The Branding Lab

Everything in branding starts and ends with your audience.

Who are they? Where do they live? What do they drive? What do they read? What do they do? How do they feel? And what do they want? Your customer persona will guide everything from product development to your brand voice to even the social media channels you choose.

In this episode, I chat about what a customer persona is, how to create one (with step-by-step instructions), plus I outline how I created the customer persona for my own brand, Now in Rio Swim.

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Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

There's no point in embarking on a brand strategy unless its impact can be measured. Make sure to shape your brand story around quantifiable unique audience demand. If you do this then you are going to have a much better chance of cutting through the noise and getting people to do what you want them to do from a marketing and commercial standpoint instead of having a generic or non-specific kind of brand story. 

In this episode, Andrés and I talk about the importance of data in brand storytelling; the difference between customer and audience personas; the three questions that you need to ask when building your audience and how to best serve your audience depending on their customer journey. 

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/
Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

Do you have brand clarity? Are you able to describe your business and what makes it unique in 10 words or less? And if you have simple clarity do you know how to amplify that message?

In this episode, Jeremy Miller and I talk about his origin story, specifically how re-branding his family business not only saved it but rocketed it to success while also talking about how you to create a brand that connects with people early and often so that when they have a need, they choose your business first.

Do you know how to grow a brand that sticks? Tune in to find out how to create a Sticky Brand.

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/
Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

Everyone talks about their triumphs, but what about their mistakes? Well, let's be real, everyone makes mistakes, and it’s important to learn from them to better yourself and your business. Mistakes are instrumental to success. In this episode, I chat about the five mistakes I made, and the lessons that I learned from them, before I even launched my business, Now in Rio Swim.

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Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

Guess what, if your brand strategy is bad, it usually ends up showing up in your marketing. Are you wondering why you aren’t getting results on social media? Why your Facebook ads aren’t working? If you answered yes to the above questions, then you probably have a brand problem. If your marketing isn’t working, or your content is not resonating with your audience, or if people are not clicking onto your website, then it’s time to reanalyze your brand strategy.

In this episode, Marc and I talk about how every brand needs to start with strategy first; the importance of including your brand in your company culture; creating a brand connection; the power of authenticity, and the key branding question every business should ask.

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/
Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/

What is brand storytelling? And what do you exactly need to know before you hire a copyrighting studio?

In this episode, Cassandra and I talk about the importance of brand storytelling; the difference between storytelling and brand messaging; and what businesses should know before they even think about hiring a copywriting studio. PLUS we chat about the difference between a content writer and a copywriter - do you how they are different?

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonneivanescu/
Visit my website: https://yvonneivanescu.com/
Visit The Quirky Pineapple's website: https://www.thequirkypineapple.com/
Visit Cassandra's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassandratle/

The Behind the Brand series focuses on the real-life experiences, joys, stories, and failures of my journey launching and building a sustainable and ethical fashion brand.

In this episode, we are talking about competitor research, which I believe is one of, if not, THE most important thing you need to do before you even think about any other aspects of your brand strategy. Why? Well because it aims to uncover a gap that you can step into and call your own. Not only do I talk about how I conducted competitor analysis for Now in Rio Swimwear, but I also chat about its importance and outline exactly how you can conduct one yourself.

Follow me on Instagram: @yvonneivanescu
Website: https://yvonneivanescu.com

Is color really that important in branding? According to this week’s guest, Alison Engel, YES it is. Colors are more than just a visual aid because colors convey emotions, feelings, and experiences. In this episode, Alison and I talk about color theory; the overlap between branding and personal styling, and why she chose her particular brand colors when launching her vegan delivery app, eat.life.

The Behind the Brand series focuses on the real life experiences, joys, stories, and failures of my journey launching and building a sustainable and ethical fashion brand. In this episode, we are going straight to the beginning. Why did I want to start an ethical and sustainable swimwear brand even though I’ve never worked in the fashion industry before and never have launched a product in my life? And most importantly, I answer the question of why you need to build a brand.

Did you know that a brand is not a logo? Branding begins with strategy and not design. In this episode, Melissa and Yvonne talk about finding your brand purpose; understanding how your values connect with that purpose; and discussing brand authenticity, highlighting that you should always practice what you preach.