On being a horrible branding client.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “We learn something new everyday.” I agree. Today I have learned that I am a horrible client.

Why? Read on, dear friend.

When working with clients to build or rebuild brands, we start with a workshop to discover everything we can about where our client is now, where they want to be instead and why. This workshop has structure, but at the same time, it is a fluid exercise. We encourage clients to share anything and everything that comes to mind as we serve them small prompts, like Venus and Serena’s dad serving them balls, that they run for and hit repeatedly using a million different muscles. But never fear; we don’t make clients run, and no hand-eye coordination is necessary to attend our workshops.

Why do we have workshops and not worksheets? You ask because your time is precious and you never have enough.

We lead workshops either remotely or in-person to activate the collective energy of humans gathering and thinking together. In brand strategy, this is called collective effervescence. How often have you been in a meeting, discussing a project, and amid this loosely structured meeting, you have an idea? Would you have had that same idea on your own? At your desk? While filling out yet another form?

We think not.

We believe the world needs fewer forms and more human interaction.

More structure with a lot of space built-in for sharing, thinking together about specific ideas, dreams, goals, behaviors, data, learning, cultures and movements, history, the future, and results. When we think together, in a safe environment, we have one rule and one only. The rule improv uses for comedy is, “Never say no.” When someone shares something, you add your ideas, memories, or knowledge building on what was shared. This process diminishes the fear of failure and builds trust and collaboration, making it easier for people to be vulnerable and express ideas. The result is collective positivity and a safe space for sharing, creativity, and innovation.

So, why are we a bad client? Or why am I, Marni, a bad client? Because I hired someone to help us think about our brand. I have confidently and successfully done this for clients, but I am wrestling with the process for our brand. The first step was a worksheet to fill out. That worksheet is still blank. I haven’t done my homework, and in fact, I lost my it. Yikes. I need more help with branding than any of the clients at Seed Agency right now.

I am now going to go back to working on my worksheet. But if you feel like it’s time to think about how well your brand is connecting with your intended audience, let’s talk. I would rather help you than fill out this worksheet.

Photo by Patrick Perkins on Unsplash

How to make a brand resilient? Embrace change.

Around here we think a lot about change. Working with clients to create new iterations of products and brands, we are up to our elbows daily in looking at the process, and whys, the challenges, ways to make it more palatable, ways to inspire embracing the difference between where a brand or a person is now and their ideal vision of themselves in the future.

Yet every day in our own lives, we find ourselves bracing against change, looking for small ways to avoid it because let’s be real, the idea of constant change is disturbing.

Small amounts of change can feel refreshing, like entering a newly painted room or taking a weekend trip to a place with a higher altitude, or more sunshine than you’re used to. So how do we balance the need for stability and the need to remain open to small shifts? Small shifts that enable us to stay plugged into the world around us, but not overwhelmed? Shifts that allow us to emerge and grow into our best selves without feeling like we’ve changed so much we’re unrecognizable?

I remember a few times in my twenties being asked to house, baby, or puppy sit. I’d say yes because the idea of stepping out of my own life for a few days or a week intrigued me. Sometimes I not only lived in someone else’s house, but I drove their cars – think baby seats and dog hair. Living in someone else’s house and driving their car was delightful. I was fully immersed, dwelling in another person’s home, reading their books, cooking with their pots, and trying their spices. One time it involved borrowing a shirt, (think babies who spit up) but mostly I stayed away from wearing their clothes. That seemed like a boundary line inappropriate to cross, unlike using their soap in the shower and their shampoo. Pretty much I was still me, but everything around me was theirs.

I loved it. Until I was ready to go home again.

Going home after one of those visits allowed me to see my world with new eyes. It helped me discern what I wanted to keep and create more of and what I was ready to part with.

So how does this apply to work? To brands? Clearly, a brand cannot try on the trappings of another brand for a weekend. Or can it?

