Archive for the 'Brands & Blogs' Category
Liquid Agency’s Portland office had good reason to celebrate at the 2011 Rosey Award ceremony.
THE ROSEY AWARD IS NOW PROUDLY DISPLAYED IN OUR PORTLAND OFFICE. COME AND CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!
A Rosey Award is not won easily.
Awarded each year since 1957, the Roseys have come to exemplify inspired creativity and original thinking. This year’s show featured the best work produced across the state of Oregon and Southwest Washington. This means that we could be competing with packaging from much bigger companies that are based in the region like Nike, Adidas, Starbucks, Microsoft, Nordstrom’s, etc. “We’re very proud of this coveted award, and plan to celebrate it by raising our glasses of New Deal Whiskey and toasting to our good fortune!” said, Alfredo Muccino, Chief Creative Officer of Liquid Agency.
THE PACKAGING FOR NEW DEAL DISTILLERY WAS INSPIRED BY THE LOVE OF CRAFTSMANSHIP THAT MAKES PORTLAND SUCH A UNIQUE PLACE.
We won a Rosey for the packaging work we did for New Deal Distillery.
The highest honor we received at the 2011 Rosey Awards was a Rosey in the Packaging Category for the work we did for New Deal Distillery. Based in Portland, New Deal Distillery has been making high-quality, hand-crafted spirits inspired by Portland’s Do-It-Yourself attitude. Liquid designed a versatile label system and bottle recommendations for the New Deal ‘Distiller’s Workshop’ range of products which includes vodkas, whiskeys, and gin. The label system was designed to incorporate batch variations, using hand written modifications – as a way to address the limited edition nature of the batches and the DIY craftsmanship that is a hallmark of the brand. Kudos for the work go to David Williams (Creative Director) and Peter Baston (Sr. Designer), and to Philip Mascher (Client Ambassador).
THE RETAIL WORK FOR KEEN CAPTURED THE SPIRIT OF THE CAMPAIGN AND THE ESSENCE OF THE BRAND.
Liquid also received an Award of Excellence for the retail work we did for Keen.
Liquid Agency was also the recipient of an Award of Excellence for Keen’s ‘Recess is Back’ retail campaign. The campaign is about reconnecting with that playful spirit inside of each of us — taking small moments to get outside and really enjoy life. The concept was brought to life at retail with a “monkey bar” window display, a “tree-house style” shoe/product display, Microsoft Tag shelf-talkers, and an environmental hopscotch display for customers to interact with.
THIS NATIONAL CAMPAIGN INTRODUCED THE MEGA SHOES IN STORES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND HELPED THE ADIDAS BRAND STAY FRESH!
And…we also received an Award of Merit for the retail work we did for Adidas.
When adidas was getting ready to launched one of the biggest new product lines of 2010, the y called Liquid Agency to help them manage the retail launch. The adidas Originals MEGA included over thirty-one styles, taking popular technologies from the ’80’s, amplifying them with updated styles and colors. The campaign for the product launch was the ‘Mega Diner’ and featured hip-hop artist B.o.B. This retail campaign launched the adidas MEGA line of shoes at Finish Line, adidas Originals stores, and independent urban retailers. The merchandising materials included window fixtures, shoe walls, banners, table displays and custom cooler displays.
Helpful links.
Marty Neumeier and Alfredo Muccino participate in Chile’s first Conference on Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
As part of Chile’s effort to jumpstart innovation, the government invited Liquid Agency to go to Santiago and participate in Chile’s very first Conference on Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Marty Neumeier and Alfredo Muccino had the opportunity to deliver two talks at TEDxPatagonia and give a couple of seminars on how to build a culture of innovation. However the highlight of the trip was a meeting with the President of the Republic to discuss how Silicon Valley innovation could transform the country of Chile. How’s that for cool?
ENTREPRENEURS LEARNED STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH THROUGH HANDS ON WORKSHOPS DURING THE CONFERENCE.
