Brand Tuned - Smart Thinking, Better Branding

Alex has worked in digital marketing and social media for nearly a decade, working with both the likes of Google and eBay, as well as with hundreds of small businesses in the UK and Europe. He explains how he helps business scale using digital marketing and how to achieve engagement on your social media.We're almost business people who do marketing rather than marketing people who do marketingYou need your Instagram, you need your Twitter, you need your Facebook, it's how people find us how people assess youOur goal was always just to make sure that we create a very favorable, very interesting set of feeds that their target customer would likely enjoyBrand was something we have to continuously iterate and ensure that I was fairly matched and spoke to the kind of target marketplace or target client that we're aiming for.We help them achieve scale in terms of their digital footprint, their online presence there, their social media branding, but we also then help them drive their online revenueIt's much more about ultimately providing value to their day providing value to their feed, they're choosing to engage with you, they're choosing to follow youWe have to kind of ensure that we are looking at the whole spectrum of events, and we are looking at, ultimately everything from following numbers to reach to engagement

As intellectual property comprises copyright, trademark, design, patent, and confidentiality it means that the actions necessary to turn an idea into reality will differ depending on the type of IP that idea would generate once it’s implementedEverything begins with an idea. Every idea invariably results in an intangible manifestation of it once it’s brought into the real world.Intellectual property assets don’t always just exist often some action will be required to turn an idea, such as the proposed name of our gin product, into IP – namely a trade mark in this caseIntellectual property law is the legal area that governs intangibles, so it has a significant role in today’s digital world. Leveraging IP is how the value embedded in it is realisedFor an established business, the best way to begin to address intellectual property, is to do an intellectual property audit and take corrective actionThe name of the game with intellectual property is to be proactive in the early stages of any project when turning an idea into something concrete in the real worldAs an IP lawyer, I handle many intellectual property matters, from trademark filings to infringement litigationAs we all have more and more ideas, and new projects to develop, we’re likely to need to choose more than one brand name in our lifetimeThe overall objective is to build a brand, product or business that will succeed. We’re all striving for success.It will be far easier to build management of IP into the day to day running of the venture if you approach IP in this way

Dominic Wells, the founder of Onfolio helps his clients to invest in websites buying and building content websites, explains he hardest part about a content website is getting it to rank highly in Google in the first place and how he manages to do itI originally just started out myself as what a lot of people refer to as an affiliate marketerThe way "diary" evolved into content websites, it's really, a lot of the time they're quite a niche, and they focus on one particular topicThe hardest part about a content website is getting it to rank highly in Google in the first placeThe market range varies, but it's generally 2.5 to 3.5 times yearly profit. So if there's a website that was making around $30,000, or pounds a month, and it would be valued, valued at around a millionPodcasting definitely is a growing media and video like YouTube, for exampleI would say the niche is super important and also just your ability to execute and actually create content that people want to read and get it in front of peopleWe were good at operations and so we were looking on GoDaddy or Namecheap, and seeing what domain names were available and so it was how about Smooth Operator.com? what about something to do with like web portfolio. And so I think we, we tried Web Folio and that business already existed and one of my friends and my team member said well on Folio.My previous business was called human proof designsNow, we don't do a lot of SEO for it's kind of ironic, we do SEO for all the websites that we run, but we don't do it for our own website, because it's very much a word of mouth and podcast

Have you successfully captured your intellectual property? Why is failing to do so a costly problem? Let’s look in more detail at the disastrous consequences of failing to capture your IP.Topics Discussed in this Episode:Why it’s not enough to simply register a trade markWhy it’s important to take great care of trade marksWhy failing to address IP can result in lost opportunitiesWhat to do when you discover gaps in your trade mark protectionKey Takeaways:It is surprisingly easy to overlook the importance of IP in the early stages of the creative process. Some people believe that tasks like choosing a business name for a new product or service do not involve legal considerations, that they can pick any name, do a check on Google, and if nothing untoward is found, proceed to use the name.It’s actually trade marks that govern ownership rights in names, so it’s essential to search the trade mark registers. A Google search is not enough. Not everything you need to know about a name shows up on Google. People risk losing everything overnight when they use names that don’t take account of registered trade marks of others.Online searching has its place but it’s no substitute for information focused on transforming ideas into reality. While there’s a wealth of information on the web, a crucial issue when it comes to intellectual property advice online is that much of what you find is generic, sometimes outdated, inaccurate, conflicting, and may vary depending on where you’re based.Action Steps:If you’re an inventor, writer, coach, marketer, creative or entrepreneur, you need to know how to identify the various IP rights you’ll be creating as you turn ideas into reality. Some basic tools at your fingertips will help you take initial steps to protect IP like doing due diligence.When you have new ideas to implement, you’ll need to know the right actions to take, the right processes to use to protect IP that’s being created.If you discover gaps in your trade mark protection, find out how to address them with the help of education and DIY. And consult a lawyer if you have remaining questions.Shireen said:“The internet has revolutionised the way we look for information, entertainment, and even relationships… So it’s increasingly common for businesses to look for legal advice online, too.”“If you don’t know what you don’t know, how can you search for it or know whether you’ve found out everything you need to know? ...You need to learn to do things properly if you’re going to do your own trademark registration.”Thank you for listening!If you have any questions, connect with me on your preferred social media platform. I’d love to help! And if you’ve learned from this series of podcasts, do consider leaving a review.Links to my books and online courses:Books:Legally BrandedIntellectual Property Revolution

Mary Kelly spent 25 years in the Navy and now she improves corporate profit growth. She is also the author/co-author/editor of 15 books on business, leadership, productivity, and personal finance. In this episode, she explains her journey from being in Navy to starting her own business and she gives some valuable tips on how to establish and differentiate your business.When I retired out of the Navy, I realized that, that what I really like to do, I love being a professor, but what I really like to do was get in and do logistical workI went to the Naval Academy, where you do get a bachelor's degree, my bachelor's, technically we all graduate as engineers, I'm a terrible engineer. So I went on and got a couple master's degrees I pretty much started the business the day I retired, because I already had people who said, we would like you to come to talk to our business, or talk to our people or do this. And then that evolved into more speaking, public speakingI would rather be speaking on a stage than anywhere else. And I don't like to lie on the beach. I'd rather do I'd rather speak on a stage than be on vacationA viable way to start any business is to grab a website, even if it's just a blog website, and populate it with content that people will find interestingMany people will start out and say, well, I'll ask somebody else to tell me where I can get better. But they've never looked at their own stuff to figure out first where they can get betterYou change your tone, you change your speed, you change your story, all of that to keep students interested, there are certainly some lessons there that I think can be appliedI provide I increase I help I What do I do what product or service do I offer, and to whom many people I think make the mistake early on that they think everyone is their target market, that is not trueThe more specific you can be about your target market, the better in the early years, I've mostly focused on people who liked military backgrounds and stories If you're thinking about starting a business, just start and on this five-page business planYou can make money. But if your costs are way more than your revenues, you're not operating as a profitBusiness is not dating business is not Oh, he likes me. He's gonna call me Oh, she likes me she's gonna call me. No. It is your job to stay top of mind with your clients, it is your job to remind them of what it is you do it is your job to keep in touch with them. It is not your clients job to keep in touch with youYou need to hire people who are not like you, you need to hire people who think differently from youWhen you have a business, you have to again, think about who you want to work with, who best resonates with your message and who you can best helpEstablishing yourself as the expert, not just an expert, but the expertThe 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV The 5-Minute Business Plan by Mary Kelly - https://bit.ly/3qpftuQ Helpful lists and forms by Mary Kelly - https://bit.ly/3mDPPAu

Trade marks are your “badge of origin”, and serve to identify your products and services. Without trade marks, it would be impossible to find the products and services we like and to avoid those we don’t. So, trade marks are tools enabling consumers to identify products and services they have enjoyed and want to buy again.Trademarks protect the reputation and goodwill of a brand.Any sign unique to your business may be registered as a trademark. The most commonly registered marks are words, logos, and slogans.There is no such thing as an international trademark. Trademarks are territorial, meaning you need to register in each country in which you intend to trade.Trademarks give you rights in the country or territory where you register. For companies trading in UK or Europe, the first step will be to apply for a UK or EU trademark. Those businesses that purely trade in this country will just want to register a UK trademark. For example if you run a restaurant and have no intention of franchising your business in other countries, the UK is the only country that is relevant to you.There are two possible approaches to take when it comes to searching. Either do some searches before applying to register your mark in a particular territory, or simply take your chances and apply to register your mark in a territory and see whether the application encounters any problems. If a local trade mark blocks your registration then you might need to trade under a different brand in that country.It is important to be strategic about extending your protection to other classes and other countries thereafter. if you don’t protect your mark in countries in which you trade, you could find yourself in a situation similar to what happened in Plenty of Fish/Plenty More Fish.Plenty of Fish, a well-established online dating site objected to PlentyMoreFish setting up a rival online dating site in the UK under a similar name. They opposed PlentyMoreFish’s UK trademark application, arguing that PlentyMoreFish was riding off its reputation by setting up the rival dating site. They lost because they couldn’t show that they had UK customers and as they hadn’t protected their brand with an EU trademark they were powerless to stop PlentyMoreFish.That situation would never happen inside a single country like the UK. There are passing off laws and other remedies which would enable business in Plenty of Fish’s situation to stop PlentyMoreFIsh by injunction or other steps. However, online it’s possible for this sort of scenario to arise unless you are vigilant about protecting your mark in countries in which you trade.Best to cover off your home market and the important jurisdictions in which you trade. Thank you for listening! If you liked today’s episode or have learned something new from the series, please consider giving a review. Links to my booksBooks:Legally BrandedIntellectual Property RevolutionThe 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

Julie Barber the author of Investor Ready: The guide for startups on getting investors to say Yes. She has a background in corporate Global Innovation Programmes including building cutting edge chatbots and using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.We work with startups and scale ups who need to prepare for raising investment so that they are confident and credible in front of investors.I spent most of those 20 years focused on strategic planning, and global transformation and innovation as well through the innovation workWhat I found was that increasingly, and or very often, they weren't ready, they weren't able to put themselves forward in a good light, because they didn't understand what those investors expected from themI've managed to persuade about 20 million out of our various boards for big global projectsI had to really work hard to build my network in the startup ecosystemYou have to create brands within the organization to allow people to identify with things to identify with particular areas of the businessBrand means resonance to me. So brand is a way of connecting with people in a way that resonates with them that they identify with you and sayOur branding is all focused around, being the grown up being the safe pair of hands, the steady, the steady guide, and that that can take them through what can seem like opaque and difficult processes,We work with either pre seed or series A businesses, so pre seed might be that they've got no product or revenue yet, but they've got an idea that they're trying to turn into a business and then seed is, is they've got a product and maybe a little bit of traction, but not much yetWe work with them for six weeks through a series of workshops, we do one workshop a week, and over that period. And then for preseed company, at the end of the six weeks, we give them our proprietary templates for their pitch deck and their business plan, and for their data roomAnd so we work across nearly every sector apart from direct retail, because we've got no experience in that area. But we work across healthcare, across digital health, construction, finance, and so multiple sectors that we work across. So generally there's a very heavy tech biasSometimes we get clients who, who have the makings of a good idea, or the or the start of a good business, but we can see that there are issues with it. But we know those are things that we can fix with them through the processBrand is one of the things that we assess. And certainly with the later stage companies, so their series A companies, we definitely do talk to them about personal brands of the of the founders, as well as the the company's brand itselfThe 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

You need to know what you’re doing when it comes to choosing the best brand assets to create, and which to prioritise creating and protecting. When you know that securing a colour as a trademark is unlikely, it means you can perhaps relax around colour and instead put more emphasis on bringing other brand elements to the fore more when advertising.Why would you want to trademark a colour given that colour is difficult to trademark, and is part and parcel of every visual identity, even those that opt for black and white? It is rare to hear of someone having to rebrand because they’re using someone else’s colours after all.Your logo, brand colours or shapes and other visual or aural elements of your branding are the identifiers that anchor associations in customers’ minds to the brand name.The important objective of branding is to build mental availability and colour is part of the way busy people become aware of a brand and associate it to the brand nameThe use of colour and visual identities can be a great communicator of a brand’s values and messages communicating without any need for wordsThe visual identity as a whole triggers mental associations to the brandThe purpose of a trademark is to protect the identifying signs that enable buyers to recognise the origin of your goods or servicesif you can secure a trademark the benefit of doing so and getting rights to a particular pantone colour is that you have a legally enforceable right to stop competitors using the same or confusingly similar coloursWith logos, you can readily register a trademark and enforce your rights in the logoThe way legal rights like trademarks work, is that if a competitor realises your rights are strong, they avoid copying youA non-conventional trademark like colour is not at all straightforward to secureBy strategically using other intellectual property rights to protect its bottle shape and make it more difficult for competitors to copy the bottle, Coca Cola gradually associated its bottle shape in consumers’ minds by clever advertising that consistently associated the bottle shape to the brandThe 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

How do you protect your original app idea from being copied by others? And what are the key considerations you need to know when it comes to developing a successful product? We talk about all this and more in today’s episode.Topics discussed:Why it’s important to protect your app idea from being copied.What it takes to transform an idea into a successful app or product.The legal protections you can use to protect your intellectual property.The importance of researching the different legal tools to protect your app idea.Key Takeaways:Any idea for an app, no matter how groundbreaking it may seem, only has the potential to be a successful product. You’ll need to address various issues along its development before you can transform it into your vision. In the end, the success of your app depends on whether your idea is well received.There is the real problem of how to protect your idea so that you benefit from it. Unless you know how to develop an app yourself, you’ll need to hire the right person or company to develop it for you. This requires using the right agreement to plan the project and protect your interest.Protecting your intellectual property needs to be covered in your plans first and foremost. You need to know how to use the law to support you if you’re to achieve your aims. Ignoring the law can lead to discovering unintended consequences that can prove fatal to your entire project later on. Action Steps:Critically assess your idea. Spend time doing really thorough research on your product and check it’s market viability. Before you take any steps to implement an idea, take the time to understand the legal protections you can use to protect it. Learn the five principle rights covered under intellectual property, namely: copyright, patents, trademarks, designs, and confidential information.Shireen said: “Quite aside from the very real practical problem of finding somebody who understands your vision and can deliver an app that reflects what’s in your head, there is a real problem of how to protect the idea so that you benefit from it.” “If you don’t take the right actions very early on when you’re creating something, if you’re not careful how you implement your ideas, then you may actually lose the opportunity to own a valuable intellectual property right.”Thank you for listening!Get Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

