Breakfast Briefing: Skab et attraktivt purpose brand

Aldrig har så mange talt om purpose, om mening og formål i virksomheder og om samfundsansvar. Det diskuteres i virksomhedernes bestyrelse, direktion, kommunikation og branding. Men hvilke effekter har et purpose, hvordan udvikler du et velfungerende purpose og hvordan danner purpose grundlag for et meningsfuldt corporate brand?

"En virkelig brugbar og konkret morgen-briefing. God opbygning og forklaring af, hvorfor purpose er vigtigt. Gode cases og sidst men ikke mindst nogle gode råd og en proces til, hvordan man selv kommer igang og griber det an" 

Malene Kjær
Vice President, Global Marketing, Uhrenholt A/S

Read more

Nikolaj Stagis illustrerer purpose gennem brands som Patagonia, Tony’s Chocolonely, Læger uden Grænser og EcoAlf og viser, hvordan nogle af de mest effektive brands er drevet af et klart defineret purpose. Unge har en tydelig præference for arbejdspladser, der tjener et formål. De mest innovative brands har et purpose, der rækker ud over virksomhedens indtjening, som skaber motivation hos medarbejderne, værdi for kunderne og redefinerer markedet. De nyeste undersøgelser viser, at virksomheder med et tydeligt purpose øger deres konkurrenceevne og sætter et positivt aftryk i omverdenen.

Hvordan bevæger du virksomheden fra KPI’er om produktivitet og vækst til at sætte en ambitiøs dagsorden, som både er profitabel, skaber engagement og sætter et aftryk på verden? Lær, hvad de stærkeste brands gør, få styr på begreberne og se sammenhængen til din egen virksomheds purpose og brand.

Udbytte

I løbet af to timer med Nikolaj Stagis lærer du om:

  • Hvad er et purpose – kriterier og gode eksempler
  • Hvordan spotter du et ligegyldigt ’purpose’ – hvornår går det galt?
  • Fordele ved at definere purpose – hvad kendetegner de purposedrevne virksomheder?
  • Værktøjer til at finde og definere din virksomheds purpose – inspiration fra aktuelle samfundsproblemer og virksomhedens oprindelige formål
  • Hvordan et godt purpose danner grundlag for virksomhedens brand – sammenhæng til kernefortælling, vision, ledelsesgrundlag og udvikling af ydelser
  • Purpose branding som grundlag for employer branding og rekruttering
  • Centrale elementer i en god proces om at definere din virksomheds purpose brand

Program

9.00
Udvikling af dit purpose brand
Oplæg og cases. Hvad er et purpose, hvilken forskel gør det og hvilke værktøjer kan du bruge til at udvikle det? Eksempler på purpose brands og relevante spørgsmål til dit eget brand. 

10.00
Pause og netværk

10.10
Workshop om udvikling af purpose brand
Mini workshop. Hvad er de centrale spørgsmål, der skal besvares? Hvor ser du hen efter input til et relevant purpose, og hvad er Stagis’ afprøvede model for udvikling af et purpose brand? Dialog og gennemgang af proces.

10.50
Opsamling på pointer og spørgsmål

11.00
Tak for i dag

Målgruppe

Breakfast Briefing om purpose brands er tilrettelagt til direktører fra mellemstore og store virksomheder på tværs af brancher og sektorer. Målgruppen er beslutningstagere, som har ansvar for strategiudvikling, innovation, kommunikation, markedsføring og branding i deres virksomheder. Vores Breakfast Briefings er intime og holdes normalt for 6-8 ledere, hvilket giver plads til fordybelse og individuel dialog.

Mød Nikolaj Stagis 

Nikolaj Stagis er strategirådgiver og branding ekspert med mere end 25 års erfaring indenfor udvikling af brands og gennemførsel af udviklingsprocesser. Han grundlage brandbureauet Stagis A/S i 1997, er forfatter til bestselleren Den autentiske virksomhed og underviser på en række universiteter og business schools. Han har rådgivet mere end 500 forskellige organisationer, lige fra kommercielle tech-virksomheder til ngo’er og ministerier.

Tid og sted

28. februar 2024
kl. 9.00-11.00
København

Tilmeld dig 

Brug formularen til at tilmelde dig Breakfast Briefing. Du er tilmeldt, når du har modtaget bekræftelse på din deltagelse.

Tid og sted

  • February 28, 2024 kl. 9.00-11.00
  • København. Adresse følger.

Past events

Conference on successful authentic brands

Ducati, BMW Museum, Noma, Bøgedal Bryghus and Arla all agree on one central aspect of branding: A company’s inherent strengths are paramount when creating an authentic brand and successful business. Speakers from the five world-famous brands shared insights with 300 business- and communications professionals who attended the conference to celebrate the publication of Nikolaj Stagis' book “The authentic company”.

