Most people wouldn’t have a problem with buying pasta that comes from Italy, cars that come from Germany or a Taiwanese computer. But would you consider:

• A Brazilian bank to place your life savings?

• A sneaker brand from Bosnia?

Probably not. But then again, people’s attitudes towards Japanese electronics, American wine or Indian IT services weren’t that favorable some decades ago. Nationality and branding is therefore not always that clear-cut. The latest Inception Pack explores the issue of branding and nationality. Does brand nationality matter?

Download Inception Pack volume 4 (1.4Mb)

Strategy. What is it? Some management scholars believe that we simply don’t know. The Economist newspaper argues that consultants that make money by selling strategy don’t always agree on what it is. The Planning Lab explores this question and its relevance for account planning in the latest Inception Pack. Download it today!

Download Inception Pack volume 3: What is strategy? (1346.4K)

The ultimate purpose of branding is to facilitate price premiums or increase the volume of sold goods. Sometimes the situation is reversed when pricing is used as a tool to increase the attractiveness of a brand. So far, nothing new. Pricing strategy, although important, is old news. To achieve sustainable advantage these days you have to to deliver brand experiences, no? I’m not so sure -about the sustainable part that is. The more experience we consume, the more easily we get bored. There’s a new iPod out every twelve months that we must have. We simply have to get bored or the experience economy breaks down. As experiences decay, so do price premiums and we end up with nothing.

Maybe the solution is to price the shit out of the product (like the £84 million London apartments depicted above)– a quick and dirty way to achieve price premium, create brand equity and publicity from day one. Good idea or not, TPL has recognized a recent pattern in bizarrely priced products. They do not follow any conventional pricing strategies so today The Planning Lab invents the term Bizarre Premium™. Download our latest Inception Pack and be stunned about pricing.

Download Inception Pack volume 2 (786.8K)

Everybody has that one friend (or maybe it’s you?) that’s too old to be single, afraid to commit, get babies and end up with one foot in a Volvo and the other foot in the grave. It’s not surprising either. Babies, expensive strollers, SUVs, latte moms are invading every inch of our personal space -and doing so with an attitude.

Ageing with grace isn’t easy though. Some try, but most fail. It doesn’t have to be a problem however. I believe the way others perceive you can be managed. The Planning Lab proudly presents Cocaine Cool™: a personal rebranding concept that will make you young and beautiful again -without any illegal drugs.

Download Inception Pack vol. 1 here (1.4 mb)