Knowledge as Aid

The first thing you think about when you hear the word "Aid" is probably hungry children in Darfur or homeless families left without anything but the clothes they are wearing after a natural disaster. But there are so many other ways of aid. I'm doing my internship at Office for Contract Training and Projects at Blekinge Institute of Technology.

During my first four weeks I took part in the administrative arrangements around a Sida-funded Advanced International Training Program in Integrated Urban Planning and it's a part of the Swedish aid-program.. I met urban planners from Ethiopia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, North Korea, Laos, India, Senegal, Zambia, Namibia, Brazil, Honduras, Kosovo and other developing countries.

It was a mix of cultures, religions, viewpoints, languages and mentalities with this international group and we who organized the program had to take that in respect all the time. I think that the most interesting to follow in a group dynamic point of view was to see how members of the group first tended to team up with their countrymen and as the time went by more and more started to team up with members of other countries. Some nationalities were much quicker than others in this change of teaming up and it was really easy to see that the members from more “closed” or under-developed countries took longer time than members from the more open or developed countries did.

So, back to the aid part. How can this kind of program be aid? Well, look at it like this: Food or money is a temporary or short-term solution to ease the symptoms of the countries situation. To make the country able to help itself you have to give knowledge as aid. If you teach key-persons how to organize, structurize and develop their countries and how to make the right decisions the impact of the aid effort is far more long-term and the penetration of the aid goes deeper than a sack of rice or a blanket.

The fundamental practical part of all urban areas is planning. If the city is well planned it doesn’t only makes it easier to live in, it also spares the environment, locally and globally, and makes the development and up-building smoother. Secure housing areas close to communications, schools, stores and places to work is essential for a good city.

Apart from this I’ve also been looking at in the context more everyday problems like process cycles of bids for contracts, document management and structure, applications etc. Interesting problems but compared to the development of a under-developed country that kind of problems seems to be irrelevant.

Brand vs. Trademark

One brand, one trademark equals good business, or how does it work?
I’m Rasmus Bjurstrom and I have the brilliant opportunity to do my internship at Essen International, Sweden’s largest branding agency located in Stockholm.

Last week we had a lecture/education for the personal in brand-law and guidelines, not the silly Kottlers five p’s or AIDAS, but the real deal.
In the office we have two lawyers specially educated in brand law, so I thought of sharing some good to know facts that I myself recently gained.

Do you know the difference between a brand and a trademark?

Trademark = a legal term for name, symbol, design etc that differentiates one company’s products/services from others. The trademark can be registered and become an exclusive legal right for its owner.

Brand = is the communicative dimension of the trademark that represents the associations a beholder affiliates with the TM.

To register your trademark there is a demand for differentiation:
You cannot register a TM. if it indicates the;

- Sort (generic description – COFFEE for coffee)
- Nature (describes the product – FAST for a sports car.)
- Amount (6-pack of bear – for bear.)
- Area of use (FISHING – for a fishing pole)
- Geographical origin (MILAN – for clothing)

Bewildering, yes.
Exciting, without a doubt!
But you can’t imagine all the fun and creative processes going on in a branding agency. That’s all for now,
Peace out