brand-driven design for content strategy

@MIKEATHERTON

A MINIMUM VIABLE PRESENTATION FOR NUX2

BRANDING: ALL IN THE MIND

Sharepoint sucks. !

Alastair Mitchell and Andy McLoughlin

THE FEATURITIS CURVE

Number of features

User

happ

ines

s

“Nice, but I wish it did more…”

“So glad they added this!”

“Cool!”

“I rule!”“Guess I’d better read the manual”

“Where the f*** did they put that?!”

“Now I can’t even do the ONE SIMPLE THING I bought this for.”

“I suck.”

Kathy Sierra - Creating Passionate Users, 2005

Happy user peak RAWR!

2001 “No wireless. Less storage space than a Nomad. Lame. I don't see many sales in the future...”

Slashdot commenter !

“All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player?” MacRumors commenter

350,000,000 iPods sold (September 2012)

50 MILLION USERS

38 years 13 years 6 months4 years 50 days

YOUR BRAND IS NOT YOUR LOGO.

@MIKEATHERTON

BRANDS OWN A CORNER OF YOUR MIND.

BRAND IS A SMALL, DIFFERENTIATED IDEA.

CarSafe VacuumRobot CameraInstant

THE FIRST LAW OF BRANDING IS

AL RIES, THE 22 IMMUTABLE LAWS OF BRANDING

FOCUSOWNING A SINGLE DIFFERENTIATED IDEA IN THE CUSTOMER MIND

Who are you? (Identity)

What are you? (Meaning)

What do I think about you? (Response)

What about you and me? (Relationship)

THE BRAND LADDER“Building brand equity is a sequence of steps, where each step is dependent on successful completion of the previous one.”Kevin Lane Keller - Building Customer-based Brand Equity, 2001

commodities

goods

services

experiences

transformations

CUSTOMER RELEVANCY

DIFF

EREN

TIAT

ION

PRICE PREMIUM

PROGRESSION OF ECONOMIC VALUE

Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore - The Experience Economy, 1999

A brand is an idea that you stand for, made real by what you do and expressed through your personality. !Wally Olins

VALUES: The iconic things that you stand for above all else. !PERSONALITY: Your specific characteristics, or how others would describe you.

We choose to go to the moon. John F. Kennedy, 1962

WRITE YOUR BRAND STORY

@MIKEATHERTON

TELL THE TALE OF YOUR PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.

TELL US WHERE YOU CAME FROM AND WHAT YOU’RE HERE TO DO.

VALUES: The iconic things that you stand for above all else. !PERSONALITY: Your specific characteristics, or how others would describe you.

Rohit Bhargava Personality Not Included

Brand voice must be unique, authentic and talkable.

FIND YOUR TRUE VOICE

@MIKEATHERTON

CUTE IS NOT THE ONLY TONE OF VOICE.

AIM FOR UNIQUE, AUTHENTIC, TALKABLE...AND APPROPRIATE TO YOUR PRODUCT.

CHALLENGER BRANDS

AL RIES & JACK TROUT, POSITIONING: THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND

REFRAME THE CONVERSATION

MAKING US CONSIDER THE CATEGORY IN NEW WAYS

$500? It’s the most expensive phone in the world! !Steve Ballmer on the iPhone, 2007

ComputerPersonal

JumpingFlop

ComputerPocket

CarSmall

FabricCruelty-free

CHOOSE YOUR WORDS CAREFULLY

FROM PERSONALITY TO POSITIONING.

LET YOUR VOICE TELL US WHY YOU’RE DIFFERENT.

@MIKEATHERTON

Feminine but not girly Witty but not zany Informal but not cutesy Clever but not elitist Geeky but not niche

Irreverent but not vague Parental but not stern Stylish but not dated Trustworthy but not boring Surprising but not shocking

Hugh Laurie British manner with global relevance, dry sarcasm.

David Tennant Charm, British but global, warmth, geek chic.

New MINI British know-how, glamour, fun, well-built, informal, technology wrapped in timeless style.

Tina Fey Modern woman, intelligent humor, touch of sarcasm.

TONE OF VOICEThe people's champion, speaking to those on the front-line. A friendly tone echoes the people behind the brand. We’re authoritative, understated, charming and witty. We’ve even a sliver of geek chic. We're resonant to the British, and relevant to the world.

“Welcome,Alastair Mitchell.”

“Hello Alastair. Are you sitting comfortably? Then let's begin.”

“Yo Alastair! Ready to rock and roll?”

Too little Just right Too much

Example: In-app greeting

REMEMBER YOUR MASLOW

MEET BASIC NEEDS BEFORE DELIGHT

SPEND YOUR GOODWILL ON PERSONALITY

@MIKEATHERTON

A brand is an idea that you stand for, made real by what you do and expressed through your personality.

BRAND-DRIVEN DESIGN PUTS YOUR DIFFERENTIATOR, VALUES AND ATTITUDE INTO

THE HEART OF YOUR PRODUCT.

Collaboration

Blogging

NewsIntelligent Micro Micro

People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. !It means saying no to a hundred other good ideas. !Steve Jobs

@MIKEATHERTON

MORE CHALLENGESAgile makes sweeping changes hard Sharpening focus takes true grit Customers want faster horses

THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL PRODUCTS

@MIKEATHERTON

SMALL PIECES, LOOSELY JOINED.

FOCUSED AND INTEROPERABLE.

BRAND IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

@MIKEATHERTON

MAKING MARKETING RUN YOUR BRAND IS LIKE MAKING

I.T. RUN YOUR WEBSITE.LIVE YOUR VALUES IN EVERYTHING YOU DO.

BE A CHALLENGER

@MIKEATHERTON

DON’T ATTACK PRODUCTS. CHANGE IDEAS.

SOLVE THE PROBLEM IN A BETTER WAY.

FIND THE UNCONTESTED GROUND

@MIKEATHERTON

MAKE THINGS UNIQUE, AUTHENTIC & TALKABLE.

USE BRAND-VALUES TO DEFINE YOUR PROPOSITION.

KNOW YOUR HEART REFRAME YOUR CATEGORY

DEFINE YOUR MISSION FIND YOUR VOICE

MAKE YOUR DIFFERENCE SHINE

BRAND-DRIVEN DESIGN

THANKS! @MIKEATHERTON