Name that Tune

Music is such an incredible way to make connections and evoke emotions.

Why is it so under-leveraged in branding?

I can't remember a lot of things I did last month, or even last week...but hum a few bars of my favorite childhood jingles and I can instantly recall all the words.

"My Baloney has a first name. It's O-S-C-A-R.

"Honeycomb's big, yeah, yeah, yeah."

or even more recent ones...

"Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's Maybelline."

Aural or sonic branding isn't just about jingles.

It can also be about associating songs with commercials (Apple's "New Soul" for the Airbook is a great example of this).

Or a unique sound that is tied with use of that brand (e.g The T-Mobile sound when you turn your phone on or the Intel Inside notes that accompany that brand signature).

It can be a particular voice that's connected with a brand (e.g. James Earl Jones intoning "This is CNN").

Brands seems to spend so much time on the look of the product and the campaigns.

Who is thinking about the sound?

In my current job I've met a few agencies that focus on Sonic branding. But it still seems to be a relatively niche discipline, although one I believe is worthy of more attention.

Next time you are brainstorming ways to make your advertising and branding work harder, shut your eyes, open your ears and think about sound and how it could work to your advantage.

That's my point of view. What's your twist?

How are brands effectively leveraging sound? Should they be doing more?

Go Out and Explore!

Too often we substitute the ease of exploration on the internet for actual experience. But it’s really not the same.

Maybe we’re too busy, maybe we’re lazy…but I think if you are really serious about innovation you’ve got to get out and experience the world.

A few years back I was working as part of a team of consultants on a re-positioning for a pet food brand.

We met with the clients, read the research decks, did our competitive scavenger hunt online.

But it was months into the project when I realized we had yet to come face to face with an actual dog or cat, or their human companions for that matter.

So we quickly turned that around. We went into pet stores and talked to people who worked there and people who shopped there.

We went to the famous “dog run” in Central Park and observed and interacted with pet owners and their offspring and got to see first hand the behaviors and rules of social interaction on “doggie play dates”.

We did an in-home interview with a puppy owner who calmly told us how she didn’t treat her dog like a human baby, but her body language revealed something all together different as she lovingly stroked her Cockapoo.

The reserach decks and internet gave us valuable information for the project. But the real world and person to person efforts gave us something that was much more valuable...insight.

A great team exploration activity that I’ve used successfully for both clients and internal audiences is a Brand Safari.

Here's how it works: split the group into smaller teams, pick neighborhoods or landmarks, equip each with a map, a camera and a list of tasks or questions and then send them off into the real world.

Set a time limit so there’s a sense of urgency and healthy competition. Encourage interaction with real consumers at their destinations. Re-group when everyone comes back to the office and share what you’ve learned.

The best way to get insight into consumers and brands is to go out and experience the world - not the computer generated world- the real one.

That’s my point of view. What’s your twist?
What inspirational places would be on your Brand Safari list?

Feeling Butterflies?

When is the last time you felt butterflies in your stomach?

If you can't remember, maybe it's been too long since you ventured out of your comfort zone.

We all need to take risks in order to learn and achieve something new.

Sometimes this can be a big butterfly moment like taking on a new job, moving to a different country, or getting up and speaking in front of hundreds of people.

Sometimes it can be a little butterfly moment, like speaking up in a meeting with a controversial or unusual idea. Or introducing yourself to strangers at a networking event.

I had a butterfly "moment" that lasted about 3 years when I moved to France with my job back in the early 90's.

I didn't know anyone, I didn't speak the language, and I was walking into a new role with a challenging client.

It was the hardest and best thing I've ever done.

The first 6 months were excruciatingly difficult and exhausting. But eventually I found my way. I learned the language. I made friends both in and outside of my job. I got to visit some amazing places in France and all of Europe.

And I met the man who would eventually become my husband and the father of my kids.

It started with an enormous flutter, but at the end of 3 years I count my time in France as one of my life's formative experiences.

I've had many butterfly moments since then (although probably none as intense).

But I've actually learned to be comfortable and even seek out that feeling.

Sometimes when it seems like things are getting too comfortable and complacent (particularly in my professional life) I find myself gravitating towards new challenges and I start to feel the rumbling of tiny wings.

It's definitely not always easy or convenient. But I've learned to recognize that flutter as a positive signal.

Even if we have a bad experience or a difficult time doing whatever it is that's making us stretch, in general it's still growth and learning... and as human beings and as innovators isn't that what life is really all about?.

That's my point of view. What's your twist?

When's the last time you felt butterflies?

Start Making Scents

Fragrance is one of the most powerful triggers of memory and emotion, yet it is largely under-leveraged as part of the creative process.

Whenever I smell vanilla or Cinnamon I think of Thanksgiving and watching my mom prepare her famous apple pies. Automatically I feel warm and secure.

When I smell fresh cut grass, I think of lazy summer days of my childhood and I feel like anything is possible.

Polo by Ralph Lauren reminds me of my student days and early crushes.

My list could go on and on, and I'm sure you would have lots of examples of your own to add.

So why is scent such a infrequent part of our efforts to create brands that connect on an emotional level?

Here's an idea, next time you are planning a brainstorming don't just include visual stimulus. Introduce some scents that are related to the benefits and emotions you are exploring.

Bring in scented candles, spices, food, iconic perfumes. Close your eyes, inhale and let the scents and emotions transport you to vivid associations...and perhaps new ideas.

That's my point of view. What's your twist?

