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stop thinking. start rapping.

11/30/12 by lauriehills

the inimitable lupe fiasco

I recently came across a study on what brain scans reveal about Freestyle Rappers via my lovely nerdy friend Dr Jess.

Now I’m not about to pretend that I know anything about the world of functional MRIs, but what did get me interested was how this is essentially a mapping on creativity and the fluidity of language.

Yes it is a small and subjective study in a very niche area of medicine but it does have fascinating implications for understanding such incredible processes of creativity. Although it is somewhat ironic that in order to study “creativity” we have to structure such uncreative study designs…

In a nutshell the study compares the functional MRI results with those of freestyle rapping (improvisation) and a set of learned rap lyrics.

Using freestyle rap as a means of image mapping the areas of the brain, and connectivity mapping to analyse the complex interplay between the areas of the brain that control coordination, fluency, information processing, intention, multimodal sensory processing, language, rhythm … (the list is as long as it is complex!) what it suggests is

“… the conscious, deliberate, top-down attentional processes mediated by this network may be attenuated during improvisation, consistent with the notion that a state of defocused attention enables the generation of novel, unexpected associations that underlie spontaneous creative activity.”

Whilst sadly proof that not all of us have the gift of the gab on hip-hop karaoke night, let alone freestyle hip hop karaoke night, what’s interesting about the results is the sense that the inherent creative result comes from a non-conscious process of decision making and adjustments.

Perhaps this has implications for our individual creativity and we should just… not think too hard.

As they put it; “…ongoing actions, moment to moment decisions and adjustments in performance may be experienced as having occurred outside of conscious awareness. This is not inconsistent with the experience of many artists who describe the creative process as seemingly guided by an outside agency.”

So next time you’re in a creative pickle – whether it’s writer’s block as a strategist or an ideas rut as a designer – maybe you shouldn’t jump straight to the interwebs for inspiration/the answer and instead embrace your inner Lupe or Dr Dre.

Failing that, the festive season is upon us, so for the on-stage divas amongst us maybe it’s time to make a name for yourself at the Christmas Party?

If you’ve had enough of pre-frontal gyrus’- and made it this far into the post- you deserve to be rewarded and may now gyrus to Will Smith’s (of Fresh Prince Of Bel Air brilliance) casual free-styling… hold out for the FPOBA drop at the end. Probably NSFW but well worth it. Happy Friday Everyone!

Cold Madonna has lesson for disliked brands

01/30/12 by Alex Benady

Were you one of the four million people who watched Madonna’s car crash of an interview with Graham Norton In mid January? If you weren’t, it was a typically controlled piece of Madonna publicity for her new film WE. Cameras angles were agreed in advance and although she looked pretty good for her age, there were strictly no-close ups. Well, who can blame her, she’s got a brand to manage hasn’t she?

What she couldn’t control however was her inner pathology. The interview started off jauntily enough with Madonna and Norton joking and laughing. Even then she was stiff and uneasy -as if someone had briefed her on how to appear normal. But as the interview proceeded, the effort evidently became too much for her and the real Madge started leaking through the fag-paper-thin veneer. She became in turn, cold, brittle, imperious, humorless, controlling, disinterested, dismissive and rude. (more…)

Logos please mind the gap between ambition and reality

10/18/11 by Alex Benady

This month, British Gas, Virgin media and BT’s cable tv service BT Vision have all unveiled new logos. While each one is undoubtedly full of good intentions, they all in their way illustrate the problems of logos representing not so much what the company is but what it wants to be.

It’s the first time in 17 years that British Gas has tampered with its logo. Not only is it trying to show that it now provides a lot more than just gas, it clearly hints at the company’s environmental ambitions.

While the company really has made environmental responsibility a top priority by investing in green energy and developing plans to reduce the impact of its activities on the planet, the fact is that the bulk of its business still comes from the messy business of burning carbon fuels.

A cynic might call it greenwash.

BT Vision meanwhile expresses its technological ambitions in a design that deploys the V shaped play button in a variety of changing colours. While BT’s technology is undoubtedly excellent, it is off the pace when it comes to comparisons with many of its rivals. That feeling that BT is playing catch up is compounded by a quick look at the BT website. Its incoherent brand architecture is just plain confusing. You can’t help feeling that the problem at BT is that there is no clear vision.

A cynic might call it techwash.

Next up, Virgin Media, one of BT’s main rivals, is hoping that a new logo incorporating the Union flag will help it tap in to the patriotic fervour created by next year’s Olympic Games and Diamond Jubilee -even though Virgin isn’t even an Olympic sponsor. One of the great appeals of the Virgin brand in whatever sector it operates, is that it is a challenger offering a contemporary alternative to the fuddy duddy establishment. While its founder is British, that has never been the point of Virgin which is decidedly mid-Atlantic in its appeal.

