LOS ANGELES – What guy doesn’t want to be Jim Rockford? Well, perhaps living in the trailer was a bit tiresome (how come they let him keep it in the parking lot?), but the rest of the life as L.A. private eye is way cool. It would be fun to drive about L.A. in a [...]

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LONDON – We hear from an email blast from Tony Puxley, manager of jazz singer Salena Jones, who writes that “what is probably the most intimate music room in London is closing its doors after some 30 years.” It’s Pizza on the Park in Knightsbridge. Pizza on the Park place is part of the chain Pizza [...]

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Israel does it. Virginia does it. Britain does it. Italy does it. They even do it on Marco Island, where old native Calusa artifacts helps to define an image of the city, and the Southwest Florida kingdom that they used to rule. It’s archeology, and it’s a very under-used weapon in tourism and place-branding. Most [...]

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A few months ago, we heard artist Tammy Trent talking about Sept. 11, 2001, which for her was also the day she found out her husband had died in a diving accident. She was in Kingston, Jamaica, and crying alone in her hotel room, praying for help. In walked a housekeeper, who consoled her. Said [...]

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NORTH HOLLYWOOD – This week, we got a press release from the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn. It is proof that franchised chains like Holiday Inn can encourage diversity within their system, yet preserve their Holiday Inn-ness. Now, you should know that I am a big Holiday Inn fan, and have been since I was a [...]

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Catching the film Escape from the Planet of the Apes on Planet of the Apes weekend on Fox Movie channel, we could not help but notice a few cool brands. I am sure there are more, but these were the ones I noticed immediately, just after Zira and Cornelius, previously confined to a zoo, head [...]

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BEIJING – Do the Chinese understand brands better than the U.S.? In some ways, yes. The Chinese interest in American brands, we hope, will help preserve a few. They even rescued Hummer, one not-so-old brand that even I, lover of old brands, would rescue. But one good thing; it is China that helped save Buick. [...]

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Home to numerous micro-breweries and a Budweiser plant, the visitor’s bureau here has come up with a tour of locally made beer brands, from Budweiser to regional craft brews. Located 50 miles north of Denver, Fort Collins has been called the Napa Valley of Beer. There are five microbreweries there. Many [...]

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SARASOTA – At the Mote Marine Aquarium here, there is a small cabinet of shark repellent brands. During World War II, the Navy tried to come up with ideas, and numerous brands were launched. They didn’t survive. Apparently, certain copper compounds do chase away sharks, but there has never been a definitive product that proved [...]

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KILMARNOCK, SCOTLAND – Great brands are associated with a place. This is true even more with alcohol other products that have elastic demands. The place of manufacture adds to the allure of the brand, and that helps build a market for it. You differentiate your liquor product not only by taste, but the whole distilling, [...]

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