communications through products_david report

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issue 5/November 2006David Report

CommunicationThrough Product

David Report provides thought-provoking insights which give me inspiration and ideas.Peter Bodor, Public Aairs and Communications Manager, Coca-Cola Sweden

Reading and viewing several trend reports and newsletters daily I could simply say that David Report is the ONE to read.Other describes whats done yesterday. David Report tells what will happen tomorrow and in the long run, and does this witha design perspective and humanistic approach I just can admire, respect and agree with!Ulrika Lvdahl, Project Manager, Communication Development, V&S ABSOLUT SPIRITS

Finally David Carlson, the amous Swedish design-entrepreneur, takes the obvious next step by starting the David Report.He wants to change the world. He might do it.

Olle Wstberg, Director General, The Swedish Institute

YOUR PATHFINDER INTO THE FUTURE


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Our keynote

Foreword

Last issue o David Report (no 4: Welcome to the Credi-bility Loop) made an impression on our readers. We havebeen asked to take a deeper look inside the loop. Whocould argue with that, we are here or you, dear readers!This new issue is called Communication Through Productand we are really happy to present it. Not only becauseit consists o an interesting development o our initialthoughts, we are also proud to deliver ideas that we be-leive could save our ellow business men/women billionso dollars. This by using a marketing strategy based ondesign, creativity and inovation that we have named CTP,an abbreviation o Communication Through Product.

The lead-in

Today our world is completely dierent compared to theearly years o industrialism or even in comparison to justten teen years ago. Our modern society is more or lesstotally transparent and the consumers are in command. Tobe successul today you need a genuine interest to listento them and to understand their needs by implementingengaged, humble and respectul conversations. Not bypolluting the world with just another shouting advertisingcampaign.As a reminiscence, a short resume o David Report issue4 The credibility Loop:

Today advertising is a questionable effort bothto build recognition and to build a brand. The academicelite as well as business professionals have a secondthought how to do. Its all about building a trustworthyand reliable partnership with your (future) customers.To become a part of their mind so to speak. And whenmost people are sick and tired of all advertising every-where, there must be a better way to communicate withthem, mustnt

As an answer to the current situation we gavethe advice to go or a ride in the Credibility Loop. We areconvinced that i a product will be able to speak or itselvia a unique design, personality and soul, it will by ar bethe best and least expensive way to communicate it.

A new world order.

For a couple o decades it has been unashionable to talk

about products and services. According to the marketers

advertising has been the big solution to everything.Advertising has been the king. But it is no more. We havea new world order where online communities like YouTubeand MySpace will be in command as the new messagecarrier. A recent example is the short movie campaign orreal beauty rom Dove which generated better eedbackat YouTube than through a multiple dollar thirty secondsspot during Superbowl.

We would like to turn the telescopic sight back tothe very core o brand delivery, which is the products andservices. The very heart or DNA o a brand so to speak.This is where most credibility lies. And by developing andspicing up the core you can achieve competitive advan-

tage in an ever-changing world. Still, in most cases thecore is blurred by all the advertising surrounding more orless everything we buy but which is not adding anythingto the world. It is just a lacquer on the top. It is just thereto market the product. It is just like the peel o an orange.Something you peel o and throw away in the garbagewhen going or what s good inside.

Maybe it exists other and more creative methodsto make products attractive to the consumers rather thanspending more and more money on traditional adverti-sing? We think so. What i a company took some (or a lot)o the advertising and communication budget and used it

on design and innovation instead?Will that help them to enhance the attraction and make aproduct more desirable? Will they be able to make it moreparticular and necessary? O course, according us.

Advertising cannot change the word. Design and innova-tion can!

Mini Cooper - good example o attractive design


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Our interview

We proudly present an interview with Acne Jeans. ASwedish ashion brand that by designing simple andunctional clothes, aims to create a modern ramework orindividuality.

1. Please shortly tell us about the history of Acne

Jeans.

Acne started as a creative collective in 1996, with ourcreative individuals who each had a dierent eld oexpertise. With time the original company grew ourindividual arms; Acne Film, Acne Digital, Acne Creativeand, o course, Acne Jeans. The concept has always beento combine art and industry in a manner which elt bothvisionary and logical, and this spirit is still what drives ustoday.

