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A glimpse into the

quality of our thinking.


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4Thinking

In the pages that follow, you will gain a glimpse

into the quality of thought-leadership we have here

at FutureBrand as the bloggerati in our network

of employees share trends and technologies,

observations and predictions, reflections and insights,

across a gamut of branding, innovation and design.

You’ll be rewarded with not just a wealth of

knowledge that enriches your decision-making

ability to bring tangible bottom-line benefits to your

business, but also an understanding that the inherent

power of creative strategy and expression is what

transforms brands and fuels peoples’ relationships

with brands, through loyalty, attitude, belief and even

a cultural identity.

and take your time to savour the feast of information

contained within these pages.


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5

The brands of the future will help

you consume less

Why Branding is not Advertising,

and Advertising is not Branding

Iconography in Branding: The

importance of getting it right

Driving brand performance

through creating desire

How hard is your brand

management tool working?

Managing v#content –

Owned brand and consumer

brand management

Five things all brand managersshould know!

The power of the inner crowd:

Building brands from within

3 brand lessons to learn from

#fitchthehomeless

Top 10 brands “twentysomethings”

cannot live without and why

American spirit in brand

identity design

Tackling the war for talent

Lessons in mobile marketing

Managing resistance to change

Partnership Branding:

A growth strategy

When humans – not tech, are put

at the centre of the experience,everyday problems get solved

The NINJA Generation and how

they’re changing the world

4.

10.

14.

20.

24.

28.

32.

38.

42.

46.

52.

56.

60.

66.

70.

74.

Innovation sparks… innovation?

By 2014, your postman could

be an astronaut

The hi-tech weddings of the future

Disconnect to reconnect! –The 1.0 holidays of the FUTURE!

In the future, our home will be

a Fashion accessory

In the future, we’ll go back to school

without schoolbags, but we’l still be

making pasta necklaces!

Ebb & flow: How maps and big

data can help us understand how

diseases spread

FutureBrand at Tent London 2013

Cannes 2013 – A post-modern

approach to creativity after 60 years

FutureBrand wins prestigious CLIO

award for American Airlines

Corporate Philanthropy:

Now more than part of the agenda

Davos 2013: How companies can

create a better future

The 22nd century will be the African

century (and other predictions)

Future Brilliance! New brands

for Afghanistan and the world

ONE way to change the world

Congratulations Solar Impulse

78.

82.

86.

88.

92.

96.

100.

104.

108.

112.

118.

122.

130.

126.

134.

138.

142.


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6 Thinking

“Instead of trying to blindly

increase penetration and frequency, future brandswill help consumersunderstand how muchthey consume, and what

this means for their health,wealth and happiness.”


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7

The brandsof the futurewill help you

consume less

by Tom Adams

Right now, companies get by through

pushing more and more stuff we don’t need.

But with data and personalization, they

might earn our loyalty and dollars by giving

us exactly what we do.

It is an article of faith in mass marketing that more

consumption is good. Marketers focus on increasing

penetration and frequency – selling to more people,

more often – as ends in themselves, and research

consumer attitudes to everything from packaging

design and pricing to the position of products on

shelves to do it. Brands help them to do this more

effectively by making things attractive and easy to

identify and playing on unconscious desire.

So we quite often consume more than we need of

the wrong things, which wastes money, time, and the

world’s resources. For example, it is estimated that

Americans throw away 20 pounds of food per person

per month, restaurants in China throw away enough

food to feed 200 million people a year and we send

hundreds of millions of mobile phones to landfill

annually. Not just that, but potato chips and sweetened

drinks, among other convenience foods, make us

more fat than any other products. So unthinking massconsumption, and the brand marketing that drives it, has

to change before stuff runs out and we end up floating

around in hover chairs like the future humans in Wall-E.


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8Thinking

What if brands were able to help us

consume less, not more?

In the future, brands will still sell dreams, but will

also provide tools for a better reality. We have the

technology today to track exactly what we consume,

when we consume it and how much it costs –

individually and collectively. Branded products and

services are increasingly connected, as are the people

that use them, so individual brands and the companies

behind them can learn how they are being used.

Retail banks now offer services that allow you to trackyour history and see exactly how you have spent your

money, which provides an unprecedented level of

insight for the banks and builds customer loyalty. Fitness

ecosystems like Nike Fuelband and Fitbit track and

share your levels of physical activity on a real-time basis.

Insurance companies have been offering telematics to

peg premiums to actual usage for years in car insurance.

Major organizations now report exactly what

environmental and social impact their manufacturingprocesses and products have on the world – from CO2

emissions to waste and use of resources. And the major

global retailers that provide most of the things we buy

every day know exactly what they sell and who to, often

building sophisticated loyalty schemes around that

data. But, as you would expect, they tend to use it to

recommend more consumption to us, not less.

This fragmentation will soon be a thing of the past

and consumers will increasingly be able to join uptheir diverse personal data sources – levels of activity,

spending, location, consumption – to create lifestyle

“As you would expect, brands tend to useour personal data to recommend moreconsumption to us, not less.”

dashboards that provide real-time information on

what they are using, where it is from and the impactit is having on the world around them. I will be able

to measure how many soft drinks I have, how much

sugar they contain, and what this means for my calorific

intake. Combine this with basic measures of health

and well-being – my blood pressure, cholesterol,

weight, family medical history and levels of activity and

my consumption choices will start to be framed not

by marketing, but by a real understanding of how my

consumption affects me and everyone else. Not just

generally, but at the point of purchase and consumption.This data then becomes an asset to the consumer that

they can optimize and sell to service providers.

N i k e F u e l b a n d . < w w w . i n s i d e r . n i k e . c o m >


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Where do brands t into this?

Instead of trying to blindly increase penetrationand frequency, future brands will help consumers

understand how much they consume, and what

this means for their health, wealth and happiness.

My favorite pizza brand will know how many times

I have enjoyed its meat feast this month and let me

know if I should try a healthier alternative when I

reach my pre-agreed limits.

Instead of allowing me to overspend on my monthly

mobile phone tariff every month, my mobile brandwill calibrate my bill to my actual usage in real time,

reducing as well as increasing the amount I spend

based on personal activity not averages. My gym

brand will only charge me when I use its facilities,

but also find ways to help me exercise more based

on my personal location, levels of activity and health,

as well as connecting me to other members who can

encourage me to visit more frequently – attending

to my overall fitness and wellbeing, not just my hours

using its equipment.

“Loyalty will earn insights and a better

holistic life, not just discounts thatencourage more consumption.”

My favorite retail brand will build a personalshopping cart for me based not only on what I

have bought in the past, but how much food I

have thrown away, whether food is in season and

available from local sources, as well as showing

product alternatives bought by similar customers

who have my desired body weight or health profile.

It will also help me to reduce my household waste

and environmental impact by recommending

products with less packaging and brands that have

a lower carbon footprint.

Loyalty will earn insights and a better holistic life, not

just discounts that encourage more consumption.

My favorite car brand will allow me to access any

model I like when I need it and only pay for the time

I use. And because ownership will shift from me as a

consumer back to the automotive company, it will take

care to fully recycle its machines – reusing the raw

materials that made it to create new cars, rather than

committing them to landfill.


