Why five? Why not six or seven? Well, I personally like odd numbers. Three seemed not enough and seven looked like too much. So, I stuck with 5. Then it also works nice on the title and goes with the flow of the online mood of presenting "x" tips for everything...
Ok. Now, back to the real issue.
There is no universal solution to create winning brands, but since this year I’ve lead several award-winning brands and package designs for different retailers across the globe, I went back to try to understand what they had in common. And this is what I’ve found:
1. Great Brands
Transform your brand into a great brand. Great brands are not defined by size, volume of sales or market. What defines a Brand as being great is the momentum. They need to be willing to change, to evolve, to be open for innovation. They need to be willing to grow, to stand out from the crowd, not because they ‘glow’ more, but through its honest and intrinsic values.
2. Story-Telling
This is a cliché: “Everybody loves a good story”. In fact, this is still true, the only difference today is that people have less, less and less time. So, the solution is short and immediate stories. This means that brands, products and labels need to be clear and obvious when transmitting information regarding type of product, its attributes and purpose. Ok, direct, but not dumb! Products need to tell stories that touches people's lives. Or because they make life easier, by its easy use, or because they enhance people's diet or because they have other attributes like a special source or production process. In the end, this is all about answering a simple question: What does it bring to people’s lives?
3. Be a Sharp Client
Know what you want! Define where your brand should be heading and in the end, trust the people you've hired to do the job. Sharp clients are eager and strive for innovation. They let the Design and the Branding processes flow always towards a meaningful end. Great clients have time to discuss and develop projects so that every player involved has time to achieve greatness. Great clients are the ones where the decision makers are involved in the processes. And don't forget that we are all clients at a certain point.
4. Creative Process
People that are developing the brand strategy, communication, packages, label design, and store layouts need to have a clear implemented process that targets innovation with meaning. They all need to be focused in the same: The consumer. This process needs to be focused on the need of the consumer and on how to satisfy or create that need. Only things that are relevant for the consumer should be involved in the process. Other things like personal aspirations, fears or graphical taste need to be taken out of the equation, they are not important for the consumer.
5. Team Work
My last point. Dedicated and hardworking teams that know what they are doing. People that raise questions, that are never satisfied with obvious solutions, eager to evolve and that are natural consumers. Teams that run the extra mile, that have a common process, that understand the market and the industry. That have any benchmark in their heads without thinking. People that collaborate and share. Service providers and clients that work together. The greatness of ones is the greatness of all. This, in the end, adds value to any business.
Looks simple, right? Look for greatness in the small things and bring your brands to the next level.
These are the common attributes I’ve found. What about you?
Dig deeper into this with Jens Sievert