darwin radical branding in 7-ish principles:

1. Brand comes first.

Given people’s shortened attention spans and multi-tasking, waiting until the end of commercial/video to reveal the brand is beyond risky. Weave your brand into the story from the start and you minimize the chances of a viewer missing your brand.

2. Simplify and amplify.

Clients and agencies get tired of their creative work far faster than the viewing audience, and the notion of “wear-out” is over-stated. despite significant spending, a lack of creative focus results in consumers that struggle to recall a single message. Simplify your messaging and amplify it across touchpoints to improve recall.

3. Create your own “brand world.”

Traditional slice-of-life storytelling often “buries” the brand, putting brand recall in jeopardy. So skip the real-world and create a brand world that can’t be mistaken. Target’s distinctive red-circle design aesthetic is one of our favorite examples.

4. Prioritize distinctive brand assets.

Create unique brand assets and use them consistently to help make your brand as easy to remember as possible.

5. Beware: Storytelling can be a liability.

Traditional storytelling isn’t ideal in a multi-tasking viewing environment. We believe simplified billboard-like messaging is a more effective approach.

6. Multi-sensorial creative execution.

Design and integrate creative assets for as many senses as possible. Sight, sound, touch and scent can help your messaging work better in a variety of environments.

7. Subtle is invisible.

Given low levels of viewers’ engagement and smaller viewing screens, if your message isn’t loud and clear, it will most likely be forgotten.

8. Create for attention spans instead of media lengths.

Just because you run a thirty-second commercial/video, doesn’t mean the viewer will give you thirty seconds of their attention. Same goes for pre-rolls and “non-skippables.” Optimize for faster messaging.