The importance of “Brand”
In today’s marketplace a great product/service with an average brand will be outsold by an average product/service with a great brand.
May 25 2010 | Brand Development, Business, Design | No comment
Brand vs Branding
To us, there is a big difference between “Brand” and “branding”_
One is the emotional pull, the other is the logical application of pushing it out_
We see these words banded around a lot but quite often the meaning of them is misunderstood_ It is all intertwined but its amazing how many companies go straight to the end products like websites, packaging (the branding) without working out their brand value before they start_ We know your “brand” is not your logo, and we would say it’s also not the physical applications of things like websites, packaging, etc but it’s the things you can’t always see, like personality, integrity, passion – the things that bring the elements like the website, brochures to “life”_
So please before you fill the world with more junk, please spend some time working out what it is that’s going to bring your products to “life” and you know what, you may find people spend more time reading your brochure, think more positively when looking at your website and it might result in less business cards and mailers being filed immediately in the bin!
March 3 2010 | Brand Development, Business | 1 comment
Brand vs Logo
This is always an interesting point to get across to new SME clients or start-ups_ When we first mention brands to them we usually get a reply like “Oh, if only you were here two weeks ago we could have used you, but our brand is sorted thanks”_ So being inquisitive souls we ask them to discuss their brand and the reply is usually along the lines of “It’s at the printers”_
Now brands are like people_ They have character, personality and values_
So how can this be at the printers?
Oh, I see, what they mean is that their new logo (corporate identity) is at the printers_
How we look at it is like this, imagine if you were to put a lonely hearts ad in the paper, or online, if you put “GSOH, energetic & professional” these are emotional qualities, the BRAND_ If you put “brown hair, plays sport, wears black” these are physical attributes, the LOGO_
Now based on common or easily recognizable patterns from our past experience and understanding we associate certain emotional qualities to the physical attributes, hence why some people can’t distinguish between the two_ And you can also see why your logo is an important part to your brand development, but can you also see why your logo can change without your brand values changing and visa-versa_
And like people, brands take time and interaction to be understood, to be loved and in an ever crowded world, they often need to do something wonderful to be noticed_
January 12 2010 | Brand Development | No comment
Brainstorming
We’ve just finished reading an interesting book by Professor Richard Wiseman called :59 seconds Think a little, Change a lot_ It’s about scientifically proven advice over misleading myths, on which a chapter is on brainstorming_
Now from our experience from working in some large advertising agencies we’ve found group brainstorming to be nothing more than the so-called non creatives to have a go at it and what we found was one person would become very loud and shout out “ideas” and the other account directors would follow like sheep without questioning the offer or actually looking to solve the problem, and for the majority of the time we found it a waste of time_
Then 1 hour later, and for some reason its always an hour, we would come out of the meeting with this idea dropped on our laps and we would then mention the problems of executing the “idea” and the original problem we sort of haven’t solved_
But the majority thought this was good so we had to be wrong, right?
Well from the research for this book they tested individual and group brainstorming and were amazed to discover that in the vast majority of the experiments, the participants working on their own produced a higher quantity and quality of ideas than those working in groups_ Other research suggests that group brainstorming may fail, in part, because of a phenomenon known as ‘social loafing’ – a diffusion of responsibility_
In short, a large body of research now suggests that people using group brainstorming may have inadvertently been stifling, not stimulating, their creative juices_ When working together they aren’t as motivated to put in the time and energy needed to generate great ideas, and end up spending more time thinking inside the box_
At blankzero we’ve always worked initially on our own to brainstorm and only come together afterwards to discuss the ideas and see if there are any obvious flaws or problems we will need to overcome before we present to our clients or to use it as a spark to create a new line of thinking_
