year. Two days of local and international speakers left one inspired and energised

to return to base & get creating. There were a few speakers whose design work &

approach resonated with me – they are well worth looking up.

Rafael Rozendaal_Visual Artist, Brazil

www.newrafael.com

With the internet as his canvas, Rafael’s work pushes the boundaries of design and

art. Like the great surrealists, his web canvas pushes the fundamentals of

perception. The work is fresh – appearing as an animated cartoon or painting, often

pairing motion play with moving light and spatial experiences. These works of art

have their own unique urls, which are then ‘sold’ to the art buyers on the premise

that they remain available on the www for viewing. Genius!

Some favourites were: http://www.goodbyefarewell.com/

www.yesforsure.com,  http://www.deepblackhole.com/

Morag Myerscough_Environmental design, UK

www.studiomyerscough.com

Morag appeared on stage in a riot of colour – no surprises that her work continues

to express her obsession with it as a medium. A student of St Martins College & the Royal

College of Art, she delivers the unexpected – challenging preconceptions about the

urban environment with a playfulness that is liberating to watch. Her exhibition work

was particularly inspiring -from dressing ‘Alan Aldridge’ to Formula 1 exhibits, she

interprets the narrative through sound and sensual movement and playing on

object scale.

Thomas Roope_The Rumpus Room, UK

www.therumpusroom.tv

Concept is king, especially when paired with social media strategies that fuse the

real world with the possibilities of interactive. Thomas is clearly a clever creative

(remember the Trainspotting opening credits? -they’re his) and has since won a

myriad of A&D awards for his work with The Rumpus Room. The basis of many of

their ideas is to create something worthwhile to share – his Lily Allen clip for XBox

quickly became viral with millions sharing uploads. He delivered some wise advice

on mastery and the urge to get better at stuff and with work like that – I can’t wait to

see what follows.

Time and again while I was travelling, I compared New Zealand to the countries I was in, and time and again I returned to one question. Why do we, who are such great travellers and innovators, still undervalue what we have?

Way out here on our emerald island surrounded by a teal sea we live on the edge of the world and the edge of civilisation. This distance both allows us, and drives us to push boundaries, which we do constantly. Our population is small and our environment pure (well in comparison to most countries, though we can and should do better). The truth is, given our size we will never be able to compete on price or volume, so why are we buying in to the commodities game? Our sights as a nation should be focused on best practice and best quality. Everything we produce can and should be of incomparable quality. Our products should be grown, crafted and packaged in a way that makes them the ‘haute couture’ or beluga caviar of their individual fields (I forgot to mention I also ate my way through Europe – delicious, but alas no caviar). No Michelin star restaurant worth its salt would be seen without New Zealand meats and wines on their menus, a seven star hotel without NZ product could and should be seen as a joke.

Earths population is large and part of it is looking for the utmost in quality, a lot of the time they are receiving fake luxury and they know it. True luxury is not produced by large multinational companies – who ensure you can find a sparkling designer store on every high street in the world (… doesn’t that create a pang of McDonalds to you?) and make sure bottles of champagne can be found in any good wine store and restaurant on the globe. True luxury means rarity, authenticity, provenance and craftsmanship. Our land, our know how, our passion and our size, mean New Zealand can truly own this territory. All we have to do is realise our worth and act on this.

Our ‘number eight wire’ attitude, that has allowed us to accomplish so much, can also be seen as a hindrance. Once we have patted ourselves on the back (sometimes in astonishment we have actually ‘done it’) for creating something incredible with half the resources anyone else has available, we often forget that the actual end product is of huge value and should be treated and marketed as such. The same goes for our natural products. Everything grown and produced in this country is nurtured in one of the purest places on the planet and should be produced, packaged and marketed to reflect this.