The new logo, which is certainly only the beginning of a tsunami of corporate flag waving as the Olympics approach, consists of little more than the old logo with a Union flag stuck on.

A cynic might call it flagwash.

So what are companies supposed to do? Have no banner, no rallying flag, no clear signal of where they are heading, simply because some will criticise them for not being there yet?

Of course not. The trick is to ensure that the ambition as expressed by the logo is ahead of the reality, -but not so far ahead as to be implausible. Which of these logos do you think obeys that rule? Which don’t. Make up your own mind.

Too Magical for Müller?

10/11/11 by Guest Blogger

Love the new Müller advert… fun, bright and captures the imagination in an optimistic, ‘the world is a good place’ Disney way.

It would be perfect for a brand with similar attributes. But for Müller? It just doesn’t seem right. The brand has always been about pure, delicious enjoyment, and not just from a design perspective but with the previous ‘Got Life’ campaign and then the brilliantly tongue in cheek ‘Thank You Cows’.

‘Wünderful Stuff’ is the new brand idea, inspiring a new mission whereby they talk about wanting to ‘stir a large tablespoon of wünderful into the world, and let everyone experience what wünderful tastes like everyday.’ Lovely sentiment, but for me there’s a big connection missing between this and ultimately what the consumer engages with; the packaging design and the product. Maybe I’m speaking too soon and there’s a design change in the process plus some amazing new flavours and product experiences soon to grace our shelves…fingers crossed.

Sound Advice at Ogilvy’s Lab Music Day Live

09/13/11 by Alex Ririe

Courtesy of David Coxon

One of the great perks of being part of Ogilvy Group and WPP is having access to events such as Lab Day Live which was about ” making music matter to brands as much as it does to consumers”.

Held at Ogilvy’s Canary Wharf office last Friday, it was a day of two halves, with the morning devoted to expert speakers from the music industry and the afternoon with performances on three different stages, by an assortment of bands from Charlie Simpson (ex Busted) and Sophie Ellis Bextor to The Delays, Laki Mera and Pete & The Pirates, among others.

As a brand design agency, you may wonder why we’d bother attending an event like this – other than to have a very nice jolly. After all, music is the domain of ad agencies right? We don’t think so.

As Julian Treasure of the Sound Agency reminded us, brand sounds include everything from brand voice, sonic logos and telephone music to advertising sounds, branded audio (podcasting) and soundscapes in retail and brand spaces.

As with everything these days, music and sound is much more than just an advertising jingle – it is part of the 360° exposure that consumers have to brands across a variety of touch points.

So that’s why a brand design agency needs to be aware of brand sounds. At Coley Porter Bell, we create brands. We help identify the brand essence and bring this to life through a set of equities which can act as mnemonics – instant signifiers to identify the brand in a crowd. We create brand books and brand guidelines to ensure everyone who works with the brand understands its values, its personality and the way it should communicate with its consumers.

In our every-day lives, we communicate and create meaning using our five senses, and often, sight and sound are our most important senses. It therefore makes perfect sense, that one of the most powerfully engaging ways in which brands can communicate is with both the visual and the audio, and not just in advertising.

Ruth Simmons of Sound Lounge, gave a very interesting presentation. Quite rightly, she suggested that marketers wouldn’t dream of messing around with a brand’s core visual equities, for example, turning the Vodafone logo from red to purple, yet brand owners and agencies are quite happy to chop and change music and sounds, creating an eclectic brand sound, often at odds with the brand essence.

When you consider the reams of research to show the power of carefully chosen music and sounds with regard to increased purchase behaviour, it seems incredible that such an important asset is often overlooked and lacking guidelines. Some have even suggested that without guidelines sound just becomes noise. Ignored at best, irritating at worst.

Think of the power of sound; for example bird song to relax, jack hammers to raise the stress levels, the ‘holidays are coming’ Coca Cola Christmas song to signify the start of the festive season, the Intel sonic logo to identify a ‘thing’ that most of us have never seen, let alone understand, yet know it to be a good thing when we here that sound.

Brand sound is a visceral and potent brand asset if used correctly and congruently with the brand. In combination with powerful and distinctive visual equities the potential is even greater.

Here are some links for more information:

Creative Britain is not in Reverse. Yet.

07/12/11 by Alex Benady

Viagra female viagra online

The future of British Art schools?