When we work with clients on content planning, we look at the competition. We look at who the competition follows and who they are followed by. We look at their hashtags. We sift and sort and learn from what they are doing. We go back to what we are doing, shift where appropriate, test and measure results. We continue to make small changes, aligned with our brand core, and watch what transpires.

Regardless of whether we wish to evolve our brands, or ourselves, the world is evolving around both constantly. Eventually, if we want to keep playing, we must confront change and find a way to participate.

And when we do this, we first remind ourselves why we do this. We do this because it would be our avocation if it weren’t our vocation.

So before you feel overwhelmed by the idea of change, first allow yourself to feel the joy that comes from feeling plugged in, listened to, alive, and understood. Then marry this feeling of joy and connection to the process of evolving. And then take the first step to assess where you wish to go from here and what needs to happen first to get there.

And if you’d like a partner to walk through the process with you, to guide you, and encourage and inspire then we are right here.

Our Process + You = The Process

Frequently we are asked, “What is Seed Agency’s process? How do you work?”

In answer, we share a narrative of the steps we take, successfully working through a project from point A to point Z.

But since the most recent share, the question remains in my mind, some part of me not satisfied. “Why?” I wondered, “Can my mind not let this go?”

And thus, I walked, I talked with team members and current clients, a past client, a smart neighbor. I might also have had too many cups of coffee and bars of chocolate while pondering.

The question is like someone asking, “How do you walk?”

Because our process of creating a new brand or reimagining an existing one has been honed over years of doing. But not thinking about or articulating the doing outside of the vernacular and jargon we toss around in the office, or in Zoom calls. We began to rethink how to articulate how we see our process. We added and subtracted. Putting down initial ideas, building on those, or taking away, adding more in again, sculpting, then stepping away.

By stepping back, viewing the question from a metaphoric 30,000 feet across a variety of industry categories, client types, not to mention personalities, a new view emerged.

We have our core approach, which is structured, methodical, tried and tested, but depending upon the client and the project, the approach is like a stretchy net, a structure that can be wielded to accommodate the needs of the client we are working with and the problem we are working to solve. It is structured and it is flexible. It is somewhat different in form and experience for every client and project we encounter. Like any relationship-based activity, the dynamic is slightly different every time. But good different.

The most important part is that our process is proven. As evidenced by the success of countless projects small and large, we create greater awareness, engagement, and ultimately value for our clients. For that, we are grateful, gratified, but also, just because, excited to experience the evolution of the process as we continue to be challenged by our clients and ourselves.

2022 Planning: Gen Z by the Numbers

One of the most crucial aspects of content creation for any brand is knowing your audience. Once you know who your audience is, where they hang out and the challenges they face, you can create engaging content, and share it where your audience lives. Seems simple enough. But how well are you balancing the audience you have now and the audience you’ll have in the near future?

Here are some reasons to consider how the Gen Z-audience figures into your content and creative strategy planning for 2022:

Gen Z currently comprises 70 million people in the US, with a combined spending power of $150 billion.

Defined as those born from 1997 to 2015 Gen Z shoppers now range in age from 6-24. Despite their young age, they number about 70 million in the US with a combined spending power of $150 billion.

Companies should expect Gen Z to hold their feet to the fire when it comes to social causes.

“For the last several years, the most important social cause to Gen Z has been combating climate change or protecting the environment. However, this year our research revealed a rapid shift where racial equality and social justice jumped to the top spot,” Jason Dorsey writes in MarketWatch. “This trend looks likely to continue given the emotional connection to the generation, and will have a big impact on brands, companies and investing — such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) — for decades to come.”

79% of Gen Z is willing to engage with a brand that could help them make a difference.

That initial engagement can lead to long-term loyalty.

77% of Gen Z shoppers say shopping online allows them to buy products from new or small companies they couldn’t find in stores, vs. 65% of other age groups.

While 54% of consumers still haven’t bought something they saw on social media, nearly 60% of Gen Z have done so.

28% of those have made purchases on TikTok. 43% on Instagram, 35% on search engines like Google or Yahoo, 15% on ecommerce-only sites like Amazon or Etsy, and 14% on fashion or trend websites.

