The Briefcase | Sutherland Weston

On this episode of The Briefcase , Paul Chadwick, video production specialist at Sutherland Weston and San Francisco 49ers fan, gives us a little bit of wisdom found in the field. The NFL, one of America's biggest institutions, is spreading out to Mexico and Britain before our very eyes— but aren't they big enough? Paul teaches the difference between moving the goal posts and expanding your border...

On his trip to Louisville, Kentucky, Ric Tyler of Sutherland Weston saw an intriguing line of billboards, which brought him to this episode of The Briefcase to talk about marketing that connects, rather than marketing that competes. Is there merit to making your ads not about your product, but about your customer's well-being?   What You'll Learn It pays to think about the well-being of your clien...

A good line is memorable, but a great line is memorized, and sometimes "simple" gets a lot more done than "snappy".  On this episode of The Briefcase , Ric Tyler talks us through some of Sutherland Weston's marketing miracles, and talks about the qualities of a solid catchphrase. What you'll learn: Not everyone will sing your jingle, but with a catchphrase or slogan, you have a bigger audience you...

Quick! This episode of Sutherland Weston's The Briefcase is about catching attention in the business sphere! You need to cut right to the chase to make sure you've got your customers' attention in this busy world, especially as it gets busier and busier.  What you'll learn: 1976 was a very different time, and among the many things that have changed is the general attention span: nobody wants to wa...

If you're a jack of all trades, you're the master of none— but if you focus on a subject matter, you can become that subject's master. On this episode of The Briefcase , Drew McLellan, CEO of Agency Management Institute and author of Sell With Authority , returns to discuss vocation, location, and business truncation, and how giving yourself a speciality will make your business special.  What You'...

The homepage is meant to help your business, but if not used correctly, all it'll do is hinder you.  On this episode of  The Briefcase , Makaila Hickey, Sutherland Weston's Digital Content Strategist, talks about the website side of businesses and what can break (or make) the customer experience. How is a website like an octopus? You'll have to listen to find out.   What you'll learn: There's a th...

On this episode of Sutherland Weston's  The Briefcase , CEO Elizabeth Sutherland celebrates the most wonderful time of the year: the fourth quarter! Between the November and December holidays, you might think that after the hubbub, you should take a break. But don't think you can coast through this last section of the year: If you want to start the next year right, give future you the present that...

What if the goods and services you're offering offer you no good service? What if what you're selling shouldn't be what you're buying? On this episode of The Briefcase, Drew McLellan, CEO of Agency Management Institute and author of Sell With Authority will tell us how to do what was previously thought utterly impossible to say on a business podcast: STOP SELLING STUFF! What You'll Learn Consumers...

Sometimes, even when you put in the work and fork over the cash, the numbers still look like they don't care. You might start to wonder if you've been ripped off! On this episode of  The Briefcase , Makaila Hickey, Sutherland Weston's Digital Content Strategist, talks about some common symptoms of dashboard sickness, and how Google ads don't waste money, it's a bad strategy that does. What you'll...

On this episode of Sutherland Weston's  The Briefcase , Shelley Sund, Vice President and Director of Client Services of Sutherland Weston, leads us down the rabbit hole of brand consistency. What makes a clean image? Why is it so important? Who else is doing this right...? Join us before the conspiracy board as we crack this case wide open… the case of  The Red Thread! What You'll Learn Establishi...

On this episode of Sutherland Weston's  The Briefcase , CEO Elizabeth Sutherland joins Ric Tyler and continues their discussion on the art of the podcast and how to ensure it works as intended. You might have ten hundred hits, but how do you get those numbers off the screen and into your business? Elizabeth gives three invaluable tips on the art of turning listeners into customers! What You'll Lea...

On this episode of Sutherland Weston's The Briefcase , CEO Elizabeth Sutherland joins Ric Tyler as they get a little meta with this all, and talk about just what makes a podcast pull its weight. How do you make sure your program isn't just an ego experiment, and how can you tell when you've started to get where you want to go? Tune in to find out. What You'll Learn How to tell when your podcast is...

