Are you tune in or tune out?

One of the senses that switches on most of the day are our ears. Its probably the first to be awakened. Occassionally, we all got woken up in the middle of the night by loud noises. Listening is second nature but active listening is not. Hear me.

Active Listening is an asset today. Everyone wants to speak, tweet, update status, make noise but alot less people wants to actively listen in. By Active Listening I mean to absorb and empathize. As an experiment, lets do a recap of the conversations you had today. How many conversations can you re-tell, not recall? Your memory is your testament of active listening. We tune out when we stop active listening.

The price to pay for tuning out often can be hefty. First to collaspe are relationships. Marriages break up, partners going seperate ways, board members share heated exchanges. Most of it point towards the inability to listen and solve problems by either parties which became indifference.

Tribes today wants to talk and be actively listened to. Brands need to understand that your tribes want to be engaged in a conversation. Retweets were invented because its a response after active listening. Its a 'we hear you and now listen again' to someone else.

Companies really need to start tuning in. Activate their active listening and deploy resources to engage tribes in a conversation. By that, I mean to empathize where they are coming from and respond professionally. A 'we hear you' response to 18% of your customers could be more important than the same 18% who complains about your pricing.

Active Listening = Absorb + Empathy. It could save your next relationship, professional or personal.

Please leave your comments, if any.

Design in branding

It takes more than good design to deliver a great brand. Branding has a whole spectrum of stuff like staff training (internal brand alignment), store experiences (brand experience), choice of communication medium (where tribes are listening), crafting the messages (brand story) etc. Tribes buy into the entire brand story, not just the cover of the book. It is important to realize that design can evolve but the essence of the brand should remain engaging and relevant.

It is so easy for us to get mesmerized by great designs and the rest of branding gets lost in the glitz. Why? It is far easier to sell what we can see and touch. Humans (and clients) are after all visual driven.

Here are two interesting products I came across which has elements of design for branding.

Fixa sells tools for the kitchen. Its brand name talks about getting things done while its packaging shows you the result. Fixa communicates that it 'fixes' food into their end state (ready ingredients). All that in its brand and packaging without hard selling. To the Nordic folks who created this, clever!

Ecolean is a Swedish company that designs and manufactures eco-packaging. Designed to be light and thin, when flattened, the packaging weighs less than 14g each. It is also metaphorically shaped like a pitcher, complete with handle and spout. Ecolean allowed their clients to brand themselves with eco friendliness. What a story to tell the others. Chinese FMCG brands are lapping these up rather quickly.

Bottle designs are a great way to be creative about branding. We can all recognize Absolut Vodka tribes with their empty bottles around them as badges of fun and wild parties. Here is a concept of Samurai Vodka bottle design.

I reckon you will agree this SAMURAI Vodka packaging looks pretty neat. Will it fly like Absolut with a successful brand? Maybe. Only if it has worked hard like Absolut to focus on its branding. Absolut has invested a huge amount of time and effort (lots of $$$ too) in brand communications and parties to resonate with the young and hip tribes.

In my opinion, brand consultants are not to be just focusing on design to wow clients. That is akin to decorating a nice bubble; beauty with no substance. Dubai? They must seek to be clever architects that fuse creative design, market research and marketing to deliver branding as a holistic process. Tribes are attracted to complete brand experiences, not simply aesthetics.

Please leave your comments, if any.

Time business

Beauty and wellness businesses like FIL and Spa Botanica in Singapore are doing well despite the downturn. Besides the experience they provide, the owners themselves are brands for their businesses too. They are in the business of looking good but what is driving their business is the demise of pastime. Hear me.

Its rare to hear people say I am doing so and so to pass their time. Even kids complain about the lack of time. Pastime is dead. If you are in the business to help people past their time, its time to relook it. In our increasingly busied and hurried lives, we need to make time to do something.

These are some of the businesses leveraging on such a need.

1) Consultant to arrange your messy home, you lost that ability over time.
2) Walk your dog because you do not have time to feel guilty.
3) Spa businesses: relax and look good. Makes you feel good over time through spa packages.
4) Club Med. Helps you escape your own time trap.
5) We drop off your car when its ready. I can't waste anymore time on public transport.
6) GPS. Getting lost is a waste of time.
7) Laundry services outside gyms. I do not want to waste time doing more laundry.

