France
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Emotion isvery often the starting point of a designer’s inspiration… Saying this, thereal challenge in our field is to move from an emotion-driven vision to agenuine emotional response for the end consumer. As underlined by Rafael Gomez,designer at Queensland University of Technology, ”to design enjoyable productswe must first understand what makes people happy and design products based onthat critical understanding.” He analyzed the emotional impact of MP3 and PDAdevices : beyond the functional benefits of these music players andcommunications tools, these devices were perceived as important for consumers,because of their « escape » and « relaxation » attributes. The understanding ofhuman needs should thus be leveraged to create any goods or services, accordingto Gomez.
Co-creationas an emotional commitment driver between brands and consumers
Youtube,Wordpress, Tumblr, Soundcloud, Flickr, Instagram, … numerous sites andapplications enable everyone to become creative and to share their words,pictures, songs, videos, and so on… Creativity is now everywhere, and itinfluences the evolution of marketing : today, brands can collaborate withtheir consumers-creators, in order to create always more bonding, commitment,and conversation.
Accordingto Cecilia Weckstörm, head of the Consumer Experience department at Lego,“Brands are no longer created, they are cocreated,”she argued. “Strongemotional engagement produces the motivation to cocreate.” Also, Legoencourages its millions fans to develop content via their social platformReBrick, which allows the brand lovers to share their own creations.
In additionto their commercial value, brands can try to boost their social value on along-term perspective, by raising awareness on their own causes. Wikipedia cancount on the involvement and support from thousands of contributors, and isthus able to offer a source of knowledge without precedent, that is accessibleto everyone. A brand such as Autolib incites people to share their car, insteadof owning one. This way, brands encourage creation and sharing, whileminimizing the destruction of human and natural resources. When they imply suchan equation, brands enhance their emotional capital towards consumers.
Brands thatcommit. For real.
We wrote anote on Generation G about three years ago : brands still continue to praisefor kindness. Interflora sending flowers to Twitter users when they feel down,Ben & Jerry’s offering free ice-creams, Tropicana bringing the sun back toa Canadian city during winter, Google supporting the LGBT cause with itscampaign It Gets Better, … All these initiatives truly reveal brands’ hearts.
Chipotle,the Mexican fast-food giant, proved its difference when fully repositioning itsbrand philosophy early 2000’s. In its report Food with integrity, the companydraws attention on its efforts to get supplies of healthy and free-range meats,organic products, hormone-free dairy products, family farms and as much aspossible, from local producers. In 2012, Chipotle communicated for the firsttime on TV during the Grammy Awards ceremony, with a campaign entitled Back tothe start, a poetic animation movie denouncing the devastating effects ofintensive farming, with a country-style cover of Coldplay’s song The Scientist.Chipotle invited the audience to buy the song on iTunes. The benefits have beendonated to their foundation Cultivate Foundation, which aims at encouragingresponsible, sustainable and healthy farming. In addition to thisCannes-awarded campaign, the display integrates a unique loyalty program – FarmTeam – dedicated to helping members chosing a more responsible diet, as well asa Cultivate music festival, mixing concerts, food, crafts and debates.
Throughthis assertive posture, aligned with the current consumers’ expectations, itssophisticated storytelling, a remarkable campaign that calls on emotion, we candefinitely say that this constitutes a great brand project, all the more surprisingcoming from a fast-food chain ! Rival fast food giants are learning lessonsfrom Chipotle’s stance.: McDonalds recently announced its willingness to stoptapping into intensive farming !
Brandswhich change the world : an utopia ?