Placing undue emphasis on marketing brands at the maturity stage leaves marketers struggling to know how to find a coherent blueprint for small brands, and that includes how to take account of intellectual property For the Brand Tuned book - The New Rules of Branding, Strategy and Intellectual Property my focus has been different because the book is all about what a small business needs to take into account to create a brand. My ideas around brands, branding and marketing have evolved somewhat since I first launched the podcast More than 99% of all businesses in the UK are small or medium size SMEs with fewer than 250 employees. The numbers are similar in Europe and the US Small brands do not have a legal department to take care of IP. Often the small business client knows nothing about IP and is assuming their marketer/designers know all that’s pertinent to their discipline In the early days the small business needs to focus on finding consumers to buy from it so it can survive and still be in business the following year.Placing undue emphasis on marketing brands at the maturity stage leaves marketers struggling to know how to find a coherent blueprint for small brands, and that includes how to take account of intellectual property.Intellectual property is fundamentally part and parcel of business IP isn’t just a legal subject you can leave to the lawyers because it needs to be borne in mind during brand creation Marketers are having to plug the gap in their skillset by learning on the go, sometimes through hard experience The podcast is for entrepreneurs, agencies, marketers, lawyers and designers looking for no fluff guidance on branding and marketing Get Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

Since for many people, an idea is their key to economic success, being able to protect its resulting output as intellectual property is crucial if the business is to succeed and grow in valueEverything begins with an idea. Every idea invariably results in an intangible manifestation of it once it’s brought into the real worldIntellectual property law is the legal area that governs intangibles, so it has a significant role in today’s digital worldThe term “Intellectual property” covers a large area of law, including patents, trademarks, copyright, designs and trade secrets and other confidential informationPeople assume they will automatically own intellectual property, and when they’re ready (for example, because they’ve achieved success in their business) they can turn to protecting it. That’s not how it worksTo avoid losing an opportunity to create valuable intellectual property, you need to be able to first identify what you’re about to create, and take the necessary actions to capture itLeveraging IP is how the value embedded in it is realisedThe time to consider IP is in the very early stages of a project when the new venture is just an idea in your headAs intellectual property comprises copyright, trademark, design, patent, and confidentiality it means that the actions necessary to turn an idea into reality will differ depending on the type of IP that idea would generate once it’s implementedProtection of IP can be costly as specialist lawyers are expensive. So the cost and difficulty in enforcing IP rights can be a real burden on SMEs that would prefer to focus on growth-related opportunities and scaling their business at the lowest cost possibleif you choose a brand name sometimes, you should learn how to legal checks of the trade mark registers yourself in order to select an appropriate trademarkIntangible assets cannot be measured unless they are managed. Focusing on intangible assets is the way to preserve the investment a business makes in its brand, creative efforts, designs and technologyGet Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

In this episode I discuss mindset with Croz Crossley who explains how to improve their mindset in life and business.I've been a serial entrepreneur all my life. And I, I had a rather large security company, which did personal bodyguard work, it did crowd control, it did work at the Parliament House for securityYou can't skip the steps. Wherever you are in business. That's where you need to be to learn all about that step before you move to the next stepHow powerful mindset is, you know, the ability to set a goal, the ability to make where you are, where you want to be and the ability to forget the past because I was dragging what happened with me with the security business round as a reason to explain why things were going wrong nowIt was amazing. what started happening, you know, it was just such a comforting thing to sort of all of a sudden realize that yes, I was in controlWhen you're stressed, you're never presentYou're sitting there and you're not in your head in the web, you're not listening, you're not paying attention, it's because your mind is trying to solve another problem at the road or what's, you know, it's all over the place, it's not presentOnce you align everything, it all amazing things start happening, because you see opportunities are always presentYou can't read a book and get this information you can but you need that interaction with someone that can say, No, no, no, no, I'm not gonna do it. If you do it like this. Oh, that's the reason that happenedEveryone says it doesn't work. But they don't apply it correctly. And there is a set process to do it. And the first thing is, is having that faith and belief in yourself and being relaxed. And then once you tune in if you've obviously heard of the reticular activating systemEverything starts with a thought every single thing starts with a thought. Right? And there's lots and lots of different bits. But basically, the science of success is to have a clear mental image of where you're goingWhat you do is you create a vision of what you think you can get, not when you really want is two different thingsGet Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

Topics Discussed in this Episode:Why it’s not enough to simply register a trade markWhy it’s important to take great care of trade marksWhy failing to address IP can result in lost opportunitiesWhat to do when you discover gaps in your trade mark protectionKey Takeaways:It is surprisingly easy to overlook the importance of IP in the early stages of the creative process. Some people believe that tasks like choosing a business name for a new product or service do not involve legal considerations, that they can pick any name, do a check on Google, and if nothing untoward is found, proceed to use the name.It’s actually trade marks that govern ownership rights in names, so it’s essential to search the trade mark registers. A Google search is not enough. Not everything you need to know about a name shows up on Google. People risk losing everything overnight when they use names that don’t take account of registered trade marks of others.Online searching has its place but it’s no substitute for information focused on transforming ideas into reality. While there’s a wealth of information on the web, a crucial issue when it comes to intellectual property advice online is that much of what you find is generic, sometimes outdated, inaccurate, conflicting, and may vary depending on where you’re based.Action Steps:If you’re an inventor, writer, coach, marketer, creative or entrepreneur, you need to know how to identify the various IP rights you’ll be creating as you turn ideas into reality. Some basic tools at your fingertips will help you take initial steps to protect IP like doing due diligence.When you have new ideas to implement, you’ll need to know the right actions to take, the right processes to use to protect IP that’s being created.If you discover gaps in your trade mark protection, find out how to address them with the help of education and DIY. And consult a lawyer if you have remaining questions.Shireen said:“The internet has revolutionised the way we look for information, entertainment, and even relationships… So it’s increasingly common for businesses to look for legal advice online, too.”“If you don’t know what you don’t know, how can you search for it or know whether you’ve found out everything you need to know? ...You need to learn to do things properly if you’re going to do your own trademark registration.”Thank you for listening!If you have any questions, connect with me on your preferred social media platform. I’d love to help! And if you’ve learned from this series of podcasts, do consider leaving a review.Get Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

The jewel in the crown of the Pheiff Group, Inc., a million-dollar coach, business strategist, committed advocate for transforming the human spirit through the power of creativity shares insights into how to transform your life and businessConnie Pheiff Explains:I have four former corporate executives. I've had this business 13 Actually, I was thinking about a time almost 14 years. I had no I mean, there was no original intention of becoming an entrepreneur and having my own business. But you know, I always say I was groomed for corporate. And I made my way to the CEO position.I have a voice as a professional speaker. So I started the agency because I have a very strong background in business, and much, much better than being a speakerBeing in corporate is so much different than having your own business. I thought, you know, this was my ego. And I thought, well, people know me, I was CEO and I'm going to set up shop and people are just going to call me. Well, it didn't happen that way. People weren't calling. And so the biggest challenge for me was learning the right technology platform, learning the best way to connect with my true audience and getting very clear on the audience that I was going to be working with and helping That was a challengethe leader owns that culture of the organization. So how do they bring it in throughout and really help their people truly, do what they do bestThe true definition of a leader is really finding, you know, where your people are, where they excel, what their needs are, and then when you understand that, and, you know, execute on itThis showcase hit phenomenal numbers because it is very different. Where we bring the speakers into a professional theatre, to showcase them, and we stream it out live around the globe to event planners, so we want to get them in front of and we crashed the system, we had over 800,000 people trying to register in a very short time, and it totally took them our systemIt's all about your personal brand. And our signature line are one of our brands is you are the brandEverything you talk about is branding, and the individual brandEverything that I've done over the last almost 14 years, I've put it into a video course. And some other experts, too, that I work with, they're in there as wellSo the process is when they first come to us, it's typically by referral. Or perhaps somebody that I might reach out to or my podcast, so I do have a sizable podcast myself, and congratulations to you called the Connie five showSo we have very high standards. So in our timeline, you have to respond to that within two days. And then once you respond to that, the team and I get together, look at it, within three days time, we get back to whether you're going to come on or not. And typically, by the time you get the application, I've already had a discovery call with you. And I already have a sense of whether or not you know, we want to be working with you Once the coaching and mentoring is done, then we could say, they've graduated, and now they're on the label. And then once they're on the label, we also have some strategic partnerships with other groups out there, such as E speakers, they're an international database for speakers and entertainers. So our folks get listed on thereCRAZY ONES™ - https://www.conniepheiff.com/crazy-ones Get Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

Ruth King, known as the profitability Master, explains how she helps companies become and remain profitable.In this episode she explains:My background is actually engineering and finance. And when I was in MBA school, I found that I really had a knack for numbers. And that's where helping the small businesses become profitable and build wealth actually came fromMy rule has become even if you're profitable, no more than 80% or no more than 20% of your customers in one industry, or not have any single customer to have more than 20% of your revenues.Essentially, we look at their p&l on their balance sheet, and we figure out where they want to go. And number one, we have to make sure that they are profitable and that they're generating enough profits that they are comfortable with at the present time.If your employees are not productive, and your customers are not profitable, you don't need them.You measure it by what's called net profit per hour and overhead costs per hour. Net profit per hour is for every billable or every revenue producing hour of your that your employees produce their products, how much profit actually drops to the bottom line. So if you start tracking time, and you start tracking what they're doing, amazingly, things happen to increase profitability, it just that what everybody's watchingI do individual consulting, which is the one to one, and then the one to many can be done in many different ways. I've got many videos up which talk about different parts. I write to turn on the light bulb and people so that they get it? My goal in life is that people understand how to get and stay profitable and understand their p&l and balance sheets.I'm known now as profitability master. There are many of my clients are known for different things, some are known for taking care of exceptional service in the mind of the customer. And your brand has to somebody thinks of you, they have to thinkRuth has a website, Profitability Revolution with hundreds of videos which anyone who buys one of her books, such as the Courage to be Profitable would automatically get access to.profitabilityrevolution.com Get Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

What’s the best way to protect an idea? How do you make sure that your app idea is secure when you’re trying to find the right developer to create it? In this episode, we talk about all the ways you can protect your idea in the early stages of development.Topics discussed:What you can do to protect your idea during the initial stage of development.Things to remember when choosing the right developer.The importance of having an agreement with the developers that protects you.Ways you can protect your app after it’s developed. Key Takeaways:Confidentiality is the only way to protect a mere idea. It’s easy to get excited about a new idea and want to share it with others. Keep the idea for your app confidential when discussing it with people and developers. When interviewing a number of developers to find the best one to work on your project, you should have a different idea to discuss with them so you won’t be hampered with needing a non-disclosure agreement to protect your main idea. It’s up to you to make sure that the agreement with the developer protects you. If there is no agreement between you and the developer then the law automatically gives the developer the copyright in the app because they created it.Action Steps:Develop the habit of being selective about who you reveal your ideas to. Do not discuss your idea with developers right away. Do thorough research on the developers you’re interviewing and make sure you read through their terms of business and legal agreements. Key things to look out for include: Their past experience, client references and testimonials, and how they charge.Make sure that you secure copyright from the developer in writing before you commit to engaging in their services. Otherwise, you will not own the copyright in the app.Shireen said:“Confidentiality is the only way to protect a mere idea at this stage. If you have an idea for an app, chances are the first thing you’ll want to do is to find someone to develop it for you. I’d advise against discussing the idea with any developers though.”“Every idea will involve different intellectual property considerations. Some will highlight design protection, you know others may involve a patent protection and yet others will involve copyright. All concepts provide an opportunity to develop a brand.”Thank you for listening!Get Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

She is all about that joy in marketing, business, and life. She is a sought after expert in the world of content marketing and strategy, Shannon is known globally as the creator of the Content Personality™ Wheel. She explained:So I am a marketing strategist. But not any old marketing strategist. I chose a long time ago to brand myself as the joyful marketing strategist.I've been doing that for about seven years prior to that I was a New York City public school teacher. And I was teaching in inner-city Harlem, eighth grade. So they kept me on my toes taught me how to tell good stories I just kept building on my strengths, which are teaching training, inspiring and like breaking down marketing into simple concepts that people get. And that's pretty much what I did in the classroom all day long.That is where I started, I hired a coach, I hired a virtual assistant, I hired a website designer to do my branding, before I had any clients. And to this day, I know that mindset is what has helped me have this business that I have nowI have interior designers, in my programs, I have health coaches, I have business coaches, I have spiritual coaches, I have executive coaches and career coaches, and I have consultants that consult people on colour theory and it like you name it, what attracted them was the message of, if it ain't joyful, we do in that shit. And I think it speaks to just wit if you would think about your journey, like as, as a business owner, and in the online space, as we heard for years, and you've probably been doing this a lot longer than I haveI actually realized about 20 months ago, I was an introvert, operating as an extrovert. And I could not figure out why I kept crashing, it was a cycle of lots of excitement, like push energy, if you will, not pushing you out of alignment, but just lots of people, lots of excitement, I did lots of events, you know, when we could hold events, I did these things, and then I and it would be great. I have a lot of people who come to me because last year I actually started talking about the transition from extrovert to introvert. And there are so many ways introverts can stay in their joy can stay in their power and market their business without crashing and you don't have to be visible, right?I built my business one to one initially, then I kept out, I continue to cap out, it doesn't matter how much I charge, they just pay one on one.In the confident Expert program, the outcome is we're gonna work on their messaging, which is always the basis of marketing, right? So we help them with their messaging, we help them find marketing that's joyful for them. And that's through the content personality quiz.

