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Brands, too, are heading towards a VUCA world. Take the alcohol sector, for instance. It’s volatile because trends are changing faster and faster: a new cocktail supplants another cocktail at breakneck speed. Mojito one year, spritz the next, Moscow Mule today. Uncertain because as French vineyards are being bought up by the Chinese (for instance), French uniqueness and expertise is being jeopardised. Complex because the advent of the Loi Evin tobacco and alcohol law, anti-alcohol campaigns and European lobbies mean it is hard for us to make our voices heard. And lastly, ambiguous because it’s a struggle to know what to believe: when it comes to young people, there is both talk of binge drinking and drinking responsibly. We are supposedly drinking less, but better. Or perhaps we will all end up drinking non-alcoholic drinks? Or maybe even alcoholic drinks with health benefits?
Since the mid-1990s, we’ve slowly been transitioning from a unilateral, stable period into one that is unilateral and complex.
For brands, it has become just as hard to stand out as it is to keep a consistent course in terms of brand positioning and identity.
And yet, one generation has come up with the answer. The renowned ‘Generation Z’, born in the mid-1990s, precisely when the VUCA world was emerging.
Who is in a better position than Generation Z to help us to grasp what strategies we need to be implementing to make ourselves heard, without losing our integrity?
To achieve this, they start from the assumption that wealth does not equate with conformity:
A sheer abundance of influences, references, skills and experiences.
Yet they do not conform: there is just one guideline they follow: themselves.
It is their identity that takes various forms, not their personality.
After all, in the complex web of daily life, making yourself heard is all about adapting whilst still being true to who you are. The process is all about moulding yourself, but also finding where you should be.
Here are some brands who have already made this switch in the field of design, in three different ways:
• Responsive & adaptive design – by adapting to each medium the brand uses to express its identity. Coca Cola.
• Plural iconicity – by adapting one of the brand’s major features. Lacoste Live!
• Flexible design – creating a language that can be shaped. E Bologna (city branding).
All in all, these are brands that adapt their identity whilst remaining true to their brand positioning. After all, as Tinker Hatfield, the American designer, reminds us: u0022Good design is always functional. Great design tells a story.u0022 That story is yours.
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How personal and subjective is beauty, how many beauties exist? We are all different, but we are all beautiful in our way. If every brand offers you the same promise of beauty, who do you believe? how to choose? How can I choose between two products whose purpose and benefit are identical? That’s where brand design steps in, because it is the tool to give an identity to those brand promises, making them visible, different from each other and desirable for people. What is desirable and trending today?
The quest for healthy living and “green” consumption
One thing we all look for today is sustainability. Responsible consumption is no longer for a niche audience, today we all make sustainable choices. It’s true for the food we eat, but for fashion and cosmetics purchases as well. Purchasing decisions are increasingly motivated by the quest for healthy living and “green” consumption, where the “natural” is wider-encompassing to include products with eco-credentials, sustainable sourcing and clean labels. How this trend applies to the cosmetics industry?
Small, local brands
The cosmetics world sees a continuous rise of small brands focused on organic ingredients.Small, locally sourced, organic, super-ethic, natural hero ingredient based brands answer to this quest, talking to people looking for a more sustainable lifestyle. Their mantra is more or less on good sense, not asking for miracles but rather emphasizing nature’s power.
Multinational companies
The need for sustainability is something not only small brands are responding to. Also big multinational companies are moving in this direction. After decades of greenish communication but practices that could be seen as contradictory, they all want to stand out by a better footprint, with some more or less nature based products and brands.
Experiences over possessions
Another thing that is desirable today is to have an experience out of everything. We seek “experiences” over “possessions”, and so we consume less, but we reallocate income to premium products. This is happening in many areas of our lives, one of them is music. We used to collect compact discs, then we filled our iPods with tons of MP3s, now it’s Spotify’s turn and we no longer possess music. But we spend more money for concerts, deluxe editions, expensive turntables and headphones.
