WoTW #21 – Chromar-boreality!
This wallpaper has inspired a new word… Chromarboreality!
Chroma – colour
Boreal – forest
ity – makes the word sound cool, and links it back to Velocity
Breakfast with Realtors
Friday – March 25, 2011
This morning, Kyle was invited to talk about branding and how it can be used to differentiate yourself — in real estate.
It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, the same principles and strategies apply. But, in real estate the layers of brands and competition are more complex than many other categories. To simplify it, the national body is challenged with promoting the value of Realtors as a whole, competing against the notion that anyone can sell or buy a home on their own. Then there are the various real estate agencies, big and small, corporate and independent teams intending their brand to be perceived as better and different than their competitors. Going one level deeper, you will find all of the agents competing for attention trying to stand out against their colleagues, which requires personal branding.
As in many industries, the tactics implemented by competitors and colleagues are saying the same thing, in the same way, and in the same place.
There is an opportunity to stand out, but it will require leaping beyond the typical rational messaging of functional features and benefits, such as product, service and price by creating an emotional position and clear distinct message to build your brand around.
Cover For Me
We are working from home today due to some office renovations. Stay tuned for more on the renos (that’s what they call it in the “biz”)!
WoTW #20 – Spring has sprung!
Well, almost. Maybe this week’s wallpaper will help it get here faster.
Our Russian is now Canadian!
Today is a big day around here, Olga Gorelkina was sworn in as a Canadian Citizen and we couldn’t be prouder. Chris, Chris and Karla were in attendance and also took the oath with the new citizens. Listening to recently sworn in immigrants speak was a moving reminder of how much we take for granted and how lucky we really are to be Canadian.
Congrats to Olga, Canada is lucky to have you.
Little Bossk On The Prairie or:Who’s the Bossk?
Brought a guilty pleasure of mine to work with me today. My original Bossk action figure from 1980. You might remember him from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Or maybe not. Does that make you cooler than me? That’s debatable.
Either way, his arms are long and he’s some kind of dinosaur spaceman. So that makes him cooler than both of us.
WotW #19: 8 Hours of Speedworld
This week’s wallpaper features Velocity’s Lee Froese tearing up the track at David Richert’s “8 Hours of Speedworld”. Velocity Branding is a proud sponsor of Richert Racing.
Differentiate Yourself
Brands are constantly competing for attention and the world around us is changing at an increasing speed. The need for ways to constantly differentiate and stand out has never been more important.
Kyle led a roundtable discussion on February 24, 2011 for CMA Manitoba about setting yourself apart.
More often than not, businesses try to claim differentiation based on having the best service, highest quality, or lowest price. Each of these are very subjective or can be duplicated – even beat – by competitors. So, how can you differentiate yourself from competitors when everyone is saying the same thing?
Many businesses get stuck on their functional benefit, they have trouble seeing past what they do. During the roundtable discussion we shared some ways to see past what you do by connecting with why you do it. The primary shift in thinking was to change from thinking of rational and functional messaging, to discovering an emotional human value to build your brand around an idea that really matters to people.
Change your functional brand into an emotional one.
Another way to differentiate yourself is through continuous and disruptive innovation. If you are constantly launching new and better offerings, you can widen the competition gap and avoid brand erosion. Ideas that are so big they launch you ahead of your competitors or even create new market space can be disruptive to your competitors, you may even find yourself in a new category clear of competitors.
Out-innovate your competitors.
A way to ensure continuous innovation is to create a culture of innovation. With a clear brand purpose leading and inspiring your company, you can communicate how innovation is expected and suited to every role within your organization.
Inspire innovation by creating an environment that feels safe to express and share ideas. Provide assurance and support so people aren’t afraid of learning from failed attempts of seeking a better way. Understand that business as usual is no longer acceptable.
Brands are built from the inside out.
WotW #18: Live the Jarrett Dream
Here’s an ode to employee Jarrett Moffatt who, if you haven’t heard by now, created www.livethesheendream.com.
Oi on Dragons’ Den
Oi Furniture was featured on CBC’s hit show Dragons’ Den (Season 5, Episode 18, original air date: Wednesday, March 9, 2011). More than two million viewers from across Canada watched to discover what happened in the Den when Jason Abbott from Cocoon pitched Oi Furniture. The segment was filmed back in April 2010. View the show
Jason behind the scenes at Dragons' Den
A brief history of Oi:
Oi Furniture was founded in 2006 as the result of an internal initiative at Cocoon. The result – a new brand of environmentally low-impact cellular furniture – captured international interest and attention when the first prototype was unveiled at New York’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF).
Since that time, Oi cells have gone into limited production and have landed in commercial and residential spaces in cities including New York, Miami, San Francisco, Vancouver, Toronto, Minneapolis, and Chicago. In December 2010, Oi was chosen as part of WIRED magazine’s holiday ‘wish list’ and was featured at the WIRED pop-up store in New York. Oi’s packaging was also recognized by TheDieline.com – the world’s largest package design website – as one of the top 100 package designs around the world for 2010.
“The idea for Oi may have been born at Cocoon, but it needed to be its own brand in order to grow,” said Kyle Romaniuk, Principal at Cocoon Branding and also co-founder and VP, Brand Development at Oi Furniture. “The success of Oi speaks to the strength of Cocoon’s ability to continuously innovate engaging brands. People are surprised to hear that a branding agency created and launched a furniture company, but I believe the possibilities of what you can create are endless if you are truly open to innovation.”
“It was so exciting to have the opportunity to participate in the Dragons’ Den process,” said Cocoon’s Jason Abbott.
