In this Brand Retro episode, Mike Brevik sits down with digital designer and UX specialist Mallory Dean to explore the 5 Whys framework and the role of curiosity and trust in creative work. They discuss problem-solving in UX and design, building better creative processes by asking "why," and how lifelong learning shapes stronger strategy and outcomes.

Highlights

• Who is Mallory Dean? - 0:07
• Mallory's backstory: How she got to where she's at. - 0:28
• Transitioning in design, in general, is always gonna be pretty easy once you get the foundations because all designs have the same foundation. - 4:06
• The idea behind the 5 Why's. - 6:51
• Step 1: Gathering the stakeholders. - 12:13
• What's a very important thing to do as a creative, a developer, or any role that you're playing? - 15:17
• Step 2: Defining the problem. - 16:05
• You have to be able to identify those problems but really assess the ranking or the priority of those problems. - 19:55
• Step 3: Working through the why's. - 20:04
• Step 4: Making an actionable step towards fixing the root cause. - 24:29
• What's the 5th Why for Mallory? When is having too many
• Why's a problem? - 28:36
• The big thing when it comes to working with clients: Trust. - 33:01 Episode Resources
• Connect with Mike Brevik:
• http://www.cyberdogzmarketing.com/
• [email protected]
• Connect with Mallory Dean:
• https://www.mallorydean.com/
• https://www.tiktok.com/@mdeandesign
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallory-dean-design/

In this Brand Retro episode, Mike Brevik talks with Hazel Imogen, a brand-focused designer and creative director based in Los Angeles, about creating meaningful brands that connect with audiences. They discuss Hazel's approach to brand design, why her work resonates with ambitious go-getters, and her perspective on transition and growth in a creative career.

Highlights

• Who is Hazel Imogen? - 0:32
• What she felt about the transition. - 2:36
• Being comfortable being uncomfortable. - 5:44
• What's one of the most important things to do during your transition as you start to work by yourself? - 6:57
• Victories in branding. - 9:14
• Hazel's process and how she captures details to make them come to life. - 13:35
• What the landscape looks like. - 19:53
• Her mission statement and creative stance on marketing. - 25:36 Episode Resources
• Connect with Mike Brevik:
• http://www.cyberdogzmarketing.com/
• [email protected]
• Connect with Hazel Imogen
• www.hazelimogen.com

In this Brand Retro episode, Mike Brevik talks with entrepreneur, toy collector, and NerdinOut founder Brad Vigesaa about branding, nostalgia, and the business perspective of collecting. They discuss how NerdinOut got started and what it looks like to build a brand and marketing approach around a culture that many people feel is disappearing.

Highlights

• How Brad Vigesaa got started. - 0:36
• Building a branding and marketing that doesn't exist anymore. - 4:41
• NerdinOut's unique branding. - 5:26
• Working with customers with a different mindset. - 8:28
• Fineline between collecting and thinking of your collection as investing. - 13:02 Episode Resources
• Connect with Mike Brevik:
• http://www.cyberdogzmarketing.com/
• [email protected]
• Connect with Brad Vigesaa:
• https://www.nerdinout.com/

In this Brand Retro episode, Mike Brevik sits down with artist and designer Ryan Wheaton, the creator behind Craft Brew Creative and host of the Branding Brews Podcast. Ryan shares how he followed his gut to carve out a niche in the craft brewing industry, what it took to build his business over time, and what drives the connection between craft beer artwork and branding.

Highlights

• How he got started and made it happen. - 0:45
• The time he spent to build his business on how it is now. - 6:21
• What drove the artwork and Craft Brew as one. - 13:38
• His region as far as his designs have gone and reached. - 18:48
• The favorite project he's done. - 21:16
• Collaborating with clients in the creative process. - 23:45
• What does the future look like? - 25:14
• If you're passionate about it, go for it, do it.- 35:04 Episode Resources
• Connect with Mike Brevik:
• http://www.cyberdogzmarketing.com/
• [email protected]
• Connect with Ryan Wheaton:
• https://www.craftbrewcreative.com/
• http://brandingbrews.com/

In this Brand Retro episode, Mike Brevik talks with Brisa Byford, Senior Strategist at CivicBrand, about research, branding, consulting, design, and marketing that help small towns and cities create impact. They discuss how CivicBrand supports communities and how small businesses in small towns can craft their stories and build identities that help their communities grow.

Highlights

• What is CivicBrand and what are they doing? - 0:50
• Helping small businesses in small towns craft their stories and build their identities. - 1:57
• The before, during, and after. - 4:51
• Building the brand strategies and processes through direct experience and immersing themselves in the place. - 6:57
• How will you know you're ready as a small town? - 10:29
• The Branding Lubbock Project: Where is it now? 15:44 Episode Resources
• Connect with Mike Brevik:
• http://www.cyberdogzmarketing.com/
• [email protected]
• Connect with Brisa Byford
• https://www.civicbrand.com/
• https://brandinglubbock.com/

In this Brand Retro episode, Mike Brevik talks with food brand strategist and Real Food Brands Podcast host Katie Mleziva about branding and marketing strategy for food businesses. They discuss common customer pitfalls, whether hiring a brand strategist is worth it, and how Katie brings brand strategy "recipes" to the food industry to help brands grow.

