The Branding Lab

You've established your brand foundations, and now what? How do you transfer all that into the online space? 
In this episode, Ben Rifken and I discuss how to create and use content to communicate your personal and/or brand values. We talk about what goes into creating your brand's visual style and how to hire the right people like photographers and/or videographers, to create imagery that seamlessly translates your brand vision, mission and values onto your website and social media. We end the episode by addressing tips on how to put together the perfect brand photoshoot and how to manoeuvre prices when you are on a budget.

Guess what, my business blew up in just two months of launching and I made over 6 figures with my launch. Actually, that's a lie, and it's a lie that is being fed to many entrepreneurs out there. The old narrative is that starting a business is hard. In fact, it takes at least 3 years for you to become profitable. But that has been replaced with a new narrative. A narrative that says that you can blow up your business in less than 6 months and easily make 6-figures, no problem. But the problem with that narrative is that it isn't telling the whole story. In this episode of Behind the Brand, we talk about how businesses just don't BLOW UP, and if they do, it's because of three very specific reasons.

What is human-centred design and what role does it play in branding? How can brands and businesses use design thinking to go beyond the traditional business models and focus on customer empathy and real-world experiments?In this episode, Juliana and I talk about the power of using design thinking in branding, specifically addressing each of the five stages of Design Thinking, which are Empathise, Define (the problem), Ideate, Prototype, and Test. We also talk about how Juliana implemented all five of these steps working with a limousine company during her time as an MA student studying Brand Management at Macromedia University in Berlin. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com

Everything begins and ends with your customer. Who are they? Furthermore, are your customers visual, audio, or kinesthetic buyers? Why does that matter? In this episode, Shanna and I talk not only talk about the difference between a commodity and a brand, and why you should strive to be the latter, but we also delve into the importance of creating and developing customer persona(s). We also touch upon the three different types of buyers every small business will come across and how you can serve them specific content depending on their needs. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

Deciding to invest in a brand photoshoot for your small business can be scary and in reality, it isn't as simple as pointing and shooting. In fact, a product photography photoshoot begins way before the actual photographs are taken.In this episode of Behind the Brand, we are doing things a little bit differently. This time we are chatting with Lucie Kirchnerová, a photographer and listener of the podcast, who wants to know a little bit more about what went into Now in Rio Swim's product photoshoot. We are breaking it all down and getting into the nitty-gritty on how to plan and prepare for your product photoshoot

Today, there are commodity-type products, also known as “so what products,” that have no differentiators on the product or service level, and yet people love them. These brands do not have an enhanced design, new technology, or innovative offerings, instead, they've developed an emotional connection with their customers. But how do you create that connection?In this episode, Fabian and I talk about how you can create a brand that everyone falls in love with. We talk about three of his eight brand traits that will help any business transform into an admired brand. They are Story, Delight & Solidarity. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

Most entrepreneurs don't start with venture funding. In fact, many entrepreneurs start with a couple of thousand dollars in the pocket that they've saved up so that they can launch their passion project. So how can you bootstrap your business to success?In 2012, Kristi sold her car and invested that money into her new business venture, Encircled - an ethical and sustainable fashion company. And in this episode, we are chatting all about how she invested her initial capital as well as her brand why, a look back on what she would do differently, tips on how to hire employees, and so much more. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

As branding guru Marty Neumeier says, a brand strategy is “a plan for the systematic development of brand in alignment with a business strategy.” A brand strategy helps you understand who you are and acts as a blueprint to help you communicate it. But how do you create a brand strategy? In this episode of Behind the Brand, we talk about the essential elements of a brand strategy and finish off talking about how you can create your mission, values, and vision.

The biggest part of branding is figuring out the promise that you make to a consumer and the expectation they have, this is almost every single time, the first place where an entrepreneur screws it up.In this episode, Marc and I talk about the first three principles from his book, Brand DIY, including how important it is for entrepreneurs to have a conversation with their potential customers; staking a claim in your consumer's brain through a positioning statement and weaving that perfect story to connect with your audience and sell your product. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

If you are selling a product, you are selling a commodity. And in the end, you are most likely selling the same thing every other company is selling. So why should people buy from you? Branding is the impression that you give people. If you don't have a brand, people can't connect with you, they can't trust you and they probably won't buy from you. In this episode, Laura and I talk about how to build a connection with your audience and clients by being your best authentic self, creating a brand that deeply aligns with you and the clients/customers you want to work with, the importance of mindset and how to share the essence of who you are.Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

