Jekkilekki

Trying to Brand a Country? Don’t depend on an Adjective to do it.

Aaron — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 10:24:10 +0000

This is a post the official Korea Tourism Organization had on their Facebook wall recently.

If you could pick only ONE word to describe Korea, what would it be?^^

I had read at the beginning of the year that Korea is going to be rebranding its tourism campaign and logo, after the not-so-great “Korea, Sparkling” that InterBrand came up with. Additionally, I know that the government formed a whole organization just to deal with the rebrand.

But, I think there are a few things that are inherently wrong with trying to label a whole country with a SINGLE word.

No country, city, person, object, or even color (how many “blues” are there?) can be adequately described with a single word – especially not an all-encompassing, generic word.
Countries are naturally combinations of thousands of elements, traditions, characteristics, and experiences. To try and describe them all with ONE word is like trying to paint the Sistine Chapel with a single color of paint.
Adjectives, even those that sound specific (“Incredible India” anyone?), are far too generic and can be applied to any number of other countries, or positive AND negative experiences (“Incredibly terrible service at that restaurant.” or “Is Japan really as incredible as people claim?”).
Any single word (or country) may be misunderstood by a reader. Take “Korea, Sparkling” for example. Many tourists thought it meant “sparkling soda.” Take “Korea” for another example. Many Americans immediately think of North Korea whenever that word is mentioned. The connotations of both of these aren’t beneficial to a tourism campaign.

So, I have a suggestion:

If you’re thinking about a new Tourism brand, why not use a verb, rather than an adjective?

Adjectives like “Sparkling”, “Inspiring” and even “Unforgettable” are very generic and can be applied to many countries without giving people a very distinct idea about the specific country it’s applied to. And some adjectives may contain negative connotations. “Incredible India” or “Unforgettable Korea” could quickly become negative for someone who has had a very poor experience in one of those countries. I read something to this effect on a travel blog recently, “Incredible India indeed. Incredibly hard to digest.”

On the other hand, a verb like “Discover” or “Experience” invites people to partake of the experience of all aspects of a country – to learn about it, enjoy it, and remember it. From research I’ve done (and my own experiences), much of the Western world has the wrong impression about Korea (largely thanks to North Korea in the news).

Rather than using an adjective like “Unforgettable” to introduce people to a Korea they may already have the wrong idea about, it may be better to use a verb like “Discover” to invite people to first learn about the country, and second to discover for themselves its “unforgettable”, “inspiring”, or “sparkling” characteristics.

Treat Korea as a sparkling treasure of tourism that many people haven’t discovered yet. Treat it as a hidden gem, or a diamond in the rough that, once discovered, is truly unforgettable. Don’t assume that people already understand Korea and that a nice adjective can adequately describe it. The truth is, most people don’t understand Korea very well. That’s why they need to “Discover” it.

Anyway, that’s just my two-cents on the possible rebranding of Korea’s Tourism. That’s what I’m going for with my grad school project.

Why is my logo better than the others?

I chose a verb to invite people to learn about and experience Korea for themselves.
I use THREE adjectives to help people begin to picture and understand Korea as it is – a vastly diverse country, both very ancient (with a history of over 4,000 years), and very advanced (with some of the most technologically advanced companies on Earth – Samsung (who makes the chips inside Apple’s devices), LG (who makes the displays in Apple products and is working on electronic paper), and Hyundai (who makes excellent cars). In fact, the contrast of Korea’s opposites – modern and ancient, business and family, work and pleasure, healthy eating and personal vices (drinking and smoking) – are what makes Korea so Unforgettable. These polar opposites that are present throughout every aspect of life in Korea create a magnetic attraction to the country that is unparalleled by surrounding countries.
The logo text of “Korea” is a variation on the Korean alphabet itself: “ㅈㅇㄹㅌㅅ” The Korean alphabet is smashingly simple to learn, with only 24 “letters” and is a proud achievement that needs to be acknowledged by any tourism campaign.
The logo is a variation of the iconic yin-yang symbol on Korea’s national flag. I took the yin symbol, and rotated it around to form the shape of a flower. Additionally, each color of the logo represents a different, unique, and unforgettable aspect of Korea. Tourists should strive to experience each of these six aspects of Korea in order to get a full understanding of the country Korea is. Beginning at the top red mark, and moving around in a counter-clockwise manner (toward pink), the colors represent: 1) Spicy Food, 2) Traditional Culture, 3) Advanced Technology, 4) Endless Adventure, 5) Ancient History, 6) Breathtaking Nature.

For more information about my student project (and for updates as they come), please visit my site.

Superman Returns’ Box Office Mojo: Wimpy. Doesn’t The Man of Steel deserve better?

Aaron — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:09:10 +0000

I think that most fans of Superman are in favor of elevating the Superman brand with a new movie, likely in 3-D and iMAX. The original Superman movies originally took off on the big screen to big reviews – Rotten Tomatoes reports a 94% approval rating for the original Superman (Rotten Tomatoes), an 88% approval for Superman II (Rotten Tomatoes), and an 83% rating for the Richard Donner cut of Superman II which was released in 2006 (Rotten Tomatoes). Compare that to the 76% rating they show for Superman Returns, also released in 2006, and the very low 23% rating for Superman III, and 10% rating for Superman IV (Rotten Tomatoes). I think it is very apparent that Superman is due for a big comeback on the silver screen. My own BHAG and BHIs reflect this sentiment.

Build Anticipation with “Superman Spottings”

I particularly liked a classmate’s idea of using live-action Superman Spottings as a promotion in big cities. I love the way this takes on Superman marketing from an entirely different perspective than normal. These days, bombarding people with ads on TV and in print seems to be less effective than it was years ago due to the saturation of ads in every form of media. Additionally, people love to be part of an experience. Imagine taking the theme park experience and putting it out there on big city streets for anyone to be a part of. That would sure get buzz circulating about Superman’s return and next big adventure.

