Episode 21 – A logo doesn’t equal a brand – Kyle Shields – Creative Director, MAVAN

Kyle Shields is an award-winning art director, designer, and creative director who has found success in branding, advertising, and growth marketing. After spending a decade spearheading successful ad campaigns for brands like Wendy’s and MasterCard, Kyle now lends his innovative expertise as Creative Director at MAVAN.

 

Matt and Kyle dive deep into the tenuous and nuanced relationship between creativity and growth. Kyle highlights how to define and leverage your brand audience to create an effective growth strategy, the importance of creative testing and brand consistency, and AI's transformative impact on creatives.

 

Key Takeaways

• 🎨Your creative approach should be a balance of flashy advertising and effective audience alignment
• 👥Perceived audience may differ from actual audiences, which is why creative testing is crucial for determining effective marketing strategies
• 🔗Developing an early brand guide is instrumental for scalable businesses and brand consistency, which builds consumer trust and recognition 
• 🚀 AI's rapid advancement in creative fields presents both opportunities and challenges, urging creatives to continue to adapt and harness new tools for continued relevance

Chapters

 

(0:00:05) Introduction to the podcast and guest, Kyle Shields

(0:01:37) Kyle's background and experience in design and advertising

(0:03:09) Transition from Deloitte to working at small ad agencies

(0:04:35) Highlights of working for big campaigns and brands like Wendy's and Mastercard

(0:08:55) Misconceptions about the interplay between creativity and growth

(0:10:41) Balancing creative and performance in advertising and growth

(0:11:59) What traditional advertising can learn from performance and growth

(0:12:15) Misconceptions about small target audiences

(0:12:53) Brand example: Fireball Whiskey's audience pivot and gradual success

(0:16:07) Consistency and repetition in messaging and branding

(0:18:15) Importance of testing in creative and product development

(0:19:17) Brute force acquisition strategy and the role of creativity in acquisition

(0:20:56) The long-term benefits and impact of creative testing

(0:21:57) The importance of cohesive creative across the customer journey

(0:22:25) Importance of creative testing at scale in the gaming industry

(0:22:58) Importance of consistency across messaging and brand voice

(0:23:33) Importance in isolating creative variables in testing

(0:24:22) Clean, usable data is necessary for effective testing

(0:25:09) Importance of a holistic brand approach beyond just logo design

(0:26:11) Capturing relevant creative data to inform future creative decisions

(0:27:47) Challenges in defining and reinventing your brand

(0:28:26) Overlooking the importance of brand expression and consistency

(0:30:21) Setting up brand guidelines and educating the team

(0:31:57) Skipping steps in brand development and the cost of scaling

(0:33:14) Brand's connection to company culture, tone of voice, consistency in brand DNA

(0:34:23) The importance of consistency within your brand DNA

(0:36:33) Brand example: Red Bull's commitment to brand integrity 

(0:37:31) Core exercises for creating a brand from scratch

(0:41:44) Rapid advancement of AI, including social media and in the creative job market

(0:45:19) The future of AI tool adoption in design and automation

(0:50:59) AI-generated content will lead to more creative competition and content

(0:56:16) Photoshop's impact on photography shows how perceptions change over time

(0:59:58) How AI will change and enhance creativity rather than replace it

(1:05:08) How AI can provide accurate, in-depth information quickly to change the way we learn

(1:07:14) The interplay between AI, business, and human experience over the next 20-30 years

(1:08:55) Conclusion and closing remarks

Link to Transcript

 

Find the transcript for this episode at: https://www.mavan.com/growthscale-episode-21-kyle-shields/