Who need’s Phil Collins when you can have Zingolo?

The new Cadbury's Dairy Milk partnership with Ghanaian entertainment culture is wonderfully positive and full of life as well as a glass and half full of milk! Zingolo is the first single released from “Glass and Half Full” records, Cadbury’s own record label. This is launched to celebrate Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Fairtrade certification. Ghana is the heart of the Fairtrade chocolate made by Cadbury and this track as well as the overall Ghana connection celebrates everything Ghanaian. Cadbury’s have really gone to town with the positive Ghana associations recruiting dancers, artists, wood carvers as well as musicians. Rather than do this heart-heartedly they have even really invested in marketing the new music and putting it on iTunes to buy as well as promoting all the other Ghanaian cultural connections. It’s a risk as it’s so far removed from the award winning gorilla/Phil Collins, plane/queen big productions. It also assumes that people know that Ghanaian chocolate is the best. However the positive association with vibrancy, colours and a lust for life through the links with Ghanaian entertainers will communicate very positive product and brand values and that Cadbury’s give you a boost and makes you feel better. The only additional other angles worth persuing would be brand partnerships with high street retailers like HMV or fashion brands selling Ghanaian clothes should such exist or travel agents promoting Cadbury through all different associated angles. Overall a wonderfully vibrant brand partnership.

Tesco’s poor man’s X-factor partnership hits the wrong note

Tesco has tied up with talent search site 1Click2Fame to launch a series of mobile audition pods outside its stores – why? you hear yourself ask. Don’t you ever go grocery shopping and have that sudden urge to rush into a photo booth-like pod and start singing and dancing and record the video of it?!

What exciting prizes can be gained from this seemingly pointless use of energy? Videos are entered into a competition with 1Click2Fame, which will be offering a series of prizes including cash, coaching and studio time. Oh wowee! Studio time for recording that album you have always thought is in you but that no one will ever release! Are they just trying to capitalise on the enormous and somewhat disturbing popularity of X- Factor?

Then again would this have anything to do with Sainsbury’s being involved with X-Factor and reaping the benefit? If it is, it’s less than a half-hearted attempt to compete. What Tesco hope to achieve from this brand partnership I have no idea as it seems all the benefit is for 1Click2Fame and even then wouldn’t they be better off doing this with a fashion retailer or entertainment retailer or cinema or nightclub or bar?

Drunken girls singing “like a virgin” at 9pm on a Friday could be fun, sober housewives in tracksuit bottoms singing Leona Lewis on a Monday at 11am would just be excruciating……

Something's in life are sacred.....

The news that Newcastle United’s incompetent owners (the ones that got them relegated) are now auctioning off the rights to their ground, the very famous St James’ Park, should surprise no one. A name is not just a name in the world of football. Newcastle’s ground has been called St James’ Park since 1882 and means the world to the most passionate fans in the world (of which I declare I am one).

The fact that the most hated man on Tyneside, Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, owns Sports Direct.com and has now decided to call the ground SportsDirect.com @ St James Park in the short term, should surprise no one who has followed his series of incomprehensible decisions. The fact that both of these decisions are to try and get some poor misguided brand to sponsor the stadium in 2010 shows how little he knows about brands and their relationship with other brands, especially sporting brands.

Any brand worth its salt would research how the fans felt about this and on seeing the anger currently pouring out of Newcastle United fans would realise that they would be making a massive mistake. The fans don’t want a brand where their beloved St James Park name is. Before it, after it or replacing it. No name. Any brand doing this would be boycotted by Newcastle fans and face unprecedented resistance and protests which would decrease not increase any positive relationship and sales they would be expecting.

Adidas, Newcastle’s club kit supplier, have already taken the advice and declared that they will not have anything to do with this ridiculous idea. Wise.

Any brand looking to do this would be entering hell. Football is not just about life and death to Newcastle fans, its much, much more important than that. This would be brand partnership marketing at its very worse. Beware any brand thinking about doing this. Heed these words. Don’t.