JUST Branding

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.

If you are serious about brand building at scale, this is the episode for you. Richard Cotter is a brand consultant at the top of his game. He left school at 17 and developed his career to the point where now he is parachuted to work with large organizations that have brands that are underperforming and help scale them. He is best known for turning around outdoor performance and lifestyle brand Berghaus. He is the author of the book The Zebra Reality: How to Create Unstoppable Organizational Momentum’ and achieve all your business goals. In this episode, Matt Davies and Jacob Cass sit down with Richard and tuck into how he has got to where he is and his top tips on scaling underperforming brands. We talk about differentiation, attributes of global brands, the power of alignment, and the five steps for creating organizational momentum. A super episode packed with value with someone who has been there, done it, and got the Berghaus T-shirt.

What does Web3 mean for brands & creatives? What about NFTs and The Metaverse?  We break it all down for you in layman’s terms, with special guest Kostas K! We go over the fundamentals of Web3 including its definition, why it matters, tokens, the blockchain, cryptocurrency, wallets, and trends in the space.  Plus a discussion around NFTs, what they are (and are not), and the opportunities brands and creatives can tap into such as AR & VR, DeFi, DAOs, Virtual Commerce, Digital Assets including Digital Real Estate, Virtual Worlds, the Metaverse, Mixed Reality Solutions, the Blockchain & the Decentralised Web, and so much more!  Ready to go down the Web3 rabbit hole? Jump in. "