It always starts with an idea; in a bar, at a coffee shop, in our moleskin, on a napkin, iPad or computer. But how does it become a brand? How do I get it out of that idea space?
It’s a challenging question that I have asked myself numerous times. After spending the last 5 years building brands in the music, fashion, art, and film space, I decided to tap into my network and ask people I knew what it took for them to turn their ideas into brands. Their stories and brands are totally different, but the message is the same. Each of them didn’t know where they were going to end up, but they stuck with their idea and were never scared to innovate, challenge, or change directions. It takes courage and the understanding that you will need to fail to learn to build your brand. Every company has been through it. Polaroid’s first black and white film caused people’s pictures to fade away over a short period of time. Consumers began to say stuff like “I took pictures of my son’s 1st birthday and now those memories are gone!”. Rather than let that be the end of them, they decided to get together and come up with a solution. They added a small tube of liquid in each box of film to spread onto the photo after it was taken. This birthed the later phenomenon of “Shake it like a Polaroid picture”. Imagine if they would have let that bump be the end. Instead they learned from their mistake, grew from it, and continued on stronger than ever!
Your idea will never become a brand if you don’t go out there and try to make it a reality. If it’s well designed, well marketed, and you continue to maintain, innovate and challenge, you can never fail!
How Ideas Become Brands: Digital Dumbo from Apt No 7 on Vimeo.
