Focus On Brand

This week on 10 Minutes On Brand, Focus Lab’s Will Straughn and Amy Nance chat about the looming recession — and how brands should adapt to a new reality for their customers.    0:00 Intro 1:21 In times of potential recessions, why might a company look to prioritize brand communications? 3:04 Would you mind clarifying exactly what brand communications are?   4:07 How should brand co...

Working with the industry’s most impactful businesses and government agencies, Bitwise is a digital services company that uses mission-focused technology transformations to streamline governance decisions, surface critical insights into information, and better support communities around the world. The company built a strong reputation for itself with minimal branding, but approached Focus Lab to h...

The brand you want isn’t out there waiting for you to discover it, and it sure doesn’t just happen. You play a real part in its creation. As brand strategists (brand therapists?), our job is to help you see both sides of the story. Focus Lab Strategy Director Shabnam Gideon shares seven steps you can take to get the most value out of your brand project in her article, "Co-Creating The Brand You Wa...

Zello had already built the most popular push-to-talk app, but it needed a brand that spoke more directly to enterprise and business communication clients. Focus Lab CEO Bill Kenney chats with Zello Brand Director Todd Calvert about our work together and how a rebrand project strengthened their company as a whole.   See more of our work with Zello at focuslab.agency/work/zello   0:00 - I...

This week on 10 Minutes On Brand, Focus Lab’s Will Straughn and Natalie Kent chat about debranding—the process of simplifying a logo and visual language. This episode's will dive into questions like: Is debranding a just a trend? Why are more and more brands simplifying their logo and systems?   The ground rules for 10 Minutes On Brand are simple: we'll discuss one specific subject related to...

B2B brands that execute on brand correctly are primed to win, but it will take some healthy self-awareness and courage. Genina Ramirez reads, "B2B Branding in the Modern World" by Focus Lab CEO Bill Kenney. This blog was originally published on Fast Company on March 8, 2021. - Focus Lab is an established B2B brand agency that believes, without question, that the most successful companies are the o...

Color can support a larger brand story, unite a visual identity, and deliver a mood in a way that sometimes only color can do. Genina Ramirez reads, "The Impacts of Color on a Brand" by Focus Lab CEO Bill Kenney. This blog was originally published on Fast Company on November 16, 2021. - Focus Lab is an established B2B brand agency that believes, without question, that the most successful companies...

Tango is the only workflow intelligence platform that helps teams be their best at work by transforming process documentation from a chore they must do into an opportunity for continuous collaboration and improvement. After two years in business, Tango's identity felt fragmented and ready for a strategic upgrade. Focus Lab CEO Bill Kenney chats with Tango co-founder Ken Babcock about our work toge...

This week on 10 Minutes On Brand, Focus Lab’s Will Straughn and Anna Beyerle Rosen chat about brand architecture. The ground rules for 10 Minutes On Brand are simple: we'll discuss one specific subject related to branding but only have 10 minutes to dive deep. This episode's will dive into questions like: What is "brand architecture" and why does it matter? Does a family of brands need to feel con...

Companies investing in intangible assets outperform their peers. For high-growth companies, their most valuable intangible asset is their brand. And an exceptional brand experience is something that cannot be touched by competitors. Focus Lab's Genina Ramirez reads an article from our Design Director, Natalie Kent, “The Biggest B2B Value Driver in the Intangible Economy.” This article was original...

With a new name, Kion — formerly cloudtamer.io — needed an identity that established it as a trusted technology partner and innovator in the cloud-management space. Focus Lab CEO Bill Kenney chats with Kion's CEO Brian Price and VP of Marketing Marianna Noll about our work together and why an early investment in brand is an investment forward.   Kion partnered with Focus Lab on their rebrand...

When it comes to positioning, any company other than “a first” will struggle to differentiate itself on features and product alone — especially in the B2B world awash in buzzwords and jargon and “my product stack is bigger than yours.” That’s why brand positioning is so important — and why brands should embrace some higher benefit that appeals to your audience on a deeper level. Shabnam Gideon, St...

Welcome to Focus Fireside; a series where we sit down with a Focus Lab team member to learn more about their role, their perspective on branding, and important lessons they’ve learned. Today Genina Ramirez, the Business Development Manager here at Focus Lab, chats with our Design Director, Natalie Kent.  -  Focus Lab is an established B2B brand agency that believes, without question, tha...

