Stanley Hainsworth has been a catalyst for the great brands of modern times. He was creative director at Nike and then Lego. He was vice president global creative at Starbucks in an era when the coffee purveyor was experiencing phenomenal growth. Starbucks has been hailed, acknowledged, and praised again and again for its excellence in branding and marketing, in creating a branded experience that can satisfy the connoisseur, bring in new converts, be accessible to all, and irresistible in its appeal. Stanley defined the very feel of Starbucks in an era when the brand was becoming a cultural icon.
Stanley has a reputation for being extremely rigorous in his work, comprehensively rethinking brands when necessary, and helping them to expand into new areas of endeavor while remaining true to their original identity. As he had done at Nike, he helped Lego expand into entertainment properties that allowed the company to gracefully enter the brand multiverse. At Starbucks, he created an innovative criteria of five filters–handcrafted, artistic, sophisticated, human, and enduring–that defined the work for the company. Stanley’s extraordinarily thorough approach to design and branding is complemented by an equally good nature; he has been a revered colleague and mentor at the companies where he worked.
With such an extraordinary range of experience, Stanley has become ever more articulate about how brands work, and he has now devoted himself at Tether to invigorating existing brands and crafting new ones. Having guided brands at companies that have gone through dramatic growth spurts–or needed to move on to a new phase–he has compelling thoughts about how brands stay relevant and authentic as they get older and grow. Many brands have lost their way in the process of evolving from a small company to a much bigger corporation. Finding themselves disoriented, they must reassess. “In order for brands to recapture their spirit, they almost always go back to their core,” he says. Authenticity in branding requires a step by step, measured methodology that doesn’t veer from a brand’s key identity. Certain brands have not been able to articulate that, and Stanley’s comment about Microsoft never having told its story was wonderfully sharp.
In this interview, Stanley reveals his secrets about the magic that helped to create a brand that conquered the world. The sensation that is Starbucks required elements of wisdom, integrity, showmanship, and intelligence. I got the sense talking with Stanley that each of the points he made–about Starbucks and other topics–could be explained in even greater detail. Each could have its own commentary in which Stanley unfolds, like an accordion, the full three-dimensionality of his experience and insight.
Stanley speaks here about the importance of vision. It is a theme that can’t be emphasized enough. Nike had vision. Starbucks had vision. Stanley shares an insider’s view of the Starbucks’s history, and it’s interesting to learn that even Starbucks CEO Howard Scultz didn’t fully realize his company’s potential for growth. But he had a vision, and he, like the leaders of Nike, were relentless in bringing this to fruition and using it to craft the brand experience. Rigor in matching the vision to the brand experience is essential, and that must define every brand touchpoint. As Stanley says, “No one is going to pick up your product and try it if they don’t want to buy into the experience.” The man has vision.
Stanley, how would you define “brand”?