This year we've had the privilege of working with the Atlanta chapter of Entrepreneur Organization (EO). EO is a dynamic, global network of more than 7,000 business owners in 38 countries and is the catalyst that enables entrepreneurs to learn and grow from each other, leading to greater business success and enriched personal lives.
Next Monday, Caribou Coffee is going to launch it's new Brand Identity. It contains a hidden coffee bean, more scripty font, and "C" in the antlers as well as changing the secondary color from black to brown.
I love the Olympics. Something about seeing the world united and playing games together is just awesome. I stayed up late Friday night to watch the entire opening ceremony (yes, midnight is late for me: I have 2 little kids who wake up at 6:30am whether I like it or not). During the ceremony I was so struck by all of the country flags...
This is a phrase that we say a lot around our house. In our daily work, we're given the privilege of helping organizations build a brand. Their proverbial "flag". It's easy for us to get excited and wrapped up in "our work". But at the end of the day, it's not about us at all. It's about the people we work for.
About a year or so, we released what we call the Field Guide to Designing Brand Identity. This concept has come up on several conversations as of late, so I thought it might be good to revisit. The basic idea: there are two directions to take when designing brand identity: the Shotgun or the Sniper.
Historically money and power were achieved through the acquisition of land. If you owned a lot of land, you could produce as much as that land would allow. And it was yours to keep until you decided to sell. No one could come and take your land. The path to compete with the guy who owned a ton of land was steep and seemingly unachievable. But we live in a different age...
I talk about brand identity a lot. Every day. Discussing all of the strategies, elements, tactics, and tools involved in building a great one. Yet it still doesn't stop me from being affected by it all. If I was a magician, I would be less affected by another magician's tricks because I would know what they're doing behind the scenes in order to make it happen. Not the case with brand identity.
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.
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.
This is my last post of the year. What a year it has been. A year of ups and downs. A year of scares and a year of innovation. In the six years of Matchstic, never has one been close to this. We've grown more and learned more in the past year than in any other before it.
- scott fuller