This is a great presentation and my thanks go to Michael Tupay of Yalos (www.yalosbranding.com) based in Greece, who was on the red dot jury in 2008 for alerting me to it. We always talk about ROI and the value of good branding but Peter Zac and Burkhard Jacob really put the question to a rigorous testing. Which of these airlines would you prefer to fly with?
Without even any slogans or other context or framing, everyone selects the same image. Even though they have absolutely no visual or other reference to airlines or flying. That is how powerful visual communication is. But “show me the money!” shouts the client. The businessman who still thinks that his CFO is his No1 priority. So the clever people at red dot made a “design index” of companies that have won the red dot award. And guess what. Even in these turbulent times, these companies consistently outperform the rest.
In fact it is even more impressive when seen globally:
The red dot winners survived dot com bubble bursts and other financial overturns unscathed. The paper, presented at the annual gathering of the Pan European Brand Design Association (http://www.pda-europe.com/) also shows how companies or product ranges winning the red dot consistently ensure higher margins and premium prices.