Social Networks & Communities

Last week I was in a conference at IE University where I participated in a round table discussion about online communities, actually about building a compelling brand experience in university online communities. The first issue that I discovered was that in Spain, round tables are rectangular, and discussion means independent presentations of the three/four speakers... And questions is an unpleasent situation, not because of the kind of questions but because it's difficult to make it happens....

Right of precendence

by Cristian Saracco | Branding

At some point in history we lost our way ... Today, some people insist that we have found it... Did they say that seriously? do they believe in waht they are saying? And if so, what goes first? Right of precedence 1: From learning and knowing Here comes the first question on the right of precedence, assuming it is true that we can self-proclaimed that we are a "knowledge society" (seeing what happens over the world I think that in the last 50,000 years we have learned little): Are we a...

Metamorphosis

by Cristian Saracco | Branding

In recent times, whether by things I've read, conversations I have had or ideas that I actually have, the theme of identity and image come back again and again. As I said a while ago in a "post", it is difficult to explain my thoughts structure and how I came to this analogy that I'll write below ... Let's talk about branding and let's do it seriously! Metamorphosis Some companies are tempted to renew their image and they beging this way... Because it is outdated, it's ugly, it's...

Marketing | Becoming one of the round table knights

by Cristian Saracco | Branding

Create and maintain a relevant brand experience makes the difference The companies face a world that, day by day is becoming more complex and paradigmatic. The range of products and services is growing exponentially, competition has overcome geographic barriers and what still worse there are similar offers in excess. For their part, customers are better informed, they seek for offers that are unique and differential to help them on building their self-expression, a proposal financially...

It’s the economy stupid! … Thinking about brand valuation

by Cristian Saracco | Branding

I begin with a phrase that Bill Clinton said in a debate to George Bush ... "It's the economy, stupid!"And so it seems ... Since the'90s, the brand valuation was something that started to grow rapidly. Possibly this had much to see with the rankings made by Interbrand and presented annually in Newsweek. It is clear that these rankings are done with public information and therefore have their limitations. They are not all they are and the value is an approximation. Only that!In a meeting that...

Semantic branding… Back to the roots

by Allegro 234 | Branding

I've returned from my vacation, back to what I usually do ... and I say usual and not common ... I use to do something I love, which rises each day, which grows over time ... and that sometimes requires to go back to it roots. I return to the roots of this Webjam, its name, its call to action idea that finally gives a meaning ... Traditionally, the branding was an effort being made by companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors, to show functional and emotional benefits that...

Walk the talk!

by Cristian Saracco | Branding

As it was written in the 2008 Trend Report, one of the main observed trend shows that there is almost no brand left out there that has not seen its carefully scripted messages torn apart, if not exposed for inconsistencies or broken promises. During this week in an article talking about China, Contagious' Xtreme Information also talked about the need of brands to walk the talk. They were stronger than other media showing, for example: McDonald's Happy Meals targeted at kids in the US and UK...

Social media

by Allegro 234 | Branding

This video, comming from commoncraft, focuses on basics of social media: new technology that makes everyone a producer and tools that give everyone a chance to have a say... This looks like a great way to explain the often complex seeming idea... For the most part, it works as a great metaphor for how social media works today!

Ice spheres for a unique drink experience

by Allegro 234 | Branding

Taisin, a Japanese company, has introduced that creates ice spheres. The issue is that they discovered that spheres of ice are preferred by serious on the rocks drinkers because the reduced surface size means that the ice melts at a slower pace, keeping drinks from getting watery to quickly. Bartenders in Japan consistently take home top honors at global competitions because there is an intense devotion to making simply the best drink, of which perfect ice looks like an obvious...