Many consultants wonder if their own name, or a symbolic name, is better when starting their own practice. This week Hilary and Amy give a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion executive the do's and don'ts of picking a name. Ideal for any individual considering branding themselves versus using a broader name to imply a "group" behind the individual.

This week, Hilary and Amy offer a caller ways to create a "cool trade show booth," using "brand strategy thinking." But wait! If you're like "Uh, trade shows have nothing to do with my life," think again. Amy reveals the (highly effective) marketing technique she uses with her husband, which can be applied to any business with an email marketing strategy (listeners, feel free to borrow for your domestic needs.) Consider this a 101 on how to think about any medium, platform or audience. Strong takeaways for those in marketing, sales or players in a category with a clear lead time, event time and post-event timeframe. It's all the same strategy.

When you're a person, not a brand, how do you create a meaningful, memorable business card? Brand strategists Amy Swift Crosby and Hilary Laffer help a visual artist who fumbled her first round of business cards (rightly so), figure out the best way to promote her art in a way that truly represents her work. A great example of how to apply brand strategy to anything people see, feel, touch or experience.

Yoga and pretty much all fitness studios are experiencing a new normal. People aren't coming back for in-person training the way they did pre-pandemic. Amy and Hilary give counsel to a New York City Yoga studio owner who is wisely trying to crack the code of customer attraction and retention - a complex recipe in 2022. This episode is ideal for anyone who may be struggling with the head-scratcher of "we have a great product and experience - so why aren't they showing up or staying?" This is especially useful for those with brick and mortar - but it really applies to any service business.

Like so many, Caitlyn is asking about building a subscriber database for her fintech (financial tech) app for women. But how do you build it...starting from zero... at the same time you are raising the money to complete the app? As tactical and digital-marketing-ish as this question sounds, Amy and Hilary take a brand-centric approach to helping this founder utilize her pre-launch phase in a different way. On this episode of The Brandsmiths, Amy + Hilary talk about 'magnetizing' a brand, even at this early stage.

Introducing a product to market is a big moment for a small business. This sock brand founder contemplates what to sacrifice in her manufacturing challenge while Amy and Hilary weigh the options for how to get the product to market outside of the conventional manufacturing and distribution channels. In this episode: manufacturing, brand strategy, customers, trade shows, partnerships, US versus overseas production, supply chain.

It's Season 2 of The Brandsmiths and we need YOU!

This work session is for anyone who feels stuck in the very real rabbit hole of forfeiting one thing, like a product, service or “brand” within a current brand, in order to make the greater whole more effective - and in most cases - much more efficient. Amy and Hilary help a Los Angeles retailer make the difficult transition from two recognizable store names - to one more potent, efficient brand. How to let customers know that these sister stores still remain “different” while they simultaneously merge?

Fans of The Brandsmiths know they’ll (almost) always hear elements of a brand audit when talking to a founder or CMO. But we heard you when you emailed, DM’d and nudged us to say you wanted a more comprehensive version of this - like getting your horoscope read or your color chart (remember that? I’m a winter!). So here it is - if you want us to look at all the outward facing points of your brand - your identity, messaging, social media, in-store experience, product packaging - the whole enchilada - we’re up to do it on the show. You are likely doing many things right - but we can help where you may feel lost or unsure.

Send us an email at [email protected] to see if you should be a guest!

Amy and Hilary talk to Jason Perez, a tech start-up founder whose standalone app, Yardz, manages construction equipment for general contractors. As the first independent tool to do what it does, Jason wants to know – how are they supposed to talk about it in both a compelling (seductive) and concrete way? What’s the pitch? The tagline? How can he use straight-forward language that doesn't diminish how game-changing a product Yardz is? This work session will benefit anyone struggling to find the words within a new category, for a specific (and old-school) industry and an even more specific audience within that industry.