What’s with all the numbers you ask?

While we are a creative company first, we use data and information to ensure that the messages we create can connect to your intended audience. Without data or strategy, creativity is fine art. At Seed Agency, we love the challenge of crafting art built on thoughtful strategic planning.

Are you looking to refine your brand strategy to reach new or emerging audiences? Let’s talk.

Source: How to Cultivate Loyalty with Next Gen Shoppers, The Robin Report

Humans fail to fit into most standard settings. Why that’s good news for brands looking to connect.

Are you a small, medium, large, or…?

Living in an industrialized world means that we are surrounded by systems that attempt to automate and simplify most activities, services, and products down to a basic set of options and settings. But nothing about you or your customer is a standard size. And that is a good thing.

The gold is in the variations.

People do many of the same things but with slight variations and reasons behind each one every day. Why do we do what we do? Why do we like what we like and crave what we crave? Our behaviors and thinking are a mix of built-in habits and responses to the detailed and ever-changing world around us with some hard-wired caveman stuff thrown in. Most behavior is driven by our need to accomplish large and small goals and a desire for doing this in the simplest and most enjoyable way possible.

Forget ‘branding’ and ‘positioning.’ Once you understand customer behavior, everything else falls into place.

Thomas Stemberg, founder of Staples

Ask why and then keep asking.

When looking for better ways to authentically and helpfully engage with your customer, look first at their actions before, during or after they use your product. What is your customer doing and feeling in each phase of the interaction? Now that you are in the mindset of your customer, how you can improve their experience?

Starbucks founder Howard Schultz discovered that between home and work, people could enjoy a small but meaningful moment for themselves, and the idea of the ‘third place’ was born. Starbucks still uses this ‘third place’ concept to craft a customer experience which results in a much larger imprint on customers than discussions of beans or coffee preparation alone.

Keep looking and stay malleable.

Getting into your customer’s mindset and asking questions is a discovery exercise that you can do to fine-tune any branding or messaging effort. To keep up with the ever-changing world your customers occupy, repeat the practice a few times each year to stay tuned-in to your true customer experience to maintain a positive impression.

Let us know how it turned out, or, if you don’t think this is your thing, we are but an email away.

Man plans. God laughs. Plan anyway.

They say that when man plans, God laughs. We find it wonderful to make people, and if possible deities laugh, so we plan.

We also find that if we don’t plan, we are super busy all day, but in the end, find it hard to measure just what we accomplished with all of that busy-ness. So, we set goals, create action plans, look back to see what worked and what didn’t work and use that insight to adjust and keep going forward.

In the midst of the holiday frenzy of parties and shopping, light shows, and end of year ‘best of’ lists, we are stopping for a moment and asking ourselves a few questions to help get 2018 off on the right foot. In our Girl Scout-inspired spirit of preparedness, we offer this list of things to ponder, as you get ready to kill it in 2018.

Winning: What marketing initiatives and events went right or better than expected in 2017? For each of those wins, name three decisions, actions, or people responsible.

Learning: What didn’t go as planned? What ideas failed? What were three things learned from those failures?

Change: In what areas do you plan to grow or change in 2018? And how will this set of changes solve problems that your customers or stakeholders struggle with now?

Actions: What are 3 action steps must be taken for you or your team to successfully make these changes? And what lessons from number two can you apply as you create your plan of action?

Assessment: How will you measure the effectiveness of the changes you are making? And how often will you measure?

Time: What timeline are you giving yourself and your team for putting these changes into place?

Partnership & Cookies: Who can be your partner in planning, mapping, strategically thinking about, taking action and achieving your goals? Who will hold you accountable to your timeline and pick up the slack or play cheerleader when you or your team are overwhelmed? That is the easiest question of all. Us!

Wishing you the joys of the season and a spectacular new year.

How do users really experience your brand?