How is the cosmetics industry answering to this trend?
The hi-end, uber luxury, heavy wealth signs, owning their resources, rare and expensive ingredients brands are answering to this trend. There’s a particular need for emergent markets – like China – to stand out by luxury items, especially linked to age signs fighting and eternal youth sourcing. It is all about exclusivity, with many fabulous products filled with rare and expensive ingredients.
Giacomo Cesana
Creative Director
Today’s customers expect to be engaged directly. In the past, B2B companies have typically lacked the warmth and personality that connect FMCG brands to their consumers.
It’s customary for FMCG companies to put their brand first to create a personal relationship with consumers. This level of consumer engagement has made it increasingly necessary for B2B companies to tap into similar emotional purchase drivers. The result has been a blurring of the lines between B2B companies and FMCG brands.
For more on how FMCG brands continually elevate their consumer engagement, take a look at CBA New York’s Creative Director, Rutger Thiellier, explanation on how Packaging is Alive.
So, how do traditionally cold and functional B2B companies cut through all the clutter? Well, it all starts with YOU, the customers.
B2B marketers that take the time to know and listen to their customers are best equipped to engage directly with them. And the best of them do it in a way that humanizes their message.
Today’s purchasing drivers go beyond selection based on functional needs, even within the B2B environment. Identifying with a business on a more emotive, personal, and human level promotes an intangible connection that ultimately drives sales. Imagine selecting a contractor for your home – you’ll ultimately select the one that you can have a direct conversation with, who you feel has heard you, and can demystify complex problems in a way that you understand.
As most B2B marketing is digital and lacking in one-on-one interaction, it’s interesting to note that studies show a significant 19% increase in sales when businesses personalize their web experience. Simply put, customers are responding to the brands that sound, feel, and behave more human. People, after-all, hold board positions, approve budgets, and ultimately make the decisions. So, connecting with the decision makers on a personal level goes a long way.
Take a look at these three B2B marketing campaigns that contextualize their products and services, honing in on the intangible factors that drive purchase, and establish a clear and true emotional bond.
3M claims its products are never more than three meters away from its customers. The whimsical and lighthearted campaign humanizes the brand and puts a face to its customers. Through contextualizing 3M products within the everyday lives of customers, the brand achieves a new level of connection with its target market.
Freelance networking channel, Upwork, breaks the fourth wall of B2B marketing. The “Hey World” campaign directly engages B2B employees through traditionally FMCG channels. I saw the vibrant and playful campaigns on the subways from work and during a commercial break from my weekly Handmaid’s Tale viewing on Hulu. A colleague saw the ads in San Francisco on her commute in as well. We both were independently struck at the humor, timeliness, and personality of the campaign.
Collaboration hub, Slack, ran into some connectivity issues last week…did you notice, too?! The company’s Twitter account was on top of it; responding to its customers in real-time and still maintaining their personal touch. Slack not only sympathized with their customer’s complaints, but responded on a human-level.
3M, Upwork, and Slack demonstrate how B2B companies are listening and behaving more like FMCG brands. Personalizing messages, engaging in unexpected mediums, and contextualizing services within a customer’s everyday lives have elevated B2B marketing expectations.
For emerging B2B companies to cut through the clutter and for existing B2B powerhouses to stay relevant, B2B companies will have to keep YOU, the customer, close to heart.
There are several ways to establish this type of relationship. A key enabler of the connection is the exchange of knowledge, to guide customers through their education. A connection that shows customers that the brand is paying attention to them, pushing it to be perceived as increasingly human, relevant and “present” in the everyday lives of its final customers.
Teaching means educating consumers not only about the use and consumption of the product they are buying, but also about the context of its use. This helps to establish a deeper relationship with the user, which goes beyond simple purchases and moves in the direction of brand loyalty.
