Category Archives: Branding

Design of Everyday Things

DesignOfEverydayThingsOne of my favorite books: The Design of Everyday Things, Revised and Expanded Edition  By Don Norman [@jnd1er] – jnd.org

From the Preface: “This is a starter kit for good design. It is intended to be enjoyable and informative for everyone: everyday people, technical people, designers, and non-designers. One goal is to turn everyone into great observers of the absurd, of the poor design that gives rise to so many of the problems of modern life, especially of modern technology. It will also turn everyone into observers of the good, of the places where thoughtful designers have worked to make our lives easier and smoother. Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible, serving us without drawing attention to itself. Bad design, on the other hand, screams out its inadequacies, making itself very noticeable.”

See More (jnd.org)
https://www.jnd.org/books/design-of-everyday-things-revised.html

My Take From Brownie Bytes

I’ve used these principles for every product, marketing, website, and content I’ve ever worked on – since the first edition of this book. You would be wise to do the same.

Cool London Hotel Identity Campaign [videos]

AssemblyThe energetic identity for London-based hotel brand Assembly invites visitors to get up and go explore the city.

The affordable hotel category isn’t giving travelers what they want. Airbnb has raised the bar by offering genuine, relevant experiences, but, bland, cookie-cutter budget hotels have so far failed to respond. Assembly is looking to change that with a brand that removes the pointless extras, in favor of what really matters to its audience.

@Ragged_Edge @MaxOttignon @CommArts

See More (Communication Arts)

My Take From Brownie Bytes

Max Ottignon and his team at Ragged Edge faced the branding of this affordable urban hotel head on. Folks don’t go to central London to hang out in a hotel room. So they invite guests to get out!  Great concept.

AbbVie Announces $100 Million Donation to Ronald McDonald House Charities to Support Hospitalized Children and Their Families | AbbVie Newsroom

AbbVie Announces $100 Million Donation to Ronald McDonald House Charities to Support Hospitalized Children and Their Families | AbbVie Newsroom
— Read on news.abbvie.com/news/press-releases/abbvie-announces-100-million-donation-to-ronald-mcdonald-house-charities-to-support-hospitalized-children-and-their-families.htm

I’ve never heard of AbbVie but this remarkable donation is amazing. #KidsHealth #FamilySupport #RonaldMcDonaldHouse

Disney Imagineers and Theme Park Designers Are Leading Experience Marketing into a Whole New World of Brand Storytelling

By: Liz Alton [@Beinglizzie] Insights from Disney:

Emotions and Storytelling

Disney is one of the best storytelling engines in the world. Immersive storytelling elevated the brand beyond the basics of regional amusement parks and water slide attractions to become a global titan that’s captured imaginations from Orlando to China. The dream team that builds the attractions, the destinations, and every aspect behind the experiences are the Imagineers.

From immersive storytelling to bringing cutting-edge technologies to bear, the line between marketing and entertainment is thinner than ever before. Brands are creating apps, virtual reality experiences, pop-up branded events, and full-scale immersive tours to delight customers, tell their origin stories, show the manufacturing process, and help build deeper, emotion-based connections.

Read More (Skyword Content Standard)

My Take from Brownie Bytes

I was fortunate to know the executive VP of Imagineering at Walt Disney World in Orlando (his son was my best surfing and cycling buddy in high school / college). I got the inside scoop on how Disney produced their story-themed attractions.  Then my buddy and I were the first two “test particles” (that’s what the imagineers called us) at Typhoon Lagoon.  Yep, the first two surfers at the wave pool.

Prior to Typhoon Lagoon, in the mid-1970’s in college I worked for an engineering firm that tested a lake/beach/wave machine in a Disney World lake. It was a complete failure. The wave washed away the sandy beach every 2-3 waves and the water looked like the stirred up brown cypress oil muck that it was.  I got to ride 1 wave.  That’s right 1. It was a white-water-willy wave only the white water was the color of barely foamy puke.  Not a pleasant experience.  Not all Disney rides make it to the public.  In fact, most are running at 20% of their capacity for safety reasons.  Typhoon Lagoon can crank out a 9 foot wave.  But the public only sees 2-4 feet.

Years later I was fortunate to work for both IBM and Motorola.  I was the first multimedia producer at both companies so I got to work with Disney imagineers to build business and home of the future exhibits at EPCOT.  I learned how to develop stories with the integrated Disney spin.  A great experience.

 

The Ad Campaign that Saved Old Spice

Old Spice has been around since 1937, but how has the brand been able to stay current with a new generation? Its successful marketing campaigns have become legend, leading to a massive increase in sales.

The ad agency responsible for the campaign keeps it going – by appealing to women, not men, just like the original Old Spice ads did in the 1930’s.

Cheddar Video [8:04] 

Click here to see the Latest from Wieden + Kennedy

 

How to Start a Content Marketing Agency: 11 Tips for Growing Your Business

By Kathryn Hawkins [@kathrynhawkins]

Learn how to take your freelance career to the next level by leveling up into a content marketing agency.

Agencies come in all sizes, from the boutique shops where the owner knows all the clients’ names (like ours) to supersized teams that number in the hundreds or thousands. If you’re a successful freelance writer, you’ve probably worked for several agencies in addition to partnering directly with clients. In some cases, it can be a smooth relationship, while others create a rocky road.

If you’re a strong writer who finds yourself turning down assignments because you’re getting more requests than you can handle, you might start thinking about whether it makes sense to scale up and start an agency of your own.

If you want to ever take a relaxing, fully-off-the-grid vacation? I’d probably think again.

But if you’re comfortable with taking on the stress of juggling a few dozen projects a day for the benefits of building a business on your own terms, here’s my cheat sheet with 11 tips (one for every year we’ve been in business):

Read More (EucalyptMedia)

Facebook, Twitter, Netflix Stock Down as Tech Woes Ding Markets

Technology stocks fell again on Monday and deepened their steep losses from the end of last week that saw shares of social media companies Facebook and Twitter plunge around 20% each in a single day. By Monday, even once-mighty Netflix seemed weak in the knees, with the streaming media darling down almost 6% in mid-day trading.

Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Reed Hastings (Netflix), Jack Dorsey (Twitter)

It’s a sharp turnaround for a group that had long been the stock market’s undisputed leader.

Tech stocks in the S&P 500 slumped 1.7 percent Monday for the sharpest loss among the 11 sectors that make up the index. It follows a rough week for the tech industry after earnings reports from Facebook and Twitter raised concerns about their growth and sent their shares plummeting.

Twitter dropped 5.8 percent Monday to $32.16, following its 20.5 percent plunge on Friday. Facebook was down 4.5 percent Monday to around $167 after shares fell 19% last Thursday for a stunning $119 billion drop in market value that was the biggest one-day loss in Wall Street history.

Netflix was down 5.7% Monday to $335.25 per share — some 20% below a recent high of $419 a share on July 9.

See More (CBS News)

My Take from Brownie Bytes

Social media and movie companies (Netflix, Amazon) are alienating at least half of their customer base with their business practices and politics. No business can afford to antagonize half of the market and expect to grow.

Amazon is more diversified so they aren’t feeling the hit as much, yet….  But when more customers discover and understand the counterfeit product problem Amazon has – yes, I’ve unfortunately and unknowingly purchased some (the reviews aren’t always the truth) – then Amazon stock has a chance to wilt too….