What is the important first step to protecting your idea for an app? What do you need to do before turning to investors for funding? What are some of the factors that will determine your success? Today’s episode highlights all these and more.Topics discussed:How copyright works to protect an appThe limitations of copyright protectionThe importance of first protecting your idea before turning to investors for fundingHow to deal with investors and raise investmentFactors that affect your chances of successKey Takeaways:The default rules of copyright mean that the creator of the app will be the owner of the copyright in it rather than the person who pays for the development work.A good development agreement should clearly specify what is to be developed, the phases of the development, the payment plan, and how to resolve any disputes that may arise.Copyright protects the expression of an idea and not the idea itself. This means that if someone sees your app and decides they can do better than you, they can also develop the same idea.Action Steps:Before you select the right app developer, make sure that they will be happy to give you a copyright of the end product. Reflect this agreement in writing and also have a good development agreement in place.Don’t agree to terms that only give you copyright when the project is concluded and you’ve paid for it.Be mindful about the limitations of copyright protection.Whatever you do, don’t make the fundamental mistake of asking an investor to sign a nondisclosure agreement or confidentiality agreement to hear about your app idea. You need to have taken all the necessary steps to protect your idea before you turn to investors.Focus on developing key qualities such as abilities to lead a team, which is essential for success in business. Reinvent yourself or find the right team to work with.Shireen said:“When you have an idea for a new app, bear in mind that innovation alone is no guarantee of success. You need to do thorough research, set your marketing strategy, and really consider how best to develop the app to meet a market need so you can really get going fast with it.”“Obtaining financing isn’t necessarily about the technical feasibility or the originality of the idea itself. Sometimes it can be more about you as a person and whether you’re aware of the qualities and skill sets needed to convince the right people to support you.”Thank you for listening!Get Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

CEO and Mama bird of the award-winning creative and digital content agency, Little Bird Marketing explains strategies that you need to implement as a business owner and as an owner of a marketing agency.She said:What I do right now is I manage a team of digital content and visual experts. And we create systems for predictable lead generation for companiesRight now I own and operate four different companiesI got started really helping people do some of that scrappy bootstrapping stuff with what was new, let's really look at, at his social media, and let's look at some guerrilla, marketing campaigns, let's put some dots together, that other people haven't done, let's not just mimic our competitor. I think that environment, where everybody was telling me I couldn't do it was interesting, it was an interesting challenge for meThe main IP that we created is a system called soar. And it is a content marketing system that is specifically designed to bring you inbound lead gen. And it is the so AR is an acronym, gotta have one of those. Yeah. But it is strategic, organized, accountable, and repeatable. And this is what I find is so big about advertising, marketing content, whatever you want to call it, I don't care what you do so much as you have to have a systemI work from clients all the way from 2 million to 50 million. And you'd be surprised who in the middle there does not have a strategy. And some of them have actually done persona work. But honestly, the reality is, it's in the drawer or, or nobody knows where it isLet's just say your average company there who's like, Hey, we're finally going to hire one person who's in charge of marketing. Well, that person in marketing many times comes to them and says, What do you want me to do? I'm happy to do it. They're very excited. They love marketing, and they want to do something, but they don't come to the table with the strategy with the system, and know how to actually direct the company so they can execute, but they're not quite sure what they're executing. We have a blend, that's, that's painting and all the one side, we have a blend of people, but when you hire one person, you're getting one skill, when you outsource that for the exact same price, you would pay one person and you get the strategy, you get, the whole, everything from us of, award winning designers, we have, social media expertsFor the majority of content out there, it's evergreen, we know what we're going to be putting out six or eight months from now. And those things are already scheduled. They're already hashtag, they're already researched, they already have keywords involved. And we know where the call to action is, we know how we're trying to bring the ideal client through the buyers journeyWe need to understand where they are before we can set some goals and have an actual recalibration of what they're doing. And so we don't come in and say, you know, we'll do this and it'll bring this many leads, if you don't, I feel like that kind of stuff is, you know, just, first of all, a diamond doesn't on the internet. And also it really doesn't understand the nuance of businessI don't want to work forever. I do some other consulting, I teach people how to be cut. And I teach, like wholesale teams, how to become influencers on LinkedIn, and Twitter. And that's something that I can take and consult.Thank you for listening!Get Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

It’s when a brand is successful that it pays off to have built and protected the brand elements of its identity carefully in the early days, so, think about the legal dimension of your branding once you’re serious about your business because it can potentially comprise 70% of the value of your business.When looking for the purpose behind a business find one that’s capable of inspiring the team and customers too. Your “why” should be a belief that galvanises you into making long-lasting positive changes that drive growth and innovation.Given that intellectual property is part and parcel of business, a narrow perspective that purely considers intellectual property doesn’t serve many of the small businesses I often help You see a problem I notice is that some web developers, designers, marketers who help small businesses with their identity work, don’t themselves understand IP. So they tend to not take a holistic approach and often neglect the legal dimension meaning that what is arguably the single most important decision a business makes gets side lined.Intellectual property is just a means to an end. It’s rarely the end itself. So, when businesses are creating a brand, choosing a name, having a logo developed and devising their brand identity or promotion campaigns, that’s when they also need to find out about intellectual property. IP is simply part of the exercise.When you have an offering or a way of doing business that is unique to you it becomes much easier to succeed as a business.You should formulate your strategy for how to stand out from competitors. Then execute on your plans.Differentiation effectively involves working out what messages to communicate to consumers so they know that buying from you will give them a specific benefit. This benefit must be powerful enough to influence a buyer to choose your business over all the other available options.Whether you get help to work out your differentiating strategy or deal with all your own “branding”, even design your own logo, I can’t stress how important it is that you take ownership of the differentiation strategy. You know your industry and service offerings better than anyone.Common problems with brand identities do tend to centre around names, logos or taglines. For example, a commonplace logo may be an image of a bunch of flowers for a florist.Descriptive elements might work from a marketing perspective but they don’t serve you from a legal perspective. If they are purely descriptive of the products or services you sell then names, and taglines will be incapable of protecting your market share.Get Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

In this episode, Monika explains how small and midsize companies can create relevant content, get it in front of their target markets, and reach their business goals I've always worked in marketing. And in my career, until I decided to start my own agency and kind of, you know, found my niche and content marketing.While finding clients and not just I learned quickly that it wasn't just about getting clients, but getting the right clients, for me that we're a good fit. And this is something that I preach all the time now, and I'm actually very, very intentional about. I know exactly who my ideal client is, you know, high, high maintenance, clients that take a lot of time and a lot of brainpower and a lot of energy who just feels like they're sapping you. They require more work than an ideal client who is thrilled to work with you, who's easy and pays on time. So my ideal clients, actually, it's kind of it's broad and specific at the same time. So my ideal clients, or anyone, doesn't matter. We're industry agnostic. Doesn't matter. The industry doesn't matter the size of the company. Our clients believe in marketing. They want to invest in marketing and they want to work with experts. Who will be able to deliver and help them meet their business goals?So there's two actually, our ideal clients can be segmented into business owners, and marketing professionals. So a VP of Marketing a director of marketing within a larger organization, the business owner doesn't have the expertise or the time, and frankly, doesn't want to do marketing and just wants to hand it off to someone else. It's like hiring an accountant or hiring a bookkeeper or hiring an attorney to handle those areas of the business, that's their area of expertise, let them handle it. So you can focus on you know, what you do best, which is servicing your own clientsIt can be hard to track, you know, the impact of an email campaign or social media campaign, or, you know, creating thought leadership articles and getting them out on LinkedIn or, you know, other platforms, right, like, what what is the path? What is the journey that someone takes, you know, from the initial, the initial contact, you know, with a brand through to purchase. So, yeah, again, that can be really hard to track. And it's something that drives all marketers crazy, including me. So let's say you're putting out some great content, you know, you're active on your blog, you send a monthly newsletter, to your client list and prospective clients, people have signed up to hear from you. You're putting stuff out on social on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, you know, whatever channel you use. So you're sending out these messages? Well, what you want to do is get people back to your website to learn more about you maybe get them into some sort of a marketing funnel, get them to download something valuable, when they're on your website, you really need to make a huge impact and a great, great, great impression that yes, you are, you are the expert in this area, you are the person to work with. Let's start building trust, let's start building a relationship. And if your website doesn't accurately reflect who you are, and what you do, and why you're so amazing, you're not going, to see the kind of lead generation and honestly create the brand reputation that you want your website for an especially now, you know, during the pandemic, when we're more online than we used to be, your website is really your home base. Get Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV http://www.jansencomm.com/

For names and slogans, you need to turn to trademark law for guidance. While for other works, such as those outlined at the start of this piece as examples of copyright works, generally, all you need to do to own your work is to record it in some wayCopyright is a wide-ranging subject, and relevant to many creative and non-creative industries. Copyright protects original expression, but not ideas themselves. So, if someone were to suggest an idea to you to execute, such as an unusual looking picture of a bird, or gave you an idea for a plot, you as the creator would own copyright in the picture or plot you produce,and the person who gave you the idea will have no rights to any share of it. People wonder whether copyright prevents them from using particular words for their product or business. Even newspapers and popular online publications make the basic mistake sometimes of reporting names as being copyrightable. In fact, names are not protected by the law of copyright. It is trademarks that protect names.Some famous examples of slogans which are also protected by trademarks are Nike’s Just Do It, and L’Oreal’s Because you’re worth it.What does this mean for you? Well, for names and slogans you need to turn to trademark law for guidance. While for other works, such as those outlined at the start of this piece as examples of copyright works, generally, all you need to do to own your work is to record it in some way (for example by writing it down, taking a photograph, or getting it on tape). Get Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

In today's episode, my guest is Brant Cooper, who explains all about the skills every entrepreneur needs to have, and how these skills can help to achieve success. In this podcast he said:So I have a background in startups and I lived through the.com boom and bust-up in the San Francisco area and ended up writing several books on Lean Startup type principles, and leading to the Lean Entrepreneur. And so then we launched Moves The Needle to take that to very large organizations that don't tend to be very entrepreneurial.In today's day and age, this digital revolution that we're going through, what we find is there's uncertainty all across the organization. And so everybody needs entrepreneurial skills, they don't all apply them to the same degree.The entrepreneurial skills are ones whenever you face uncertainty, you have to be in learning mode instead of just execution mode. And so that's sort of what we teach is this entrepreneurial spirit that you, you use when you're when you need to learn instead of just, you know, just execute on the existing plan.I think the struggles with the large companies is that they know that they're not customer-centric enough. And they know that they're not agile in the sense they can't take in new information from the world and change what they're doing. And they just move too slowly. And so that's what their challenges were our challenges were really trying to find, how do we change the mindsetWe were lucky to have a really sharp designer, as one of our early co-founders, he ended up dropping out. But he was super talented. And, and so he chose our colours, and he developed the logo, and he just really gave us a solid feel. I think that that was who we were, I think we didn't really go through any of the traditional branding exercises that you hear about it. I was a marketing guy for a while in my startups. And so I've been through that I sort of understand branding, to a certain degree, I'm no expert like yourself, but a lot of that stuff, I feel is not that at least from the, from the brand artifact side, a lot of that stuff is not that important at the beginningStartups don't even know who their customer is. Right? And so if they, it's just sort of one of these things were often young entrepreneurs getting advice from people. The first people they get plugged into are lawyers and marketers. And they can spend a lot of money on both without actually even understanding what their business is yet.There was an entrepreneur I was helping in Madison, and he had this app that you choose an article of clothing, and then you'd hit a shuffle button and it would finish the wardrobe. And I'm all like oh yeah, that's pretty cool. So you know, what's your problem? What, how can I help you? And he said I need 1000 customers? And I said, Well, how many do you have? And he said, zero. And I said you don't need 1000 you need one? Go find one person who's willing to push that shuffle button, you know, go out, go out into the streets and see if you can interest anybody. And so I think, yeah, so that's how I think about, you know, going out and discovering customers, we love creating personas that try to describe who these different market segments might beGet Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV Brant's Twitter: @brantcooper - https://twitter.com/brantcooper?s=20Brant's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brantcooper/Email: brant@brantcooper.com

It's really important that if you find a graphic designer that you like to sit them down and really talk about, what it is that they gravitate towards in terms of style, there's definitely tons of styles of a graphic designer, there are people that say they get you and then they don't get you. It's worth having that conversation, what might have worked for somebody else might not work for you In this episode Catherine explained: My background essentially started as being a graphic designer myself, I did that for about 15 years and then flipped between being a freelancer and working for corporations. And then eventually I started my own business where now I find people for different organizations, be it large or small, that are in need of advertising marketing people. I think it's really important that if you find a graphic designer that you like to sit them down and really talk about, what it is that they gravitate towards, there's definitely tons of styles of graphic design, there are people that, as they say, get you and they don't get you. So it's worth having that conversation, what might have worked for somebody else might not work for you. So, for example, if you're trying to sell like a new sort of motor oil, for example, it might not be the same graphic designer that works in the beauty industry or something like that. Granted, designers have a huge scope of tastes and range, but look at their work, see what they've done in the past. Talk about how they might approach your brand. And be really particular because I mean, your brand is everything. And if it's off the mark, then people aren't going to understand what it is you're trying to sell.I think you should start with, why your company exists. I think everybody starts for a reason. Sometimes it's, maybe you lost your job, and you thought now is the time to, take what you know really well and create it into a company include that. And then, why the company exists, what the mission is, and what your values are, what are you trying to deliver to the customer, that's really important. And it could be anything as far as you know, a quality product, explain what that means. It's maybe something that's healing, something that makes people feel better, include all of that in there. It's sometimes just worth to almost sit in as a therapy session with a designer and talk about what you're trying to do, and have them put the words together, have them put the design together. And the level that we're talking about for this, too, is fairly high up, it's somebody who has a fair amount of experience, you're not going to want somebody necessarily junior to do this. And it's worth the investment. I think when you're starting with a person, keep everything in like a sketch sort of form getting started with like, just thumbnail ideas, some quick sketches, just say I want you to put together some things that are really loose before really, really investing a lot of time in it. I think that is hugely important too, because somebody might just come back to you with a completely finished piece. Again, putting a lot of time and, and hours into it. And you don't like it. So start from the beginning as keeping it just really just almost, I would consider like a conversational sort of drawing.Get Access to The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Branding or Rebranding eBook - https://bit.ly/2VuUmsV

