All posts tagged: branding

The Secret to Uncovering Great Insight

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The 1968 classic film Powers of Ten directed by Charles and Ray Eames depicts the relative scale of the Universe in factors of ten. Every ten seconds we view the starting point from ten times farther out until the galaxy appears as a speck of light, following this, the camera moves inward, with ten times more magnification every ten seconds. Not only is the cinematography beautiful and technically brilliant, the film offers valuable insight that can be applied to all aspects of our life and society. How is this film relevant you ask? As Tim Brown notes, “it is a wonderful reminder of one of the most important principles in design – reframing the question.” In the digital age, the need for marketers to be creative is more important than ever. We live in an era where consumers are constantly bombarded by advertising messages and marketers from every direction are vying for consumers’ attention. To exacerbate the issue, our attention span has been reduced to a mere 9 seconds. Given this cultural landscape, in order to …

What’s your Story?

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The most successful brands are born from a compelling story. One of my favorite TED Talks of all time is by Simon Sinek on “How great leaders inspire action”. During his talk, he sheds light on a very interesting, yet often overlooked insight: “People Don’t Buy What You Do, They Buy Why You Do It”. Simon Sinek posits that inspirational leadership and successful brands start with the golden circle. Contrary to popular belief, companies should start by asking the question “Why?” (their story and core beliefs) instead of “What?” (their product or service). Indeed, if companies start with the “Why” and focus on their story first, they will win over the hearts of consumers. Planet Smoothie is a great example of a company who identified it’s “why” from the get-go and whose success is largely contingent upon their desire to share their story. The Why? Planet Smoothie was born in 1995 in Atlanta. The founder created Planet smoothie with the mission to revolutionize and “change the way the planet eats” with smoothies, supplements, snacks and smiles. The How and …

Kraft gets Krafty with Smartphone App

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Our lives are becoming increasingly digital. With mobile now accounting for approximately 10% of our media consumption, our phones are occupying a more central role in our lives. In response to the steady rise of mobile usage, marketers are allocating more of their marketing budgets to mobile. Whilst it is certainly true that mobile is a marketing gold mine, many marketers fall into the trap of assuming that mobile marketing is limited to display ads and text messaging ads.  This is simply not the case. I personally find display ads and text messaging ads to be intrusive, disruptive and uninteresting. The moment I see an unwanted text from a brand, I automatically switch off and lose interest. What many marketers have yet to realize is that the true potential of mobile marketing lies in apps, not ads. The beauty of branded apps lies in the fact that consumers don’t perceive them to be advertising. People use apps for a variety of reasons – for entertainment, functional, or social purposes. Whatever the reason is, one thing …

If you can Dream It, you can Do It.

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Effective storytelling touches hearts, fascinates and moves audiences. In the context of marketing, storytelling plays a critical role in the art of branding. A compelling brand story holds the power to emotionally engage consumers; creating a meaningful connection and resulting in unwavering brand loyalty. In my opinion, no discussion of storytelling and branding is complete without mention of the Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney Company is the master of storytelling. The company was founded upon a story so powerful that it continues to drive what they do and underlies why they do it. As a child, Walt Disney loved sketching cartoons. When he returned from serving as a Red Cross volunteer in World War I, he decided to dedicate his life to making cartoon motion pictures. With his heart set on pursuing his dream, in 1920 at the age of 19, he started his own company drawing cartoons of the creatures from his childhood. However, his journey to pursue his dreams was fraught with challenges. Upon starting his own company, Disney never had quite enough to eat, struggled to …