Branding & Cities

Branding can help humanize our megacities

by Peter Knapp, 20.10.2014

inShare228

How branding can help humanize our mega-cities

As cities grow faster, bigger, wider, taller we are all being dwarfed. In 2011, there were 23 urban agglomerations that qualified as megacities, with populations exceeding 10m inhabitants. By 2025, there will likely be 37, writes Peter Knapp, global creative officer at Landor Associates.

Peter Knapp,global creative officer, Landor Associates

Along with the rise of megacities is the rise of equally mega developments. From East London to Guangzhou in China, huge faceless canyons of concrete and glass are springing up every year that dwarf what we are used to: a sense of human scale. City growth is of course a prerequisite of urban development, something that’s been going on for thousands of years. We can't stop it but how do we adapt to it?
The answer is to break these architectural jungles down into something that we can relate to. There is growing demand for a more profound sense of territorialism to our urban environments, a new age of tribalism if you like, and in order to meet that challenge we must create stronger and more distinctive regions, territories, places, districts, boroughs and landmarks.
The rate of city growth today means leaving it to organic progression, where it is driven largely by local citizens, is no longer realistic. A more robust, civic approach is required, with place branding principles at the heart.

Manageable segmentation

Place branding is of course nothing new. In fact, it’s an ancient art. The Old Quarter, Down Town, the High Street, the West End, the town square, the market place, Soho, Dumbo, NoMa: all are examples of how society breaks down the scale of a city into manageable, human entities by which we navigate our lives.
And developing these local brands can go far beyond simply giving them a new logo or slogan, although these can also be worthwhile. What really differentiates a place are the subtle urban details we notice as we walk along the streets: the benches we pass, the street lamps or directional signage.

"Barcelona is capitalising on its growing brand strength, recently being named the world’s sixth most valuable city brand"

Over time, these tangible elements become synonymous with a place and help to differentiate it. Branding can play a crucial role here too and, if done right, the design can blend with and ultimately enhance the organic character of a city borough.
Melbourne and Vancouver are perfect examples of cities adopting a robust strategy to creating stronger identities, drawing millions of tourists and fostering a sense of local pride for citizens. Both often feature in lists of the world’s most liveable cities.
And despite its relatively small size, Barcelona is also capitalising on its growing brand strength, recently being named the world’s sixth most valuable city brand. Part of Barcelona’s strength is the vibrant and distinctive identities of its districts, from the old charm of El Gotico (the Gothic Quarter) to the bohemian cool of Gracia.

 

 Altering perceptions

Even the once infamous inner city district, El Raval, is managing to create a distinctive identity that encourages local pride. Barcelona City Council commissioned a campaign in 2011 to challenge negative perceptions of the neighborhood and its high levels of crime and social deprivation.
The campaign included the addition of a new verb to the Spanish language, Ravalejar, to define the rough charm of the area. Instead of using bold colours or strong graphics, it simply featured the newly-created verb in the style of a dictionary definition and hung it in specially selected sites across the neighbourhood.

"As urban growth continues to snowball, replicating what cities like Barcelona have achieved will be a defining challenge for society"

The campaign sought to bolster El Raval’s identity by playing to the edgy attitude of the neighborhood in a light and unpretentious way, enhancing the existing local character rather than reinventing it.
As urban growth continues to snowball, replicating what cities like Barcelona have achieved will be a defining challenge for society. There’s a danger that mega metropolises will foster a generation increasingly alienated by their living and working environments.
As a result, there will be growing demand for cities to provide a greater sense of belonging and place. When it comes to defining our urban environments, branding proves itself as much more than just a marketing tool; it’s a human requirement to create scalable entities to relate to and navigate by. If not, what do we have? Google maps and concrete canyons.

"Place" Branding

Smart Ideas for Smarter Cities

Branding Is Complex. Branding is Simple.

Key Elements of Creating a Brand

Some helpful notes from Graham Roberson of Beloved Brands:

Key Elements of Creating a Brand:

Brand Idea:   A Beloved Brand is an idea that’s worth Loving.  As Brands become more loved, they go beyond being just a product and they become an idea that fulfills consumers’ emotional needs in the consumers life.  Below is the Tool I use to figure out a Brand’s Big Idea revolves around four areas that help define the Brand 1) Brand’s personality 2) Products and Services the brand provides 3) Internal Beacons that people internally rally around when thinking about the brand and 4) Consumer Views of the Brand.  What we normally do is brainstorm 3-4 words in each of the four section and then looking collectively begin to frame the Brand’s Big Idea with a few words or a phrase to which the brand can stand behind.  

