It’s official: the Journal that I had been working on for a few days—actually a bit longer if you count the research into Wordpress and getting it to work (considering I had next to no web server database set-up expertise). The release is below.
   It’s relevant to all branding practitioners, and it’s free to the public at medinge.org/journal.
   I knew most of my colleagues at Medinge are smart and know them very well, but when I got into the nitty-gritty of these papers, they still managed to blow me away. The French one, by Pierre d’Huy, was tougher to get into, considering it’s my third language, and double-checking Stanley Moss’s translation (excellent, incidentally) gave an added perspective.
   If you feel the branding posts most of us make in the blogosphere are flaky, it will be worth checking out more rigorous papers in the Journal. My 2006 online branding one is included, as is one of the late Colin Morley’s last papers on social responsibility and corporate conscience—though I am sure he will go on to inspire many more.

International think-tank announces The Journal of the Medinge Group
Stockholm, Seal Beach, Calif. and Wellington, August 15 (JY&A Media) The Medinge Group, a Stockholm-based think-tank on international branding, today launches its new yearly online publication, The Journal of the Medinge Group at <http://medinge.org/journal>. Exclusively digital, the collection of essays and thought provides a window into the think-tank’s evolving vision of humanistic branding.
   Medinge is closely watched in the business community for its vanguard thought. In 2003 the group inaugurated the yearly Brands with a Conscience award, which is frequently cited in international media. Medinge’s gurus are sought after for their cross-category expertise.
   The first issue of the online Journal contains articles by 10 members of the group, on interdisciplinary subjects ranging from internet branding, strategy, PowerPoint, design, place branding to innovation. There is also an article authored by the late Colin Morley, a Medinge member who died in the 2005 London Underground bombings, and whose 2004 ‘On Conscience’ is considered a seminal essay on the topic.
   The first issue consists of:

Place Branding
by Malcolm Allan
   Places—countries, regions and cities—are increasingly developing strategies for brands. This is because they find themselves in competition with each other to retain and attract talented and creative people, innovative businesses, investors and consumers. The goal: offer valuable services and meaningful experiences to those they seek to influence.

Business, Brand, Innovation and Design
by Ava Maria Hakim
   This article looks at the design system and its impact on value creation, business and brand. Several informative diagrams and charts included.

PowerPoint—Rhetoric Machine (French)
by Pierre d’Huy
   Is PowerPoint an aid to communication or destructive force in the art of rhetoric? This essay in French deconstructs the controversial Microsoft presentation program from the point of view of a mediologist, making references to works by Roland Barthes and Régis Debray to support its conclusions.

PowerPoint—Rhetoric Machine (English)
translated by Stanley Moss
   Pierre d’Huy’s commentary of the ubiquitous application, tailored to English speakers.

Giving Strategy Some Momentum
by Patrick Harris
   Many strategies built by organizations are ineffective. Organizations tend to build snapshots instead of harnessing momentum.

Abstraction–Cubism
by Nicholas Ind
   This paper argues that rather than relying on the abstraction of research to get close to the customer, brand managers should work at building genuine relationships with customers by opening up the boundaries of the organization.

On Conscience
by Colin Morley
   An historically significant article written in 2004 examining the intellectual and semiotic underpinnings of brands with conscience. It is published with the permission of the estate of Colin Morley; his vision helped shaped Medinge’s yearly Brands with a Conscience awards, inspiring our yearly presentation to an NGO, named in his memory.

Linking Vision
by Ian Ryder
   Organizations often experience failure, either because of a flawed vision, or a shortfall of values. How then do we align internal and external communications to create sustainable competitive advantage as a route to a strong brand reputation?

Online Branding
by Jack Yan
   In the world of Web 2·0, the process surrounding vision, research, exposition and image differ slightly, even if the ingredients of brand equity remain the same. Loose vision, informal research and tapping into consumer advocacy all play a critical role.

Images
Images for this release may be downloaded from <http://jya.net/070813pr0.htm>.

About the Medinge Group
The Medinge Group was founded in 2000 as a not-for-profit collective of brand professionals, dedicated to innovative thought in the promotion of humanistic branding. In 2002, the Medinge Group published a Brand Manifesto of eight statements encapsulating a vision of healthy brands for the future. In 2003, the group authored a collection of essays entitled Beyond Branding (London: Kogan Page) which explored the ways in which brands could add value within alternative business and social models. In 2004 the group established the annual Brands with a Conscience list. In addition to the ongoing BWAC initiative, in January 2005 the Medinge Group launched an online, automated speakers’ and experts’ bureau accessible through its website, www.medinge.org. Posted by Jack Yan, 23:45  permalink

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