Author Archives: Fabian Geyrhalter
When Values are Bigger Than the Product: How to Win Hearts Through the Sole Power of Belief
Below article was first published in Conscious Connection Magazine on 04/09/18. As a brand strategist, I am continuously surrounded and personally obsessed with design and tech innovation. That paused for me last year when my obsession shifted to startups that I saw win hearts (and minds) solely through empathy with their tribes while offering nothing but, what can be seen as, commodity products. I did what one has to do when a subject turns into an obsession and I put pen to paper and wrote a book about this silent phenomenon, which was released earlier this year: ‘Bigger Than This – how to turn any venture into an admired brand.’ I distilled my findings into 8 traits that any venture can use to infuse a deeper meaning into its brand DNA. One of those traits is ‘Belief’ and the exclusive excerpt below will show you how you can launch a seemingly unchanged product or service to great success if it is coupled with strong beliefs: The financial crisis of 2008 led to uncertainty and unemployment, which led to people losing trust not only in big banks but in other large corporations, too. Not coincidentally, people went frugal and started crafting and cooking again, preferring local eateries and buying artisanal products. Many small brands were born out of consumers’ desire to associate with those they could trust. New tribes formed based on a desire for honest products crafted by honest people – people they can trust. We are still feeling the repercussions of this shift. Today, …
Lessons in Marketing Through Empathy – From a Business That Serves Homeless And Millionaires Alike
In my latest book about turning ventures into brands, Bigger Than This, I cite a stunning 116 companies over the course of only 200 pages. Some are Fortune 100 conglomerates and consumer brands like Starbucks and Uber, but most are smaller ventures that lead with empathetic stories and created swift consumer admiration. I discovered many of them during my research for the book and am now reaching out to some of those that intrigued me particularly in order to learn more from their unique ways of using their brand story as their key differentiator in the marketplace. One such venture is SAME Café. Seemingly just another small neighborhood café in Denver, Colorado, SAME Café boasts a big differentiator as it serves healthy food to anyone who pays or does not pay for the fare. More so, it attracts millionaires that dine on delicious, healthy fresh farm-to-table cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere next to someone less fortunate who are experiencing homelessness and stopped in to survive and keep on going through their rough days. Obviously, there is a lot to be learned from this intriguing venture, so I reached out to Brad Allen Reubendale, the Café’s Executive Director, to see what any business leader and marketer can learn from his unique business model that is so deeply rooted in empathy. Many CEO’s and marketers throw the word empathy around just like other marketing buzzwords, but it’s time to actually listen and learn from a business that is using empathy not as …
Turn Any Venture Into a Brand — by Caring Deeply About a Mutual Cause
Below article was first published on Sustainable Brands on 01/25/18. This is an excerpt from Fabian Geyrhalter’s upcoming book, Bigger Than This: How to Turn Any Venture Into an Admired Brand. One of eight traits discussed in Bigger Than This is ‘cause,’ which we dive into here… Aligning your commodity brand’s existence with a cause can give you strong brand positioning, if done truthfully. Will Young, founder and president of Sydney-based Campos Coffee, states his reason for a purpose- and cause-oriented brand in a company video: “If we are not in it for good, then there is no reason to wake up every morning and go to work.” His words would not be as powerful if Campos Coffee had not demonstrated its commitment to ethics and philanthropy in coffee by being a Fair Trade Certified organization that calls itself “Direct Trade” by improving education and living standards of the communities with which it works. There is a powerful reason his approach works. Over the past five years, it has become somewhat of a staple for startups founded by millennials to identify a social cause that can be activated in an authentic way to manifest that the purpose of a product or service goes deeper than solely generating sales. “Purpose” is ingrained in their thinking. Millennials’ emphasis on purpose is probably why there is even a startup, Pledge 1%, to foster startups that seek to commit 1% of their equity, product, profit or time to charity. As Pledge 1% CEO Amy …
Creating Brands with a Purpose – When Social Impact turns into Profit
