Alan M. Siegel's Blog, page 16

Launching a new product or service

Brand defining products and services are being launched all the time. Advertising a new offering is one step. But how can you ensure that a major new offering is branded right for the long-term?

In this episode of Branding 101, with insights from across our global practices, we explore how simple, smart branding sets up signature products and services—and the companies bringing them to the market—for success.

The post Launching a new product or service appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

In their words: Financial Services navigating challenges

In their words, Siegel+Gale’s ongoing Chief Marketing Officer study series, surveys marketing leaders across diverse industries with an eye to the many impacts and changes wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic era.

 

The post In their words: Financial Services navigating challenges appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

The intersection of ESG and brand-building

In our Unlocking Brand series, our branding experts go behind-the-scenes for a look at exceptional brand-building cases. In our latest installment, “ESG and brand-building,” our Global CMO, Margaret Molloy, spoke with our Executive Director of Strategy and Head of ESG Advisory, Wendy Gerber. 

Together they explored how ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) and leading with purpose is critical to build brand reputations, drive business growth and build loyalty among customers for both B2C and B2B companies. For the complete conversation, head over to the Siegel+Gale Says podcast on Apple Podcasts or  Spotify. 

Margaret Molloy: Wendy, with regards to ESG, what is the opportunity for brands?

Wendy Gerber: ESG is a transformation catalyst—it is an opportunity to drive long-term value for brands. And making a profit and focusing on ESG are not mutually exclusive goals. Quite the opposite—when aligned, ESG initiatives power innovation and growth. 

Develop clear, transparent and motivating ESG goals that align with your brand strategy and your corporate strategy. ESG initiatives done right will build your brand, drive growth and engage your stakeholders. A brand’s ability to engage customers in sustainability initiatives helps build relationships and differentiate brands. 

M.M.: Many brands already do purpose work. How does ESG intersect with purpose? 

W.G.: The future for brands is rooted in purpose activated through ESG. But it’s important for brands to understand the difference between rallying behind a cause and standing for a purpose that aligns with their strategy. If brands randomly pick causes—or don’t walk the talk—consumers and the media will see right through that. Companies that lead with purpose, build integrated ESG initiatives around it, and tell their story in an impactful way build loyalty among consumers. 

 

M.M.: Are consumers willing to pay more for a sustainable brand? 

W.G.: Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in consumers’ purchasing decisions, especially as consumers see themselves as important catalysts for change. Two-thirds (66%) of people surveyed in the U.S. are willing to pay more for sustainable products, up from last year (64%), according to the Business of Sustainability Index.  

Building loyalty and trust among customers is key to marketing efforts. Companies need to be transparent and authentic—and accurate. They need to back up claims with real actions. To build credibility and resonate with customers, it’s important that communications about sustainability clearly and accurately note environmental benefits (for example in emissions reductions and offsets, and sustainable manufacturing). Consumers are becoming savvy to greenwashing. 

 

M.M.: How can companies decide which areas are most worth pursuing? 

W.G.: The first step is for companies to do a “materiality assessment,” which helps an organization determine which ESG issues matter most to its stakeholders and its business.  

Some industries have specific risks to address—for example the fashion industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions—more than international flights and shipping combined! And 92 million tons of textile waste is created annually by the fashion industry. So, building a circular model to repair, recycle and rent clothing is important. Plus, the human rights issues in supply chains. Companies can also target issues they find most important. Morgan Stanley, for instance, is focused on reducing plastic waste, as well as sustainable finance.  

These priorities can come from leadership, or they can come from employees. It shouldn’t just be top down—ideally, employees are engaged as well. This is a terrific way to create connections! 

 

M.M.: I now want to focus on B2B brands. How can they think about ESG and minimizing their footprint when these initiatives may not be as much in the forefront to consumers who might use their business anyway? 

W.G.: Even if you’re not consumer facing, you need to develop strong ESG practices to minimize your carbon footprint—this is also a way to bring employees along on the journey. Having a sense of purpose or shared mission is critical for companies to retain top talent. Purpose-driven companies have 40% higher levels of employee retention. 

 

M.M.: Lastly, what do companies starting out need to know? 

W.G.: ESG is a journey and companies are at different stages. Just get started on the journey! Brands need to embrace ESG to be relevant and attract customers, employees, and investors.  

