Brand Manual Blog

Complexity creates more complexity

2011-11-22T02:49:00.000-08:00

Companies often end up creating their own nightmare. At fault is the lack of a clearly defined company ambition and idea: what the business is all about. Instead, management starts managing (costs), often to the detriment of a successful future product. Optimization creates its own complexity, which is subsequently managed by repackaging identical products to different target groups.

To make difficult things easier to understand, a whole new language is invented to make the unexciting facts seem more exciting (or difficult to understand). Because everything needs to be communicated to different sets of people differently, this creates cost. Cost is what optimization was supposed to reduce, so this must be justified by further layers of complexity and managed by scaling the service of product to ever greater markets and target groups.

Obviously working over a large territory or catering to many different target groups can be considered a means of managing risk, which should guarantee sustained profits in a volatile market. However, working over a large territory with tons of distinct customers creates complexity, which is often managed by segmenting the target group and repackaging identical products to these various, different target groups. To make them seem more different, and to be understandable at the same time, a language must be developed to make unexciting facts more enticing. All of this must be communicated...

...you get the picture.

To reduce costs, increase value to the company and to customers, a simple and clearly understandable consumer benefit is infinitely more effective. Both the company and its customers understand what the product / service is good for. To communicate it costs pennies instead of dollars and complexity is eliminated. Managing all of this is easy, because everyone knows what the goal is.

Seems logical, but research clearly shows, that while 80% of managers think that their service offering is unique, only 8% of their customers would agree.

Opening speech of the 1st Service Design Conference in Tallinn

2011-09-23T04:24:00.000-07:00

Photo: Olev Mihkelmaa

"Welcome everyone. It is nice to see a full house at the first Service Design conference here in Tallinn.

Today we’ll hear and see many presentations and case-studies that show the effectiveness of service design as principle and process. But before we get to those speeches I’ll try to define why we’re here in the first place. After all, for anyone with even a bit of service design experience will surely agree with me, that most of it looks like adults playing with post-it’s trying to look important. Service design is a buzz word. But what does it mean?

Let’s start with the word design. For most people this means making things look nice. To put it in context: many years ago, when we still used drip coffee makers in the office we had two of them. One looked really nice. One was used. The one that looked really nice, if you tried to pour coffee into your mug, you’d also cover the whole kitchen counter with caffeine creating the world’s first wired kitchen. So we used it only during important client meetings because clients knew how much this coffee maker cost. The other one was used to pour coffee into the cup when people wanted coffee. Consequently, good design was not functional. Functional design was not beautiful and this is how a majority of the population views design. Things that look nice but don’t really work. Design, however, is not really about aesthetics. It is a problem solving discipline that makes products and services easy to understand, usable, attractive and noticeable. But when things are working, nobody thinks that they’ve been designed. Swiss Army Knife.

Turning to the word service we like to think that service is something somebody else does for us. Be it a physical service, like bringing food to the table in restaurant, or a virtual service, delivering video-on-demand at the push of one button. In fact, I would hypothesize that service design comes from software and user experience design: we have all used bad websites and wondered aloud why it takes 25 clicks to get to the right information when other sites provide it on the front page. Interface designers learned how to fix things. Now this skill is being applied to the real world.

Either way, service is what most of us now buy and sell, because making things is handled either by machines, or companies in China. Because making things has become easy, how you deliver the things you make to your customers becomes a key point of differentiation. For example IKEA has long had instructions for assembling furniture that don’t include any text whatsoever. Apple makes the iPod, but it is a challenge to find people who’ve actually read the instructions for using it. Each push of the button or swipe delivers the next step’s instructions without the need to refer to a complex manual. Contrast this with the incomprehensible operating menu of a Nokia phone. It is frustrating for people not to be able to understand and for years, it was people that thought they were dumb.

And this is the point where service design comes in – the realization that as people we’re not dumb, but we just hate standing in line, waiting on the phone, or trying to program a DVD player using the remote control to type text! The big problem with services is that the people providing the “service” usually can’t see what’s wrong with it, because they know how things work. But for anyone arriving in Tallinn by ferry the first time, it can be quite disconcerting to step out of the terminal and see a sign ‘centre’ that directs the pedestrian accross 5 hectares of undeveloped wasteland littered with garbage, without a single additional sign before they actually arrive in the city centre. For the person putting the sign at the ferry terminal, it was probably difficult to understand why you need a sign in the first place. The city is over there, what’s the problem?

Once many-many years ago I had to learn Soviet signs. It was back in 1994, Estonia was truly post-Soviet and I went to the local pizza joint to get something to eat for lunch. It was summer, the door was open and a chair was placed in the doorway. Being practical, Western and hungry I stepped over the chair just to be shouted at, ‘that don’t you understand that we are closed because of a broken water pipe?’ I wonder what they place in the doorway if there’s no electricity?

A case on TED illustrated the need for good signage as part of a good service with the example of the new Terminal 5 building in Heathrow. For anyone arriving for the first time it was a challenge to find the train. The first sign you saw stepping out the gate was ‘trains to central London’. This sign was, say, yellow. After walking for about 200 feet, which in a building is quite a distance, you were confronted with the sign, now purple, ‘Heathrow Express’. This all makes sense to people who know, but a first time visitor is very confused, and stressed and quite possibly even pissed off.

However, private sector endeavours at confusing consumers pale in comparison to what the public sector can achieve. Government services are very difficult for human beings to understand. The first problem is that the language used by public services is very strenuous to comprehend. Secondly, information is not organized by how people look for it, but rather by which department and subsection is responsible for administering it. Thirdly, information entered in one database is proprietary to that department and section and is not shared to the other department that also needs it and therefore instead of making the paper run around, it is the person getting the ‘service’ that does the running.

Now, admittedly, Estonia is in by far better shape than most countries in delivering easy to use government services to the public. However, it is still department by department and often mystifying why simple things have to be so difficult. Each ministry has a different web structure, completely un-intuitive web address and confusing navigation. Contrast the simplicity of Apple products, which are guided by the principle that if you know how to use one, you can use them all while government websites require users to relearn navigation every time.

Often the reasoning behind decisions is incomprehensible and there is no way to change people’s minds. A few years ago, a colleague and I had to run a branding seminar and workshop in the middle of the country, in a very nice but quite out of the way location. To get there we obviously looked on the map and asked questions of our hosts, who assured us that there were signs on the way. Oh, and by the way, this was tourist attraction, therefore how to get there was an important issue. So off we drove and once we were getting close we started to look for signs telling us that we were going the right way. There was one! After, what seemed to be too long a distance to be quite sure - did we miss the turn-off - we saw another giving us this comfortable warm glow that we weren’t going to be late and then, again, nothing for quite a while. So we came to a fork in the road and there were signs there, but nothing that helped us. So we inched out on the road ahead and then saw the sign we were looking for pointing us right. But to see the sign we had already to have gone right so it was in a fairly pointless location. Anyway, we drove on and surprisingly enough arrived in the right place at the right time and then took the opportunity to say immediately to our hosts that, ‘guys, you need more signs. It’s very easy to get lost’ to which they responded, ‘yes, we know. But the highway department said that they won’t allow more roadsigns, because there shouldn’t be more than 2-3 per destination in this area.’ Period. There was probably a rulebook that said, ‘signs is what people expect us to put out there...’

I would argue that the problem that service design solves is, that people hate not understanding. We hate not knowing why things are as they are and what will happen next. Lack of information when we want it is very frustrating and off-putting and, given the chance, we’ll turn our back on what we don’t like. In a first aid course that I took in Canada, there were many rules and procedures for saving people’s lives. But after making sure that the person will survive the main rule was, ‘treat the patient, not the disease’. That means that you have to talk to the patient, tell him what you are doing and why. As anybody with children will appreciate, having a doctor that talks to the child in a way that is understandable to the kid makes the treatment easy and quick. But when the pediatrician is full of himself, and talks medical to make everyone feel stupid as well as telling the parent to ‘hold that kid down, or I can’t do my job’ is no way of improving someone’s health. And being powerless in situations like this really pisses people off. We don’t understand what’s going on and why, and we can’t influence the situation.

Now when you’re at the doctor’s you’re probably not going to get up and leave, just because the doctor’s a bit of prick. But if it is something you are paying for, then this just won’t do. A restaurant will never see this customer again, and that car dealership with the snotty salesmen selling zeir exklusiv automarke won’t sell very many of them. But these are all individual services of the person-to-person variety.

What happens when you have to serve thousands or millions of customers and there is a need to standardize? Financial services try to segment customers and invariably end up putting everyone in the wrong box because they don’t have data on the motivation for economic behaviour – they just see the results of behaviour. Or telco’s treating almost everyone like computer illiterates instead of helping people to become literate. McDonald’s did service design 50 years before the term was coined, and is still one of the best companies in delivering a consistent brand experience. We know what to do, why and how. I mean, their business can be described as ‘pay up front, carry your own food, eat with your hands and clean up after yourself.’ Not exactly the classical restaurant experience everyone is looking for but we like it, because we understand how it works.