The Hero. The Outlaw. The Lover. Archetypes are a standard set of human constructs. They are not confined by language, culture, time, or gender — instead an iconic narrative representing a prevailing experience. Focus Lab brand strategist Haley Bridges reads her article, "Brand Archetypes, Universal Truths."  This article was originally published to Focus Lab. - Focus Lab is an established B2...

Today, brands can no longer compete on just features and prices. To truly lead in your category, you also need to lead with your branding. A strong, best-in-class brand can be the factor that breaks you out of the commodity battle and positions your organization for success. Focus Lab Chief Growth Officer Will Straughn reads his article, “Three Steps To Determine If Your Brand Is Competitive." Ori...

In 2018, marketing engagement leader Marketo approached us to redefine their brand identity after more than a decade operating under the banner of purple growth bars. Unbeknownst to us at the time, Marketo was in the process of being acquired by Adobe for $4.75 billion. Focus Lab CEO Bill Kenney chats with Sarah Kennedy Ellis and Sergio Claudio—two former Marketo team members that were instrumenta...

Welcome to the first episode of Focus Fireside; a new series where we sit down with a Focus Lab team member to learn more about their role, their perspective on branding, and important lessons they’ve learned. Today Genina Ramirez, the Business Development Manager here at Focus Lab, chats with one of our Brand Strategists, the perpetually thoughtful, Haley Bridges. - Focus Lab is an established B2...

Thank you for listening to Focus on Brand! Season 2 is kicking off in January and we’ve got some great stuff in store: an inside look into how a branding agency rebrands, conversations with the decision makers behind some of our most impactful rebrands, and more insights into everything brand.  - Focus Lab is an established B2B brand agency that believes, without question, that the most succe...

When Facebook became Meta, it was headline news. Particularly in the world of branding. But after years of bad publicity, is a name change too little, too late? Focus Lab Chief Growth Officer Will Straughn reads his article, "From Facebook to Meta: The Power of a Rename." This article was originally published to Focus Lab. - Focus Lab is an established B2B brand agency that believes, without quest...

Occasionally, a Chili Cook Off inspires reflection into brand messaging and positioning. This is one of those times. Are they the same thing? Can I skip one? No and no. Focus Lab Brand Writer Amy Nance reads her article, “The Truth About Positioning and Messaging.” This article was originally published to Focus Lab. - Focus Lab is an established B2B brand agency that believes, without question, th...

A brand without a clear story and resulting position leaves its customers filling in the gaps. Focus Lab CEO Bill Kenney reads his article, "Why Best-in-Class Brands Lead With Story." This blog was originally published at Fast Company on October 12, 2021. - Focus Lab is an established B2B brand agency that believes, without question, that the most successful companies are the ones who invest in br...

A good story can transcend cultures and withstand centuries because stories connect. We yearn for connection in all things. And the brands we buy are no different. A brand story has the power to connect everything within your organization with the people that you serve in a purposeful and consistent way. Focus Lab Brand Writer Idoia Gkikas reads her article, “The Game-Changing Power of Brand Stori...

When a customer experiences your brand, do they just get a list of features and products in a silo, or do they gain a deeper understanding of what you stand for and why you are right for them? Do you appeal to them beyond the surface? Focus Lab CEO Bill Kenney reads his article, "When Is the Right Time to Rebrand?" This blog was originally published at Fast Company on September 16, 2021. - Focus L...

Branding/rebranding is executed for a very specific reason, and it’s often critical to an organization’s foundation. Rushing through these important inflection points is more than risky—it’s bad business. Focus Lab CEO Bill Kenney reads his article, "Rushing Your Rebrand Is Risky Business." This blog was originally published to Fast Company on August 12, 2021 . - Focus Lab is an established B2B br...

Focus Lab CEO Bill Kenney chats with Humberto Ayres Pereira, CEO of Rows.com about their rebrand. Humberto discusses how they vetted potential brand agencies as an international client, the huge effect the rebrand has had on their hiring efforts, and the power of identifying the brand attributes of Rows during their strategy work.  Rows, originally dash-dash, partnered with Focus Lab on their...