Marketing journalist Siobhán O’Connell, wrote an interesting article in the Irish Times Media & Marketing section recently where she posed the question “Does Musgrave’s takeover afford the opportunity to reinvent or kill the Superquinn brand?” ThinkTank was kindly asked to comment and our thoughts together with the diverse views of other branding and marketing experts can be viewed here in the Irish Times article.

Superquinn’s excellence in the past was due to the extraordinary vision of Fergal Quinn. He understood brand innately and  knew that every world beating brand is underpinned by a strong customer value proposition. He set about identifying the important problems that needed to be solved for Irish grocery shoppers, exceeding their expectations constantly through a culture of innovation, relentlessly placing the customer at the core of the organisation and in so doing building a hugely successful brand.

Read the rest of this entry »

It is certainly refreshing in the Cork advertising space to see the broadsheet Irish Examiner making a bold move with the development of their hard hitting and thought provoking billboard and print ad campaign.

Developed by Dublin based Chemistry advertising the campaign promotes the Examiner’s “Special Investigations” supplement that  tackles several of Ireland’s socially taboo subjects -including alcoholism, mental illness, clerical abuse, human trafficking, suicide and pornography.

Read the rest of this entry »

At ThinkTank we were encouraged to read Alf Smiddy’s recent Blog post entitled - It’s all about your Brand - which also appeared in innovative financial services firm, Quintas’ spring newsletter.

As a former MD and Chairman of Beamish & Crawford Plc, for over twelve years  and current chairman and director on a number of Boards, Alf has a tremendous depth of experience  in both the financial and branding arenas.  This combination of skills is particularly unique and it’s inspiring to hear one of Cork’s most respected business leaders recognising the importance and value of brands.

In an insightful and thought -provoking post he outlines why in our tumultuous economic landscape, business as usual has become irrelevant and how companies need to to “inspire and mobilise people around a common purpose.” He goes onto explain,“I firmly believe that it’s through innovation, the re-invention of existing brands, and the creation of new brands that will create the climate for business success going forward.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Good design is good business. Yet it’s amazing how few good business people recognize and understand the commercial value of good design.

Think about how every day poorly designed products and services add complexity instead of simplicity to our lives. The tortuously convoluted language used by the financial services industry, the non-intuitive features on electronic gadgets that most of us will never fathom, big call centres that tell you what they can’t do instead of what they can, antiquated recruitment practices that tick boxes instead of identifying talent and newspaper layouts that are cluttered with ads all fighting for attention like kids on a sugar rush! The universe may contain intelligent design but many products and services certainly do not!

Read the rest of this entry »

Hello. My name is Anna and I am a Millennial. I am part of the largest generation yet to exist. We populate Facebook and YouTube. We are social and always connected. We are armed with laptops, iPods and smart phones. We are Generation Y, or indeed Generation Y Not.

The Millennials are the “wired” generation and we don’t know how to be any other way. We’re a new breed of consumers and unfortunately most businesses are not prepared for us.  Businesses need to get to know the Millennials if they want to be relevant and successful in the future. Our global annual spending power exceeds $250 billion and we also influence another $50 million in purchases. Our generation has bigger potential purchasing power than the Baby Boomers and is set to supplant them as the most powerful economic force on planet earth.

So let me introduce you to the Millennials..

Read the rest of this entry »

Soccer’s governing body FIFA recently saw red, but mostly orange – during the Holland Vs Denmark game at the Soccer World Cup in South Africa.

Thirty-six blondes, wearing orange mini skirts gate crashed the game at Soccer City in Johannesburg causing a major brouhaha. The offense wasn’t so much a fashion faux pas but a carefully orchestrated ambush marketing attack by Dutch brewer Bavaria, against its bigger rival Budweiser. The spectacle created a frenzy as photographs and video footage went viral as the story was picked up on social media networks and newspapers around the world.

The reaction of FIFA was swift and ruthless. The authorities immediately evicted the women from the stadium and two were arrested on charges of organising “unlawful commercial activities”. Under pressure from FIFA, South Africa passed laws in the run-up to the World Cup that made ambush marketing a criminal offence. The women face charges of contravening the Merchandise Marks Act (unauthorised use of trade mark at a protected event), and some sections of the Special Measures Regulations Act (entry into designated area while in possession of prohibited commercial object).

Read the rest of this entry »

No committee, no budget and no rules; The grassroots movement that’s determined to transform the way people look at Cork city.

A new movement has begun to “transform” Cork city into a better place for its residents and visitors. It’s a movement without a leader. Already, two cafés, two marketing companies, publicans, journalists, start-up businesses and unemployed people have pledged their support. It’s called Transform Cork and it’s open to everyone keen to improve the city. There’s no committee, no budget and nothing but the power of the internet at its service. It’s using Twitter, Facebook, blogs and now the Cork News. It seems to have sprung out of nowhere, committed to changing Cork from the bottom-up – rather than the top-down.

Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s say you’re at a networking event and someone steps in the elevator with you, notices your nametag, and asks, “So what do you guys do?” Quick–what’s your answer? You’ve got just 30 seconds before the doors open so you’d better think fast.

In many ways an Elevator Pitch is shorthand for what your brand stands for. It’s your one-shot opportunity to be different and present yourself in a compelling and memorable way. For most business owners, getting to the crux of what you really do is the hardest, yet potentially most rewarding, one-minute conversation you could ever have.

So what is an Elevator Pitch?

Read the rest of this entry »

Strong brands have once again proven their resilience in the recession in Millard Brown’s 5th annual ranking of the world’s top 100 brands. At a time when most key financial indicators plummeted, the value of the top 100 brands rose by 4%  in the last year to more than $2 trillion – a 40% increase over the last 5 years. In the wake of the recession, more brands have realized that they need to maintain and even increase their marketing spend to support brand loyalty and engagement. As Millard Brown Optimor’s Research Unit comments:

“Strong brands have the power to create business value. They impact much more than revenues and profit margins. Strong brands create competitive advantages by commanding a price premium and decrease the cost of entry into new markets and categories. They reduce business risk and help attract and retain talented staff.”

The Top 10 Most Valuable Brands are:

Read the rest of this entry »

Running a business without marketing is like winking at a pretty girl in the dark – you know what you’re doing but nobody else does. Marketing is the lifeblood of any business and the engine that drives demand, turnover and cash flow.

Marketing is not about boring your customers to death. When you have a personality and a story that is all your own, you can create marketing that’s a tough act to follow.  Why is it then that marketing is a bit of a hit and miss affair for so many businesses? Team ThinkTank sat down to map out  the 5 reasons why companies get it wrong when it comes to marketing right.

1. It’s not planned. Read the rest of this entry »