All problems are opportunities in disguise

There is always an other way to look at things. It may take some time, but things will change and turn in another direction. A good one. So when the going gets tough - look at it from an other perspective. And give it some time.

Good ethics

33 % of the Swedish students think that good ethics is the most important issue when it comes to choosing a future employer, according to Universum. Talk about the importance of CSR...

"Do-gooder" or "good doer"

CSR - Corporate Social Responsibility - is growing as a concept. More and more companies realize that doing good for the world is both a way to take important responsibility, to strenghten the brand and to give the employees a deeper meaning with their work. Usually CSR is divided into ethical, environmental and social responsibilities.

In choosing what kind of CSR your company should work with - choose an area which is close to your core-business if possible. Maybe you have products or services which can be helpful in less favoured parts of the world.

Make sure that your employees are involved in the dialogue about your CSR-work. They will be your best ambassadors.

Branding price to Outdoor Equipment

Every year, the Signumprice is handed out by Groth & Co to a Nordic company which has worked well with their brand for a period of time. For 2008 the price goes to Fjällräven, a Swedish company with a long history. The basic motivation for the price is the ability to build trust in the brand. Fjällräven has worked consequently with brand, logotype and quality during many years.

This backpack - "Kånken" - is wellknown among many outdoor enthusiasts. Nowadays I would say it´s quite oldfashioned... However, Fjällräven also has some trendy and stylish products which shows that consequent branding also can be fun.

The brand of an actor

When I turned 21, my friends gave me a birthdaycard with a picture of a young Brad Pitt. He looked good, but that was all (and it was enough at the time...). Now he is a great actor. We followed the story of Benjamin Button the other night. This character is born old and dies young. The physical change is amazing and very well carried out. The face is one thing - quite easy to understand - but how can you change a body like that? I still don´t get it.

It must be a bit schizophrenic to build a personal brand as a wellknown actor. Always new characters to bring forward to the audience. Always new mediastories - more or less true - to relate to. A reputation from old movie-parts which one would have to live with. A private life which isn´t so private. You have to be good at juggling with everything in order to give the world a clear picture of who you are.

Fulfilling expectations

He uses "we" instead of "I" when he speaks about challenges to deal with. That´s a part of good leadership.

All in all I´m quite impressed by Barack Obama and the image he has managed to develop together with his team of talented marketingpeople. They have built huge expectations. Now they need to fulfill them. For that, it takes a leader who involves people around himself in a positive way. He aims to share the challenges and he also aims to share the rewards. With good intentions, he will bring a positive change to the world. And since so many people are positive about this, some of the challenges will be taken care of by the overall positive attitude and the upgoing spiral.

svd.se

Like a kinderegg

I changed my mind. Touring on ferries to Åland have been close to the bottom of my list for a long time. I couldn´t understand why people would want to spend time getting drunk and spending money on games while being stuck on a big boat. Now I understand better. It is more than that.

We had a reason to go on the cruise. The fantastic The Real Group would be singing and giving us some good advice on how to create a good sound. And they did. They are really outstanding.



Besides that, I now look at that big boat as a package full of experiences. Good music, ok food, nice company, beautiful views, ok shopping... And you get it all at a bargain-price. Just hop on the boat, find your cabin and then go out and get a packed schedule of experiences for 23 hours. Like a big floating kinderegg: some surprises, some workshops and some food. All in one. Branding through experiences is powerful! So I should give this company some cred: www.vikingline.se

However, I still think that having good company is half the entertainment. I hardly noticed the not-so-good-stuff because of them.