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r19 - 20 Sep 2006 - 16:17:52 - PieterHartsookYou are here: OSAF >  Projects Web  >  CommunityHome > BrandingExercise > BrandingCurrentStatus > BrandingThemesAndValues

Branding Association Themes and Values

Brand Themes

Brand Themes

The themes are 2nd derivative clusters of the Brand Values groupings of the raw interview associations.

How I feel...

Theme Value
How I feel when I use the solution to manage my activities ...
at ease
reassured
confident
reliable

Position Statement derivatives

Strawman examples of the kind of position statements that might derive if we were to choose this Association theme. These are NOT candidates for actual postion statements but are intended to inform the decision making process for choosing a Brand Association Theme or Value:

Brand Theme: How I feel...
  • Use Chandler to feel confident that you can reliably manage individual and collaborative tasks with your family, friends, and co-workers. -- PieterHartsook - 06 Sep 2006 - 12:08
  • Chandler is a reiable solution for managing individual and collaborative tasks with your family, friends, and co-workers. -- PieterHartsook - 06 Sep 2006 - 12:26
  • Using Chandler I feel at ease, reassured that no matter what computer system my friends, family, and co-workers use I can reliably collaborate with them, confident that I can manage what I have to get done. -- PieterHartsook - 06 Sep 2006 - 12:34
  • The easiest and most reliable way to manage my small group activities. -- PieterHartsook - 07 Sep 2006 - 02:20

A few ideas about how Chandler makes me feel with respect to the people I work with, collaborate with:

  • I feel confidence in my group
  • I feel like I know what's going on in my group
  • I feel confidence in the decisions others are making on my team
  • I feel I am heard and appreciated when I speak up, aka I feel my team has confidence in me
  • I feel clear as to my responsibilities and obligations to the group
  • I feel I am supported by others in the group
  • I feel that decisions are made after thoughtful consideration of a wide variety of viewpoints

A couple of ideas about Chandler's 'more organic' approach to workflow:

  • I don't feel like I need to manage my Personal Information Manager.
  • I don't feel pressured to act or behave more 'organized' than I naturally am.
  • I don't feel pressured to make decisions before I am ready to.
  • I don't feel pestered by my PIM.
-- MimiYin - 07 Sep 2006 - 15:02

Enables me to be...

Theme Values
What using the solution enables me to be...
efficient
in control
organized
make better decisions
more effective
more successful
have more time
productive
optimize disparate needs
empowered
helper

Position Statement derivatives

Strawman examples of the kind of position statements that might derive if we were to choose this Association theme. These are NOT candidates for actual postion statements but are intended to inform the decision making process for choosing a Brand Association Theme or Value:

Brand Theme: Enables me...
  • Chandler is a solution for small group collaboration that lets me be in control of what I have to do. -- PieterHartsook - 06 Sep 2006 - 12:37
  • Be in control of your life. Chandler empowers you to make better decisions and be more productive about the things you have to do. Using Chandler to manage the details, you become better organized, more effective, and have more time for important things. -- PieterHartsook - 06 Sep 2006 - 12:42
  • With Chandler you have more time to make better decisions. Chandler helps you to help others be more successful. Be efficient, get in control of your time and schedule. Use Chandler to be more productive! -- PieterHartsook - 06 Sep 2006 - 17:46
  • The most productive tool for small groups to use to get in control of scheduling and collaborative task information. -- PieterHartsook - 07 Sep 2006 - 02:16
  • The most productive tool for small groups to use to get in control of activity management. -- PieterHartsook - 07 Sep 2006 - 13:42
  • For the manager who enables others to excel, Chandler is the lightweight project management solution that brings out the wisdom of small groups. -- Mimi via email - 07 Sep 2006 - 15:31
  • For all the small fry trying to make it in a world of Goliaths (violins please), Chandler is the information-sharing solution that builds effective teams. -- Mimi via email - 07 Sep 2006 - 15:33

I use this because...

Theme Values
What I think about the product and the people and organization that created it.
And why I feel good about using it...
pro-social
innovative
not constraining
adaptable
visionary
smart
(in a position to be) successful
(strive for) excellence

Position Statement derivatives

Strawman examples of the kind of position statements that might derive if we were to choose this Association theme. These are NOT candidates for actual postion statements but are intended to inform the decision making process for choosing a Brand Association Theme or Value:

Brand Theme: I use this because...
  • Chandler is the innovative solution to inter-personal information management. Chandler is free, open source software that promotes international open standards for collaboration with friends, family, and co-workers. -- PieterHartsook - 06 Sep 2006 - 12:46
  • Chandler breaks the bonds of proprietary software. A free, open source solution to manage collaboration with friends, family, and co-workers, Chandler promotes the use of open standards to achieve interoperability across operating systems and does not constrain everyone to use the same software in order to collaborate successfully. -- PieterHartsook - 06 Sep 2006 - 13:23
  • Chandler is about freedom. Be free from the constraints of proprietary software, operating system choice, and IT department support. Chandler is pioneering open source software for managing collaboration with friends, family, and co-workers. It is developed by non-profit employees and volunteers from around the world. Because the source code is open and free the solution is adaptable and extensible. Based upon, and a strong proponent of open standards, it is interoperable with other software. And best of all it is distributed for free - share it with your friends, family, and co-workers. Be smart, be free, choose Chandler! -- PieterHartsook - 06 Sep 2006 - 17:59
  • Chandler, the 21st centuary inter-personal information manager, is the elegant modern heir to Lotus Agenda, the visionary product that originally defined the Personal Informanagement Manager software category in the 1980s. -- PieterHartsook - 07 Sep 2006 - 01:41
  • The pro-social alternative for managing small group collaboration. -- PieterHartsook - 07 Sep 2006 - 02:02
  • OSAF is creating innovative/visionary applications to help better manage your working style and create time to live your life the way you want to. -- PriscillaChung - 19 Sep 2006 - 16:02

Brand Values

Brand Values

For reference purposes, these are the initial groups identifying the concepts or "values" infered from the raw interview data.

