image oriented.

HOW TO CREATE A GOOD IMAGE. LEARN FROM THE BEST.

If we talk about image, we talk about intentions. It´s always someone ´s wish to been seen in a specific way behind a campaign. This “someone” is always a character, sometimes a movie star, sometimes a bad guy, or a seductive woman, often a product and surprisingly, it can be a God too. The Christian God created different images of himself in his career. 

He started as the “Creative and Unpredictable God”, then he changed his image into the “Righteous God” and after that he started the latest and best stage of his campaign: The relaunch as “Loving God”. 

2100 years ago God saw the need to reinvent his general concept for new target groups. The campaign was supposed to introduce a new eon without losing the strings to the heritage of his undertaking. 

Firstly, he did a perfect brand analysis. He identified the Ten Commandments as the vital brand-values. If he changed the “eternal” and recently introduced rules, it would damage his credibility. Without changing the rules he needed a new interpretation of them, to match his new image. He had to change the original concept “Obey God” into an intrinsic concept “For the love of God”. For that reason, he created, with “Sacrificing the Son” an incredible and tempting story. 

God was a marketing genius long before men invented marketing. 

He used an effective seeding concept with the twelve disciples. They were deliberately sent by him into the world with a clear message: Tell everyone what you have seen! It was literally the invention of the word-of-mouth campaign.

But an excellent viral strategy is not enough. He combined from the very beginning media-ideas with ideas to penetrate the one image: Jesus sitting at a table breaking the bread. 

The picture of Jesus breaking the bread wasn´t taken by random. This scene is a turning point in the storyline. God implemented the table scene with a well-considered order: Do this in memory! He did nothing but to place a reminder at lunchtime, the ancient primetime. Before every meal someone replayed the scene in which Jesus announced his sacrifice in the name of His Father. It was like watching the same commercial 365 days in the year. Surely, the most original and successful ad-placement ever. 

Not only did he create the communication and media strategy he also developed a remarkable corporate design. When he was planning the logo one thing was certain: It would go hand in hand with the copy strategy. His first sketch showed a fish, based on the feeding scene by the Sea of Galilee. But this logo lacked impact and was not so easy to handle. More importantly it didn´t match his positioning as “The Loving God”. He wanted to depict everything more heart bracingly. 

God, never afraid employing unconventional methods, focused now on a more crucial point in the story. Instead of using a lovely icon, he designed a martial logo: The cross. The instrument of Jesus´ torture and ultimate death. This choice is admirable in three ways: Firstly, the design is reduced to the pure and simple. Secondly, it’s a reminder of a dramatic, heartbreaking scene. Thirdly and most importantly, the cross is a symbol for the benefit of the belief in God. By sacrificing his son, God has taken all sins of his and his sons fellows away.

God offers a really convenient service. Give him your soul in exchange for eternal life. The burden of suffering for your sins, has already been taken for you. The cross says: I did it for you because I love you. 

God made only one concession with respect to technology. He didn´t use the sound of trombones to create a sound-logo. Trombones are the music instruments of the angels. Well, he chose bells because there is no need for musicians. Everyone can play bells. 

The success: God is loved by 2.26 billion followers in 2011.

Gods campaign at one glance

The target: More followers.

The product-benefit: Eternal life (after this life)

The strategy: The Loving God. 

The story concept: God gave his son´s life for our sins.

The key visual concept: Jesus breaking the bread at dinner.

The seeding strategy: The twelve disciples.

The penetrating concept: Replaying the scene “Jesus breaking the bread” at any meal.

The logo: The cross (on which God has given his son for our sins).

The sound-logo: Bells.

Heritage

There is nothing more valuable as heritage for creating a distinguished and impressive image. Blessed are those who have one! For all others: begin to be original. And when you have found your originality stick on the concept. To have an origin means to get an heritage over time. 

Time is the main anime of longterm communication of course. The glory of original things gets boring. The call for new and fresh communication gets louder. And finally a new and fresh start is wanted. If things are new they are interesting. If things are really old they are interesting too. But in the meantime? Well, thats the difficulty: to stick to something to which people get used. How is it possible to conserve the value of something familiar and to make the same thing nevertheless as interesting as something new?

