Branding is evolving, after the 20th century dominated by corporate branding and Lovemarks a new kind of brand has risen: Superhero brands. Enhanced by a more connected world where individuals have more power to communicate than ever before, the old way to create identities is declining. After studying 250 brands we have the pleasure to share where we are in this new way to create brands shaped for the 21st century

1. Campaign ManagerMade by
www.enigma.swiss
Executives
Olivier Kennedy
Martin Künzi
Date
Superhero Brands
The rise of a new brand generation.
We call them

2. What has changed in branding from a
brand’s perspective
Branding redefined

3. “It’s not the brand that defines itself anymore.
It’s the context – and in the end the people connected with the brand.”

4. Petronas Nestlé Deutsche Bank
Corporate brands

5. Pepsi Twinnings Porsche
Lovemarks

6. A new generation
of brands

7. Uber Dollar Shave Club Airbnb

8. Characterised by
9 behavioral traits
Superhero
brands

9. 1 . Superpowers 2. Symbol 3. Mask
4. Super Villain 5. Personal Cause 6. Sidekick
7. Mutual benefit 8. Breaking the rules 9. Act, don’t talk
By the Enigma Lab

10. 2. Symbol 3. Mask
5. Personal Cause
9. Act, don’t talk
By the Enigma Lab
1 . Superpowers
4. Super Villain
7. Mutual benefit 8. Breaking the rules
6. Sidekick

11. Trait #2
Symbol

12. The old way
Logo
Font
Message

13. → Logo
→ Color
→ Typeface
The old way

17. Symbol
1. As long as the meaning is untouched the
brand is present
2. They can adapt to the context and evolve
with time
3. They don’t look exactly the same, yet we
know who they are

18. Trait #3
Mask

22. Mask
1. Superhero brands are humans with a
mask to unfold their superpower
2. They use their Superhero identity only
when we need them
3. As humans, Superhero brands have a
broad range of emotions at hand

23. Trait #5
Personal cause

24. “Why someone weak?
Because a weak man
knows the value of
strength, the value of
power.”
– Captain America

27. Personal cause
1. A superhero has a strong cause linked to a
personal story
2. Outside their mission superhero brands
can chill out
3. They don’t act randomly, they focus on
their cause

28. Trait #9
Act, don’t talk

29. “It's not who I am
underneath but what
I do that defines me.”
– Batman

32. Act, don’t talk
1. Superhero brands don’t talk much about
themselves: they act
2. Their extraordinary actions make
everyone understand they’re great
3. Superhero brands are confident people
will like them once they experience them

33. Act like a superhero
Workshop

34. Step 1
Under every third chair is a card with a
corporate claim of well known brand.

35. Step 2
The one with the card work with 2
neighbors

36. Step 3
Now the 3 of you have 4 minutes to
imagine 10 actions that will enhance
this claim.

37. Step 4
Creat 10 other actions
Using the cheat tool

38. 1. Flash → make it faster
2. Batman → ad a gadget
3. Captain america → protect the world
against bullies
4. Robin → what is the company you
should be friend with publicly
5. Magneto → find a fantastic enemy
Get help from
these 4 Superheroes

39. Choose the 3 top actions
Step 5

41. Imagining actions
is easy
1. You learned how to create actions
2. Your ideas will be send to the brands

42. Some strange cases

43. Nike Red Bull Apple

44. Clark Kent Brands
A mask to look
human

45. Take aways

46. 1 . Superpowers 2. Symbol 3. Mask
4. Super Villain 5. Personal Cause 6. Sidekick
7. Mutual benefit 8. Breaking the rules 9. Act, don’t talk

47. KickAss
“At some point in
our life, we all
wanted to be a
superhero.”
– Kickass

48. Executives
Olivier Kennedy
Martin Künzi
Get in touch
info@enigma.swiss
+41 22 342 63 63
About us
We craft high performance
human trajectories in fast
changing landscapes
Swiss made by
www.enigma.swiss

49. Personal Brands

50. Roger Federer Kim Kardashian Donald Trump

51. Executives
Olivier Kennedy
Martin Künzi
Get in touch
info@enigma.swiss
+41 22 342 63 63
About us
We craft high performance
human trajectories in fast
changing landscapes
Swiss made by
www.enigma.swiss

53. How to become a
superhero brand
— What has changed in branding from a
brand’s perspective
— Why context has massive influence on
branding
— People connected with the brand are
more important than clients only

54. Always remember
— Super hero brands are human
which sometimes need a mask
— Don’t be a storyteller become a
storymaker

55. Trait #1
Superpowers

56. “With great power
comes great
responsibility.”

