There is undeniable value when we see a professional or entity carry out work sparingly and respecting the time needed to complete it. My father always told me stories of pairs of shoemakers and shoe shiners in times past who had total concentration on carrying out their duties. Affection for the shoes and the well-being of the customer at that moment was all that mattered, and time, well, time was running, but always in favor of the gentleman, man or child who performed such an act.
Walking through the streets of São Paulo today, it would be very rare to come across a scene like this. The world has become hyper digitized, fast, ephemeral. This new era has made many things available to us, but it has also created a huge scarcity that the old lesson teaches us – we need time and full attention to perform and generate high-quality solutions. This applies to Branding and everything in our lives.
Jeremy Bentham, social reformer and founder of utilitarianism, developed the theory of the panopticon, a central tower that would inspire the architecture of many prisons within and outside Europe. This construction was implemented so that guards could better monitor their prisoners, as it was located in the center and in front of a circle full of occupied cells. Jumping forward to 2024, we live in a runaway mutation of Bentham's panopticon, a digital panopticon, where you can observe everything and everyone at any time, using cell phones, cameras and computers. And why do I bring this insight? Well, because even with all this supposed capacity, with the chance to practice healthy digital voyeurism, we are captivated by the speed at which these systems move before us. We are hastily taken by the illusion that if we use the panopticon quickly, we will also find quick answers and solutions to our problems.
Therefore, the central premise is, to quote Napoleon Bonaparte: “Dress me slowly, because I am in a hurry”. In other words, the longevity of the output we wish to cultivate in the future depends largely on the average speed of the input we supply today. At TroianoBranding, we carried out two projects in which, like shoemakers and shoe shiners, we had to have a high degree of maturity and calmness to deliver a quality response to the customer. It is logical that we take all our projects seriously, transmitting this same calm to all the clients and partners with whom we collaborate. And, in the case of Novex and Assaí, we embody this spirit with conviction.
Novex, a brand belonging to the company Embelleze, which manufactures women's beauty products, called us to add greater value to its image. Meeting this need, we wanted to do work with a clear guiding thread, from positioning to design, without compromising the special relationship women have with their hair and the product. Through digital ethnography, we delved into the world of women to define the territories and, finally, the positioning of Novex: Be enchanted by you. We also simplified the product packaging, making some information clearer, but maintaining all the charm and power of relevance that already existed in the original model. Throughout the project, our team walked with moderation and wisdom, without wanting to jump from one task to another. The result would not have been the same if we had wanted to accelerate the pace to return Embelleze to something efficient, but it would certainly be more superficial. We were dealing with consumers, with people, and, in Branding, we only understand people who take the time to listen to them in an empathetic and truly curious way.
Already with Assaí, a client with whom we have already done other projects, we were responsible for creating its new Purpose and positioning. Using our Rota do So(u)l methodology, we delve deeply into the company's universe to reveal its Purpose: Making prosperity a reality for everyone. seAlways conscious of slowing down our processes to see more clearly, it was from this Purpose that we arrived at the company's positioning, in the final Sol phase of our methodology: Assaí Atacadista. For everyone, from dawn to dusk. The sun of Assaí shines for everyone, and could only be fed of active listening, and above all, of a desire to wisely manage the time we had to produce a remarkable result.
Our world will always look for homeostasis. If there is growing pressure to make everything more fleeting, as a compensatory response, brands, companies and people will look for ways to slow down. And Branding is an essential tool and ally in the dispute between these two spaces, preferring, as previously stated, actions based on calm and serenity. It is even interesting to note some companies that promote services to join this “slow movement” attitude, such as Calm and Insight Timer, which respond to the desire of many today to apply meditation and relaxation techniques to their routines. The slow movement itself, created by the Italian Carlo Petrini, is an attempt to combat this frenzy in which we find ourselves. We can also say that Italy, as a country, is a great example that Branding, done without rushing, can completely transform and shape the image of a company, or, in this case, an entire country!
Fast, efficient and productive has its place in Branding and in the business world. But we can only extract deep value if we take our foot off the gas. Almost always, and I say this without exaggeration here, slower speed brings us more complete observations and insights. But that doesn't mean that the more time we spend on a delivery, the more information and complements we will have. Blaise Pascal, 17th century philosopher, I already said: “if I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter”. As was the case for Novex and Assaí, clarity becomes synonymous with simplicity, and simplicity only arises after measured iterations, without any fuss! Guys, let's take it slow, because we're in a hurry!
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