In a recent email newsletter, Monocle's Copenhagen correspondent Michael Booth outlined how the Danish city learns from its past.His first example is the Ørestad office and residential area developed in the early 2000s. Booth notes, "Much of it felt as though it had been designed by accountants applying some pan-European template."Even an area inside a country, can feel off-brand for that country. (In particular, for a country with such a storied design history, including home brand HAY and designer Arne Jacobsen.)For building out the next area, Nordhavn, the city enlisted some of the best architects in the country to add more "creative moments". The architects added better transport connections and low-rise buildings, both in line with Danish architect Jan Gehl's Cities for People philosophy. This included a car garage with a rooftop park and ground floor recycling centre. A step forward from Ørestad.Booth outlines how with each new area the city develops, it implements lessons from past projects.This approach keeps Copenhagen (and Denmark generally) near or at the top of most Quality of Life rankings.Can you say the same for your brand? (Not the Quality of Life part, but learning from your past.)One of the driving forces behind our approach to brand strategy at Kelde is working at the source. This means treating everyone in the business as a key stakeholder. Why? It's not just because we believe collaboration is key. It's because everyone in a company has institutional knowledge. And unlike the built environment, past lessons aren't always visible.From the janitorial staff to the boardroom, each employee has seen how the company actually works. They know where the bodies are buried and what skeletons are in the closet. This is crucial because a brand's staff is its best champion and worst enemy. If they know the brand presented to the buying public doesn't reflect the internal reality, it will show.Unearthing this institutional knowledge helps us avoid repeating past mistakes. It also helps us find new space waiting to come to the fore.Let's look at a recent project I worked on as lead strategist as an example.Sanderson Design Group is a luxury home interiors company in the UK with a portfolio of desirable brands. It also has one of the most enviable design archives on the planet, including a large amount of the work of William Morris.The other brands in the portfolio made good use of this archive. Yet, the higher price point targeted people overhauling a whole room in their country estate. Renters, especially younger renters, weren't so willing to spend so much on overhauling a rental property. Although the brand had a range of distinct brands in its portfolio, it missed the younger generation.The agency I worked for at the time was tasked with filling this gap in the portfolio.As part of our process, we spoke with a range of people across the business. What became clear when talking to the actual product designers was the circular nature of the archive. Designs weren't locked in a certain period of time, but moved in and out of fashion over the decades. Time is indeed more of a flat circle than a straight line, Rustin Cohle.In partnership with the creative team, we outlined a compelling strategy and dynamic visual identity. We found a clear lane for the brand, re-imagining the designs in the archive to create something new and more affordable. This approach also avoided cannibalizing other parts of the portfolio.On the strength of this work, our client was able to secure a high profile launch with Selfridges. The same Selfridges that is regularly voted the best department store in the world.Sanderson had built a successful portfolio of brands targeting high end homeowners. Yet, there was more that could be done with its incredible archive. A few conversations with people not always at the table widened the potential of the portfolio. And thus, the potential size of the business.Just as Copenhagen looks to the past to move forward, so did Sanderson. And so can your brand.
Rick Evans is the founder and lead strategist at Kelde. Trained as a journalist and shaped by two decades across agencies and brands in the US, UK, and Europe, he has developed a practice built on one idea: go to the source before writing a word of strategy. That practice has taken him from R/GA and Ogilvy to American Express, working with brands including IKEA and Airbnb, and earned a Cannes Lions Gold in Creative Effectiveness along the way.kelde.co / [email protected]
