What Star Wars Teaches Us About Branding - Audience Participation

When you create something and place it in the public domain, there is value in leaving enough space for people to project their own personalities onto it. Create a compelling message and wrap it in a evocative story. The critical part is to let the audience grab the concept or idea and make it their own, give them the tools to edit, copy and paste their own content into the work, this not only can increase your marketing reach with word of mouth and social sharing but also it starts to create unique stories and a shared culture that can live without the original creators input. The brand can become far more organic and find a more natural path to success.

A great example of the power of this is the film and franchise of Star Wars. It doesn't take much to find Stars Wars on YouTube and see all the fan videos, remakes and outtakes that they have made. Search for Star Wars on Google and see all the fan sites and forums about the Star Wars universe. Think about how a whole generation bought into the story and still talk about it today. Consider the iconic characters and their cultural place as references in conversations. Did George Lucas plan all of this? Or did this occur through the adoption of the film by people that fell in love with the brand all the way from films and books to toys? 

The genius of the Star Wars brand is how people adopted it and made it their own. There was enough space and depth to give people a platform to build from. They could relate and find meaning inside the story. There is a powerful brand lesson here about telling stories, allowing room for adaptation and most importantly allowing audience participation in the messaging. Don't just build a brand with dogmatic imagery and messaging, keep some space between the lines for people to fall in love and become your biggest fans.

Core of the Brand

Too often the style guide is confused as being a brand guide in design projects. The style guide document says that the logo is yellow and the suggested color palette along with that is black and the font Helvetica, that doesn't mean that the brand is the summation of all these design elements. The brand is not about the right combination of these elements. To often the company focuses on seeing beautiful design work and expect that it will fit their definition of cool, versus their rivals. The designers themselves can also be to blame about what a website or interactive experience can be. They sit down and produce portfolio worthy concepts that look amazing and really make those brand elements shine. 

However, underneath all of that is the true brand of the company. The story that the company tells itself and it's consumers or customers of it's content. They should all be focused on making all decisions on building and supporting those messages. Once you pull back the curtain and see the client and their brand at its core then you can begin to make design decisions that help support those ideals. Until then you are only working on a fraction of the overall brand value you should be thinking about. Yes the logo is important and the style sheets valuable, but they do not get to the heart of the message and the direction things should move in. The visual aesthetic can be thought of as the language of the company the brand though is the message and meaning they support.


The great thing is once you get to the brand core then decisions become surprisingly easier. What should our website experience be? Look at the brand. What user experiences should we work on in mobile? Look at the brand. I think the concept is clear. The brand can be the driving force behind many decisions and help design teams focus their ideas and attention to the right ideas. The client is also about to understand an idea and it's true value if they to are reminded of their brand value and messaging.

Apples Brand Thinks Differently

Tim Cook today announced the new iPad3 and a host of amazing improvements on an already successful game changing innovative device. The announcements today once again push the iPad out in front of it's competitors. Of course, this is all part of the course of any company in the technology and digital space to keep inventing and improving existing technology and setting itself apart from the others. Apple does this so well. Apple has a certain magical aura around it's image in the consumers eye. This I feel is reflected in what he said at the end of his presentation today.

“It’s the privilege of a lifetime for me to work with the most innovative people on Earth. Only Apple can deliver this kind of innovation in such a beautiful, integrated, and easy to use way. It’s what we love to do, it’s what we stand for.”


In this single statement he reveals how the very core of the Apple brand is about beauty, simplicity, ease of use. He also shows something about how they as a company view themselves in the World. Like the consumers the Apple products employees have a very clear message in their minds, how can they make something better and more desirable that falls inline with the brand values. This is what the company stands for, it is what raises it's thinking and products up to a higher standard than I believe most companies are willing to invest in, for fear of uncertainty and returns. Apple has always taken gambles and sold beautiful products that it believes people want. They appear to be right this time.


I was even looking at the logo evolution recently and liked the update that was shown today for this talk. It is a nice modern interpretation of the fantastic rainbow logo Rob Janoff did for Apple back in 1975.

It shows that Apple knows what it stands for, and tries constantly to add to it's brand image and the story it wants to tell, of itself to the public. Apple has made it's fair share of mistakes and bad assumptions about products but they have been very consistent with their brand and that is something that I think makes the company a very compelling idea to get behind. They try and improve the way people interact with technology. This is what Jim Collins in his book "Good to Great" would refer to a "Hedgehog Concept", and idea that drives every decision and path you follow as a company. What can we best the best in the World at, it seems Apple is the best at innovating and selling those ideas to people. Who doesn't want to consider themselves as someone whom thinks differently and creatively at the World. Buying into Apple is adding to your personal interpretation of yourself as that type of person. 

