Last week, Interbrand Australia Creative Director Mike Rigby spoke to a sold out crowd at the Brisbane State Library on 'Life Beyond Logos.' The Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA), a national organization for professional graphic designers founded in 1988 with a mission to "facilitate the advancement of the graphic design profession in Australia."

The talk discussed the transition from an industry once fixated with logos and corporate identity, to one now fully embracing the full power of branding. In an era of exponential change and unprecedented financial / environmental crises, Mike discussed how brand designers have had to re-think how we create and manage brands, and even our own role within society.

He shared some recent examples of brands that have – with the help of their creative partners – managed to completely reconfigure their businesses in order to contribute more meaningfully to the world.

He shared his belief that design and branding can – and indeed should – be a transformational force, not simply a lick of paint. That it can reshape businesses, challenge perceptions, unite culture and on occasion, change the world.

Last Friday, I finally managed to have dinner with a good friend of mine. We hadn’t seen each other in months, so we had lots to talk about. I was particularly interested in hearing about his new job in Amsterdam’s flagship Apple store.

During the starter course, I discovered that my friend had been on Apple’s payroll since January -- more than two months before the official store opening in March! This was the case because my friend had been involved in extensive training sessions since the beginning of the year.

Before being faced with hordes of Apple enthusiasts in Amsterdam, my friend was required to work alongside international colleagues in the Apple stores of Covent Garden and Regent Street in London. During the rare occasions when he was actually in Amsterdam, my friend spent his days in a Hilton hotel participating in employee engagement training. In those two months prior to the Amsterdam Apple store opening, my friend learned everything about the Apple brand, its products and services, its communications, its retail environments, its channels and, of course, its people.

As our main course arrived and my friend continued to discuss how helpful his training time had been in London, I realized why Apple employees have such strong internal clarity around -- and great commitment to – the Apple brand itself. Apple seems to innately understand that great brands start from within.

As dinner continued, I brought up another leading brand, Nike. I asked my friend if he knew what an ‘Ekin’ was (Nike spelled backwards). He did not, so I explained the story about Nike and its ‘Ekins.’ To be an ‘Ekin’ means one is a true Nike brand ambassador -- someone who spreads the gospel of Nike around the world. After intensive training, each ‘Ekin’ is invited to have the well-known Nike swoosh symbol tattooed on his/her ankle -- a true sign of devotion to the brand.

After dinner, my friend and I parted ways. We agreed to meet up again in a couple of weeks. I won’t be surprised in the least if he shows up sporting Apple tattoos, one on each ankle.

In the City of London, £60,000 is spent every year to scare off pigeons from around Trafalgar Square, with the use of a Hawk. With the fabled British High Street strip of stores facing tough times, there’s a new flock that points the way to a brighter future.

Obviously it’s not actually our feathered friends that can save the day, but a brand that has taken the bird as its mascot — Funkypigeon.com. Owned by British bookseller WHSmith, Funky Pigeon joined the high-street brigade by moving from the web to brick-and-mortar stores in 2011 as Smith’s saw profits rise across the business. It stands as a fantastic example of how the face of the high-street must and will change to survive. In truth it’s an evolution, dispelling the negativity that grips the media to concentrate on the opportunity before us.

It’s not just a case of strong online brands moving on to the high-street. It is the innovation they can bring with them. Apple is a great example of a brand that truly expresses its values through its retail stores. As consumers we all want something different, something new and something of value. We also want to experience the brands that we build an emotional attachment to, as Apple expertly achieves with the layout of their stores. Consider the assistants that can process payments on the spot, within seconds of a product demonstration, and then provide theatre style educational classes, which are open to all, to inspire creative ways to use their software, apps and devices.Other examples of innovation in-store range from the most simple and accepted self-serve tills to the more tentative exploration like Topshop’s augmented reality mirror in Russia. Tesco’s even tried to bring their shops to the people with a virtual grocery store in South Korea. But what can we learn from all this?

Fundamentally, it’s that businesses need to react to the times and ensure their brand sits at the heart of their organisation to drive innovation that is manifested on the high-street in a new and engaging way. This is the only way to keep consumers emotionally attached. Another good way of looking at this is to question how well some online brands would do if they moved into a high-street near you. The likes of Wiggle, Blurb and ASOS could redefine consumer expectations by delivering a brand experience in real life that has driven their success online. Running tracks and static swimming pools could replace shelves and hanging rails for Wiggle, while Blurb hold creative writing classes and print production sessions to educate their audience and help them build their attachment to the service and the brand.

There are so many creative retail opportunities for brands to explore. The high-street will be back, bigger and better than before. We just need to remain eagle-eyed for what consumers want and how they want to relate with brands, both online and offline.

Graham Cox is Senior New Business Manager, Interbrand London

When it comes to branding, what gets measured gets done.

One of the clear benefits of brand valuation is that it provides a scorecard around a brand, provoking actions and strategies that build brand value. In principle, this is done through a vigilant understanding of the levers of brand value.

The financial element of a brand valuation is largely a forecasted EVA (Economic Value Added). While this is a key component of a brand valuation, it is usually out of the remit of most marketers.

Assessing a brand through a Brand Strength scorecard illustrates its connectivity and importance to the whole enterprise. Brand Strength dimensionalizes brand management above and beyond more cosmetic aspects and drives brand-led behaviours into the organisation. A stronger brand will also enable it to play a more important role within the purchase decision process, thereby creating further opportunity for the brand to increase its overall value.