A little history about Superman Returns

As far as the movies go, I think that one of the biggest problems with Superman Returns was the length of time it took to develop it and release it, as well as the budget behind that produced unrealistic expectations. Jeff Jensen for Entertainment Weekly writes, “It took nearly two decades (and over $350 million) to bring Superman Returns to theaters. Now the Man of Steel faces his biggest challenge — winning over Generation-X Men.” (Jensen, 2006). BoxOfficeMojo.com puts the Superman Returns budget at a more reasonable $270 million (BoxOfficeMojo), but that is still a rather high budget, and the movie failed to even recoup its investment from both the domestic and foreign markets (although it did so together – $200 million domestic, $191 million foreign (BoxOfficeMojo)).

Compared with the biggest movies of the past decade…

But compare that budget to some of the blockbusters that have done well in the past few years. Batman Begins had a $150 million budget and grossed $205 million domestically and $167 million foreign in 2005. In 2008, The Dark Knight was budgeted at $185 million and grossed $1 billion worldwide ($533 million domestic and $469 foreign). The movie 2012, released in 2009, which depicted worldwide catastrophic events and prominently featured famous foreign landmarks did very well overseas, pulling in $604 million in sales. It’s only gained $166 million domestically which was not enough to cover its $200 million dollar budget, so thankfully it did well internationally. And finally, Avatar, released in 2010 and the highest grossing motion picture of all time, which The New York Times (Cieply, 2009) reported cost $500 million to make, raked in a total of $2.7 billion dollars, a good 48% more than the previous record holder Titanic. It garnished $750 million domestically, and nearly $2 billion overseas. (BoxOfficeMojo).

Superman Returns is officially one of the highest budgeted films of all time…The Man of Steel deserves better

And considering an article published by Slashfilm.com (Sciretta, 2007) in 2007 that states that at that time Spiderman-3 would top the list of most expensive movies ever created at $250 million (it reported a more conservative budget of $204 million for Superman Returns, probably without considering the decades old production costs, or overseas marketing), I think the producers and executives in charge of Superman Returns just got a little over-zealous in their budgeting and performance hopes. Superman Returns is officially one of the highest budgeted films of all time, but performed far below what similar movies at half that budget have done. I think we can all agree that The Man of Steel needs considerable rethinking and budgeting, as well as some great ideas like “Superman Spottings” to promote the movie and Superman’s brand image before it comes down to the wire with its release date.

What about you?

What does Superman need to rejuvenate him? What would you like to see in The Man of Steel movie?

References

Rotten Tomatoes. (2010). Search. Retrieved July 18, 2010 from http://www.rottentomatoes.com

BoxOfficeMojo. (2010). Search. Retrieved July 18, 2010 from http://boxofficemojo.com

Jensen, Jeff. (2006, Jun. 16). Greatest American Hero? Retrieved July 18, 2010 from http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1204671,00.html

Cieply, Michael. (2009, Nov. 8). A Movie’s Budget Pops from the Screen. Retrieved July 18, 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/business/media/09avatar.html

Sciretta, Peter. (2007, Jan. 9). Avatar and the Most Expensive Movies of All Time. Retrieved July 18, 2010 from http://www.slashfilm.com/article.php/20070109avatar

Isn’t a BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal) with a numerically measurable goal better than a short, simple slogan?

Aaron — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 08:31:56 +0000

I first posted about BHAGs and BHIs (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals and Big, Hairy Ideas) regarding the Superman brand. Let me get a little more specific with the BHAGs portion by saying that I think it is a great idea to use a percentage to quantify BHAGs – i.e. Increase XX by YY%. It can really help make a goal visible, targetable, and reachable, and it gives everyone involved with the brand something to shoot for. One of my classmates posted a great article with great references for different types of BHAGs: Target, Common Foe, Role Model, and Internal Transformation. Numbers can held add depth and meaning to any of these kinds of BHAGs.

On the other hand, as I was also researching BHAGs, I also noticed that not every BHAG I’d seen was measurable – like Microsoft’s, “A computer on every desk and in every home” (Microsoft, 2002), or Twitter’s “To become the ‘Pulse of the Planet.’” (Schonfeld, 2009). It is definitely interesting to see the different ways BHAGs can be used. Often the shortest and simplest are the most focused and easiest to keep in mind.

Intangible = Achievable?

I do think, though, that sometimes BHAGs like this, are truly unmeasurable are much more difficult to understand, pursue, and accomplish. If a BHAG is intangible, how do you know when you’ve reached it? I also was under the impression from our discussion guide that this BHAG should be something that was quantifiable, or measurable in some way and (as we all seem to have done here) rely on percentages or numbers of some kind. I like to see the way that you’ve changed your BHAG to match and be more measurable, and therefore more achievable.

But, understand the initial numbers before choosing new BHAG numbers

However, this brings up another interesting point. How can we really choose percentages or any numbers for our BHAGs without first understanding the initial numbers? Depending on the first set of numbers, an increase by 25% could either be a very dramatic, million dollar number, or it could just be a matter of a few hundred. This makes choosing a quantifiable percentage for our BHAGs much more of a challenge. I mean, how many of us will go out and research the superhero video game market to determine what percentage of the market share Superman already owns, and what percentage we’d like to increase that market share by? Additionally, there may be some markets in which the Superman brand has absolutely no presence whatsoever. In that case, an ambitious BHAG to increase market share by 50% would technically yield a constant 0% market share after even a few years (due to the fact that anything multiplied by 0 remains 0).

Therefore, I can really respected another classmate’s brief research for a number about Avatar’s 3-D release:

With the first Samsung 3-D Television out, and Imax movies at an all time high, March 2010 – Avatar: An IMAX 3D Experience completed its initial run as the all-time highest grossing IMAX release; the worldwide IMAX box office total for the film climbed to more than $220 million since the movie’s launch in December.(imax.com) bringing the superman brand in to the Imax experience and the gaming Industry Superman can be as strong in the brand as he is as a superhero.

