Check it out! Microsoft with an advertisement that I might actually WANT to watch?! Sounds crazy, no? Sure, it doesn’t have Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates (not sure what was going on there) but it is current, edgy, and even goes so far as to poke fun at the ‘Soft! Whether you’re a Microsoft junkie, [...]

A Rant about Canadian Brands for Canada Day 2009 So you ask: “Mad at Switzerland? What could anyone possibly have against the Swiss” – those lovely Alp-ine purveyors of Rolex watches, Nestle chocolate, and fastidiously discreet banking services? Sorry Switzerland. It’s not about you. It’s about you beating the pants off Canada in the global branding [...]

Okay, confession time. As an emerging Twitter devotee, (@denvan) I’ve been “drinking the Kool-Aid” of the Twitter brand for too long to really be objective about their brand strategy. I’m a tribe member now, and I’ve learned the buzzwords, tools, and idiosyncrasies of this social media monster. But as a brand strategy geek, I also [...]

So with all the kerfuffle around the GM bankruptcy (and the gajillions of dollars we’ll all be shelling out to save its butt from the fire), the one thing that gets forgotten as always is the brand strategy angle: 60-90 days from now, GM will be re-emerging from bankruptcy under a new coporate banner. Now, [...]

For any brand geeks (or serious professionals) in the Ottawa area, Brandvelope is partnering with the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) to deliver this event in May.