59. Superpowers
1. Superheroes have superpowers or special
gears, Superhero brands have a great
product/service
2. They don’t need to boast around, their
actions speak for them
3. What looks like superpowers to the
outside is considered a natural ability for
them

60. Trait #4
Super Villain

61. “You should've killed
me when you had the
chance!”
– Magneto

63. Super Villain
1. A superhero has a clear enemy that they
fight
2. The enemy can be a brother, a friend, that
you love, but you hate what he does.
3. The enemy is not only a person but an
attitude, behavior or problem

64. Trait #7
Mutual benefit

69. Mutual benefit
1. People get inspired by them
2. What people do with this inspiration will
be used as inspiration by the Superhero
3. In the end we don’t know what comes
from the Superhero and what comes from
the people

70. Trait #8
Breaking the rules

74. Breaking the rules
1. They do not follow the norm
2. They can play in the gray legal zone
3. When it’s needed they can outpass the law
to show an example

75. Trait #6
Sidekick

76. “People drink ginseng tea to hone
their powers of concentration, Sir.
I, on the opther hand, have ice
cream.”
– Alfred
“Why do we fall
Sir? So we might
learn to pick
ourselves up.”
– Alfred
“I don't think you could tie
your shoes without me.”
– Pepper Potts

77. “People drink ginseng tea to hone
their powers of concentration, Sir.
I, on the opther hand, have ice
cream.”
– Alfred
“Why do we fall
Sir? So we might
learn to pick
ourselves up.”
– Alfred

81. Sidekick
1. Superheroes are super strong in a really
focused field but suck at lot of other
things
2. People help them to not suck at those
things
3. You want to help a super hero not for the
reward, but because you believe in the
cause

82. quotes

91. colo

92. Under your seat there is a surprise
Workshop

93. Clark Kent

94. To Creat a superhero
We have a framework
A superhero factory

95. Everywhere in the world, big brands are being challenged by smaller ones.

96. But this time their challengers are much smaller.
They don’t spend millions of dollars in advertising

98. lovemarks are a not
working shield
A logo / A message / Values are
not enough.

99. Digital world change the
society, but the human are
always human
Brands where like divinity you
can’t touch, or discuss with.
There is another way to create
successful brand to be like a
super hero. Superheros brands
keep the human just put a mask
and define your superpower

100. lovemarks are a not
working shield
Shield with a Logo
A banner with a message
Value with colors
Heraldique culture

102. From brand consistency to
brand systematic
Distrution n. 01
Don’t tell
who you are

104. Create false logo

105. 1. People will understand what you
do… and if they don’t question
what you do.
2. Let people see you with there
one frame
Learning from Super
heros

106. From brand consistency to
brand systematic
Disruption n. 03
Stop talking

108. 1. The costume must suit the
superpower
2. Brand evolution is good
3. Dynamique identites actually
works
4. Generative Identities are the
holly gral
Learning from Super
heros

109. From brand consistency to
brand systematic
Distrution n. 0X
The Mask
can evolve

111. 1. The costume must suit the
superpower
2. Brand evolution is good
3. Dynamique identites actually
works
4. Generative Identities are the
holly gral
Learning from Super
heros

114. “It's not who I am
underneath but what I
do that defines me.”

115. Chapter divider slide
Workshop

116. Chapter divider slide
Take aways

117. Always remember
— Super hero brands are human
— Branding is
— Don’t be a storyteller become a
storymaker

118. colo