Without belaboring the facts, being a brand-builder in today’s ever-changing landscape is…challenging. It requires one to be agile, flexible and a host of other adjectives all of which essentially communicate do more, but faster and better than before. And this on-demand world has accelerated the “test and learn” mindset in a dramatic way.
Photo by Jenny Ueberberg on Unsplash
Strategy
Real Time, Real World: Building A Brand Better, Faster and Smarter with Live Traction
At Spicefire, we believe in the power of brands. It’s at the heart of everything we do — whether innovating new product ideas or ushering a new offering to market. But the brand building process has evolved in a real and meaningful way. Long gone are the days of the extended build, with plenty of research stops along the way, culminating in one big LAUNCH! Today’s world demands that we work differently.
More frequently than ever, we’re working with clients who live the test and learn life. Oftentimes, this means we’re introducing ‘real’ brands or ideas into the market to gain real-time, behavioral based data that helps inform the next steps. With our Live Traction tool, we work in platforms like Unbounce and run targeted social campaigns to see how our hypotheses play out in the real market. These objective, behavior-based insights are invaluable.
More frequently than ever, we’re working with clients who live the test and learn life. Oftentimes, this means we’re introducing ‘real’ brands or ideas into the market to gain real-time, behavioral based data that helps inform the next steps. With our Live Traction tool, we work in platforms like Unbounce and run targeted social campaigns to see how our hypotheses play out in the real market. These objective, behavior-based insights are invaluable.
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
Building A Brand + Live Traction Insights
In most instances, Live Traction is a tool that can provide helpful insight anywhere along the journey of building a brand. All it requires is a brand challenge to be solved and an open mind. In just the last 12 months, we’ve utilized digital testing environments to help Innovation and Brand leads learn, iterate, and evolve everything from brand positioning to product portfolios.
• Brand Positioning: Identified the most relevant positioning for a new to the world wellness brand
• Product Innovation: Gained insight into the most compelling product mix for a new launch
• Communication Strategy: Vetted big communication ideas before executing a full campaign
• Design Strategy: Learned the best way to evolve an existing brand to reach a new consumer group
• Identity Exploration: Tested various packaging strategies to identify a lead design concept
In each of these cases, the learning from Live Traction helped to supplement our strategic perspective and provided hard data and a clear direction forward. But beyond the live market data, Live Traction is a tool that:
• Allows teams to pressure test ideas sooner. With rapid brand development, the team can go from theory to reality quickly without the hurdles and development time that come along with a more traditional launch process.
• Drives internal enthusiasm. As we all know, there are no shortage of good ideas in most organizations. It’s those that can demonstrate traction that have the potential to go the distance. This quick insight gives teams the momentum (and confidence) to keep pushing forward.
• Helps bad ideas die earlier deaths. It can be exciting to see how consumers engage in real-time with an idea that’s clearly catching on. But it’s just as valuable to identify those with potential pitfalls that are missing the mark.
• Forces a consumer-first mindset. Bringing the consumer voice into the journey early ensures strategic rigor and removes subjectivity from the evaluation process.
• Minimizes risk. Ultimately, Live Traction helps teams move forward with confidence; distilling your next steps of brand development into a measurable, actionable path forward.
We’re passionate about finding new ways to be successful in today’s rapid environment. Live Traction is a tool that is working. We learn something new every time we utilize it and are happy to share those insights with you as you are building a brand.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of our series which dives deeper into how designers utilize and embrace Live Traction as part of their creative toolbox.
• Brand Positioning: Identified the most relevant positioning for a new to the world wellness brand
• Product Innovation: Gained insight into the most compelling product mix for a new launch
• Communication Strategy: Vetted big communication ideas before executing a full campaign
• Design Strategy: Learned the best way to evolve an existing brand to reach a new consumer group
• Identity Exploration: Tested various packaging strategies to identify a lead design concept
In each of these cases, the learning from Live Traction helped to supplement our strategic perspective and provided hard data and a clear direction forward. But beyond the live market data, Live Traction is a tool that:
• Allows teams to pressure test ideas sooner. With rapid brand development, the team can go from theory to reality quickly without the hurdles and development time that come along with a more traditional launch process.
• Drives internal enthusiasm. As we all know, there are no shortage of good ideas in most organizations. It’s those that can demonstrate traction that have the potential to go the distance. This quick insight gives teams the momentum (and confidence) to keep pushing forward.
• Helps bad ideas die earlier deaths. It can be exciting to see how consumers engage in real-time with an idea that’s clearly catching on. But it’s just as valuable to identify those with potential pitfalls that are missing the mark.
• Forces a consumer-first mindset. Bringing the consumer voice into the journey early ensures strategic rigor and removes subjectivity from the evaluation process.
• Minimizes risk. Ultimately, Live Traction helps teams move forward with confidence; distilling your next steps of brand development into a measurable, actionable path forward.
We’re passionate about finding new ways to be successful in today’s rapid environment. Live Traction is a tool that is working. We learn something new every time we utilize it and are happy to share those insights with you as you are building a brand.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of our series which dives deeper into how designers utilize and embrace Live Traction as part of their creative toolbox.