Tonight at The Institution of Mechanical Engineers luminaries of the UK creative world will debate the proposition: Is Creative Britain in Reverse?

At first glance there is little evidence to support such an idea. Ok the UK did put in its worst showing for decades at Cannes this year. But as we all know awards prove little or nothing.

In contrast Government figures suggest that creative Britain is doing rather well. They confirm that the creative industries are one of the jewels in the crown of UK Plc. At the last count the creative economy employed just over 2.25 million people -over 7 per cent of the work force. It comprised nearly 158,000 businesses and accounted for 6.4 per cent of UK Gross Value Added, producing exports of £16bn. (more…)

From “Patronised of London”

06/23/11 by Alex Ririe

Dear Lil-lets,

Women have periods.

Sorry for stating the obvious, but I saw one of your new packs the other day and for a moment I thought you were trying to attract eight year old girls. Of course I soon realised that this would be ridiculous because children don’t have periods, women do. Agreed teenage girls do as well, but when you consider the total UK female population, it’s probably a fair assumption to say that the majority will be women aged over 18.

I’m sure you’ll appreciate my confusion. It’s just that I saw that you had introduced a new innovation in the world of tampons and it’s called ‘Candystripe^TM Technology’. Are you serious? This is just a new accessory for Barbie, right?

I realise now, that you are of course absolutely serious. You’ve got a pink and white cord, an on-pack icon and three claims to prove it. To be fair, it’s a useful innovation. It’s a new technology to prevent leaks. (It means that I can now roller skate wearing white jeans in full confidence.)

This innovation also extends to making the product ‘easy grip’. Hmmm. I’m not convinced that this should fall under the ‘technology’ banner. You’re really only talking about two different coloured strings inter-twined aren’t you? But hey, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt as this might be quite advanced stuff if you’re an eight year old.

Now the final part of the innovation – Candystripe^TM Design. Excuse me??? Now I really think you’re stretching the ‘technology’ idea a bit too far. In a way, I suppose it’s actually very clever. You’re tapping into the insight that us girlies are suckers for a pretty design. You’re so right. Yeahhy for the candystripe design!

I do apologise if this seems a little ungrateful. It really is a very good technology. Well, the non-leak bit is anyway. I just wish you’d think about your target audience. Are you a brand for eight year old girls or for women? I do understand that you want to get people into the brand early – that makes good business sense. But what about your old loyalists?

If you could just let me know who you’re for, I’d be very grateful. I’d like to know where I stand (or parachute, or swim, or bike ride).

Yours sincerely,

Alex Ririe.

What has the Milkybar Kid got in common with Zappo’s founder Tony Hsieh?

04/21/11 by Emma Brock

Believe it or not the Milkybar Kid is fifty. Time to give the little dude a change of clothes and a bit of a scrub up, you might think. So that’s exactly what we did last year and this week our update of one of the UK’s most enduring brand icons finally found its way into the shops.

As part of the redesign Coley Porter Bell developed a whole world for The Kid as well as a psychologic profile, describing what he thinks, how he reacts, his interests and motivations. Not only does he now have a clearly identifiable moral code, he is active fun, generous and fair and just a little bit cooler than his recent incarnations.

Predating the film Bugsy Malone by a good fifteen years, he used to be the sheriff of a small town peopled by kids. Now he is leader of a small posse which includes Bluebell the Cow, Scruff the dog and Sonny the horse. Their different interactions and adventures allow for The Milkybar Kid to appear in many different scenarios and scenes. Inviting consumer to construct their own narratives around his activities.

Ok, you might think that creating a back story for a cartoon character selling chocolate is a bit, well, pretentious. But like any marketing update, any micro change, it tells you something about the way that consumers and society at large are changing.

In this case it’s all about the humanisation of brands. While our Milkybar packs are clearly in the analogue world, the demand for brands to become more ‘human’ is actually being driven by the virtual world of social media. As US marketing guru Gary Vaynerchuck puts it: “Social media have taken us back to small town rules. You can no longer stack it high and see it fly.” ie You have to have a real personality and use it to interact with your consumers.”

There are various strategies available to achieve this. One is to literally make a person the face of the brand or corporation. Richard Branson, Stelios and Remington’s Victor Kiam are prime examples in the real world.

A modern variation on that theme is the construction of a social company or brand on-line. US on-line shoe firm Zappos was established in 1999 and now has sales of well over $1.2bn a year. The company was built largely on Olympian service which in turn was based on the idea of showing that the company is made up of happy individuals that you’d really like to get to know, says Chief exec Tony Hsieh. He takes pains to lead from the front in this respect and astonishingly takes the time to reply to every Twitter addressed to him. What better way to communicate that this is a social company than to use social media?

