by irfan mug-d
2009-2010
As I move towards the future of brand evolution, even the largest brands such as coke has evolved to apply the artistic mindset to its business operations.
Unless the new generation marketing programs are directly designed around the natural neurological functionality of the brain, large amount of investments poured into creating sustainable brand value will be lost.
Observing the communication in current times driven out by largely successful product and services marketing companies, it is very clearly apparent that sustainable brand relationship maintenance factor is still ignored to a large extent.The current communications production agencies are acting in accordance to the overriding pressures thrusted over to them by the sales team. Rather brand communication should start flowing through from the visionaries of the company and not just from the sales team. Since, it is very concretely believed that communication design does play phenomenal role in converting consumers into brand loyalists, it should be communicated to the masses right from the heart of the brand leader, which logically means, that there has to be a artist incharge of the whole business operation, the brand communication created and directed by the third party who are still not holistically involved within the business house will definately fall short in communicating the right message, hence the brand loses it's longevity effect, no matter how eagerly the communications are put out towards the consumers. This is exactly the case with brands such as coca cola, where even after 125 years of existence, still the brand communication messages are treated as wallpapers in the life of consumers, still not being able to strike a core brand relationship with its consumers. Certainly over the period of time, the coke communication was created by an outside agency, which was still not holistically involved in business, hence is why I like to set an example here that the appointment of global design heads within the organization to adopt the design methodology in structuring the very business operation model to increase efficiency on all levels is why the design heads today are being deployed by the companies. As david butler, VP global design of coke, puts it "we see design as moving from a small 'd' to a capital 'D'. That's why we focus our energy on building our capability of design across the organization, which does affect our packaging or the functionality of our equipment.But it's much bigger than that. It's helping our organization think more holistically; not just create better packaging."
This involvement of artistic mindset dawning on the global business houses is clearly a statement to the new evolution of business management across the globe.Simply to turn the pages of history of art and capitalism, where Artists lived in their times by articulating the glory of expressing freedom of the self, where as the capitalists enjoyed the pleasure of gazing at the beauty of an artistic creations and gave into the realm of creative indulgence. Well, consumers in the Societies have lived in long enough to become more and more intelligent. Capitalists to have evolved in by understanding the insights of the societal needs and addressing those needs by personal visions have for long time carved the business path and have become successful in their endeavours.
But in the current times the artists and the capitalists have to walk on side by side.Because today, any of the businesses depend largely on superior power of branding to eventually evolve the brand loyalists into a brand community, without which most of the current existing brands will eventually become extinct.
When you say those Creative Directors are the Business Ambassadors behind the veil. It’s about time companies should value the importance of right creative minds and involve them "throughout" their business life, else, companies are dotting full stop on their business growth. And this notion of thought is rightly understood by few fortunate business minds in the market.Globally, most of the businesses are being taken over by the creative thinkers; this is understood by the ones who realize this shift happening in the business arena. Like it is said, this is the evolution of a new business era, driven by creativity. Since, creativity can solve any business problem.
To me this idea of evolving pattern of artists direct involvement in business ventures is pretty much same as what I say adding 'longevity effect' to the sustainability of the brand.
My thought is towards the enhancement of a brand from current state to a brand community level which is clearly the future of branding.
For any brand owning company to achieve this high level of creating a successful brand community of the future, it is very much required that, the core of the organization is driven by art methodology, an design/artistic director is mandatory to guide not only the brand consumers but also the business operations within the company, and to portray his creative visions into workable business models to work in more systemic and original format.
Only then the brand philosophy or relationship will truely embed into the consumers adding the value of brand sustainability in the market place.
Eventually when you ponder over the brands currently succeeding in the market place with its products and services, not all of them will survive in the long run. Because if you think about it on practicality of establishing a brand venture and at the same time wanting to capture the market shares in the same existing market, technically you can never simply break into the market and immediately start achieving sales, unless
There is a very wide gap that a venturing company has realized, and wants to close it by offering its products or services in its chosen segments. But, rightfully, on an everyday basis major companies are heavily investing to achieve similar business visions and are already closing these opportunity gaps that are present in the market.
So what is happening is that, because companies have unlimited funds to flow into the market, many brands do think that market share could be achieved by simply burning and dodging the customers by nonstop communication messages and free flowing advertising campaigns, which by fact the new age customers have grown accustomed to the thought that, “those ads are nice jokes” kind of attitude, where as these brand messages which are originally responsible for creating a relationship with the consumers are no longer striking a personal relationship at all.
Because today you could really talk to a commoner on the street and he would have his take on the latest advertising campaign running in the city. Naturally as what the campaigns are designed to do, but this way of continuing with insanity of just blowing off the consumer mindset with only entertaining and graphically arresting brand messages will never get the brands to the bottom of its sustainability in the market.
The best of the times of original branding are gone back in the days where living in the 50's and 60's when brands like american airlines and VW beetle created the sense of genuine individuality to itself and reaped the benefits of its times,
but certainly in current times the brand communication is not helping the customer to make decisions as it used to do in the past. Simply, because the new age customer is smarter and much more informed than its predecessors.
And also with current consumer the issue is that, biologically the message analysis time required in the human brain is simply not enough, given the amount of things the consumer is doing in a day and also the amount of electropollution he is being exposed to (eg. Cell phone, microwaves, radio frequencies and telecommunications antennas) this is verily one of the main causes directly responsible for this biological change happening in the human brain, so the brands are losing out on the methods of keeping the consumer hooked on to any particular brand ideology.
Having addressed the basic branding in current scenario, the thought will remain that the only way for brand marketing owners is, to appoint visionary art/design directors as real brand ambassadors behind and veil and focus on creating long term sustainable brand communities of the future.
I would prefer to end with an example from a glamorous fashion label 'Balmain', despite being the design giant that was responsible for reenergizing the lavish couture dressing after world war II, the brand fell into bankruptcy after 2003 and later revived again by the investors in 2005 by getting new artistic director on board christopher decarnin,since then, brand balmain has become notoriously expensive and profits soaring heights.
Since the new age branding has reached a high, think about it, when Balmain went into bankruptcy did it have less brand value? No, it was the business vision and approach that did not work in brands favour, hence, absolutely requires a visionary artist to lead business ventures of our times.
You can write back at: i@imug-d.com