Nikolaj Stagis explains how the strongest brands create exceptional results by exploring the visible and invisible strengths in the organization and use these to create an authentic identity. Watch his inspirational talk.

Authenticity not only makes it easier to do business – it is also reflected on the bottom line. ”We don’t have customers. We have fans,” said Federico Minoli from the motorcycle brand Ducati. ”Fascination and stories create success”, said Andreas Braun from BMW at his inspirational talk about transforming the brand into an experience at the BMW Museum. Peter Kreiner, the CEO at Noma, spoke about the development of the world’s best restaurant. Casper Vorting from Bøgedal Bryghus spoke about inherited craftsmanship and attendance in the production, while Astrid Gade Nielsen from Arla talked about the challenges of the organization in relation to authenticity and the focus on specialized production. The five different cases exemplify companies that have managed to use their inherent strengths in business development. They illustrate that all organizations – big and small – can work strategically with authentic identity and thereby segregate themselves from mainstream.

Read more about the book 

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Authenticity management pays off 

Management experts Majken Schultz, professor at CBS, and Nikolaj Stagis summarized the five cases and reflected on authenticity economy and the opinion society. Majken Schultz pointed out that authenticity is a new discussion within organizational theory and an essential management responsibility for the organizations and companies of tomorrow. Schultz has written the preface to “The authentic company” and point out that the book demonstrates how organizations can work on becoming authentic – not only in theory but in practice as well. Nikolaj Stagis completed the conference by emphasizing that, especially now – with the transition from information society to opinion society – a strategic focus on authenticity can be crucial for the future of organizations.

Talks from the conference

Ducati's turnaround

Federico Minoli spoke about Ducati's turnaround and how he has turned the company into a successful experience brand.

The authentic brewery

Casper Vorting is a brewer and the founder of Bøgedal Bryghus. Hear what he had to say about authenticity at the conference.

Has Arla sold its soul?

Astrid Gade Nielsen from Arla talked about how Arla have used authenticity to build the strong brand we know today.

The authentic company

Nikolaj Stagis presented his new book ”The authentic company" at the launch in Børsen in Copenhagen.

Noma's sense of time and place

Peter Kreiner is the CEO at Noma – the worlds best restaurant. Hear what he had to say about Noma's authentic identity at the conference.

Why authenticity now?

Professor at Copenhagen Business School, Majken Schultz emphasized why an authentic identity is important for the organizations of tomorrow.

The authentic museum

Andreas Braun from BMW Museum highlighted the benefits of having a corporate museum. Revisit his presentation from the conference.


City Branding

The Citybranding (Kommunebranding) conference is a repeating and renowned success where more than half of the Danish Cities are gathered to collect the foremost knowledge and inspiration from Danish and international experts regarding a challenge they all meet: How do we stand out from the crowd?

The conference has presented world-famous speakers and experts like the branding guru Wally Olins and Professer Gregory Ashworth speaking side by side with the most inspirational practitioners and politicians like former minister Morten Østergaard and Winni Grosbøll, Mayor of Bornholm.

Highligt – Creating a differntiated city brand 

At Citybranding 13, the world-famous and acknowledged branding expert and writer Wally Olins gave his inspirational preentation on how and why globalization and homogenization makes the demand for differentiated brands even bigger.

How to work with branding 

With more than 200 participants and a number of acknowledged speakers the conference questions the theme with a different set of perspectives throughout the day, showing the best examples on how to work with branding both politically, practically and theoretically.

We encourage the municipalities to dare to stand out. Not by inventing yet another slogan or adding icing on the cake, but by focusing on their authentic strengths Nikolaj Stagis
CEO, Stagis A/S

In collaboration with e.g. the national newspaper Jyllands-Posten Stagis creates a conference filled with inspiration and knowledge targeted the attending Mayors, Municipality Directors, Development Consultants and Communications Executives.

Highlights 14 – How to turn political visions into reality

Branding experts Professor Gregory Ashworth, writer Nikolaj Stagis and Professor Eric Braun gave presentations on how to brand a place, while Mayor of Bornholm, Winni Grosbøll, and the minister of Interior Morten Østergaard provided the 200 participants with practical and political perspectives.

Highlights 13 – Authentic paths to growth

The world-famous Branding guru Wally Olins gave his inspirational presentation in front of participants from 49 cities along side with place branding expert and professor Sebastian Zenker and Can-Seng Ooi, who also took part in a lively panel discussion at the middle of the day.


City Branding 2015

Highlights from the 2015 conference on center and periphery

The Danish place branding conference of 2015 presented a fine list of international and Danish speakers. Among them are Juliana Engberg from Aarhus 2017, international place branding expert Robert Govers, branding expert and host of the day Nikolaj Stagis, professor and expert in citizen involvement Kasper Møller Hansen and the mayor of Horsens, Peter Sørensen. View the highlights from Kommunebranding15.

