Future Brands

How are Brands and Nationality related?

Is the future brand going to be about experience and not about consumable products?
(instead of BUY ---> PRODUCT ---> FEEL, it is going to be about BUY ---> FEEL.)

Facebook is selling feelings and notions like companion, gossip etc.

(PRODUC)RED example

(from wikipedia)

Product Red is a brand licensed to partner companies such as American Express, Apple Inc., Starbucks, Converse, Motorola, Gap, Emporio Armani,Hallmark, Microsoft, and Dell. It is an initiative begun by U2 frontman Bono and Bobby Shriver of DATA to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Each partner company creates a product with the Product Red logo. In return for the opportunity to increase their own revenue through the Product Red products that they sell, a percentage of the profit is given to the Global Fund.

Product Red has been criticized for not having an impact proportional to the advertising investment, for being much less efficient than direct charitable contribution, and for having a lack of transparency with regards to the amount of money going to charity as a percentage of every purchase.

Don Ryun Chang - Place branding

Don Ryun Chang is a designer, brand strategist and professor at Hongik University in Korea.

In one of his lectures on place branding, he mentioned some interesting facts that involve a more

interactive and outgoing form of branding, focusing more on feelings and people.

- Design must be relevant with contemporary issues, and branding is a holistic media 

communication approach, and not just a corporate issue.

- "Brand", as a word derives from norwegian language. It means "burned". (I the past people used to

mark animals or object with burned stamps, in order to identify them.)

- When the city of Bilbao had financial issues, in order to get out of the crisis it had to transform

itself to a cultural Mekka. That is when the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao was built.

- Corporate experience can be part of a city's tourist experience. For example in New York,

retail shops like the Apple store and Abercrombie&Fitch have become tourist attractions.

So, is it possible to create a corporate experience into a cultural one?

- Media coordination can be a key factor for successful branding.

- The co-existance of the old and the new in an urban environment can be described

as cultural / identity sustainability. The new must not overpower the old. Both need to interact.

(In terms of human relationships, Facebook must not overpower actual human contact.)

- Can a platform be created so that people tell their experiences about their home town?

Interactive Brand Platforms

Ji Lee is a New York based designer and the current Creative Director of Google Creative Lab. His experience in advertising has not limited his work to strictly corporate projects. His work at Google is accompanied with personal project. According to him, the "golden section" between professional and personal project is what makes his experience as a designer "awesome". He was responsible of the "Bubble Project", where he started attaching plain comic style talk bubbles on billboards and advertisements all over New York City, inviting the public to write whatever they thought in them. It was like a bridge of communication between the corporate style of the ads, and everyday people in the city. The reaction was immediate, allowing the project to become global. According to the project's manifesto, the bubble stickers aim at "transforming the annoying corporate monologues to open public dialogues." Facebook and other social networking websites helped to make this whole "guerilla" concept more widespread.

The bubble project became an international brand and some of its characteristics could be used in conventional branding. Once more the simple reactions of the public releases the real need for humor and interaction with whatever is being communicated in the streets of our cities.

Another interactive example is demonstrated by Google. Google Maps recently launched a customization service within "My Favorite Places" where famous celebrities share their city preferences. There is an option as well that allows famous celebrities to configure anyone's iGoogle homepage according to their own templates.

So, a brand that allows communication and open conversation with the public, attracts the consumers' attention. A brand platform that allows people to participate (in the creation of movements or even products), makes the actual brand truly powerful. It is the designers' job to investigate and incorporate the public's everyday communication and participation needs into successful brand platforms. The result will not be short-term profit, a long-term loyalty to a consumer friendly superbrand. 

 

White Label Design Platform

www.artistichub.com

Possible Hypothesis

This thesis presents the hypothesis that branding can benefit from customizable templates, also known as "White Label Designs" (i.e. Facebook, MySpace, etc). Such templates will expand the boundaries of traditional branding, by making the public more emotionally involved with products and brands. Such a hypothesis could introduce a new form of brand, that will not represent specific products and services, but will transform and evolve itself, according to the financial, social and emotional needs of its consumers.

