3 new branding exercises—try them and good things will happen
Plus, an ad that's guaranteed to make your day
👋 friends. This week, I was off in Santa Barbara. Here is my son Chell, living his best life.
But I didn’t want to leave you all without valuable branding content while I was on vacation.
So, I created a roundup of three things that have majorly impressed me this month. And I’m giving you a new branding exercise inspired by each one.
🥇 Impressive Thing #1
This Must-Watch Ad from Extra Gum
In what is by far my favorite ad of the year so far, Extra Gum imagines what might happen if the pandemic ended all at once one morning…
People with bedhead emerge bleary eyed from their apartments. Bearded men suddenly shave. Everyone logs off of Zoom. Crowds storm back into offices and hug. There’s a GIANT make-out fest in a park. And it’s all set to the perfect soundtrack— Céline Dion’s power ballad “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.”
The ad is timely, hilarious, joyous—and it connects back to Extra Gum’s product… because we’re all going to need some fresh breath when the pandemic ends (especially if that much making out is in our futures).
Click below to watch it. It’ll be the best two minutes of your day.
🏋️ Branding Exercise #1
Put on Your Extra Marketing Lens
With everyone getting more vaxed and relaxed, the summer of love is coming. Exuberance will be running high—and you’ll want to ride the awesome wave of these emotions to connect with your consumer.
Look at the marketing you have planned for your brand this summer. Now, look at these three words:
Joy
Excitement
Freedom
How are you working theses into your images and messaging? If you aren’t already—how could you be?
🥇 Impressive Thing #2
This Article on Designing the Future
Here in Fast Company, Sebastian Buck discusses how companies need to be actively and intently designing the future—rather than just reacting to it.
Here are a few of the highlights I took away:
Founders always need to lead with intent.
”Without leaders’ intent toward something greater than personal success, not much is possible, and a company is left to ride its luck, stumbling into a future that may or may not be kind to it.”A shiny statement of purpose is nothing if you don’t back it up with actual action.
”Facebook unveiled a new mission statement, ‘to bring the world closer together,’ but made only partial changes to its business when more than 1,000 advertisers boycotted the company.”Think about long term futures—a quarter century rather than a quarter.
”Before the pandemic hit, Marriott framed its strategy to investors as 1% to 3% annual growth. It’s hard to argue that’s much of a design for the future, certainly not one that’s likely to energize its own people, let alone create the world we all want to see. Meanwhile, Brian Chesky of Airbnb was designing a radically different, long-term future of travel with a societal vision for communities and cities. Airbnb is now more than twice as valuable as Marriott. Future design pays off.”
🏋️ Branding Exercise #2
Try a Future-Forward Thinking Prompt
How can your brand start designing for the future today? Brian’s article provides a useful list of exercises to get you started.
From a branding perspective, I love this one:
Finding what’s needed: Instead of determining immediate needs (“share photos more easily”), identify bigger, more enduring needs (“create greater belonging with others”). While people’s immediate needs may change rapidly, designing for higher-order needs will always be relevant and lead to more expansive solutions
So, give it a go. Think about your target customer—and instead of needs related to your product, make a list of this person’s higher order needs.
Then, think about ways your brand could meet them… a quarter of a century from now.
🥇 Impressive Thing #3
This Story About the Michelin Stars
It has always seemed odd that Michelin Stars—those most-coveted of restaurant awards given to places like The French Laundry, Le Berdain, and Eleven Madison Park—share a name with a tire company.
And it has always been weirder knowing that they are in fact the same company.
But I never knew the full story until I read this great article in AdWeek* about building community through content.
Here, James deJulio discusses “Finding the Nexus”—and tells us the story of why the Michelin Man gets to judge Thomas Keller:
[A crucial step in community building] is nailing where the things your customers love intersect with the purpose of your organization. Work with your biggest fans to find the most relevant intersection points between your brand and their lives. Take Michelin. Back in 1889, being a nice upstanding French company, they understood their customers were passionate about food. Those early “foodies” were going to need to know where to eat well, and the more must-try food destinations they found, the more they would need to drive. Eventually, this would mean a need for new tires. Did they overtly go out of their way to flog the latest set of Pilot Sport 4S’s or their industry leading technology? Didn’t have to. For Michelin, their three-starred nexus of product and content was a dining guide.
*If you don’t have an AdWeek subscription and would like the full article, email me—and I’ll send you a PDF.
🏋️ Branding Exercise #3
Sample a Content Thought-Starter
Do as Michelin did. Start out by brainstorming a big list of all of the things your target LOVES.
And if this is hard to imagine—don’t. Go out and ask them.
Maybe you’ll find that they’re really into… horses… or hockey… or history. Or something that doesn’t begin with an H at all.
Then, look for a nexus point of your own. Where could your brand create content that aligns with one of these interests and add value?
I’ll end this week’s newsletter with a photo of Chell, right after he stuffed two fists full of wet sand into his mouth. Have a great week.
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Thanks, Kimberly 👋