Brand Coaching for Small Businesses: Introductory Offer
Know anyone who needs help in defining or refining their brand, but who can’t quite figure out where to start? The Gist Brands coaching workshop is a structured, but fun and engaging way to get unstuck and get going.
The Approach
The idea is to make high-level brand strategy ideas and concepts available to smaller businesses in an abbreviated and more accessible coaching format, with business owners doing some of the legwork and process themselves to make it more affordable. Instruction and coaching happens in a supportive group environment that makes the discovery process more lively, fun, and insightful, and gives you a long term network of other business owners that are in similar situations as yourself.
A Basic Guide to Branding: The Brand Evolution Process
Many business owners think of branding as either some mysterious black-box process that yields a desirable “aura” to a company, or confuse branding with logo design, which is just one facet (and actually an outcome) of a branding process rather than the starting point. For more on this distinction, see the post “Brand vs. Logo: The Mystery Solved.”
The truth about the process of branding couldn’t be simpler: It is the process of defining or refining your focus; who you are, what makes you different, and what unique value you offer. Then, once defined or refined, being intentional and strategic about making that tangible for people not just in logos and design, but in what you say and—more importantly—do. Read More
The Right Stuff: Does Your Logo Have It?
Whether you’re at the point of evaluating new logo concepts as part of a rebranding process, or just trying to figure out if your current logo still has staying power, the key is to look at something beyond the simple and subjective decision of whether you “like it” esthetically or think it’s “creative.”
It’s hard to look at things objectively in relation to logos and other creative products. We’re all programmed to react to things based on our own filters and preferences, and as business people we frequently lack the vocabulary to discuss these issues or the nuances that come with them.
While it’s ideal to love your own logo and other brand assets, the most important thing for your business is how well it portrays the essence of your company’s brand and value, how it connects with customers, what it communicates to them, and whether it’s utility meets your long-term business needs. After all, it’s a tool for growing your business, not art to hang on your wall at home.
So how do you know if your logo does its job?
Testimonial: Outside In (1)
“The end product was a brand that was not only what we wanted, but what we needed to move our organization forward.”
Kelly Anderson, Development and Communications Director
Outside In
Testimonial: Vox PR/PA (2)
“Listens first and then lets creativity flow into amazing plans and design.”
Pat Walsh, CEO
Vox Public Relations Public Affairs