Begin to think about what environmental and social issues are material to your business, what you’re already doing, what your goals are, and then start to build strategies and programs. You can try to do it internally or hire a consultant to help build a roadmap and ESG programs. Don’t try to do too much, too fast. But make sure what you do is authentic and transparent. To optimize ESG, it should be embedded in your DNA and across your business. And tie it into your brand.  

The post The intersection of ESG and brand-building appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

Simply Smarter: A newsletter on brand experience (December 2022)

If the past two and a half years had a motto, it would be, “The only constant is change.” Change has permeated nearly every part of life, producing friction and complexity. But companies are not investing in or deploying brand-led experiences in such a way to prioritize consumers, ultimately alleviating friction and complexity.

In this month’s newsletter, Group Director of Experience, Jared Fink, offers simple solutions for the airline, health-and-wellness, and hotel industries, examining fundamental consumer needs—and how brands can create experiences that satisfy those needs.

 

Part 1: The Core, the Unmet and the Desired

“Save for fueling the airplane with a witch’s brew of two parts Mountain Dew and one part Red Bull, we can’t help your plane get from A to B faster.” But we can offer simple brand-led experiences for the airline industry. So, unlike your upcoming flight, don’t delay. .

Read more

Part 2: The Plateau

Here, Jared discusses how the health-and-wellness industry must create an ecosystem of brand-led experiences to attract customers. Find out how to throw such words as “clinical,” “intolerable,” and “anxiety-inducing” in that orange biohazard bin.

 

Read more

Part 3: Working hard, or hardly working?

“No longer the pinnacle of posh, heritage hotels are, like the unripe cubes of honeydew at their breakfast buffet, unwanted.” In the final part of this series, Jared examines how, despite their best storytelling effort, many hotels aren’t checking-in trends or brand-led experiences.

 

Read more

The post Simply Smarter: A newsletter on brand experience (December 2022) appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

2023 predictions: The future of brand experience

This article originally appeared on Little Black Book Online.

Since the onset of the pandemic, there have been fundamental shifts in nearly every sphere of life. In the realm of branding, the fundamental shift has been from words and pictures to experiences.

Today, consumers expect—and demand—that an interaction with a brand is an engaging, all-encompassing escape from the rapidly changing world. As we look to the year ahead, our global experts predict what’s in store for brand experience.

Jenna Isken, Group Director, Experience, Los Angeles

With the impending extinction of third-party cookies and restrictions on certain types of targeting, companies need to prepare for a different landscape of customer experience. Brands will bear more responsibility than ever before when creating and sustaining strong customer relationships. The successful ones will start by focusing on different KPIs ASAP. Elevating such holistic measurements as customer health scores and customer lifetime value will determine where, how, and what they can do to add value for the customers through signature experiences—thus driving the relationships that the business relies on for growth.

 

Lauren Thebault, Director, Activation and Brand Management, New York

After two-plus years of navigating the new way of the world, when it comes to remote audience engagement, in 2023, in-person brand events and experiences are back—but they need to be accommodating to their target audiences who have a new set of expectations and considerations, ranging from balancing their other remote work commitments to overall wellness. Meanwhile, immersive virtual events aren’t losing steam—and brands need to continue to think about how they activate in this hybrid world, providing a seamless and considered experience for all.

 

Patrick Kampff, Strategy Director, London

Sun Tzu says, “Brand experience will become our go-to deliverable as clients move away from traditional projects to prioritize how to design feelings into all aspects of their brand.”

 

Clinton Clarke, Digital Creative Director, New York

On the design front, AI-generated imagery from platforms like Dall-E and Midjourney will continue to get better, more pervasive, and potentially indistinguishable from other methods of image and motion creation. This will prompt us to take a fresh look at how to design with authenticity in brand experience. It will also force designers to sharpen their art-direction skills if they wish to use these platforms effectively to build design systems across brand experiences.

