Branding and Brand Strategy for Growing Companies
Branding for Restless Companies and Driven Entrepreneurs
If you’re in a rush to watch the video, scroll down to watch it now. Recently, I was invited to participate in an upcoming Forbes interview on iBlab. As part of that, I invited sales expert, international speaker, and best-selling author Grant Cardone who graciously agreed. It was my first opportunity to meet the #1 sales …
“Get closer than ever to your customers. So close, in fact, that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.” Steve Jobs, Founder of Apple What you’re about to read features 23 world-class entrepreneurs. At least 4 of them are billionaires. At least 8 of them are NY Times Bestselling authors. …
“RETAIL IS A CUSTOMER BUSINESS. YOU’RE TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF THE CUSTOMER—SOLVE SOMETHING FOR THE CUSTOMER. AND THERE’S NO WAY TO LEARN THAT IN THE CLASSROOM OR IN THE CORNER OFFICE….”ERIK NORDSTROM, PRESIDENT, NORDSTROM DIRECT So much time is spent to carve out an excellent guest experience in the retail store that we sometimes forget …
The story of 7 athletes who created an infectious video of defiance using only the sounds of a workout, a basketball and sneakers A video using the sounds of breathing. (No, it’s not porn.) And sneakers against the floor. (No, it’s not Nike.) And basketballs being caught and dribbled. (No, it’s not the NBA.) A …
What if I had 7 easy-to-follow steps to dramatically improve your brand? That would be very useful. If you agree, then read on. A few months ago, I started working with the legendary Midwest coffee brand, Dunn Brothers. It was very gratifying to work with a brand with a rich and authentic history. Then, the …
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” Georgia O’Keeffe Recently, I posted the rebrand of a new natural food bar recently. The response was incredible. In addition to the rebrand for the company and product line, we also produced …
“The purpose of life… is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” Ralph Waldo Emerson Launching a brand is not for those with thin skin. It takes courage, intelligence, and foresight. It’s (almost) not about your brand. Instead, it’s more about …
(No logo was harmed in the writing of this article. The following, while fictional, is based on real-life observations.) So, the client emailed me back, “Looks good. Now, could we make the logo bigger?” Oh boy, I thought. Here we go again. (Making the logo bigger is a painful punchline among designers and brand consultants worldwide, the …
“In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport.” Julia Child If you enjoy and brand food, there are two senses that are far more powerful than one’s taste buds: the nose and the eyes. With the nose, it’s the smells, the aromas, the waft of freshly baked bread that put us …
We’ve all seen it. A startup begins with a dream, a passion for doing something others have missed or overlooked, to offer something better than what we all accept as the norm. Then we hit the legendary Wall of Hell: “Let’s describe this so people really get it.” (Oftentimes, cliches are used, and, other times, …
Mission Impossible is a powerful movie franchise. It’s also a powerful brand. Yes, it has a mission, but what is its secret? And what can brands learn from it? In its 20-year history, it’s done what many brands hope for longevity, anticipation, interest, and loyalty. (And yes, if it wasn’t already obvious, I am attending the …
A previous version of this article was originally published on Fast Company. “Don’t waste time living someone else’s life. Stay hungry. Stay Foolish.” Steve Jobs Having a me-too brand is a death sentence. This post is short and sweet (like some of my best friends). Fact: the road to glory and riches in branding is paved …
(Or How to be an overnight success in 10 years or less) Amy Schumer is the new “it” girl. She’s the comic who said, “I am a woman with thoughts and questions and sh*t to say.” In short, notable highlights include: Amy has her hit show on Comedy Central. Her video sketches go viral. She’s done a guest appearance …
Geniuses use everyday items in unexpected ways, transforming ordinary items into something extraordinary. Something as ordinary as language — that medium we use to connect with others everyday — is elevated to convey ideas, to establish rapport, to inspire and generate energy. So, I decided to write a series of articles on the power of …
“My parents always taught me that my day job would never make me rich; it’d be my homework.” Daymond John It’s the single detail that makes investors cringe (when it’s missing). And what makes consumers run the opposite direction when it’s absent. It’s that thing we do when we stop, step back and take an …
Coffee is best when it’s fresh. It’s not very different for a brand. It’s a problem nearly every brand faces as it matures: how to reintroduce its brand to new generations. After all, “everybody” knows you, so what’s the problem? It’s that “everybody” has been handed off to the next generation of consumers who have …
Sometimes, I am in a conference with a client only to discover “usual channels” are not considered as media. Everyday things like bags to carry product. Or walls to display messages. Or uniforms or clothing that employees wear. All of these are channels of communication. The Most Overlooked Channel of Communication Want to get real …
Branding has gotten desperate. Just to get any attention (whether it’s the right type of attention or the incorrect type of attention), brands have resorted to all types of desperate extremes. In some markets, it’s become an epidemic. Exposing the Truth: Pulling Back the Curtain As part of our mission to help bring some order …
You’ve got to love those articles that talk about the first thing millionaires do in the morning, what habits they have, what they eat first, what exercises they do, what things they avoid doing, etc. What if you could learn what to read, review and study every morning just like a millionaire or a billionaire? …
“Elegance is refusal.” Coco Chanel Brands make a big mistake when starting out. Many brands or companies start out with a particular offering, maybe one or two products or services. The problem arises when their brand (and its scope) outgrows their branding roots. It works like this: Eventually, the brand starts to grow. Or, the …
“The one who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been before.” Albert Einstein Authenticity. It’s best when it’s real. When reorienting a brand and clarifying their core reason for being, companies are too often …
OK, I was late to the party. I didn’t start an Instagram account until August if I remember correctly, maybe even as late as October. It is there I share all things branding, food, coffee and chocolate. I try to keep it inspired. Having attracted almost 6,000 followers in that time, what I post seems …
It was an innocent email I received. The email stated they’d seen my “What is Innovation” post and video on Fast Company and needed something equally inspiring for their staff. The company? The global leader in luxury skincare: La Prairie from Zurich, Switzerland, with 14 affiliates and represented in more than 90 countries worldwide. As …
For a subject like branding, I didn’t see this coming. I certainly didn’t see this going viral (though I secretly hoped it would, like anybody who buys a lottery ticket hopes their ticket is the winning one). Yet, 23 days after being uploaded to YouTube, this video was: 130,000+ Views in 23 Days That averages …
In the last 10 days, one client approved and aired a very smart “Super Bowl” ad and got covered by Forbes and Huffington Post. Here’s what I learned along the way and the 3 very important branding lessons every brand should know. Here’s the play-by-play: It was Sunday night, one week before the Super Bowl. …
