Byron Sharp is wrong – of course brand perceptions influence sales
Mark RitsonByron Sharp’s recent claim that it is ‘impossible’ to place a value on brand perceptions is not just mistaken, it is a rejection of true scientific method.
Mark Ritson – Brand Identity
Leeds United’s badge u-turn reveals a brand with abundant value
Mark RitsonLeeds United last week conspired to create the worst rebrand in history, but the club’s response to fans shows how much passion and character still surrounds a brand languishing far below its competitive peak.
Mark Ritson: Burberry has a big brand challenge to replace Christopher Bailey
Mark RitsonBurberry has finally parted ways with its totemic chief creative officer Christopher Bailey, leaving a tough task to find someone equally able to represent its brand DNA of functional, accessible luxury.
Mark Ritson: Boaty McBoatface proves the public would rather humiliate your brand than engage with it
Mark RitsonThe Natural Environment Research Council’s competition to name its new boat is the latest in a cavalcade of crowdsourcing disasters, demonstrating that consumers are a bunch of brand-haters.
I have been bitten by the rebranding bug: I am markritson
Mark RitsonWhat a week for rebranding eh? I simply can’t remember a seven days like it in the whole history of marketing.
Mark Ritson: Malaysia Airlines – fix don’t nix the brand
Mark RitsonEven by the most horrendous standards, 2014 has been an astonishingly bad year for Malaysia Airlines. First came the disaster of MH370 and the ongoing search for the crew and passengers lost somewhere across the Indian Ocean. Then came the equally haunting loss of MH17 over the Ukraine.
Mark Ritson: What to do with unwanted brand associations?
Mark RitsonWhen the concept of near field communication payment, or NFC mobile payment platforms, as they are known, became popular at the start of the decade, there was a rush from several suppliers to claim the lead.
Mark Ritson: Dixons Carphone and the branding question
Mark RitsonAfter the M&A people have done their work, then comes the branding bit. With the Dixons and Carphone Warehouse deal complete, the newly merged leadership team must get to work on how they will brand their new beast.
Mark Ritson: Nothing exonerates PwC for coming up with such a ludicrous name
Mark RitsonAccounting powerhouse PricewaterhouseCoopers completed its acquisition of management consulting firm Booz & Co last week. The deal instantly added about $1.5bn (£897m) to PwC’s top line. It also threw up something of a branding issue.
Mark Ritson: Surgeon’s stamp is the mark of true branding
Mark RitsonDon’t let the Simon Bramhall brand fade. Wield your argon gas with pride, and if you need a branding consultant, I’m your man.
Mark Ritson: Ernst & Young’s rebrand raises more than a snigger
Mark RitsonRegular readers will know that there is no bigger fan of the big accounting firms than your humble columnist. Over the years their combined attempts at branding have provided me much fodder as examples of strategies that undermine the firms’ respective positions as advisers on corporate strategy.