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This thesis presents the hypothesis that in the future, brands will not represent specific products and services, but will be constantly evolving, according to the financial, social and emotional needs of consumers. The public's tendency to customize products and services, using White Label Design (i.e. templates like Facebook, MySpace, etc) already shows a need for emotional involvement with brands. Such a hypothesis suggests that in the near future, traditional brands will be replaced by invisible "brands in motion".

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With the evolving technologies of the past 15 years, the public shows a tendency to customize. We have the option of customizing our Facebook profiles, our insurance plans, our clothes, our food. The more options a brand offers, the more flexible and desirable it becomes. If a brand can customize its products, it offers the consumers a lot of options. But if it can customize its product line, then the options are unlimited. Brands will become evolving stories. Not only we will be constantly asking "What's next?", but we can be the ones who determine it! Brands will need to evolve and even mutate. They will be story-smithing.

Post Modernism Marketing - Emotional Branding

(Ideas from Marc Gobe's book, "Brandjam")

Design is not only about aesthetic excellence. Designers nowadays are needed to accomplish an emotional connection between people and the products they consume. Through researching feelings we create ideas that reconnect the business world to people's subconscious desires.

"When you leverage design as an inspiration for your brand language, you also invite consumers to redesign their expectations."

The modernist approach to branding was influenced by the rigid forms and values of the industrial revolution (machinelike simplicity, smooth surfaces, no ornaments and decorations). Brands were "elitist" and "uncompromising". In todays economies, stimulation and change is a key factor. Leading brands have embraced cutting edge design. The consumer public has raised its brand expectations. It needs more stimulation and emotional involvement from a brand. We have moved to a post-modern approach, that cries for "evolutionary" and "innovative" brands.

If we are living in a world of movement, even the words we use have multiple and unfixed meanings. Brands and objects as well. Meanings are being created by people, not by designers.("Designers propose - Consumers dispose") Design need to further become less dogmatic and more about lifestyle and pleasure. Human experience, interaction, individuality and freedom of choice are the basis for a successful brand.

Is "white label design", giving the consumer the choice of customization, and thus more freedom, more interaction and more "human touch"?

Brands need to "revive their exhausted, overly familiar offerings", and connect with cultures to reach peoples hearts.

The term "Globilization" in the 80's, meant "standardization". In other words, brands represented a uniform product, that was sold all over the world, "only with a few changes" in marketing strategy. On the contrary, today we see a "hybridization - personalization" of brands worldwide.

According to the author, one of the aspects of "brand jamming is "to recognize a transcultural expression..."

We are have a tendency to transform old things to new, to refresh them. The "make-over" trend is seen in plenty TV shows. Adding new style to old goods. We are starting to get tired of old formats. People are starting to do that their own way. They are starting to customize, always putting their own lives first. "Service industries must provice comfortable, convenient accommodations for the living habits of individuals.

Brands in the future - alternative branding strategies

Can a brand be invisible?
Can it be taken so much for granted and so much a part of our lives that it has become invisible?
Is the invisible brand a brand that doesn't "scream"?

Can it change its target group or products every year? (Bic Corporation today has diverse product line, from pens to shavers, and from hosiery to water sports equipment).
Or simple represent products in order to communicate an idea.

"What's next?" must be the consumers question on that brand.

Will the aspirational brand exist in the future? Is the aspiration factor keeping a brand alive?

WHAT WILL THE BRAND OF THE FUTURE NEED TO STAND OUT?

According to The Branding Strategy Insider Blog, the characteristics of the future brand will be:

Building emotional connection will be key

Brands will focus more on creating/engineering the total customer experience

Customer-relevant innovation will be a key success factor

Outstanding customer service will also be a key success factor

Hiring the right employees and creating the appropriate culture will be essential

More and more, brands will co-create the customer experience with the customer

More and more, brands will need to "stand for something" to survive

Strong brands will not only "stand for something," they will also provide forums for people

who believe in what the brands stand for

Organizations whose employees become consultants to and friends and partners with their customers will be the most successful

One-on-one marketing will become more and more important

The Internet will also become increasingly important as a brand building vehicle

For larger organizations, customer relationship management (CRM) will become a critical success factor

