Kill the Ad Man

Hi, and thanks for checking out episode six of Kill the Ad Man. We welcome our first special guest Mr. Clayton Achen, as we discuss brand value and valuation. Clayton shares his insight as a CPA, a small business owner and an investor into what builds brand value and what role brand plays in the valuation of a company. As the founder of a modern, tech-based CPA firm, Clayton brings a unique perspective to our conversation. He discusses what lead him to invest in a local craft brewery and how brand value matters to small businesses just as much to the big corporate giants out there. And The Rant is back, as Rob points out that businesses not investing in their brand and marketing RIGHT NOW are missing an opportunity to get ahead.

Have feedback or a comment to make? Visit our contact page and drop us a note. Think we’re full of it? Completely agree? Fall somewhere in between? We’d be happy to hear from you.

If you want to learn more about what we do at Rebox – a B2B Brand Distillery, visit us at http://WeAreRebox.com

Thanks for listening!

Cheers,

Kevin M. and Mr. Rob

Takeaways

• You don’t need a million dollar budget to create brand value, you need a solid understanding of what your brand is and why you exist.
• Brand Value is an intangible that comes up when selling a business.
• Brand starts with purpose. Value comes out of the ability to deliver on that purpose.
• Business owners looking to monetize their business will get more at the end of the day by understanding their brand and its value.
• The functional role of the brand shouldn’t sit just in the Marketing side. It sits with the CFO and the corner office as well.
• Brand = Value. Value = Profit.

Re/Sources

• Achen Henderson CPAs
• Prairie Dog Brewing
• Prairie Dog Brewing Covid Opening Blog
• Interbrand Best Global Brands 2019
• Elon Musk, Twitter

Hi, and thanks for checking out episode five of Kill the Ad Man. You know, it’d be pretty easy for us to sit in an ivory tower and opine on all things B2B branding. But in 2018 we rolled up our sleeves and saw the world through our client’s eyes. We used the same process to rebrand our own firm like we would any other. The result was a change to a refocused—and much more clear—brand that spoke to our market. In this episode, we discuss how reBox Creative came to be, why we chose to rebrand the company, some of the steps we went through along the way, and we talk about how this process has worked for some of our clients as well. Rob explains why B2B became the big focus for the company, and we talk a bit about the changes to the visual parts of the Rebox brand that came out of the rebranding process

Was it a lot of work? Sure. It always is, no matter which client we’re working with. Was it scary and painful? At times, perhaps, but change typically is. The results have been very beneficial to our firm, and it’s our hope that you, the listener, will see that it isn’t ultimately as scary as you might think it is.

Have feedback or a comment to make? Visit our contact page and drop us a note. Think we’re full of it? Completely agree? Fall somewhere in between? We’d be happy to hear from you.

If you want to learn more about what we do at Rebox – a B2B Brand Distillery, visit us at http://wearerebox.com

Thanks for listening!

Cheers,

Kevin M. and Mr. Rob

This Episode's Takeaways

• It’s as simple as asking the first, and most important question: Why You? Exploring the answer to this question has been at the foundation of the Rebox brand since the beginning. And what you think is important, might not be the same as what the market thinks.
• When you answer that question, you’ll find a lot more to answer as well. Keep doing the work.
• Reworking the visual parts of the brand may be needed, but it will also require a shift in thought for everyone in the company. Remember, change doesn’t happen overnight.
• It can be a lot of work. But it results in growth, clarity and a clear path forward.

This Episode's Sources and Resources

• reBox Creative website, circa 2013 (via Archive.org)
• The current Rebox - a B2B Brand Distillery website
• Aria Solutions, a Rebox - a B2B Brand Distillery client

Hi, and thanks for checking out episode four of Kill the Ad Man. When we hear the words ‘brand consistency,’ it’s pretty easy to think of proper use of logos and fonts, colours and images. But brand consistency extends to every touchpoint a company has. And we mean EVERY touchpoint. From answering the phone to your business card to your website to your thank you cards, your brand and everyone who has ownership of it (ie. everyone in your company) must speak the same language, the same voice.

The Tower of Babel myth holds a pretty instructive lesson for brand owners and marketers: when everyone speaks the same language, incredible things are possible—think of what heights can be reached when everything is pulling in the same direction! But the flip side of the myth is also relevant: disaster looms when that unity of voice is broken.

It’s also important that a brand is presented consistently to create recognition in the marketplace. Brands need to own a space in the minds and hearts of their audience. With a well-distilled and consistently delivered brand, companies are able to generate enormous value, growth and loyalty. And yes, there’s data that supports this!

We share some big picture things that brand owners and marketers can do to help ensure a brand is delivered consistently, and we have some really great examples of companies that have owned their markets by adhering to the Four Commandments of Brand Consistency.

Still think brand consistency is about just the visuals? We hope you’ll see it’s about a whole lot more.

