How to Win the Ongoing
Popularity Contest of Consumer Branding?

It might sound like old wine in new bottles, but redesigning a product is an effective approach to cement your new position. Consumers know something has changed, and it gives your brand a fresh visual appeal that helps it stand out from the competition and connect with people.

How might you convey the position visually? What is the idea that will help you express your purpose? Then go through your five design elements – logo, font, colours, illustration and the fifth element – and make sure your identity is based on your strategic foundation. Balance brand legacy with ambi- tions and look thoroughly at your context to understand what it takes to stand and connect to your target audience.

Designing just for design’s sake won’t cut it, though. When brands try to reach new customers by redesigning the packaging, it is important that the new design communicates the brand’s new position and illustrates why the new packaging isn’t simply window-dressing.

A fresh idea, strong concept and strategically grounded design signals change to consumers, sparks curiosity and cements your desired position. So remember to give them what you promise.

TOMS GULD BARRE: HISTORY REPÉATS ITSELF. AND THE TASTE OF NOSTALGIA IS SWEET.

Ask any Dane, and they’ll know the Toms Guld Barre (golden bars of chocolate). So to call it a Danish icon is almost an understatement. Born in 1932, the iconic chocolate bar in gold packaging is on every candy shelf and is synonymous with great taste and good times. A chocolate gold standard, so to speak. Fast forward 90 years, and Toms is ready to give its classic chocolate a new lease on life. We helped develop a new design to revitalise the brand legacy and make it contemporary.

What makes Guld Barre unique is its heritage, shape and taste. To underline these assets, Toms and EVÉRLAND introduced a new proud logotype with hints of the original design. We amplified the taste appeal with vibrant colours and created an efficient design system so consumers can easily find their favourite flavour. The stripes reflect the original chocolate bar shape and the satisfying sound of the chocolate breaking apart.

“The new design speaks to all ages and personalities”, comments Sabine Wahl, Nordic Marketing Manager at Toms. “It’s true to the Toms Guld Barre brand and timeless but still fresh and contemporary. It truly reflects our brand essence.”

The words we use have great power over how we perceive something. Written communication can shape perceptions and alter ambitions – and move hearts and minds. So, choose your words carefully. The product can be the same, even the information, but the communication can give it connotations of exclusivity, democracy or anarchy, respectively. As long as it fits your desired brand position. Change the conversation in your favour through your tone of voice and the key messages you coherently communicate.

The same is true for storytelling. All great brands have a story to tell. You can utilise this story and tell a million stories that all support the core narrative. This enforces the brand identity and verifies the position you want to take. By telling stories, you make your product more relevant to your target audience by sparking curiosity or being the brave or cheeky one on the product shelf. And if you manage to speak the same language as your customers, you come off as one of them. One they can trust and one they want to engage with.

Still, it’s wise to remember that actions speak louder than words. You must deliver on what you say and ensure your communication matches your initiatives. This goes for greenwashing, product benefits and branding in general. Don’t say it if you can’t back it up.

OLALA!: A DISH IN ITS OWN RIGHT

Lab coats, petri dishes and machine tubes. Typically, alternative protein doesn’t give off the delicious and taste-focused connotations needed for mainstream popularity. A different path was crucial to drive consumer preference and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable food option. So, when we worked with French start-up OLALA!, we took the opportunity to change the conversation. We turned OLALA! into a food experience driven by curiosity and taste.

French founders François Blum and Simon Ferniot know taste is key to success. They’ve developed the next generation of delicious plant-based seafood from ingredients of algae origin. But to make it popular beyond vegans and vegetarians, a different approach was needed to brand alternative protein. We wanted the taste ambition expressed with every brand touchpoint, even when casually mentioning it to your next-door neighbour (OLALA!).

When nearly all competitors focus on rationality and sustainability, we focus on the emotional aspects of having a great meal. Desire and taste make for a much more robust platform. So, that’s why all communication builds on great taste and the feeling of eating good seafood. Most evident in the name which reflects a well-known feeling–“ Oh là là”–indicating a pleasant surprise.

Visually, we looked to the bistro. The place where foodies tend to meet and mingle. It’s a sensory and social space where conversation flows back and forth, like seafood and chardonnay. We got inspired by the incredible vibe of French bistros when building OLALA!’s design universe. It’s premium yet subtle. It’s active yet understated. And its full-on food appeal puts the meal centre stage. The off-white resembles the tablecloth, the illustrations are golden, up-lifted and outlined, and the logotype reminds you that what you put on your plate is surprisingly healthy, tasty and good for the environment.

Consumers who buy into your brand will leave the store with your product because they bought into your design and its story. The two are intertwined. So, you must look into what you’re selling (story) and how your products deliver on this promise (design).