Although it would have been nicer to see some Superman statistics here to determine by what percentage he’d like to increase Superman’s sales, the fact that he found some actual numbers about Avatar by which to base his BHAG comparatively (in this case a “Role Model” BHAG as the above article mentions), made it nice, and a lot easier to understand and measure in the long run. By setting it up against Avatar, the new Superman movie, targeted here to be released on iMAX, will have something to shoot for.

Give me a decent quantifier

Still, it would have been nice for him to spell it out like that directly. Something like: “To BEAT Avatar’s 3-D iMAX gross.” Of course, that goal is highly ambitious, but as they say, “Shoot for the moon, and if you miss, you’ll still be among the stars.” To shoot that high will either bring great success, or crashing defeat. Either way, there’s a decent quantifier to measure it by, and it doesn’t necessarily need to be a percentage.

What about you?

Do you think a measurable BHAG is better? One with some numbers or percentages to quantify it? Or do you think a short and simple BHAG/catch-phrase/slogan is better? Like Twitter’s ambition to be the “Pulse of the Planet”?

References

Microsoft. (2002, Oct. 25). Microsoft’s Tradition of Innovation. Retrieved July 17, 2010 from http://www.microsoft.com/About/CompanyInformation/ourbusinesses/profile.mspx

Schonfeld, Erick. (2009, Jul. 16). Twitter’s Internal Strategy Laid Bare: To Be “The Pulse Of The Planet.” On TechCrunch.com. Retrieved July 17, 2010 from http://techcrunch.com/2009/07/16/twitters-internal-strategy-laid-bare-to-be-the-pulse-of-the-planet/

One Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal and Three Big, Hairy Ideas to Make Superman a Truly Iconic GLOBAL Superhero

Aaron — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:28:22 +0000

BHAG: Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal

BHAG: To make Superman the de-facto, number one, iconic superhero throughout the globe, particularly in the G20 and OECD countries, by increasing his presence and visibility overseas 100% (doubled) over the next 2 years in preparation for a worldwide release of The Man of Steel in 2012, in which he saves the WORLD and not just America. To increase international ticket sales of The Man of Steel by 100% (doubled to $382 million (Box Office Mojo)) over that of its predecessor Superman Returns in 2006.

BHIs: Big, Hairy Ideas

BHI (1): To establish Superman headquarters and marketing teams in each of the G20 and OCED nations to promote Superman’s image abroad. These teams should be made up of a good deal of natives of each country, with American brand managers at their head, to determine the best ways to incorporate local culture into the promotion of Superman while still maintaining his brand identity.

BHI (2): Establish short comics for print ads, newspapers, or other in-country media (tailored to the needs of each country), and posters, flyers, T-shirts, and other promotional materials that use relevant places and culture associated with each country. Allow each country’s marketing and promotional teams to have a hand at adding to the Superman legend in a way that is relevant for people within those countries – either by saving their own countries and landmarks, or by dealing with issues that citizens have strong emotional connections to. The native teams will be key to determining the best way to approach these subjects for their consumers.

BHI (3): In each country, choose highly visible and popular local heroes (possibly supporting social causes) to represent Superman’s ideals. Develop marketing and promotional materials that feature these local heroes, their charities, the Superman logo, his ideals, and ways for people to get involved. A great example would be to create posters with local heroes in the iconic “T-shirt reveal” pose, with a slogan somewhere along the lines of “Be a Superman” and directions about how to get involved or help out with some relevant issue. This should help to make that term “Superman” a universal vocabulary word that describes someone who is not only strong, but who embodies the ideals of the Superman brand and character.

Rationale for BHIs

Rationale (1): Creating promotional teams in each of the G20 and OECD countries will reinforce the idea that Superman is a global hero, and not just an American, or Metropolis City hero. It will elevate the brand by making Superman more relevant to international audiences, and it will extend the brand and add value to it by not just promoting a movie, but attempting to make Superman highly visible and appealing in other countries. Then, the teams will be able to deliver on the BHAG when it comes time to promoting The Man of Steel, and will draw in a much larger international audience who are more in tune with Superman’s appeal.

Rationale (2): Creating short comic strips (or animations) for local media will reinforce the brand because Superman began in comics. It will elevate the brand by extending Superman’s reach into international markets with stories they can relate to. It will add value to the brand by allowing different nations to participate in the Superman legend with their own take on his continuing story (with some brand control). It will deliver on the BHAG by further increasing Superman’s international visibility and appeal.

Rationale (3): Partnering with local heroes for materials that jointly promote Superman and social causes will reinforce the brand by reinforcing Superman’s own ideals, vision, morals, and ethics through the actual representations of real people. It will elevate the brand by using real life heroes, and extend the brand by reaching out to international audiences on an emotional level with local heroes and causes. It will add value to the brand by encouraging people to become “global citizens” by volunteering, helping others, getting involved in social causes, and living to a higher moral standard. Finally, it will deliver on the BHAG by spreading using local culture to spread the Superman brand and ideals to international markets.

What about you?

What kinds of Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals or Big, Hairy Ideas do you think will make Superman soar once again?

References

Box Office Mojo. (2006, Oct. 29). Superman Returns: Foreign Total. Retrieved July 16, 2010 from http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=superman06.htm

A Brief Brand Analysis of the Superman Brand

Aaron — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:21:42 +0000

Attributes

The top three brand attributes of the Superman brand are: Invincible, Idealistic, and Inspirational. The term “invincible” adequately describes Superman’s strength, durability, indestructible nature, and god-like power. Superman is “idealistic” in that he conforms to an ultimate standard of morality and excellence, even at times to his own detriment. Superman is “inspirational” because his strength and power, and righteousness and character, can and do inspire others to live better lives.

