Innovative Branding Insights for April 2022
Written on
Chapter 1: Understanding Quality in Branding
April is often linked to various cuckoo festivals across the UK, although I must admit I've never experienced one myself. This month, Iām excited to share my latest inspiration from a book I'm currently diving into:
"The Lean Startup: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful Businesses" by Eric Ries.
This book outlines a transformative approach to business that is being embraced globally. It reshapes how companies are established and how new products are introduced. At its core, The Lean Startup emphasizes the importance of understanding genuine customer desires. It advocates for ongoing testing of your vision, allowing for adaptations and modifications before it's too late.
Section 1.1: Key Branding Lessons
Managing a brand effectively involves maintaining a consistent level of quality throughout the customer journey. Any deviation from the expected standard poses a risk to the brand's reputation. This perspective contrasts sharply with the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) concept often promoted by entrepreneurial experts, which prioritizes rapid validation of ideas with minimal regard for quality assurance.
Subsection 1.1.1: A Strategic Approach
To navigate this dilemma, one strategy is to launch a makeshift or dummy brand to test an MVP. If the concept proves successful, it can then be integrated into the main brand. If it fails, the impact on the established brand remains minimal.
Section 1.2: Campaign Inspiration
One campaign that has greatly inspired me is titled "Lawyer Fights Duolingo Owl for $2,700,000" by Duolingo. This campaign cleverly utilizes a popular audience meme featuring the "Evil Duolingo Owl," enhancing brand recognition through a memorable character while also taking a bold creative risk.
Chapter 2: Reflections and Acknowledgments
A quote that has particularly resonated with me is, "If we do not know who the customer is, we do not know what quality is," as stated by Eric Ries.
I also want to extend a warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to my newest followers: Huzaifa, Haykel Barhoumi, Kristin Hanusch-Linser, Shirley Patrick, Marvic tal-fin Bajada, Kirsten Granzow, Amine Elhattami, and Sri Vidhya.
Until next month! š