Wellington, August 21 (JY&A Media) After finding that there were few resources explaining the nature of online branding, Jack Yan decided to write his own for his consulting firm, JY&A Consulting, and for the Medinge Group branding think-tank in Sweden, meeting at the end of this month.
   ‘There were anecdotal articles,’ he explains, ‘and there were resources in some academic journals, but hardly anyone had bothered to explain, in a clear and concise way, the process online brands take to become successful.’
   Now available for downloading at CAP Online (jya.net/cap) and through his blog (jackyan.com/blog), ‘Online Branding: a Definitive Guide’ is a follow-up to his 2001 academic paper, ‘Online Branding: an Antipodean Experience’, delivered as part of the Human Society and the Internet conference in Seoul that year.
   The paper has been updated to include references to Web 2.0 phenomena, such as Flickr.com and Snakes on a Plane, the Samuel L. Jackson starrer that premièred last week.
   ‘Since I wrote “Antipodean Experience”, the internet has become mainstream and we are seeing its original promises fulfilled,’ says Mr Yan.
   ‘How has that affected the usual process of vision-setting, research, and brand exposition—and how do they in turn affect image and business performance?’
   Some of his earlier experience with the fashion magazine Lucire, which began online and made an unprecedented move to print, helped inform his experience.
   Mr Yan’s paper is being officially presented at the 2006 Medinge Group conference in Medinge, Sweden, but was made available for public downloading over the weekend.
   It was finalized in late March and some of its predictions for the success of Snakes on a Plane have come to pass.
   The Medinge Group is arguably the world’s leading collective of brand experts, who meet annually to discuss new developments in their profession. They also announce, each year, their choices for Brands with a Conscience, highlighting companies that have excelled at corporate social responsibility.
   Mr Yan is a director of the Group and had co-authored, with Medinge colleagues, Beyond Branding, published by Kogan Page in 2004.

Images
Images for this release may be downloaded at <http://jya.net/060820pr0.htm>.

About Jack Yan
Jack Yan founded Jack Yan & Associates (http://jya.net), one of the world’s first virtual firms, in 1987. His company is based or represented in over a dozen countries worldwide. Among his company’s interests are business consulting, imaging, software and media, including the fashion magazine brand Lucire. He writes on topics, ranging from branding and business responsibility to fashion and typography, in numerous publications worldwide and is a regular international speaker. His personal site is at www.jackyan.com, and features a highly regarded blog.

About JY&A Consulting
JY&A Consulting (http://jya.net/consulting) is part of Jack Yan & Associates, an independent global communications company founded in 1987. With representation in Wellington, Christchurch, New York, San Francisco, London, Essex, Stockholm, Milano and Jerusalem, JY&A Consulting tailors solutions using researched business principles, based around the organization’s vision and identity. The company specializes in identity, branding, marketing strategy and global strategy. Its clients have included small businesses, non-profit organizations and Fortune 500 companies. JY&A Consulting staff and alumni regularly contribute to the house journal, CAP, published in print, and online at <http://jya.net/cap/>.

About the Medinge Group
The Medinge Group is a top-level think tank of brand professionals who meet annually to exchange ideas about theory, strategy and trends in international branding. The group meets in August at Medinge, Sweden and in January at an alternative European location.
   The Medinge Group strives to influence businesses from inside—and outside—to become more human, and more humane. The group believes it possible to accelerate change across enterprises and societies by acting on principles of compassionate branding.
   The Group’s web site can be found at www.medinge.org.

Related sites
The Medinge Group www.medinge.org
Beyond Branding www.beyond-branding.com
Medinge Säteri www.medinge.com

Notes to editors
Lucire is a registered trademark of Jack Yan & Associates and subject to protection in certain jurisdictions. The JY&A three-stroke logo is a trademark of Jack Yan & Associates and is subject to protection in certain jurisdictions. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners and are only used in a descriptive fashion without any intention to infringe.