Brandalism is a Portmanteau and has many definitions. The  Urban Dictionary defines it as the creeping corporatisation of schools, libraries and other public buildings, which are gradually being daubed with company logos and slogans. Coined by graffiti artist Banksy, and expounded on in his book “Wall and Piece”

However there was an earlier citation by —Gareth Branwyn, “Jargon Watch, Wired, February 1999 who defines Brandalism as the increased “defacing” of schools, libraries, and other public spaces with logos, advertisements, and corporate slogans.

My interpretation of this concept can also be related to products and services. How many brands are you currently wearing, consuming, or have eaten today. I would argue that its probably five or more.  We’re all victims of brand overdose and over endorsement.  How many of us can honestly say we that we haven’t thought about a little bit of brandalism?  We can’t go anywhere now without the idea of brand being pushed squeezed or thrown into our faces. see example (Katie Price aka Jordan) as an example.

It would seem that counter culture has become so mainstream that the reason we do things from a brand prospecctive has been forgotten and has been replaced by the satisfaction that is derived from the brand. Brands take note, consumers are not stupid and will only buy into you when you buy into them.

The word “Portmanteau” is used to describe a linguistic blend, namely “a word formed by blending sounds from two or more distinct words and combining their meanings.” My favourites Portmanteau words include

Tryverting - The process of sampling or giving away products and services in order entice customers to buy your product
Freemium is a business model that works by offering basic services for free, while charging a premium for advanced or special features.
Chilax – This can be used or directed at someone to calm down or not get stressed out. It combines the words chill and relax.
Trysumers - Trendwatching describes them as a transient, experienced consumers who are becoming more daring in how and what they consume, thanks to a wide range of societal and technological changes.  This I believe is still the case and even more important now in economic downtimes.

Portmanteaux (or portmanteaus) can also be created by attaching a prefix or suffix from one word to give that association to other words. Subsequent to the Watergate scandal, it became popular to attach the suffix “-gate” to other words to describe contemporary scandals, e.g. “Filegate” for the White House FBI files controversy, and Spygate, an incident involving the 2007 New England Patriots. Likewise, the suffix “-holism” or “-holic,” taken from the word “alcoholism” or “alcoholic,” can be added to a noun, creating a word that describes an addiction to that noun. Chocoholic, for instance, means a person who is “addicted” to chocolate. Also, the suffix “-athon” is often appended to other words to connote a similarity to a marathon (for example, telethon, phonathon and walkathon).

Having an understanding of such terms can allow you to become more flexible in your approach to business and in particular how you go about winning new clients.  Clients and customers alike all want to be able to get the best of what you offer at the best price.  I would suggest rethinking your business model to one of the terms above or at least reviewing  or testing it to see if it makes a difference to your bottowm line.  If that doesn’t work I would suggest chilaxing for a while then trying again.

Original source wikipedia the ultimate use of Portmanteau