Topics

Brand Strategy

Is Your Brand Ready for 2016?

January 14, 2016 —

Is Your Brand Ready for 2016?

The New Year is the perfect time to reflect and renew your brand’s focus. It’s not about resolutions. It’s about looking back on this past year of business and checking the alignment of your brand and business strategy. What things should you focus on in order to ready your brand for 2016? We want to offer some purpose-led inspiration and advice on preparing your brand for success in the New Year. Here are three focus points to consider before you take the year by storm: 1. Make Meaningful Measurements Take a moment to consider what you’re measuring and why. Ask yourself, do existing...
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The Human Dimension of Law Firm Branding

January 11, 2016 —

The Human Dimension of Law Firm Branding

Law firm branding is not easy. I find it ironic that many of the most people-driven enterprises in our economy – law firms, architecture, consulting, and engineering firms – are often the most superficial with branding. For most professional service firms, “branding” is only about logos and color palettes. It seems branding’s only goal is to project a serious, professional, and trustworthy identity. Unfortunately, this limited view of branding leads most professional service firms to the same bland destination. Indeed, the Internet is littered with the drab, me-too,...
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Transforming Business: An Empathetic Approach

November 23, 2015 —

Transforming Business: An Empathetic Approach

There are many factors that add meaning and purpose to a brand, and they all stem from a single source: empathy. Empathy is the ability to walk in another person’s shoes. That is, to see and experience the world from a perspective different from your own. Here we explore how empathy plays a vital role in shifting brands from a bland and vulnerable position, to one that is robust in meaning and purpose. Empathy as a driver of brand strategy When you’re close-in to a business’s daily operations it’s hard to see how your brand is perceived by the people you serve, both as customers and...
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Investing in Brand Management?

August 5, 2015 —

Investing in Brand Management?

A brand strategy can take what people know and believe about your business to new levels. Active brand management takes a valuable asset that may now be largely underused, and turns it into a powerful competitive weapon. Regardless of how sophisticated your current approach to branding is, your business has a “brand” today, though you may have acquired it by default. Simply by being active in the marketplace, your business will have accrued a reputation, a level of fame, and a degree of notoriety (for better or worse) with your customers, and within your industry. A brand strategy will take...
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Is it Time for Your Business to Embrace the Purpose Economy?

July 21, 2015 —

Is it Time for Your Business to Embrace the Purpose Economy?

According to Aaron Hurst, we’ve moved from the Information Economy to the Purpose Economy. He states that this is a natural evolution, which is taking us from the first levels of human organization, the hoe-and-plow Agrarian Economy, through the smokestacks of the Industrial Economy, to the data farms of the Information Economy, and now to the human-centric Purpose Economy. Each of these economies been built on top of the proceeding, and represent evolutions more than revolutions. In his book, Hurst states: “When I say purpose, I mean more than serving others and the planet. Service is...
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The Value of Hiring a Brand Strategy Firm

June 18, 2015 —

The Value of Hiring a Brand Strategy Firm

When might you need a brand strategy firm? Your business is an intricate machine that leverages people and processes to generate profits. Until now, your way of doing this has been satisfactory to both you and your shareholders. But obviously there is something in the wind telling you that some changes are needed. This has you thinking about how to best deal with this situation, and to determine what partners, if any, you need to make these necessary changes. What drives your need to change? There are many reasons why a company would need to change what it’s doing. Maybe competition...
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Could Your Brand Ever Command as Much Loyalty as a Sports Team?

June 19, 2017 —

Could Your Brand Ever Command as Much Loyalty as a Sports Team?

Sports Fan Loyalty Brand Loyalty – a strong feeling of support or allegiance. At least once a year, my good friend wears the 40 year-old T-shirt of his favorite sports team. It’s too small. It’s faded and threadbare in places. It’s garish color looks terrible on him. It has a hole in the shoulder. But he loves it. It represents something that matters to him. His team. 40 years ago they won an NBA championship. Who knew at the time that it would take 40 years to get another chance? Over the decades, even though the team had highs and low, he still held out the hope that they could be...
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How do you differentiate your startup in a crowded category?

May 29, 2015 —

How do you differentiate your startup in a crowded category?

Startups in crowded categories should lead with brand. There are many wake-up calls for the founders of startups. One of the more difficult realizations comes fairly early into your journey; the day you wake up and discover that despite your unique, disruptive offering, you have plenty of company. When you first started, when you made your investor pitch and got that angel round, you thought you were so far ahead, there was no category to contain you. But while you’ve been heads down, looking for funding, hiring people, grinding out product, and trying to get customers, a crowded category...
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What is a Brand Promise and Why You Need One

September 26, 2016 —

What is a Brand Promise and Why You Need One

There’s a lot of talk about the concept of a brand promise. But, what is it? Why does my business need one? How would it make my business stronger? How does it relate to my brand strategy? Here we explore the answers to these pressing questions.  And perhaps more important, what kind of a brand promise does your business need in today’s world to have an impact? A brand is a promised delivered. A contemporary brand promise articulates an idea that goes beyond the rational benefits that worked in the past, and extols a higher-order emotional reward. A brand promise is not a slogan or...
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How Brand Strategy Can Meaningfully Improve Product Design

May 14, 2015 —

How Brand Strategy Can Meaningfully Improve Product Design

We’ve noticed a product trend, especially with technology companies. Products can suffer growing pains if they are conceived, gestated, and born into the world without the guiding hand of the brand. On the flipside, brand strategy can have an enormously reassuring influence on the design of a product. In fact, our brand strategies exert positive influences on the product designs of most of our clients, in direct and indirect ways. Here’s how. Empathy Brand strategy always starts with a thorough study of target audiences, which means understanding what makes them tick. Their needs,...
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