Place branding is collaboration, not competition

Robert Govers, managing research partner at Good.Country and renowned place branding expert, gave a presentation stating that place branding is a lot more than packaging. You need to act in line with your characteristics in order to stand out.

From periphery to center

This year we moved the place branding conference from Copenhagen to Aarhus to underline our focus: From periphery to center. All municipalities have the opportunity to become their own center by focusing on, what makes them unique. Samsø has created a center for green energy, Cold Hawaii has become a center for surfing, and Horsens is a center for entertainment and experience. Nikolaj Stagis led us through the day and presented a number of interesting speakers: The renowned branding expert Robert Govers, three visionary mayors from Aarhus, Samsø and Horsens and multiple practitioners provided the participants with their perspective on, what makes a good place brand.

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Aarhus: You´ll only get the reputation you deserve

Jacob Bundsgaard, mayor of Aarhus, welcomed us all to the city hall. He highlighted that his experience with the Branding is, that actions speak louder than words.

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Samsø – the Renewable Energy Island

Mayor of Samsø, Marcel Meijer, told the audience how the small island has managed to become 100% self-sufficient with renewable energy in only 10 years - a change with massive importance for their brand.

Cold Hawaii

Cold Hawaii – a center for surfing

Robert Sand, event manager for Cold Hawaii, visited the Citybranding conference once again to inspire us on how a unique center is created and supported by local forces and entrepreneurs.

Himmelstorm

Himmelstorm: An authentic festival founded in local strengths

Maria Smidt and Mikael Eriksen, the devotees behind the successful Himmelstorm festival, talked about how they have created a festival founded in the local strengths, but without a lot of support from the municipality.

Primdahl

Landscape design and the inclusion of citizens

Jørgen Primdahl, Professor at the University of Copenhagen, highlighted how the landscape design, and the inclusion of citizens in the process, can improve your place brand.

From municipality in the periphery to place brand in the center

Branding expert and host Nikolaj Stagis talked about how municipalities need to act in accordance with their authentic strengths in order to stand out in an otherwise very similar market of municipalities.

Dimensions in the inclusion of citizens

Professor Kasper Møller Hansen gave a presentation on how municipalities can use the inclusion of citizens in the development of place brands. A significant point was that the inclusion must always be a method, not a goal itself.

From prison-city to experience-city

Mayor of Horsens, Peter Sørensen, filled us in on how the municipality has succeeded in changing their mocked brand from prison-city to a place full of music, experiences and culture, where the citizens are proud to live.

Creating powerful place brands through culture and aesthetics

Juliana Engberg, programme director for Aarhus 2017, European Capital of Culture, highlighted the importance of culture and aesthetics when building a successful place brand.


City Branding 2014

How to turn political visions into reality

Branding expert and writer Nikolaj Stagis led us through the day at the Municipality branding14 conference and introduced this years topic: How to turn political visions into reality? There are no quick fixes, which is also emphasized in Nikolajs statement: Branding is a long-term, strategic and political investment in the identity of your municipality.

Growth in the municipalities

Morten Østergaard, Interior minister in 2014, gave his political perspective on branding as a central element in the general growth and development of municipalities.

What makes places

Eric Braun, the professor from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, noted the fundamental point that branding cannot be treated separately from the wider policy framework.

When should you brand places?

Branding evolves around several elements: Infrastructure, strategy and architecture are just some. Professor Gregory Ashworth answers the questions of when to brand places.

The brand of Bornholm

Winni Grosbøll, mayor of Bornholm, gave a presentation on the importance of how the decisions on hosting Folkemødet have been a significant element in changing the brand of Bornholm

Lejre - the ecological municipality

Mette Touborg, Mayor of Lejre, gave an inspirational presentation on how Lejre has succeeded in positively distinguishing themselves by focusing on ecology as an authentic strength.

From bunker to BIG - branding in Varde

Claus Kjeld Jensen, Director of the museum of Varde City and Surroundings, gave a presentation on the cooperation with BIG regarding the Tirpitz project in Varde.

This is why the Danes are moving

Helle Nørgaard, Senior Researcher at the Danish Building Research Institute (AAU), gave her perspective on which factors are meaningful to the Danes, when they´re moving.

Powerful place brands

Mihalis Kavaratzis, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Leicester, gave a presentation on how to create powerful brands through vision and stakeholder engagement.


City Branding 13

Creating a differntiated city brand 

The world-famous and acknowledged branding expert and writer Wally Olins focused on how and why globalization and homogenization makes the demand for differentiated brands even bigger.

Authentic brands

Branding expert and writer Nikolaj Stagis focused on how municipalities can successfully find their authentic strengths and what makes the municipality unique.