 

Brian Rafferty, Global Director, Business Analytics & Insights, New York

By most accounts, 2023 will be a tough year: potential long-term recession, continued conflicts, and extreme weather events, not to mention more countries moving towards isolationist and reactionary leaders. Brands and businesses will need to think hard about how to not only survive and thrive in the short term but how to create sustainable value for their customers. In a world of fewer resources and increased uncertainty, why will they pick you? So, my hope, rather than prediction, since who can really predict anything these days, is that businesses and brands take a long-term view in 2023 and realize that taking a clear stance indicating their commitment to a sustainable future is essential. The proof will be in the proverbial pudding. In 2023, it will not be about what you say but what you do: do your actions and the experiences your customers have reflect that stance? And, just as importantly, do you know which experiences matter most?

 

Lea Chu, Group Director, Naming, New York

As brands get more serious about bridging the gap between physical and digital experiences, our everyday language will need to adapt. Words will shift in meaning; new terms will be born. Language is always evolving, but the pace will be accelerated due to mass digital transformation. Brands that lean strategically into new words and terms will be able to create more immersive experiences.

 

Amy Chen, Director, Experience, New York

2023 will bring forward ways to employ such emerging tech as AI and blockchain that will become required reading for knowledge workers. Whether it’s in the service of business strategy, innovation, or consumer experiences, the current wave isn’t likely to fade; it will only grow even stronger. While the general public may still have varying degrees of awareness, these technologies will be increasingly integrated into their everyday consumption of products and services. As creators and strategists, we must tap into the unknown and unfamiliar to prepare for what’s next.

 

Duncan Kelly, Design Director, London

In 2022, tools like Dall-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion have shown a glimpse of the accessible creative power of AI. Programmed to generate images when prompted with text, these tools get to work quickly, often delivering surprising and unexpected (and sometimes incredibly weird) visual results.

The more these tools learn and the more proficient we get at prompting, the clearer and more significant the role of AI in the branding process will become. In 2023, AI will continue its growth, both in static and motion, and establish itself as a powerful tool for brands to generate unique connections with individuals in ways that can only be imagined.

 

Shana Orth, Group Director, Account Management, Los Angeles

In a sea of choices, it’s more important than ever for brands to understand the value of a personalized experience to retain and grow brand loyalty. Brands must evolve and tap into those critical analytics and insights/data to help guide interactions and create more human and empathetic experiences. Those that do will undoubtedly have the competitive advantage and drive value on a deeper level with their consumers. Investing in loyalty and lifetime value will be essential for brands in 2023.

 

Aaron Hall, Group Director, Naming, San Francisco

It is with some disdain for this long-gone naming technology trend that I predict the return of vowel-dropping in company and product names in 2023. We’ve already seen a few new vowel-less names reminiscent of the early 2000’s Tumblr, Razr, and Flickr. While sometimes what’s old can feel new again, in this case, the return of the “mysteriously missing vowel” may struggle not to feel dated and hokey. And this trend still hasn’t solved the problems from its first go-round:

It doesn’t help with trademark clearance (Flickr doesn’t get you the trademark if Flicker already exists).It can be confusing what the intended word is (was Motorola’s “SLVR” Silver or Sliver?).It can cause pronunciation issues for global markets.

 

Steffanie Haase, Group Director, Creative Services

In 2023, I predict we will continue to evolve our new way of working, selling and, of course, branding. Simplification is going to play an even greater role across every interaction. We’ve spent almost three years moving into fully digital/off-site interactions, burning the candle on both ends, blurring boundaries, and doing more–and not always efficiently. With fear of recession, business growth concerns, and political unrest on the horizon, and continued emphasis on inclusion and the environment, we will be concentrating more than ever on working smarter not harder. Those brands, organizations, individuals and, of course, tools that take this into consideration are going to be needed to keep us all growing and thriving (in the end leading to happier and healthier eco-culture).

 

Mick Smyth, Senior Strategist, London

Since the pandemic, many brands have leaned heavily on emotion in their marketing, providing an opportunity to demonstrate to customers that he brand understands and is there to help. With complexity and unpredictability only going to increase in the near future, this trend will likely continue as marketers look to simplify experiences and create a sense of stability in customers’ lives.

 

Simrit Brar, Creative Director, Los Angeles

More and more people are getting news from non-news sources, and their credibility is questionable and scary. Cyber-education consultant Lori Getz, speaking to parents and kids from my daughter’s school, reminded us that most TV channels we get our news from are technically entertainment channels. And then there’s the added challenge of social channels like Facebook and TikTok, where more deepfakes are showing up. AI tools like Midjourney and Dall-E are becoming more sophisticated. It will become harder and harder to tell what’s real and what’s fake and to manipulate public opinion.

