To build and market your brand, you must make a series of small decisions—from names, to features, to furniture—that add up to send an overarching signal to customers. While some decisions may seem inconsequential, ask yourself how they contribute to the signal your brand sends.
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Five marketing books recommended by Mark Ritson
With so many marketing books on Amazon (and elsewhere), it’s hard to know what’s essential, what’s good, and what’s garbage. That’s why I was happy to get some recommendations recently from someone whose marketing expertise I respect: Mark Ritson. Ritson teaches Marketing Week’s Mini MBA in Marketing, which I recently completed. If you don’t know him, he’s […]
The best logo designers of all time
This article was written with the assistance of AI. It has been edited and fact-checked by humans. Logo design is a crucial element in establishing a brand’s identity and communicating its values. Skillfully crafted logos can convey professionalism, trustworthiness, and quality, and they have the power to make a lasting impact on consumers. Throughout history, […]
Q&A with Matt Egan of Siegel+Gale
Matt Egan is managing director, strategy, at global brand experience firm Siegel+Gale. With 20 years of experience in marketing and brand consulting, Matt has worked with clients like HP, GE, and Marriott. His work has taken him around the world, from the USA to the UK, South Africa, and Asia. Matt and I have worked […]
The top branding experts to follow in 2023
Who are the top branding experts to follow in 2023? “Top” is a subjective term. Instead, I’m going to offer eight individuals who are inarguably branding experts and explain why I think they’re among the best in various categories. I’ll include those who are experts at branding on social media, those with best-selling books, and […]
Brand naming course review: Fundamentals of Memorable Brand Naming with Rob Meyerson
TL; DR: Names impact the longevity and prosperity of a business. This brand naming course teaches you how to properly develop professional quality and effective brand names. If you could optimize one of, if not the most encountered assets of a business or brand would you? Who wouldn’t? Why shortchange your sales, brand salience, […]
Q&A with Katie Klencheski, founder of SMAKK
Katie Klencheski is founder and creative director of SMAKK, a branding and growth studio in New York. She started her career in advertising working brands like Sony, AMEX, Catier, and Trump (yes … that Trump, and yes … we talk about it). Today, at SMAKK, she says she’s “on a mission to change consumer behavior […]
Best branding books to look for in 2023
Who needs another list of the best branding books? Every year, it seems, dozens of new branding books are published. So many, one could be forgiven for wondering whether there’s really anything new to write on the subject! But then, every now and again, a book like How Brands Grow (2010) makes a huge impact, […]
Branding color psychology is mostly (but not entirely) bullshit
You see red, you feel passion. You see blue, you feel calm. Those types of color-emotion mappings form the basis of the pseudoscientific field known as branding color psychology. Color psychology is the theory that colors affect human behavior and emotions. There’s some research to back this up—for instance, one study found that the color red […]
Q&A with Sarah Robb of Brand Strategy Academy
Sarah Robb is a London-based brand strategist with over 20 years working at agencies like Landor and WPP. She now runs her own consultancy, Brand Lateral, teaches the Brand Strategy Academy, and speaks on topics related to brand strategy. I wanted to interview Sarah Robb partly because I’m interested in the brand education space, which […]
Brand renaming: Avoid these 7 big rebranding mistakes
When companies ask my advice on brand renaming, my answer is typically to avoid change as much as possible. Consistency is so important to building a strong brand over time, and repetition is key to consistency. Right about when we’re getting sick of repeating our brand name is when our customers finally start to remember […]
How to be a designer in the post-advertising era
We live in a post-advertising era. Right? Media divergence, social platforms, and a new generation of brand-savvy (and skeptical) consumers have collided to effectively demand a more layered approach, changing the entire communications landscape—and with it, what it means to be a designer. How has advertising evolved? Advertising, careers, and egos were built on […]