Branding for StartupsWarm Gun, November 21, 2013

“The Pepsi DNA finds its origin in the dynamic of perimeter oscillations.”

BREATHTAKING is a strategy based on the evolution of 5000+ years of shared ideas in design philosophy creating an authentic Constitution of Design.

Logo-centric branding: the right logo not only sways the mind of a customer but is powerful enough to bend the fabric of the universe!

Branding != Logo

Branding is experiential

A brand promise does not survive first use.

So if branding is experiential, what does that mean for

startups?

MVP?

Building brand here… …is different from building brand here

MVP?

Goal: Repeatable value

Activities: Research Conceptual Design Prototyping

Branding: 1:1 relationships

Pre MVP

“The most common unscalable thing founders have to do at the start is to recruit users manually. Nearly all startups have to. You can't wait for users to come to you. You have to go out and get them.”

Paul Graham

People love attention!Takes time.

You learn what the real problems are.

Doesn’t scale. People see you and start rooting for you.

Feels repetitive.

PlussesMinusesStartup activities

Talking to each prospect.

Responding to every email.

Getting out of the office.

Isn’t directly building product.

Iterating 469 times.

Throwing out that amazing idea you had.

You are building your brand.

Isn’t impressive to outsiders.

Starting over and over.

You learn what people will pay for.

Takeaways: 1. Build your brand in 1:1 relationships as you work toward your MVP.

2. The painful, manual steps of researching and hand-holding your first customers is how you’ll also learn how to scale your business going forward.

3. Everyone you come into contact with is being branded. You are your brand.

Minimum Viable Brand

Positioning: Own a word in the prospect’s mind

Brand Identity: Own a shape in the prospect’s mind

“I can’t stand the circle logo. I’m going back to fantastical.”

iOS 7 V2

iOS 7 V2

Evernote

Mailbox

Mextures

Takeaways: 1. Minimum Viable Brand is about owning a unique shape in the minds of customers that becomes memorable and elicits memories of real experiences. 

2. Find a shape and be consistent with it.

3. When you reach MVP or are ready to invest in marketing, then invest in a professional logo using the same shape!

MVP?

Goal: GrowthRepeatable value

Activities: Marketing Sales Scaling technology

Research Conceptual Design Prototyping

Branding: 1:many relationships1:1 relationships

Post MVPPre MVP

Strengthen your brand

with content

"Learning adds resolution to what you offer. And the change happens not within the product, but between the user's ears. The more you help your users learn and improve, the greater the chance that they'll become passionate." 

Kathy Sierra

Marcus Sheridan

Takeaways: 1. After MVP, strengthen your brand with content and education.

2. You’ll find your next set of passionate customers this way.

3. Learn the patterns in how they read your educational content to learn who to target and sell to.

Takeaways: 1. Branding is not what you say to people, it’s what they actually experience and expect of you.

2. Pre-MVP, spend 99% of your time on making people successful. One by one. By hand if necessary. 

3. Spend the other 1% of your time on an MVB, which means to own a shape in your customer’s minds. 

4. Post-MVP, strengthen your brand and bring in leads with education. Level up your customers by increasing their resolution in the field they want to learn in. 

Thank you.Questions/follow up? Find me: @bokardo