Keep it simple, please

It’s been some time since I’ve written. There were several reasons for this:

• A time of reflection
• Time to study
• Conferences, trips, projects…

Maybe I had little of value to say; although it is maybe better to say that my Muse had abandoned me.

Nevertheless, everything is coming together again now.  This includes re-launching this space and inviting all who want to have their say to join in.

Our endless ability to make things complicated

It seems that some genius, maybe several, had the brilliant idea of “˜professionalising’ branding. That, however, was some time ago.

Over the years, and again to give a more professional edge to what we do, we started to talk and explain what we do in words, sentences and concepts, even with a burst of creativity that I think more than half of us involved in branding still find hard to understand.

Are we more professional? I don’t think so; but I think we have become more snobbish.

Those who explain themselves best, keep it simple.

When I recall, and I still can, some of the teachers I had, I discover that I have the most affection and admiration (in that order) for those who were able to convey their ideas and knowledge in the simplest terms.

Among them, the teachers who taught me differential mathematics, quantum physics, and other things that sound even worse. What I remember about those fascinating people is their ability to explain things that were “˜difficult to take in’ in a simple, easy, participative and attractive way.

When I think of the present, of what we do, of brands and branding, I could come up with some broad analogies:

• A unique, special branding experience should talk to people who are interested in the company and what it does. Participative
• A brand that is attractive beyond its purely functional promises should generate clear links. Attractive
• A brand with a lasting impression should make our lives easier and remind us of our human quality. Engaging
• A brand experience that “˜grabs’ us could do so if we can see that behind the brand what we expect and perceive coincides with what it gives us. Easy

The same is true of branding professionals. We have to believe in what we do, and love it; we have to implicate ourselves, and others; we have keep our work simple.

In the final analysis, it’s about putting what we feel intuitively before our reasoned thinking (without completely abandoning reason). It’s more about synthesising than simplifying.

It’s about remembering that simple things are most easily remembered; they are lived more intensely, and take permanent root in our hearts and minds.

Are you ready to get simple? What do you do and/or give to make yourself understood? Am I talking about something that is still a pie in the sky, even though I think I’m making it easy? What do you think?

As for us, we’ll do our best to make it easy.

Welcome to this new stage.