Fast, flexible and agile organizations will increasingly "win" in the digital age

With the explosion of virtual and morphing organizations and ever-changing business alliances, the brand essence and promise and the organizational culture may increasingly be the only elements that create a sense of "entity" for organizations

The viral spread of information will increasingly expose organizations for what they really are - integrity and consistency will be key

Managing "buzz" will be an important brand management activity

CEOs will become increasingly involved in brand strategy formulation

Organization mission, vision and core values will increasingly be formulated along with brand essence, promise and personality (for organization brands)

An increasing number of organizations that have grown through mergers and acquisitions will significantly simplify their brand architectures and reduce the number of brands in their portfolios

More and more people will come to understand what brands are, what they can do and what they can't do.

Fewer people will have a blind faith that strong brands can solve all organizational problems

aspects of invisible design

In her Applied Arts Magazine article "Making Design Invisible", Christine Moog points out several aspects of the fact that the digital era is slowly transforming design to an invisible discipline.

- Digital design can be an ephemeral discipline (i.e. a website or on-line animation can be altered or disappear with a click of a mouse. The temporary nature of the medium provides a constantly morphing platform on which to explore ideas.

- Hard copy materials, such as books and magazines, even old fashioned CV's, will become extinct since on-line material offer information without actual substance.

- The same happens with music. A downloaded music file comes without a CD, packaging, branding or typography.

So, design is becoming more and more invisible. Electronic templates, interface design, multimedia and gaming programs are all elements that have made design more invisible than ever before. A series of transparent steps and processes have occurred from this automated reality. But according to the author, what seems as a threat, may lead designers to new paths and directions. In a digital world where our attention span is limited and the aesthetic part of design is becoming invisible, designers are challenged to catch the audiences eyes with alternative aesthetic and conceptual tools.

I also believe that there is another aspect to invisible design and that is white label design. Some interfaces, layouts or even products have such a simple or "boring" look to them, as if they were not designed. Still they are practical and very useful. Facebook for example has a basic template, that becomes alive through customization. The world famous Bic lighter; we take it so much for granted, but its simplicity, practicality and the fact that it can be disposed and replaced, have earned it a place among the worlds design masterpieces. Is invisibility a factor of good design?

interactive design / interactive branding

Some years ago, some claimed that interaction design would be the new creative frontier. As pervasive/extensive computing has invaded our everyday lives, we have been experiencing a new digital reality. A lot of technology available to us, though, is often wasted. To much information and to many tools sometimes become "unfriendly" to use. If only technology was used in a more human way. "It is not enough to be useful and usable. It has to be used. And that is what we mean by interaction design".
Digit is a design agency in London, England. For the past 5 years, the people at Digit have adopted an interactive approach to design, they call "FEED". It is a fusion of ergonomics, psychology, user experience, HCI and programming. It simply aims at using and interacting with new technologies in a friendlier way, within a more human perspective. The six key principles of the "FEED" approach are:
1. ORDINARY: Simplicity and minimalism in design and in the information tools we use, like menus. For example, the iPod wheel is so simpler and closer to natural human movement than the multiple buttons and keys of previous mp3 players.
2. PHYSICAL: Physically involving the user/client/consumer in a digital activity through movement, sound, etc. "Involve me and I will understand".
3. PLAY: Since emotions matter, interaction with any device or online service has to be fun.
4. SURPRISE: Again, give emotional satisfaction with a final, "hidden" element.
5. REWARD: Feedback and an answer to the question: "Am I doing this the right way",
is necessary.
6. FLOW: The flow and the dynamic of a digital process has to be consistent in order to transform the whole experience to a relationship with the brand.
(information from the article "Feed Me Now" by Simon Mottram and Daljit Singh, Creative Review / February 2005)
Brands nowadays are trying to become more interactive. Will the brands of the future experience the need to "mutate" according to fast changing people's needs?