The First Chile Conference on Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
The government of Chile has made innovation and entrepreneurship one of their top priorities, and to this purpose they organized the first ever national Conference on Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The conference took place in November at the same time as Chile Design Week and it included an exposition featuring resources for entrepreneurs, presentations by global experts on business and innovation, and workshops where local business leaders could participate in hands-on learning sessions. We’re very proud that both Marty Neumeier and Alfredo Muccino were invited by the government to deliver presentations and workshops. Marty Neumeier, our Director of Transformatiom collaborated with Cristian Montegu, the president of MagiaLiquid (our operation in Chile), and gave a workshop on Design Thinking to a group of almost 200 people. Alfredo Muccino, Liquid’s Chief Creative Officer collaborated with Pedro Ossa, one of the senior partners of Nivel1 (a very well respected business and branding strategy firm in Chile), and they delivered a workshop titled Creating a Culture of Innovation – where the attendees learned that it’s important to start with a clear sense of purpose and then learned how to eliminate the barriers to innovation that exist in so many traditional business structures.
MAGIALIQUID WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING THE DESIGN OF THE ACTIVITIES, THE SPACE AND THE GRAPHICS.
MagiaLiquid designs the conference concept and the exhibition space.
We’re also proud that MagiaLiquid was tapped to develop the brand strategy and creative execution for the conference. It was MagiaLiquid that first suggested that the conference should became a component of Chile Design Week. This idea helped connect the dots between “design”, “innovation” and “business entrepreneurship”. MagiaLiquid extended the identity work that they had designed for Chile Design Week and applied it to the conference. MagiaLiquid’s architects also designed the actual exposition space, which included temporary display spaces for the many resources that were on hand to support entrepreneurial businesses. MagiaLiquid also developed a process that helped businesses articulate their business plans and identify the areas where they could use the most support on their path to growth.
BOTH MARTY NEUMEIER AND ALFREDO MUCCINO WERE FEATURED SPEAKERS AT TEDx PATAGONIA.
Marty Neumeier and Alfredo Muccino deliver two talks at TEDx Patagonia.
TED is an organization that creates a stage for sharing ideas. TED’s tagline is “Ideas worth sharing”. The TED outpost in Chile is TEDx Patagonia – and Marty Neumeier and Alfredo Muccino were invited to present at TEDx Patagonia – which took place during the Conference on Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Giving a TED talk is quite an honor – and we were delighted (and a little nervous) to have the opportunity to share our ideas at TEDx Patagonia. Others speakers included our friends Eric Ryan (co-founder of Method soaps), TJ Scimone (founder of Slice) and Daniel Pandza (founder of PassionBusiness).
PRESIDENT PINERA POSED WITH THE INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION ON INNOVATION, INCLUDING MARTY NEUMEIER AND ALFREDO MUCCINO.
Meeting President Piñera was the highlight of our trip.
The week we spent in Chile was nothing short of amazing. As if launching our new office in Santiago and delivering the TEDx Patagonia talks was not enough, we had the honor to be invited to a meeting with President Piñera at La Moneda – the official residence of the President of the Republic of Chile. This was the first time that Marty and Alfredo had the chance to meet with a head of state, and it was quite an exciting experience. President Piñera is a multilingual Harvard educated former entrepreneur and university professor who has amassed one of the world’s biggest fortunes thanks to his successful business ventures. He was one of the owners of LAN (Chile’s biggest airline) and he was the man who introduced credit cards to his country. Because we came from Silicon Valley and because he wants to make Chile into a center for innovation, President Piñera was interested in our insight about innovation and transformation. During our meeting we had a short chat about design thinking and attracting and nurturing the best talent, then we drank some coffee and took a couple of pictures. In conversation, we were delighted to learn that President Piñera had read – and enjoyed – Marty Neumeier’s books! How cool is that? Take a look at Marty’s interview where he talks about his impressions on entrepreneurship and innovation in Chile.
Helpful links.
Slice innovative product design by Alfredo Muccino and Scot Herbst is praised in FastCompany’s Design Blog
Besides being the Chief Creative Officer at Liquid, Alfredo Muccino is the Brand Architect for Slice – a small company making innovative products that cut, trim, chop and slice. Under Alfredo’s direction, Slice has been working with star designers like Karim Rashid, Michael Graves and Yves Behar to develop new products that bring a sense of delight to everyday tasks. The box cutter featured in FastCompany was designed by Alfredo Muccino and Scot Herbst, and has been praised as one of the most innovative products in its category – bringing a new level of style and safety to the industry.
FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: ALFREDO MUCCINO AND SCOT HERBST. SLICE BOX CUTTER USAGE DEMONSTRATION.
The Box Cutter is an award-winning design that people can really use.
Last year the Box Cutter received a prestigious RedDot Design Award – which is a distinct honor. “We are very proud of the awards and the recognition being given to the Box Cutter we designed for Slice. It has been extremely rewarding to have the chance to explore the world of product design – which is very different than designing a logo or a website. It’s great to end up with something that is sold in stores and that people actually buy and use.” said Alfredo Muccino.
SLICE BOX CUTTER DESIGNED BY ALFREDO MUCCINO AND SCOT HERBST ON FASTCO. DESIGN BLOG.
We’re big fans of Fast Company – so it’s nice they liked it.
FastCompany seems to have the pulse on what’s happening with business, technology, innovation and design. So, it’s really cool that they decided to feature the box cutter in their blog. Check it out.
Helpful links.
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Liquid opens its first outpost in Latin America in the vibrant city of Santiago de Chile.
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: ALFREDO MUCCINO, CRISTIAN MONTEGU, SCOTT GARDNER, JOSE COVARRUBIAS. PHOTOGRAPHED AT MAGIALIQUID’S OFFICES IN SANTIAGO.
Liquid Agency opens its doors in Latin America.
According to Scott Gardner, CEO of Liquid Agency, “We recognized that the Latin American region offers substantial growth opportunitites for many of our clients, and we felt that it was important for Liquid to have a local presence. We are very happy to be now able to support our clients with an office that is part of the local culture, yet is fully integrated with our headquarters in the US and our office in Europe.”
THE CITY OF SANTIAGO IS A DYNAMIC AND SOPHISTICATED BUSINESS DESTINATION SET AT THE FEET OF THE MAJESTIC ANDES MOUNTAINS.
Santiago, Chile is the Silicon Valley of Latin America.
The new LATAM office is located in Santiago, Chile – a country that is considered the most technologically sophisticated in the region and one of the most progressive business climates in the world – and it is often dubbed the “Silicon Valley of Latin America”. The new office operates as MagiaLiquid and is the result of the integration of Magia Diseno and Liquid Agency.
THE MAGIALIQUID TEAM WORKS ON MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS FOR LOCAL AND GLOBAL BRANDS.
Magia Diseno was one of Chile’s top firms.
Magia Diseno was established as a strategic design firm over ten years ago by Cristian Montegu – who is now the President and Chief Creative Officer of MagiaLiquid. According to Cristian, “Magia Diseno has been widely considered one of the most innovative firms in Chile – servicing important clients across all of Latin America and beyond – and we are delighted that we now are MagiaLiquid, after joining forces with the most respected branding firm in Silicon Valley”.
YOUNG, SMART, DEDICATED – THE MAGIALIQUID TEAM IS A FUN BUNCH OF PEOPLE TO WORK WITH.
An award-winning team of strategists, designers and architects.
The team of people that works at MagiaLiquid is made up approximately 30 extremely talented people, including brand strategists, designers, project managers and programmers. In addition, the Santiago office also includes a team of award-winning architects who are transforming the way that brands manifests themselves through temporary as well as permanent environments.
FROM DESIGN THINKING TO CREATIVE EXECUTION, MAGIALIQUID EMBODIES THE SAME VALUES AND USES THE SAME PROCESS AS LIQUID IN THE US AND EUROPE.
Same proven methodologies and same comprehensive services.
MagiaLiquid is fully integrated into Liquid Agency, using the same methodologies and delivering across the same service disciplines – therefore enabling us to provide consistency of services to clients who would benefit from an agency that has offices in multiple geographies.
THE CLIENTS WHO ATTENDED THE LAUNCH PARTY ENJOYED MEETING MARTY NEUMEIER AND THE TALENTED MAGIALIQUID TEAM.
A proper launch needs a real launch party!
