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Creative branding in an increasingly globalised world

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Developing your brand image through attention-grabbing ad creatives that make sense in the local market is no easy feat for a global team.Letting go of strict branding rules is the way to go for Fredrik Magnusson, director of brand, design and experiences at telecommunications company Ericsson, who spoke at the Business of Design Week conference over the weekend. He said the need to be protective of your brand is a misconception."The era of protecting the brand is over - you either do something creative or you're dead," Falk said.Case #1: Absolut VodkaPeder Clason, global director of brand strategy at Absolut Vodka, also speaking at the conference, said it is important to strike a balance between letting people run with ideas and following rules."A few years ago, everything become 'absolute' where ad creatives from different markets looked the same," he said."You have to give people the license to have fun and unleash their passions. Make it simple and straightforward for creatives to do this. It's just like ads they need to be simple or people don't get them."He added that managing a global team requires transparency."Being transparent means not minding being alone or proven wrong, which is very important for leading organisations," Clason said.Internal conflicts that arise between coworkers vying to get their idea chosen by management can also be managed by looking at assumptions people make.Clason said, "No matter where I have worked, all conflicts between people are about assumptions. There are people sitting in certain places assuming that someone else is thinking something. We often share the same vision of problems but we just can't get through our filter of assumptions.""People in different places around the world want to be talked to and listened to very differently."Despite the rise of digital, physical presence and social connections are still important to the brand, which is looking to do more in this space in the next few months."If you want to bring franchisable experiences to the world, you need to tie together different components of social life such as music and technology. In markets where we aren't allowed to talk about spirits, it's not a problem because it's all about socialising and having experiences. You don't need to produce a TVC for that," Clason said.Absolut Vodka product line Absolut Elyx was launched in Hong Kong last April. This raises the question of whether launching a mini-brand will dilute the image of the mother brand."We started Elyx because the spirits industry was about being excessive with all kinds of bling, which doesn't match our brand values of originality and authenticity," Clason said."Even though it looked insane on the drawing board, Elyx complements our brand and helps us enter avenues in existing markets where Absolut Vodka isn't. For example, it allows us to have conversations with cultural crusaders in society such as Art Basel artists, creating a halo effect for the brand."He added that to market Elyx, the brand works with female leaders seen as inspiring trailblazers for women.Case #2: VolvoPreviously owned by Ford, Volvo was purchased by mainland Chinese company Geely in 2010, while its trucks business is managed by Volvo Group Trucks Operations.Lars Falk, China VP of design at Volvo Car Corporation, another speaker at the conference, said although the Volvo brand was originally Swedish, its branding for the China market must be relevant to the local context."For example, an ad about clean air would be confusing and difficult to understand in Sweden, but relevant in China.  Similarly, manufacturing and marketing cars targeting the wealthy elite would seem elitist and even scary to the Swedish but very relevant to the Chinese," he said."Chinese people also need their cars to exude a certain grandness.  We should make things that make sense for the Chinese."He believes interior design of cars will be the next hottest area for product development in the automobile industry in the future and by extension, the branding and marketing of cars.This trend will hit the market as electric cars and automated driving become more widespread in the future, lowering profit margins for car manufacturers."The next five years will be a crucial period for automobiles.  It is a transition period to something clean during which we will move towards electric cars that really work and are truly commercial," Falk said."When people travel in their cars of the future, which will drive themselves, it will be like traveling with business class on airplanes where interior design becomes very important.  But in an emergency, the passenger needs to take up the role as the driver again. These cars are extremely expensive to build and margins for automobiles will fall because people aren't prepared to pay much more for them."The lack of personal space available in mainland China will be another contributing factor to the demand for good interior design for cars.Falk said, "China is very crowded and noisy, which is why people are searching for personal space. In Sweden, there is plenty of space. To sell the meaning of Scandinavian life on wheels, good interior design can transform the car into that space for them."

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