In this episode husband and wife, Maria and David Lloyd, discuss brand. Maria chats with her husband, David Lloyd, a graphic designer and all-round creative. They combine their respective expertise in marketing and design to discuss their favourite brands and lessons that local businesses can learn from them.

Maria highlights Untamed, Café Yolk, and McDonalds, while David's chosen brands are Greggs, Liquid Death, and Boston Dynamics. The discussion touches on a wide range of topics, including quality, cultural relevance, building a brand, and patience.

Finally, they both conclude with their key takeaways and one final tip for local brands.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Prioritise Product Quality and Personalised Experience: The product or service you deliver must be the best—it's your starting and stopping point. Once that's nailed, focus your marketing and customer service efforts entirely on your audience.

Use Creative Hooks and Novelty to Generate Free PR: You don't need a huge budget to stand out. Implement fun, memorable ideas—whether it's Gregg's launching a vegan sausage roll or Liquid Death giving water a heavy-metal look. These "stunts" and strong creative hooks create conversation and generate word-of-mouth and free PR.

Build a Brand with Patience and Consistency: Brand building is not a day-one process; it happens over a period of time. Local businesses should be patient, focus on one core staple that they do well, and ensure consistency in their design and messaging. Even for B2B companies, consistency and strong messaging are key to avoiding being "very boring"

TIME CODES

00:00 Welcome and David's introduction

01:01 Maria's first brand focus | Untamed

06:34 David's first brand focus | Greggs

12:20 Maria's second brand focus | Café Yolk

17:50 David's second brand focus | Liquid Death

21:38 Maria's third brand focus | McDonalds

26:06 David's third brand focus | Boston Dynamics

31:00 Maria's summary

31:34 David's summary