Emotive branding: the path to meaning

Earlier in our October Brand Series, Jill interviewed Elle Moss from Drew Creative to get her scope on what a brand actually is. Something she said really got us thinking; that what it is, is emotion. Not a logo and colour scheme, and just not customer experience or perceptions, but emotion.

On that interesting and thought provoking note, we’ve got something very exciting for you this week. We are exploring this idea of emotive branding in depth. And we could think of no better way to start off by asking Emotive Strategist at Emotive Brand, Jerry Holtaway to share about brand emotion and some of his extensive experience in branding strategy for consumer, business and service brands with us.

Here’s what he had to say:

Emotive branding is based on the premise that great things happen when B2B and B2C brands connect meaningfully to the people vital to their success. At Emotive Brand, a San Francisco based brand consultancy, we have developed a discipline and methodology that quickly sets brands on the path to true meaning.

We came to focus on meaning when we noticed the remarkable performance of a handful of notable brands: Virgin, Apple, Zappo’s, Ikea and Lego. They are remarkable because the way they do business truly changes the way people regard them and how they behave as a result.

These are brands that get people to queue up to buy their next product. They manage to attract and keep the best employees. Partners and suppliers compete for their business and brag about their association with these brands. Strong brand advocates tell compelling stories about their brand experience and satisfaction to their friends and families. Positive stories about the brand pervade the press and social media channels.

The keys of meaning

Clearly there was some “magic” that these brands held – over and above the good products and services they sold. We deconstructed these notable brands and  found the keys to meaning.

The first key of meaning opens the door of personal relevance. Open that door and you connect to the beliefs, values, and aspirations of people. You do this by making people aware of your reason for being – your “why”. You make clear to people what you do in this world to make their life better. When people sync with you on that level they find their relationship with you highly relevant.

The second key of meaning opens a door called emotional importance. Open that door and you connect with people on a very personal and upbeat level. You do this by consistently evoking a set of feelings you want to have associated with your brand. Through these feelings, you reach out and touch people in a new way that makes them feel special. They are drawn closer to you and attach greater importance to their relationship with you.

With the doors of relevance and emotional importance open, meaning flows from you to the people vital to your success – and then back again. That’s because as your brand becomes more and more meaningful to these people, they change the way they behave. Because you’ve reached out to them in a meaningful way, they respond back to you in a meaningful way.

How we put this thinking to work

We start by helping our clients formulate a “Driving Idea” that articulates their reason for being in a human and motivating way. It serves to inspire all the people behind their brand, from those developing new products to those answering calls from customers. We also help our clients identify a concise set of feelings which we call their “Emotional Space”. Together these keys of meaning form what we call the brand’s “Emotive Core”.

We then figure out how to bring your Emotive Core to life as our clients interact with the people vital to their brand’s success. We analyze how these “brand moments” can be made more meaningful when seen through the lens of the brand’s Emotive Core. We look for opportunities to conveying greater personal relevance and evoke feelings that promote emotional importance.

Over time, as more and more of our client’s brand moments generate meaning, their brands seriously distance themselves from their competitors. Indeed, meaning translates into success across a range of business measures.

Will it work for a B2B brand?

The examples we cite are consumer brands because everyone tends to know of these notable brands and can readily see how they use meaning to be different and how being meaningful builds their business. But we believe every brand can benefit from this thinking – especially B2B brands.

Why? Many B2B brands struggle to differentiate themselves and bring people closer to their brand based on business as usual. Having said that, B2B brands have many significant “brand moments” which can be made more meaningful through emotive branding. Its simply a matter of shifting the way you reach out to people.

For example, we recently did an emotive branding project for VMworld 2010, the world’s largest virtualization event, through which our client VMware reached out to the virtualization community in a meaningful way. You can read about this meaningful brand moment here: http://tiny.cc/vmworld2010

For more information about emotive branding, contact Tracy Lloyd, Partner, Emotive Brand, tracyl@emotivebrand.com

Massive thanks to Jerry Holtaway. You can follow Emotive Brand here, check them out here, learn from them here and connect with them here.

Brand Series: Drew Creative on brand

By Jill Ruthenberg

This first week of our October brand series, we’ve asked a few experts to tell us their take on brand.

First up I got to speak to Elle Moss, founder of Drew Creative Branding.  They are a rather cool and very successful branding agency and creative partner to Wisdom London. Drew have worked with clients such as Nokia and Sony, but they are also the masterminds behind the Wisdom London brand.

What we love most about them is their robust approach to the branding process, married with a mission to “find the beauty in everything” in their creative work.

