Brand of the Decade Pt. 1

That’s right.  Doctor Emmett Brown.  If his career as a hairbrained inventor didn’t work out, he would’ve made a perfect marketer.  Reason being that sales and marketing is all about bringing the future to right now.  Consumers live in the present; they only know what they know.  It’s the marketers job to help those consumers see what their lives would be like in the future if it included ___________. (fill in the blank with your product/service/brand)

When you constantly live in a different time as those around you, you forget that they don’t know what you know.  Around our office, we refer to what Dan and Chip Heath call the Curse of Knowledge.  As they put it in their book, Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has ‘cursed’ us.  And it becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others, because we can’t readily re-create our ‘not-knowing’ state of mind.

At Matchstic, we deal with it on several levels, two of which are:

• Helping organizations understand how fixing their branding problems will bring focus and clarity to all levels of their business.

• When giving presentations, helping clients understand how this brand identity will live in the real world, and not just on a piece of paper or in a photo of the “real world.”

But the challenge remains the same to us all.  Try to forget what you know.  Put yourself in the shoes of the other person.  Think like they think.  Try to remember what they don’t know.  Make it easy.  Walk them through it step by step.  Get out of the future and back to the present for the sake of them.  Afterwards, you can go back to the future.

(full disclosure: Back to the Future is my all-time favorite movie, so anytime I can find an analogy that fits with it, I am very happy.)

My wife visited the at&t store to get a new cell phone since hers died. The website said we were eligable for an upgrade so we thought great! She walked in and up to one of the service people who looked “super busy” texting. She said “my phone is broken, can I use my upgrade?” He said sure, all you have to do is pay the $18 upgrade fee and then the price of the phone (roughly $150 low end). Julie said forget that wondering how is this “upgrade” was any benefit to her. Then she remembered we needed to cancel our home phone, also with at&t, which she figured she would go ahead and do now. Turns out they don’t do that there. In fact you have to call a number and literally beg someone to cancel. Defeated and frustrated she left only to realize that her cell phone still didn’t work, so how was she going to call.

Why is customer service so under valued by big faceless companies? Why is it so hard to do right? Experiences like these leave a such a bad taste in your mouth which otherwise could have been great. And it’s only a matter of time before you spread the word to your friends. In this case a word of disappointment.

Marty Neumeier writes in Zag, “Every brand is built with experiences, whether the brand is a company, product or a service and whether it serves individuals or a buisness. The key is to craft those experiences so they create delight for the people who determine the meaning and value of your brand – your customers.”

In the same book he also writes, “Every brand is built by a community. Not just a community of people inside the company, but it’s partners, suppliers, investors, CUSTOMERS, non-customers, even competitors. It’s a complete ecosystem in which there are gives and gets all around. Everyone has a role to play, and everyone should be repaid for thier efforts.”

People need people, brands need people. Good will is good buisness.

Our good friends at Sixthman, brought us “on board” to help develop the brand for their newest partnership cruise, VH1’s Best Cruise Ever. Included in our efforts were brand strategy, naming, logo design, print collateral, and the website design. A big initiative like this always leaves a trail of materials from our process, so I thought I’d collect some add some thoughts and share. Enjoy!

Concept:

Imagine everything awesome about VH1, then imagine it on a cruise for 4 days and nights with endless activities, so much so you’ll forget to put on sunscreen.

First Execution:

The first approach we tried was an illustration based design that would allow us to be a little more whimsical and playful, but we felt it took away from the simplicity and humor of the sunburn concept.

Second Execution:

The second approach was a photo shoot with an everyday Joe as our model. We didn’t want Billy Blanks or Xena the princess warrior, we wanted average. Someone who really would forget to put on sunscreen, you know, that guy. After we received the photos we tried various treatments, including a body covered in sun burnt type, but kept hanging on to this idea of simplicity. Below are some of the executions:

Final Solution:

We ended up on a version with only the logo burn mark and all the type set into the box in the bottom right. This version also allowed us to “swap” the background whenever needed. A TV Spot might have a setting sun, a web banner might have thousands of people packed onto the deck of the boat, or the festival poster might have the simple blue for ample room for autographs. The version below also includes the retouched final model image.

