CRUNCH - All things crunched.

LETS FACE THE TRUTH STRUCTURING AND DIRECTING THINKING IS COMPLEX IT IS CLOSE TO IMPOSSIBLE HAVE TRIED IT WITH OBJECTS POEMS, REFERENCES, WORDS, VIDEOS, CASES, PLACES & STORIES EVEN BRIEFS HAVE BEEN TWEETED WHAT HASN'T BEEN TRIED  IS USING STRUCTURE IN ORDER TO DIRECT  WILL TRY THE HAIKU BRIEF   HERE IS ONE FOR A HAIR GEL  I LIKE THE WINDY BEACHES FRIENDS, GIRLS, PLAY, TRENDS AND THE WINDS  BUT WIND SCREWS MY HAIR

There has been a recent rage, an outburst a woeful venting on the burning issue of what do brand teams need to focus on. The views vary, or should we say range, possibly sway dangerously from the depth of the river bed to the top of the sky.  While my lovely friends in the marketing side, seek solace and opt for the word consistency (rightly so ... sometimes), my buddies the clever branding and advertising professionals tend to sway on the side of 'distinction'. Personally for me, a bit unnerving, largely  because it is a big bloody word and  an entirely different one from the commonly used term 'differentiation'. A lot of cliched people talk about brand 'differentiation'. As a concept it has been written to death, almost the kind of finality,  post which no real differentiation is possible. As the law of the universe states, that even differentiation has its rules, if followed well, things and people do stand out. The assumption is that rules once followe

Problems .. problems   I read this fantastic quote that applies to thought leaders in any industry. “The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution” by George Bernard Shaw All great solutions start with a well and accurately defined problem, whether in design or marketing or even urban planning. Extrapolating this principle across the entire solutions industry, makes most the business that  solves a human problem.   Most of the work I have been part of recently, involves asking questions around the real problem. A lot of rigor and effort is put into identifying the best problem to think on and solve. Ee think the real problem that needs to be solved, the blockage that needs to be opened up, is a product, brand or communications problem.   The way we break it up: product serves needs - brands serve wants and communication serves desires. The fundamental starting point of any scrutiny is the structural breaking down of th