How to brand anything

[Music]

this is a pen

with no name

no story

and no identity

to tell you the truth

this is just a random pen

that i bought during my last holidays

and right now this pen has no power

whatsoever to relate to you

to your lives

or to your aspirations

but i think i can change that

i’m not really a magician

but i know something very powerful

the way we value things

depends on how we perceive them

the way we value things

depends on how we perceive them

the art and science of changing

perception

is called

branding

branding is a bit like a magical

power

and today i would love to show you this

power

by transforming

this random pen

into

a meaningful brand

for this to happen we’ll have to get a

bit creative

we will have to imagine

that i am the founder of a pen company

presenting to you

a new pen brand

all right

let’s do this

hey guys

do you still recognize the handwriting

of your colleagues

of your friends

or even of your parents

the sad truth

is that we spend so much time on our

screens

that we almost don’t write by hands

anymore

we use emojis to communicate our

emotions

we rely on autocorrect

to take responsibility for our mistakes

and we let predictive text

right on our behalf

what does this say

of our ability to

think thinking is what makes us human

it’s how we grow it’s how we learn it’s

how we create relationships with each

other

but if our devices

are telling us

what to write next

are we still thinking

if we stop thinking

advertising tells us what to buy

our car

tells us where to go

our smart watch

tells us how many steps we should work

every day

our social media feed

tells us

who to vote for

we can be better than that

we can challenge the algorithm

we can

rediscover our inner voice

and most importantly

we can reclaim

our freedom

of thinking

this is why

we created

we the thinkers

pan in hand

our mission is simple

to give the power of thinking back to

the people

we the thinkers

was born to inspire you

you and you to think

and write your own path

and there’s no better way to think than

to write

writing is thinking and the weirdest

thinkers span

is the ultimate

thinking tool

when you are writing your thinking

occurs at the same time

there’s no lag

no notification

no pop-up window

no distraction

whether you’re writing a shopping list

a love letter

or manifesto

we the thinkers inspires you to think

even when you’re not thinking

about thinking

and talking about thinking

there’s some serious thinking

that went behind the crafting of this

pen

it is made using a single piece

of recycled aluminum

and it features a one-of-a-kind

swiss renaissance red

this way it stands out it stands out on

your desk it stands out on your kitchen

counter

it stands out in your bag

making it

a sign of recognition

among

free thinkers

the cartridge

holds enough sustainable ink

for you to write

60 000 words

that’s by the way enough for all of you

to finish this long overdue novel

finally

the reader thinkers pen

comes in a beautiful case

with a set

of thinking cards

each card

features a philosophical question

to stimulate your thinking

and if your ideas

are

worth spreading

just put a stamp on the card

and send it to your loved ones

so if you’re ready to think again

get yourself a weedy thinkers spend

today

on we the thinkers

dot world

end of story

what did we just see

our random pen

now has

a reason for being

how did we achieve that

first

we created a story

a story that is both relatable

and meaningful

a story in which the pen is the hero

second

we give our hero

a name

a name that communicates

a community feel

and a sense of belonging

third

we give our hero

a face

in the form of a visual identity a

distinct

visual identity that is both

sophisticated

and bold

as a result

the pen is not just a product

it’s the symbol of a movement

a movement with a powerful yet simple

anchoring points

inspiring people to think

and now comes the beauty of it

we can use these anchoring points

to create an entire new range of

products and services

all centered

around the idea

of inspiring people to think

in addition to the pen

we could have a we the thinkers notebook

to write down your thoughts

and from here we could have a weed

thinkers cafe

to exchange ideas

why not opening a wider thinkers hotel

and spa

to unplug and free your minds

and i think from here by not having a

weird thinker’s perfume

to stimulate

your thoughts

at the center

the reader thinkers brand

stands on its own

because it goes beyond

products and services

at this stage

we must ask ourselves one question one

last question

what if what if

we the thinker was to shut down

closing its cafes and hotels

withdrawing from the shelf the notebook

and the perfume

even stopping

the production of the pen

would we the thinkers

still exist

of course it would

it would still exist but this time

in your mind

in a way

the branding magic

has occurred

because this pen

has a name

a story

and an identity

this is no longer a pen

this is now

a brand

[Applause]

you