Creativity and Branding. Make a Difference - Stay Original.

Creativity is an all time thing and Brands are for always. When we think of a brand – we think about how creative it is, in terms of –

Utility | Proposition | Benefits | Communication | Value

A brand can we creative is many ways. A creative communication leads to a great recall and a creative product/service makes a brand forever.  We are going to understand the creative phenomena in branding with some significant points for the start-up brands.

Creativity is Innovation

Looking at the Brands of today, creativity is innovation.  The transformation from landline phones to today tabs come instantly to the mind. Isn’t that a creative innovation, you can say the popular jargon for it is design thinking. But this certainly is bringing creative solutions is smallest form possible. They have brought the world to your palm. The industry is working on innovation and they are working everyday on creative solutions.

Creativity fosters Competition

I would say, not all the organizations are creative. Some are competitive. They follow the creative process of the pioneers and create competition through pricing strategy, better service, value added features, sweepstakes and marketing.

Read More.....

Most Common Branding Mistakes

When we create a brand, it is like our only dream, only passion and only ambition. And to think like this is normal – it takes a lot of you to create & establish a brand.

So many times it happens that we get too involved into it, we love to experiment with the graphics, and we want to try the personal favorites to our brand.

Warning! A brand is owned by us but it is created for the use & benefit of its customers.

And since we gave a warning here, we are going to detail out the 7- Most Avoidable Branding Mistakes.

Mind the Orientation

This is important to keep the orientation of your brand as per the focus area. The purpose of its existence is value creation and the orientation shall be based on that, the idea is to reach out the right customers at appropriate touch points. So we must create a brand which can be less pleasing to all but should be appealing to our customer segment.

Follow KIPS

At 30TH FEB, we follow the KIPS principle for branding a business or start-up. KIPS is “Keep it Plain & Simple”. Many of our clients insist of high pitch language, world class tone and jargon. This shall be avoided.

Remember, a client is coming to you to get the right solution.

Read more....

Building a Brand

Brand Building looks like an interesting job. When we think of it, lot of colors, graphics, visuals come to your mind. In fact, I have seen lot of graphic designers trying to become brand experts which is a very welcome idea. And also lot of start-ups tend to take up initial brand exercise on their own pertaining to budget deficits and in some cases lower confidence level.

Remember, you need to understand the purpose of a brand prima-facie, the reason for its birth and principal function. You must know – How the brand is defined before you take up Brand Building.

Whoever takes up – brand building must know the following points and shall work on each of them to reach to a desired output.

Read more..

Sustainable Branding - Big Brands Bigger Challenges

Alas! The Brands are going the health way. With the consumer becoming informed, the media reaching out the millions, a buyer is bound to choose. And with changing lifestyles – it is a must to observe – what we eat!

Organic Brands are increasing multi-folds. From what you keep in your living room to what you consume in a respective meal

Sustainability is the way of branding and it is great to see some of the Giant Brands taking the lead.

Read More..

Microsoft Unveiled New LOGO! Is rebranding becoming Inevitable?

Change is the only constant and progression is the way of life.  Similarly, change & progression is the way of branding too.

Microsoft, after successful 25 years is emerging out all over again this year, reaching places and whoa unveiling the New Logo.

With a wave of exciting product launches, making news about launching latest versions and series of all their products – from windows to Xbox, this seems to be the best time for Microsoft to launch the logo, it just depicts much more colors being added to brand, they are suggesting that they have lots to offer. This was also important to assure consistent brand presence across products – from PCs to tablets and phones. Microsoft surely wants the brand image for a new beginning and they are highlighting the variety they offer, the wide range of products with which they are enlightening many lives in so many ways.

On the first look – I loved the colors though the logo doesn't looks distinguishing. The colors look zestful and I thought this is quite simple logo with a solid presence. This can’t get unnoticed as it has got Microsoft with it. Besides, the logo is simple, solid, multicolor shows the multi-offerings, variety etc and pleasing to eyes. For me, it lives upto the brand promise. And the video is even better as to a great extent it explains their concept of logo. Watch here.

