Branding gets sexy and goes to the theatre

Branding is becoming increasingly experiential. At its extreme it is co-ordinated theatre ie dramatic material rehearsed and performed to entertain an audience and provide them with an experience they will never forget – in the hope that they will think well of you and want more.

In the good old days of corporate identity, before branding and web sites came along, a designer's life was much simpler – clients were merely concerned with sourcing a nice looking logo and some colours to display on their stationery and brochures and on the side of a few white vans. Things have now changed in this brand centric world. New car launches for example are full-on theatre. Bright lights on chromed logos, video extravaganzas of ecstatic couples cruising the Great Ocean Road or the New Jersey Turnpike, or Brad Pitt lookalikes speeding around the Nurburgring circuit scoring admiring glances from classy debs in the pit lane. At the launch, lovely pouting Tokohama girls in body-hugging lycra hug the bodies of the latest Tokohama Nicra Turbo Largesse, with multi-coloured smoke swirling gently over the logo infested carpet, while the latest hit single by boy wonder group smelicat echoes around the silver foil wrapped warehouse that looks like a set from the latest Alien movie.

Algonquin Maynard the car designer, resplendent in designer suit and no tie, addresses the crowd and glorifies the curves and creases and titanium gear knob and their role in the branded look he has planned for the entire model range. All to build interest in the new car and its enhanced performance figures and new gizmos (not forgetting its frugality and new-found sympathies with the environment), but also to show the world what the brand is capable of achieving. How it can get inside the minds of new car buyers while they salivate at the prospect of ownership, thrill to the 200kph video and caress the fake wood and lycra. Podcasts extol the virtues, auto blogs spread like a virus with carefully placed articles. A new Turbo Largesse men's fragrance is seen in leading department stores. Ex racing car drivers with racing suits adorned with the maker's logo are shown easing themselves confidently into the driving seat.

The motoring press likewise are entertained at carefully selected eateries where CEOs proclaim how sensational the new model is, its prowess on the road, in the showroom, in company sales figures and its sensational fit with the company's brand values. Marquees appear in city centres and at shopping centres where models strut their stuff alongside cars resplendent in the latest designer shades of 'superstar mink' and 'generation yellow'. A limited addition all-black U2 model is offered at extra cost. Videos of the car performing amazing feats adorn the website. Direct mail saturates the nation. Top Gear features Jeremy Clarkson test driving one while towing a caravan across the Simpson Desert. He has high praise for the gear knob and waxes lyrical on the choice of seat fabric. Car sales momentarily halt while the viewing nation takes stock and brand values are questioned. Meanwhile online marketing jams our in-boxes. Buses sail past with car and models adorning their sides. TV ads slide in between repeat showings of Biggest Loser. Homer Simpson is seen driving a car that looks ever so much like a Tokohama Nicra Turbo Largesse. Double page newspaper ads eclipse articles warning of stock market collapses. Whole fleets are loaned to leading AFL and cricket teams. Tokohama dealerships go into overdrive with hot air balloons, sausage sizzles, Tokohama burgers and local celebrities. Obligation free test drives are everywhere, sadly without the models.

Competitors, galvanised into action, scurry around seeking pitches from brand communication companies (aka advertising agencies) to devise Tokohama-beating campaign extravaganzas, initiatives to further build brand value... and source even prettier models.

The car buying public has never had so many people working so hard to manipulate their perception of the car and the company behind it. Brand creators have a myriad opportunities at their fingertips to inspire and manipulate these perceptions. Exciting isn't it? Me, I'll just stick to the lycra.

Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.

View some of Heywood’s work on www.heywood.com.au

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