How not to buy a website

  Not long ago, someone tried to buy Autocade. In the interests of transparency, I showed them a couple of forward plans we had, and we never heard from them again. I had done a bit of research on the potential buyer and it seems their MO is to buy sites on the cheap, and […]

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Reach out if you need a business mentor

I’ve served with Business Mentors New Zealand for 17 years. It might be time to depart, after my present client. This has always been a voluntary role and bless all those who have given their time, and continue to give their time, to business people around the country. I have made two real friends over […]

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Ford means nothing at all

I followed a Ford Ranger today and felt nothing. This isn’t as strange as it sounds. Ford has become a truck company here, too, and there’s nothing about the blue oval that stirs the soul any more. Mustangs are rare, and Ford—which once democratized flash—doesn’t have the brand equity that it used to. Never mind […]

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‘No more black spots’ is music to the white supremacist

  A message I sent to the former Vodafone New Zealand: Everything is OK except the messages you’re promoting! I know you’ve already heard the feedback that you share your name with a white supremacist organization, and you shrugged it off. OK, maybe we can put this down to a marketing company that didn’t do […]

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Engaging your team: an excellent video tutorial from Insight Creative

This is particularly good stuff, especially in these times when companies want to hang on to their employees and foster a better internal culture. Insight Creative’s Staff Engagement Masterclass video tutorial has some excellent advice, in line with a lot of what I’ve preached over the years. Their model is excellent and really breaks down […]

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About me (according to libraries)

I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that I have a US Library of Congress entry, as a published author, though if I am reading it correctly, it relates to my 2010 mayoral campaign. Following the links there, I arrived at a Virtual International Authority File but the data there seem to relate to my Wikipedia […]

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Stanley Moss’s latest Global Brand Letter out now

Finally, a happier post. For many years (since 2004), my dear friend Stanley Moss has been publishing his Global Brand Letter, which is not only a wonderful summary of the year (or the last half-year, since he often writes every six months) in branding, but an excellent record of the evolution of culture.    He […]

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Chatting at a pro level on Leonard Kim’s Grow Your Influence Tree

Shared on my social media on the day, but I had been waiting for an opportunity to note this on my blog.    It was an honour last week to guest on Leonard Kim’s Grow Your Influence Tree, his internet talk show on VoiceAmerica. Leonard knows plenty about marketing and branding, so I thought it […]

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Brand, sub-brand or model? China’s getting into a confusing phase

The Dongfeng Aeolus AX7. But just where does Aeolus sit when it comes to indexing in Autocade? This is something that might have to come out in the wash, and it might take years.    I think we can all agree that Ssangyong is a marque or a make, and Korando is a model. Never […]

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