Author: Colin Finkle

  • What is a Veblen Good?

    What is a Veblen Good?

    Diamonds and Ferrari’s. Goods and brands that cannot seem to charge enough to lower demand. I was taught the law of demand when I went took economics at Carleton University. If something can be made cheaper, then people will buy more of it. If the price is raised, then people buy less. But some brands…

  • Logo Design Trends for 2020

    Logo Design Trends for 2020

    Understanding the trends forcing companies to rebrand will help you develop better logos. Logos are a part of our culture, and culture is always in flux. Aesthetic preferences change, things don’t mean what they used to, and perceptions of logos may not be what they once were. Many companies spend millions of dollars to rebrand to ensure…

  • How To Design An Exterior Business Sign

    How To Design An Exterior Business Sign

    A complete guide to help business owners and graphic designers develop exterior business signs that stand out. Feature Image: Sundry Photography – stock.adobe.com In the decade I have spent helping brands market themselves at retail, I have designed many signs for inside spaces. I understand what makes effective signage. But recently, I had the opportunity…

  • Endorsements in Marketing

    Endorsements in Marketing

    Defining Endorsement Marketing and a guide to when / how to use endorsements to build your brand. Endorsements are a large part of marketing. Purportedly 28% of Nike’s enormous marketing budget goes to athletes to secure their endorsements. We see famous faces on the ads and packaging from everything from bed sheets to cereal. And…

  • Why does professional logo design cost so much?

    Why does professional logo design cost so much?

    Clients can purchase logos range from free to tens of thousands of dollars. Entrepreneurs can get sticker shock from some professional logo designer’s quotes. The process of arriving at a high quality logo is requires time and talent, and top quality designers are in demand. A well designed logo can really help your company grow…

  • Examples of Successful Sub-Brands

    Examples of Successful Sub-Brands

    A Sub-Brand modifies the expectations of a parent brand. Some company’s brand architecture has many sub-brands (eg Hilton) while others have few (eg Coca-Cola)

  • What is vertical branding? What is horizontal branding?

    What is vertical branding? What is horizontal branding?

    A vertical branding strategy pushes for objectively better products, while horizontal branding strategy is okay with being different. When I do brand strategy consulting, I often hear from the business owners and executives talk about the measures on which their product is the best in the marketplace. Having the best product is an accomplishment, but…

  • Framing Effect in Marketing and Advertising

    Framing Effect in Marketing and Advertising

    How a piece of information is framed can make it more or less effective at changing behavior. I assumed, as you might have, that the framing effect was just about how we present information. But I was surprised to learn that delves into our psychology, cognitive biases, and human nature. Thankfully, I studied psychology at…

  • Beyond Meat brand profile

    Beyond Meat brand profile

    No more mystery for the plant-meat brand. The science, history, marketing and future of Beyond Meat. If I could be known as anything, it would be an expert on branding. But a close second would be an environmentalist; I am very concerned about global warming. I have an electric car, I have volunteered for the…

  • Brand Extension Examples

    Brand Extension Examples

    Good examples of brand extensions make for a better strategic position. Bad ones are ugly. We detail examples of brand extensions from Apple, Callaway, Ferrari, Google, Snoop Dogg, Fender, and Cosmopolitan.