Brand Rezonance

As a kid, I would visit my dad’s office sometimes. It was an elegant teak panelled office with wood and glass walls neatly compartmentalized into a big hall and a few cabins, one of which was my father’s. I would tip-toe into his office, making sure even my footsteps were muffled, since the average decibel levels were quite low. A big picture of about a dozen white men in the reception, without any caption, was the only meaningful piece of an Environmental Graphic. They were, I was once told, the board of directors of the company in the UK.

This one time, I was hanging out near the pantry, and this guy familiar to me walked up and asked me if I was having fun. I didn’t know what to say, so I said, no. He nodded, “Yeah, it is a boring office, isn’t it?”

That’s what companies wanted those days, an elegant, non-distracting workspace which suggested seriousness regarding work. Casual interaction was limited to washrooms and the cafeteria, or in smoking zones.

Years later, in my first EG project for the India centre of a big financial corporate, I learnt that to attract and retain the best talent in the market, the company not only wanted to pay their employees well, but keep them engaged. What engagement meant though, the picture was much clearer later.  

Take the average 8-9 hours people are expected to spend in office every day. Back in the day, in most offices, they would come in at 9, work with a certain pace, take about 2-3 breaks in a day, and leave soon after 6. That would fulfill the expectations of the company nicely enough.

Over time, the simple, non-distracting ‘follow the book!’ workplaces have given way to vibrant, well-branded, ‘Let’s try something different today’ workplaces. Wacky graphics, witty lines and ‘food for thought’ inputs are scattered on walls and bays, while cafeteria graphics suggest finesse and hunger-aid. Receptions are adorned with bits from the corporate image, and meetings rooms with thought-challenging messaging.

The need for engagement within a workspace comes from the need to provide a vibrant, fun, open environment which stimulates imagination, constantly delivers subconscious messaging regarding the company values and culture, and helps employees move faster, refresh quicker. The whole aim is to shape the path employees walk every day, in their natural course of work.

And while it may have all started with new-age companies’ need to stand out, a real part of the job is also to make sure no two workspaces seem alike, for no two work-cultures are alike. From themes as diverse as ‘think lateral to solve problems’ to ‘we side with the customers in business’ to ‘we are work-execution specialists’, workspaces have evolved to speak about the company through great design.

When it comes to Environmental graphics, great work has been done around the world, and the way most of it has evolved stems from same need why it became so popular in the first place, to be different. While some may call these thinkers, ‘experts in environmental branding’, I personally feel there is no such thing. How good you are is a direct result of how well you understand the company and the audience. There are no fixed rules, all it needs is the need to understand the soul of a company, and paint the town with sharp graphics that speak the soul.

The final result, if simple, witty and well-crafted, will define a project well done. If people come to work every morning, and for the next 2-3 years, not say, ‘Man, office ambience is so boring!’ - I would consider it a project well done.

Saurabh Kejriwal

Saurabh is Creative Thinker at ReZonant.

I must admit, one can learn a lot from the friendly neighborhood portable green grocer, better known as Thelawala. While his daily morning vocal exploits may not be entirely palatable to those with inclinations to tuck in late, he sure knows how to make an announcement. Perhaps our railway announcers should take a page or two from his book. So what does he do to get his products noticed? He announces them quite efficiently, and different vendors stake claim to different pitch bands. Positioning, eh?

Lets picture the common entrepreneur at a business meet. Are you able to make a good announcement? Does your company really get noticed at once, or do you find yourself struggling to make a presence? While you are still trying, the likes of “I want to jump into every single networking dinner” to log in the numbers are constantly edging you out wasting precious time uttering pleasantries that are as contemporary as a fog horn on the Titanic.

So where is your personal announcer? I call this a brand horn. Take for instance, an important dinner meeting where you are likely to bump into the prospects that you have been looking to meet. In the 10 seconds someone ( by this I mean, someone important ) gets to have a look at your business and more importantly, you, there could be significant spoils to be gained provided you make an impact. Here is a dummies approach to 5 brand horns that may do the trick for you.

1: Get yourself a fancy title: Gone are the days when prospective mothers-in-law and fathers-in-law would drool at a “director” title. Not cool anymore in business circles unless you want to target the wedding set. Or for that matter, the film set. Get yourself a title that can evoke a little conversation. One of my friends responds to “Chief Catalyst”. Whether the title reveals inherent matchmaking abilities during chemistry class during his school days or a strong desire to change the world, only he knows. But the title does stick to the mind of someone receiving his card.

2: No cheesy pick-up lines, please: You may have heard this one. “Hi, I am Swami from XYZ company. Here is my card, can I have yours?”. Swami may think his direct approach accompanied by serious finger cruncher hand-shakes are killer, but ask the others. “Is that a visiting card collector?” is more likely their response. Get introduced only to prospects whom you feel are absolutely necessary and spend more time understanding their business, there is a good chance they may ask you in detail about yours.

3: Differentiate your communication material: Do you have a standard A4 brochure, which follows a set template? If so, it may be time to have a good serious look at the brochure from the perspective of a user. Standard sized promotion material tends to get clubbed with similar sized material to be conveniently dumped at the next dust bin. Get into a format that helps differentiate your product. One of our clients uses a foldable accordion-style brochure that reportedly gets picked up more often. Why? The size perhaps, since it fits into a pocket easily.

4: Challenge the mind of the user with your business card: Think of a puzzle, use of folded paper, use cut-outs; anything that can engage the receiver of your card. Does your card stand out or does it get lost in the crowd? Think, and it can make a difference.

5: Attire that stands out: It may be a great idea to have smartly designed T-shirts or shirts that have your brand emblazoned right at the front. With advances in printing technology, it is now possible to get even a single T-shirt customized to your brand. Wacky is good if it works for the industry in which you are in. A more serious satirical approach can build humor in just the right dose. Yes, good humor does work with everyone, without exception.

MP Hariharan