Brand Coaching: Edvard Tam at SMECC - 20130904

a presentation to SME Creative Centre | © ampersand, August 2013

brand coachinga direct, effective and simple way

for new business ventures orsmall enterprises with big visions


‘direct, effective and simple’‘minimum movement, maximum effect’– two main concepts of Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do philosophy


sounds amazing but what does it have to do with my business?


the industry economythe information economythe knowledge economythe jungle economy!


in the jungle, whatever action taken by an animal for survival, has to achieve maximum effect with minimum movement

or else it can be in trouble


for those who lead a comfortable life, routine exercises are excellent way to lose weight. but real life situations change fast,

one simply has to respond much more effectively


common confusions about brand


branding brand design brand building


branding ≠ brand design ≠ brand building


ok, but what are they?


branding ≠ brand design ≠ brand buildingbrand consultancies,usually consisting researchers, analysts, strategists and designers

design firms providing integrated design solutions, some may do research and strategy but they are usually stronger in aesthetics and/or creative solutions, i.e. not truly business strategists

› ad agencies› designers› in-house departments› marketers› PR firms…et cetera


most people claim to do branding in fact do brand design or brand building


but it’s okay – there are different models to create brands


two commonly used modelsin-house vs consultancy


the in-house approacheveryone knows branding is important, many perceive branding as

complicated, expensive and slow. small businesses or in-house departments often rush for immediate needs, such as

advertising, marketing materials, PR, visual merchandising items, website…etc, without a clear big picture or plan


even there is no conscious attempt in defining the brand, there is still a brand. whoever interacts with the company, its products or services, its employees, can still perceive it. whatever one does, knowingly or not knowing, therefore reflects on the whole brand


the consultancy approachsystematic and thorough. much emphasis is on understanding current situations and finding the desired future, detailed and extensive guidelines will be written to make sure everything is

consistent. can be an expensive and lengthly process


companies who can afford such self understanding process should be regarded already quite successful


the important thing for SMEs and startups to become successful first. a brand can help them with that, and there should be a

direct, effective and simple way to do this – you do not wait to be successful before you do something to become successful


what do brand consultancies talk about?


brand affinity, brand assets, brand attributes, brand awaress, brand, brand audit, brand DNA, brand expansion, brand equity, brand extension, brand interest, brand personality, brand platform, brand power, brand reinforcement, co-branding, differentiation, endorser brand, brand

guidelines, brand identities, brand image, brand loyalty, brand management, brand personality, brand positioning, brand

revitalisation, brand strategy…


brand affinity, brand assets, brand attributes, brand awaress, brand, brand audit, brand DNA, brand expansion, brand equity, brand extension, brand interest, brand personality, brand platform, brand power, brand reinforcement, co-branding, differentiation, endorser brand, brand

guidelines, brand identities, brand image, brand loyalty, brand management, brand personality, brand positioning, brand

revitalisation, brand strategy…

‘Our business is infested with idiots who try to impress by using pretentious jargons’

– David Ogilvy


‘some people believe that through thorough, systematic and careful research, you can arrive at a creative conclusion that will be successful in the market place. i don’t [...] research is useful in telling you what people currently think and feel, but it’s not

much use at directing the creative process [...] the very best, most effective ideas come from inside the heads of creative people. this

is true not only in branding, but in any creative activity – the theatre, the cinema, TV – and even advertising’ – Wally Olins,

world class brand guru


‘the best way to predict the future is to create it’ – Peter Drucker


the creative approachquite often, people already know where they are and where they want to go, what are really needed are the creative solution that

turns these into actual things that get them going


with some coaching, a visionary can define the brand himself, in direct and simple way, he will find some basic principles that

keep the brand going for at least a couple years, without having to reinvent the brand every time he needs to do an advertisement, some marketing collateral, a small booth, or an eDM. the brand

may even help the business to move on to the next stage


it is quite common to see large corporations hire consulting firms to do research, analysis and strategy, the visuals follow the strategy logically and become expected, the brand looks similar

with others. a creative solution that transforms the abstract thinking into unique experiences, is the art of the creative people. research, analysis and strategy should only give overall direction and not be overemphasised to the point that controls, dictates or

limits the design process


coaching?more popular in the America and UK, not quite so yet in Chinese

societies. in UK, there are coaches specialising in creative business, applying coaching to branding can make branding much

more affordable and practical for SMEs and startups


in contrast with consulting, coaching does not give advices, nor opinions. clients are experts of their own issues, a coach

without any fixed standpoint nor preconceived idea about clients’ situations, employ different modalities to help cleitns to view their issues from different and wider perspectives. such approach fits

the needs of the knowledge economy


possible ways to collaboratewith SME Creative Centre


objectives - test the approach

- help owners of small businesses understand there is a direct, practical and simple way to create brand

- help small enterprises with big visions define their brands in a direct, practical and simple way


option a: a presentationfor small business owners or those who are seriously considering

starting their own businesses (have done some research and started planning). small coaching exercises for participants.

conducted in Cantonese, free-of-charge


option b: a coaching workshopfor small business owners who are interested in doing some branding. group coaching exercises will be provided to allow

participants to structurally think about their brands. conducted in Cantonese, free-of-charge


option c: a + ba presentation for those small business owners and people

who are seriously starting their own business, followed up by a coaching workshop for those who are already their own business

and are interested in doing branding. conducted in Cantonese, free-of-charge


contents - quick overview of brand common concepts

- introduction of the approach: solution-focused and systemic (will share some cases)

- what is coaching? how does it apply to branding?- exercises: participants’ OWN brands!

- discussion and sharing- transform abstract thinking into actual experiences

(will share some cases)


my backgroundcreated some consumer product brands together with Mr Byron

Jacobs, former Design Director of Landor Associates. worked with a design consultancy from the UK for more than 10 years.

helped world class enterprises to build brands for Asia, and local companies for international markets, including Walt Disney, STAR TV, Mandarine Oriental…to name just a few. studied psychology, a registered coach (Association of Coaching and Training, World

Association of Business Coaches), certified hypnotist, and partner of a psychotherapist association. mission now is to help new and

smaller businesses to create brands using coaching


thank you


edvard [email protected]

9370 4347