It’s the year of the Monkey and the celebrations begin today. A very Happy Chinese New Year.
A Very Happy Chinese New Year
8
February 2016
Chinese New Year Is Approaching
6
January 2016
Apple’s ubiquitous products do not change one iota from market to market.
But they are starting to dabble in limited editions that tap key moments in specific countries consumers lives.
Announced today for Chinese New Year is one such initiative.
Two Apple Sports watches to celebrate Chinese New Year – the year of the monkey. These will be available in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan.
Expect more of this type of activity by manufactures, especially in wearable tech, in the future.
11: 11 Singles Day – The Retail Explosion
17
November 2015
If you missed my In Retail Conversation With…live web session all about Singles Day or 11: 11 the world’s biggest single day for retail sales, you can catch it here on the live recording. Many thanks to Doreen Wang, my guest on the show and the production team, Tuhin and Alex.
https://youtu.be/JoGBRvnPwgU
A Fitting Tribute
15
November 2015
New York’s Metropolitan Opera led by Placido Domingo on Saturday mourned the victims of the attacks in Paris with an unscheduled performance of the French national anthem.
Ahead of a matinee of Puccini’s “Tosca,” Domingo conducted the orchestra in “La Marseillaise” as the Metropolitan Opera Chorus sang the words in French on stage.
A slip of paper was put in all programs at the premier US opera house with the lyrics to the anthem and an explanation that the song was “a show of our solidarity with the citizens of France.”
We are all with you too.
You can see it here
https://youtu.be/nI8_mLQyDTw
New York City Marathon
2
November 2015
Congratulations to everyone who participated in todays New York City Marathon. An extraordinary sight and carnival atmosphere. My admirations to all 50,000+.
And a well deserved lift home for some…
London Gets Ready for Xi
19
October 2015
London is looking decidedly more red that usual at the start of the autumnal season.
President Xi Jinping of China arrives today for the start of a very high profile 4 day State Visit.
The Mall is now intermingled and lined with massive UK and Chinese flags. It is on the route from Horse Guards Parade where he will be officially welcomed and travel the short distance by carriage to Buckingham Palace, where President Xi will be staying for most of his time whilst in the UK.
His trip includes a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace with the Queen as the host.
Apple, Selfridges, Art and Branding
24
August 2015
It was odd.
The windows of the iconic department store Selfridges in London were all covered up with Rolex banners so you could not see in.
Then on Thursday all was revealed.
The covers came off. Not a Rolex in sight.
24 windows with a massive Apple Watch installation.
The theme?
Each window has flowers inspired by the flowers on the “Motion” face of the Apple Watch. Each window features an Apple watch as well.
It’s a tremendous, eye catching piece of art and brand experience.
A fusion of art, retail and brand that we should be seeing more of. And judging by the passers by… head turning and stop in their tracks ‘must take a closer look’… staggeringly impactful.
The “flowers” themselves are created through a number of techniques from 3D printing to more traditional resin casting. There are eight different flower variations decorating the windows, each of which was envisioned, scaled, sculpted, and hand-painted by artists. All in all, they created 24 large, 50 medium, 240 “small plus” and 5,525 small flowers.
The effort and attention to detail is paralleled to the original photography Apple used for the creation of their “Motion” watch face. For those flowers Apple shot them as they were flowering in real time. One flower taking 285 hours and more than 25,000 shots.
See all the windows in this on line flip-book and download the window image montage at the top of this post.
Congratulations to each artist involved. You have my respect.
Advertising? Retailing? Brand Experience? Art? …Discuss…
Picture Of The Week
21
August 2015
For The Very First Time
19
August 2015
http://youtu.be/OKg7kEf7WaU
Just launched in Jakarta, Indonesia. For the very first time. The BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indonesian Brands 2015.
In a transformative time for Indonesian development.
Growth, stability and consumer confidence create perfect conditions for brand building. Indonesia is fast becoming the economic powerhouse of South East Asia and in the midst of change on a massive scale.
Now is the time to understand the Indonesian brand landscape better.
Take a look at the top 50 countdown video and download the report from www.brandZ.com
Prepare to be surprised.
RoZie The BrandZ Robot Makes An Appearance in San Francisco
18
August 2015
http://youtu.be/evq8GdSR5Hk
RoZie our BrandZ Robot made an appearance at The Intel Developers Forum in San Francisco today. Here she is doing some last moment limbering up.
She was a massive hit. Thank you David Brebner from Umajin and the team at Spark, Matt White and Rodrigo Solorzano.
Her next appearance will be in my key note for the “Retailing To The Customer of One In An Internet of Things Age” event on the 17th September in London.