Colours of the Top 100 Web Brands #infoposter

Link.

Experience Forces vs. Brand Forces #visualization #brand #UX

Posted via email from consult coniferous

How To Use Facebook To Market Your Brand #infoposter #fb

Link.

 

Posted via email from consult coniferous

'Freeeeedom!' Funny IKEA ad. #marketing

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Affirmation Girl + Coffee = Win. #advertising

Saw this on the tube last night:

I remember the video of 'Affirmation Girl' from a couple of years ago:

A nicely integrated campaign by Maxwell House.

Posted via email from John Hutchings

Huh. I wonder if this has anything to do with the SouthWest #holeintheplane business? #infoposter

Source.

A related post on Ryanair and it's 'persuasive' (read deliberate and sneaky) design and usability by @alancolville.

 

Posted via email from John Hutchings

Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but I suspect Infiniti must be pissed.

A little late to the party on this, but finally got around to watching the SuperBowl ads.

The VW Darth Vader commercial was brilliant, but the stinger for this spot looked a little familiar:




The Infiniti brushstroke, or 'Shodo' line is one of their brand tenets and has been in use for years.



I wonder how Nakamura-san feels about all of this...

'Kiki' and 'Bouba' make a...Logo. Which shape is 'B' and which is 'K'.

I came across this recently and found it fascinating.

If you guessed wrong, you're in the minority:

"There is a 95% to 98% likelihood that you paired the sharper sounds (obstruents) of the word “Kiki” with image on the left, and the softer sounds (sonorants) of “Bouba” with the softer image on the right." More.

Phonosemantics or simply, Sound Symbolism. Sounds have meaning, and as a corollary, visuals evoke sounds.

What I found interesting were the implications for Branding. Think about the connotations associated with the Nike 'Swoosh', or why the Apple logo works:

"It's very intriguing. Take Apple, for instance. A technology company offering what could be considered a very complicated set of products. Let's face it, lots of people are put off by technology. Yet, the name is familiar and safe. A ubiquitous fruit. And, in the context of your article, the word "apple" can be seen to begin somewhat sharply, but ends very sonorously. It sort of rounds off and tapers. In this way, perhaps, the name, its phonetics, and the logo all work to make a cold, technology company familiar, friendly and inviting. Subtle, but profound. Would it be the same if they'd called themselves "Orange"?". [Author].

Not a new concept and has been documented carefully by others.

It ties in nicely with the idea of visual thinking, which is why I follow the likes of Dave Gray and Sunni Brown.

Posted via web from John Hutchings

The Customer is Always Right

If you have parents of a certain age, or have ever worked retail, you've no doubt had this axiom drilled into you. Ever had such bad service that you stormed out of somewhere screaming at the top of your lungs, "I will never set foot in this f**king place again!"? Been there, done that. Difference - now I can tell many more about this, not just word of (foul) mouth.

Last week was World Usability Day and I've been keeping an eye on personal (cross-channel) user and customer experiences since then.





Lowlights (with grades):

• New Visa card with PIN arrives in mail. 45 min. on the phone to get the thing activated THEN I still have to go to the branch to change the PIN. (D).
• iPhone purchase (B+) at an actual retail store, activation [I had to make 3 calls on how to switch out my PIN card and activate with iTunes] (C-). Now that I have it working, customer delight (A).
• Mikael was trying to cook some pasta the other night and there was no cooking time on the package (F).

Brandon Schauer's recent post on the nexus of Brand and Customer Experience, paired with heady the stuff of The Brand Gap and the evidence from Razorfish's FEED report are all saying the same thing. Your customer is always right, whether you like it or not, and your Brand can be adversely affected, slandered, or outright abandoned for a competitor.

Of course, depending on switching costs, a customer may persist with your Brand, but that doesn't mean they're happy about it. The key difference now is that they have a voice to make their displeasure heard - and don't doubt that they'll use it.

A must FEED for Digital Marketing Professionals

I try to keep up with State of the Nation readings from the likes of hard-core research firms like Forrester as well as Digital agencies like CM, Blast and Razorfish.

I just finished digesting the new FEED Razorfish Digital Brand Experience Report for 2009. According to Guy Kawasaki it's a "... must-read if you’re interested in social media and marketing" and I would tend to agree.

Although the sample size is relatively small (n=1000), I like the way they've selected it - by talking only to what they call 'connected consumers'. They all have broadband, spend online, visit social websites, and are consumers and creators of User-Generated Content. This makes sense since these are the people we're trying to engage with. And, I buy how they extrapolate their results to the population at large by using relevant proxies.

Some highlights:

• 57% have actively customized their homepage
• 84% rely on the web to get their news
• 76% watch video, 73% use social networking, 62% listen to music online
• 56% have smartphones

More importantly:

• 26% have followed a brand on Twitter
• 40% have 'friended' a brand on Facebook
• 77% have watched a commercial online
• 73% have posted a product or brand review
• 52% have blogged about their brand experience

All of this sums to the fact that "those brand marketers still neglecting (or underestimating) digital, it's as if they've shown up to a cocktail party in sweatpants" - a staggering 97% of those surveyed report that a digital brand experience has influenced whether or not they actually hand over the cash.

In essence, 'connected consumers' are interacting with brands, just in a different way. And, those interactions actually create new customers. Finally, the digital experience can make or break a brand.

Worth the read.

On the subject of Branding

An interesting dialogue recently where I work about Branding. Our CCO and his team walked us through a client-tested framework that works elegantly. There are many thoughts and models on this subject, including one of my 'personal' favourites. What was interesting about the methodology presented was its simplicity and 'hook'. It breaks down like this:








Branding is important:

• It's difficult to control Brand image, particularly in the age of Social Web. As Blast Radius said last year: "...it means customers are listening to each other, not you."
• And, if you don't work to define your Brand, your competitors will do it for you

Branding is like a 'Fingerprint':

The analogy is that there are few types of Fingerprint variables, but when combined together give Fingerprints - like Brands - a unique identity. An identity, both as an enterprise and in the 'minds and hearts' of consumers.

Brand Fingerprint Analysis:

1. Logic: This speaks to the product's features, benefits and physicality. What does the product do, and how can we sell it? This is defined by the company itself.
   
2. Personality: This speaks to how those features and benefits are communicated to the consumer. How does the company (and their agency) tell a story?
3. Emotion: This is the kicker. How do your customers 'feel' about your Brand? Who are they? This you cannot control. They either trust you, or they don't. For online in particular, user interviews and Persona creation are critical.
   

All of this analysis comes from internal stakeholder interviews - from the Boardroom down - by asking a simple question: "What does 'Brand X' mean to you?". At the same time, market research is required with users/customers.

The Payoff: When complete, we arrive at both an internal and external 'MindMap' of the Brand as well as practical things like a messaging hierarchy (right message, right audience, right time), Branding guidelines, and finally, tactical execution. By tactics, we mean logo, tags, payoffs, etc.

The point of all of this is that the Brand starts from what the company does and what it projects itself to be. Ultimately however, the Brand is not 'you'. Your brand is your customers 'gut feel' and what they think about you.

OIM!

Oi! Too many acronyms, I know. Online Identity (or Image) Management is a relatively new term that encompasses Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, P.R. 2.0 and the optimization of an organisation's online branding. Agencies such as RadarDDB specialize in this type of thing...