Brands beware: ethical minefields ahead

The concept of the triple bottom line emerged to steer corporate attention towards not just profit, but also social and environmental concerns. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and more recently Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) policies have been created to point investors towards brands that commit to taking these issues seriously.

Brand M&A

The merger of Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling will result in a new brand, A&O Shearman. Demonstrating a clear strategic intent, A&O Shearman revealed the new brand alongside the announcement of the formal decision to merge.

When is the right time to rebrand?

Brand building is a strategic endeavour. It requires alignment of business strategy, capability, marketing effort and customer experience to build a distinctive reputation in the market. It can pay huge reputational dividends, but it takes time.

Why brand capital is the silent force behind business success

In an increasingly competitive world, your brand capital is one of the unsung secrets of enduring business success. Brand capital is like political capital: a type of currency that politicians use to mobilise voters, ride out a political storm or accomplish other political goals. It’s been described as a type of credit, or a resource […]

Can AI ever be a creative?

The spectre of artificial intelligence looms large over many professions, and designers are no exception. Will AI ultimately render human creatives obsolete? It’s a valid concern, especially given the design industry’s history of technological upheavals—from the printing press to desktop publishing, and from the rise of the internet to digital photo libraries. Each innovation has […]

Bold moves and brand blunders: Navigating risk and innovation in branding

Almost a year later it remains to be seen what transpires from the audacious move, but it certainly got noticed, not least by those in the worlds of branding and media.

Back to your roots

In a competition for the most-recognisable tagline of the past 50 years, ‘The world’s local bank’ would surely be a leading contender. There can be few people who didn’t wish they’d thought of it first. Yet this catchy line has been quietly dropped by HSBC. Why, and what does it tell us about the growing […]