Tag: Trends

Why is nostalgia in fashion among brands?

Posted on by Knom

Nostalgia brings us back to the familiar with positive emotions and memories.

The vinyl format, Disney remakes, the reunion of Friends… It is clear that nostalgia is in fashion, also among brands. It is a trend that recovers codes and visual resources from more golden ages, but also values and lifestyles.

No matter what generation we are talking about, nostalgia works for all age groups. It awakens memories and past experiences that touch our emotional core. It’s not so much that the past is better than the present, but that when we look back, we tend to keep the positives.

This is why it is such a powerful communication tactic that appears and reappears cyclically among brands, especially in times of uncertainty. However, nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake is not always a good strategic decision.

Each brand must assess very carefully whether it is an interesting move or just a stroke of luck. In other words, whether it fits in the long term with our ambition for the future and with the values we want to transmit. And, if so, whether it is credible.

Because it is not the same for Burger King to go back to past codes to recover the values of naturalness and authenticity, or for a brand like Peugeot to bring back its logo from the 60s when it should focus on evoking the future and innovation to face the imminent technological transition in the automotive sector.

Nostalgia works, but it is not always constructive. We cannot manage brands from a short-sighted vision that swings in and out according to the prevailing trend of the moment, but we must build coherent brands that forge solid links with the consumer.

Why is it more trendy to reuse vs brand new and rent vs. own?

Posted on by Knom

We want brands that are enablers of experiences.

You probably remember the slogan ‘It’s not what I have, it’s who I am’. And that phrase has probably never been more topical. The fact is that, at the moment, the experiences we have with products are more important than the products themselves.

A change in consumer habits that has been accelerated by many factors such as growing environmental awareness, a change in our priorities, or the lower purchasing power of the middle class.

All this translates into a certain shift in market supply, where brands in all sectors are beginning to rethink their business model or, at least, to propose alternatives to satisfy an audience that is looking for products that adapt to their lifestyle without renouncing sustainability.

A good example of this is Ikea Rental. The Swedish brand has been able to see that part of its audience is not looking for a piece of furniture in its catalogue that will last a lifetime, but one that meets their current needs and that they can change if one day their needs change. But it has also understood an increasingly aware public, which is no longer comfortable with the ‘throwaway’ and is looking for alternatives that help it to slow down a rhythm of consumption that competes with its value system. Many more brands are responding to this phenomenon, which brings with it a boom in the ‘second-hand’ market in the fashion industry or proposals such as ‘renting’ in the automotive sector. New models that are more committed to the circular economy and that understand that brands, at the end of the day, must be facilitators of experiences.

Why should your brand tell a story?

Posted on by Knom

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.

What do the most relevant brands of the moment have in common?

Posted on by Knom

They listen to the consumer and adapt based on their brand value.

This past year has been an earthquake for society as a whole, brands included. The pandemic has not only had a huge economic impact but has also shaken the relevance of brands for consumers who, from one moment to the next, re-evaluated their priorities.

The latest Prophet Brand Relevance Index makes it clear that brands that knew how to get truly involved in making the most of such a difficult time came out stronger. However, those that failed to respond to new needs were quickly replaced by consumers, who looked for other options.

The index shows that technology companies, such as Apple, experienced a sweet moment in terms of relevance, as they made it possible to connect with other people in a context in which it was not possible to relate to them physically. Moreover, in many cases, they enabled teleworking, providing users with health and job security.

Entertainment also came on many occasions through this medium. Thus, TikTok experienced the biggest boom during the confinement by entertaining the younger audience who, beyond being spectators, actively created and shared content on the platform. Little pills of joy that gave us a break, and that were key to our emotional wellbeing.

But we not only entertained ourselves on social networks or watching Netflix; we also spent more time playing with family and friends (Lego, Playstation) and recovered hobbies such as cooking, which in addition to killing off the flour in some supermarkets led to the rise of brands such as Amazon or KitchenAid in the US.