Going over your product portfolio is the strategic process of improv- ing a product range to meet or redefine consumer needs. Product development drives categories forward and changes how we shop, consume, and interact.

When looking into the opportunities in your product portfolio, be aware of the inside-out perspective. Improving functional benefits here and there is often not enough.

Rather than letting production capabilities dictate your product innovation, it is worth looking into occasions and demand spaces to guide your thinking. When done right, a refined product portfolio can lead your innovation, cement your new position and drive actual demand.

Managing your product portfolio is about defining values that work across your product series and characterise your brand. Each product (line) should target different segments and serve different needs. This makes it easier for consumers to navigate your portfolio. And it creates synergy across your product offerings and brands while minimising internal cannibalism. Something seen all too often.

SCHULSTAD: A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

Some brands let their production capabilities define their innovations. Others are guided more by their brand promise. At Schulstad, new product development has been a constant for over 140 years. One of the key ingredients behind their success and a way to remain a lunchbox stable.

However, with a growing range of products, Schulstad also needed structure to direct the innovations and portfolio going forward. We helped Schulstad define three product series with three distinct value propositions based on the revised position. Besides several classic products, “Levebrød” is the healthier option, “Det gode” is the more artisanal bread experience, and “Signaturbrød” is the more premium offering made in collaboration with some of Denmark’s best chefs and artisans. A range exclusively invented to help reconfirm the position as the Danish pioneers of bread.

The growing range of 50+ products has now been systematised, creating synergy on the store shelves and guiding product innovations in the future. Furthermore, each series avoids cannibalising each other and clearly communicates its value from brand to consumer – in line with Schulstad’s vision.

Which feelings and associations come to mind when consumers think about your brand? Understanding and controlling the link between brand and experience can do wonders to steer people’s perception of you in the desired direction.

The vacuum when you open the packaging. The smell at every shelf in the flagship store. The way the clerk is dressed in a white shirt with an untreated canvas apron. These are some of the multiple ways to shape the whole brand experience, and ultimately, how consumers perceive your brand. It’s about how to activate all the senses in ways that tell the right story.

And of course, it goes without saying, that your product should always match the experience. Otherwise, your efforts are wasted. Consumers will feel cheated, and it will damage their perception of your brand.

The experience is also about your daily encounter with the brand. Where is it placed, and what shape, colour and medium is used? Add the tonality and the visual identity, and you have a brand experience of maybe 1-2 seconds. But make it an experience. And repeat it.

GORM’S: A HOMEMADE DINING EXPERIENCE

Gorm’s greatly influenced how Danes think about pizza. Back in 2008, they twirled a fast food thing into a homemade experience. Suddenly, pizza was a delicious experience with quality ingredients. A mouth-watering mix of Danish craftsmanship and Italian ingenuity served on organic sourdough with crispy crust; Gorm’s signature move. 15 years later, the pizza revolution has become mainstream in Denmark, and it’s time for Gorm’s to reinvent itself once again.

Gorm’s has always been about Italian food. Much more than pizzas. First off, you have its renowned social restaurants. Yet, they expanded the concept to pizza bars and pop-up pizza joints and also added many homemade ready-to-cook products.

Whether at restaurants, in-stores or online, the Gorm’s experience had to be consistently mouth-watering and a good time. Together, we defined the strategic platform to keep the story straight across touchpoints, and then, we designed the visual identity that would communicate it the right way: homemade food in a local cosy atmosphere.

Every single Gorm’s restaurant is inspired by the surrounding archi- tecture, and designed to have a good time. It’s your local restaurant where everybody feels at home. In contrast, the pizza bars and pop-up pizza joints are more of a grab-and-go pizza experience. It all comes down to how much time you have. Whatever the occasion, you can always count on Gorms for a good time and a great experience.

Where do consumers meet your brand? There is a big difference between showing up at Burning Man or Berlin State Opera. The former is letting loose, and the latter is dressing up. Both spark very different associations that people, over time, will tie to your brand.

Placing your brand in a new context helps cement your new position in the market. It builds and strength- ens emotional ties between your desired target audience and your brand. It enables you to show your brand relevance (again) to consumers. Yes, at first, it is scary to place your brand in a new setting, but it is essential for rewriting people’s associations with your brand. And to pull it off, you need to be persistent. Immerse your brand into this new context, trust the process and reap the benefits.

There are numerous ways to go about this. From celebrity endorsements, brand collabo- rations, and genre crossovers to carefully orchestrating a whole new global scene for your brand to act on. These are more tactical approach that needs to be guided by strategic decision for optimal brand-building.

LA VIE: STANDING OUT TO DRIVE IN NEW FANS

French meat alternative start-up La Vie is on a mission to unite vegans and meat lovers. Its award-winning lardon and bacon is the tool and a brand universe that celebrates life. Because to make a change, it is best to do it while smiling and being cheerful.

