Brand Sense

30 August 2005: Today I attended Brand Futurist Martin Lindstrom’s thought provoking symposium on Brand Sense. His essential argument was that the brand should be able to survive without its logo and the visual is just one cog in the overall brand wheel. I enjoyed his convincing pronouncements on ‘Smash the Brand’. Sensory branding is a very relevant concept in an increasingly cluttered marketplace and it’s strange that not too many brands seem to rely on senses other than the visual. Later at home, I went to Martin’s website and downloaded his presentation (for keep’s sake ). However, one question remains unanswered in my mind: When does brand fatigue set in and a brand become a blind spot? Martin emphasised on optimising on brand building opportunities across the palette of five senses. However, where and when must a company draw the line and seek to reinvent the brand?
The symposium was organised by Indiatimes’ Mindscape and I must say that it was very pleasing to see the company encouraging a wide cross-section of its people to attend it. Knowledge sharing is important for a new media company and it’s good to see it being fostered here. In my previous company, however, it was restricted to the upper echelons of the corporate hierarchy which is a sad reflection on its mindset.
Take care, my friends…