2. Who is your target group and what are their va-lues?

The Acne Jeans customer is someone who eels attunedto the culture industries, whether this is as a consumer oras a producer. Our customer has high demands on whatthey consume, and always challenge us to create the bestpossible product.3. You do not market Acne through traditional ad-

vertising, please let us know why?

At the very beginning we simply couldnt aord to, andnow we eel that we preer to invest in new products, suchas Acne Paper, rather advertise in the traditional manner.Seeing as were still growing in every respect, this meansprioritising, which right now equals no advertising.

4. Do you reach your target group without traditional

advertising?

Yes.5. Your collections are the core of your business. Are

they also important for your communication?

We are absolutely design driven in every respect. Theinspiration that the design team use each season pushesthe whole company orward. Through the collections weare always exposed to new creative reerences, so-mething which in turn also, both directly and indirectly,infuences the way we choose to communicate the collec-tions themselves. In this sense we would like to think thatwe always push onwards, never standing still.6. Are your products an important part of the brand

experience?

The products that we make are at the heart o AcneJeans. Without products that refect the high standards

that we have, Acne Jeans would be a mere veneer wit-hout a solid base.

7. How important is design, innovation and creativity?

Vision, ambition, innovation and creativity are the liebloodo the whole Acne creative collective, and the reasonwe continue to produce all rom jeans to a high ashionmagazine.8. Tell us something about your magazine, Acne

paper.

Through Acne Paper we want to share the multitude opeople, places and cultural currents that inspire us. Herewe want to invite our customers into a world o fair andglamour as well as a world o subtleties and refection, and

somehow bridge the gap between history and the present.9. Are the Acne studios an important part of your

communication? What are the key ingredients?

Our Acne Studios are an extension o the Acne concept,and a way to invite the customer to the Acne world. Wewant the customer to eel amiliar and comortable, whilststill oer a taste o something new and unexpected.10. You do a lot of different events and installations.

One recent example is the shop swap with Browns

Focus. Please let us know something about your

thoughts and your objectives.

The Browns Focus shop swap started as a project among-st riends, and developed into something quite spectacularwith a lie o its own. As with everything else that we dowe wanted to push the boundaries o what to expect roma clothing brand. Retailing today means being intrepidand earless, and to always aim to give more back to thecustomer, whether that means sharing a good secret, aswith Acne Paper, or giving a struggling artist a helpinghand, as with our gallery space Vita Valvet, or providingsomething totally unexpected as with our shop swap.

11. Please let us know what is happening in the near

future?

We have several! For s/s 07 we have collaborated withTretorn to produce two sneaker styles that we hope will beuniversally loved (they have already created a minor must-have renzy here at the oce!), and in the near uturewe will nally open a webshop. On top o this we haveseveral real shops opening soon, the closest one beingthe Gothenburg Acne Studio, which will open with a bangthe 29/11.


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The end of the conventional advertising

by Oliver Ike

Today large companies have to invest the money thatthey used on conventional advertising campaignsinto the product itsel. Our theory, the CTP strategy(Communication through product) mentioned below,underlines the importance to improve the USP o aproduct through investing in its design and innovation.The product thereupon speaks or itsel and hencehas no need to be communicated through conventio-nal ATL advertising as beore.

The consumer o todays world is betterinormed than ever due mainly to the Internet. He iswilling to pay a premium or a product but only i it

communicates liestyle to him. How can we achievethis? What are the rules to obey to get a positiveresult? I would like to explain this to you through anexample o the watch industry.

10 years ago I created a watch-brand calledIkepod. By picking one o the most en vogue desig-ner at that time, Marc Newson, I dierentiated thelooks o the product rom what was available in time-pieces on the markets. Combining traditional Swissmechanical watch making with avant-garde designwas the key o my success. Design or me is ormand unction. I it only becomes orm like in the 80sand there is no unction, it equals art and has nothingto do with design anymore. I instead it has unctionas well, as shows o an outstanding design, successis just around the corner.

The most important lesson I drew rom theocus on the product design in the above examplewas that you have to be very precise in your briengin order to develop a consistant brand strategy.

