State of the Brand: Dawn of Europe

Branding is of a complex nature, intertwined with marketing, design, psychology, and even finance. There are many ways to practice quality branding, but also just as many interpretations of it. Different companies and agencies have hand-picked branding characteristics that suit them and their needs, based on their region of operations and market climate. As there is little formal education on branding around the world, the discipline has evolved inhomogeneously.

Signs have shown that, even though practitioners approach and refer to certain branding elements differently, there are lines of agreement in their ways. Some agencies make efforts in teaching their clients about brand strategy while others adapt to the client’s perception and incorporate strategy in their identity design services. There's a difference in form, but function is the same.

We decided to consult branding practitioners from different regions on the state of branding in their home markets – perceptions, struggles, opportunities, and solutions. We’ve approached agencies from some of the emerging markets of Europe, agencies that show a high level of understanding and ethics in countries still heavily influenced by corruption: Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Belarus.

Q. What would you say is your biggest challenge as a branding specialist in Eastern Europe?

SLOVAKIA | Martin Jen?a, owner & design Director @ Milk Studio

“We need to convince brands that the real investment of time and money into a brand is critical for long-term survival and no fancy, short-term online campaigns will save them.”

ROMANIA | Adrian Docea, innovation director & co-founder @ Heraldist & Wondermarks

“Time. You need time to persuade companies they need this because the market is less mature and a lot of companies we meet have never met a branding agency before, so their level of knowledge about branding is minimal. If you give it enough time, they will understand. There’s a fantastic energy and passion in mid-sized, local companies. But the profit margin in the branding industry in this region is small. This means that, often, you can’t dedicate enough time to meet a lot of potential clients and spend a lot of time showing them what branding can do for them. I wish we had more time to meet more companies.”

SERBIA | Nemanja Veselinovic, head of visual communications @ HTEC Group (former co-founder & head of operations @ Konstrukt)

“It’s trust. Companies that approach us and are looking for a change are finding it hard to alter some of their brand cores, which were not defined very well since their life as a brand started. Storytelling, as a vital part of branding, is often bypassed or partially addressed, which is the hardest thing to be brought back on track. Mostly from that part, executives are ‘afraid’ of making decisions to change something, so at the top of the list is trying to build trust between the agency and the client. It’s challenging to work every day with clients that have different fears. If you help the client overcome those fears, then you have an open field for terrific storytelling, which at the end will definitely bring results. On the other side, that will also result in consumer trust as well. The consumer will always award good storytelling.”

ROMANIA | Andrei Carcea, founder & chief designer @ Studio kort

“The context in which we try to bring clarity and meaning has the same purpose as the rest of the world. Deep inside we are not so different compared to the rest of the world. We all have money, politics, and waste. We also have our cultural particularities. This is why it is so beautiful to live and work in Eastern Europe. For sure! The influence of Russian design is almost everywhere. From cities, systems, religion, brands, opportunistic companies, or style, you can see this strong design manifesto. We have this great tool — design — and we use it for the wrong causes.?

In Romania, it is challenging to scale a design studio business in a sustainable way and keep the discipline clean. It’s like the Bushido Code, but for designers. You commit to a set of rules for life. For example, you cannot make a website for something without sense by skipping the research and the defining phase. We scare people with our holistic perspective, and for many of them, it’s just too much. Deal with it! We provide services for 4-digits contracts, while the same services are worth 6 digits in Western Europe. Consider the difference as an investment and contribution to the improvement of your surroundings — it will make you sleep better. ‘Branding as a discipline’ vs ‘branding as a business’ are two different concepts.”

BULGARIA | Dimitar Gavanski, creative partner @ INTO Branding

“I would say it is about explaining, educating, and justifying the creative branding process. We work hand-in-hand with marketers who often diminish the needed efforts in creating a solid foundation for their brand. This is a significant difference compared to Western Europe where the depth of strategic thinking, creativity, and timing are not questioned. Here, the collaborative process also involves a lot more personal attention, diplomacy, and even psychology.”

ROMANIA | R?zvan P?tra?cu, owner & creative director @ Firestarter

“The market education making the transition from the superficial role of visual identity to the strategic use of brand experience.?

Unfortunately, although Romania ranks high in the world when it comes to Internet speed, this doesn’t mean that the business environment absorbs know-how at the same speed that branding and design specialists do. Basically, we can already talk about major discrepancies between the role of branding as understood by the entrepreneurs and the one towards which the specialists are trying to educate the market. In theory, many branding specialists in Romania have the same methodological foundation as their colleagues in any other developed market in the world, but they don’t have access to the same resources or market climate. The challenge of doing strategic branding is even greater as the professional evolution obliges one deontologically to assign important resources to client education. At the same time, one needs to scale the methodologies to the conditions of the present market, seeking to obtain both strategic branding and a sustainable implementation process.”

BELARUS | Dmitry Apolenis, co-owner & creative director @ AIDA Pioneer

“I would designate this as ‘not giving up’ and continuing to develop the market. Branding is, first and foremost, a deep expertise and strategy, and not just beautiful images. Professional players should not agree to make simple, superficial solutions — we must lead the clients, teaching and convincing them of the appropriateness and effectiveness of a professional branding approach. And, of course, the best way to demonstrate the power of branding to the market is to implement truly effective projects.”

If you’re curious to find out more about the state of branding in Eastern European countries, the biggest challenges as branding specialists in these regions, opportunities, and solutions, download this edition of State of the Brand here.

Here are some other questions you’ll find answered by the experts:

• What is the state of branding in Eastern Europe and how did we get here?
• What would you say is your biggest opportunity in a market where branding is in a nascent state?
• How can companies (both large and small) identify the moment when they need branding help? What are some of the signs?
• Is there a clear distinction between branding, marketing, and advertising in Eastern Europe? Can an Eastern European agency survive offering just branding or does it need to integrate other services (i.e., marketing and advertising), as well?
• How does a branding-only agency benefit clients versus an agency that integrates branding and marketing/ advertising?
• Do your clients, peers, and societies understand the clear distinction between designing a visual identity (e.g., logo, collaterals) and creating a brand strategy (e.g., positioning)?
• Do clients have difficulty understanding the value of quality branding? Do they see branding as a strategic business tool or is it just about visuals in their opinion??
• What are some tips that you can offer for better educating clients on what branding is and why it matters??
• Does quality education exist when it comes to the importance of branding??
• What do you suggest for those that want to educate themselves in branding, but do not find the institutional support to do so?
• How can we help the overall state of branding evolve in Eastern Europe?

Read more here.

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