Who builds a brand? Is it the brand manager, his advertising agency, clients who talk positively about the brand? All of the above, one might say. But then we are missing out on the most important group of brand builders: the rich community of employees representing the brand on a daily basis. 

Surround yourself with people who lift you higher Just over a year ago I met Daphne via Twitter. An innovation Diva. A charming lady with a book on knowledge management on her name. 

By Ricardo Bravenboer, 23plusone Licensed Friend 11% van de werknemers had in 2010 volgens het CBS burn-out klachten. Are you kiddin’?

‘Ik wil helemaal niet aan mijn mensen vragen wat zij ervan vinden!’

Column Kim Cramer (gepubliceerd op 22/1/2013 bij SWOCC)

Till the crisis of 2008, good management was about financial growth, scale benefits, efficiency and control. Strategy was about focus and direction. Organizations flourished by division of labor, separation of power and other Machiavellian practices. Brand marketing was about luring consumers into a psychological need state of materialism, of more. 

What does it take for the financial services industry to reinvent itself? If only someone had the magical answer to that question. What we do know, is that it takes a revolution to change the old norms and standards that have been self-sustaining for years.

In this connected world it will be 'people' (mobile, 24/7) who create, manage and communicate your brand. Not any longer your communications department with their creative agencies. Your brand has just gone social.

Some months ago, Ayu Koene (11) was our intern-for-a-day. Smart and charming, she attended a client meeting, worked on the 23plusone profiles of different nail polish brands (Chanel vs Miss Sporty), and interviewed Alexander, Josien and Kim. Afterwards, she wrote down her experiences and got an 8 and a 9 (A-scores!) for her internship report.

Did you know on average a power drill is only used for 12 minutes during its entire lifetime? And actually it is the hole you want, and not the drill! 

Every summer holiday season we withdraw in the Lab to overhaul our branding methods and revamp our models & tools. Based on our experiences with clients and inspired by new technological developments and thought leadership from other disciplines, we always push for the latest innovation in our branding practice. 

Today Celeste Miller (re)joins the BR-ND Lab to drive the creation of an implicit association platform. Australian born Celeste, trained as a qualified social psychologist, will pursue amongst others implicit testing with software from Project Implicit and seek to incorporate this within our existing brand engagement platforms.

Imagine thousands of ladies running together dressed in pink. Kim Cramer, co-founder of BR-ND, ran the Ladies Run Rotterdam together with 7.500 others on the 10th of June. 

HOW BRANDS WILL THRIVE IN THE AGE OF MEANING THE WINDS OF CHANGE ARE BLOWING

by Jerry Holtaway, strategist, May 16, 2012

“A flat structure removes every organizational barrier between your work and the customer enjoying that work. Every company will tell you that “the customer is boss,” but here that statement has weight. There’s no red tape stopping you from figuring out for yourself what our customers want, and then giving it to them.”

The BR-ND Kitchen pushes strategic creation to new levels. Our BR-ND Kitchen is different from conventional strategy development as it builds on multiple sources of intelligence. We learn and co-create together, we get more inspiring results faster and have more fun on the go.

This note explains why BR-ND will not participate in pitches. Once in a while we are invited to join. A prospect then calls and happily informs us that we have been selected for a pitch between 3, 4 or sometimes even 5 branding consultancies. Hungry for new business we used to feel privileged and happily accepted the invite. But not any longer.

Touched we are by the emotive harmony of Tri Hita Karana. During a destination branding workshop BR-ND ran earlier this week in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce in Bali, Indonesia, the fundaments of the Bali brand have been identified. 

On the 24th you will be entertained by Josien Pieters, Innovation Diva at BR-ND, who will share the InMotion platform as part of her Master Thesis Industrial Design from the TU Delft.

We live in exciting times. What certainties do we today still have? What is up with the meaning of money? How are organizations shaping a meaningful future for their employees, clients, suppliers and shareholders? 

"People can not tell what they think, simply because they do not know" neuroscientists say. We post-rationalize our behavior, while having no idea what our true motives are.