"What's the beef?"

In a difficult and unforgiving sector, is it time for a new era of support and empathy or is it still survival of the fittest?

After planning, implementing and contributing to various blogs and forums over the past five years, and Twittering with Tweeple for two of those, I now find myself a little ashamed of admitting to difficulty in gauging whether I should respond to (cantankerous) comments.

According to friends, a combination of my fascination for all things digital, and an insistence of wearing a suit-jacket for every (non) occasion has apparently earned the reputation of being, a bit Geek Chic. Perhaps, Geek Sheik?!. It would appear, after many years of thinking I was out on the periphery, I appear to now conform to a category, or tag. However, in the context of this post, I’ll let you decide (quietly) if it’s cool or not.

As a result of now becoming tagable, I feel slightly embarrassed and overwhelmed by the response received by my last post. For friends who missed it, my post didn’t contain any geeky, tech-related thoughts, opinions or observations.

My previous post (my first on the Brand Republic blog) focused on an identified need for agencies, not all I may add, to embrace the holistic benefits of business development. I tried to clearly explain how I saw the process of developing new new business as a function and element of a wider strategy - an attempt to differentiate one from the other, encouraging innovative thought to transform, once-speculative (cold) approaches it to targeted initiatives. Conversation-led engagement, if you will. Personally, and from comments and feedback (both on and off-line) received externally, I thought I did a good job.

The embarrassment I now have comes with a sense of hesitation in responding to comments, direct messages and opinion I really disagree with - fearful that my newly found geek-chicness would quickly transform in to that of a cold, cantankerous and self-opinionated fool.

Blogging and the provision of platforms, like Comments Central, are of course used by individuals to voice opinion, spark debate, increase profile and aid the organic growth of traffic to websites and blogs. So, what should one do when a comment is posted, by another industry professional, who adopts (what appears to be) a belittling tone-of-voice, risks the possibility of ill-perceived desperation and opens themselves up to scrutiny?

My dilemma: Should I trust the intelligence of the reader, and an ability to draw one’s own conclusion or, like the U.S. Presidential Debate, (respectfully) knock ‘em back in to place with proven fact?

Declining income, conflicted managers and demoralised staff. If you’re in the brand identity business, it may be time to re-evaluate your business development strategy.

Recently, whilst out-and-about in the branding community, conducting what I now refer to as the rounds, I have noticed a worrying vacuum or, in the wider context of things, an opportunity well worth exploiting.

It is undeniably tough out there – clearly illustrated by frugal cost-cutting, unpaid leave, head-count freezing and many other cautious, overhead reducing activities. However, I am amazed at how so many senior managers are undervaluing the importance and holistic benefits of a clear marketing and business development strategy.

On mass, agencies already on the verge of collapse have started advertising vacancies for generic new business positions. Their posts command applications from candidates who can guarantee a rolodex of clients and qualified leads. In return they offer little more than the most basic salary, an unclear future and very little, if any, security. They too often rely on badly managed and out-of-date contact lists and assign the task of cold-calling to reluctant if not actually telephobic staff, or outsource it to apathetic third-party telephonists.

How then can consultancies expect to grow, during a time when salaries are cut, morale is at an all time low and unpaid leave is encouraged? The answer, I suggest: Agency leaders themselves need to start thinking outside of the box.

Continue reading my post on BrandRepublic.com / Blogs / …

Corporate Identity: we’re in crisis too but we should be able to recover faster (Part 1)

One cold January morning, as I walked to the tube station, I stopped off at a newspaper stand to pick up a copy of the Financial Times. Being quite late in the day, having arrived at Heathrow just a few hours before, I made what I thought to be an obvious assumption that copies of the newspaper would be scarce. I was wrong and what transpired was an odd conversation that has stuck in my mind since:

Me: Do you have any copies of the FT left?
Vendor: Do I. I’ve got too many.
Me: Over order?
Vendor: Nope, I guess nobody is interested anymore.

Several months before I left the UK for the holiday season – a failed attempt to disconnect from the media for a few weeks – the imminent recession and economic downturn was already starting to take shape. In a spurt of confusion, the glass quickly turned from being half-full, as the world’s media began to ‘stoke a fire’ that quite clearly has ‘sucker-punched’ the commercial world in to even deeper depression.

Since then, confidence has reached an all time low, illustrated by consumer led, post-war, cost-cutting measures and all too cautious buying practice. However, for a few, things are not so bad – the popularity of online gaming as well as sales of lipstick and cake mix appear to have significantly increased.

The world’s media painted pictures of the board room with CEOs and company directors reacting badly, showing little or no courage in their own convictions, projecting a distinct lack of leadership and shying away from the bullish ambition they were once credited so generously for. As a result, we have seen the dramatic drop of share-prices, the crumbling of financial institutions, industry collapse and the need for governmental “bail-outs”. The repressed outlook continues to darken our streets and I, for one, have had just about enough.

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Corporate Identity: we’re in crisis too but we should be able to recover faster (Part 2)

Like clockwork, during times of financial difficulty, balance sheets are reviewed, snap-decisions made and marketing budgets frozen – the Corporate Branding and Identity profession has certainly felt the pinch. But as professionals, we have all preached, until we are blue in the face, about how cutting budgets, used to sustain brand positioning and market share, is but a knee-jerk reaction and, in the wider scheme of things, will provide nothing but a short-term solution – directly fuelling an even longer-term road to recovery. Predictably, our peers have also published commentary detailing how history has shown a recession to be a great time for maintaining and growing brands – providing many proven examples of some of the world’s most successful brand launches and marketing campaigns.

