Brand toys

Always like visual methods to represent complex marketing ideas....so love Brand Toys from advertising giant, JWT. This brand visualistion tool takes Neilson's BrandZ study, applies design principles and creates weird and wonderful toys. Love the compare function - very illuminating identifying the differences between the top 4 supermarkets!

Brand Toys

Bring back the High Street

Interested to hear that Mary Portas has been asked by the Government to look at how the UK's High Street's can be rejuvenated. Hope that Mary makes the radical recommendations that are needed to prevent our High Streets from falling into terminal decline.
If I may offer some talking points:

• What is the role of the High Street in a multi-channel world? How can the High Street embrace how customers' shop - using a mix of channels to help them make their decision and purchase their item?
• Should the High Street necessarily be mainly about shopping anymore? How can the High Street become the heart of the community, providing leisure, culture and meeting opportunities?
• How can local authorities encourage use of the High Street...free or subsidised parking being only the opening salvo,
• In some towns, the High Street is a no-go area at night for most people as they become the preserve of the binge-drinkers and all the associated problems too much alcohol consumption brings - how can the High Street become more inclusive at night?  

I love late night shopping

Living just outside London for 15 years left me blase about shopping. Need a bottle of wine or deli nibble at midnight, no problem, just mosey on down to the local 24 hour supermarket....and be spoilt for chice with any one of the big three to choose from.

So as you can imagine, moving back up north to the countryside was a real shock to the system, with most shops shutting at 5.30pm (although the fabulous community-run village shop does keep open until 7pm!)

However, the times are a-changing. After a long meeting in Preston last night, I was in need of a supermarket - I had promised my husband that I would buy all the ingredients for his forthcoming soup kitchen event, and as had forgotten to book his train tickets earlier that day, successfully completing this task was crucial to restoring marital harmony.

After finding my usual supermarket closed, my trusty phone said that there was a Sainsbury's open until 11pm a couple of short miles away. 10.30pm found me in a pristine Sainsbury's with the run of the store, empty save for staff who were stock-taking and giving me strange looks. At one point I was convinced one of them was going to tell me to leave, the shop was closed, but undaunted I sped down the (clear) aisles filling my trolley without screaming kids or harrassed shoppers with ankle-bashing trolleys to hamper my progress....best night's shopping I've had in ages!

ps. found out at the checkout that I was their "late night shopper" this was the first night they had opened until 11pm and I was the first/last one over the threshold...I'm a celebrity!