Educating the customer brings this relationship to a whole new level. Which brands are showing us that relationships can (also) mean education?
Trader Joe‘s has applied this concept in a way that is almost covert, but extremely effective and impactful. What it has managed to do is teach the American population to eat healthily whilst staying within a limited budget. This is a fundamental constraint for customers, which Trader Joe’s has met with lower prices and special offers on healthy products. A matter of extreme importance in a country where the obesity rate in adults has exceeded 35%. Another key element is the impact of the brand’s communication, that can take advantage of the presence of 467 stores in 41 countries.
One of the most innovative brands of all time, IKEA has always taken the end user’s point of view into account, allowing customers to create their own designs, an ideology which lies at the heart of the company’s value proposition. Thanks to its design software, IKEA has shown people of all generations how to create and define their own styles, making the task easier and simpler. It has taught billions of people how to furnish their own homes with ease; an objective that it has never stopped working towards, and that gets updated over the years. This is also thanks to the new app IKEA Place, that uses augmented reality to allow customers to virtually “try out” the brand’s furniture in their own homes.
The road that leads to a brand becoming memorable to its target market is built on an effective customer experience, carefully researched at each one of its touchpoints. Every brand has the goal of establishing a connection with its customers, and education brings the relationship between company and customer to a deeper, more intimate level. It is a continuous dialogue, the product of exchanges of information between company and customer that, at its peak, is in every way similar to the exchange of values between two individuals, between two humans that both improve themselves by interacting with each other.
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Lately, disruptors has become a regularly-recited fact. Understanding who it refers to is easy and realising that this really is the case has a certain impact.
On going into detail, it emerges that the reality is more complex than a phrase created to amaze, both in terms of the online origin of success (Netflix began by sending DVDs by post), the physical presence (Amazon has opened an experimental shop in Seattle), and procurement strategies (Uber has purchased an articulated lorry start-up more for the autonomous driving technology than for the lorries themselves).
The new giants which have developed online, overturning their markets by replicating a business model founded on the non-ownership of assets, seem now to be looking with interest at the purchase of some form of physical property.
But this is not the case for everyone. In what direction are these companies moving nowadays?
Amazon and Alibaba are investing in the purchase of physical store chains. A few months ago, Amazon purchased Whole Foods (specialised in organic food), while Alibaba has acquired a significant share in Sun Art Retail, the Chinese version of Wal-Mart. Rather than a show of aggression towards the offline market, these strategies seem to be a form of u0022prototypeu0022 aimed at the definitive integration of online and offline experiences.
In the US, Airbnb has begun investing in a number of apartment complexes, built from scratch and managed according to new methods, obviously perfect for residents who will be hosts, but who are, above all, frequent travellers themselves.
Uber has tested vehicle purchasing in Singapore, with poor success. It is, however, investing in revolutionary flying taxis which it will presumably have to own.
(The question also remains on how to manage in the future an asset-free model with driverless vehicles. Will the owner provide the self-driving car, working for Uber yet staying at home?)
For Netflix, considering the way in which it works, the dynamics have been similar, but without ever abandoning the immaterial: explosive penetration of the market and investment of earnings to free itself from dependence on entertainment leaders – in this case through the production of original material.
With regards to physical assets, is a macro trend for these actions emerging?
Certainly, the strategies differ for the various markets, and are applied in differing contexts, but none of these companies seems to be focused on snatching up assets depreciated by competitors.
There is no Airbnb buying up Holiday Inn or Uber taking over taxi companies being sold off. On the contrary, they all seem to be concentrating on strategies which are focused on a distant future, as though the inability of old-style competitors to adapt, their consequential disappearance, and even the uselessness of the goods which they are now founded on seem to be so taken for granted as to almost not even merit attention.
There are two lessons to be learned from all of this:
Even in the offline world, where until yesterday the definition of relationships of strength and services was in the hands of the traditional large-scale players, the rules are, nowadays, ever-increasingly set by the asset-light disruptors.
