named and created by Bob Kane for DC comics in 1939. Will your business name or nom-de-plume last over 70 years?

Avoid fashions that come and go if you want to establish longevity with your brand.

The Joker
‘Robin, I need to go to the bat-room for a couple of minutes’
‘Holy-loo-ya Batman’

Time to eat - Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Batman

Two American gurus of New Product Development Dr. Robert Cooper and Dr. Scott Edgett have badged their business as the Product Development Institute Inc.
Great for a consultancy business and the ‘world’s most widely implemented innovation system, Stage-Gate®’ must also benifit.

New product development is crucial to the health of business so keep up with the latest thoughts:

Winning at New Products: Accelerating the Process from Idea to Launch by Robert Cooper

Innovation Management and New Product Development by Dr Paul Trott

Continue reading →

Wampit.com claims to be a leading UK business search directory. The unique selling point is its capacity to include “rich” content such as video on free adverts; ‘you tube for business advertising?’

Time will tell if the intellectual offering meshes with both market demand for directory search and business promotion. In the meantime some businesses may wish to register.

Essentials of Licensing Intellectual Property by Alexander I. Poltorak and Paul J. Lerner “A license is, simply stated, permission to do something the licensor has the right to otherwise prohibit …”

If you need to know how the Internet has impacted modern licensing or wish to read an appendix of sample patent forms, licensing agreements, disclosure statements, and contact information then read one of these texts.

How to License Your Million Dollar Idea: Everything You Need to Know to Turn a Simple Idea into a Million Dollar Payday by Harvey Reese

Brand Republic ‘First for advertising, marketing, media and PR jobs’ are currently seeking to fill 3 manager jobs for ‘3 mobile’. The logo and brand awareness says enough about the company so the recruitment can focus on the job and candidate.

O2

are also looking to recruit a ‘Brand & Social Media Insights Manager’ and it makes you wonder what intellectual assets are created with job titles and positions.
In my experience job titles signpost both internally and externally and there clever use creates  an intangible asset.

It is riveting that two multinational businesses in the discretionary food supply arena, Kraft and Pepsico, are run by women.
Owners of brands that include Quaker Oaks, Doritos, Walkers Crisps and Tropicana, ‘Pepsico’ is looking to move further away from its core soft drinks business by growing ‘good-for-you’ healthier food sales three fold.

It is good business to spot a niche or an opportunity but it even better to have the financial muscle to drive it through.