Signs. Predictable behaviour. Clear instructions. Understandable rules. Whether it is government providing critical services or the hairdresser that will be back in 15 minutes, we want to understand. Service design, in my opinion, is providing the means to customers and citizens of understanding how and why things are the way they are.

And this is the challenge for companies and organizations and governments. We are used to keeping things mystical, because explaining everything properly takes a lot of time and effort. Because that also means we have to simplify and this need often involves the whole company and we can’t really do that now, because companies are built in departments where inter-departmental projects are too complicated to bother with. And for some, helping people to help themselves is a sure fire way of eventually getting fired, so there may be some disinterest there. In the long run, however, I think the efficiency gains that companies are looking for and the financial savings that governments desperately need makes a clear case for creating services and providing the information that allows people to help themselves as much as possible. And more informed, motivated customers are better customers, because they actually want to buy what you are offering instead of ‘just looking’, because they aren’t sure of what you are selling. Service design, as a tool pays for itself by simply making things more efficient, aligning customer needs with company motivation, and providing the information background necessary to make right decisions.

Service design is the future. But it was the future already thousands of years ago when someone in China said, “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and will understand.”

Service. The only remaining source of competitive advantage

2011-08-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years, we developed our own vision of branding. We believe that branding is about staff motivation and empowerment, how this relates to good service and how, increasingly, the delivery of a positive customer experience will be a source of competitive advantage. In fact – we stated that service delivery will be the most important differentiator in a competitive environment where everything else can be quickly copied. Copying happy staff that delivers the service, however, will always be difficult.

Our vision has just been confirmed by research sponsored by BDO in "Service 2020: Megatrends for the decade ahead," compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The research clearly lays out the forces stressing the importance of service, trends that need to watched and the desired outcome that companies must strive for.

The key will always be staff and it is our experience that communicating with staff is perpetually on companies' to-do lists but rarely gets done. Building a company that delivers an outstanding customer experience through service is done through motivated and empowered employees. This, for obvious reasons, will always cost a bit more and require human-resource management to be one of the priorities company management, instead of something delegated to the third tier of responsibility. By focusing on employees, and getting them to fully understand, and deliver, what the company is about, is the best means of building a strong brand, with staff as the main spokespersons.

Undoubtedly, the best service is delivered by the owner of the business. A family run hotel will always be hard at work providing a better service, because everyone knows and understands where the money comes from. But often the shop floor employee at the supermarket is be so far distanced from responsibility and where the money comes from, that s(he) cannot recognize what is good or bad service and what is making customers upset. This disconnect between the mission of the company and the staff that are supposed to deliver it is a fundamental flaw in organizations, that is not being addressed. After all, it is easier and more manageable to install a new CRM system than it is to train and motivate staff.

Building a strong company brand means making staff fans first. Secondly, it means delivering to customers a service that allows staff to shine. All it takes is hard work with people - complicated, emotional, individual and temperamental people.

The Perils of Lifestyle Branding

2011-05-16T01:42:00.000-07:00

Extending a brand beyond the borders of your product category has a lot of opportunities. Here's a study that brings out some substantial threats of such an extension - cross-category competition for one.

Why an e-mail can go sour in no time

2011-03-02T09:21:00.000-08:00

Here's a brief article on the hazards of electronic communications. I've had some occasions myself when exchanging e-mails has made things much worse instead of solving them - although that was their intension.

Not being a big fan of emoticons (and still opposing over-using them), I read this piece through carefully.

Innovatsioonist ilma Apple'i näiteta

2011-02-15T00:18:00.000-08:00

Brand Manual on pea kaks aastat aidanud ettevõtetel parandada oma konkurentsieeliseid. Üsna pea tajusime, et vastuseis meie mõtetele tuleneb sellest, et brändingu nime all on ettevõtetele müüdud logo joonistamist ning sisuline töö on jäetud tegemata.

Sestap panime kokku oma koolituse, Branding ABC, kus lahkasime sõnastatud konkurentsieelise temaatikat. Oleme koolitust edukalt läbi viinud mitmekümne ettevõttega ja soovitame seda endiselt oma tulevastele klientidele kui ka kõigile, kes tahavad lisaks teoreetilistele aruteludele ka praktilist nõu saada.

Nüüd võtsime oma fookuse alla innovatsiooni. Kuidas toimub uuendusprotsess, mis seda takistab ja millised on universaalsed tööriistad selle läbiviimiseks. Me ei räägi radikaalsest innovatsioonist, leiutamisest, me räägime astmelisest innovatsioonist. Me räägime sellest, miks ettevõtted muutuvad kasvades innovatsioonivaenulikuks ja kuidas nende juhtkond ei saa sellest enne teada kui nende naftaplatvorm juba põleb.

Eelmise aasta lõpus viisime oma klientide seas läbi küsitluse, kus mitmed kliendid heitsid meile ette jäärapäisust. Samas toodi meie põhimõttekindlust välja kui tugevust, mis võimaldab kord ette võetud tee lõpuni käia. Kui soov on kaalust alla võtta, siis aitab sihikindel treener.

Seesama oskus minna oma ideede elluviimisel lõpuni välja on see, mille oleme nüüd vorminud päevaseks koolituseks, mil nimeks Innovatsiooni ABC. Kavatseme selle ka materjalina üles riputada, kel aga suurem huvi, võib saada osa meie testkoolitusest, saates meile kirja.

Üks märkus veel. Oleme oma suhtluses läinud üle inglise keelele puhtpraktilistel kaalutlustel. Meie teenuseid vajavad Eesti miljonist elanikust 1%, samas on meil maailmas miljon potentsiaalset klienti, kellest vaid 1% räägib eesti keelt.

Innovate or die: but how?

2011-02-15T00:13:00.000-08:00

Image courtesy of 15/30 Research

Companies that continuously come up with new and exciting stuff have one thing in common: little management and lots of leadership. The company has a goal, everyone knows what the goal is and does their part, in helping the company achieve that goal.

The cumbersome, not-fun, uninspiring company has a plan. Everyone in the company has a job to do. "Your part in the great plan is to serve customers water." Management has reduced every task to a manual. There is a clear hierarchy and everything is being measured for efficiency. Redundancies are quickly eliminated. People work to prove their importance for the plan, but no one knows what the goal is. Turf wars are more important than customers.

The former company innovates daily. The latter company optimizes daily.

The danger to the former company is to become like the latter company. The latter company is likely to become extinct. You can blame management for both scenarios.

Managers optimize. Leaders empower. Innovation requires both, but if management and optimization becomes too important then innovation will disappear. Innovation requires that people are motivated about their jobs and that they continuously think about what could be done better AND that they have the power to implement their ideas. Management doesn't like unstructured, unplanned activities because they are inefficient.

People having inspiring ideas are inefficient, because they won't have the ideas on schedule. That messes up the whole production cycle. Therefore if the manager has to approve a budget for the engineers to come up with improvements but he's not sure that the engineers will be on time or on budget, then it's easier to say no to the whole thing. After all, no manager has been fired for reducing risk. Of course, in three years time, when the company is about to go out of business because there hasn't been a new idea for 10 years, taking risks will seem awfully safe.

Innovate or die: but how?

Innovation can be learnt. Innovation depends on people who can be empowered. Innovation depends on communication and trust, which can be built up again. Innovation depends on leadership, the right of which can be earned. Innovation cannot be managed, it must be allowed to thrive. Innovation pays off in the long-term. Continuous innovation pays off continuously. Optimization pays off in the short term and over time, less and less.

We developed Innovation ABC following the success of our Branding ABC course. Whereas Branding ABC looks at how brands are built in companies, involving the whole company then Innovation ABC looks narrowly at the process of coming up with new ideas.

How to build up a company structure that supports innovation and nurtures it.
How to keep the business focus on the idea, not the method of execution of the business plan.
How to motivate people and how to work with them so that innovative ideas just happen.
And most importantly, how to handle the fuzzy front end of innovation projects, where you don't know where you're going, how you're going to get there and how it is all going to end.

For more information check out our website.

Merry Christmas Experiment

2011-02-02T08:47:00.000-08:00

A phone call from a confused client inspired us to make public, and thus conclude, our little Christmas card experiment. We had almost completely forgotten the whole thing, since it all took place more than 6 weeks ago. It appears, however, that due to the "good" service of global postal companies there is still plenty of room for late Christmas greetings and pleasant surprises. So be sure to check your snail-mailboxes every now and then.

On December 13th we posted three different postcards (see the winter magic above) with Brand Manual's best wishes to our clients and friends from 10 different locations all over the world: Estonia, Russia, Portugal, USA, Malaysia, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Sweden and God knows where (we really don't remember the last two locations ;). So it was a random lottery for the recipients, when and from where they would receive their three cards, and apparently it is still happening, as a card from UAE finally made it to one of our Estonian clients 2 days ago. Only to be followed by another one from Kuala Lumpur that made it to Tallinn today. Who knows how many cards are still on their way or have been lost on their quest of getting together the big picture.

For those that are still waiting for their set of cards or want to pay their tribute to the ones that went "missing in action", here's copys of all three of them.

PS. How did the 4 of us manage to post cards from 10 different locations, thousands of miles apart, all at the same time? Send us a postcard when you figure it out!