These all seem to be driven by the same rule which many very large-scale companies, now no longer in existence, have instead ignored: think about reinventing yourself before it becomes necessary.
Alberto Gianera
Strategic Designer
References:
Identity and relationships are all elements that determine the perception and reputation of a brand with its public. It is a perception that is not only rational but also very emotional and instinctive, and on which the success of a brand will be based
The visual image is, however, not the only answer.
How can I get my brand onto the market? How can I reach my consumers? Through which channels and actions? Through what forms is the brand perceived by its consumers? How can we reach the heads (and hearts) of users? The go-to-market strategy is the answer. Answering these questions means planning a strategy aimed at constructing a relationship with our clients. According to the combination of factors chosen for implementation, brand perception by users varies considerably and, consequently, the brand identity is also affected.
Brand identity is therefore not (only) the result of its visual image but also of the combination of all channels and actions which are carried out by the brand in order to construct a relationship with its clients.
The various combinations create differing brand perceptions and, consequently, this significantly influences the brand identity.
The German company entered the Italian market as far back as 1938 with a new sales technique, the door-to-door model, a technique which is still in widespread use for a number of product types. The main value that the brand wanted to project to the consumer was (and is) loyalty. The brand uses the strength of the relationship economy, based on authentic human relationships, which generate a positive feeling of trust in consumers, in order to position and differentiate its products on the competitive scene.
The product that it sells costs more than those of its competitors, and it is often difficult to understand all its functions or use all of its modes.
A demonstration at home, accompanied step by step by interaction with the sales representative, is fundamental in order to convince and impress the target. Consequentially, this generates a bond of trust with the seller and the brand it represents.
The same door-to-door sales strategy is applied by the multinational company Nestlé in the main Brazilian cities, which uses a network of micro-distributors and individual sales representatives who, with a cart, manage to reach the most inaccessible areas of the city.
By using this strategy, the brand has managed to provide employment for a large number of women from the poorest areas, and to sell its products in difficult-to-reach or completely inaccessible areas. Furthermore, by selling food at low prices, the brand has been well-received by the population, creating a feeling of trust and reciprocal support.
A brand which is “close” to you, not only via that which it communicates, but also in the way it reaches you wherever you are.
One of the currently most fashionable and talked-about strategies is that of the “drop”. Supreme applies this sales model by releasing new products every Thursday morning in its online store and its five physical stores world-wide. This strategy has generated an unprecedented level of physical and virtual traffic, approximately 1 billion views in one drop in 2016, increasing the traffic on its website by 16,800% and creating queues in front of the stores days before.
This strategy, accompanied by a communication campaign which transmits the same values of exclusivity, has permitted the brand to achieve this elite, inaccessible and extremely fascinating image.
The experience of the three case studies shows how the go-to-market strategy, the choice of channels used to reach one’s clients, the method of interaction with them, the frequency of the relationship and the key actions carried out by the brand, are an integral part of the very identity of the brand.
Being a loyal brand comes through the human and profound relationship with those who sell the product (in the case of Folletto); brands which respond to daily needs are those which reach you wherever you are (Nestlé); and lastly, being exclusive is not only a question of gold and sequins, but of intelligent sales strategies (Supreme).
The way I contact and address my clients is the very heart of my brand identity.
Irene Serafica
Strategic Design Lead
The ranking also highlighted the significant challenges that French companies must tackle to remain frontrunners. It appears that, on average, these 50 French brands were established over a century ago, against an average of only 67 years ago for the Top 50 global brands. Even more worrying is the fact that no new French brand has been able to qualify for this ranking since 2006. In an environment where entire sectors of the economy are now able to emerge and be shaped in less than a decade, it is increasingly vital that the large French brands of today and tomorrow develop this capacity for change and innovation more systematically, in an ongoing search for meaning.