I was horrified to hear a few years ago that brokers representing different New Zealand meat companies in the UK actually undercut each other to win business. Hello! Can we wake up and realise we are competing with the rest of the world NOT with each other. As a small nation we have to work collaboratively to succeed, gain ground and a reputation for incomparable quality. We have to collectively realise and believe in what we have, knowing that although we consistently punch above our weight we are still small in comparison to many countries. Our industry is ‘boutique’ and our products rare. Even products we treat as commodities are in the eyes of the world limited edition. If we don’t respect and value our limited edition products we cannot expect the world to believe in them either. Policy, strategy and integrated design for these products is at the core of making our products globally more successful. We congratulate all ‘ Tall Poppies ’ for sticking their necks out and opening the doors of what’s possible for the rest to see. If we all work collaboratively in our fields of expertise and as a nation, we can build a culture, environment and structure that allows us to produce unparalleled products – establishing us as the land of pure quality. I may be an idealist but ideals are what change the world – it’s food for thought.

We are not at war with our customers, far from it. Neither are we at war with our competitors, especially way out here in the South Pacific where one would hope companies realise their competitors aren’t their next door neighbours but companies abroad – though listening to this speaker you would believe we should be ‘nailing’ them with a skud missile or three. Warranted, we are New Zealanders, a healthy respect for our rivals along with a good dash of competitiveness is in our blood – but I think it is our collabroative and resourceful nature that gets us ahead.

You need only look at any of the social media sites to see why they are so popular – the words ‘share, like, and comment’ appear on all of them. It is human nature – in fact there is a need in all of us to grow, contribute and connect. These platforms allow us to to do all three. As individuals we want to feel good about ourselves and the world we live in – for most of us that does not include living in a war zone. The most successful companies today have dropped the fighting talk and have realised how empowering a little tlc can be. They engage, they listen and they are generous – they value people and see them as individuals, not units or targets.

People remember you for how you make them feel. Make sure they feel loved.

After 7 years of working in Sydney and London, my arrival in Wellington, New Zealand in 2003 was an awakening to this idea of how “Small as the new big” could work. Accustomed to being siloed into a rigid freelance offering or a rigid role within an agency, which in turn would be siloed into their own, rigid position within the industry, the hub like mentality of the Wellington way was at first a shock to my, rigid conditioning to the way things were done. However the advantages of this smaller approach became rapidly evident.

I’m not here to pour scorn over the bigger agencies, they have their own very well defined silo within the industry and especially within Wellington. This muse is more about reflecting on my experiences of “the way of the small”.

Back in 2003 I received my first creative briefing here in Wellington. A public consultation was required with a strong need for a great understanding around the complexities of public transport. The agency I was with back then was a small company of 6 folks, each with a diverse set of skills and experiences to bring to the table. I learnt and watched in awe as my then CD gathered an extended crack team of strategic firepower from all four corners of the country (well one chap came up from Christchurch, another from Auckland, but I was enjoying the A-Team analogies for a moment). Within days the bespoke team met here in Wellington. Through that meeting it rapidly became evident to me that the insights gathered from each team member produced results that quickly proved themselves and significantly added to the existing in-house knowledge pool.

Now reading this back does make me feel like a great deal of this article is a bit “So what?”. This model is nothing new and operates all over the world. What is unique is how it applies to the Wellington brand agencies. Back in those halcyon days of the early 2000’s, many Wellington design agencies had the annual report jobs as great budget props. Marketing spend was higher. The economic environment positively encouraged creative activity. Now days the balance is very different. Many of the plump budgets have been on very effective diets. Brand and marketing spending has become a perceived risk (ironic as it is in lean times that clients should be investing more in their brand to grow and stand apart from the masses). Wellington agencies needed to evolve their offering.

In today’s climate, we offer our clients more and more reassurances and evidence that their relationship with us is delivering real tangible results. More and more the value that design offers is not only via the strategy and creative but embedded in knowing how to lead projects, co-ordinate and facilitate individual teams of knowledge experts. Being small means you can do this in an agile, prompt and cost effective manner, avoiding the terrific overheads maintaining a full time staff payroll. Ultimately our clients end up winning as we can continue offering great design services, with access to a cast of, well, thousands. Small is the new tomorrow.

