Last night, I uploaded a revised website for JY&A Consulting (jya.co), which I wrote and coded. Amanda came up with a lot of the good ideas for it—it was important to get her feedback precisely because she isn’t in the industry, and I could then include people who might be looking to start a new […]
Read More… from Branding ourselves in the 2020s: a revamp for JY&A Consulting’s website, jya.co
My partner Amanda and I are part of Medinge’s presence at Dutch Design Week this year. Since Medinge couldn’t celebrate our 20th anniversary due to COVID-19, some of our Dutch members, helped by many others, took the opportunity to get us into the event, which is virtual this year. We had done a […]
Read More… from Medinge Group at Dutch Design Week: the contribution from Aotearoa New Zealand
Here’s a cautionary tale found by Lucire travel editor Stanley Moss. His words: ‘Photographer Dmitry Kostyukov recently experienced a rich dialogue with an algorithm belonging to a Scandinavian swimwear company. He’d been auto-mistaken for a Y chromosome, and digitally invited to become a brand ambassador. Dmitry accepted, and received the sample suit of his choice, […]
Read More… from Don’t rely on an algorithm to choose your brand ambassadors
The MG line-up in New Zealand. Could it be part of a bigger portfolio of brands later this decade? In the context of what has happened with Holden, and Peter Hanenberger’s thoughts on the direction of GM, I wonder how far away we are from seeing these headlines: Cash-strapped GM sells passenger car brands to […]
A few thoughts about Twitter from the last 24 hours, other than ‘Please leave grown-up discussions to grown-ups’: (a) it’s probably not a smart idea to get aggro (about a joke you don’t understand because you aren’t familiar with the culture) from your company’s account, especially when you don’t have a leg to stand on; […]
Read More… from Don’t give the keys to the company Twitter to just anyone
Companies in FCA’s and PSA’s histories did once produce the Plymouth Horizon, so historically there is some precedent to a trans-Atlantic arrangement—not to mention the type 220 and 179 minivans and the commercial vehicles currently in PSA’s and Fiat’s ranges. This is a few days old, but it’s nice to know that these hurriedly written […]
Read More… from A couple of days before it became official: thoughts on PSA and FCA linking up
I have to agree with Yang Jian, managing editor of Automotive News China, that Baojun’s new models ‘obviously’ failed to reverse the brand’s sales’ decline. It is obvious given that the vehicles are priced considerably above the previous ones, and despite its next-gen tech, there’s no real alignment with what Baojun stands for. […]
Read More… from Baojun doesn’t scream ‘premium’ and ‘next-gen tech’ to me
A rebrand should be done with consultation, and that should be factored in to any decision-making. In the 2010s, it should consider out-of-the-box suggestions, especially in an increasingly cluttered market-place. It should be launched internally first, then externally. A new logo would surface after months of exhaustive design work. The result should be something distinctive […]
Read More… from How not to do a rebrand, and feeling #UnWell
A letter I penned today to Prof Grant Guilford, Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University of Wellington. I support the official adoption of a Māori name (I thought it had one?) but removing Victoria is daft, for numerous reasons, not least the University’s flawed research, dealt with elsewhere. Wellington, August 8, 2018 Prof Grant Guilford Vice-Chancellor […]
Read More… from Keeping the Victoria in Victoria University of Wellington
There’s a rumour circulating that Fiat (specifically, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, or FCA) will kill the Chrysler marque today. The range currently consists of two models: the ageing 300 and the relatively fresh Pacifica. It seems to be another step in the mismanagement of car marques, especially US ones, something I wrote about many […]