I was recently invited to speak to some talented design students at Australia’s best design school [ Enmore SIT in Sydney ]. Here is the introductory video I used to set the tone and demonstrate what it is that we do at The Sponge, that is we make brands.
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The Sponge are master brand makers. Our expertise is in making powerful corporate brand identities, identities with substance, identities that communicate an authentic story, identities which deliver real results.
Do we do other things like marketing strategy, design for print, design for web, design for multimedia, and design for live events? Yes, if it is part of the necessary strategy for making a powerful brand, we do it.
It is what we love. It is what we do exceptionally well. It is where we Find the Fun.
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Why is the old adage “The Baker doesn’t bake his own bread” such a common truth? I know it is far too easy for me to get bogged down in my work and let that what it is that I preach escape practice in our own business.
It is not always an easy task to stop and take an unbiased look at the business you run day to day. Even more when it is a focused critique about everything you are doing to make the hard but necessary changes to steer your business into the future. This is more difficult when it requires you to kill the old cash cow that hogs your resources and keeps you welded to the past and from your real objectives and ultimately achieving greatness.
To practice what we preach we’ve successfully implemented a series of “Evolution of The Sponge” planning days. They have been spread over a period of a 6 weeks and have had the involvement of the key people within The Sponge and externally. The outcome has been extremely positive, refreshing and bonding to put it simply. Now we have an empowering new Vision, Mission and set of Core Values that will guide all our actions and choices here in. I want to share them with you because we feel they are powerful. The words are being finalized now and will be published to here soon.
The other key outcomes of the Evolution planning day series are a road map for the next 12 months at The Sponge which includes:
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Evolution of The Sponge experience and as a result we are already more profitable and working better together. There is a level of positivity that we have not experienced before and that is quite exciting, I only wish we had done it sooner. Practice what you preach.
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With fingers crossed, we are awaiting confirmation on an absolutely incredible new opportunity. I expect to make an announcement here shortly.
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I was speaking to a gentleman that I respect last week about branding. During this discussion we touched on many critical things, but none more than the importance of a brand culture within a company. If it is not there, then it is near impossible to create a brand identity.
Why is it critical that you stand for something? Because your brand is not your logo, unless you are a faceless, voiceless, automated commodity , then it is your people and your company culture. Your customers, clients, suppliers, distributors and even your people are immersed in your company culture every day. If you have a misaligned company vision (or no vision at all), or a similarly misaligned, or meaningless set of core values (or no core values at all), then what can you honestly expect the attitude toward your company to be?
An inspiring example of an empowering Vision and Values set comes from Southwest Airlines. It is one of many examples from “The Art of Business - in the footsteps of Giants” by Raymond T.Yeh and Stephanie H.Yeh
Vision: “To provide the best service and lowest fares to the short haul, frequent-flying, point-to-point, non-interlining traveler.”
Which Yeh translate the Tao as: “Liberating people to fly - democratizing the skies”
And the Values as lifted from http://www.southwest.com/careers/culture.html
Warrior Spirit
Work Hard
Desire to be the best
Be courageous
Display a sense of urgency
Persevere
Innovate
Servant’s Heart
Follow The Golden Rule
Adhere to the Basic Principles
Treat others with respect
Put others first
Be egalitarian
Demonstrate proactive Customer Service
Embrace the SWA Family
Fun-LUVing Attitude
Have FUN
Don’t take yourself too seriously
Maintain perspective (balance)
Celebrate successes
Enjoy your work
Be a passionate Teamplayer
These values and the commonly held company vision empower every member of the Southwest Airlines to act for the good of the company within a clear set of guides. This is the culture from top down and they insist on hiring only those people with the right attitude that fit the vision. This ensures that the dream lives in every employee. In fact Southwest Airlines has created an entire committee to nurture the culture called the Culture Committee.
It is this kind of company culture which enables a design team the ideal platform to create a Corporate Identity that is substantial and tells an authentic story. It is this kind of company that is our ideal client. If your Company is lacking in these areas, fear not, it is something that you can develop with the right direction. And the difference in productivity and profitability as a result can be astounding!
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Your consultant needs to be an exceptional listener. You need to be able to trust him with one of your company’s most valuable assets.