By the way, I am still waiting for number 7 outside of my gym at Suntec.

Seen any opportunities that revolve around time management recently? Helping your consumers save time will make them happier than you think.

Please leave you comments, if any.

Prototype is the new 'try'

Prototyping is a launch and learn technique. Business in Beta talks about this. Essentially, we want to learn from a series of prototypes in order to get closer to the desired solution. Here is my story for the local bus company for a better service experience.

The X'mas mood is on full swing and shoppers can't wait to give and receive presents. Me too. Taking public transport is a wise thing to do. Problem is, alot of us share the same thoughts. I took a snapshot of the Bugis bus stop where I missed my bus. Heres how my bus can go right past me when it is just 2 meters away from me.

I cannot see which is my bus when they all arrived and lined up this way like train carriages!

The only clue to me is there are about 3 buses lined up with their side mirrors hanging out. How do we try solve this?

Can we put in bus numbers on side mirrors? Lets prototype this.


Install a series of energy saving LEDs that works on all AM/PM conditions (Thank you Audi) at back of these mirrors. One look and you can tell bus 33 is here even when the buses are lined up. It also makes it more prominent to guard against accidents.

This idea can be brillant, stupid, mediocre or plain dumb. Thats not the point. The point is that the journey of uncovering great brand experience or service is foremost recognizing the problem. Then learn through a series of trials and errors. Adopt fail forward attitude that works to find the best solutions through a series of  failed prototypes that gets us closer to the final solution. Each prototype is a step closer to that great idea.

When will you finally get a great idea to make tons of money?Only when you waited long enough for people (your customers) to accept or reject it and tell you about it (did you even bother to ask?). Finding out the whys and iterate your prototype from your previous experiences.

Make prototyping your new try.

Please leave your comments, if any.

Patience is a key ingredient for success

Today marks the birth of INGENS as a registered company. INGENS means "remarkable, extraordinary" in latin. It is a starting milestone of my dream. Primarily made up of researchers and designers to deliver branding solutions to clients.

Lots to do in the coming weeks to set up the ground work. Domain registration, innovating methodologies, resourcing, organisation chart, business development, having fun etc. I truly realise what it means to build something from a dream or vision. Today is a flag off from the starting line. How long did I wait for this? A couple of years. Compared to director James Cameron, mine is a short wait.
 
James Cameron faithfully waited 12 years before realising AVATAR on the big screen. What are your dreams? Has it been realised? If not, I hope it is in the making...like INGENS is to me. But unlike a film, building a company is a process not an event.

Do watch AVATAR. I find it to be more effective in educating environmental protection than the recent Copenhagen Summit 2009. It is clear who needs to be educated if any form of change is to take place, you and me. Tribes (no pun intended) who care to start green (or blue for our ocean friends) movements, not policy makers. I have not eaten shark fins for the past 16 years, its a start.

Please leave your comments, if any. Movie poster taken from IMDB.

Happiness (x) & Pleasure (y)

x is different from y. I labeled them clearly.

Happiness(x) is an inward state of mind. You seek happiness by doing things that make you happy. Having happy surroundings, happy people, happy things and hopefully we get to be happy? Not really. You can have all the right 'ingredients' for happiness and yet you may not feel happy at all. It has to come honestly inward. Someone in a super fun Christmas party may be feeling very unhappy inside and tries very hard to feel otherwise. You cannot feel happy and sad at the same time. Happiness is ultimately an inward process which you seek to attain. What makes someone happy differs from people to people.

What about pleasure(y)?

Pleasure is transient and it does not equate to happiness. Pleasure is an event not a process. Humans get bored easily over events therefore they don't really last. Good food, nice looking companions, nice clothes, cigarettes and sex. These are fleeting, pleasurable things. Is your happiness defined as a series of pleasures?

Christopher Gardner (Will Smith) in the movie "Pursuit of Happyness" defines happiness as not being poor? Money is the idol here, not happiness. I say his love for his son is the real happyness.