 

Samantha Starr-Shields, Account Director, New York

In 2023, a “New Normal 2.0” will take center stage for more than just the workplace—hybrid experiences. After being thrust into fully digital interactions throughout the pandemic, consumers are craving in-person experiences again. Successful brands should focus on delivering both: the in-person experiences people are coveting to feel normalcy again and the convenience and ease of digital experiences, allowing for a seamless transition between the two.

 

Analicia Sotelo, Senior Strategist, Brand Communication, Los Angeles

In 2023, successful brands will remember to bring a lightness to their experiences—giving consumers connective moments they aren’t expecting to contrast with the heavy truths they already carry. Whether virtual, physical, or hybrid, consumers will choose experiences that bring delight, relief, humor, surprise, and happiness to their lives. Successful brands will understand that it’s table stakes for their brands to act authentically on global issues. They’ll avoid heavy-handed, inspirational stories with no real brand actions behind them. Instead, they’ll create experiences that help us remember the beauty of human connection and let their actions speak for themselves.

 

Maximilian Melamed, Senior Naming Strategist, New York

The metaverse creeps closer and closer. 2023 will be the year that more brands, bigger brands, and well-known brands really start to test what brand experience means in the metaverse, pushing it towards the fore as another realm to compete for consumer attention. Its potential is yet untapped, so the most creative pioneers will undoubtedly make the biggest splash. What that will look like . . . who’s to say, but it seems limited only by imagination.

 

Wendy Gerber, Executive Director, Strategy & Head of ESG Advisory, New York

Companies will venture to the metaverse with new ways for consumers to engage with and experience their brands and then return to the ground for real-life events. Companies will also explore using the metaverse for employee engagement and collaboration. On the ground, branded sustainability initiatives and pop-ups will create new ways to purchase products, protect our planet, and show the life cycle of a brand and its carbon footprint. Cross collaborations will increase between companies—for example, a cosmetics company could partner with a VR company to create an in-person spa experience that pampers you and then takes you on a hot air balloon journey to the French Riviera.

 

Nicholas Jenkins-Smith, Design Director, London

We will soon see how the collapse of currencies like Luna and large exchanges like FTX will affect institutional investment. This is also heavily dependent on regulatory practices (SEC vs. Ripple, for example). And given the wild activity in the last two months, tighter scrutiny is to be expected. But these cycles happen—bear markets are where the innovation happens (interoperability between currencies, scaling of the technology, governance, etc.). As my inbox fills up, many large exchanges are now laser-focused on transparency. I suspect there will be a redoubling of efforts to gain back confidence in the perception of the industry before the next bull run. This is where simplicity of communication becomes a $BN asset.

 

Isabella Wragg, Senior Strategist, New York

In 2023, brand experience will become even more intertwined with positioning, promise, and purpose. Brand experience is how a brand lives out its positioning and purpose. As consumers place more and more importance on the brand experience, creating a positioning/purpose/promise that sets a brand up for a strong experience and delivering on that positioning through experience will be paramount.

 

Lisa Kane, Group Director, Strategy, Los Angeles

In 2023, brands will find new ways to bridge the “real” and digital worlds as they engage with customers. In healthcare, for example, the move to telemedicine has been super-charged by the pandemic, and it is unlikely we’ll move away from new-found ways for patients and physicians to engage. People will continue to interact with their doctors online via patient portals and face-to-face on video platforms while meeting in person when another layer of care or treatment is required. Embracing telehealth will help established healthcare brands become more forward-leaning and patient-centric, as the ability to connect live, whether on- or offline, will continue to make everyday healthcare experiences more efficient, personal, and accessible.