The future of transactions

2011-01-28T00:05:00.000-08:00

Service design has a lot to do with future scenarios. A few months ago we developed the initial identity for ParkNOW!, a pay-by-cell phone parking payment operator in the US. During that project we talked a lot with them about different payment methods, and NFC (near-field communication) got mentioned too. In fact, all major mobile phone manufacturers have white papers on it and are working on making the technology usable.

NFC enables devices to talk to each other when they're close enough. It can let you share contacts, pictures or whatever data you want. The killer app though, is payments. Using your mobile phone (cell phone in the US) as wallet. In short, this will revolutionize monetary transactions in near future. And as always, for existing industries (banks) it will happen faster they can say "return on investment".

A few days ago, Financial Times published an article saying that Apple would incorporate NFC technology in their iPhone 5, which is due this fall. Surfing around the web seemed to confirm the story, because this week has seen a flurry of articles about the iPhone 5 and iPad 2 incorporating NFC. The really big deal is this, however: Apple has through iTunes credit card information on over 100 million people. This makes NFC not only a cool technology, but for Apple customers also an immediately available payment system with enough people tied to it, that for retail operations this can represent critical mass. Retail outlets therefore, will be highly incentivized to install NFC payment terminals in store. (Starbucks has, in fact, aldready developed an app for the iPhone to enable their customers to pay faster using their phone.)

This is what banks are charging for. (Image: Wikipedia)

The real impact of NFC payments, digital wallets and eventually peer-to-peer transactions using NFC will be felt in the bank. Banking relies on charging incremental fees from customers who are moving their own money around. Additionally banks earn interest lending out people's money. Purely digital money, manipulated directly by customers themselves, without a third party being involved, can represent a paradigm shift in transaction infrastructure.

Money, after all, was invented to facilitate trading. It was more effective than barter, because the relative value of each item was difficult to gauge. Money provided an independently assessable equivalent that was a lot cheaper to manage than barter trades. Today, money is everywhere. However, in reality money is like fixed line telephony. Developing nations don't bother to install telephone lines – they go directly to mobile phones. Similarly, the internet is not really being accessed by computers in developing nations but is used on smart phones, which are cheaper and simpler to use and need less fancy software. What if money, like fixed line telephones, is a legacy system that can be skipped?

In Africa, a mobile operator enabled their customers to send and receive money via an SMS system. There were few banks, with even fewer branches in rural areas making it difficult for people to trade with each other except by using cash. Credit cards aren't available and even if you've got one there is no guarantee that the store will accept it. This lead Safaricom to develop MPESA, a micro-payments system and Wizzit to provide mobile banking. From being on the fringes of the banking business, they have now effectively changed consumer's understanding of what banking is, and are leading the debate for the whole industry.

For early adopters, PayPal has introduced the mobile-to-mobile payments app. The talk of "can it be done" is already yesterday's news. With Apple's client base we are also over the "are there enough people to use it" question. So banks, thanks for all the fish.

Change Hurts

2011-01-26T00:05:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of discussion lately about changing identities of the world-famous brands. Well, the fuss has always been up in forums, but with social media gaining more public attention some logo redesigns have become matters of global importance. Namely Gap, Starbucks, Tropicana.

John Nunziato, the author of the featured article tries to cool the (often anonymous) crowd down. Changing a logo is influenced by so many factors that the "like-unlike" scale is just not a sufficient judging criteria. Critics often (mostly) have no clue what's behind that symbol replacement. Getting even the smallest amendments through is a long and painful process, especially in big corporations.

The situation here is Estonia is often quite the opposite, paradoxically. Marketing departments of locally famous brands quite too often regard radical identity change as a remedy against business slowdown. We at Brand Manual have a few examples of projects that start with a "we need a new logo" brief - and ending with a thorough fix of their current identity. You get bored by your face long before your customers do - that's the mantra we keep repeating. Look at Budweiser, it has kept the same appearance for the past 140 years - and is still one of the greatest brands there is (you have to admit that, even if you don't like the beer). I struggle to find a good domestic analogue, though.

The bottom line - just changing your brand's identity wouldn't improve your business, period. But when your offer has really risen to the next level, then a logo refreshment can be a pretty effective way of getting attention. Especially if you have fans (and aficionados are attracted by great service, not a logo).

Brave new year

2011-01-11T02:42:00.000-08:00

Last year was different. We saw the rise of the iPad and the smartphone reigned over the mobile phone. Making websites has changed into creating content. Media is no longer the message, being on Facebook is not a strategy. Corporate and governmental systems are in disarray, as for the first time in history people can and do question government authority. Are your procedures reasonable? Is you profit margin reasonable, is it good for the community or the environment, is there another easier way of doing things? Power is with the people, not in the system, because now people can build systems of their own.

Brand Manual has acted as guinea pig for it's whole existence. We started this company to prove that quality can be sold. We preached branding as something companies do internally and that "the business idea" can never be "to make profit", but has to offer something valuable to the customer. We find it really tempting to grow in size, using the business model of design or ad agencies. But that would not help us achieve what we are aiming for, which is to become an change agent inside companies. It is easy to give good advice and leave, but our goal is to create lasting understanding and value through well designed products and services and a clearly formulated business proposition.

Now to the topic of the day: our website. We wanted to create something intuitive, something that works the way people surf the net. Jumping from interesting bit to interesting bit with no dominating structure impeding progress. Our previous site was a linear presentation, this one has no structure. Secondly we dropped Flash because of the personal grudge Steve Jobs has against Adobe. We don't really care who's right and who's wrong. We just like it when things work on iPhones too. And there's no mouse-over, because on touch screens that function doesn't really exist.

The problem we couldn't solve is how to make people read the copy, instead of just looking at the picture. The most valuable part of our work is not the graphic design, it is the thinking behind the design that matters. But without pictures the site would be a bit dry. Enjoy!

Content is never dead

2010-11-12T08:22:00.000-08:00

Music industry is dead? Advertising industry is dead? Really? Read what David Brier has to say about sustainable business.

What are your customers buying?

2010-11-10T23:51:00.000-08:00

A neat and thorough slideshow about ONE branding principle. Applying it may boost your sales, ignoring it kill your business.
This piece has a bit of an American accent, but gets this one point through nevertheless.

2010-11-07T23:11:00.000-08:00

Meie poeriiulitele on ilmunud uus kaubamärk Põltsamaa Meierei Juustutööstus. Ostsime kaks nende toodetud juustu: Emmental ja Gouda. Pakendil juustumeister ja lehmad, lisaks Eesti lipp peal ja puha. Kiiresti koostist piiludes tundus kõik normaalne.

Eesti lipp tootel on “toiduliidu ja mitmete kaubanduskettide koostöös kampaania, mille eesmärk on anda tarbijatele selget teavet Eestis toodetud toidukaupade kodumaise päritolu kohta, märgistades need kaubad lipumärgiga. Rahvuslipu märk toote hinnasildil näitab, et see on valmistatud Eesti toiduainetööstuse ettevõtetes eestimaalaste poolt eestimaalaste maitse-eelistusi ja traditsioone silmas pidades.” http://toiduliit.ee/Uudised/id/525/lk/0/

Põltsamaa Meierei Juustutööstuse Gouda ja Emmentali puhul on tegemist tootega, mis paistab kohalik toodang, isegi toote deklaratsioonis on antud “tootjaks” seesama meierei. Päritolumaaks on märgitud gouda-juustul Holland ja emmentalil Saksamaa. Seega on toode ainult pakendatud Eestis.

Tsiteerides jälle Toiduliitu, “Konjunktuuriinstituudi poolt aasta [2009] alguses läbi viidud tarbijauuringu tulemused: kodumaiseid toidukaupu eelistab 70% vastanutest, pakendi tooteinfo ei ole erinevatel põhjustel piisav saamaks aru toote ja tooraine päritolumaast, kodumaise ja importkauba eristatavus ei ole lihtne (83% vastanutest) või on keeruline (9% vastanutest), päritolumaa peaks olema selgemini märgistatud (41% vastanutest).”

See toode on sihilikult “selgemini märgistatud, et sobida kodumaiseid toidukaupu eelistavale elanikule kes pidas päritolumaa eristamist keeruliseks”. Pole ime, et inimesed on sunnitud uurima koostist ja muid detaile iga toote puhul mida nad poest osta soovivad. Kunagi ei tea mis kavaluse tootjad jälle välja mõtlevad, et tarbijale kotti pähe tõmmata.

Loo moraal? Kui on vaja teha sissetoodavale kaubale uus pakend, siis tasuks vältida kauba päritolust vale ettekujutuse loomist. Tarbijate petmine ei ole jätkusuutlik äristrateegia. Samuti, lipumärgi väärtust vähendav käitumine pole ehk antud tootjale otsest kahju toov, küll aga kahjustab see kogu Eesti toiduainetööstuse usaldusväärtust. Saatsime selle juhtumi ka Toiduliidule, ootame huviga nende reaktsiooni.