Before I answer the question I´d like to talk about what´s a good basis for our approach. There is a lot of talk in creative circles about ideas, but seldom about long term platforms. The difference between an idea and a platform is a little bit like the difference between a blossom and a complete plant. The plant is able to grow and to get branches. Blossoms are at their final stage. There is no further future for them.

Normally a solid and long term brand message isn´t fascinating at the beginning. Compared to an idea it isn´t exciting. But amusement is not the measure. A platform for a whole communication world has to be formed out of the brand´s core. A valuable brand core is always connected with a psychological aspect in consumer lifes. The revelation of this connection is what makes a communication platform great. But again. How is it possible to refresh a communication platform on and on? Three short suggestions:

Firstly: Stick to the core value of your story or picture. Never change what is the most distinct part of your communication. 

Secondly: Describe the core values of your brand in three to five meaningful and precise words. That will give you a path.

Thirdly: Don´t think about your brand in terms of a system. Think about it in terms of poetry and art! It´s possible to tell one single plot in many ways. The story woman-meets-man-and-after-misunderstandings-they-come-together is been told thousand times. And it is still possible to tell the story again differently. Same with images: The picture woman-lying-on-a-couch is painted in all styles.

For some of you it will look like an easy exercise but in fact, there are only a handful of companies which are capable to make it.  The solution cannot be built like a house - that´s the challenge. There is no magic but a good portion of experience and feeling for communication is needed. It´s like playing a music instrument. For some it´s work and others are able to feel the beat.

And then, finally after years of patience and continuity every communication platform gets the odor of heritage. It´s a long way to create an original brand, so be careful if you start to renew an old brand.

The main thing for brands today: something to talk about and focussing.

If you ignore the fact that  social networks will become one of the main possibilities for companies to reach their customers you´ll fail. If you ignore the fact that social networks are not only another channel like TV, print or websites you´ll fail too. Accept the fact, that every company with ambitions has to use social networks and that using this channel professionally means to mix PR and advertising. It´s all about infotainment. The job isn´t done if you talk to your community. The job is done if you entertain and interact with your “audience”. I read a lot about the importance of response times for the accuracy of statements, but I miss someone who mentions the fact, that people want to be entertained.

Companies won´t talk to their customers only for fun. There is an aim behind every contact and this is always to seduce people to buy something. If social networking can´t provide this it´s useless for them in regard to advertising. Ask yourself: Would you like to be seduced by a company?! So companies and customers have a conflicting purposes to use social networks.

For companies social networks are only another possibility for broadcasting their messages. Ahh! I hear all the social network gurus howling! Saying that I misunderstand social networks completely. That the rules are different. No! They´re not! Would you like to know why? Because at the other end is always a human being. If you like to seduce someone you have to talk to that person kindly - or better - charmingly. Show respect and make yourself interesting.

And so there are three simple rules for good and useful company behavior in social networks: 

Firstly: Show people respect. If you respond within reasonable time it´s fine.  Listen to them and to give reasonable answers that´s more important than to be fast. 

Secondly: Be aware, that your communication should be in line with the brand´s strategy. Stay focused and easy. If you are to strict there will be a lack of spontaneity. But the other way round it won´t be sales or brand communication. Than it´s only entertainment. 

Thirdly: Create reasons for communication to talk about something interesting. It´s not done with a story about your new product or a good coworker. It´s necessary to create something special. 

Three examples for good and focussed social network activities: Festo created a mechanical dove. They placed a short film in YouTube. Result: 1.6 million clicks. Red Bull creates sport events on a regular basis which they promote via Facebook and their redbullbull.tv. Result: 22 million likes.  Or like Mercedes. They implemented in their brand communication things like the Mercedes fashion week or the F-Cell World Drive or the Pangaea Expedition. The Result: 4 million likes.

What examples do you know? What´s your opinion about using social network for brand communication?