 

Carol Nguyen, Insights Analyst, New York

Campy Collabs. From Juicy Couture x Kraft Mayo to Cactus Plant Flea Market x McDonald’s, consumers can expect to get more of a taste of these delectable designs and the experiences that come along with themEmergence of digital ‘Third Spaces,’ as brands explore how to democratize access to the metaverseInnovations in humanizing the DIY Healthcare experience for patients to proactively screen, monitor, and report their health status to their providerAn emphasis on equity, as consumers push brands to realize diversity and inclusion are not enough to step up to their social impact promises and campaigns

 

Johnson Gu, Chairman, Shanghai

More and more countries are reopening, and the Chinese are looking forward to regaining connectivity with the rest of the world in 2023. Due to the impact of the pandemic, communication between people has stayed more in the virtual world in the past three years, which has also made us feel the need for real connection. Experience must be integrated into the environment so consumers can genuinely interact, explore, perceive, touch, and immerse themselves in it. A truly connected world will bring more opportunities for offline experience, and experiences related to the real economy will gain more significant growth opportunities.

 

Bryan Kelly, Senior Strategist, Brand Communication, New York

As brands recognize that certain words are so ubiquitous as to be invisible—”best,” “relax,” “enjoy”—the market for gnarlier, more rarely used words will enjoy an uptick. Simplification will still reign supreme as regards to the length of copy, but a shine will be put around single, simple, strong, little-used words: deluge, nonpareil, antidisestablishmentarianism. Their immediate unrecognizability, rather than an intellectual gatekeeping experience as in days of yore, will be an invitation to explore, connect, expand, like linguistic QR codes. It may not last, but it’ll be a fun year.

 

Maddie McGregor, Naming Strategist, New York

Stickiness is the UX metric that defines how engaged users are with your product. And by today’s standards, the stickier your interface, the better. However, people are starting to crave stripped-back digital experiences that encourage you to get in, get out, and get on with your life. We see this shift from success stories like BeReal, the social media app that is the antithesis of sticky. Its simple, minimalistic, beta-like user experience hasn’t turned away users. In many ways, it’s part of the appeal. Tech companies may take the hint, dial back their stickiness, and help users avoid the dreaded doom scroll—not just because it’s the responsible thing to do, but because it’s what users actually want.

 

Frankie Margotta, Strategist, Los Angeles

In the coming year, experience will be one of the most critical areas for brands to win and deliver on. We’ll continue to see boundaries dissolve between physical and digital, and a brand’s strategy will need to encourage unified experiences that feel authentic and connected across both collections of channels and touchpoints. Also, as niche sub-cultures and taste communities continue to form, brands will have the opportunity to create select, hyper-focused experiences for specific groups of stakeholders, so there will be a greater opportunity for thoughtful experimentation at the brand level.

Christine Lehtonen, VP, Business Development, San Francisco

1. Gone with the CEO Celeb. The once flamboyant CEO trend will be seen as a liability, a risk that can bring down stock or entire companies if they go rogue. (See ya later SBF, Elon Musk and My Pillow CEO!)
2. With the pandemic largely behind us and world events to unite us, we will see a renewed spirit of innovation from brands. Expect new partnerships, collaborations and campaigns for good.
3. Brands will reconsider what it means to be in a relationship with their most important audiences; I predict more brand/customer iteration, engagement and advisory boards. Look for audience shifts where employees are the customers and customers are co-creators.
4. CMOs as customer service agents, where the delivered experience will increasingly define the overall brand experience, and customer satisfaction will be tracked more closely.

The post 2023 predictions: The future of brand experience appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

Minds Matter SoCal: Igniting individual potential, together

In SMPL Q+A, we interview our practitioners on all things relevant to branding, design and simplicity. Here, we speak with AnaCristina Tamasese, Kaitlin Smith, Simrit Brar and Thom Wyatt about our work with Minds Matter SoCal. Minds Matter connects driven and determined students from low-income families with the people, preparation and possibilities to succeed in college, create their future and change the world.

Account Management

Why did Minds Matter SoCal (MMSC) engage Siegel+Gale?

AnaCristina Tamasese: Minds Matter recognized a need for clarity across their brand. They knew what and who they stood for, but didn’t have a clear articulation for everything that it encompassed.

What made this engagement so unique?

ACT: Going into this project, it was clear this work was about the students—past, present and future—and making sure they felt truly seen in every aspect of the brand. Their commitment to their students, and their students’ success, is what made this engagement so unique and exciting to work on. To ensure we hit that mark, we expanded our core Siegel+Gale team to include two MMSC alumni, Vianny Ochoa and Francis Atendido. They partnered with us throughout the project to ideate and refine the brand behind the scenes between our larger team meetings. Their input ensured the story we were crafting was true not only to their lived experiences but also to the future they hoped to see for Minds Matter.

