Search Results: branding
Being Undervalued Vs. Being ‘The One’
Design is undervalued. So is journalism, and songwriting, and the guy who wrote the code that made the balls in the app bounce. I can have a logo designed for $249 using one of many crowd sourced design platforms. I’ll get 30 designs to choose from and although many will dispute this, it will probably be good enough. It’s a problem for sure.
And yet designer and letterer Jessica Hische is sought after, she gets to choose who she works with and names her price. If I want to apply design thinking to a new innovation, of course I go straight to IDEO because, well who else would you go to but the best? Nancy Duarte’s company designs presentations for people like Al Gore and Bill Gates, and companies like Twitter and Hewlett Packard. If you want to shine at TED Global hiring Duarte is a no brainer.
Every day people are being well paid to use the skills you have, not because they are better than you, but because they decided that’s what they wanted and they worked towards it. They recognised the truth about their talents, they taught themselves how to see what people really wanted and they executed with difference.
Should the Samsung CEO spend his day punching his desk, while lamenting why we fall in love with anything Apple designs and brings to market, every damn time? Or should he just get on and lead the company so that it creates difference for its customers.
The answer is not to sit around imploring the industry, or the customer to give us back our value.
It’s not up to our customers to value us. It’s up to us to show them why they should, and to do work that communicates our difference. There is no more business as usual for musicians, or journalists, designers and [insert your profession here, for it’s sure to be next].
No cushy numbers. No get out of jail free card. There is only work that matters.
The way forward for designers, creatives, and maybe you or your company, is not to be lumped in with the competition. It’s to demonstrate your difference. To be ‘the one’. You must do what it takes not to be just another creative or professional, but to be the creative or professional that people who want the particular must have. You might not be able to change how the world values your profession, but you can change how you are valued by doing work that matters. Work that changes how people feel, not just what they think.
We have two choices. We can stand around looking at the train wreck of what was, or we can design our own futures.
Which are you going for?
Art (or is it graffiti?) by Banksy.
Image by Wally Gobetz.
Media
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Bernadette Jiwa is business author and brand story strategist.
She works with entrepreneurs, passionate companies and visionary business leaders, helping them to bake meaning into their brand so that they can be more than a replaceable commodity. Bernadette helps them to stand out in today’s noisy, crowded marketplace by honing their position and showing them how to communicate their difference through their brand story.
She also creates unforgettable brand names, product names and book titles.
Bernadette is the author of #1 Amazon Bestseller
Make Your Idea Matter.
Her blog was voted Best Australian Business Blog 2012.
She developed the marketing model (soon to be her second book) The Fortune Cookie Principle™ and spoke about this and the secret to spreading ideas at TEDxPerth.
Bernadette has been named as one of The Top 100 Branding Experts To Follow On Twitter.
She’s also worked with “the world’s greatest marketer” and bestselling author Seth Godin on the ‘Big Book’ that was one of the rewards in Seth’s Kickstarter campaign.
The Number One Marketing Opportunity You’ve Probably Overlooked
filed in Marketing, Storytelling
Yes I know marketing is one of those icky words. It smacks of snake oil salesmen, hard sell merchants and spammers who interrupt without permission. You don’t want to be in any one of those categories and you don’t have to be.
Marketing and branding is about turning up the volume on your mission, so that the right people can hear your message. Often it’s about gently reminding the people who do want to hear from you how you can help them and that receptive audience is right under your nose in your email inbox.
Are you getting the word out about who you are, what you do and why you do it to those people in your email signature?
12 TIPS TO CREATE A GREAT EMAIL SIGNATURE
1. Keep it short, simple and memorable, usually no more than three to four lines.
2. Identify yourself by adding your full name, company and role if appropriate.
3. Use pipes to neatly separate information, (Branding | Website design | SEO |).
4. Add your best contact details, avoid using a string of different numbers unless you really need to.
5. Link to your website or blog. The accepted way to do this is to provide a written URL to insure the link goes through with your message.
6. Include links to your important professional profiles or business pages on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc.