As an example Apple’s Big Idea is about “taking the complexity and make everything simple enough, so that everyone will be part of the future”.  Accordingly, everything in the organization should line up to delivering a simple experience whether that’s the day they turn on the product, installing an App on an iPhone or when they show up at the store to ask questions from the Genius Bar.Once you have your Big Idea, you should then use it to frame the 5 different connectors needed to set up a very strong bond between your brand and your consumers.

• Brand Vision:  It’s the End in Mind Achievement.  What do you want the brand to become?  Think 10 years out: if you became this one thing, you would know that you are successful.  Ideally it is Qualitative (yet grounded in something) and quantitative (measurable)  It should be motivating and enticing to get people focused.  
• Purpose:  Start with what’s in you:  Why do you exist?  Why do you wake up in the morning?   What’s your purpose or cause behind your brand?   Very personal and connects to your own story.  In the spirit of Simon Sinek:  “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”.
• Five Connectors With the Consumer:  Under the Brand Idea are 5 Sources of Connectivity that help connect the brand with consumers and drive Brand Love, including 1) the brand promise 2) the strategic choices you make 3) the brand’s ability to tell their story 4) the freshness of the product or service and 5) the overall experience and impressions it leaves with you.   Here’s an example of how these 5 connections would look for the Special K brand. 

• Brand Values should come from the DNA, and act as guideposts to ensure that the behavior of everyone in the organization is set to deliver upon the Brand’s promise.  How do you want your people to show up?   What type of service do you want?  How much emphasis on innovation?   What type of people do you want to hire?  What behavior should be rewarded and what behavior is off-side.  Having the right Brand Values will help you answer these questions.   The Brand Values become an extension of what the Brand Leader wants the brand to stand for. To read more this subject read the following:  Brand = Culture
• Goals:  While the vision serves as a 10 year big goal, it’s also important to have annual goals to push and challenge everyone in the organization.  It’s a great way to ensure milestones on the pathway to the vision are being hit. Goals should be S.M.A.R.T. which means they should be specific, measurable, attainable,relevant and time-sensitive.
• Strategies:  These are potential choices you must make in HOW to get to the vision.  Good strategy has focus, early win, leverage and a gateway to something even bigger.  Strategic Thinkers see “what if” questions before they see solutions.  They map out a range of decision trees that intersect and connect by imagining how events will play out.  They reflect and plan before they act.   They are thinkers and planners who can see connections.  There are four main types of strategy:  1) consumer oriented 2) competitive oriented 3) operational and 4) financial.  My recommendation is that Master Brands have 3-5 key strategies, but never more.  This forces you to focus.  
• Tactics:  Activities and executions that fit under the strategies. This could be advertising, media, sales, events, social media and professional influence.   I recommend focusing on 3 key tactical areas per strategy, continuing to ensure focus.  

With this format, having it all on one page forces focus and allows you to keep a tight control over those that will be working under the Master Brand.
Here is an another example of the 5 connectors using Apple:

House of Brands

When working with a house of brands, where you have multiple brand names under one corporate name (P&G, Kraft, General Mills and Johnson and Johnson) the brand plan would look different.  The big differences are the teams are smaller and the culture of each team usually follows that of the corporate name.  
Here’s a good example of a Brand Plan that would fit within the House of Brands and here is the related story on How to Write a Brand Plan

Brand Plans to keep everyone on the same page!

How to Create a Restaurant Concept: Atmosphere

Create an Atmosphere

The atmosphere may be one of the most important methods for achieving your restaurant concept. Think about what you want your customers to experience when they walk through your doors. Consider the human senses:

• Taste: Perhaps the most obvious, the sense of taste is an important aspect for diners everywhere. No one will eat at your restaurant if the food tastes terrible. Be sure you have a talented chef or cook on staff to create the dishes that keep your guests coming back again and again. Also, be sure your dishes are consistently delicious. This is what creates loyal customers, and helps define your brand.
• Sight: What will your customers will see? A concept’s visual effect encompasses more than just the stuff hanging on the walls.
• Lighting. You may want to play a certain type of music to influence your concept. At Rumbi Island Grill, for example, lighthearted Hawaiian music plays in every location and gives an energetic, exotic feel to the atmosphere.
• Colors. Colors in the restaurant are meant to evoke certain feelings, and have even been known to encourage guests’ appetites. Colors can do a lot to affect the overall atmosphere.
• Cooking process. Another important aspect to think about regarding sight is the kitchen – will customers see into your kitchen? In an exhibition kitchen, even a few flames flying up from the grill may establish a unique and engaging atmosphere. The lighting in your restaurant is important. It influences how much people see inside your establishment. Lights help to achieve a certain mood or tone as well.
• Sound: The noises in a restaurant affect the atmosphere, so be aware of what customers will hear in your restaurant.
• Music. The lighting in your restaurant is important. It influences how much people see inside your establishment. Lights help to achieve a certain mood or tone as well.
• Kitchen sounds. In many restaurants, sounds of cooking and food preparation float into the dining area. Sounds of pots and pans clattering, food sizzling and even plates breaking can add energy and anticipation to a dining experience.
• Dining room sounds. Some restaurant dining rooms are designed very deliberately for acoustic reasons. Restaurants may shoot for the bustling, noisy chatter reminiscent of a busy downtown hot-spot by means of conscious acoustic design. However, be aware of how your restaurant will be perceived if it is noisy.
• Smell: Some restaurants have a very specific intent when it comes to creating an atmosphere with smells.
  • Aromatic scents. Aromatic scents fill the air and affect guests as soon as they enter the building. Aromas like freshly-squeezed citrus, sweet flowers or fresh-baked muffins can help define an atmosphere.
  • Specific food smells. In many restaurants, sounds of cooking and food preparation float into the dining area. Sounds of pots and pans clattering, food sizzling and even plates breaking can add energy and anticipation to a dining experience.
  • Dining room sounds. Sometimes, carrying a platter of especially temping foods across the dining room can cause diners to drool in anticipation. Incorporating the aroma of an enticing platter into your concept, such as a restaurant specializing in traditional sizzling, smoking fajitas, could give your customers a lasting impression and a specific reason to dine at your restaurant over another. When forming your restaurant concept ideas, be sure to consider how the atmosphere makes your restaurant a unique and appealing place to visit. When it comes to atmosphere, consider the details that will make your restaurant a success.

How to Create a Restaurant Concept: Cuisine & Market

When an author sets out to pen a new novel, they must first think of a plot. Much like an author, when an entrepreneur decides to open a new restaurant, they must first think of a concept. This is the most common term that describes what your establishment will be like in terms of service style, cuisine and atmosphere, to name a few. Whether you are taking over an existing building or starting from scratch, you need to think about what your restaurant concept will be once contained within four walls. Your concept frames the way the public perceives your entire establishment, giving patrons an idea of what to expect when dining there. Your concept choice will act as a stepping stone to future decisions and investments, such as location, equipment purchases, number of employees and the kind of marketing strategy you will need. As you think about opening a new restaurant, take time to examine the following major processes to help define your concept and bolster a foundation for your start-up restaurant. 

Decide on Cuisine 
At its most basic level, a restaurant is usually recognized for the food served there. Guests will want to know what to expect from your menu, including how your food is prepared, the types of ingredients used and the cooking methods involved. Decide whether you will serve a certain cuisine, such as ethnic food, fast food or comfort food, for example. For a unique concept, restaurant owners often take a well-known concept and put their own spin on it. A strong example of this is P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. P.F. Chang’s has redefined the idea of going out for Chinese food. Now a well-known chain, P.F. Chang’s locations offer appetizing Asian-fusion cuisine and trendy drinks and cocktails. The menu items also set this restaurant apart from others. P.F. Chang’s restaurants offer variations of traditional Chinese fare, making each entrée seem like something new and special. The menu items and atmosphere help to create a high perceived value for the customer, differentiating P.F. Chang’s from what people often picture when they think of a typical Chinese restaurant. When thinking about a concept, consider how the cuisine you offer will drive your business. 

Determine Your Target Market 
When you have a basic idea of your concept, figure out what types of customers you want to target. Your basic idea for your restaurant should guide that decision. It is important to figure out if there is a substantial market for your concept in the area, as well as to set appropriate price points on your menu items. For example, if you want to open a restaurant with an upscale atmosphere, fancy appetizers and a lounge-like environment, you may want to market to young professionals with high disposable income. This will help direct your efforts in choosing a location. Decide on an Operational Strategy The prospective owner must have an idea for the restaurant before moving forward. Plans for a new restaurant usually include an established service type. Your restaurant will probably fall into basic service categories like the following:

Fine dining. Fine dining restaurants provide a high perceived value for their guests, defined by beautiful décor, pleasant atmosphere, renowned chefs, exceptional service and special, pricy dishes. Casual dining.

Casual dining establishments offer full table service that is more upscale than fast-casual restaurants, but also more affordable than fine dining restaurants. They appeal to a wide customer base and are usually family-friendly.

Fast-casual. Also known as quick-casual and limited-service, fast-casual restaurants are typically perceived to offer better food quality and improved service over quick-service places. Their menus tend to be less extensive but also less expensive than casual dining restaurants.

Quick-service. Quick-service restaurants make a business of convenience and speed of service. These restaurants typically have simple décor, inexpensive food items and fast counter-service. Most fast-food places fall into this category.

These types of decisions affect the layout of your restaurant, the employees you hire, the food you serve, and so on. Other decisions that are significant to your overall concept are the liquor license and take-out, delivery and catering services. 

MORE: how-to-create-restaurant-concept/ATMOSPHERE