Strategy

Can you explain the new brand strategy?

Kaitlin Smith: In getting to know the Minds Matter SoCal team, we experienced first-hand the energy and passion within the organization. Not only do they have big ambitions to eliminate systemic inequities and create long-term impact for their students, but they also have the stamina to work towards achieving these goals every day. But, their current brand didn’t reflect their dedication or true impact across individuals, communities and society as a whole.

We also learned about their relentless focus on their students and alumni and how the organization delivers far above and beyond college admissions to provide a community that empowers each individual to grow and unleash their unique potential. To participate in the Minds Matter program, both students and mentors agree to a multi-year, weekly commitment. This degree of commitment to each other is a core part of the program that stands out by recognizing the importance of lifelong relationships just as much as academic success.

The new brand promise, “Igniting individual potential, together” was developed to capture both the organization’s impact on individuals and include a reference to the importance of community and relationships to make it happen. Notably, the promise is infused with the energy and action orientation the organization lives by daily but lacks in how they tell their story to the world.

How does the new brand promise speak to Minds Matter SoCal’s multiple audiences?

KS: The new brand promise was purposefully written to allow all audiences to see themselves in the story. No matter your role or relationship with Minds Matter, from students to teachers and mentors, you can expect to experience both individual growth and a community of people who are alongside you every step of the way.

Design

What was the concept behind the logo & visual identity? Any inspiration you would like to call out?

Simrit Brar: It was really important for the visual identity to speak to the Minds Matter students and our brand promise: “Igniting individual potential, together.” It is bold, expressive, and joyous with a simple, modular system that can be applied easily. It needs to flex and be credible for donors and organizations and resonate with young students’ aspirations. We were inspired by starry skies full of constellations and the idea of imagining a new journey for each student. For centuries, the stars in our sky have been used to tell stories and guide us on new adventures: Minds Matter students are writing their own stories and pursuing new paths every day.

The concept we created looks to capture the unique shapes and stories that make up constellations and apply those to a system that reflects the same individuality and distinct journey of each student and team member. And on a broader level, the concept speaks to the idea of connecting us all. Each colored circle represents a student – connected to each other, their mentors, volunteers and communities – and the power they have to transform their communities over time.

Although we couldn’t change the logo since it would have implications for the larger national organization, it still captures the brand promise exceptionally well. The arches of the lower case “m” and the three circles / heads create a feeling of support and connection that fit the organization and its story.

Brand-led Change + Activation

How is Minds Matter SoCal activating the new brand and why is it such an important milestone for their future?

Thom Wyatt: The beauty of branding is partnering deeply with clients to help simplify, clarify and amplify who they are at their core and the difference they make in the world. With Minds Matter Southern California, when sharing our strategy, voice and messaging and brand identity recommendations, we often heard, “Yes!” In those moments, we knew we’d captured their heart and soul and turned it into a brand that resonates.

And because that happened throughout our journey, our clients were often implementing as we moved along the branding path. One day I received an email from Tina, the MMSC President, simply saying, “I am sitting in our Orange County location doing some work on a grant and am struck by how much of the Siegel+Gale work I use in grants and other communications. Heck, even how I talk about the work we do on our website along with the visuals is all from you/your team!!”

And the brand all came together for their October 27, 2022 gala. It was not only an evening to celebrate the people of MMSC — students, mentors, administrators, parents, partners — but also the new brand experience, including fun gaming, amazing food, the chance to win Super Bowl tickets, and be entertained by 12x Grammy winner Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds.

Including Minds Matter students and alumni in the branding journey ensured that what matters most was always front and center in the brand’s story. Now bringing the refreshed brand to life across digital, social and events is amplifying their mission and helping to share a better, more inclusive world for all.

The post Minds Matter SoCal: Igniting individual potential, together appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

Simply Smarter: A newsletter on brand experience

In this month’s newsletter, our branding experts explore combatting complexity in the health-and-wellness industry, the role of brand during a M&A or spin-off, our refresh of KPMG’s iconic brand and why Meta’s metaverse is sinking.

