Gregory Solman of Adweek claims that Austin-based GSD&M Idea City is getting some swagger back in its boot step after some tough account losses.
image courtesy of Flickr user, andreanna
Solman also examines the shop’s “Purpose Branding” platform:
For GSD&M, COO Duff Stewart, said, “purpose-based branding” meant helping Southwest Airlines understand that it was “not in the airline business but the freedom business,” offering travelers low-cost liberty; repositioning BMW to stress its independence and brand unity, so ideas could come from anywhere in the company to support the “Ultimate Driving Machine” mantra; or discovering that Popeye’s distinction was bringing Louisiana slow-cooked recipes to a fast-food world.
The agency applied so-called purpose-based branding to itself as well, said chairman Roy Spence, who adopted the idea from Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras’ Built to Last. GSD&M added a Purpose Institute think tank in 2006, and Spence wrote a book about the subject that will be issued next spring.
I’ve read portions of Built to Last. I have to hand it to GSD&M for caring about long term value. Inside of a throw away culture, long term value is an outsider’s position.