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10Thinking

Less will build loyalty

Brands have always been a promise of quality and

addressing personal needs and this is how they build

loyalty – people want to recreate previous good

experiences and brands help them to do it easily.

In the future, this quality of experience will depend

on helping people to understand and manage how

much they consume, not just offering pleasure,

efficacy and consistency. As they do this, not only will

they deliver the great experiences we want, they will

also help us to reduce waste, improve our health andbe more conscious of the impact our consumption

has on the world around us.

This will make us more loyal to brands, not less,

because we will depend on them as vital inputs

to our quantified selves. And it will make sure that

corporations continue to make money and grow

sustainably by providing things that genuinely improve

our quality of life, rather than just selling us too much

of stuff we don’t need.

Because it costs them more to sell things that are

wasted, and they might find that people are prepared to

pay more for less, saving them money on raw materials,

packaging and distribution that simply are not necessary

– “concentrated” washing detergents being the prime

example in mass market products today.

But the key to this future is the creation and

management of the dashboard itself. Who will we

trust to aggregate this information, interpret it andstore it on our behalf? For example, would I allow

a food brand access to my health or financial

information so it can design better food for me?

The unspoken contract between people and the

brands they love will need to be more explicit – I trust

you with my data and you have my best interests

at heart in return. If you don’t, the contract breaks

down and brand loyalty is broken. The most obvious

candidates for this kind of trust are the current

“Who will we trust to aggregate thisinformation, interpret it and storeit on our behalf?”


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aggregator brands – the search engines, the multi-

brand retailers, the software service providers – brands

that exist to help us get access to multiple products,

services and information, we depend on every day,

and are increasingly personalising their services around

individual customer needs and data.

So what will our future consumption look like?

Supermarkets will deliberately sell us fewer products

in smaller packages. Automotive brands will stopselling us cars and start selling us access to mobility

services. Financial services brands will help us to spend

less money within our means. Soft drinks brands will

sell us fewer sparkling beverages. Insurance brands

will charge us lower premiums based on our individual

behavior, not actuarial tables. All in the interests of

building the loyalty that comes from being understood

and not trying to manipulate us into using more

than we want or need. And one brand will bring it all

together to drive the balance.

The question is, which brand will you choose to do it?


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“A brand is used in

business to differentiategoods or services fromeach other and to helpcreate associations inthe minds of consumers

which lead to awareness, preference and ultimately,choice or purchase.”


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13

Why Branding isnot Advertising,and Advertising

is not Branding

by Chris Nurko

As the Super Bowl in the United States fades from

memory, and clients pay their bills for the mega-

spend on their ads (estimated by the AP to be $4

million for 30 seconds and exposure to an audience

of 112m viewers), it seems an appropriate opportunityto remind everyone why Branding is not Advertising,

and Advertising is not Branding. I want to make it clear

that I am not “Advertising bashing” ; in fact I am a huge

advocate of Advertising in all of its forms as both a

strategic and tactical means of creating effective brand

interest, awareness, desire and sales. However, unlike

the proverbial “chicken vs. egg” discussion, Advertising

is only effective if the brand and its strategy have

been established first and it is subservient to the brand

strategy at all times. As the debate rages over what the“best” or “most effective” ads were for the Super Bowl –

my question is, which brands used the Super Bowl and

Advertising to the greatest effect for their overall Brand

Strategy? Before I can answer that, let’s just be clear

about what the difference and relationship is between

Brand Strategy and Advertising.

Branding 101 – defined. Branding is the term for a

company, product or service that can be recognised by

the following key ingredients: a unique name, a uniquelogotype/marque or visual identity, and a distinctive

value proposition or “offer” . A brand is used in business

to differentiate goods or services from each other and

to help create associations in the minds of consumers

which lead to awareness, preference and ultimately,

choice or purchase. Brands are strategic assets that

on their own or across a portfolio, help to create

customer loyalty and advocacy thus generating apredictive model for future income. By measuring

brand choice (today’s sales, market share, loyalty, etc.)

a brand’s owner can project future sales with a degree

of certainty and thus value. This future value of a brand

is thus dependent upon a brand being both consistent

in terms of delivery and “offer” while remaining

relevant and salient to consumers. A brand strategy

is therefore all about being consistent and ensuring

that existing and potential brand audiences are familiar

with, and interested in, the brand’s offer. Keep inmind, when it comes to brands, consumers expect

consistency and a strong current and future brand

is reliable for its unique and defined set of qualities

and attributes that appeal and sustain a consumer’s

attention. If it is successful, a brand establishes an

image in consumers’ minds that creates awareness

and hopefully a “position” that makes it distinct,

differentiated and desired by the target audience.

In order to remain relevant and salient to consumers,a brand must continually reinforce its “position” (versus

the competition) and build awareness and preference

amongst its audience targets.


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To this end, a brand strategy is the sum total of how

the brand and its physical attributes (identity, product,

packaging, services and experiences) are associatedand identified with a set of emotional and mental

attributes (brand image, values, associations, and

unique selling points) that leads to sales. The brand

strategy is the means by which a brand as an asset

is linked to an offer of value that consumers are

willing to pay for and repeatedly purchase over time

so as to create demand. In this way, a brand strategy

for a company, a product or service is executed

and linked to the financial performance of a brand

owner. In order to be successful, the tools andmethods of how a brand communicates its salience

and relevance must be uniquely determined and

leveraged. This is the Brand Communications Strategy

and it is most often made up of Advertising, Media

or Channel Planning, Public Relations, Point of Sale

and Digital/Social or Direct Marketing. Each of these

communications disciplines must work both on their

own and in concert to create an effective “Campaign”

for a brand. This in itself means that a single theme

or series of messages related to a brand is effectively

communicated to audiences to create awareness,

recognition, preference and ultimately, choice for

the brand. A Marketing Strategy is the allocation of

resources required for a brand to be effective given

sales and marketing challenges or competitive activity.

To reinforce my point, a Brand Strategy must come

before the Brand Communications Strategy and it

must be linked to future sales and growth.

So, isn’t Advertising just the TV Ads? No, the TV ads are

only part of the equation – albeit the most expensive and

highest profile aspect of the medium. Advertising hascome to mean the collective use of all forms of Above

the Line (ATL) and Below the Line (BTL) communications

tactics and disciplines. Advertising tends to be “Campaign”

oriented so as to reflect both the shopping/buying

cycles of consumers in any given year, and it reflects the

product or category innovation development of brand

owners. When these two

aspects are brought together, a Brand Communications

Strategy can be developed. A single “theme” or “set of

messages” are developed based on the Brand Strategywhere the objective is to raise awareness and aid

recognition of the brand and link this to the action

of purchase and recommendation.

A strong campaign helps to promote a brand’s relevance

and salience by tapping into the

consumer’s conscious and unconscious mindset.

Ideally, the campaign’s goal is to help create stronger

associations and interest in the brand, the product/

service/experience or category so as to “position’” the

brand for future consideration and purchase by the

consumer. Advertising that is well conceived and well

executed is the ultimate means of bringing a brand

“to life” for consumers by creating a link between the

consumers’ needs and wants, which in turn drives

purchase consideration and behaviour. Often, the

strongest Ad Campaigns create additional elements

of a brand’s narrative or story via campaign imagery, story

lines, slogans/jingles, mnemonics and

associations (including celebrity endorsements).

