How Trends in Visual Language Impact the Interpretation of Meaning for Brands

As the world spin faster, technology and information accelerates towards the speed of light and the ocean of marketing and brand messages roars ever-louder, we continue to sharpen our ability to filter. We filter ads, we filter web sites, we filter emails and Facebook invitations, we are becoming highly attuned at high-speed information filtration. One of the tools we utilize for filtering is pattern recognition. As we form our views and preferences, we use cues that identify ‘good messages’ from ‘bad messages’ to help us make educated guesses as to what we should explore and what we should ignore. These cues relate to our sense of sight, taste, touch, smell or hearing. By committing the cue to memory we create ’somatic markers’ – points of meaning by which we can assess related cues quickly and efficiently.

When it comes to the visual language of brands, our somatic markers work in the same way. All brands have a visual language which is centers around the brand mark and includes brand colours, typefaces, photographic style, packaging, retail interior styling – in fact every visual element that represents the brand combines to create it’s visual language. A well designed brand is one where every single element of its visual language communicates culturally consistent cues such as a sense of tradition being communicated by as serif type face, or a certain colour of green indicating environmental credentials.

Often visual cues are anchored in authenticity. We understand that Pasta traditionally comes from Italy, and so associate a pattern of Italian visual cues with superior, authentic pasta brands. When Apple’s iPod exploded into a global revolution of cool technology, it created a new somatic marker in the minds of millions of people around the world. A swarm of me-too technology and music brands sprung into action, mimicking the lowercase iPod phonetics in both name and visual language.

In this way trends in the visual language of brands form over time. Sometimes trends are driven by a powerful market leader like Apple and other brands that dominate their market, other times they’re driven by significant social factors across markets such as the global financial crisis, an increase in standard of living and personal wealth, or global warming. Whatever the driver of the trends, they tend to spread in a similar fashion; as market leaders adopt a certain visual language, other brands sit-up and take notice. Initially this can be localized, but eventually it reaches a tipping-point, accelerated by the global spread of visual language via the web. Usually, at their origin, trends have both relevance and freshness, a new look for an organization that is communicating a unique brand proposition through a combination of culturally understood cues. However, as the trend becomes more wide-spread, organizations and their designers begin to adopt the visual language of a trend with out understanding the inherent meaning. This is the point where effective brand communication becomes ineffective trend following.

For this reason, trends in brand visual language can either provide an organization with great opportunity to leverage relevant cues of meaning that have wide-spread currency and momentum, or a brand image that lacks relevance, meaning and unique visual properties the brand can own. Our trend report tracks the major trends impacting brand visual language and provides organizations with the context to make an informed decision on which trends offer opportunities for their brands and which do not. (link to our report)

An example of a trend that offers great opportunity for positive leverage for relevant brands is the trend we’ve titled ‘The Signature’.
Part of the wider trend of Authenticity, the trend towards the use of a signature in brand visual language has regained popularity. Growing from a base of established signature brand marks, over recent times we’ve seen an acceleration in this trend, possibly as a response to the GFC, which has seen consumers turn back to brands with trustworthy and traditional values. This visual language trend is well suited to brands with claim to an artisan or craftsman proposition, brands wishing to take a boutique positioning relative to their competition, or brands wishing to link their current values to a historical or founding figurehead.

An example of a trend that has become so wide-spread that we now see many more poor examples of its application that good is the trend we’ve named ‘Global Blanding’.
Global ‘Blanding’ is the homogenization of brand visual language that we have seen occurring in brand identity design. Like many trends, it was started by re-branding of some of the largest global brands including; Xerox, British Telecom, AT&T, HP & Mastercard, before being picked-up by a multitude of second and third tier, medium and small enterprises. This visual language trend now winds its way across almost every conceivable category from telecommunications to airlines to petroleum, to sporting teams and fast food.

Global ‘Blanding’ describes the trading-in of unique and usually meaningful symbolism for a shared and meaningless visual language of spheres, colour blends and transparencies, and three dimensional shapes. Whilst the visual style achieved by combining these elements provides a sense of ‘international or globalization’ often combined with a suggestion of ‘cutting-edge technology’, this is typically achieved at the expense of individuality, brand differentiation and brand messaging. This is not only the strongest trend identified, but also the one we believe to contain the greatest risk of compromise to brand differentiation and uniqueness. Due to over-use and mass misuse this trend has the potential for inappropriate or confusing visual messaging.

