Improvising brands

The Annual Conference is well underway here in New York.

I spent yesterday in a preconference session on branding. Lots of experiences were shared, including a lot of learning that branding statements that sound great in principle often don't work in practice. We did an excercise taking the positioning statements/values of some well known brands and tried to embody them in improv drama. Often, what resulted were unsatisfying scenes. Too much idealism makes for unconvincing theatre. All those ideals of great service don't seem to correspond with the challenges of real life, where value and experience is created moment by moment.

I liked Gary Hirsch's speculation: maybe the only real brand value is authenticity.

Johnnie MoorePosted by Johnnie Moore on September 30, 2005 01:11 PM in Annual conference
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I'd like to see different brand statements (and values) played against the backdrop of a couple intended users of the product / brand. For example, if my 'thing' is a new cell phone, I'd have the improv team play the brand using the first statement, and 2 other players appear as cell customers, perhaps owners or purchasers. The next two scenes would use the other two branding statements. I expect I'd learn something about how to better position the branding to reach those customers.

Contrast that with the incredibly insightful exercise we performed - where the branding statements played against each other. For those who weren't there, the scenes involved the players trying to help each other. Scene death.

Just a thought. ;)

Posted by: Carolyn L Burke at October 3, 2005 03:06 PM Permalink for comment