Fresh from ADC*Estonia Design Awards

2010-11-01T02:42:00.000-07:00

Not bad. Three out of four works we sent to the ADC*Estonia Design Awards this year won! Fresh-from-the-oven packages for iBaker (in cooperation with Bruno Lill), do-it-yourself identity for Tartu Art School and a nicely matured Global web site for Viru - they all scored!

Thank you, dear clients. Yet again proof, that great results come when the client and design team work together from the very beginning.

Mis kasu on disainjuhtimisest?

2010-09-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

Markko Karu, ilmus EPL Disainiöö lisas

Kui rääkida Eesti ettevõtete tulevikust ja disainist, meeldib mulle võrdlus ahjuga. Kui eesmärk on tuba soojaks kütta, ent ahi on täna külm, tuleb sinna puud alla panna. Ahju iseeneslik soojenemine toimub ainult suvel. Kui ettevõtte eesmärk on olla edukas sõltumata üldisest majandusfoonist, tuleb investeerida läbimõtlemisse ja täisväärtuslikku uuendusse ehk panna puid ahju alla.

Üks maailmas tunnustatud tööriist taoliste muutuste läbiviimisel on disainjuhtimine, mis pakub vastuseid küsimustele “kuidas luuakse ettevõtete tulevik?” ja “kuidas tekib organisatsioon, mis sellist muutust suudab ellu viia?”.

Miks disainerid on üldse sellistel ärilistel teemadel hakanud kaasa rääkima? Põhjuseid on kaks. Esiteks tegeleb disain erialaselt probleemide lahendamisega: disainerite välja töötatud tehnikad (nimetagem seda disainmõtlemiseks) on tõestanud end kõikvõimalike probleemide lahendamisel, olgu selleks näiteks liikluskorraldus või esmaabiteenuse pakkumine. Need tehnikad on sedavõrd tõhusad, et näiteks Stanfordi ülikooli juurde asutati 2005. aastal erialdi disainiinstituut D-School (http://dschool.stanford.edu), kus kõikidele soovijatele disainmõtlemist õpetatakse. Ettevõtted, kes kasutavad disainiprotsesse, omavad sisulist edumaad nende ees, kelle jaoks disain on tootele lõppviimistluse andmine.

Teine oluline põhjus rääkimaks disainist äri kontekstis on disainerite oskus visualiseerida ning muuta vestluste ja nägemuste põhjal meie eesmärgid ja taotlused kõigile arusaadavaks. Kui liita sellele arusaamine meeskonnatööst ja protsesside juhtimisest, saame tulemuseks disainjuhtimise. On ekslik pidada disainjuhtimiseks disainerite juhtimist – disainjuhi roll on kujundada terve ettevõtte tulevikku, see töö on kõikehõlmav ja kõiki puudutav.

Millest koosneb disainjuhtimine?
Disainjuhtimine tegeleb ettevõttele soodsa tuleviku leidmise, selle visualiseerimise ja seejärel elluviimisega. Paljud ettevõtted toimivad turul reaktiivselt, müües ootuspäraseid tooteid olemasolevatele klientidele. Kui turg muutub, on taoline ettevõte võimetu kohanema, kuna ettevõtte töötajad on hõivatud oma tänaste probleemide lahendamisega. Et sellest olukorrast välja tulla, peab keegi soovitud muutust esile kutsuma.

See protsess ei alga kunagi disainiprojektist. Esmalt tuleb luua muutustele äriline kontekst ning püstitada eesmärk, mille saavutamine omab otsest seost ettevõtte eduga. Tähele tasub panna, et kasumitaotlus ei lähe eesmärgina kirja, see eesmärk peab inspireerima nii töötajaid kui kliente. Lugu räägib, et kord kosmosekeskust väisanud president Kennedy küsinud sealselt koristajalt, millega too seal tegeleb ja saanud vastuseks: “me saadame inimesi kosmosesse”. See on suurepärane näide hästi visualiseeritud eesmärgist.

Alles siis kui projektil on äriline kontekst ja kõik on teadlikud üldistest eesmärkidest, ootab ees lahenduse disain. Siin on disainjuhi suurim panus disainimeeskonnale lahendamist vajava ülesande püstitus ning meeskonna töötulemuse hindamine lähtuvalt algülesandest. Tavapärane on olukord, kus disaineritele püstitatakse ülesanne ilma üldist konkteksti avamata ning nende tööd hinnatakse subjektiivsetel alustel. Nii lähtub disainer lahenduse loomisel tellija isikust ning jätab sunnitult tagaplaanile need, kes on tegelikult lahenduse sihtrühmaks. Et tegemist on väga kriitilise teemaga annab tunnustust ka asjaolu, et kohe on eesti keeles ilmumas Peter L. Phillipsi raamat “Täiusliku disaini lähteülesande koostamine”, millega soovitan tutvuda kõigil, kellel on reaalne huvi muutusi ellu viia.

Mõtle välja ja tee valmis!
Palju on toodud eeskujuks ettevõtteid nagu Nokia, Virgin, Apple või IKEA. Neid ettevõtteid ei ühenda mitte nende toodete hea välimus vaid see, et need ettevõtted on teinud selgeid valikuid, mis erinesid turuliidrite käitumisest, neil oli selge idee, mida ellu viia ning nad tegid selle ka valmis. Disainjuhtimine ei paku lihtsaid lahendusi, see aitab ambitsioonikaid plaane ellu viia. Eesti parimad näited plaanide ellu viimisest on enamasti personaalsed sooritused spordi või kultuuri valdkonnas, ettevõtete tasandil on meil edulugusid vähem. Neid saab kindlasti tulevikus olema palju rohkem, sest juba paljud Eesti ettevõtted on aru saanud pikemaajaliste plaanide vajalikkusest ning ei ela ainult homses päevas jahtunud ahju suudmesse lootusrikkaid pilke heites.

Rebranding illustrated

2010-08-05T23:46:00.000-07:00

Our long-term project of rebranding Viru beer is starting to become tangible. This is how we set the beer box clearly in the Art Deco era, still retaining connection to the old package. Expect revised glass bottles with new labelling in very, very, very selected hotel bars near you in a few months.

The Book on Branding

2010-04-20T01:46:00.000-07:00

There are a few things we have to say about branding – what it is, why it matters and how it is done. It's all in a book now - RTFM! -, available at very carefully selected distributors. If you are experiencing difficulties obtaining the printed version, then there's an e-published edition too.

Or, alternatively, here's an estonian version. Have a good read!

Whoops!

2010-04-12T05:03:00.000-07:00

An interesting court case is taking shape in Sweden. A dairy created a Turkish yogurt and commissioned a label that would make people feel that real Turks also ate the stuff. Going to Turkey to photograph someone was obviously prohibitively expensive so they went to the photo bank instead and bought a picture that would fit what they had in mind. Everything should have been OK.

Unfortunately, it turned out not OK. Namely, the gentleman illustrating the Turk is actually Greek. And when he found out that his face is illustrating a Turkish yogurt he decided to sue the dairy in question for 50 m SEK.

Which contract is enforceable, who missed what fine-print et cetera will come out in the next weeks and months. However, the larger issue to consider is cultural sensitivity. In an increasingly globalizing world, where the speed of communication is reaching the speed of light, companies and people are advised to seriously consider the implications of their actions when stepping outside of one's home-culture comfort zone.

Brand Manual's first b-day!

2010-04-06T00:35:00.000-07:00

On April 1st Brand Manual celebrated its first year. When we started this business, it was in the depths of the Great Recession and we had no clients, no office, no money but we had experience and an idea. We also decided to practice what we preach and build our brand from the inside out, sticking to our simple core belief that we either do it right, or we don't do it at all.

Celebrating our first year with clients and friends was the icing on the principle cake.

For more feelings from our shindig visit our Facebook page or go to Best Marketing.

Don't follow me. I'm lost too!

2010-03-24T23:32:00.000-07:00

The retail trade and FMCG makers in the Baltic have one indisputable success to their credit: they've created consumers loyal only to price. Although it seems obvious that it should be the quality, not the quantity of market share that dictates company policy, this unfortunately has not been the modus operandi of most companies here. In the bare-fisted slug-out fest that was competition 'till the bubble burst, managers only focused on market share as a measure of success. The market was growing anyway, profits were assured.

There's a funny bumper sticker that I see occasionally. It reads "Don't follow me. I'm lost too". Reactive marketing and price promotions "because they are doing it" is not really a sound marketing strategy, but "maybe they know something we don't"?. As a consumer I obviously benefit – why pay more if the company making the product is willing to sell it 3 times cheaper than I'm willing to pay for it?! The equally obvious downside, for the company (and eventually for me) is that their investment ability into new products, as well as maintaining the quality of existing products, is greatly reduced. It is a downward spiral that only greater emphasis on quality and long-term value propositions (whisper it: brand equity) can stop from ending in no products at all.

The legacy of continuous market share competitions is a cynical and price conscious consumer, that knows exactly where to get the cheapest thingamajig and whatchamacallit. The consequence of absolute price consciousness is a poor grasp of quality. Since the only argument has been price for so long, a quality proposition that costs (probably many times) more than the cheap artificially sweetened, water injected, chemically flavored indigestible thing requires more time and money to make, than a poor company wanting to make it has.