The repetition of traveling daily to one place, driving into the same building or walking into the same space can cause an unintended blindness to what is in front of and around us. Understandably, most people are moving through life, intently focused on the next action steps needed to achieve their goals. This practice repeated contributes to success, but over time, can also contribute to oversights that can damage the perception of your brand.

How is space related to your brand, you may be wondering?

“The impact architecture has on a person’s mood is huge. Arguably these are the fundamentals of architecture: not how it looks, but how we feel it, through the way it allows us to act, behave, think and reflect,” says Dr. Melanie Dodd, program director of spatial practices at the Central St Martins art school.

Given that your mood can positively or negatively affect your entire day, why not leverage this information to benefit the perception and experience of your brand?

Below are 7 simple steps to help you see your environment and pivot where necessary to make a more positive impression.

Take a walk.

Start to gain objectivity by stepping away from your space and re-entering along a new or different path. If time permits, take a quick walk around the block and come back inside through an entrance not normally taken.

Settle into a moment.

Find a place to sit, ideally with a view of the busiest area. Put on your Margaret Mead hat and get curious.

What is the flow of users?

Where are they coming from? Where are they going? Where are they congregated? How does this behavior inform the placement of your signage, both fixed and temporary? Is anyone lost or confused? Is the flow of movement efficient?

A visitor will most likely not tell you that a sign could be in a more helpful place, or include a more clear message, but watching traffic flow for just 5 minutes during a busy time of day will.

How are people using the space?

Furnishings? Accessories? Signage? Is there anything that can be added, moved or removed to improve the user experience?

What do you hear?

Watch and listen to interactions with staff members: How are valets handling car flows? How are security and staff members handling check-ins? What phrases, questions, comments, and expressions are you hearing by those passing by?

Is there music? Is there clanging? Is there a buzz of energy or a din of chaos?

How does what you see align with your original vision?

And how is what you currently see aligning with users needs? Or not aligning?

Celebrate, ideate and take action.

Make a note of what’s working well or better than you envisioned. Reach out to staff or managers to pass on positive feedback and reinforce what’s working.

Address neutral or negative observations with a 30-minute afternoon brainstorming session. Bring issues to light and invite team members to share ideas for shifting the user experience toward the positive and in a way that is more aligned with your original vision.

Periodically repeat the steps above, to remain attentive to and nurture the brand you have so carefully built. Leverage the power of space to convert customers to a happy army of brand advocates.

Share your story.

Have other ways that you find objectivity in the familiar? Or tips for furthering the connection between your audience and your brand through curated spaces? Send us an email, we’d love to hear more.

Small opportunities to make big connections with customers.

How do you ensure that your brand and all that it stands for radiates out memorably to all who come in contact with you, your space, your services and your people? There are infinite touch-points to consider but let’s start with one that is easily overlooked: Passwords.

When guests arrive, settle in and ask, “Do you have wireless?’ or “What is your password?” This is an opportunity to not only provide a helpful amenity but also to convey something positive about the personality of your brand. What does your password do to help your messaging?

In 2016 I visited Copenhagen, a city that amazed me by the kindness of its people, innovative and efficient systems of travel and transportation and an almost indescribable sense of impish whimsy and joy beneath the surface. At one hotel, when plugging in for an afternoon lobby work session, the password was simply “Welcome!”, which, despite its simplicity and perhaps obviousness, made me smile and feel just that, welcome.

Later in the week, starving and a little damp after getting lost on my trusty hotel bike, I ducked into a restaurant a few minutes before closing and was excited to get a seat. The server was quick to share the specials as he placed utensils and the many dining accessories one never knew one needed before me. Along with a few delicious oysters and a glass of crisp wine, he met my question about wireless with a simple, “Yes you can.” which was both the answer and the password. I loved the place instantly.

How do you want your customers to feel when they walk into your space? How are they greeted by you, by your staff? What small but simple things can you do to make them feel welcome and as at home and at ease as possible? What warm and clever way can you add to their experience and leave a lasting and positive impression?

A look at your wireless password is an easy place to start.

Category: strategy