Happy Holidays

With the holidays around the corner, and in the spirit of spending time with friends and family, I am signing off from my blog until the New Year.

2010 has been an exciting year with my recent move to London, as I continue to pursue my passion in branding to help brands make meaning and live it daily.

But 2010 has also been a very exciting year for branding.

We saw a number of noteworthy rebranding initiatives. Some of which made me think, 'good move' (i.e. Aol., Reebok & MySpace), while some others made me raise an eyebrow (i.e. Comcast & Gap).

• The New Aol.
• Rebranding Done Right & Wrong
• Focusing on the bright spots

We also saw the impact social media has had on brands, such as BP and Gap. Proving that the branding process is becoming more democratic in that if customers don't like what they see, they will demand change.

• How far can brand damage spread?
• Please mind the Gap

The rise of mobile technology is changing how we deliver a brand's promise to consumers. Whether it be through something as simple as online status/association, or delivering utility extending the brand experience to live anywhere at any time, when needed most.

• Branding continues to evolve
• Our online identities' impact on brand value

Although this may not be new to 2010, but the importance in attracting and retaining talent, which aligns to the brand's purpose, is key to adequately deliver on its promise, especially when considering the declining workforce due to an aging population. In addition, having a meaningful purpose that genuinely resides at the core of the organization, like TOMS, is in high demand from future talent. As they want to know they are contributing to society and in what way.

• People create the brand
• Meaning will attract & retain future talent
• The purposeful organization: TOMS Shoes

Thank you for another great year of blogging, and I look forward to writing more in the New Year.

Happy Holidays,
Nicole

Mini Series Part 3 - It's the little things

This is the 3rd and final part of my mini series of things that make me think about branding.

Last weekend, in the spirit of the holiday season and in an attempt to try every festive activity happening in London during the holidays, a couple of friends and I went to Skate, the ice rink at Somerset House for an evening of ice skating.

The event is sponsored by Tiffany & Co., and after experiencing it, I felt it was a sponsorship well leveraged.

At the event they created a mini Tiffany pop-up shop, which was filled with festive goodies you could snack on while taking in the evening, a cool use of an iPad to flip through their latest collections, and a counter with a few of their pieces which would make nice holiday gifts:

Not only that, the lighting for the entire experience was Tiffany blue and the Christmas Tree was decorated in Tiffany blue. There was no way a person left the rink without feeling the touch of Tiffany. 

I loved how Tiffany created such a rich, but not overbearing, brand experience, with a subtle yet brilliant  association to treating yourself or your loved one to Tiffany. 

In addition, to the Tiffany themed event, Nike sponsored the ice skates. So everyone who attended the event were able to experience their skates, in a relevant and positive moment stimulating positive brand associations. 

All-in-all this event was a great example of how it's, often, the little things, like immersing consumers in the brand experience, that can have a lasting affect. Creating a personal experience with the brand can place it top-of-mind in the consumer's evoked set increasing their association to the brand and improving brand preference.

Mini Series Part 2 - Be Genuine, Peaceful, Consistent & Focused

Part 2 of my mini series, which I started last week, comes from an article I read last Sunday, in the Times, where Naomi Wollf wrote some helpful tips for successful protesting in response to the recent protesting, here in London, due to increases in tuition. Clearly, considering last Thursday's events, with the attack of Prince Charles' Rolls-Royce on Oxford/Regents Street, they didn't take these into consideration.

Although, I do support their cause, not to raise tuition fees, I wouldn't go as far to say I side with the group as a whole, since I don't support their violent actions, which, unfortunately, at this point, seems to be overshadowing their overall purpose.  According to Naomi, they need to be peaceful, pleasant and get arrested to earn the sympathy of the public to support their cause and help them accomplish their purpose.  I feel the same goes for brands.

When attempting to satisfy the organization's brand purpose - that crazy, audacious goal/idea/dream to make the world better in some incremental way, brands must be set on accomplishing this goal without attacking their competition, while acting consistently by standing for its purpose no matter the cost. This will generate a far greater impact in the minds of consumers when positioning the brand within the marketplace.

Here are some of Naomi's tips she suggested in her article, Don't chat, just sing, smile and make sure you get arrested, last weekend with my rationale on how it applies to branding:

1. Don't march, sit down:  Here Naomi suggests non-violently disrupting "business as usual" does far more than a violent march of people.

The same can be applied to brands - you don't win the hearts of consumers by marching into the marketplace defensive and angry towards the competition. Rather, come in confidently with a clear, positive message, which, ideally, is one filled with solutions and/or innovations.

2. Get rid of the masks and get arrested:  to make a powerful movement you have to show your face, be proud of what you are doing and be willing to get arrested in the process. Don't just smash things and run away.