As the consumer market becomes increasingly saturated with competitive product and service offerings, branding is emerging as a key differentiator for prospective consumers. Thanks to a growing number of digital channels that allow consumers to interact with brands, consumers have the opportunity to be well-informed before they make a purchase. The most recent Edelman GoodPurpose study, which “explores consumer attitudes around social purpose, including their commitment to specific societal issues and their expectations of brands and corporations,” supports the notion that consumers care about how brands address social issues. Fostering a win-win relationship between business and the greater community is the ultimate goal of creating a brand with a purpose. Download our free white paper to learn about: Succeeding with Purpose Lessons in Creating a Purpose-driven Brand from Birth: The TOMS Case Study Lessons in Strengthening a Brand by Adopting a Cause: The Ben & Jerry’s Case Study
5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became CEO
Yesterday marked the release of my new book, ‘BIGGER THAN this – How to turn any venture into an admired brand’ and I was fortunate enough to have Thrive publish an interview with me coinciding with the book release. The article turned into a very personal Q and A. Most likely because the interview was conducted while I was vacationing up in the serene Austrian mountains, it turned out so very sincere. Sharing it with you today as I candidly talk about how I turned my design agency into a brand consultancy and I share the key insights I learned in my close to 2 decades of being a creative entrepreneur. I hope you get something out of it as we start off the year: “Say No, And Say It Often” Words Of Wisdom With Fabian Geyrhalter, Author Of ‘Bigger Than This’
What Any Brand Needs To Learn From Amazon’s Physical Bookstore Experience
I just spent an hour at Amazon. Not on Amazon, at Amazon. As an author with a second book release upon me, I study book marketing up close hence I just had to make a pilgrimage to Los Angeles’ first physical Amazon bookstore. It opened two weeks ago as part of the Westfield Century City Mall‘s universally talked about staggering 1$ Billion re-model (…and we thought retail was dead). I was doubtful when I initially heard about Amazon going into physical storefronts thereby going back to the business model they once so successfully disrupted many years ago. Well, my doubt was quickly turned into exhilaration as Amazon did not simply open a storefront, they changed the way consumers experience products offline – with a whole lot of help from online insights. Amazon successfully and holistically transformed what worked online into a physical brand experience. It took full advantage of its massive amounts of data, to my delight. At the AmazonBooks store, you are greeted with shelves titled ‘Highly Rated – 4.8 Stars & Above’ or ‘100 Books to Read in a Lifetime – Our Picks from the Amazon.com List.’ Not surprisingly, it works and it pulls you into a curated, and more importantly, customer-verified, experience. Do you trust that Maggie from the local bookstore has a ‘Staff Pick’ or do you trust hundreds, thousands, millions of readers just like yourself? Sorry, Maggie, I am all up for supporting local stores, but that was an easy pick. Not so quick though, as Amazon knows it needs to, and should, make the …
How To Share Your Brand’s Offering – Brilliant Brand Messaging Lessons From Acorns And Emojis
I entered a contest. Not a design competition, but a simple consumer contest. And that matters because, really, who enters contests? We are all busy people. Especially a man in his early 40’s who is not bootstrapping his life, especially not aiming for a $20 gift card.* Well, I did, and here is why: While procrastinating – it happens to the best of us – in-between important and time-sensitive client workshop preparation tasks, the following E-Mail popped up in my ‘Everything Else’ area of my Inbox (yes, it accurately landed on the opposite side of my ‘Important’ E-Mails): They got me with the squirrel. And the time-sensitive part. So, nuts I went. I went nuts not to find that silly acorn, well that too, but over the genius, or the team of geniuses, who were briefed to get people to click-through their Fall Collection of indie food products. Instead of a beautiful collage of their products, or by cramming in as many different products as they can, they created a ‘fallen acorns scavenger hunt’ thereby ensuring people had to click through a lot of their new products thereby familiarizing themselves with a variety of offerings not unlike they would scrolling through an Instagram feed. I did click on one product (‘brand research – had to make sure it worked before I wrote about it’) and saw an acorn. That’s when my brain switched from ‘marketing technique intrigue’ straight to ‘happy acorns hunt participant.’ If you can get the E-Mail recipient who is the least-likely to partake …