Some of the common pains when hiring someone to do design work is that you don't know what their process is going to involve until you begin working with them, and then you realize that there are certain points that you should’ve covered. In this episode my guest speaks about how his frustrations with hiring designers, led him to create a platform that made this process a lot easier. My guest Ross Kimbarovsky explained:I started my career as a lawyer, I was a trial lawyer for 13 years. And in 2006, I was in charge of redesigning and I was working in a mid sized law firm, redoing my firm's website. And so I was very intimately familiar with web design at the time, I actually hand coded one of the first legal websites when I started practicing law in 95. But I went through this typical process of putting together the requirements and interviewing freelancers and agencies and picking the one that we thought was the best and then waiting a few months for them to bring their designs and the work that they did. And I hated all of it. And in my frustration, I went home and said, this got to be a better way for people to buy design services. And I stumbled on really, really creative and talented people across the world who were fun playing around with design. And so I asked myself the question, why do we go to people who went to design school who worked at it for 20 years, when at the end of the day, what we're buying is something visual, And so that turned into Crowdspring.Like a lot of entrepreneurs who tried to solve their own problem. We said, Why do we constantly fight this friction? Exactly. As you said it You wait, you don't know what's involved. And so we built the marketplace to do the opposite. you post your requirements we take you through a q&a A question and answer session where we put together your creative brief. And rather than looking at bids and proposals on people's profiles, people do the actual work. I'll give you an example.Like every two sided marketplace, this is a challenge for businesses whenever they think about marketplaces, because marketplaces have two audiences. You have an audience of buyers and you have an audience of sellers and you never really know which audience will be tough to build or both. It'll be very tough to build. Most marketplaces have a natural organic path to growth, if you can focus on one audience. Some marketplaces don't. I'm sure you've had lots of guests that talked about, the concept and startups a minimum viable product. And I'm not a big fan of this concept of minimum viable product, I'm a fan of the minimum sellable product, which is building something that somebody else is willing to pay for. That's the for me has always been the driver. So people started paying for it. And we started building a nice marketplace.We asked both sides to what degree is intellectual property important. This is hundreds of businesses, hundreds of freelancers. And then to what degree do you protect it? shockingly, both sides. 100% have responded hundreds of people said intellectual property is very important to your point. But very few of them actually did something to protect it. And the reason was, because it was too expensive for some of these transactions. So if they were hiring an agency and spending $100,000, then they would go to an attorney and say I need to protect this with Intellectual Property agreement. If they were hiring a freelancer for 1500$. They felt really awkward because they didn't want to pay another 1000 or 1500$ to work with an attorney to protect it.

Having seen the problems that arise when the interplay between brand and intellectual property is misunderstood. I want to cross the chasm that actually exists between the worlds of branding and brand protection to explain IP in the context of brand creation.Even if somebody isn't going to be choosing names for their clients, they would benefit from understanding the legal aspects of naming to be able to guide their clientsThe fact is that IP is intrinsic to business. It's not just a legal subject to be left to the lawyers. It's naive to assume that your designer or marketer knows all the key information they need to know about IP to advise you. At the moment, service providers have to pick up the knowledge they need as they go. As IP tends to be quite nuanced. It happens all too often that it's misunderstood. It's one topic where a little knowledge is quite a dangerous thing. My aim with the book is to give a holistic view of how to bring the worlds of brand creation and brand protection together, so you can get the best outcome from branding. The book isn't aiming to tell you how to design and create your brand. If that's your end goal, in terms of having a DIY type book, then reading my book on branding would be advisable to do fast because it gives you the roadmap to understand what's involved to create a brand and build it, it gives you the full picture about all the decisions that you are going to need to make along the way. You have to be guided by the law in what you create, you need to also understand what the law has to say about these rights, and how to secure your ownership. Just as when you see a plot of land that you want to buy, you would first buy it and then build on it. So with IP, you should do some checks to establish whether you can have your desired name or symbol. And if so, first, kind of buy the rights to the name. That is by registering a trademark before building your brand or creating logos around that name. Now in countries like the UK and EU, it's more important to do the checks to assess the risks before applying to register a trademark. That's because it's possible to register exactly the same name as someone else has already trademarked. You're then vulnerable to having your trademark cancelled. I see many problems people face through not knowing how to combine brand creation with brand protection thinking they can get really stuck not knowing how to move forward with their plans. So say for example, you want to launch a website or course on a podcast. For example, should you use your own name for the website and if so, why? The general advice out there is to build your personal brand, but you may not have one yet and may wonder whether it would be better to use your business name, or should you use a descriptive keyword rich domain name, you then come up against the other issues, what top level domains to use if the.com isn't available, or is too expensive to buy? If it's available at a price should you spend the money to secure it, and sometimes people even intend to use different domain names several different domain names. The answers to questions that you're not even aware you need to ask, although more and more people are running their own businesses nowadays, according to the statistics from the UK Government, most SMEs do not last longer than 10 years. Judging by the cases, I see some of them fail because they had made a key IP mistake, or there are just too many that you could make in terms of mistakes. So knowing which ones to avoid can be quite difficult for people, I can't just say Oh, avoid x, y, Zed, and then you're done. So I'm keen to impact those figures with this book. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter: www.brandtuned.com/newsletter

Chandresh Pala is the founder of Cohezia Venture Studio, which specializes in creating innovative, scalable ventures based on digital technologies. He has over 20 years of experience, including working with leading consultancies and corporates such as UBM, British Gas and more.  He explains all about business models, developing business importance of names and the whole story around brands In this episode Chandresh explained:I currently am the founder of Cohezia Venture Studio. We are a venture studio, which basically creates new startups. We also help them grow. So we also help them to scale as well. So currently, we have a portfolio of ventures in the FinTech event tech, augmented reality, virtual reality, and venture capital areas, amongst other things.One of the things I kind of call myself is the fusion entrepreneur because I'm always looking for ways to combine things. the interrelationship between all kinds of things, which look as though they're separate. So names are really difficult to choose, and actually, finding .com, or not necessarily finding, a good domain that reflects your name is quite a challenge, especially nowadays. It is difficult choosing names, but I think it's worth spending some time on it. I wouldn't necessarily say that you should be too worried about getting it exactly right. One of the things that I really talk about when we're considering brands is, is that the name is that first interface, but then after that, it's more about brand experience, I think that's really the most important thing. So the name gets you in front of somebody and gets the attention. But after that, it's really the brand experience.I think our brand is about, really a promise, and it's about creating a perception. And it's about a residue that's left in a person's mind. Now, that is more than just the name, it's really the sum of all the association interactions that a person has, not just with the name or the website, but everything, the service that they receive the product all of those.  So, it's really trying to help people understand that, a brand is more than just a nice logo, it's really your interaction and your team's interaction with the client, it's how the customer uses the products, what they feel about it.The future is about brands, in which people will choose brands that are aligned with their values, their identity and their purpose. So when we talk about brands, actually brands are things that people choose to really connect with their form of identity. So whatever a person feels is their identity, if you look at the brands that they're choosing, there's actually a very good correlation, they're choosing those brands, because they're reinforcing that person's identity. How are you going to create products and sell them to make money? So it's a very simple concept, which, strangely enough, still, people don't really seem to understand, they think, Oh, well, there's a product and that's it. But actually, it's about how you're going to create, how you're going to deliver it, and how are you going to, you know, create, value and make money from it. And there's a lot of misunderstanding in terms of people, really, not understanding the different components of a business model. And there are various tools out there that people can use. There's something called the business model canvas.That whole first stage of a business is exploration and learning. That's really the whole mindset that anyone that has starting a business or starting a new product needs to be in, it's all about creating, a value proposition, defining that, but then going out and validating it's going out and exploring,  understanding what those assumptions are defining them, and then really going out and trying to validate those assumptions. And the best way of doing that is is by, going out and talking to potential customers

Mark Ritson answered some of the burning questions, specifically around understanding your market and establishing your brand strategy, the U and the E elements of my tuned framework. I asked him about business strategy positioning and brand strategy, what he thinks of Byron Sharps views on differentiation and distinctiveness, whether you can really own a particular attribute and how his brand strategy dealt with in the type of company Mark consults with and I also wanted to know Mark's views on brand purpose. I think you'll enjoy this episode. In this episode Mark explained:It makes a lot of sense to talk to lawyers now and spend a bit of money on them because you know putting it in brand managers terms there's nothing worse than investing two years and 5 million quid and a significant amount of company resources into building brand equity on it to discover that the name that you've created is no longer tenable because you didn't check so you know I think that's absolutely your advice is correct for rebrands and also product naming I would not have lawyers anywhere near the rest of the branding process for reasons you may or may not want to go into but in this one area I totally agreeIt's very rare there are exceptions again where marketing or customers or anything above a basic net promoter score would ever feature in the decision making of the company they're interested in the product they're interested in sales profit and then ultimately in share price and I know it sounds funny but I mean this and I'm not speaking from a place of ignorance the thing about most boards is this they're dumb enough to not follow the money all the way to its origin so they follow it to sales they follow it from the product they follow it to profit they just don't go back all the way to the customer itself and how the customer thinks and feels and I can't explain that but I can tell you that that's an absolute reality of not every you know large boardroom but mostI wouldn't separate brand or marketing strategy, the difference between the two is purely based on organizational structure.  And one of the great lessons of brand and all marketing planning is you do it 12 months at a time, you know, the beat of any organization's financial year, quarterly, and you plan in 12 months increments. Volvo had a relative significant strength in terms of perceptions of safety, but there were other automotive brands, if you control the size, etc, that also had goods that you know, it wasn't as if if we had a five-point Likert scale, Volvo was a five or a 4.6 from the market and every other brand was you know, 2.3 in the data never looks like that. In one of the 100 cases, your purpose is really your position in the marketplace? In the other 99 cases, it's total hogwash. And it's the wet dream of brand managers who are ashamed to sell things, and don't really like going to dinner parties in North London and admitting that they sell coffee or beer, or God forbid, petroleum. So they invent something that makes them sound betterI think one of the great lessons is to is absolutely to bed in your name and bed in your strap line and not to mess around with them I think there's some you know I think there's a terrible tendency of marketers to change and alter and update these things when in reality the customer hardly notices so I would absolutely say we are guilty in the marketing of changing things too often on a whim when in reality we should maintain themMini MBA in Brand Management by Mark Ritson - https://mba.marketingweek.com/brand-management/ Brand Tuned Newsletter sign up - https://www.brandtuned.com/

In this episode, John Williams discusses Product/Market Fit covering the U element of my TUNED framework, namely understanding your market.  He explains the importance of starting any new idea by getting the product market fit right. This is a phrase from the tech startup world whereby you have an idea of a thing which you think people are going to like. Before you create it and put it out into the world you have some sales conversations, so you can listen carefully and learn to what customers want. Do they sound and look excited by the idea of your product or service or package?  The insights you glean from talking to potential customers means you avoid creating it, putting it out to the world with great excitement and fanfare, only to discover people don't really care. At the beginning go and talk to at least 10 people who you think are in your target market, and approach them with a particular statement or particular positioning around itAsk what one thing you'd need included in this product to make it really a great choice for you? And then just ask people to reply to you personally, I've seen people who are CEOs of, of decent sized startups do this every so often. And they'll read every single response and reply  to every single one.What you want to do is ask questions about them. So you're trying to work out things like the pain they have right now, what is the frustration they have in this area you're helping with that making them look for solutions.The more people you can get, the better I think go for an absolute minimum of 10. People are shocked how much they learn in the first contact of like five minutes with an actual customerUnless you've got something on your website, which is an offer people want to buy, there's no point having a million people come to your website, because they'll just bounce off it and go away and never come back.John's book website is fworkletsplay.com and his main website is theideaslab.org.Here is a link to join his FREE Facebook group F**k Work Let's Play - create a business you love with John Williams.Brand Tuned's Newsletter 

This episode primarily focuses on the U element of the TUNED framework, namely the importance of understanding your market depending on the context. Bryony Thomas shares insights on how the approach to marketing changes if you have an exit in mind. Find out how you might develop an appropriate plan based on the information she shares.Bryony explains the strategies you can implement when preparing to exit your business or if you are planning for a 5 to 10-year business exit. In this episode we cover:Difference between marketing for organic sales results and marketing for increasing a sales price when exiting a businessHow to prepare and tactics you can apply when you are planning an exit strategy for your businessDuration and process of a business exit with situational examplesWhy a marketing system should be an asset of a business when planning to exitWhat is a key part of an exit strategyWhat is Watertight Marketing methodology?Bryony's personal definition of marketing and sales-generating marketingTake Bryony's Watertight Marketing Test to see if your marketing underpins healthy sales flow. You can find her on the following social media links & their website.Twitter - @bryonythomasInstagram - @bryonywatertightmkgLinkedIn - Watertight Marketingwatertightmarketing.comStay updated on insights on branding, and brand management by subscribing to our newsletter. Brand Tuned's Newsletter  

In this episode, Phil Barden, author of the book Decoded - the science behind why we buy,  discusses brand strategy, goals, people’s buying behaviour and how best to work with designers to create visual designs to reflect your brand. Phil bridged the gap that he identified in traditional research techniques by turning to decision science for insights into people’s buying decision. This episode is invaluable if you're looking to better understand your customers and apply your findings to developing your brand strategy.  Phil talks about goals as a way to better understand people’s behaviour and explains the science behind it. In this episode we cover:Characteristics of any purchase decisionPeople’s buying behaviour, what are the systems that apply when people make a purchaseSituational examples of people’s buying behaviourHow you can properly brief designers about the goals of your brand to deliver the right outputWhat are the sources of goals and it’s three primary drivers?Understanding goals that represent your strategyHow to use your gut reaction to know whether a design is right for your brandSetting up brand strategy and how to consider goals into account You can find Phil Barden on the following social media links & his book website.Twitter - @philbardenLinkedIn - Phil Bardendecoded-book.comAccess the 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Branding or Rebranding eBook when you subscribe to TUNED NEWS.Brand Tuned's Newsletter

