After Office Hours // Branding Edition with Maxwell Ngari

We were glad to announce that Maxwell Ngari, Creative Director at Ogilvy Africa, was joining us for After Office Hours. After Office Hours is a bi-monthly session where we host someone awesome to share their skills and knowledge with our members, and friends of the space.

When you invite a ‘creative’, you no doubt expect the extraordinary, and boy did he deliver!He took us through the branding process for a few products, ranging from a Center For Innovation, to lubrication.

Apart from having a few laughs, here’s a short breakdown of what we learned:

// Branding is the process involved in  creating a unique brand identity in a consumer’s mind: Choose imagery and fonts based on core beliefs that are core to your brand.

//Believe in something! If you don’t have brand values, you’ll end up flailing. A core belief gives you a strong identity.

// Branding is all about the 5 senses: what does your brand look, sound,  and smell like? What does it make them think of toucing and feeling? You want to engage people when they see and hear of you. You want to be unique.

//Keep a guideline, but make it flexible: for Coca Cola to become the brand it is now, it took 129 years of change.

//Get it together: If your product or service is bad, it doesn’t matter who does your branding or how good it turns out. Start by perfecting your product.

//Innovate: Don’t be afraid to take risks when it comes to getting your name known. Your audience’s attention is constantly being fought for. Stand out.

//People care about experiences. Great branding is OK, but in the end, it won’t matter if people don’t feel a connection to your brand. Give it to them.

You know, it was way more fun and interesting in person, and attendees got a face to face moment with Maxwell over drinks and cake. :-). You’ll want to keep an eye out on who’s coming next!