Who Knew

This week saw the very different news of Burberry and Aquascutum.

Two brands born out of beige trench-coats with a checked lining and rich British heritage – but one on the brink of going into administration and the other celebrating record profits of over £370M.

So what made the difference?

To me it is about the power of a brand.

Over the last ten years, under the watchful eye of chief creative officer, Christopher Bailey, Burberry has rocketed ahead.

Their campaigns included many icons, such as Kate Moss, Aggy Deyn and even Emma Watson who they took from a teenage Harry Potter actor to a global fashion icon through their association.

And as a result the column inches followed.

Burberry was also the first luxury brand to truly ‘get’ digital marketing.

Early on they developed a stand-out digital platform with their ‘art of the trench’ photo sharing platform, which became a global sensation (partly thanks to collaborating with leading fashion blogger Scott Schuman – The Sartorialist).

They changed fashion weeks forever by live streaming runway shows and allowing shoppers to buy direct from the catwalk using iPads.

This constant innovation has resulted in over 12 million Facebook fans who they engage with constantly and fueled an insatiable demand for the Burberry brand across the globe.

It is no longer just about trenchcoats – but fashion, leather goods and accessories.

They are a brand that puts marketing and digital at their heart and the success has followed as a result.

Can Aquascutum be turned around and mirror this success through a new purchaser?
Absolutely.

There is a growing global demand for British brands with a rich heritage across the globe so there is an opportunity for Aquascutum.

But this industry is now based on much more than just good product.

Aquascutum would need to become a brand with meaning that people want to be part of.

And this will only be achieved through solid investment, innovative thinking and engagement with a global audience.

@adamclyne

Last week I saw a new music video by Danny Shah.

You won’t know Danny.

Yet.

He isn’t signed to any label.

He’s just passionate about making good music and does it from his bedroom.

Like many other musicians, Danny decided to put a clip onto Youtube of his first ‘single’, We Are Connected.

But the difference between Danny and most other budding musicians is he  created a cheeky ‘music video’, which included many of the planet’s leading popstars in it to show him ‘conneccted’ with them.

I saw the clip on Thursday and it had just 300 views.

Radio 1 DJ, Chris Moyles saw the clip soon after.

And he loved it.

So much so that he tweeted his 2million+ followers to tell them about it.

Hey people. Wanna see something cool..? Click here www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxiNPNB4ALU and watch. It’s very clever. Don’t know him but liked it.

And a few hours later he tweeted them again.

Much love for this clever video so here’s the link again bit.ly/yJpZic. He is @dannyshah. RT if you like it. #weareconnected

The result?

The video has gone viral.

It’s been viewed over 750,000+ times in just a few days and it will probably reach a million.

Danny is on his way to becoming an Internet sensation.

And he will probably get signed off the back of it all.

I think the song is good – but there are a lot of good songs and artists out there.

In the competitive world of music you need more than just talent alone.

You need buzz.

And this is a real case study that agencies can learn from about good content creation and the power of seeding.

I asked Danny Shah what he thought of everything that has happened.

He replied:

“Aaarrrrggghhhhh. This is totally mental. It’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me…”

I hope he does get signed.

He already sounds like a rockstar to me.

—-

Here’s the link to Danny’s video, We Are Connected:

@adamclyne

Radio is cool.

There.

I said it.

We’ve all seen hundreds of infographics telling us why Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and friends are the cool kids on the block.

But we always forget little, old radio.

Often viewed as a poor relation in PR and advertising, radio is actually more like the quietly confident cousin that treads its own path.

It’s not in total decline like people think. Read More »

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting The School of Communication Arts (SCA) as a mentor to their students.

The SCA is a small school that is creating and shaping the next generation of advertising creatives.

And the school itself is a creative proposition.

Its course has been co-written by over 100 advertising practitioners in what may be the worlds first wiki-curriculum. Read More »

I met up with Jimmy Wales for lunch
recently.

If you don’t know Jimmy, you’ll know his
work.

He is Mr Wikipedia.

Read More »

I’ve always loved Dr Dre.

Growing up as a young, middle class Jew in suburban Manchester, his Gangsta rap was a natural fit.

My first encounter with Dre was through the NWA album, Straight Outta Compton with now-iconic tracks like Gangsta Gangta and F*ck Tha Police – which protested police brutality and racial profiling.

The music was controversial. Read More »

We’ve all been there.

Sat in a brainstorm.

Talking about how to promote the agency.

When someone comes up with the bright idea of doing a promo video.

And everyone then agrees it’s a good idea.

After all, content is king, and what better way is there to spread the agency’s message in a creative and interactive manner? Read More »

Last week I was in a client meeting discussing content strategy for a launch.

Video was to be form a major part of the campaign, particularly for the digital media outreach, and as a consequence, the budget was starting to creep up.

With this in mind the client asked me a simple but direct question.

Why do I need to pay so much for film production when I can just get a cheap video camera and film it myself?

It was a valid question. Read More »

This week, Mark Borkowski tweeted a message to his 8,000 followers, saying PR people need to ‘wake up’ and that Twitter makes ‘professional life much harder, not easier’.

Some were surprised at Borkowski for his comments, particularly as he was one of the first high profile PRs to embrace Twitter.

So what did he mean by it?

And does he have a point? Read More »

Fashion Week is coming.

The world’s leading fashion and luxury brands will be descending on London.

Over the course of a week designers, models, media, bloggers, buyers and celebs will be attending a large range of runway shows, exclusive previews and the hard-to-get-into after show parties.

A good Fashion Week can make a massive difference to a brand.

The stakes are high. Read More »