What do you know about vodka? Really true, high-quality vodka. It apparently takes the best grain and good water. If you’re Smirnoff, it also involves triple distillation and filtering it ten times. Smirnoff has a proud Russian heritage. And it makes cider. With vodka. The story of Russian cider As far […]
Brand Building
From Bluebird Tea to Bird & Blend: brewing up a rebranding [Interview]
Imagine creating a successful business, going from small food festivals to owning seven stores, a successful e-commerce site and seven stores on the High Street. You’ve become a brand that people love and recognise. And then you rebrand it. Definitely a brave move, but one that the team at Bird & Blend have pulled […]
How to be the successful rebel in your industry
* I’ve been thinking a lot about rule breaking recently. Not in the break the law sense, but in the breaking the perceived wisdom sense. School rules Like in the way schools don’t like you to. Schools want you to go through their system, following the rules, doing it the way it’s done. Not rocking […]
Interview with Tessa Stuart, the shopper stalker
If you’ve ever taken a product off a shelf in the supermarket, and then been accosted by someone other than security asking you, politely, to put it back, then you’ve possibly run into Tessa Stuart running one of her in-store research sessions. I featured her best selling book “Packed” in one of my Bank […]
Books on branding, stories and moments for your Bank Holiday reading list
The Bank Holidays seem to have come thick and fast this year, which I am not complaining about. Given the run of fine weather here in the UK then I guess small businesses will split into at least two camps. There will be those where this is going to be an incredibly busy day, […]