In this episode, JP Castlin, formerly CEO at Rouser, an international strategic consultancy firm in Stockholm, discusses the hierarchy of strategies, the ways to approach brand and business strategy and the concept that he formulated called strategy hierarchy.He breaks down the terms on complexity, positioning, differentiation, what you need to consider when formulating your brand strategy — the questions that you should be asking and how you can properly communicate your brand strategy when branding or rebranding. This episode is essential for anyone wanting a better understanding of business and brand strategy to apply in developing a brand. JP talks about understanding the hierarchies of strategies that are relevant to a business and how you can take this into account. In this episode we cover:·       The two kinds of approach to a business strategy·       What is strategy hierarchy?·       The meaning of complexity within the three systems·       How to help businesses to the next level if you are a strategist·       Positioning and what is perceptive positioning·       Separating positioning and differentiation·       Communicating brand strategy when branding or rebranding·       What do you need to consider when setting up a brand strategy.You can find JP Castlin on the following social media link & his website. Twitter - @JPCastlinjpcastlin.com Access the 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Branding or Rebranding eBook when you subscribe to TUNED NEWS.Brand Tuned's Newsletter

In this episode, Daniel Greenberg, a South African attorney and UK solicitor with over 14 years of experience in the field of domain name management and Intellectual Property discusses trademarking, keyword rich names and their relevance, and why he believes that the .com is still the king when it comes to gTLDs and choosing the right domain name.Daniel shared the importance of getting your branding rights from the outset of your business and why choosing a distinctive name is the key to distinguishing yourself from potential competitors.In this episode we cover:Domains — why generic domain names are still sought afterAdding .com to your brand nameWhy .com is still the king in gTLDs Importance of setting up your branding right at the start of your businessChoosing the right domain nameThings you should know about domain website checkersSituational examples of using gTLDs for certain types of businesses and locations

In this episode, Giles Edwards the founder of Gasp, an award-winning, marketing, strategy & communications agency, discusses how to effectively carry out research and how the value of research is vital.He shares the holy trinity of segmentations as part of the brand strategy, his perspective on branding terminologies and insights on brand distinctiveness. This episode is essential for anyone wanting to better understand their market through research as Giles share’s valuable insights around this topic and a platform you can use to conduct research. Giles talks about the value of building an effective strategy to help your brand and business grow.  In this episode we cover:Understanding client needsMarket research — breaking down segmentationHow to conduct research with valuable insightsThe value of research to your businessUnderstanding branding & brand strategyThe holy trinity of segmentationTerminologies on brandingBrand naming — distinctivenessProtecting your brand’s distinctive assetsISOLATED Talks® - Creatively Supporting Mental Healthwww.isolatedtalks.comDon't Be Brave, Be Right - Giles Edwards and Ryan Wallman (a recent/popular talk that Ryan Wallman, Dr Draper, and I gave for The Marketing Meetup)Call To Actionaudioboom.com/channels/4977426gasp.agency/media/call-to-actionGasp (inc Gasp Books & our 2 x #1 Amazon Best Sellers)gasp.agencyDelusions of BrandeurCopywriting is – a glimpse into the dark and inky heart of a copywriter Access the 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Branding or Rebranding eBook when you subscribe to TUNED NEWS.Brand Tuned's Newsletter

In this episode, I talk about differentiation, why and how I differentiate myself from others providing similar skills, and how you can copy my approach to develop a unique angle.  I stand out because I have developed expertise that is more unique by stepping outside the confines of my discipline.  By combining a narrow expertise in intellectual property law, with  marketing and branding. I’ve set myself apart from other IP lawyers, and branding experts, and offer a unique perspective on branding as a result.   I share insights into why formal training is worthwhile, because we need both experience and formal qualifications. The episode includes information on how to learn new skills, drawing from Elon Musk's approach to learning about rocket science and disciplines he has no formal training in.I discuss brand management, what it is, why it is necessary, and my goal to help SMEs to better understand what to focus on when building their brand so they can grow into an enduring brand. In brief the episode covers:Why I believe experience alone is not enough. How Elon Musk learns complex subjects.Why it’s a problem that there are so many unqualified people in marketingWhat brand management actually means and why it matters in practice. How formal training helps fast track learning.Why small businesses effectively act as if a brand is a logo and designs.The problems small businesses face when it comes to building desired associations to their brand.Access the 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Branding or Rebranding eBook when you subscribe to TUNED NEWS.Brand Tuned's Newsletter

In this episode, Derrick Daye, of the Brand Strategy Insider shares among other insights, how founders and startups should create their brand so they end up with more than a logo. He shares what is the emotional connection for brands, the steps you need to take when you want to inject emotional connection into a brand, a brand’s social purpose and why brand essence is the heart and soul of your brand.This episode is essential for anyone wanting to develop their brand as Derrick share’s valuable insights around this topic on building a brand from the inside out.Derrick shares how brands are stepping up to fill the role of fixing the world where your purpose has become a conversation about your future and whether or not your business is going to earn a place in that future. In this episode we cover:Business strategy & brand strategyThe problem of a small business when it comes to branding Creative without strategy is artTips for how to understand customers needsUnderstanding the need for human-centric brandsInjecting emotion into a brand Building your brand with valuesDoes your brand need a social purpose?Brand essence — the heart and soul of your brand Getting the maximum value when approaching a strategistMarketing defined by Jack TroutThe key questions to ask to successfully position your brand LinkedIn - Derrick DayeTwitter - @DerrickDayewww.theblakeproject.comwww.brandingstrategyinsider.comAccess the 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Branding or Rebranding eBook when you subscribe to TUNED NEWS.Brand Tuned's Newsletter

Rand Fishkin, co-founder and CEO of SparkToro has dedicated his professional life to helping people do better marketing. This episode is essential for anyone wanting to create a successful business online as Rand shares insights on what constitutes a good name for an online business and how SEO and other methods help to successfully market your business online. We discuss differentiation in a crowded space and using your creativity to find new ways to do the same thing or do things better and identify gaps. We cover:Keyword-rich namesIn-depth insights on SEOHelpful SEO keyword research toolsRand’s business journey — how he startedWhat SparkToro does and how it can help youWhat constitutes a good name for an online businessHow to brand and differentiate your online business Rand’s interest in blogging and social mediaSocial media — is it worthwhile for small businesses to spend time on?LinkedIn - Rand FishkinTwitter - @randfishsparktoro.comAccess the 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Branding or Rebranding eBook when you subscribe to TUNED NEWS.Brand Tuned's Newsletter

Brad VanAuken of BrandForward, Inc. shares insights on how to rebrand, thinking through the mission, vision, values and positioning choosing the brand identity - namely the brand name, logo, colours and the like.   This episode covers rebranding as Brad shares his process for transforming an organization, its products or services into a strong brand, imbuing it with an identity that gives the business human qualities. In this episode we cover:Growing the brandBrand identity and brand positioningBranding — uniqueness or differentiationUnderstanding the clarity of a brand's missionHow designers can inject emotions into a brandImportance of color in branding Icons — whether to check them before they're createdComponents of brand identity — non-visualHow to communicate or brief a designers when it comes to branding.The single most important issue to focus on for a business to succeed.Access the 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Branding or Rebranding eBook when you subscribe to TUNED NEWS.Brand Tuned's Newsletter

In this episode, I focus on naming hierarchy. Should you adopt a branded house approach or go with a house of brands? This episode is essential if you want to have a deeper understanding before choosing names for your business so you understand the risks and opportunities inherent in the different options. I also discuss when is it appropriate to use a new brand name and the right brand architecture if you want to target different audiences when you're creating a new product subcategory or a different proposition. In brief the episode covers:What is naming hierarchy?Understanding endorsed & sub brandsYour brand name — the primary way buyers will remember youEssential issues to consider when naming your brandWhen is it appropriate to use a new brand name?Difference between branded house and house of brands with different examplesAccess the 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Branding or Rebranding eBook when you subscribe to TUNED NEWS.Brand Tuned's Newsletter

Chris Kneeland is the CEO of the Cult Collective.  He helps brand leaders embrace proven marketing principles that he discovered about becoming cult brands. He shares examples of successful cult brands and why they achieved cult status, and touches on some more recent and controversial points of cult brands. In this episode we look at:What is a cult brand?Steps in creating a cult brandControversial points of a cult brandCan any type of business become a cult brand?How does being cult-like as a brand help a business succeedDifference between cult brands and purpose-driven brandsHow to turn your brand into a cult brand Is your business fit to aspire to be a cult brandPoints about being a good productSetting up a business with a brand purpose — How to get customers to care about your brandLinkedIn - Chris KneelandFIX: The Bookwww.cultideas.comwww.cultgathering.comAccess the 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Branding or Rebranding eBook when you subscribe to TUNED NEWS.Brand Tuned's Newsletter

John Vuong, owner of Local SEO Search Inc shares his insights on local search, and how SEO helps businesses to grow. He outlines the pillars in creating a well-oiled SEO strategy for a website to start ranking for the service offerings it wants to dominate in.John also shares his insights on people's buying behaviour to help better position your SEO efforts when people are ready to convert, the difference between paid ads and SEO and the right search engine platforms to invest in. In this episode we cover:Local SEOThe power SEO for a businessKnowing your ideal customer Starting points for businessesJohn's SEO service.Touchpoints when purchasing a product or serviceThe number of keywords you can target for your websiteGoogle or Bing — What search engine to invest in to build your rankingLinkedIn - John Vuong Twitter - @JohnVuongCANwww.localseosearch.caAccess the 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Branding or Rebranding eBook when you subscribe to TUNED NEWS.Brand Tuned's Newsletter

In this episode, Kevin Urrutia, a serial entrepreneur and the owner of Voy Media, an NYC based digital marketing agency shares his approach for setting up a new business based on his experience of setting up several businesses. He also covers how he finds the right team members to work for him and the importance of training for marketers. This episode includes essential insights on how to use your vision as a founder to inspire your team.  It covers:The approach to take to competitors in your nicheHow to create a brand How to build your brand  to become knownEntrepreneurial lessonsFinding the right team member for your organizationThe importance of inspiring your teamHow a background in computer science helps in marketing.Deciding your positioning.LinkedIn - Kevin UrrutiaTwitter - @danestvoymedia.comAccess the 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Branding or Rebranding eBook when you subscribe to TUNED NEWS.Brand Tuned's Newsletter

Margie Agin is the founder of Centerboard Marketing and author of the book Brand Breakthrough. In this episode, she shares her insights on developing the messaging and positioning for a company, how she does market research and more. We also discuss why brand projects can fail. Among other things we discuss the origin story of a company - how that story can be powerful in explaining why the brand was created. It humanises a company. In this episode we cover:Mergers and  the process of merging two different businesses into one brand Market researchWhy some brand projects fail Standing out from competitorsMessaging and positioning — how to make your positioning stick What can you learn from an origin story a companyLinkedIn - Margie AginTwitter - @mpaginBook - Brand Breakthroughcenterboard-marketing.com   Access the 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Branding or Rebranding eBook when you subscribe to TUNED NEWS.Brand Tuned's Newsletter

In this episode, I talk about distinctiveness and differentiation, which is the subject of some debate in the branding industry. I also cover the important connection between brand value and IP.The role of identifiers is to uniquely identify your brand. This is the essentail purpose of branding and distinctiveness is all about being recognized as the source or origin of your products and services. The way to create a distinctive brand that stands out in an enduring way is to focus on distinctiveness.In brief the episode covers:Distinctiveness v DifferentiationHow to make your brand stand out in an enduring wayBrand codesBrand identifiersChoosing identifiers with legal protectionWhat are the different types of brand identifiers apart from the brand name?The connection between brand value and IPA basic understanding of what is intellectual propertyMost valuable brand identifiers to protectTrademarks — how the law protects names, slogans, symbols, taglines, sounds, and other brand elementsIllustration on how IP impacts brand valueThe fundamental role of intellectual property in brandingValuable Resources:Register to attend the Brand Tuned book launch on 28 September 2021Brand Tuned Accelerator www.brandtuned.com 

Joe Gregory is the co-founder of Rethink Press, a partner publishing company that helps business authors to write and publish their books. He has a background in advertising as a graphic designer and sales copywriter.In this episode, we discuss the many ways intellectual property is relevant for entrepreneurs, designers and marketers. We also talk about how IP should be a fundamental aspect of any designer or marketer's training so they know what they don't know and can point their clients in the right direction to secure rights in their property assets. In brief this episode covers:The definition of property rightsWhat is spin selling methodology?The process of choosing a name for a bookThe problems with intellectual property as being inherently complexThe problems of entrepreneurs when it comes to intellectual propertyCopyright as being universally relevant for every business especially for publishingHow IP should be a fundamental aspect of any designer or marketer in trainingThe most important thing that business owners need to focus on — the nameLinkedIn:  Joe GregoryFacebook:  Joe GregoryWebsite: rethinkpress.com book-builder.com Valuable Resources:Register to attend the Brand Tuned book launch on 28 September 2021Brand Tuned Acceleratorwww.brandtuned.com 

We're celebrating a new milestone as we reach our 100th episode.  Now that we're at the 100th episode rather than looking back on past episodes as is often done on podcasts, we instead want to look forward to the future. That's why we are releasing several podcasts today:A vox pop episode about intellectual propertyAn episode with Somi Arian of Fempeak whose purpose is to raise the socio-economic status of women. Thomas Kostler on creating a meaningful brand Ian Paget of the logogeek podcast on a conversation around logo design processThis episode covers:The story behind the Brand Tuned podcastInsights on the Oatly v Glebe Farm Foods caseWhy considering the IP dimension is important when creating a brandHow to plug the gap in the IP training of marketers and designersValuable Resources:Register to attend the Brand Tuned book launch on 28 September 2021Brand Tuned Acceleratorwww.brandtuned.com 