It should not be the designer who createsa product that he wants but is should be a team omarket researchers rom your company telling thedesigner what the market wants and then accordinglythe designer will use his talent to interpret your brie-

ng.Through the dierent looks, its innovative

mechanical unctions and its coherent corporateidentity Ikepod watches became known in the mar-kets within a ew months. We would never have beenable to pay or all the ree editorials and PR that wereceived. The so called brand ambassadors (moviestars, pop stars, etc..) bought the product at our retai-lers without us even being aware. We did not have topay them anything or endorsing our product. I evenrecall to have received a phone call rom Elton Johnsmanager asking me to allow them to use our watches

or the conventional ATL - TV advertising o the RoyalMail and they did buy watches or this! Suddenly theIkepod brand started to become a trendsetter. In thewatch industry there are a ew big companies that

Our private eye - Lugano

also derived part or all o their success due to ocusingon the product design. What would Audemars Piguetbe today without The Royal Oak watch-lines designedby Gerald Genta. How would the sales have developedor Jaeger-le-Coultre without their Reverso model? Howwould Pateks image be without introducing the Nautilusor Aquanaut designed by the same Genta?These are just a ew examples that show you that i youlet the product speak, through its design and innovation,you can save millions on conventional ATL advertising.

Here again are the main ingredients that I consi-der necessary to succeed with a CTP strategy:

- Importance o an exact brieng: Firstly analyse yourmarkets and nd out who your main brand ambassadorsare (clients, retailers, distributors?). Listen to their needsbeore you even start creating a new product- Choose at least two good industrial designers that knowmaterial properties as well as modern production techno-logies. This way you do not risk to be dependant on justone designer.

- Do not be araid to spend money on the design toachieve as many USPs or your product as possible. Youcan recover this investment entirely through the premiumprice o your product.- Develop a coherent brand corporate identity and aconsistent product strategy. Spend money on creatingor improving your CI (logo, graphics, catalogues, Internetsite).

You will in a short time see that the investment is muchless than in conventional ATL advertising and the resultswill be more eective. By communicating through product

you reinorce your brand and you create a lasting value.Some o your products may even write design-historyand generations later people will still remember yourbrand because o them.

Ikepad watch by Marc Newson


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ATL - BTL - and now........ ... CTP

Years ago Jackson Five played with gures and letters inthe song ABC, ABC, 123, baby, you and me! In an easyway they communicated the way to go: Ater A comes Band ater B comes C.

The discussion on how to communicate is in-tense. Disputes whether to use ATL and/or BTL instru-ments or a communication campaign. ATL stands orAbove-The-Line using mass media such as TV-spots,print-ads and radio campaigns. Today ATL has most parto the marketing investments even i it is emotionallypoor. BTL or Below-the-Line is the umbrella term o morecreative methods such as PR, events and word-o-mouth.A common denominator or ATL is the PUSH strategy. Asa consumer you can not really decide i you would like tobe the addressee or not. Because it is everywhere.

We doubt that this is a smart strategy when weare in the middle o a strong and ast shit rom marketersto consumers. Today consumers are in command. Theyare sick and tired o all the buzz out there. They want to

nd relevant inormation by themselves. And this romcredible sources (advertising does not count as one anylonger). It is given nowdays that it is the consumers thatowns your brand. At least i you think that the perceptiono your brand in the mind o the target group is para-mount. I we hold this as true, isnt it strange that so manycompanies do not still listen to the desideratum o theircustomers?

We recommend a PULL-strategy that attracts thecustomer and pulls him/her to the product or service likea fy to sugar. PULL is driven by credibility. One (and thebest?) example o a credible PULL strategy is a marke-

ting and communication strategy we have named Com-munication Through Product (CTP).Communication Through Product (CTP) is about

using your budget or design and innovation instead otrying to hide poor products behind loads o expensiveadvertising. Its about letting the products communicateby themselves instead o building up costly communi-cation around them and to make the products their ownambassadors by adding elements that communicatethe identity o the brand which at the samt time will pullpeople to them.

What makes a product communicate by itselthen? We think it has to do about delivering experiences

and creating a sense o belonging. By letting the productssolve problems, provide benets and evoke meaning. Theywill be able to achieve this by oering sensory stimulationand by providing cognitive adventures.

Be sensitive to what the consumer thinks andeels. Create attraction and they will voluntarily seek, ndand accept your products. We say - be proactive, make adierence and take control o the situation. Skip A and B

and go directly to C, the thrustworthy core. Try Communi-cation Through Product (CTP), youll like it.

The drop metaphor

A drop is our metaphor or Communication ThroughProduct (CTP). Like rings on the water the product (andbrand) reaches the consumers. The experience is strong-er closer to the center and ades the urther out you get.

