Media coverage

Malcolm Gooderham, managing director of strategic communications consultancy TLG, says that, as with other attitudinal and behavioural change programmes, the key is sustaining a company’s licence to operate whilst at the same time enhancing its ability to grow.

He has worked with Diageo on responsible drinking and believes the difference between traditional corporate social responsibility campaigns and the way the drinks giant is tackling this issue is the level of investment and commitment involved.

‘Diageo has really grasped this and is investing a lot of resources in genuinely trying to understand what it can do to help people drink more responsibly,’ he says.

‘It will invest as much money in a behaviour change programme as it might spend on a product launch and that is rare.’

The question is whether such campaigns can overcome increasing consumer cynicism and perceptions that they simply amount to the self-interest of a multi-billion pound industry.

Retail giant John Lewis has surged into a ranking of Britain’s most influential brands, as the group’s partnership approach to doing business and a record year for till receipts propelled it into the top three.

TLG’s annual index of UK Business Thought Leaders ranks John Lewis below Apple and Google but above other respected names including Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft. It is eight places above nearest retail rival Marks & Spencer, while Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic leaves the top 10 for the first time in 12th place. Another newcomer is smoothie-maker Innocent, set up by three Cambridge graduates 12 years ago.

Sun and surf, California has plenty of. A laid-back attitude, definitely yes. Influential companies? Just look at Silicon Valley.

Apparently, California is home to almost half of the nation’s most “powerful” brands, according to an index compiled by TLG Communications of London that surveyed “key opinion leaders.”

The names are unsurprising — occupying three of the top five brands are Apple in the top slot, Google as No. 2 and Facebook in fifth. Of the top 20 positions, California-based companies snagged nine spots. Other Golden State powerhouses include Intel (7), Virgin America/Atlantic (11), Skype (14), Twitter (15), Ebay (16) and Hewlett Packard (18).

Texas follows with three top-20 brands. Washington, New York and Minnesota clock in third with two companies each.