In this episode, Shireen interviews a series of business owners to produce a Vox Pop about what they did when they first started out to create their brands. How did they deal with the IP side of things? In brief this episode covers:Brand NamingBrand journeyWhat does brand mean?Insights on choosing the right help when turning ideas into a brandProtecting the brand name through intellectual propertyHow to attract the right clients and decide the type of clients to targetAccessing the right help in turning ideas into a business and brandHow does intellectual property interplay with the branding work they're doing for their clientsVox pop guests:David Horne The owner of Add Then Multiply a consulting business that advises entrepreneurs on how to scale up using their face methodologyPaul Griffiths An energetic, forward-thinking business leader who is focused on helping people develop and achieve their potential. The owner of Aspire Active Education Group Ltd. Gareth Bain Founder of Got Legs Digital a growth marketing agency helping small & medium-sized businesses in the UK to acquire engaged customers and grow. Pam Tironi  The managing director and CEO of The Pizza Room and The Coffee Room. Gerri McMahon The founder of The Academy of Light & Soul Discovery Coaching, Gerri is a world class coach who has worked with thousands of people worldwide. Jan Mikulin  The founder of INSIDEout, a training and development company, focussed on fostering collaborative cultures in the creative and professional services industries.Valuable Resources:Register to attend the Brand Tuned book launch on 28 September 2021Brand Tuned Acceleratorwww.brandtuned.com 

Thomas Kolster is the founder of the  Goodvertising Agency, one of the pioneers in shaping brands. In this episode, we discuss his book the Hero Trap, and how companies should be clear about their role when carving a niche in the marketplace and understanding how they can be better than anybody else. He shares his insights on mass marketing, how it affects today's generation of young people and the key issues brands need to do to claim a role in people's lives. In brief this episode covers:What are transformative brands?What a brand is today and what it is going forwardThe connection of social purpose with brandsThe meaningful role of brands in people's livesCommunicating a brand's purpose The approach to differentiating your business and communicating who you areUnderstanding how brands can turn people into the heroes of their own livesMoving a brand from a very transactional relationship to a more transformational relationshipLinkedIn: Thomas KolsterTwitter: @thomaskolsterWebsite: thomaskolster.com Books: Goodvertising: Creative Advertising That Cares and The Hero TrapMentioned brands on this episode: Kind Snacks and District Vision, Red Bull and Who Gives a Crap.Valuable Resources:Register to attend the Brand Tuned book launch on 28 September 2021Brand Tuned Acceleratorwww.brandtuned.com 

Ian Paget, also known as Logo Geek, is a UK based graphic designer located in Manchester, who specialises in logo and brand identity design. He is the founder of Logo Geek, a professional logo design service, design blog, podcast and community. In this episode, I asked Ian about his design process and how he goes about creating logos and other visual assets. He shares his insights on how to ensure a logo can represent a brand.  Among other things the episode covers:How to approach the design of symbolsMeeting clients expectations around what visual creations can do for them.Ian's approach in a naming project for a client.The common reasons why clients decide to improve their logos, and visual identityHow a visual such as a logo represents what someone wants to be aboutProtecting assets such as logos through securing  intellectual property LinkedIn:  Ian PagetTwitter: @ianpagetWebsite: logogeek.ukValuable Resources:Register for the Brand Tuned book launch and view video interviews anytime on or after 28 Sep Brand Tuned Acceleratorwww.brandtuned.com 

Somi Arian is a tech philosopher, award-winning filmmaker, author, entrepreneur, and a LinkedIn top voice in the UK. She has a background in philosophy of science and technology. She describes her role in society as a transition architect, as humans merge with technology, and society enters a new phase of human evolution. In this episode, we talk about Somi's background growing up in Iran, moving to the UK, her film making career and business, and latest initiative to raise women's socioeconomic status through the Fempeak platform. We discuss:Somi's entrepreneurship journeyThe fast growth of the Fempeak platformSomi's achievement in being a top voice on LinkedIn in the UK 3 years running.The importance of choosing the right social media platform and doubling down on it. Creating quality content by understanding your audienceLinkedIn: Somi ArianTwitter: @SomiArianInstagram: @somiarianWebsite: www.fempeak.aismartcookiemedia.comBook Somi recommended: Let it Go - Dame Stephanie ShirleyValuable Resources:Register to attend the Brand Tuned book launch on 28 September 2021Brand Tuned Acceleratorwww.brandtuned.com

Stef Hamerlinck is a brand strategist and designer living in Belgium, and host of the podcast, Let's Talk Branding. He runs his own branding studio.In this episode, we discuss what a brand is and how distinctiveness is fundamentally about making a brand stand out. Stef also shares his views on how many brand codes a business should have and gives examples for smaller and big brands to look at.  We discuss:Brand strategyWhat brand and branding mean to  StefDifferentiation and distinctivenessHow the context in which a brand is used impacts the brand codes to createThe 'vibe' of brands that their visual language evokesThe reason for rebranding or choosing a new nameProtecting your distinctive brand assets through intellectual propertyHow Stef decides whether to create a symbol in his branding workBrands Stef admires: Kellogs and Ritchie LemonadeLinkedIn: Stef Hamerlinck Twitter: @stefhamerlinck Instagram:  @letstalkbranding Website: www.stefhamerlinck.comOther links:Course on brand strategy research: brandstrategyresearch.comBlog: letstalkbranding.comValuable Resources:Register to attend the Brand Tuned book launch on 28 September 2021Brand Tuned Acceleratorwww.brandtuned.com

Stephen Willard is a graphic designer and former art director who moved into employee benefits communications and now runs his own company EMBLAZE a workplace engagement company that specialises in delivering high energy experiences to employees.  In this episode, we discuss how IP tends to be regarded as a luxury, rather than as something essential, and how Stephen has picked up his knowledge of the subject during his career. We cover:Brand identifiers and the creative processThe rationale of changing brand identifiersWhat the brand is — how a brand can be recognizedStephen's experience in designing a logo — the elements to take into accountWhy use of symbols is rare when it's an effective way of being rememberedThe extent to which law is a constraint on creativityDesigning for a regulated industryLinkedIn: Stephen-willardTwitter: sjwbrandingInstagram: @stephen.j.willardwww.emblaze.today stephen@emblaze.today Valuable Resources:Brand Tuned Scorecard Brand Tuned Accelerator

Rob Meyerson is the principal and founder of Heirloom, an independent brand strategy and identity firm. His specialities include brand strategy and positioning, naming and messaging, brand architecture, qualitative research, and organizational change. In this episode,  we discussed why IP is not included in branding projects and covered:The lack of job training for brand consultants and the culture of learning by doing that prevailsChecking company and product names Building distinctive brand assets,  versus the simplicity in design approach that prevailsWhat to consider when naming — what makes some names stronger than other namesWhether the legal dimension is a limiting factor that constrains the creative processPositioning — does that impact your name choice?IP's role in managing competitionThe negative reputation of lawyersYou can view the podcast transcript here LinkedIn: Rob MeyersonTwitter: @RobMeyersonInstagram: @howbrandsarebuiltBook: Brand Namingrobmeyerson.comhowbrandsarebuilt.comwww.heirloomagency.comValuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned Acceleratorwww.brandtuned.com 

In this episode, I talk about what I mean by brands. To use trademarks strategically, you need to first understand the role they play in branding to then know why and how to be strategic with them.   A brand is a name that people associate with a set of perceptions. It distinguishes one product or service from another.  Brands are important to us because they provide us with the familiarity we crave as humans. In brief the episode covers: Visual IdentityWhy brand can easily be a business's most valuable asset? Brand Identifiers are non-name signifiers that build mental association to your brand  Trademarks are the most important and potentially valuable IP asset to ownA branding lawyer can help you understand the brand protection aspect of a nameRegistering a trademark to protect your distinctiveness How to avoid trademark legal disputes and litigationValuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned Acceleratorwww.brandtuned.com 

David Aaker hailed the “Father of Modern Branding,” and Vice-Chair at Prophet is a recognized authority on branding, He has developed several concepts including the Aaker brand vision model.In this episode, we discuss all things brand related, in particular names. We covered:Why intellectual property is not included in the training of brand managersThe importance of being clear on the definition of IPThe different perspective that IP brings to namingNaming and whether descriptive names are a good choiceThe role of intellectual property in building barriers to entry against competitorsBrand equity — three things it consists inLinkedIn: David AakerTwitter: @DavidAakerdavidaaker.comValuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned Acceleratorwww.brandtuned.com 

 Derrick Daye is the man behind the Brand Strategy Insider Blog,  he serves as the Managing Partner of the Blake Project. He has extensive and varied experience working in advertising agencies such as Satchi & Satchi.In this episode, Derrick and I discuss the choice of identifiers such as colours and symbols and the extent to which IP needs to be taken into account when building brand assets. We also discuss the concept of distinctiveness.In brief this episode covers:The extent to which distinctiveness mattersHow larger agencies collaborate with IP lawyersWhat is Blanding?Oversimplification - does it overlook the imperative to be different?  The importance of knowing what you don't know as a branding professional Ownership underpins IP licensing. and should also underpin identity creationThe imperative for design companies to explain IP's role to their clientsLinkedIn: Derrick DayeTwitter: @DerrickDayeBlog: brandingstrategyinsider.comtheblakeproject.comValuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned Acceleratorwww.brandtuned.com 

In this episode, I talk about the challenges that colour involves as a brand identifier. The bar to registration of colour as a trademark is high so that confusion can arise between competitors.   If you have legal rights over a brand identifier you can maintain its uniqueness for your brand and reduce the scope for customer confusion. The episode on colour as a brand Identifier touches on:What to consider when it comes to trademarks and colour.How to be distinctive using colour as a brand identifier.The challenge of preserving uniqueness in the absence of legal rightsHow litigation is sometimes an option to deter competitors from using your colourBrands that have achieved colour trademark registrationsValuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned Acceleratorwww.brandtuned.com 

Paige Arnof-Fenn is the founder and CEO of Mavens and Moguls, which is a marketing or branding firm located in the USA. She graduated from Stanford University and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Her experience spans corporate branding at Proctor & Gamble, start up branding for various companies that were subsequently sold,  and entrepreneurial branding working for clients of Mavens and Moguls. These range from early-stage, startup, pre-revenue, to venture-backed, and all the way to fortune 500 companies. One of her clients that we discuss was Virgin.In this episode, we cover:The different branding needs clients tend to have based on their sizeHow to do market research and segmentation for small pre-revenue companiesEffectiveness comes from not having too many messages in your storytelling Naming, identity creation, and tying it all together in a brand blueprintHow working at Proctor & Gamble and Coca Cola have multidisciplinary teams that include lawyersThe most important area to focus on for a brand to succeed LinkedIn: Paige Arnof-Fenn mavensandmoguls.comValuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned AccreditationIP Strategy Is Part of Brand Strategy Blog

James Church is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Robot Mascot, the UK leading pitch agency and the author of the bestselling book, Investable Entrepreneur. In this episode, James shares how investors care primarily about the defensability of the product rather than the brand. The brand is going to contain the value of the business when it comes to the exit but it's regarded as something that can be changed through a rebrand if needs be. The patent like protection that names can offer is not something investors are alive to.  Robot Mascot started out  as a generic branding agency. It was thanks to niching down and attracting an experienced investor that the business took off. In brief this episode covers:The possibilities, such as licensing that a brand offers.Rebranding and the loss it can entail for a business.How the pitch agency focuses on creating critical funraising assets.Series A, seed funding and what investors are looking for The importance of understanding the problems of your audience, and what they want and needLinkedIn: James Church Twitter: @robotmascotIG: @robotmascotWebsite: www.robotmascot.co.ukBook: Investable EntrepreneurValuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned AccreditationIP Strategy Is Part of Brand Strategy Blog

This interview of Shireen by Somi Arian was initially recorded for the Somi Arian podcast.In this episode, we talk about the do's and don't of branding and trade marks. There are a host of useful tips on branding, trademark protection and how to develop brand equity. This episode covers:Valuable tips on branding and trademark protection Brand equity and how trademarks contain the value of a brand.How to choose a nameDomain names and email deliverability.Different types of name. Brand identifiers logo, symbol, and coloursLinkedIn: Somi ArianTwitter: @SomiArianInstagram: @somiarianWebsite: www.fempeak.aismartcookiemedia.com Valuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned AccreditationIP Strategy Is Part of Brand Strategy Blog

In this episode, I talk about a foundational topic that isn't well understood, niching. The accent in this episode is on expertise and how to ensure your core skills are in line with your interests and market opportunities.Many entrepreneur courses advise people to niche and not to try to sell to everyone. However, there is often a lack of detail on how to go about choosing a niche. The upshot is that many entrepreneurs get it wrong. They either pick a niche at random, or one that's too narrow, or they disregard the advice altogether, because it's too difficult to implement.  The episode on niching touches on:The key success in niching — how to stand out and set yourself apart from othersUseful insights on building his brand, and niching by Ronnie Fox, a successful lawyer.How experts with core skills can increase their earning potential and relevanceProblems in the small business marketHow to distinguish yourself from competitors when you're a designer, marketer or brand strategistThe fundamental disciplines to understand when creating a brand identity Valuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned AccreditationThe Key to Success is Niching

In this episode from the archives, Chandresh Pala discusses different business models and how to consider which one is right for you. The episode touches on:Choosing the right nameHow to create products and sell themWhat is a business model canvas? Insights on different business modelsWhat are the first stages of a business —  exploration and learningA brand is more than a logo — it's your interaction, the team's interaction with the client, and how the customer uses and experiences the products.Why do people choose brands based on values, identity and  purpose?What should be the mindset of someone launching a new business or product?www.coheziadigital.com Valuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned Accreditationwww.brandtuned.com

