MARC GOBÉ “BRANDJAMS” WITH CEOS IN HONG KONG

Branding pioneer Marc Gobé brought his message of strategic design to an elite group of CEO’s in Hong Kong on June 13 at the Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC). The event was part of the HKDC’s “Reinventing with Design” Week, held June 13 and 14.

(Hong Kong, June 25th, 2007)

“Design is the new advertising” declared Gobé, CEO and President of Desgrippes Gobé in North America.  “Brands today need to adapt to consumer choices in this new world and provide emotional experiences in order to be irresistible.”

In his new book, “Brandjam: Humanizing Brands Through Emotional Design”, Gobé uses ‘brandjamming’ as a metaphor to support the idea that brands need to connect with culture and reach people’s hearts.  Like jazz music, 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.  “Design is to branding as jazz is to music”, noted Gobé.  “Unless the business world starts to “jam” with consumers the way designers do, little progress will be made in creating growth in the market place”.

This message was loud and clear to the Hong Kong CEOs present.  Hong Kong and Southern China have long been a production center for many of the world’s branded goods.  This low cost producer - OEM focus is changing as other markets in Asia challenge China’s cost advantage.  It is imperative now to create and market branded goods in order to compete and to survive.

During his talk, Gobé noted how 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 one’s imagination. In these cases, design was at the core of those brand successes and the ambassador of their offering.

In closing, Gobé encouraged Hong Kong’s CEO’s to seek 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 and BMW, among others, he emphasizes the importance of connecting with consumers’ deepest and somehow unmet desires.

For more information, contact:
Craig Briggs, Managing Director, Asia
Desgrippes Gobé Hong Kong
Unit 3105-6, 248 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong,
Phone: 852-3106-8722
Email: cbriggs@dga.com

About Desgrippes Gobé
Desgrippes Gobé is a world leader in design, image strategy and brand management consulting. It was founded in 1971, in Paris, by Joël Desgrippes. Soon thereafter he was joined by Marc Gobé, who opened the New York office in 1985. The Group then expanded to Asia (Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai), and reinforced its presence in Europe (Brussels). Today it is one of the “Top 5” international design companies, offering its clients a complete range of branding services. Desgrippes Gobé’s philosophy and approach are defined by the “Emotional Branding” concept developed by Marc Gobé in the eponymously named best-selling book. In 2006, the Desgrippes Gobé Group generated $31 million in sales, and today has a staff of 150 persons throughout the world.

About Desgrippes Gobé Asia
Desgrippes Gobé’s first Asia office, in Tokyo, was established in 1991.  Now with operations in 4 offices across Asia in Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai, the Group’s “Emotional Branding” philosophy is applied across a spectrum of industries and for a variety of branding applications, ranging from strategy for brand creation and re-positioning, packaging and shape design, corporate and brand identity, naming and retail environments.