7. If you include your logo don’t make your entire signature an image because most email clients store images as attachments and block them by default.
8. If you’ve got room, add your tagline or link to any significant recent achievements or awards.
9. Consider customising the default email signature on your mobile device too; iPhone, iPad or Blackberry.
10. If you want to use specific formatting or graphic links think about using an email signature service like
Wise Stamp.
11. Separate your signature from the email content. The standard break most email clients recognise is – – – –.
12. Don’t be afraid to be you and show some personality in your signature. You’re not just selling, you’re building trust and likeability too.
What ways have you found to promote yourself in your email signature?
Do you have any examples of great email signatures to share?
Image by zen sutherland.
The Business Plan For The Social Web
filed in Entrepreneurship, Marketing
The business plan for the social web is….. that you just never know ~ Mark Schaefer
I’ve been talking a lot lately about having the courage to bring more of yourself into your work, bio, about pages and your online presence. I’m not talking about the traditional perception that many people have of ‘personal branding’ which is likened to putting lipstick on a pig. I want to encourage you to amplify the very best of what you’ve got, the ‘real’ you.
The bottom line is this, your biggest point of differentiation is the fact that you are different. You’ve got a unique set of experiences, your own voice, perspectives, values and opinions. Talk about stating the obvious! The thing is that I can almost certainly guarantee that you haven’t turned up the volume on your differences enough. And once you start expressing those in your business magical things happen. They did for my guest Mark Schaefer who I was thrilled to have the opportunity to speak a couple of weeks ago (link to the audio of our interview at the bottom of this post).
Mark writes the hugely popular marketing blog Business Grow. He is a marketing and social media expert with more than 28 years of experience under his belt and author of the Tao of Twitter. Mark has successfully grown his business online by having the courage to be himself and tapping into his unique experience, values, personality, and heart. Some of the things we touch on in this interview are:
- Why traditional marketing skills still work online
- How to be successful using social media by following your instincts
- Why your unique perspective is actually your point of differentiation
- The secret to finding your target market ~ it’s not what you think
- Why approaching social media from a sales mindset is a bad idea
Image by Frozen Capybara
How Not To Name A Startup Or Anything
filed in Brand Naming, Strategy
A brand name is more than a word. It is the beginning of a conversation. ~ Lexicon
Everyone can agree that there’s nothing really objectionable about calling your business ‘Bargain World’. It’s an innocuous name and most people won’t hate it. And that’s the problem.
If you’re going to name your business, non-profit, product or service something that people won’t hate, then you’re giving yourself an identity that they will never be able to care about either.
Bunkum! I hear your cry what about Apple and Amazon, aren’t they just unobjectionable words too? Back in 1976 when Apple was Apple Computer, tech startups and corporations were called IBM (what does that stand for?) and Microsoft. I bet a few people were laughing behind their hands at the idea of branding an incorporated tech company with a stripey apple. When Jeff Bezos named Amazon after one of the biggest rivers in the world in 1994, other book stores were called Borders Books and Waldenbooks. It didn’t take people long to fall in love with Amazon, which of course aspired to be the biggest, fastest, get what you want bookstore, (that had room to grow not to be just a bookstore) in the world.
Your business or product name is the hook on which you hang your story and start the conversation with customers. It’s the mechanism you give people to identify you. And when you earn their trust and loyalty it’s the way they spread the news about you. Your brand and product names are some of the most priceless assets your business can own. They should make you stand out, not fit in.
If nobody can find an objection to the brand name you choose, then you’ve probably got the wrong name. This kind of brand naming architecture often happens by committee, which means you end up with something that will be forgotten. Your name should polarize people, spark their interest and make them want to get to know more about what you do.
Here’s a simple test. If you can’t imagine someone wanting to wear your name on a t-shirt one day, then it’s probably not the right name for you now.
I know that choosing a name for your brand has caused you to waste valuable time and slowed down growth and momentum in your business, so I’m working on the brand naming white paper you asked for, which will be available to you soon. Hallelujah!
How did you choose your brand, blog or business name? Which brand names do you love and why? Which ones do you wish you’d thought of first?
