You’ve established your brand foundations, and now what? How do you transfer all that into the online space? 
In this episode, Ben Rifken and I discuss how to create and use content to communicate your personal and/or brand values. We talk about what goes into creating your brand’s visual style and how to hire the right people like photographers and/or videographers, to create imagery that seamlessly translates your brand vision, mission and values onto your website and social media. We...

Guess what, my business blew up in just two months of launching and I made over 6 figures with my launch. Actually, that's a lie, and it's a lie that is being fed to many entrepreneurs out there. The old narrative is that starting a business is hard. In fact, it takes at least 3 years for you to become profitable. But that has been replaced with a new narrative. A narrative that says that you can blow up your business in less than 6 months and easily make 6-figures, no problem. But the...

What is human-centered design and what role does it play in branding? How can brands and businesses use design thinking to go beyond the traditional business models and focus on customer empathy and real-world experiments? In this episode, Juliana and I talk about the power of using design thinking in branding, specifically addressing each of the five stages of Design Thinking, which are Empathise, Define (the problem), Ideate, Prototype, and Test. We also talk about how Juliana implemented...

Everything begins and ends with your customer. Who are they? Furthermore, are you customers visual, audio, or kinesthetic buyers? Why does that matter? In this episode, Shanna and I talk not only talk about the difference between a commodity and a brand, and why you should strive to be the latter, but we also delve into the importance of creating and developing customer persona(s). We also touch upon the three different types of buyers every small business will come across and how you can...

Deciding to invest in a brand photoshoot for your small business can be scary and in reality, it isn't as simple as pointing and shooting. In fact, a product photography photoshoot begins way before the actual photographs are taken. In this episode of Behind the Brand, we are doing things a little bit differently. This time we are chatting with Lucie, a photographer and listener of the podcast, who wants to know a little bit more about what went into Now in Rio Swim's product photoshoot. We...

Today, there are commodity-type products, also known as “so what products,” that have no differentiators on the product or service level, and yet people love them. These brands do not have an enhanced design, new technology, or innovative offerings, instead, they’ve developed an emotional connection with their customers. But how do you create that connection? In this episode, Fabian and I talk about how you can create a brand that everyone falls in love with. We talk about three of his eight...

As branding guru Marty Neumeier says, a brand strategy is “a plan for the systematic development of brand in alignment with a business strategy.” A brand strategy helps you understand who you are and acts as a blueprint to help you communicate it. But how do you create a brand strategy? In this episode of Behind the Brand, we talk about the essential elements of a brand strategy and finish off talking about how you can create your mission, values, and vision.

If you are selling a product, you are selling a commodity. And in the end, you are most likely selling the same thing every other company is selling. So why should people buy from you? Branding is the impression that you give people. If you don't have a brand, people can't connect with you, they can't trust you and they probably won't buy from you. In this episode, Laura and I talk about how to build a connection with your audience and clients by being your best authentic self, creating a...

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...

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...

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? How can you create a brand that people know and trust? A brand that connects with people early and often so that when they had a need, they choose your business first. A brand where customers choose you first. In this episode, Jeremy and I talk about his origin story, specifically how re-branding his family...

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

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:...

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...

Is color really that important in branding? According to this week’s guest, Alison Engels, 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.

Before choosing your logo, or launching your product, one of the first steps of starting a business is finding your business "why". Purpose can be one of the ultimate differentiators. To quote Simon Sinek, "people don't buy what you do or how you do it, they buy why you do it." In this episode we sit down with Yulia Stark, founder of the Fab Academy, to understand how individuals can identify the purpose behind their business.

What is branding? What should you expect from the Branding Lab podcast? In this show trailer, I'll introduce you to the show and, of course, myself.