Current brand strategies

Saffron - UK/Spain (2015)

Branding course at Doméstika

Saffron is the studio created by Jacob Benbunan and Wally Olins. The studio divides branding projects into different categories: Re-positioning, re-structuring, specialised focus, creation, and revolution. They explain that branding is a process of discovering, where the designer's understanding of business increases and has to be reduced to a very specific message. They try to find a balance between what makes unique a company, what is it that their competition cannot match and what do their audiences need. The whole process is about making what makes them different, which might be a very small part of what they are, much more relevant and with more importance than the rest of it.

The nature and aptitude of the brand will inform the attitude it will have towards their customers. The values and personality create the idea of the brand, the essence: the briefest and straightforward expression of what a brand represents; the core thinking that rules every other action and brand expressions.

Alphabet - UK (2017)

Interview.

Alex.

I think the main question would be: what is the process you guys follow when it comes to giving an identity to a brand? With 'what' I mean what boxes you aim to tick. Your design decisions are based on your own understanding of the world and the audiences, on research or do you rely on science like psychology? Or a mixture of everything? I find particularly interesting that when I'm walking, let's say, through a supermarket, I see people (and I do this myself) stopping for something we have seen but we don't know about just because the colours/shapes/typefaces/inserthereanyotherfeature appeals to us unconsciously. Of course, it is very personal and every product is designed to appeal to certain demographic... but I ask you specifically because you particularly design things in a very different and innovative way that makes things very appealing (I'm thinking now about your work with Hippo&Crate). I know my question might be too loose... don't sweat it. Just let me know what you think it's the 'formula' (that's not the word I'm looking for, but I guess that's a way to put it) of making a brand that works.


Abbas Mushtaq

I think when you work on a brief it all depends on the brief really. A positive about being a designer or a creative is that you end up knowing a little, about a lot of things. It’s important to understand the subject you’re working in, what the product is, who the audience is, what’s already out there. When you know that, then you can indeed look at design in a more scientific way, it’s good to do that, but use it as a means to amplify your creativity. For example, you might want the branding to be really loud, catch people's eye, and be different to what’s out there because your concept might be to flip convention on its head and approach something from a different way. So with that in mind, you can make calculated decisions about what kind of colours, fonts, imagery a tone of voice amplifies the idea you have. Likewise, if you want something calming, it’s important your design follows suit. There’s a quote from Saul Bass that’s always stuck with me – “Design is thinking made visual” . I couldn’t put it any better than that! I also think it’s important to find a clear aim and passion for every project. It’s not always easy to do this, but always better when you do. For example with a project, you might want to do something completely different. If you look around at what kind photography and look and feel similar brands have, you want to do the opposite. And so on. So research and comfort with what you’re doing is very important and a continuous learning curve for all of us. Even after finishing studying it’s easy to blindly jump into a project and push pixels around till it looks “nice”. But this is not how great work is done, and we all fall into this trap sometimes. Don’t make a habit of it!

Blind - USA (2014)

The word 'strategy' has certain negative connotations in certain companies because it usually means having several boring meetings that do not really yield any actions or results. Core is a process that helps designers to create a brief because many times the client does not even have a brief. Also, it allows stakeholders or multiple decision makers to define common objectives. In order to do this, a strategy is needed. All strategy is, it is a careful plan or method for achieving a particular goal usually over a long period of time. Core also includes designers in the strategy, which many agencies and companies do not do. After the process, the brand, its costumers and goals will be clearly defined by the clients themselves.

The price of a product or service depends on its location. For example, a Coca-Cola is 300% more expensive at shops that are nearby beaches because there is where they are really required. That's why Lexus, Toyota, and Scion are the same company. They are for different audiences and that is how they find the right position for their wide range of products. Positioning is about aligning values with clients, and these can be profiled based on their interests. In short, the process would be to: profile clients/customers, learn about their businesses and how they behave, match and mirror them, release a message and stick to it. If the motivations are aligned, the 'why' will be shared. (---Simon Sinek explains why this is important----)

Simon Sinek - The Golden Circle - USA (2009)

Succesful companies like Apple understand that they have to do the opposite their competition is doing. Normally, companies say what they do, how they do it and why they do it, but it has to be the other way around. For example: "we make great computers, beautiful design and simple to use. We like to think differently and challenge the status quo" is the wrong way of a more powerful option. "We like to think differently and challenge status quo using beautiful design and simplicity. We just happen to make great computers as a result".

People do not buy what you do, they buy why you do it. The goal is not to do businesses with whoever needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people that believe what you believe. Because people buy stuff to prove what they believe in.

An example of a failure is the company Tivo. They sold their product as a way to skip commercials on TV, to record programs... if instead they would have said "do you want to be in control of your life? We have a product for you". If Martin Luther King would have said: "I have a plan" instead of "I have a dream" people would probably not remember him. Simon contradicts what Chris Do and Jose Caballer said about matching and mirroring clients. He defines it as asking your friends "what should I dress for you to like me more". Organisations should say and do the things they actually believe in and they will attract people with similar values, and that is where authenticity can be recognised.

Face - Mexico (2017)

This design studio has their process specified on their website. One of the first things they tackle down is the specific needs of the project. They offer standard and tailored solutions based on the results of this strategy. Then, they hand to the client a list of questions in order to gather information for the development and conceptualization. At this point, they do a background research and competitive profiling. This investigation should throw light on the target audience and market, which helps to identify the overall brand assets. The strategy of the concept is based on the brief and the clients' benchmark, which helps to find the right visual references and define the project.

Ignasi Fontvila (2016)

Ignasi Fontvila is an expert in the field of naming companies and products. This type of work is part of the branding process. Naming a company or a product also requires a workflow involving research into the background, structure, concept, personality and positioning, and target audience. Very similar to 'Core' in essence, his conceptualisation of the brand relies on the definition of the concept, attributes (physical characteristics) and emotional benefits. He uses the brand value pyramid for Bendaryl, which highlights the importance of beliefs and values, followed by the benefits and gives less importance to the physical characteristics, because these are features that are difficult to manage when it comes to create a differentiation from the competition. For example, it's impossible to stand out a biscuit company for making biscuits with chunks of chocolate, as there are many others doing the exact same thing and are more popular than them.



In relation to what others have said about doing the opposite of what the competitors are doing and highlighting what is different, he mentions the use of a semantic differential scale. This helps to clearly see how a company is different from the rest and how they can exploit that difference to create a unique position in the mind of the customers. These differentiators that are going to be used to build the band upon are called creative axes, and they are based on the distinctivity of the attributes, emotional benefits and values. On the example, the most noticeable difference between the two are the creative and emotional aspect in opposition to a more classic and rational competition.