What to think if you’re thinking of hiring a brand strategist.
I recently landed a new client who had been thinking of hiring a brand…
How to manage your marketing efforts like a Hollywood Producer
Are you burdened by all the tactical marketing options? Ever wonder how to manage your…
Why startups fail — getting to the bottom of it
A lot of companies fail. We know that for a fact. What we don’t know…
What to watch for when you’re rebranding
Let’s face it… Rebranding can be a costly pain in the ass. It’s probably the…
Mapping out the customer journey – in story form
Everyone’s fixated on short copy these days… Gotta write as if everyone’s hyper-distracted and generally…
The lingering effects of your brand identity design – good or bad
Never underestimate the lingering power of brand identity design. Decades after you’ve completed that all-important…
Flip the marketing funnel — make it a mountain.
Let’s talk about one of the most popular marketing metaphors of all time; The…
Building a brand personality that’s genuine, authentic, AND effective.
Building a brand personality for your company that actually resonates with people is not easy….
Need to improve your marketing? Start with your P.O.V.
How you see things — your unique point-of-view — skews everything you do. You can’t…
Words matter! Why you need a tagline as part of your brand identity.
Cadillac stole my tagline. Back in 2004 I wrote “Be Iconic” to support my name…
Where branding begins — A holistic approach to branding and business.
A lot of business owners seem to think Branding begins with graphic design. As if…
From underdog to big dog: Take-aways from the Nike brand narrative.
There’s nothing like a good origin story to remind everyone what your brand’s really…
The semantics of branding & rebranding: Get the words right, or else.
Here’s a worst-case branding & rebranding scenario that every business owner should fear: You’re…
Brand Simplicity – Whittling success down to its core.
In business I think it’s human nature to add unnecessary complexity to all sorts of…
Custom club fitting: Path to perfection, or folly of the fragile golf psyche?
One of the hosts of an immensely popular golf podcast recently stated, on the air,…
Putting Your Best Foot Forward – How to make your products look great online.
At BN Branding we’ve been working with more and more ecommerce companies. It’s the…
6 good questions about branding agencies and their owners
A lot of questions arise when people ask me “What do you do?” “I have…
Naming your company – Why is it so dang hard to do well?
If you conducted a poll of 100 people like myself who develop brands for a…
Packaging design — unwrapping a critical element of your brand
Management guru Tom Peters once said, “Too damn few of us take packaging design as…
Brand experience – How one ski area is trying its best to manage expectations.
Ski area operators live and die by the whims of Mother Nature. So the brand…
Lessons learned from 30 years in a professional services business
Professional services marketing is one of the toughest specialties in my line of work….
Marketing lessons from all that annoying political advertising of 2020
I’m sure you’re all relieved that the political ads of 2020 are behind us. From…
Small-Business Management 2020 — Unusual times require an unreasonable approach.
You’ve heard this pessimistic preamble a thousand times by now… “In these unprecedented times… Blah…
Branding the Olympics – leading by example in sports marketing
In the world of sports marketing one event rises above the competition in terms…
Borrowed interest and other desperate attempts to attract customers
Ever notice how some companies are constantly scrambling to attract customers, while others enjoy some…
Storytelling in business — a good story equals strong leadership.
Let me tell you a story about storytelling in business — the most important, most…
The new normal in e-commerce — How to sell more stuff online.
The COVID 19 pandemic has created a frenzy of activity in the e-commerce industry. One…
Advertising in a crisis: Shit happens, but brands endure.
Every entrepreneur experiences setbacks… Markets crash. Key team members leave with your biggest accounts. There…
The ancient, proven path to marketing success – Credible, Emotional, Rational
Humans love instant gratification. In fact, our brains are wired for it. But the path…
Fear of loss in advertising — Another effective angle of attack
I have an ongoing debate with a client who says we should never, ever take…