Ultimately, it prompts the consumer to choose and buy

the product, service or experience either for the first time

(trial and consideration) or for repeated times (loyalty/

advocacy). If a “campaign” is well integrated and executed

using a brand’s unique and memorable attributes, it

creates additional elements that strengthen recall and

preference, a brand gains in strength. Brand strength

means that advertising not only delivers awareness and

recall (aided and unaided) but consumers attach the

specific brand attributes to the communications which

derive from the brand’s core values, attributes and unique

selling points. A strong brand therefore is able to generate

future growth and value.

P e p s i . < h a l f t i m e . p e p s i . c o m >


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What happens when the Advertising

becomes the Brand Strategy?

Ok, so finally i get to my point! If anadvertising strategy becomes the brand

strategy, a few things can occur:

A brand becomes associated with a “Campaign” and

by its very nature – the “Campaign” begins to take on a

life of its own. This often leads to the awareness beinghigh and recall strong (usually because the campaign

elements become cultural signifiers, mnemonic icons

or vernacular catch phrases) but this often fails to

translate into actual sales or differentiating product/

service or experience benefits. The brand experiences

a spike amongst consumers of media and the client

becomes hooked on levels of marketing spend which

need to be continually reinvested so as to maintain

the brand’s profile. This can often occur with total

disregard to either developing the product or serviceexperience or without truly engaging the consumer(s)

of the brand. The brand either becomes a “generic” for

the category, or becomes invisible as each campaign

becomes “wallpaper” . Often seen in the background

but simultaneously ignored. There are frequently no

discernible or unique aspects to the “ad” and one

could easily substitute any brand for the storyline as

long as the storyline stays the same. Conventional

wisdom also says that when the storyline becomes too

familiar, the audience begins judging the storyline ofthe plot against previous “episodes” or versions of the

storyline – and this results in comments like… “it wasn’t

as good as the last ad”. Forgetting about the brand and

focusing on the ad story is never a good thing.

The campaigns often are characterised by advertising

that is disconnected to the actual product, service or

experience. They become victims to advertising thatplays to either a) stereotypes and archetype narratives

which are category generics (thus not differentiating),

or b) they become indulgent set-pieces in bizarre,

humorous or surreal executions which often leave

the consumer or viewer wondering what the ad was

about and with no connection to the product, service,

experience or brand at all. In many cases, the “creative”

metaphor is one of extreme yet familiar storylines so

that it either “shocks” or “grabs attention” yet fails

to connect with any aspect of the brand that is uniqueor part of the user experience. Often these ads are

funny in the short term, but do they make you go

out and “buy” the product, or feel “better” about

the brand itself?

So, with this in mind… make up your own mind about

the 2013 Super Bowl ads… and use this as a guide

for whether the ads are good for the brand or not.

Hint – if you can’t remember the brand, or there is no

discernible difference between the brand, the productand any other competitor – maybe it’s time to re-think

the Brand Strategy and Communications Strategy link.

Bravo to the brand strategy directors and marketing

teams who recognised the value of putting a strong

storyline linked to brand assets (icons, symbols and

unique attributes) into an emotive promotion. For

these brands, the future is one of stronger recall,

positive associations and reinforced attributes.

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“The iconography of a

nation is representativeof culture, patriotism,history and pride.”


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Iconographyin Branding:

The importanceof getting it right

by Chris Nurko

B a n k o f C a n a d a . < w w w . b a n k o f c a n a d a . c a >

Let’s explore three interesting and topical brand issues

in the news that underscore the power and importance

of Branding, national identity and design and the

powerful role they have in communications. All three

are examples of national identities derived from, and

integral to, the flags of their respective nations.


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18Thinking

Canada and

Currency

First of all, Canada has introduced a new

currency note that uses a maple leaf designas part of the security feature across the

denominations of Canadian Dollars.

The new design includes what has been

described as a “representative” leaf as

opposed to an “actual” leaf (meaning –

a stylised interpretation of what a maple

leaf looks like based on no specific variety

of Maple Tree). However, Botanists and

Canadians are not letting this one get “spun”

– why? Because it does not look like thetraditional native Canadian sugar maple leaf,

but rather looks like an imported species of

maple tree (the Norwegian maple leaf).

One could be forgiven if the differences

were subtle, but anyone familiar with

Canadian symbolism and iconography

knows – the leaves are different and the

sugar maple is the definitive representation

of all things Canadian. So, why and howcould this happen? At the end of the day

(as suggested in the BBC news report), the

role of design is one of interpretation, and

therefore sometimes a designer needs to

take the liberty of interpretation for variousreasons. In commercial enterprise, theatre

and/or entertainment – this is acceptable

and encouraged. However, when it comes

to government, business or any aspect of

society in which a degree of trust, familiarity

or citizenship is involved it is better not

to stray too far from convention. The

iconography of a nation is representative

of culture, patriotism, history and pride. The

symbolism of a flag or coat of arms is almostsacrosanct and needs to be treated with

respect and care, and it needs to be accurate

to previous and historic convention. I would

argue, in the case of currency – that this is a

base requirement. So – kudos for retaining

the maple leaf design as an integral part of

the currency, and embracing technology to

allow it to be integrated as a security feature

(a see through window). However, nil points

for mistaking an imported leaf species or“stylistically blending” the Norwegian variety

with the familiar, iconic and truly native

Canadian sugar maple leaf!

T h e F l a g S t o r e . < w w w . t h e fl a g s t o r e . c a >


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19

Cuba and the

Union Jack

The second example is the report out of

Havana that Cubans are going “loco” for

anything Union Jack. The “bandera inglesa”

(English flag) is a popular design icon for

everything from clothes, to bags, and

tattoos! Technically – the flag is the British

flag (made up of the English Cross of

St George alongside the Scottish Cross

of St Andrew and the Cross of St Patrick).It is officially the Union Flag but in common

parlance is referred to as the “Union Jack” .

But we are splitting hairs… to young Cubans,

it represents a cool design feature which is

now very “on trend” because of the London

2012 Olympic Games. When asked in the

BBC feature as to why they like it or what

they associate it – a young Cuban answers

that because “the country is beautiful, the

people are friendly and the women are

pretty.” Introduced last summer, the effect

of the Olympic Games and the coverage of

London 2012 has had an impact which has

translated into a commercial opportunity

for vendors in Havana. Suffice to say,

the “Cool Britannia” of the Union Jack is

evident around the world and in Britain as

well – but, to the extent that an avowed

Communist state and its people embrace

a symbol of the United Kingdom versus just

a nice piece of red, white and blue design

depends on their associations. And, in this

case – it is one not of politics but sport

and the cultural coverage from The Games.

R e - t i q u e d b y R a e B

o n d . < r e - t i q u e d . b l o g s p o t . c o m >

D

a i l y M a i l O n l i n e . < d a i l y m a i l . c o . u k >


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20Thinking

Therefore, one cannot approach the task

lightly. However, I believe the new American

Airlines design gets it right for several reasons.