Promises

The promises of the Superman brand can be summed up by his actions. He always fights for what’s right, does not stand to see injustice prevail, will not resort to evil to overcome evil, always takes the high road though it cost more, and is always consistent in character: a solid rock of morality.

Top Three Features and Benefits

The top three features of the brand are wrapped up in Superman’s own iconic catch-phrase, “truth, justice, and the American way.” The truth (in today’s world of half-truths and outright lies) gives customers hope that truth will prevail. Superman’s justice can first be seen in Action Comics #1, released in 1938, as Superman rescues battered wives from abusive husbands. With it, customers gain satisfaction and peace of mind in that, though the world is full of evil, there is still justice to be found. Finally, “the American way,” within the US, helps to unite Americans with a sense of national pride and patriotism whenever they see something featuring the Man of Steel (although internationally, this holds little benefit).

Emotionally, the Superman brand fills people with hope, in goodness prevailing over darkness, in the ideals of truth and justice, and in living to higher standards, either moral or personal.

Brand Archetype

Superman’s brand archetype is commonly referred to as “Hero” and I mostly agree. Superman is deeply Heroic – he is a warrior, principled, an idealist, challenges “wrongs,” improves the world, and sacrifices himself for the greater good. However, over time, Superman as a brand has evolved beyond mere hero and approached the archetype of Ruler. For example, Superman wields his god-like powers with near ultimate authority, and is able to change the course of world events as he sees fit. Additionally, as HeroWithin.com writes, “The Ruler archetype inspires us to take responsibility for our own lives, in our fields of endeavor, and in the society at large.” (Archetypes101, n.d.).

Primary Competition

The Superman brand’s primary competition is Batman. Both are incredibly iconic superhero brands, but Batman is cinematically stronger and more recognized because of that. The Batman movies created a very realistic, Everyman, Batman with personal struggles and demons that anyone could identify with. Batman is much easier for an audience to identify with particularly due to his humanity. That leaves the question: How human should they make Superman?

The Iconic “S” Logo

The Superman “S” logo has evolved over time, showing a progressive change. From the very first “S” on Action Comics #1 in 1938 to the latest Superman movie, the “S” logo has been on a shield with yellow, red, and sometimes black colors. The logo has undergone stylistic changes over the years, depending on the artist, time period, or medium, but it has always “respect[ed] the equities that exist within the design.” (Capsule, 2007, p. 118).

Conclusion

Overall, the Superman brand has a very strong, and long, history with iconic symbols, memorable quotes, and high moral character. However, with corruption and greed highly visible all over the world, the Superman brand needs to be updated to better address the modern morality crisis. Superman needs to be made more relatable and relevant by exploring his human characteristics further. And the brand needs to branch away from “the American way” to target a much more diverse international crowd. Superman protects EARTH, not just America. It’s time for Superman to become an international icon, not just an American one.

What about you?

What do you think of Superman and all he and/or the brand entails? What is needed for a Superman Movie reboot? What can make Superman more relevant to today’s society?

References

Archetypes101. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2010 from http://www.herowithin.com/arch101.html

Capsule. (2007). Logos. Massachusetts, USA: Rockport Publishers.

A Faux Interview about Brand Me

Aaron — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:36:37 +0000

As part of my schooling, I was asked to consider “The Brand Called You” about myself. My first thoughts were posted here, and this is a follow-up, “faux interview” that asked me to consider all kinds of various aspects and angles of the brand that is me, as a designer and freelancer, both now and in the future.

The Faux Interview

What is the field or industry in which you are branding Yourself (this includes you as a person, son/daughter, spouse, parent, student, career person, citizen, etc)?

Aaron Snowberger is branding himself into the Korean graphic design field. He specifically targets companies and organizations that require print designs that blend Korean and English. His secondary focus is website designs, coding, and CMSs.

What does brand You promise to do and why (big picture)?

Aaron promises to create the best combination of Korean and Western design and typography.

Brand Mission: What is the purpose or goal of brand You?

Aaron’s mission is to spread information, understanding, and interest in Korea to the Western world, and improve upon Korean design, technology and English usage by using Western thought and principles.

Brand Vision: What is the vision for the future of brand You? What does the future look like from a growth perspective? What are the aspirations of the leader of brand You?

Aaron’s vision for the future is to be Korea’s go-to-guy for designs that blend Korean and Western language and images.

Within 5 years, Aaron will achieve fluency in Korean and implement translation and dual-language services in designs, sites, documents, contracts, and so on.

Within 10 years, Aaron will be working consistently with Korean companies in design, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as some large companies, either as part of a Korean design firm, or on his own. He may even hire contractors to help meet demand if necessary.

Within 20 or 30 years, Aaron will be involved with investment companies and international business firms, either as owner of his own design firm, or as part of a Korean firm. His business dealings and relationships will allow international business travel between the US and Korea on a fairly regular basis.

Aaron’s aspirations are to establish himself as the foremost expert on Korean design and typography, with a healthy blend of culture and tourism thrown in.

Brand Positioning: How is brand You positioned in the market place? What’s the strategic competitive advantage of brand You?

Aaron is currently an unknown an new entity in the Korean design field. He has a deep passion for Korea and its culture, but still shallow pools of true knowledge of Korean design to bring to bear toward his vision.

His competitive advantage is that he is one of only a very few Westerners living in Korea who are talented, knowledgeable and passionate about design and Korea. Due to this, he brings a fresh perspective and ideas to the Korean design field. With one foot firmly planted in the Western world, and one foot in Korea, he is in a position to become a real asset to Korean graphic design in the future, especially as it relates to international business, relationships, and English.

Company Culture/Values: What does brand You “stand” for? What is the moral character/fiber of brand You?

Aaron stands for forward-thinking design that is both creative and original – “outside-the-box” thinking, as well as standards-based. Aaron is a strong proponent of standards and best practices for both web design and print design. He believes it is important for businesses who want to remain competitive in today’s market to stay up-to-date with the leading technologies and design standards. He makes it his responsibility to keep his clients informed as to the latest developments in website technology and design standards.

