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.
David Ansett, Brandamentalist
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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.
Reading the Age newspaper’s Melbourne Magazine this weekend reminded me of the potency of combining an artisan and a brand with a premium position in the market place. The magazine has a section celebrating the 2009 food hall of fame. It’s purpose is to honour those Melburnians (and Victorians) who have who have worked passionately and single-mindedly to create a food offering of distinction. When you read the stories of the diverse range of individuals included you are immediately touched by the tireless and obsessive devotion they bring to the table.
Take David Blackmore, a cattleman from Alexandra. In the area where he farms there is a lot of black cattle, but none like his black cattle. Every other farmer, and there are some excellent farmers, all pursue the same approach, black Angus cattle. David has taken a different path, black yes, but Japanese black, Wagyu cattle. The magic of Wagyu meat is in the fine white marbling which results in a never-before-experienced succulence that sends the taste buds reeling in such tenderness and flavour.
The Michelin Man – Sumo or brand icon
Just recently the Truly Deeply studio invested in some more character (not that we don’t have enough already) for the space we spend more than 9 hours a day in. We purchased an original statue reproduction of Michelin Man, that used to be attached to a compressor. To be honest at first I thought the statue was ugly, but there was something in the way the icon stood with such confidence and conviction that grabbed me. It felt like we had a new member joining the Truly Deeply family. My thoughts were summed up by Pete, a Brand Scientist, who sits next to me at work;
“It may look like a sumo wrestler, but its a brand logo that has stood the test of time”.
Pete’s words stuck with me and I found myself asking, what is it in Michelin’s history that has allowed the Michelin Man brandmark to be so enduring? History is not my strong suit, but I was sufficiently stimulated to do a little digging.
Daniel Goleman’s new book Ecological Intelligence
tackles the task of providing consumers with a simple but comprehensive process for understanding the environmental and social impacts of the goods we consume. He advocates ‘radical transparency’. A system whereby all the right technical boffins are harnessed to rate the environmental and social impact of a product at every stage of its life from raw materials to waste disposal. Once rated, product packaging can carry a relevant rating device communicating to the world its virtues or otherwise. In addition web sites like www.goodguide.com will play a critical role in communicating to consumers the merits of one product compared with another.
Goleman makes the assumption that once informed consumers will make purchase decisions that are in this planet and society’s best interests. Unfortunately, this where things get a little more complicated (yes even more complicated than actually rating all the products and services). Just about every category that we get to work in on in a branding sense we encounter the same feedback — consumers are interested in environmental issues, but for the majority only if it does not cost them in some way. Give me more environmentally friendly housing options, but don’t charge me more. Give me a more environmentally friendly car, but please don’t make it look daggy or reduce its performance. In consumer land best interests so often boil down to self interest. In a marketing sense it is important that brand custodians understand the environmental band width of their customers, as for many it is very very narrow. It is gradually widening but it is a slow journey.
In B2B markets there is a more urgent push. Business self interest is starting to play out with the growing focus on carbon emissions. Some of the heavy weights like Wal-Mart are also pursuing a stronger environmental pathway, stating in July this year that it wished to create environmental ratings for everything it sells. However, if they have success in introducing their own rating system we run the risk of multiple rating systems and a diluted consumer outcome in terms of understanding and buy-in.
Certainly Daniel Goleman had a best seller and a winning concept with his book on Emotional Intelligence. However, it is also a great example of ‘self interest’ at play. How does one get on in this relationship driven world….yes some degree of emotional intelligence helps. Take two tablets a day (just kidding)! But ecological intelligence that may take a little longer to have its moment in the sun, certainly from a consumer perspective.
Pete