Have feedback or a comment to make? Drop us a note! Think we're full of it? Completely agree? Fall somewhere in between? We'd be happy to hear from you.

If you've got some value from this episode, share it with one person in your network. We are really passionate about building well-distilled and consistently delivered brands, and we can't do it alone.

If you want to learn more about what we do at Rebox - a B2B Brand Distillery, visit us at WeAreRebox.com.

Thanks for listening and cheers!
Kevin M. & Mr. Rob

This Episode's Takeaways

• Know Thy Brand
• For companies of any size: Be Consistent. It's easy to do and may feel boring at times, but it's critical to building a presence in the market.
• A brand standard isn't just a visual identity guide, it's a reference tool for your people to go to whenever there's a question. It includes the visual parts, but it holds the bigger picture as well.
• Make it easy to be "on brand." Empower your people to live the brand as well, and take the guesswork out of delivery on your brand.

This Episode's Sources and Resources

• Why Your Brand is the Most Important Asset You Have
• Brand Finance: Overview of ISO 10668: Brand Valuation
• Millward Brown - Brand Building: An Investment in Future Financial Success
• Martin Roll: The Secret to Starbucks’ Brand Success
• Brandland from Zendesk
• John Deere Core Values
• John Deere Presents | The Airstrip
• John Deere Presents | The Veteran
• Interbrand 2018 Best Global Brands

Hi, and thanks for checking out episode three of Kill the Ad Man. Quick question for you: What is the most important consideration in building a well-distilled brand? Is it a logo? A vision statement? Maybe the brand story?

All of these are important considerations in the big picture that makes up a brand. But the most important component of building a well-distilled brand is… People! Seems really obvious, right? Brands are a function of communication, and communication is always about people. And this is why the term P2P marketing, or person-to-person marketing, has gained traction in the last few years.

So what is different about P2P marketing and communication? How can it be effectively translated for both B2C and B2B brands? How can brands win the minds AND hearts of people to not only win business, but build loyalty? And which companies are doing this successfully?

In this episode, we examine what P2P branding is, why it’s important for B2C and B2B marketers and brand owners, what some strategies are to implement it in marketing and communications plans and we’ll have a look at some examples of who’s doing it really, REALLY well. Because big or small, brands of all sizes are embracing P2P and winning.

Have feedback or a comment to make? Visit http://killtheadman.com and drop us a note on our contact page. Think we’re full of it? Completely agree? Fall somewhere in between? We’d be happy to hear from you.

If you want to learn more about what we do at Rebox – a B2B Brand Distillery, visit us at http://wearerebox.com

Thanks for listening!

Cheers,

Kevin M. and Mr. Rob

·       P2P isn’t going away anytime soon.

·       P2P is about winning the minds AND hearts of the customer.

·       You need to understand your brand story and why it matters to the customer.

·       TELL YOUR STORY TO THE WORLD in a way that connects with people.

Apple, "Misunderstood": https://youtu.be/v76f6KPSJ2w

HP “The Wolf”: https://youtu.be/ZUP4ib5FzGs

Caterpillar “Stack”: https://youtu.be/DWc8dUl7Xfo

GE “Apollo 11 Story” https://youtu.be/D9fsQkjUNrQ

GE “What’s the Matter with Owen” https://youtu.be/wJZHXfcNZBU

GE “The Boy Who Beeps” https://youtu.be/MG2cMVch48k

GE “One More Giant Leap” https://youtu.be/mpi0NaNcUeY

Quickthree Case Study http://wearerebox.com/portfolio/making-a-stand-up-product-stand-out/

Sitar & Milczarek Case Study http://wearerebox.com/portfolio/like-part-of-the-family/

Blendtec “Will it Blend” https://youtu.be/bFkYKKVuGbk

Google “From Promotion to Emotion: Connecting B2B Customers to Brands” https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-resources/promotion-emotion-b2b/

Harvard Study “The B2B Elements of Vale” https://hbr.org/2018/03/the-b2b-elements-of-value

Hi. Welcome to episode 2 of Kill the Ad Man. It’s kind of a 2nd part to our first episode “It’s the End of the World as We Know It… Again”. We’re going to look into the recent past to see how other brands have handled the kinds of crisis that are thrust upon them… and ones of their own making. This isn’t an episode about crisis management or public relations. But it is instructive for marketers and brand owners to pick up a couple examples of what to do, and what not to do. 

Rob starts by discussing how a recent Rebox client needed to change their name after an unknown terrorist group in the Middle East gained a lot more notoriety using the same name. This demonstrates the value of perception of brands in the world, no matter how big they are.  

Kevin talks about the recent (and so far, alleged) revelations that Johnson & Johnson baby powder may have been contaminated with asbestos, and how long the company has known about it. How they’ve responded to it resembles another industries response to adverse health claims. How does this response reflect on the brand in the eye of the consumer? 