If we see it from the perspective of Cymbolism – the logo is friendly which is good. The brand is no new, people know the brand and the only idea is to get close to them, the logo design promises to reach out. It is pleasing to the layman not just the brand/marketing/technology experts. So we can say, the brand is trying to take the promise forward, it says I am here to stay and have got some very exciting offerings. I think this is a very progressive brand approach.

What do they have to say?

"The Microsoft brand is about much more than logos or product names. We are lucky to play a role in the lives of more than a billion people every day. The ways people experience our products are our most important 'brand impressions'. That’s why the new Microsoft logo takes its inspiration from our product design principles while drawing upon the heritage of our brand values, fonts and colors," says the company in its official blog.

The Logo Transition – a Rebranding Tool

We have seen the logo transitions of some of the most popular brands earlier too – be it Discovery Channel, Walmart, Pepsi, Videocon, Airtel – we loved the logos, we belonged to them but that is the magic, the brands play the trick and we realize that the belongingness is to the brand and not with the logo.

Rebranding is considered a tool to keep the customer focus. With the competition and several creative vehicles, the brands evolve every day. It is seen that when a brand wants to hit back – they simplify themselves and it works like awakening with a childhood dream one day and realizing how fond and close we were to a certain thing/emotion. Rebranding is a way to reveal – the next big thing. That is why rebranding also occurs in the case of mergers, takeovers etc. Logo changes mostly symbolize evolvement, growth and future.

Like all kinds of transition, a brand transition will also take some time. So watch out how these colors replace in the respective spaces, from the TV ads to retail stores, from our desktops to our phones. The Microsoft colors are here to spread and leave a mark.

Olympic Winners – A new bunch of Celebrity Endorsers!

Wow! This one is great. Not only I am elated for India finally reaching a place in Olympic medal tally but I am also pleased to realize that now, we will get to see some fresh celebrity endorsements with some new faces for the India Advertising. 

Currently it is Bollywood and Cricket which rule the celebrity endorsements arena. Any brand/product category, you will find them everywhere. From personal care to ball pens, from health supplements to technology – you will find Bollywood stars and cricket players across TV channels and selling almost anything. 

With the increasing consumerism and the numerous manufacturers, it becomes a great difficulty for the marketer to make a place in the industry and to create a brand recall. And when ideas are not enough celebrity works wonders for an instant recall.  Even the corporate are associating with these stars for their CSR initiatives and to have a sports encouraging image. This way they also get mileage as an organization which works for the upliftment of society and pulls in a great social image.

And with the bollywood stars and cricket becoming a regular, the Olympic champions will surely instill freshness on our television screens. Besides, these players do not charge as high as the cricketers or the cinestars, and with the agencies and corporate offering revisions quite happily – we can expect many more brands being endorsed by the heavyweights like Sushil Kumar & Yogeshwar Dutt as well as the super mommy brands being endorsed by our own superwoman Mary Kom. With a tally of bronze and silver, I hope the stars pin the Gold in the endorsements. The laurels are already fetching great deals to these and with greater and larger amounts as quoted by the agencies managing the likes of Sania Nehwal, Gagan Narang etc. 

Of course they have all the reasons, these young Brands now stand for Perseverance and Trust, and a month back they were the stars who were struggling to shine. But now they are the ambassadors of India Shining who have left the mark in the world. The Brands certainly have some values and they have proved their mettle already. So shall we say now, Go for Gold. 

The times is to check how far can they impact the India consumers and in what category? Will the agencies be able to create a larger than life image, or they too will get a makeover and create new style statements. Will we go and shop an extra bit for the love of Saina or Sushil?

Whatever the case may be with the brands but we surely love the sound of Rio 2012 and these BRANDS bring in a lot of positivity and hope about it.

The Utterly Butterly Amul Moppet – Hot & Intriguing @ 50

Wow! Day before Amul Moppet turned 50, perhaps the only brand to rule for consecutive 50 years.  Five decades of success and love, of reaching out the various age groups, demography and even crossing national boundaries – Remember! Last year Britain came up with a butter brand named – Utterly Butterly.

A brand – creates a very normal brand mascot which turns into an abnormally excellent creative brand which is looked after by a nation even after a decade. Certainly, phenomenal it is.