Highlights

• What Katie Mleziva does with Real Foods Brands and the branding space. - 0:33
• The idea of the pivot. - 2:19
• As she went into her current direction, she came across brands that were unsure of how she could help - 5:09
• There's always a missing piece that brand strategists fill in. - 8:22
• What Katie is looking for in a client. - 11:38
• The key things that are missed from a strategy perspective. - 12:24
• What to expect with Katie's process. - 16:39
• Using partners to refer people to. - 19:41
• There is value in consistency. - 26:12
• Identify the niche: Who are my clients and what do they look like? - 26:33 Episode Resources
• Connect with Mike Brevik:
• http://www.cyberdogzmarketing.com/
• [email protected]
• Connect with Katie Mleziva
• https://www.realfoodbrands.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-mleziva-8b75844

In this Brand Retro episode, Mike Brevik sits down with Mary Ann Pruitt, President and CEO of Mosaic Media, to challenge the marketing myth that traditional media is dead. They discuss how digital and traditional tactics can work together, why "old school meets new school" can be powerful, and how to think strategically to get the biggest impact from your marketing efforts.

Highlights

• Is traditional media gone? - 2:08
• Combining two forms of advertising: Should I go traditional or the more modern way? - 4:53
• Working with a client targeting a very specific niche. - 6:23
• Getting the brand impression as a consumer. - 11:10
• Time Square as a prime example of showing the evolution of how traditional has taken place. - 14:22
• Using local news: The smaller the market you're in, the more important it is. - 17:05
• Is it necessary to get extra packages? - 21:06
• As a marketing consultant or representative of the brand, what are the questions you need to ask the provider of what expectations are?- 24:16
• Any client or company that comes into, whether it is traditional or digital marketing presenting themselves in a large group, the stronger, more consistent their brand is, the better the result will be and the more confident the brand will look. - 26:59
• The necessity of getting the brand to evolve. - 31:51
• The client's expectations, whether they understand what they are looking for or not looking for, the client's expectation of quality makes branding very important. - 33:07
• Changes in consumer behavior. - 37:26 Episode Resources
• Connect with Mike Brevik:
• http://www.cyberdogzmarketing.com/
• [email protected]

In this Brand Retro episode (Part 2), Mike Brevik reconnects with Manny "Cartoon" to talk about how an art style evolves through experience and projects. They discuss building and working together for a co-branded event in Miami, managing creative projects, and how changes in Manny's art style reflect his growth. Manny also shares an honest take on fear when starting out—and why small failures are worth it just to see what happens.

Highlights

• Working together for a co-branded event. - 0:18
• How did Manny Cartoon develop his own style? - 4:21
• Managing projects and plans of where his work is going. How can people help him? - 9:02
• The design, style, and consistency of Manny's artwork is getting tighter and tighter, the more artwork and stuff he puts out. - 17:01
• Sometimes, failure on a small level is worth it, just to see what happens. - 17:19 Episode Resources
• The Robots Are Coming
• Connect with Mike Brevik:
• http://www.cyberdogzmarketing.com/
• [email protected]
• Connect with Manny Cartoon
• https://www.instagram.com/mannycartoonstudio/
• https://linktr.ee/mannycartoon

In this Brand Retro episode (Part 1), Mike Brevik talks with artist Manny "Cartoon" about creative entrepreneurship, collaborations, and what it takes to go 100% solo as an artist, creative, and business owner. They have a real conversation about taking a leap of faith, moving forward, and navigating the challenges that come with building your own path.

Highlights

• What does fear look like for Manny? - 1:45
• Having a conversation with a young artist. - 4:17
• If you want to jump forward, you have to do the stuff you love. - 6:11
• Advice to give a young designer who's in the threshold of making that decision. - 8:42
• No amount of no from somebody else is gonna stop somebody who's ready to do something. - 14:36
• Success story: Grabbing a new gig while on vacation. - 18:48 Episode Resources
• Connect with Mike Brevik:
• http://www.cyberdogzmarketing.com/
• [email protected]
• Connect with Manny Cartoon
• https://www.instagram.com/mannycartoonstudio/
• https://linktr.ee/mannycartoon

In this Brand Retro episode, Mike Brevik sits down with voiceover actor and Audio Branding Podcast host Jodi Krangle to talk about audio branding and why sound is often overlooked in the branding process. They discuss how voice and audio consistency shape brand positioning, and how businesses can use audio—like podcasts or radio—to support brand awareness and marketing.

Highlights

• Audio branding is a thing. It matters. It helps connect people to the brand. - 0:20
• How did Jodi get started in audio branding? - 0:45
• Working with brands by using a unique voice, tone, copy, look, and visual that can sell the product services to others. 1:59
• Consistent repetition makes things powerful. - 6:19
• How does Jodi help people understand how important the details are? - 8:26
• Coaching people to help them understand and go through the process.- 14:03
• A lot of entrepreneurs and business people react from instinct, gut feeling, and how they react from the experience. - 19:19
• Learning more about it: How Jodi switched gears and what kind of scaling and personal navigation she used? 22:36
• The details that go into branding, whether it is the sound, smell, or creative, all of these details add up to a very strong brand representation. It's important for people to realize that the audio aspect is huge. - 27:21
• Talk radio is becoming a podcast. It's giving businesses, entrepreneurs, and people that have the skill and opportunity. - 30:18 Episode Resources
• Connect with Mike Brevik:
• http://www.cyberdogzmarketing.com/
• [email protected]
• Connect with Jodi Krangle:
• https://voiceoversandvocals.com/podcast/