This is the Gateshead office of Schawk!, a global brand development company. I only know that because their name is so arresting that I felt the need to take a photo of their building, so they clearly did a good job of branding themselves.

Right next door, there’s a bit of branding that I think is unique to the North East:

Wadds is a local glazier. When businesses had their windows smashed, Wadds would (of course) temporarily board over the windows whilst manufacturing a replacement. Wadds would decorate these boards with a distinctive stencil saying “Wadds was here”. I don’t think they do it any more, but still, the “Wadds is here” sign on their HQ is a bit of an in-joke as well as a statement of fact!

And finally, just down the road there is a bit of branding to which I think the man from Del Monte would say “no”:

I can’t quite put my finger on why this sign always makes me smile. It could be the fact that it’s on its own little podium. It could be the detail of the message, versus “staff only”. It could be the thought of the amusement promised by entering the window. It could be the absurdity of the use of the word “window” versus “window display”. Whatever it is, it never fails to amuse whenever I catch it out of the corner of my eye.

For anyone that thought the new Microsoft logo was boring I can’t imagine what this must be like.

This comment in a review of Avis’s re-brand by Armin Vit over at Brand New actually made me laugh out loud.

I know we’re supposed to love Sainsbury’s for embracing traffic light labelling, but when those traffic lights show data for a single liquorice comfit in a bag of 44, it’s difficult to conclude that they’re really entering into the spirit of the exercise. Especially when the same packaging claims that a single serving is 11 comfits…!

Meet Woody, Annabel, Maxwell, Lady Hillary and Sir Nathaniel Westminster, the original family of five piggy banks given away by NatWest between 1983 and 1988. Each successive figure was earned by reaching a child’s saving account balance of £5, £25, £50, £75 and finally £100. I’m not entirely sure whose these belong to – possibly my sister, maybe my brother? Maybe some of them are mine? Might be best not to ask!

These days, a complete set sells for about £200 – the prices of the individual figures reflect the account balance required to collect the figure, as that’s obviously proportional to their rarity.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a Cousin Wesley, who’s worth a similar amount alone and was released in 1998 to reward those investing £1000 in a children’s savings bond. He’s now worth £200 alone! We also don’t have the grandparents, Lady Margaret and Lord Henry, who were released in 2011, or Master Richard (another cousin), released just this year. But then, there’s only so much room on the shelf!

Herbert, Sherbet, Maggot and Rusty, as well as Rusty’s pet Metroshoposaurus, make up the very popular Metrognomes. They come out at the Metrocentre during school holidays with free shows to entertain children, performed four times per day throughout the holidays – a brand new show for every holiday. It must surely be the job from hell for the actors by the end of the run, not to mention the workers in the shops nearby!

Despite the frequency if the performance, The Metrognomes always attract impressive crowds for each performance, which I guess is testament to their popularity. There’s also a website with a free-to-join online Metrognomes Kids Club, which entitles kids to a free wristband and Metrognomes comic. The Metrocentre also sells oodles of Metrognomes merchandise, including DVDs and cuddly toys.

Lots of shopping centres have characters and similar schemes that appeal to kids, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that’s quite as successful or comprehensive as this!

This is Little Waitrose in Jesmond. I’ve chosen it only because I really like the name! I know it’s far from unique – there’s 30 or so around the country – but I think it’s great!

The Metrocentre has an intriguing strategy for dealing with empty shop units: they’re spun as evidence of the centre’s constant refreshing, revising, and revitalising of its brand portfolio. To my mind, it’s an approach that beats the near ubiquitous Shopjacket and its clones, which seem a little tacky. I suppose, though, this approach can only work in places where units tend not to stay empty for long – and where the empty shops are relatively few and far between.

This is Northern Rock’s flagship branch on Northumberland Street in Newcastle – as previously featured ad nauseam on 24hr news in 2007, when there was a run on the bank. It’s just finished its rebrand to Virgin Money – though it’s nice to see that they’ve left the distinctive clock in place.

Towards the end of last year, my Kindle cracked. Despite it being well out of warranty (I’d had it since August 2010), Amazon replaced it for free.

Today, the replacement broke – as you can see, the screen has died. Bizarrely, this seems to have happened totally spontaneously while the Kindle was sat on my desk. I don’t understand how that’s possible…!

Sadly, Amazon wouldn’t give me another free replacement this time around – but they are sending me a replacement for £50. As this model retails at £149, that’s still considerably better than most of Amazon’s competitors!