Image by World of Good
Portfolio
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Brand names that work and stick
I’ve watched many great ideas and potentially life-changing businesses stall for months and sometimes even years for want of a brand name. Don’t let that happen to your big idea. It’s unlikely that months spent sifting through the thesaurus will lead you to the perfect brand name. Maybe it’s time to kiss goodbye to those endless lists of tired names you’ve been brainstorming and polling your friends about for months.
Over the years I have earned a reputation for creating brand names that become the foundation for the stories brands want to tell. Below are just some of the brand names I’ve created for startups, companies, products, non-profits, books and apps 90% of the names I create are .com available or .org available for non-profits.
CONTACT ME to discuss your brand naming project.
Sharpe & Abel
My client wanted to communicate the strengths of her law firm in legal strategy needed a name that harked back to traditional roots with a modern twist.
Cusp
A technology company that’s creating a new range of smart appliances for the home. They needed a name that could be used internationally and communicated the visionary nature of the brand.
Smirk
After years running a successful lighting company in Melbourne, my client needed a name for the new smart lighting arm of their business. The name is a nod to both their product and their customers.
Tandem
Following working together on brand story strategy, I was commissioned to create a new brand name that reflected the values and essence of this successful, client-focused financial advisory firm.
White Water
A 21st-century online learning platform that embraces multidisciplinary thinking to provide people with the knowledge and tools for a fulfilling life.
Waymark
Following a successful career in change management, Joe was ready to launch his change management consultancy. He wanted a brand name that would garner trust, reflect his expertise and one that his business could grow into.
Sift
Recipe platform and smart kitchen appliance app.
Partner
Four years after contacting me to enquire about naming his accounting firm, Paul who is based in the UK was ready to go ahead and Partner Accountancy was born.
Brickraise
Real estate crowdfunding platform.
SupperUp
Meal kit delivery service.
Money For The Rest Of Us
My client needing a compelling book title and podcast name that would stand out both on Amazon and iTunes and so Money For The Rest Of Us was born. He has had emails from listeners saying they signed up for the podcast based on their attraction to the name alone.
The Journal of Health Design
A new online medical journal that needed a name which resonated both with industry experts and the medical community.
VOW
Couture digital fashion brand and store.
Haven Lane
Haven Lane is a relaunch of the brand formerly known as the Healthy Chair Company. The CEO approached me to create a new brand name that encompassed a whole new vision for her brand which designs, furnishes and styles homes for aged care.
Storywise
A U.S. based non-profit foundation which supports children’s literacy.
Raine & Makin
Rusty and Luke have been creating designs for passionate people for many years. They are true rainmakers who needed a name for their newly launched business. It was my privilege to work with them.
Stoneturn
An Australian financial planning and wealth creation company that does whatever it takes to get results for its clients.
Story Republic
Boutique film production company.
Food & Joy
Charlotte is nutritionist who is on a mission to help repair people’s relationship with food. She needed a name that reflected that mission.
evie
evie is the world’s first smart kitchen appliance by CUSP, the digital appliance company which I also named.
Portermark
Provides cleaning and maintenance services to the hospitality industry.
The Content Code
Bestselling content marketing book title.
Hungry Nuts
Matt had the vision to produce a quality nutritious nut mix at a fair price. He also wanted his company to give back to the hungry in the community. For every bag of nuts sold Hungry Nuts will donate $1 to fight hunger in New York.
Bide Magazine
A new quarterly publication focused bringing its readers quality writing about society, culture, politics, business, food, travel, reading and remembering. Bide needed a strong easy to remember name that reflected what the editor felt would be the essence of the brand. A magazine the reader becomes absorbed in, full of the kind of writing that stays with you.
Really Savvy
Sam Tyers, the founder of Really Savvy, was stuck with the problem of finding a name in the sustainability space that didn’t feel too ‘hippie’, and adopt overused ‘Eco’ and ‘green’ messaging. Her newly launched responsible tourism consultancy operates on the premise that being ‘green’ isn’t about compromise it’s about being smarter in business, respecting people, places and the planet, and offering customers memorable experiences.