Have a look at the Amul girl, a tiny round faced little chubby girl who is dressed up in a polka dot frock - no wonder even the polka dressing marks an evergreen approach in the creation of this brand. This little girl is honored with a Guinness Book Record for being the longest advertising campaign ever. Considering the skewed shelf lives and mad consumerism – it looks almost impossible that any brand or campaign will even reach any closer. [Did you read about Facebook dying by 2020?]

Not only the Amul Moppet is a successful brand mascot but it also stands out in a way – that it is one brand which doesn't needs any celebrity to ride the brand bandwagon. Infact, she pokes and observes as to what is going on in a celebrity’s life and eventually they feel lucky, embarrassed and even provoked at times – but there is no stopping as Amul Moppet is very much accepted as a voice of common man. She reaches out and connects through the campaigns.

If one checks the chronology and background of Amul, we would realize that it is the positioning of the Amul Butter and the mascot really getting to the zest of it.  Since the inception -

The Brand Image is that of a Cheerful, Fun Loving, Naughty, Healthy, Youthful and Family Oriented at the same time.

Later, it went on to become a Social Observer. Campaigning with strong messages, there by reaching the common man became a brand style. Amazing Strategy -  the Amul girl is better recognized now as a Social Observer. You talk of anything which is on air, breaking news, controversy, talking change or even a talked about movie – Amul girl will share her review – largely a common man’s take on the issue.  She is a remarkable social observer with a great 'sense of humor' which is hardly seen backing down.

Leader -It always remains a mass marketer and lead through cost and quality both.

Emotional Connect – The taste of India and the very campaigns with almost all alarming national issues, kept the emotional connect intact and the brand a success. The brand is still leading with right spirits and living upto its very basics – value orientation, sociable and Indian.

Market Adaptations – Like the campaigns even the product and competition was not backed out. Amul Butter launched Amul Lite, to adapt to the market players.

A beautiful example of an exemplary brand - Amul Moppet still have decades to go!

Video Emails – Future wave for Brand Communication?

Imagine that you record your profile and work experience with some references from your colleagues and seniors being added to it and ultimately you get an offer letter. Wow! This certainly sounds interesting. While discussing about video emails with a friend – this was the first thought which struck me. No CV…no CV with picture…no covering letter…reference check… simply a video email with all the details and references with their contact details would work, there would be absolutely no hassle of printing/calling/meeting. This is going to be amazing.  

Video Emails are fast catching up and they are emerging as the latest trend in marketing. During the discussion some 2 days ago, we could almost imagine and list some very remarkable benefits. With IT reaching the households so quickly, video chats and video interviews gaining popularity, why not get on to video emails. Sending a video email requires only 2 simple steps–

1.       Creating a video file

2.       Attaching it to the email

Basic requisites are a camera and microphone. Most of the machines have these as pre-installed programs.

Thinking about other benefits I could think of Exciting Product Demonstrations and User Manuals, Sales Messages, Client Servicing, Online gaming, Tracking video play, Video emails – for urgent messages and what not – video emails are sure to reach out.  

Consider this – the matrimonial services!

No emails, bio-data, horoscope matching, family chats – one can simply record a video message and we can share it as per our wish. Though there won’t be a real time response but then the receiver can easily record a video email in reply and share.  Who knows the busier ones will now be hooked!  It is more like a person sitting across table with you and when you send a video email, the recipient is certainly going to have a much easier time in understanding you.

Also the elderly who are not very comfortable in writing mails / typing or spending time on a machine, reading through it and those who think writing is really a pain – would get a chance to express. Express yourself in your own words. There are many who think writing is tedious as it requires lot of time – expression, choice of words, the form given to them and how they could be interpreted.  All this hassle can now be removed.

No wonder more and more brands will be going to the video emails way. Brand Communication will be just an email away. Point to wonder – will be click or it will spam? What if the advertisements are sent via email? Consider – the ‘Satyamev Jayate’ song in a video email once you subscribe to their page on facebook? Banks sending their new value add services via email or new pizza range launched in the city and you have the range in a video email? May be buying a consumer durable and checking out the demonstration in your inbox…

All good things in technology have got some limitations – like in this case there would be a restriction to the size of video message, initially it may have some special charges, the bandwidth can be a limitation in using the video email facility etc but once we all try it we would realized – if it is all worth it.