Thoughts & Notions

Archive for March, 2010

Pattern Recognition

Monday, March 15th, 2010

pattern-recognition

As human beings, we are pre-wired to identify patterns. This allows us to understand relationships between cause and effect. Without this ability, brands would not exist. Brands are metaphors made up of patterns. We “skim” the world around us without consciously reading or listening. We recognize the patterns and instantly equate A to B. Even as you read this post, your mind equates each word form to its respective meaning. Brand signals work the same way. They provide mental shortcuts as they directly equate to the brand. (more…)

Posted in Brand Expression, Brand Identity, Brand Signals | 4 Comments »

Crowdsourcing

Monday, March 1st, 2010

crowdsourcing

Long Tail Approach or Short-term Gain Leading to Long-term Loss

There’s a delicate balance between encouraging participation and surrendering control. Managing crowdsourced contributions not only takes considerable resources, it’s unlikely that the ideas submitted will be “on strategy” or “on brand”. Engaging consumers has always been paramount to building strong brands, but allowing the crowd to curate your brand is another thing altogether.

Arguably, crowdsourcing has been around for a long time. In fields such as chemistry, astronomy and other sciences, crowdsourcing has made large-scale projects feasible. Over the years many amateurs have made significant contributions to the fields of astronomy and space science. Comets, for example, are often discovered first by non-professionals.

However, in June, 2006 a Wired magazine article sparked a heated debate. In this article Jeff Howe first proposed the idea of “Crowdsourcing.” Whether you believe crowdsourcing is a gimmick or the next big thing, it’s important to note that the idea is still in its early, some would say idealistic, years. How it was proposed and what it may become will be largely based on how it is interpreted. (more…)

Posted in Brand Expression, Brand Identity, Brand Management, Brand Strategy | 5 Comments »