I caught up with Elle last week, who was kind enough to share some of her branding wisdom with me. Here’s branding according Elle and Drew Creative:

Elle, what is a brand?

“A brand is somebody’s first impression of your organisation. The minute someone sees your website or the packaging on your product, they form an opinion and that opinion has to be the right one. Customer loyalty is all about building relationships so getting that first impression wrong it can be very damaging.

“But don’t think of brand as a mark, or a logo. The brand is the product, your employees, your website, your advertising, your customer’s experience with your company and product.

“You must tell a story. It gives us an idea about what the company and brand and product is trying to do.”

Why is it so critical to business?

“We liken the brand identity to the concept of Commander’s Intent – it’s the commander’s stated vision which defines the purpose of an operation, and the desired end state that serves as the initial impetus for the planning process.

“Every member of the battalion knows exactly what the objective is, so even if all but one are killed in the line of duty, that one still knows exactly what his mission is. In the same way, developing a clear brand story and identity provides the framework for any activity, and for anybody to understand and to stick to”.

How do you ensure this is achieved?

“We use a formula with every brand in order to clarify what the essence of the brand is. It’s not a secret formula – it’s been around for years, and it is useful for any type of business, but you really need to understand it for it to be useful:

• Describe the product: Clarify your product offering
  
• What can you do for me?: Establish the benefit to clients
  
• How does it make clients look to others?: What will your offering mean your client’s clients?
  
• How does it make clients feel? What can they can be sure they’re getting?
  
• Facts and figures: Who, what, where?
  
• Character: List a few words to describe personality
  
• Define the ‘it’ in three words: Boil this down into three words that sum up your brand story

What’s the ultimate goal of doing this?

“It’s to create something to aspire to. To create something that becomes so indispensible, something that clients have such an affinity to that they’d evenforgive you if they have a bad experience with you (but of course you do everything to make sure this doesn’t happen).

“Companies cannot take their brand for granted. Strategically, to skip getting the branding right is naive and damaging.

“What it all adds up to is emotion. What you want to create is emotion.”

Talking to Elle helped shape my views on brand. I think when it really works though is when your brand promise, identity and personality is communicated so well that not just your employees live and breathe it, but your customers do also. A brand can be something to believe in, an experience, and a story – but the thought of a brand as an emotion: there is so much potential in that. Great brands create emotional connection; they aren’t just honest – they are trusted, engaging and intimate, their product doesn’t just fulfil needs, the experience they provide fulfils desires.

It’s easy to see this in B2C – but as we come to expect a more emotional connection and become more social as consumers in general and no matter what we are consuming, how does this translate into B2B?

These are some of the questions we’ll be exploring throughout October as our brand series continues.  Stay tuned!

2010 is Year of the Agency

After a dark and uncertain 2009 for the marketers and communicators of this world, it seems that 2010 is fast becoming  the year of the agency.

Why?

Lots  of reasons (not least that we are very, very busy), but perhaps for the most part it’s the sense of confidence and  renewal that is seeping back into business of late. Yes, it’s been tough, businesses have been kicked when they’re down, squeezed for results and margin but it’s time to reframe, reassess and get back to it.

It’s back to business, but not as we know it. It’s clear that clients have had to reassess their engagement of agencies in the past few years – not just for financial reasons, but in terms of accountability and changing business needs too.   And relationships between client and agency, I think it’s fair to say, are looking a little different these days. (That’s a good thing).

There’s less of the clunky, transactional retainer business. There’s more action, spontaneous activity, experimentation and collaboration. Business demands more of us agencies and right now, we’re in a great position to deliver.

Here’s why:

We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto

The world (and therefore consumers and business) is changing pretty quickly – just look at the communications landscape.  We’re shifting to touch-screens, UGC, social conversations and a personalization. It’s hard for businesses to keep up with what that means in terms to how they market. They still have core business issues to address.  But it’s the job of the agencies to know it, follow it, shape it and use it.  And that’s what’s happening right now…

Bring back Pick ‘n’ Mix…

Pick ‘n’ Mix at Woolies was popular for a reason: You could decide, control, help yourself to what you wanted and when.  And you paid only for that.  Same with agencies.  There is an array of marketing and communications brilliance out there to choose from – in the shape of full-service players, niche agencies and some outstanding freelance experts.

Many organisations out there have had marketing resource cut, leaving generalist expertise and less of the specialist and technical stuff.  Agencies are still, in the main, the best way to get flexible, cost-effective expertise.

Talk costs nothing, but is worth a lot

Us agencies talk to each other.  We’re not afraid of competitors, they way that some businesses are.  We social network, ask questions, challenge, share ideas, meet up, introduce people and …yes, collaborate.  That’s why we’ve got our fingers firmly on the pulse of what’s happening, who’s doing what and what’s working.  That’s worth something.

