Design for equality
In 2001 I worked for Sydney Mardi Gras as Marketing and PR Officer. A great gap-year job if ever there was one. It was a transformative time of my life, and I […]
Blog | Authors
Dan Dufour
Brand Strategist
My focus is on delivering the brand strategy and purpose at the heart of your business. Aligning the dynamics of your brand, inside and out.
Showing Crimestoppers’ caring side
Crime has been in the news a lot recently. The number of crimes recorded annually in England and Wales has risen by 13% to over 5 million for the first time in […]
Branding in the housing sector
A home is a fundamental human need, providing us with safety and a sense of belonging. This means that housing has become an emotionally rich brand category. Here we look at the […]
A new era of charity public engagement
A new era of charity public engagement We live in an unpredictable, global, hyper-connected world where the pace of business is fast. Competition is stiff. Collaboration is commonplace. Disruption is everywhere. Transparency […]
Avoiding ‘design by committee’
It’s understandable that senior management want to conduct research before investing in a new brand. The need to keep everyone on-board can also result in scrutiny from key audiences. But ‘design by […]
Responsible Business Summit, Day 2
Download free e-book ‘How Good Is Your Brand Purpose?’ We live in volatile times, economically, politically and socially. But there’s one thing I am certain of. More and more businesses are “doing […]
The Era of Brand Purpose
What has led us to the trend for businesses to define their social purpose? Branding dates back to the ancient Egyptians, where people marked their property. The Industrial Revolution followed with mass […]
Responsible Business Summit highlights, day one
I had the pleasure of attending the European Responsible Business Summit this week, the leading conference advancing the responsible business agenda with a focus on social purpose and impact. Here are a […]
When did charity brands become so angry?
Strong brands should have a clear point of difference to stand out from the crowd; called ‘differentiation’ in marketing speak. Yet more and more charities are becoming similar as they adopt a […]
The business case for Brand Purpose
The business case for defining and activating your social purpose (why you exist and the value you create for society) has been mounting, with media mentions of “purpose-driven” increasing eight-fold last year. […]
Why brands need social purpose, now
We live in uncertain times which can make us untrusting of brands, whether political, corporate or charitable. The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals the largest-ever drop is trust across sectors. Of the […]
Creating emotive brand stories
The recent CharityComms Brand Breakfast on brand strategy and story, and conference on the future of public engagement, has reignited my passion for the power of emotive storytelling. There is no question […]
Brand strategy meets creativity
Let’s face it, brand strategies come in all shapes and sizes. Brand models. Brand platforms. Onions. Worlds. Keys. Pyramids. All populated with a multitude of words. Vision. Mission. Values. Beliefs. Behaviours. Purpose. […]
How the fourth industrial revolution has turned the world upside down.
The writing was on the wall. Long before Brexit and ‘Brexit-Plus’ there were warnings of a winter of mass-discontent. In January the World Economic Forum reported how the fourth industrial revolution would […]
Is your brand fit for purpose?
Achieving clarity is one of the biggest challenges of branding. “The logo doesn’t work for social” say Digital. “My initiative needs its own colour” say Products or Services. “But we need our […]
Brand Purpose can help build trust
There is no doubt that the third sector is currently suffering a crisis of trust with the Charity Commission reporting that public trust has fallen to a ten-year low. At the same […]
Confectionery for equality: Meet the super-sweets
I can still remember when I first saw Channel 4’s trailer for the 2012 Paralympics The Superhumans. The music. The attitude. The bravery. The cinematic look and feel. It made the hairs […]
Long live logos
We all know that a brand is more than just a logo. But in trying to avoid that common misconception, we don’t often stop to celebrate good logo design. I may be […]
Brand partnerships for social impact
There has never been a better – or more dangerous time – for brands to partner to deliver a social impact. The opportunity 2015 was a great year for sustainability and social […]
Design for Change : Brand as a force for good
We’re so paranoid about reinforcing the myth that a brand is just a logo in the charity sector that we sadly rarely celebrate the value of design. Yet it’s a love of […]