The closer to the core, the more trustworthyresults you will achieve in your communication eorts.By using Communication Through Product (CTP) you willbe able to work inside out with the necessary humanisticingredients in ocus, not just putting some varnish on thesurace.

The closer to the core you will get, the bigger thesensory experiences are. ATL makes you see and hear,BTL tickles a little bit more but Communication ThroughProduct (CTP) ully evokes taste, touch and smell aswell. You will get a subconscious and intuitive eeling osomething real and credible, your sixth sense! Communi-cation Through Product (CTP) is actually the best sensorymarketing strategy there is.

By starting the communication with the productsthemselves, or in their logical nearness, they will rom the

beginning have a PULL-actor incorporated that attractsconsumers without a major advertising campaign. Thisbecause the product itsel substantively is the best mes-senger you can get.

Design, innovation and creativity are the keyingredients that builds the unique DNA o CommunicationThrough Product (CTP).Communication Through Product(CTP) is marketing 2.0.

Apple iPod Shufe


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Save and earn money

by using CTP

Today, in general, the me-dia budget compared to theinvestment in design and inno-

vation is divided approximatelylike this: 70 percent ATL, 25percent BTL and 5 percentdesign and innovation. Howis it possible to deend a stra-tegy that waste nearly 3/4on questionable advertising?

We mean that the to-tal amount spent will decreasewhen investing more resour-ces on design and innovation.Because by boosting the core,

less money will be needed orATL and/or in some senseBTL activities (even i webelieve that BTL is a a goodtransmitter because it is inter-personal and experience rela-ted). The estimated gures inthe models below tells us thatyou could save something like20 percent o spending, andwhich is as important, it willincrease the credibility levelhugely.

Our examples exclu-des production, distributionand administration costs etc.We are only counting the costo communication plus designand innovation. Our guresare just roughly presentedand should be seen as anexperimental and alternativethinking. But i this is the rea-lity, can you aord not goingor a ride in the Credibility

Loop? And best o all, be ableto make a big dierence?


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David Report Team

Editor-in-chie:David Carlson

Contributing Editor:Claes Foxerus

Writers:Oliver IkeMichael Ekeblad

Olivier RohrbachYoichi Nakamuta

Address

David ReportStrandbadsvgen 2SE-239 42 [email protected]

DisclaimerEverything written in David Report is ree to use, butplease say who mentioned it rst. However, all and eve-rything is at your own risk. David Report has no respon-sibility or what, how, when etc. something in the report isused and/or actions surrounded.

About David Report Bulletin

The David Report bulletin is a visionary trend report with ahumanistic approach in the intersection o design, innova-tion and brand communication. Here you can read whatsgoing on in the uture, and get ideas on how to manageit By challenging conventional thinking we are alwaystrying to make a dierence. Four issues a year.

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To not miss events in the near uture concerning design,brand strategy, creative communication, trend orecastand uture visions.Please visit http://www.davidreport.comor a completeevent calendar.

Making sense of the future

November 22-24 in Lucerne, Switzerland.Mobility and Ubiquity

November 21st in Montreal, Canada.

St Etienne Biennale

November 22 - December 3 in St Etienne, France.

Marketing 3

November 28-December 1 in Utrecht, Netherlands.

Innovation Playground

November 30 in The Hague,Netherlands.

Youth Power 2006

December 5-6 in San Diego, USA.

Art Basel Miami Beach

December 7-10 in Miami Beach, USA.

Le Web 3

December 11-12 in Paris, France.

Our calendarOur windup

- in six logical steps

1. Advertising has lost its credibility.

2. Everybody are talking about how to communicate in anew way.

3. We say - go to the very core - the product or serviceand communicate through it. Its the best way to build acredible brand.

4. Use design, creativity and innovation to make productsand services relevant enough to attract the target groupand they will nd them voluntarily.

5. You will save money because Communication ThroughProduct (CTP) is the most-cost-eective communicationsolution there is! This really attracts business men/wo-men!

6. As a bonus you will be able to make a dierence. Thisreally attracts the consumers nowdays!

There it is, our supermodel, that hopeully will makebusiness executives think twice beore buying anotherexpensive advertising campaign. Communication ThroughProduct (CTP) is a model to use to get more attention,more sales and more credibility or less investment.Sounds to good to be true!


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communications through products_david report

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