The Vanishing Half is a multi-generational family saga that follows the lives of identical twin sisters Desiree and Stella Vignes. Raised in the fictional town of Mallard, Louisiana, where residents are exclusively people with light skin, the twins experience a formative moment when they witness the lynching of their father and later decide to run away to New Orleans at the age of 16. Stella begins to pass as white, securing a job as a secretary and eventually marrying a wealthy white man, while Desiree marries a dark-skinned man and faces an abusive marriage. The novel spans from the 1940s to the 1990s, exploring the complex lives of the twins and their daughters, Jude and Kennedy, delving into themes of race, gender, class, and the consequences of identity choices[2][4][5].
In this book, Rory Sutherland explores the art and science of creating magic in brands, business, and life. He combines scientific research with entertaining stories and case studies from his career, including campaigns for AmEx and Microsoft. Sutherland emphasizes the importance of understanding human behavior, highlighting how decisions are often influenced by subtle external signals rather than objective qualities. The book challenges traditional marketing strategies by advocating for a more holistic and creative approach, using techniques such as storytelling, social proof, and framing to influence consumer decisions. It also explores how these principles can be applied to various social aims beyond just selling products.
This book introduces the concept of positioning as a crucial strategy in marketing. It explains how to effectively communicate with a skeptical and media-blitzed public by creating a position in the prospect's mind that reflects the company's strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors. The authors provide valuable case histories and analyses of successful and failed advertising campaigns, emphasizing the importance of simplicity, consistency, and understanding how people think and evaluate information. The book also discusses strategies such as making and positioning an industry leader, occupying a niche, and repositioning competitors to create a unique market position.
What makes a great brand? After working at Google and Square, Arielle Jackson has spent the past eight years consulting startups on how to create powerful messaging that works. In this jam-packed episode, she shares how to pick a winning name for your company, create a brand purpose that excites your team and customers, and position your company and its products for success. You don’t want to miss this one!
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Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-of-building-legendary-brands
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Where to find Arielle Jackson:
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/hiiamarielle
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariellerjackson/
• Course: https://maven.com/arielle/startupbrandstrategy
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for making this episode possible:
• Flatfile: https://www.flatfile.com/lenny
• Unit: https://unit.co/lenny
• Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/lenny
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Referenced:
• Positioning Your Startup Is Vital—Here’s How to Nail It: https://review.firstround.com/Positioning-Your-Startup-is-Vital-Heres-How-to-Do-It-Right
• Three Moves Every Startup Founder Must Make to Build a Brand That Matters: https://review.firstround.com/three-moves-every-startup-founder-must-make-to-build-a-brand-that-matters
• What I Learned from Developing Branding for Airbnb, Dropbox, and Thumbtack: https://review.firstround.com/what-i-learned-from-developing-branding-for-airbnb-dropbox-and-thumbtack
• Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind: https://www.amazon.com/Positioning-Battle-Your-Al-Ries/dp/0071373586
• Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Alchemy-Curious-Science-Creating-Business/dp/006238841X
• The Vanishing Half: https://britbennett.com/the-vanishing-half
• The Mothers: https://britbennett.com/the-mothers
• Nik Sharma’s weekly newsletter: https://www.nik.co/subscribe
• How I Built This: https://www.npr.org/series/490248027/how-i-built-this
• In Depth: https://review.firstround.com/podcast
• Unseen Unknown: https://unseen-unknown.simplecast.com/
• Luca: https://movies.disney.com/luca
• Encanto: https://movies.disney.com/encanto
• Old Enough!: https://www.netflix.com/title/81506279
• The Sociology of Business with Ana Andjelic: https://andjelicaaa.substack.com
• David Ogilvy: https://www.oneclub.org/hall-of-fame/-bio/david-ogilvy
• Rory Sutherland: https://twitter.com/rorysutherland
• Seth Godin: https://seths.blog/
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In this episode, we cover:
[04:04] From making jewelry as a side hustle to launching products for Square: Arielle’s background[12:32] What makes a good name for a product or a startup[19:17] How to come up with a great name[24:59] How to run a naming brainstorm for the best results[31:09] Bad names and naming mistakes[34:17] Arielle’s brand development framework and when founders should implement it[36:02] How do you know when brand development is completed?[41:17] How long should branding take?[42:42] How to build a brand purpose that ignites excitement[48:51] Specific tactics for building your brand purpose[51:12] How to master your positioning[55:22] Why it’s important to stay niche when you’re mastering your positioning[59:15] The process of positioning and Arielle’s bar test[1:02:38] How to build a brand personality using the five big brand descriptions[1:07:39] Where to put brand and product positioning documents so they’ll actually get used[1:09:14] How startups can get PR[1:14:49] When should you hire a marketer?—Production and marketing: https://penname.co/
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Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career 
