Journal

Brand Strategy, Brand Creation & Evolution

Branding By Algorithm

I’ve been thinking a wee bit about what happens to brand in this digital world, and one of my conclusions is that it’s being overpowered, and we’re now “branding by algorithm”.

Brand Insight, Trends & Innovation

Six Ways Recruitment Firm Brands Bleed Value to their Competition

One industry I think is particularly behind the curve in the brand space is recruitment. They misunderstand the value of ‘brand’ and the disproportionately important role it plays in customer interaction which happens primarily in the digital sphere.

Brand Guardianship

How to Tell if Your Brand is Leaking Value

I like the term ‘leaking value’ when it’s attached to brand. For me, it perfectly encapsulates the idea of what happens to organisations when they have a brand problem that’s hidden from view.

Good to know

Do clients choose us or do we choose them?

For us, I suppose the reality is that it’s somewhere in between.

Brand Architecture

How many products does a brand need?

There’s not necessarily a right or wrong answer here. But in my opinion, the fewer, the better

Good to know, Marketing Strategy, Brand Strategy

Do you need to write a brief?

This is going to sound controversial, but many of the written briefs we receive are crap and aren’t worth it.

Brand Architecture

Time to Review Your Brand Architecture

Brand architecture challenges are the branding equivalent of pulled muscles. They cause pain and frustration, but they don’t create enough of a problem to take you entirely offline to focus on the fix.

Brand Insight, Brand Analysis

Understanding Business Change During Coronavirus

I've got an old school pal who has a cracking family business. It's the oldest craft bakery in Scotland and has been in his family for 190 years. (No pressure there then).

Good to know, Content Delivery

Good is Good Enough

One of our worst habits as a business is trying to make things brilliant, when they only need to be good.

Brand Insight

Brand Paranoia

Let’s talk about paranoia in branding. It’s something I’ve noticed a lot over the years - mostly with clients overestimating how much equity there is in their brand.

Brand Strategy, Brand Architecture

Brand Architecture - Don’t forget the due diligence

When businesses merge or acquire other businesses, they don’t spend enough time thinking about what to do with the brands, products and portfolios. This is our experience anyway. 

Marketing Strategy

Brand Consultant vs Management Consultant

Is it ridiculous for us to consider ourselves a management consultancy?

Good to know, Brand Insight

The Good MBO - Learnings From The Journey

We recently completed a Management Buyout at Good. Keith, my co-founder and partner of 15 years, left the business and I now have four new partners from the management team.

Good to know, Brand Strategy, Environments

Tips on Working Internationally

When we started, our first ambition was to open an office in London. It’s an inconvenient truth that we needed to have an office there in order to be taken seriously by clients. (Thankfully, I think it’s beginning to change now).

Brand Insight, Brand Strategy

The Importance of Expertise

I’ve been asked to prepare a presentation on how Good has come to appreciate and sell the value of design. When I sat down to think about this journey, it was hard to plot how we got to where we are.

Brand Creation & Evolution

How to build a brand: Start with words

From time to time we face an interesting moment during that first client presentation when we’re introducing a new brand. We’ll take them through values and positioning matrices. Through the insight we’ve gleaned to give the brand the best possible start.

Marketing Strategy

Creating the right marketing strategy

This might sound overly simplistic, but one of the questions we keep asking ourselves (and our clients) is ‘how does this contribute to the plan?’

Brand Naming

Five Tips for your next Naming Project

TalkTalk have launched FibreNation – a company to help build a new broadband network for Britain. And we worked with them to name and brand the new organisation.

Market Research

Measuring Design Effectiveness

Let's be honest. There’s no straightforward methodology to measuring design effectiveness.

Internal Comms

The Role of Brand in Internal Comms

Our top 5 tips for creating effective internal comms.

Good to know, Brand Strategy

What's the Difference between Branding and Marketing?

We need to share our expertise in order to build a better understanding of difference between the two.

Good to know, Brand Strategy

Positioning Makes Marketing Simple

A strong well positioned brand acts like a marketing rudder. It creates coherence and simplicity, effortlessly sorting tactics from strategic activity.

Good to know, The SimpleTruth

Why brand onions don’t work

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always had a problem with the brand onion, aka brand wheel, brand key, brand house.

Good to know

How to buy design services

Now, before I start, I want to make it clear. This isn’t a rant. I’m not using this piece to have a go at clients, the system, or any third party who has ever sought to influence how and where work is placed.

Good to know, Brand Creation & Evolution

Equity in lieu of fee — what I’ve learnt

Why part owning a brand gives you a unique perspective on your own firm.

Brand Strategy, The SimpleTruth

The ‘Simple Truth’ of Leave

More often than not, politics nets down to branding and communication. It's just that politicians don't always see it that way.

Good to know

Understanding the value of Experience

Today I got one of those strange moments of clarity and understanding. I was chatting with a colleague about how she’s fitting into the company.

Brand Architecture

Defining your brand architecture

The new sub brand launch is due next quarter and you’ve run out of names, colours and icons. If only there was a simpler way...

Brand Creation & Evolution

What’s the difference between a Logo and a Brand?

The Tokyo Olympics identity system has re-raised the age old question. What is a logo and what is a brand?

Brand Insight, Trends & Innovation

Why Luxury Branding Should Just Be Branding

It’s funny the way certain themes and strands emerge in the marketing world.

Brand Naming

There’s No ‘i’ In Apple

Since the big reveal of the Apple Watch, there has been some speculation on why the long-anticipated product ditched Apple famous ‘i’ prefix.

Market Research, Trends & Innovation

Consumers Don’t Care

I’m amazed at how we can complicate this industry so much that we actually forget what’s right in front of us.

Brand Strategy, Brand Creation & Evolution

How To Get The Best Out of a Rebranding Job

In our 10 years we’ve done quite a few of these jobs and we’ve learned a fair bit about what happens and what matters when you're doing them.

Good to know, Trends & Innovation

How Effective Are We?

We recently won another couple of Design Effectiveness Awards, which takes our tally of DEAs to ten since 2009. Six golds, three silvers and one bronze.

Good to know

A Good Place To Work

Nord secure the Andrew Doolan Best Building In Scotland prize for South Block - home of Good.