Category: Brand Strategy

Brand Strategy

Framing your masterpiece

Yesterday I hung some artwork. The process involved tools, a measuring device and patented “eyeball” technique to make sure the artwork was hung properly. What I realized is that even a slightly crooked or uncentered piece was acceptable if the artwork had the right frame.

Working with brands is similar to finding the perfect frame for a masterful piece of artwork. A poorly built frame can take away from even the most genius piece of work. And a great frame can enhance the qualities of even the most ordinary artwork. Many brands are working with masterpieces, built with frames that hinder their potential or don’t do them justice. Branding is about building the perfect frame for a one of a kind masterpiece.

Brand Strategy Growth

Celebrate yourself

If you’re working towards something, chances are you’ll have some successes along the way. A challenging thing to do during this forward momentum is to pause and celebrate the micro accomplishments that are the result of all the steps you’ve taken.

I find myself reminding clients (and myself) that its okay to pause and celebrate. At first, it may feel unproductive or premature, but that’s only because it rubs against the frantic, bulldozer approach associated with most goals.

Our goals are meant to provide nourishment through their accomplishment. And celebrating can help battle fatigue and sustain momentum by reigniting our connection to the desired outcome. If we can’t celebrate along the way, is it really a worthy ambition in the first place? Take the time to celebrate yourself, when you reach the end, you’ll be thankful that you did.

Brand Strategy Product design

Create for yourself first

There are always solutions that we need to put in place for our life. Many of those solutions may be things that have been resolved by someone else, giving us viable options to choose from. However, there are times when there is no solution to the problems we face, and that is where the potential for a good product idea exist.

Take inventory of your life and daily routines to recognize opportunities for needed solutions. Chances are that someone else is bumping against the same issue. Creating for ourself first is the best way to develop a good and relevant idea.

Brand Strategy

The right way

Clients often ask me the right way to execute a particular brand strategy, in which case I am happy to share best practices.

When the goal is to produce results in an effective and consistent way, it is wise to establish protocol and best practices for achieving optimal outcomes. However, protocol can become a crutch if it causes us to limit our approach. And can be a trap if it prevents us from widening our vision for what more is possible.

Best practices are a guide and effective when they are flexible. The only “right” way to execute is based on situation, environment and real-time influences, which may differ depending on the “right” situation.

Brand Strategy Product design

What feeds a good idea?

Students studying and graduating at the Willem de Kooning Academie in Rotterdam created a process that converts leftover fruit and vegetables into durable, leather-like material.

fruitleather-thumb

The students state that “In this project we created a solution for one of Rotterdams biggest social issues, food waste.”

While many people realize that food waste is an issue on a global scale, I am curious what factors supported the growth of this idea, from this particular group? There are a few key components that may contribute to this:

1. Collective: This group describes themselves as a collective of designers. The truth is that a group is much more powerful than the glamorized solo designer.

2. Solution based: The idea was focused on the solution rather than the consumer. They sought out a solution to an issue relevant to their environment and experience.

3. Environment: The students are part of an environment that invites and supports experimentation. Where mistakes are seen as a vehicle toward a workable solution rather than a liability.

All around us, there are several issues that could benefit from similar workable solutions. The question is, are we creating an atmosphere that feeds good ideas?

Brand Strategy Perspective

Can the right people find us?

Engagement is not a direct correlation to the value of the information provided. It is dependent on several factors, one being:

Can the right people find the information?

This seems simple, however, it is a key factor that is often overlooked. A brand lacking engagement may assume it’s the result of them not providing a useful experience. With this misguided perception, they may alter their brand message to “increase” engagement. For example, compromising a brand message for more likes and shares is only a short-term solution that can do more damage to the brand objective in the end.

If a brand is lacking in engagement, an important question to ask is, “Can the right people find us?”

Brand Strategy

The new obvious

A complete strategy is a combination of the most obvious and the not-so-obvious solutions. An ideal path will likely fall somewhere in-between the two. Sometimes we have a tendency to get caught in the cycle of identifying only the most obvious ideas, which may run us the risk of being outdated or disconnected.

When we combine the two polars of the obvious and not-so-obvious, what we create is something that we won’t believe we hadn’t discovered before…the new obvious.