Cold Hawaii

Rasmus Johnsen and Robert Sand, two inspiring entrepreneurs, gave a presentation on how they have created a surfers paradise at the northwest coast of Denmark.

Helsinki - World Design Capital

Pekka Timonen, Chairman of the Board for World Design Capital Helsinki 2012, gave a presentation on the initiatives taken in Helsinki with the ambition of creating a new brand.

Measuring brand success

Professor Sebastian Zenker from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, stressed the fact that many municipalities do not succeed in their branding because their focus simply is not distinguishing.

Billund - Capital of Children

Ib Kristensen, Mette Thybo and Ole Bladt-Hansen gave a presentation on the strategic considerations behind the Capital on Children initiative and how it has influenced Billund.

The BIG picture - strategic development of cities

David Zahle, chief architect from the renowned and acknowledged Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), gave a presentation with an architectural perspective as an inevitable part of branding and development.

Does every village, town and city need a brand?

Can-Seng Ooi, Professor in Place Branding at The Copenhagen Business School, gave a critical perspective on when and where to brand – and when not to.

Authentic branding

58% of the companies with a clearly defined purpose have 10% growth. Research from EY and Harvard Business shows that companies with a clearly defined purpose are more innovative and have better financial results. 

At the Royal Exchange (Børsen), Nikolaj Stagis talked about how the most successful brands manage to look inward and use their inherent potentials to strengthen the company’s authentic brand.

IKEA, By Malene Birger, Deloitte and Illums Bolighus were some of the participants discussing how you can use your company’s strengths and purpose whether you want to change your organizations image or get more customers.

How to find you company's inner strengths
Nikolaj explained how a company's authentic identity can be viewed through three distinct dimensions of authenticity and he asked the participants to think about their own company and think about: 

  • Is the company's history a strength or a limitation? 
  • Does the company have a strong purpose? 
  • Does the company express what it stands for?

By rating your company in these three authenticity dimensions, you can discover where there is potential and how you can use that potential combined with your company’s strengths.  

Purpose makes a profitable business 
Finding your company’s authentic strengths is also about finding your company’s purpose which can motivate employees and make the company a profitable business. Studies from EY and Harvard Business Review shows that companies with a clearly defined purpose has higher growth, better financial results and the employees finds more meaning in their work life. 

Authentic brands 
Nikolaj used strong brands like Tesla, LEGO, Noma and BMW as examples that show how a clearly defined purpose can create a good business. Among several examples, Nikolaj mentioned Tony's Chocolonely as a purpose-driven company. A chocolate brand who makes “100% slave free” chocolate as a result of a Dutch documentary, which uncovered slavery-like production conditions among the world’s largest chocolate manufacturers.Tony’s Chocolonely manages to use their cause to create brand value and preference for their product in the market. 

 

Authentic branding

Some of the most successful brands manage to look inward and use their inherent potentials to strengthen the company’s authentic brand. At three events held in Copenhagen and Aarhus, Nikolaj Stagis talked about what some of the strongest brands do to clearly define their purpose.

Research shows, that companies with a clearly defined purpose are more innovative and create significant growth. With examples from Patagonia, LEGO, Noma, Bøgedal and Tesla, Nikolaj talked about how some of the strongest brands are driven by a clearly defined purpose and how you can use those examples as an inspiration to define your own company’s purpose.

How to find you company's inner strengths
Nikolaj explained how a company's authentic identity can be viewed through three distinct dimensions of authenticity and he asked the participants to think about their own company and think about: 

about their own company and think about: 

  • Is the company's history a strength or a limitation? 
  • Does the company have a strong purpose? 
  • Does the company express what it stands for?

By rating your company in these three authenticity dimensions, you can discover where there is potential and how you can use that potential combined with your company’s strengths.  

Purpose makes a profitable business 
Finding your company’s authentic strengths is also about finding your company’s purpose which can motivate employees and make the company a profitable business. Studies from EY and Harvard Business Review shows that companies with a clearly defined purpose has higher growth, better financial results and the employees finds more meaning in their work life. 58% of companies with a clearly defined purpose have over 10% growth. 

Authentic brands 
Nikolaj used strong brands like Tesla, LEGO, Noma and BMW as examples that show how a clearly defined purpose can create a good business. Among several examples, Nikolaj mentioned Tony's Chocolonely as a purpose-driven company. A chocolate brand who makes “100% slave free” chocolate as a result of a Dutch documentary, which uncovered slavery-like production conditions among the world’s largest chocolate manufacturers.Tony’s Chocolonely manages to use their cause to create brand value and preference for their product in the market. 

Among the participants in Copenhagen and Aarhus we met different types of organizations, ngo’s and corporate businesses which gave occasion to talk about how you can use both your company’s strengths and purpose in your work, whether your company serves a cause or sells electronics. 

