What Would Happen If Santa Hired a Brand Strategy Agency?

Tis the season to be branding. UK agency Quietroom makes much hay out of the entire practice of brand playbooks with its hilarious and scathing tongue-in-cheek online guide to a Santa Claus “brand refresh.”

“*Santa* is a Concept, not an idea. It’s an Emotion, not a feeling,” reads the front cover, “It’s both Yesterday and Today. And it’s Tomorrow as well.” This, of course, both evokes and skewers the bland and empty corporate language found in so many real-life brand strategy documents. The book is is riddled with it. Check out these “approved'” versions of the *Santa* logo:

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Or this ‘brand language’ guide:

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And, of course, concentric circles make an appearance.

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The playbook has apparently struck a chord: it’s already received more than 7,000 shares on Twitter, and 2,000 shares on Linkedin. No word on whether it’s made it to the North Pole yet, though-ho-ho.

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