Finely Crafted

It all started with a piece of fruit. Story illuminates opportunities. Story shows you the way from idea to execution

What does it mean to tell your brand’s story? How do you identify what that story really is? And most importantly, how will getting clear on the story and purpose of your business drive profitability?

As we get rolling into Season 2, we’re taking this episode to unpack what “story” really means in the wild and wonderful world of branding.

Today on Finely Crafted we’re chatting with a guy who’s gotten us (and likely you) to say things out loud you’d never thought you would say. He’s also made millions laugh uncontrollably. That’s right, today we’re chatting with Cards Against Humanity’s lead creator, Max Temkin.

In today’s conversation you’ll hear about Max and his team’s creative process, how they vet creative ideas, and the simple idea behind Cards Against Humanity that’s made it wildly successful.

Today's episode is an introduction to the Season, in which we'll take a bit different, more focused "branding" approach. This means you get more of Blake and Matt sharing nuggets of wisdom as we navigate you, the listener, through our branding process. Not to mention we'll have some fine interviews and a new "story" segment to spice things up. Thanks for being here. And thanks for being awesome.

Here we are at the end of Season 1. Can you believe it? It's our 20th episode and as we wrap up Season 1 and look ahead to Season 2, we recap the highlights, "ah-ha" moments, and coziness of sharing a microphone. If you've ever wondered what a hug sounds like, this episode is for you.

Allow us to take a moment to thank you - all of you - for your support, reviews, likes, shares, retweets, and high-fives throughout our inaugural season of Finely Crafted. We've had a ton of fun, learned a lot, and can't wait to share what we're up to in the weeks and months ahead. Cheers, friends!

It's been a slow drip journey, yet an exciting ride for Great Good Fine Ok. A single here. An EP there. A collaboration with a fellow musician. A live show. While instinct may tell you to think and plan and re-think until your product is perfect, Jon Sandler & Luke Moellman have taken a slightly different approach to growth - one that understands the demand and desire of their audience.

Not to mention, every song they release is jam-packed with funk and awesome-ness. Jamz (with a "z"), if you will. What band - what brand - wouldn't want that kind of description for their final product?

Jon and Luke - aka - Great Good Fine Ok, have graciously provided our "theme music" for Finely Crafted, and as we round out Season 1, we thought there'd be nothing better than to grab beers and chat about growing a brand organically and in a way that embraces current technology and audience demand. Cheers!

It's another minisode day for us at Finely Crafted. We know, you can barely contain your excitement. Today we're chatting about songwriting - a topic near and dear to Blake's heart as a musician himself, and somewhat near and dear to Matt's heart, as a saxaphonist in a past life.

Songwriting and branding travel down parallel paths. They're both focused on storytelling, and the songwriting process reveals how important it is to cut through the clutter and get to the point. In today's episode, we unpack how to think like a songwriter as you work through the messaging of your brand. And get all the feels from Blake and his "sensitive guy rock" voice.

Have you thought about what it means to tell a captivating story - one that extends beyond what you tell to what you invite your customers to share?

That's what today's guest, Jonathan Baker, and his crew at Monday Night Brewing has done. What started as a thing that they did that one time in a garage has turned into one of the hottest breweries in the southeast - with no signs of slowing down.

Yes, having a great product - in this case, great beer - helps. But it's how they invite others to tell their story that's been catalytic to the brand's growth. In today's episode, we dive deeper into your brand's connection with the stories your customers tell about you. That, and of course, talk about awesome beer.

Hayes Roth has spent the past 40 years navigating the branding and marketing world. As Chief Marketing Officer at Landor Associates, Roth and his team(s) worked with some of the most successful brands in the world.

Last year, he started is own consultancy that specializes in strategic positioning, brand development, and client/agency relationship building. Over the past couple months we've talked about brands and brand storytelling with folks from a variety of backgrounds, and in today's episode, you're going to hear from a true expert on the subject.

What questions must be asked to achieve remarkable results? How do brands evolve, adapt, and, maybe most importantly, stay on course through a constantly-evolving market? What does it take to build a world-class brand?