branding and design in B2B companies

Branding and design in technological B2B companies How to build brands and use them to generate durable value… Erik Roscam Abbing MSc Mdm en Christa van Gessel MSc Agoria/Zilver innovation bv november 18th 2009

Today: Showroom visit 14:00 Introduction 14:20 What are brands and what are they for?14:30 How do you build a useful brand? Case1: priva Exercise 1 15:10 Break. 15:40 Branding and strategic design.16:00 Case2: NLISIS Exercise 2. 16:45 Drinks 18:00

introduction

We are rooted in industrial design

We have designed many many products

But we’ve moved to consulting

In branding, design and innovation

Our clients: b2b and b2c

success design brand strategy Our mission for today

What are brands" and what are they for?

What is a brand? The logo? Advertising?

That’s just the tip of the iceberg…

Logo Corporate identity The vision behind that identity The culture and values behind that vision The better you deﬁne the rest of the iceberg…

Unique products A clear identity A well deﬁned vision A strong culture and values The more the brand will function as a rich resource…

Brands are strategic instruments that, when managed well, are rich resources that beneﬁt the health of a company.

What are brands for? >the organisation’s point of view •  They reduce risk •  They enable a price premium •  They help differentiate •  They stimulate social responsibility •  They help leverage from reputation •  They create internal pride and loyalty •  They streamline processes through a shared vision •  They are an asset on the balance sheet Based on Jean Noel Kapferer

What are brands for? >the customer’s point of view •  They help you recognise and understand a new product •  They help you to identify with a product •  They facilitate choice •  They provide a guarantee of quality •  The help you identify yourself •  They provide continuity •  They provide peace of mind Based on Jean Noel Kapferer

The brand as bridge: the brand Between and the internal world the external world Make the gap as narrow as possible

The brand as lens: What are brands for?...the customer’s point of view Make the lens as clear as possible

The brand deﬁnes the relationship an organisation aspires to have with its stakeholders

A relationship implies: “I understand what you ﬁnd valuable, I understand my role in delivering that value to you, and I will do my best to perform that role” Aka ‘the brand promise’

But also “I will develop the products and services that capture that value and make it accessible to you” Aka ‘the delivery of the brand promise’

Branding is as much about creating a relevant promise as it is about fulﬁlling that promise in an authentic way. I’ts as much about what you as organisation have to offer, as it is about what the customer or end- user values.

fulﬁlment internal external promise

How do you build" a useful brand?

Brand usability is the extent to which a brand, as it is found in an organisation, can be used by those who need it to do their work. In our case it will be used by: designers, developers, researchers and engineers, as a resource to develop new products and services.

Branding is as much about communication as it is about innovation. It’s as much part of marketing as it is a part of R&D, engineering, and design

The brand as bridge: And the innovation function the brand Between the marketing function Make the gap as narrow as possible

Concrete Authentic Relevant Aspirational

Building a useful brand: 3 pillars •  Process: how do you build the brand and with whom? •  Content: what’s your brand story? What do you promise? •  Form: in which ways do you capture the brand?

Building a brand: 3 pillars process content form involve explain share

Building a brand in a technological B2B context •  Empty promises don’t work •  Knowledge of your customer’s context essential •  Also understand your customer’s customer •  Understand the value chain of which you’re a part •  Buyers are human beings, just like you and me

Case1 priva

Case 1: Priva objective: uncover latent brand vision and make it explicit Instruments: brand relationship model, context mapping, team workshops Results: internal brand vision, brand champion network, approved roll out for entire organisation (and yes, a new slogan)

Our brand relationship model http://www.branddriveninnovation.com/2009/02/24/new-brand-relationship-model/

many sessions with top and middle management

Using ‘generative techniques’ (knip en plak werk)

And many discussions

Then: looking for patterns and structure…

Resulting in a booklet, endorsed by the ceo

Showing our ﬁndings in the form of models and stories

Leading to a team of brand champions

Exploring the consequences of the new insights for the organisation, and experimenting with them in a safe environment

Exercise 1:" exploring the building of a brand

The case: our host LVD Read the LVD vision ﬁrst

Fill in the why, how and what for LVD and their customer why: why: Why do we do what we do? Why do they do what they do? Norms, values, culture Norms, values, culture how: how: How do we do what we do? How do they do what they do? Vision and mission, our way of working processes, their way of working what: what: What do we do? What do they do? The value that we deliver The value they deliver

Work towards a brand promise: “I understand what you ﬁnd valuable I understand my role in delivering that value to you and I will do my best to perform that role”

Break!!

Branding and strategic design

You can express your brand through many touchpoints. The most important one is the design of your products.