Are the brands you surround yourself gives you pleasure or contribute towards happiness?





Christmas is 4 days away. Festive shopping is at its peak now. I hope the gifts or brands you choose are all conduits of happiness and not momentary pleasure.

Happy Christmas.

Please leave your comments, if any. Movie Poster taken from IMBD

Apply Opposing Thinking

One of the most intriguing and difficult task from the use of Design thinking is having opposing thoughts to reside in our mind at the same time. Diversity and Singularity. Hot and Cold. North and South. Pulling us in different directions, our minds are forced to work somewhat illogically but it is where innovation and creativity will occur.

When it comes to branding products and services, the same opposing thoughts can be applied to challenge and change status quo. Why? Why fix something when it is not broken? Rather the question is, why have we not challenged the status quo. Then go on to create Purple Cows like the Sound Sticks II speakers.

 

Some 5 years since it was first launched, it is still seen around today. All speakers of equivalent age were already dusted off display shelves. What is their magic? Harmon Kardon understood design thinking of having opposing thoughts. Sound Sticks only has circular shapes, air cushion stands, totally transparent as opposed to the conventional speakers which are square/rectangular, sharp edges, opaque or quite simply...boring.

Lets take the Bao which is a popular snack bun commonly found in Singapore and apply this form of thinking. Conventionally, the safe way to rebrand this snack would be just to create new fillings with fancy names, contemporary logo designs with new shopfront image. However, they still look the same as the $1.30 ones I got from AMK Blk 233 coffee shop. It is still boring and unremarkable. Does not make you stop and take a second look. Probably for a short while.

If we are to apply opposing thinking, the new Bao would look rather different. In its size, shape and the way it is delivered to customers. Mini baos served on a stick like satay, odd shaped ones, long ones filled with whole shrimps, filling on top of it, above it, underneath it etc. A new Bao concept.

Will the existing tribes or loyalists protest? Maybe but brands today are not here to please everyone. Being safe is risky. Being mediocre is mediocre at its best. It gets us nowhere.

Please give your comments, if any.

Market Research versus Brand Research

Many of my clients are confused over the two, and when to use these services. There are numerous Market Research firms out there that offer market research services that guide and inform clients to make the best decisions. Most of the time, solutions are not provided; recommendations, at most.

Brand Research is more specialised and focused – mainly, qualitative measures to achieve the desired depth, and it is the understanding of how tribes (or potential ones) perceive brands. The Brand Strategist will then use these insights to craft brand-positioning strategies. In this case, the Brand Strategist comes out with a solution for the client. Action-ability is the essence of brand research; it is engineered for a solution.

Be it a Brand Book or even a Design Brief to architect a new brand experience, the brand researcher needs to have an exploratory mindset when designing the research study; and later on for formulating recommendations. As such, a brand researcher needs to engage his exploratory and integrative mindset more than a typical market researcher who analyzes and reports findings. If we argue about who provides more value, it really depends on what a client is really after: to inform or to invent?

Please leave your comments, if any. Thank you Enrico for your editorial inputs. Much appreciated.

That little knife on the road

2009 is drawing to an end. A new list of resolutions will encapsulate those who plan for the new year; I am no exception. In fact, I am planning for each new day, week, month. etc. For any resolution-builder, I hope that you spend more time thinking about each 'to do' item than your holiday plans. It is amazing how many people spend more time detailing their holidays rather than what they should achieve for the whole year. I am also guilty of this - I try to lessen it each year. I argue that the most important ingredient is not the list but the righteousness or commitment to make it right.

Fact: If righteousness is not in it, it is actually not worth putting it in. We know we want each resolution to be right because we are going to be tested for it: A commitment that this is the right thing to do.

Let me explain by telling the story of a little knife lying on the road last Saturday morning. It is a fruit knife that was dropped by one of the passing vehicles. It stayed harmlessly on the road, 10 meters away from where I was sitting at the bus stop. The possibilities of this little blade doing damage was real. It could have flown into somebody's face from a passing vehicle, or it could have punctured a car tyre and sent cars into accident spirals, etc.