During our travels to Santiago we discovered that Chile is a country where people like to celebrate life. And, when we recently launched the new agency, we certainly celebrated in Chilean style. The MagiaLiquid launch party took place at the prestigious Sport Frances – a beautiful private club in Santiago – where about 100 people gathered to help us toast the launch. The party went late into the night and was enjoyed by all the clients, press, friends and employees that attended – yet, much to our amazement, the next day people were at the office starting at 8:00am!!! There are a lot more pictures on our Facebook page. Check them out!
Helpful links.
To learn more about some of the people, companies and organizations mentioned in this article, just click on the links below.
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Designing a brand of nicely engineered tools.
A collaboration between Liquid and HerbstProdukt.
Hextec, a leader in the tool category is based in Shanghai, but sells its products to retailers worldwide. In its effort to continue to grow its market share, the company wanted to develop a set of products specifically designed to appeal to a younger and more design savvy consumer. Realizing that they needed to work with a design team that has a fresh approach and a global perspective, the company reached out to HerbstProdukt for the industrial design and to Liquid Agency for the brand identity component of the assignment. The two firms are both based in Silicon Valley and have collaborated on award winning products that range from consumer electronics to kitchen tools.
Hextec: A brand that is rugged and sophisticated.
HerbstProduckt took the lead on the assignment by developing an industrial design language that positions the brand as a premium alternative. According to Scot Herbst, principal of HerbstProdukt, “I felt that the brand should be perceived as being about hard working tools that just happen to be beautifully designed. They are sophisticated, but in a very industrial, very rugged kind of way. ” The brand language leverages “hexagonal” geometric details inspired by the brand name, and suggests concepts of engineering, precision and quality. Scot discussed these ideas with Alfredo Muccino, the founder and Chief Creative Officer at Liquid Agency, and they agreed that the logo should embody these same qualities.
Engineered to stand out for all the right reasons.
The brand identity steers away from a decorative approach, instead it is a very simple and bold typographical solution in which the the “X” in Hextec becomes the most iconic component. The design of the Hextec identity takes into consideration the fact that it needs to be showcased prominently on the products becoming an easily recognizable signature element. The color red implies strength and power, while the grey alludes to the industrial nature of the products. The combination is not new, but the way in which the industrial design and the identity design are combined offers an alternative to traditional tools that is definitely contemporary and modern. According to Alfredo, “We’re very happy about the balance that we have been able to achieve between elegance and functionality. The brand stands out from the alternatives, but it does so in a way that it will be considered a serious tool. The brand’s elegance is born out of its purposeful engineering, we steered away from any type of decorative aesthetic”
Elegant packaging is focused on less, not more.
According to Alfredo, “We are using the Hextec Screwdrivers as the starting point, but in reality Liquid is working on a packaging system that can be applied to a full range of products”. The packaging will be designed to convey the premium level of the brand – and will need to accommodate products that hang on pegs and products that sit on shelves. “We are still at the very early conceptual stages. But we hope that the packaging will be as smart as the products – which in our opinion means less packaging. I am challenging our designers to “engineer” the packaging design solution to use the least amount of materials and minimize the impact on our environment while lowering the manufacturing costs. That’s what we consider to be smart design.”
Helpful links.
Bill Zabit, veteran branding expert joins Liquid as EVP.
Industry veteran with plenty of talent and experience.
Bill has been the president and CEO of both private and publicly traded companies, and has held a variety of senior executive positions in communications, branding and marketing. He was also a partner in a big-four accounting firm and a principal and national practice leader for one of the largest global business consultancies. Bill has also worked as an advisor and strategist to several of the most prominent companies in the world.
Bill understands Madison Avenue and Wall Street.
His impressive background in both business and marketing makes him well-suited for the role he’s taking at Liquid. He founded, built and developed multiple companies, one of which was a fully integrated agency delivering strategic consulting and creative client services in branding, advertising, PR, corporate communications, marketing communications, investment relations and employee communications to a marquee list of multinational clients. Within five years, the agency was named one of Inc Magazine’s fastest growing companies – going from three employees in one office to 100 employees in seven offices across the U.S. Zabit sold the company to a publicly listed Internet and marketing company in 1998. He then transitioned to the role of president for the buying entity. While he was president, the company went from OTC to NASDAQ listed, and the stock climbed from $6 per share to $48 per share in one year with the company’s market cap reaching a billion dollars.
