If you’re an owner or marketing leader at a professional services firm, you’ve probably asked (or been asked) the classic question: when is the right time to rebrand? Rebranding is the process of changing a business’ identity. The different degrees…
“Being creative” has a season. It’s usually when you’re younger, in elementary school, cutting shapes out of colored construction paper. Parents stare proudly at their children, wide-eyed and full of grins, and compliment them with “Look what you made. You…
Do you know what a swipe file is? Some people call it a morgue, but that is a little morbid for me. A swipe file is a folder where you hold all your good ideas for a future project. Mine…
The truth is, a lot of professional services firms are pretty similar. Sure, they offer different services or target niche audiences. But they face a lot of the same challenges. Like tough competition—and how to stand apart from the field.…
Recently, I gave a talk to a group of professional services business owners and leaders about how branding helps to close sales deals. And while it was fresh in my head, I thought I would share some thoughts here. In…
Did I ever tell you I have a slight fear of elevators? Our first office was in an old building on Washington Ave. in downtown St. Louis. It had a manual switch you used to operate it. No button or…
Have you ever read Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon? If you haven’t, you should. The book is about the creative process and where ideas come from—and how to generate your own. It gives great examples of how different…
“So who is your dream client?” Over the years, I’ve come to dread this question. I’ve also learned that people love to ask it to creatives. Nike—I would imagine that 90% of creative people would answer something along the lines…
“You see, it started out as an aquarium, but it sort of got out of control.” – Bob Cassilly, Creator of City Museum There really is no simple way to describe City Museum—even with great branding. The easiest attempt would…
(Disclaimer: This was an April Fools’ joke. Proceed with caution.) A very wise man (Account Director Jesse McGowan’s Dad) once said that “The secret to getting rich is to nail two things together that have never been nailed together before.”…