During this time, we have also become more aware of the importance of health and physical exercise, very limited by restrictions. Here, brands that were already betting on the digital experience stand out, such as Sanitas with blua, its digital insurance. It is also the case of Peloton which, when gyms closed, kept its users active and connected with each other; gaining in relevance but also in business (it practically doubled the sales of its bicycles and treadmills).

You don’t have to be a commodity to achieve relevance in difficult times, but rather understand the consumer through active listening, adjusting the brand experience to offer them an enriching experience that responds to their new needs.

Are we facing brand homogenisation?

Posted on by Knom

Brands with more uniform logos but with new ways to stand out.

We recently talked about how trends affect branding. Today we want to approach the subject of trends from a phenomenon that we have been observing in recent years in the world of brand design: the homogenisation of logos in some sectors such as fashion or technology apps.

From Burberry to Balenciaga, passing through Yves Saint Laurent, fashion firms have been moving away from serifs, light bodies and italics, to adopt a sans-serif style in a tall box that somehow standardises the haute couture industry.

The same is true when we enter the start-up ecosystem. While this world has specific needs in terms of usability that make some graphic solutions more suitable than others, we believe that there is plenty of room to come up with a personal and distinctive brand. You only have to look at Mailchimp’s rebranding to understand that there is life beyond logos with dry stick typography.

And it’s not just with big brands, there is a growing feeling that there is less and less variety in logos. In the past, designers lived more isolated from the work of others, which meant more freedom and braver proposals. Knowing the trends conditions us, makes us fall into what is popular, what is accepted by the majority. A phenomenon, that of homogenisation, which arises in a globalised and hyper-connected world, but which perhaps also has to do with the current of ‘liquid branding’, which advocates other ways of generating brand recognition and influence.

Because one thing is certain: the perception of a brand goes beyond the logo. We can be equally or more differentiated through the brand narrative, the art direction, the visual and typographic treatment, etc.

In any case, it is vital to understand that if we do not make this effort and let ourselves be carried away by the trends that surround us and what others are doing, we will end up creating perishable and meaningless brands.

How trendy should a visual identity be?

Posted on by Knom

Brand design must transcend trends, but also take advantage of them.

The accelerated pace at which we live means that many trends are born and die at the same pace. What works today is likely to be obsolete in a few months. It is no longer like before, when a certain trend or movement prevailed in a more obvious way, now many different design trends coexist at the same time. That is why it is so dangerous to entrust the design of a brand to a merely aesthetic fashion.

A maxim of branding is that it should be functional, but it is also true that brands cannot (and should not) completely abstract themselves from what is happening around them, trends included. We must not forget that visual codes appeal to the social imaginary and are linked to a popular understanding. In this sense, the concepts of “modern”, “classic” or “technological” are not static but vary with the historical moment.

Good design handles this with great skill, always finding the balance between trend and universal codes, those that steer clear of the volatility of taste. A good brand design will find current graphic solutions and at the same time contain that intrinsic ‘truth’ to the brand that makes it solid and different from the base.

Branding must be approached from a long-term perspective and, although it is fine to play with the trends of the moment, we must know how to choose them. We must transcend the trend or the designer’s own style and think about what the project, the sector or the specific client demands. Before being guided by a particular trend, we must consider whether it is relevant to our category, our current positioning or the consumer group we are targeting.

Why should global brands speak locally?

Posted on by Knom

In order to mean something, we must think and act locally.

For the first time in a long time, reality has confronted us with a common, pressing and global problem which, although on the one hand, makes us more aware of our globality, on the other hand, makes us more sensitive to what is close to us.

In this context, hyperlocality is gaining strength and as consumers we demand brands that are 100% adapted to us, responding to our expectations and lifestyle and that also help us to reinforce our own identity that distinguishes us in such a globalised world.

Faced with this, big brands must approach their strategy from a global but locally nuanced meaning, a meaning that allows them to convey authenticity and remain relevant in all markets. Because a global brand that does not adapt its portfolio and its communication to the local reality becomes a brand that speaks from common places and ends up meaning nothing.