The iconic elements of the

silver fuselage, red/white/blue,

and “eagle” have all been retained,

contemporised and incorporated

into one system that is easier

to implement and facilitates

brand recognition.

The tailfin is both dynamic andexpressive with a strong reference

to the “flag carrier” concept yet it

is abstract and not literal.

The “flight symbol” is a strong

stand-alone element that unifies

all of the components into one

that aid recognition and ownership,

making it distinctive.

The symbols of America are enduring

and strong, but also ubiquitous and to

create something which stands apart is a

tough challenge. Judging by blog forum

discussions and overall press, the consensus

is that American Airlines needed a “new”

breath of fresh air into its design and visual

identity, and whether you like it or not –

for the brand and the business it was the

right thing to do.

Preserving equity and iconic status is a

challenge, and for an airline it is vital. The

new American represents a 21st century

America and will stand the test of time!

American

Airlines and

the new American

The third example is that of American

Airlines. We at FutureBrand spent two years

investigating and understanding everyelement of the American Airlines identity as

well as what represents “America” in terms

of symbols, icons, graphics, colors, type and

associations. The result is the new identity of

American Airlines. (You can read more about

it on the futurebrand.com web pages and

indeed, in the press).

You can make up your own mind about it

from a subjective or objective point of view.My point in this article is to merely highlight

that when a branding or design firm is

asked to leverage symbols and icons of a

commercial enterprise (and one in which

there is history, equity and pride) you have

to be careful!

Plus, if those elements are also part of a wider

narrative or cultural symbolism (e.g. that of

the nation) you have to be extra vigilant. Inthe airline business, logos and tailfins are

the glamour elements and the icons that

enter into the social and cultural vernacular.

1

2

3


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“Building a structure

within the business toencourage creativityrequires the right people, processes andtools. Having these

three components in place is vital in ensuringcommunication iscentralised and teamsunderstand the stages

of an approval process.”


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23

Driving brandperformance

throughcreating desire

by Simon Jenkinson

So what makes our brands and organisations tick?

Most would agree that it’s our people who are

responsible for driving success of the business.

Surely it’s one of the oldest corporate challenges

in the book – “How do we motivate our employees

to perform better?”. From team building days,

hanging upside down on obstacle courses to the

good old fashion cash incentive. There have been

hundreds of solutions to encourage staff to be more

productive with a view to increasing productivity

and the bottom-line.

With over 13 million Google results – who has the right

answer? Or is there even one model that fits all?

One approach I came across was coined by Whetten

and Cameron, who discuss the link between

performance and motivation by referring to the

following equation (I added the last part in the mix):

Performance = Ability × Motivation

where Motivation = Commitment × Desire

and where Desire = Creativity × Autonomy


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24Thinking

Admittedly, this equation could go

on forever, however by using this

model it suggests that employeesmust first and foremost have

desire – and to create desire,

individuals must feel a degree of

independence and/or freedom

(Autonomy), coupled with being

involved and leading challenging

and engaging tasks to achieve

shared goals (Creativity).

Dan Pink suggests a similarapproach, his book Drive

highlights: “The secret to high

performance and satisfaction

– at work, at school, and at home

– is the deeply human need to

direct our own lives, to learn and

create new things, and to do

better by us and our world.”

He also goes on to suggest that

cash incentives don’t provide anindividual with the desire to be

creative on a daily basis.

Giving individuals the freedom

to do what they please, including

making critical business decisions

sounds like a dangerous theory!

But how about allowing such

individuals to be creative with

a degree of validation from senior

members – a little more easy

to digest? Building a structure

within the business to encourage

creativity requires the right people,

processes and tools. Having these

three components in place is vital

in ensuring communication is

centralised and teams understandthe stages of an approval process.

So to summarise, if you want your

employees to perform better and

the business to thrive, start at the

bottom of the equation and create

the desire by:

Ensuring aspects of your

employees’ roles arecreativity, challenging

and satisfying and provide

them with the tools to

foster collaboration

Give individuals the

freedom to make their

own decisions – with a

level of oversight from

the top – but not toomuch bureaucracy please

So as opposed to empowering

teams (which is really another

word for control), provide them

with enough scope to take control

of their own working lives and give

them purpose in fulfilling what

they already know as their role.

The outcome could quite well be

increased productivity, enhanced

satisfaction, unforeseen innovation

and in-turn creation of greater

quality products and services

for your consumer.

1

2


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To disseminate

the above

even further:

performance motivationability

motivation commitment

creativity autonomy

desire

desire

N

It is about feelingaspects of freedom

and self-control over

ones own direction.

A u t o n o m y

N

It is all about

putting in effort.

C o m m i t m e n t

Refers to their

drive to succeed.

M o t i v a t i o n

It is about beinginnovative, challenged

and engaged.

C r e a t i v i t y

Seen as the level of

competence to fulfill

the role an individual

has chosen.

A b i l i t y

Seen as enthusiasmfor doing a task.

D e s i r e


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“Businesses demand

more from any tool(s)they invest in, andrightly so, many toolsonly provide a singlesolution to a problem

though companies todaydemand that a singletool solves a plethoraof business issues.”


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27

How hard is your brand

managementtool working?

by Simon Jenkinson

When I researched the market to compare brand

and asset management solutions about 5 years ago,

I found that a lot of the web-based solutions looked

like they’d been built in the 80s, primarily because they

were created by tech houses with little or no design

thinking applied to the interface. Of course, underlying

technology plays a key role here, but should not be

the prime focus. In order to be successful, user

adoption must be at the top of the list, meaning –

first and foremost, the intended end-user must be

able to easily use and adopt the tool with no training.

When we introduced our own brand management

tool at FutureBrand, the initial intent was for managing

and sharing brand assets and communicating one-

way brand thinking and best practice to our global

network. Shortly after launch, the adoption of the

Creative Workflow feature fell into place. The workflow

component allows for team collaboration, review and

approval of materials produced across regional/local

teams. The uptake of the tool really filled a gap around

multi-way communication; it reduced the amount

of in-bound emails and enhanced project team

alignment. Managing branded assets and guideline

materials in today’s market is a given, but having a

centralised tool that tracks performance of review and

approvals, artwork production and content publishing

really brings great insights to the table while delivering

brand consistency.

Businesses demand more from any tool(s) they invest

in, and rightly so, many tools only provide a single

solution to a problem though companies today

demand that a single tool solve a plethora of business

issues. Brand management tools are no different;

they need to satisfy more functions and departmental

requirements than ever.

From experience, other requirements typically fall

into the following areas; managing multiple brands,

creating & tracking campaigns, localising artwork,

product management, material ordering, publishing

and monitoring social network content and providing

one-to-one support to the network.


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28Thinking

MGetting the right stakeholders on-board

at the start of the process will ensure

adoption at the end, plus gaining insights

from Marketing, Advertising, Legal, IT and

Management teams will ensure the toolserves the purpose of the whole business.

1

2

3

Involve the right

people at the start

Make it easy to use

Make the tool relevant

in getting the job done

So here are my top-five considerations when

implementing a brand management tool:

As discussed above, the easier the

tool and the more benefits it provideson a daily basis, the better.

Managing a whole workforce to adopt new

brand strategies and visual identity systems

is all about change management. Equipping

teams with the tools, training and knowledge

they can digest in their own time will help

alleviate the challenges they face.


