BBC, Creative Counsel and ex Pentagram creatives on what makes a modern day brand
The relationship between brand and consumer is ever changing, particularly in an age where people are increasingly evaluating their relationships with brands beyond traditional means and in to areas of societal change. The Drum caught up with The Partners, BBC and Creative Counsel to find out what makes a modern day brand.
modern brands
Zoë Quirk, founder and director, This Because and former Pentagram associate partner
Brands used to be expressed through a range of elements – a name, a logo, a colour palette, a tone of voice, a building, a shop, an advertising campaign – but we live in a post-innocent world, where savvy consumers need more. To connect, modern brands have to pivot and recenter themselves around a core belief.
If defined correctly, this central idea becomes the compass from which to navigate the whole organisation. Informing the design, the product development, how a company markets themselves and where, how they recruit and retain staff and where they have their offices.
We’re all becoming more and more interested in how brands are contributing positively to the world. How their organisation is thinking about people and planet, not just their own profit. It is paramount that this ‘doing good’ sits at the heart of the organisation, that the organisation has core belief and priority in doing good, not just slapping it on last minute in a vain marketing attempt.
Pat Doherty, creative counsellor, Creative Counsel
Brands need to put the consumer first (sounds obvious) and, in this digital age, inject some humanity. I like delivered stuff, so Amazon, where I can look inside a book before I buy, they tell me something else I might like and then they know I don’t want to wait, so deliver the next day. Too much in my face is not good, like big clothing brands sending daily emails asking me if I’d like to “reinvigorate” my wardrobe. They’re not engaging me, they’re just selling.
From a creative point of view brands need really, simple, clear ideas. Customers are bombarded with more messages than ever before and don't have the time or interest to absorb it all. Online businesses can inject humanity and can connect in as human way as possible by making the whole shopping experience simple, things like talking in uncomplicated day to day language and making the buying (and returning) process as smooth as can be.
Aidan McClure, executive creative director, BBC
There has to be a good product to begin with, the advertising can only promise so much because such a huge amount of a brand’s success is advocacy and word of mouth. Marketing can only go so far, it can bring you to the door but whether you go in is another question. The product is massively important and whether it lives up to the promise and then obviously the advertising’s job is to sell that product as best you possibly can.
With a brand like the BBC, which has been around since 1922 I would still consider elements of the BBC to be very modern. Coke has been around since the 1900s but it’s considered to be a modern brand, I suppose it’s the brands that remain most relevant and most relevant to young audiences.
Quirk, Doherty and McClure are among judges for The Drum’s Dream Awards. Extensions for entries are still available - contact Emma Mercer on emma.mercer@thedrum.com or 020 3002 5839 for more details.
The winners will be announced on 11 October at a black tie ceremony at the Emirates Stadium.