Rob notes the difference between Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder response to another crisis one of their brands faced in the early 1980s. The Tylenol cyanide poisoning crisis in Chicago is cited as a textbook example of how a brand can respond to a crisis. The short-term pain of their actions was paid with enormous benefits in the future. 

BP and Deepwater Horizon are discussed, 10 years after the accident. BP’s brand change from British Petroleum to Beyond Petroleum is noted and we talk about how that idea is destroyed by what happens in 2010. We talk about how B2B actions resolve in consumer response. 

We close with Big Chief Beef Jerky, a Rebox client who underwent a rebranding with the associated visual identity change to respond to changing consumer perception of their brand. What was acceptable 40 years ago isn’t culturally appropriate today, and Big Chief engaged with the public and First Nations group, investing the time and money into rebranding. 

This episode’s lessons: being true to your brand and who you are is going to inform the steps you’re going to take. Your brand needs to work with deliberate intention to work to control its perception in the marketplace.

Rob gives us our first Rebox Rant, telling brands to put their money where their mouth is. 

Thanks for checking out the second episode of Kill the Ad Man. Have feedback or a comment to make? Visit http://killtheadman.com and drop us a note on our contact page. Think we’re full of it? Completely agree? Fall somewhere in between? We’d be happy to hear from you. 

If you want to learn more about what we do at Rebox – a B2B Brand Distillery, visit us at http://wearerebox.com 

Thanks for listening! We look forward to getting Episode 3 out very soon. 

Cheers, 

Kevin M. and Mr. Rob 

If you want to read a bit more about some of the brands in today’s episode, please check out the Episode 2 page at http://killtheadman.com/episode-002/ 

Our first episode! COVID-19 is taking a round out of the world economy, and how brands are responding to it holds a number of lessons for marketers and brand owners of companies big and small. We look at what some brands are doing and who's making the most of it.

We introduce the podcast and how we came to name it Kill the Ad Man: it goes back to the start of the company nearly 10 years ago. Kevin Murray and Robert Schmidt introduce each other to the audience and give a little background on Rebox as a company. 

So which brands are doing a great job of living their brand promise during the pandemic? Bauer started producing face shields at the end of March and within the first week had over a million orders. They released the design of their mask to the public and encouraged smaller companies to use the design and manufacturing process to get more to market right away.

Dyson developed a new ventilator in the UK in 10 days. And it looks like a Dyson! They’re waiting on approvals, but say they can make 15000 ventilators when they get the go ahead.

Ford is partnering with GE and 3M to make ventilators. Ford is also making face shields and has developed respirators for front line workers using the small seat fans out of their F150 line of trucks. They are living up to their messaging: Built Ford Proud. We’re sure people are holding their heads a little higher around Ford facilities right now.

We raise a glass to the craft breweries and distilleries that are keeping the doors open and making hand sanitizer by the barrel for front line workers and the public.

And who’s not doing such a great job? It seems that while airlines are taking a hell of a loss along with the tourism industry, they aren’t doing a lot to help themselves out any. Rob describes a painful experience with Sunwing, Kevin comments on how those Canadian traveller return funds are actually a loan, which seems both right and wrong at the same time. Not to mention the unnamed political and public figures who are using the pandemic to leverage their own personal brands at the expense of any sense of reality. Which is both greasy and gross. 

Finally, we talk about this video which we came across from Under Consideration, and how nearly every big brand advertisement right now looks, sounds, and feels exactly the same way. We’re pretty sure these companies don’t all have the exact same brand, so why is no one standing out? Why are they all the same?  

To sum up, maybe those in the B2B and B2B2C space need to take a step back and think about what they’re trying to say in this particular crisis. Things are changing and evolving every day. But if brands remain true to their core purpose and brand, they’re positioned to weather this fairly well. 

Thanks for checking out the first episode of Kill the Ad Man. On our second episode, we have a look at how brands have handled other crises, some of their own making, some brought upon them. Either way, how they respond to the crisis informs what comes next. While that’s true for Global Events and Brands, it’s also true for small businesses as well. 

Have feedback or a comment to make? Visit http://killtheadman.com and drop us a note on our contact page. Think we’re full of it? Completely agree? Fall somewhere in between? We’d be happy to hear from you. If you want to learn more about what we do at Rebox – a B2B Brand Distillery, visit us at http://wearerebox.com

Thanks for listening! We look forward to getting Episode 2 out very soon.

Cheers,

Kevin M. and Mr. Rob

If you want to read a bit more about some of the brands in today’s episode, please check out the Episode 1 page at http://killtheadman.com/episode

Hey and welcome. Kill the Ad Man is a show that provides a swift kick in the ass for marketers needing to be understood. Produced by Rebox - a B2B Brand Distillery and hosted by Rebox's own Kevin M. and Mr. Rob, Kill the Ad Man revolves around topics in the world of branding and communications, with a focus on the B2B world of marketing.