In a crisiscontext which has brought along gloominess for a couple years, brands havefinally understood that consumers were eager to consume goods and services witha purpose : they want to feel that they contribute to building a better world.Brands like Fairtrade suggests another way to envision consumption, byimproving the life conditions of small producers. The positive evolution isthat this type of initiative is not only the prerogative of fairtradeorganizations…
The casethat moved us the most lately is the operation Help – I’ve cut myself… and Iwant to save a life. Help Remedies is a company which sells over-the-countermedicine and first aid products in the US, and which was already known forseveral reasons : its packaging that take the heat ouf the serious world ofdrugs with playful, colorful and minimalist boxes, affordable prices, a wittyand fun tone of voice, crazy website and videos, …
Last year,the brand teamed up with the ad agency Droga 5 and the bone-marrow transplantorganization DKMS, and included a marrow donor registration kit, a swab formopping up drops of blood and a pre-paid envelope. inside its band-aid boxes.The principle is simple : when cutting yourself, you can send some of yourblood to the national bone marrow registry, which will inform you of your donorpotentiality, by easily reaching for a plaster. This sharp initiative put thespotlight on this fundamental cause thanks to an simple yet powerful mechanism,and the brand saw its bands sales boomed by 1900% in a couple of months ! Notto mention the hundreds of lives that could have been saved, with one simplegesture…
Financialscandals, food crisis, frauds, relocations, bad buzz, … rarely brands have beenfighting over so many issues and threats. Though, they have the power and meansto make society sensitive to great causes. By launching heartfelt actions,generous brands can not only increase their profit, but also and beforehandgenerate loyalty from a commited and passionate audience. And let’s dream forone minute : they might be able to change the world.
CBA network has thus received two prestigious prizes during the handoverceremony which took place in Barcelona on September 21st.
The Gold Pentaward given to Daddy acts as a celebration of the brand’s wittycommunications, through a fun limited edition : icing sugar packs turned intoprisoners.
The Silver Penatward attributed to Callipo underlines the quality of the strategic and creativereinterpretation of the Italian brand, focused on an elegant revamp of the itshistoric distinctive graphic cues.
For more information, visit the Pentawards website.
Territorial branding : far more than a logo
In thesetimes of continuous streams, trade liberalization and free movement ofinidviduals, administrative and geographical borders tend to fade away, leadingto the redefinition of the idea of territorial space. The current context of aweakened macroeconomic and geopolitical situation has encouraged the local andregional authorities to communicate on their competitive assets, to stand up onan international stage. We’ve witnessed the emerging development of specificidentities for countries, cities and regions, positioning themselves as brands.Saying this, destination branding is not a new trend, or an umpteenth fad ofthe communications industry. The first initiative of this kind was launched in1969 by the State of Virginia in the US ; « Virginia is for lovers » has beenincidentally cited as one the most iconic campaigns of the past 50 years by themagazine Ad Age.
« I love NY» : who isn’t aware of this logo/tagline that is now so cult that other citieshave imitated it (I love SF, I love LA, …), as well as numerous brands ? (TheFrench bank La Banque Postale used it to promote one of its savings accountsoptions for instance).
This symbolturned into a genuine cultural icon has become a Holy Grail for most of thecities in the world : I Am-sterdam, Mad-rid about you, Only Lyon, Be Berlin,It’s better in the Bahamas, C-Open-Hagen, …
However,destination branding can’t be reduced to a tagline, or to a graphicillustration : the final goal is to reveal and show the different intricatefacets of a territory, associating a functional dimension (services,transports, architecture, …) and an emotional aspect (culture, heritage,encounters, …) to address multiple and demanding targets. The underlying aim isto switch paradigm and to evolve from location to destination.
What’s at stake for a territorial brand
Everycountry is naturally associated to a mental representation and a reputationrooted in a mix of constituent features such as history, universities, sports teamsor its inhabitants’ personalities.
Jean-NoëlKapferer states that “Countries are therefore names with brand power : theyhave the power to influence through the spontaneous associations they evoke,for good or ill, and through the emotions that they stir up.”
One of themajor issues to deal with for branding experts is to manage to sum up the wholebunch of evocations coming from a territory to one and only icon, which willact as a significant symbol while conveying its values’ set ; and which willaddress very distinctive private and public audiences. This symbol has toarouse an emotion, in order to be embraced by the people that define and embodythe territory. This is the most subtle part of the task and we’ve seen Londonfail at doing a good job : by dint of letting several identities and universelive alongside, the city doesn’t know which one is right and has suffered froman identity crisis…
At last, asany mass consumption brand, a territory brand must draw on concretereasons-to-believe, to prove its promise worthy. « What is said » of aterritory is more important as what the territory says of itself. It is crucialthat the image and perceived values translate into facts, especially in theitems – the 6 As – presented in the Destination Marketing AssociationInternational : Amenities, Attraction, Activities, Accessibility, Ancillaryservices, Available packages.
