Foreword

Jonathan Emmins

jonathan@weareamplify.com

In our busy lives, we rarely have moments where we’re fully present and offer our complete time and attention.

For me, it’s when I listen to an album end-to-end, get lost in a mix or immerse myself in a performance at a gig, club or festival. For my partner, it’s the belonging, the camaraderie and the build-up when she trains for her next big sports challenge or a quick morning hit of competition with mates all over the world on Peloton –shout out @benspelotonarmy.

For my son, it’s as he effortlessly glides between magical worlds on and offline. Nothing pleases me more than hearing the joy in his voice as he excitedly tells me of the fantastic creatures he’s found on Pokémon Go, the expeditions he’s been on in Fortnite or, every now and then, as we laugh and bond as he thrashes me at FIFA. For my daughter, constantly creating, it’s when she draws and crafts things inspired by her favourite YouTubers or mirrors a new dance or gymnastics move from her favourite TikTokers.

Channels versus relationships

As consumers and fans in our own right, we know which brands we feel best represent us, our beliefs, passions and interests. We know which communities we want to belong to, who are our trusted sources of information and entertainment and above all, where we choose to spend our precious time and money. In the best cases, we actively use our brand choices to help define ourselves as individuals.

As marketers under increasing time and budget pressures, we often think in terms of channels or campaigns. In contrast, consumers tend to think in terms of affinity and relationships. Target audiences often only catch glimpses or moments of carefully considered integrated marketing campaigns that, in their eyes, often blur into one another. They instead take these fragments and moments as a composite and form their gut feel for a brand, good or bad.

The evolution of brand building

As creatives, to cut through we need to create work that is empathetic, collaborative, simple, effective and moving. The last few years have been some of the most challenging for marketers, but they’ve also been some of the most exciting as audiences. Circumstances and technology have made us think differently and for the better.

For audiences to engage and brands to cut through, we need a new type of creative approach and agency. The world is fast-moving and co-authored, yet so many brand guidelines are static, 2D and didactic. The pandemic challenged what brands could and couldn’t do, expediting much-needed change and, by necessity, breaking formats. Consumers were offered far more choices in how they engage with brands, and now we’ve gone forward, audiences won’t let us go back. Finally, advances in innovation and creative technology, including Web3 and AI, have opened new opportunities and challenges in considering the evolution of brand building.

Introducing worldbuilding

Working with some of the most innovative and progressive brands globally, we organically found ourselves thinking and talking about ‘building worlds’ that live beyond individual campaigns. We kick off by exploring the journey of worldbuilding to date, hearing from executive creative director, Alex Wilson, and why we think an old concept has never been more important when it comes to brand building.

We’ve then interviewed worldbuilding pioneers who are making a difference and doing it right. As with our work, for this project, we are drawing as much influence from culture and creative communities as we are from pioneering brands. Whether they are local or global, to be discovered or already iconic, we believe they lead the charge and can share valuable lessons for brands beginning or continuing their worldbuilding journeys.

Beyond this, look out for our worldbuilding launch film and ongoing film series featuring 24 futurethinking minds and sessions we’ll be running globally and locally, from SXSW to smaller, more intimate roundtables. To watch the films and find out more, check out www.weareamplify.com/worldbuilding/all

Please enjoy, and if you’re keen to chat do get in touch.