Introduction

Brandversations is a collaboration between the principals of two firms with deep global brand expertise, and experience guiding some of the largest brands and companies in the world: Karl D. Speak (Brand Tool Box) and Gil Hanson (Hanson Design). We offer a best-in-class commitment and resources to all things Brand: research, positioning, design, development, training, marketing, communications and customer experience.

Brandversations is designed to stimulate new ways of thinking and engaging audiences in authentic brand experiences, inside and outside an organization, that build long-term relationships and loyalty.

4 things we know
1. Focusing efforts on creating a strong, admired brand image in the marketplace is only part of the formula for creating the kind of brand equity that affects the bottom line.

2. Organizations admired for their brand strength have learned the most important brand-building axiom – the brand on the outside is only as strong as the brand on the inside

3. Building from the inside out creates a strong, aligned culture.

4. The culture of strong, aligned brands is focused and passionate about how they use their beliefs and competencies to deliver real value to customers. In essence, they put the power of brand directly into the hands of those who will most influence relationships and therefore generate referrals.

Be Your Own Brand

Click here to learn more and pick up your copy! What people are saying about Be Your Own Brand “Be Your Own Brand explores the notion of a personal brand not as some kind of scripted performance but as the most genuine and natural affirmation of individual strengths and distinctiveness.” –Matthew Damon, President, Nilan Johnson ...

Unbranding the Word Brand

“In a world where the words new and fresh are relentlessly repeated on every product label, the name of the sales technique is getting old and stale. Where is the ad-Übermensch, the creative Ogilivy, who will put forward a new moniker for the name of the atmospheric marketing game? The time has come… to unbrand the word brand.”

The Value of Deconstruction

Part 2: Three Key Deconstruction Benchmarks by Gil Hanson & Sloane Murray Strategically speaking, a deconstruction ensures that your brand gets the attention it deserves through attention to identity and impeccable package design.  These checklist questions ensure that we have gained three distinct insights from the deconstruct phase: 1. With the graphic audit, have we ...

The Value of Deconstruction

Part 1: Our Point of View by Gil Hanson & Sloane Murray Brand identity and package design are ever increasingly critical components of business strategies as they contribute significantly to today’s marketing and sales successes.  While advertising efforts seek to create “need” or demand for a product, the package is ultimately responsible for the tangible ...

The Drive

Part 3: The Drive by Sloane Murray Let’s look at the example of Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi – what’s the difference?  Ask that question to an avid Coke drinker and he’ll go ballistic, insisting that there’s less of something bad and more of something good in his beloved product.  It’s more than just an attractive ad ...

The Selves

Part 2: The Selves by Sloane Murray   Before we dive too far into the depths of identity, it’s important we establish and recognize what one’s identity consists of: a compilation of many different “selves.”  For our basic purposes, we will address four different versions of the self that are present in every person and ...

Humans Crave Brands

  Part 1: Humans Crave Brands by Sloane Murray We are human beings: creative, intelligent and social, craving a unique interaction with a fast-paced world.  Lucky for us, we live in a world that evolves as we do, adjusting to meet our growing standards and expectations.  In a mass effort to meet and embrace these ...

Argosy

Brand Inside Meets Brand Outside

Building a strong brand has offered the promise of transforming the way organizations encourage customer loyalty, gain sustainable competitive advantage, and generate superior financial results. Clearly some organizations have reaped those benefits by championing the discipline of corporate brand management.