How can brands position themselves for success in today’s marketplace? That is the question. And we have the answer! In this episode, we discuss proven brand positioning methodologies that actually work, complete with examples and practical steps you can use to develop your own brand positioning that are truly differentiating, distinctive, and highly relevant. To guide us, we have Ulli Appelbaum, the author of the new book The Brand Positioning Workbook: A simple how-to guide to more compelling brand positioning, faster. Ulli is an award-winning marketing and brand strategy consultant with more than 20 years of experience creating brand strategies and building brands, holding senior strategy roles at some of the largest advertising agencies in the world including BBDO, Leo Burnett, and SapientNitro. If you want to be able to create attractive brands that succeed in today’s marketplace, this is the episode for you!

David Aaker is the author of over 100 articles and 18 books on branding, business strategy, and marketing that have sold well over one million copies. Hailed the “Father of Modern Branding”, David is a true authority on branding and we’re incredibly humbled to have him here on JUST Branding. In this episode, we focus on two of his recent books… The first is “Owning Game-Changing Subcategories” which focuses on disruptive innovation & growth in the digital age. And the second is his latest book, The Future of Purpose-Driven Branding: Signature Programs that Impact & Inspire Both Business and Society. Tune in to understand how brands can break through with disruptive innovation and the “must-haves” for growth in the digital age. Plus, how brands can maintain relevance & connect with future consumers through purpose-driven branding while avoiding green-washing.

What stories are you living? What about your brand? And how do you manage that meaning? With Archetypes. And who better to discuss the power of archetypes than Carol S. Pearson? Carol is the co-author of “The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes” (Published 2001), alongside Margaret Mark. This book has been incredibly influential in the brand strategy space as its ideas on archetypes have been taken and used to align teams and intentionally build brands. Carol’s latest work focuses on exploring how archetypes show up in individuals and her recent book is called "What Stories are You Living? Discover Your Archetypes, Transform Your Life." In this episode, Matt Davies and Jacob Cass discuss Carol's work – both past and present – to uncover the power of archetypes and how this knowledge should be used and how it should not.

We get super practical with Israeli duo, Margaret Jerr-Jarrett, and Emunah Winer, founders of Jerusalem-based agency, Nihilo. We tuck into how they use words and ideas to build powerful brands and we explore how the strategic elements of brand building find their way into the creative look and feel and customer experiences a brand produces for customers. We review what a “Verbal” Identity is and why brands need one. We also explore the principles of the tone of voice and how a verbal identity connects with visual identity. We also do a deep dive into how this duo works and goes about creating and defining brand identity as well as exploring live projects. If you want a peak behind the scenes as to how the brand building works in practice - this episode is not to be missed.

Ezequiel Abramzon is a brand strategist who spent 20+ years working as an executive at Disney as a marketer and strategist running digital across LATAM and later overseeing global creative from the UK. He now lives in Spain where he works as a consultant helping entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial companies transform the way they see their business by unlocking their brand mindset. And brand mindset is the focus of this episode. We explore what a brand mindset is and why businesses need it. We go deep into the 6 traits of a brand mindset and explore how to develop each trait. We also pick Ezequiel's brains on how to keep a mindset on track - both for yourself and your team.

Who better to learn about consulting from than "the consultants consultant" Alan Weiss? Alan wrote the famous best selling book "Million Dollar Consultant" and is the author of over 60 books on consulting and business. In this episode Matt and Jacob sit down with Alan to discuss how the principles of Alan's books can be applied to brand strategy. We explore why consultancy is a good option, different consulting approaches, how to sell it and how to grow a consulting practice. We go deep into value based billing and show how selling time is a terrible idea. Matt is especially thrilled with this episode as he has been using Alan's techniques to great success. This episode is NOT to be missed!

Friction isn't something to be avoided. Successful brands not only understand the difference between good and bad friction but also know how to embrace a dose of good friction to create greater value. Soon Yu, author of ‘Friction: 'Adding Value By Making People Work for It' will show you how to leverage good friction to drive increased engagement, meaning, belonging, rapport, assurance, competence, and exclusivity, for more memorable brand experiences. Soon Yu is an international speaker, award-winning author, and expert on innovation, branding, design, and entrepreneurship. He has worked with brands such as The North Face, Vans, Timberland, Nautica, and Wrangler and is a former adjunct professor at Parsons School of Design, a guest lecturer at Stanford University, and a Forbes contributor.

Austin Franke is a brand strategist and the founder of WooPunch, a brand & design consultancy rooted in the science of how brands grow. Austin is going to be sharing his approach to brand, which is a less conventional approach, based on behavioral science and other evidence-based fields. We’re going to “debunk” or at least throw a few punches around in regards to what Austin calls “Branding Bullshit”. In particular, brand differentiation, customer engagement, brand purpose from a values viewpoint, loyalty marketing, and how designers can truly help a brand grow beyond the typical clichés. Now get into your corners, and welcome to the ring, Austin Franke.

Big companies struggle with the principles of brand. In this episode we sit down with Freelance Internal Brand Strategist, the powerful Meg Kypena. In this episode we dig deep into how corporations can use the power of branding to align their people and communicate better. This is branding from the inside, out.

This episode is a real treat for anyone looking to level up on how to work on brand strategy collaboratively. Matt Davies and Jacob Cass sit down with global agency leader Dennis Hahn of Liquid agency. Together they quiz Dennis on his 'agile swarming' methodology covering what swarming is and what problems it solves for leadership, strategy, and creative teams. Dennis outlines his principles for swarming and how to conduct a swarm. He also gives insights on what makes a great facilitator, the environment, and the tools he uses for success. If you want to know how an agency at the cutting edge is doing its strategy work this is the episode for you. Not to be missed.