FutureBrand news, views & insights: November 2022
Why do you work?
Many years ago, I was told I should have a headline at the top of my CV.
So I wrote this line:
I want something other than a car to drive me to work.
It made me smile then and it’s never seemed more pertinent.
If you had taken predictions of the future at face value, all of us would have been replaced in the workforce by robots by now. As it turns out, the demand for people only seems to be growing and talent acquisition feels more challenging than ever.
That last paragraph also happens to be the first part of a blurb I wrote for an upcoming webinar where I’ll be exploring the role that your brand plays when employees choose which company to work for. Spoiler alert, brand isn’t the only reason, but it is one of the key reasons.
What’s more, we know from the FutureBrand Index 2022 what those key drivers are:
Trust in the company
Inspires change for the better
A company which respects and enhances people’s lives
…and, in preparation for the webinar, we’re surveying attendees to understand their own perceptions and experiences, and it’s already proving interesting to reflect on the early themes emerging. In response to being asked why they choose to work for their current company, for example, two-thirds mention ‘the people and culture’ – unprompted.
I’ve still got a week to put the finishing touches to the presentation and discussion, but I daresay that it’s already proving to be a big year for building your brand for employees. If it’s not already at the top of the company’s agenda, it ought to be – and if you’d like to join the webinar, let me know and I’ll leave the side door ajar so you can sneak into the Zoom room.
(In the meantime, don’t forget that you can also read my deep dive into this year’s FutureBrand Index here: five personal highlights lying beneath the headlines that have piqued my curiosity after another year in the life of a brand.)
The golden thread
When you strengthen the link between your brand’s purpose and the everyday experience, your brand gives your business a measurable competitive advantage.
It’s more than a mantra, it’s demonstrable in the data – and it’s also a golden thread that has led another two of our recent projects to be shortlisted across four different categories at this year’s Transform Awards.
Firstly, our work to transform the Asian Football Confederation’s portfolio of competition brand identities has been shortlisted in two categories at the Transform Awards Asia:
– Best brand consolidation
– Best visual identity from the sports, travel, leisure & tourism sector
Secondly, our work with Innowell to transform their brand strategy, identity and experience across their mental fitness platform has been shortlisted in another two categories at the Transform Awards ANZ:
– Best brand evolution
– Best visual identity from the healthcare & pharmaceutical sector
The Transform Awards Asia and ANZ winners will be announced in the same week in November in Singapore and Sydney respectively, thanks to our clients for their support and fingers crossed that the work wins Bronze, Silver or…Gold?
Financial service you can depend on
Every time we rebrand a business, product or service, it’s offers the opportunity for us to see the world through a different lens.
This time, we went back to 1887 to understand the roots of TPT Wealth, explore their rich heritage as one of Australia’s oldest providers of wealth solutions, and create a fresh future for one of Tasmania’s most familiar finance faces.
With the launch of their new website, it’s a new beginning for the brand as they continue to grow into a diversified financial services business and expand TPT Wealth’s national footprint across Australia.
In the words of Angie Dreese, TPT Wealth’s Senior Marketing Manager who led the rebrand project:
“Proud of this one. When I joined TPT Wealth just over a year ago, I knew there was a story begging to be told about the rich heritage and genuine care at the heart of an organisation with eyes fixed on the future.”
You can find the case study here: a combination of brand strategy, design, language and experience to ensure the new brand will be a symbol of change*.
*Not simply a change of symbol.
The boy from Ballarat
“I’m from the country and studied design at a regional university. At the time, I remember finding it a little daunting to make the move to Melbourne and, once I arrived, I had no idea how to crack into the industry.”
Those aren’t my words.
That’s our Creative Director, Josh.
He’s speaking about his experience of moving from Ballarat to the big city in pursuit of a career in creativity. It was neither an easy path nor a path well travelled, and it’s that experience that has helped shaped our own thinking around diversity and how we might play our part in encouraging greater diversity in the creative sector.
Specifically, we’ve launched a paid internship program exclusively for regional and rural students. We will host four to six interns each year, with the first student from Federation University in Ballarat – welcome Ash! – followed by the next wave of students joining from Deakin University’s Geelong campus in February 2023.
Quoting Josh once again:
“If this internship program can help make the leap a little easier and a lot more enjoyable, as well as create more opportunities for more diverse talent, then I know we will have made a meaningful contribution to the growth of the creative sector.”
I’m happy to say that the news has reached the likes of AdNews and others, so please do spread the word as we’re most certainly hoping to expand our remit and reach further into regional and rural Victoria over the coming months and years.
It's golf. But not as we know it.
This year's Golf Business Forum and PGA Expo featured Victoria and me sharing our work on Australian Golf – and Victoria subsequently moderated a panel discussion on how attendees might play their part in helping to shape perceptions and drive demand so that more people play more golf.
It was an all-female panel of industry leaders from on and off the course – Oonagh from Funlab (creator of Holey Moley), Biz from Sattler & Co, and Sarah from Clublinks – and on reflection, three comments stood out for me.
Firstly, Oonagh’s guidance to avoid falling into the trap of feeling overwhelmed by the degree of change by focusing simply on “the best next step” so that you can enable sustained transformation over time.
Secondly, Biz spoke to her experience at Barnbougle – a golf destination that not only appeals to everyone from the hardcore enthusiasts to social players – and she reinforced the notion that you can appeal both to your core customers and to your newcomers if you build your brand to be versatile. In her own words, “We don’t want to change golf, that’s why we here” and so it is that an open mind can drive some of the most significant change from the inside out.
Thirdly, Sarah explained how any brand relies on pivotal points of interaction to drive customer engagement. She described these as “moments of truth” and highlighted the outsized opportunities presented when you are able to identify and then deliver on those in ways that are meaningful and therefore all the more memorable.
Thanks to Oonagh, Biz and Sarah for joining our panel for all your ideas and insights to help turn strategy into reality.
What’s next?
Last but not least, if you happen to be at a loose end in Melbourne on Tuesday 15 November, I’ll be taking to the stage – or at least to a bar stool – to talk marketing in 2023.
You can find tickets here. Alternatively, I have two free tickets to give to the first two people who write to me to ask for them...
That’s it for another month! Hope you enjoy reading and find some useful insights for your own businesses and brands. As ever, I’m be happy to hear all and any feedback – so please do comment, subscribe and share.