Brands that recognize the value of fostering not only a commercial vision, but a creative one have been leading the way of late. Take for instance, the continuing success of the London-based Cambridge Satchel Company. Founded in 2008 and celebrated intensively ever since for its locally handmade and globally desired bags —a result of not only hiring the best-of-the-best British leather workers, but also their strategy of continuously collaborating with a handful of cutting-edge designers and relevant bloggers. Or Supreme, the New York based skateboarding shop, founded in 1994, and notorious for its many sold-out international capsule collaborations with artists. Or Artek, the ultra-innovative Finish design company founded in 1935 by two visionaries who, just like the founders of the previous two brands, believed in a synthesis of the arts with technology, architecture, design and lifestyle at large. The successes of each of these three brands have been remarkable. At Arts & Labour, we relish their ability to invent and reinvent their products through art and serving them up in a way the world simply can’t get enough of.
So. What’s the magic formula?
To start, it’s best to look inward and see if the formula you’re currently following is actually one for mediocrity. More than ever, brands need to cultivate their own creative vision to be able to achieve their commercial vision. Yet for many brands, their creative vision, for various reasons, only goes so far. This often translates to working with an advertising agency to help develop glossy ad campaigns to make their products seem inspiring.
What Supreme, Artek and The Cambridge Satchel Company have in common is that their creative visions and commercial strategies are equally robust and most importantly, they’re intertwined. They’ve invested in reinforcing their already well-designed products with a continuous cycle of art collaborations, be it with architects, artists, designers, photographers, musicians or bloggers to continually ensure their products don’t need to be made to seem inspiring by marketing; they actually are inspiring. All three brands collaborate with creative talents who are naturally adept at recognizing what society craves and end up with buzzy products that sell themselves.
In our next post, we delve more into the subject of creative vision and explore a brand that leveraged theirs to its benefit for over 40 years: BMW. Until then.