Perfect definition/application of what branded utility is.
Creating something that people need, not aping existing applications because you can, is key, says Palmer. “For the same budget and energy as we expend on current forms of advertising, we could be making something more tangible, useful and reusable that plays a more integral part in the consumer’s life. This is ‘interactive,’ which is not synonymous with ‘online,’ by the way.”
This statement by Mike Arauz sums up my feelings on personal brands and how I’m cultivating CurrentBlend’s brand.
Our company’s online brand is really the sum of the online brands of the individuals who work there.
While Chuck Klosterman talks about uber-fans as they relate to musicians, I’d like to dive into uber-fans of brands. There are a number of parallels that can be drawn between musicians and brands. Just substitute a brand for any “rock group” or “band” reference below.
If you scrutinise the followers of any significant rock group, you will predominantly find unrelated, nondescript quasi-hipsters who represent nothing in particular; the clearest sign that any entity has become mainstream popular is when it appeals to random people who don’t really care. Asking a band about who inhabits their fanbase tells you nothing. A better question is this: “Who are your fans that care too much?” Because it’s always the fringe lunatics who matter more.
Now, on to brand’s uber-fans…Mike Arauz has written quite extensively on the online friendship spectrum (and why Facebook Fans aren’t real fans), so I won’t go specifically into that area. I will say that I think focusing just on getting Facebook Fans and Twitter followers is a smart move, however, it shouldn’t be the only move.
For us, I believe there has to be a connection between the physical product and the digital identity. That sounds obvious, but it’s not as easy to achieve as you may think. Sure, an online presence is great, but I don’t believe it’s meant for everyone. A brand has to find a way to create uber-fans (both online and offline) who become ambassadors for the brand – dressing, speaking and acting like the brand.
Right now, social media is the buzz and creating online fans is important, but let’s not forget (as brands) we should be focusing on creating uber-fans and not just facebook fans.
I’ve constantly preached to people about personal branding and how I believe it to be vitally important. While not exactly related to “personal” branding (but kinda), Ace Hotel in New York has implemented very detailed and highly branded uniforms for its staff. I think the depth of branding is missed by most places. Cheap suits and shirts with chinos are the go-to uniform. This highly misrepresents a brand. Branding is details and if you miss the details you’re missing branding.
I can only hope that CurrentBlend will be as successful as Tyler Brule’s Winkreative.
Slate gives the Dos Equis ads a B+. I think they deserve an A not because I think I could EASILY replace the main character as The Most Interesting Man in the World, but because it works. For brands, I think it’s (more) important to build a lifestyle, culture and feeling around your brand, not constantly shouting the brand’s name. In the adds, the gentleman simply states, “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I drink Dos Equis”. That’s not a typical statement for a brand to approve, but the subtlety with the reference combined with the other elements of the commercials (bench-pressing Asian women, splashing down in a space capsule, performing trick billiards shots for turbaned companions) create an aura around Dos Equis.
To tie to that, this morning I read this article that shows the power of some of the social media tools brands can play with to help build this aura.
At first blush, Tumblr, described as a “blogging platform,” which aggregates online content on a particular theme (like, say, skateboarding), doesn’t seem to have an obvious marketing application. But IBM, EMI and Universal Music have all discovered that creating a tumbleblog (a term that preceded the two-year-old Tumblr’s existence) is a good way to help control the message online, reward fans and, in IBM’s case, position oneself as a thought leader on a given topic.
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Marketers can provide such links via blogs, but Tumblr makes it easier to aggregate content like news articles and video. Like Twitter, you can also “follow” a tumbleblog you like. Users can also hit a “like” button or reblog the post onto their own Tumblr page, making the blog items more viral. Adam Christensen, social media manager for IBM, said the idea is to drive online conversation. “It certainly raises awareness for the kinds of things that IBM is working on,” he said. “We don’t want it to be just about IBM, and Tumblr gives us a holistic view.”
The Soul of a Brand touches on the similarities between an ideally branded company and Buddhism. Let’s add this to the Monocle and Online Friendship required reading material.
Online Brand Equity is a product of how invested people feel in your success, how much time you’ve spent with them, and how prolific the individuals are in sharing within their own networks.
don’t connect your brand / topic to people, connect people to each other around your brand / topic.
Originally posted as a comment by kevinprentiss on A VC using Disqus.
My favorite magazine is Monocle. In addition to the magazine, Monocle produces a great website, store – bricks and clicks - and podcasts (check out the Sunday ). One of the main draws to Monocle for me is the design. The lead designer went into great detail on his blog about the thinking and planning of the Monocle brand.
For those of you who are interested in the blurbs that stuck out to me (during this read of it), click the “more” link below. Otherwise, I HIGHLY recommend to head to the write-up and read the whole thing (warning: it’s a bit long, but SO worth it).
As I begin to tackle various projects of mine, I’ve already noticed myself re-reading this write-up for inspiration, tools and notes that I need to consider. This article touches on everything from company branding, web design and planning, workspace structure, video equipment and software, audio branding and strategy execution.