Logo

The logo was a simple stencil, used for the blocking of sunburnt chests, with an added Rock N’ Roll hand. Our goal was to make it translate easily into merch and lower back tattoos.

So, as Danny Bonaduce would say, What do you think?

Your house is on fire. You only have a brief second to grab one thing and get out of the house. What do you grab?

Brands are the same. You only have a few seconds to say one thing; What are you going to say?

Message clutter is a brand killer, and we all fall into it’s trap. “But my company offers so many great things, I can’t highlight just one, besides in this market you have to diversify your product offering to survive”, that’s a likely excuse, and that has some validity, but facts are facts. If you say three things then you say nothing. Our minds only have the capacity to retain small bits of information (poor feeble minded us), so to standout your brand has to own one thing and one thing only.

One thing is all you get. Say too much and the fiery house comes crashing down on you.

Here are some messages that come to mind for existing brands:

• BMW= Ultimate driving experience
• Mercedes= Luxury
• Hulu= Free TV
• Enron= Cheater cheater pumpkin eaters
• Obama= Change
• Skittles= Taste the Rainbow

Your turn, What are some others?

“Comfort is the enemy of greatness” – Todd Henry, Accidental Creative

The process of naming a company is incredibly emotional and difficult, especially considering it is arguably one of the most valuable parts of a brand. It is uncomfortable (at-least it should be). Great names are always different and sometimes challenge us to go against the grain of our friends or colleagues advice. Why? Because most people gravitate towards the familiar, to what’s already out there. You do have to respect their motives, they simply want you to be safe. But what’s safer? A forgettable vanilla name that blends in or something mnemonic and distinct with potential? It’s easy to come up with a bland name that pleases everyone, but it’s hard to be different.

We are rereading one of my favorite books here and I came across this great check list from Marty Neumeier’s book, Zag, on a good brand name. They must be…

1. Different than the competitors (I would possibly clarify as “radically different”)
2. Brief- four syllables or less
3. Appropriate, but not so descriptive that it sounds generic
4. Easy To Spell
5. Satisfying to pronounce
6. Suitable for “brandplay” (it has legs to run)
7. Legally Defensible

He also continues with, “A poor name is a drag on the brand building process, but a good name accelerates it”.

A good name merely sets up a brand to be distinct and memorable; it serves as a platform for success, not a constraint, and rarely an explanation of meaning.

What your favorite brand names?

Or better yet, what are the worst names you’ve ever heard?

When was the last time you were asked for “your card”? Or you gave one away? If you’re like me it’s few and far between.

It seems like today business cards are dying a slow vaporizing death (like Marty McFly in Back To The Future), along with several other print meda in our iPhone/ Crackberry age. It makes total sense. Why do I really need a small piece of paper with your contact info on it? In 1995, before the “you-twitter-face” era, I might not ever see you again. Our brief encounter lost in the passing by happen chance of the ages, but that’s not necessarily the case today.

I can easily add you to my contacts, send you a FR (friend request) on facebook, follow you on twitter, or go old school and send you an email. Will I really ever meed your direct contact info?

Maybe, but lets be honest, the real value in a business card is the impression you leave in the mind of the recipient. It’s a great way to build the perception you want for your brand. So the question is, what kind of impression are you leaving? Are you leaving one with 3 phone numbers, 2 faxes, a tagline, mission statement, brand promise, national accreditations, car make & model, highschool yearbook photo, and your favorite Proverb?

Instead, maybe you should simply leave someone thinking? Maybe it simply challenges? Inspires? Starts a conversation?

Maybe your message is printed on a steak (there is actually a new process to do that). Not the most sustainable message, but I guarantee pulling a rib eye out of your pocket will start a conversation.

It’s hard to do something different and break the norm. Real innovation happens when you don’t just accept the way things are, but challenge them.

What are some of the best business card ideas you’ve ever seen?