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29

4

5

Centralised

engagement

Measure, measure

and measure

Teams and individuals can engage with

others on many different levels and in

various ways. Providing a centralised

location to foster collaboration is key;

not just to make their lives easier but

also for corporate compliance reasons.

By identifying the current state of play

at the start of the project will allowbenchmarking success later down the line.

Tracking the performance and measuring

retention, usage, adoption, operational

processes and learning and growth metrics

can provide streamlining opportunities

and justifiable Return-on-Investment.

To conclude, if you have a brand asset

management tool, that is just that, “asset

management” , perhaps it’s time to thinkabout what other business benefits a brand

tool should be satisfying; one that provides

efficiencies to teams, fosters collaboration,

retains brand value and provides insights

into overall brand performance.


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“Connecting both real-

world physical productsand digital content withthe consumer experiencehas, and will extend theopportunity to build

brand loyalty withexisting customer...”


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31

Managing v#content– Owned brandand consumerbrand management

by Simon Jenkinson

As we all know, the role of marketing was once

focused on one-way communication to consumers;

the 4 Ps evolved to 7 with the 8th arguably being

“personalisation” , 9th – “problem” , 10th – “peer-to-

peer” … You get the idea. Today it’s the consumer

that predominately promotes products and brands

between themselves. According to a recent report

by Forrester*, some 70% of U.S. online adults trust

brand or product recommendations from friends and

family and 46% trust consumer (written online) reviews,

while just 10% trust ads on websites and 9% trust text

messages from companies or brands. Technology

has accelerated this change and word-of-mouth

has opened up personal opinion globally.

N e u s t a r . < b l o g . n e u s t a r . b i z >


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32Thinking

to combat tomorrow’s v#content

brand management challenges.

Solid rules and

foundations of a “Brand”.

Flexibile, scalable,

relevant and high

performing “Assets”.

Adaptable and compliant

“Workflow” processes.

Having these foundations

in place will allow for brands

to be successful; set, create,

approve, publish, protect and

measure the standards of owned

and consumer based campaign

branded v#content.

Of course, v#content should not

just be restricted to digital formats,

real-world products also need to

evolve… And they are… Recent

innovations in mobile and sensor

technologies allow for creating a

digital representation of almost any

physical entity and its parameters

over time at any place, deemed as

“Smart Products.^”

Technology alone is not the

solution – consumers still need

to be put at the centre of the

experience, with technology as a

supporting role, Adriano Galardi

sums this up well with the article

“When humans – not tech, are put

at the centre of the experience,

everyday problems get solved”

at page 77.

Yesterday brand management was

simply about managing assets,

PDF guidelines, self diagnosis,

decentralised touch-point silos

and logo Police. Tomorrow, the

role of brand management is

about asset performance, “Just-in-

Time” approvals and centralising

efficiencies of owned on- and

off-line branded content and the

life-cycle of such content when

adopted and personalised by

consumers. FutureBrand classifies

this type of content-collaboration

as v#content (virtual content).

I believe that the tool(s) used in the

brand management process need

to consider three key components

The challenge now becomes:

How do brands manage

owned brand contentand consumer created/

personalised brand content?

1

2

3

Brand

Assets Workflow

Effectiveness & Efciencies


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33

The plot thickens… Let’s consider

that branded content comes

in two forms:

Physically, such as

product packaging.

Digitally, such as owned

and consumer hashtag

and/or image and

video content.

Connecting both real-worldphysical products and digital

content with the consumer

experience (via RFID, QR Codes

and AR) has, and will extend the

opportunity to build brand loyalty

with existing customer, while

providing a platform for said

1

2

Sources:

* Forrester (2013) report based

on a survey of more than

58,000 respondents^ Wikipedia “Smart Products”

customers to mobilise, connect

and activate their affiliation

with family and friends in anon-brand way.

So, future brand management

needs to consider not just the

physical, but also virtual and social

aspects of marketing consumer

connections and the process and

tools used to create, distribute,

manage and measure the way

consumers adopt and personalisev#content. The output will

provide greater connection and

engagement between products,

brands and the consumers’ voice.

And potentially reduce your

marketing spend while retaining

brand equity.

1

1 0 1

0 0 1 0

1 01 11 0 1

01 1 0 101 11

0 10101 01010

1110 01001011

0100011010110

Physical products

Digitalcontent


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“A brand must drive its

category forward incontinually providingrelevance and benets for its consumers. Ideally, by innovating

and continuallyimproving where, what,and how consumersexperience and derivevalue from the brand.”


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35

Five thingsall brand

managersshould know

by Chris Nurko

Managing a brand is a tough job today. Not only are

there continual pressures to manage budgets and gain

more for less from your agency partners but there is

also the added complexity of managing your brand in

real time with metrics coming in from multiple on-line

sources, communities and daily web traffic reports.

Needless to say, Agency campaign results whether

ATL, BTL or Digital can be confusing – and, when

the “Boss” (insert Brand Director, Head of Strategic

Marketing, SVP Marketing or even CMO) emails you

to ask, “How is the Brand doing?” , you may be forgiven

for either wondering if your response may be a career

defining/limiting answer, or a chance to dazzle with

the expertise and data points that will demonstrate

your brilliance and importance. Either way, all too

often the responses can be either poorly constructed

or lacking in depth.

So, here I offer my top 5 action points for all brand

managers to keep on hand and know at all times

about their brand. It goes without saying, that these

5 key points should be aligned to the 5 key things that

a brand should always have at the heart of its strategy.

Of course, there could be more – however, this is my

list so feel free to add and expand! I hope it is useful for

those at the “front lines” of brand marketing and sales.


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36 Thinking

Market share is a key indicator of business

performance as it measures the “units sold” of a

product/service as a % of the total market sales.

It can also be measured in revenue, or “dollar/euro/

pound/etc market share” . It enables brand managers

to understand the competitive situation in relation

to the market’s growth, stagnation (flat line sales)or decline. If a key target or strategic objective is

to achieve or protect “share” , a brand manager must

know the dynamics of the market and how his or

her brand is performing. This will drive the choice

of tactical brand marketing strategies and executions.

Marketshare Sales gures(and sales trends)

For any FMCG brand or retail brand, knowing the sales

figures is critical to assessing performance across a set

period of time. Whether that be weekly (most common

in retail) or monthly/quarterly (consumer goods), the

Net Sales figures give an accurate indication of what

consumers are buying and at what price, which allows

a firm to calculate its revenue.

Gross sales are useful to know, however they may

not be accurate due to goods being returned or

coupon/discounting. Therefore, from an accounting

point of view Net Sales = Revenue, and for a brand

this, combined with market share gives the most

accurate indication of performance. The sales trends

are the longer term history of a brand and category

performance which involves tracking a brand, and

identifying when and where consumer buyingbehaviours changed or were influenced by any

external events or marketing campaigns.

1 2

$

%¢÷

+

+

+

+

=-

+


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37

Awareness (aided and unaided)scores by target audience Advocacynumbers

This measure is literally the number of “advocates or

fans” whose contact details, addresses or “permission

based marketing” approvals you have to engage in

1:1 dialogue. There are different means of gauging

advocacy for a brand, but the most reliable is based

on Permission Based Data (often held by the CRM

function in a firm). This translates into consumerswho have purchased and “liked” your brand enough

to give you their permission to engage in dialogue or

marketing promotions.