Believe Your Ears
The British Paraorchestra is levelling the playing field of musical excellence for disabled musicians. They needed a brand story and tagline that conveyed their essence— that these artists should be defined by their abilities, not by their physical limitations.
Your Darling Blog
Accomplished designer and blogger Jo Klima was planning to launch a unique online blog design workshop and was stuck on the name that would reflect everything the course set out to support her clients to do. Your Darling Blog aligns with Jo’s design studio branding and speaks to her target audience. Obtaining the .com domain was also an important consideration.
Tomorrow Is…
Founders Janis, Deb, Sue and Julie got together around a big vision. They wanted to share the message of possibility and potential with women in the lifestyle design space.
They were thrilled with their new name.
One Twenty Eighty
This was such a fun naming project to work on, not least because Julia was the dream client who put total trust in the process. She was setting up a medical billing company, an administration service to support doctors. My background in the field meant that we had a clutch of great names to choose from. One Twenty Eighty just nudged in front because of its exclusivity online, layered meaning for medics and the way it just flows.
Work for Money, Design for Love
David Airey is a graphic designer and design author, who has built a reputation as a thought leader in the area of visual branding and working in design. His blogs reach more than 100,000 people worldwide, and his first book Logo Design Love is an Amazon bestseller. David was struggling for a compelling title for his latest book about working in the design industry. He not only needed a compelling original title but the domain needed to be .com available. I believe Work for Money, Design for Love delivers that.
Do Your Bit
Days of Change wanted to launch their social change location based, sustainability website and application with a sticky name that encompassed what creating change in communities is all about.
The lack of a name and available domain had stalled the project. They were thrilled with their new name and also to find that Do Your Bit was domain available and not being used in the sustainability space.
Be Enough
As part of a new website relaunch, the National Eating Disorders Collaboration (Australia) was looking for a name to re-brand the client education section of the website. I was commissioned to create a name that would resonate with those affected by eating disorders.
Design Truths
Reese Spykerman has built an international reputation for her design genius. She wanted a name for her latest venture, where she explores the fundamentals of design. I was delighted to be to create a name that summed up her vision for this project.
The Vinery
Brendan is an entrepreneur with a big vision for creating a new kind of wine tasting experience. He wanted a simple, upmarket and memorable brand name for his new project.
clrify
Brand name created for an SEO and marketing consultancy.
Live Loud®
Created and trademarked to brand a clothing line.
Corporate giants Samsung and Jagermeister subsequently went on to use this name to market their products.
Miles From Now
Name for white wine.
Creating names for wines and wine labels can be challenging, with so many great names out there vying for customer attention.
The name and the label often sway the customer.
Art Does Good
Melissa needed a sticky name for her Kickstarter project.
She was embarking on a thesis and tour around the subject of revitalising communities through the arts.
Twordle
Brand name for a word based website app.
You Are The Mapmaker
Book title.
Hatch & Co
Innovation and idea generation consultancy.
Pencil Cravings
Brand name for a designer and illustrators website, portfolio and blog.
Jennifer Kay
Kim is a designer who wanted to brand her new venture.
She wanted a sophisticated name that would enable her business and avoid her being pigeonholed in one area.
Naked Water
The product name for a different kind of bottled water.
Etchd
Brand strategy consultancy.
No Reels
No Reels was created for a digital film company.
Stacked Full
The evocative name for the best bookshop in the world.
Paper Feather
Brand name for a boutique paper and stationary supplier.
Australasian Medical Journal®
The brand name for the Australasian Medical Journal was created as a result of wanting to drive a bigger vision for an online medical journal.
Unsip
Unsip was created for a non-profit iPhone app which encourages people to give up a coffee and donate the cost of it to charity.
Coolmelt Creative
Design and branding agency.
Chillxr
Product name for a relaxing drinks company.
How Does Your Business Sound?
filed in Brand Naming, Strategy
“To handle a language skillfully is to practice a kind of evocative sorcery.” Charles Baudelaire
Have you ever thought about what makes a good brand name? Is your business name evocative or interesting, fun or maybe just a bit boring?