What scents transport you?

Three's a Crowd?

We all know three's a crowd, but can crowds be the new answer to innovation?

Yesterday I published a post on the right timing for creating, evaluating, and killing (if need be) new ideas.

Thanks to one reader, Sara, I learned about Quirky a community from the creator of Mophie and Kluster set up as a way for people to expose their ideas to a larger groups and get feedback (all for $99 bucks).

I think it's worth checking out.

My own experience with Crowd sourcing has been pretty positive to date. I used the website 99 Designs to create my Brand Twist Logo.

99 Designs let's you launch contests to create branding elements (websites, logos, etc). You write a brief, pick a prize amount, and for 7 days designers from around the world bid on your contest by submitting designs.

You have to keep giving feedback in order for your contest to stay healthy and attract the best talent. At the end of 7 days (some extensions allowed) you pick a winning design, release the money, and go through a file transfer to get the artwork.

While I know this site is not without some controversy in the design community...particularly because the prices are very low (the average for a logo is $300) my experience was very positive. I felt it to be in many ways very similar to the traditional agency design process.

Many of the submissions weren't very good, but a lot were. And the journey of seeing what I liked and what I rejected helped me hone in on what Brand Twist means to me as a brand. The tag line I use "a fresh approach to new ideas" was also an added bonus, it was suggested by a designer- unsolicited.

As in any design process, your output is only as good as your input so it was critical that I had a well thought out and well-written brief and that I gave continual, specific and constructive feedback to my designers.

I ended up choosing a design and a designer that I created a bond with (albeit virtually). Like most great designers he brought me ideas that went beyond the original brief and that I really liked. He also made some strategic suggestions that helped me in deciding which way I wanted to go.

The main difference, I guess, is that he was an anonymous face in the crowd and our whole relationship was virtual.

Only after I awarded the job did I learn his name and that he live in Greece.

Love it or hate it, I think crowd-sourcing for both evaluation (like Quirky) and creation (like 99 Designs) is here to stay.

The question for me is not whether it's good or evil, but how do we get the most value from it. Not in a monetary sense, but how can it best be leveraged to fruitfully further ideas.

That's my point of view. What's your twist?

How are you using crowd-sourcing?

Ready, Set, No!

What's the right timing for innovation?

I'm not talking about developing ideas and getting to market.

I'm talking about thinking something through, making a decision, and if it's not meant to be moving on to the next thing.

Lots of energy is spent about getting ideas to market faster. But I think we should pay more attention to the time lines for killing ideas that just aren't going to make it.

Too often we let ideas linger. Either through indecision, inertia, or sometimes just the lack of courage to take action.

What's the harm? Well, the problem is that most of us has limited creative and literal resources. So if we spend time on dead-ends, it may be keeping us from applying energy to other ideas.

Recently I met with the guys from Ozo Labs and they were very upfront about some mistakes and lessons they've learned in this area. They've spent too much time lingering in the zone of "going nowhere".

So now they either do one of two things: 1) set a finite limit on the exploration of any one idea (ex. 3 months) or 2) give the idea to someone out side of the core group to explore. That way they have a fresh set of ideas looking at the opportunity, and the core group is freed up to move onto something else.

Last month I was on a panel with a terrific woman from Hasbro who is in charge of consumer insights. Given the nature of the toy business, they are coming out with 1,000's of new SKU's every year. They can't afford to waste any time. So they've gotten really good at saying no ...definitively - and early on.

Rather than quash innovation, this actually helps encourage it. It keeps the passion and energy level high instead of letting it get wasted on ideas that don't have a real chance.

Are you spending too much time kicking the same tired ideas around? It may be keeping you from uncovering some better ideas. Next time, try setting a time limit on idea exploration. It might actually help you speed things up.

That's my point of view. What's your twist?

Do you have the discipline to move on quickly from dead-end ideas?

Flat is the New Growth

"Flat is the new growth". I heard this expression the other day, and I thought it was witty.

And then I started to really think about it and I thought is was kind of depressing...and dangerous.

I'm a realist (mostly). Well at least I read the paper (when I've finished the crossword) and I know what's going on. Times are tough. But I don't think we can let that be an excuse for complacency.

Flat may be what the markets are aspiring to, but "Flat" should never become the accepted standard for innovation.

We need to keep pressing on and moving upward, even when it feels like an uphill battle. Actually, especially when it feels like an uphill battle.

These are time of great unrest, but from this turbulence can come some fantastic ideas. The trick is to embrace the uncertainty and use it as a force of liberation and not of stagnation.

After all, it won't always be like this. But if for now expectations are low, think how incredibly easy it is to exceed them. It may just be the perfect time to take a risk.

Many categories have quieted down in terms of spending and activity. You can make a big bang for a little buck right now.

Not that long ago I was at the launch of Virgin America's new service to Boston. Amid all the speeches from the celebrities and politicians that were at the launch, one statement really struck a chord.

The head of Massport thanked Virgin for opening a route to Boston in these rocky times. Not just because of the business and jobs it would bring to the city ...but also for the signal it sent to the consumers that life and business were moving on.

He stressed how important it was for consumer confidence for companies to keep investing and innovating and that actions like the Boston launch send a powerful, tangible message.

Consider an action you've been hesitating about in your business. Why not go ahead and start the ball rolling? What have you got to lose?

I believe that negative thinking breeds negative actions and that positive momentum can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

That's my point of view. What's your twist?

How are you taking advantage of the current lull to shake things up?