Aaron is characterized by encouraging deep respect, empathy, and understanding between all parties and cultures. His goals are to ensure solid foundations in each design and business relationship that provide level footing for both parties to be able to see eye-to-eye. He believes in honesty and open communication as well as unity and mutual understanding in design relationships and across cultures.

Who is the Target Audience of brand You? Provide details about their demographics (age range, income, education level, general lifestyle interests)?

Current demographics for Aaron’s target audience include business owners or organizational higher-ups that have some say in the design direction and marketing of their respective groups. This would generally include people aged 25-55, graduates from higher education, who make between $40,000-$80,000 per year and have money to invest in quality designs. Aaron’s current target audience also includes anyone who utilizes English in design and can speak and understand English fairly well (to avoid using a translator to prepare contracts or agreements).

In the future, Aaron will adjust his target audience to meet his increasing qualifications and experience. Within 5-10 years, he expects to target small to medium businesses, in English and Korean, and people who make between $50,000-$200,000 per year.

Who is a Club Member or Loyal to your brand, why? What essence do you evoke with these members (Brand You club)?

Customers who are loyal to Aaron are those who have previously entered into a successful design relationship with him. A successful design relationship is characterized by Aaron’s ability to deliver high quality designs in a short time to these clients that sufficiently meet the goals of the organization, as well as include a little something extra – either a bonus feature, discount, or something else the client finds beneficial. Aaron makes a focused effort to be knowledgeable, experienced, talented, and informed about any design or client he works with. He will honestly critique a situation and genuinely help as much as possible by providing resources, references, or even pointing clients to a better service provider if their needs exceed his ability to provide. Those customers who have experienced these characteristics of Aaron often consider him their “go-to-guy” for all things related to their design or tech needs. They occasionally use him as a sounding board for their ideas, or as a resource to discuss new possibilities with design or new technologies. They consider him first in fulfilling their needs and aren’t hesitant to contact him.

What are three features brand You offers over the competition, and which is the single most important one of these features?

The first feature Aaron offers over the competition is comprehensive English checking – in grammar and content.

The second feature he offers is thorough, in-depth research into his clients and their needs (often exceeding the expectations of his clients), and focused attention-to-detail in their designs.

The third feature Aaron offers is a deep interest and continuing research in typography. This is most important because good typography is foundational to good designs. Aaron’s interest in typography extends beyond the English alphabet alone and into the Korean, Chinese, and Japanese alphabets as well. He has studied the three alphabets and languages for a combined 7 years, and is incredibly interested in letterforms and their usage in design. This passion for all kinds of typography gives Aaron’s designs a strength his competitors don’t have.

What are the three corresponding benefits to these features, which is the single most important one of these benefits?

The first benefit clients reap from Aaron’s English checking feature is confidence in the usage of English in their designs. Clients who utilize Aaron for design don’t need to worry about embarrassing grammar, spelling, or context mistakes.

The second benefit clients reap from Aaron’s focused research is his deep understanding of the company, its values and messages. With these, Aaron is able to help the company better convey itself through design in order to reach their goals, their target audience, and their potential.

The final (and most important) benefit clients reap from Aaron’s knowledge of, interest in, and study of typography is a solid foundation for all of their designs. Because Aaron knows how to choose fonts that help convey messages through their letter forms, and combine typefaces to create strong designs, he is better able to bring English and Korean together in designs. In the international business world in Korea, a strong combination of Korean and English fonts in design can create a sense of trustworthiness and professionalism in a company’s target audience. Likewise, poor combinations of fonts can cause even the most prestigious business entity appear amateurish or out-of-touch with their audiences.

What are the three Key Tenets of brand You?

Aaron’s three Key Tenets are:

Clean -> Focused -> Purposeful

All his designs, research, and client dealings fall within these three Tenets.

What is the primary strength of brand You?

The primary strength of Aaron in Korea is his English. He is an experienced English teacher in Korea with a strong knowledge of the language. This is a skill that many in Korea avidly seek. Additionally, because of his English ability, Aaron has access to literally thousands of resources, educational, business, and design, in the US, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. This can be of great benefit to the right company in Korea.

What is the primary weakness of brand You?

The primary weakness of Aaron is also his English. He is often branded (by others) as nothing more than an English teacher. People come to him more for help with English grammar than for designing something. He has not established his name as a knowledgeable and talented source for design, and his lack of ability in Korean amplifies this weakness.

Who is the primary competitor of brand You?

The primary competitor of Aaron is any idiot with a computer and a copy of Photoshop (legal or pirated). Indeed, as a relatively new and unknown designer, talent and experience really make little impact on businesses looking to save a buck or score free designs. Many small businesses have little desire to pay even a reasonable wage for a skill many of them view as a commodity (partially because they don’t understand the impact good design can have on their businesses). If they can get their nephew to whip something up in a pirated copy of Photoshop for free, it seems like a much better bargain than paying a talented designer for hours of research and development that ultimately yields a single logo or design.

Therefore, Aaron’s secondary competitors are Korean designers with formal training, including university students who study design and are willing to work cheap to gain experience. These designers have resources and connections, including fluency in Korean, that Aaron doesn’t have and can target clients that would be more likely and able to offer a fair wage for design work.

Why and how is brand You different or more compelling than your competition?

Aaron stands out from the crowd of competitors by providing exceptional service, from pre-service and client contact, through post-service and follow-up. He is additionally knowledgeable and skilled with a number of essential design technologies including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, CSS, HTML, and Joomla. With his knowledge of Western design practices, web standards, website programming, and the latest technology from the Western world, (and English), he is much more compelling than his young Korean designer counterparts.

What is the unique selling proposition (USP) of brand You?