Therefore, we must work on a common identity axis that reflects our unique personality as a brand but keeping in mind aspects such as the maturity of each market, its culture and idiosyncrasies and also the specific competitive position we play in that place.

Today’s great brands are targeting global, hyper-connected citizens but also communities with different traditions, issues and priorities. The advantages of a multi-local strategy are clear, but will all global brands be able to make the organisational and financial effort required to implement it?

Why is a spoken word worth a thousand words?

Posted on by Knom

Voice brings people closer and conveys truth.

We find it in the entertainment sector with podcasts, in social networks with audio notes and tweets, and in the user experience with voice assistants such as Siri or Alexa. We are living in a sweet time for the audio format which, far from reaching its peak, continues to grow.

But what does this have to do with brands? Everything indicates that it has a lot to do with brands. Purchasing through devices and voice assistants is one of the keys to the future of e-commerce. In the meantime, services such as Amazon Polly’s Brand Voice are emerging, offering companies the opportunity to create a personalised and unique voice to interact with their users. Because in the same way that we design your visual identity, perhaps it is time to consider what the voice of your brand is like: whether it is deep or high-pitched, whether it is young or adult, whether it has an accent, whether it speaks quickly or conveys calmness.

In a context in which proximity and authenticity are rising values, the voice is a resource to be exploited, and audio UX is a field to be explored for the most experiential brands.

Why do so many tech brands use illustration?

Posted on by Knom

Technology needs poetry to excite.

Not only Google, but also Shopify, Mailchimp or Dropbox… Every day more and more startups and tech companies are developing their own brand illustration system to better connect with their users.

Whether with the aim of simplifying ideas, humanising digital products, differentiating themselves from the competition, or generating brand recognition, illustration is a vital communication tool for today’s technology brands.

Gone are the days of literal icons and in favour of freer, more expressive brand illustration that, like words, helps us to modulate our brand personality according to our purpose and audience. Illustrations are now much more sophisticated and no longer simply translate the engineer’s complex innovations into user benefits, but form a whole brand language that conveys our story in a more relatable way.

What’s in store for brands in 2021?

Posted on by Knom

In a year in which the most searched for in Google has been “Why?”, we would like to end December with a bit of uncertainty for 2021 (at least in terms of branding).

For this reason, we would like to share with you some of the trends that most of the main branding consultancies and blogs agree on, and we would like to thank them for always keeping an eye on what the future holds for our sector.

Purpose will continue to be the beacon for brands

Beyond the what, the why a brand exists will remain at the heart of the strategy. A brand purpose nuanced by the how. We are at a time when consumers have become aware of the impact of their consumption choices on society, and are increasingly concerned about processes, origins, routes and so on. This year more than ever, brands have to combine profit with social impact.

There will be greater environmental awareness

Like people, brands are increasingly aware of the damage done to the environment by our consumerist excesses of the past. That’s why this year we will continue to see a surge in brands linked to the ‘Climate Movement’ and aiming to help consumers move towards a more ethical and respectful lifestyle.

Brands’ processes and backstage will be more open.

Closely related to the previous two points is the trend for brands towards transparency, honesty and participation. Eliminating the distance between what we say and what we do has a lot to do with using more transparent communication codes, but also with involving our audiences more in our own brand strategy.

Experiential will be the priority

In a year marked by social distancing, the physical and human component has increased exponentially in value. As far as possible, we will return to physical points of sale, where brands will seek to recover the more sensorial and tangible side of their product. At the same time, virtual events will emerge that increasingly mimic the face-to-face experience.

Empathy as a core value

Over the last few months we have seen how, despite everything, technology has not been enough to compensate for in-person interactions. However, brands that have listened and empathised with our problems, doing what they could to help us, have come out stronger. In the coming years, brands will become even more humanised and move away from the rigid brand manuals we know.