The power of retailers in this situation is particularly disheartening, as in their continuous struggle to provide their customers with more "value", they are in fact providing less and less of it by substituting real things for cheaper alternatives. The company wanting to make the real thing faces the unpalatable choice of either making it cheaper (read: worse) or not making it at all. The retailers argument is, that people are only interested in price. Of course they are, because that's the only thing they've been told to look for. Thus it is now a self-fulfilling prophecy. The only question remaining is, where's the money?

We all know where the money is, but this requires a proper strategy for companies, an understanding of real strengths, weaknesses and what the company is actually good at doing that people would be willing to pay reasonable money for. This requires hard work. That's the other thing that people, companies and government forgot how to do in the bubble years past.

Disainmõtlemine vaatab edasi

2010-03-24T03:27:00.000-07:00

Möödunud neljapäeval esitles Mikko Kämäräinen (Provoke) Soome Töö- ja Majandusministeeriumi tellitud raportit disaini muutunud rollist. Laienenud käsitluse järgi rakendatakse disaini mõtteviisi ja tööprotsessi väljaspool toote- ja teenusearendust, ühe osana interdistsiplinaarses innovatsioonis. Kohaletulnute seas tekkis õigustatud küsimus, mil määral on ärinõustamine ja disainmõtlemine kattuvad distsipliinid ja kas me mitte ei räägi samast asjast.

Kui võtta aluseks A.G. Lafey määratlus, siis on erinevus selles, et ärikoolide ettevalmistus suunab inimesi mõtlema induktiivselt ja deduktiivselt, disainikoolid õpetavad aga mõtlema abduktiivselt - ette kujutama, mis võiks olla. Disainmõtlemise eripära on selle tulevikku suunatud iseloom.

Heuristiline, kogemuse baasil järeldusi tegev mõtlemine on takistus, kui meie eesmärk on uuendus. Inimlik võimetus omada "kõhutunnet" asjade suhtes, mille kohta eelnev kogemus puudub, on peamine põhjus, miks enamik ettevõtteid ei ole innovatiivsed. Me ei usu asjadesse, mille edus me pole kogenud. Kui sellele liita veel hirm vigade tegemise ees, saame me tulemuseks paigalseisu. Thomas A. Edison ütles, et ta pole läbi kukkunud, ta on leidnud 2000 viisi, kuidas ei saa elektripirni teha. Tal teadis, kui oluline oleks sellist leiutist omada ning ta tegi sihikindlat tööd selle saavutamiseks. Selline suhtumine on ettevõtjate seas aga harukordne, kõik sooviksid saada osa kindlast edust (vähemalt aastaga võiks ju investeering tagasi teenida...), samas säilitades hetkeolukorra.

Stanfordi Ülikooli d-school on aastast 2005 õpetanud disainmõtlemist kõikidele, kelle soov on luua inimkeskseid lahendusi ning teha valdkondade- ning organisatsioonideülest koostööd. Disainerite valduses olevad tööriistad probleemide lahendamisel ja tulevikunägemuste loomisel on universaalsed, lahendusi saab luua igaüks. Oluline on, kes otsustab, et me teeme midagi sellist, mida varem tehtud pole.

Disain on mõte asjade taga, disainmõtlemine on tulevikku suunatud mõtlemine. Mõtleme. Disainime. Ja anname teistele põhjust sinust rääkimiseks.

More tools than you can handle

2010-03-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

Check out this magnificent set of service design tools. A great attempt to gather together all methods that facilitate service design projects, compiled by Roberta Tassi.

It's made a bit too complicated by trying to simplify through cross references. But under the 'about' link you'll find a 'Tools Provenance Map", that lays it all out in a pretty reasonable manner.

If we could utilise all this, how much nicer would the services around us be, wouldn't they?

Jah, härra minister e. seltskonnamäng 11 inimesele

2010-03-08T12:09:00.000-08:00

See, et veebibrauseritel on sisseehitatud Google'i otsing, on meid mugavaks teinud, ent see ei tähenda seda, et see peakski olema see "aken", mille kaudu riik oma kodanike jaoks leitav on. Sest ilma Google'i abistava käeta on internetist hetkel leitav vaid üks ministeerium ja see asub aadressil siseministeerium.ee.

Ent kus on teised? Kas sina teadsid, et just, hm, agri, sm, envir, mod, fin, kul, mkm ja vm on Eesti Vabariigi ministeeriumide ametlikud veebiaadressid? Head lühikesed jah, telefonis välismaalasele ka kerge vaevaga öeldavad, aga otsinguaknasse pean ma ju ikkagi "kaitseministeerium" välja kirjutama, et teada saada nende ühe lühendi asemel kasutusele võetud kaks uut – kmin.ee-st sai mod.gov.ee. Ja samal ajal vaatab aadressil kaitseministeerium.ee vastu tühi tupik.

Päris muheda mängu saaks, kui anda 11 inimesele erinevate ministeeriumide aadressid ning paluda selle ühe abil tuletada kõigi ülejäänute aadressid, eksole? Eesti.ee nime all saaks selle kenaks lauamänguks vormistada :)

Ühesõnaga, sellest on kindlasti seitse tarka inimest palju arvamust avaldanud, pabereidki määrinud, spetsialistidega konsulteerinud, juristidelt aru pärinud, ent tulemus on sama ümmargune null ning mulle see minu riiki lähemale ei too. Et oma jahumisse pisut asjalikku tooni tuua, siis teen tagasihoidliku ettepaneku töötada ministeeriumidele ning teistele riigiasutustele välja ühtne nimestandard ning võtta need nimed ka kasutusele. Jätta vanad nimed üleminekuperioodiks paralleelselt kehtima ning uutele suunama – see ei ole keeruline.

Ja kui see väike töö tehtud, võtaks hea meelega ka kodanikele suunatud teenuste ja suhtluse ühtlustamise ning kasutatavuse teemad ette, aga seda teevad ilmselt juba minu lapsed ja lapselapsed, kui hästi läheb.

What do consumers really want?

2010-02-16T01:37:00.000-08:00

Joseph Pine makes a very strong case for what consumers really want. Watch it here.

From our point of view, he makes a very strong case for branding. His description of authenticity, of value creation and what motivates consumers to buy is a coherent delivery of a company's value proposition that is, well, branding.

Consistency within the company, saying and doing the same thing, sticking to principles and avoiding "bullshit" is the branding process, that will deliver a brand that consumers can relate to and value as authentic. The end result, obviously, is profit.

For anyone to whom this may be important but confusing: Brand Manual offers a half-day "Branding ABC" course that explains the branding process and how to profit from it. Contact us.

Härga täis

2010-02-14T23:20:00.000-08:00

Hiina uue aasta tervituseks korraldatud lumeskulptuurikonkurss Rotermanni kvartalis tõi auhinnalise koha ka Brand Manuali tiimile. Kummardame maani ja täname muusasid, abilisi, korraldajaid, Platzi kuuma kakao meistreid!

Iseenesest oli see õpetlik kogemus - kuidas aja peale, tihedas konkurentsis luua tiimitööna midagi sellist, mida sa pole kunagi varem teinud. Seda enam, et tegemist pole voolimisega, kus saad vabalt materjali mätsida ja mäkerdada, vaid puhtalt "äravõtmise" tehnikaga - kui tükk lund algsest presskuubikust juba ära on võetud, siis mingi ime läbi seda sinna enam tagasi ei pane. Nagu sapööridel, kus eksitakse vaid üks kord ;)

Aga taaskord sai kinnitust, et eeltöö ja ettevalmistus ning õiged tööriistad loovad õnnestumiseks head eeldused. Head uut aastat, tiigrid!

A bit of history

2010-02-12T05:53:00.001-08:00

Before the Nazis took over the Swastika it was used by some other organizations. The Swastika is a good luck symbol. It remains widely used in Eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

It is also engraved onto Carlsberg's famous elephants.

Brand equity vs Price equity

2010-01-21T01:15:00.000-08:00

Ma ei teadnudki, et inimesel kulmud näos niiii kõrgele tõusta saavad – aga ennäe imet, täna hommikul märkasin poes kaubaalusel seismas midagi, mis andis tõsise emotsionaalse laengu. Üks silm nuttis, teine naeris - nr 1 brand maailmas (vt interbrandi indeksit) premeerib oma lojaalset tarbijaskonda VEEL suurema ja VEEL odavama pudeliga. Ent kui aastaid on investeeritud miljardeid brändiehitusse ning räägitud kontuurpudelist, lihtsast ja muutumatust etiketist, joojate nr 1 eelistusest värskenduse saamisel, siis mis asi see on?

Jääb arusaamatuks, kellega CC kompanii sedaviisi konkureerib (meenuvad odavad poola kleepekamaitselised limonaadid) ning mis kõige olulisem, mis mulje see tarbijate peades loob? Kui riiuli ühes otsas on 0.25L plekkpurk hinnaga 8 krooni ning riiuli teises otsas seisavad kaubaaluse peal 2.5L mürsud hinnaga 18.90, siis mida sellest keskmine limpsijooja järeldab? On vaan tyhmää maksaa liikaa, nagu põhjanaabrid ütlevad.

