This post is not original…

…And for that, I hope to get some kudos from the legend that is Alain Sylvain of Sylvain Labs. Having watched him now speak at OnBrand a couple of times and some other online events this year, it’s right to give him that title..

Alain is a super inspiring speaker on all things brand marketing and comms - in particular he is very good at hooking a narrative to a story - last year he told us about Dr John Rock and his life’s purpose, and this year he talked about J Dilla - the legendary producer and hip hop artist who used samples in an innovative and creative way to create original music.

Alain’s message this year was to stop trying so hard to be original but instead ‘compound creativity’.

His key tips for brand, marketing and comms were:

• Compound creativity

• Be prolific, not precious

• Repurpose, don’t reinvent

• Play don’t work

Alain’s stories are good templates for people who want to learn how to construct a narrative. He always has an interesting hook, a purpose and a great example, as well as a cathartic moment for his audience. Understanding how to tell a good story about your brand is key - and it’s great to be able to learn from people like Alain at events like this.

Spotify returns

Another great speaker from my OnBrand experience last year was Zach Pentel from Spotify. This brand is of course really data led and he shared a number of insights from their users listening habits from the Covid-19 shut down and subsequent periods.

Zach shared that listening time was up during the lockdown - especially shared listening, of course everyone at home together, it’s what you expect. He also remarked that they had seen other mass trends, such as a shift in gaming soundtracks move from the late evening to morning - so people who would normally be commuting/ working.

So in a Covid-19 world, what is a brands responsibility - for Spotify, brand management and creative’s old job was to intersect with culture, expand and reward the world of the listeners, and surprise people.

However, their new job is to:

• Serve people at a time they need comfort/ escape etc. How do they meet audiences half way as a brand to create new culture?

• They have to learn how the culture is changing and start to inform larger shifts in how people are acting for example:

  • In car listening is up

  • 121% increase in listening to Spotify road trip playlists (people taking more road trips)

  • 67% increase listening up since April

  • People listening together - such massive numbers at Spotify.

  Spotify created a collective musical community with their ‘listening together’ platform so you could see where other people were listening to the same track as you at the same time.

  Zach says that “brand is something that can drive connection and continuity across the business. It’s an aerial focus that aligns us together at Spotify.” It’s an easy way to make business decisions, brings clarity, ensures consistency of experience.