A career that includes Emmy nominations and lots of awards.
Zabit has earned more than 100 awards of excellence including two Emmy nominations as a director and writer. He has been quoted on a variety of topics by the Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC television news and national radio.
Although he doesn’t brag, he has plenty of reasons to do so.
Not one to brag, Bill will rarely talk about the three times he was invited to the White House as a communication strategist and advisor to the Clinton Administration. Or on stage with Paul McCartney. Needless to say, we’re very excited that Bill has decided to join our company and help us continue to provide valuable services to clients worldwide.
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The Rickshaw Run 2011: The adventure of a lifetime.
Feel like doing something insane? Check in with The Adventurists.
The Rickshaw Run is one of several adventures conceived by an organization called The Adventurists. Check out their site, and you’ll be introduced to adventures that range from galloping across Mongolia on a horse to racing across South America on a converted motorcycle. If you have ever considered doing something that will take you out of your comfort zone, one of these adventures may just be the ticket. And it’s always nice to do some good for others in the process. The real objective of the “adventures” is to raise money for charities, and so far they have raised over $4.5 million that goes to help people all over the world.
The Rickshaw Run is the stupidest thing you can do in two weeks.
As soon as I heard about The Rickshaw Run I was hooked. Let’s face it, the premise of this adventure is pretty extraordinary. Some would simply say “crazy”. The Adventurists website describes it as “The stupidest thing you can do in two weeks”. That description alone was enough for me to sign up, but the fact that the race helps raise funds for charity was the deciding factor…and one of the key reasons why Liquid Agency decided to sponsor the adventure. We put together two teams each with its own rickshaw – we called one Liquid Love and the other Liquid Lust…and we set out in a race that involved 70 teams with 180 people from 19 different countries.
Rickshaws are both completely unreliable and utterly indestructible.
The race involves driving a rickshaw across the length of India – from the southernmost point to a destination as far North as you can go. For those not familiar with a rickshaw it is a three wheeled vehicle powered by a motor that would be better suited for a residential lawnmower. In India rickshaws are mostly used as taxis for short trips in cities. They are definitely not designed to be driven practically non-stop for 3,500 miles through all sorts of terrain….which explains why we ended up meeting so many mechanics during the voyage. Our vehicles broke down innumerable times…however they also survived rolling down ravines and collisions with huge trucks.
A truly epic adventure that taught us about life and teamwork.
We started the race in Fort Kochin (way south). Unfortunately one of our teammates had to cancel at the last minute, leaving us with three people on two rickshaws…and one of the other teammates arrived a day late – meaning that we were well behind before we even started. Along the way we had to dodge people, cows, motorcycles and trucks all of which share the road with no apparent idea of why there are such things as lanes and street lights. The road conditions are best described as “unbelievably horrible” due to traffic, potholes, detours, rain, dust, speed bumps and lack of lights. And the vehicles broke down at the most inopportune times with mufflers, carburetors, starters and other parts failing on a daily basis. We were not always successful in avoiding collisions…but luckily no one was seriously hurt.
The Indian people were gracious and generous to a fault.
The one thing that we all appreciated was the nature of the Indian people we met during our voyage. Every time we broke down people would stop to make sure we were OK, and often they would roll up their sleeves and start to fix the engine. Most folks were confused by why three Americans were driving rickshaws…and when we explained the distance we were trying to cover race, they would just shale their head in disbelief and tell us we were crazy. Often they wanted to take pictures with us…flashing bright smiles, and making us feel like rock stars. We were invited to their homes, weddings, religious ceremonies – and even a cock fight. We were sincerely touched by the generosity and kindness of everyone we met.
Take a look at the site…and buy some of our goodies.
Please feel free to visit the site where you will find a day-by-day account of the adventure along with a couple of funny videos and a selection of pictures capturing some of what we saw. Also, we invite you to consider donating to the charities. Although we have reached the minimum requirements that had been set for the race, we are very much hoping that you would continue to contribute to these worthy charities. Lastly, we still have quite a bit of shirts, yoga mats that we designed to celebrate the adventure…by purchasing some of these items you will help us make sure that our warehouse is a little cleaner) and all of the money goes directly to charity.
