BRANDING

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Brand is everything and everything is brand

Brand-building budgets and opportunities are everywhere. Within those companies that have a high brand visibility, there is an understanding that every operational budget has two tasks.

It must first attend to the purpose for which the budget exists, but additionally it must support the brand through its intent, actions and visual appearance. Seeing the big brand picture will expose budgets that have never been maximised.

Brand building is not the sole responsibility of the marketing department. There must be an understanding and a belief at the top of the organisation that high brand visibility is truly important to the success and well-being of the company. Most often this is not about bigger budgets; it’s about awareness and belief.

Nothing is neutral, nothing is excused. It either contributes to the brand or it works against it.

‘I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination’

Jimmy Dean American singer

A move to include plant-based products to the existing ranges of those derived from bees, gave opportunity to redesign the company symbol. Opposite is the new ZhiFengTang symbol.

Over the years, we have had many long-term brand partnerships. Few have seemed as unlikely and yet ultimately amazingly productive as our association with ZhiFengTang (the people who know bees). In 2011, we first encountered Mr Li and his team and discovered obstacles that, at the time, seemed to limit the likelihood of a successful development of a brand. At the time, all of the company’s products were derived from bees. Honey, propolis, pollen and royal jelly comprised the portfolio. The original need for our involvement was motivated by the need to shift the brand identity to communicate not just the original product source, but also the inclusion of new products derived from plant material. At no time have we been able to have a direct conversation without the presence of an interpreter, upon whom we relied to accurately communicate marketplace information, briefs and on return rationales for the work and the strategies that directed it. The project list evolved from the original brand identity project to embracing all aspects of the company’s resources, sub-brands, multiple ranges of packaging, store design, promotional material, roadshows, new product development, community information programmes, sets for educational television programmes and their titles, the facades of the corporate headquarters and its interiors, product information and sales areas, the concept and architecture for a museum dedicated to the bee, its surrounding gardens, an international honey marketplace, a children’s interactive play world and an onsite hotel. Belief that design thinking maximises and influences every corporate expenditure has ensured that the brand story is ever-present and that the business strategy is visible.

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Variations of the well-known yellow and black bee stripes became ownable and acceptable for trademark registration with the injection of microscopic textures found in the body of the bee. Varying the width and colour of the stripes enabled the individualisation and ranging of a large volume of related Propolis and Royal Jelly products. Opposite are the prototypes for the highly priced new seasons traditional gift giving health products.

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BRANDING + INTERIOR DESIGN 978-0-7643-5129-7 $29.99 240 pp. | 6" x 9" (152 x 228 mm) | HC DESIGN CHRONICLES 978-0-7643-2223-5 $79.95 256 pp. | 9" x 12" (228 x 304 mm) | HC

Recognise Me

Ken Cato, Foreword by Tony Speath

A book on branding by one of the world’s leading branding experts

Author Ken Cato has fostered and continues to foster global design and branding talent through a number of high-profile and popular educational initiatives

The author identifies companies that drive their business by design, featuring examples to demonstrate best practice to drive broad recognition

Brand recognition is the goal of any enterprising organization. Where competing products or services are similar, identification is paramount. A brand’s identity makes an enterprise’s strategy visible. Brand design is the ultimate factor that drives an enterprise toward recognition. Ken Cato in Recognise Me draws on wisdom gained by the interactions of Cato Brand Partners across more than 50 years, with clients from over 100 countries and in almost every imaginable area of business. By focusing intently on many examples of brand design and use, Cato shows how great brands are made by those who know and respond to them. His insights are interspersed throughout with those of leading personalities in business, the arts, and community, emphasizing the exceptional significance today of effective brand identity.

About the Author

In 1970 Ken Cato established Cato Brand Partners in Melbourne, Australia. With Ken still at the helm and offices in 16 international locations, Cato has worked in over 110 countries.

Tony Spaeth’s contributions to the emerging field of corporate identity began in 1964. He was a firm believer in the use of design as a corporate leadership tool, integrating the social ingenuity of corporations and the graphic arts in the process of naming and design.

Author Location: Australia

AVAILABLE NOW

ISBN: 978-0-8953-8129-3 Size: 9 1/2" x 9 1/2" (241 x 241 mm) Pages: 400 Price: $80.00

ISBN 978-0-7643-6326-9

Illustrations: 300 + images Binding: hardcover BISAC: DESIGN / Graphic Arts /

Branding & Logo Design DESIGN / Graphic Arts / Commercial & Corporate BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Marketing / General