The Red Papers: What's The big ideaLTM? Colin ... - Ogilvy & Mather

What’s
The big ideaL?
The Red Papers:
Big ideas and big ideaLs
Every now and again, someone important announces the death of
branding. Various reasons are given for it: increasingly sophisticated
consumers, media fragmentation, corporate greed, and so on. But
countless global brands are still alive and kicking, as are any number
of brands with smaller footprints. The pressures on branding are real
enough, but many brands are fl ourishing in spite of them. What do they
have in common? The clue might lie in an assertion we fi rst heard in
2006, uttered by Robyn Putter, then the leader of the Ogilvy & Mather
Worldwide Creative Council, and now sadly with us only in spirit. “The
brands we most admire are built not just on big ideas, but on big ideaLs”
was what he said. Robyn’s observation was that, vital as ideas are, great
brands tend to be built on underpinning ideals that give guidance to
all aspects of brand and company activity. They project a certain point
of view on the world that engages people both within and beyond the
organization, and they radiate the values and commitment needed to
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