I’ve been reflecting a lot on innovation in branding lately.
A year ago, I delved into Diaghilev’s ballet. An impresario — a modern entrepreneur — who staged unique pieces that brought a mix of astonishment and intrigue to Covent Garden, Metropolitan, Palais Garnier and other titans of the classics that set the tone.
Firstly I was drawn to the aesthetics crafted by such talents as Matisse, Bakst, Picasso, Stravinsky…👀
Even more interesting was the subtle game of the avant-garde with the respect for traditions that Diaghilev put together.
I wanted to see his ways of doing that to find parallels of such innovation in modern brand strategy.
Collaboration with relevant creative minds allowed Diaghlev to blend art forms that nourished the core with new perspectives; a world tour of Diaghilev’s ballet reminded me of the global outlook of brands that traverse cultural landscapes while paying homage to local nuances. Revival of old masterpieces, such as «Les Sylphides» and reinventions of old tales, such as “One Thousand and One Nights” show the ability to think deeper to find fresh solutions from the familiar. In choreography, while integrating more abstraction and exploration of space, Diaghilev stayed true to the core movements of classical ballet.
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘙𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘢𝘴 “𝘈 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸, 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 … 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘻𝘦. 𝘈𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘦𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦. (𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘢 1989)
Although the avant-garde narratives that Diaghilev brought to the forefront posed inherent risks, strong knowledge of the cultural landscape, a feeling of what people desired, and collaborations with talents across related areas made him risk consciously.
With these tactics, despite anything, Diaghilev aimed to make the performances desirable and connect with people.
Once again I reminded myself of the importance of «why». The pillars that shape your strategy are essential when choosing ways to innovate. Understanding how to navigate the desires of the people you want to build connections with is core to timeless bonds!