I don't regard myself as one of the brand faithful followers of Apple but I can't help but like their products and their brand. You won't find me queuing at 3am for a new iPad3 at the Apple store, but I am certainly going to be drooling from the window.

Sticky Ideas

If you are like me you have sat in a darkened room many times listening to someone drone on about some topic that at first you thought might be interesting to you, but quite frankly you start drifting off and once the talk is over you don't remember a thing about what the presentation was about or the point that was being made. Or maybe you have been in one of those company motivational speeches given by the CEO that leaves you feeling more flat than inspired. Well it is most likely that these people could have benefited from reading "Made to Stick" by Dan and Chip Heath, two brothers that decided to look into what makes ideas stick and memorable in peoples minds. Their research uncovered some interesting ways to make ideas sticky.

Sticky ideas are those ideas that have certain traits that allow us to recall the concept or meaning very easily. Dan and Chip describe them as ideas that are more like velcro in our minds, they attach themselves at many points in our neural network and as such it makes them more memorable and easier to recall later. They go on to outline what they call the SUCCESs steps to making an idea more sticky. SUCCESs steps refer to:

Simple

Keep the idea simple, people don't remember many items at once, so get down to the core of your message

Unexpected

Adding something unexpected helps you remember it, it makes it more notable in your mind if you suddenly have a twist in your idea.

Concrete

Make something tangible. Put the idea into the real world, remove abstraction.

Credible

Adding a authority or anti-authority to an idea gives it authenticity and makes it valuable

Emotional

Bringing an emotional element to the idea makes it impact people at a deeper level

Stories

This is last in the list but really it is probably one of the most important elements of a sticky idea. Adding a story element makes the idea spreadable, easier to remember and start to take on a life of it's own.

This list is a really nice summary of making ideas last and have value to those that come across them. Of course one of the immediate things that stands out to me is how these steps, are very applicable to not only presentations but also to marketing and branding efforts for companies looking to create a deeper connection to consumers. These steps are really about anything that needs to have a lasting impression on others. Whether that is employee orientation, a charity fund raiser, or a teacher giving a lesson on biology.

One final interesting part of the book didn't get much attention but was worth mentioning was how to UN-stick an idea. Of course most people want to get ideas inside peoples heads. What to do when you want to change someones ideas, the example might be some bad publicity around a product that people now associate with the brand. Their suggestion is to make an even stickier idea to replace the current one. That might include making a better comparison with a positive spin, or redirecting the public's mind towards a different enemy or goal. 

Sticky ideas are valuable and creating idea virus's or ways to communicate those ideas is a valuable skill to have. These suggested steps help get those messages out there and improve the chances of making your ideas stick. So turn up the lights go back and rethink your presentation or idea, with these concepts in mind, and this time you will more likely create an idea that will stick and have an audience not falling asleep in the dark.

8 principles of effective branding

Scott Bedbury, former VP of marketing at Starbucks and head of advertising at Nike outlines in his book "New Brand World" 8 tenants to building more relevant and resonant brands with today's consumers. Those ideas are a summary of his observations and findings, as he helped these two major brands find their core values and lay the foundation for their future growth. I found the 8 tenants very insightful and some of them align with the book "Buying In" by Rob Walker that considers the branding from consumers point of view.

The principles are:

1. Brand awareness is no longer enough.
No longer is having your voice in the market place and showing your logo enough to establish yourself as a great brand. More important today is having relevance and resonance with your consumers. Rob Walker, talks about how brands today are salient, making people aware it exists, but more importantly they are relevant to their target audience. This is often achieved through customization and creating niche products for small groups of followers. Having a differentiated product is important in helping this cause.

2. You have to know you brand before you can grow it
It is important to know your goals and future vision of what you want to become and where you hope to be. What will you do when you reach you initial goal and how can you measure you success. All these questions are going to help align company people on the path for that growth. Getting down to the core substance and essence can help in decision making, on future projects as the goals are clearly laid out. A brand should stand for something rather than nothing. Having a mantra can help align those thoughts. Nike for example, might be though of as "authentic athletic performance, Starbucks would be "Rewarding everyday moments" and Disney can be " Fun family entertainment". Something that helps establish this is getting to know your consumers, what are their perceptions of you brand, how do they feel towards your brand and what are their burning issues.

3. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
It is important of course that once you establish your brand essence and mantra, that all growth efforts and investments support those ideals. Picking the right partnerships and sub-branding efforts will all support the message to the consumer if played right and aid growth.

4. Become more than the product to the consumer.
Being able to transcend a product is important for brand value, it creates evangelists in your loyal consumers and builds social communities. These are much hard to dislodge when times get harder, or competition more aggressive. Using emotional drives and cultural forces as suggested by Maslow's hierarchy of needs, such as fear, joy, accomplishment, security and love are going to build a platform to place your brand on, that goes deeper than pure economic value. When this occurs people have a deeper investment in the brand.

5. Everything Matters
Everything the brand touches is another point at the which a consumer receives your message. Nothing should be overlooked as everything adds to the mix. The good, bad and ugly parts of your operations and dealings will eventually become an image in the consumers mind when they think about your brand. This should all be expected but handled with care and consideration.

6. All brands need good parents
A brand can be considered a child with metaphorical needs and traits. A brand needs protecting, nurturing, and have positive and enduring values. The brand should become a value member of society as a whole being productive, desirable and welcomed everywhere. Failure to look after the brand will like a disobedient child become unruly , mostly misguided and unwelcome. Like a child creativity should be encouraged and conformity should not reduce the willingness to learn. Often having a parental figure such as a brand steward will help in this brand raising exercise, this can be a CEO or a dedicated brand leader.

7. Big doesn't mean bad
As a brand grows it should try and hold onto the values that make small businesses often more approachable. Having a sense of humor, being humble and friendly. This is very much like the previous point that like a child growing a brand should be a positive experience for all.

8. Future brands will be distinguished by relevance, simplicity and humanity
Brands that want our attention and devotion need to show respect back and this is the long term invest that a future brand needs to employ. It needs to be respectful, have a relevance to a persons inner narrative and goals and be considerate of people as human beings. They have a responsibility to help people and not destroy things for the sake of profit and bottom lines. Failure to keep this in mind, may bring short term profits but will ultimately lead to a disloyal consumer.

Buying In

Just about to finish reading "Buying In - What we buy and Who we are" by Rob Walker. I good read for anyone that is involved in selling stuff to consumers through branding and marketing efforts. It goes further than a previous book I read about consumer traits (Spent - Geoffrey Millar) and how we buy stuff to show off our individual personalities through evolutionary trait display. This book takes a slightly different view that suggest that we buy stuff more to support our internal narrative about ourselves, and not necessarily about showing off to others.

Lot's of great examples and arguments that support the concept. Found it to be an easy read and insightful. Observations of the current consumer space and the issues that today's marketing has to contend with compared to more traditional approaches. I think some very powerful ideas are put forward about branding and how people are not so much resisting branding but more about adopting the concepts and language of branding to support their own internal self fulfillment, as suggested on Maslow's heirarchy of needs.

Branding is a big focus in the book and definitely it makes you appreciate the power of the branding language, and how much is now part of our culture. It is fascinating how it has become something that we can take part in and add to the conversations, rather than resist as Naomi Klein suggest in her book " No Logo". Brands are being embraced rather than repelled by today's consumers and especially among the youth and new start ups. The main take away message from the book is really that consumer behavior today is and always has been about our stories we tell ourselves, it is about who we are and what we believe, branding is part of that story telling process and is being used as such by today's consumers not rejected.

Jung, Archetypes and Branding

Carl Jung, conceived of the concept of unconscious personality types that drive and ultimately become manifestation of ourselves to others in the early 1900's. He perceived of many of these archetypes in the unconscious that represent us metaphorically. I am interested in 12 of the most notable, that are useful when thinking about branding and any kind of product development that goes beyond just functionality but need to connect at an emotional level. The work of Dr. Carol S. Pearson, has formulated these ideas into 12 easy to digest archetypes that fit nicely in the field of personifying brands and consumers.

Branding benefits from these insights by framing the product and service as an extension of these types of personalities. These archetypes can be the foundation on which you build a community of followers or loyal consumers, knowing your target you can better tailor your product and messaging. The most fun part of reading these archetypes I have found is that it easy to begin to think of people you may know that fit one or more of these descriptions and then begin to see think about the products or lifestyles they like to surround themselves with.

Here are the 12 archetypes as outlined by Dr Pearson.

1. The Child - Innocent 

Motivation: Independence & Fulfillment

Motto: Free to be you and me

Goal: To experience paradise

Person: Dolly Parton, Dorthy(Wizard of Oz), Forest Gump, Betty Boop, Ronald Regan

Company: Disney, Coca Cola, McDonalds


Description: Innocent individuals are most fulfilled when their lives are based on their deeply held values and beliefs. Naturally idealistic, optimistic, and hopeful, they often demonstrate perseverance in the face of obstacles and motivate others to trust that everything will turn out well in the end. They’re most excited and challenged by opportunities to put their personal values into action.

Innocent organizations often are successful at ignoring and moving through barriers that would stop others; seeing what’s right in almost any situation; and maintaining faith in their ideals.

Innocent types need to make sure they’re not in denial about real problems that need to be faced, resistant to change/innovation, or too loyal when loyalty is not deserved.

Subtypes include:

•	Idealist/utopian: Lives through belief in the perfect world or a set of ideals
•	Traditionalist: Remains loyal to and maintains faith in simple values and virtues
•	Perseverer: Stays the course and goes “where angels fear to tread”
•	Optimist: Believes in the power of positive thinking
•	Cheerleader: Encourages and cheers on others

2. The Hero

Motivation: Risk & Mastery

Motto: Where there's a will there's a way

Goal: To prove worth, through courage and over coming obstacles.

Person: Lone Ranger, Superman, Michael Jordan

Company: Nike, Fed Ex


Description: Hero individuals are most fulfilled when they can rise to and overcome a challenge. Naturally determined, achievement-oriented, and focused, they enjoy demonstrating a winning attitude and often can motivate others to achieve their goals. They’re usually excited and challenged by the opportunity to prevail against the odds.

Hero organizations normally are very successful at producing consistent results; creating teams and systems that fulfill objectives; and giving their all to achieve a goal.

Hero types need to be careful about seeing others as enemies; responding to stress by working harder and harder; and rushing to action instead of thinking things through.

Subtypes include:

•	Competitor/winner: Energized by overcoming obstacles and competing with others
•	Dragon slayer: Energized by besting adversaries
•	Crusader/rescuer: Emphasizes making a difference for others
•	Achiever: Consistently produces results and succeeds through discipline/focus
•	Coach: Shapes individual or team performance by bringing out the best in others

3. Every Person

Motivation: Belonging & Enjoyment

Motto: All men and woman are created equal

Goal: Connection with Others

Person: Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, Oliver Twist

Company: Gap, Wrangler, Saturn, Wendys


Description: Everyperson individuals are most fulfilled by helping others belong and fit in to the group. Naturally empathetic, unpretentious, and resilient, they often demonstrate their common touch and can motivate others to try hard to do their best. They’re usually excited and challenged when everyone needs to pitch in and solve a problem.

Everyperson organizations often are very successful at providing a sense of belonging and human dignity to others; creating hard-working teams that take pride in their work; and fostering real camaraderie among employees.

Everyperson types need to be careful about playing the victim, becoming cynical and negative, creating an “us vs. them” mentality, and being too protective of their own turf.

Subtypes include:

•	Egalitarian: Believes in the inherent worth and dignity of all
•	Realist: Tries to face the facts as they are, not as she or he wishes they were
•	Communitarian: Seeks and builds community in all situations
•	Comrade/pal: Likes to be one of the gang
•	Democrat: Believes in the concept of “all for one and one for all”

4. The Great Mother - Caregiver

Motivation: Stability & Control

Motto: Love thy Neighbor, as yourself

Goal: Protect people from harm

Person: Mother Teresa, Princess Diana

Company: Campbell's Soup, All State Insurance


Description: Caregiver individuals are most fulfilled when they can make a difference for someone else. Naturally compassionate, nurturing, and dedicated, they enjoy demonstrating their supportiveness and can motivate others to provide better service or care. They’re usually excited and challenged by responding to needs.

Caregiver organizations often are most successful at providing consistent, high-quality service or care; creating stable and nurturing environments; and advocating for others at a very high level.

Caregiver types need to watch their tendencies toward martyrdom and enabling others, and to burn themselves out while always putting others first.

