An apple a day.

My first acquaintance with a Mac, 14 years ago, was a revelation. I was working at my first advertising agency and convinced I'd always get a headache when approaching one of those grey PC monsters.

Then one day a big box arrived, and from this box a new computer was unveiled. From the first moment we were introduced I realised I had met a computer that understood the way my brain worked (as you all know, computers are all creatures and work either for or against you). I've been an Apple fan ever since.

Today I became a proud owner of a new 15 " MacBook Pro. My old PowerBook G4 work horse has been a loyal friend for a stunning four years and three countries, and I am a bit sad to say goodbye. I hope my new beauty will be just as faithful.

Recycled Christmas

I'm so happy I'm going away for Christmas this year and don't have to join the buying frenzy, which I have come to detest. Don't get me wrong, I love the concept, or brand, of Christmas. The food, the gathering, the candles, the singing… It's all a fantastic way to survive the darkest period up north. And Christmas stands for something precious, for me anyway.

But all this hysteric shopping I just can't stand. Why not do something sustainable for Christmas instead, I thought, and decided to contribute to a slightly better world.

This is my recycled Christmas tree – which probably belonged to someone else last year – complete with decorated with street art angels from Cape Town, South Africa.

And here are another tip for helping shape the Christmas brand into a more sustainable tradition: Give your loved ones an experience, like a spa treatment, a movie ticket, a night of baby sitting or a ticket to the hockey game.

Merry Christmas!

Another brand not quite as stylish

I just read in BusinessWeek about another brand that's trying to shift its position in the marketplace with the help of packaging, namely McDonalds. As we all know, the giant chain has been under pressure for some years now due to health issues, and with its new and crispier looking packaging McDonalds are trying to "create unique personalities for our menu items by telling a story about each one" according to Mary Dillon, McDonald's global chief marketing officer.

Creating brand personalities, for the consumer to connect to and identify with, is an often used tool in branding, and I suppose the big chain wants to do some buddying up with health concerned people to keep its market share. According to an article on the blog Fast Food News the packaging is first introduced in the UK, the US and Ireland, adn will be rolled out world wide during 2010, so I'll have to go out and decide if it's better than before.

I'd still rather have my burgers grilled…

Drinking glögg in style

This is the time of the year for drinking glögg here in Sweden. For those of you not familiar with the beverage, it's Sweden's version of Glühwein (but in my opinion glögg tastes much better).

Blossa is probably the most famous brand of glögg around, and since 1993 they have released a special edition of glögg each year, each designed by one of my favourite design and branding agencies, BVD.

This year's blueberry edition of 500,000 bottles was released on November 3 to Systembolaget's outlets all around Sweden (and sorry, I don't think you can buy it outside Sweden). Since then the bottle has won a number of design awards for it's packaging. And it's indeed nicely designed.

And just to show you the development over the years, here are all bottles since 1993.

Here's the Blossa website. Skål!

Brand inspiration

Dispite the aftermath of a 48 hour migraine, I was determined to attend today's seminar with Mary Jo Hatch, professor emerita in organization theory who has worked as a consultant within branding in the US, Europe and Brazil for brands such as LEGO, Intel, Nissan, Johnson & Johnson and others. The seminar was arranged by Business and Design Lab at The School of Business here in Gothenburg, and it was worth the effort.

For those of you remotely interested in the connection between branding, design methods, identity and orgaizational culture, she is a person of real interest. Her two topics for the afternoon were the research she has conducted within branding and organizational culture together with Majken Schultz, resulting in the book Taking Brand Initiative - How Companies Can Align Strategy, Culture, and Identity Through Corporate Branding. Her description of her and Schulz's theories in general, and the Lego case study in particular, illustrated her theoretic models about identity, image, culture and vision nicely.

Hatch's other topic covered German artist Joseph Beuys' thoughts on social scuplture, and Hatch's theories of the connection between that and organizational culture. The bottom line was that organizations are a work in progress, and that the moment they stop evolving they become obsolete.

Hatch's seminar was a great inspiration. Her words about marketing consultants' and companies' fascination with core values will stick with me: "We live values. We don't state them."

On the way home I had to stop by my favourite burger place brand 7:ans to get myself a coffee milkshake.

I have no pics from the seminar, but here's one of her book (you find it in most online book shops).