Some of the key aspects you should look for in a design firm are:
The hunger to completely understand your business. A holistic understanding that is, including your business direction, culture, process, goals (short and long term), target market, industry and your competition. This understanding must be sound, well before any ideas are generated. A skilled consultant will help you share the information with him by asking you and the key members your team a series of structured questions. This is where all the information and inspiration is contained.
Timeless Approach to Identity Design. Powerful brands will stand the test of time. Consider that when you choose your design team because they need to believe what they will create will be around long after you have left this earth and that it will be standing strong. This makes understanding your long term goals critical, otherwise it is next to impossible to create anything meaningful that will last.
Powerful Design Skills and Ability in many mediums. It is invaluable to find a design and marketing firm that has the ability to implement the new brand through your entire collateral material, whether it is print, live or online. A firm with equally talented staff in all areas of design can offer you commanding branding at every client touch point. A touch point is any element of your business that your client touches, whether it is a business card, a sign, your website or even your voicemail.
By doing so you can eliminate the weak links created when using multiple independent firms. The weak links will occur when the creative direction has to be translated again by a new creative team and is misunderstood. It can often be purposely modified with new “creative direction” because of a “was not done here” mentality. This intentional misdirection weakens your message and dilutes your brands story.
In summary, you need a firm with a hunger to understand your business and a desire to create you a timeless brand with the ability and team to implement it powerfully across throughout your company. Simple!
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For many the turning point when your brand starts failing to accurately represent the business passes by unnoticed (to those in charge) like a cloud in the night sky. The sad thing is that these failings contribute to irreparable poor first impressions, gross misunderstanding of your offerings and less and less new business of the type you want.
There are many reasons your brand can become misaligned with your business. From the experience of The Sponge, here are the top 10 signs that it is time to rebrand your business.
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Which is why we wake up smiling and rush into work every morning.
Our clients are extremely important to us, like members of an elite club that we fondly refer to as Clubsponge.
Our clients are the chosen ones. The rare and special people who continue to inspire us with sparks of ingenuity, magnetism, intellect and the unbridled desire to soar to great and dizzying new heights. The courageous few who are receptive to the big ideas that are innovative, progressive and sometimes outside of their comfort zone. These are the ideas that differentiate them from the clutter which is the competition.
A relationship with the Sponge is like a trusted friendship. One in which you can share your needs, your goals, or your flights of fancy. And in our fun and friendly Sponge way, we’ll help you make them your reality - with titillating results.
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All purchasing decisions are emotionally driven. Rationalizations are all made after that moment of decision and are usually only to justify that decision. Ultimately it comes down to how you feel about it. This is why an emotionally driven message, or story, is the most important element in your print material, apart from the initial attention seeking headline or graphical alternative. Your story must address your target audiences world view, engage them and create a burning desire to want to do what you ask. Remember, the only way to get anyone to do anything is to make them WANT to do it, if you don’t achieve this, they won’t!
So the 3 keys are 1. get attention, 2. make an emotional connection with your audience with a story they identify with and creates a desire, and 3. then finally you give them ONE easy to follow instruction to carry out. This can be a direction to “Call this number now”, “Visit an outlet”, “Visit our website - www” or “Send in this coupon”, or anything else that drives them to take immediate action. Keep it simple and don’t leave it to them to work it out.
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If you are still here then you are one of the smart people. You understand that your branding and marketing material needs to be unique and creative so it can stand out from the daily clutter that comes before your target market and vies for a moment of their precious time. Then equally as important, it must be highly appealing and emotionally stimulating to these citizens so that your message is received and acted on directly.Understanding all the ins and outs of your business and fine points of your products, or services is what we thirst for and so should you. Only once you are armed with this information can anyone create highly alluring designs, a holistic marketing strategy, and specific micro strategies to convey an emotionally charged message directly to your target market. An emotionally charged message can strike a chord with your target market, increasing their understanding of the benefits you provide them and elicit a direct response, ultimately generating you more profit.
You’ve made it this far so we believe that you can be the best and brightest in your industry. Developing powerful designs and a focused marketing strategy will help you get the results you crave. Strive to create the most creative, intuitive and remarkable designs for your specific needs. Your ultimate goal should be to significantly increase your profit and add value to your life and business. Ours is!
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Welcome to evolve.