Kurvaks teeb see, et ainus, millega paljud täna turul lojaalsust üritavad kasvatada ja hoida, on HIND. Ja seejuures loobutakse kergekäeliselt kõigest senitehtust... Masu saab ükskord läbi, kaine mõistus tuleb koju, hingamine läheb kergemaks. Ent isegi kui nr 1 bränd maailmas läheb seda libedat teed, et pigistab silmad kinni, unustab oma legendaarsed väärtused ja muinaslood ning läheb sirge seljaga lati alt, siis miks ma peaksin edaspidi nende juttu uskuma? Rääkimata siis kõrgemast ja õiglasest, brändikuvandile vastavast hinnast, mida ma nr 1 karastusjoogi eest seni olin valmis maksma.

Vaadake korra ringi – teil jääb raudselt sõrmedest puudu, et üles lugeda konkureerivad kaubamärgid ja müügiketid, kes teineteist täna hinnaga üle üritavad trumbata, et klient pooleks tunniks oma poodi saada ja talle omahinnaga kaupa pakkuda. Ja mille arvelt? Reeglina kvaliteedi, teeninduse, töötajate, järjepidevuse ja iseenda tuleviku arvelt. Edu neile.

CocaCola juurde tagasi pöördudes – siin on põhjuseks ilmselt kahe erineva ettevõtte - CC Company ja villimisliini opereerija erinevate prioriteetidega, kus viimane üritab kõigi võimalike vahenditega (tühja neist brändiväärtustest) oma numbrilist turuosa hoida ja müüa-müüa-müüa liitreid.

ROI. Meet ROB.

2010-01-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

We've redefined ROI. We are now talking about return-on-branding, a.k.a. ROB.

ROI we'll leave for the mathematicians at McKinsey. ROB is much easier to measure and improve, because it mostly affects business process not investment. The idea is actually quite simple and can be implemented by any business on their own: just take a look at the above diagram and define your own company's processes. Then write down what you believe your brand is saying and correspondingly judge all your business processes as either supporting or detracting from that brand statement.

The surprise in many cases is, that so many business processes are not at all in line with what the brand should say. Consequently, of course, the brand is not saying it either. For example, I had an interesting experience with a mobile operator recently. Their campaign in mass media is suggesting that they are customer centric and very flexible. When I encountered a problem with my phone, however, this company's solution was to charge me about 50% of my handset's price and leave me without a phone for 2-3 weeks while they fix it. Unsurprisingly, that was not acceptable. Looking for an other option, I found help the next day for 1/3 of the cost suggested by the operator and had my phone back 2 hours after I dropped it off to be fixed.

In some ways, my phone example clearly illustrates that in this company's case the marketing department is responsible for "branding" while the rest of the company does what is comfortable or convenient to do. As the diagram describes, however, the brand is not only created by well dressed and smiling marketing people, but by the whole company at every point of contact with suppliers and customers. Companies ignore this at their peril.

Stating the obvious

2009-11-25T07:48:00.001-08:00

Effective branding creates value.

All companies engage in branding. Most companies are not brands. All companies would benefit from being a well-known brand.

Branding is not a cosmetic exercise that improves the company logo nor is it related to the quality of the company’s advertising. Branding is what happens every second of every day in every company, and usually it is done without a plan. It is not something that only the marketing department does. Branding is what the whole company does.

The value of a brand comes from the fact that it has meaning for customers. It is a guarantee of quality, be it a car or chewing gum. Brands are brands because people understand why they prefer it over the other product, often paying a price-premium.

Brands are symbols. Branding is a business process that can create brands. Symbols such as Porsche, Coca-Cola and Diesel are meaningful only by consistently delivering on a promise that the companies must live up to day-by-day, assuring the product’s quality, availability, desirability by internal business processes. If these processes are not consistent with what the product should mean, if there is no perceived difference between product A and product B, if service is promised but rarely delivered then the branding process will never end up in a brand.

Most Estonian products are not unique products. The same products exist somewhere else. The only reason for their success is geography. They are sold here. However, since there is a lot of competition on the Estonian market, and there are lots of similar or identical products in different packages, but almost no product difference or inherent meaning, then the only argument producers are making today is that “our’s is cheaper”. Selling everything cheaper doesn’t make companies successful, nor does it help people in the company earn more money because the company is earning less. In fact, everything cheaper all the time can only lead to smaller salaries and even greater pressure on compromising on quality.

Everything is bought and sold on two considerations: price AND quality. A well managed branding process shifts attention from the price of the product to the value of it. Value is emotional and every decision made by customers is emotional. Only a compromise is rational. Branding is the art of creating value.

Create some today.

Järjekindlus

2009-11-24T22:45:00.000-08:00

See on nii hea, et rohkem ei ütlegi: http://www.branding-marketing.net/2009/10/brand-perceptions-slogans-and-mind.html

Tähelepanukapital ja loomemajandus

2009-11-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

Sattusin eelmisel nädalal konverentsile "InnoEstonia", kus Tim Jones rääkis avaettekandes innovaatilistest toodetest, teenustest ja mis peamine, uutest viisidest raha teenida. Kõik, kes on kokku puutunud Google'i mudeliga, teavad, et nende tooted on tasuta ning ettevõte teenib oma raha reklaami müügist. Kui tavatarbijana on selline tasuta toode vägagi tervitatav, siis ma tooksin välja ühe aspekti, mis pikemas perspektiivis lõpeb veelgi intensiivsema kapitali koondumisega suurkorporatsioonide kaukasse.

Teadus-tehniline progress on olnud võidujooks efektiivsuse suunal. Mida targemini ma toodan ja mida vähem toorainet ma kasutan, seda parem. Asjad lähevad esteetilisemaks, odavamaks ja tõhusamaks. Ent odavus on selles valemis alati suurem kui null. Kuidas aga saab pakkuda tasuta? Saad siis, kui sinu rahastus tuleb muust tegevusest. Viimastel aastatel on palju räägitud lahendustest, mille loomine sõltub vabatahtlikest ja avatud süsteemidest. Kui sul on 200 000 vabatahtlikku, suudavad nad 10-minutilise pühendumisega teha rohkem tööd, kui 100 inimest aastaga. Ja teha seda tasuta, õigemini hobikorras.

Kõigile meeldivad tasuta asjad. Aga samas sooviksime me oma oskustega raha teenida. Loomulikult ei kao vajadus inimtööjõu järgi, küsimus on, kas see töö on lisaväärtust loov. Kogu loomemajandus põhineb professionaalse teenuse müügil, see majandusharu muutub üha olulisemaks. Samas näeme, kuidas suur osa loomesektori professionaalidest on kaotamas võimalust oma töö eest raha küsida: ajakirjanikud, illustraatorid, fotograafid, muusikud, programmeerijad, tüpograafid, kartograafid, filmitegijad, entsüklopedistid ei suuda võistelda sadade tuhandetega, kes ei teeni sisu tootes raha.

Kui ma kirjutan selle artikli, ei teeni ma ühtegi krooni. Küll aga võib minu osaks langeda paljude inimeste tähelepanu. Selline tähelepanu on huvitav kõigile, kes soovivad midagi müüa. Turundajad ju sellest unistavadki, kuidas panna tarbijad sind kuulama, kuidas pälvida nende kõrgendatud tähelepanu. Ja sotsiaalmeedia vastab neile: me jälgime sind, kui sa teed midagi (mind) huvitavat. Seega on tähelepanu konverteeritav rahaks.

Kui me vaatame toodete müüki, siis kliendid panustavad tehingusse kahesugust kapitali. Müük nõuab nendelt tähelepanu (nad peavad toote peale mõtlema) ja ost nõuab neilt raha. Sellist loogikat ei suuda finantsistid tabelisse kanda, sest tähelepanu kapitalil puudub mõõtühik. Dot-com-boom põhines klikkide korjamisel. Õnnepank on tähelepanu ühikuks võtnud heateo, sooviga pakkuda alternatiivi rahale. Sotsiaalvõrgustikes on ettevõtetel sadu ja tuhandeid järgijaid, kes pole sooritanud ostu. Varem või hiljem tekib ettevõtjal kiusatus see tähelepanu rahaks pöörata ning mull lõhkeb.

On ütlemine, et puudu pole mitte rahast, vaid soovist seda kulutada. Kui üüriarve tasumisel jääb natuke puudu, on taoline retoorika asjakohatu. Nn püramiidipõhja majandus, kus tohutu hulk mikrotehinguid annab suure efekti, on võimalikud ainult infotehnoloogiasektoris. Füüsiliste esemete tegemisel on siiski kulutused toorainele, tehnoloogiale ja tööle, mida ei saa anda tasuta käest ära. Küll aga on võimalik suunata inimeste tähelepanukapitali selliselt, et ettevõtte rahalised kulutused müügile asenduvad ettevõttele suunatud tähelepanu realiseerimisega.

Ma räägin brändidest. Läbimõeldud tooted ja teenused, mis eristuvad konkurentide omadest ning pakuvad inimestele emotsionaalseid elamusi, sisaldavad tähelepanukapitali. Pole vahet, kas ettevõte küsib oma toodete eest raha (adidas) või mitte (Google), oluline on et nad suudavad kultiveerida tähelepanu. Ja bränd on see, millesse akumuleerub ettevõttele osaks saanud tähelepanukapital.