Beyond brand valuation, it’s important for the brand to live in a framework that provides a context for its success within the business. Giving the brand the domain it deserves within the business is vital for its ongoing health. A brand is “a living business asset which comes to life across all touchpoints to deliver identification, differentiation and value.” The key elements of this are ‘living’ (i.e. value can be affected up or down) and ‘all touchpoints’ (i.e. recognises that everything the business does can have a positive or negative impact on the brand’s health). Brand management, therefore, is a job that cannot be taken lightly.

So, if we are to embrace all touchpoints, staff satisfaction surveys and customer satisfaction surveys need to be viewed alongside the business’ financials. Determining the dependencies across these three crucial measures of a business’ ongoing health enables the moments of maximum impact to become more clear across the customer’s journey. By undertaking this measurement through your people, your customers and your financials, the objective business case behind every action is locked into the business/brand agenda. This provides vital insight into the levers that connect and make brand success a replicable process – and one that can define hallmarks at the precise moments of maximum impact.

Graham Hales is the CEO of Interbrand’s London office.

Big hair, big stores, big business. According to Euromonitor International, the U.S. hair care market generated revenues of $10 billion in 2010. Of that total, shampoo sales accounted for $2.1 billion and styling agents were $1.5 billion. A large proportion of these sales took place at mass-market retailers such as supermarkets/hypermarkets, drug stores, and club and dollar stores.

The mass hair care market, an extension of the traditional salon market, often features products that are mid-tier versions of high-end, celebrity-inspired grooming solutions. These mass-market products offer a sea of colors, scents and ingredients to attract consumers with the promise of benefits similar to higher-priced salon staples.

Growth of the mass hair care market is being fueled by consumers’ desire for value in their personal care products, particularly in the face of continued economic uncertainty. Yet, consumers don’t want to sacrifice performance for price; they expect these products to possess attributes such as sustainability, high performance and accessible functionality.

‘Mass’ Arena Allure
The mass hair care market reaches large numbers of consumers of different ages, genders and needs, from the solution seekers to the personality expressers; the high-hair-involved to the “KISS” adherents; the budget-conscious to those willing to spend a bit more on their hair. It’s a forum for brands to talk to these diverse consumer groups in an accessible, non-intimidating environment.

Sometimes the brand chatter at shelf can be overwhelming. Mass-market hair care companies produce multitudes of multi-benefit products – think botanicals to “big hair” – for multiple consumer demographics. That’s a lot of shampoo, conditioners, and styling products crowding store shelves and vying for attention.

Ways In
How can a hair care brand break through the mass-market clutter and achieve success at the checkout and in the home? By adopting a brand and design strategy that focuses on identifying a target consumer, delivering valued end benefits, and creating a brand experience and expression that connects with that consumer at multiple touch points.

Three brand strategies that are being successfully leveraged in the mass hair care market are 1) going beyond function; 2) driving connection through personality; and 3) creating a holistic look and feel.

Going beyond function: Find something you can deliver remarkably well and stick to it. However, know that this means more than function. Determine the essence of what your brand stands for in the hearts and minds of consumers because it will guide the entire consumer experience with your brand. Yes, a reassurance of function is necessary because consumers want to trust their purchase’s worth. But with so many brands in the market today, basing your brand messaging on technology or performance functions without giving consumers a meaningful emotional benefit is not a long-term strategy.

Also, keep in mind that the purchase decision process is more emotional than rational. In hair care, brands like Rockaholic and got2b speak to consumers’ need to express themselves. These brands’ products aid in achieving not only the look, but the feeling of living (or, at least, aspirationally living) a rock-star lifestyle. Similarly, Yes To’s brand strategy includes a unique positioning of organic elements that are functionally and emotionally beneficial, brought to life in a simple, fresh aesthetic and whimsical personality that makes “natural” hip and desirable.

Driving connection through personality: What’s your tone of voice? How would others describe your brand’s personality and attitude? A brand’s character allows it to communicate and connect with audiences on a more personal, emotive level. It gives people the chance to get to know the brand and helps to differentiate its messages from competitors’. A unique personality elevates consumers’ understanding of the brand proposition and creates a stronger connection, especially when its functional benefits are at parity with competitors. BedHead and Aussie are examples of brands that leverage their playful personalities to create an ownable voice in the market. Also, Herbal Essences features experiential positioning and a playful personality reinforced through color, graphics, collection naming and label copy.

Creating a holistic look and feel: To achieve a holistic look and feel, a brand should bring to life its unique essence and personality in a manner that inspires a multi-sensory world. This world, along with distinctive assets, enables a brand to convey itself distinctly, consistently and cohesively. Keeping in mind how people engage, buy and commit to a brand and its products is important when considering how to create a holistic experience. Herbal Essences and Fructis reinforce their positioning and personality by consistently leveraging key elements such as color, graphic style, and tonality to link communication across touchpoints. Aussie leverages consumer insights and its unique brand essence to bring its look-tone-feel to life. Holistic and consistent communication has been key to the success of this brand.

The Outlook
Euromonitor notes that the U.S. hair care market growth is projected to increase just 1% from 2010-2015; to sustain and grow share in this challenging environment, hair care brands will need to create a powerful brand experience and expression that connects with mass-market consumers at multiple touchpoints. The process starts with truly understanding their brand strategy and leveraging it via the tools and techniques described in this article: going beyond function, driving connection through personality, and creating a holistic look and feel.

This article originally appeared in the October/November 2011 Issue of Beauty Packaging.