Wine weekend

It's Friday and I have a recommendation for the weekend wine purchasing. Being a fan of South African wines I mostly favour labels like Porcupine Ridge and Roodeberg. But now I have a new favourite ("bubblare" as we say in Swedish): Lat 42. It's a Rioja Gran Reserva from 2001 and I'm not sure if you can still buy it around the world, since Swedish Systembolaget (still a state monopoly) seems to have stocked up on all of the bottles. But give it a try! It's definately worth the € 8.



Here it is. Skål!

Baking course at Saltå Kvarn

The fact that Saltå Kvarn is one of my favourite brands you probably know from before. Last weekend I finally did what I've been longing to do for a long time. I went to a sour dough baking course with Manfred, the head of the bakery at Saltå Kvarn. I'm not going to bore you with the details of different sour dough starters, wild yeast, barley bread and measurements of ecological flour, but I'll proudly show you some pics from the experience.


Sour dough day 2.


Dough sample…


Rye bread in the oven.


Sample, ready to eat…


The shop next door. For all your flour needs…

If you think it looks tempting I can only recommend to contact Manfred.

Late night peer group special

Late last night I cycled down the street of Avenyn in central Gothenburg. It's a street known for its night life, its nasty bouncers and for hords of brats. As I passed by the mosts popular hot dog place (for those late night snacks…) I suddenly stopped. In addition to their usual range of burgers, hot dogs, tacos and vegetarian dishes, I saw this sign:



Fantastic! For a mere 5000 Swedish Crowns (equals to €500) you can, if you have the right manly size wallet, order a gold plated veal burger with an engraved metal plate… Such a nice idea considering the clientèle…

Obama + USA = a new and improved image?

On the topic of place branding, I just have one small thing to write today. I will call it the question of the day: What will Obama do for the brand of the US of A?
I'm sure we'll come back to this topic in the future.

A love affair.

I've got to admit it. I'm having an affair. It started that day in New York, in September 1999. A friend was getting married and I was back in town, invited to the wedding as a friend and entertainer (maybe it was those sweet love songs that inspired me).

It was in the Meatpacking District. I was hooked by the style – stylish, simple and yet so passionate. And one thing led to another. You know how it is… But time passes and lovers turn into friends. Other lovers come and go and the years pass on…

And then it happened again. It's when you fall in love the second time that you're really hooked. This time it was in Göteborg, Sweden, and there was nothing I could do. The revival was total. Both of us had grown up a bit – I suppose that's what life's all about. We found each other yet again and this time there's no turning back. The love affair is a fact and I admit it.

Which is why I couldn't resist it. I know I shouldn't have, but here it is, my latest addition to my traveling kit. The bag. The myth. The magic. My love.

Brand coincidence – a rude awakening.

One good thing about being based in Sweden is the easy access to skin and hair products with no perfume or unnecessary additives. And you don't have to pay a fortune for them either (thank you, Apoteket!). So I'm always welcoming new brands providing an even wider selection. And if the packaging looks decent, it's even better.

Last week I read about newly launched brand Estelle & Thild (the name derives from owner Mathilda Rönnberg's two daughters) in this article in Resumé (text in Swedish!). It's a line of ecologically certified (by Ecocert) skin and hair products for babies and children, and I could bore you with all the details about how wonderful they are, but I won't, since that's not my point.

What I'm getting at is this: A few days ago I opened the latest issue of Residence (Swedish edition), and found an ad about Estelle & Thild. Or so I assumed. When I looked closer it was an article. A coincidence? I think not. Don't get me wrong here, a magazine can chose to write about anything they like. Anything at all. But I'd like to think of some magazines as being a little bit more picky than to write about what companies feed them in press releases.

Ok, maybe I've been living in a bubble, but it's still a rude awakening. And that's coming from someone who deals with the brand thing all day long. I think I'll go tend to my sourdough bread instead.

(Oh, and if you want to have a look at the brand, here it is.)

When branding becomes personal.

What happens when branding moves into the personal level? If you used your own self and created a set of guidelines for how to be displayed in various situations?

A while ago I came across an interesting blogpost at johnson banks' "Thought for the week". The people at johnson banks had been sent a set of graphic identity guidelines. For a person. It was Sydney-based designer Chris Doyle (he works for Moon Group in Sydney) who was wondering how his personal identity would be documented if it were considered in graphic design terms.

Colour variations, formal, casual, what not to do, clearance space… It's all there. "Christopher Doyle™ Identity Guidelines 2008" was entered into a competition, where he also displayed himself live.