With a foot in two worlds, Aaron brings the best of the West together with the best of Korea to create compelling designs that move people to action. His love of language and typography add to his ability to fuse the equally strong English and Korean alphabets (Hangul) in design.

COMPLETE BRAND YOU STATEMENT:

Aaron is a print and web designer who’s passion for language and letter forms enable him to create compelling designs that combine Korean and English. He is an advocate for standards-based designs, particularly on the web, and utilizing updated and modern technologies to their fullest potential. Aaron is also committed to ensuring his clients reach their fullest potential by leading them through an in-depth design process – from client contact and research, to planning and implementation, to follow-up services – in order to ensure mutual understanding and the best possible service. Aaron is a talented and experienced designer who prides himself on delivering clean, focused, and purposeful designs that increase his clients’ credibility and trustworthiness in their markets.

What do you think?

Did I cover everything? Anything else you want to know? What about Brand YOU?

Brand “You”: Find out about Me

Aaron — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:03:21 +0000

For one assignment in my class, we were required to read a very interesting article called “The Brand Called You” that was published by Fast Company back in 1997. I find that the things Tom Peters writes about in there are no less pertinent today than they were then, and in fact they are more so. There is also a great follow-up article on Fast Company here called “Brand You Survival Kit.” Thinking about “Brand Me” was an interesting challenge, as it is difficult sometimes to look at yourself from an outside perspective and really analyze and consider who you are and where you’re going. Therefore, writing in the third-person was an integral part of this assignment. Below, you can read a little about “Brand Me.”

Brand Aaron

Aaron Snowberger is an American graphic design artist and website developer in South Korea. His purpose is to bring the best of Western design to Korea and combine it with the best of Korean design. Korea has a design history of thousands of years, and the intricate patterns, brilliant colors, and intelligently designed alphabet still inspire wonderful designs. However, due to a long period of closure to the West, Japanese colonial rule, war, division, political unrest, and military rule – from at least the beginning of the 20th century until the first democratic elections in 1987 – there is much in the way of modern design history the country missed out on and could benefit from. Aaron seeks to blend Korean intricacy and colors with the West’s simplicity and cleanness in design. His biggest goal in Korea is to help Korean designers and corporations think “outside the box” and offer them a different perspective on design. After all, too much similarity lends nothing to distinction.

A little bit of background

Aaron is a website designer and developer who also publishes his own personal magazine for family and friends a few times each year. He works with non-profit organizations and local and overseas businesses to create designs that are aimed at attracting certain target audiences and encouraging interaction. His mission in all design work is to view each opportunity with a fresh set of eyes and improve upon what has been done before. He views design as a great medium for communication in which each element can add something to the delivery – from color, to size, layout, patterns, typefaces, images, and so on. Each has a role to play in design, and Aaron seeks to maximize each one’s potential.

Long-term goals

Aaron’s long-term goals include entering a Korean design company to work full-time designing for a variety of Korean businesses, and eventually become a design and branding consultant to Korean companies. But, ultimately, Aaron seeks to further unify Korea and the Western world in design, understanding, and global relationships. He seeks to educate Koreans as to a better kind of webdesign that doesn’t rely heavily on Flash advertisements and animations, and doesn’t depend on Microsoft and Internet Explorer for functionality. He also seeks to educate the Western world about a Korea that many misunderstand, or fear due to its northerly brother, or are just ignorant of because they don’t feel Korea has any relevance.

Vision for the future

Aaron’s vision for Korea and the West, as well as how they can relate to each other through design, is important because the world is daily shrinking as markets and money become more globalized. Korea is very relevant to the West because they provide the world with top-level technologies through makers Samsung and LG, as well as Hyundai, Daewoo, and Kia – and these are only the tip of the iceberg of what Korea is capable of. Likewise, the Western world is of particular importance to Korea. In the globalized economy, an understanding of Western business practices and English are very important to a country that seeks to increase its own international standing through global businesses and trades. And design, for its part can be a wonderful collaborator and communicator on both sides, to further understanding and relationships for these two parts of the world. As Alina Wheeler writes, “While globalization has blurred the distinctions among cultures, the best brands pay attention to cultural differences.” (Wheeler, 2009, p. 28).

Value-Driven

Aaron approaches all things in life through a set of values that drive and inspire him. He seeks continual self-improvement, life-long learning, honesty and integrity, and works very hard at perfection. Additionally, he takes every opportunity as a learning experience, and tries to squeeze as much knowledge from each as possible.

What about you?

What’s your brand? What do you have to offer the world? Post a link to your personal homepage, or your “About page” here.

References

Wheeler, Alina. (2009). Designing Brand Identity, 3rd edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

This is Korea: Mood Board Design for Tourism Promotion

Aaron — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:27:36 +0000

I created this mood board with the specific purpose of thinking about tourism from the perspective of a Western traveler who wants to take a vacation, but has little understanding about Korea. I find that the biggest problem most Western people have with Korea is a misunderstanding of it. When I say “Korea,” most people look surprised and ask me “North Korea?” Or, if they understand that South Korea is the one I’m referring to, they ask me, “What is it like with North Korea?” Most people from the Western world are so concerned with and focused on North Korea, that they miss the beauty that is South Korea. Therefore, I chose the words (and potential logo) in the top right corner of the mood board, “This is Korea.” I think that most people don’t fully understand what Korea truly is.

The Question to end all Questions

In the left-center of the mood board (designed at A3 size, so if printed it will take up two A4 size pages), there is a black box that I began with (and referenced in my previous post) to help me decide what images to include in the mood board. I find that China and Japan are Korea’s strongest competitors for tourism, so the most important questions I could ask were about the motivations for traveling to, and most iconic places in, each of those countries. In China, the Great Wall is a huge draw. In Japan, Mount Fuji. But in Korea, there are very few places that are so famous or at least as widely known outside Korea.

Oh where, Korea, is your history?