In fact, the increase in consumer expectations on ever shorter cycles, volatile economic and political climates, and even tougher competition and unexpected newcomers can confuse the way forward. In barely 5 years, Airbnb has made things very difficult for French hotel giant Accor, Trump has pulled out of the Paris Agreement, which was finalised in the Obama era during COP 21 when we thought that ecology had become a key issue for the majority of western countries, the Corsicans and Catalans want their independence while we all dreamt of a global village, and 56% of French people report buying products made in France as often as possible while 51% also report enjoying foreign cuisine.
So, are French brands capable of reviving the revolutionary spirit that is so specific to France, and keeping this flame alight every day in order to deeply nurture their business philosophy and brand vision? To do this, we have sought to extract from this study the most relevant levers for brands to activate today, which will without doubt become key factors for success in their global strategy of tomorrow.
As a way of overcoming the challenges, French brands capitalise on visibility and their heritage. But faced with an increasingly elusive global and national setting, the study reveals that the meaning and commitment that brands have are at the heart of the matter. It is this meaning that French brands today are sorely lacking, a meaning that comes to both oversee and direct product innovation, communication and brand experience so as to create a strong emotional connection with consumers. A virtuous ecosystem which, beyond the financial health and the turnover of a business, is a classification criterion for BrandZ, formalised by their ‘Vitality quotient’ tool.
In fact, the higher this quotient, the better the brand does. It multiplies the Brand Power by 4, which means it increases its ability to
Meaning, or ‘brand purpose’: to show consumers that your brand fights for a cause that makes sense to the individual, their community and society. To find a purpose with impact, you must be able to identify the consumer insight hiding behind the use of your product or service. The study reveals that the French place a lot of importance on the meaning of a brand, and that they do not just settle for those who do good work at a fair price. Over 12 years, the Global Top 100 brands with the highest scores in the area of ‘purpose’ increased in value by 175%, while the others only increased in value by 70%.
• Innovation: innovation that responds to the expectations voiced by consumers is a good thing, but creating surprise by detecting their hidden expectations is even better. As Henry Ford said: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horsesu0022, and the car would have never been created. A relevant innovation will lead the consumer to use it frequently and will develop a strong emotional connection with the brand. This innovation may take the form of a new service, a new range of products or new and useful packaging, like the Daddy pouch.
According to the study, innovation creates a strong predisposition for sales. Brands with elevated innovation scores in the Global Top 100 increased in value by 276% in 12 years, against only 15% for the least innovative brands.
• Communication: advertising, of course, ensures that the brand has the necessary visibility and recognition within the audiences that the brand targets. But visibility alone is not enough: the brand must also carry a message that moves the consumer, that speaks to them, that leaves a strong insight that the brand will address through its commitment and meaning, with which it equips itself. Evian’s ‘Live young’ campaign had a strong impact on the French and carried meaning to the product benefit – purity – by associating it with a strong myth, the fountain of youth.
• Brand experience: this begins well before the consumer thinks about buying a product, and lasts long after purchase and even the time of consumption. Exposure to the advertising, browsing on a website, brand content on social media or even online customer service are all points of contact that build your brand image for consumers.
Today, we can identify two key components of the experience: the packaging, which is one of the rare items to enter into familiarity with the consumer, whether that is at home, in their bag or at work. For example, Lov Organic packaging is something that you want to display at home, both for its status and for the values and lifestyle that are associated with it, those of the Danish concept of hygge. The second key component is retail, where the brand has full command of what it wants to offer its consumer, such as the new Maille concept.
The brands in the Global Top 100 ranking that deliver the strongest experiences increased in value by 188% over 12 years, while those that had the weakest scores only increased their value by 18% in the same time frame.
• Emotion or emotional connection: this is the emotional affinity with the brand, something that is difficult to buy or produce. However, you can create conditions that are conducive to the emergence of this emotional connection to the brand. It is the result of all the investments that you will have made to build a consistent purpose across your communication, innovations and brand experience, like for example RED by SFR.
