What is the connotation of Gestalt theory? Gestalt psychology is a school of thought that believes all objects and scenes can be observed in their simplest forms. Sometimes referred to as the ‘Law of Simplicity,’ the theory proposes that the entire insight of an object or scene is more important than its individual parts. To put it simply, Gestalt psychology attempts to explore and unpack; think of how your mind automatically perceives the face of a person you know well. This is so fascinating even though the face is no doubt made up of the same core features as any other such as nose, ears, eyes, lips, chin etc. But, what your mind does is – this is my dear friend, this is my wife, this is my son….making sense of the features as a whole.

Designers get stuck while designing a logo for enterprises and also during rebranding an existing one. Logo gives a brand its identity therefore it requires lot of creativity, imagination and astuteness in designing. It is much more than picking nice colours and fonts. It takes a whole lot of imagination, forethought and a lengthy research process to design a logo. A designer needs to get into the approach, mission and philosophy of the company for which he is creating the logo for. Logos are launched in people’s minds; therefore the colors, font, shape of logo need to be inimitable because and it should also suit the brand’s personality. People recognize brands by their logos, thus, they carry enduring value for consumers.

The word Gestalt is German for ‘shape’ or ‘form’ and it also means creativity. The Gestalt theory was developed in Germany as a reaction to the behaviourism. It is theory of mind and brain that proposes the operational principle of the brain is holistic with self-organizing tendencies. The Gestalt effect denotes the capability of our senses, particularly with respect to the visual recognition of figures and whole forms instead of just a collection of simple lines and curves.

Great designers understand the powerful role that psychology plays in visual perception. What happens when someone’s eye meet the design creation? How does the person’s mind react to the message the logo or design? Understanding how a design is perceived and interpreted is a crucial asset that visual communicators must possess. We cannot possibly influence human perception with our designs if we don’t understand the driving forces behind them.

Rob Jenoff the designer who created the world-famous Apple company logo, has explained how he came up with the idea: he bought a whole bag of apples, placed them in a bowl, and spent time drawing them for a week, trying to break the image down into something simple. Taking a bite out of an apple was part of the experiment, and completely by coincidence he realised that ’bite’ sounded exactly the same as the computer term ’byte’. A byte is considered as a unit of memory size of computer. Wow!! What a coincidence and creativity that is…I call it brilliance.

How is Gestalt related to visual perception and design? Soon after it was introduced in psychology, Gestalt was applied to the field of visual perception by theorists like Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka. They are called Gestalt psychologists. When we imagine earth, we get the image of a 3-dimensional model of the globe. We cannot see the Earth all of it at once as it is so large. So, globe helps us to see what the whole Earth looks like. A globe is better representation of earth in comparison to a flat map.

Blank and non-meaningful space has long been a base of good design. Leaving white space around elements of a design is the first thing that usually comes to mind. But then there are designs that use that white space to deduce an element that isn’t actually there, for example, the arrow hidden between the E and X in the FedEx logo immediately comes to mind as an example.

The iconic Coca-Cola logo has changed many times over the past 126 years in design; however, you may be surprised to know the brand’s world-famous font of script and wave have always looked exactly as they do now. In the world-famous logo of the Coca-Cola Company, in the space between the letters ’O’ and ’L’, one can clearly see the Danish flag. The company has nonetheless used this as part of its marketing campaigns in the Scandinavian country.

Just for the sake of the history of this brand, when it was introduced in 1885, it was marketed as a health tonic to cure a range of ills, including headaches, low sex drive and addiction. Coke started out with coca which is the extract of cocaine as a key ingredient, along with the kola nut. Hence it was named as Coca-Cola.

Gestalt is based on the law of simplicity. It indicates that our mind perceives everything in its simplest form.

I am sure many people like me must have wondered what the logo of Wikipedia means. Each piece bears a glyph (a character or a sign) symbolizing the multilingualism of Wikipedia. As with the Latin letter ‘W’, these glyphs are in most cases the first glyph or glyphs of the name “Wikipedia” rendered in that language. The empty space at the top represents the incomplete nature of the mission of Wikipedia; there are more articles and languages yet to be added. I find this logo most interesting. There are currently 301 language editions of Wikipedia. It is owned by Wikimedia Foundation.

