Branding and Brand Strategy for Growing Companies
Branding for Restless Companies and Driven Entrepreneurs
Recently, I discovered a client who didn’t have — nor understand the role and importance of — a brand story. Stories add meaning, life, sustenance, and relevance to… everything. A story is like air: it’s everywhere. As a result, it‘s this “invisible” component that can become something we forget about. Yet, without air, you’re not alive. …
In today’s One Minute Wednesday, I tackle Why Do Brands Quit? and Why Did Your Brand Stop Working? Let’s ask this horrible but true question: why do so many brands: In today’s episode, I give you an exact tool to overcome and obliterate this tendency to STOP that consists of TWO QUESTIONS followed by this question, …
Your brand is measured by so many metrics, it’s almost dizzying. So, what if you had to narrow it down to one vital metric? One that would monitor all others? Many will say money. Income. That’s a problem because income reflects something that happened before you got paid—before someone chose to become a customer, have you …
What every entrepreneur, startup, and CEO needs to know to create a no-excuses brand. Today’s One Minute Wednesday tackles whether something you’re progressing toward remains an obstacle or becomes an excuse. The fate of an obstacle rests with you. It’s become quite popular to talk about no excuses amongst thought leaders. Here’s my take in …
Branding and basketball. Each is a sport with avid fans and onlookers waiting to see the next astonishing move. As if you needed me to connect sports with branding any further, along comes “Coach Julz.” She is, in a word, one amazing basketball coach. Since 2010: Scholarships: 30 out of 39 (76%) of her players …
“Greatness is the result of visionaries who persevere, focus, believe, and prepare. It is a habit, not a birthright.” ― Lewis Howes, The School of Greatness There’s New York Times bestseller Lewis Howes dropping a knowledge bomb, and in this way, Lewis is helping celebrate the 20th episode of One Minute Wednesday. I love the …
Multitasking. It kills productivity faster than a strict diet of decaf coffee and potato chips. So, before you read this post, decide you’re not going to respond to a text, answer a call, or do anything else before you’re done reading and watching this post. Seriously (you will survive). OK? Good. Here we go. Every …
Busy brands. Frantic lives. Overfilled inboxes. Exhausted lifestyles. My friend Daymond John wrote something brilliant in describing his new book, Rise and Grind, that really hit home for me: “We all get the same 24 hours. It’s about how you use them.” Busy Brands Aren’t Born. They’re Made. We’re in a period where there’s a …
Below is Episode 13 of One Minute Wednesday and it has everything to do with making a measurable dent, intelligently playing to your strengths, maximizing your time, and having a brand that rises above the noise. The great jazz legend Miles Davis said, “Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.” Replacing the word “play” …
Why is it so many tell us (if we want to make a dent in the world, make customers take notice, or drive others to action) that we need to create a brand story? “No matter who you are or what your profession is – whether you’re an entrepreneur or in sales or a designer …
There is one branding question I ask every client. It consists of 8 words: “Tell me why, I the customer, should care.” No matter the answer, this is followed by one additional question consisting of 10 words: “Why do I know they’d tell me the same thing?” Those 18 words, stop clients in their tracks, …
While “disrupting your industry” has just about become a cliche, there is truth to the concept. I’ll explain. I love the lists that Vala Afshar of Salesforce regularly shares on his twitter feed—from “high performing teams” to “innovation”—they always provide great insights on progress, momentum, and organizational change. Disrupting Your Industry Before this year’s Super …
One of the challenges all brands face is how to keep customers. So why do so many brands take actions designed to repel customers — embracing monotony and middle-of-the-road predictability — so customers end up looking elsewhere to discover something new? We all know the work involved in first converting a prospect into a customer. …
My relationship with Gary Vee officially began November 12th, 2017, two days before Gary would turn 42 years old, and two days before Gary’s debut of his soon-to-be collector’s item sneaker (in collaboration with K-Swiss). It was a lovely Sunday morning, enjoying my morning espresso with sun shining over my shoulders. I pressed send. Gary …
Spend three minutes with her and you’d be hooked. You won’t be looking back and you’ll be ready for the kind of revolution most business owners only dream about. That’s no exaggeration. Maura Fredericks is a remarkable executive coach. But there was only one problem. Unless you met her or spoke with her, you had …
Most brand advice is useless. Not because it’s wrong, exactly, but because it’s safe. “Be authentic.” “Tell your story.” “Stay consistent.” These aren’t traits of exceptional brands. They’re the participation trophies of brand strategy. Exceptional brands don’t emerge from following the same advice everyone else follows. They emerge from making hard, specific choices that most …
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 …
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 …
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. …
2014 (setting 2015 up for crushing it) was a remarkable year with many milestones (last week, I sent out “My Holiday Elfie” which if you missed, you can check out here). 2015 Highlights It was a year when Forbes.com did an interview on me about the two types of brands (a book is being worked …
“I dream for a living. Once a month the sky falls on my head, I come to, and I see another movie I want to make.” Steven Spielberg This year has been dramatic. I’ll explain. Video Confessions I am by trade and practice a branding professional, specializing in the design and strategy side of the …
For those unfamiliar, Gary Vaynerchuk is a New York Times best-selling author, a serial entrepreneur and a wonderfully entertaining, insightful and expletive-infused public speaker. If that weren’t enough, he said this: “All your ideas may be solid or even good… But you have to actually EXECUTE on them for them to matter.” If that weren’t …
“My doctor told me I had to stop throwing intimate dinners for four unless there are three other people.” Orson Welles “Cookie cutters are for baking, not branding.” Yours truly Food’s About Passion. So is Branding. In the below video, I unveil how I took a small company in Napa Valley producing a “traditional product” …
Found those words on the Internet this morning. How w-i-d-e is the gap between hard-won expertise vs. the hype-driven tactic-du-jour we each read about each and every day? It’s often not fully appreciated until it’s too late with a lot of money lost. Man… the pain and “wisdom scars” some CEOs and entrepreneurs carry around …
* Per one report, during the Startup Awards, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) shared the statistic of approximately 80,000 business startups failing annually. The Currency of Branding and Brand Success “Is it necessary?” is a question often asked when managing and navigating brand success. When innovating or challenging the status quo, it’s important …
