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CREATIVE    AEROBICS®

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BRAND MAPPING

BRAND MAPPING is a variation of Word Salad--another Creative Aerobics' Technique. Please review the instructions for Word Salad before implementing a BRAND MAPPING session.

 Preparation

  • Put markers and piles of half-sheets of paper around table/room.
     
  • (Optional) Tear-off many short strips of masking tape and stick along edge of wall where display will be taped up.

Steps

1.    Give everyone five minutes to SILENTLY write out or draw
        what comes to mind when they think of _[the target brand]_.
 

    • Instruct them to write ONE word or phrase or drawing per sheet of paper--written large enough to be easily read from a distance.

2.    After participants have begun writing, collect the initial
        work and begin taping the sheets on the wall.

    • Try to "cluster" the sheets by similarity of idea or theme as you tape them up.
    • If the group is very large or the participants are prolific, you may need to recruit one or more people to help you tape the sheets on the wall (or tear tape).

3.    GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE BRAND

    • Lead group in reviewing the entire wall display.
    • Ask the group to identify core ideas, attributes and imagery for the brand.
    • Which ideas or attributes are major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, or threats?
    • Discuss.

4.     LOOKING FOR THE BRAND'S INTERESTING "EDGES"

    • Now ask the group to nominate the words, phrases or pictures on the wall that they find to be the most unusual, interesting, or puzzling--e.g., words or ideas that are not typically associated with the brand. Ask authors of puzzling items to  come forward and explain what they were thinking.  Facilitate discussion.
    • Facilitate discussion to explore the most interesting, promising, and untapped "edges" of the brand.

5.     Repeat BRAND MAPPING exercise for key competitive
         brands (in and out of  the category).

    • Identify the core/essence of the competitive brands.
    • Identify major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats.
    • Compare to your target brand.  Search for untapped positioning opportunities and strategic openings.

Materials

  • 6 - 25 participants
     
  • Half-sheets of typing paper (e.g., one or more reams of regular copy paper [8.5 x 11-inch] cut in half)
     
  • Markers
     
  • Masking tape
     
  • Large unencumbered wall space

Click for instructions to other techniques


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Creative Aerobics® Techniques



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Allen Bukoff, PhD

Creative Commons LicenseBrandmapping by Allen Bukoff, PhD
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution
-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
.
   
Creative  Aerobics® is a Registered Trademark of Cloud9, Inc.     

http://workingcreativity/activities/brandmapping.html
Last updated 17 November 2008