Subtypes include:

•	Supporter/advisor: Lends a helping hand, support, or counsel to others
•	Advocate: Stands up to others on behalf of those in need
•	Nurturer: Provides comfort, kindness, and compassion to others
•	Service provider: Provides consistent, high-quality service or support
•	Altruist: Gives selflessly to make a difference for others

5. Explorer

Motivation: Independence & Fulfillment

Motto: Don't fence me in

Goal: Freedom to find out who you are through travel

Person: Amelia Earhart, Indiana Jones, Christopher Columbus

Company: Starbucks, REI, Jeep


Description: Explorer individuals are most fulfilled when they can seek out new approaches and perspectives. Naturally independent, authentic, and curious, they’re able to follow unique paths and motivate others to explore uncharted territory. They’re usually excited and challenged by the opportunity to blaze a new trail.

Explorer organizations often are very successful at staying current with trends, encouraging individual initiative, and providing others with the opportunity to learn and grow.

Explorer types need to avoid being unwilling to settle down or commit to a course of action; forgetting to coordinate with others; and overlooking the needs of others.

Subtypes include:

•	Trailblazer/pioneer: Sees or scouts for new opportunities/possibilities
•	Adventurer: Emphasizes adventure and/or new experiences
•	Seeker/wanderer: Searches for a unique identity, path, or solution
•	Iconoclast: Places great value on being different and/or independent
•	Individualist: Maintains personal integrity and authenticity in all endeavors

6. Sage

Motivation: Independence & Fulfillment

Motto: The truth will set you free

Goal: Discovery of the truth

Person: Carl Jung, Oprah, Albert Einstein

Company: Discovery Channel, Oprah Show


Description: Sage individuals are most fulfilled by finding the answers to great questions. Naturally intelligent, knowledgeable, and reflective, they demonstrate the value of thinking things through and motivate others to seek the truth. They’re usually excited and challenged by situations and problems that need to be better understood.

Sage organizations often are very successful at developing significant expertise; gathering and analyzing information so that it’s useful to others; and contributing knowledge to almost any situation.

Sage types need to be wary of ivory tower thinking, dogmatism, and coming across as lacking feeling/empathy.

Subtypes include:

•	Expert/guru: Develops own knowledge and expertise to the highest level
•	Philosopher/contemplative: Uses deep thinking to seek and create clarity
•	Mentor/teacher: Shares wisdom with the world
•	Investigator: Researches and gathers information
•	Analyst: Thinks things through and synthesizes learning

7. Lover

Motivation: Belonging & Enjoyment

Motto: Only have eyes for you

Goal: Intimacy and experience sexual pleasure

Person: Rudolph Valentino, Bill Clinton, Klimt

Company: Victoria's Secret, Calvin Klein


Description: Lover individuals are most fulfilled by building relationships. Naturally appreciative, passionate, and committed, they enjoy creating consensus and motivating others to see and utilize their own special gifts. They’re usually excited and challenged by opportunities to enjoy the richness and fullness of life.

Lover organizations often are very successful at building real partnerships among employees and clients; seeing the possibilities for greater quality of life inside and outside of the workplace; and establishing harmonious ways of working together.

Lover types need to be careful about cliquishness, emotional intrigue/drama, and conflict avoidance.

Subtypes include:

•	Partner/intimate: Forms close bonds; finds ways to make others feel special
•	Harmonizer: Ensures that relationships are harmonious and pleasurable
•	Connector/matchmaker: Brings together people/groups who are well suited for each other
•	Aesthete: Appreciates/creates beauty and beautiful environments
•	Bon vivant: Lives life with passion and enthusiasm

8. Trickster - The Fox -Jester

Motivation: Belonging & Enjoyment

Motto: If I can't enjoy myself I don't want to be part of the revolution

Goal: Live in the moment with full enjoyment

Person: Tina Fey, Charlie Chaplin, Robin Williams

Company: Ben & Jerry's, Geico


Description: Jesters are most fulfilled when they can use their ingenuity and wit. Naturally playful, spontaneous, and humorous, they enjoy light-hearted truth-telling and can motivate others to see the value of fun. They’re usually excited and challenged by opportunities to lighten up stressful situations.

Jester organizations usually are successful at brainstorming and thinking outside the box; finding clever ways around obstacles; and having fun while getting work done.

Jesters need to be careful to stay on task when getting routine work done; avoid using humor in hurtful ways; and not come across as being unable to take anything seriously.

