MUJI is a highly successful Japanese retail company that sells a wide variety of household and consumer goods. What is interesting is their ‘non brand’ market positioning. They decree for themselves the status of not being a brand, but paradoxically it is the great clarity they have around who they are and who they are not that makes them such a distinctive and compelling brand.
MUJI works very hard at claiming its non brand positioning. It’s name was derived from the first part of Mujirushi Ryohin, which translates into ‘No Brand Quality Goods’. It’s website declares in the very first sentence ‘… MUJI is not a brand.’ Instead it claims that MUJI creates products with a view toward global consumption of the future. That it does not create products that lure customers into believing that ‘this is the best’ or ‘I must have this’. Instead they like their customers to feel the rational sense of satisfaction that comes not with this is the best, but this is enough. Best becomes enough.
Branding for Local Government
We’ve been recently working with a regional Victorian Council, over the years we’ve worked with Local governments all over Victoria, from the City of Melbourne to the Moira Shire Council. We’re working developing their brand, evolving the brand mark, creating a visual language. and creating a brand system, they can use to easily communicate on brand. It reminded me of the key steps we’ve taken over the years, with our Local Government clients, that have delivered a successful branding project. I thought it’d be good to share them.
Working with Local Government has it’s challenges, but so does working with any organisation. They have no market, no competitors, you can’t pick another council to empty your bins or maintain your park. But they have a vital need to successfully communicate their brand to all their constituents. They need to clearly communicate where every dollar of rates has been spent. These are my 5 keys for successfully branding a Local Government, but they could apply to any organisation.
I have never experienced the pull of an authentic brand quite like I did years ago when I purchased a pair of riding boots. At the time I was an Economics teacher at a Melbourne High School, commuting to school on a motor bike and feeling the need for some foot wear that was a little more robust. I have a few frugal genes in my DNA (you would only have to have met my father to understand where they had come from) and as I ventured out on a buying excursion for some boots these genes kicked in. I arrived home with a pair of elastic sided riding boots that I had purchased from an Army disposals store – they appeared well made, looked a lot like the famous Australian boot brand RM Williams and were, you guessed it, a lot lot cheaper than RM Williams boots.
However, from day one I new that I had made a mistake. The boots I acquired were simply a cheap imitation of the brand I truly aspired to own. They made feel like the great pretender, when what I really wanted was to share in the romance of the rugged outback image of the RM Williams brand. The boots I had purchased delivered functionally, but they stood for nothing at an emotional level – in fact worse than that, each time I pulled them on I felt emotionally depleted. In branding there is no substitute for authenticity, no matter how good the imitation the wearer always feels a little second rate!
When it comes to updating a brand finding the right look and feel for the brand is, naturally, vital. But finding the key expressions for the brand is just as important. Whether it’s for your customers, staff or the general public knowing what the highest value expressions your brand will make will go a long way to ensure the new brand is both well received and a success. Here’s the tail of a brand evolution we did for SAGE Automation:
What Makes a Brand Ad?
Most of the ads we see on TV have a marketing focus, that is their intent is to highlight a USP – Unique Selling Proposition such as a product or service feature of offer to compel their audience into purchasing. Some ads take a higher level approach aimed at creating indelible impressions of their UBP – Unique Brand Proposition.
As a Brand Design Agency based in Melbourne, Australia we have a love of, a bias towards, and an expertise in the creative expression of brand strategy. On that basis we’ve selected the five ads we think tell the best brand stories.
Strongbow Cider
Where apple growing tradition meets cider making magic.
Word on the Web
Given the flood of blogs, tweets and mentions on the latest chapter in the Tiger Woods saga, it’d be remiss of us to not take a snapshot of current social sentiment. As Tiger announces he’s taking a break from golf, we’ve created an illustrated cross section of current sentiment on Tiger Woods’ personal brand. As always, it’s worth reading between the lines (literally) – the smaller words tell the true story of the current sentiment – the deeper you look, the more intriguing the narrative.
Over the past month ‘Mo Bros’ around the world have been growing facial hair to support men’s health while raising awareness of prostate cancer and depression.
Since its humble beginnings in 2004, when only 262 Mo Bros’ registered, the annual Movember campaign has been a huge success raising over AUS$60 million globally.
This year more corporate sponsors have got in on the act with Heinz’s ‘The Big Red Movember’ tomato sauce, Krispy Kreme’s ‘Moughnut’ and Grill’d Burgers who helped
feed those hungry Mo-growers for free.
The immense level of news being generated by Tiger Woods this week is in direct proportion to the size of his personal brand. Tiger’s brand is huge. The very reason for the hype over Tiger’s indiscretions is the same reason why he will survive this less than ideal public airing of his private life – he simply has vast amounts of brand equity to draw on.
Tiger is a freak when it comes to golf. But it is more than sheer natural talent that makes him great. He is an absolute professional who leaves no stone unturned to perform at the highest level. He amazes his competitors with the level of preparation he puts in to a tournament, he has played every shot in his head before he even starts a round. He is successful, good looking and from all reports a very likeable person. Importantly, the crowds love him and that is precisely the brand equity he can now draw on. If he sincerely shows some remorse, tackles the matter head on and does it all with the same degree of understated humility he typically displays, the crowds will continue to love him.
The RACV has provided us with a perfect example of a brand extension with a product that leverages all the good work they’ve done building a reputation based on simple products you can trust and a great service ethic. The product is RACV home cover. It must be good because so far I’ve only heard it promoted on radio and yet it stuck in my mind.
For $142 per annum you get eight call outs for emergencies in the home and they’ve picked a few goodies – the sort of things that sneak up on you, and strike when you are least prepared, like the heating not working, smelling gas or a gutter flooding the lounge room. Of course they’ve also included being locked out – so now the same organisation that you trust not to snigger at you when you lock your keys in the car can help you when the front door slams behind you as you rush out in your jim jams to get the post.
At the end of a long hard day have you ever sat back and dreamt of escaping the constraints of modern life? I know I have. It’s what makes all the sea change programs and stories so appealing. So when recently I found myself watching a TV ad that set out to appeal to exactly that sentiment, I was intrigued. It was long at 60 seconds, but was well produced with stunning imagery.
The ad began by showing a baby swimming, this is the freedom we are all born with.
Then the images became grey and hum drum. This is the reality of our lives. The baby is soon behind the bars of a cot, a man is just one of dozens sitting in identical work stations in an open office, miserable commuters are standing on a packed train etc. You get the picture.