Whether this is on-line or via telephone/direct mail,

this data is the reservoir of advocacy from which

a brand can further engage and interact with its

consumers. Increasingly, as part of the social media

landscape, these communities and databases can be

segmented and further defined giving more detailedand granular data about who, why, when and how

often a brand “fan” is buying or using a product,

service or experience. The use of Facebook and

Twitter often falls into this category for many brand

owners, however I would suggest that the strongest

advocacy metrics are related to those in which the

consumer has not merely “liked” or become a “friend”

or “tweeted” , but rather engaged in permission-based

data marketing linked to an actual sale or purchase.

One of the critical factors for a brand manager is to

understand and know whether their brand is “top-

of-mind” amongst target consumers and/or opinion

formers or influencers. This information forms the

basis of the Advertising and Marketing strategy

which influences the degree to which a campaign

is effective in translating into sales. The ideal andprimary objective is for a brand to have strong

unaided awareness so that when asked to name a

brand in a category, or associated with a particular

set of values or attributes, the brand is spontaneously

offered and named by consumers.

Aided awareness is recall that is prompted by imagery

or associations in order to stimulate a brand’s

familiarity with consumers. Often, this is with the

category or product/service reference in researchtechniques. Aided awareness scores are positive for

a brand, however it begs the question of category

relevance and differentiation depending upon the

brand’s strategy. It often reveals that the category

is either of low interest or the brand is only relevant

in the context of the category associations. Brand

managers with a strong brand name that is only

associated with a category must be careful, for as

powerful as it might seem to want your brand to be

the “defining” brand of the category – this often canlead to becoming an industry generic or a category

limiting boundary which restricts the brand’s “stretch”

and growth potential. Often this is referred to as the

“Kleenex” or “Band Aid” mindset, as both of these

brands have high awareness and brand recall, but

have become industry generic terms and have had to

truly fight hard to expand beyond the initial product

and category attributes.

3 4


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38Thinking

Core brandvalues

Finally, the fifth most important thing a brand manager

must be aware of and intimately familiar with is the

core brand values of their brand. It seems obvious

to state, however that the core values of a brand are

the words that define what the brand is and what it

stands for, irrespective of the attributes of the category,

marketing campaigns and/or competitive pressures.

The core brand values are the bedrock upon which

the brand’s story and narrative for consumers are

constructed, and as such it needs to be clearly defined

in a short set of words or descriptions.

Many brands use credo and manifesto statements,

and they combine precise adjectives with action verbs

to define exactly what and how the brand provides

“value” and “benefit” to its consumers and advocates.This is critical for a brand manager because the brand

values direct and guide all aspects of a brand’s visual,

verbal and experiential performance. The core values

and the visual identity equities together become the

benchmark and guardrails for the brand’s image and

identity. When combined with strong advertising, the

brand’s awareness and recall can be strengthened in

relation to consumer preference and choice.

Many a brand manager has come unstuck bycreating too much elasticity and interpretation

of a brand’s values and visual identity thus leading

to a “schizophrenic” brand persona and ultimately

consumer confusion. Brands are built upon the notion

of consistency and reliability, as well as unique points

of differentiation. In order to maintain and build a

brand’s future growth plan, the core values must be

continually reinforced and guarded from erosion or

misinterpretation. When someone says something

is “off brand” , what they are really saying is the corebrand values are either missing, misrepresented

or misinterpreted.

5


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39

Has a compellingvision for the future

So, those are my 5 suggestions for what every brand

manager should know and be aware of… and, it might

be a good idea for more senior brand leaders to keep

in mind as well! It always surprises me how some of

these basic elements are ignored or misunderstoodwhen considering a brand’s performance or relevance

to consumers.

As I mentioned, these 5 elements must always work

and align to the 5 things a brand should always have at

the heart of its future (and present) strategy. They are:

Builds a strongemotional connection

Redenes thecategory

Delivers sustainablebusiness value

Creates engagingexperiences atevery touch point

Makes people’slives better

1

4

5

2

3

A brand must have a unique point of view on

the future and be able to articulate it for all

stakeholders. This is often referred to as thebrand vision or brand idea.

A brand must drive its category forward in

continually providing relevance and benefits

for its consumers. Ideally, by innovating and

continually improving where, what, and how

consumers experience and derive value from

the brand.

By doing the two points above, a brand istruly making people’s lives better. After all,

why would anyone want a brand that

did the opposite?

If a brand is consistent at every touch point

where it engages with its consumers and

stakeholders, the brand reinforces all of the

rational and emotional reasons why the

brand is chosen or preferred.

Ideally, this then leads to the brand narrative

being seen as an “emotional” benefit and

connection for consumers and generates

advocacy and loyalty from preference.

These 5 key elements lead to a final outcome

and ingredient in creating and sustaining a “future

brand”, and that is superior commercial or financial

performance by providing value.

At the end of the day, a brand is an asset and if the

above key elements are in place, and a brand manager

understands how they relate to the task of creating,

measuring and maintaining brand strength – then, the

value of a brand is delivered and measured by the hard

numbers of market share, sales/revenue and advocacy.

Ultimately, this translates into future demand, growth

and success.


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“To simultaneously

create better, moreauthentic brandswhile overcomingalignment challenges,crowdsourcing

internally andco-creation withemployees itself iscritical to all futurebrand creation.”


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41

The power ofthe inner crowd:

Building brandsfrom within

by Sarah Reiter

We have pioneered new branding practices including

reinventing traditional brand strategy and identity

methodologies by incorporating customer co-creationand embedding crowdsourcing with employees.

The Power of the Inner Crowd is the new approach

to brand creation – one that addresses the challenges

in branding today and ultimately creates great brands

by building the brands from within.

N I K A D A . < i s t o c k . c o m >


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42Thinking

Here is a list of the many benefits in

harnessing the wisdom of employees:

Achieve a sound congruence

between brand promise and

corporate reality

Create a strong brand

relevancy based on a diversity

of ideas and perspectives

Empower employees and

increase staff motivation,morale and commitment

Better integrates staff with

corporate goals and values,

through recognition of their

contribution to these

Recognises the important

work that staff do and

therefore harnesses theircommitment to the business

Discover compelling brand

stories that are ideal for

external activation and

internal alignment

Engage employees to

make them identify with

our brand and become a

desirable employer

Manage cultural variation

by building brands around

a shared purpose and

corporate culture

Develop sustainable

brands that speak of the

people and company they

proudly represent

Branding traditionally creates

static personas that bear little

resemblance with reality. It assumesa top-down approach in which

no truth is being told and thus falls

short of achieving proactive internal

support. As a result, most brands

do not grow organically, detached

from the organisation, with

little momentum.

In contrast, future brand creation

needs to assume a holisticperspective on building brands

based on internal strengths, core

truths, customer centricity and

experience design. And, branding

must become strongly integrated

in business strategy, product and

internal operations.

The involvement of internal

stakeholders often leads to thediscovery of hidden strengths

since employees are a rich

source of insights and ideas.