Some of the best brand names evoke emotions and memories, eliciting feelings within us. The interesting ones make us curious. Fun, irreverent names make us smile, drawing us closer and even boring brand names have their place as long as they align with the brand story.
So what does evocative, interesting, fun and boring sound like?
Evocative
Any of the product names from 37 signals. Campfire, Basecamp and Backpack.
Believe in, design and Branding agency. Innocent, juices. Upon A Fold, all things origami.
Some of my creations Tomorrow is, lifestyle design. Haven Lane, interior design for aged care.
Interesting
Orange Boot Bakery. Mashable. Flickr. Twitter. Google.
Fun
Virgin. Tik Tok. Nudie. Art Does Good. Really Savvy, responsible tourism consultancy.
Boring
Toy World. Don’s Art Supplies. Jim’s Mowing. British Medical Journal.
What does your brand name sound like?
How does your business name make people feel?
Does your idea sound boring?
Will that product name make people stop and take notice?
Is the name aligned with your vision and values?
Is it the best it could be?
Could you make it better?
How does your business sound?
Image by Suzan Almond
Taking Control Of Your Personal Brand
filed in Storytelling
“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” Dr Seuss
And dead or alive you know that you are going to be ‘Googled’. You may not be able to control what others say about you but you can take steps to tell your own story and actively manage your reputation.
‘Personal branding’ is simply how we market ourselves to others, we do it subconsciously every day in the way we dress, speak and act. Think about it as a way of framing your reputation. In the old days when we lived and worked in the village it was possible to do business and strengthen your reputation just by being the only butcher, baker or candlestick maker in town. That’s a little more difficult to pull off these days.
A Google search for ‘graphic designer’ turns up more than 25 million results and the designer David Airey shows up as one of the first. David has built a personal brand online and stellar reputation in his niche over six years with hard work and generosity.
He did this by:
1. Investing time in creating a reputation by choosing to define who he is and what he stands for with an online presence.
2. Deciding how he would like to be perceived in his niche and setting goals for what he wanted to achieve.
3. Leveraging his online platforms to communicate his ability and showcase his expertise.
4. Building a community and connections around his work and his passion using three blogs, David Airey, Logo Design Love and Identity Designed.
5. Evolving his brand as his reputation grew and authoring a book based on this.
6. Openly displaying his work, ethics and authenticity across all of these platforms in both posts and comments.
7. Giving people in his niche a place to come to stay up to date, interact, acquire and share knowledge.
8. Doing great work for clients he chooses to work with.
All the tools that were available to David six years ago and much more are available to you today.
If your story is going to be told you might as well be the one to tell it.
Image by Shawn Rossi
Happy Clients
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And the reason that I love the work I do…
– Antonio Zea, Director of Innovation Adidas
– Chris Bruzzo, Chief Marketing Officer, Electronic Arts
– Shannon Whitehead & Kristen Glenn, Founders of {r}evolution apparel
– Jonathan Raymond, EMyth, VP Marketing
– Anthony Petrucci, Senior Director, Corporate Communications, HID Global
– Rod Moynihan, Director, Australia & New Zealand, Zendesk
– Tara Gentile, The You Economist & Author of The Art of Earning
– Sunni Brown, Best-Selling Author of The Doodle Revolution
– Michael Garvey, Senior Digital Designer, Zappos
– Isabel Serranoh, Co Founder, Atentica Collective
– Charles Hazelwood, Founder British Paraorchestra
– Kate O’Brien, CEO, Alima Pure Cosmetics
– Franz Drack, Founder, Kamarg
– Dr. Charles Cole, Founder, Same Day Dental
– Melissa Kirby, Lawyer & Strategist Sharpe & Abel
– Seth Godin, Best Selling Author
– Tenzing Skincare, Preston, John & Dan, Co Founders
– Zaun Bhana, Managing Director, Leap Consulting
– Chelsea Shukov, CEO of Sugar Paper
– Heather Spriggs, Gatherings Magazine
– Helene Strom, Global Brand Director, ASSA ABLOY