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Want to become an amazing brand? Build a culture of innovation.
Companies like Zappos and Apple are well known for being innovative. Employees at these companies are passionate about their jobs, committed to their brands…and ultimately help churn out one innovative product or service after another. Coincidence? Perhaps not. Actually, the importance of building a vibrant corporate culture is quickly becoming a hot topic in boardrooms all over the country…even all over the globe. Business leaders are realizing that people make the difference in their ability to be competitive and innovative. But how does this happen? How do you mobilize an entire organization to make powerful innovation-inspiring business decisions quarter after quarter? Make it your culture. Culture change isn’t easy, but the enormous return on making an investment in it is no less than shocking. Join the discussion on June 8 and learn why culture is the best tool for creating value.
This webinar will provide great insights into culture change.
We invite you to attend a webinar by Josh Levine, our Director of Internal Branding and get some valuable insights into what it takes to build and maintain a culture of innovation within your company. Sponsored by Microsoft and delivered through DMI (The Design Management’s Institute) as part of their Design Lecture Series, the webinar will take place on June 8 at 1:00PM EST. Learn more.
As a friend of Liquid you can take advantage of a special discounted rate.
Liquid Agency has negotiated a special discounted rate, which we are making available to any of our clients, partners and vendors. If you are not a DMI member, the rate is $125, but by using the following form you will be able to attend for only $85 – which is the same rate you would get if you are a DMI member. Download the form here.
About Josh Levine:
For more than a decade, brand strategist and noted industry expert Josh Levine has helped global brands engage consumers and empower employees. As Director of Internal Branding at Liquid, he helps organizations live their brand by designing and building culture-change programs.
Learn more about Josh Levine and his role at Liquid here.
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A summary of findings from the Liquid Brand Summit 2011
Yes it’s finally here, the Best Practices Report from this year’s Liquid Brand Summit, held in March at the Four Seasons Hotel in Palo Alto.
The Summit brings together the most influential thinkers and decision makers in the technology market to discuss relevant and timely topics about branding and marketing — with the objective of arriving at the best practices of tomorrow. Throughout the day, attendees participated in 10 sessions — with topics ranging from brand advocacy to building brand culture to managing social media — exchanging in an open dialog on the challenges they face and how they meet them.
We’ve gone through the notes from that day, done even more research on each topic and compiled a summary of the findings and best practices for each of the sessions. Get your copy of this year’s Liquid Brand Summit Best Practices Report. DOWNLOAD NOW!
We’d love to hear from you. Please leave your comments and reactions to the Report here.
Once again, thanks to all the outstanding session leaders, speakers and attendees who helped make this day a valuable experience for everyone. We’re looking forward to having you all back again next spring.
Even more to come.
Watch for future articles we’ll be posting on this blog each month that take and even more in–depth look at each of the session topics from the Summit.
VIDEO: An interview with Robert Richman.
We also did a series of video interviews at the Summit with several session leaders, starting with Building Brand Culture, an interview with Robert Richman, product manager for Zappos Insights. Here’s what he had to say.
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About Robert Richman:
Robert Richman lives in Las Vegas, where he works for Zappos Insights, an off-shoot of Zappos.com that was started by CEO Tony Hsieh to show other companies how to create a workplace people love and a service customers rave about. Robert began his career in 1996 creating sites for U.S. Senators and co-founding the web strategy company Articulated Impact. He co-wrote the business plan for a new online venture from the Tony Robbins companies and has developed digital media strategies for The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard Magazine, and The National Leadership Institute. When Tony met Rob, he asked him to re-launch the Zappos Insights program – then a small web site with a staff of one. Rob has grown the program to a 12-person company, offering a range of experiences and services to educate companies about culture and to give insight into “what” and “how” Zappos.com has built such an amazing culture and brand.
Insights from the Brand Summit
Building Brand Culture
Part of a series of Best Practices from the Liquid Brand Summit 2011
This article captures the findings from a session about Brand Culture facilitated by Robert Richman from Zappos Insights at the Liquid Brand Summit 2011. The Brand Summit brought together more than 100 professionals to discuss the latest ideas about branding and marketing. More articles will follow.
