Podcast: Let’s Talk Branding (and Positioning)
I’m always wishing there were more opportunities for interesting conversations about rebranding and brand strategy, and the key intersection of design and business. Apparently I’m not alone.
Belgian podcaster Stef Hamerlinck stumbled across my Brand Spectrum infographic via Google and asked me to come on his show “Let’s Talk Branding,” to be interviewed about the model I use and specifically about one of his own obstacles, the difficulties and challenges of brand positioning for clients.
Making Your Brand Name or Logo Hack, Hijack, and Vandal Proof
In reality, it’s pretty impossible for a brand to be truly incorruptible, or vandal proof, whether as a name or logo. Someone can always do something with it if they work hard enough and have the right motivation.
In response to a reader’s questions, I give some thoughts on how to judge your idea before rebranding and if there’s anything you can do to keep people from spoofing your brand name or sabotaging your logo.
Brand Archetypes: How to Tap into Universal Story and Emotion
One of the biggest things most everyday companies are struggling with, in terms of branding, is how to “tell their story.” If you’re there, you’re not alone. Most everyone struggles with articulating their brand and its narrative. Archetypes can help. Here’s how.
Your Website Showcasing Your Supercool Office Space is a Cliché.
This is a plea for an end to hip websites featuring photo shoots of cool “creative spaces” and not much else.
You know what I’m talking about: Parallax websites papered with empty reception desks with brand signage; macro shots of artisanal light fixtures; den-like flex spaces with artfully cast-off iPads and headphones; and perspective shots of touchdown workstations with knife-edge aligned Apple displays and funky task chairs.
Your homepage is now a cliché.
A Believable Brand is in the Eye of the Beholder
A couple weeks back I was commuting to a client meeting and was backed up at a four-way stop across from a familiar forest-green Waste Management garbage truck. For the first time I was able to read and fully comprehend a marketing decal that’s flashed by me countless times:
“Our landfills provide 17,000 acres of wildlife habitat.”
I actually laughed out loud.