Robert Altman 1925 - 2006

A absolute legend in cinema, and particularly a more fluid and improvised approach to film making.

He directed films like The Player, Short Cuts, Mash, Pret a Porter and McCabe and Mrs Miller taht are incredibly inventive in both style and technique - I remember being dazzled by the opening scene in The Player, one long shot that weaves itself through the forecourt of a film studio to enter the producer's office through a window. And ironic to boot. A great film.

I read a quote many years ago which I try to uphold every day in my work, something like; 'How can I create something new if I can imagine it before I shoot?' He then gives the actors space to improvise around a loose script, similar in style to Mike Leigh.

A sad day.

Robert Altman 20.2.1925 - 20.11.06

Follow the Red Brick Road

The D&AD Branding Forum took place on 09 November 2006. The speakers were Jon Edge, Director, Edgey - Dana Robertson, Creative Director, Identica - Paul Hammersley, Partner, The Red Brick Road - Glenn Tutssel, Executive Creative Director, Enterprise IG.

Each speaker was given 10 mins to discuss Branding over the past 25 years and they all chose to highlight their Hero brands (Apple featured on more than one list). Jon Edge rattled through 200 slides, Glenn Tutssel concentrated on the tv advertising by the big brands like Guinness, and Dana Robertson touched upon the rise of the 'lunchtime brands' like Google and MySpace. But I was particularly impressed by Paul Hammersley. Whilst the younger speakers tried too hard to make a splash, his more stratgic view, delivered by 'the accounts guy', was measured and knowledgeable. He simply knew the subject, and I was hooked.

Paul's principle point was in making a distinction between a Brand Positioning, and a Brand taking a Position. A Positioning is relative i.e. 'we are going to make this product the cheapest on the market'. However the more successful brands take a Position, one that ignores the trends and the competition to create an emotional resonance with the customer. Innocent drinks is an example of a brand that has very clearly taken a Position and which it communicates through all the different touchpoints, from packaging and advertising to cultural behaviours.

A lesson that you don't need to shout, it's just what you say.

PS In the Q&As, someone made an interesting point about the absence of any of the tobacco brands in any of the presentations - Silk Cut, or Benson and Hedges would have made most top Brand lists 20 years ago. A Brand is of course owned by the customer, not the company, and social or political events will have the ultimate say on a Brand's longevity. I quietly applauded myself.

Shelves of food

A recent D&AD Branding discussion was held at the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising in Notting Hill, a building I admit I had heard of without really registering what it was. I scooted around before the event began (the free bar would greet us at the end of the exhibits) and immediately regreted it. There are shelves upon shelves, from ceiling to floor, of packaged goods, all arranged chronologically into decades, as well as posters, toys and other merchandise. The exhibits are crammed into each glass display but not to the detriment of being able to appreciate each item - it's fascinating being able to compare so many products at a glance, and being able to understand their historical context. After all, that is how they were intended to be displayed in the shops. Well worthy of another, more considered visit.

It's been repeated many times, but I still find it interesting how the concept of a 'Brand' has evolved over the past 20 years or so. When I was scampering around at the feet of my mother, a Brand was the name of a product, generally bought from a grocery store. I always found it difficult to understand the difference between, say, Unilever the company and the products they sold such as Surf or Comfort. Surely I was buying a product from a company? So why is their logo not on the front of the box (Or why is it so small?) Don't even start when I found out the same company owned two different Brands that were competing with each other. I can now differentiate between the Business and the Brand, but the term has come to mean so much more. Services are Brands. People are Brands. Invisible or virtual products are Brands. It is a phenomenon that will continue to develop exponentially in this century as brand value and emotional kinship becomes more important to a consumer than the mere product itself. Businesses are having to find new ways of influencing consumer behaviour as the traditional one-to-many marketing channels (such as atl advertising) are losing some of their resonance - consumers are making buying decisions via 3rd party sources.

Gone are the days when a brand was a soap powder, and my brand allegiance was formed in the middle of Coronation Street.