This episode from the archives features Mark Ritson discussing brand strategy. Mark answers some of the burning questions I had around understanding the market and differentiation and positioning. In this episode we covered:Rebranding TransferwiseBrand purposeMarket research and how it differs from brand strategy.Marketing strategyThe intersection between business and brand strategyRelative differentiation LinkedIn: Mark RitsonTwitter: @markritsonwww.marketingritson.com Mini MBA in Brand Management by Mark Ritson Valuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned Accreditationwww.brandtuned.com

This is part two of episode #117 which was on niching. It outlines what's involved to segment the market, and why it is essential to do before targeting. Segmentation is challenging to do for small businesses that lack the time and resources of large organisations. Perhaps this explains why the topic isn't much discussed in the small business sector despite being a cornerstone to marketing. This episode covers:How to segment the market by reference to customers' different wants and needs How I am researching and segmenting the branding industryUsing qualitative research to decide the criteria by which to segment the marketFollowing up qualitative research with desk researchInterviewing potential target customers before finalising choice of target marketValuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

Stephen Houraghan,  founder of the Brand Master Academy,  is a brand strategist who helps designers and brand builders to package up their creative thinking and specialise as brand strategists.  He teaches graphic designers abd copywriters, who are executing within the brand on the tactical side, on how to focus more on the strategic side. In this episode, Stephen discusses that everything starts with the audience, The brand exists in the mind of the audience, without which it has no reason to exist. This episode covers:How the brand starts from within and then looks outwards.How to revisit a brand strategy especially for small businesses The strategic process of developing a brand identityHow the branding industry has changed Importance of collaboration between the brand strategist and client in creating a brandBrand equity is the value of the brandThe importance of audience in creating a brandLinkedIn: Stephen HouraghanFacebook: Stephen HouraghanInstagram: @brandmasteracademyYouTube: Brand Master AcademyWebsite: www. brandmasteracademy.comPro Strategy Blueprint Valuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

Paige returns to the podcast to discuss how smaller businesses and start-ups can do research to see their business from the point of view of the customer, before segmenting the market. Before founding Mavens and Moguls, a network of seasoned marketing professionals, she worked in organisations like Procter & Gamble, and Coca Cola, as well as for early stage businesses like Zipcar, Inc.com and Launch Media. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and Harvard featured her business as a case to teach MBA students how to start a successful business. In this episode, Paige shares some strategies for better understanding the customer you want to serve, in terms of what motivates them to buy. We cover:Some online methods to understand the marketConsidering who might be your ideal clientWays to understand what the market wantsListening tour as a way of touching base with your audienceHow Paige helps her clients How to approach people so they don't fear being sold to when doing market researchDifferent ways to segment your market — demographic data, psychographic data, behavioural data, geographic data and life stagesLinkedIn: Paige Arnof-Fennmavensandmoguls.comValuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

Nick Lehrain, designer and creative director of Oliver Grace creative studio is focused on digital products.In this episode, Nick shares his views on brand and growth strategies, distinctive brand assets, the trend towards simplification of the unique identifying characteristics used for consumers to notice, recognize and recall a  brand. What is BlandingCreating a distinctive brand — differentiation and distinctiveness to stand outHis  approach to designing the visual identity for a brand Examples of timeless logos from Logo Modernism book The brand codes you need to use consistently so you are recognizable The single most important issue to focus on and not lose sight of to build the brandLinkedIn: Nick LehrainInstagram: @nicklehrain & @olivergrace.studioWebsite: www.olivergrace.com.au Article by Nick: How to create a digital-first lean brandSuggested book: Logo Modernism Valuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

Lucy Werner, author of the books Hype Yourself and Brand Yourself, and founder of The Wern, a PR & design consultancy for startups has over 17-years of PR experience. She is  focused on teaching early stage businesses how to do their own publicity without spending a fortune. In this episode, Lucy shares valuable tips on how to develop a strategy for creating hype in line with your brand strategy to promote what you are doing so you make maximum impact. She also shares steps towards building a brand strategy based around your values.  We discuss:Strategies for creating hype for your businessInsights and ideas on how to pitch a story to publications you want to collaborate withHow she helps clients create their personal brand — the process & strategy The importance of values, which shape everything as you build your brandCollaborating with like-minded business people to increase your impactThe value of email marketing in businessLinkedIn: Lucy WernerTwitter: @LucyWernerPRInstagram: @lucywernerprWebsite: www.thewern.comValuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

Karen is the leading expert in applied colour and design psychology helping businesses and design professionals to use colour and design to improve well-being, support mental health and create positive change in the world. She is the author of the best selling book The Little Book of Colour - How to Use the Psychology of Colour to Transform Your Life. It's a revolutionary guide to boosting your wellbeing, putting you firmly in the driver's seat and on the road to changing the colours in your world to boost your mood, increase your motivation and change how you feel in an instant.In this episode, Karen discusses colour psychology, how colour influences how we think, how we feel, and how we behave. She gives her perspective on how colour should be used in branding, and that it should align with the brand personality, and values to influence buyers. This episode covers:Association of brand values with colourCase examples on a brand that's misaligned with the colour How colour can be associated with a demographic or an age groupHow to create a brand from within and out Colour as emotion — how it makes people stop and think why they are in businessFinding the right colour for a brand — a colour that best represents a brand & the best reflectional representation of that brandKaren's point of view about McDonald's green brand colour LinkedIn: Karen HallerTwitter: @KarenHaller Instagram: @karen_haller_colourWebsite: karenhaller.com and thelittlebookofcolour.com  Free ebook: The 10 Myths that Limit You using Colour EffectivelyValuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

Lucy McCarraher is an author, publisher, mentor and speaker. She has written 13 books and is co-founder of Rethink Press, which helps entrepreneurs to raise their authority, increase their client base and visibility  through writing and publishing books.In this episode, Lucy shares her experience in the recent rebrand of Rethink Press. We also discuss the importance of books, how to approach writing one given that a book is an iconic product. You don't want to undervalue or devalue the experience for readers by writing content that's too promotional. This episode covers:Their process of rebranding Rethink PressHow the only formal branding action Rethink had taken before the rebrand was to secure the rights in their name. What to bear in mind when writing a book — value is the name of the gameKey steps for a business to take to ensure it stays on brand as it develops and growsLucy's insights from her recent rebranding experience on how to differentiate from competitors.LinkedIn: Lucy McCarraherTwitter: @LucyMcCarraher Instagram: @lucymccarraherBook: A Book of One's Own Website: www.lucymccarraher.com and rethinkpress.com Valuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

Joe Glover is the founder of Marketing Meetup a place where people come together to learn about marketing and connect in a meaningful way. It's not what he's done, but how he's done it that has led to the success of the Marketing Meetup.There are plenty of places where marketers can learn, there are plenty of places where marketers can meet each other, but what Joe realised was that there was a need for a safe place where marketers could come together because they love marketing, they're curious to learn more, and want to connect with open minded marketers in a way which feels kind, lovely, safe, and inclusive. It's a counterblast to the corporate approach that feels like you're being judged by your job title and the size of your budgets. In this episode, Joe shares his experience in community building. The community grew quite organically as people resonated with how they chose to do things. There was never a big ambition behind it.  The foundation was about humanity, coming together and listening.  That's the group that Joe wanted to see exist and attend. Then over time they began to suggest how people should engage with one another - to say hello, listen and be positively lovely. This episode covers:How Marketing Meetup came into existence. Insights into building a community.How to reach out and better understand your audience.Forums you use as you build the community — Facebook, LinkedIn, Slack and Discord groups.Hubspot and Salesforce and other examples of successful strong community-based brands LinkedIn: Joe Glover Twitter: @josepheglover Website: themarketingmeetup.com Valuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

This episode discusses the book Creating Passion Brands – how to build emotional brand connection with customers by Helen Edwards. Essentially, it's key not to mistake being consumer focused with being consumer led. Some brands are asking for consumer approval for their every action even to the extent of asking consumers what their brand essence should be. Being consumer-led in a brand's strategic approach inevitably blurs the brand's clearly defined brand image and makes it average. Listen in to find out more aboutHow brand belief needs to infuse everything a brand doesWhat to foster to build a strong brandWhat needs to remain true over time, and what can change as a brand develops.The importance of leading rather than  followingWhy the values need to drive the brand's point of view, and conviction.Valuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

In this episode, I share my journey starting in business,  how the business developed, grew, transitioned to virtual working and then reversed course to become what is now Azrights International Ltd.With Bill Gates' quote in mind, that most people overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can do in 10, and using Paul Jarvis' book,  A Company of One for inspiration, I'm thinking through my 10 year plan for the Azrights business and the Brand Tuned podcast. This episode covers:The business journey of AzrigthsThe steep learning curve involved in learning how to design brands.When you create a brand and choose identifiers you create intellectual propertyHow IP laws determine whether identifiers will be distinctive enough to own and cost effective enough to protectThe difference between distinctiveness and differntiationHow use of colour can create distinctiveness.Why a brand protection strategy needs to be an inherent aspect of brand strategy.Valuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

Lawyers and many other professionals are increasingly challenged to identify their distinctive skills and talents, and the capabilities they possess that cannot be readily replaced by technology or alternative ways of working and access to cheaper options.Richard and Daniel Susskind predict that professionals will be increasingly displaced in an internet society by AI and other technologies. In an earlier book, The End of Lawyers, Richard Susskind had predicted that a new breed of hybrid lawyers will emerge, who are increasingly multi-disciplinary in order to succeed.  Hybrid lawyers are quite different to the lawyers of today who already claim they are deeply steeped in neighbouring disciplines, as project managers, strategy, management consultants and more but who often lack the depth of expertise in those neighbouring disciplines. This episode covers:How internet society will bring fundamental change in the way 'practical expertise' of specialists is made availableWhat professionals need to do to move up the food chain to become trusted advisersParallels to the legal industry for other professions.The essentials to be "superbly schooled and genuinely expert” in multiple disciplines.A call for lawyers and others to consider the prototype Brand Tuned AccreditationValuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

Christine Mackay is the founder of  Salamandra.uk an animation agency,  she helps her clients to communicate complex messages using animation.  In this episode, Christine shares that even if you just have a word mark, you could animate your logo, and make it come to life. And in that coming to life, you could actually convey some of what it is that you do.  Animation is very malleable, and there are many ways to make use of it in branding or to explain aspects of the business. Movement attracts attention.  This episode covers:How Christine chose salamandra as a name from which 3-D Sal emerged. That salamanders mean 'cute, funny and smart' to Christine .The power of animation in making a brand more memorable How tone of voice was an important differentiator for her business.Companies often turn to animation to communicate complex messages.The difference between a video and animation. The single most important thing a company needs to focus on to build its brand. LinkedIn: Christine MackayTwitter: @SalamandraUKInstagram: @salamandra.ukBook: Destination AnimationWebsite: www.salamandra.ukValuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

John Pryor is a management consultant and founder of Exalt IP and intellectual property firm. In this episode, John shares his insights on trade secrets, including why it is so important to distinguish trade secrets from general know how in an organisation. Classifying an important recipe as a trade secrets gives you more powerful rights in the event of any breach of them. He walks us through trade secrets policies and the importance of educating employees about intellectual property and trade secrets. This episode covers:Guiltless Gourmet's buy out talks with Frito Lay - an example of what not to do  with your trade secretsSteps an organization needs to take internally to protect trade secretsHow to classify trade secrets possibly using red, amber and green classificationThreats to leakage and theft of trade secretsExamples of brands protecting their competitive advantage through trade secretsWhy reputation is the single most important issue for brands to focus onLinkedIn: John PryorInstagram: @the_ip_foundryFacebook: @TheIPFoundryWebsite & blog: www.exaltip.com/blog Valuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

In this episode of the BrandTuned Podcast Shireen interviews Susan Payton who helps business owners tell three stories - their personal story, their business story and their customer story. How a career writing and researching in TV and radio led to Susan's business which revolves around how businesses should use storiesSusan has trained in Nashville with Donald Miller - the author of Story Brand and is a certified story brand guideWhy your customer's story is the most important story of all, the one to focus onShowcasing what your customer needs will show you care about their problemsA good example of business storytelling in action is TOMS shoes who donate a pair of shoes for every pair they sell.Susan can be found at thebusinessofstories.comLinkedIn: Susan PaytonValuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

Rory Sutherland,  Vice Chair at Ogilvy UK and author of the book Alchemy, the Surprising power of ideas that don't make sense discusses brand, advertising, decision science and more.In this episode, Rory points out why ambiguity in terms like brand and IP are problematic. The word brand is used to mean anything people want. It's even been used to defend advertising, that doesn't work, the episodes touched on many interesting points including:The misunderstanding of the value of brandsThe reasons why brands might change their name and logo Situational examples when brand names can't be protectedChesterton's Fence and how it relates to Tropicana's redesignThe value in simple fame that defies logic explained by behavioural scienceThe importance of understanding what the law means by IP in terms of brandingHow plagiarism is  policed through professional shaming in the advertising industryView the podcast transcript hereLinkedIn: Rory SutherlandTwitter: @rorysutherlandBook: Transport for Humanswww.ogilvy.comValuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned NewsletterIP Strategy Is Part of Brand Strategy Blog

David Aaker hailed the “Father of Modern Branding,” and Vice-Chair at Prophet is a recognized authority on branding, He has developed several concepts including the Aaker brand vision model.In this episode, we discuss all things brand related, in particular names. We covered:Why intellectual property is not included in the training of brand managersThe importance of being clear on the definition of IPThe different perspective that IP brings to namingNaming and whether descriptive names are a good choiceThe role of intellectual property in building barriers to entry against competitorsBrand equity — three things it consists inView the podcast transcript hereLinkedIn: David AakerTwitter: @DavidAakerdavidaaker.comValuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned Acceleratorwww.brandtuned.com 