In my previous life, my schoolyard was filled with clients that wore the uniform of the “white collar” variety. Coming from an agency that dealt with the insurance giants, the legal big-boys and government heavy weights, I had become well accustomed to the style of branding, communication and perception manufacturing common place within their playgrounds.

My new school is full of a whole new breed of clients, often younger, always braver, more agile and infectiously passionate. The work and the results we’re producing here cant help but absorb these contagious qualities, so I inevitably came round to asking the question: What makes the relationship and results with smaller organisations work so well, and what learnings can be transferred to the bigger organisations?

Now I tread carefully here in what I say, as many of my previous clients I hold a great deal of respect and pride for the work and relationships I forged, but (and here comes the careful bit) with the objective viewpoint I currently look out from, one key point of difference has struck me hard, like a thump from the playground bully.

Honesty.

Honestly, its seems so simple, and the lip service so many brand teams try to pay to this elusive quality shrivels into insignificance when compared to the sincerity of the clients we’re working with here.

One of my first new playground friends is an exciting wine producer in the emerging region of New England in NSW, Australia. After a couple of plane rides, and a bit of a drive, I found myself on a school trip out to meet Mark Kirkby at Toppers Mountain vineyard high up in the beautiful Northern tablelands of NSW. They don’t come more honest than Mark, and his wine reflects this. Exciting crafted and rare varietals are coming out of the Toppers vineyard like their Tempranillo and Nebiollo offerings. Our job has been to take his existing brand and reshape it as it prepares to enter into a new market sector, targeting the serious wine buyer and influencers. While developing the Toppers Mountain new brand position, we needed to define the point of difference. It’s a no brainer really, boiled down to the idea of honesty. Express who you are, openly, simply and without any untruths, additional frills, or lip service. The result, well check back soon as we unveil the new brand, we’re proud of its stance, and so pleased to be able to work with people like Mark who have the bravery to go to market with an honest, and as such, unique brand.

Im sure the direct contact we have with the owners of the smaller companies helps to craft an honest brand, as do the values that drive the Tardis team to produce work that is real, and faithful to the offering. And the lack of cumbersome internal red-tape structures and processes helps our job of getting to the point a great deal faster and easier to achieve. But it still leaves me with asking the question; How would our perception and resulting brand loyalty change, if the larger players suddenly exhibited a genuine and frank honesty?

In a day and age where the consumer now has the ability and inclination to research and access vast amounts of information, and corporations spend billions on managing (manufacturing?) reputations, surely there are a few pointers to be taken from the SME honest approach to branding.

Idealism? Without doubt, but Like I said, I’m the new kid at school, and I’m enjoying the “wet behind the ears” status. Like my wonderful set of new friends, clients and teammates in the Tardis playground, I share an infectious optimism for the future roles of brand and design, which in today’s climate is a welcome relief.

Honest can shout at volume in today’s brandscape, lets press the mute button on lip service.

Being the main design event of the calendar year, the programme has ever-diversified across a range of creative disciplines. This year, we had Graphic designers, typographer/illustrators, fashion designers, environmental graphics, animation experts, artists, interactive and multimedia artists. A common theme amongst them was that of collaboration – recognising the experts alongside projects and that unique result from acknowledging a mix of creatives makes genius.

So.. to the lineup, the most memorable moments:

Jessica Hische

Who knew there were 1000 ways of drawing an A? One can learn a lot from this vibrant designer who delivers dailydropcap each day. We gained a lot of insight into her approach, particularly indulging in vintage reference (magazines/paraphenalia).

Karen Walker

Karen & Mikhail opted for a tête-à-tête with Stacy Gregg on stage. Whilst many found the interview style a little disappointing I filled a moleskine with quotes and insight into this fashion pairing.

