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Branding

5 Common Mistakes in Brand Design Today

June 12, 2018 —

5 Common Mistakes in Brand Design Today

The Brand Design Journey If you’re looking for a brand design or redesign, you’ll need more than a logo or a new website. Brand design is bigger than that. Designing a brand entails designing every moment and experience people have with your brand. It’s about every touchpoint, and these days nothing goes unnoticed. Brand design reflects how your brand looks and how it feels. This means colors, graphic language, typeface, photography, and your logo. In the end, brand design is what brings the brand to life. It’s what makes your brand recognizable and powerful to the people that matter...
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Strategy for the Strategy

May 16, 2016 —

Strategy for the Strategy

Strategy from a strategist. When I started my career, I had some mentors who warned me that my world was going to be different from theirs. The main change was that due to downsizing, client companies no longer had people on staff to manage creative agencies. Instead of working with people who knew communications and branding, I would be working directly with vice presidents of marketing or human resources who had only vague ideas about how they work. That was good advice. But it missed an even bigger change. My mentors believed the clients would have a strategy, and it would be my job to...
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Launching a Global Re-Brand: Interview with Brand Strategy Firm, Emotive Brand

May 3, 2016 —

Launching a Global Re-Brand: Interview with Brand Strategy Firm, Emotive Brand

As an Account Strategist at Emotive Brand, Sarah plays a pivotal role in helping us transform global brands in to more empathetic, purpose-led, and meaningful companies. Her ability to connect the worlds of writing, research, strategy, and design make her the perfect point person for tackling the nuances and challenges of bringing a new brand strategy to life. In this post, Sarah shares her thoughts on why a global brand rollout can be tricky, gives guidelines on how to tackle obstacles that might arise, and execute a successful maximum-impact launch. A global re-brand is a large...
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Branding Isn’t Static – Call Off the Brand Police!

March 17, 2016 —

Branding Isn’t Static – Call Off the Brand Police!

How to create a coherent brand and engage the “brand police” Many people strive for “consistency” when managing brands. But that presents the risk of being dull, repetitive and predictable. A better goal is to achieve a “coherent” brand presence. I recently re-watched a video of Simon Manchipp of SomeOne, London in which he advised brands to be “coherent, not consistent”. He talked about people’s desire for stimulation and the need to stay current because, “time changes – branding isn’t static”. The same colorful mix and match elements are always creating new stories Most...
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Uber Rational: A New Brand

February 4, 2016 —

Uber Rational: A New Brand

Yesterday, Uber launched a new brand identity, and it has sparked a lot of media attention. It’s amazing that an app icon update and a new website can create so much buzz, attention, and debate, but it got us thinking: What’s the real impact of changing an already established brand identity? We believe brands need to consider both rational and emotional needs when embarking on telling their story. Uber’s new identity focuses on telling a rational story about what they do. But it lacks the emotional impact of why they do it and why consumers flock to it. ‘Why’ is critical because...
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Make Purposeful Brand Resolutions in 2016

January 25, 2016 —

Make Purposeful Brand Resolutions in 2016

The New Year is the perfect time to step back and create impassioned and attainable brand resolutions. What do you want to achieve in 2016? Look back on 2015 and reflect on your business. What were your greatest successes and biggest challenges? How can you live your brand promise in 2016? How can you build your brand to flourish? Emotive Brand wants to add some inspiration and purpose to the start of your 2016. We’ve asked top business executives across varying industries to share one piece of advice about managing a brand and driving business. Our advice: read up. “Managing your brand is a...
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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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When the “Brand Department” Inhibits the Brand

June 13, 2013 —

When the “Brand Department” Inhibits the Brand

We recently spoke with someone who works for a well-known company in the telecommunications industry. Our friend was bemoaning the internal battle going on between the “brand” team and the “product marketing” team. It seems the brand team was trying to take more and more tasks from the product marketing team so as to “align them to the brand”. Sounds to us like the brand team should be spending more time making sure everyone in the company – including the product marketing team – is aligned to the brand. That way, the actions of the product marketing team and indeed those of every employee...
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