Brand Marketing Blog

Helping you to build your brand and grow brand equity.

  • 11 Examples of Brand Essence

    11 Examples of Brand Essence

    Eleven examples of brands with a clear, unique and powerful Brand Essence. I often get subtle eye roles from the decision makers for the brands I work with when I ask questions like: “if your brand were a car, what make would it be?” The men and women in my office are probably thinking: “dude,…

  • Rhonda Merchant. Bring marketing ideas to recruiting.

    Rhonda Merchant. Bring marketing ideas to recruiting.

    Colin Finkle speaks with Rhonda Merchant, Director of Talent Acquisition at Main Event. How tapping into a consumer rebrand reduced hiring costs and turnover.

  • Is Athleta and Lululemon the same company?

    Is Athleta and Lululemon the same company?

    Athleta and Lululemon Athletica are different companies. Athleta is a brand owned by Gap Inc., and Lululemon is an independent, publicly traded company. It is not surprising that they get mixed up for each other. They are both activewear companies known for their products for women; both are known for their leggings. Both enjoy a…

  • What does the “DC” stand for in DC Shoes?

    What does the “DC” stand for in DC Shoes?

    The “DC” in DC Shoes stands for Droors Clothing. The official story is that D and C were the first names of the first skaters sponsored by the company, Danny Way and Colin McKay. This is because Droors Clothing, now defunct, was spun out of DC Shoes and they had to cut any ties with…

  • Private Label Brands: Inside the Boardroom Deals

    Private Label Brands: Inside the Boardroom Deals

    An inside look the deals between manufacturers and retailers involving brands. Private labels have been a constant part of my decade of experience in retail marketing. Most of the brands I worked with were all owned by manufacturers and some were owned by distributors. The manufacturers were making, marketing, and selling their own brands while…

  • Where do business names come from? The 7 types of business names.

    Where do business names come from? The 7 types of business names.

    It helps when naming your business if you know the types of brand names. All of the 300+ million company names fall into one of these categories 7 categories: eponymous, descriptive, acronymic, suggestive, associative, non-English and abstract. We talk about 77 real world examples.

  • Choosing Colors for a Brand

    Choosing Colors for a Brand

    More than half (62-90%) of a customers judgement of a brand comes from color. To choose the best colors for a logo or a brand, a graphic designer needs to consider context, competition, culture, contrast, color gamut, and company.

  • Lifestyle brand case study: DC Shoes

    Lifestyle brand case study: DC Shoes

    From community college classroom $100 M in sales; DC Shoes’ grind to become one of the most iconic lifestyle brands. DC Shoes is a brand with deep associations to the skateboarder lifestyle. If you are not aware of DC Shoes, you might assume they just sell shoes, but they have a wide range of apparel…

  • Rebranding

    Rebranding

    Rebranding is changing a brand’s name, logo, or a structural change in the brand identity. Rebranding is corrective; the only reason to rebrand is to solve a problem. A substantially new brand identity allows new opinions to form.

  • Ricky Kesler interview

    Ricky Kesler interview

    We talk passive income websites with Ricky Kesler from Income School. He is one half of a duo who coaches people trying to change their financial situation on YouTube. Both here and on their channel, Ricky doesn’t hold back. We talk about brand identity, looking spammy, know-like-trust factor, and more.