You
I’ve been workshopping, talking, and listening to, people about their brands,
and the notation of distinctivity—the characteristics of differentiation.
Of course, as any brand strategist, designer, steward, you might be thinking, “yes, I work on a brand—
but, myself, me too, I’m a brand, right?”
Sure you are.
Brands are enterprises sparked on passion, a profoundly human character; for passion is a way of being, and the people that initiate any start-up, or manage brands that last—for years, decades or centuries—are continuously igniting the evolvement of the narrative as they, and team colleagues, their community continue to co-inspire the trajectory of its storytelling.
And brands are made by humans. For humans—with, in all likelihood, human qualities and stories that—to the present parlance of the moment are relevant, humanly resonant and authentic in their capacity for relationship development. They’re embraceable because they’re real. And you, you’re real, right?
It’s a question.
That question, of course, starts with the person, that being—you, your “Youness,”—the onliness that makes up the holism of your storytelling, a chromosomal cartography that carves the personal narrative of your journey.
It’s you, how you’re made, and what you’re made of—and what you make of it.
You in your human brand journey could be likened to the historical arc and spanning of an enterprise.
Made by a person—the formulation of you–, to be shared with another person.
Brands are made by people
for people—here for you alone.
In our work: analytical circumambulation—the experiential walk-around, researching, naming or creating visualizations for enterprises—including celebrity, human-based brands—we look for distinction, unique character, only-points, something that no one, no other brand, has; it becomes a quest for the what about you, or what about the brand is a point of dissimilarity.
Memorable, because it’s contrastive, distinguished and variant.
Tremor mapping
GIRVIN named Tremor® for Procter & Gamble—a tectonic wave of teen consumer insights, in a WOM model—the distinction was the wave-related, rippling methodology in massing relationships and voice recognition in sharing stories, insight. Like the action set of unique attributes the name had to be volcanically contrastive.
So we named it Tremor, for P&G.
Speaking of fluent variation, as a naming tactic, we were asked by the team at Bellagio—particularly Steven Wynn and his lead marketing team—to create a distinctive naming strategy for Cirque Du Soleil’s exclusive, on-premise performance—again, distinguished and striking. Surprising. As amazing as the performance. This was a two part examination—one side, the actual performance place, a “circle,” an O and two, the innovation of its water-based experientiality which, in the nature of the French provenance of the CdS brand—which is eau, French for “water,” pronounced O.
Onliness in other distinctions.
GIRVIN named Zella for Nordstrom as a self-contained sports clothing brand for Nordstrom—
reaching-out, reaching-up, the lifestyle that is your activation:
the spirit of energized, earth-responsively dressed. Z, the future, a take-off for you, a next-up wellness activation.
The brand is distinguished, the naming is only-orienting, a shift to distinctivity.
GIRVIN named Viathon, the upscale bike for Walmart.com—celebrating distinction, the onliness of an extensively detailed bicycle, built by professionals, enthusiasts and cycling strategists for a wholly bespoke ride, built in varying terrain specs, wildly distinct to the Walmart line-up.
The key to the study of brands, the strategies of distinction, the factors of onliness lies in the authenticity of the narrative, what makes the enterprise as “we’re the only technology—consulting firm—beauty care—food—beverage–place that does…” What?
That aligns with a core premise of positioning—based on the conventional modeling of: brandname / age / demographic definition / core action or offering / and finally, the distinction in its mode of delivery.
Expanding beyond positioning—the lineal stride from innovation to deployment.
It’s how people are evolutionary in their expansions—and how
brands surf the trends of community to the future.
In both brands and humans, their enterprising interplay, we think of notations, explorations, team discussions, journal work, Brandquest® forums and Soul Summits.
Works for brands. And humans.
Does come down to “what’s unforgettable here,” thinking about brand relationships, brand mnemonics, places and experiences, there is always that proposition of “what is simply the greatest and most marvelous part of what I remember here…?”
That’s who you are. It’s only you.
Reach out if I can answer any questions.
Anything, for you.
info@girvin.com
Tim | GIRVIN | Strategic Brands
We collaborate in building projects in strategy | story | naming | messaging | print
identity | built environments | packaging
social media | websites | interactive
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