Better ways of working part two

Continuing from the last post, here's some more of the stuff I rambled on about at VCU.

#4  Give your brand a point of view.

Richard has talked a lot about this as well.  Successful brands today are built around having  strong point of view on the world. A point of view that comes from within.  Points of view, as Rob Cynic pointed out, they'll go to war for.  They're powerful because they tend, more often than not, to ignite conversation.

There's a great quote by Simon Woodroffe the founder of Yo Sushi that sums this up:  "What you stand for in the 21st Century will be every bit as important as what you sell."

The twist to add to this is to give your point of view on the world not just your category.  Brands have to be humble and play a realistic role in people's lives because at the end of the day brands and ads are a pretty insignificant part of the greater scheme of life.  It's about having a social mission, not just a commercial proposition.  Brands that get this - brands like Dove, IKEA, Target, Wisk, Method - are the brands that are exhibiting real momentum today.

#5  Use media and technology as a strategic weapon

I'm a firm believer that the most stupid thing that we have done as an industry is to separate media from creative.  It's our job to help re-unite them.  'Media' ideas can be incredibly effective.  This is a great example I stole from a presentation by Tim Williams :

Using new technology can also make communication more effective.  HHCL realized this in the early 90s when marketers feared people may fast forward through your ad on their VCR:

And Butler Shine have done some great outdoor for MINI that celebrates its owners through the use of a chip mailed to owners that allows them to be recognized by billboards:

# 6  Stop focusing on 'what the advertising should say'

99.9% of agency briefs are all about what the advertising should say.  This is less important than how the advertising feels or what you as a brand actually do (especially in the era of google transparency).  After all, 95%+ of communication is non-verbal yet we tend to focus 99% of our time on what we should say.   Thinking about how the advertising should feel drove  effective work like  Cog for Honda and  Escape The Sofa for Reebok.

But perhaps in this era of transparency of deed, doing is perhaps the most powerful form of communication to change behavior.  Thinking about what communications can do has driven a lot of very successful work for Nike (Run London/Nike+) and the Tate, be it the 'how to view' posters/leaflets or the quite brilliant Tate Tracks:

And this doing is generous in nature.  It invites you in.  As Dino posted the other day great brands now build eco-systems for others to prosper from. And this is one way of many brands can do that.

Final posting on this ramble tomorrow.

Comments

[Adrian Lai]

Gareth,

I'm digging these posts. Looking forward to the next installment.

[melissa walker]

cheers to media/creative as seperate thoughts being one of the worst things to happen in this industry

[Chris]

I am loving the soup/cold medicine picture. It is extremely effective and requires no text to explain it.

Great blog

Chris
www.threerooms.com