Let’s improve on the Wellington logo

The city’s new logo—it is not a rebrand if the underlying tenets are the same—has not met with much support.    The next question must be: all right, if we’re all so smart, can we do better?    Ian Apperley and I think we can. Ian approached me yesterday morning to ask whether we should […]

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Cities are, or at least should be, driving globalization

  My friend and colleague William Shepherd directed me to a piece at Quartz by Michele Acuto and Parag Khanna, on how cities are driving globalization more than nations—a theme I touched upon on this blog in March 2010. As he said, I had called it three years ago, though admittedly Acuto and Khanna have […]

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Getting ready for global

I’ve known of this for some time through Medinge: the globalizing of The New York Times. This has meant the retirement of The International Herald–Tribune name, one which brand experts are divided on.    On the one hand, the NYT doesn’t have it wrong. There are global newspaper brands already, namely those that have taken […]

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When it comes to convention centres, it pays to think ahead

The New Zealand International Convention Centre has been announced in Auckland. In 2010, my campaign team proposed a convention centre for Miramar Wharf, which would include a technology complex, in a format that could have been licensed to other countries, earning royalties for the Wellington business that came up with the idea. The location was […]

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Wellington isn’t ‘dying’, but we’re going to have to prove our mettle

That didn’t take long, John.    I know, the economic statistics aren’t pleasant.    Wellington’s economy is stagnant and our population growth lags behind Auckland’s and Christchurch’s. I did predict this in 2010.    The difference is that I don’t give up on us quite so quickly.    I don’t think political leaders should.   […]

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Bridging the Rimutaka divide: Wellington needs Wairarapa

In an interview today, the subject of regional reform and amalgamation came up. There’s quite a good site already seeking feedback on the process, and I’ve taken part in a 2012 forum on the subject as well.    In 2010, the mood in Wellington, based on those I met in the campaign, seemed to be […]

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Calculating 2012’s top selling car: Focus or Corolla?

I see that Toyota is upset that R. L. Polk named the Ford Focus the top-selling car in the world for 2012. Motor Trend has since reported the story as Polk naming the Focus as the top selling ‘nameplate’, but that hasn’t stopped Toyota from throwing a wobbly.    I can’t locate the Polk report […]

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How brands fool us

The Google experience over the last week—and I can say ‘week’ because there were still a few browsers showing blocks yesterday—reminds me of how brands can be resilient.    First, I know it’s hard for most people to believe that Google is so incompetent—or even downright corrupt, when it came to its bypassing Safari users’ […]

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What Is a Brand? Well, there is one we’ve relaunched …

My good friend and colleague Stanley Moss has written a new book, What Is a Brand?, which provokes some thought on the question in the title.    Those who know Stanley and have followed his work know that each year, he issues a Brand Letter, which closes with various definitions of branding.    If there’s […]

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