MIT Media Lab Identity, 2011 from readyletsgo on Vimeo.

Check out the discussion on the new MIT Media Lab Identity on the Under Consideration Blog. I personally think the logo is brilliant and love its innovative use of technology. A perfect fit for the client. Kudos to the brand’s creator The Green Eyl.

“We encourage creativity from developers and companies using Facebook Platform, but we also must ensure that applications meet users’ expectations. After constructive conversations with Burger King and the developer of the application, they have decided to conclude their campaign rather than continue with the restrictions we placed on their application,” a Facebook spokesperson told Inside Facebook in an updated statement. – As quoted from Inside Facebook

So even though Burger King had to sacrifice the “Whopper© Sacrifice” it certainly didn’t have to sacrifice brand loyalty as it proved that the love of the Whopper© sandwich was stronger than 233,906 friendships. Personally I was extremely impressed with the creative concept of the app and the “edgy” quality associated with de-friending for a burger. The app fit perfectly with the overall Burger King brand. While many companies are jumping on the facebook app bandwagon I thought it refreshing to see one done right. Kudos to Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Burger King. Hopefully we will see more like these in the future. Even if they only last a week.

Jamie Turner, Director of Consumer Insight for BKV, opened the event by stating that although human behavior has not changed much over hundreds of years, marketing has changed drastically within the last 10-20 years. Are we keeping up? Jamie noted that humans buy for emotional reasons but justify through rational explanations. As brand developers it is our responsibility to create and nurture these emotional connections that drive sales. In the ever evolving digital world it is important to recognize that customers don’t differentiate brands where they encounter them, and as Jamie so eloquently put it, “if you don’t guide the perception of your brand, it will guide you”. His advice was to make sure your web strategy was more than just a website, that it should exist as a hub across all digital platforms.

I listened to Chris Hill of Hill Group Design talk about creative’s role in marketing and I really appreciated his point on design firms that have a certain style. A good designer’s work and therefore a firm’s style should not be recognizable because good design should represent the client’s brand and not the designer’s vision. I agree but realize that as a creative director this is something that requires constant effort to achieve. It is important to put your client’s needs, and their audience, above your own taste. .. i.e. there is no place for ego in an effective campaign…  confidence, yes.. expertise, yes.. but ego and personal opinion, no.

Chris also had a slide with my favorite quote of the day. “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation” – Plato. I love how this translates to our relationships with our clients as well as our client’s relationships with their audience. Something we should remember as we work to build better relationships and therefore build better brands.

I look forward to next year’s event.

1. Message match
2. Visual design
3. Depth
4. Freshness
5. Interactivity
6. Launch speed
7. Non-conversion value
8. Boldness

I am particularly interested in his inclusion of the value of non-conversion respondents. These being specifically respondents who see your landing page but don’t convert on your proposed offer. His point on the fact that by clicking on your ad “they demonstrated non-trivial intent” should not go unnoticed or un-used. I often promote the value of a soft sell to my clients and teach them to become more aware of the importance of brand perception in all aspects of what they do. Whether or not a person initially becomes a client or customer is important, but what they feel or think about you or your company during the process of deciding to become a client or customer is just as important. This will stay with them when they decide to make a decision further down the line or if they decide to refer you to some one they know.

© 2009 Scott Brinker

To read the entire post please visit http://searchengineland.com/8-dimensions-of-excellent-landing-pages-21622

In contemplating the topic I often think about my own experience as a child–dreaming of being a singer/songwriter, belting out beautiful songs to star struck audiences who perhaps were moved to tears by my depth and range. Well if anyone has heard me sing along with the radio they would know that this would have been a long shot by far… I am completely tone deaf and I can’t carry a tune to save my life. So my aspirations of “finding my voice” in that way where very short lived. Thankfully my parents, siblings, teachers, and friends were not going to let me live in that dream world and taught me that I had other talents and other ways to express myself that still could perhaps one day produce something that evokes emotion. Because in the end it was the result that was important, not the means of achieving that result. This is something to remember when designing a businesses’ brand identity. Just like each individual, each business has it’s strengths and weaknesses, and a sustainable brand is built on these natural strengths.

I often like to think that I am not designing a brand but more often discovering or uncovering it.