It’s a fab idea. Saatchi & Saatchi say that brands have “run out of juice”. Most of us have grown to expect great performance from products, services, and experiences. And most often, we get it. Cars start first time, fries are always crisp (bear in mind Lovemarks is American), dishes shine.

A few years ago Saatchi & Saatchi asked, ‘What makes some brands inspirational, while others struggle?’ And they came up with the answer: Lovemarks: the future beyond brands.

So how do you know a Lovemark? Lovemarks transcend brands. They deliver beyond your expectations of great performance. Like great brands, they sit on top of high levels of respect, but there the similarities end. Lovemarks reach your heart as well as your mind, creating an intimate, emotional connection that you just can’t live without. Ever. Take a brand away and people will find a replacement. Take a Lovemark away and people will protest its absence. Lovemarks are a relationship, not a mere transaction. You don’t just buy Lovemarks, you embrace them passionately. That’s why you never want to let go. Lovemarks inspire: loyalty beyond reason.

At the core of every Lovemark is respect. Simple as that.

And the best bit of all (hint, hint) is that you can nominate your favourite company to become a Lovemark. So if you’ve bought our typographic art, or just love us, you can nominate Coulson Macleod if you fancy.

• Tell the world about the emotional connection you have with Coulson Macleod.
• A Lovemark story is based on your personal experience.
• The minimum word count for a text-based Lovemarks story is 26.
• Each person is entitled to one Lovemark text comment per nomination.

If you want to read more about Lovemarks, Kevin Roberts has written two books,

Lovemarks: the Future Beyond Brands is the evolutionary story of products, trademarks and brands — to Lovemarks. Kevin relates the inspiration behind the idea, and shows that by building respect and inspiring love, business can move the world.

The Lovemarks Effect: Winning in the Consumer Revolution, follows up from Lovemarks: the Future Beyond Brands. This latest offering contains inspirational stories from Lovemarks Inspirational Owners and Consumers, metrics, practical advice, big ideas and examples of great work.

Related articles:

• Saatchi & Saatchi Boss Buys Coulson Macleod
• The Rich And Famous Buy Coulson Macleod

Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide wrote this lovely piece about us on his blog KR Connect,

“A few weeks ago, I discovered Coulson Macleod, an art business making waves from Northamptonshire. It’s the creation of Mark Coulson and Hannah Macleod, a couple who share a striking design aesthetic, radically positive ambition, and, most importantly, love.

I’ve bought several of their pieces, which are all hand-finished in limited editions. The works in the Love Collection are favorites of mine – bold typographic designs featuring declarations of feeling and famous romantic lines from classic movies. Other collections celebrate the pop culture of decades past, the icons of music history and the spirit of Cool Britannia – all topics close to the heart.

After I sent the team a note of encouragement, Hannah Macleod shared the company’s “simple little love story” with me. It’s also a story of smart, down-to-earth entrepreneurship. After falling in love, the couple began working together. Wanting new art for their home, but not able to afford high-end prices, they decided to design their own rather than deign to buy mass-produced prints, and thus Coulson Macleod was born.

Starting small in March 2009, Hannah and Mark didn’t have big dollars for promotion, but built their own website and showcased their designs online. The work spoke for itself, and with growing sales they could soon begin advertising in top interiors magazines. Now, Coulson Macleod fields orders from all over the world, and tracks the buzz on their blog. Brides-to-be have contacted them to ask if they can read out the quote from the “What Is Love?” piece at their wedding – a special request as this was written by Mark.

As Hannah described it to me, the company is “built on love and driven by passion”. The world needs more entrepreneurs like this. Here’s to spreading the Love.”

We asked some of our more high profile and creative customers for their comments. We’ve got five lovely comments so far, so do check out our website to read them.

Of course, if you’re a Coulson Macleod customer who has a business that you’d like us to link back to, then please let us know. We’ve only been able to ask our customers that supplied a business email address so we could identify them. But we’d love to hear from you too.

Kevin Roberts very kindly gave Coulson Macleod permission to use his name.

In fact Kevin (yep we’re on first name terms!) sent me a handwritten note that basically said well done and that the world needs entrepreneurs. He also said that I could tell the world that he’d bought our art and that if I sent him our story, he’d put it on his blog.

Saatchi & Saatchi is one of the world’s leading creative organisations, and Kevin leads a team of 6,000 people in 150 offices across 86 countries.  And yet  he somehow found the time for Coulson Macleod. It’s nice to have friends in high-up places.

Saatchi & Saatchi created Lovemarks. They wanted to know what makes some brands inspirational, while others struggle?  Their answer was “future beyond brands”. They write on their website, “Lovemarks transcends brands. They reach your heart as well as  your mind, creating an intimate, emotional connection that you just can’t live without. Ever. Lovemarks are a relationship, not a mere transaction. You don’t just buy Lovemarks, you embrace them passionately. Lovemarks inspire.”

Now we like to think Coulson Macleod is a Lovemark. And maybe, just maybe, so does Saatchi & Saatchi.