There’s a scene in Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner (1982) in which a photograph is constantly enlarged until the subject is clearly visible - pure science fiction. Well no, take a look at this photograph of Barrack Obama’s 2009 Inauguration in which you can zoom in on the image to see the smallest detail. It’s made up of 220 images and the final image size is 59,783 X 24,658 pixels or 1,474 megapixels, 295 times the standard 5 megapixel camera. An architectural photographer friend of mine said a number of years ago that we wouldn’t shoot digitally because the detail wasn’t there yet!

On September 29th, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index plunged and all of its constituents’ stocks fell, all bar one: the Campbell Soup Company. Investors flocked to the iconic brand, which makes some of America’s favourite soups and its shares went up by 0.3 percent. That’s a very good clue to the type of brands that will prosper in 2009 - those that represent good quality and excellent value for money.

According to Interbrand, as value for money rises up the consumers’ agenda, two early beneficiaries of consumers’ changing mood have been German hard-discount supermarket chains Aldi and Lidl (read Mark’s blog on brand names, coming soon), which have been gaining market share across Europe from established giants. It used to be shameful for the middle-class to shop at discounter stores but now their brands suggest intelligent buying.

For consumer, read business. I believe now is the time for agencies to respond as partners to their clients in these challenging times with solutions that deliver good quality and excellent value for money. The flight to value is for all of us to embrace. As a marketing agency, Beechwood have always liked to think we offer our clients value. And with the current weakness of sterling against the dollar we now offer our US clients more value than ever.

The land of Route 66 and the gas station diner, the good old US of A is well known for its love of the automobile. So the following may come as something of a surprise. Especially when you consider that this all happened, way back when, in a twenty-year period between 1897 and 1916.

1897 - The first electric taxis hit the streets of New York City early in the year.

1910 - The Pope Manufacturing Company of Connecticut becomes the first large-scale American electric automobile manufacturer. The electric automobile is in its heyday. Of the 4,192 cars produced in the United States, 28 percent are powered by electricity, with others powered by steam. Electric autos represent about one-third of all cars found on the roads of New York City, Boston and Chicago.

1916 - A man by the name of Woods invents the first hybrid car, combining an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. This predates the Toyota Prius by an amazing 81 years.