Hence, building brands on the

basis of culture and core internal

truths is more credible and

effective, and it allows the brand

to be created organically, reflect

the corporate spirit and grow

with business.

In short, to simultaneously create

better, more authentic brands while

overcoming alignment challenges,

crowdsourcing internally and co-

creation with employees itself is

critical to all future brand creation.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9


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43

1

2

3

5

6

7 8 9

4


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“It matters to us that our

favourite brands aremanaged by businessesthat care about theirrole in the world beyondsales and prot.”


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45

3 brand lessonsto learn from

#fitchthehomeless

by Tom Adams

There are 5,711,249 reasons why Greg Karber’s

#fitchthehomeless video on YouTube should be taken

seriously. His attempt to readjust the Abercrombie &

Fitch brand by donating its clothing to the homeless

in LA has provoked universal outcry. Most of it againstAbercrombie for comments on exclusivity made by its

CEO Mike Jeffries in 2006, and some against Karber

himself for exploiting homeless people to attack a

billion dollar brand.

Jeffries has taken to Facebook to set the record

straight, including a defence of the realities of

managing an aspirational brand, and asserting the

strong values of the business he runs, particularly

in relation to diversity and inclusion. But consumersdon’t seem sympathetic to this.

The short-term reputational impact of this consumer

backlash looks severe. Time will tell whether it

significantly affects sales, or changes the way

Abercrombie & Fitch is run in the long term. But the

whole affair teaches us three simple lessons about

how to manage a major brand today.


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46 Thinking

Have a clear organisational purpose Connect your purpose to the value chain

Part of the challenge Abercrombie faces is that it

doesn’t seem to have a clear organisational purpose

beyond helping young people to look great. Or at least

one that can be seen from the outside. Increasingly,

consumers want to know about the business behind

the brand, and this is often best articulated through

the spirit and commitments of its leadership, CEOincluded. This goes beyond values like diversity and

inclusion – both of which are increasingly obligations

rather than strategic choices – towards a sense of your

broader role in the world and why this is important

for society as a whole. When you dig into the business,

they are clearly making some broader commitments

to helping communities and giving back – through

their mission, vision and corporate philanthropy

initiative – but this doesn’t seem to be guided

by an overarching sense of corporate purpose.

American Apparel, although much smaller, is another

international US fashion brand. And it is explicitly

cause driven. Its “vertically integrated manufacturing”

idea is strongly connected to its brand, product and

organisation – they talk about being “sweat-shop free”

and are proud of making all of their clothes in the USA.

They are also now showing growth year on year(4% to April 2013), indicating that this commitment

does not mean sacrificing commercial success. The

more closely you can connect your purpose to your

people, supply chain and product, the more likely you

will be taken seriously by consumers when things go

wrong – which they have for American Apparel and

often do in complex businesses. Other brands like

Unilever , P&G and Virgin also embed a bigger purpose

into their operating approach in a way that is consistent

with consumer willingness to choose brands thatdemonstrate they offer some kind of social good –

improving lives, building enduring organisations or

simply doing the right thing.

1 2


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47

Prepare to be hijacked

Activists hijack powerful brands to promote their own

cause. The bigger the brand, the bigger the target.

And it doesn’t necessarily matter what the truth is.

Abercrombie & Fitch is a major global brand, with

over 1000 stores worldwide, 85,000 associates and

over $4.5billon in net sales in 2013. They also make

a significant effort to help their communities anddemonstrate their social responsibility. But this story

gets lost if it’s buried in corporate reporting, and if it

feels somehow separate from the main business

of the brand – i.e. “we are a fashion brand, but we

also do good.”

Social channels make it possible for anyone with

a smartphone and access to YouTube to attempt a

brand “readjustment” of the kind managed by Karber,

and engineer the type of instant global reach thatcould only have been dreamed of by activists a

generation ago. And it’s been happening for a while –

think Axe vs. Dove from Rye Clifton as early as 2007.

The key is to know what you are going to do when

it happens, make sure that your public statements

reflect your broader purpose, are evidence driven,

and that you are making an attempt to reconcile

the contradictions that naturally occur in complex

multinational organisations. That way, you can even

use it as a platform to build your brand, rather than just defend it.

Above all, this is a good reminder that brands are

no longer just about great advertising, product and

experiences. People want to know what’s going on

behind the models and the storefronts. It matters to

us that our favourite brands are managed by

businesses that care about their role in the world

beyond sales and profit. And when that is already the

case – as it very likely is for Abercrombie & Fitch –we need to see it in every aspect of the brand. In the

end, it’s increasingly “cool” to genuinely care.

3

Karber, Greg.


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48Thinking

“As generation Y evolves

and utilises multiplemedia formats to educateand entertain ourselves,YouTube offers us anabundance of content

with 100 hours of contentuploaded every hour.”


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49

Top 10 brands“twentysomethings”

cannot live withoutand why

by Bradley Walsh

Facebook1

Facebook has grown under the influence of

Generation Y. Facebook was released to a worldwide

audience in 2005, and reached 100 million users by

2008. The public reception and acceptance of the

social networking service has made it an internet

phenomenon. Facebook wouldn’t be what it is without

its users – 1.15 billion of them and 699 million are daily

active Facebook users.

Facebook’s attraction to users is in how it links an

individual’s life and friends into one social circle

platform. The site has continued to innovate by


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50Thinking

repeatedly adding more features in order to keep

users engaged and, more importantly, in order to keep

them active and returning. Facebook’s mobility is alsoa factor in its popularity as it is available on all mobile

web browsers and operating systems. 62% of the UK’s

internet users are Facebook users signifying the impact

Facebook has had on our population.

YouTube

YouTube is the provider of the most popular site for

user uploaded videos. Generation Y knows all too

well that YouTube is a great way of killing some spare

time. Whether it is watching video after video of your

new found favourite subject, or a humorous video

link which has been sent between friends, YouTube

entertains. As our Generation Y evolves and utilises

multiple media formats to educate and entertain

ourselves, YouTube offers us an abundance of content

with 100 hours of content uploaded every hour.

Granted, some may not be worth the individual’s

time, however, with the opportunity and size of the

catalogue available, there is surely something for

everyone which makes it one of the most visited

websites online.

Wikipedia

Put the books away. What is it you would like to find out?

Type it in to Wikipedia and have the answer in seconds.

It really is that simple for Generation Y. Wikipedia has

brought information to our fingertips in an online

encyclopaedia which, best of all, is free for everyone.

Wikipedia is funded by donations from its users.

Wikipedia educates many people daily with its

extensive content. As the saying goes, “Knowledge

is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we

know where we can find information on it.” Wikipedia

gives Generation Y great knowledge as a source

of information.

2

3


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51

4

5

Google

If Wikipedia doesn’t have the answer, Google will. The

ability for Generation Y to simply type in any query and

search for the answer is nothing short of remarkable. Even

as Google expands its services, its search bar still remains

its defining feature. Generation Y is adept at saying the

phrase “Google it” when confusion looms. Google as a

resource tool is fantastically convenient for users.

Intelligent “doodles” (interpretations of the Google logo)

celebrate holidays, anniversaries, the lives of famous

artists, pioneers, and scientists; another example of the

innovation Google provides its many appreciative users.

