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Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category« Previous Entries Next Entries »Let’s all innovate!Friday, November 4th, 2011  Who within an organisation should be responsible for innovation? Given the collective day-to-day knowledge that so many employees in so many different departments have at their disposal, there is a growing focus on ‘whole company innovation’, a multi-layered approach which can help to bring new products and services to market. In his article, Whole Company Innovation, Garrick Jones tells us more… An Insightful DiscussionTuesday, August 2nd, 2011  Every year, Marketing Magazine gathers together a panel of experts for its Greater Insight Round Table event. On the day, some of the UK’s leading market researchers discuss what’s hot and what’s not at the moment. This year, one of the main findings was that there is now no end of channels for gauging opinion, something which only heightens the need to know which data will provide the most effective insights for clients. To see what the experts had to say in full, please click here Business Surgery – Building A Global Brand…… With The World In MindWednesday, July 20th, 2011  In the first of an exciting new series of articles by B2B International, Nick Hague asks you to take a seat in the Business Surgery where we will prescribe remedies to get your business fit and healthy. Are you sitting comfortably? Then let us begin… I recently read with great interest the Financial Times Special Report on Global Brands. It backed up a lot of what I already knew about the importance of branding and what we continually preach to our clients; that investing, developing and managing a strong brand will not only differentiate a company from the competition but also result in increasing financial returns.
At first glance, the Top 5 global brands for 2011 as stated by WPP’s Brandz survey don’t hold many surprises:  It is only when you start to look down the list at the 9th largest global brand; China Mobile, that you start to get a feel for the changing landscape of brands in the global arena. Indeed, China brands figure strongly in this year’s Top 100 Brands including just in the top 50 the brands of ICBC (No.11), China Construction Bank (No.24), Baidu (No.29), China Life Insurance (No.33), Bank of China (No.37) and Agricultural Bank of China (No.43), but what does this really mean? As stated in the report:
Or is it? Is it really the case that the Agricultural Bank of China is a stronger global brand than Mercedes (No.50), Nike (No.57), Pepsi (No.63) or even Gucci (dropped out of this year’s Top 100) – I don’t think so! Most of the brands mentioned are state owned companies and most have the positions in the Top 100 because of the scale they have in their home Chinese market. Of course, there are always going to be questions to the methodology of how such a top 100 is created – but what I do think it shows is the increasing consumption (and thus importance) of brands in China and indeed the other BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India & China) nations. For example, currently the brand Baidu will not mean much to Western people when Google is the most widely used search tool. However, with China’s internet growing in both influence and sophistication, could Baidu challenge Google for global supremacy in the future if they decide to look outside of China? One thing we do know is that through globalization, the branding landscape of Western dominance is starting to change. Therefore, if you are thinking of rebranding or developing a new brand, focusing on the global picture rather than your usual country specific focus will deliver greater profit and growth in the years to come. For more information on how B2B International can help your company’s branding strategy, visit it by clicking here or contact one of our branding team at brandingteam@b2binternational.com Nick Hague 2011 © Innovate or die!Tuesday, July 12th, 2011  With the world rapidly changing through digitization, globalization and deregulation your business may be at risk from the competing worlds from the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries! In her latest article, Allison McSparron-Edwards discusses how company Directors need to think outside the box to keep pace with the evolving business world in which we all compete. To read more on what you need to stop doing and what you should start doing click here Business Models & Competitive AdvantageTuesday, July 5th, 2011  The commercial landscape is littered with examples of firms with innovative products or services which failed because they could not achieve profitability – typically either they could not attract sufficient customers or were based on unsound economics. A good product or service is therefore no guarantee of success in the marketplace. In their latest paper, Colin Mason and Ross Brown argue that high growth depends on how you set yourself up to deliver value into the market. To read in full this article on how fast-growth enterprises design their business models, please click here. « Previous Entries Next Entries » |
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