When brands speak emoji

Having studied literature, I always felt strongly about language: I fancy beautiful long old-fashioned words or any words that is slightly out of our usual day to day vocabulary. As a matter of fact “pulchritudinous” and “tintinnabulation” are two of my favourite words. As a firm advocate of perfect spelling and grammar, I am allergic to misspelling. Therefore, you shouldn’t be too surprised to learn that text language is one of my biggest pet peeves. To my great dismay, it…

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Easter eggs are the best marketing tool

Do you know what an Easter egg is? Are you sure? If your answer is: egg-shaped chocolates that are sold and eaten around Easter time; then you are ri…hum…wrong! Actually, the term Easter eggs also refers to messages/animations… hidden in computer programs, websites or video games. These hidden bonuses are called Easter eggs in parallel with the custom of hiding and then hunting Easter eggs (the chocolate kind) that sometimes contain little surprises. Indeed Easter eggs are a bonus, an…

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From Duplo T to Brazuca, what’s in a football name ?

As the FIFA World Cup is now in its second week you may have noticed the football at the start of matches when the referee picks it up off its plinth.  It may not have occurred to you but the ball has a name! In the old days, the name of the official ball was often global and transnational with little reference to local colour and culture. Nowadays, the ball name claims its origin and has turned into a powerful…

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Life in a playful world : advergames, gamification & serious games

When I was a child I liked going to McDonald’s because of the little promotional toys given away in ‘Happy Meals’. I didn’t even like the food that much but I would often beg my parents to take me to McDonald’s anyway. The fact that the toys changed so often and were always goodies from the last hot anime series or Disney movie only increased their appeal to the child I was (By the way, do you know that McDonalds…

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What if brands were one of us?

Brands are acting more humane to get in touch with the consumers and build up relationships. With social media, this is easier than ever before. But, how do we pick a brand over another brand? If brands are more personal, then we must treat them more carefully as well just like the people we surround ourselves with. They are part of our everyday lives and we want to make sure that we can trust them. Meeting As we are faced…

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Is It Branding Or Is It Marketing?

Not that long ago we exhibited at the Great British Business Show / Business Startup Show in London(some of you might even have come to chat with us?). Well to be perfectly honest with you, this event made me realise that many people misunderstand what branding is; in fact, I would say that it is more of a confusion than a real misunderstanding. If you feel unsure about what branding is or if you would simply like a refresher course,…

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Personal branding: take it or leave it

Another hot topic these days, but sometimes the talks on personal branding are very superficial. Set guidelines to success. Easy to follow, but are you really being yourself if you follow the rules? Personal branding The aim of personal branding is to create an image around your name and/or your career. You use the ‘brand’ to communicate your skills, personality and values. You want to attract the people in your network. Just as real brands, you promote yourself in order…

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The value of old names

In a world of rapid and frequent change, a brand name that evokes a track record of reliability and stability is a name that conveys a feeling of reassurance.  It suggests a lineage of the shared experiences of generations of customers and that makes the purchase decision less of a shot in the dark. Lyle’s Golden Syrup, which bears the world’s oldest brand name, is a commodity by-product of sugar refining.  It is literally what it says on the distinctive…

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