Re:define

How do you transform a purpose from a buzzword into a powerful strategic tool? At Re:define we discussed how a clearly defined brand purpose sets the strategic direction and creates a strong narrative that not only increase profit, but more importantly strengthens your organizational brand and culture. The speakers were Birgitte Qvist-Sørensen, General Secretary at DanChurchAid and Nikolaj Stagis. 

The Strongest brands are purpose-driven
Nikolaj Stagis made it clear that if a brand aspires to be perceived as authentic by consumers, it must not only identify what justifies the brands existence in society, it must constantly revisit this justification when making strategic decisions.

All too often brands claim to be purpose-driven through a CSR profile and other buzzwords but fail to live and express their promises. A purpose must become the main driver of the brand. When a brand is solely driven towards profit maximization and commercial success, it risk being seen as inauthentic by consumers and therefore outcompeted by the true purpose-driven brands. Among several examples, Nikolaj mentioned Tony’s Chocolonely. A chocolate brand who makes “100% slave free” as a result of a Dutch documentary, which uncovered slavery-like production conditions among the world’s largest chocolate manufactures.

Following a constructive discussion on the topic, Nikolaj gave a copy of the two bestsellers ‘Brands with a conscience‘ and ‘the Authentic Company‘ to the two attendees with the best questions of the evening.

A purpose drives the organisation forward and gives stability
General Secretary at DanChurchAid, Birgitte Qvist-Sørensen, talked about the value of a brand purpose becoming a strategic driver and compass for an organisation.

In 2016 DanChurchAid teamed up with Stagis to identify a new core narrative for the brand. Birgitte had felt the need for a common identity which could assist the organization in making decisions based on shared values that were true to the heritage of the brand. The case of DanChurchAid exemplifies the challenge in identifying a purpose which all employees can recognize and wish to commit to. Stagis and DanChurchAid succeeded in formulating strengths which were recognizable, but the process also uncovered values in the brand that were inexplicit but a core part of the brand’s purpose. The strengths were formulated into a core narrative, which should steer the long-term strategy for DanChurchAid. “This narrative is what our members and employees now subscribe to” as Birgitte highlighted. The important value in a purpose is that it is a strategic tool: “It gives a calmness” she told. Whenever the organization is in doubt, they turn to the core narrative for guidance and inspiration. 

The evening continued with cozy chats and the sharing of ideas and thoughts on the importance of purposeful brands in today’s society. 

20 years of transformation

Stagis was founded in 1997 with the ambition of transforming businesses into flourishing brands. At the anniversary party we celebrated 20 years of successes, failures, and learning experiences with clients, business partners, colleagues in the design and communication industry, and friends.

Tones of summer 

The DJ filled the room with tones of summer, the bartender handed the first cocktails over the bar and just like that the old space in the city centre of Copenhagen transformed from our office into a buzzing summer party. We celebrated with ‘brunsviger’ brought all the way from Odense, because we have not forgotten where it all began – at Fyn.

20 blooming ideas  

Nikolaj took the guests on a trip down memory lane when he presented 20 blooming ideas from Stagis' history. Among the ideas was Stagis' untraditional recruitment campaign “He jumped because he missed creativity” where Stagis attracted new talents by staging a crime scene in front of competing agencies by drawing the outline of a man – just like in old movies. Nikolaj also highlighted the branding guru Wally Olins as an inspiration and spoke of successful concepts and exciting events.

Visit our journal and read more about the ideas.

Re:act

How do you make a brand jump off the white pages of the company strategy and into real life? 

Creating a truly vibrant brand means implementing the appropriate behavior and creating a culture that runs through the entire organization – from management to staff and all the way to the customer experience. At Re:act, we focused on the necessity of living the brand in all aspects of the organization - from service design to communication activities across situations and touch points.

The speakers were:

Alfred Josefsen

Alfred Josefsen is a Danish leadership guru, writer, and mentor. Alfred is known to most Danes as the charismatic leader behind the supermarket chain Irma. He has written the books Kære Irma (Dear Irma), Min passion for ledelse (My passion for leadership) and recently I øjenhøjde (At eye level) which contains 100 columns that was printed in newspapers on leadership. At Re:act he talked about the leadership style that helped Irma become a uniquely positive customer experience and about his view on leadership as the primary way of creating value for both the employees and the company.

Nicholas Ind

Nicholas Ind, Associate Professor at Oslo School of Management. Nicholas is the author of the bestseller Living the Brand (2007) and co-author of the new must-read Brand Desire (2016). At Re:Act, he unfolded the benefits of living the brand across situations and touch points and draw on examples of some of the most inspiring brands who practice every day. Nicholas is author of 15 books on branding and innovation and is one of the founding members of The Medinge Group.

