Not all branding is popular with the people; a word of warning if your planning a large scale marketing campaign. Although to be fair, your brand probably won’t have oppressed million of people, which is why with authorities in Georgia have taken down a statue of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin that stood in the central square of Gori, his hometown.

The six metre (20ft) bronze statue was removed unannounced from its plinth in the middle of the night. The statue will be moved to a museum in Gori dedicated to Stalin, said the head of the city council, Zviad Khmaladze. It will be replaced by a monument for the victims of Georgia’s 2008 war with Russia.

Though he was not a decisive figure in the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917, he quickly rose through the ranks of the Communist Party after the revolution, securing his position as undisputed leader in the years after Lenin’s death in 1924. His forced collectivisation of agriculture cost millions of lives, while thousands were executed and millions sent into exile during purges in the 1930s.

Recently, the fate of the statue has been a subject of debate in Georgia, with supporters of the pro-Western “Rose Revolution” that brought President Mikhail Saakashvili to power in 2004 arguing for its removal.

One of the most prized assets for sports teams is the name of their home ground, and a massive benefit for a sponsor to have its brand inserted in the name of a stadium hosting FIFA World Cup matches. Despite forking out an arm and a leg, not all commercial partners will get access to this massive global audience however.

When the Argentina v Nigeria game kicked off in Johannesburg’s Coca-Cola Park last Saturday, you won’t have heard the TV and radio commentators referring to the soft-drinks company as the stadium’s sponsor, and newspapers refrained from mentioning it in their match reports.

Instead, media outlets used the ground’s original name, Ellis Park, which it was given in 1928 by JD Ellis, who owned the land on which it sits. In 2008, Coca-Cola paid an estimated £30m for the stadium branding, so why will it lose this just when the eyes of the world are turned toward it?

Coca-Cola is one of FIFA’s six official partners, each of which pays an estimated £86.9m for the privilege. Not exactly peanuts. In return, the company gets pouring rights at match stadiums as well as pitch-side advertising hoardings. Crucially, the premium paid by sponsors of football’s world governing body also secures them exclusive exposure, which is what prevents the stadiums from promoting their own tie-ups during the World Cup. Ironically, this ban extends to Coca-Cola’s naming of Ellis Park, despite the company’s relationship with FIFA.

Some branding works better then others, the United Arab Emirates branding of Highbury has been received well; but the Foster’s Oval anyone?

The Institute of Sales Promotion has now officially been re-launched at the Institute of Promotional Marketing, with the organisation’s new corporate identity being unveiled at the last ever ISP Awards at the end of May and was designed by integration agency Forth Generation.

Clive Mishon, the Institute’s chairman, says that the new name “far better reflects the breadth of promotional marketing activity now being created - it is more than just about sales, though that is important too”.

Mishon stresses that the decision to change the name was not entered into lightly; “We spent months talking to our members and the industry at large. They told us that promotions now span all industries and all media channels, and that the term ‘promotional marketing’ better represents the broader role that promotional content plays in the strategic development and deployment of the behaviour-changing communications across the marketing communications industry”.

Martin Croft, editor of the magazine said; “our industry is no longer about traditional sales promotion on its own. Today, it is just one of a range of techniques which marketers can deploy to achieve their objectives.”

Recent research by Leapfrog shows that consumers will be pleased to know their favourite brands are home grown, and business should be keen to show off this fact.

Just over a quarter of people (26%) say they actively support British business because they want to keep money in the country. And 23% worry that if a brand is sold to a foreign company, it will lose its British identity. Understanding a product’s provenance is also a reason for 22% of people to buy British.

When people are out shopping, they like to see British brands on supermarket shelves, says research director Sarah Buckle. “There’s a nostalgia element to these associations – people have grown up with these brands,” she explains.

