Connected brands as molecular brands

Connectedness.  That is the first thing I learnt when I joined iCrossing earlier last week.  Connectedness is the central philosophy for working life here, or as someone framed it – “the way we see the world”.

I like it. It’s a neat proposition that suitably fits the challenges and opportunities that brands are faced with today.  With a digital space that has become less a place where we dip in and out of to achieve isolated tasks, and more a place we exist in day to day.  In true planner style I have a diagram for this:

The surprise here for me is that search, something iCrossing has carved a strong reputation in, is just a component of this.  Connectedness is so much more and as a newbie here I am impressed (and pleased) to see a company striving to help their clients make sense of what this means and how it works.

I augment this slightly ‘teachers pet’ post with some related thought pieces I am a big fan of around ‘molecular brands’ or ‘brand molecules’.  In a nutshell, these theories or concepts introduce the brand as a fluid and evolving form, one that is defined by the context in which it exists and by the users that interact with it. I find this interesting for iCrossing and their Connectedness philosophy for two reasons:

1. Connectedness can be fluid, defined by the common ground between an individual’s life and the brand’s life. So….

• Let’s understand more about these points of common ground in and around the immediately obvious
• Let’s pay full attention to the wider cultural values we want to connect with as well as those of the individual user
• Let’s listen and observe to what the brand means to people in different places, at different time
• Let’s understand how every point of interaction and participation shapes the brand in different ways

2. Connectedness is a brand concept, impacting strategic decisions about how a brand should behave or exist, beyond the implementational elements. So….

• Let’s help brands take the theory of connectedness beyond web traffic and search term performance.
• Let’s explore how every part of connected activity creates a coherent brand story.
• Let’s focus creativity on the design of an overall brand experience.
• Let’s start with core brand values or a brand proposition and build a connected strategy from the inside out.

Arriving as a digital strategist with a brand planning and research background I am quite excited about pursuing these ideas and contributing my take on things.

I’ll keep you posted on how things develop, in the meantime I would love to hear what everyone else thinks about connectedness and brand molecules!



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