Nikolaj Stagis

Nikolaj Stagis, Director of Strategy at Stagis, talked about the power of authenticity in achieving a brand with correlation between all activities. Drawing on the case of the Bus Industry in Greater Copenhagen, Nikolaj explained how cultural and behavioral development can transform how the employees perform their job and perceived themselves. The project won the Danish Communication Prize in 2012 and led to a better brand experience and a complete change in image and perception of the Danish bus drivers.

Re:discover

Why is it that business leaders tend to rely more on survey data than on thick data? At Re:discover, we entered the chaotic jungle of insights and focused on the benefits of basing your brand development and innovation on qualitative thick data.

Sources for innovation is found in the corners of the data field

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Former Managing Director at ReD Associates, Frederik Wiedemann, explained how the most fruitful data sources for innovation is found in the extremity of the data field. In these corners, thick data and big data rule the world as both methods allow very different insights – thick data (e.g. interviews and observations) examines and reaches the depth of the matter, while big data (giant amounts of electronic data) can be used to predict human behavior if it is used in a cleaver and circular way.

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Frederik also elaborated on the methodological paradox that often dominate the gathering of insights, when pointing out that business leaders often rely more on survey data than on thick data. However, survey data (e.g. questionnaires) is the least effective method for generating new insights and is more effective in evaluating and adjusting current actions.

Start by asking the questions you just have to know the answer to

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During the investigating journalist, Christian Kirk Muff’s, inspiring career he has constantly found himself in places and situations where he has never been before or knew very little about. At Re:discover, he described how research has always been the safety line that pulled him back to shore and explained how he always start by asking himself questions he just has to know the answers to. E.g. when he went ghost-hunting for the missing Tvind-founder, Mogens Amdi-Petersen, he asked himself: “is the man was really a crook and is he paranoid?”. Through thorough research and a great deal of curiosity he located Amdi-Petersen in Mexico. The efforts resulted in a reality documentary produced by DR3, but as Christian puts it:

“When the research is solid and the insights are obtained through a reliable method, I am more than happy to try different genres for communicating the results.”
Christian Kirk Muff

Anthropology as the basis of brand development

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Director of Strategy, Nikolaj Stagis, pointed out the value of using anthropological method as the basis for brand development. Through two examples, he illustrated how qualitative methods can provide deep and “rich” insights that you otherwise would not have identified. In a recent project, anthropological method uncovered unspoken qualities, that was later used to develop a marketing plan for how a small town can attract more young people to the area.

Nikolaj also explained how qualitative insights saved Jeep. For a long time Jeep tried to adjust to customer demands, but it was not until qualitative methods uncovered that the cultural code for Jeep was “horse”, that the brand really turned around. By adjusting and emphasizing certain things, like the door came off, Jeep became the international brand they always wanted.

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We hope to se you at our next Re:garding event in May.

Re:attract

How do you create beautiful brands that will attract new costumers? At Re:attract we explored the behavioral patterns of consumers, and through inspiring cases we learned how to use these insights in communication and branding activities.

Associate Professor Jesper Clement has spent the last 10 years understanding the patterns of the consumers visual attention and behavior. As a member of the Decision Neuroscience Research Cluster (DNRC), at Copenhagen Business School, Jesper knows all about how eye-tracking and brain scanning reveals the consumers’ unconscious decisions. At Re:attract, Jesper took us on a guided tour into the mind of the consumer and provided insights into why consumers act the way they do and what that means for marketing and communication activities.

In a society characterized with an overload of communication and low consumer interest, it becomes increasingly difficult for brands to secure the attention, relevance and consumer engagement. At Re:attract, Stagis’ new Managing Director, Henrik Binzer, dived head first into this challenge, and presented an approach to how brands can be both attractive and meaningful. 

The afternoon ended in high spirits at a reception celebrating the 40th birthday of our Founder and Director of Strategy, Nikolaj Stagis. The reception also marked that Henrik Binzer has joined us as new Managing Director, and that Stagis now has another experienced person in the daily management team.

We look forward to seeing you at Re:discover on February 23.

Reaching the Local Brand Paradise In a Global World

Together with Medinge Group and Danish Design Centre, Stagis hosted the branding conference "Reaching Local Brand Paradise in a Global World" at the beautiful Bloxhub in the city center of Copenhagen.

At the conference, organizations and students joined the discussion on how brands create local and global value, and met international experts such as Peter Brown, Sandra Horlings and Nikolaj Stagis from Medinge Group, as well as Creative Conscience Award and Danish Church Aid.

The participants learned how organizations, cities and countries can create meaningful brands where economic growth, conscious leadership, and social responsibility goes hand in hand.

