Is it just me or are anti binge-drinking lobbyists desperate to rock the UK marketing industry in 2010? Forget the nanny state. This is all-out war.

0 COMMENTS

Ah, luxury… What will it mean in 2010? Well if you believe Trendwatching or read Oscar Wilde, it will mean whatever we as individuals want it to mean. A nice point of law on relativity, but luxury brands have, and always will, carry two divisive hallmarks: exclusivity and scarcity.

How brands tap into these at a time of financial instability, heightened scrutiny (provenance/sustainability) and media overload will be crucial.

Here are some guiding principles for luxury brands:

1 COMMENTS

So the Ministry of Defence wants British troops to use social networking websites such as Twitter to keep the world informed of what they’re up to. Just as long as it’s “within certain limits to protect security, reputation and privacy,” that is. Bottom line: official secrets are out. Meanwhile, our political bedfellows, the US, have gone completely in the opposite way, banning social media sites, due to network security concerns rather than any breaches in information dissemination by soldiers, so we’re told.

0 COMMENTS

While reading about the upward buying power of the Western Muslim middle class in the always brilliant Time magazine, I stumbled upon an equally brilliant magazine called emel.

Founded in 2003 by editor Sarah Joseph and her husband, amid post-9/11 tensions and the divisive "War on Terror", this succinctly self-proclaimed ‘Muslim lifestyle magazine’ has gone from bi-monthly availability in specialist Muslim bookshops to monthly placement on the shelves of Asda, Borders and WH Smiths (priced at £3.50 and with a unofficial UK circulation of 20,000). Its core audience is the UK-based, English-speaking Muslim population – reportedly the fastest growing segment of the middle class in Britain – and other readers in over 60 countries curious about the rich tapestry of work carried out in society by this misunderstood body of followers.

0 COMMENTS

Ah the joys of ink-stained hands. Like most Patels, I’ve spent my fair share of time in a corner shop. I fondly recall endless summers spent lugging a tree's worth of newspapers around the neighbourhood for my parents or trying to rip bundles of warm, freshly printed copies open with my chubby hands. There were a lot of Maryland Cookies and minced beef & onion pies around, what can I say.

I digress. Anyway…

3 COMMENTS

 The art world can be a terribly stuffy and closed environment stifling the very essence of colourful self-expression that it seeks to celebrate.

So props must go to the Tate Liverpool for its very bright, simple and engaging 'The One That Spoke To Me' microsite where the public definitely comes first.

0 COMMENTS

Over the past six months, Drivers Republic, the online car magazine and social community site, has stolen a march on competitor print magazines with dwindling readerships – excluding the fanzine for the Three Stooges' pantomine that is Top Gear, of course.

As the leading UK print titles saw their sales drop by between four and 14 per cent, Drivers Republic's audience grew 200 per cent during the same period. Viewing time remains far higher than the industry standard with readers spending on average over seven minutes reading Drivers Republic’s large, page-turning magazine features. It's about as close as anyone's got to replicating strong print principles of airy layout and high legibility without page-turning tedium.

2 COMMENTS

Richard Prior once set himself on fire while freebasing. Reflecting on the incident later, he noted that it was a bit surreal to lie in a hospital bed watching the news report his death. In a similar vein, while there is a lot of "print is dead" talk going on, there are some deep-pocketed, flight-of-fancy publishers and self-indulgent types knocking out all manner of 'magazines' for the inquisitive reader/print obsessive (delete as appropriate). Here are just two:

 – Manzine

– Swallow magazine

 Read on to find out more....

4 COMMENTS

Here at PostAdvertising.com, we love brands that turn themselves into media channels. Lexus* has taken this to heart and launched LStudio, a lifestyle and entertainment broadband video channel. If you've been wondering what Lisa Kudrow has been up to recently, wonder no more.

0 COMMENTS

A report on NPR’s Morning Edition about the new movie Kitt Kittredge: An American Girl caught my attention the other morning. The movie is based on the American Girl doll line, which, since its inception, has spawned a book series, a magazine, clothing and accessories, three TV movies and American Girl Place, which is a café, doll hair salon, photo studio, theater and doll hospital (yes, a place where girls take their damaged dollies).

I’d been reading about American Girl and its founder, Pleasant Rowland, in Trading Up: Why Consumers Want New Luxury Goods—and How Companies Create Them, a national bestseller that explores an emerging market trend the book’s authors call "new luxury." The authors use the term "new luxury" to describe products that "possess higher levels of quality, taste and aspiration than other goods in the category but are not so expensive as to be out of reach." In addition to the American Girl doll line, the category consists of a diverse set of products: Belvedere Vodka, Callaway Golf, Samuel Adams beer and Whirlpool, among others. American Girl stands out for us here at Intergalactic Post-Advertising HQ because it started with a woman, Pleasant Rowland, who wanted to do nothing more than tell a story. More to the point, she wanted to tell an existing story better.

2 COMMENTS

Since 2002, Rolex, of fancy watch fame, has been sponsoring young artists and pairing them with seasoned, successful artistic mentors. Each recipient is awarded $25,000 for living expenses for one year plus another $25,000 at the end of the year to be used for a special project. Rolex also gives a $50,000 honorarium to the mentor. According to an article in The New York Times, the program has launched some successful careers. Rolex says that it sees a dearth in public and private funding of the arts and seeks to fill that gap. But what marketing purpose does this program serve?

0 COMMENTS

Louis Vuitton has put together a roster of real "seasoned & well traveled" celebrities who share their authentic and personal insights about places they know and love. They share a sort of emotional interest built up over many journeys to one place. Keith Richards, smoking a cigarette, face like spider legs, tells us in one video, "London guitar players have longer straps...look at John Lennon playing under his chin...I always said 'get a longer strap.'" We care about these stories because they're real and completely uncontrived. The music, photography, interface, is all very consistent, very personal, seamless, and the global scope of destinations and contributors reinforces both the travel and the stature of the LV brand. This campaign leaves last week's flap in the dust.

1 COMMENTS