Creating a scalable brand

Editor's Notes

• #2: Thank you for spending some time on this Passionate and spread how I see the world given duality of role But great experiences are important
• #3: 2 ways of looking at things – making rules vs breaking rules. Brand police vs looking to accomplish new. But love the problem to solve First ah-ha – simply tend to look at things differently.
• #4: Epiphany design 101 unity with variety - It’s the principle of gestalt and how the organized whole is perceived as more than the sum of it’s parts But also stretching form as far as it can go to add nuances And I realized we’re so incredibly hung up on making things identical
• #5: To achieve something more, we have to get past our over-attachment to uniformity. How many times to you hear “but it’s not the same and we need a consistent brand experience?!” But the irony? THOSE are exactly the conversations we need to have to get the most innovative and disruptive ideas.
• #6: Let’s apply that line of thinking to our most obvious branding object – the logo. Trend has been in multi-variant branding and not being so precious with the mark. Invites the audience to inform the brand. To engage the brand intellectually and emotionally. And it’s obviously not staid and stiff – but confident. Not advocating - It’s okay to have fun.
• #7: To go even further…No logo needed – how confident is that?!?! Examples of this are literally everywhere now – design of product, software, you name it. And think of this – we spend a great deal of time and resources on policing so the question becomes - how much do you want to spend managing static assets and how much do you want to spend exploring new territory?
• #8: So we easily can acknowledge get immediately caught up in the logos, the fonts, the colors…too deep into the minutiae and it keeps us from even thinking about the end-result we would otherwise have in mind. This is a definition I’m pretty confident we all generally agree upon. The secret to lasting permanence = coherence over consistency
• #9: And that’s exactly what coherence is - It’s not fixed and firm but even more sticky because it involves ideas and relationships. It’s the gestalt of what audiences assemble in their minds. And it’s not that the nuances and “small stuff” are unimportant – but what’s often missing is the wider view of what they all add up to (and how it relates to your company). Based on the ideas of semantic and semiotic meaning and their ability to communicate on a deeper level, and to build something that not only has resonance, but longer-lasting relevance.
• #10: And it’s all based on science of humans and meaning-making that we’ve been teaching in top design schools for decades. It’s about how we not only interpret and process, but this is EXACTLY how we add more complex meaning without cluttering. Semiotics and Semantics = meaning-making
• #11: Knowing this, here’s our real objective in branding: Creation of coherent patterns for humans, not repetition just because it has to be the same. Some things we have more control over, other things not so much – so we have the chance to frame what we can’t control with what we can. It’s prompting the “what’s next??” in the conversation before our audiences get bored and move on.
• #12: Again…we’re digging deep and detailed. We must get back to the gestalt or vision of what we want to be. Branding 101 has always been, be yourself. This ethos allows us to be purpose-driven brands that connect on deeper and more lasting level with the right audience. And not because it’s a trend (although audiences are more picky about who they buy from based on their values). * Purpose driven brands are the most successful brands. Gives us something to talk about and helps to build a narrative (not a commodity product).
• #13: At Zipcar, this is what we believe in and it has many different facets. Think of what it means for a member, making life easier to get around and do what they want to do and what they need to do. *freedom and control to live life in the city to the fullest But also for the Governments and how it means easy congestion and demand for parking And of course for all of us – fewer cars means less CO2 and a cleaner environment.
• #14: And from that we drill down to our brand values – that shared understanding of what’s important and how everyone knows just how we operate In fact, we always ask…WWZD? Think like Zipcar obsess about the member experience / making their lives easier keep it simple have an impact be the best we can be deliver results / being accountable to each other These things are also tied to our members and what they believe in. And it helps us get and retain the right people who are serving our members.
• #15: Don’t worry, eventually we will get to the details. We will still need a landscape of tangible things to represent the brand, some are more enduring (seldom touched) and others that at much more adaptable based on usage and context. All unified with that voice that still falls from our purpose, values, and how we want to act. This is where the consistency in application is most visible… It does require the usual upkeep – and these ingredients have to be applied smartly and by someone with taste.
• #16: Can take this one step further. And I like to do these as something others aren’t afraid to put up at their desks as reference. Think of these as brand snackables.
• #17: It’s like cooking…common ingredients pulled together in new and surprising ways. This line of thinking also allows us to show what’s “open” and what’s “locked” – especially important as we’re working globally. Even slight variations make expressions more genuine and relevant, tailored to the region and audience. But I also want this to be a dialogue where we consider pulling in great things that came form explorations in campaigns. And that’s the philosophy we create with. That’s where the magic will truly happen.
• #18: Everyone knows – lists are all the rage in content marketing, so I thought it might be useful to create that for you. So, here are some specific things to get started.
• #19: Accept change (including illusion of control). This is quite negative (came from a military General – Eric Shinseki) so I like to focus on the positive in this. Change = Relevance! And I don’t mean change for change sake – certainly not driven by ego. By definition trying something new is going to make things in-consistent, in a good way, because that’s how you get into new territory. When we say make small bets and don’t be afraid to fail, this needs to apply to our brand work (more so actually).
• #20: The letter is great for the “thou shalt nots…” but terrible to illustrate possibilities. You simply cannot legislate taste, nor can you legislate how to view the world with intellectual curiosity that will point the way. As you cut into that new territory you’ll need the spirit to guide your way.
• #21: Someone has to do the work though. Whether it’s internal or agency, get great people and let them get on with it! This is beyond the immediate team assigned specifically to do the work. Find your infrastructure of ‘kindred spirits’ to help spread the word and give eyes/ears to potential issues. They will often become the biggest advocates for the brand and what you stand for. It’s all about the culture of creating and trying new things without worrying about failure – provided we always learn and adapt after. [ And part of that culture one feels like they have to micro-manage that’s either a problem with A. the do-er or B. the person doing the micro-managing. ]
• #22: Don’t get me wrong. There will still be a level of on-going housekeeping but this is largely going to be unnoticed or appreciated outside of the company (or even marketing department). It’s important to think and plan ahead of time however for scale. REPEATABLE STYLE: Identify (early) which things need to be easily repeatable. Develop a style that doesn’t require going out every single time, but have components that can adapt for local context and relevance. PROGRAMS: Give everyone “the story” with robust education on the meaning and the “why” along with the what has been agreed-upon. TOOLS FOR ASSET MANAGEMENT: Utilize tools for single point of truth – could even be externally facing (ie. press sites). Streamline content access and guidelines to enable scale, knowing that they’re good for the “thou shalt nots…” but can’t even remotely cover all the potential possibilities. You just can’t legislate taste.
• #23: More dialogue and influence rather than dictums. The relationship is just as important as the work and when you have an in-house team that’s the greatest value in being able to work together. Define governance and who’s responsible, but allow the experts to do their job (ie. UI, video, presentations). Create on-going harmonization meetings to guide trends, shape/communicate future evolutions, and COLLABORATE
• #24: Now you have some actions, and in closing I wanted to just leave you with a philosophy shorthand, or rather some guiding principles to follow as you do proceed (and a little bit of cautionary reminder =)