Pablo Guinot is CEO of REMO Mobility, the startup of charging points for sustainable vehicles born in 2019 with the aim of positioning itself as the future of mobility. A project for which we worked for since its beginnings, which allowed us to define together such crucial aspects as vision, brand values or main target audiences.
Tag: Experience
Knom &. A few minutes with Josetxo Cerdán
Josetxo Cerdán is a Professor of Communication at UC3M and was previously the director of Filmoteca Española, when we collaborated on the brand restyling of the institution. A symbol of the city of Madrid and national cinematic history, Filmoteca Española needed an update to remain relevant.
What should we learn from Sharing Economy brands?
Collaboration is the gateway to connection.
More and more collaborative economy brands are becoming part of our daily lives. We are talking about Airbnb, but also BlaBlaCar, Fiverr, Wallapop, TooGoodToGo, or Etsy, among others.
Technological platforms that not only facilitate the exchange of products and services, but are also changing the user-brand relationship in all sectors, both technological and traditional.
Because when you allow the user to be an active part of the equation, when you give them the power to manage their time, money and space, there is no turning back.
And this paradigm shift is driven by factors such as digitalization, the economic crisis, the desire to belong to a community and the rise of consumption habits based on sustainability principles.
Coworking, coliving… In the end, these are models based on the most desired attributes of contemporary society: flexibility and personalization, transparency and control, collaboration and community and, finally, experience and sustainability. And all with the greatest possible immediacy.
A change of model that, taken to the real estate market, for example, translates into more agile management, flexible temporary rentals, customizable service packages, shared leisure activities, integration of home automation systems, ecological materials and sustainable spaces, etc.
In short, the consolidation of Sharing Economy brands represents a change in the relationship between brands and consumers, through a more horizontal model that is also more demanding for organizations.
Why is it vital to activate and consolidate a brand?
Brands are what you live with them.
The creation of a brand is key to position a company in a differential and relevant way in the market. But the brand does not end there. If we want to make it credible, we have to activate it, manage it, maintain it and supervise it.
This is the only way to avoid just paying lip service and losing people’s trust. And only then will we achieve success and consolidation of that product or company.
Because in order to build a strong and efficient brand, we have to keep asking ourselves questions: What should our presence in commercial spaces be like? Where should our innovation go? What should our brand content be like? What can we do for users beyond selling them products? In short, we must ask ourselves what we want our audiences to experience with us in the future.
It is a matter of creating a consistent ecosystem in which the different pieces that make it up project the right perceptions and build in the same direction.
Planning an experience that is consistent with our DNA and our purpose, and that is also consistent over time and across the different points of contact, is fundamental to achieving a strong brand.
Can merchandising be aspirational?
The definitive return to brand activation.
A few days ago we saw how a well-known transport and logistics company made its entrance at New York Fashion Week with its brand merchandising. Yes, merchandising.
A game of contradictions that begins the moment you pay a considerable amount for something traditionally free. And it’s not the first time we see that hype around a brand’s merchandising. We all remember the furor over DHL T-shirts, LIDL sneakers or even Deliveroo jackets, all of which fetched inordinate amounts on the second-hand market.
But is it just a question of aesthetics and nostalgia or is there more to it? Why does merchandising connect so much with young audiences? Perhaps it has something to do with the consumer’s tendency to engage with brands that truly align with their values, that share their concerns. Brands that represent them in some way.
And when it comes to expressing our attachment to a brand, merchandising is a very direct way of doing so. Objects that, from the perspective of brands, represent an opportunity to be present in the life of their consumers, interacting with them and making their value proposition tangible. A way of activating the brand that should be coherent and help us to build the desired brand image.
The truth is that, in any case, making our merchandising an object of desire is a masterstroke.
Is the metaverse an opportunity for your brand?
On the border between the real and the virtual, the place to connect with the younger audience.
Although the term ‘metaverse’ was first used in 1991 by Neal Stephenson in his novel Snow Crash, it wasn’t until recently that the concept really began to take shape.
But why now? In a context of pandemic, where the physical world has been synonymous with restrictions and obstacles to socializing, virtual worlds have been an escape for an entire generation. Gaming platforms like Roblox or Fortnite have allowed millions of young people to continue connecting and sharing moments with their friends.
Virtual concerts, NFTs, immersive experiences… A new universe that takes different forms and where brands are already entering. Each one with its own personality and attributes, marking its own strategy to reach this new generation of users in a unique, creative and social way.
Nike is betting on immersive experiences such as the one that turns its point of sale into a national park, while Louis Vuitton proposes a virtual world through which to explore the history of the brand and buy new collections in the form of NFT.
The Internet has long ceased to be a showcase of the physical world. If brands want to be relevant in the metaverse, they must leave behind the idea of decorating the stage with ads that imitate real life and be aware of the potential for their users to interact with the brand in an active way, co-creating products and incorporating them into their virtual adventures.
Although the metaverse is still in its infancy, a developing medium, no one doubts its potential. Specifically for brands, the metaverse is the opportunity to empower users and make them live experiences that transcend reality, experiences that would be impossible to offer in the physical world.
