Initial visits have been good and we hope this will help us engage with our customers and create more of a buzz around the brand.

Check out my latest post here.

Tabata. Ciabatta? Let me explain.

You’re always reminded of this association in the cinema through their creative short films that remind audiences to switch off their mobiles and let the phone ruin the movie.

I’ve always liked these commercials, the ‘Lord of the Ringtones’ being a personal favourite, and their latest offering, featuring the Muppets, doesn’t disappoint.

The Muppet’s theatre is saved from closure by their new sponsor, Orange. The comic capers of the Muppets showcasing the benefits of owning an Orange phone are obviously funny.

However, the way the film sends up Orange is not only funny, but reveals a brand confident in itself and customer offering.

Ultimately, the Orange Show commercial featuring the Muppets is creative and perfectly executed. I couldn’t stop chuckling whilst switching off my mobile phone.

What do you think? Check out the ad for yourself and let me know.

Virgin, sometimes viewed as the consumer’s champion, has a track record of waking up the competition. Its strong company ethos on delivering quality and value for money for its customers challenges rivals to raise their game.

Never one to stay still, Virgin is entering the world of retail banking. Through its purchase of Northern Rock the company is expanding its Virgin Money brand, giving it a presence in the high street, especially in the north east.

As can be seen by the TV commercial, the launch of Virgin Money aims to draw on this heritage and promises to change the shape of banking for better.

But will Virgin succeed?

They propose to charge customers £60 a year for current accounts, a move going down like a lead balloon among a public with an already cynical view of the banking sector.

Nevertheless, if the new Virgin Money stores are anything to go by, banks could very well become more comfortable, relaxing and welcoming places, with people to greet you rather than the host of self-service machines and telephones you find in a branch of HSBC.

However, Virgin will need to challenge the established banks – becoming the most transparent bank, explaining clearly the rationale for its charges, being exciting and innovative, and aligning itself with the concerns of consumers.

Right on the money? You can bet Virgin will make banking better.

Several people are currently pounding the streets of Swansea, delivering a flyer that encourages people to make good on their resolutions to get active this year by joining Active Swansea – so you could say the campaign has legs.

Download a PDF copy: Active Swansea membership January 2012 door-drop flyer

In planning the campaign I went through a process of looking at Active Swansea‘s current members and the communities the leisure centres serve. Using ACORN profiling I have selected appropriate postcode sectors, written creative copy and developed a design brief that targets the Secure Families group.

It’s early days, but the response so far shows promise.

I’m certainly not immune to the habit, this year I’ve taken it upon myself to make a few ‘adjustments’ in the hope of living a more fulfilled life.

Among my resolutions is a desire to blog more. Another, something I’ve not actually written down as yet, is to progress my career. It is with both these in minds that I’m now rejigging my blogs.

My personal blog, retelling some of my adventures through life, can now be found at ‘This is my life and this is how it reads’.

It is my hope that this blog will provide a professional space online where I can share my skills and experience, and offer a commentary, sometimes opinions, on anything marketing related.

Please feel free to comment on any posts and subscribe to receive updates.

Fret no more, Heinz have come to the rescue with a new fridge pack, a small innovation in packaging that makes life a little easier.

Genius? It’s certainly great marketing. Heinz have examined the everyday lives of its consumers and responded with new packaging that enables them to enjoy Heinz beans at their convenience, without the hassle of having more dishes to wash.

That said, is it environmentally sustainable? The plastic packaging used in the new fridge packs is not as widely recycled as cans. Heinz could easily address this with refill packs in sachets, but then that goes back to square one.

So is Heinz’s new pack of beans you can chill a stroke of genius? Yes, and no.

Have a look at Heinz’s recent advert building an emotional attachment with the brand and differentiating their product from cheaper ‘own-brand’ competitors.

The company’s recent advert, produced by ad agency BBH and featuring four rapping farmers, is proving to be an online hit with 1,136,900 views on You Tube to date.

Anyone watching the the young farmers rapping through the British countryside can be forgiven for thinking they’re watching a music video rather than a commercial, it’s that good.

Such is the song’s popularity that it has been recently released on iTunes and media commentators are tipping the song to top the UK music charts this Christmas, thereby beating the X-Factor finalist – unless Wagner wins!

My guess is that it may just do it, it has the right mix of quirky fun, that we Brits rave, and one of the rappers is the stunning brunnette Alexandra Evans, winner of the fourth series of Britain’s Next Top Model, adding a touch of glamour.

Watch the video and let me know what you think, if anything it’s a great viral.

John Lewis’ choice of the Elton John track ‘Your Song’ for its advert, aired during a break of the popular show featuring his hits, is nothing short of genius.

Ellie Goulding’s soft vocals bring a wonderful warmth to Elton’s ‘Your Song’ and the ad captures just the right amount of Christmas magic and sentimentality to make one quietly think of another EJ classic ‘Can you feel the love tonight’.

Similarly, Marks and Spencer’s use of popular comedian, Peter Kay, with a host of celebs in its Christmas advert is quirky, funny and likely to be very viral.

This Christmas is setting up to be a battle to see which of our well-love high street brands has the X Factor.

Have John Lewis, with their everday people, trumped M&S and the celebs? See for yourself and let me know.

In these days of austerity when the credit crunch, caused by the reckless behaviour and greed of City bankers, it is refreshing to see a financial institution going to great lengths to win back public trust and confidence.

Nat West has set itself a strategic aim of being Britain’s most helpful bank.

It’s recent TV commercials have clearly tried to position the bank as being helpful – Saturday opening and mobile banking (both via phone and its branches on wheels) being good examples. The bank appears to be confident in its ability to live up to the promises it makes, so much so that it shouts them out.

A noble quest, bound to fail?

By placing its customer pledges at the heart of its marketing communications strategy Nat West stands to prosper, if it gets things right, from being seen as the consumer’s champion, making strides to improve banking services for everyone.

However, the risks couldn’t be higher. Before rolling out such an ambitious campaign, I imagine (and hope) that Nat West will have invested considerable time and energy in changing the inner culture of the organisation, renewing its focus to a more customer-centric position. Essentially, putting the customer back at the heart of everything it does with a genuine attempt to be more helpful.

I really like the campaign. I think it is bold, ambitious and timely to restore public trust and confidence in the banking sector.

I wish Nat West every success.

Crowd Surfing – Information is power

The madness of travel – I’m not part of the personal informatics movement, I’m just keeping a travel diary