Part of the reasons for China and Japan’s fame, and their draw for tourists, include their lengthy and well-known histories (which are studied in many Western classrooms), and their cultures and cultural icons, including foods, martial arts, writing, and religions (which are very widely portrayed in Hollywood movies). Korea is most famous for it’s belligerent brother to the North, and the Korean War – which seems to have been something of an embarrassment for the West (the US). At least that’s what I gathered from the fact that history books and classrooms all throughout my academic experience have kind of skipped over that chapter (and often subchapter) of history. Most American students don’t even know the dates of the Korean War – a big part of American history, or even why the US was in Korea in the first place. Much of Korea and Korean culture still seems to be skipped over, forgotten about, or neglected in Western education because it is deemed either irrelevant, or North Korea is so much of a threat it is easier to only concentrate on that aspect of Korea.

Make your weaknesses become your strengths

That being said, I think that Korean history is a very important part of Korea, and the draw for tourism. I read that the DMZ separating North and South is the largest draw for tourism in the country. Additionally, I think that Korea is an incredibly relevant country in this modern age. Electronics giants Samsung and LG are present in nearly ever advanced country, and hold huge market shares, especially in cell phones and small electronics. Hyundai is additionally becoming a respected car manufacturer and may eventually be joined by Samsung (already one of the most respected car manufacturers within Korea).

About the Mood Board

Now, about the mood board itself. I put images from Korea’s history up in the top left corner, as well as the DMZ. The images I chose reminded me of some of the most shocking and widely publicized images from other nations that have become famous, including Tiananmen Square in China, and war pictures from Vietnam or other nations. I also wanted to include bits of Korea that are famous in Korea, but not well-known outside of Korea. Therefore, progressing along the top of the board, I included traditional architecture, mountain landscapes, modern architecture and city lights, and the four distinct seasons that Koreans are so proud of at the far right. Progressing toward the bottom, I included Korean celebrity and 2010 Olympic gold medalist Kim Yuna, Korea’s famous sports, and modern technology. Heading back to the left, I included a Korean wedding ceremony, the Korean alphabet, Buddhism, Korean food, and celebrity Rain, who won the 2010 MTV Movie Award for “Biggest Bad Ass Actor” for his role in Ninja Assassin. And in the lower left corner, there is a tourism poster with the slogan “Korea Sparkling” as well as many pictures of traditional and modern dance (B-boys).

I used all three of the Korea Tourism Organization’s own tourism slogans, from “Dynamic Korea” to “Korea Sparkling” and finally “Inspiring Korea.” I used a font face that takes the actual Korean alphabet and romanizes it into English letters, so the letter shapes in those words take on the same characteristics as actual Korean writing. The final slogan “Welcome to the ROK (Republic of Korea)” was inspired by something one of my Western friends said when he visited. It sounds a bit “Hollywood” but inspires a feeling of excitement, which is very important for tourism.

Overall, throughout this mood board, I wanted to give a sense of the variety of Korea, its history (which I think is often skipped over or forgotten), its excitement and action, its fusion of traditional and modern, and its vast color palette. Honestly, Korea is the most brightly colored country I have ever visited, especially in their traditional architecture and clothes (hanboks), and that is another aspect of Korea that I think is often skipped over in tourism advertising. With each image I chose, I tried to follow a certain formula to help me choose excellent images. That formula is included the QUALITY checklist for great tourism photographs that I wrote about in my previous blog post.

What about you?

What do you know of Korea? What do you think of Korea’s current brand? What do you think of my mood board? How can Korea become not only a relevant country and tourist destination, but also a highly favored tourist destination? What would make someone pick Korea over China and Japan to visit?

The QUALITY Checklist for Finding Great Tourism Photos of Korea (or Any Target Country)

Aaron — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:12:45 +0000

Follow this simple checklist for GREAT tourism photos of KOREA (or any other country).

Quality (High)
Unique (to Korea – or the country of focus)
Action (People are included)
Light (Strong Colors/contrast/etc)
Image (Clear, sharp)
Traditional/Modern (but not generic)
Yourself (Can you picture yourself there?)

As I have been searching for images to visually describe and define South Korea as an attractive tourist destination, I’ve run into a few snags.

First, many of the images I’ve viewed as potential for tourist marketing have come from Google searches (since I can’t physically travel everywhere in the country to take my own) and are not the most exciting images – many are rather generic. Granted, Korea’s nickname is the “Land of the Morning Calm,” but that doesn’t mean that its photos must also be so calm that they end up being bland. Tourism photos are important in stimulating interest in a destination with only a glance, and therefore must contain certain elements that would prompt further investigation and whet a potential tourist’s appetite for exploration.

Secondly, besides being rather generic and bland, a great deal of photos are not of a high enough quality, resolution, or sharpness to warrant usage in any form of tourism marketing. Tourist photos should be sharp and clear, with strong colors in order to virtually transport the viewer into the tourist destination. After all, if a viewer can picture themselves in a certain situation or setting, they are more likely to seek out the actual physical sensation of participating in that event or location.

That being said, I’ve developed my own list for finding and choosing top quality photos for the purpose of promoting Korea and tourism to Korea to people who may be uneducated, misinformed, or just ignorant to the culture, places, and experiences that Korea has to offer.

The QUALITY Checklist

The list is Q-U-A-L-I-T-Y, because each photo that is invested into a marketing strategy must be top QUALITY in all its aspects in order to draw continued interest to the campaign.

Q: Quality

Quality here describes the literal quality of the photograph. It must not be dirty, blurry, out of focus, too low of a resolution, or pixelated.

U: Unique

There must be some element of the uniqueness of Korea included in the photograph. Every country has unique elements of style, color, culture, geography, and so on. Each photo should show a piece of the country it displays, and not be so generic that it could be associated with any number of countries.