Kui vaadata paljude suurettevõtete tänast käitumist, siis nad mitte ei suuna suuri summasid arendusse vaid hoiavad tähelepanu ja raha eraldi tabelites. Muutunud on see, mille eest ja millal raha küsitakse. See tähendab seda, et väärtuse loomine ja ärihuvid saavad omavahel kokku moel, mida nimetatakse sinu unikaalseks konkurentsieeliseks. Mida suurem on sinu vajadus müüa, seda pealetükkivamalt sa mõjud ja seda vähem tähelepanu sa kogud. Tähelepanuväärset kas ei suudeta siduda ärihuvidega või ei suudeta ärihuvidega toota midagi tähelepanuväärset.

Ja see ongi probleem, millele täna otsivad lahendust paljud ettevõtted, mis ei suuda oma arengut rahastada konkurentide loomingulise ettevõtluse tõttu. Enam ei konkureeri mitte ainult tootmisprotsessid ja turundusprotsessid vaid ka rahastusprotsessid. Loomingulisus ei ole enam kunstnike pärusmaa ja disainereid pole vaja ainult toote välisilmega seotud probleemide lahendamisel. On aeg sisuliseks koostööks.

Teadmised aitavad!

2009-11-03T13:02:00.000-08:00

Oleme oma napi tegutsemisaja jooksul saanud üsna palju tagasisidet selle kohta, mida Eesti turg teab brändingust ja konkurentsieeliste loomisest. Enamike ettevõtete jaoks on tänase päeva märksõnaks ellujäämine ja vähesed huvituvad sellest, millised võiksid olla ettevõtte stsenaariumid kriisist väljumiseks.

Mis on tänaseks kindel, on selge väärarusaam brändingu olemusest. Kosutav oli lugeda Eric Karjaluoto blogist, et ka Kanadas teevad firmad brändiloome nime all logo kasutusjuhendeid ning kliendid ostavad neid, sest need on kordades odavamad tegelikust brändingust. Mis see "bränding" siis tegelikult on? Oleme viimase kuu tegelenud brändinguteemalise koolituse "Bränding ABC" kokkupanekuga. Materjal on küll veel viimistlusjärgus, ent teemal võib juba ühendust võtta aadressil markko(at)thebrandmanual.com

Samas oleme ka ise pidevalt uusi teadmisi omandamas. Täna hommikul viis lennuk Dan Mikkini Indiasse, kus ta "World Brand Congressi" raames meie väikest riiki esindab. Neljapäevast aga on taas Eestit väisamas David Griffiths, kes Eesti ettevõtjaid ja disainereid lähendada püüab. Töö käib!

Teenuse hind

2009-10-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

Oma teenust müüvatel disaineritel ei möödu vist päevagi, kui nad ei peaks rääkima rahast. Õigemini sellest, miks me oma töö eest raha küsime. Kuna me teeme asju, mida pole veel olemas, on tõeline väljakutse kliendile selgitada, "mida nad oma raha eest lõpuks saavad." Enamasti peetakse meie tööd kiireks ja lihtsaks, võetakse võrrelda valmislahenduste hinnaga jne.

Paljud ostavad disaini hinna alusel, nagu kulutarvikut. Oleks palju otstarbekam disainerit osta selleks, et rohkem oma toodet müüa ehk nagu investeeringut. Kellele on taoline mõttekäik võõras, tasub lugeda kasvõi Eestist lainena üle käinud rahavoo kvadrandist kõneleva Robert T. Kiyosaki raamatut "Rikas isa, vaene isa", kus üks peatükk räägib vajadusest motiveerida inimesi, kelle töö on minu vara kasvatada.

Videoklipp teemal: "The Vendor-Client Relationship"

Welcome to Georgia

2009-10-02T00:18:00.000-07:00

Hommikul "Economisti" sirvides leidsin pakkumise, millest on raske keelduda. Ma ei tea, kes Gruusiat nõustab, ent nad teevad oma tööd hästi. Eesti riigi kõrget bürokraatiataset on meile igal tasemel ette heidetud, meil pole mõtet reklaamida enda riiki ilma sisulise pakkumiseta. Piisab pilguheidust meie "e-riigi" portaali, mõistmaks, et meil on tõsised probleemid suhtlemise ja enda arusaadavaks tegemisega. Me võime rahulikult peatada kõik väliskommunikatsioonikampaaniad, sest me ei tegele sisekommunikatsiooniga. Ametnikud ja poliitikud, on aeg hakata kuulama.

http://www.georgia.gov.ge/ . Ela või ise.

Kliendi rõõm on meie rõõm

2009-09-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

Eestis ei tule ettevõtlikkusest puudu. Meil on rõõm teatada, et Eesti oma tarkvaraarendus TaxiPal võitis eile, 24. oktoobril, NAVTEQ'i ülemaailmse asukohapõhiste teenuste võistluse. Seega on tegemist maailma parima utiliidiga, mille abil tulevikus endale taksot tellida. Euroopa Liidus hakkab teenus tööle selle aasta novembris, uusi lisavõimalusi hakkab programm pakkuma vastavalt nende arengule.

Brand Manual aitas T+1 Solutionsit TaxiPal'i kaubamärgi, graafilise kasutajaliidese, programmi sisearhitektuuri ning presentatsiooni loomisel.

Viide artiklile "Technology Today's"

Oma kontor!

2009-09-02T04:43:00.001-07:00

Asume nüüd aadressil Roseni 7c-IV, Rotermanni kvartal.

Tere tulemast!

Unbranding Starbucks

2009-08-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

A curious thing happened to Starbucks – they abandoned all corporate branding in some of their shops. Why did they do it and was it worth it – here's an opinion.

Meist kirjutatakse

2009-08-05T03:59:00.000-07:00

Best Marketing võttis vaevaks intervjueerida ühte meie partneritest. Siin on lugu.

Our friends at Harvest

2009-08-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

Starting a company is hard work. Trying to balance costs with potential income is hard, so it is nice to know that there are companies out there willing to help a start-up get up on its own two feet. One of these companies is Harvest. It offers business a time-tracking and billing system online at a reasonable price. For start-ups it is even possible to get it for free (if you ask nicely). We did.

Then they asked us for an interview and sent us a Q&A. Here are the answers: http://www.getharvest.com/blog/2009/08/interview-with-brand-manual-a-company-policy-of-generosity/

Enjoy

Branding is useless…

2009-07-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

… if it's treated as a cosmetic makeup. One can't "brand" product's problems away – that's why we prefer to look under the skin. First make it work, then shout about it, not the other way around.

The Downsides of Branding by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

How teenagers consume media

2009-07-13T03:02:00.000-07:00

Morgan Stanley published a very interesting and insightful research paper done by a 15 y.o. intern. It details the media consumption habits of teenagers. You can find the full research paper through this link (care of the Guardian newspaper): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jul/13/teenage-media-habits-morgan-stanley

Enjoy!

Äri tegemise mõte

2009-06-25T00:33:00.000-07:00

Hiljuti Viitnalt läbi sõites leidsin seal uue söögikoha, mis Viitna Kõrtsile konkurentsi pakub. Jaanipäeva paiku Kuressaaret väisates ehmatas mind sealne uute supermarketite rohkus. Meelde tuli aeg, kus iga mees tegi hamburgeriputka või bensiinijaama, olenevalt sellest, mille naabrimees just püsti oli saanud. Naabril kliente käib, ma teen sama.

Vestlesin just hiljuti ühe tuttavaga teemal, et Eesti ettevõtetel pole äriideed. Inspiratsiooni sai teema president Ilvese väljaütlemisest Josh Silvermaniga peetud mõttevahetuses, et ettevõtja pole mitte see, kes õigel hetkel tehase erastab vaid see, kes paneb kogu oma vara panti OMA idee teostamiseks. Ehmatav oli, et minu majandusharidusega vestluskaaslane jätkas seda mõtet selliselt: "jah, firma loomise idee on ju selle mahamüümine". Iseenesest loogiline, äritegevust mõõdetakse selle kasumlikkuses. Minu mõte oli aga pigem selles, et ettevõtted toodavad kasumit midagi tootes.

Eesti ettevõtluskeskkond vajab kontseptsiooni vahetust. Kui majandustegevust iseloomustab ainult vahendusest teenitav kasum, siis pole tõesti vaja pikalt mõtelda. Näed kalaparve, traalid välja. Kui aga kala jääb vähemaks, ei aita teise traaleri ostmisest. Siis on vaja teha midagi muud. Oma toodete ja teenuste väljatöötamine on väärtus, mida on raske ära võtta. Sa sõltud enda oskustest, sa tunned seda läbi ja lõhki. Ma olen näinud Eestis palju ettevõtlikke inimesi, kellel on idee ja kes ei karda seda ellu viia, sõltumata sellest, mida teised ümberringi räägivad. Nad ei kopeeri naabri ideed, nad teevad midagi sellist, mida nad ise tahavad teha. Ja see on ettevõtlus, mille üle on põhjust uhkust tunda.