Brand Strategy Perspective

G is for the newer Google

You may have heard by now, Google announced that it has created a new parent company named Alphabet. This brand portfolio strategy will likely have an impact on revenue and profitability, but that is a lesson for another blog post. First, let’s focus on the strategically crafted letter titled “G is for Google”, posted on abc.xyz, the new web destination for Alphabet.

This letter reads like a deceivingly simple explanation for the change, which makes it intriguing (to me) and effective (for investors). While Google doesn’t explain what Alphabet is until the 5th paragraph, we’ll only need the first 3 paragraphs to illustrate their brand strategy.

To do this, I’ve highlighted only the most essential points in an excerpt from their letter below; removing the clutter so we can see beyond the words and narrow our focus.

G is for Google

As Sergey and I wrote in the original founders letter 11 years ago, “Google is not a conventional company. We do not intend to become one.” As part of that, we also said that you could expect us to make “smaller bets in areas that might seem very speculative or even strange when compared to our current businesses.” From the start, we’ve always strived to do more, and to do important and meaningful things with the resources we have.

We did a lot of things that seemed crazy at the time. Many of those crazy things now have over a billion users, like Google Maps, YouTube, Chrome, and Android. And we haven’t stopped there. We are still trying to do things other people think are crazy but we are super excited about.

We’ve long believed that over time companies tend to get comfortable doing the same thing, just making incremental changes. But in the technology industry, where revolutionary ideas drive the next big growth areas, you need to be a bit uncomfortable to stay relevant.

Recapping the highlighted points, the letter could read…

Google is not a conventional company. We want to make smaller bets that may seem very speculative or strange in order to do important and meaningful things. We did things that have seemed crazy but now have over a billion users, and we haven’t stopped doing crazy things that we are super excited about. Companies get comfortable, but in the technology industry, you have to be uncomfortable to grow and stay relevant.

From this perspective, it is easier to understand that Google…

– Does not want to be perceived as conventional.

– Is a big company that wants to make smaller and speculative bets.

– Enjoys and has succeeded doing things that seem crazy.

– Does not want to get comfortable.

– Believes that they will have to be uncomfortable to grow and stay relevant.

My belief is that this is the same Google packaged in a new way. Like the original founders stated, they’ve always been unconventional. Their brand feels a need to reassert their unconventional position in a way that captures the attention of the internal team, investors, and users. As far as I can tell, Alphabet is the newer Google.

Brand Strategy Perspective Product design

Turn it up

While streaming music online I commonly turn up the volume on songs I really like. It’s a habit that automatically happens, whether the volume is at its max already or not. If the song is a long time favorite, it takes me just a few seconds to complete this action. For newer songs, the action usually happens mid-way through the song.

Observing this habit made me think, wouldn’t my experience be improved if the music streaming service accounted for these actions? This feature enhancement could boost my music selection by accounting for this typical human interaction.

Algorithms could be created within the music streaming software so that…

– Songs I turn the volume up on would be treated as a favorite.

– The volume could automatically adjust back to a neural volume after a favorite song has completed.

– It may be possible to account for the level I like a song, based on how long it takes me to turn up the volume.

Accounting for human behavior can help us identify new ideas or envision ways to enhance already existing ideas.

What do you do when a song is really good? I turn it up.

I’ve written a few articles on the music streaming industry (follow the links below to read). The perceived competition between Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, and Tidal, has captured my attention.

6.29.2015: Apple ignites human potential with the launch of Apple Music

6.30.2015: How a brand can have the best product or service and still lose

7.2.2015: Be yourself, it’s the reason we showed up in the first place

8.6.2015: Selling sound

Brand Strategy

Minimal Focus

The minimal design aesthetic is popular and often requested by clients. It’s the process of reducing a design down to only the most essential elements.

Its success depends on the ability to…

– Focus the brand to its core

– Remove elements that do not add value

– Reinforce the brand message through strategic design

Brands commonly assume that it is…

– Easy to accomplish

– The result of a good designer

– Available without a clear strategy

A successful minimal design is only a reflection of a brand who knows who they are, it is not solely the result of a good designer. A minimal design for a brand that only has minimal focus is nearly impossible to achieve.