Watch the videos from the conference

We were very lucky to have the skilled video marketing platform TwentyThree live stream the presentations during the day. Learn more about the conference and watch or revisit the presentations at Stagis Journal.

 

Brands with a Conscience conference

In the new book Brands With a Conscience, the international branding think tank Medinge Group promote the need for conscious brands. Together with Medinge Group and Copenhagen Business School, Stagis invited brand managers and students to experience the international experts, brand practitioners and business cases from the book.

Among the speakers were Simon Paterson, Erika Uffindell, Nicholas Ind, and Nikolaj Stagis from Medinge Group as well as Maurice Dekkers from Tony's Chocolonely, CBS host Mogens Bjerre and Mikkel Skott Olsen from Velux. During the day, the speakers focused on why businesses should become more humane and conscious in order to help their businesses prosper and humanity to progress.

Learn more about the event at Copenhagen Business School at Stagis Journal.

Re:position

The internationally acclaimed architect from BIG, David Zahle, joined us at Re:position to talk about their work with positioning cities and regions. While David emphasized the architectural and visual aspect of positioning, our CEO Nikolaj Stagis focused on the branding perspective of repositioning and shared several examples of successful brand repositioning.

 

David Zahle

David Zahle explained how BIG uses both new, existing and obsolete infrastructure to reposition spaces around the world and how many of BIG’s current and past projects have an element of redefining the status quo: E.g. how BIG has designed the new facade and roof for Amager Ressource Center (ARC). The new exterior converts the monolithic building into a ski pist, that will allow the public to engage with the plant and will turn it into something attractive, useful, and exciting.

 

Nikolaj Stagis

Nikolaj Stagis explained the fundamentals of a successful reposition: Often it’s much more a question of reconsidering the way you do business than trying to change the image of the brand through a clever campaign. At Re:position, he presented the creative case of repositioning OKI printers and offered insights into how the world famous Hästens brand turned beds from being a commodity to a luxury experience.

 

We look forward to seeing you at Re:attract on November 24.

 

Re:design

Design is often related to the physical expression of your brand, but can also create substantial value, growth and change in your business. At Re:design we focused on the many aspects of design and how it can revitalize your brand and help secure a strong position in the mind of consumers and in the market. Three inspiring speakers, talked about their work with design and how it has played a vital role in building the historic brand of the world’s oldest wine merchant and in developing a more harmonized visual expression.

In the video you can see some of the highlights from the evening.

The three speakers at Re:start was:

Simon Paterson (UK)

Working out of London, Simon Paterson has helped some of the worlds largest international organizations, such as Shell, Oxford University and Star Alliance. The international brand expert talked about how he has worked closely with the world’s oldest wine and spirit merchant, Berry Bros. & Rudd, to review and redesign their brand. At Re:design Simon emphasized how a redesign of Berry Bros. & Rudd's brand identity served as a catalyst for the strong brand they hold today.

Torben Slothuus

As a graphic designer at Stagis, Torben Slothuus has a wide experience with developing designs that visualize the unique strengths of the brand. At Re:design, he talked about how he helps organizations and companies strengthen their position in the mind of the consumer through a unified visual identity that secures alignment and a clear expression.

Lasse Damgaard

Ethnologists Meik Brüsch and Lasse Damgaard have investigated the unexploited potentials of design and what role design plays in innovation. In their recent publication “Reflexive innovation – the hidden potential of design” they have interviewed 15 organization who have all tried to push the conventions in their industries. At Re:design Lasse Damgaard talked about how design can serve as a catalyst for innovation, and exemplified it through the cases from the publication. 

Re:start

At our first transformational meeting in 2016 we focused on Re:starting and why a good start is so important for future economic and personal success. Every brand once had to find its place in the market, but why have some succeeded in maintaining a strong position, while others haven’t? At Re:start we satisfied the participants curiosity on what it takes to create a successful business, learned from some of the most experienced and inspiring people, cases, and personal experiences on starting from scratch, regenerating an existing business and re:starting on a personal level.  

 

In this video you can see some of the highlights from the evening.

 

The speakers at Re:start was:

Mik Thobo-Carlsen

Serial entrepreneur Mik Thobo-Carlsen has started numerous successful businesses and know just what to look for in the market and which parameters that are the most important when starting a business from scratch. At Re:start, Mik shed light on the do’s and don’ts when developing a new business and how he has secured success in his latest start-up: the online community Tattoodoo.com.

Nikolaj Stagis

CEO at Stagis A/S, Nikolaj Stagis, spoke about the importance of knowing the unique strengths of your business, and why these make up the strongest foundation for achieving long-term success. At Re:start, Nikolaj will drew on some of the most inspiring cases and illustrated the benefits of building your business on existing authentic strengths to create some of the worlds most successful brands.