What does this mean for Brand Owners, Custodians and Managers?
Whilst the first step is ensuring the visual language of your brand identity is communicating the right cues to market, trends in brand visual language also impact powerfully – both positively and negatively – on the associations your market connects with your brand. Once the code of your brand visual language and the relevant trends are understood, negative associations can be avoided and positive ones leveraged your advantage.

By not investing time and energy into understanding your brand’s visual cues and the impact of trends on brand meaning, you can be confusing and eroding the value of your brand messaging. Of all brand management and brand building activities, gaining clarity around these critical drivers of brand communication must be given primary importance.

By Dave Ansett

Dave Ansett is a co-founder and the Creative Chairman of Truly Deeply Brand Consultants. He has advised and continues to work with many of Australia’s leading public and private organisations on brand identity and communication related matters. David has judged a host of design awards and regularly speaks on matters of design and brand. David has lectured in design studies at the Swinburne National School of Design and written on the subject of brand design for marketing publications and on-line brand and design sites around the globe. This year David published the Research Report; Global Trends in the Visual Language of Brands. The report and excerpts from it have been re-published across North America, Europe and Asia in both the mainstream and on-line press.

One of the big trends in social media is the check-in frenzy. The big wave has yet to come, probably when Facebook Places is fully implemented. But the trend isn’t only in the area of localization but also in the status updates where you can follow the life of your friends through the choices they make i.e. tv-shows he or she watch, the places where he or she hangs out, find out where the beautiful photo is taken, what they are shopping and what music they listen to.

To truly understand the check-in culture you need to broaden your scope both on what can be defined into it but also by understanding what drives us to update out status and to check-in our daily where abouts.

We see a check in culture growing where our digital life is integrated with our physical life. The analogue reality is not separated from our digital life and our social connections from the net are making their way into our physical space. The separation of atoms and bits are less significant the more our day-to-day life let the two realities connect.

“Checking in” in is a natural continuation of the “what are you doing”-status updates used in Facebook and Twitter since a couple of years. But why do we do it? Do we really have this urge to know all this about our friends? Do we really need to report everything we do to our social strata online?

Yes and no. Firstly: we do it consciously and by free will. We do not need to do it but do it because we want to. That is an important stance. We do it since it makes us set our tag in the reality of our WHAT?  A mark: time or place has become a point of orientation for us. We do it but choose where to check-in and in that sense the content of our check-in creates a bit of our personal brand: show who we are through our choices. The check-in culture is about that: the profile of our personal brand. The status updates and the check-ins tell who we are and give small pieces of the puzzle that builds up our personality.

People often repent the thought that we all have a personal brand but that is when you do not want to accept that our life is a stage play where you are the script maker. We do not automatically show off everything of our true self in any relation but do play different roles and differentiated characters depending on the context we are in. The check-in culture is just continuing this behavior of deindividuation where we do live a more chameleon-like life.

The check-ins of our social graph does have the function of not only making the marks of time and choice for ourselves but also for our friends. We tell each other that everything is in order that we do exist and therefore the world is in place. The check-in culture is a way to create order in a disruptive reality and make it graspable and understandable. It strengthens our social values and gives room for the chit chat, creates incentives for a stronger social connection between the individual and his/hers social circle.

Since the check-in culture do intertwine both our personal brand, a way to create order of our reality and to strengthen the social connections between the individual and the social graph of his or her life. We marketers need to understand this and when using the new trend take all this in account when working on campaigns and the brand’s digital image: people are embracing the check-in culture not because of their interest in your brand or to get information but mainly to set themselves in a context.

Simply we do need to find ways to chip in on this rather than using that old safe mass market information tactic.

1. Appreciate a check-in by showing it: thank the people that check-in, show that people are checking in on your platforms and use it as medals of honor of you.
2. Let the individual get something in return: if using Foursquare get a badge or integrate check-ins with limited offers and ways to interact with your business.
3. Make your spot worth talking about. Create an appearance that strengthens the individual’s incentive to check-in at your place. The incentives have to be targeted the individual’s need of using the check-in as a mark of his/hers brand or as a bit of the daily life puzzle.