Let's share some stuff

2009-06-16T06:31:00.000-07:00

There's this idea, that if you've got special tools to do a job then you should keep them to your self.

Our idea is to share our tools instead. So here's a one you may find useful. We call it a brand map. The idea behind the brand map is to illustrate all the inter-connections going on in any one brand's universe. It helps focus thinking of how a brand develops and grows, how it becomes relevant and where it may lose it's relevance. The brand map doesn't have a beginning or end: it's just an endless circle of interconnections that make the brand come alive.

The main effect of the brand map is to make people involved stop thinking linearly and instead makes thoughts holistic. Different positions on the map create different points of view. To have a strong brand means that all the views are similar. Enjoy!

Rebranding – an easy path?

2009-06-15T08:09:00.000-07:00

This is a Time Line of a hypothetical rebranding process. Starting with background info harvesting and up to checkpoints in years to come. Substantial work is done in the first 6 months (give or take), but this map shows that brands need constant nurturing and development after the launch as well. Brands die when left on their own.

And then there are some delicate rebranding issues, that just can't be accomplished overnight and could take years to finish – better have a clear road map for that.

Of course this Time Line is not universal – it is a reference point, each case should be tailored regarding a specific product or brand and its environment. Visualising helps one to grasp an otherwise complicated process.

A downloadable pdf will be available at www.thebrandmanual.com on June 22.

Disainmõtlemine: mis see on?

2009-05-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

Sel nädalal toimus järjekordne Eesti Disainikeskuse korraldatud seminar, mis seekord keskendus teenuste disainile. Et aru saada, kuidas teenuseid disainida, tuleb mõista disainmõtlemist. Disainmõtlemine on universaalne probleemide lahendamise metoodika, mis põhineb süsteemsel küsimuste esitamisel ja nendele küsimustele loovate vastuste leidmisel. Miks seda mõtlemist just disainiga seostatakse? Sel põhjusel, et taoline mõtlemismudel on osa disainerite ettevalmistusest: nad on harjutatud tegema mõtestatud valikuid. Et see tehnika sobib ka muuks kui esteetilisteks taotlusteks, on disainmõtlemise rakenduse vastu üha tõusev huvi.

Brand Manuali keskne teenus on disainmõtlemise kasutamine äriliste probleemide lahendamisel. Tajume selget vajadust end rohkem arusaadavaks teha, meie teenus on uudne ja sellele pole ka artikuleeritud nõudlust. Hede Kerstin Luik juhatas mind täna artiklile, mis disainmõtlemisest üsna hea ülevaate annab. Meil jääb vaid üle lisada sinna oma lood, mida lõkkevalgel hea rääkida oleks.

Can you build brands on twitter?

2009-05-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

An interesting article on Twitter – is it a worthy marketing tool? As they say: "…Twitter is an excellent way to reach people with an interest in twittering."

I especially dig the diagram at the beginning of the piece.

Why Twitter Won't Change Marketing

Eesti: grupi taga, kuid ringiga maas

2009-05-22T03:14:00.000-07:00

Brand Manual on olnud avatud poolteist kuud. Meie mõte luua Eestisse strateegiline konsultatsioonibüroo on hakanud kenasti juuri maasse saama. Firma konkurentsieelise loomisel ei otsita tihti mõttekaaslast disaineri või kommunikatsioonispetsialistist ja sedapidi läheb veel aega, et äriringkonnad sellist lähenemist firma arendamisel sama loomulikuks peaks kui finantskonsultandi kaasamist firma rahavoogude optimeerimisse.

Majanduse tsüklilisus on samane looduses toimuvaga. Lopsakas kasv päädib talvevarude loomisega, mis aitavad kevadel uuesti vohama asuda, ühel aastaajal edukas eluvorm võib teisel hävida. Selleks majandustalveks on paljudel ettevõtetel varud loodud. Küsimus on, kas talvitumisest osatakse ka välja tulla. Millised on plaanid?

Meil on käimas mitmed initsiatiivid, mis selleks kevadeks valmistuvad: Innovatsiooniaasta ja Loov Eesti. Eesti Disainikeskus tegeleb ettevõtete, disaini ja tehnoloogia ühendamisega. Teeme Ära Minu Eesti tegeles heade mõtetega. Kõik on valmis kaasa lööma. Kui vaid kellelgi oleks suutlikkust investeerida.

Eesti riigis on otsitud Nokiat, kuid tegelikult oleksime pidanud otsima Sitrat, Soome Innovatsioonifondi. Igasugune areng eeldab sõnastatud eesmärki, tegevuskava ja selle elluviimiseks vajalikke vahendeid. Meil osatakse aga rahastada valmis lahendusi, innovatsiooni lõpptulemust. Kui vaadata meie majandust, siis suur osa meie ettevõtlusest on olnud vahendus ja maaletoomine. Meie ettevõtlus loob ise väga vähe ja see on ka põhjus, miks meil pole oma tooteid ja innovatsiooni, vähemalt mitte neid edulugusid, mida loodetakse leida selleks, et ärgitada ka teisi ettevõtteid uuendama.

Juba mainitud Soome Innovatsioonifondi lehelt leidsin sügisel avaldatud artikli, kus tunti muret Soome innovatsioonipõhise majanduse jätkusuutlikkuse pärast. Eestil on väga kiiresti vaja tegutseda, kui tahame ühes grupis püsida Soomega, kellest me oleme ringiga maas. Kohvi ja küpsiste aeg on läbi, palun reaalset tegevust.

Tühjad sõnad

2009-05-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

Täna jäi linnapildis silma üks üsna kulunud moega Nissan Primera, kandis endal kuldseid kirjasid "butiik "Glamuur ja fashion"". Kirjapilt muutmata.

Wolff Olins viis aastaid tagasi läbi kampaania kulla väärtuse taastamiseks, sest "kuld" oli muutnud "kuldseks". Kui väärtuslikku tähistav sõna on muutunud tarbekaubaks, kaob sõna algne tähendus. Meil on Tallinnas taaskasutuspood "Eksklusiiv" ja mööblikauplus "Uus antiik".

Ameerika tumedanahaliste kogukonna jälgimisel on leitud seos pere sissetuleku ja laste nimede vahel: mida vaesem pere, seda uhkemaid ja kõlavamaid nimesid kannavad lapsed. On meilgi kalduvus nimetada koristajat "sanitaarspetsialistiks" või poodi "butiigiks". Lootus on, et põrand saab sedapidi puhtam või kaup müüdud. Tegelikkus näitab, et kui kõik on erilised, pole seda keegi ja me oleme ühe tähenduse jälle sisutühjalt ära lörtsinud. Ja sellest on kahju.

Ausast tagasisidest

2009-05-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

Juhtusin täna Helsingis ühe müügiesitluse võimalikuks kliendiks. Tegemist oli Surnumere soolast kosmeetikatoodetega, kreemid ja muud vahendid sinna juurde. Müügimees oli meeldiv, osavõtlik, esitlus ise hästi läbi mõeldud. Toode oli mulle huvipakkuv, ideaalne olukord. Hind oli soolal küll soolane aga see oli igati õigustatud. Ühesõnaga, müük oli õige, toode oli õige, hind oli õige ja oli ka klient. Aga ma ei ostnud... sest nende pakend oli kohutav. Ma olen küll toodete välimuse suhtes ülitundlik, kuid see kullatud kaanega, ebamäärase kuju ning pisut viltu kleebitud sildiga topsik ei rääkinud midagi kvaliteedist, mis on purgi sees.

Mis mind hiljem mõtlema pani, oli minu tagasiside müügimehele - minu keeldumise peale küsis ta imestunult, miks ma ometi ei soostu tema suurepärase pakkumisega? Ma sain tagantjärgi aru, et otsisin põhjendusi, sest mul polnud südant talle otse ütelda, et su toode on lihtsalt inetu...

Dan Gardneri raamatus "Risk" on põhjalik ülevaade meie otsustusmehhaanikast ning sellest, kuidas me, võtame oma emotsionaalne ajuga (ehk kõhutundega) otsuse vastu, mida hiljem põhjendab meie ratsionaalne aju. Kuigi me seda ise ei taju, teeme me valikuid siiski meeldivuse alusel, mida hiljem artikuleerivad ratsionaalsed argumendid. Ning me tunneme valehäbi kui peame tunnistama, et meie valiku põhjustas miski nii tühine kui välimus.

See pani mind mõtlema kõikide nende müügimeeste peale, kes annavad turundusele tagasisidet, et "kliendid peavad toodet kalliks", "liiga vähe lisavõimalusi", "kliendid pole rahul kvaliteediga" ja muu säärane, mis on nende põhjendus toote mitte ostmiseks. Loomulikult võib ütelda, et välimus pole oluline kui kõik muu on õige. Samas, miks teha tööd kõige muuga ja jätta tähelepanuta see kõige lihtsam?

Check-one-two

2009-05-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

Tere tulemast meie verivärskele kodulehele. Kuniks targemad tegelevad brauserite korraliku @font-face toe tekitamisega, jäime vana hea staatilise Flash-lehe juurde.