Welcome to Jubilee Weekend around the world

Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee begins this weekend, 2 June through 5 June, and the world is joining the celebration. The official Jubilee web site features a timeline  with photographs from significant events of her 60-year reign. The Royal Bank of Scotland is issuing a new 10-pound note in the queen's honor. New UK stamps have been issued. The queen's portraits (1952 and today) appear everywhere.

Celebrations extend far beyond London. Birmingham plans a celebration lunch, pageant, and more. Manchester and Bristol also have lunch on the schedule. The Governor General of Canada created a special medal to honor Canadians who have served their country and beacons will be lit on Canada House in London as part of the ceremonies. Many special events are planned in cities and towns throughout the UK and other areas.

Marketers are joining the party, as well. Virgin Atlantic is throwing a party in New York City, and asking the mayor to change the name of the park from Union Square to Union Jack Square for the day. (Watch for #UnionJackSquare on Twitter to find out whether the name is changed.)

Want to celebrate on Facebook? Like the monarchy's official page (more than 540,000 FB friends have liked it already). Congratulations to Queen Elizabeth!

Burberry Grows, Aquascutum Struggles

Autumn/Winter 2012 collection

High-fashion Burberry is adding new stores in fast-growing cities with the potential to be tomorrow's style centres. Its runway shows are major media events and celebrity magnets.

Many of Burberry's upmarket customers are frequent travellers and visit its branded stores in London, Paris and other destination cities. Thanks to the brand's status-symbol cachet, Asian-Pacific consumers are opening their wallets even wider to buy and buy. Sales in those areas now account for more than 37% of Burberry's turnover.

With new stores in Latin America, the company is positioning itself for future growth and defending against the possibility of lower sales due to the uncertain financial situation in U.S. and European markets.

Meanwhile, Aquascutum, once a strong Burberry rival, has gone into administration and is now owned by YGM Trading Ltd of Hong Kong. Can Aquascutum regain its fashion edge and challenge Burberry in the coming years?

New Era for the Swiss Army Knife Brand

How many consumers still carry pocket knives? Since airport security started taking them away from passengers flying to and from the United States, due to security concerns, far fewer than in the past. That's why Victorinox, the maker of the famed Swiss Army Knife, has reinvented itself.

The company now offers a range of flash drives that look like the traditional Swiss Army products, slim and compact to fit easily in your pocket. Touch the release tab and the USB connector pops out of the case, ready to be plugged into any computer.

The founder's great-grandson explained to the BBC that these 21st century storage devices are in keeping with Victorinox's vision: "These values are high quality, functionality, innovation and the iconic design."

In addition, the company has been licensing its brand for years. These days, you can buy Swiss Army-branded apparel, luggage, fragrances and other products that have been approved by Victorinox. The company still makes pocket knives, but it's also looking ahead to future product possibilities to keep the brand relevant well into the 21st century.

Canada: Best Brand Reputation Goes To . . .

Heinz shot to the top in its first appearance on Canada's Marketing/Leger Corporate Reputation Survey. Heinz itself acknowledges that its ketchup holds a special place in the hearts and pantries of Canadian consumers. But the company has also launched some popular new products such as Dip and Squeeze ketchup packages and embarked on eco-friendly projects such as putting ketchup into a partly plant-based bottle.

Heinz's most recent sustainability report details its environmental conservation accomplishments and food safety initiatives as well as its efforts to provide micronutrient foods for consumers in developing nations. These efforts certainly add to the brand's positive reputation.

Operating in dozens of countries worldwide, Heinz also sells to restaurants and institutional customers. Its food service division in Canada provides marketing support to help businesses highlight the well-known, well-regarded Heinz name. Reputations, like brands, take time to establish, and this survey demonstrates that the company knows how to Heinz It Up.

Yum Brands Targets India

Yum Brands--which owns Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell--sees India as the next big growth market, after its ongoing success in China. KFC was among the first fast-food chains to enter China, and now it sees India as a market where it can expand and profit from changing demographics and increased demand for fast/casual food.

Already, Yum has more than 450 outlets in India and plans up to 1,000 units by 2015. One reason for Pizza Hut's popularity in India is its introduction of small 'snack' pizzas with small prices--the lowest price, in fact, of any major pizza brand. Pizza Hut Delivery (the Indian pizza unit of Yum) has more than 650,000 Facebook likes (its profile photo is at left).

The KFC India Facebook page has nearly 1,000,000 Facebook likes...and the chain's menu items are spicier than in other markets, to appeal to Indian tastes. From 2010, Yum's Taco Bell Mexican food chain has also been represented in India.

One priority is increasing and defending Yum's market share for long-term competitive strength. Another is building profits to fuel product development and future growth. Meanwhile, some local businesses are planning new fast-food chains, even as Starbucks and other U.S.-based competitors are working with local partners to enter the Indian market. Yum will have to clearly demonstrate what each of its fast-food brands stands for and consistently deliver on those brand promises in the years ahead.

Disneyland Paris: 20th Anniversary

Disneyland Paris (formerly Euro Disney) is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Its recent earnings report mentioned lower attendance, in part due to the ongoing economic slowdown. Now the theme park is adding new attractions and entertainment and staying open later as it seeks to increase attendance during this anniversary season.

With high brand recognition, Disneyland Paris attracts more visitors in a year than the Louvre. Still, it faces considerable competition. Already open--and becoming more popular--is Les Machines d'Ile in Nantes, devoted to (what else?) giant mechanical machines. North of Paris, Parc Asterix is older than Disneyland Paris and a key competitor. In the planning stages is a new Napoleon theme park, to be built south of Paris.

Another factor that could influence 2012 attendance: The exchange rate may give European families a reason to fly to Florida for DisneyWorld and tour the many other theme parks within driving distance, including Legoland, Universal Studios and SeaWorld.

Can M. Mouse and his friends bring in crowds during Disneyland Paris's anniversary year?

Entrepreneur Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden

Bruce Dickinson has been flying commercial jets for 10 years, when he's not onstage as lead singer with the Iron Maiden rock group.

Now he's launching a new business to provide aircraft maintenance services from a giant hangar (nicknamed Twin Peaks) in South Wales. In the coming year, Dickinson expects to have a staff of 300 working on jets of every size, even up to the Boeing 767, for airline customers.

Dickinson has flown Iron Maiden to gigs in the band's 757 'Ed Force One'. A commercial pilot with Astraeus, which went into administration in 2011, Dickinson has talked about opening an aircraft-related business in South Wales, as well as a flight training school.

Many airlines have considered outsourcing maintenance services, so there is considerable opportunity for Dickinson's new venture to build on this demand.