Brands are fractal entities, and the meaning of the whole is to found in the execution of even the lowliest detail. Especially if your brand is all about rigor, safety, and juggling lots of big, heavy balls without dropping even one in a million.
His link on the term, fractal entities, brings you to his observation of an Apple "iPod store" which is a great example of taking the brand all the way from the smallest thing (physically for Apple... the product) to the biggest thing (physically...the store). It could also be looked at the other way... from the biggest thing (the product) to the smallest detail (the cosmetics of the store). Either way, Apple seems to understand fractal branding!
For those who have not dealt with fractals before, they are, according to wikipedia:
In colloquial usage, a fractal is a shape that is recursively constructed or self-similar, that is, a shape that appears similar at all scales of magnification and is therefore often referred to as "infinitely complex."
Some other marketing examples of "Fractal Branding" are available ...
... in an article by Sean Carton at ClickZ titled, "The Brand Promise".
... a post by Aaron Dignan in his blog, BrandPlay. This also leads back to the post below.
... a post by Kathy Sierra in her Passionate User blog, titled "Remarkable at every scale"
How consistent is your brand? Certainly it should be clearly presented in your advertising and promotions, but how deep does it go in the company?
Does it show up in the product or is marketing and branding an afterthought once the product is created? Does your brand show up in the the delivery of the product? the customer service? the accounting department?
Do you have good examples of fractal branding? Please leave a comment so we can share them with others. Even examples of BAD fractal branding would be helpful since we can also learn from them as well.
Write ON !
Dave Wheeler
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