For the marketer and the brand owner you need to learn this. You do have tried it and in full respect embrace the check-in culture to be true and worth nothing for people that live it.

The check-in culture is here to stay and we need to use it in our marketing mix, with full understanding that it is a part of the individual’s way to live.

By Niclas Strandh

Niclas Strandh is Creative planner ans brand & social media strategist at CEO Strandh Digital PR, affiliated with JMW Kommunikation. Working mainly in the area of digital branding, social media and integrated marketing.

Writing on http://digitalpr.se

It has happened before: New York – SOHO, Berlin Charlottenburg and in Stockholm Söder.  In Stockholm Östermalm is getting older and more and more for the noble people in financial businesses that thrive around Stureplan. The creative professionals want to live “på Söder” and vote for “Miljöpartiet” and lead an environmental life.

New areas start to pop up on the waterfront from Saltsjökvarn to Kvarnholmen. You can put your feet into the water and stroll along the quay meeting dogs that walk their owners.

Hammarby Sjöstad is getting cramped with babies in strollers and a cup of café latte for the parent.

And what does it cost for a small family needing three rooms:

- Hammarby Sjöstad. With a free view ca.60 000/m^2. And with an intriguing view of your neighbors sitting room, ca. 45 000/m²

- Kvarnholmen with a free view of the sea and little sun as it faces north – 60 000/m²

- Söder gone up from 30 000 to 60 000 in a few years (add 5 000 for renovation)

What drives the establishment of a new living area for hipsters?

- The cost of living – probably the prime driver?

- You feel you are the starting something new

- You notice your likes are moving there

- The environment is cool: Shops, restaurants, people in the streets

- Service like daycare, supermarkets.

How can you establish a pretty run down area that:

- Is 5 minutes by bike to the heart of Söder.

- Is 5 minutes by buss to Slussen

- Is situated high and surrounded by Hammarby Sjöstad, Saltsjökvarn, Finnboda, Kvarnholmen

- Where a flat of 100 m² cost half of what most flats cost in Söder

- Has a view almost like Lisbeth Salander had from her flat: A view over Stockholm Waterways and much of the inlet for cruisers. Much of Skeppsbron, Strandvägen, Skeppsholmen, Gröna Lund, Skansen, Djurgården and Svindersvik.

- Has a roof on which a creative architect can build ”New York like” roof gardens or maybe small villas.

You have probably seen it when you drive over Danviksbron. But you have to bend your neck because it is high up and big. It is called Henriksdalsringen with newly formed Condominiums. How do you start the process?

By Bo Bäckman

Its a fact that our expectations rarely has to do with the product, it’s our needs and wants that states what the product or service results in, not what it is.

Different brands – different expectations

Strong brands – promise what they can hold. They always deliver the least you expected, which probably makes you a loyal and profitable customer.

Not so strong brands – try to deliver what they promise. But in practice, they succeed all too rarely meet expectations. They may in itself to sell goods or services in high volumes and make money, but their customers are unfaithful and will replace the brand when they find a better one.

Weak(er) brands – Or in cases with new brands, they feel fragmented and incoherent. They promise a lot but fail to deliver. This makes us not or do not want to have real expectations from them.

Looking at the list above we can see that the stronger the brand, the easier to fulfill our expectations. We seem to be more forgiving if a product or service from a strong brand fail to deliver to our expectations. And the reason for this is of course that have every opportunity to promise what they can hold. Our tolerance level of individual errors/weaknesses in the product, delivery or service is very high – as long as they believe they have the experience they are expected to do.

How to achieve the expectations?

First of all your brand need to have a product/service that is wanted, unique or/and have the special qualities we expect from a brand. We need to focus on refining our brand to make it different from our competitors. Enhance the importance of our brand, to reduce our closest competitors brands importance. And finally to excel over our competitors, add something extra that gives our brand that stronger brandexperience that our competitors don’t have.

Your brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business. Warren Buffett

By Anders Sporring

Anders Sporring is a freelance Socialmedia Facilitator from the consultant house Vascaia that runs his own blog Socialmedia by Anders Sporring where the main subjects are Socialmedia, Charity 2.0 and Branding. His also a keen microblogger on Twitter. In his varied background you find Music science, Composing and Technical work in both engineering and maintenance.