Everything in branding starts and ends with your audience. Who are they? Where do they live? What do they drive? What do they read? What do they do? How do they feel? And what do they want? Your customer persona will guide everything from product development to your brand voice to even the social media channels you choose. In this episode, I chat about what a customer persona is, how to create one (with step-by-step instructions), plus I outline how I created the customer persona for my own brand, Now in Rio Swim. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

There's no point in embarking on a brand strategy unless its impact can be measured. Make sure to shape your brand story around quantifiable unique audience demand. If you do this then you are going to have a much better chance of cutting through the noise and getting people to do what you want them to do from a marketing and commercial standpoint instead of having a generic or non-specific kind of brand story. In this episode, Andrés and I talk about the importance of data in brand storytelling; the difference between customer and audience personas; the three questions that you need to ask when building your audience and how to best serve your audience depending on their customer journey. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

Do you have brand clarity? Are you able to describe your business and what makes it unique in 10 words or less? And if you have simple clarity do you know how to amplify that message? In this episode, Jeremy Miller and I talk about his origin story, specifically how re-branding his family business not only saved it but rocketed it to success while also talking about how you to create a brand that connects with people early and often so that when they have a need, they choose your business first. Do you know how to grow a brand that sticks? Tune in to find out how to create a Sticky Brand.Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

Everyone talks about their triumphs, but what about their mistakes? Well, let's be real, everyone makes mistakes, and it's important to learn from them to better yourself and your business. Mistakes are instrumental to success. In this episode, I chat about the five mistakes I made, and the lessons that I learned from them, before I even launched my business, Now in Rio Swim.Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

Guess what, if your brand strategy is bad, it usually ends up showing up in your marketing. Are you wondering why you aren't getting results on social media? Why your Facebook ads aren't working? If you answered yes to the above questions, then you probably have a brand problem. If your marketing isn't working, or your content is not resonating with your audience, or if people are not clicking onto your website, then it's time to reanalyze your brand strategy.In this episode, Marc and I talk about how every brand needs to start with strategy first; the importance of including your brand in your company culture; creating a brand connection; the power of authenticity, and the key branding question every business should ask. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

What is brand storytelling? And what do you exactly need to know before you hire a copyrighting studio? In this episode, Cassandra and I talk about the importance of brand storytelling; the difference between storytelling and brand messaging; and what businesses should know before they even think about hiring a copywriting studio. PLUS we chat about the difference between a content writer and a copywriter - do you how they are different?Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/Visit The Quirky Pineapple's website: https://www.thequirkypineapple.com/Visit Cassandra's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassandratle/

The Behind the Brand series focuses on the real-life experiences, joys, stories, and failures of my journey launching and building a sustainable and ethical fashion brand. In this episode, we are talking about competitor research, which I believe is one of, if not, THE most important thing you need to do before you even think about any other aspects of your brand strategy. Why? Well because it aims to uncover a gap that you can step into and call your own. Not only do I talk about how I conducted competitor analysis for Now in Rio Swimwear, but I also chat about its importance and outline exactly how you can conduct one yourself. Follow me on Instagram: @yvonneivanescuWebsite: https://yvonneivanescu.com

Is color really that important in branding? According to this week's guest, Alison Engel, YES it is. Colors are more than just a visual aid because colors convey emotions, feelings, and experiences. In this episode, Alison and I talk about color theory; the overlap between branding and personal styling, and why she chose her particular brand colors when launching her vegan delivery app, eat.life.

The Behind the Brand series focuses on the real life experiences, joys, stories, and failures of my journey launching and building a sustainable and ethical fashion brand. In this episode, we are going straight to the beginning. Why did I want to start an ethical and sustainable swimwear brand even though I've never worked in the fashion industry before and never have launched a product in my life? And most importantly, I answer the question of why you need to build a brand.

Did you know that a brand is not a logo? Branding begins with strategy and not design. In this episode, Melissa and Yvonne talk about finding your brand purpose; understanding how your values connect with that purpose; and discussing brand authenticity, highlighting that you should always practice what you preach.

Before choosing your logo, or launching your product, one of the first steps of starting a business is finding your business "why". Purpose can be one of the ultimate differentiators. To quote Simon Sinek, "people don't buy what you do or how you do it, they buy why you do it." In this episode we sit down with Yulia Stark, founder of the Fab Academy, to understand how individuals can identify the purpose behind their business.Follow Yulia on Instagram @yulia.stark or visit her website at https://www.yuliastark.com Follow Yvonne on Instagram @yvonneivaescu or visit her website at https://yvonneivanescu.com

What is branding? What should you expect from the Branding Lab podcast? In this show trailer, I'll introduce you to the show and, of course, myself.