Of course, I’m generalizing.  There are plenty of agencies out there who are not all of the above, who are cumbersome, insular and over-priced. But there is a whole load of brilliant talent out there… go take a look and see.

Check out some of my favourite thinkers and collaborators:

www.wearesocial.com

www.drewlondon.co.uk

www.napoleoncreative.com

www.brightone.org.uk

www.uscreates.com

Kate Spiers is CEO and Founder of Wisdom London (NOT one of the rubbish agencies)

Brand communications (your secret weapon)

 

This post was first published in March but to round off the final week of our Branding Series, I’ve dusted it off and present it to you once again, in case you missed it first time.  I feel so strongly about brand communications – such a critical part of the brand’s personality, style and promise. A brand’s messages and the way they are presented, from the language used to the choice of channels, is critical and a genuine opportunity to differentiate.

But to get it right, a brand needs to know who it is, and who its audience it – and to pitch their communications perfectly.

When you think of brands you love, trust, admire, aspire to and welcome into your daily life, what do you think of?

Most likely it’s a series of logos or visual ideas, but stay with the thought a little longer and you’ll probably find that it’s also a series of emotions (could be as mundane as feeling reassured, might be exhilarated, intelligent, cool), maybe along with tastes, smells and sights – and possibly memories too.

A logo or visual identity alone doesn’t engender these reactions – it’s about the brand promise, product and communication style that’s wrapped around it. It’s what makes that brand speak directly to me and you.

Brand communications = really important!

You probably see where I’m getting to by now: I think brand communications are really important. They’re so important that they massively influence what we do at WL. But they are often overlooked in favour of the (traditionally more sexy) design elements, brand strategy and so on.

But by spending time on your brand communications, you’re embracing an opportunity to connect with your target market on an even more meaningful level. An authentic tone of voice that suits your brand and really speaks to your audience adds an additional layer of brand personality and value. Consistent messages that reflect your brand promise add strength to the visual proposition. Adopting a lexicon in common with your audience draws them in, creates intimacy and allows you to develop a way of communicating that’s distinct, direct and genuine – especially if you adopt complimentary platforms and channels from which to communicate.

More than a logo

Consider the success of Innocent Smoothies, for example. Their cute behalo-ed icon is not the reason for their brand strength. Neither is their undeniably accessible and popular product. A large part of the appeal is in how they interact with their audience, bringing a human voice to a mass-produced product, appealing to our sense of humour, desire to belong and to generally feed good.

Take their ‘Join our family’ proposition – the concept is inclusive, the invitation is offered in a familiar and er, innocent. And that’s how they communicate.  Of course we know that above all they are doing this to make money, but it appeals because it’s consistent, stylized and distinctive.  Take away the visual imagery and you’d probably know who’s talking. They have also embraced web, social media and face-to-face (like their Village Fete) as channels to enhance that style of communication. The point is, you know what you’re buying into. And that has surely made diversification into snack foods (à la veg pots) an easily viable proposition.  Ditto Virgin, who’ve been able to achieve a similar feat with really consistent communication styles, no matter what the product is – from music to planes to trains to cola.

B2B’s need to get in on the act

And this principle doesn’t only fly with consumer brands. I could argue that it’s equally, if not more important, in a b2b scenario. I’m not saying it’s easy, or even the same process as for consumer brands.  But if you believe as I do that people do the buying and companies simply pay, the logic follows that a consistent and reliable brand message makes the buying decision a heck of a lot easier. The brand premise is reinforced by the way brand speaks to you, and reinforces the idea of a self-assured and positive brand that knows where it’s going.  It’s worth some thought – ideally a lot of thought.

Here’s the free bit!

Ask yourself:

• What makes your brand different / better? If you had to distill it down to a few key words what would they be?
• Now think about your brand’s way of doing business – is it in a formal, advisory capacity, collaborative and egalitarian, strictly supply / demand?
• What particular value does your product or portfolio offer? What emotions does this value engender?
• Who is your market? How do they communicate and what is their communication style ?
• Consider what your core lexicon would be: What language can you use to convey those values, propositions and the emotions that you hope to engender?
• Now take a look at all the ways in which you communicate – from your web to social media platforms to printed matter, presentations, packaging…are they aligned?

I could talk about this for ages.  But I won’t.  Got you thinking, though? Call me or mail me if you want to talk about it some more!

Kate Spiers is CEO and Founder of Wisdom London, a communications consultancy specialising in communication strategy, brand communications and digital communications.