A brand of luxury

On a similar level, we see the example of a Greek entrepreneur, interested in the idea of luxurious living and consumerism. He re-designed and re-branded an everyday “humble” product: the olive oil. To this day he retails on-line, and the sophisticated packaging and graphics provokes feelings of exclusivity. So, the interesting parameter of underground brands is that (unlike conventional brands that “attach” lifestyle ideas and an atmosphere, to existing products) they use a lifestyle idea, an aura or a statement as a starting point, and create products or services to communicate that. It is not about the product. The product is the medium to communicate an idea.

underground brands - branding the outsider

The interesting parameter of underground brands is that (unlike conventional brands that “attach” lifestyle ideas and an atmosphere, to existing products) they use a lifestyle idea, an aura or a statement as a starting point, and create products or services to communicate that. It is not about the product. The product is the medium to communicate an idea.
The creation of underground brands and the tendency of "branding the outsider" is not new. Many brands have started out as being small family businesses with vision, but at the same time authenticity. Branding has evolved them in "household names" and of course profits have risen.
Cosmetic companies like Kiehls and The Bodyshop have followed the same path, with the later having endangered its credibility, authenticity and public trust.

New Starbucks ad campaign

"The coffeehouse chain is putting up new advertising posters in six major cities. To further spread its message, it is trying to harness the power of online social networking sites by challenging people to hunt for the posters on Tuesday and be the first to post a photo of one using Twitter."
The brand is becoming more interactive, and even more involved in the everyday lives of its followers. Because Starbucks is Starbucks, and coffee is just coffee, the coffee retailer is aiming at selling the whole Starbucks experience, elevating its beverages to a level above McDonalds and other high street coffee brands. The text filled ads give the impression that Starbucks is serious "has a lot to say"about coffee.

consumerism - we are what we buy

" The grand edifice of brand-name consumerism rests on the narcissistic fantasy that everyone else cares about what we buy" from the NY Times

web advertising and the creation of instant strategies

Wall Street data analysists and math geniuses move towards the advertising agencies of Madison Avenue, in order to adjust strategies almost instantly! Instead of one "Big Idea", ad agencies are testing more strategies and taglines for their clients products on-line. Data analysts can identify which one is visited or read more. So, a branding or marketing strategy can be adjusted immediately. Branding will face a breakthrough, faster pace and will become more adjustable to the needs of the market.

branding the underground

(images from print magazine, June 2009 issue)

attention vs distraction

We are experiencing a “digital” reality, with all its elements (from vast Internet portals and search engines, to e-mail, 3G cellular phones and social networking). Scientists and anthropologists have come to the conclusion that the modern human has developed a difficulty in focusing in one activity! The distractions of our everyday lives are so many, that they have shorten our attention span. Has our lifestyle and the way we receive visual messages and information, become overloaded, too fast for us to handle and inhuman? We have created a wired environment, filled with so many "tools" of communication and information gathering, that it has become difficult for us to focus on one thing. Are we multitasking or permanently distracted?

The first "iPhone designed" magazine cover

With the computer established as the ultimate design tool, and the “decline” of paper usage in visual communication, experimentation with new mediums continues. If a designer can now create a print ad, a logo or a magazine cover, simply using the famous iPhone, imagine what a future art director can achieve, in terms of speed and practicality.

Logos are becoming more human / interactive

Branding has starting to become more human. As a result, there have been changes in the way designers and marketing executives approach logos and corporate identities. Taking as an example the new “refreshed” logos of companies like Wallmart, Discovery Channel, Kraft foods, Cheer and Sysco, we are witnessing that corporate visual identities nowadays are becoming “warmer” and “fuzzier”. Curvy, organic shapes, lowercase letters, warmer color pallets, green “environmental” details and three dimensional effects, that create the illusion of movement, are some of the elements that show that companies seek to re-brand themselves as more “human”, sensitive to the public’s needs and caring towards the consumer. The financial recession has affected the visual result as well.

work samples (digital)

website for "Regalia" store



motion sketches

work samples (print)

poster / print ad about deforestation in Greece



poster / print ad about deforestation



print ad for a "Fakes & Forgeries" art exhibition



spreads of car brochure



complaint management brochure (for an insurance company)



corporate christmas card



print and subway ads for designer dinnerware



poster/brochure, voter registration card and currency of an imaginary city



print ad / user NISSAN cars promotion ("november" in greek, written with car parts)



ideas for covers of cd collections (cases)