If I chose to ignore it, it would have stayed there until something happens. If anything would have happened at all, God knows. The light turned red for the oncoming traffic before I picked the blade up and threw it into the dustbin. Did I do the right thing? Maybe. But my purpose on wanting to do the right thing was certainly within me, and I am tested my commitment that very moment.

Example: If you want to be more charitable in 2010, your mind will automatically seek the moments where charity encounters are present. Just like when you commit to see more of the colour red, your subconscious mind will automatically seek them for you. You will see more red.

Your resolution item, whatever it may be, is not entirely important. Why? It may change, deviate or be taken away. And the best is that you can write a new one if you want to. However, the commitment behind it is so much more important: Have the skills to self manage and self correct. The discipline to make the decisions each day to get closer to each goal. Only if you make the commitment to do that, then your list becomes an absolute possibility.

The same goes for brands and tribes that you made a commitment to, collectively by themselves or to their customers. They too will face a time where their values will be tested - a knife on the road moment. This begs the question: will you pass the test?

Please leave your comments, if any.

Soft Power in Branding

The term Soft Power refers to the ability of getting what you want through co-option and attraction. This is as opposed to Hard Power which is the use of power through coercion and intimidation. Soft Power is mostly used in politics to gain attraction to the leaders' intent for the party or government.

The use of Soft Power dates back to ancient Chinese Philosopher like Lao Tsu  in the 7th century BC. Joseph Nye from Harvard University later wrote a book in 2004 titled Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics to further develop this concept. Today, Soft Power is used widely in political and diplomacy actions all around the world. Canada has used Soft Power to brand itself to the world using these Soft Power traits.
1) Co-opting and inclusion
2) Validation
3) Respect
4) Attraction
Read more about branding Canada here.

How does this concern us as consumers and brand consultants? Is Soft Power the new Art of War? Maybe.

The recent downturn and crisis has made consumers reflect about their attitudes towards consumerism. Studies have shown that consumers now look deeper into the background, values and intent of brands more so than ever before reaching for their wallets. Our value system has since changed immensely. Humility and respect for one another moves further up.

Brands today should realize that their products and services are viewed quite differently. Tribal engagement besides tangible rewards should also take into account how to gain validation, respect and attraction. Successful branding should take Soft Power strategies into serious consideration. Are your co-brands sharing your same value to engage and respect for your tribes? Do they share the same values with you first even before the brand?

Soft Power I believe is the next important tool which brands can effectively harness to gain stronger emotional connectivity with their customers and stakeholders.

Please leave your comments, if any.

The Charity Brick Tribe

100 over volunteers. 10.30pm to 6.00am.  Thousands of Lego bricks were being sorted into 2,300 identical Lego fun packs to needy children and elderly in the wee hours of 2nd December 2009. The Charity Brick Tribe did their best to complete the task within the time window but still did not manage to pack all of it. Sore fingers and Panda eyes. The Tribe was tired but happy. Youngest tribe member is at the age of 6. City Care is the organizer for these volunteers.

We Are One is truly a unique charity event that MediaCorp and LEGO has jointly organized to raise funds for the Community Chest. For every $2 donated, a brick is added. If you are one of the thousands that supported this cause, I would like to give my thanks to you. You made a difference.

In the business of giving, there are always amazing tribes being assembled quickly. ERA agents form a 16-men team to help out in this event in the span of 24 hours. This is an excellent example of how flash mob are also formed virally. I was told that this ERA team did it through only one person who made a few calls. Amazing.

Right after the event, we all parted our own ways with handshakes, high-fives and picture taking. Like a Lego design, the tribe is quick to form and disband.

Question is, how do brands continuously engage their tribes for their cause and movement? Could there be a dedicated engagement program in the brand strategy that solely measures and looks after customer interests? Banks are infamous for such programs. They know it is far easier to keep a customer than to convert new ones.

Going beyond service levels to improve customer retention, tribe engagement is as much an art as it is science that is geared towards long term brand building. To Lego, you just earned another reason for keeping me as a customer.

Official news link here.

Please leave your comments, if any.

PS. I made a private art piece for someone special.