BRAND DEVELOPMENT MODEL
WARNING! MARKETING-SPEAK BELOW
This is the big picture. In actual fact, in keeping with the truism that big things have small beginnings, the many wings of ALL YOU ARE are already taking shape on the ground.
So, how do we create a successful brand which will have the maximum personal, social & evolutionary impact?
â–º Stage 1a: Harness the power of the CAMINO DE SANTIAGO with a series of AYA events
â–º This first stage involves running a series of events in Northern Portugal and North Western Spain. These will be superb festival style events in their own right but they will also serve the purpose of establishing the ALL YOU ARE brand and providing a launchpad for the rest of the organization's development.
At the beginning we will focus on using existing sites and working together with creative communities who have the expertise, knowhow, determination and infrastructure already in place. There are many such potential places in these locations (e.g. http://playgroundoflife.org/). One of the problems they face is the difficulty in generating enough footfall to allow them or the various people who try to live there to thrive. At a later stage in our process we can identify suitable sites to set up independently and permanently. It is important for many reasons, both practical and more symbolic for these sites to be a little off the beaten track.
We will ally the very highest levels of marketing to something truly enlightening and then build on the results. These events will communicate the ALL YOU ARE brand and what we are all about through real, lived, multi-sensual, multi-dimensional, shared yet also highly personalized, life changing experiences that will directly effect the users' quality of life, both here and now, and in the future. In a world increasingly saturated with and disengaged from mass market technolgies, AYA's pull strategy of providing remarkable experiences in a wonderful hyper-reality which also harnesses the power of the Camino De Santiago and individuals' experiences along it, is totally different and sure to build an exceptionally high level of brand excitement, trust and loyalty, not to mention the sharing of this among users themselves.
These events will invite those attending to walk the Camino De Santiago with the intention of and focus on discovering and coming into alignnment with the path they need in their lives. That is key to what it is all about. A journey to self in ways that work. Some may walk or cycle one of the routes entirely, others may choose to complete just a part. We'll focus our communication on the Camino's Celtic origins as a pilgrimage toward the setting sun and promote its inclusive present and ease of use. With superb design we'll create an AYA hyper-reality of whole centred consciousness, designed for joining our unique individual genius, for discovering and answering callings, for giving birth to awakened new roles and projects. A place where chance can incubate. At no point will we evangelize but will concentrate on satisfying experiential needs while simultaneously engaging with our customers on a very deep emotional and transformational level.
â–º AYA events will fire the imagination. The centrepiece will be a performance area, loosely based on a milkwood roundhouse, with a roof made of a honeycomb structure. This is presented as, and, of course, really is, a FULLY FUNCTIONAL VISION FACTORY. All those who come to the events will be invited to create an expression of their vision, in any form they like, and they will each be given a cell of the honeycomb in which to place it.
Users will pay to enter the events and stay there for the duration but all services within its confines will be provided free of charge. The charges will be for the enjoyment of the experience while the brand's services will be distributed freely. One way this will happen is that users will be provided with a certain number of tokens which they can use to access practitioners, artists, creative expression facilitaters, therapists and others. These stakeholders will, in turn be paid by AYA. Of course, if any users wish to access additional services, they can, or even to pay for additional sessions from one practitioner but, what is absolutely clear is that everyone within the event will be provided with the keys they need on their journey to self. This is critically important.
The USER EXPERIENCE at these events will be one of decompression after & crystallization of the Camino experience. People will attend a truly remarkable event sharing many of the attractions of a festival but with a far greater focus on transformation. They'll live on and off the land, dance to singularly excellent music, meet like minds, meet the right minds, access artists-in-residence, shamanistic, spiritual, holistic practitioners, and feel part of the birthing of a new universal humanity.
They'll be shown how social convergence can be the key to our hearts' desires, how each life purpose is a vital element in the emerging body of humanity, how going deeper inward awakens our social potential, positioning us in the right context.
