The merger between Burger King and Canadian coffee-and-doughnuts chain Tim Hortons has sparked a great deal of reaction and much of it has been nationalistic in flavour. There was speculation that Burger…
With the gay pride season coming to a close, here is a question: have you withdrawn money from a multi-coloured gAyTM this summer? Or have you even tucked into your Burger King Pride Whopper? And if you…
How far are consumers ready to go to show their love to brands? As the BBC recently noted, tattoos representing brands are getting more and more common. But why? And what does it tells us about the psychology…
Airbnb’s new logo prompted a torrent of response as soon as it was unveiled. Everyone seemed to have a (not very original) opinion about the rebranding – yes, it looks like a vagina. And it doesn’t stop…
The 2014 World Cup has been a tournament of goals galore – and with every goal comes a celebration. We’re now used to displays of individual and team pageantry with goal celebrations and they can sometimes…
If you haven’t heard the song by now, you soon will; Mas Que Nada by Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66 will be a big part of this summer’s soundtrack. As the World Cup in Brazil fast approaches, the 1963 Jorge…
Only a few years ago jokes about home brand products were quite common. Having a blue and white or red and white dinner meant enjoying generic brand fare that night around the table. But the recent intensification…
In the world of luxury fashion, Chanel stands apart from the crowd. But it’s not the designs that make it different. The French luxury brand is one of the last few major labels that does not sell its clothes…
Thanks to the release of The Lego Movie – which opened in the US to huge acclaim on February 7 – the Danish toy company looks set to extend its “brand connection” to generations of families, even further…
Recently Qantas and Virgin have been fighting a war for “high value” corporate contracts by refurbishing their invitation-only lounges. But is this a wise strategy? The airline industry has long been stuck…
In the last week, a number of political commentators have argued that newly-minted prime minister Tony Abbott’s frontbench is decidedly low on women. There is only one woman in Cabinet and an additional…
The brewing industries in many countries are undergoing dramatic changes, with increasing numbers of craft breweries challenging the traditional volume-based business model of major corporations. In the…
A newsworthy event is happening right now. And another, and another — it never ends. This is vital not just for feeding our 24-hour news cycle and hungry media corporations, but increasingly also for marketers…
Don’t worry — you’re not seeing double. Everything looks the same … well, certainly in mass market products such as consumer electronics. The high profile litigation between Apple and Samsung is just one…
Can you own a colour, a name, or a sound? Those questions have been highlighted again in the UK, where there has been another outbreak of litigation about “Cadbury Purple”. Australian trademark law, like…
I am the FakeMarkRolfe telling you that all FakeMarkRolfes on Twitter are liars. And so is the real Mark Rolfe @Marcjohnr. I’ve started with a variation of the old liar’s paradox, not to explore logic…
In 2011, brand is everything in the corporate world. While the rest of the business operations are considered a cost, marketing makes money. And central to so much of modern marketing is the brand, built…
MEDIA & DEMOCRACY: Today, Andrew Hughes looks at how voters have become consumers of political marketing, as part of The Conversation’s week-long series on how the media influences the way our representatives…
Andrew Wilkie is correct when he says that the government needs to sell things better. Developing good policy is not enough in today’s consumer driven world. The government also needs to clearly communicate…
Adjunct Professor, with expertise in Branding, Marketing, Business Strategy, Corporate Citizenship and Social Responsibility. Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town
Professeur senior d’analyse financière, d’audit et de risk management - Directrice de Programme pour le MSc Fashion Design & Luxury Management- Responsable de la spécialisation MBA "Brand & Luxury Management", Grenoble École de Management (GEM)