The research suggests Premier Foods-owned brands such as Hovis, Bisto and Oxo are synonymous with Britain. The UK-owned brands have been known to shoppers for several generations and the fact that they are still based in this country makes them favourites in a super competitive market. It seems we have a real connection with food, as it is food and drink brands that suffer most if they sell up to foreign owners. The survey states that 31% think it would negatively affect a food and drinks business if it was no longer a British company.

This distinction between British and foreign brands is a hazy one. Many brands that have overseas owners are believed to be British, for example 38% believe that Hamleys, which is part-owned by an Iceland bank, is wholly British owned. Buckle says that’s no surprise as the toy store is “synonymous with London”. Land Rover, which is owned by Indian company Tata Group, is also believed to be a British brand by 39% of respondents.

This is clear message that brands should try to remain as authentic as possible, with foreign-owned companies with UK heritage should not be hesitant to market their roots. Although many say they’re not happy Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury, if their British values and image maintain, consumers won’t even notice the change, let alone mind.

If you’re looking to use promotional products as part of your marketing campaign, then speak to Gift Selection about which promotional items are made in the UK. Most promotional items are imported from the Far East, and then personalised here in Britian, but there certain items which are completely made in the UK.

The popular St George promotional mug (see image), is one of the few branded mugs that is completely made and printed here in England. If you want to get your typically British message out on people’s desk, contact the friendly team over at The Mugstore who will be happy to talk mugs!

If you’re involved in the promotions industry, you may have come across the fascinating design insights that I’ve come across recently from Martin Lindstrom, author of ‘Buy•ology’.

Lindstrom, through a study of the human psyche, throws light on the subconscious mind and how that plays a major role in deciding what the buyer will buy. In doing so, Lindstrom breaks a number of existing myths related to advertising and promotion.

An interesting theory of his, is his idea of a “smashable” product. In 1915 the Coca-Cola company decided that it needed to do something about the design of its bottles, as they felt there straight-sided containers weren’t distinctive enough. The result was that the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana, proposed the swirling, curved “contour” bottle, which remains, one of the most recognisable and loved brand icons.

Why did this happen do you think? In 1915 the designer of Coca-Cola’s bottle was given a simple yet brilliant brief: design the bottle systematically and so distinctive that, if smashed, a single piece of glass would be recognizable as, and signify the Coke brand. As Martin says himself; “The Coke bottle story is fascinating from a brand building perspective. In theory, all brands should be able to pass this test. So, working on this principle, if you removed the logo from your brand, would it still be recognizable?”

Remember if you would like any free branding advice, contact the friendly promotions team over at Gift Selection.

Retail giant Argos (not the Peloponnesian city)  is one business who is no stranger to investing in promotional products such as branded mugs. Tomorrow the Home Retail Group-owned business is to launch a new logo and shift in tone of voice over the coming weeks, beginning with its spring/summer 2010 catalogue – and lots of branded mugs.

Argos hired branding consultancy The Brand Union, to create an identity which would help to “modernise perceptions” of the brand. In other words, to stop Argos’s current association with chavs. Their new identity will roll out to its 750 stores over a three-year period.

Siobhan Fitzpatrick, head of brand marketing at Argos, said over the past 30 years the retailer had developed an extremely loyal customer base with its focus on “value, choice and convenience” but the time had come for a change. The last time their branding was looked at back in 1999 when Argos hired consultancy Interbrand Newell and Sorrell, to create a visual identity to reflect its new “brighter shopping” marketing strategy.

In the world of marketing and promotions, there isn’t much more important than one’s logo.

The logo for the 2014 Winter Olympics, to be held in Sochi, Russia, was unveiled, becoming the first Olympic emblem to feature a web address. I must admit that I’d never heard of Sochi, but I prefer this logo to London’s confused looking emblem for 2012.

