Brand driven Ideas taunt me wherever I go. And I’ve spent the past year trying to get the right people to hear some of them. From overnight deliveries to the UK, to signing non-confidential agreements with certain companies. Some of my ideas floated into reality while being dismissed, yet others haven’t seen a glimpse of daylight.

The lesson learned so far? If you’re in charge of a brand, very few people think you're crazy. If you’re not. Well. People will think you’re crazy and powerless. Until you’re ideas turn into reality. At which point you’re told, “You were onto something.”

BUSINESS OF ATTRACTION

AXE is in the business of attraction and what better way to extend the brand than to create mints that go along with their unique body scents. After all, if AXE can help young men have great smelling bodies, why shouldn't they help young men have great smelling breaths? Making AXE consumers realize the role our breaths play in the business of attraction is clearly a natural progression.

Related findings: In 2009, Tel Aviv University breath specialist Mel Rosenberg and his colleagues found an extract from coffee that can stop bad breath. Although coffee is generally known to give bad breath because of its dehydrating effect, Rosenberg’s studies haven shown that certain elements in coffee can actually block bad breath from spreading.

Rosenberg is looking forward to separate the molecule in charge of this phenomenon and use the active material within it to form the foundation of an entirely new class of oral hygiene products such as gum and mints.

1. http://www.livescience.com/health/090625-coffee-bad-breath.html

 

AXE ACTION CONDOM

As mentioned before, AXE is in the business of attraction. And with attraction comes intimacy. Which leads us to another connection AXE can provide as a brand. The inspiration for the AXE Action condom comes directly from, Dutch designer, Jurgen Bey. In 2007 he won top prize for his Pronto condom, which aims to help prevent AIDS in Africa. Pronto is unique because its application is efficient and defies the traditional condom.1 Young men (adolescents in our case) can often be bombarded by the same mundane piece of rubber, which at times is not applied properly. Enter the AXE “Action condom:” easy to use, and ready for action. Which can come in handy for young men who find themselves in low lighting, or intoxicated situations.
1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6120914.stm
SAME KING. NEW BEAT.

Elvis is a persona and an eternal brand. To keep his brand alive, Elvis himself had to do a comeback special in1968. Fast-forward to 2010 and you’ll see missed opportunities to actively recruit younger generations. Let’s re-launch the Elvis brand with an edgier tone and provide more JXL style remixes to the public. Let's provide consumers with sample tracks they can mix and edit for the next album. This tactic would allow more user generated interpretations of Elvis' music in the 21st Century. How would we promote the new Elvis? With a new logo and a tagline that says, “Same King . New Beat.” What would be the result? The launch of a new Elvis album and a new niche market within the younger generation.
THE GREEN RITUAL

When looking at the ads for TD Canada Trust, one always sees a green chair. The green chair is in essence, a symbol of comfort and easy banking. Many TD customers recognize this chair and can see themselves sitting in one. The problem? This chair is hardly accessible in reality. Very few branches carry it. Causing a subconscious conflict in the brand’s promise.
   What if banking at TD was a ritual you looked forward to? And what if the TD chair was incorporated into the ritual of banking in an active way? What if banking involved getting a coffee, reading a paper and talking to your favorite banker for advice? What if banking was not a chore, but a pleasure?

  One method is to trial test branches with parallel Starbucks atmospheres surrounded by TD’s signature chairs and architecture. In this economic crisis, customers need to have a sense of stability and comfort. Great brands will acknowledge this by providing relaxing rituals. So what happened to this idea? It turns out TD is working on a pilot branch to test a similar idea. The pilot branch treats TD as the "third place" and could potentially enhance a banking experience. But. And this is a big but. The pilot branch doesn't involve the most important brand touchpoint in the new ritual - the green chair.