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| One of our best graduating students at Orange Academy. Caroline Latona. Here was her final defense and the Strategy was on point. However, we always warn our students that it doesn't end there. You have to be able to translate Strategy into an experience. |
A brand is an experience.
There are no worse times in history of Brand Communication when the buzz word is 'Strategy'. People design Powerpoint. People flash numbers. People draw graph. And honestly, all of that is good. I'm a student of Y&R Strategic Planning and I really do know how to design engaging Powerpoint presentations.
Howbeit, my brodas and sistas, when you really mean to talk to a humankind. When you really need to pass your message across to some human being somewhere.
When you really mean business in this business of Brand Communication, you have to close that Powerpoint presentation and keep your eyes on the ball. Yea, you heard me. Powerpoint and Big Grammar don't grab balls. Hands do. Good pair of hands.
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| This Coca-Cola Facebook page captures humankind. It's not about the formula it contains, it's about the story of the people who drink Coca Cola. That's not a Powerpoint. |
Since 2008, Orange Academy has helped more than 27,000 Graduates and over 600 Executive Managers find their own voice through our various programs. Again and again, we have discovered that one major ingredient that has helped shaped the best of our best is the power to turn a business strategy into an experience. We call it Magic. www.cluborangeng.com
It means the readiness to take on new discoveries about humanity. We want our students to be very curious about everything. Curious about what make people tick. Sex, yes, sex. Money, music, laughter, friendship, colours, images, cries, stories. The list is endless.
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| This Samsung Facebook page reeks of Strategy. It's like a designed Powerpoint in a Social Media space. |
You want people to respond to you? Give them an experience. Full stop.
i just don't get it! why peeps will keep talking above peeps head thinking they are doing branding. You need to talk to me not at me or for me or over or below me, i'm here talk to me "brand!"
ReplyDeleteNice one Kenny, I however think you have misappropriated the very essence of your argument by summarise strategy so simplistic and within a misconstrue context.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, too much energy is spent on high faluting and unnecessary bombastic buzzwords in most strategies, the context you miss however is that strategy isn't just about presentation, or powerpoint designs, it is an important leg in ideation process and concept validation especially in branding and brand communication.
What you also miss is the fact that idea not rooted in strategic value delivery is as good as useless, no matter how brilliant and award winning that idea is. numbers are important in ideation process, ideas are not isolated island on their own, they are crafted within the value of impact on ROI and ROE, idea that miss that miss all the point.
Kenny, Strategy is what help define the balls that needs grabbing before hand, strategy tells you the kind of intensity needed to grab the balls in the right way to achieve the purpose of the grab, strategy tells you before hands whether you need the "good pair of hands" to do the grabbing or not. Ball grabbing isn't just for its sake, it's grabbed for a purpose, strategy defines that purpose before the grab.
Like idea needs a fulcrum to assume an elevated value, so also does strategy need a platform to convincingly validate its assumption howbeit powerpoint come within the mix of that needs.
What you are amiss of is the point that powerpoint isnt strategy, is just the platform or conveyor to highlight strategic thought and like your idea canvas and the "multi-colouredness" of it, powerpoint must be engaging and attractive to be able to get the attention and sink in the meaning or purpose of it.
The goal of power point is to make the strategist present numbers, data and graph in a "humanistic" way to bond with its sense of purpose and need. its written and wired in a way to convince the faintest of soul to follow in the strategic path envisioned.
There is a place of "inspirational speaking" in strategy but it is shallow because that isn't what strategy is all about, strategy derive its value and essence in the numbers, the predictive foresightedness and introspective analysis of consequence
Kenny, i bet you the Coke home page you alluded to was crafted within strategy, it must have defined every element on that page. coke didnt you put the make there out of esoteric spark of brain waves. Every element has a strategic purpose, one of which you have outlined, which is "connecting with the coke drinker".
As for Samsung Droga campaign, you need to come to the understanding that like idea, which value of appreciation is relative and limited in meaning, based on individual perspective and orientation, strategy too is very relative.
That Samsung advert isn't powerpoint strategy, it's purely an idea gone wrong, and it might surprise you that one so called humanistic ideator thought that to be his "BallGrabbing" idea. but really before you judge an idea or strategy, you must also ask the honest question of what impact the idea has had in making the brand achieve it aim (from what i heard, that ad is working well for the brand).
Kenny, let's even bring it home closely, all these "tureshi" and hot blowing grammars you have spoken here has a strategic purpose to it, it just took me reading to the end of your thought to find it written in bold letter, Orange Academy is where to be-Kenny that a brilliant strategy... Lolz
Dear MindBlower, thanks for your points and they are well noted. However, kindly realise that this writeup is for communication outbound to the consumers not the client. When we are done with all of those Strat documents, we must now learn to talk to human beings as people who have emotions. Sometimes, we must even go outside of the Powerpoint doc. Strategy should only reassure us we are doing the right thing and should not dictate what we do.
ReplyDeleteKenny that was a beautiful soup you cooked right there and for MINDBLOWER, the taste of your comments strategically blew my mind. See, I hardly see anyone who will agree that my mother's soup taste better than yours. What I preach and keep talking and writing about is BALANCE. There can never be balance without RELATIONSHIP. Branding is good, Strategy is not better but it's also good likewise advertising. But one needs to strike a BALANCE amongs them. What gives an EXPERIENCE is not branding alone, or strategy alone or advertisement alone. All these are the ingredients for cooking a soup that will give the desired experience. It is actually the MIX (of branding, strategy and advertisements and other paraphernalia) that determines a good soup, a better soup and the best soup. Any of the above- Branding or strategy or advertisement can grab the "balls" any how but its not about grabbing the balls any more, its more about who the balls grab and stay with. Good write up, Kenny, good argument Mindblower. You cannot do more than good if you stay alone, we need balance, we marriage of all these, we need intercourse for the balls to actually perform its divine function of releasing... you can finish the statement for me. Mindblower, I don't think I have met you but I think you are a great guy...by bruno Oaikhinan
ReplyDeleteYea...nice
ReplyDeleteIn summary for me...what we do is so loud that no one hears what we say...so just like nike...just do it!