Building a brand is more than just clever advertising

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Brands are important now, especially in a world where information overload is a big issue. A brand can perhaps best be encapsulated by an association which becomes so ingrained in consciousness that there is an automatic association which trumps the constant noise of competing pulls on our consciousness.

A classic example of a brand is perhaps google. For most people, when needing to find something online, we automatically think google. that’s a very strong brand.

Other businesses which aren’t so dominant as google use a variety of tactics. Something which the writer always enjoys is to play a game with his kids about who can name the brand first when a series of adverts comes on the tv. Clever marketing can include making the advert mysterious, almost completely unconnected with the product or service, making it memorable, or some music or a strapline.

What’s clear is that building a strong brand involves more than just having a great product or service. it takes a lot of time, money and skill.

Having got to the brand status, in today’s world, this can possibly be achieved much faster than in the past, but a brand can also be easily damaged in a “connected world”.

Recent research indicates that brand reputation is being put at risk by a cavalier approach to data protection. The Edelman Privacy Risk Index carried out a survey of 6,400 corporate privacy and security executives worldwide and found that nearly 60% consider that their employers do not consider privacy and protecting personal information as a priority and a similar percentage believe that their employers are slow responding to consumer and regulator complaints about privacy.

What’s interesting about this is that it maybe suggests that all the legislation about Data Protection, which has been around for a few years now but is almost unenforceable due to sheer scale and lack of resource, doesn’t matter nearly as much as the impact of a business being hit hard by reputational issues.

It does look like there is a trend starting for this – look at the adverse publicity this last week for Starbucks and a few other companies. This is brand damage, and you can be confident that brand damage is something which the biggest of companies will take seriously.

We’re not saying that laws aren’t necessary or important, what we are saying is that in the tech age, laws may not be as important as other methods of pulling businesses into line.

Fir advice on data protection or other business risk issues, Blackhawk Investigations can assist.

 

 

Fundamental breach of contract and other types of breach

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What should I consider when terminating a contract?

Unfortunately, like most legal matters, there are numerous things to consider. However, to give you a basic idea, you firstly need to consider whether the contract was actually breached.  Contracts are for the most part written down, but they can alter over time according to the surrounding circumstances and each parties conduct.

 For you to terminate the contract and avoid being in breach of it yourself, you will need to be on solid legal ground and in a position to show that there has been a “fundamental breach,” a term which cannot be defined by the seemingly plain English used. Continue reading →

Why are lease extensions now so common ?

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Lease extensions have become an increasingly common property law issue in the UK in the last decades, and the issue commonly arises, often to the surprise of a seller of a flat, when they come to sell their property.

The issue is largely caused by the fact that, once a lease has less than 80 years left to run, the freeholder would be entitled to charge more as a premium to extend the lease under statutory provisions. Once the lease has less than 80 years and very technical calculation comes into play, strangely known as marriage value. Continue reading →

Contract – what contract ?

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It is a common theme of many disputes surrounding a contract that the parties involved will argue that the terms included in the contract do not reflect all the terms that were reflected between the parties or alternatively that the contract was varied after execution. In this respect it is very important to be able to differentiate between contracts which are to be used between a business and another business and one between a business and a consumer. It is also worth considering that the law sometimes allows terms to be implied into contracts. Continue reading →

What is the Treasury Solicitor and what is bona vacantia ?

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The Treasury Solicitor is responsible for heading of the Treasury Solicitor’s Department. The Department is the largest legal non-ministerial in-house organisation in the UK’s Government employing more than 600 solicitors and barristers who provide advice to and representation for governmental departments. The Department has authority to serve proceedings on behalf of governmental departments by a virtue of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947. In England with exception of some regions such as Lancashire and Cornwall, the Treasury Solicitor is responsible for dealing with bona vacantia (ownerless property).

The office of Treasury Solicitor was created by the Treasury Solicitor Act 1876. The Treasury Solicitor reports directly to the Attorney General for England and Wales. Currently, the office of Treasury Solicitor and Procurator General is held by Paul Jenkins QC. Dominic Grieve QC is serving as the Attorney General.

What is Bona Vacantia?

Bona Vacantia is a legal concept that derives from the common law. Some parts of the modern doctrine have been codified. The doctrine deals with ownerless property, typically:

  • Undistributed assets of dissolved companies;
  • Undistributed assets of dissolved unincorporated organisations;
  • Personal property of deceased persons whose relatives could not have been traced;
  • Failed trust property. Continue reading →

Lawyers – ignore the internet at your peril

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When in Need of a Lawyer Most search Online

Based on the results of a recent US survey carried out by The Research Intelligence Group (TRiG) 3 out 4 US consumers seek out their lawyers online. That’s a whopping 76% with just 24% seeking their legal assistance elsewhere.

The survey was based on 4,000 adult internet users and, in the US, 78% of the entire adult population are internet users.

Although these statistics may come as a shock at first they are hardly surprising when we take into account the rapidly increasing popularity of buying online. You purchase your groceries, clothes and even your insurance online, why not purchase your legal services online? Continue reading →

The basics of civil litigation

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Litigation is a legal procedure where involved parties present their arguments against each other before the judge or arbitrator.

Parties involved in litigation are called litigants. Each party has the right to support its argument presenting by evidence of any findings and facts. In the UK, civil litigation process is governed by the Civil Procedure Rules. The parties are bound to follow certain protocols regarding pre-trial behaviour and court room procedures. Litigation can either be concluded through out of court settlement, successful pre-trial alternative dispute resolution or formal court ruling.

Litigation Solicitors

Litigation is a serious legal process and professional legal advice from experienced litigation solicitors such as JE Baring in London should be sought as soon as contentious resolution becomes a real possibility. Litigation solicitors will assess the merits of your case, research other legal precedents that may indicate and affect the outcome of the dispute, gather evidence and interview any potential witnesses. If appropriate your solicitor will also try to find a suitable expert witness who will testify about technical issues. There are certain rules governing appointment of expert witnesses and generally in less complex cases both parties will have agree on and share one expert witness. Continue reading →

Contracts made verbally, electronically and in writing

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Verbal agreements form part of our daily routine. When you visit your corner shop to buy milk in the morning or go to a restaurant for a meal in the evening nobody asks you to enter into a lengthy written agreement. In fact it would not only be impractical but also awkward. The English contract law covers a wide range of legal agreements that may take place based on exchanged verbal promises.  It may often be unwise to enter into certain transactions relying purely on one’s word.

In this article we examine a number of advantages that written contracts provide over oral agreements and consider some of severe consequences that may arise in the case of verbally formed contracts. Continue reading →

Street trading licences – the legal position

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Applying for a Street Trading Licence

In order to sell goods or services on the street, you need to obtain a licence from the local council. This could be from a mobile van selling food such as fish and chips or ice cream to stationary stalls selling flowers.

Licences can be obtained by submitting a written application and a fee with the following information:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Date of Birth
  • Location / Street Name (for stationary traders)
  • District Area (for mobile traders)
  • Trading Hours
  • Goods or Services to be Traded
  • Storage Arrangements
  • Description of the Vehicle or Stall Continue reading →