Today’s brand to feature in the series of Funky Brand Interviews is DKNY. In one of my previous posts, Social Media with a Human Touch, I talked about Aliza Licht, SVP Global Communications for Donna Karan International, who is the real person behind the brand’s Twitter and Tumblr accounts. (more…)

Today, it’s my pleasure to feature an interview with Mattias Behrer, Senior VP and General Manager for MTV North Europe and MTV International Property Marketing. MTV is a widely-known music and entertainment brand that has been part of the youth culture across continents since 1981. MTV has established a very strong brand with massive TV audiences. Having expanded its focus away from only music into entertainment in general (think of Beavis and Butthead, as well some of the more recent (more…)

While I was writing one of my recent articles on the city brand of Berlin, I came across an eye-catching concept of a funky hotel. Astonishing design delivered by Karim Rashid certainly signaled a serious presence of funky branding in the concept (Funky Brands™, if you recall, owe their success to a combination of astonishing design and smart brand strategies). I got in touch with nhow hotel and am happy to publish my interview with Hermann Spatt, General Manager of this hotel. (more…)

Today, I’m happy to introduce you to yet another funky brand. My interviewee number 27 is Gerwin Hoogendoorn, CEO of Senz° umbrellas from the Netherlands. Senz° is a great example to appear in the Funky Brand Interview series because it ticks both of the main elements of funky brands: it owes its success to astonishing design, as well as smart brand strategy.  In this interview, Gerwin reveals how his student graduation project at Delft University of Technology turned into a successful business, and a funky brand.

 
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As I reach the top of the triumphal arch of the Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels and look down at people on the ground, my knees become slightly weak. I am not a big fan of heights, but this time, my fear is mixed with excitement. The view on the city is breathtaking, and finally, the fear firmly gives way to fun. (more…)

Image courtesy of BShirt

When Belgian actor Charlie Dupont went to a party together with his friend Nicolas Borenstein, he was struck by the dull parade of sweatshirts worn there.

“Why is it that even here in Belgium, all these guys wear sweatshirts with Harvard University and I love NYC slogans?” Charlie asked Nicolas. “Let’s make inexpensive T-shirts with the names of small Belgian towns written on them, and sell them in tourist shops.” (more…)

Image courtesy of Travelocity

Over the past couple of months, I’ve published a series of articles about brand mascots, (more…)

Anyone who has ever launched a new business, must have at some point experimented with email marketing.

Has any entrepreneur ever looked for an extremely funky kind of email marketing when looking for such a service?
I can only speak for myself, and say that I wasn’t. Frankly, I didn’t expect anything as functional as sending out an email to be enjoyable and fun. Until I discovered Mad Mimi.

First of all, it was the name. (more…)

Today SCHMOOZY FOX is happy to publish an interview with yet another Funky Brand — Swarovski.

The origins of this Austrian company go back to 1895, when its founder Daniel Swarovski invented a machine for cutting and polishing crystal jewellery stones. Today, the Swarovski group, still family-owned and run by 4th and 5th generation family members, has a global reach with some 24,800 employees, a presence in over 120 countries and a turnover in 2009 of 2.25 billion Euros. (more…)

Kipling Helmet Bag

Funky and stylish Kipling bags are sold in 60 countries around the world. The story of Kipling¹ began in 1987 in Antwerp, when its founders decided to launch a brand of stylish bags with personality — comfortable and far from boring.

The brand was later sold to private investors. In 2004 Kipling was acquired by VF Corporation, which marked the beginning of tremendous growth of the brand globally.

In order to reposition Kipling from sporty and casual to stylish, funky and contemporary, VF hired Isabelle Cheron, a former executive of Chanel and Celine, as the brand’s global Art Director. (more…)

1. the brand was named after writer Rudyard Kipling [↩]