It’s 1977, The Great Sign of Holiday Inn beckoned at the roadside. Well, actually, it didn’t beckon, it screamed. BIG arrow pointing into hotel. Very often, each sign had a letter board announcing upcoming meetings and conventions at the hotel. Turn off the Interstate, and into the Holiday Inn. GoodMORE HERE
Michigan Needs a GM Auto Tour A week or so ago, we happened upon a Business Week story about General Motors auctioning off some of its car collection. Some of these items were either flubs or concept cars, and not actually produced. All are fascinating, including a Harley Earl Buick.MORE HERE
BEVERLY HILLS – Hilton Hotels Corp. announced Wednesday, Jan. 21 that it would move its headquarters from Beverly Hills to the Washington D.C. area, either the Maryland or Virginia suburbs. As a former Virginian who would love to see Hilton in the Commonwealth, I still think it is a horribleMORE HERE
Sporting Club Partially to Blame? Readers: Another person who watches The Greenbrier closely takes a different view of the resort’s losses. Dear BrandlandUSA: I recently read a post “Unions the Problem at The Greenbrier” that attempted to blame all of the problems The Greenbrier resort is currently facing on whatMORE HERE
Twelve Ways to Rethink The Greenbrier brand WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS – The West Virginia resort The Greenbrier is apparently losing $15 million a year for its parent company CSX. The railroad (NYSE: CSX) is considering everything, according to the January 2, 2008 Wall Street Journal. Goldman Sachs is apparently comingMORE HERE
In honor of pre-Revolutionary Cuba, we examine Havana-related brand names HAVANA – We all have nostalgia for pre-Castro Cuba, and this is the year to remember what was, especially as Jan 1 is the 50th anniversary of when Fidel Castro declared victory over Fulgencio Batista‘s government. We can look backMORE HERE
SUNSET BOULEVARD – The historic Hollywood Palladium, once the home to radio shows and even Lawrence Welk, has been restored by Coe Architecture International and is now run by Live Nation. It reopened in October 2008, with a show by Jay-Z. Coe has a list of stories relating to itsMORE HERE
We checked in at the blog called Off the Map, published by Fortius One. The company is all about where the map, and mapping, meets the web. Today it posted as its “dataset of the Day” an interesting map of the retail sales tax around the U.S. Fascinating. Got usMORE HERE
NOTTING HILL – Those visiting the famed Portobello Road market in London ought to take time and visit the nearby Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising. This museum tells the story of brand names in the U.K. with a collection of half a million items, including candy, appliances, food andMORE HERE
Hint: It’s about finding the cool stuff, and making cult favorites out of the mundane Everyone has to brand these days. It started with product brands, then service brands. Now we all have to have a personal brand. And cities now talk about “branding” themselves. Good earth. Can’t we justMORE HERE