Alex Woodruff Biz Buzz

As the MBAs travel the world, I am seeing more and more examples of the random nature of legal restrictions in different countries. These recent examples where snipped by Ralph in China.

The brand with the 3 blobs.
First we have what looks like an imitation of adidas. Clearly the Chinese have no way either of [...]

I am intrigued by the mixed statements being made by this German department store chain.

I saw this poster recently and nearly walked past it (not easy for me, being in marketing you never switch off!). After all: the style, slogan and imagery are a comfortable fit with the rest of their high-profile campaign. Until I [...]

I spotted this logo recently for an NPO that supports the handicapped. The Stand Up initiative.

But something isn’t right here. I think the name and the logo are a bit of a slap in the face for the very people the initiative claims to support.
Do people in wheelchairs want to be told to stand up? [...]

Continuing my series from the MBA course on brand names that say what they do, I recently came across this New Zealand brand made by Beauty Engineering Forever (http://www.bee.net.nz/). Quoted by other marketing website (such as this one) as an example of an Eco-Iconic brand, I was more impressed with it’s slap-bang-this-is-what-I-do approach to branding.
No [...]