News round-up 25.05.12
25.05.12
A long overdue News Round-Up – everything you could hope for from an eclectic news round-up…
Time for a news round-up – our occasional post where we round up interesting news stories that are closely, slightly or tenuously related to the worlds of design & marketing. Get a mug of tea in hand, a biscuit in t’other, and settle down to delight in these delicious news morsels…
Cogs of Industry
The onward march of own label shows no signs of abating, as launches of own label products overtook those of branded lines for the first time last year. And while back in the day own labels were characterised by their plain appearance, increasingly there’s real design consideration, as seen on launches like the recent Ocado range designed by JKR.
And while we’re on own labels, upmarket nosh purveyors M&S have unveiled Simply M&S, which is set to rival budget own label supermarket brands, and contains all the basics (such as eggs, milk and fresh meat) as well as 800 new lines. The new range was designed in-house.
Millward Brown’s annual BrandZ report on the Top 100 brands by brand value has been released. Some familiar faces at the top of the charts – Apple’s brand is valued at a whopping $183bn, followed by IBM ($116bn), Google ($108bn) and McDonald’s ($95bn). Facebook has the fastest brand value gain, with a 74% increase in brand value vs 2011, up to $33bn (not sure for how long though…) and Hermés & Samsung are both new entries. Marketing Week’s report is here.
It seems it’s the time of year for Top 100 lists, and thus Marketing’s Power 100 Marketers has been announced, listing the top 100 most powerful marketers in the UK. Did you make the list?
Commentary Corner
What role has design played in the rise and rise of afterhours favourite, Jagermeister? JKR comment.
Dieter Rams, designer for Braun and influence on Apple’s (Sir) Jony Ive, has his say why good design is a key business advantage.
What big brands can learn from a small restaurant in London, by Design Bridge.
BrandGym comment on why Red Bull’s latest launch might not give them wings.
Pretty Packaging
A second mention for Red Bull this edition. Now this is how you leverage and celebrate your equities. This special edition, is dedicated to stunt rider Travis Pastrana; illustrations courtesy of ILoveDust.
Lovely work for Kettle Chips’ new ridge range by agency Turner Duckworth.
Readers living outside the UK might be unaware that coming up in Blighty is the Queen’s Jubilee, the 60th anniversary of her coronation. To celebrate, very nearly every piece of packaging in Britain has been emblazened with a Union Jack for a few weeks. More savvy brands have gone the extra step though, like this limited edition Ma’amite.
Start-up Irish sauce Mic’s Chilli approached illustrator Steve Simpson for help, resulting in these characterful packs which take inspiration from South American folk art (BBQ sauce) and traditional Chinese designs (Sweet Chilli).
How’s this for packaging innovation? Philadelphia’s new lenticular lids show three images of dishes you can make with the spread, depending on which way you look at them. Found via Fresh Air.
And Finally…
Passengers suffering Heathrow’s Terminal 2 might have their spirits lifted by this planned sculpture by Richard Wilson. The sculpture is part of a massive revamp of the terminal which is being designed by architectural giant, Foster + Partners – due 2014.
This extraordinary image of a heart-attack-on-a-plate is in fact an incredibly realistic painting, by Mary Ellen Johnson. Found via Design Bridge’s blog.
Festival season is upon us, so this year why not stand out from the crowd with a distinctive tent like these wacky creations from FieldCandy.
Did you know Pepsi is named after a digestive enzyme? Or that Reebok is an African antelope? Bore your friends with these titbits and more in this blog post on how well known brands got their names.
Brands try all sorts to get coverage, but sometimes they can seem a touch … desperate. This melting Branson is one such innovation. Everyone together, now: huh?
Name That Brand
And so we come to Name That Brand, the section of the round-up which is last chronologically but first spiritually. We mask the full extent of a well-known brand’s logo or icon using witchcraft and the crop tool, and invite you to speculate upon its identity. The last Name That Brand was Netflix.
Can you guess this one?…
If identifying brands from snippets is up your street, you should try out our fully-fledged interactive Name That Brand Game!
Well, until next time. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!