 

Curating comfort

Our Group Director of Experience, Jared Fink, presents part two of his three-part series examining fundamental consumer needs. Exploring the health-and-wellness industry, Jared discusses how brands must create an ecosystem of brand-led experiences to attract customers.

Read more

Branding 101: The role of brand in a M&A or spin-off

In the first episode of Branding 101, our global branding experts examine why a M&A or spin-off is ripe for reassessing your brand story, visual identity, culture and brand-led experiences, propelling the new entity into the future.

 

Watch Now

Unlocking Brand: KPMG

Congratulations to our client KPMG on being recognized at this year’s Transform Awards North America ceremony in the Best Visual Identity and Best Brand Evolution categories. Go behind-the-scenes of the refresh and learn how we partnered to evolve an iconic brand for growth in the latest episode of our Siegel+Gale Says podcast.

 

Listen here

S.O.S.: Meta’s metaverse is sinking

Our Director of Experience, Amy Chen, delves into the metaverse and looks at why people aren’t clamoring to hang out in the space.

 

Read more

The post Simply Smarter: A newsletter on brand experience appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

Think pink: Design Director Regina Puno on the rise of hot pink

In SMPL Q+A, we interview our practitioners on all things relevant to branding, design and simplicity. Here, we speak with Design Director, Regina Puno, about the rise of the hot pink hue that has dominated design in 2022. 

How would you describe hot pink’s brand?

Regina Puno: Hot pink is not your average pink. In general, pink evokes femininity, sweetness, romance. But hot pink is a whole emotionally charged color on its own. Sure, it’s still feminine. But it’s a powerful, rebellious, confident, optimistic kind of feminine. Hot pink can be campy, over-the-top, fluorescent. It can be shocking, aggressive, strong. And it can be contemporary and nostalgic all at the same time. In short: hot pink dials up the senses.

Why do you think so many brands are embracing the color?

R.P.: The rise of hot pink and Barbiecore—a trend defined by the always-vibrant hue—is an extension of the nostalgia trend, which we’ve seen many brands embrace in the past few years. Hot pink is a hue that audiences already know, love, and have fond memories of. The onset of the pandemic played a huge role in the rise of nostalgia as a trend, because nostalgia is a portal to “the good old days.” Nostalgia encourages one to escape the unpredictability of the present.

Has the rise of hot pink helped evolve fashion conversation?

R.P.: Absolutely. People might think that fashion is “just a dress” or that hot pink is “just a color.” But hot pink is a statement. And during a time when women’s rights are especially vulnerable, who wouldn’t want to wear the angriest, loudest pink there is?

Pantone predicted that 2022 was going to be the year of periwinkle—yet hot pink took center stage. How seriously do you take those kinds of predictions?

R.P.: Pantone’s “Color of the Year” is a fun exercise that is orchestrated each year by a company best known for its industry-standard in color creation and matching, so we think it will have a lot of influence and prominence in modern culture. But ultimately, it shows up more as a marketing campaign attempting to hype a color through such merchandise as coffee mugs and phone cases. Other such considerations as fashion trends, political developments, and current events have much more of an influence in predicting the true color of the year.

Thanks, Regina! 

The post Think pink: Design Director Regina Puno on the rise of hot pink appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

KPMG: Evolving an iconic brand for growth

In our Unlocking Brand series, a CMO and Siegel+Gale’s branding experts go behind-the-scenes for a look at an exceptional brand-building case. In our latest installment, “Evolving an iconic brand for growth,” our Global CMO, Margaret Molloy, moderated a conversation between Sam Burns, Global CMO of KPMG, Lauren Boyman, U.S. CMO of KPMG, and our Executive Director of Strategy, Melanie McShane and Creative Director, Rafael Medina.

Together they explored how to transform an iconic brand, including how to use data to achieve alignment, how to bring brand-led experiences to life and how to use design to express business strategy. For the complete conversation, head over to the Siegel+Gale Says podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Margaret Molloy: How did you know it was time for a brand refresh?

Sam Burns: We knew we had a really good story to tell, complete with fantastic client successes, deep technical capabilities, and some great accolades from analysts. But that story wasn’t hitting the market in our brand where our positioning wasn’t as clear, and the look and feel was a little bit old-fashioned for the digital era. We knew we needed to be more modern. We knew we wanted to be the destination for top talent. And we were also keen to address our employer brand simultaneously. From an ESG lens, we also wanted to enhance our role as a societal brand.