The Google phone ‘Nexus One’ gained a lot of prelaunch hype and went live in January of this year. However, it did not even survive to see the end of the summer before Google pulled it. The phone might have been a disaster but the Android software however is going from strength to strength, and is the only contender to challenge Apple’s ubiquitous iPhone platform. One can wonder why Google decided to launch their own phone, when the success of Android was obliviously going to be its open platform against Apple’s famously closed system.

The iPhone and it’s big brother the iPad, has come under fire for a variety of, what could be called censorship issues i.e. not supporting flash, the level freedom in their App store etc. In contrast, the openness of Android maybe in keeping with the spirit of the times but does it provide a better end solution?

As Android can be tailored to the need of each handset producer it is not certain that the improved versions of the OS released by Google (two so far this year) will be translated into the version that you have in your phone. Another issue is openness of the Android (app) Market. I am sure that anyone who has tried to navigate it will confirm that it is overflowing with substandard content. Making it hard to find quality and trust worthy applications and even harder to convince customers to pay for the apps.

Android’s openness can ultimately be it’s Achilles heel and Apple’s censorship seems like it will be it’s strength in the long run. So much so that it has now been given the buzz phrase of “Curated computing” by Sarah Rotman Epps of Forester research:

This phrase of “Curated computing” reminded me of the speech made by Clay Shirky at Web2expo NY ‘08 in which he challenged the fact that we are suffering from information overload, but rather a filter failure. Shirky was originally talking about information in his speech, however this has also become relevant when looking now at hardware. Apple customers had been asking for Apple to produce a net book since 2007. In 2010 they launch the iPad. A filtered response to customer pressure that shamelessly lacks key features, so obvious that even a two year old noticed the camera was missing.

Apple’s filtering/curating of their products gives us of better experience by giving us less. This has been and will continue to be key to their success. By leaving us wanting more they keep the buzz alive, even after a product has been launched, and when the upgrade comes it is so “amazing” to quote Steve, that he knows that we will all rush out and buy it.

By Steinar Danielsen

Steinar is the Digital Brand Director at Grow. Grow is a strategic, holistic and creative brand development partner, a hybrid consultancy whose expertise ranges from strategy to multidisciplinary execution. Merging the practices of management, brand and consumer insight consulting with the capabilities of design, architecture, digital and creative marketing communications.

The blog will be back on the 11th of August, with new interesting articles written by branding experts and marketing researchers.

Examples of Superbrands

The last Blog was about a short checklist on how to become a Superbrand. Today I show a few examples based on the checklist.

1. Choose a segment. Apple started as a minor actor aiming at the creative few. Now Apple/Mac is a serious threat to main PC companies. Even PC freaks start using Mac.

2. Choose arguments. Cosmetics with scientific proof that you will be more attractive and younger

3. Positioning. “9 out of 10”prefer brand A is a way to prove that you are better than the competition. By naming the competition you set up the spectra of values you are better at. And many consumers want to join a winner.

4. Decide on one proliferation value (USP). “Because you are worth it”– you are worth to be loved and admired. We do to you what no other brand can do.

5. Evaluate a pricing strategy. For a Superbrand a high price is part of the strategy to create a unique profile. Nudie jeans for 100 euro and H&M jeans for 30 euro. Jeans maybe even from the same factory, the same fabric. Apple iPhone for 1 000 euro and the copycats for 400 euro.

6. Design a marketing strategy. The options are many and are of course a combination of all possibilities on this shortlist. The most profitable ever is probably iPhone.

7. Choose distribution channels. Often the same distribution as the competition or a new unique channel. Maybe a flagship store to really manage store design and test new products, new sales promotion concepts.

8. In store strategy. Many product variations will give you more space facing the buyer. But the profitability for the store is ultimately what decides the space you get. Look at cleaning agents, drinks. Several varieties. Even Yes has a apple blossom smell as well as the long time dominant ordinary Yes.

9. Follow up sales. There are companies that sell data, use marketing research analyse own data but get a hold of sales trends early.

