APPROACH
Our approach looks for new streams of value that your brands can deliver.
We concentrate on brand innovation at the customer level.
We use a different approach than traditional brand practice, which typically
considers brands as a communication layer intended to mold customer beliefs
and attitudes. In our view, the traditional brand method doesn't go far enough.
Brands As Strategic Deliverables
We view brands as strategic deliverables.
Your brands enable you to lead your customers on the path you have chosen.
(If you don't have a path, you don't have a brand.)
In our approach, brands are strategic links to create the customers that
will drive your business forward.
A brand's strategic deliverables can include:
- New product capabilities through the brand
- New customer capabilities through the brand
- Value creation networks
- Customer-based innovation
- Community and brand culture
Brands from the Ground-Up
For us, the brands that matter are those that "walk the walk."
They deliver material benefits that move customers forward.
To help your brands gain traction at ground level, our approach
is product-oriented and customer-based.
Our approach guides these
typical brand framing questions we help clients address.
Platform Focus
We gear our approach to help clients structure their brands into brand platforms,
where they can become more effective, and efficient, in delivering strategic
customer value. Brand platforms can offer more to the customer in context, content,
innovation and community than conventional one-shot brands.
We define a brand platform as a structure of integrated brand components
architected to create focused customer growth.
Your brand platform is your structure for advancing and growing the kinds
of customers your business needs.
We view your brand platform not as a monolith, but as a much more powerful
architecture of participation.
This enables your brand to connect customers
to you and to each other, creating a larger brand culture with more market opportunities.
Our approach helps you create brand platforms that can serve as growth platforms
for your customers, and your business.
Concepts, Models, Tools
Our approach is designed to put companies in charge of their brands by providing the concepts,
models and tools they can use in brand innovation and customer creation. Our approach includes:
- A conceptual framework: To define, integrate and structure brand
innovation and customer creation processes, within a new brand context.
- Models: For developing products, brands and brand platforms.
- Tools: For assessing customer value, creating brand initiatives, building brand
platforms and collaborating on brand innovation.
Incremental Steps
We favor an incremental approach in developing brand initiatives, using brand prototypes
and pilot programs as a flexible and cost-effective means to engage customers.
Successful initiatives can be scaled up into broader programs.
Selected Elements