Does it sound weird? It's hilarious! I have to get my hands on this printed piece! If you haven't looked already, do so here!

Youth brands

Just a few days before Interbrand reveals it's Best Global Brands 2008 (22 September is the day it happens), Swedish The Tomorrow Story came out with Brilliant Brands, a survey among Swedish youth about the hottest brands in this target group. Surprisingly (apparently), both brands that aim for this segment in their advertising, as well as brands that don't target the segment at all, are among the highest rated.

So, here's the list of the hottest brands for 15-24-yearolds:
Jeans – Cheap Monday
Sneakers – Converse
Sport – Nike
Cell phones – Sony Ericsson
Operators – Comviq
Make up – Make Up Store
Drink – Coca Cola
Chocolate – Marabou
Chewing Gum – Extra

View the full list here!

Sweden is…

It's about time for another brand insight. What can I say, it's the time of year when Sweden is changing. From suicidal to extatic. From grey, dark and depressing, to light, green and promising. The same country, same brand. How is this possible?

Brand dissonance - or why we should read for ourselves.

One of the strongest personal brands in the world right now is Nelson Mandela – or "Madiba" as he's called by his fellow South Africans. We all have a pretty unified picture of who he is, or at least of what he's accomplished, helping South Africa on the way to a brighter future. And still today, at the age of 89 (he is turning 90 in July), earning the respect of the people of his country and world leaders alike.

Since my first visit to South Africa in 1999, I have been meaning to read Long Walk To Freedom, Mandela's autobiography. The book has been staring at me from my bookshelf, no matter where in the world I have been residing. But I haven't gotten around to reading it. And then, last week, I saw the recorded CD version at the library, and thought it would be the perfect book to listen to during my trip to Barcelona. So I borrowed it and started listening, excited about finally "reading" it.

From living in South Africa, I know some of the different cultures and language fine tuning. Mandela is Xhosa, whose language contains three click sounds. He's also born and bred in a country where lots of words are influenced by Afrikaans (the "africanised" Dutch).

Then came the disappointment. The book was read by Danny Glover, the American actor. I have nothing against Danny – he makes a fine cop in Lethal Weapon and The Royal Tenenbaums is one of my favourites. But I could bear only a couple of minutes of listening. This was not the Mandela I knew, and not the country which I call my other home. Listening to Glover trying to pronounce the Xhosa and Afrikaans words didn't turn me on at all. It was merely confusing.

The morals of this story? Most likely: any brand dissonance, even if it concerns a country or a person, is confusing, and thus creating frustration among the target audience. And: God is in the details, like the design guru said.

Or perhaps: Don't be a lazy ass. Read the book yourself.

The brand as a year.

We're used to thinking about the brand as a product, a company, or even a person. Something with some sort of image attached – whether you like it, detest it, would like to be friends with it, or simply don't care. Perhaps we've heard companies talking about brand equity, and we've definitely seen tons of adverts trying to change our attitudes towards a specific product or a whole company.

But even years can be seen from the brand perspective. Have a taste at these words: The brand as a year. 2008 is lying mostly untouched ahead of us, and it's time to think about what we want it to be like. For politicians it's about the nation, the region, or the city. For you, the individual, it's about matters closer to home. Is it finally time you stop smoking? Or buy that house despite the rumble on the property market in the big country out west? Or perhaps make the biggest decision of your life and move to another country?

There is no telling what our perception of 2008 will be, in retrospect. Just think about 1968 – what does that year bring to mind? Or 2001? We all have personal perceptions about certain dates in time, but from a bigger perspective, don't we all share some common perceptions?

2007 has ended and initially I thought of nominating all the brands of the year – such as the person of the year, the decision of the year, or perhaps even the nation of the year (and I may still, later). But instead I want to pose the following question: which will be the prevailing image of the year 2007? For me, 2007 was the year when I returned to Göteborg, Sweden, from Cape Town, South Africa. As well as the year I started my brand & design consultancy company.

But which will be the unified image of 2007? The image most people will share? Perhaps the year when the world finally awoke to find the environmental nightmare to be true? Or the year when Benazir Bhutto was assasinated? The year when Carl von Linné would have turned 300 (he was born on 23 May 1707)? If we ask Wikipedia, 2007 is the year of Rumi, and the dolphin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007). And what will 2007 be remembered as in 100 years?

Happy New Year!