Can You Feel?
What can you do to assure you are delivering a product, a service, or an experience with that kind of benefit? Something people really feel.
The Hot Duck: A Tale of Brand Differentiation
On display at the duck pond was the perfect embodiment of Rule #1 in branding: Stand out from your competition.
Putting in the Reps
With any type of content marketing, it can take a while to see results.
Our New Frankenword
Brand design is becoming more business and business is becoming more creative. They are merging. Those that embrace the merger will thrive and those that do not will wither.
Don't Be Dr. Dynamite
If you could capture the single most important quality that creates a successful brand, it boils down to differentiation.
Finding the "Wow!"
When you ask the right questions and then actively listen, a mysterious and convoluted problem becomes a clear signal.
Retail Trend: The Cattle Chute Method
Retailers like Amazon are using The Cattle Chute Method to drive shoppers to their own private label products. How do we compete?
Different Is Better Than Better
The savvy folks at hub by Premier Inn noticed an empty quadrant in the X/Y map of the competitive landscape of the hotel industry in London. So they did what any smart brand does, they filled it.
Your Best Self: 7 Mantras for Designers & Entrepreneurs
Mantras are not just for meditating. Mantras are simply ideas and philosophies to live by. They have one purpose: to keep us on track. They prevent us from going a down a rabbit hole.
The Sexy Potato
There are watershed moments in our professional lives where something happens that changes everything.
The Big Fish
Diving deep into a brand, marketing agencies can shine a light on new customers or market opportunities their client may have had trouble seeing. It’s a symbiotic relationship.
The 7 Commandments of Brand Design
When I talk about branding, I often talk about the 3 R’s: recognized, remembered and revered. The success of any brand can be measured by how well it has achieved those three simple words. But how do you get there?
The Brand from the Black Lagoon
Brands can learn something by observing how Hollywood approaches classic films. What’s the difference between classic and dated? Is there an aspect of your brand that is due for a remake?
You're Making Too Much Noise
The amount of noise that we have to filter today is ridiculous. The signal that we want to hear, that holds a meaningful message, is getting harder to discern.
The Shark and the Chumsicle
When feeding off new trends you have to strategize where you want to play. Do you want to be the first to sink your teeth in? Do you know where are you are in the food chain?
Schrödinger's Cookie
Marketing folks know that any time you create a line extension, one consideration is whether or not it will cannibalize your mainline product. However, the greatest worry is always: “Will it degrade the brand?”.
I'm Watching You
In business and design we often develop a products by thinking about our customer target and then creating something we think they will want. But often we land far off the mark and wonder what went wrong.
This Is Why You Need A Drone
Companies trying to create brand strategies internally are hampered by the same thing: a lack of perspective. They’re just too close. Strategic accuracy requires an aerial view
The Prince Needs A Logo
He sent me a detailed project brief. I sent him a proposal. He accepted it no questions asked. I thought this was a little odd, but I told myself everyone deserves an easy client once in a while. Don’t they?
All The Feels
Branding 101: When you speak to someone’s emotional center rather than their logical mind you solicit a response that is stronger, deeper, longer-lasting and primal.