I was having a conversation with a firm considering entering banking in the UK. They would be an unexpected player, as their brand is seen to be trusted but totally unrelated to financial services. So I sent them this article from my collection of white papers, and thought it may be of interest to the…
This is so politically incorrect that I almost didn't post it … but then I did to show how cultures are different and sensitivities are not the same. As I left Singapore, I saw this and felt quite offended: Yet Singaporeans are desperate to avoid offending foreign visitors, as are most Asian countries, so how…
After writing earlier this week about the bullish views of HSBC on China and Asia as a whole, with the clear view that the world has decoupled, Asia is self-sustaining and China will be the largest economy in the world by 2035 or sooner, I was really interested to hear the views of Damian Glendinning…
So I’m hiding out this week in Singapore at the Eurofinance Cash, Treasury and Risk show for Asia. I love this conference as you get here and see the sponsor’s names – HSBC, JPMorgan, RBS, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. There ya’ go, you just know it’s gonna be a…
This has nothing to do with banking, but all to do with marketing. John Lewis, a mutual partnership retail store in Britain, recently launched a new advert. Costing £6 million, it's a remarkable ad and captures and inspires citizens across Britain, particularly women: "All over Britain, women are kneeling in front of their tellies, heads…
So we had the third and final leadership debate last night before the UK goes to the polls to vote for a hung Parliament (the most likely result). The debate is between the David Cameron for the Conservatives (leading the polls), Gordon Brown for Labour (rather gaff-prone this week) and Nick Clegg for the Liberal-Democrats…
Fascinating report in the FT this week about Global Brands, with the financial sector bouncing back the strongest of all. MasterCard and Visa led the financial pack, although Goldman Sachs saw a 25% growth in brand value over the last year … I wonder how much they lost this year? Anyways, considering banks had the…
Just back from a short haul flight to Spain. Reading the BA Business Mag, I stumbled across this (doubleclick photo to see the full-size picture): Yes, it's Joseph Stiglitz: Poster Boy! Actually, it's the Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz, economist and professor at Columbia University. In a short interview, he talks about life and views…
I just downloaded Harris Interactive’s 11th annual reputation survey of America’s most visible companies. The reputation survey assesses companies on a scale of twenty attributes in six dimensions … … and, during the first six weeks of 2010, Harris Interactive interviewed almost 30,000 people to see what they thought of America's 60 "most visible" brands….
