Soldier of Love - Sade the brand queen

Very few brands can gain attention after c.10 years without consistent communication with their their consumers. Sade has managed that.

Very few brands can re-create their visual identity and be incredibly captivating. Sade has managed that with the cover art for their new album.

What brand would easily generate 1 million sales in its first week after being absent for a decade. Yes, you've guessed ! Sade.

If Sade were a product its brand equity would be off the scale, by being unique, authentic and the best at what they do.

Marketers - start emulating brands like Sade - the brand queen(and kings).

Gladwell book: $25 vs free - experience is priceless

Malcom Gladwell's latest book - what the Dog Saw can cost you nothing if you go to his website and download his articles from the New Yorker. (I wont include the link...just to make you work a little bit harder if you want to read his stuff for free).

I chose to invest $25 to download the 'priceless' mp3 audio book version, and Its money truly well spent. I get to hear the author breathe fresh life into his work, and hear him re-tell all the stories. I get to feel what he felt when writing it, and share his joy, surprise, fear and confusion. I get to build a relationship with him (of sorts), and it only cost me $25.

The publishing industry is in shock, and charging for content you can find for free is pretty audacious. With e-books (and Amazon) keeping prices at c. $10 it will be a tough task to create more value via price rises.....and I fear for authors who don't look to innovate with these new book mediums.

But if you know your consumer well enough you realise that they will pay more for a special experience such as a 'tried and tested' audio book....As I said - you can get it all for free, but who wants free when you can get true experiential value for such a small investment.....