HUMAN BRANDS & BRANDED HUMANS

FEBRUARY  2013  

PRATICAL SESSION

ARE  BRANDS  BECOMING  MORE  HUMAN?    OUR TOPIC TODAY

ARE  HUMAN  BECOMING  MORE  BRANDED?  

ARE BRANDS BECOMING

MORE HUMAN?

AT  THE  ORIGINS:  A  BREAK-­‐UP  BETWEN  BRANDS  AND  CONSUMERS  

“Today,  brands  are  becoming  more  and  more  like  humans,  They’re  taking  on  more  and  more  human-­‐like  traits.”  

Elle  Luna,  IDEO  communica>ons  designer      

SOME  AGENCIES  TOOK  THIS  "BRAND  HUMANIZATION"  IDEA  REALLY  SERIOUSLY    

MORE  BRAND  ARE  PUTTING  A  HUMAN  FACE  OR  SHOWING  HUMAN  CHARACTERS    

SOCIA  MEDIA  HAS  ACCELERATED  THE  PHENOMENA  WITH  CONVERSATIONAL  BRANDS  

«  In  my  social  feeds  and  yours,  brands  look  a  lot  like  people  -­‐-­‐  their  posts  occupy  the  same  real  estate  as  updates  from  my  mom,  they  face  the  same  blank  box  and  photo  uploader  before  publishing  as  I  do.  On  Facebook,  the  biggest  marketers  in  the  world  get  accounts  that  look  just  like  mine.  »  

Noah  Brier,  co-­‐founder  of  Percolate  (ex  Barbarian  Group)  

BUT TRUTH IS…

People  are  complex  organisms,  products  of  tens  of  thousands  of  years  of  evoluGon.  Brands  are  a  device  invented  relaGvely  recently  to  make  it  easier  for  consumers  to  idenGfy  a  product  and  differenGate  it  from  its  compeGtors.  Most  people,  when  encountering  brands  online,  realize  that  there  may  be  humans  associated  with  it,  but  the  brand  itself  isn't  a  person.  Consumers  don't  want  brands  to  be  people.  

Corey  Mull,  senior  analyst  at  CEB  

REALITY  CHECK  

3  TIPS  FOR  BRANDS:  FROM  A  HUMAN  BRAND  TO  A  HUMAN-­‐CENTRIC  BRAND  

BE TRANSPARENT,

NOT HUMAN-SKINNED

TREAT HUMANS WELL, THEY’LL RETURN THE

FAVOR

BE USEFULL AND

INNOVATIVE, BY FOCUSING ON HUMAN

DIGITAL

ARE HUMAN BECOMING

MORE BRANDED?

«  Regardless  of  age,  regardless  of  posiGon,  regardless  of  the  business  we  happen  to  be  in,  all  of  us  need  to  understand  the  importance  of  branding.  We  are  CEOs  of  our  own  companies:  Me  Inc.  To  be  in  business  today,  our  most  important  job  is  to  be  head  marketer  for  the  brand  called  You.  »  

Tom  Peters,  writer  on  business  management  prac>ces  

PEOPLE  ARE  BECOMING  PRODUCER,  MEDIA  AND  BROADCASTER  

PEOPLE  CAN  BUILD  THEIR  OWN  REPUTATION  ONLINE  

BUT TRUTH IS…

SOMETIMES,  TOO  MUCH  PERSONAL-­‐BRANDING  AND  AUTOPROMOTION  CAN  ANNOYED    

3  TIPS  FOR  HUMANS:  FROM  SELF-­‐BRANDING  TO  SELF-­‐ESTEEM    

MODESTY AND HONESTY ARE

KEY

DON’T DO VIDEO CV. NEVER. IT’S NOT GOOD FOR

YOU.

DON’T BE COOL*

*This  one  was  borrowed  from  Bruce  Mau  Manifesto,  one  of  the  best  read  on  crea>vity,  ever.