10 Design a PR-strategy. Apple deliberately dropped the new iPhone 4 in a bar for anyone (?) to find. The new features created a buzz all over the world.

11. Who is the customer – market research to understand who, why. For BMW research shows it is an interest in cars, the ability to pay for the interest, an urge to show you are successful and that you are worth a BMW.

12. Follow presence in media. The problem is to measure adequately in social media. Not just presence but also impact. An endorsement on Facebook is maybe worth more than TV ads in order to create the buzz that can start and strengthen a Superbrand.

13. Rethink the strategy if necessary but not too early – it takes time and energy to become a Superbrand

By Bo Bäckman

Checklist on how to become a Superbrand in your product area. Even if the checklist is analytical and based on research you must remember that the most important factor is people that design and implement the concept/strategy. But even creativity can be more successful with an analytical approach and applied marketing research.

1. Choose a segment. It is easier to become a Superbrand in a niche than compete against the well established brands in a broad segment.

2. Choose arguments – of course emotional as well as rational. To make the target group believe they are rational when they get hooked on an emotional value is often the most efficient strategy.

3. Positioning against the competition – what values can you copy, which do you need in order to differentiate.

4. Decide on one proliferation value (USP) among the positioning variables.

5. Evaluate a pricing strategy – what and how much is the target group prepared to pay for? Do you want to go for volume or margin?

6. Design a marketing strategy

7. Choose distribution channels that align with the positioning (often the same distribution as the competition or a new unique channel)

8. In store strategy – how can you persuade the channel to give you the best place in the store. You need to build a relation.

9. Follow up sales per store and/or channel.

10. Design a PR-strategy

11. Who is the customer – market research to understand who, why and how many of the target group that are loyal customers.

12. Follow presence in media: Today of course also social media.

13. Rethink the strategy if necessary but not too early – it takes time and energy to become a Superbrand

By Bo Bäckman

I caught a glimpse of an old Twilight Zone episode the other day at lunch. And it got me thinking about brands and the process they use to leverage technology.

Here’s the setup: (Source: Wikipedia)
“These are the players, with or without a scorecard. In one corner, a machine; in the other, one Wallace V. Whipple: man. And the game, it happens to be the historical battle between flesh and steel. Between the brain of man and the product of man’s brain. We don’t make book on this one and predict no winner, but we can tell you that, for this particular contest, there is standing room only in the Twilight Zone.”

In this episode, Wallace V. Whipple, owner of a manufacturing company, decides to upgrade his plant to increase output by installing a machine named the “X109B14 modified transitorized totally automated machine,” which leads to layoffs. Some former employees try to convince him that the value of a man outweighs the value of a machine, but their protests fall on deaf ears. Eventually, the board of directors find him neurotically obsessed with machines and retire him. Whipple joins his former plant manager at the bar opposite his factory and expresses deep sorrow at his misfortune (“It isn’t fair, Hanley! It isn’t fair the way they…diminish us”).

They cut to a scene where we see Robby the Robot running the office. Pretty sad.

Well obviously this got me thinking about brands and the “shiny new toy” syndrome we ALL face as consumers and producers.

With the advent of technologies such as Twitter, Foursquare, the new iPhone 4, XBOX’s Kinetic and so on and so forth, we as humans are inundated with new technologies and the promotion behind them. It’s said that we receive over 6,000 advertising messages a day. The New York Times, WIRED Magazine have released articles on how technology and the internet are rewiring our brains. And to top it all off, there’s even a book about it called Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky. (plug-Not really. It’s a good book.)

So what does all this mean for brands? Well, brand managers need to see beyond the data. They need to see beyond the trend. Realize that we by nature, are relational. It’s human nature to build relationally. And for brands to create a high Emotional Quotient for their followers, they need to create relationships. And that doesn’t mean create one with your brand. Put them in touch with other people like themselves. Build community. Leverage technology, but don’t allow technology to leverage you.

It’s true, we can all be replaced by something bigger, cheaper and more efficient. Technology has helped us create efficiencies that we have thought we would never see. It has renewed lost relationships and created countless jobs. But I think brands are on a slippery slope when they lose the end goal of creating relationships. Just because you are the most social brand, doesn’t mean you’re the most relational. Leverage technology in a way that allows you to create more relationships and then watch your brand soar!