Among the most liked brands in the global ranking, the brand value increased by 191% while the others only increased by 32%.
To conclude, we would like to add a final point that is just as important, in our opinion; it is about the identity of your brand, which acts as the link between the 5 ‘Vitality quotient’ criteria. In an age where images replace text, where our attention spans are dwindling, where each day a myriad of new brands emerge, you must be able to identify the codes, the graphic area, the tone of voice and the icons that best express who you are, and what commitment and what meaning you bring in a unique and immediate way, in order to strengthen the mental recognition of your brand.
To illustrate this statement, here is an interesting study, with instant and valuable results, that was carried out by signs.com:
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By Léa Vantours and Charles-Louis Mazerolles, Brand Strategists at CBA Paris.
Today, so much has changed. Buying natural products does not require such tradeoffs. The sacrifice in regards to taste, quality or performance is no longer a barrier. Natural products often have the same benefits as mass products but with the additional value of being more purpose driven and, in many cases, better for you. Consumers can buy natural products that are great for them, their families, their communities and the world in general. The access to these natural products is now more democratic and that will only increase.
No doubt about it, the natural category is growing. Passionate entrepreneurs have uplifted the standards of natural products, bringing about greater quality, accessibility with fewer sacrifices for consumers. But the main growth comes from a profound shift in consumer behavior. Today we think differently about health, ethics and responsibility, and this is a key driver for growth in the category. As a consequence, natural is no longer exclusive for die-hard devotees of natural products.
Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and big companies are all looking for opportunities to tap into this market. Ben & Jerry’s acquisition by Unilever was a huge milestone and indicator in the market back in 2000. The two dreamer activists expanded their reach and Unilever got an amazing brand to help support its brand vision “to making sustainable living commonplace”. Having great ideas and developing them require an entrepreneurial mindset, tons of energy and a particular culture that might be not as easy as implement in big corporations. For this reason, 17 years later after Ben & Jerry’s acquisition, many big companies are trying to extend their portfolio following this example while keeping the vision of the entrepreneurs and the DNA of the brand and helping them scale to become the new mass brands of tomorrow.
Technology is an additional driver for natural brands. It evolves each day and opens up new ways to deliver innovative solutions and directly connect with consumers. Making a brand live and engage with consumers is key for awareness, recognition and conversion. Many natural brands know this and they are not afraid of experimenting and refining their messaging as they learn. The power of this shift is well illustrated by the mammoth merger of Whole Foods and Amazon and their drive to help consumers order organic goods using Alexa.
Just this year, Danone bought WhiteWave with over a dozen natural brands. The resulting company DanoneWave is now investing through Danone Manifesto Ventures in companies like Michel et Augustin. General Mills’s 301 Inc. incubator is helping brands like Rhythm Superfoods, Beyond Meat or KiteHill to scale in a similar way, and Unilever hasn’t stopped investing in natural brands, as seen by their recent acquisition of Pukka Herbs.As we head into 2018 the evidence suggests that natural offerings will have a louder voice and wider distribution than ever before, eliminating outdated barriers of performance, price and perception.
As such, larger companies should be reviewing the value proposition of their mass market brands and identifying ways to support the natural movement, or develop new propositions to enter this category, otherwise fear demise. The signs are clear: the opportunity (in natural) is massive.
Authored by CBA East Coast Business Director, Esme Gonzalez
Image via HuffingtonPost
The colours most used in heraldry are red, blue, black, green and purple. Yellow and white represent gold and silver, while the natural colours are used for fur and wood. When the real colours could not be used, they were represented in black and white with the method developed by the Jesuit Father Silvestro Pietrasanta; he attributed a distinctive graphic sign to each colour, varied with different densities of light and shade.
