Erminio Putignano connects big ideas and tiny details

Erminio Putignano is founding partner and managing director of PUSH, a brand strategy and design firm based in Melbourne, Australia. He's also an adjunct professor at the School of Economics, Finance, and Marketing at RMIT University. When I met Erminio, we were both working for FutureBrand, where he was managing director of Australian operations and I was strategy director for Southeast Asia. We met in Vietnam, where Erminio was giving a series of presentations to a client. I was immediately impressed by his ability to clearly and persuasively talk about brand strategy-what it is, how it works, and why it matters. I asked Erminio to walk through his process and deliverables from the moment a client asks for help with "brand positioning." After making the point that he'd first try to understand the client's underlying business problem (i.e., Why do they think brand positioning will help their business?), Erminio talked through a phased approach that includes exploring possibilities (through workshops, market research, etc.), defining a strategy while simultaneously validating through prototypes, and developing a final brand platform. Like Marty Neumeier and Gareth Kay, Erminio emphasized the importance of "helping the client...visualize what this brand could be" with prototypes such as visual/verbal identity elements, brand environments, or implications for culture. Erminio also outlined what he considers some of the essential "ingredients" of a brand platform: A clear articulation of the business problem(s) Who the brand is aiming for (could be demographic segmentation or a more conceptual target) "The shift." What is the brand trying to change or become? Brand essence (crystallization of the core idea of the brand in two or three words) Promise statement (elaborates on the essence) Pillars Proof points, including those we can activate now, those in the pipeline, and "what if," blue-sky ideas for future proof points Brand personality and/or cultural traits I asked Erminio for an example of a good brand essence, and he walked through a detailed explanation of his firm's work for a Catholic university. PUSH developed a brand essence for the school-impact through empathy-which Erminio says works well because it is succinct, meaningful, and immediately sparks ideas for far-reaching implications. We rounded out the conversation talking about trends in brand strategy and some brands Erminio thinks are good at defining their core idea, staying true to it as they grow, and continually moving themselves forward: MUJI, IKEA, Patagonia, Nike, Airbnb, and Aesop, which started in Melbourne. I ended the conversation by asking Erminio his advice for newcomers to branding. While he loves the entrepreneurial spirit he sees in young professionals, and encourages them to set out on their own if they want to, he cautions against doing so too soon. "If you, as a young practitioner, have the chance to identify an agency...that can be a good school for you, where you can receive good mentorship, be guided...stick to it. Try to learn as much as you can, like a sponge." Visit the PUSH website to learn more about Erminio and the work his firm is doing. I also recommend Erminio's recent talk: "Managing brands in the Trump era: not for the faint-hearted."