The trade unions hate them. Investors love them. The German Government refers to them as "heuschrecken" or locusts. T he Economist describes them as a “superior model of capitalism”. They own big brands like Iceland, Kwik Fit and...

Compare the results of the recent Millward Research on the Net Promoter Scores of some of Britain's biggest banks with their profits and you are in for a shock. All the worst performing banks are reporting the biggest profits. Eh? The reason is BAD...

There are always those strategic roles and consulting jobs that appear to be beyond the skills of even the greatest marketing mind. Cue music from Mission Impossible. Teletext joins the list.... There have always been impossible jobs in marketing. The...

Gap has announced the closure of its new women's brand Forth & Towne. Here is a Business Week article on its launch which focuses on how the store was creating a branded experience. Then here is an FT piece on F&T's demise. Looks like...

With The Gap in brand freefall it is ironic that the reasons for its current problems are related to the original reasons for its success in the 70's. First comes the Christmas shopping. Then the January sales. And now we get excuses from all the...

Ultimate exclusivity means customers no even knowing that you exist. Amex gets it wrong. British Airways gets it right. Can you name the iconic luxury brand that began life as an urban legend and only later became a reality? The answer is the American...

Whether deliberate or not the 40% discount that Thresher is offering its customer this Christmas is a bad move. Merry Christmas from Thresher! The retailer recently released a printable voucher on the internet entitling the bearer to 40% off wine and...

In an unprecedented letter of complaint this month, The Royal Society, Britain's most respected scientific organisation, rebuked Exxon for funding organisations that promote a 'misleading' viewpoint and condemned the company's attempts...

Probably the dumbest promotional move of 2006....and that is saying something. On paper, at least, the latest activity for Volvo's SUV, the XC90, looks good. Its agency Euro RSCG has created an integrated campaign featuring TV ads, PR, internet, viral...

Google & British Airways - apparently very strong brands. Apparently. The British Airways pilot sounded calm, but he urgently needed a decision. Shortly after taking off from LAX one of the four engines on his Boeing 747, had exploded. With 5000 miles...

Can Tommy bring its brand back to life? It has been quite a decade for Tommy Hilfiger. During the 90s, it seemed his brand could do no wrong. The business experienced meteoric growth and, by 2000, was generating $2bn in worldwide sales. But then came...

To most marketers, the strength, scale and incumbent power of UPS and FedEx would make the US just about the least attractive target market imaginable. But two strategic factors peculiar to the global delivery business mean that DHL must succeed there...

Walkers is not the reason for Golden Wonder's demise, it is the case study in how it could have avoided it. The news that Golden Wonder had been placed into administration last week was mistakenly attributed by the media to the success of Walkers...