Their brand consultancy is carried out by Interbrand, with their organising committee featuring key figures from sport, branding and marketing, and the arts - strangely enough I wasn’t consulted. The word “sochi.ru” appears above the number “2014″ in an apparent reflection, symbolising the southern city’s water-based location on the Black Sea, something that was lost on me, but is pleasing to the eye non the less.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, the CEO of the Sochi organizing committee, said the new logo would help break Western stereotypes of a Russia stuck in the past, instead promoting the country as a dynamic and modern nation capable of reaching out to new audiences in a digital age. By “capable of reaching out”, I presume he means pointlessly spamming people 24/7 with completely useless information.

My favourite comment on the subject was made by Fred Burt, managing director of design agency Siegel+Gale London, said: “I’m no fan of London 2012 identity so it’s a relief to see Sochi 2014 restore some sanity.

Marketing site Brand Republic recently interviewed the great British public, asking for their opinions over the proposed plans to change the image of dear old Mickey Mouse. The consensus was that Mickey should not be changed into cunning and cantankerous character as it would “spoil the essence” of the 71-year-old Disney character and be “a very expensive mistake. Not only that, but how many six year olds know what cantankerous means anyway?

Similarly when ordering promotional products, I always advise people to use the same branding across all their products, and only change your brand if you’re absolutely certain. It is unwise to have your branded mugs clashing with your branded pens for example.

Unfortunately Disney hasn’t got wind of their research and, in a bid to make him appeal to a new generation; the iconic character will now take on a “cunning and cantankerous streak” for a new Disney video game, ‘Epic Mickey’, to be released in 2010. The industry in general agrees with this survey; “There’s a distinct risk of alienating your core consumer when you tweak a sacred character,” said Matt Britton, managing partner of brand consultancy Mr. Youth.

Epic Mickey, designed for Nintendo’s Wii console, is set in a “cartoon wasteland” where Disney’s forgotten and retired creations live….The game also features a disemboweled, robotic Donald Duck and a “twisted, broken, dangerous” version of Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World.”

I don’t know about you but I love a good sausage. However Wall’s has been criticised for branding their “Lincolnshire” and “Cumberland” sausages in packets that do not state the meat comes from Europe.

Their owners the Irish food producer Kerry Group, said ‘Lincolnshire’ and ‘Cumberland’ only refer to the recipe and not the origin of the meat, which apparently comes from Denmark, Holland and Germany, as well as Britain.

It is The Sunday Telegraph (amongst others) who are been campaigning for greater clarity in food labeling, and who brought this to the attention of the media. The Kerry Group’s director of corporate affairs Frank Hayes estimated that half of Wall’s meat came from Britain and said there was not enough pork in Britain to meet demand.

There are a range of promotional savory items (although sadly not sausages), but if your looking for some promotional snacks ask the promotion experts at www.sweets2order.com. Branded mince pies, branded crisps, branded pretzels - you would be surprised what’s available. Of course if you need to know what the ingredients (and where they come from) that go into your promotional snacks then they can let you know no problem.

The Mayor of London’s office wants to rebrand London and is inviting agencies to tender to create the new image.

Mayor Boris Johnson and his team have allocated a budget of £600,000 to create a new logo and identity for the city ahead of the 2012 Olympics, and want to have this in place by next spring.

The Mayor’s office is inviting agencies to tender for four contracts related to the new identity: designing the logo; brand activation, which could include advertising and experiential activity; tracking; and evaluation and events.

Dan Ritterband, the director of marketing at the Mayor of London’s office, described the activity as “strategic” and said that it was separate to the current £30 million activation business for bodies such as VisitLondon and ThinkLondon, though the new logo is likely to appear in this activity.

The Mayor’s office is also looking to sell London sponsorship packages to advertisers in key areas such as “culture”, “transport” and “sports”.

The creation of a new identity is seen as a way to build London’s image both in the UK and overseas ahead of the 2012 Olympics.

Ritterband said: “We always realised that there would be a right time for a rebrand before the Olympics to get the messaging right, now we’re three years out from the games there is an opportunity to look at the London brand.”