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By Steve Chalson, Director, Marketing
Services – Dixie Business, Georgia-Pacific Corporation
Brands have many demands placed on them by the consumer. These
demands range from solving basic functional needs like thirst, to
satisfying an emotional desire like personal appearance. For most
products, however, the real war occurs inside the retail environment.
In that competitive arena, brands must rise above and connect emotionally
with the consumer. After all, they not only compete with other brands,
but they must also fight a low-price (commodity) war with private
label. Enter the requirement for a brand to command shelf-confidence.
Shelf-Confidence is a brand's identity, expressed through both aesthetic
and functional design. Or, said another way, Shelf-Confidence is
an aesthetic layer, the art that unites a brand's visual equities
to create an unspoken dialogue with the consumer. Properly executed,
Shelf-Confidence will allow a brand to command price, presence,
and preference in a sea of sameness.
Shelf-Confidence is only realized when a perfect balance between
strategy and aesthetics has been achieved. The equation solid
strategy + outstanding aesthetics = shelf-confidence seems
like it would be an easy thing to do, but many organizations have
a difficult time just getting started. The link between the strategy
and aesthetics is the creative brief. This document
must be owned by the brand (not your agency), it will bring an agreed-upon
clarity to branding objectives before moving into aesthetic execution.
Outstanding aesthetics is all about the execution, so hire the best
designer possible, step-aside, and let them do their magic.
The first step to mastering the art of Shelf-Confidence is taking
the time to define the brand strategy, writing it down, and staying
committed to it. Brand Strategy starts by defining a brand’s
basic DNA, where you came from, where you are today, and where you
want to go. Then, honestly evaluate the current position you hold
in the market, realizing that regardless of how well-known your
brand is, not everyone knows what value you provide. This understanding
must include a realistic look at the competition and ultimately
what you know that makes your brand different, better, and special.
After you’ve laid the foundation for the Brand Strategy, write
a Creative Brief by objectively answering who, what, when, where,
why, and how. Don’t forget to put solid metrics in place to
measure each concept. Creative metrics provide the criteria for
a designer to decide whether or not to hit <<command P>>
or to keep working on a concept. In addition, the metrics must clearly
articulate and rank order a communication hierarchy – that
is, what are the most important unspoken messages we want our target
audience to think or feel about our brand. Finally spell-out the
“key-take-away”, that one thing you want the target
audience to get, after the two-second test.
To hire the best designer you must look, listen, and then evaluate
what they can do. Do not start by listening first because too many
creatives have mastered strategic-speak while few have mastered
strategic-execution. Look beyond their creative awards and their
impressive client list and instead at a creative exploration phase
of at least two past projects. Listen to the strategy and metrics
they were executing against and evaluate the work by looking closely
at each concept they present. Understand if each of the concepts
nailed the strategy or if some were complete throw-aways –
that would be money poorly spent. Determine if every solution is
an individually distinctive solution or did their indecisiveness
represent a basic color study or an exercise in the Adobe font library.
Choose your designer wisely as it is their ability to execute that
matters more than how well versed they are.
Finally, to “Master the ART of Shelf-Confidence” put
the preceding processes in place and do not handcuff the designer
with a highly executional brief. Believe in your brand’s strategy,
the brief, and your designer; then, measure the creative objectively.
It’s NOT about whether or not you like the creative; it’s
about whether or not the creative is on strategy.
When a brand has good shelf-confidence it results in good
shelf-expression. Good shelf-expression creates a sense
of Shelf-Awareness in the mind of the consumer. Good shelf-awareness
leads to increased sales for your brand. Increased sales for your
brand lead to a stronger and more profitable Company.
This article first appeared in the Spring
2004 issue of DMI
News & Views.
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