Daniel Priestley runs business accelerators for entrepreneurs. In this episode, he discusses the Dent rebrand, Lifestyle v. Performance boutique, and the new edition of his book OversubscribedHow the entrepreneurial revolution shifts people to earn money through entrepreneurship and starting and growing their own businesses as the Industrial Revolution changed the way we live and work.Why visual identity has to work harmoniously with the rest of the brand identity and has to be simple and cleanWhat happens when you nail your vision and its simple, the clear message becomes a turning point for your businessHow having a strong culture and vision allows you to attract the right kind of people when you're recruiting talent.Why Daniel incentivises new hires to leave quickly if they discover his company isn't a good fit for them What presidential elections can teach you about the evolution of marketingDaniel released a new edition of his book Oversubscribed: How to get people lining up to do business with you in February 2020The two main successful business variations are Lifestyle Boutique. 3 - 12 staff, profitable and lots of fun. The second is Performance business that employs 40 to 150 staff who are a talented team, it has recurring revenues, assets and a good niche in the marketplace.How businesses are valued by various methods including benchmarking, multiples of profit and based on their brand, market position and systems like Uber for instance.Linkedin: Daniel PriestleyTwitter: @DanielPriestleyInstagram: @danielpriestleyBook: Oversubscribed: How To Get People Lining Up To Do Business With Youdent.globalValuable Resources:Brand Tuned ScorecardBrand Tuned Acceleratorwww.brandtuned.com 

Lee Salz is the Founder and CEO of Sales Architects where he helps clients develop processes to hire the right salespeople, effectively onboard them and align their sales activities with business objectives.In this episode,  we talk about differentiation, Lee shares his insights on two types of differentiation which are marketing differentiation and sales differentiation. He also shares why the word "unique" is one of the biggest causes of frustration in sales. This episode covers:Why is it important to differentiate What does a business need to do to differentiate itself and what examplesWhy the word "unique" is one of the biggest causes of frustration in salesTwo types of differentiation — marketing differentiation and sales differentiationHow to perceive meaningful value in what you're selling through an ideal client profileHow some buyers don't see an objection to prices and value a product intrinsicallyHow to work out who your target buyer isLinkedin: Lee SalzTwitter: @SalesArchitectsFree tool: Target Client Profile TemplateBooks: Sell Different! &  Sales Differentiationsalesarchitects.comValuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

In this episode, we discuss positioning and differentiation with Johnny Molson a marketing consultant and strategist with Wizard of Ads who helps small businesses to build custom marketing strategies. We consider the difference between niching, positioning, differentiation and distinctiveness, including the challenge of becoming known.  Trying to become known for one thing rather than three things makes it more possible to be remembered in the marketplace.  The episode touches on:The need to test the market to decide how to position your brand.Difference between differentiation and positioning with examplesHow to get your desired perception into the consumer's mindSocial media – is it worth doing in terms of building a brand? View the podcast transcript hereLinkedin: Johnny MolsonTwitter: @disruptingadsBook: Campaign-O-Matic!wizardofads.org & molsonpartners.comValuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

In this episode I explore positioning with Ulli Applebaum. Ulli is an experienced award-winning brand strategist and founder of First The Trousers Then The Shoes and the author of the brand positioning workbook. There are different philosophies about positioning and it depends on what category you are working in as to the research that's appropriate to do.  We might have one central brand position, and separate positions and messaging for  products we supply.  We touched on:Brand purposeIdeas on how you can do positioningPositioning — how to create your positioningHow does positioning tie with differentiationCreating a category — should it be part of your positioning?Examples of well-known brands and their positioningLinkedin: Ulli AppelbaumTwitter: @FirstTheTrouserBook: The Brand Positioning Workbookfirst-the-trousers.comValuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

In this episode, Sean D'Souza of Psychotactics discusses how small businesses should approach differentiation when selling their products and services.  Sean is the author of The Brain Audit, and is a copywriter, cartoonist, and speaker. He is also the host of the three month vacation podcast. We discuss common challenges people have around differentiation, and how the biggest mistake people make is that they promote their company instead of talking about their products. We cover:How to position a product so it sticks to the consumers' mindsCommon challenges people have around how to differentiateMeasuring results through benchmarks Reasons for the high failure rate of small businessesLinkedin: Sean D'SouzaTwitter: @seandsouzaBook: The Brain Auditpsychotactics.comView the podcast transcript hereValuable Resources:Brand Tuned AccreditationBrand Tuned Newsletterwww.brandtuned.com

Austin Franke is the founder of Woo Punch, a brand design consultancy rooted in the science of how brands grow. Austin is also the man behind brandingbullshit.com, a newsletter that exposes common branding, marketing, and advertising myths, and co-hosts The BS Show with Stef Hamerlinck on YouTube.In this episode of the podcast, Austin shares why the old notions of brand love are outdated. In keeping with the new format of the podcast, he delivers a 10-minute masterclass before being interviewed.  A 10-minute masterclass about brand love The old notions of brand love that are outdatedWhy distinctiveness is not synonymous with differentiationThe reality and the evidence-based insights into how brands growwww.woopunch.combrandingbullshit.com Books mentioned:Building Distinctive Brand AssetsHow Brands Grow: What Marketers Don't KnowSeducing the Subconscious: The Psychology of Emotional Influence in Advertising Valuable Resources:Brand Tuned NewsletterBrand Tuned Training Courses

In this episode, we discuss having one brand voice with Chris West, the founder of Verbal Identity. Chris is a specialist in helping brand leaders align their teams in one voice. He is also the author of Strong Language, the #1 best-selling book on Amazon in Language Communication.  We tackle the importance of having a great language and how this could create differentiation for brands. As we go through the podcast, we explore:The power of languageThree levels of languageHaving one brand voice for early-stage businessesVisual attracts, verbals engageAligning everyone in a company with a one brand voiceHow brand message resonatesLinkedin: Chris WestTwitter: @VerbIDBook: Strong Languageverbalidentity.comValuable Resources:Brand Tuned NewsletterBrand Tuned Training Courses

There are many misconceptions when in comes to IP ownership.In this podcast I outline why it's important to ensure you own what you create for your business. Owning what we do is about retaining control rather than giving away the value of our knowledge and skills.Among other things, that involves understanding the role of names in business, and what is involved to legally own a name. Failing to focus on ownership shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the interplay between branding and brand protection.  The episode touches on:Why marketers and designers need training in intellectual property.What ownership of names involves. The 2-step process to securing ownership rights in a name.That ownability of brand elements involves making the right choices. The drawback of failing to focus on ownershipValuable Resources:For the latest insights on branding, and brand strategy sign up to receive TUNED news weekly. Brand Tuned NewsletterBrand Tuned Training Courses

In this episode Robin Landa explains strategic creativity. Robin Landa is a Distinguished Professor in the Michael Graves College at Kean University. She specializes in advertising ideas and art direction, creative thinking, graphic design and branding and has written bestselling books including Graphic Design Solutions, 6th ed., Build Your Own Brand, and Nimble: Thinking Creatively in the Digital Age.What's the first thing you think of when you hear the phrase "brand identity"? A logo, color palette, and characters right? But that's only a small part of the story.To have a successful brand identity be strategically creative. A brand identity is the representation of the brand and it is the strategic position in the marketplace. So, it has to be strategically creative in order to gel with the target audience.Brand identity does more than just build an imaginary world, it creates a relationship between people who have heard you and made your name part of their lives. A logo mark is more than just a logo. It's the entry point for your brand and its identity. It's your name and the way you're perceived by customers, and it's the foundation for everything else you do. It's what sets you apart from other brands and allows you to stand out from the crowd. It has to be memorable, differentiating, imprinting on people, and most importantly, it needs to be easy to remember—and ideally, emotionally inspiring.It's really hard to make a brand identity that is personal and unique when you're working with a company that has thousands of designers and their work is available for all to see. This is why we need to be careful that we don't just lift someone else's work and use it without permission. Brand identity must be unique and personable!In this episode, we discuss:Brand Identity and how to make it memorable and distinctiveBrand construct and manifestoBasic design principle you need to knowThe idea behind balance design and color associationsSonic brandingHow to identify talent in identity designIntellectual property lawIdentifiers in brand design

Is being unique your ultimate goal in your business? How, exactly, do you stand out from your competitors and make sure that you remain a purple cow?  A crucial part of a business' success is being distinctive and visibly different from its competitors. This is the main objective in creating business brand. Having a recognizable and distinctive name helps ensure you will be able to stand out from the crowd.   Distinctiveness is about the identifiers we use. These identifiers are how consumers recognise brands. They associate them with you. It's your name, and brand elements you choose, such as your logo, any distinctive symbols, characters, shapes, sounds, colours etc. When you're creating your business' brand, understanding what competitors can and can't legitimately copy is key to creating a unique brand. Your focus should be as much on what to create as whether you can prevent copying of the elements you create.. That's why creating slogans and taglines that are ownable is key to protecting our messaging strategy. We stand a greater chance of being associated with the message behind our strategy.   In today's fast-paced world, it is not enough to raise awareness of how we differ. We need to know and understand about intellectual property rights, and how this can help us achieve design choices that set us apart from competitors.  In this episode I touch on the laws governing the ownership of ideas and trademarks, as well as how to use them to protect your brand. I discuss:Two components for a business to stand outDifference between personal and business brandsIntellectual PropertyConcept of distinctivenessPopeye the sailorHow important trademark rights are in protecting business brands Famous personalities and their distinctiveness/uniquenessValuable Resources:For the latest insights on branding, and brand strategy sign up to receive TUNED news weekly.Brand Tuned NewsletterBrand Tuned Training Courses

In this episode, Sean Adams, an internationally recognized graphic designer, and the chair of undergraduate and graduate graphic design at Art Center College of Design in California  tells  us to succeed with identities without really trying.Sean Adams is the author of multiple best selling books, including  The Designer's Dictionary of Color.Brand Identity is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It's a toolkit, an approach to solving problems, an equation. It's not a thing that you can just slap onto your business and hope for the best. You have to understand it and use it correctly in order to succeed with brand identities without really trying.If you're just starting out, the process can seem overwhelming at first. Where do you even begin? What kind of logo is best for your business? How do you go about creating an identity that speaks to your customers and attracts new clients?There's no one right answer, but there are three kinds of identities that you need to understand to start with: word mark, monogram, and symbol. Your branding strategy may use one of these approaches, so it's good to explore them all and know what they mean.One of the trickiest aspects of branding is building equity over time. If you think about the Apple identity, it has that little bite out of it, which forces you to think a little bit, the more you think, the more it sticks in your head. Design is an important part of branding. You can't just have a nice logo and expect people to buy your product. You have to make it appealing in other ways too, Branding isn't just about beauty and aesthetic, but it should be how we can make it unique. We focus on certain colors because they've become emotionally loaded with meaning for us. How do we get those emotional meanings etched into our brand image?This episode discusses:Three kinds of identitiesBuilding equity with symbolsChoosing your branding fontsVisual attributesHow to know you have a great designer/ designers sensibilitiesThe cultural impact of color choicesSemioticsCurrent challenges facing designerswww.seanadams.designResources mentioned on the podcastThe Designer's Dictionary of Color How Design Makes Us ThinkDebbie Millman booksSean Adams' LinkedIn leaning course on brandingValuable Resources:Brand Tuned NewsletterBrand Tuned Training Courses

In this episode I discuss some thoughts  following the recent podcast with Sean Adams,  an internationally recognized graphic designer, and the chair of undergraduate and graduate graphic design at Art Center College of Design in California. I found Sean's approach refreshingly client focused and empathetic.  For example, Sean takes clients on the design journey and explains what he is doing and why. This collaborative approach, and avoiding a big reveal at the end of the process, is more likely to result in an identity that the client finds acceptable.I think if the designer can also talk about the IP dimension they would be the ideal adviser to clients. While the word ‘design' is commonly associated with graphic designers, in truth it includes anyone who advises on business structure. They can help plan how a business should work in all respects, not just visually.Given that visual identity needs to be permanent I'm often baffled that  designers radically change the visual identity of established businesses just because the business' strategy changes.Surely tweaks to the identity is all that's needed, unless there is something radically transformed about the business. It's vital to leave the identifying elements so you don't disturb memory structures.This episode tackles:Importance of taking clients on the design journeyWhat makes a good logo?When is it the right time to radically change a visual identity?Drawbacks of changing your identityMeasuring brand equity to make identity design decisionswww.seanadams.designResources mentioned on the podcastThe Designer's Dictionary of Color Valuable Resources:Brand Tuned NewsletterBrand Tuned Training Courses

Having recently asked people what their top questions are about branding and IP (Intellectual Property), I decided to record my answers in this episode.The questions answered in this episode include:What are the different ways I can protect my brand?Do I need international protection or is UK protection enough?How do I explain to graphic designers I work with the importance of checking they are not infringing on anyone's IP?How can you be sure that graphic designers you work with hand over the rights to all the assets they create? How can you be sure they have done this fully?What do you regard as the best branding campaign(s) of all time? And why?Do you think the Internet is actually effective for brand building?Valuable Resources:Register for Free Webinar on 23 NovemberRegister Your Interest to be Notified of the Next Webinar DateBrand Tuned Newsletter

In this episode, Emmanuel Probst, a Global Lead, Brand Thought-Leadership at Ipsos and an adjunct professor teaching consumer market research at UCLA, shares with us how to create a transformative brand.Emmanuel has 17 years of background in marketing and market research experience, such as at IP source. He is also the author of Brand Hacks, and Assemblage - The Art and Science of Brand Transformation, which releases this coming January 2023.Among other things, we discuss:that brands can no longer just sell products. They must aim to be transformative for people and the world they live in. That brands are no longer in control of the narrative, so they must harness the power of the community and make a greater and more sustainable one.the importance of noticing what existing brands are offering the market. Then consider creating something new and unique to offer in the category. creating your market positioning.The trick is really to understand your audience and  get a deep understanding of the market.three Dimensions of Brand TransformationWhat is Programmed Obsolescence?How to Create a Transformative BrandUnderstanding Trends in the Societywww.emmanuelprobst.comTwitter: @EmmanuelprobstLinkedin Emmanuel ProbstResources mentioned on the podcastBrand HacksAssemblage - The Art and Science of Brand Transformationmarketingweek.comadage.comadweek.commediapost.comChallenger Project - Eat Big FishFinancial Insights at Ipsos.comValuable Resources:Brand Tuned NewsletterBrand Tuned Training Courses