Plus, in a business like ours where you’re dealing with 144 member firms around the world and 236,000 people all operating under one brand, they still have a degree of autonomy in their countries or territories. You start to see fragmentation creep in—people start creating new campaign positionings and generally pushing the boundaries of the brand guidelines, especially for those innovative, more entrepreneurial parts of our business who always mistakenly think that they can depart from the primary brand to stand out. I call this “brand meanders.” And that’s always a good indicator that it’s time for a change.

 

M.M.: How did we, at Siegel+Gale, settle on the positioning? Talk us through your process.

Melanie McShane: With so many different member firms, you are balancing a lot of different interests and needs. And one of the things we realized early on is that KPMG is a very data-driven, rigorous organization. So, part of the process was thinking about how we were going to get as many different insights as possible, so that we could have a rigorous fact base. And this obviously connects very much with how Siegel+Gale approaches these projects: gathering what’s on people’s minds and where the world is headed.

The second piece of this was to think about how we do it in an inclusive way. Many of the senior business leaders and partners at KPMG were keen to point out that the future of the business didn’t necessarily lie with them, so they wanted to, for example, get the perspective of younger folks in the organization. This ensured that the process was inclusive and equitable.

And then the last piece I’d add is that there was a desire to be ambitious and forward-looking. We are proud of the core that KPMG has in order, but also how the positioning could sustain the growth in newer areas that we talked about and really step up to not just drive the business across all the different lines of service, but to really play more of a societal role as well.

What we landed on is that KPMG has an incredibly powerful engine to get to insights. And it’s not limited to getting the insights—it has the capabilities to help businesses, organizations, and individuals see new opportunities and then actually take advantage of them.

 

M.M.: Lauren, can you speak for a moment as to how this brand refresh is impacting the various stakeholder experiences?

Lauren Boyman: A brand should be a constant reminder of what our people should aim to represent. So, it shapes our client experience because, number one, our people are thinking every day about how they can leverage data and how they can push themselves to get that insight in whatever it is that they’re doing for the client or for the firm.

We did a series of brand road shows around the country and, in order to physically bring our brand positioning to life, we had an actual insights window. It was an insights-window prop for people to pose with, to hold, to see themselves with. That was an inspirational aspect, because it is what we learned from our clients that people want—they’re looking for an organization that’s going to bring insights and it’s our people who do that. There’s a lot of data out there, but how that actually comes to fruition in a client conversation or in a client engagement within insights is to solve the issue at hand. That’s what makes a firm stand out.

M.M.: How did you think about the brief, as it were, to have design express the new strategy?

Rafael Medina: We needed to take a bird’s-eye view of the brand—a holistic view in which we asked ourselves, “What are the implications around the positioning, and how are we expressing that and bringing that to life?”

To do this, we took these legacy elements, primarily the logo—this world of blue that was so deeply embedded into the DNA of the identity. We utilized it as a jumping-off point in this exercise of bringing insights-focused positioning into the visual language.

We were transitioning from a primarily print-driven brand experience to a digital-first brand experience. So, we looked at how we could take the core assets and optimize them to deliver insights and reveal these opportunities around the brand experience. We retained the logo, but we moved it to this center stage moment where it’s capable of broadening how it’s expressing and delivering that notion of insights as a hero element. We also looked at ways that we can broaden and enrich our signature colors to really deepen and emphasize and create more of a vibrant nod to the technology-driven digital experiences and the world in which clients are living. We were solving some of the user pain points around legibility, so we evolved the font, making it much bolder and more impactful.

The insights window was derived from the logo, and the logo was comprised of these four rectangular forms. These forms were the foundation—the building blocks for the brand. Throughout the system, that simple graphic element highlighted moments within an image containing information in a way that was bold, impactful, and effective across different medias.

The design expresses the brand’s strategy, because we found a universal language that’s capable of evoking and speaking to a multitude of audiences in a way that’s actionable in real time and, above all, true to the brand.

The post KPMG: Evolving an iconic brand for growth appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

Working Hard, or Hardly Working

The post Working Hard, or Hardly Working appeared first on Siegel+Gale.