A: Action

Good tourism photos include tourists in action. People like to do things when on vacation, and those who are planning vacations like to picture themselves partaking in the activities they see others involved in within the photos. To see other people in tourism photos aids in mental visualization to place oneself within a given photo and seek avenues through which to truly and physically experience the actions in the photos (i.e. by traveling to the country). The more people connect with photos, the more likely they are to try to experience those photos in real life for themselves.

L: Light

The lighting within the photo must be appropriate and realistic. Colors should be bright and vivid, but not overpowering, and contrast should be realistic. Although HDR photos are becoming quite popular these days, they are probably not the right kinds of photos to include in tourism marketing campaigns. This is because often HDR photos are too colorful, and hyper-realistic. However, the vivid colors and good contrast in HDR photos are good things if used at appropriate levels to enhance photos while retaining their realism. There are many other photos available that do just the opposite of HDR photos in that there are no enhancements at all, and the photos look rather dim, bland, and lifeless. By applying the right amount of filters and effects, a vivid, clear, colorful photograph can be created to enhance any tourism marketing effort.

I: Image

Image refers to the sharpness or clarity of a photograph. Each photo should be sharp enough to make out small details, and should not be blurred – unless done so intentionally. Even a minor blur on night photos makes them look entirely unprofessional. Therefore a good clarity and sharpness with any photos is important.

T: Traditional

As mentioned earlier about each photo having an element that is unique to Korea, traditional and historic elements add much to tourism photos. We are all familiar with the traditional and historic elements of tourism giants China and Japan – from the martial arts, to the food, to their architecture, writing, language, and cultures. But how many people are truly familiar with the history of Korea? Additionally, it is often these interesting histories of China and Japan that are portrayed in movies and spark intense curiosity in viewers. A great number of people hope to one day see the Great Wall of China, or Mt. Fuji with their own eyes. This is partly due to the fact that they are amazing places, but also partly due to the fact that they are so widely known and publicized throughout history books and movies. Korea also needs images that are memorable, traditional, and historic to spark interest in the minds of tourists to come and explore Korea.

Y: Yourself

If you can picture yourself in a photo, enjoying the same activities that are shown, then is it not the perfect photo for tourism? Tourists should genuinely want to be included in the activities they see; they should desire to experience what they are shown.

What do you think?

How’s that for a checklist for QUALITY tourism photos? Did I leave anything out? For more pondering of tourism in Korea, check out the following questions. How would you answer the last one?

Question:

If you’re Chinese, where is one place within your country that you MUST go before you die?

A: The Great Wall of China -> not only Beijing

If you’re Japanese, where is one place within your country that you MUST go before you die?

A: Mt. Fuji -> not only Tokyo

If you’re Korea, where is one place within your country that you MUST go before you die?

A: ______(you fill in the blank)______ -> not only Seoul

Working for Friends and Family: Good Idea, or Terrible Idea?

Aaron — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 02:16:25 +0000

I always have a tough time saying no to designing for friends and family. It’s really hard to explain these complications to your dear grandmother who simply wants a logo for her newsletter. You could easily be misunderstood, and come across as lazy or discourteous. –Classmate

I really agree with that statement about working for friends and family. I’m sure we’ve all had experiences like that. In my last post, I made “Mom and Dad” the difficult clients that were trying to negotiate a sweet deal on a website (and many other things). Although that exact situation has never happened to me, I’ve had friends who have experienced that (my uncle offered his son $20 for $500 worth of professional photography – and got it because his son still lives at home and he fell into the “family trap”).

Working for friends and family is always a difficult situation. Many people say, “never, EVER, do it” while others say that it’s OK. And sometimes, as the earlier quote mentions, “You could easily be misunderstood, and come across as lazy or discourteous” if you don’t help out your friends and family.

Save Perfection for when you’re getting paid for Perfection

For family, I think small, simple things are OK to help out with, but we shouldn’t spend a great deal of time fretting over them, researching them, or making them perfect. If grandma wants a simple logo for her Metallica fan club newsletter, she probably asked you because you can create a good-looking one in a relatively short amount of time. A lot of people, especially our relatives, respect our talents, and don’t necessarily try to take advantage of us. They just know that they can’t do it as well as we could. They probably don’t expect us to rip out our hair in frustration making something perfect for them because they (should) realize that it’s a service. They just need something “above average” and we all can deliver “above average.” That doesn’t mean it needs to be perfect. Save perfection for when you’re getting paid for perfection.

A little monetary motivation never hurts

Sometimes however, as another friend of mine experienced, our family members just keep piling on requests, and extending the project scope and time. Actually, I’m generally OK with that, as long as I can do the work in my spare time. I need to let my family and friends know that I have paid design work to do, and a full-time English teaching job, and responsibilities and obligations to my other family members and church as well. I tell them that I’d be happy to do the work for them, when I find time, and that I might not find time soon. That usually safely lets them know that their “free” work isn’t a top priority, and if they need something urgently, at least a little monetary motivation is in order. Honestly, I do some pro-bono work for a website in town when I have free time. But if the admin ever needs something urgently, he knows that I’ll get it done within days if he pads my bank account with a few bucks.

Make things crystal clear with a Contract

Recently, though, I’ve experienced a very similar situation to the one I wrote about in my previous post with a friend of mine. His new company wants a website developed, but doesn’t want to pay much for the work and doesn’t have many ideas or resources, and wants the project done “yesterday.” This is all rather frustrating to me, and sometimes seems to strain our friendship (another reason doing business with friends can be risky). Therefore, I need to write out a contract with a breakdown of his budget and the deliverables he expects, as well as a realistic estimate of it all. This will save us both a headache, and help us to remember our friendship apart from the business relationship. If we are always thinking about how the other party is “screwing” us on a project, it will begin to deteriorate our relationships. I want a contract in place so that he doesn’t feel like I’m trying to under-provide for his needs, and so that I don’t feel like he is trying to over-work me.

What about you?

Any complaints about working for friends and family? Or maybe you see things the other way, in a positive light. What are your experiences and advice?