What A Line Of People In Front Of A Phone Booth Taught Me About Brand Advocacy
A few weeks ago I found out about a hidden Speakeasy in walking distance from my house. Not sure how you would react to that news, but I was pretty exhilarated, to say the least. As all legit Speakeasies go, they have interesting hidden entrances. ‘Mine’ came in the form of a functioning phone booth. Once you dial the right number, the hostess picks up and asks for the daily password, and if you made reservations, you are in. Not so on a particular Sunday evening two weeks ago when there was a line of 80 people waiting in front, yes, the phone booth, to get in. I inquired with the last person in line and that was the first time I learned about ‘the coins.’ I happened to desire a cold beverage on the very night of the infamous Fernet-Branca Coin Release Party and the ones in line were all bartenders ‘in the know.’ I spent the remaining evening reading up about this phenomenon; over a cold, home made, cocktail. Fernet-Branca, the brand of the bitter herbal liqueur that falls into the amaro family of spirits (it tastes indeed a little bit like a sophisticated version of Jägermeister), revisited the tradition of the ‘challenge coin,’ made popular by the armed forces, but later adopted by law enforcement and the trades. Basically, any group of hard working people that like to drink. So, yes, there are many groups that created their own coins. The rather simple rule of the game: You have a coin, you …
How The Narcissism of Prince Can Lead to Your (Next) Successful Brand Launch
I spend a fairly good amount of my professional life traveling the world for meetings, workshops, and lectures. My wife pities me for the early mornings, late nights, the anxiety, the unknown, the airports and the countless Uber rides. Me, on the flip side, I enjoy it thoroughly. I get to explore new cities and cultures and use the little bit of downtime I get to gain new experiences. I will always be a seeker. Just like a little boy, I am curious and still believe that the world is my oyster. It’s strange, but I firmly believe it works to my advantage as it fuels me with inspiration and, as a result, creates lasting memories. This week brought me to Minneapolis to work with a Fortune 100 company on two brand launches, and this morning I used the time before my flight to take a ride out to the suburbs for a tour of Paisley Park. Not one of the city’s many beautiful parks, Paisley Park is the place Prince (‘The artist formerly known as,’ who passed away abruptly last April) created in order to write, record, party, host, meet and at times stay at, that is crafted precisely to only his needs and according to only his vision. I am not a ‘super fan’ by any means, but an admirer of his talent and felt like a visit to this ‘sacred’ place would make for a unique experience. And it sure did. Besides being an amazing musician, dancer, singer …
How To Ensure Continuous Brand Affection As Your Tech Startup Approaches Financial Glory
[This article was originally published on Forbes on 04/07/17] We’ve heard a lot about tech IPOs in recent weeks thanks to an instant picture-taking app from Venice Beach going public. Tech companies, some worth as much as small countries, leave many open questions for investors, users and brand managers alike. As a brand strategist known for my work with tech startups, I was recently interviewed on CGTN on the topic of how these big evaluations and IPOs may negatively affect a brand and its loyal brand advocates: In preparation for the show, I wrote down tips on how to deal with the associated brand risks for when your tech startup finally hits the jackpot. You never know: A merger, massive round of funding or even the mighty IPO might just happen to you next. 1. Show Your Users It’s Still About Them Many consumers (or “users”) question high valuations, especially those of tech companies whose products they use on a daily basis. It is difficult to grasp the financial value in broader economic and strategic terms with tech companies that don’t show big profits, yet are worth billions of dollars. This often makes younger consumers belittle and ridicule apps they used to love. It changes perception. On top of that, it happens that millennials, especially teenagers, are not known for being brand loyal. If they are your power users, communicate your shared values with them, because a billion-dollar valuation is likely not a value they will automatically cling on to. Now, they …
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Fabian Geyrhalter is the Principal of FINIEN, creating clarity for brand transformations.
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