Naomi Klein and her sleight of brand
Never mind the Micky Mouse watch, get a Barack Obama one.
Another article I came across recently I thought would be of interest to you, constant reader, is this one by Naomi Klein from Saturday’s Guardian. Naomi, as I like to call her, is the author of the thought-provoking bit of zeitgeist called No Logo 10 years ago. The book studied how the growth in branding was affecting many elements of our lives and also looked in particular at how big multinationals like Nike and Starbucks had, in effect, become marketing businesses, having outsourced pretty much everything else that they did.
As a PR practitioner, No Logo made for a fascinating if slightly schizophrenic read. On the one hand, I was appalled by some of the corporate sleight-of-brand (ooo, I like that); on the other, there were some great ideas. I particularly recall the beer company that held a series of free rock concerts to promote itself but, in order to ensure maximum coverage for the brand, only released the names of the performers the day before the gig. Genius.
In this new article, Naomi talks about what’s happened in the decade since No Logo was first published. She looks at how branding has thrived and adapted and become subsumed into corporate culture. She also examines how Barack Obama has become the first president to be a superbrand in his own right.
Really worth a read so click here.
Written by Adrian Beeby
Tags: branding, corporate culture, Naomi Klein, Nike, No Logo, Starbucks, The Guardian