Here are few world famous brands and their hidden meaning.

The name Adidas is derived from that of its founder, Adolf Dassler. The company’s logo has changed over time, but it’s always included three stripes. The current configuration is three stripes at an angle which together form a triangle. It symbolises a mountain, which in turn represents the challenges which all athletes need to face and conquer.

Rob Jenoff the designer who created with the world-famous Apple company logo, has explained how he came up with the idea: he bought a whole bag of apples, placed them in a bowl, and spent time drawing them for a week, trying to break the image down into something simple. Taking a bite out of an apple was part of the experiment, and completely by coincidence he realised that ’bite’ sounded exactly the same as the computer term ’byte’. A byte is considered as a unit of memory size of computer. Wow!! What a coincidence, and creativity that is.

Amazon has been using its current logo for 18 years. The logo illustrates that company sells everything from A to Z. The arrow in the logo points from the “A” to the “Z”.  The arrow at the bottom also symbolizes a smile, portraying that their customers are happy after using their service. The logo shows that Amazon can get anything for you at your doorstep; all you need is to log on their website.

The white and blue checker boxes represent a white/silver propeller blade spinning against a clear blue sky which portrays a happy drive on bright day. BMW logo also symbolizes the Bavarian flag colors which represents their origin. Also, it’s often supposed that the central part of the BMW logo symbolizes the rotating blades of an airplane, which are in line with the company’s earlier history of aviation technology.

The iconic Coca-Cola logo has changed many times over the past 126 years in design; however, you may be surprised to know the brand’s world-famous font of script and wave have always looked exactly as they do now. In the world-famous logo of the Coca-Cola Company, in the space between the letters ’O’ and ’L’, one can clearly see the Danish flag. The company has nonetheless used this as part of its marketing campaigns in the Scandinavian country. Just for the sake of the history of this brand, when it was introduced in 1885, it was marketed as a health tonic to cure a range of ills, including headaches, low sex drive and addiction. Coke started out with coca which is the extract of cocaine as a key ingredient, along with the kola nut. Hence it was named as Coca-Cola.

The FedEx logo was designed in 1994 by Linden Leader & Landor Associates, at first appears simple and straightforward. However, if you look at the white space between the “E” and “X” you can see a right-facing arrow. This “hidden” arrow was intended to be a subliminal symbol for speed and accuracy. FedEx assures on time and safe and sound delivery of courier.

The logo of Hyundai appears as “H” the first letter of the brand name. But, the South Korean conglomerate Hyundai’s logo symbolises two people: a client and a representative of the company shaking hands. People shake hands in contentment.

The logo of the South Korean electronics company LG portrays a person’s face, which is the central body region of sense. According to the company, the logo represents its aspiration to maintain everyday human relations with its customers intact. It believes in nurturing relationships with its customers which is a crucial part of growing a successful business.

The Pepsi logo portrays the globe with twirling red, white, & blue color design in a sphere-like shape. It is considered one of the world’s most recognizable corporate trademarks. It’s hard to believe, but Pepsi paid over a million dollars to create this special logo with its secret meanings. The new special design hints at mysterious and secretive themes, such as the Earth’s magnetic field, Feng shui, Pythagoras, geodynamics, the theory of relativity, and the golden ratio. The designer has explained that this logo also makes reference to the Mona Lisa, the Parthenon, and even René Descartes. The red, white and blue colors have always represented the American flag.

In 1990, Toyota debuted the three overlapping Ellipses logo on American vehicles. The Toyota Ellipses symbolize the unification of the hearts of our customers and the heart of Toyota products. The background space represents Toyota’s technological advancement and the boundless opportunities ahead.

I am sure many people like me must have wondered what the logo of Wikipedia means. Each piece bears a glyph (a character or a sign) symbolizing the multilingualism of Wikipedia. As with the Latin letter ‘W’, these glyphs are in most cases the first glyph or glyphs of the name “Wikipedia” rendered in that language. The empty space at the top represents the incomplete nature of the mission of Wikipedia; there are more articles and languages yet to be added. I find this logo most interesting. There are currently 301 language editions of Wikipedia. It is owned by Wikimedia Foundation.

