I had the pleasure of being invited to give a 2-hour workshop at the Outbox incubator. The 6-week long immersive program works with female students of STEM subjects, from the age of 11 to 22, so the challenge was to create a material that teaches a useful skill on all experience and knowledge levels.
Some of the participants already have a startup - making me feel like a fossil - some of them "only" brings an idea.
What I've put together is 2 hours of material, teaching them how branding evolves in the 21st century, putting values and meaning into the center of brand stories.
Three exercises help them to understand how branding work:
- starting with the icebreaker, figuring out brand names based on the logo colours only,
- an excercise to help unearth personal values
- and the last one helping them to apply the personal values onto the business as well as understanding how they might get into their customer's head to understand what aspects of the product/service will matter to them.
Outbox Stemettes Branding Workshop by @nandylen - How to define your values and apply it to your business?
1. hello Stemettes!
my name is Orsi Toth
i love creating brands with a purpose
& helping to build products that
change the world
welcome to the workshop!
2. The shortest intro
6 years at ad agencies, co-founding one of them
from ATL to digital, UX and product development
working with Johnson&Johnson, Nissan, Peugeot,
EDF and Danone
co-founded, Drungli the adventure generator for
spontaneous people, reaching 1 million people all
over Europe
currently brand manager @ GrantTree
Budapest, Milan, Barcelona, London
12. all attributes of the product and the company
in one convenient shortcut
13. all attributes of the product and the company
in one convenient shortcut to:
KNOWLEDGE
TRUST
CHOICE
14. having too many choices causes us unwanted anxiety
Barry Schwartz,Paradox of Choice
15. In a global survey of consumers, 63% said they only buy products
and services that appeal to their beliefs, values or ideals.
GFK, April 2015
37%
63%
18. Exercise Step 1
Take 5 minutes to think about the values that are
important to you.
It may help if you first identify a few times in your
life. When you were most fulfilled and satisfied? The
happiest or the most proud?
Use the list of words to choose your 10 values.
20. Exercise Step 2
Look at the first two values and ask yourself, "If I
could satisfy only one of these, which would I
choose?"
It might help to visualise a situation in which you
would have to make that choice.
Keep working through the list, by comparing each
value with each other value, until your list is in the
correct order.
21. Great, now this is clear!
How does that translate to a business’ values?
22. To perceive a brand as meaningful,
people look at
• What functional values the product brings?
• Personal benefits - what exactly is the brand doing for
me?
• Collective benefits: what is the brand doing for the
community, the people that I care about?
HAVAS, Meaningful Brands, 2015
23. THINK DIFFERENT
functional value
well designed tech devices that work better
personal benefits
beautiful objects, cool factor, great user experience
collective benefits:
“The people who are crazy enough to believe they can change
the world are the ones who actually do.”
Crazy Ones ad
24. GOOD COFFEE MAKES
PEOPLE HAPPY
functional value
great coffee on my doorstep with lovely client service
personal benefits
makes my mornings so much better, educates me about
coffee, delivers a product that leaves me with a clear
conscience, saves time
collective benefits:
sustainability, ethical trading, support of independent
entrepreneurs
25. CHALLENGING THE
FUTURE OF WORK
functional value
get cash back from our R&D development
personal benefits
I can spend my time building the business, no need to worry
about the HMRC, great service with super friendly client
management
collective benefits:
pioneering open cultures and flat organisations, helping
startups through education
28. Exercise Step 2
personal benefits
Get into your customer’s head! What does she
values? What is most important for her? What
kind of problems she is facing? How does your
product fulfil her needs?
29. Exercise Step 3
collective benefits
How does your product (or service) makes things
better on the larger scale? Do you recycle,
educate, donate? Maybe directly create change?
Reduce consumption, promote local makers,
spread ideas?
Take your list of values - how can you make an
impact and spread them?
31. "Build the best products while creating no unnecessary
environmental harm, use business to inspire and
implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”
Footprint Chronicles
32.
33.
34. "So if you can rise above it by taking a stand against
nuclear weapons instead of using some sexy young
girl, why not?"