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Brand

Back to School: An Interactive Presentation at Orinda Intermediate School

June 4, 2019 —

Back to School: An Interactive Presentation at Orinda Intermediate School

This past October, Design Director Robert Saywitz and Production Director Jonathan Fisher found themselves back at Orinda Intermediate School for the second annual “Power of Branding” workshop. Similar to last year, students were given a brief history of branding – the power of symbols in our culture, logo design, and how brands can evolve over time. Students were then broken into teams and tasked with either creating a new brand identity for a fictional educational startup, or rebranding Amazon’s existing identity. More than ever, it showed the importance of teamwork in problem-solving and...
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Make It Sexy: The Big Impact of Branding “Boring” Things

May 30, 2019 —

Make It Sexy: The Big Impact of Branding “Boring” Things

Branding and advertising are infamous for making us covet things we don’t actually need. The super sleek sheen of a Tesla or an iPhone or a bra designed by NASA’s top scientists are alluring, but at the end of the day, they are merely luxuries. The question of getting people to need something they want is sales 101. But more and more, branding agencies are tackling the inverse. How do you get people to want the things they need? Is there a space for surprise and delight in the most boring, pedestrian motions of daily life: applying a bandage, brushing our teeth, wiping our bums? Welcome to...
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How to Tune-Up Your Bullshit Detector


May 23, 2019 —

How to Tune-Up Your Bullshit Detector


In the immortal words of Jon Stewart, “Bullshit is everywhere. There is very little that you will encounter in life that has not been, in some way, infused with bullshit.” As a brand strategy and design agency, we live in the intersection between people and brands. This is perhaps one of the most fertile, organic spaces for bullshit to thrive. The speed of technology has created a sizeable gap between those who know what they’re talking about and those who don’t. Our job, to the best of our abilities, is to eradicate the nonsense, the fluff, the jargon, the overpromising and...
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Maintaining Brand Relevance in a Fast-Paced World

February 28, 2019 —

Maintaining Brand Relevance in a Fast-Paced World

Brand Relevance Amidst New Expectations In a time of constant change and heightened customer expectations, the greatest danger facing most brands today is loss of brand relevance. People are ultra-connected. Markets constantly shift. New trends emerge. Competitors enter and shake things up. And customers expect more from the brands they buy from. As a result, many businesses struggle to stay relevant —trying to get ahead of competition, adapt fast enough, and maintain their position in the market. In order to survive, brands need to evolve in a way that differentiates them from their...
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Happy Holidays from Emotive Brand!

December 20, 2018 —

Happy Holidays from Emotive Brand!

Thanks for a Brilliant Year It’s the most wonderful time of the year. A time when our team frantically rushes to put the finishing touches on all our projects before taking a break to spend time with loved ones. It’s a time when our brainstorms are frenetic, our delivery is lightning fast, and the drinks are strong. So, really, it’s business as usual. We wanted to take a minute to thank our amazing clients for giving us the opportunity to transform their brands. We have the supreme privilege of working with some of the brightest, most driven, whip-smart people all over the...
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Brand Writing Trends for 2019

December 18, 2018 —

Brand Writing Trends for 2019

There’s a good reason why it’s said we consume content. Because content, like other treasured objects of consumption, can make you queasy if not served properly. Continuing our preview of 2019, today we’re examining the crucial content trends your brand needs to master heading into the new year. If you’re looking to overcome challenges, build a stronger employer brand, or disrupt your visual design, you can start there. Authenticity Over Everything Whenever we discuss how a brand expresses itself, we must always ground ourselves in embracing authenticity. Trust is the yardstick by which all...
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We’re Grateful for Our Amazing Clients

November 22, 2018 —

We’re Grateful for Our Amazing Clients

Here in the U.S., it’s Thanksgiving. Which means it’s a perfect time to pause and reflect on what we’re grateful for. We’re grateful for strong coffee. We’re grateful for stronger cocktails. We’re grateful for the passionate, creative, curious people who come to Emotive Brand every day to make brands matter more to people. And of course, we’re incredibly grateful for our growing list of clients that give us their time, expertise, and trust to help them transform their brands. We couldn’t do it without them. As we sign off for the rest of the week, we wanted to do a quick roundup of some of...
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Generation Z: A New Generation With New Challenges for Brands

November 1, 2018 —

Generation Z: A New Generation With New Challenges for Brands

Gen Z, Already? For the past several years the spotlight has been on one generation: yes, millennials – the most studied and arguably the most sought after (or talked about) generation by brands and businesses to date. We, for one, have discussed: what brands they love, where they put their money, where they put their loyalty, why where they work matters, if all the “millennial advertising” hype is even worth it… Now, it seems the focus is shifting. The internet, advertisers, and marketers today are starting to pay a little more attention to those millennials’ younger siblings:...
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Sales: The Critical Element of a Growth Company’s Brand

October 25, 2018 —

Sales: The Critical Element of a Growth Company’s Brand

Sales and Brand: A Connection Worthy of Discussion Sales teams exist to grow revenue and keep customers happy. They’re also brand builders and the face of the brand to many customers. They hear what customers want and keep a pulse on the market. When it’s easy for sales to share their observations with product development and marketing, their feedback spurs product improvements, brand definition, and growth. The first step in this process, though, is for sales to provide a clear explanation of the problem their product solves. Recently we caught up with Pier Barattolo, a sales leader with...
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Integrating Company Cultures After a Merger or Acquisition

October 22, 2018 —

Integrating Company Cultures After a Merger or Acquisition

High M&A Activity Mergers and acquisitions are at an all time high, with $4.7 trillion of global deals signed last year according to a recent M&A report by KMPG. And although the payoff of a successful M&A is great, these are high risk deals. It’s not just about the financial gains. Reputations are on the line. Stakeholders observe nervously. And in order to ensure the expected return on investment is delivered, a great deal of planning around integrating company culture must go into the preparation. Cultural Integration Issues After an acquisition, the merger is a difficult...
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