Jeremy HildrethCategory Archives: Branding: bad examples
What do you want to be known for?
The working title of this post was “On the folly of rewarding B while hoping for A.” That’s the name of an article we read during my MBA studies at Oxford. It leapt to mind as a realization dawned on me: most place branding “initiatives” don’t reward B, let alone A, and hardly ever hope [...]
Mark Twain on copywriting (inadvertently)
Just as people often have a tendency to want to blurt out exactly what’s on their mind, so do companies seem to want to tell you, in their slogans and straplines, exactly what they want you to know about them, and in the least poetic, least inspiring, most pedestrian language possible. The unfortunate result of [...]
Why to bother keeping up appearances
I know Ignalina nuclear power plant is scheduled to close at the end of this year. And rationally I know that managing two atomic reactors — even if they are almost identical to the vintage Soviet RBMK-1000s at the heart of the Chernobyl hiccup — and keeping an aquarium have nothing to do with each [...]
Tourist Friendliness 101
One hundred and fifty euros for a Russian visa. Nearly six hours waiting to cross the border at Sovetsk/Tilsit. And 134km from there to the city of Kaliningrad/Königsberg. Königsberg Cathedral is the jewel of what precious little is left here of German architecture — the site the official tourist brochure says to visit first and [...]
True is not the same as credible (or edible)
I’ve been noticing some ads on CNN this week, the thrust of which is “visit Poland for the amazing food here.” These ads strike me as odd — and of limited effectiveness — because even if true, they’re not credible. I have worked with Poland, I have been to Poland, and I live in London [...]
Where the place branding unicorns live
Something fell onto my desk today that reminded me again of one of the clichés of place branding that just never goes away: the self-described LAND OF CONTRASTS. I guess it sounds like it would be an appealing marketing claim. But it’s not. Period. In fact, I’ll buy dinner for anybody who convinces me that [...]
Sign of the times?
At the Monaco Grand Prix, Jeremy pays 50 euros for a rum and Coke.
Sao Paulo surprise
Feeling to me like a dangerous, antagonistic, dysutopian Latin edition of Tokyo, this city has failed to much endear itself to yours truly. But while out for jog, this sprang up, and I nabbed it with my cell phone.
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