You searched for differentiate - BN Branding

Small brands, big attitudes. How to create an XXL brand personality

John Furgurson — Sat, 15 Mar 2025 17:57:53 +0000

What does it take to turn a typical small business into a powerful brand? Why do some businesses — with relatively mundane products and services — take off, while others stagnate?

Often it comes down to personality. Or lack thereof.

A new approach to website design – What’s the big idea?

John Furgurson — Sat, 01 Mar 2025 17:18:02 +0000

In the advertising industry big ideas are the currency of success. Doesn’t matter if you’re working on an ad or a website, you work your butt off to come up with a big idea that can be leveraged into a giant, category-busting campaign. That kind of thinking is the key to a new approach to […]

Differentiation vs. Distinctiveness – What’s more important for marketing?

John Furgurson — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 18:45:06 +0000

Marketing professors, gurus and know-it-all social media commentators love arguing over the latest marketing terms, like differentiation vs. distinctiveness. Some say “forget about differentiation, now it’s all about distinctiveness.” Give me a break. How could differentiation possibly be bad for business? The two terms are almost synonymous. You say tomato I say tomahto. If you […]

Companies built on beliefs & brand values. (Not products)

John Furgurson — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 05:00:33 +0000

What do you really believe in? What motivates you — heart and soul — to do your work everyday? What are the brand values that guide your operation? If you don’t know, you’re missing a great opportunity to differentiate yourself from the competition. Most small business owners never think about the important underpinnings of their […]

Does website design matter? Yes, as long as first impressions matter.

John Furgurson — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 23:32:37 +0000

There was a group discussion on LinkedIn recently that started with this question: “Does website design really matter? ” It provoked quite a debate… Graphic designers and advertising people in one camp, web programmers and entrepreneurs in the other, arguing their respective positions. The paint-by-numbers group believes web design doesn’t really matter at all. Design […]

Why most marketing videos fail. (Unscripted advice on the missing ingredient)

John Furgurson — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 03:48:04 +0000

Marketing videos are popping up faster than you can yell “cut.” The YouTube stats are mind-boggling… It’s the second-busiest website on earth, with 2.7 billion monthly users. There are 114 million different YouTube channels, so you can delve deep into any subject under the sun. Seriously. Five hundred hours of new video content is uploaded […]

The new normal for Ecommerce — How to sell more stuff online.

John Furgurson — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 23:25:01 +0000

Ecommerce is exploding. The COVID pandemic created a tidal wave of activity in that industry. One of our clients has seen a 550% increase in online sales. Before COVID they were wondering how to sell more stuff online, and now they’re wondering how to handle the operational implications of this new normal in ecommerce. Every […]

Stock images & brand image photos – Beware of visual clichés.

John Furgurson — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 12:15:14 +0000

Every business needs brand image photos… (Your brand image can’t be built on words alone.) Unfortunately, most people turn immediately to free stock photo sites or Ai tools. Doesn’t matter if the images are for the website, ads, sales materials, email campaigns, social media posts or powerpoint presentations, they turn to the quick fix solution. […]

Food Packaging 101 – from bland to a billion

John Furgurson — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 19:22:00 +0000

Food Packaging 101 – Lessons From a Billion-Dollar Tortilla Brand Here’s a case study I’d like to share in food packaging design. I was not involved in this rebranding, but my hat’s off to the design team and to the Garza family for embracing the change. It’s noteworthy due to their rapid rise from […]

Effective Personal Branding — The corporate head shot is not the ticket.

John Furgurson — Sat, 21 Sep 2024 18:23:46 +0000

Recently we had a client who didn’t like the photos we had taken for her website. She didn’t appreciate the fact that we had done something different than the usual, corporate head shot. She said they didn’t look “professional enough” — didn’t think it was good personal branding. The problem is, her idea of “professional” […]