Page 23 - Packaging News Magazine May-June 2018
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THE BACK STORY
In 2011 Amber Bonney established Bonney Creative, a specialist brand strategy and packaging design studio. And then in 2017 she launched a new company – The Edison Agency.
Many of her clients and colleagues were baffled as to why she would start something new when she had a recipe for a business that was working and building momentum.
“There were four main reasons why I this needed to do this: change, diversity, curiosity and co-creation,” Bonney says.
“I have witnessed great and talented companies fade off into oblivion (think the demise of Polaroid) after years of value-adding creative contribution because longevity does not breed relevancy,” she adds.
“Since founding Bonney Creative, the industry has changed and in an era of increasing social relevancy and social media interactions, business models and creative approaches do need to be more carefully curated to create engaging brand experiences.”
Brian Millar, co-founder of the Emotional Intelligence Agency, stated that surprise beats consisten- cy. This resonated with Bonney who thought it was genius.
“It taps into the underlying motivation for The Edison Agency and our approach to every project and partnership is to access this element of surprise and co-creation.
“This is not to say that great things don’t come out of the industry norm where we often see multiple team members jointly contributing to a shared outcome. However, being able to collaborate with people well outside of the project team allows my agencies to get a cross-disciplinary pollination of ideas, which would otherwise be completely overlooked.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amber Bonney is the founder and head of creative strategy at The Edison Agency. If you’d like to sample the virtues
of co-creation, drop her a line or shout her a coffee. She can be contacted on amber@edison.agency
May-June 2018  www.packagingnews.com.au COVER STORY
CREATING CUT-THROUGH
Brands that rely and continuously fall back on tradition, heritage, power and function- ality will inevitably become obsolete and irrelevant, unless they can find a way to authentically engage with consumers and stakeholders through diverse channels or new products.
If you are looking to create cut-through and genuine brand credibility then consid- er integrating these five principles into your marketing and innovation approach:
1. STRATEGY. STRATEGY. STRATEGY
Researching and developing a sound strat- egy and plan is critical regardless of the objective. Understand the business goals, define the insights, understand the chal- lenges and opportunities, research the market and define measurable success fac- tors. Create a strategy that is anchored in a genuine insight and outlines the ‘Who’, ‘What’ ‘Why’ and ‘How’ of your brand, product and consumer.
2. COLLABORATE
Surround yourself with people and busi- nesses who are passionate and curious. Look at the problem and opportunity from diverse viewpoints and perspectives and explore how your brand could achieve its goals through co-creation. In the case of Untold, this meant co-creating the product with award-winning bartenders and en- gaging urban artists in creating unique ex- pressions of the brand that align with the brand ethos and story.
3. PLAY. TEST. LEARN
Play hard – don’t be afraid to take risks and cast the net wide. If you need to reju- venate a tired brand in a mature category – think BIG and make dramatic changes
that revitalise growth and reconsidera- tion. Test and question everything. If you don’t have large research budgets, run mini-focus groups with relevant audienc- es to understand if what you are doing has merit. Learn from the feedback and make sure you apply it to refine and craft from there.
4. PACKAGING IS THE NEW BILLBOARD
It can be brutal in the FMCG world, so it is unwise NOT to consider the role of packag- ing as a fundamental canvas for clear brand communication and expression. Your packaging is the new billboard. Think carefully. Invest in strategically-led design solutions and make that ‘mini-bill- board’ work as hard as possible. Know your competitors and create distinction for maximum cut-through. Be succinct in your messaging and rely on the power of images (they tell a thousand words, you know) to engage and sell.
5. SURPRISE PEOPLE
As Marty Neumeier wrote in his iconic book on brand strategy, Zag, you need to find the white space. Even if you were first to market with a distinct brand style and packaging, it doesn’t mean you will stay there. Competitors clamber to emu- late quickly, and you need to change of- ten. Stay true to your unique and dis- tinct assets but don’t be afraid to take risks and surprise consumers with some- thing new, playful and unexpected with- in the confines of maintaining your brand’s visual equity.
Enjoying the co-creation journey helps forge stronger relationships, encourages better creative solutions and has a much more interesting story to bring to your cus- tomers and consumers. ■
TIM PHIBS


































































































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