Google does not stop at producing interesting logos:

they are relentless at providing their users with useful

applications to make people’s lives easier. Google’s

tagline is “Don’t be evil”, which is a nice touch from

one of the most influential brands of the time.

Xbox/PlayStation

Xbox and PlayStation are the most popular game consoles

on the market for consumers. Although many consumers

are forced to choose between them at the point of

purchase, deciding between the two is very much up

to personal preference. In many ways comparable to

voting Democrat or Republican; you get two very similar

products wrapped up in different coloured boxes. Soinstead of labouring the argument between which console

is best, what must be said is that these game consoles

have played a large part of a millennial’s existence.

Generation Y have grown up through the

advancements in gaming technology. Gaming has

been one of the catalysts of the technology race with

gamers demanding the best quality gaming experience.

The highly anticipated release of the Xbox One and

PlayStation 4 will, as before, have customers forming

seemingly endless queues at “ridiculous o’clock” for

the chance to get their hands on one of these decade

defining consoles in time for Christmas.


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54Thinking

“ When we design for

a global Americancompany, it’s importantto know these associationsand take advantage ofthem. America’s sense of

optimism, especially, canbe a strong selling point for any American brand– no matter where it goes.”


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Americanspirit in brand

identity design

by Sven Seger

I’ve noticed a strong shift in the associations people

around the world make when they think of America.

Our research indicates that, today, the world

values America for its technology, social media,

entertainment, optimism and its cheerful serviceculture. Other countries love these new-American

qualities and values.

When we design for a global American company,

it’s important to know these associations and take

advantage of them. America’s sense of optimism,

especially, can be a strong selling point for any

American brand – no matter where it goes.

This is the American spirit that the world loves, and itshould be emphasised over the old post-war themes

that associated America with size, politics and power.

Today those old associations can tend to make others

see America as over-aggressive or bullying.

Many companies manage to very successfully

incorporate and live the new-American spirit,

including Harley Davidson, Apple, Nike, Facebook

and Levi’s. Each finds ways to communicate America’s

sense of freedom, opportunity and optimism in itsbranding and advertising.


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There are even people in politics who manage to

accentuate these new-American ideals, in spite of the

strong pull of old-American associations in the politicalworld. A good example of this is Michelle Obama.

While she is not an elected or appointed official, the

world sees her as part of the American political scene,

and she is seen as accessible, inclusive and optimistic.

Even her fashion sense has become an emblem of the

new-American spirit.

New-American associations point the way to a huge

opportunity within the branding and advertising worlds.

While many seem to think that American companiesneed to appear to be “beyond a country” in order

to make themselves more attractive in the world

market, there are strong American themes that are very

credible in the global market that can give an American

company a great competitive advantage.

When the personality of the company is a match, the

right competitive approach may well be to incorporate

these new-American themes into the brand. Given

how highly so many people in the world value thesequalities, the American origins of a company can now

be a highly positive differentiator in the global market.


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58Thinking

The number one strategic

issue regional CEOs andleaders cite to me is “thewar for talent” as theyseek counsel for how theirorganisations can attain

the coveted status of“employer of choice”


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Tackling thewar for talent

by Sarah Reiter

“The Singapore Ministry of Defence’s attempt

to attract female recruits to the service

by sending out army green eye shadow

attracted the wrong attention. Recognising

the challenge of War for Talent, what

MINDEF needs is a more relevant,

meaningful and sustainable strategy.”

The campaign by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF),

advertising the 2013 Army Women’s Seminar, took a

surprisingly tongue-in-cheek approach in order to

gain traction with young women in Singapore. And

while there is a time and place for levity in campaigns,

dealing with military recruitment most probably isn’t

one of them.

In protective services, such as military, intelligence,

policing and security, women play an equally critical

role, often providing unique insights and skills

necessary for these types of organisations to be

contemporarily effective. When servicing the country,

society and community, accenting facial features is

certainly not a female officer’s main concern but this

is how the campaign from MINDEF sends the wrong

message from the outset – painting an improper

image of the role women play in protecting the nation.

M a r k e t i n g . < m a r k e t i n g - i n

t e r a c t i v e . c o m >


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60Thinking

Singapore’s protective services are facing an uphill

battle in attracting and retaining high-performing,

values-driven employees — regardless of theirgender. Recent research, as conducted by my team

in Singapore, has revealed that young Singaporeans

search for professional opportunities where they can

pursue their passions, develop professional skills that

are in high demand, as well as achieve recognition for

the unique individual contributions they make.

In fact, the number one strategic issue regional CEOs

and leaders cite to me is “the war for talent” as they

seek counsel for how their organisations can attainthe coveted status of “employer of choice” . Through

our work with many top organisations in Singapore,

we have identified universal principles to becoming

an employer of choice. They are:

Strong & accessible

leadership

Develop careers & individuals

Strive beyondcategory standards


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Engaging workplace

Nurture a healthy lifestyle

Reward fairly & recognise creativity

Whether operating in the public or private sector, each

principle requires full organisational commitment, for

delivering long-term outcomes of effectively attracting,optimising and retaining top talent.

Needless to say, to give meaning and distinctiveness

to candidates and employees, how organisations

follow and apply these principles should be directly

driven by a brand strategy — developing a clear and

distinctive employee value proposition that addresses

the needs of both the employee and the organisation.

Choosing a career is a life-changing decision, and inthe context of providing protective services, it is often

a “life or death” decision. Many officers and employees

put themselves in harm’s way to protect our nation,

our communities and our people. Therefore, a

respectful understanding of their needs and ambitions

are simple hygiene factors.


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62Thinking

Think about your

smartphone for amoment. Of all the appsyou have downloaded,how many are “branded,”i.e. mobile apps created

by a brand you likeor admire? Now askyourself something else:in the last three monthshow many of these apps

have you used more thanonce? Does the answersurprise you?


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Lessonsin mobile

marketing

by Dan Dimmock

The importance of mobile as a marketing channel

has experienced substantial growth recently but its

effectiveness as a means for brands to create valuable

and lasting relationships with customers has, to date,

been utilised by only a few. By following several key

strategic steps, some brands have discovered ways of

using mobile technology to deliver real customer value,

building brand loyalty.


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64Thinking

Recent statistics indicate that while the landscape of

mobile applications is indeed vast, the usage rate of

each of these apps is much lower than expected.

This not only speaks volumes about the lack of

customer value provided by these apps but also paints

a poor picture for the brands that are trying to build

a consistent relationship with their customers.

The size of the mobile app market is indeed impressive

when you look at the statistics. In June this year, Apple

celebrated 50 billion downloads on Apple App Store.

In addition, their largest competitor, Google Play,

recorded a higher number of downloads in the last

quarter achieving a 10% margin over Apple for the

first time in history.

Looking a little deeper at the Apple App Store, we

can draw some conclusions about the competitive

landscape of the mobile apps industry. Presently, there

are over 500 million active Apple App Store accounts.

Therefore with 50 billion downloads, we can then

assume that each user has downloaded approximately

100 apps, on average, onto their mobile device (in

the case of Apple). For both the Apple App Store and

Google Play, games dominate the share of

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