simplified version of brand thinking paper

1. Brands Need to be Like
Snow Globes
Julia Sullivan

2. “A brand is an entity that engenders an
emotional connection with a consumer.”
Stanley Hainsworth, former Creative Director at Nike and Lego

3. I like to think that brands need to be
snow globes. Snow globes are made of
glass, and sometimes they are shaken
up. When the snow settles, the scene is
almost always beautiful.

4. Great brands must be transparent, and
sometimes they get “shaken up” with
controversy. When the dust clears and
the truth comes out, they need to prevail
with a great image.

5. Brands need to be clear and good.

6. The pieces of a brand need to be carefully
examined. These pieces come in the form
of the leaders, the foundation, the mission
statement, customer service, the
employees, the product, the tone used in
their social media, and much more.

7. Many brand indicators stem from the
creation of the company or product. Who
created the company? Why did they do
it? How did they do it?

8. The more clear and consistent a
brand is, the easier it is for the
consumer to understand and
recognize that brand’s identity.

9. “Brands are verbs. Nike exhorts.
IBM solves. Sony dreams.”
Dan Wieden, Wieden+Kennedy cofounder

10. Brands need to be clear and good.

11. “If a company lacks soul or heart, if it
doesn’t understand the concept of “brand,”
or if it is disconnected from the world
around it, there is little chance that its
marketing will resonate deeply with
anyone...

12. ...It’s a lot like putting lipstick on a pig.”
Scott Bedbury, former brand consultant for Nike and Starbucks

13. Brands need to have a pure core in
order to have a chance in this day in
age, where consumers ask for
transparency or dig for information
themselves if they have to.

14. “The brand already exists. It’s
already at work in the minds and
hearts of people. Maybe they’ve
just overlooked an aspect of it.”
David Fowler, Ogilvy’s Executive Creative Director

15. The End.