Never gonna happen
When a brand project goes from kicking ass like Batman to kicking the bucket like Batgirl.
Last week, Warner Brothers Discovery announced that it would not be releasing Batgirl – a $90m movie that was already in post-production, and eagerly anticipated by fans of the DC universe. You have only to sit through film credits once to imagine how many people this (tax) decision affected. From its young star Leslie Grace, to the runners who fetched the tea on set – everyone involved would have felt a blow that will ripple across their careers and confidence for years to come. Industry commentators called it “some unprecedented shit right there”, while Glasgow – which served as a principal location - reportedly “seethed”. Word from the top of Warner Brothers Discovery was vague and conflicting, as they publicly cited poor audience testing and IP protection whilst privately shaking hands with their accountants on a job well done.
All to say that the abrupt cancellation of a creative project on this scale makes headlines around the world – and deservedly so. Movies mean something to people - both the people who make them and the people who watch them. I’d argue that brand identities are similar in that they require multidisciplinary creative teams to spend months – or sometimes years – to establish stories, rituals and relationships that people believe in and engage with. And guess what? Cancellation in the latter stages of a brand project isn’t “unprecedented” – it’s borderline common. Yet, while the budgets of some re-brands can run close to that of an indy movie and involve a similar number of players, their axing never makes headlines, are rarely delivered with a compelling reason, and hardly ever even get discussed. There’s just a resigned shrug and regretful archiving of a Slack channel.
Since I went back to work from maternity leave in 2020, I have worked on eleven major brand creation or re-brand projects. Five of those projects got to guideline stage (the final stage before implementation) and were then binned. Two of those five clients went all the way back to the drawing board and recently launched entirely new brands. None of those five clients thought to volunteer any update, feedback or acknowledgement with me or the wider creative team.
It’s crushing but it’s also deeply weird to be so in the dark as to what happened. Unlike Batgirl, there’s no industry podcasters rushing to the microphone to share their take on the situation, or outpouring of support and sympathy on social media, or even some weak-ass “official” statement from leadership to pick over. It’s just a void, into which it’s easy to shove self-doubt, depression and your last few remaining fucks.
But let’s think practically. Why might a client pay handsomely to spend months jumping through the various hoops that a brand project requires – interviews, audits, meetings, feedback consolidation, sign-off rounds, presentations, onboarding etc etc – only to hit the ‘delete’ button’?
Ego. I’m sorry but it’s true. While a brand needs to be an outward expression of an organisation’s capabilities and culture, it often also ends up becoming a reflection of the goals, aspirations and personality of its leader or leaders. In fact, many CEO’s, CMO’s and investors see the corporate brand as an extension of their own personal brand. That’s all fine until the leadership changes, and suddenly the existing brand feels like putting on a pair of second-hand shoes. Sometimes the shoes are old and missing laces, in which case it makes sense to follow the momentum of change. But sometimes the shoes have only been worn once, and it’s just the fact that they didn’t pick out the colour themselves that sees them off to the old pedal-operated Brabantia in the sky.
Technology. The days when implementing a re-brand meant a nice chat with the stationer who printed your letterheads and business cards are long, long, like so long gone. Now, changing over to a new brand means website updates on the easy end, and total product overhaul at the hard end. Technology companies, or companies with any form of digital product or service, especially need to make engineering part of the project team from day one if they are going to stand a hope in hell of seeing a re-brand through in under a year. Without the tech team onboard, design and content changes will always join the back of the queue behind experience, functionality and de-bugging.
Timing. Life happens, and so does shit. As I’ve said, some brands take years to be developed and by the time they’re finished the world has turned and the identity doesn’t sit right any more. Imagine planning to launch a new travel brand in March 2020? Or a baby formula brand in February 2022? Or a glossy re-brand for an energy company today? It’s just not going to work. Launch it and risk a PR nightmare, or hold it back and watch it get dusty on the shelf, before eventually, understandably, discarding it altogether.
Whatever the reason, everyone who contributed to the work has to find the silver linings, of which many can be found. Experience, creativity, gainful employment, teamwork… it’s all valid. But it’s not what we’re in it for. We’re in it to create change and bring people together and do something meaningful. At least, that’s why I do it. It’s why I largely ignore the burning trash heap of my energy, enthusiasm and creativity and keep trying, keep hoping and keep keeping my chin up. For the time being at least.
Lately I’ve been…
Reading National Treasures: Saving The Nation's Art in World War II by Caroline Shenton, and feeling pleased that my local museum is returning 72 Benin Bronzes to their rightful home in Nigeria.
Listening to The Town cover Will Smith’s apology video, and wondering if this is only step one in a multistep strategy to bring him back to favour, our living rooms and, ultimately, The Academy.
Looking at the Maurice Broomfield photography exhibition at the V&A with my father - a photographer - who explained the fascinating technical side of the images. Clue: All the ‘night’ images were shot in the daylight!
Working with my clever pals at Koto in their lovely new studio, despite only understanding about 10% of the music played.
Wondering if the new Kate Moss x Coke campaign is supposed to be ironic. Love what you love, because love is the drug.
Laters skaters. Cx
Insightful read and it makes sense. As i creative, i connect with the sense of loss from seeing your project hit the curb. I also guess its wy we are trained not get so attached. Thanks for the read, Camilla!
The old 80/20 rule. Where 80% of the work on the project never gets used [while the majority of the gold in in there] and the remaining 20% lands after being vacuumed packed average design by committee.
This is often seen when you look at the “Directors cut” of the project by the team that work on it months later.
Sad there is so much waste.
Loved the analogies about the shoes.
— I have worked on a few projects where the new CEO essentially just wants a Velcro fastening geriatric loafer. And assumes that’s what consumers want.
Who doesn’t?
😭
Stay strong. ✊🏼