Spending a week in an unfamiliar culture, like sub-Saharan Africa, being primarily trapped and working out of our hotel, by Saturday I was craving a real authentic Kenyan food experience, and Oh boy did I get one...

Yama Choma from matchstic on Vimeo.

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A great brand has a knack for solving a great problem. How many times have you seen people laying all over the airport trying to catch some sleep? When Blake and I were traveling back from Kenya we had a few hours to spend in Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. I was blown away to find a great concept there serving those tired travelers. The Yotel.

Find a problem, figure out how to solve it, and build a great brand around it.

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I have a dilemma. You see, as a rational, Earth-dwelling person, I care about the environment. But I also love cars. Put those two together and what you get are depressing visions of a world filled with soft, bubbly hybrids and electrics.

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"Different." "Simple update." "Change." "Like Apple." "Just..." "I don't like that color." "Innovation." These are just a sampling of the types of words and phrases that get thrown around the branding table. The antidote? A central component of the branding process - The Big Idea.

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I saw this new commercial for Expedia.com over the weekend. The commercial itself was actually pretty cool but they've changed their logo. Instead of the tooney yellow plane flying around the globe, it's a white jet on a circle with a blue gradient. The memorable "dot cooooom" at the end has been re-recorded too. Instead of the barbershop quartet, it sounds more like a women's ensemble from church.

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I'm not a big fan of opera, but I am a fan of the MET's logo. Simple, memorable, smart, flexible. When they went through their rebrand back in '06, it was said to have been "an initiative of the Met’s new general manager, Peter Gelb". This is always where a great brand begins.

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We live in a brand-obsessed culture, where we are often defined by the labels to which we are loyal. But for over two decades now, there's been one company that has built quite a devoted following despite flying under the radar and more or less avoiding the turbulent brand wars.

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As Blake mentioned, he and I are in Nairobi, Kenya this week working with some great folks who are doing very important work in the field of Microfinance. We arrived Sunday night and spent the first day getting acclimated to the new city, the time change, and getting to know the people that we would be working with all week.

One of the first questions we were asked by the founder of the organization was "Why did you take on this project?" I am not sure I have ever been asked that question by a client, but it was a great one and really made me think. Outside of the fact that their need could be filled by exactly what we do, I answered by describing why we wouldn't have worked with them.

I told him that we wouldn't have taken on the work if we weren't able to come over here, get to know the organization, the culture in which it resides, and build a real relationship with the staff. Without that, we wouldn't be able to get real insight and ultimately do good work that will help solve the issues at hand. We can't compromise and ultimately risk wasting someone else's hard-earned money.

It made me think about how important it is to know the things that allow you to do great work. And to stick to your guns. Don't back down even if it means you might lose the project.

The willingness to say no will define you more than the willingness to say yes.

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Microfinance is a movement revolutionizing the continent of Africa, and we are partnering with one of the leading training organizations to develop a strong brand identity.

Kenya Day #1 from matchstic on Vimeo.

For more on Microfinance, visit here

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