Branding through product design: why? •  of all touchpoints, the product has the most intensive relationship with users •  of all touchpoints, the product is there the longest time •  products are what you make money with, all the other touchpoints cost you money •  Except for service design…but that’s a different story.

The strategic role of design: •  design connects the unconnected •  design turns the abstract into the concrete

The trick is to use design strategically. That means: To use design as a set of instruments That are used to support strategies that are based on objectives targeting certain people.

Something that helps us think strategically: P.O.S.T. People (who) Objectives (why) Strategies (how) Technologies (what) Forrester research

With prof. Ralf Beuker http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/zilverpics/3325251867/

Building a design strategy: who? •  people: Who is your target group? What do they want/need/aspire? What is the context in which they use you product? What is their taste? How can you increase their performance or enrich their expereince

Building a design strategy: why? •  objectives: Why are you using design? What goals do you want to reach? What are the expected beneﬁts of using design? You can only measure design effect if you are clear about its objective Market share, repeat purchase, user satisfaction, word of mouth, increased margin, increased turnover, beat competition, enter new markets, introduce innovation, internal pride etc etc.

Building a design strategy: how? •  strategies: How will you reach your objectives? What is the role assigned to design in reaching those objectives? What design instruments, tools and methods will you use? What (human) resources will you allocate to design? Will you outsource or not? How will you brief, manage, benchmark, measure, deliver etc.

Building a design strategy: what? •  technologies: What products and services will you design to support your strategy? What design aspects will you focus on? What design disciplines will you focus on? What is your design language? What are your design cues? What do you use to create product family recognition?

So: think before you design: For whom ? Why ? How ? What ? Let’s now look a bit closer at the ‘what’

Branding through product design is often about conveying meaning through aesthetics Based on Toni Matti Karjalainen

But there’s so much more!!! How the product is made How the product looks What the product does Interaction with the product What the product means to the user

Our brand design layer model http://www.branddriveninnovation.com/2008/10/25/design-management-review-article/

Example: Océ

Building design guidelines 1.  Look at competitors: what do they convey and how? 2.  Look at your own portfolio: what works and what doesn’t? 3.  Look at examples of ‘customer focused’, experienced, etc. how is that expressed in design (also in other industries? 4.  Gather images (keep a folder on you desktop) 5.  make lots of collages

On consistency in product families 1.  works well when you develop many products 2.  works well when you direct the design (not too customised) 3.  Works differently within a category than between categories 4.  use all design layers

Case 2 nlisis

Case 2: NLISIS chromatography Objective: develop brand vision and design guidelines based on deep understanding of users and internal stakeholders. Then manage all expressions for the ﬁrst 2 yrs. Instruments: generative sessions, lead user sessions, team workshops, project mgt. Results: brand vision, design guidelines, design management market intro, DME award

Internal research: the entrepreneurs, their vision, strategy and aspiration

external research: lead users and their expertise, annoyances and dreams

Building a brand:" where internal and external meet

Brand based " multidisciplinary design strategy

Brand based design guidelines:" briefed to several agencies

The roll out: all disciplines in parallel, all based on the same vision

The reward:" the Design Management Europe Award 2008

Exercise 2 brand design strategy in practice: Making brand design guidelines

The case: LVD

Three groups: 1.  form: What do you think LVD aesthetics should be? Look at the main form but also at details, colour, proportions 2.  interaction: What do you think LVD ergonomics should be? How do you operate the machine, how do you design the interaction? both 2d and 3d 3.  materials and construction: What do you think LVD material and construction should be? Look at combinations, details, structure

Tips: 1.  your discussion is more important than the result: write conclusions and thoughts next to your collage or in it! don’t try to make it look too nice, it’s about the process! look for categories 2.  pretend LVD doesn’t have a design language yet: see yourselves as design consultants who start on a new job start from scratch: what should they do, given their vision and values? 3.  design is about solving problems and creating value: especially for the interaction group: be creative! think some years ahead as well.

Conclusions 1: A well considered brand design gives you •  A focused and relatively cheap way to build a brand •  A guide that facilitates choice •  Conﬁdence •  Differentiation •  Recognisability •  Trust

Conclusions 2: •  From strategy to brand to design guidelines is possible •  It requires careful steps, some patience and involvement •  And it requires design expertise! •  There is a general process but every situation is unique •  This is how we did it in the NLISIS case:

Thank you!!! erik@zilverinnovation.com christa@zilverinnovation.com www.zilverinnovation.com www.branddriveninnovation.com

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branding and design in B2B companies

by Erik Roscam Abbing on Nov 18, 2009

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branding and design in B2B companies — Presentation Transcript