BRANDJAM by Marc Gobé - Humanizing Brands Through Emotional Design

BRANDJAM - Humanizing Brands Through Emotional Design : Branding Expert Marc Gobé Encourages Businesses to Jam with their Consumers

(New York, January 2007)

“Design is the new advertising” says branding pioneer Marc Gobé in his new book,  Brandjam: Humanizing Brands Through Emotional Design [Allworth Press, February 2007], in which he advances the theory that we are now living in an emotionally driven economy. “Brands need to adapt to consumer choices in this new world and provide emotional experiences in order to be irresistible,” he asserts.  Gobé moves beyond the concepts he first introduced in Emotional Branding [Allworth Press] by analyzing in depth the new language that has been and could be created to communicate an emotional message—the language of design.

In his foreword to the book, Yves Behar, the iconic designer of a new generation, writes that “more than at any other time, we need designs that are not only new, but that contain a new humanism, that embody the human challenges we face now and those to come.”

With Brandjam, Gobé explores compelling ways in which marketers, designers, and consumers can be brought together around the language of design. Referring to such corporations as Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, Apple, Target or BMW, among others, he emphasizes the importance of connecting with consumers’ deepest and somehow unmet desires.

“Design is to branding as jazz is to music,” insists Gobé. “Unless the business world starts to ‘jam’ with consumers the way designers do, very little progress will be made in creating growth in the market place.” Only by understanding people in their subconscious can new markets and new opportunities be created at a time when most brands are still trying to grow simply by winning market shares from their competitors.  Products like Red Bull, Grey Goose, Victoria’s Secret, the Apple iPod or the Mini Cooper have created new markets that did not previously exist or expanded some categories beyond our wildest imagination. In all those cases, design was at the core of those brand successes and the ambassador of their offering.

Contrary to the traditional business model that supports competition and frowns on sharing ideas with other teams, “brandjamming” is a metaphor that Gobé uses throughout the book to support the idea that brands need to connect with culture and reach people’s hearts. Like jazz, new ideas are the result of intuitive and participative efforts. Jamming around a brand brings out the best in people, allowing for the creation of the most innovative ideas.

Brandjam bolsters the opportunities that are created when a product’s communication can stimulate consumers beyond the thirty-second TV commercial. Design brings a human touch to the products we buy and can offer its own irresistible message.  If a product falters in the market place, the old tradition dictates spending more in traditional broadcast media, with the belief that media tonnage will brainwash people into buying what they didn’t want in the first place. In a medium where Tivo rules, brandjamming fosters a dialogue, the recognition of the consumer’s voice, and participation in the brand experience.

In Brandjam, Gobé lets you inside the world of design creation and shows you how designers think. You will discover a new research process–the creative process–through the designer’s eye and see how the powers of observation and critical analysis complement traditional methods. Gobé recommends that brands focus on using their product as media. Good products or brands that strike the imagination can gain a positive reputation so much faster through word of mouth and buzz, particularly in the interactive reality of the Internet Age.

Brandjam can be found in better bookstores, or it can be ordered directly from the publisher by calling 1-800-491-2808, or by going online to www.allworth.com where you will find a full description, a table of contents, and reviews. Distributed to the trade by Watson-Guptill Publications: 1-800-451-1741.

$24.95, 6 x 9, 352 Pages, 145 black and white illus.
Hardcover, ISBN 1-58115-468-9
Publication Date: February,  2007


Marc Gobé is the co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Desgrippes Gobé, one of the world’s top ten brand image creation firms. Responsible for Coca-Cola’s new worldwide identity and packaging design, he is the author of the business bestsellers Emotional Branding and Citizen Brand [Allworth Press]. His company has created breakthrough, emotionally driven brand design strategies for such clients as AOL, IBM, Estée Lauder, Starbucks, Gillette, Air France, Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret, Godiva, and Danone. Marc Gobé is a frequent speaker at top marketing and design conferences. He has also been invited to address senior managers on Emotional Branding at corporations such as L’Oréal, Montblanc, Motorola, Procter & Gamble, AOL, General Mills, and Peugeot. The recipient of numerous international design awards, he lives in New York with his wife and two children.

For more information:

Allworth Press - Nana Greller - Publicity Director                   
ngreller@allworth.com        
212 777-8395 ext. 13                   

 

Desgrippes Gobé New York - Joyce Hughes - Marketing Coordinator

jhughes@dga.com
917 438-7556