Over the last couple of weeks, I have had a chance to reflect on the value of branding to service businesses. Overall, service brands tend to establish weaker relationships with their customers than product brands. This makes them vulnerable when people have a less-than-positive experience.

For the last day and a half, I have been ensconced in an English country house hotel discussing the state of branding with senior executives from many of the best-known brands in the world. Our basic conclusion? The theory of what makes a good brand has not changed, but the practice of marketing has gotten a lot harder.

The IAA Think Tank, which was the first event of its kind held by the IAA, combined breakout sessions for an invitation-only audience with a conference open to all. The breakouts were held on Tuesday afternoon with the conference beginning that evening.

No, not the digital kind. I am talking about the original Spam—the pink, processed meat product that comes in a can. Unlikely though it may seem in this age of organic foods and natural ingredients, AdAge reports that Spam, the brand, is thriving.

To my mind, this just goes to prove the power of an iconic brand.

I write this from Nairobi, where on Tuesday night Millward Brown held the launch event for its new operation in East Africa, Millward Brown East Africa Ltd, a joint venture with Nairobi-based Scangroup. On my first visit to Kenya, I am struck by the blend of old and new, local and global, similarities and differences. Here are some of my impressions.

Like everywhere in the world, food prices are climbing in Kenya, helping to drive inflation to its highest level since 1994. When the mass of people spend up to 85 percent of their income on food, the consequences of rising prices are significant, possibly catastrophic.

My good friend and colleague Erik du Plessis wants to set the record straight. Too many people, he believes, are misinterpreting his book The Advertised Mind, mistakenly concluding that emotions dominate our thinking, and that, as a result, our decision making is irrational and unpredictable. On Friday, at a set of presentations hosted by Millward Brown South Africa, he set out to address this misunderstanding.