| People are not numbers.
It’s a simple statement, but practised by so few organizations. At
JY&A Consulting, we aim to understand an organization’s values—getting
to the core helps us connect it with each audience member, future-proofing
it in an era where people demand greater transparency, ethics and humanism. |
Medinge Säteri,
Sweden, where in 2002 Jack Yan and some of the top minds in the branding
profession discussed the ideas of ethics, transparency and social responsibility—and
how to respond to such ethical disasters in the corporate arena such as
Enron, and to criticism of the profession in books such as No Logo.
The Medinge Group was born here, while
we found renewed purpose in our quest for ethical, humanistic branding.
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In 1999, two things were very apparent in the business world. First,
there were forces that would continue to globalize. Secondly, there was
a rising consumer demand for brands that were moral and ethical.
We also knew a few other truths, too. The world was
obsessed with finance and numbers. Yet those numbers failed to tell people
a great deal about the organizations they represented. Brands could be
more transparent.
And a company in a third-world country could only find
real worth if its brand were up to first-world standards—because
it could then compete and raise the standard of living of the people in
its community.
All these forces were pointing to a twenty-first century
that was going to demand more ethics, more conscience and more transparency.
Humanistic branding, in other words, was needed—more than
just gestures.
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By the turn of the century, we were writing about corporate
social responsibility, transparency and ethics, and relating them
back to branding. With our clients, we were finding ways to bring more
of these ingredients to help future-proof them for a more savvy, media-aware
consumer.
At the end of the day, people are not numbers—and
organizations need to have a proper relationship with every person that
they touch.
This is why we find it so important to understand not
only an organization’s vision, but its values. To know at the core
the real identity of the organization, in order to help build its awareness
and create positive associations. And to have an impact on the strategy,
finding ways to create a better world, together.
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