I love developing 'platform' ideas for brands. The kind of big brand ideas that help organizations crystallize the deeper meaning behind their products and services. Ideas that are a fertile breeding ground for many years of executions to come.
Over the years, I've created quite a few. I've helped develop HSBC's global brand idea 'Supporting Human Ambition' and I've helped develop brand ideas for Dubai-based companies like Majid Al Futtaim and Dubai Holding, among others.
To express a brand idea to an internal audience, like employees or consultants, a brand manifesto is a useful tool. It helps get across what a brand stands for in a way that's more engaging than the usually jargon-rich brand models they originate from
The manifesto that's most dear to me is the one I wrote for our own agency Nomads (I've talked about it in another blog post). But of the manifestos I created for other brands, my favorite is the one for Nomads client flydubai, the Middle East's largest regional airline. After we developed the airline's brand idea of 'Who's your next destination?' I wrote the manifesto with Adam Fierman and we turned it into a video with footage we found on the net, combined with a DIY recording of my voice.
We wrote it in early 2016 but when I came across it the other day, the big idea still seemed fresh and meaningful, the copy sounded personal and original and the footage felt authentic. It actually made me want to hop on a plane and meet new people.
Due to changing circumstances within the airline, sadly, the brand idea was never executed into a campaign.
Here's the manifesto:
These are layouts we created to bring the brand idea of 'Who's your next destination?' to life:
