Brand-Building in Brave New Worlds
Through recent projects, we’ve witnessed firsthand how AI can enhance creative work, creating a fantastic opportunity to adapt our approach.
By Adam Charlton · 19 September 2024
Posted in Insight
— Generated with AI tool, Midjourney, and edited
Two fantastic projects we’ve been working on recently have sown seeds of thought around AI’s relationship with to creativity and specifically within brand-building. Something I have previously been a little suspicious of. I was in the “It’s too good to be true” camp. However, the advancements have, for us, and for many, been too hard to ignore, and this year we have been learning so much about AI and how it can improve our work.
AI is recalibrating many industries. “AI-powered XYZ” has become commonplace as companies fight to remain relevant. AI is the bubble of all bubbles, but we still cannot underestimate its power to change everything.
A new kind of mass production
Across most industries, AI gives us the power to raise productivity and lower cost. We can simplify supply chains, and analyse huge amounts of consumer data into personalised, more and more effective advertisement campaigns. Selling more, for less. In the creative space in which BrandCraft exists, we’ve touched on AI for brainstorming, and pointing us in the right direction, but execution remains a couple of steps away… for now at least!
The need to remain relevant will never cease to have an impact on businesses. When a company approaches us, they’re often exploring the idea of rebranding of some kind. There are a few options we consider and talk through with them during the brand strategy process. Fundamentally, we can completely rebrand from the ground up, or we can refresh the brand.
Total rebrand
— Ground up complete repositioning and execution
— Higher risk, but potentially higher reward
Refreshment
— Subtler, regrouping, and refreshment
— Often an execution exercise, keeping the soul of the company unchanged
— Lower risk, part of a longterm strategy
Reducing the risk
Whichever path we take, eventually we must take the plunge. We cannot remove all risks. Not making a change is a decision and a larger risk than the risk of change. No matter how much it hurts. A business in a downward trend needs to be addressed, with urgency. We must risk something. No risk, no reward. We can do a huge amount of exploration, workshopping, and competitive analysis and it will ultimately still be a risk.
The first rule of rebranding is to be careful not to throw away brand equity. Whether we’re keeping the core values of the business, if they remain true, we can keep the business heart, the soul, and refresh the execution.
We’re nuanced with this risk, one of our core pillars is to understand our client’s business models, to deeply empathise with their position. This deep level of understanding and buy-in from us, is a fundamental part of working with our clients through these periods of transformation. We’re unlike a lot of our competitors in the fact that we commit our time to our clients throughout the whole project, and after. We do not jump and run. Your success is our success, because it’s the proof that we build great brands.
I love the work we do, the unique challenges our clients bring us and I am honoured when we are trusted to reimagine decades-old organisations. We love getting to know new markets and diving deeply into the history of our client’s brands to find that small rocks we can craft into a diamonds.
Further links
What we’re reading 📚
‘The Infinite Game’ by Simon Sinek. This book is a beautiful articulation of business theory, just as applicable to startups as it is to multinationals, and it changed how I think about our business.
What we’re watching 📺
‘The Bear’, a chef who is obsessed with perfection, who works 14-hour days and is obsessive down to every detail. Somehow relatable! (Who doesn’t love an incredible underdog story about food!?)
What we’re listening to 🎧
‘The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway’. Scott is a brand strategist, a business legend, and a man who speaks his mind. Be warned, he also tells some truly terrible jokes.
What we’re working on 👷🏻
Finishing a dream project for The University of Hong Kong.
Ongoing design support for HKEX.
Finishing a brand identity for a new global biotech company.
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About the author —
Adam moved to Hong Kong in 2012 and founded the branding agency BrandCraft. Adam has built brands for companies at every growth stage and has consulted for some of the world’s most recognised companies.