The consumer behavior analysts have noted through many studies that ‘Country of Origin’ has become a significant phenomenon in today’s marketing practices. The words ‘Made’ and ‘In’ conveys the strength of the product.  The label ‘made’ on the packing label of the product refers to the manufacturing aspect of the origin of a product. It is often related to legal certifications, the technologies involved ingredients and techniques as well as work ethics and safety standards. And, ‘In’ refers to the origin and the geographical dimension of origin such as the location of the manufacturing process and the source of ingredients. ‘Made In’ therefore suggests information and associations that are both tangible and intangible. The ‘Made in’ tag helps consumers to make rational and emotional decision both.

In its 2005 “Year of Ideas” issue, The New York Times Magazine listed nation branding among the year’s most notable ideas. The way a country is perceived can make a significant difference to the success of its trade, business, tourism efforts, as well as its diplomatic and cultural relations with other nations. Simon Anholt coined the term ‘nation branding’ in 1996 and since then he has been working with governments to help them plan the policies, strategies, investments and advance which lead their country towards an improved profile and reputation. America has become the largest and most powerful brand in the globe; it virtually shapes the world in almost all dimensions such as national governance, policies, exports, people, tourism, economic and social status etc. In the fast growing global village nation’s branding is considered as big as federal mega-projects. Steve Silver and Sam Hill, both marketing experts define nation branding as most complex (brand) positioning problem; how can we brand a nation? A nation is as big as a Meta brand inclusive of numerous mega brands. There are so many mega activities of in a nation such as political governance, commerce, education, human resource development, environment, foreign affairs, infrastructure, environment, tourism, culture and heritage and most importantly the national character. The study of national character refers to anthropological studies after World War II.

The Japanese are known as law abiding people; the Americans are known for their grit for freedom – freedom of speech, freedom to pursue their own interests, freedom from bullying, freedom of religion, freedom of movement within the country, freedom to associate with whomever they please. The Chinese are known for their orientalism; the French are known as arty.

The country of origin (COO) specifically matter to the customers because every country has its reputation and the association between the product and the country’s expertise matters while buying products. For example Italy is known for designs, North Caroline for furniture, France for fashion and wine, the USA for entertainment, India for spices, Germany is famous for cars. Today’s consumer understands legal and safety issues sharply. Consumers today look at the ‘made in’ label with many perspectives. The ‘made in’ dependent on a combination of many factors – from heritage, to design and physical manufacturing, skilled labour, infrastructure, market intermediaries etc. Hence manufacturers can leverage a lot on the country of origin as one of their competitive advantage. A company needs to be physically present in the country; the design and patents need to have emerged from talent in the country, or the brand needs to have factories or parts of the production process in the origin nation. In the past, when it was  enough to ‘borrow’ associations from a country for pure marketing purposes, today consumers not ready to accept country of origin as a choice driver unless it is bona fide.

Successful brands contribute to nation branding. Of the world’s 500 largest stock-market-listed companies measured by revenue in 2014, among the Fortune 500 companies 28 are headquartered in Germany. Well-known global brands include Mercedes Benz, BMW, SAP, Volkswagen, Audi, Siemens, Allianz, Adidas, Porsche and DHL. Thus, famous brands strengthen branding of a country. Similarly, brands across every category, like Apple, Cadillac, Clinique, Coca-Cola, Ford, Kellogg’s, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Ralph Lauren, Starbucks and M&M’s have made the USA a strong nation brand. These corporate have made Germany and America leading nation brands.

The concept of branding is viewed as ‘cultural diplomacy’ of nations. It is a somewhat new way of looking at a nation, but every nation is already a brand. Every nation is perceived in the minds of people living differently in nooks and corners of the world. Some countries are known for good things, some for bad, and others have mixed insights. Based on the different perceptions, nations in the world interact and do business with each other, either contributing to its development or encumbering it. For example Africa is associated with civil war, Iraq with suicide bombings, Pakistan for terror bombing, India for scam and Cuba with Fidel Castro’s dictatorship (though he is dead). On the other hand, countries such as the US, Canada, Germany or France, are perceived positively for decades for their sound political and economic development. Nation branding is based on the underlying hypothesis that every nation can make a good or bad brand depending on its efforts. The important thing to realize about branding a nation is that one of its ingredients is the escalating value of something that is found already within that nation.

