Lessons Learned from Week 5 of Brand Management

Week 5 of brand management was all about design thinking as applied to marketing and company culture. Below are my notes on our readings and the class discussion. Hot Topic itself has been in a big transition recently, focusing way more on music as the core driver for people's identification with the brand and having success in partnering with artists to co-promote.

Change by Design: Returning to the surface, or the design of experiences

• A good idea is no longer enough
• Consumption to participation
• Design thinking, experience engineering
  
• To change behaviors or not to change
• Experiment blueprint

Change by Design: Spreading the message, or the importance of storytelling

• Designing in the 4th dimension (time)
  
• Think of the sequence of events for the customer

Grow: Deliver a near perfect user experience

• Apple stores as promoting their ideal
  
• Digital arts classes
  
• Genius bars and employees restoring relationships
• Netflix
• Zappos
• Core values
• 5 takeaways
• Start with the ideal
• Make innovation personal
• Collaborate widely
• Have a portfolio of innovations
• Establish a process for innovation

Class

• Ideals driven product/experience design
  
• Super Bowl ads that were ideals-based
  
• Chrysler/halftime in America
  
• Budweiser GE ad
  
• Budweiser optimism and opportunity ad
  
• Honda CRV
• Ideal (enjoy): freedom, experience, fun
• "No Pepsi for you”

Design

• Execution of expression
  
• Hard to quantify
  
• Logo and bottle shape
  
• Method: Understanding people at the friend level
• Latent behavior
  
• Lexus: Winning people over daily in small ways
• Airline service sucking, everything being charged vs. Virgin differentiating on providing more service (order on monitor, first class suites)
• Experiences: Sense, Feel, Think, Act, Relate
• Toyota minivan swagger wagon ad
  

Hot Topic

• Teenager dress code matches music tastes
  
• People got a lot more diverse
  
• What is the brand going to stand for (our purpose)
  
• The experience: Core values / purpose, Physical elements / the look, Connection / the feel (social elements)
• Independence
  
• Connection
  
• Looked into world of teen in depth
  
• Purpose first, sales second
  
• "Everything about the music"
  
• Got band signings in stores
  
• Organized concerts
  
• Moving over to licensing/movie characters (Draco Malfoy)
  
• Interviews: require people to declare passion in first day of work
  
• Teens reading less and less
  
• Buyers out in night clubs 3 times a week