Values Synonyms Association origin
adaptable pliable, usefulness, utility, pliant, flexible, adaptive, adjustable, elastic, malleable, versitile Animal
at ease at ease, comfortable, calm, free from anxiety, unperturbed form follows function, collaboration
(make) better decisions open source, collaboration, innovative
confident Confident, Sure, Certain, Positive, Secure, Self-assured form follows function, collaboration
efficient Efficient, Effective, supportive, accommodating, well-organized, proficient, capable, form follows function, open source
empowered empower collaboration
excellence Excellence, Quality Mitch
helper Helper, Assistant, Aide, Collaborator, Partner, supporter, benefactor Person, Obituary
in control in control, in command, responsible accountable, reliable form follows function, open source, collaboration
innovative Innovative, Inventive, Pioneering, Original, New, Novel, Modern, advanced, progressive Obituary, Product
more effective open source
more successful Successful, open source, collaboration
more time form follows function, collaboration
not constrained Freedom, not constrained open source
optimize disparate needs Optimize, Person
organized Organized, prepared, well thought-out, methodical, orderly, systematic form follows function
productive Productive, prolific, industrious, fruitful, dynamic, helpful, constructive, beneficial, valuable, practical open source, collaboration
pro-social Pro-social, philanthropy, altruism, benefactor, Giving, Helping, Service, Sharing, Volunteering open source, Person, Obituary, Mitch
reassured Reassured, at ease, at peace, free from worry, free from anxiety form follows function, collaboration
reliable Reliable, dependable, trustworthy, form follows function
smart Smart, clever, intelligent Animal
successful successful Mitch
visionary Visionary, Creative thinker, Futurist, Farsighted, Imaginative Mitch

Initial Values consolidation grouping

Group Values
1 at ease
reassured
confident
reliable
2 better decisions
efficient
in control
organized
more effective
more successful
more time
productive
optimize disparate needs
3 empowering
helper
4 innovative
not constrained
adaptable
visionary
5 pro-social
6 smart
successful
excellence

Secondary Values consolidation grouping (Themes)

Groups Theme Value
1 How I feel when I use the solution to manage my activities ...
at ease
reassured
confident
reliable
2 & 3 What using the solution enables me to be...
efficient
in control
organized
make better decisions
more effective
more successful
have more time
productive
optimize disparate needs
empowered
helper
4, 5 & 6 What I think about the product and the people and organization that created it.
And why I feel good about using it...
pro-social
innovative
not constraining
adaptable
visionary
smart
(in a position to be) successful
(strive for) excellence

Building position statement reference materials

We will use strawman position statements to inform our decision making process in selecting a brand focus. Below are some guidelines on the intent, scope, and process of crafting a brand position statement.

Positioning Statement Building

from Technobrands, C. Petis

The Positioning Statement

A positioning statement is a one or two-sentence statement that clearly and succinctly explains how your product is different from your competitors' It is customer- and benefit-oriented. It ensures delivery of a consistent product message and the best product message.

A positioning statement is not a tagline, a slogan, or a mission statement. ... Mission statements are the company talking to itself.

The positioning statement and brand associations are not intended to be quoted word for word: rather, they are to be used as the source or guide for all messages.

A positioning statement should:

  • Define your prime prospects by their concerns, wants, and needs, as concretely and personally as possible.
  • Establish you one point of difference that gets people to buy your product instead of the competitions’.
  • Be your declared "position," your most repeated message to the world.
(C. Pettis, Technobrands, ch. 6

(see also Eric Sink article on creating Positioning Statements

Positioning Statement template

For people who {describe the target users], [insert your company or brand name], is the company/brand of [describe your competitive set] that provides [tell the benefit that makes you different and better]"

for example

"For people who are male, seven to sixteen years old, and living in middle-class neighborhoods Radway is the brand of the skateboards that maximizes maneuverability."

Positioning Statement Guidelines

from Eric Sink <http://software.ericsink.com/Positioning.html>

  • What position do we want to have?
  • How do you want the world to think of your product?
  • Identify the three parts of a position: superlative, label, and qualifiers.

    • Superlative ("why choose this product")

For what attribute do you want your product to be known? There are actually plenty of choices here besides just claiming to "the best" or "the number one". You can choose a superlative which says something more specific. Perhaps you want your product to be known as "the fastest" or "the easiest". For example, Fog Creek appears to be positioning CityDesk as "the easiest content management tool".

    • Label ("what is this product")

The important thing here is to choose a position which actually exists in the mind of the people in your target market segment. If you have to invent an entirely new category for your product, then you have chosen a position which doesn't really exist. VA Software describes their product SourceForge as "the leading Development Intelligence application". I don't think I've ever heard of that category of application before. I can't find anybody else that describes their product with that label. As far as I can tell, VA is trying to claim a position which doesn't actually exist. If I had asked you to name the number one Development Intelligence application, what would you have said?

    • Qualifiers ("who should choose this product")

The common mistake here is to avoid using qualifiers, as if their omission will magically increase market share. You need to get specific about who you want to reach with your product. You can describe your market segment by budget, platform, geography, specific feature need, etc. There are lots of qualifiers available. Don't be afraid to use them.

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