Consumers in developing countries like India, China, and Brazil still tend to prefer brands that come from other countries. Global supply, manufacture and export of goods began to accelerate in response for lower prices and greater choice of goods. Companies became international or multinational and the rise of an affluent middle class in the USA, Europe, India, China and UAE demand more sophisticated marketing. Due to rise of consumerism, categories of goods and services became more sharply defined. And, most brands started crossing the borders of their origin. With all the great business strategies, advertising, marketing and intelligent supply chain strategies even today in the 21^st century for most of the brands, their place of origin and heritage continues to be a key part of their appeal and differentiation. Their name, identity, design and symbolism of logos or trademarks become synonymous with their country or place of origin.

We should realize the fact that Brand building in emerging markets is a difficult task. As the rapid growth in an emerging market gives millions of consumers new spending power, they eye for and are encouraged by their counterpart in developed countries to buy established brands. Marketing efforts in developing countries is very multifarious.

In 2003, when Mahindra & Mahindra launched a smartly designed sport-utility vehicle called the Scorpio, CNBC India, BBC World’s ‘Wheels’ program, and others chose the vehicle for the

‘Car of the Year’ awards in the SUV category. That was not a small achievement: The made-in-India automobile won top honors ahead of global best sellers such as the Mercedes-Benz-E-Class and Toyota Camry sedans. To M&M, which manufactures tractors in several countries as well as vehicles targeted at India’s semi-urban and rural markets, the awards signaled that it could finally take the world’s automakers head-on. Even as the Scorpio successfully battles multipurpose vehicles like Toyota’s Innova and GM’s Chevy Tavera at home, M&M has started marketing the SUV in South Africa, Spain and many other countries.

As a nation, Singapore’s stunning rise from third world to first world in a matter of 30 years was spearheaded by an intensive and rigorous closely-coordinated programme of nation branding. Today, brand Singapore attracts the investments, business, trade, tourism and talented human resources from all over the world which is helping it further to become more flourishing nation. This state is internationally known as a vibrant, safe, corruption-free place to do business. Name any of the great businesses of the world; everybody wants to be in Singapore! The vibrancy and liveliness of the nation in its culture and the fine art attracts more and more tourists. In global surveys of quality of life, Singapore regularly tops the charts.

Nation Branding is catching up rapidly: the brand must be accepted internally first, i.e domestically, meaning throughout the nation, by all stakeholders. Only then can it be effectively promoted internationally.

Marketing plays fundamental role in economic growth in the present global world.  It is therefore basic reason for studying marketing. Marketing stimulates research and new ideas resulting in new goods and services. Late Peter F. Drucker considered marketing to be the responsibility of the managing leadership within a business, not a separate function; he believed that sensible marketing strategies ensure planned economic growth in the developing economy where the scarcity of goods, services, ideas and excessive unemployment create hurdles in the growth of society. Good marketing efforts are needed for mobilization of economic resources for additional production of ideas, goods and services resulting in greater employment. The fundamental objectives of most companies are survival, profits and growth. Marketing contributes directly to achieving those objectives and is in fact seen as a key to profitability.

Marketing strategies represent the plan by which the firm delivers its value to the customers. In Michael Porter’s value chain, Marketing & Sales function occupies the core functions of business after inbound logistics and operations. In today’s business environment marketing is considered crucial – all functions such as sales forecasting, advertising, appointing sensible marketing channels, distribution and CRM are prioritized. Developing marketing strategies and implementing them will only help organizations to get sustainable results in our businesses.

