BRANDS OF THE FUTURE
Many brands today are not equipped to live online. There is a discrepancy in how they are presented and how they work in the real world.
Steve Rubel’s summary of the Le Web conference accounts for this change:
“One of the great untold stories is just how much Facebook and Twitter are growing off-site. Facebook announced they reach 60 million through Facebook Connect. Meanwhile nearly half of Twitter’s activity takes place away from Twitter.com - they reported. Both platforms are quietly becoming a social operating systems for the web, not just their own sites.”
Meaning often times, the places people first encounter brands are outside the control of traditionally branded platforms like their website, TV or print. Online platforms introduce a whole new set of rules for engagement that many brands are simply not equipped to handle. Consumers are increasingly in control. For instance they forced Tropicana to scrap their new identity in favor of the old one.
Rubel also notes that:
“Second, nowadays no two people see the same Internet. This was a key point that Facebook made saying that we increasingly discover online content not just by algortihms but via the “lens of friends.” Microsoft researcher Danah Boyd brought this to life through rich, moving stories. Google’s Marissa Mayer went a step further saying that the future of news is a “personalized news stream.” This trend has major implications for marketers and PR pros who are accustomed to reaching everyone the same way - it’s simply not possible anymore.”
To that point, no two people see a brand in the same way. The new reality of brands is that their identities must account for changing platforms and preference. The challenge is to create identities that are both flexible yet constant. Brands like Uniqlo while consistent in form can be presented in English, Japanese or any other language. The same can be said for Nickelodeon’s new brand identity. While “Nick” is always consistent the suffix that follows may change depending on the property or the audience. This allows the brand to be irreverent , silly and consistent all at the same time. In common both of these brands have a single form but the context in which they are experienced changes.
Brands of the future will consist of a visual identity that accounts for branded content distributed by a messy, fragmented, user-centric world. These identities will live as digital assets designed to create distinctive brand interactions.
(George Crichlow)