To win over consumers, La Vie needs to get out there. In stores, social media and, of course, at fairs where people gather to try out the latest innovations in plant-based foods. We worked with the French company on a stand and food truck that drags people into the La Vie brand universe, triggers them to taste the trail-blazing products and join the movement.

But this is not your typical trade stand or food truck; it is a La Vie street food restaurant. An integrated kitchen spreads a mouth-watering smell while the bright and happy colours seduce the eyes, clearly standing out from the neighbouring booths. At multiple fairs, the stand have drawn atten- tion and gotten people talking before, during and after. Now that is how you change the context to stand out.

Research shows that on average 50% of our purchase decisions are based on emotion, and in some categories, emotions have a staggering 90% say in what we end up purchasing. Recently, Harvard Business School professor Gerald Zaltman said that a whopping 95% of our purchase decision-making takes place subconsciously.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?

Today, many psychological scientists assume that emotions are the dominant driver of most meaningful decisions in life. One of them, Daniel Kahneman, a heavyweight psychologist in his field, says we use two primary modes of thinking to process information and make decisions.

In his book Thinking Fast and Slow, he argues that System 1 is intuitive, instant, unconscious, automatic, and emotional. System 2 is slow, rational, conscious, reflective, reasoning, and deliberate.

Deliberate thought is more reliable, but we rarely stop, reflect, and make slow decisions, because, in many events, our responses are automatic. This is especially true when shopping.

On top of this, making a decision while feeling hungry, angry, lonely or tired (or God-forbid a combination) emotion wins 100% of the time. Yup, a solid 100%.

And with the corona pandemic, we’ve also seen how fear influences our shopping behaviour. A study by Harvard Business Review concluded that we prefer familiar brands in times of uncertainty. In a pandemic, we buy what we know because we want to regain control and a feeling of certainty and security.

From 5,000 daily brand messages, only 12 make a lasting impression on us. How do you beat the other 4,999 brands?

It shows that every brand is fighting fiercely to come out on top. Most are merely adding to the noise.

Over the years, working with hundreds of brands, we have found a simple yet highly effective formula to catch and engage the right consumers. We call it Clarify & Amplify.

It sounds simple, but it’s not. As humans and, therefore, brands, we want to tell the world about all the fantastic things we do. But in the process, we fool ourselves into believing that other people have the time and energy to absorb everything we throw at them when reality is quite the opposite.

CLARITY IN YOUR COMMUNICATION

Sharpening your brand message is about helping people to make easy decisions. Make it easier to navigate the shelves, locate your products, and get your message across. In the end, it’s all about selling products, of course.

Doing so requires some effort. You need to do two things: clarify and amplify. Let’s briefly touch upon how we do it at EVÉRLAND.

First, we clarify. It involves a lot of stakeholders, and it often involves killing a lot of darlings. We start by mapping all your brand messages. What do you want people to know about you? And more importantly, what do consumers expect from your brand? Once an analysis is in place, we create a hierarchy. What is the essential brand message of all the messages?

The goal is to find the one that sets you apart from the competition. The one authentic message that you can claim because you are you. The message that makes you stand out and appeals to your target audience.

Now, you’re ready to amplify your message.

LOUD AND CLEAR

Next, we amplify. Now, we turn strategic decisions into creative execution.

You need to utilise all five elements in a brand identity: logo, colours, font, pictures, plus the fifth element. Make them sing in harmony and be emotionally engaging. And using your 4C analysis, you should have a good understanding of what that visually translates to.

“The fifth element?” you might wonder. The fifth element is often a subconscious graphic element, making it all come together and recognisable even without the right context. Think of how these examples work even without the brand name, the Amazon smile, the Coca-Cola curve, Nike’s swoosh or Arla’s clouds.

WORTH YOUR WHILE

It’s no easy task. It takes time to craft a design that fits the brand essence and ticks all the boxes necessary to stand out. And when it comes to design, there is no right answer. There is no formula. How does an insight or company value translate into colours? What is the fitting font for your brand promise? However, with your 4C analysis, you’re well on your way to finding the right commercial answer.

When done right, the results are outstanding. Unlike other design tasks, where taste becomes subjective, we measure sales numbers and brand recognition growth. When it works, sales increase, market share goes up, and your appeal widens. If not, well, it’s back to the drawing board.

A common phrase we often use is “Don’t design for designers”. Forget your personal preferences. You are already biased because of your work with design. The trick is to strike a chord with the broad population, not a small niche segment.

The design needs to help sell products (lots of them) and create preference long-term, all while being attractive to a wide and diverse audience. To achieve that, you must tap into today’s consumers and ensure your design is contemporary – and will stay that way. After all, when it comes to products, it is one big popularity contest.