Outside in thinking. Clients hire us to provide objectivity. Either their communication is not working or they don’t have any communication at all. If their communication/website isn’t working then their positioning is wrong or they don’t have a clear position or strategy.
During initial meetings, our clients will provide useful background about their product or service, where they’ve come from and where they’d like to take the brand. This is what we call inside out thinking.
We provide outside in thinking. What does the customer think about your brand? How do your distribution partners perceive your product and pricing alongside your competitors within your category. Does the company have a clear and concise pathway. The objective of growth isn’t good enough. Everyone wants to achieve growth. We look for the gap. The opportunity which too often eludes a business because of the obvious limitations of inside out thinking. You may know what your competitors are doing but we look for what they are not doing.
The rise and fall of every successful brand. Many businesses are content with their success. They’ve claimed their stake. Positioned themselves well. Developed brand awareness. But exponential growth levels are rarely sustainable. Inevitably sales will plateau. So the marketing people look to broaden their base. Along comes the line extension. And with it the beginning of the end of the brand focus. Our strategy is different. Narrow your focus. Grow your market share by being stronger in your category. Or look for divergence. Find the gap and create a new category. Then own that category and let everyone else try and compete.
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What is good design and how does it work? Good design is simply design that is appropriate to the brand objectives, compelling in its content and engaging. If you involve your audience in your message then you have achieved memorability! Why is so much design and advertising meaningless and forgettable? Because these few simple rules are often ignored by award-hungry creatives who think that strategy is the enemy. How often is the true meaning of a brand message lost in abstraction, leaving behind any frame of reference, point of difference or reason to believe?
When I studied design in NY, I was fortunate enough to spend time with design overlord Milton Glaser. When I asked him how to become a better designer he told me to study Anthropology. The fundamental role of the designer, he went on to say, was to engage the audience in a thought process and in a (visual) language that creates meaning. I refer to this as creating Brand meaning.
What meaning does your brand create? Which category do you own? If you don’t own the category you’re in does someone else? If they don’t then seize your rightful position before your competitor does. If you live in a highly contested category then what is your divergence opportunity? Find the gap. Narrow your focus. Create a new category and create new meaning.