 

KL's Kommunikationsdøgn 2015

Stagis participated in "KL's Kommunikationsdøgn" on the 29th-30th of October 2015. Brand expert and CEO, Nikolaj Stagis, conducted a workshop on how to find your municipalities unique qualities and strengths.

We sent some of our talented people to talk about what we can do for municipalities and many of the visitors partcipated in our competition for two hours of consulting or tickets to the Kommunebranding15 conference.

Tønder Kommune won tickets to the conference, Herlev Kommune won a copy of the book The authentic company by Nikolaj Stagis while Helsingør won the big prize of two hours of free consulting - congratulations to the winners and thank you for the inspiring talks we had during "KL's Kommunikationsdøgn".

Tavle Redigeret (1)

What makes your municipality unique?

At our stand we urged the Danish municipalities to articulate their unique strengths. The participants competed for the main prize: two hours of free consulting.

Workshop Pa Kl

Workshop with Nikolaj Stagis

Communications people from the majority of Danish municipalities participated actively in Nikolaj Stagis’ workshop on how to create a strong brand.

Re:connect

Re:connect - Create relations through your personal voice

At Re:connect speakers from Maersk and DR spoke about how brands can strengthen the relationship with fans, users, and customers by developing a more personal communication style.

Birgitte Henrichsen, Head of Group Communication and Branding at Maersk, talked about how the organization has changed its approach to communication. As a result the organizations is now perceived as more modern and open and has developed a more personal voice towards clients and potential employees.

Editor of Social Media from DR, Lars Damgaard Nielsen, shed light on the challenge of balancing a personal voice and the shared expression of the corporation to create stronger platforms for interaction between different programs, platforms and the viewers. Through targeted communication strategies that comply with the overall strategy, DR holds has created communication platforms that match the individual target groups. 

The world-famous performance artist, Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen, delivered an artistic perspective on how the personal voice can be used to re:connect and create personal relations. Lilibeth delivered to performances that illustrates how one's personal voice isn’t always enough and

After Re:connect, we invited guests, clients and friends of the house to stay and celebrate our 18-years birthday. The evening was spent with a lot of sweet guests, delicious food, cold drinks and great music. Thanks to all the participants for making the evening unforgettable. We are happy and proud to call ourselves grown ups and look forward to the next 18 years in business.

Conference on successful authentic brands

In February 2012, 300 business- and communications people participated in Stagis’ management conference in Børsen in Copenhagen to celebrate the publication of the “The authentic company”. During the conference it became evident that organizations that translate their inner strengths into business development are the winners of tomorrow. Authenticity not only makes it easier to do business – it is also reflected on the bottom line.

”We don’t have clients. We’ve got fans,” said Federico Minoli from the motorcycle manufacturer Ducati. ”Fascination and stories create success”, said Andreas Braun from BMW Museum. Peter Kreiner from Noma spoke about the development of the world’s best restaurant, Casper Vorting from Bøgedal Bryghus spoke about inherited craftsmanship and attendance in the production, while Astrid Gade Nielsen from Arla talked about the challenges of the organization in relation to authenticity and the focus on specialized production.

The five different cases exemplify companies that have managed to use their inherent strengths in business development. They illustrate that all organizations – big and small – can work strategically with authentic identity and thereby segregate themselves from mainstream.

Read the recommendations of “The authentic company”. 

Authenticity management pays off 

Management experts Majken Schultz, professor at CBS, and Nikolaj Stagis summarized the five cases and reflected on authenticity economy and the opinion society. Majken Schultz pointed out that authenticity is a new discussion within organizational theory and an essential management responsibility for the organizations and companies of tomorrow. Schultz has written the preface to “The authentic company” and point out that the book demonstrates how organizations can work on becoming authentic – not only in theory but in practice as well. Nikolaj Stagis completed the conference by emphasizing that, especially now – with the transition from information society to opinion society – a strategic focus on authenticity can be crucial for the future of organizations.

Ducati's turnaround

Federico Minoli spoke about Ducati's turnaround and how he has turned the company into a successful experience brand.

The authentic brewery

Casper Vorting is a brewer and the founder of Bøgedal Bryghus. Hear what he had to say about authenticity at the conference.

Has Arla sold its soul?

Astrid Gade Nielsen from Arla talked about how Arla have used authenticity to build the strong brand we know today.

The authentic company

Nikolaj Stagis presented his new book ”The authentic company" at the launch in Børsen in Copenhagen.

Noma's sense of time and place

Peter Kreiner is the CEO at Noma – the worlds best restaurant. Hear what he had to say about Noma's authentic identity at the conference.

Why authenticity now?

Professor at Copenhagen Business School, Majken Schultz emphasized why an authentic identity is important for the organizations of tomorrow.

The authentic museum

Andreas Braun from BMW Museum highlighted the benefits of having a corporate museum. Revisit his presentation from the conference.