A monthly newsletter wrapping up what's going on in branding, business and bands.
Brand Extra!
What's going on in the world of branding?
At the start of the month, I was in Italy at a business mastermind, when Threads, Meta’s, Twitter rival was launched.
What is Threads?
- An 80s apocalyptic movie about the world ending in a nuclear apocalypse (set in Sheffield).
- A Twitter killer without a clearly defined differentiator.
- A zen-like space for kindness that exists for a week till AI takes over.
- A sophisticated marketing strategy for a cage fight.
Popular opinion was that Threads wasn’t answering a business problem. Just giving access to your data. Musk commented ‘Competition is fine. Cheating is not.’ Meta/Instagram/Facebook/Threads demonstrated the challenges of brand architecture. Which I'd happily sort out.
A month is a long time in the ‘Fediverse’. Twitter is dead. ‘X’ is born. “a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. The platform that can deliver, well … everything”. And a crowd-sourced rebrand was implemented overnight.
The world hasn’t ended with a cage fight, we’ve been saved by Barbenheimer.
Actually, cinema was saved with a philosophical discussion about patriarchal society and the influence of consumerism whilst the world learned the destructive power of having a single focus and clear objective. [Oppenheimer’s atomic bomb, not Musk’s rebrand of Twitter].
What can you learn?
Insight; make your brand relevant
Always learn from others, don’t copy, get input from your customers, you don’t need to listen to them, and you don’t need to implement a brand in 24 hours.
Story; make your brand unique
Clear focus and purpose can enable you to make big bold decisions. Musk knows what he’s doing. He’s been talking about X for years.
Engage; make your brand memorable
Own a brand colour (Barbie Pink; = / PMS 219c) and a portmanteau is an easy way to name something.
Business Extra!
What's going on in my business?
I recently launched a new product. Untangle Your Brand Boost, which can kick-start your brand with a personalised workshop.
Business coach Johanne Stimson has a 'get it done attitude', no procrastination and booked an "Untangle Your Brand Boost”.
- Workshop delivered. Business understood. Brand messaging clear. Boom. 💥
- She then asked me to create her brand. Boom. 💥
- She reacted instinctively to my insights and direction so we could move forward. Boom. 💥
- She was clear on the direction that was right for her business when creative work was presented to her. Boom. 💥
- She loves her new brand. Boom. 💥
See the full case study here
Band Extra!
What's going on my turntable?
A playlist for this month, listen on Spotify Apocalypse X Pink
- ABBA, The Winner Takes It All; The loser has to fall.
- Beastie Boys, Fight For Your Right to Party; But your mom says no.
- Generation X, Dancing With Myself; When there's nothing to lose and there's nothing to prove.
- The Killers, Miss Atomic Bomb; You're gonna miss me when I'm gone.
- Lizzo, Pink; Hey Barbie (Hey), she's so cool. All dolled up, just playin' chess by the pool.
- Take That, Never Forget; where you’ve come here from.
- Portishead, Threads; Tired. Worn out. Where do I go?
🤘 Keep on listening.
🍩 Keep on branding.
Nigel