A third approach is to humanise the brand through tone of voice. Probably the best example of that is innocent which has built a stunningly successful business based on pure ingredients and fresh natural vocabulary. It’s personal, informal and even a little cheeky

They use back of pack copy to engage, charm and make people believe in the brand “We’re perhaps not as sophisticated in database management as we’d like to be but we do realise the value of direct contact, ” said communications chief Charlotte Rawlins a couple of years ago.

The Milkybar Kid, isn’t a CEO, he isn’t a tone of voice, but he is very human and in a world dominated by the internet, that counts for an awful lot these days.

MIT Medialab logo brilliantly out of control

03/21/11 by Alex Benady

Bespoke logos

Having been in the design industry for let us just say ‘more than five years’ now, I don’t often get excited by new logos. Apart from anything else they seem to be one of the last vestiges of the old authoritarian ‘broadcast’ model of marketing communications. Immutable and unvaried they are fixed by the brand owner and imposed upon stakeholders regardless of the task in hand.

Yet there is growing evidence that the highly systematised management approach adopted by most organisations to everything, including their branding, is in fact deeply counterproductive.

That’s why the new identity launched last week for MIT Medialab really did lift my spirits and leave my pulse beating just a little bit faster.

The device consists of three intersecting spotlights in primary colours . It’s impactful, colourful, utterly relevant and amazingly dynamic. You can almost see those media spotlights moving and swirling in front of you.

But that’s only the start of it because it turns out that they really do move and change. The three intersecting spotlights can be organized in any of 40,000 shapes and 12 color combinations using a custom-built algorithm. So every student, administrator and academic at MIT can press a button on a web site to generate and print out their very own version of the logo . It can then be applied to any material on hand – business cards, letterheads, website, animations, ads, signage and so on.

The really impressive thing is that even though they are all different -some just slightly different, others hugely so, they are all instantly recogniseable as MIT. “Each of the three shapes stands for one individual’s contribution, the resulting shape represents the outcome of this process: A constant redefinition of what media and technology means today,” says designer Richard The.

OK you could criticise it if you wanted. (Insert your own opinions here). Perhaps the colours aren’t to your taste. There have to be concerns over whether such a design is registerable and lord alone knows how you would write the guidliness for its use.

It’s also true that the idea of a dynamic (ie changeable) logo is not new. Arguably the Christian Cross, which is expressed in an almost infinite variety of shapes, proportions materials and designs, was the first dynamic logo and that’s 2000 years old now.

Sagmeister

More recently in 2005 US designer Richard Sagmeister used software which scans any image and transfers the colours of the image onto the logo to create an individual colour version, for Portuguese concert hall The Casa da Musica.

Dynamic Troika Dialog

A couple of years ago Interbrand created what it called a ‘vector logo’ for Russian Investment Company Troika dialog. It too contains three bold colours in a changing set of lines with multiple versions available for print.

Creuna 2

Just a couple of months later Danish digital agency Creuna came up with its own dynamic logo. The ‘C’ in its visual identity can be transformed and customised by employees to form their own personal versions of the logo.

All these logos accept the basic premise of a new book out this week called ‘Loose’ by Martin Thomas. that brands do not reside in the brain of the brand manager but in the hearts of minds of consumers and other stakeholders. They accept the truth that authoritarian models are breaking down and that with the advent of interactvity and digital media, people expect to be able to collaborate with brands, to play and experiment with them, and to customise their brand experience -albeit within a defined structure.

The Medialab logo has brilliantly captured the zeitgeist and has shown the rest of us, in the words of Martin Thomas that “the future of business is letting go.”

What about the people?

02/7/11 by Ed Silk

You’re sitting there, watching the box with the missus, when an intriguing new programme comes on. The People’s Supermarket. What a great concept. You become a paid up member in order to get 10% off the provisions that you buy there. All you have to do in return is contribute 4 hours of your time every 4 weeks. Then I got annoyed. Then I started shouting (at the TV, not my wife). What seemed great on paper appeared to be failing at the first hurdle. In his bid to achieve this utopian ideal of a supermarket for the people by the people, Chef Arthur Potts Dawson had failed at the fundamentals. He’d hadn’t actually asked what the people wanted to buy from a Supermarket (nor for that matter had he identified which people either). And it only seemed to dawn on him when he’d already opened the doors. If you’re going to go head-to-head with giants likes of Tesco and Sainsbury’s, you’re really need to have a comprehensive understanding about your shopper and consult them on their needs and wants. It’s branding 101. Forget that and you’re a Supermarket short on custom.

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