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â–º Stage 1b: Develop an internet platform to support the actualization of visions, projects and ideas expressed by those who come to AYA events. By effectively tagging and logging these visions etc, we'll be able to extend the reach of AYA far beyond the confines of our event spaces. We'll maintain brand interaction with those who we've touched, be able to develop additional revenue streams, and create a platform through which people can be connected with those who can help to make their vision a reality. In fact, we are already working with a start-up application, based out of Brighton, which is attempting to do exactly that. They are called Onrequest, they are in the early stages of development but you can download the application, give it a try and have a look at what they are all about at onrequest.org
â–º Stage 2: Build on the success of the AYA events & the developing brand story
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Our vision for AYA is very expansive indeed. We'll build on the success of our events and the momentum generated by our framework for life enhancement. We're quite sure that our developing story will be enthusiastically communicated by those who have come through our doors.
â–º Form a wing of AYA to work with disengaged people. We'll pair them with volunteers and enable them to walk the Camino over a three month period. Here we'll be following the model of an organization based out of Belgium who've been honing an effective process over the past 40 years. We'll develop infrastructure/affiliations/partnerships and post-camino/post-AYA pathways, with opportunities for adventure, self-expression, organics and the continued support in creating integrated routes to life enhancement. We'll create post-camino pathways, opportunities for primed/ready apprentices, links with companies exploring strategic philanthropy. We'll be able to set up businesses employing those completing the AYA processes. For example, AYA's founder, Jamie Shaw, wants to set up a fresh, streetwise outdoor clothing company that will employ and provide opportunity for those who've come through our Camino-based adventures.a fresh streetwise outdoor clothing company. We'll be working with companies to help them re-focus and revitalize their workforce. We'll create a wing of All You Are devoted to working with disengaged people, pairing them with volunteers and enabling them to walk the Camino together. We'll develop infrastructure, affiliations and partnerships and post-camino/post-AYA pathways.
We wish to create strategic alliances with companies and organizations with a shared sense of purpose and, above all, a big picture vision. The AYA pathways present fantastic opportunites for our commercial partners to develop focused brand philanthropy in exciting new ways, create pioneering forms of corporate social responsibility, extend their reach and impact on individuals and communities, connect emotionally with stakeholders in the areas of environmental, social and self-development that are dear to them, concentrate funding, in-kind contributions, stewardship, community relations, cause marketing, grassroots programs, sponsorship, educational and apprenticeship initiatives, and even more integrated ways of focusing their own workforces. The distinct competitive advantages that will come from connection with a group who build such trusting, life-changing realtionships with its customers right from the beginning, are huge. Only those with vision should contact us.
â–º Create AYA centres in beautiful locations. For example, we've already earmarked the beautiful national park in the province of Jaen, in Andalucia, Spain as a key area. It's called 'Las Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas' and they've recently completed a 450km circular walking route around this wonderful mountainous area. Here we'll be able to mobilize local creatives as stakeholders. Once again we'll fire the imagination by building a honeycomb structured event space as the focal point of the centre. We can sell packages, programs, workshops, and run events. Those who come to stay with us and access our services will be able to do a kind of natural 'Camino de Santiago' by completing sections of the walking route, using this experience to connect them with the life path they are looking for. Here we can expand target markets. AYA feels that once such market is middle-aged mothers looking to trigger a new & fulfilling beginning. Really the possibilities are endless.
â–º Support Movement Building. We'll always look to support this. We'll be building on our expertise and trusted reputation to engage with transformative education, develop the processes of self organized learning environments, become involved with alternative curriculum delivery, the inclusion of mindfullness in courses, and more modular education structures where individuals are provided with the tools required to get them where they want to go, rather than the one size fits all approaches that are so common.
â–º Create AYA international community hubs. As always, begin with the physical space. Honeycomb. Exhibition + Event + Evolution space. Generate enthusiasm, wonder. Allow each space to function in ways unique to its local environment. Be a platform for creative professionals to share their experience. Support regeneration of community through enhanced individuality & the realization of callings in action. Elevate vocation to mean life purpose. Show that self interest & mutual best interest, can, in the right conditions, be identical. Provide platforms for our commercial partners to extend their reach and impact on the community. Can you imagine a church, transformed with our honeycomb structures, acting as a dynamic hub for both the self-development of individuals, shown how to connect with their own power, and the regeneration of the local area. It's actually not so hard to get to that.
Capture Minds: gain behaviour. Capture Hearts: gain commitment. Bridge Mind + Heart: go stratospheric...