“My name is Jurgen Schmidt and I am 91 years old. I am a master swimmer.”
This is the start of one of 17 short, inspiring stories of aquatic lovers that are showcased on Fueled By Water, Speedo’s amazing new website. If you love all things aquatic and are in for a good story, you are going to love this.
Stories – Not Branding
Fuelled By Water is not a commercial stunt about Speedo, but an ode to water and a tribute to people’s deep love for the liquid world. On the site you will find a varied collection of people, ranging from a swimmer in his nineties who is still breaking world records, to a body surfer gliding down walls of water, to a group of friends who challenge the open ocean every day. Their stories are universal tales of friendship and hardship, of long hours spent together training or watching the shore preparing to make a critical rescue.
Arresting visuals
What makes these stories unique is the breathtakingly beautiful shots that accompany them. Everything on the site is driven by videos of the liquid world, even the navigation menu. Hardly any text, just water everywhere. My favourite part? The “Share Your Story” section, a curated collection of micro-stories around the theme ‘love for water’, shared by fans on Twitter and Instagram using the #fueledbywater hashtag.
“There is another world, where we can break world records in our nineties. We’ll meet you there.”
Disclaimer: I am a swimmer, water-polo player, deep-diver, professional SCUBA diver and water addict. How could I possibly not love this?
https://youtu.be/jmDL_R8YcQk
WHAT IS THE COLOR OF YOUR STORY?
Color can dramatically affect our feelings and emotions, and consequently influence how our story and brand are perceived. This beautiful infographic developed by The Logo Company looks at the color chosen by different companies to understand how they are used to reinforce the brand message.
IKEA vs GOOGLE
Yellows stands for optimism (Ikea), orange is friendly (Fanta), red excites (Coca cola), pink/violet speaks of creativity (T-mobile), blue can be trusted (American express), green is about peacefulness and health (Starbucks). Gray & white is the most neutral combination: it stands for balance, inspires calm and is used by the likes of Mercedes Benz and Apple. On the other side of the spectrum, using several colors, like Google and eBay do, conveys excitement and suggests diversity.
BITTEN APPLE
For the Apple fans among us: in the early 2000s Apple started removing the rainbow-colored stripes from the bitten apple that had been its signature since the 1970s. Apple’s current logo is part of a greater initiative that transformed Apple’s public image from scrappy populist company to world-class technologist.
Read more on ads and visual stories.
In 2014, everyone will be a marketeer
Authenticity has become a prerequisite to doing business, and empowering employees to use social media for business will be the number one way companies stay relevant and top of mind. Even for employees in non-customer facing roles, the expectation will be that they represent the company whenever online to amplify and reinforce the corporate brand and its value.
Is your company ready for it? Are you ready for it?
Read more on building your brand on Social Media