As in the past with heraldry, colouring also plays a determining role in branding as it identifies and enhances the social, cultural and marketing aspects by amalgamating the philosophical, psychological and sociological components of goods and services. Many business failures have been caused by an incorrect choice of colour, as the same message can be conveyed differently depending on the colour used. In fact, the meaning of a colour changes depending on the context and the way in which it is presented.
Designing colour combinations capable of inducing associations which cover a variety of services and products requires specific training: the same colour may lend itself to a series of associations with completely different results. We must not forget that the influence of the colour component in consumer choices is so deep that it is sometimes misused and becomes a mere persuasive tool, driven by trends set by the multinationals.
Colours can also be used in a misleading way to bypass our awareness, with the aim of promoting products that do not meet the expectations set by their image, driving us to make purchases that we will not be satisfied with.
Many brands have chosen red as their iconic colour. In fact, to focus its wavelength, the focal point of our eye moves forwards, giving the illusion that red objects are closer. Red also affects our perception of time, causing it to feel slightly accelerated (the warm colours used for fast foods convey the idea of speed when eating meals). The combination of warm colours is used to communicate heat, power and energy; they transmit happiness and are therefore very widely used in the entertainment and leisure sector. In the food sector, the use of saturated reds tending towards orange characterises products with a strong or spicy taste.
Orange is very widely used in the various fields of communication due to its visibility and ability to attract interest, encouraging the success of low-cost formulas and products.
Yellow is the most cheerful colour in the colour wheel: it is the colour of the sun, of joy, of optimism, and is bold and original. Brands using yellow characterise widely distributed products and services that are therefore easily and immediately identified. When pure yellow is placed on a white background, however, the reverse effect is obtained and the information is no longer readable.
Green, mostly associated with nature, is a warm and relaxing colour which is widely used in many product categories. In general, it tends to be used to communicate security and sustainability in goods and services, and is therefore often found in graphics projects involving insurance, financial or legal companies. A balance between warm and cool tones, green is refreshing and thirst-quenching, making it very common in the food industry.
Blue is without a doubt the most preferred colour when you want to inspire maximum approval. Shades ranging from baby blue to dark blue are used, as evidenced by the brands belonging to the most important international representative organisations. Blue communicates reliability and security of products and services in all sectors. Although this colour is rarely found in actual food, when used in the food industry it is associated with freshness and is used to represent essential household products such as salt, sugar, pasta, milk and its derivatives.
The purple colour range is among the least frequently used colours in brand design, especially since in the most saturated shades, it appears to be the least bright. The few brands that have chosen this shade, which has strong religious significance, have often managed to establish themselves on the market specifically because of the recognisability of this unusual colour. These shades are very often used in the packaging for intimate hygiene and female body care products.
In the food industry, pink is largely associated with a sweet taste, while in almost all other sectors it remains linked to the feminine stereotype or is used as a decidedly unconventional colour.
The brown colour range is widely used in the traditional food industry due to its many synesthetic associations. The strong link with natural materials, such as wood and leather, makes the brown colour range very suitable to communicate the artisan quality of products.
Over recent years, particularly in the technological sector, polychrome brands are emerging. A unique combination, it expresses diversity, great dynamism and openness to new things and to the future. Multicoloured brands identify the company’s aim to be impartial and suited to anyone, regardless of their sex, age, social class, and political ideas.
Vice President of IACC International, President of IACC Italy, Designer, Colour Consultant, Professor in the “theory of form and colour” at SPD (Scuola Politecnica di Design, Milan). From 1990 to 2006, he collaborated with the Atelier Mendini in Milan. From 2003 to 2013, he was Professor of Chromatology at the Accademia di Verona, the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA), the Domus Academy and the Department of New Technologies at the Accademia di Brera in Milan.
Article originally published on Printlovers.
