Marketing as platforms and applications

I’ve always believed that the single easiest way to get your head round digital and more importantly the direction of communications and culture type stuff, is to simply look at the vocabulary being used by the people that do the doing, not the thinking. This post on Savage Minds highlights a potentially better way of looking at marketing by comparing the techy terms like platform to culture and application to subculture.

It makes sense when you think about. You don’t really manage a brand in neat little channels anymore. Like in John Grant’s book, The Brand Innovation Manifesto, brands are really defined by a bunch of complimentary associations and experiences. John calls these brand molecules, but it’s essentially the same. You should be creating a platform, with a series of applications that allow you to keep moving quickly and effectively. Much like Starbucks has done

Don’t get me wrong, we don’t need anymore marketing words, but we do need to use more helpful ones.

Agencies that create their own stuff

I’m always interested in some of the little spin offs and initiatives agencies work on in their own time. I don’t mean blogs either, I mean actual stuff. I think it says a quite a lot about them really. In fact, it would be the first thing I would ask an agency if they were pitching for my business.

Here is a list of some of my favourites;

One of my old favourites was Karmarama’s Mr T and Kofi mugs. Get it…genius

Anomaly has several fingers in several pies. One of which is a music inspired online T-shirt shop, called Identitee.com.

W+K also has its music label W+K Tokyo Labs and now a radio station

And then there is also a Taxi’s, ‘Taxi Cafe’ concept that decided to have a barista rather than a receptionist. Like it.

UPDATE: Faris has just found another example. Mother has launched a series of comics called Four feet from a Rat

If (INSERT JOB DESCRIPTION) created a brand?

I’m always fascinated with the sheer diversity of opinion when it comes to defining a brand. There’s not an off the shelf approach any more that’s for sure. I’m also curious about whether people with experience are in deed the best people to do this job all the time?

Here’s an interesting post via Ed Cotton that refers to an architect by the name of Frank Gehry designing a new shoe for JM Weston.

I’m a massive fan of transformation design and anything that looks at an old problem through different lenses. Just a a thought experiment what would happen if say a a shoemaker created a new social network? I know, Shoe People. Sorry that gag is for my UK viewers.

Does Ben have a Grandson?


Unless something has happened since I´ve been away I´m unaware of there being a new Sherman on the fashion block.

There is no getting away from the Tiger

Even in the Rio Dulce,Guatemala, where the only mode of transport is Lancha, the big brands have already cornered the market. At $3 a gallon I don´t think they make quite as much as at home and it isn´t really in keeping with the jungle surroundings and amazing wildlife, but it gets people from A to B I guess.

I didn´t spot a Tiger T-shirt on the Captain either so perhaps they are yet to benefit from the Tiger tokens.

Brand America

An unnamed friend, from an unnamed agency, working on a huge, unnamed American account sent me through a brief directly from his client last week. And I kid you not, in the little box titled ‘why should people believe what you’re saying?’ they put the following in capital letters. Just in case you didn’t hear them of course.

‘BECAUSE WE’RE AMERICAN!’

I’m hoping this was intended to be a joke and they weren’t being serious, but some how after watching things like this as well last week, probably not. Here’s one for the fight fans. Go on Ricky, shut him up!!

London launch 2012 brand

I’m not quite sure what to make of this effort by Wolff Ollins. When I first saw it I thought it was a bit ‘down with the kids’ and perhaps they’ve tried too hard to relate with the yoof.

According to London 2012: “the new emblem is dynamic, modern and flexible reflecting a brand savvy world where people, especially young people, no longer relate to static logos but respond to a dynamic brand that works with new technology and across traditional and new media networks.

The design brief was for an emblem that represented the four key ‘brand pillars’ of access, participation, stimulation and inspiration, culminating in the brand vision of ‘Everyone’s Games’”. Nice to see the usual brand jargon in there in order to justify the £400K fee. When I first saw it I said to myself, wow, you can really feel those ‘brand pillars’ jumping out at you. You can read the full release here.

After seeing the promotional video it does get a touch better, but I’m convinced there are some young designers out there that could have done a much better job. In the true spirit of London 2012 I would rather have seen the best young talent competing with each other to come up with something that was truly reflective of that generation. At the moment it’s a bit twee and too top down. The promo video feels a bit like a kids TV programme and is likely to be even more out of date in 5 years time. Despite all this I do hope it grows on me and they manage to use it imaginatively. Fingers crossed it doesn’t make us look like the numpties of the world.

I’m sure the £400k involved more than just designing the logo (at least I hope so). I would love to find out the rationale and how they got there before I make a judgement, but people are already caning it online in less than 24 hours of it being lanuched.

Re-creating the logo in under 8mins

Oh no, the brand police won’t like this

Every year E4 gives people the chance to go mad with its logo in its ESTINGS competition. In association with Creative Review, this competition is attracting some of the best young talent. The lucky winner will see their work commissioned and turned into series of indents for the channel. In E4’s own words they are giving people ‘the opportunity to weird us out with your crazed imaginations’. You can view previous entrants efforts here, here and here. Branded content at its best I’ll think you’ll agree.


I love Channel 4 in general, not just E4 and cult programmes like Shameless and Skins. In my opinion it is one of the most interesting media brands of the moment. It’s approach to creativity, media and programming is way ahead of the others. Until recently Channel 4 worked with Naked and has also developed its own commnications agency 4Creative. I think the thing I love about the brand is its confidence and fluidity. It has the ability to evolve quickly and the nerve not to be ‘consistent and on brand’ all the time.

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