TOPIC:
Building Brand Culture.
Today’s leading brands large and small have one thing in common: they have a strong culture. Growing companies often ask themselves: how can we grow and sustain the culture that makes us successful? Amazon recently purchased Zappos.com. Why? One key reason: because of their culture and potential to innovate the customer experience on the web and “WOW” them. What are the ingredients for the kind of brand culture that will fuel your company’s sales, create customer loyalty and attract the right people to work with? Here are some of the findings from the discussion facilitated by Robert Richman on this topic.
TOP BEST PRACTICE:
People are your greatest asset.
When it comes to creating culture, people are your greatest asset. Companies exist in a world today where everyone — employees, customers and partners — talks about who and what they are, all the time. That’s why people and what they think and feel matter now more than ever before. The look of a company’s advertising, design of the web site, coolness of its mobile apps are all important, but not as important as the voice and the actions of its people. Building a strong brand culture, then, starts with the people. The culture isn’t “owned” by the marketing team, it’s owned by the entire company — from the CEO to the customer service rep and everyone in between. And companies that nurture a distinct brand culture in the workplace will become a distinctive brand in the marketplace. Focus on developing your people and relationships and everything else will follow.
OTHER FINDINGS:
Marry marketing and HR.
Because people are the starting point, the connection between the leadership in marketing and the leadership in HR is pivotal to brand culture success. The two have to work in concert to ensure the entire company is in alignment and pulling in the same direction.
Hire to your culture.
Hire people to your culture rather than trying to fit your culture to an individual. Even if you have to pass up a rock star sales person who could affect the bottom line, it’s more important in the long run to protect the integrity of the brand culture by making sure the people who come on board are ones who truly fit in.
Teach them and they will lead.
If people are to propagate brand culture, they have to first understand the vision, history, philosophy and values of the company. To do this, some brands today are implementing new-hire training programs that are as long as four-weeks. Even then, the training doesn’t stop at the hiring door. An ongoing program that keeps people aligned and focused on the brand’s values is crucial to sustaining culture in the long term.
Alignment trumps values.
The core values that speak to what a company is are meaningless unless they’re put into practice and everyone is on the same page. Unfortunately, most companies post their values on a plaque that hangs forgotten in the hall. What good is that? If management doesn’t commit to the values and they aren’t resonating with employees, they might as well be thrown away. Culture grows when companies find ways to bring life to their core values in every aspect of what they do. What’s most important, though, is the alignment of those values throughout the company, from the CEO through the ranks. Strong culture comes about when there is a through–line, a common understanding and drive that runs through all departments.
Go forth and co–create.
Companies that have strong culture, build it from the ground up. When people co-create the brand culture, they have a stake it in. The culture becomes more authentic. sticky.
Embrace frustration.
When it comes to building brand culture, frustration is powerful. Why? Because frustration shows that someone — an employee, customer or partner — sees the potential for what’s possible but they’re feeling dissatisfaction because the company isn’t achieving it. Companies that embrace frustration can use it to gauge how aligned their teams really are and then take action to bring the focus back to the brand culture.
VIDEO:
An interview with Robert Richman.
Immediately after the summit, we had an opportunity to sit with Robert Richman and ask him a few more questions on the topic of Brand Culture. Here’s what he had to say.
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About Robert Richman:
Robert Richman lives in Las Vegas, where he works for Zappos Insights, an off-shoot of Zappos.com that was started by CEO Tony Hsieh to show other companies how to create a workplace people love and a service customers rave about. Robert began his career in 1996 creating sites for U.S. Senators and co-founding the web strategy company Articulated Impact. He co-wrote the business plan for a new online venture from the Tony Robbins companies and has developed digital media strategies for The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard Magazine, and The National Leadership Institute. When Tony met Rob, he asked him to re-launch the Zappos Insights program – then a small web site with a staff of one. Rob has grown the program to a 12-person company, offering a range of experiences and services to educate companies about culture and to give insight into “what” and “how” Zappos.com has built such an amazing culture and brand.