Subtypes include:

•	Entertainer: Helps others have fun or a good time
•	Wit: Uses ingenuity and resourcefulness; lives by his/her wits
•	Wise fool: Sees the absurdity/hypocrisy of life and rises above it
•	Holy fool: Emphasizes living life in the now in a Zen way
•	Jovial truth-teller: Satirizes or parodies current thinking

9. Devil - Outlaw - Revolutionary

Motivation: Risk & Mastery

Motto: Rules are meant to be broken

Goal: Revenge or Revolution

Person: Che Guevara, James Dean

Company: Apple, Harley Davidson


Description: Revolutionary individuals are most fulfilled when they can change something that they feel needs to be changed. Often unconventional thinkers who can develop new, cutting-edge approaches, they enjoy challenging the status quo and motivating others to think differently. They’re usually excited and challenged when they can take on tried-and-true methods or ways.

Revolutionary organizations often are very successful at developing truly radical ideas, products, and services; leading reform of all kinds; and/or serving as the contrarian voice in debates.

Revolutionary types need to be careful about coming across as reckless, shaking things up endlessly/needlessly, and becoming stubbornly oppositional.

Subtypes include:

•	Troubleshooter: Sees problems/drawbacks/defects in current ways of doing things and determines how to improve them
•	Radical/rebel: Lives/thinks outside the bounds of conventions and/or takes action or risk without waiting for others to agree/catch up
•	Challenger/contrarian: Questions the tried and true; presents opposing points of view
•	Populist: Believes in the premise of giving “power to the people”
•	Game-changer: Initiates radical innovations that change the rules of the game or the realities of the marketplace

10. Magician

Motivation: Risk & Mastery

Motto: It can happen!

Goal: Knowledge of the fundamental laws of the Universe, how things work

Person: Martin Luther King, Escher

Company: Calgon, Mastercard


Description: Magician individuals are most fulfilled when they can see a vision realized. Naturally intuitive, insightful, and inspiring, they’re able to perceive and appreciate multiple perspectives and motivate others to believe that anything is possible. They’re usually excited and challenged in times of great transformation and turmoil.

Magician organizations often are very successful serving as catalysts for change; turning problems into opportunities; reframing difficulties; empowering people, teams, and networks; and creating flexible, win/win solutions for all involved in a situation.

Magician types need to ensure they don’t use power manipulatively, don't expect miracles to save them when things get rough, and lose patience with those who aren’t as visionary as they are.

Subtypes include:

•	Catalyst/change agent: Sees opportunities for change or provides impetus for innovative transformation
•	Envisioner: Sees possibilities and develops a clear vision of the future
•	Healer: Effects individual or group healing
•	Intuitive: Uses synchronicities/hunches/serendipity to set a course
•	Wizard: Has a talent for unexpected, serendipitous results

11. Ruler

Motivation: Stability & Control

Motto: Power is all that matters

Goal: Control

Person: Alan Greenspan, Queen Elizabeth I, Hilary Clinton

Company: Microsoft, Mercedes, American Express

Description: Ruler individuals are most fulfilled when they can demonstrate leadership, orchestrate complex situations, and/or use their influence to make things work better. Naturally confident, competent, and responsible, they enjoy demonstrating their savvy and motivating others to maintain high standards. They’re usually excited and challenged by opportunities to take charge of a situation.

Ruler organizations often are most successful when they can make decisions that benefit others, use power to create positive outcomes, and make order out of chaos.

Ruler types need to be careful about dominating others, getting bogged down in policies and procedures, and becoming overly hierarchical or political.

Subtypes include:

•	Leader: Takes charge of people/situations; takes responsibility for the good of others
•	Powerbroker: Uses power/influence to get things done
•	Conductor/orchestrator: Directs complex systems/processes/structures and/or creates order
•	Role model: Sets standards for others to follow
•	Peacemaker: Finds common ground among disparate individuals and/or groups

12. Creator

Motivation: Stability & Control

Motto: If you can imagine it it can be created

Goal: Creating something of value

Person: Martha Stewart, Edison, Leonardo Di Vinci

Company: Crayola, Lego


Description: Creator individuals are most fulfilled by seeing new ideas take shape. Naturally expressive, original, and imaginative, they enjoy demonstrating their inventiveness and often are able to motivate creative thinking in others. They’re usually excited and challenged by opportunities to express themselves or advance new ideas. 