Since Q4 2008, a multitude of additional “thought-pieces” have since arrived in my inbox and written by recognised professionals, mentors and peers, each one intent on stating their case. However, I have found only a few to have been relevant and therefore, inspirational.

Recently, after having first commissioned research, Alan Siegel, founder of Siegel+Gale, wrote about the need for keeping things simple – subtly cross-referencing his own expertise on the matter, of course. In summary, Siegel blames much of our distrust in the brands we once endorsed to the use of unnecessarily complex language and vocabulary – jargon. His conclusion, for us all to unite, take-arms and ‘refuse to do business with any organisation that violates the need to know and understand’. Siegel demands clarity and transparency, forcing government, financial and commercial sectors to articulate and communicate better by using clear, concise and uncomplicated messaging – literally ‘cutting the fluff’ to restore trust.

Whether you agree with Siegel’s thoughts or not, for me, what made his piece all the more insightful, all the more compelling, was the use of appropriate and relevant research. Choosing to open dialogue with the client’s customer and to not simply rely on self-opinionated ego or, even worse, the dated and published insight of others.

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Corporate Identity: we’re in crisis too but we should be able to recover faster (Part 3)

However, on reflection, to come out of the current climate on top, engaging and entering in to dialogue with the end-user is but half of the conversation needed.

Captains of industry, once held in high esteem and celebrated by the press, have become bearish and fearful and, when leaders refuse to dip their toe in to the sea, is it any wonder that no-one else will follow? Open dialogue, in both directions, is certainly needed and paves the way in helping us to paint a much clearer picture.

We need our clients to really share with us what it is that is keeping them awake at night. In turn, we can then facilitate truthful dialogue between the client and the customer. Of course, like most things marketing-related, I very much doubt I am telling you anything you don’t already know, it’s just, that if agency newsletters and current thought-pieces are anything to go by, no-one appears to doing anything about it.

At first, the answer may not be that obvious, but by making an increased effort to listen and learn, ensuring the most appropriate and flexible methods are used, persuade clients and consumer to really trust and share their fears and anxieties – innovation will take form and succeed and the economy will grow. The future promises to be an exciting place for us all and already we have started to see major corporate identity activity; with AIG becoming AIU overnight and Merrill Lynch initiating a corporate identity change, following its acquisition by the Bank of America. The outcome of the latter, is eagerly anticipated and for obvious iconic reasons.

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Corporate Identity: we’re in crisis too but we should be able to recover faster (Part 4)

Over the coming months, and certainly the next few years, dramatic change and transformation will become all too familiar, altering the very dynamic of every commercial industry. The brand consultancies that flourish will certainly be those who are capable of providing empathy, deep understanding and truly innovative solution.

The true thought-leaders, those that have started to restore my confidence, have chosen not to rely on past statistics from which weaker competitors will try to propose future solution. As specialists and experts in our field, it is our responsibility to now take the ‘bull by the horns’, to review, adapt and focus on the flexibility our profession allows, to embrace the most appropriate technology and to never lose sight of the expertise we bring and are paid to provide. Alan Siegel is certainly right about one very important thing, keep things simple.

The very process of rebranding provides the key to survival and, when administered correctly, can certainly provide an accelerant for recovery. If ignored, or practised badly then, for some, recovery is set to take even longer and the guy at the newspaper stand will always be one step ahead of the game.

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By Dan Dimmock, 30 April 2009

Dan is an identity consultant and senior founding partner of Pollen in London. Previously he has worked with a number of the world’s most recognised branding agencies. His contributions have covered a full spectrum of brand development and rebranding, from strategic positioning through to implementation, for such clients as Action for Children, Havas Digital, Reuters, 
Smith and Nephew, Waitrose and Wyeth.

Marbella. New York?

Not an obvious comparison, but Mark Wilkins compares the re-branding of New York to Marbella, proving it not to be as easy as one might first think.

“Thirty years ago - in 1977 - the iconic “I♥NY” logo was designed by graphic designer, Milton Glaser in support of the marketing campaign for New York State devised by advertising agents, Wells Rich Greene…Their goal was to promote tourism.”…

Our Top 10 inappropriately overused words (5-1):

/cont…

05: ‘Caveat’

04: ‘Dichotomy’

03: ‘Zeitgeist’

02: ‘Branding’

01: ‘Whatever!’

Our Top 10 inappropriately overused words (10-6):

Two Sundays ago, whilst leisurely reviewing the papers, sipping on a glass of Malbec, @Larkers and I started to deliberate words we considered to be inappropriately and overused. As a result, we casually started to collate in to a league table of opinion.

The list, so far, is but a gentle mix of words used in general conversation and the overly jargon-fuelled marcomms industry — which is full of ‘em. Literally.

So, here goes, in reverse order (10-6):

10: ‘Synergy/Synergism’

09: ‘Reticence’

08: ‘Organic’

07: ‘Iconoclast’

06: ‘Honestly’

Get with the programme!

“The Creative Britain report was about helping creative business move from the margins to the mainstream. The Digital Britain report is about establishing a proper platform for the digital economy, and will have far reaching impact across many industries, not just this one.”

“…the Creative Britain report was about looking backwards to how great it was being a digitally illiterate creative director in the sixties. The Digital Britain report is about looking forward to how great it should be being a digitally literate creative business in the future. I, for one, welcome it.”

Source: The future’s bright. The future’s digital. Alastair Duncan, BrandRepublic.com