Particularly interesting were these quips:

If you want to create a leading brand “Put yourself in front of the harshest critics and see what they say..it’s about being in that conversation”. On collections: “People don’t need more clothes, they need new ideas”, “The Karen Walker brand has the right amount of wrong”. On business: “Fashion is a creative business – its creative, and its business – you need to know about both”. On inspiration: This takes a number of forms – it can start with a song, or the dandruff scene from the Breakfast club through to the Sound of Music curtain fabrics.

Duncan Speakman

Duncan captured our attention by starting with one minutes silence. This sound engineer-turned
sound-artist surprised with a thought-provoking account of visual vs sound design. It appears as
humans we are a visual society and highly developed, whilst we lack in the hearing department.

I mean who knew Sony walkmans started out with two headphone jacks? Initially intended for sharing music, it seems we now follow a more private experience. Delight in the world around you for a day and remove these obstacles to life around you.

Storm Thorgerson

A legendary creative, Storm Thorgerson is the man benhind many of the worlds best album covers: like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Peter Gabriel. This dry-witted Englishman held the crowd in his palm… anecdotes about large-scale photographic shoots of the pre-digital age surprised and delighted me.
Not one for ‘audience participation’, I will keep an eye out for his ‘kiwifruit-spectacled’ shot of the Semi Permanent audience.

Adrian Shaughnessy

Having read ‘How to be a Graphic Designer without losing your soul’ from cover to cover I was
well-versed on the industry insights this graphic designer-turned writer delivers. Calling himself a
culture zealot ‘one enthralled by all aspects of culture”, he had words of wisdom for us all:

‘Clients are your collaborators- treat them as equal’

‘Clients will only listen to us if- and when- we bother to listen to them’

On presentations: most ideas fail not because they are bad ideas, but because they are badly presented

‘A designers brain is capable of much more than making things pretty’

And lastly, possibly closest to the Tardis values: ‘If we believe in nothing, then clients will have no reason to believe in us’

I am beginning where I left off last blog because this statement captures the essence of what was said at ConnectNow in Sydney. Every speaker spoke about the need to return to “human values” rather than “Evil Robot Values” quote Tara Hunt. One even posed the question “Why is it that people forget about humanity and personal feelings as soon as they walk through the company doors? They forget they are talking with people!.”

We mostly work with boutique and medium sized companies and are surrounded by clients who are ever-passionate about what they do and the people they connect with. So the need for this emphasis on humanity was a surprise… shouldn’t this be 101? To those presenting, the obvious lack of human values in the corporate world globally meant they returned to these messages time and again.

Like all great relationships, the brands relationship with its audience is built on trust, respect, love and open conversations – that includes ALL of your communications including online.

Simple and obvious rules but able to be forgotten, let them stand as a constant reminder.

Many great things came out of ConnectNow and I highly recommend you go in 2011 if you have the chance. Big thanks to Siobhan Bulfin, from me, for bringing together such an outstanding group of people. Inspiring and generous every one of them. They shared their knowledge, vision and wisdom and made us realise how small the world really is. They also made us realise everyone can make a difference.

Here are a few great quotes from ConnectNow as well as some key online global trends:

“Any single match can light a fire.” – Katie Chatfield

“Competent people are afraid of change because it makes them less competent.” – Katie Chatfield

“Most Businesses don’t connect with community values.” – Tara Hunt

“Why do we include Evil Robot values over human values? Since when did efficiency become more important than compassion?” – Tara Hunt

“People will support that which they have helped build” – Tara Hunt

“Live in your community, don’t be a visitor” – Brian Solis

“This is a thank you economy” – Gary Vanyerchuck

“Virtual currency – in the next 24 months facebook currency will rule the world.” – Gary Vanyerchuck

Three Leading Online global trends:

Virtual goods – Apps will define who you are… a new form of status symbols???

http://www.edge-online.com/news/hawkins-virtual-goods-market-to-hit-100-billion-this-decade

Geolocation/communities and apps – Moving people to places. The likes of Foursquare and Gowalla will make a huge difference to local business. Be prepared for a ‘local’ revolution.