The marketing function requires flexibility and imagination; it cannot remain stagnant, it needs subtle changes as per the environment. Here is an example – Technology maverick Michael Dell founded Dell Computers in 1984. The company was based on the direct-to-consumer model, which eliminated the retailer, allowing for price discounts and constant customer feedback. In 1988, spurred by growing investor interest in technology stocks, the company went public. But it wasn’t until 1991, the height of the 1990-1992 recessions, that Dell chose to make its most aggressive marketing move up to that time, and take on the established computer giants. The campaign coincided with the introduction of its first notebook computer. In 1991 when advertising in the entire computer hardware category was down by 17.5% over the previous year. Apple, Digital, IBM and Tandy – some of the category’s leading spenders went on investing and pouring money in their promotional efforts. Contrary to this, Dell instead kept its pace on eliminating the middleman while offering superior customer service. This and other few innovative strategies put Dell for the first time in the Fortune 500 roster of the world’s largest companies.

Marketing is speaking the consumer’s language; reaching out to them the way they want and communication with them in their fashion. These days the tech savvy consumers turn to online sources for information, which requires a company to establish an effective web presence to reach them, with an interactive site. Using Facebook or Twitter for marketing is one of the latest marketing trends. Many marketers have taken it well and therefore invest a lot of money into twitter advertising, knowing that it is particularly easy to gain the attention of a younger generation through advertising. Digital marketing is the in-thing. World recognizes Procter & Gamble (P&G) as the biggest advertising champion; hence any move by Procter & Gamble (P&G) is closely watched. A lot of attention has been paid to its recent announcement that it will cut $10 billion from its marketing budget over the next five years. Procter & Gamble (P&G) is a smart brand builder. At one of its big events in USA, Procter & Gamble (P&G) declared that it does not intend to focus on digital marketing but it recognizes that it exists in a digital world. Procter & Gamble (P&G) believes in adapting to the consumer behavior and it flexibly redesigns its promotional strategies.  Procter & Gamble (P&G) has adopted digital marketing in markets like Brazil, China, and India where digital marketing offers the best way to engage with consumers. In urbanized markets like the US, Tide and Bounty will continue to rely on TV commercials along side with digital integrated promotion as part of a multichannel brand-building plan.  P&G will look for opportunities to drive smaller brands with smaller budgets like Aussie and Old Spice through digital.

A good marketer can sell a comb to a bald man. Here’s how Coca-Cola’s COO, Steven J Heyer very elegantly describes the aerated drink as “Coca-Cola isn’t black water with a little sugar and a lot of fizz anymore that one of your movies is celluloid digital bits and bytes, or one of your songs is a random collection of words and notes. Coca-Cola isn’t a drink. Coca-Cola is an idea. Like great movies, like great music, Coca-Cola is a feeling.” This says it all. Marketing does the job of a dream merchant.

You can be a copy cat if required; everything fair in love and war when it comes to marketing. Since marketing evolves effective delivery of information to a targeted market which stimulates a demand for a product or service, the ability to effectively identify and reach that market is crucial. ITC in last few years filled it soap product line with products like Essenza Di Wills at the top end, followed by Fiama Di Wills in premium segment, Vivel in mid-segment and Superia at the entry level. ITC followed in the footsteps of HUL by offering each segment a product which suits the customer’s wallet. The retail shelves consist of a dozens of soaps from like Lux, Dove, Pears, Hamam, Breez, Rexona and Ayush and dozens of soaps from ITC. You have the Vivel with its variants like Sandal Sparkle, Sheer Crème and other variants priced at Rs 17 onwards seems to be in competition with Lux’s variants. These marketing wars are so fizzy and at times self-indulgent too.

A study by Harvard researchers several years ago found that in many product classes, consumers “lack either the ability or motivation to conduct a price comparison.” Their conclusions are still true today. We either can’t – or won’t – scrutinize a product price.

And how would you view this piece of advice from Robert G. Allen – the famous author of Multiple Streams of Income, and Nothing down “No matter what your product is, you are ultimately in the education business. Your customers need to be constantly educated about the many advantages of doing business with you, trained to use your products more effectively, and taught how to make never-ending improvement in their lives.”

The market consists of aware, alert, vigilant and watchful customers and also of gullible, trusting, naïve customers; God knows whether marketer are teaching the customers or customers are teaching the marketers??