The LISTEN Phase of the branding process (part 1 of 3)
There are three types of branding projects:
One results in a pretty, non-threatening, polished, trendy, cookie-cutter brand that establishes you as another decent person in your field. You drop thousands of dollars on a brand designer every few years and hope it doesn’t get dated too fast. You don’t stand out, but whatevs (this keeps you exhausted trying to differentiate yourself in all the other ways, while wondering why you can’t seem to position yourself as a standout business.)
The second is the "by accident" brand. That's the one you cobble together in fits and starts, sometimes inspired, sometimes rushed - and always a bit limited by feeling unready or overwhelmed by the branding process (this also keeps you exhausted trying to differentiate yourself in all the other ways, and hinders people’s trust in your work.)
The third results in something unmistakeable, and it establishes you as an original and a leader in your field. It’s a brand that has a strong core identity and voice, but evolves with the pace of culture in always fresh and relevant ways. That's called a visionary brand, and people who have it SING OUT CLEARLY in the noise of our fast paced culture.
I outline the phases of the visionary branding process in the free workshop Build Your Visionary Brand - and in these videos, I go into more depth on each of the phases. Here’s one assignment from phase one: LISTEN. Enjoy!
BREAKING NEWS
If you missed the free workshops on July 20 and 21, I’ve got good news. Due to popular demand: