The work we do at Kristian Andersen + Associates falls into two buckets that are typically considered to be fairly unrelated disciplines: Branding (Identity Development) & Experience Design (Product Development). Even inside a client organization there’s a pretty solid wall built between brand management (which is typically a function of marketing) and product design and development (which is typically a function of engineering). Of course there are exceptions to this rule and every organization has its own hacks for working around these divisions. But even among the most enlightened organizations these disciplines are typically not equally yoked. You will have product led organizations or marketing led organizations (We’ll save sales-led organizations for another post).

At KA+A we attempt to encourage every client to view these disciplines as different sides of the same coin. We feel that if you’re in the business of delivering a web-based product or service over the web (the primary touch point) that making a distinction between the brand, the product, and the organization is an exercise in futility. When we talk about Brand Experience Design – we’re not just talking about veneer. To simplify our value proposition even further, we’ve taken to reciting the mantra: The Interface is the product, is the brand, is the business.

The interface is the product
The level of engineering genius that resides beneath the presentation layer of a web-based application is of very little value if that genius can’t be accessed in a compelling and intuitive manner. To the users of a product (including, but limited to software), the interface IS the product. Period. A well engineered product with 99.9% up time, seamless integration capabilities, robust features, infinite scalability, and a rock solid infrastructure is close to worthless if, at the point of user interaction, the wheels begin to fall of the wagon.

I’ll attempt to spare you too many Apple analogies – but just look at the iPhone. It’s a phone. Yes it introduced some novel features (like visual voicemail) that had not previously existed in the marketplace. But for the most part it offers the same type of functionality that had been available in smart phones for years. So to what must we attribute its phenomenal success (aside from the bonus points it gets merely for being an Apple product)? The interface of course. In the case of the iPhone – the interface, almost entirely by itself, gets the lion’s share of the credit for it’s stellar adoption and sales figures.

Conversely, when someone gripes about trying to set-up a mail merge in Microsoft Word, it’s almost just as assuredly the interface that is limiting the recognition of value on the part of the user. Make no mistake, The entire suite of Microsoft Office applications is a testament to engineering wizardry. It’s absolutely packed with innovative features, but what it offers behind the curtain is marred by an overwhelming and oftentimes ill-conceived presentation of that functionality.

The product is the brand

With very few exceptions brands are defined, not by their logos, but by their products. They might be recognized by their identities, but rarely are they defined by them. Exceptions to the rule do exist however. If an established brand moves into a new market (e.g. Virgin music getting into the airline business) for a short while the perception of the product might be heavily influenced by the brand, but eventually the product must live or die on its own merits and the results surely impact the brand. It is the product that ultimately succeeds or fails in fulfilling the promise of the brand.

The product, of course, includes tacit interactions that transcend the nuts and bolts or bits and bytes and includes how the product is sold, supported, and marketed. In the case of Lexus, the product is not merely the car, but rather the entire product experience: The great maintenance and support, the well-trained, unobtrusive salespersons, the tastefully appointed show rooms, etc. But at the end of the day, the core product must perform up to expectations. No amount of complimentary espresso drinks or friendly receptionists can make up for a core product that fails to deliver.

A product is really an expression of the values and beliefs of an organization, and a brand is a type of short-hand that refers to those values and beliefs.

The brand is the business
A recent Coca-Cola annual report reported that the second most recognized expression in the world after “OK” is “Coca-Cola.” In 2007 Coca-Cola Company has a market cap of $117 billion. The book value of its assets was $30 billion. This puts the market value of the company’s brand at around $92 billion, or 79% of its market cap.

That’s an extreme example to be sure, but it makes a pretty compelling point. In a world where products reach functional parity with alarming speed, the real value of a business resides in its brand. A brand is comprised of and continually defined by its products (and product experiences), which when boiled down are really just a set of virtual and/or visceral interactions.