2. I “HATE”
POWERPOINT!

3. I “LOVE” BRANDING!
2006 – Blog / Speaking
2010 – TRUE Workbook
2013 – SEO Whitepaper
2014/15 – TRUE Book

6. Spoke Communications, LLC
A full-service, brand-driven marketing
communications resource -
integrating emerging technologies -
with proven marketing strategies.

7. My Own Epiphanies
on Entrepreneurship
• I don’t measure
“Success” the same
• I QUIT MY JOB TO
DO THIS?

8. My Own Epiphanies
on Entrepreneurship
• I don’t measure
“Success” the same
• Zuckerburg and Cuban…
FLUKESFLUKES

9. If you’re paying the bills every
month and able to LIVE, you’re
a “successful entrepreneur.”

10. Hobby VS Business
My Own Epiphanies
on Entrepreneurship

11. Find a NICHE and OWN it.
•The first to market owns the lion’s
share of the brand – define, defend,
and OWN your slice.
My Own Epiphanies
on Entrepreneurship

12. Find a NICHE and OWN it.
My Own Epiphanies
on Entrepreneurship

13. Find a NICHE and OWN it.
My Own Epiphanies
on Entrepreneurship

14. Find a NICHE and OWN it.
•Become the VERB
My Own Epiphanies
on Entrepreneurship

15. I “HATE”
POWERPOINT!

16.  Branding in the marketplace is very
similar to branding on the ranch.
 In the old West, the brand was the
identity of a ranch.
 A UNIQUE mark on “your cow”
differentiating it from “all the other
cattle on the range,”
Even if they all look
pretty much alike.
How Branding Got Its Name

17. The Good and Bad of Business & Entrepreneurship
• Motivation & Passion
• Nimble
• Focus
• Risk Averse
• Resourceful (Boot-strapping)
• Relationship / Networking
• Learn From Mistakes
• Adapt to Change
• BUDGET
• BRAND MARKETING!
Business & Entrepreneurship

18. Every person has a BRAND and a reputation.
Every business has a BRAND and a reputation.
Branding Begets Marketing

19. Business & Entrepreneurship
Not ACTING on your T.R.U.E. BRAND
The Top 10 Marketing Mistakes
• Financial Overload
• “If You Build It…”
• Reinventing The Wheel
• Planning Without Action
• Boredom
• Shallow Network (dependence)
• “But They Do It That Way!”
• Missing The Target
• Overvaluation

20. WHAT YOU’RE
ABOUT TO
HEAR IS
COMMON SENSE…

21. BRAND IS NOT
YOUR LOGO!
Thank GOD.

23. A “T.R.U.E. Brand?”
TRUTHFUL - Understanding The 5-W’s: Who,
What When Where Why and How about your brand (YOU)
RELEVANT - Understanding HOW and why you
relate to your TARGET MARKET
UNIQUE - Understanding how your brand stands out
within a competitive market - your unique market advantage
ENGAGING - Understanding
where and how to best communicate within
your brand community

24. • Targeting
• Evaluating
• Empathizing
• Building Strategy
• Creating Connections
• Fulfilling Needs
• Support
• Do it all again!
Brand-Driven Communications
Apply it!

25. • Targeting
• Evaluating
• Empathizing
• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where
• Why?
branding
Marketing Communications

26. Karl & Kathy Customer?
• Targeting
• Evaluating
• Empathizing
Branding
• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where
• Why?

27. Branding
TRUTHFUL
• Who drives your brand?
• What events built / sustain your brand?
• When have been the best / worst moments?
• Where is your brand (from… at … going)?
• How will your brand survive moving forward?

28. Branding
RELEVANT
• Is your target market “in tune” with you?
• What is the intrinsic appeal to your brand?
• How do you amplify / fortify that?
• Are you “in tune” with your target market?
• Logical channels

29. Branding
UNIQUE
• Differentiation from a crowded marketplace
• Focal point for marketing & communications
• Not “Different for Deferent's sake”
• Shocking is not UNIQUE in social media

30. Branding
ENGAGING
• What “touch-points” do you provide?
• Push marketing?
• Pull marketing?
• Building a “BRAND COMMUNITY”

31. Branding
It’s about communication & COMMUNITY.
BRAND COMMUNITY?
Neilsen, “Trust in Advertising” Oct. 2007

32. QUESTIONS?
5400 SE 30th
Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50320
Phone: 515-257-MKTG (6584) • www.SpokeCom.com
Twitter: @TheBrandChef • Andrew@SpokeCom.com
www.TheBrandChef.com

33. www.TheBrandChef.com
FREE
WORKBOOK

34. “Tell me and I'll forget; show me
and I may remember; involve me
and I'll understand.”
– Chinese Proverb
5400 SE 30th
Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50320
Phone: 515-257-MKTG (6584) • www.createWOWmarketing.com
Twitter: @TheBrandChef • Andrew@createWOWmarketing.com
www.TheBrandChef.com