Brands are fascinating business tools. They used to be just about design. Now they're about design, and strategy, and copywriting, and management, and advertising, and digital, and social media, and events, and culture, and storytelling… you get the picture. Design is still at the heart of every brand. But their heart is much bigger. Our world has evolved, so has branding. To create meaningful brands it is essential to integrate all these areas.
Branding deals with immersion. Advertising deals with impact. Branding is all about developing a relationship with the consumer. Advertising is all about getting people’s attention. Branding takes time. Advertising has to happen in no time. They require different mindsets and skills but are both essential to build great brands. Wonder\Why believes immersion and impact should be created under the same roof – together. So that brands can unleash their full potential.
Wonder\Why believes brands aren’t just… brands. As Abe Lincoln would put it, they’re of the people, by the people, for the people. Created so that products and companies can connect with people. As such, the best way for brands to engage with their targets is to somehow be like their targets – human.
This has led brands to go beyond the classical visual identity (shape, colour, typography, stationery…) and develop standard human traits, such as a tone of voice, opinions, values, a behaviour, memory, sense of purpose, ultimately leading to the creation of brand personalities – not just as metaphors – but as real authentic personas. We’ve just started to scratch the surface. These are exciting times to be in the branding business.
This is how we see the evolution of brands. What are your thoughts?