Defining new borders
Mainlymotivated by economic purposes, some cities rally around one strong and uniquebrand – supported by their city halls, their chambers of commerce or theirtourist centers – blurring thus the previously well-defined frontiers.Saint-Etienne territory is an illustration of this trend ; its brandpositioning, visual identity and signature, as well as communicationsguidelines have been developed by CBA. This type of association is challengingsince it is based on the federation of endorsers with different perspectivesand the reconciliation of plural identities around a common legitimate message.
On theother end, some official boundaries get blast under the aegis of inhabitantsproud to promote what they consider as their spaces, showing off their localfeeling of belonging. In Paris for instance, there is a raging hype war betweenSoPi (standing for South of Pigalle) and NoMa (standing for North of Marais). Adesigner from Chicago decided to ally his two passions – his city and his job –and came up with the Chicago Nieghborhoods project : an original creation forthe 77 districts of the North-American city, inspired from its own experiencesand imagination. Other neighbourhoods go even further and develop their ownidentity system, targeting tourists and people from close neighbourhoods to goout, shop, travel or live there. Georgetown in Washington D.C. is one exampleamongst others.
Today more than ever, territory branding is acomplex sum of references to institutions and collective meaning and of apersonal, emotional and creative reinterpretation of a shared universe bycitizens.
Itwas just a year ago that we unveiled our new face to the world with aninspiring vision and a re-designed identity. ‘DesigningBrands With Heart’ captured a truth, our uniqueapproach to what we do: we believe that brands with heart uplift the world& positively change the way we live in.
Ourcreativity, the thread that links all of our work, has been recognised severaltimes during the past year: two Pentawards, a Sol award, a DubaiLynx award, an American Graphic Design award and aPeople’s Choice award.
DesigningBrands With Heart’ is also a philosophy of sharing and expressing our passion.Naturally we have spoken at various conferences, but we have also invested timeelsewhere in the world of design. Firstly by becoming partners with the InternationalDesign Biennale of St Etienne, the city for whichwe created a new proposition and identity, but we have also welcomed studentsfrom the EuropeanInstitute of Design in Milan in September and theNackademinAcademy in Paris in November.
Ofcourse, in order to give life to ‘brands with heart’ we must rely on inspiredpeople, and we are delighted to have amongst us new international ambassadorsincluding Jo Boyd, the new managing director of our London office.
And finally, because emotion has value, here is a list of figures thatsummarises our year in 2013. Not to mention innumerable briefs, brainstorms,endless conference calls and coffees, all to create beautiful work across thefour corners of the globe…
All the team of CBA BE has landed in the heart of San Francisco! We are all moved in,
unpacking the last few odds and ends. Previously settled on the other side ofthe Golden Gate Bridge, in Sausalito, we has now taken over the FinancialDistrict, a place of inspiration with a constant stream of people, multitude ofshops and excellent food & drink establishments.
This move at the heart ofthe city illustrates the continuous search for proximity with existing and newclients in the bustling Bay Area, with a reinforced will to team up withstart-up companies as well as with larger groups.
Our team in the UK has moved too into its first permanent home in the New Wing of SomersetHouse at the end of March. As a company that believes in ‘Designing Brands WithHeart’ there can be no better location in London for CBA; it is an environmentthat instantly inspires all who enter its courtyard, and provides acontinuously changing and stimulating space in which we will create a companythat embodies all of the values that make CBA such a special agency. For thoseunfamiliar with Somerset House it is a majestic building on the banks of theRiver Thames. Originally a royal palace, it has been re-born in the 21stcentury as a center for arts and culture and contains institutions like theCourtauld Institute, The Sorrell Foundation Young Design Centre or the LondonFashion Week. It also provides office space to established and pioneeringartists, designers and new talents within the cultural sector.https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/
Thisassociation of expertise will allow the brand CBA to shine from SãoPaulo across all Latin America.
CBAB+G is already working for the network global clients in this area and willsupport them with a strategic and coherent management of their brands over allthe LATAM area (Nestlé, Kimberly Clark, Carrefour Properties…)
The55 people team will be co-managed by Luis Bartolomei, the B+G founder, andLudovic Dapoigny, who have been the General Manager in charge of theinternational group of CBA network from 2006 to 2012. Before joining CBA B+G,Ludovic had launched and managed the New Yorker agency Black & Gold in2012.
Two other partners; Rodrigo Costabeber and Alex Espinoza will respectivelymanage the Creative Direction and Strategic Planning of the agency.
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