Why is privacy a key value for technology brands?
Big Data should be a win-win for users and brands.
Downloading an app, reading an article… Nowadays it is difficult to make profitable use of the Internet and the tools of the digital environment without having to accept an endless number of data transfer consents.
And although it is now part of the digital routine, as consumers, we are starting to ask ourselves what is done with our data and what we receive in exchange for giving it up.
Because while the benefits of technology are clear, its use should not mean giving up control over our data. We should be able to decide who tracks our searches, who knows our location, who has access to our images and, above all, whether this exchange of information is really worth it to us.
In a year in which the public and private spheres have blurred as never before, we are also more aware of the value of our privacy. And brands know it.
Apple, for example, has taken a step forward by making its iPhone 12 a champion of privacy management.
Netflix, for its part, continues to be a benchmark in terms of the use of data for the benefit of the user. Its management of big data and its algorithm for predicting which content to recommend based on our use of the platform manages to create bonds through a sense of intimacy between the user and the brand.
And that’s the key: using our information to improve our user experience and not just to sell us new products.
Why are digital native brands going physical?
Brands have understood the value of physical contact to connect and build loyalty with their audience.
Touching the fabric of a garment, using a smartphone before buying it, or simply meeting someone to go shopping. While the pandemic has turned our consumer priorities upside down and accelerated the digitisation of many sectors, it has also revalued real contact and real experiences.
Brands have realised the potential of the physical shop to activate the brand promise and generate a deeper bond with the customer. As a result, more and more digital-native brands are deciding to make a move away from in-person.
We saw it in March with the arrival of Amazon Go in London and we see it now with the arrival of Google in New York. But it’s not just the big brands that are making this journey. Startups such as Hawkers and Pompeii decided days ago to go for more direct contact with their public.
The crux of the matter is that these big brands have in mind something much more ambitious than a point of sale. These spaces plan to take technological innovation a step further, to host workshops and product presentations, to inspire users by letting them experiment with the brand… In short, to create a community with which to strengthen ties, share values and have memorable experiences around their brand.
You only have to walk into any bank branch to realise that experience is now at the heart of the business. And a simple, quick and intuitive exchange is no longer enough; it is taken for granted. Brands must now go further to differentiate themselves.
According to an Accenture study, nearly half of Gen Y and Z prefer brands that make them part of something bigger and help them engage with causes they believe in.
In any case, we cannot forget that the point of sale, however experiential it may be, is just one more point of contact and that we must work the brand holistically, being consistent and coherent with our brand promise in every moment we share with the consumer.
Why is good design important in ‘the public’?
The Administration must serve the public in both form and substance.
If design and good communication are effective and widespread tools in the business environment, why are they not also used in the public sector?
One only has to observe the controversies that arise every time something public is redesigned, with better or worse success, to realise that there are many who consider design as something merely aesthetic. An artistic and accessory element for which public money should not be spent.
In the face of this perception, we must explain that design is much more and that, when used well, it is a very powerful tool for an administration that, in addition to managing, must know how to communicate effectively both what it does and the consequences that its management has on the people.
Because good design is more than just finding a beautiful and creative piece. Good design has an impact on the target audience, increasing the effectiveness of communication. Good design modulates tone and language, facilitating understanding and connecting emotionally. Good design makes procedures intuitive and accessible to all groups regardless of their socio-cultural level. In short, good design reduces the distance between citizens and the administration.
Because, as Louise Downe, the former Design Director of the UK Government, says, the citizen is a user and not a client and, unlike the client, the citizen has no choice but to deal with government services day in and day out.
For this reason, it is essential to redesign the administration in a way that, once and for all, brings public administration closer to the street, facilitates the completion of bureaucratic procedures, encourages political participation and, above all, empowers the citizen.
Why should your brand tell a story?
A brand is a story that we want to be part of.
Human beings connect with stories, with the stories we create either to better understand the reality in which we live or to unite around common goals.
Because let’s not forget that a brand is a shared fiction, a set of meanings and perceptions. Of course, behind that fiction there has to be a truth, a basis on which that perception is built because, if it does not exist, that image will quickly fade away.
Unlike traditional stories, brand storytelling does not have an end. Instead, brands evolve indefinitely. This requires constant brand building, a continuous dialogue with the consumer, and also a balance between flexibility and coherence that allows us to adapt to the new context without losing our essence.
On the other hand, social networks make it impossible to have complete control over the narrative of our brand. Today, managing a brand is not about talking one-way but about generating initiatives and actions that allow the public (external but also internal) to express themselves and, in some way, to make the brand their own. More than generating conversation and interaction, it is about co-creating the brand together with our audience.
In such a fragmented and individualistic society, consumers are hungry for inspiring stories that connect with their values and allow them to act on the world in their own way.
Narrative gives us the power to turn our brand into a motivation beyond the product or service we offer; into a state of mind that inspires a lifestyle. In short, to build coherent stories with our brand that excite and mobilise, allowing us to endure over time and become part of the collective imagination.