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/why-foursquare-drives-business-what-you-need-to-know/

http://www.fastcompany.com/article/foursquare-vs-gowalla-who-will-rule-the-check-in-at-sxsw

Virtual currencies: Facebook has 400 million users – What does that mean to global economies we wonder.

http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/12/facebook-may-be-about-to-jump-into-the-virtual-currency-offers-game/

To round things up ConnectNow was focused on Online communication. It should be a truly integrated part of your communications strategy. It is important that you create rules of engagement online. Always treat people the way you want to be treated…. so have you started your love and abhor lists yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkGIBIuiZcI

They are a global collective conscience and they’ll make sure you stay true to your brand values even if you don’t.

What’s placed online stays online. As individuals grow increasingly motivated to make ethical buying decisions, they have become more interested in who is behind the products they’re purchasing. Information is but a search away – the good, the bad and the ugly. For instance articles and film footage from the 1990’s onwards about Nike’s use of sweatshops in third-world countries is still easily found. All of their innovation in recent years continues to be tarnished by this history.

The power on the brand playing-field has changed, I believe for the good. Authentic brands who live and breathe their values and deliver on their promises (whatever they are) will shine. If you, and your staff, cannot quote your brand values or promise by heart, it is time you revisited them or created new ones together (link to our great brand pdf). They are the foundations on which you build success – the heartbeat that pumps life into every aspect of your business. If you don’t have them, how can you expect your team, let alone your audience, to believe in you. Brands need great believers, they need inspired people both inside and out.

I leave you with a quote from Dee Hock, founder of Visa – I first saw it in a Tom Peters presentation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-DYHdxcAw8

They were both talking about the essence of great leadership. I think it equally applies to the essence of great branding.

…Respect your team and your audience – and NEVER lie.
(below will be a pic)
“Ph.D. in Leadership. Short course.
Write a short list of all things done to you that you abhorred.
Never do them to anyone else. EVER.
Make another list of things done to you that you have loved.
Do them to others. ALWAYS”

In February I sat in on a presentation by Nigel Greening at the Pinot Noir 2010 conference. He was talking about the sustained success of his winery, and brand, Felton Road – a true star. I have always said branding is not rocket science, it is common sense, and what Nigel was saying rang true (in fact I sat there nodding emphatically, hoping our clients in the audience were listening). To me, one of the most important points he made was this: “You can never lie”. So obvious, but unfortunately a statement that has been neglected by many globally, particularly in the past years when some brands have forgotten who they are and what they stand for.

With the increasing demand for transparency (there is no such thing as the back office any more) and blooming fields of social networks, your brand’s reputation sits firmly in the hands of your audience and their expectations. They won’t believe your brand promise until they have experienced it themselves, or others they trust have – as illustrated in ‘Right here right now’ (an oldy but a goody). They are a global collective conscience and they’ll make sure you stay true to your brand values even if you don’t.

What’s placed online stays online. As individuals grow increasingly motivated to make ethical buying decisions, they have become more interested in who is behind the products they’re purchasing. Information is but a search away – the good, the bad and the ugly. For instance articles and film footage from the 1990’s onwards about Nike’s use of sweatshops in third-world countries is still easily found. All of their innovation in recent years continues to be tarnished by this history.

The power on the brand playing-field has changed, I believe for the good. Authentic brands who live and breathe their values and deliver on their promises (whatever they are) will shine. If you, and your staff, cannot quote your brand values or promise by heart, it is time you revisited them or created new ones together. They are the foundations on which you build success – the heartbeat that pumps life into every aspect of your business. If you don’t have them, how can you expect your team, let alone your audience, to believe in you. Brands need great believers, they need inspired people both inside and out.

I leave you with a quote from Dee Hock, founder of Visa – I first saw it in a Tom Peters presentation. They were both talking about the essence of great leadership. I think it equally applies to the essence of great branding.

…Respect your team and your audience – and NEVER lie.