– Anna Spargo-Ryan, Founder & Editor of Bide Magazine
– Chantelle Baxter, Co-Founder of One Girl and The Launch Pad Project
– Deborah Holland, Co-Founder of Smith Holland UK
– J. David Stein, Author of Money For The Rest Of Us
– Stuart K. Hall, Founder of Appbot
– Brendan Lobo, Director of Marketing at Portermark
– Mark Schaefer, Executive Director, Schaefer Marketing Solutions
– Samuel Asarnoj, Business Development Director, ASSA ABLOY
– Fiona Brooks, Founder of Threefold
– Paul Harrison, Partner Accountancy
– Laura Kelly, CEO of The Handwork Studio
– Andrew Katkin, Brand Director at Electronic Arts
– Hana Kanjaa, Founder MiMamaMe
– Dolores Shore, Director Human Resources, ASSA ABLOY Hospitality
– Julie Hedlund, Author and Founder of The 12×12 Author Challenge
– Alexx Stuart, Founder, Low Tox Life
– Justin Elrod, Founder, The Elrod Firm
– Deb Pang Davis, Founder Cococello
– Robert Gerrish, Best Australian Blog Judge
– Dave McKinney, Founder of Discovr
– Samantha Tyers, Founder Really Savvy
– Paula Anderson, Telstra Business Woman of the Year Finalist 2010
– Julia Moses, Director of One Twenty Eighty
– Stanford Smith, VP of Marketing at Fluency Media
– Janis Johnstone, tomorrow is
– Bob Poole, Author of Listen First Sell Later
– Melissa Vest, Art Does Good
– Taruna Bajaj, VP of Marketing, Alliance Credit Union,
Want help telling your right story?
Brand Naming
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Differentiate your brand
with an unforgettable business name.
with an unforgettable business name.
The words you use to identify your brand matters, a great brand name can make you stand out and make people curious to know more about your business.
Your Brand Name Is The Start Of Your Story
Over the years I’ve earned a reputation for communicating the essence of ideas and creating compelling brand names that help ideas to spread. Your company or idea deserves a name that sets it apart.
I’d love to help you create:
memorable brand names
inspiring product names
compelling taglines or book titles
Here are just a few examples of the most recent brand names I’ve created.
Sharpe & Abel
My client was founding a different kind of law firm. They needed to communicate their strengths as legal strategists and wanted a name that harked back to traditional roots with a modern twist.
Cusp
My client’s company is creating a new range of smart appliances for the home. They needed a name that could be used internationally and communicated the visionary nature of the brand.
Waymark
Following a successful career in change management Joe was ready to launch his own change management consultancy. He wanted a brand name that would garner trust, reflect his expertise and one that his business could grow into.
Haven Lane
Haven Lane is a relaunch of the brand formerly known as the Healthy Chair Company.
The CEO of the company approached me to create a new brand name that encompassed a whole new vision for the company which designs, furnishes and styles homes for aged care.
Storywise
A U.S. based non-profit foundation which supports children’s literacy.
Raine & Makin
Rusty and Luke have been creating design for passionate people for many years. They are true rainmakers who needed a name for their newly launched business. It was my privilege to work with them.
Stoneturn
An Australian financial planning and wealth creation company, that does whatever it takes to get results for its clients.
Story Republic
Boutique video production company.
Hungry Nuts
Matt had a vision to produce a quality nutritious nut mix at a fair price. He also wanted his company to give back to the hungry in the community. For every bag of nuts sold Hungry Nuts will donate $1 to fight hunger in New York.
Work for Money, Design for Love
David Airey is a graphic designer and design author, who has built a reputation as a thought leader in the area of visual branding and working in design. His blogs reach more than 100,000 people worldwide and his first book Logo Design Love is an Amazon bestseller. David was struggling for a compelling title for his latest book about working in the design industry. He not only needed a compelling original title but the domain needed to be .com available. I believe Work for Money, Design for Love delivers that.
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