SomeOne’s Senior Designer, Helen Altoungarian gets all hot and bothered about brands that get angry.
What do you do when you get angry or frustrated about something? Most of us will look for an alternative and if we don’t find one, will just give up or accept the situation. Few of us decide to do something about it.
Often the most successful brands are run by those who have got angry about something. So angry that it motivates them to change the situation, seek a way to improve it, or solve the problem.
An obvious example is James Dyson. (Founder of Dyson company). His success comes from acting upon his frustration. Angered by his Hoover’s diminishing performance, where the bag kept becoming clogged with dust and therefore reducing suction, he invented a vacuum cleaner that uses cyclone technology – a rotational air flow method that extracts particles without the use of a filter and so retains suction.
“My inspiration to invent and redesign is fed through frustration. I spend a lot of time taking things apart and putting them back together, considering how they work and how they might work better” – James Dyson
Another example is something we’re all very familiar with – Bic Biros. These were invented by the Hungarian newspaper editor, László Bíró. He was infuriated about the amount of time he wasted filling up fountain pens and cleaning up ink smudges, so he did something about it. Inspired by quick-drying inks used in newspapers and roller-balls in deodorants he created the very first ballpoint pen. It not only solved his problems and made writing easier but it was mobile, reliable and revolutionary. In fact they’re so successful that around 14 million ‘Bics’ are sold every day. Now that’s an awful lot.
At SomeOne we like our clients to get angry too. In fact, we encourage it. Knowing what irritates them or frustrates them and why, usually means they’re more determined to change a situation. It means they’re motivated, driven and importantly they’re more receptive to new ideas and radical thinking.
This was certainly the case for URICA, and wow were they angry. We’re not talking about passionate people (that sounds like marketing nonsense) we’re talking about a group of people who were genuinely angry and frustrated about the financial system. Their anger has driven them to invent a way for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to get paid on their own terms. As cash-flow is the number one killer of SMEs, URICA has stepped in to provide the funds. The supplier is able to choose to get paid immediately rather than having to wait months. With just a small (2%) early payment fee it means no risk and no debt for SMEs.
After our first meeting with URICA it was clear they needed to stand out and be heard. Their rage towards the system gave me the opportunity to do things radically differently. We created a simple but hard-hitting brand identity inspired by campaigning placards. With a bold colour palette and a strong, fighting tone of voice we were able to dramatise their views and put up a fight towards the banks.
Let’s face it, when someone’s angry and they’re shouting about it, they’re more than likely to be heard.
Take Russell Brand for example, he may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but his campaigning and active role in the public eye towards political issues is certainly getting him noticed. This is often a good approach to branding or rebranding products, organisations and services — Big, bold, in your face ideas that simply can’t be ignored.
Whilst I’m not suggesting anger is the right approach to everything, when channelled in the right way it can have a positive effect on innovation and problem-solving. In fact, according to research conducted by Henry Evans and Colm Foster, emotional intelligence experts and authors of Step Up: Lead in Six Moments That Matter, the most successful people and highest performing teams tap into and express their entire spectrum of emotions. Look at Steve Jobs. He’s well known for his angered approach to leadership and that undoubtedly works.
When we think about this, it makes sense. Anger can be a helpful tool when harnessed and controlled because it fosters two useful behaviours; focus and confidence.
Anger can remove obstacles, allow the mind to focus on a particular task. It also gives confidence because the rush of adrenaline heightens your senses and reduces your inhibitions. Anger in small doses can therefore be the spark that motivates you.
All of the best projects I’ve worked on were born from anger or from a place where people feel exceptionally strongly about something. It’s not uncommon to find myself in the middle of a fighty studio debate — whether discussing the latest thing on TV, a new ad campaign that’s been released or a piece of design in the studio— it’s pretty opinionated at SomeOne and things often get heated. What’s important though is how we channel that anger; in a positive way, to challenge one another and to push things further.
A smart example of how we focused anger in a positive way is for The Children’s Society. They were furious about the welfare of the countries disadvantaged children, so we encouraged them to focus their energy on a radical identity that would get them noticed. In a cluttered and competitive market it was essential they stand out in order to gain support and truly make a difference to these children.
As an ambitious organisation, it was clear that their anger was the motivational force driving new and innovative ways to help disadvantaged children. Along with significant changes being made to every part of the organisation they recognised a re-brand as a vital part of the change, allowing us to challenge them and push boundaries.
The strong, black and white brand identity that reinforced the serious nature of the charity’s work was what we produced as a response to their feelings. With an emphasis on storytelling — it was used as a platform to show the conflicting sides of a story — and to expose the hard truths behind child poverty and teenage neglect.
In contrast to the previous examples anger doesn’t always have to be visually challenging or aggressive. In fact something really beautiful was created for the First European Games in Baku. Like most people, you’re probably unfamiliar with Baku. Who is it? What is it? Where is it? This is exactly why they were annoyed.
Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan were outraged that no one knew where they were and what the city had to offer. After they were chosen to host the very first European Games by the European Olympic Committees in 2012 they felt the games would be the perfect opportunity for them to be seen as a world class city and an international destination. They used their anger to fuel their motivation to achieve their goals.
Having visited Baku we realised just how lush and beautiful the city was, so it felt imperative that the identity for the games should reflect this. Starting with the branding, we developed a fresh and vibrant brand identity that proudly combined Azerbaijan’s history, heritage and culture with elite European sports. The pomegranate tree (which symbolises unity in Azerbaijan folklore) held such significance that its presence was central to the ‘living brand’ property.
The dynamic and adaptive brand property meant it could be dialled up and down depending on where it was used. Along with a colour coding system and not only one but two sets of pictograms (informational ones, traditionally used for way finding and a more dynamic set used within the pomegranate tree) we were able to brand venues, tickets, uniforms, merchandise and all other surfaces of the European Games.
Their anger and determination allowed us to do things differently. Rather than slapping the same piece of design across all touch points, we took a more radical approach. A more coherent one. One that allowed everything to look different but at the same time all join up.
So from my experience it’s pretty clear, anger and frustration are an effective tool when channelled correctly.
It can give a person confidence and motivate them to be proactive, which can lead to new approaches, more radical thinking and furthermore problem solving and innovation. Thomas Edison once said, ‘Discontent is the first necessity of progress.’ You only have to look at the most successful brands to see he’s right. There’s a familiar phrase ‘don’t get mad, get even, but I disagree with this. My experience tells me that anger is a powerful and useful tool. We say ’They got mad, They got ahead’.