For brands this is essential. If it really wants to be known for something, it can't please everyone blurring the definition of who the company really is. Rather a brand must clearly stand for what it believes in, whether it is easily accessible and usable information (Google), authentic athleticism (Nike) or putting shoes on more of people's feet (TOMS), and don't waiver from your stance.  Know that some people will dislike or boycott what you are about, but if you run away from your purpose after making a stance, the brand will lose respect from its consumers.

3. Sing, don't chat:  It's hard for police to justify violence against a group of people linked arms singing for their cause, over angry masked chanters.

Brands will see greater adoption of its philosophy when framed positively and opportunistically, rather than nasty call outs against its competition. People will respond better when they see the positive value a brand's purpose can bring them, rather than bashing another brand, whom consumers may, actually, want to defend because of the attack.

4. Get a spokesperson: provide the cause with an identifiable, eloquent leader to communicate the message.

For brands this means: give your brand a face. Apple has Steven Jobs, LiveStrong has Lance Armstrong, Chanel has Karl Lagerfeld, and even Compare the Meerkat has Aleksandr Orlov, the charming meerkat (haha). Having a face makes the brand more human and tangible. These people can take the message across various platforms, both internally and externally of the organization.

5. Use visuals: Make yourself standout through memorable signs, consistent attire, etc.

This is branding 101. It's always best to provide visual cues so consumers will immediately think of your organization/brand when they see its logo, colours and/or shapes. However, this only happens when the purpose is consistently executed.

6. Have fun: Nothing is more fun than changing the world for the better - but you must do it for real, be peaceful, disciplined and brave.

This is particularly true for brands and the people maintaining them - be passionate!  If you're not, you won't have fun. If you are passionate about the brand's purpose, meaning will emerge making it a blast to go to work everyday and to feel a part of positive change.

Brands can learn from protestors that it's of no benefit to be aggressive & hostile when carving out its place in the market. Rather, being genuine, peaceful, consistent & focused will help a brand secure its position, while occupying a positive place in the minds of consumers.

Mini Series Part 1 - Grand Visions Live Beyond Their Maker

Often, I see things, read things or even experience things that make me think about branding. I see something that would make a great metaphor for branding; I read something that may not be about branding but the principles align; or I experience something that makes me think, "great idea".  But I tend to think these ideas are too small or tactical to warrant a blog post.  However, recently, I've had many of these little thoughts. So I have created a mini series, where I would feature some of my brief thoughts throughout the week:

Part 1 - Grand Visions Live Beyond Their Maker

Last weekend, I was in Barcelona visiting a friend and taking in the sites.  I'm a big fan of Gaudi's work, because of his extraordinary vision for architecture and refusal to follow standards.  The last time I saw La Sagrada Familia, his spectacular basilica, was seven years ago.  In 2003, what you see in the picture was still open to the sky with parts of the ceiling lying on the floor.  Needless to say, I was blown away walking into the basilica, seven years later, greeted by this spectacular view!

This got me thinking - La Sagrada Familia began construction in 1882. That's 128 years ago. And its visionary, Gaudi, was only around for 44 years of that!  This means that his vision; his grand/opulent/seemingly impossible dream has had to move forward without him in an attempt to come to fruition. Something I would love to see in my lifetime.

This grand vision, which was last seen by Gaudi looking something like this:

Had to go from that to this...

Note: Image from Wikipedia 

...without the oversight of Gaudi - the original visionary. Rather his vision had to be translated by others along the way. Yet, his idea was so clear that it's being executed pretty close to his original dream:

So, I think brands can take a lesson from Gaudi's Basilica.  If a brand has a purpose that is so grand/beautiful/innovative/purposeful, it will last beyond the original visionary, as it will motivate others to see the vision through and make it a reality. I have heard some people say that their brand could never be as strong or well-executed as Apple, because their founder isn't around anymore, where as Steve Jobs is. I think La Sagrada Familia is a great example of how a truly spectacular dream/purpose with high aspirations can live well beyond its founder in attempts to become a reality.

However, like building Guadi's Basilica, brand purpose doesn't happen over night. Rather, you have to work on it everyday. Making decisions to ensure the integrity of the vision is still maintained. In fact, I remember there being controversy around La Sagrada Familia when they decided to go with poured concrete instead of chiseled granite as it was becoming to expensive, yet they wanted to see this vision through despite major financial trouble.

This brings me to another interesting thought this example provokes - having purpose is not budget dependent. What I mean is, you don't need to say, which I have actually been told, "we can't define a brand purpose this year as it will be too expensive to execute". Well, this is totally wrong. Rather, you do need a purpose at all times in order to make tough decisions that guide your organization forward in a consistent and relevant way, no matter the economic conditions, in an attempt to see the dream through.

All-in-all, I think La Sagrada Familia is a wonderful example/metaphor for how having a strong/exciting/crazy brand purpose can last well beyond its maker, exciting and motivating people for many years to come!