It took just ten minutes to update my DNS settings, and almost two weeks to fix the problem I created. This article is a cautionary tale of letting better get in the way of good enough.
How I Killed (and Fixed) My Email Campaigns
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brand strategy
Don’t Stop Marketing
Rather than stopping all of your marketing, consider instead changing your strategy. Instead of selling, inform. Instead of daily email blasts, send emails weekly (or monthly). Instead of doing the same thing you’ve always done, pivot to something different. Here are some specific ideas for this difficult time.
We’re all working from home now.
Since so many people are working from now, and Brenits Creative is a 100% remote-work team, I wanted to share the four things that I have been doing consistently for 20 years.
How To Name Your Brand
Effective brand naming isn’t emotional or political—it’s strategic. It should align with your positioning, resonate with your audience, and be memorable enough to stand on its own. More than a trivial detail, a name plays a critical role in shaping perception, signaling value, and reinforcing your brand’s promise. A weak or confusing name can dilute impact and force your brand to work harder to stay top of mind. Ultimately, naming is both a creative and disciplined process that deserves as much attention as any other aspect of branding.
How Behaving Like A Consultant Made Me A Better In-House Corporate Creative
Last year I wrote about some lessons learned while working...
The Difference Between Marketing Strategy and Tactics
Your website isn’t converting. The social media advertising doesn’t bring in as many leads as you hoped. The direct mail campaign was a waste of paper. Your emails don’t get opened. And none of it is bringing in any new business. Sounds familiar right?
40+ Types of Marketing for Your Business
Marketing isn’t just one thing—it’s a diverse ecosystem of strategies that have evolved with technology, consumer behavior, and media platforms. This comprehensive guide explores over 40 distinct types of marketing, from traditional advertising and inbound content to emerging methods like voice, experiential, and neuromarketing. It emphasizes that there’s no single best approach—businesses should choose the right mix based on their audience, goals, and resources. Ultimately, understanding these categories helps brands become more strategic, creative, and effective in how they engage and convert their audiences.
Free Event: Know your “it” Factor. Brand Workshop & Lunch and Learn.
Join us for a brown-bag lunch and interactive workshop on Thursday, January 24th that will help each you figure out just what your own “It” is that makes your businesses so special. Moreover, once you know your “It,” you’ll be able to attract the right customers to your business.
How We Gained Clarity, Focus and Growth With a Rebrand
Our organization, the Early Childhood Educators of Reformed...
The Care and Craft of Brenits Creative, in Our Client’s Words
My experience with Brenits Creative has been fantastic. I wish...
Scare Tactics In Branding and Marketing
Human beings have base fears such as the need for protection,...
We Get by With a Little Help From Our Branding Friends
Every business owner faces a series of challenges. We wear many...
How Writing Helps Me Talk About What I Do
I attend a fair amount of networking events every month. As an...
To-Do, To-Don’t, To-Done!
Sometimes it feels like there’s a lot on my plate. I run my own business, sit on two boards, serve as leadership for my referral networking group, and I teach. Most importantly, I’m a husband and father. I have a lot of stuff that needs to get done every day. But I’m never overwhelmed enough to say, “my plate is overfull.”
Goalsetting With A Vivid Vision Document
Most business owners have an idea of what they want their company to look like. However, their employees can’t necessarily see that same vision for what the future can be. If you are struggling with writing a clear mission statement and vision statement, then you should try to write a Vivid Vision first.
Plan and run better meetings
Meetings are a necessary evil in our business. Between staff...
6 Ways To Spot Cheap Logo Design
There’s only one thing worse than a cheap logo, and that’s a cheap looking logo. Even if your average consumer can’t communicate why your logo makes them feel embarrassed, disgusted, or confused, they’re still going to have that reaction anyway.
Defining Your Audio Brand Strategy
From Netflix's "Ba-Dummm!" to the "ba-da-DA-Dum" of Intel, or...
A Fresh Start: Rebrand Your Business or Refresh Your Website?
No business can afford to rest on its laurels. While your company may be keeping up with economic and market changes, is your brand keeping up? Does your website communicate to your target audience how you’re keeping up?
You may be trying to decide if you should rebrand your business, or just update your website. Here are 10 factors to consider helping you make your decision.
I Went from In-House to Consultant—Here’s What Helped Me Succeed
By the end of 2015, after nearly eight years as an in-house creative director—and over two decades in the field—I found myself self-employed for the second time in my career. Now, as I enter my fourth year as a brand and creative strategy consultant, I recognize how the lessons I learned in-house have directly contributed to my success as a business owner. Looking back, I can also see that my consulting mindset and teaching instincts played a crucial role in leading in-house creative teams effectively.
Lessons Learned Working In-House That Helped Me Be A Better Consultant
By the end of 2015, after being an in-house creative director...
10 Ideas To Build Your Small Business brand
Many small business owners I talk to already understand that branding is essential to their business, but a surprisingly high number of them don’t really know why.
Getting Mission, Vision and Values Right
The Vision, Mission, and Values statements guide the behaviors of people in an organization. The Vision statement describes where the organization wants to be in the future; the Mission statement describes what the organization needs to do now to achieve the Vision.
Does My Small Business Really Need A Brand?
I think maybe people get hung up on wording. If you were to replace the word “branding” with “reputation” instead, I think I might get your attention. You care about your reputation, right?
The Changing Relationship Between In-House and Outside Agencies
In recent years, there has been a shift in power in the creative industry regarding who “owns” brand and creative work in corporate America. In-house creative teams have emerged as important players, producing some of the best creative work in design, advertising, photography, and video. This shift has led to corporations leveraging their in-house talent more than ever, with in-house teams taking on the responsibility of managing outside agency relationships.
Do You Need To Rebrand Your Business?
Business owners are more in tune with the principals of branding than ever before, some spending millions of dollars to brand or rebrand, depending on where they’re at in the business lifecycle. A brand represents everything about an organization, from its market position to company culture.
Four Simple Strategies to Keep Your Brand Consistent
Business owners are more in tune with the principals of branding than ever before, some spending millions of dollars to brand or rebrand, depending on where they’re at in the business lifecycle. A brand represents everything about an organization, from its market position to company culture.
Why You Need To Conduct A Design Audit
We all understand how important brands can be. There are...
Choosing The Right Logo For Your Business
A logo is a powerful visual representation of your company. It...
Not the same: Brand Positioning and Brand Purpose
There was a period between about 2016-2017 where many brands...
How Much Does Branding Cost?
If you ask around for quotes on branding projects, you will get fees ranging anywhere from $1,000 to $50,000 and even higher, and this often is just for design work. You might find a freelance designer online who says they can do it for less than $500, and you can even get a logo for as low as $5 on fiver.com. The real price of branding though, is not doing anything consistently.
3 Ways To Grow Small Brands On A Limited Budget
We all understand how important brands can be. There are...
When Is It Time For A Name Change?
So when should a brand look at changing its name? If you want to signal a change in strategic focus, and if the name change will serve greater meaning, resonance, and value for consumers and customers, then do it.
3 Career Paths: Agency, Freelance or In-House?
As a design professional with almost 25 years of experience, I have worked in various roles, including as a freelancer, in-house creative services leader, creative director, and educator. There are three career paths available to creative – agency, freelance, and in-house – and choosing which one is right for you depends on four factors: stability, money, advancement, and passion.
5 Tips on Successful Small Business Branding
We all understand how important brands can be. There are brands...
Transforming Your Brand Culture
In the first part of this two-part series, I talked about brand...