Musings on brands and branding
03.05.10
We all love a unique brand expression and I can’t help but acknowledge one of the most remarkable brand expressions I’ve seen in recent times (albeit dating back to the late 1970s) from one of the most iconic and well know fashion brands in the world – Gucci.
02.02.10
A Knock-Out Brand Canvas
We’ve written many times before about the failure of most retail brands to leverage the window space of new stores whilst they’re preparing to open. “What a ripper of a brand canvas to leave blank!” we shout in frustration. “Why wouldn’t you fill those newspaper-covered frames with some fancy brand statement to delight and create anticipation for your upcoming store opening?”
Well thank the Lord we’ve been heard – and by the savvy branders at food franchise Mad Mex no-less. These guys have cooked-up a feast of brand personality, seasoned with bold and unique visual language rich in brand story telling. Check-out the eye popping windows of their soon to be opened Chapel Street store in Melbourne, Australia:
01.27.10
Simply Stunning Animation
The BBC has built a reputation over many years for creating stunning station and special program promos. Their animation promoting the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics is no exception. BAFTA winning Director Marc Craste worked with designer Jon Klassen and Studio AKA in creating the stunning spot and several title sequences. The 40 second short animated film tells a rich fable of a legendary quest in which an Inuit hero retrieves a spiritual stone that has been taken by a giant bear from a mystical totem. In the process of his mission our hero draws on his skills in a series of challenging & physically brutal Olympic style sports to recover the precious ice locked stone, thus restoring light and peace to his dark and troubled world.’
01.11.10
We Love a Good Blank Canvas
As a brand agency, there’s not much we love more than a great blank brand canvas that’s been spotted and transformed into a glowing gesture of brand communication. When we talk to our clients (and anyone else who’ll listen) about sharpening their brand strategy, we are always big-on identifying the blank canvases that provide the opportunity to leverage your brand in remarkable ways.
We Love a Good Delivery Truck
Whilst there’s nothing new about well branded delivery trucks, there are still few examples of these moving billboards being used as canvases for brand expression. The cost to transform even a single delivery truck for a small business into a bold brand gesture is minimal, yet the investment in creative brand expression has the potential for grand pay-off.
12.21.09
A Magical Execution of Brand Design
Occasionally we’re reminded that whilst not all brand expressions are born equal, all brand gestures have the potential to be sublime. Recently I came across a retail window display for fashion brand Hermes in their Maison Hermès store in Tokyo. This beautiful example of visual merchandising designed by Tokujin Yoshioka will be on show until 19 January 2010.
11.30.09
The Rising Tide of Brand Strategy Speak
It seems the brand and marketing industries are no more immune to the rising tide of ‘business speak’ than any other industry. Over the last year I’ve collected examples from around our brand agency and the web and researched the trends to bring you a list of my favorites. The good news is I think you’ll find them as imaginative and entertaining as they are informative.
11.11.09
A Brand Gesture to Write Home About
Recently the Sydney Harbor Foreshore Authority created a remarkably clever sculpture at the Rocks to raise the profile of the precinct. More than 4000 cups of coffee were used to recreate the Mona Lisa, with milk added in varying amounts to the cups to create the lighter and darker tones that made-up the famous face. It was a great idea with a reasonably active viral campaign utilising email and YouTube. But I was left with question so itchy it has to be scratched…
If this gesture worked well for SHFA – how much better would it have worked for a coffee brand?
Looking closely at the pics it appears Grinders Coffee and the Dairy Farmers are involved. But ownership of the event and viral confusingly seems to be with SHFA. Starbucks recently launched their new (if not particularly successful) Via instant coffee. Just imagine a giant piece of replica artwork in each major Starbucks hub around the world – now that would have been a Bold Brand Gesture of the highest order. They could have been giving away product tastings as quickly as they could pour them, but most importantly, the gesture has a direct and memorable relevance to the product, it’s take-away, drink anywhere, anytime proposition and the spirit of the Starbucks brand. That would have been a memorable and remarkable brand experience.
As clever as the SHFA brand gesture was, its lack of strategic relevance will mean it becomes filed in the ‘clever stunt’ folder in our brain, which in turn gets soon filed on the ‘do not remember’ server. Every great idea requires relevance as a vital ingredient.