Creator organizations often are most successful at developing distinctive, original products and services and/or innovating new solutions or expressive means.

Creator types need to be careful about overloading themselves with constant new projects and a tendency toward perfectionism. 

Subtypes include:

•	Artisan: Gives expression to visions/thoughts/ideas
•	Innovator: Generates ideas for new approaches
•	Inventor: Devises objects or ideas that perform new functions
•	Builder/designer: Makes new forms/objects/processes/structures
•	Dreamer: Envisions ideas and sees the world through an imaginative lens

Branding is a longterm investment

Liked this quote on branding from an article on Yves Behr found here he also puts forward an interesting idea of being invested in the companies you design for, especially start ups. It is good see recognition that some great companies have had dedicated often amazing designers heading up the vision, for example Jonathan Ive and Apple as well as Dieter Rams with Braun.

The Work Is Never Done

Creating a brand, of course, isn’t a project with a beginning, middle, and end. There are myriad decisions to be made over time, and it requires constant vigilance--if the creative leadership changes, it’s all to easy for the message to drift. "You can’t do good work on a short-term contract," says Behar. "You need to be engaged over a period of time."

Retailing an Experience

In an article found here IDEO turns it's focus on retail and the future of the physical store. So much talk these days is about how brick and mortar stores are disappearing and becoming obsolete with the rising of internet purchases and consumer shopping habits. As this article suggests in is probably very premature to assume that that consumers are completely over physical stores and transactions. People like to connect with people and from a branding stand point and engagement with consumers the store still leads the way, and probably won't be replaced anytime soon with a digital alternative. So what things should be considerations for the stores of the future? This the article goes on the explain, is where a store needs to evolve to the new needs and expectations of consumers.

Considerations include.

Design stores that are more than places to buy stuff.
People still visit stores, people still go out at weekends and shop around, even if they ultimately do not buy from the store they are wandering and touching real products. Stores can use this to their advantage, making casual browsing, enjoyable, the goal should be brand experience.
Employ brand enthusiasts
Today more than ever, people share their opinions about things they buy, people love reviews and ratings. Stores should be hiring brand enthusiasts that are like evangelists to the products. These are people that care about the products they sell and want others to join their joy in ownership.
Target existing users of your product
People that are already consumers of your brand, have most likely bought into the dream and vision. Building in-store experiences that focus on education, trials and membership to these users of your product are going to build longer term relationships, and advocates. It's much more about open relationships than before.
Make shops into R&D labs
If one thing differentiates a physical store from a digital store it's the physical face-time with the consumers. This is an opportunity to speak directly with people and gauge honest feedback on new initiatives or products. This allows the physical space to become a feedback loop directly with customers.

Nice article and some interesting value adds to physical stores of the future. The internet has certainly empowered the consumer, but really people still want those physical interactions and feelings of belonging that brands promote, these ideas are definitely inline with those thoughts. These future stores could add huge brand value and loyalty, and I think Apple stores already show the way and how well it works.

The art of story telling and branding

This promotional video from Dunhill, that shows one of it's cases being made by a master craftsman, is testament to the art of storytelling and the resulting perceived value it brings to an object. This video apparently raised the sales of this case by 500% within 2 weeks after the video was shown. Even if this isn't true, the video has a huge emotional story attached to it that raises the brand awareness and definitely makes it more clear why this case costs $3,200. 

As you watch the detailing and swiftness that this master craftsman goes through as he assemblies pieces of material and carefully sews them together, you are taken back to a time when all things were made this way. You are reminded that somethings are taught and handed down from master to apprentice, over years of study. We see the difference between hand crafted versus production line automation, the value that human touch and detail can bring to an object. It is in perfect alignment with the brand of Dunhill in this instance, a company that was first established in 1893 as a saddlery business, which then progressed to motor cars and now covers all kinds of men's leather luxury goods, as well as, timepieces, fragrances and clothing.

The power of this marketing piece lies in the unwritten, or spoken story that forms in your mind as you see the case come together. This is not only a strong way to tell a story relying heavily on the visuals, but leaves a lasting impression. The value of the item goes up because you imagine how hard and difficult it must be to be so exact. Suddenly you are compelled to want one and buy into the story. So now the case now has something more valuable than the just the name it has a history, that goes back generations.

A very nicely put together piece, and a story well told that does wonders for the Dunhill brand, I definitely wish I could afford one.

Watch it here. or Below