Lesson: Taken right from Twilight Zone -”There are many bromides applicable here: “too much of a good thing”, “tiger by the tail”, “as you sow, so shall ye reap”. The point is that too often man becomes clever instead of becoming wise. He becomes inventive, but not thoughtful. And sometimes, as in the case of Mr. Whipple, he can create himself right out of existence.
Brands need to create relationships and value them. If not, they will be replaced by the shiny new toy.

By Kevin Williams

With over 10 years of experience of being a creative director and brand manager, Kevin provides a unique perspective to the world of marketing. He has extensive experience working with non-profits and small companies on brand strategies and development. He is considered a thought leader in social brand development and digital strategy. A former A&R for an independent record label, and he currently resides as the Director of Marketing for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Other than being a Batman fanboy, Kevin loves to spend time on pop culture trends, reading, traveling and hanging out with his family. He attended the University of North Texas.

I am a Brand Consultant and a philosopher. My background has made me curious about the nature of branding and its parallels to the big questions of life. One of my hypotheses is that if you invest time in thinking about the meaning of life you will also learn more about the secret of branding.

The meaning of life
Keynes stated (and economists all over the world got surprised): In the long run we are all dead. I somehow believe that the thought of us all being dead implies that nothing really matters. Because nothing we do will be permanent. Even if this blog post became more read than the bible for the forthcoming thousands of years. (This is an example, not hubris). Sooner or later the universe would collapse and this blog post would vanish with everything else.

But what is the problem here? You work to pass the time and earn some money, you sleep because you are tired and you run because you want to be fit. You live with your partner because you love him or her. You want to do this and if you stopped doing all these things you would become miserable, or at least unhappy.

But the problem is that these actions are not enough to tell us anything about the meaning of life. They are only explanations to why we act in certain ways within our life. In a bigger context they are all pointless.  From the outside it would not matter if you had never existed.

Well maybe your partner, family and friends would care. But as their lives have no meaning either it does not really matter. You matter to each other but life, as a whole, is meaningless. But of course we could say that it does not matter. As long as we keep on living it is enough. But this means that we cannot put our sight higher than that. We cannot allow ourselves to question why we do the thing we do.

But we might be able to find the meaning of life in things that are bigger than life itself. You might be a convinced Christian living for God for example. Or a liberalist, fighting for the life of future generations. Or maybe you are dedicated to create a good future life for your children. But we still have the same problem. What is that point of these things? The priest, doctor or family father might say that these things do not need a point. But if this is true.  Can anything that do not have a point really give a point to something that is the effect of it then?

Life is pointless
If we continue asking these questions the only answer that we can come up with sooner or later is: Life has no point. It is meaningless – pointless. In a larger context it would not matter if we exist or not. We have no ultimate reason for our actions but we do them anyway because we feel good about it.

Some people might find this satisfying. But some people find it depressing. Many efforts especially those that are not about pure survival or enjoyment will be hard to motivate if we view our life this way. And maybe that is why we at keep on living for things that are bigger than life itself, even if they are in a larger context – pointless.

How the meaning of life helps us to understand brands
Now to the point of this blog post, if there is one. What can the meaningless life perspective tell us about branding?

Brands in general and Superbrands in particular provide an illusion of meaning in peoples lives in the same way as ideology or religion. We live in a surplus capitalism where all our basic needs are fulfilled. Therefore we are persuaded to with motives or meanings larger than life. Today Superbrands has become a perfect substitute for ideology and religion. And it is nothing wrong with that. Because everything is equally pointless in a larger context.

In other words: For Adam and Eve the Apple was forbidden. Today Apple is more important to some people than anything else. And in the long run, branding and life are equally pointless - but nevertheless important.

By Leo Heijbel

Leo Heijbel is a philosopher and economist. He works as a Brand Consultant at Paff Performance and is, on philosophical grounds, a big believer in honest communication. He is specialised in working with passionate entrepreneurs with strong goals. When he does not work, dream or relax he tries to write his brand philosophical book ‘The absurd Brand’. It will probably be ready somewhere between 2025 and 2035 – earliest. He loves life even if it is pointless.

You can follow Leo on Twitter