CBA Design Paris
Recent political developments across Europe and the US have seen whole countries, states and continents polarised in a way we’ve never seen before. Millions of people have been asked to think in black and white terms and choose a side: yes or no, in or out, globalised or nationalised, progressive or traditional, liberal or conservative. This has forced consumers to think even deeper about what their values are and what’s most important to them. In the process, consumers have become more comfortable expressing their views and values publicly and this will no doubt inform their decisions about which brands they choose to engage with. The big challenge for brands is how best to navigate this newly polarised consumer landscape: do brands have to pick a side? What happens if they do, or don’t? And is it possible to stay neutral?
Some brands have seen these developments as an opportunity to jump straight in, wearing their hearts on their sleeves. For Diesel, a progressive and outspoken brand founded on values of individuality and self-expression, their ‘Make Love Not Walls’ campaign was a natural expression of their personality that helped clarifying their positioning at an uncertain time. Similarly, AirBnB’s support for the post-Brexit #LondonIsOpen campaign and offer of free housing to Syrian refugees felt true to their position as a globally minded, progressive brand. If you’re already an outspoken brand with a social, political or ethical agenda, whether liberal or conservative, then this is your time to solidify that position.
The problem is that the majority of companies do not fall into this category. For these ‘catch-all’ brands who are traditionally neutral, taking sides has proven to be much more of a risk. The hashtag #BoycottStarbucks dominated Twitter after the company announced it would hire thousands of refugees over the next five years, while Under Armour saw its stock price plummet when their CEO expressed support of Trump. But perhaps it was the fall-out stemming from New Balance’s support of Trump that revealed one of the more extreme examples of this polarisation among consumers, with liberal millennials posting videos of them burning their New Balance shoes while a neo-nazi group disturbingly hailed the brand as ‘The Official Shoe of White People’.
While these may be extreme examples, they certainly reveal the risks of a ‘for everybody’ brand taking sides at this highly-charged and politicised time, regardless of how good the intentions are. Although Starbucks have since said that their brush with being boycotted did not harm sales or the brand, it’s a risk that few companies will want to make. It’s certainly a sign that times have changed when a relatively unassuming shoe brand can cause such an extreme public outcry.
It’s time for a lot of brands to re-assess and get a better understanding of who their consumers really are in the context of these changed times, rather than who they think they are, or who they want them to be. For example, creative briefs are stilling defining target audiences as things like ‘left-leaning urbanites’, but what that means in 2017 on the eve of the UK’s departure from Europe is very different to what it meant 2 years, 18 months, or even a year ago.
Similarly, the creative branding and marketing executives sitting at the global HQ of a multinational FMCG brand might think it’s a no-brainer to a create a campaign in support of more connected, liberal and progressive political ideals, but in the case of Brexit and Trump, that risks alienating huge numbers of potential consumers in their market who are differ in opinion. At the same time, brands with a large influence do feel a sense of responsibility and can’t simply ignore what’s going on in the wider world out of fear of upsetting certain groups of consumers. So what’s the way forward?
Brands who don’t want to risk jumping on the political bandwagon should look for the things that unite people on both sides of the fence, rather than what divides them. Unlike the financial crisis in 2008 that created a widespread feeling of retrenchment, introspection and austerity, recent political events have spurred people on to take action, be more proactive and feel empowered. This is true of people of all political persuasions – they are supporting what they feel is the most positive course of action.
The golden opportunity for brands at the moment is to tap into this shared mindset and to offer a positive, optimistic choice and experience for consumers against the current backdrop of political unease and in-fighting. Through carefully considered brand communications, campaigns, new products and experiences, brands can find engaging ways of empowering people by offering them choice, something a bit different and an opportunity to make proactive decisions about the way they live their lives and the brands they choose to associate with.
Above all, it’s important to remember that we are living in a time of great change, movement and action. The brands that can help consumers navigate a positive route through this and appear proactive in a time of uncertainty will be the ones who weather any storms to come most successfully, regardless of their own, or their consumers’, political views.
Lewis Jones is managing director at CBA London.
Read this article on The Drum
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