Everyone has dreams of "going viral", but is that really what you should be aiming for? Or should your sights be aimed at an audience that's a little more... broad? On this episode of The Briefcase , Ric Tyler talks about the myth of virality, the hits of reality, and Nirvana's hit single " Smells Like Teen Spirit ".  What You'll Learn How a live performance by Nirvana changed the landscape of a g...

While spokespeople can generate attention and credibility, they also carry personal risks that can quickly become brand liabilities. Cautionary examples illustrate how once-beloved figures can turn into public scandals, forcing companies to sever ties and rebuild trust.  In this episode, Ric Tyler explains that the message is simple but powerful: when a brand is tied to a person, it inherits their...

Between pants and purses, what draws people to your products? It seems like in the world of fashion, sometimes the model takes a paradoxical backseat to the material. This week on Sutherland Weston's The Briefcase, Ric Tyler takes a brief dive into the psychology behind presentation, and the mode behind the model.    What You'll Learn Transference: a phenomenon where a person transfers their feeli...

You might get someone to like your product, but you're not going to be able to get someone to love your product. However, there's a guy you can call for that... you just need to make them up! On this episode of  The Briefcase, Sutherland Weston's Podcast & Content Production Coordinator, Ian Buck joins Ric Tyler in discussing the art, the life, and the disappearance of the mascot.   What You'll Le...

They say that comedy comes in threes, but when does a joke lose its charm? Should you strike when the iron is hot, or are you bound to get burned? On this episode of The Briefcase by Sutherland Weston, Dan Cashman and Ric Tyler talk about the shelf-life of parody and the fickle nature of "funny".   What You'll Learn: How an overdone or slow-to-take satire may not connect with consumers. How someti...

Design choice is paramount to the success of your signs, and with such little time for someone to read them, what do you say? On this episode of Sutherland Weston's The Briefcase , Ric Tyler touches on the quick, the witty, and the itty-bitty when it comes to road signs. What You'll Learn: The consumer has about 2 seconds to see your sign, so you have about 1 second to catch their attention. Road...

"There's a woman here and she wants to speak to the manager. She says her name is Karen." Business owners will inevitably encounter a "Karen." But before you escape out the backdoor, listen to this edition of Sutherland Weston's The Briefcase. Ric Tyler takes us "out to the ball game" for a real life lesson in how kindness can outshine a Karen What You'll Learn: Someone may be watching — or even —...

Last week on  The Briefcase , CEO of Sutherland Weston Elizabeth Sutherland talked about the controversial Cracker Barrel logo redesign, how it failed, and where it went wrong. This week, we continue to hear about ways for your business to identify and avoid these same mistakes. What You'll Learn: Rebrands are about reminding your customers why they chose you. "Mellencamping" your logo can make bi...

Cracker Barrel created controversy when removing the man and the barrel from its logo — a simplification that simply failed according to customers and stockholders. On this episode of The Briefcase, Sutherland Weston CEO Elizabeth Sutherland talks about how legacy brands are not built by the boardroom: they're built by the buyers.   What You'll Learn: Your brand is tied to your reputation: it's wh...

A picture is worth a thousand words, but a good song never dies. In this episode of Sutherland Weston's  The Briefcase , Ric Tyler walks us through some of the most famous sound signatures in the history of brands, their origins, and their impacts, and how some have changed along the way.    What you'll learn: The history of three brand-defining sound signatures.  Sound signatures work best as sho...

In the marketing world, a good name is everything. So what happens when you want, or need, to modify it? In this episode of Sutherland Weston's The Briefcase (The Brief? The Case?), Ric Tyler walks us through examples of businesses on a first-name basis, both those who made the leap and those who stumbled on the way there.   What you'll learn: How some businesses, like Dunkin Donuts, got their act...

Seasons don't fear the dashboard, nor do the charts, the graphs, or the cells… In this episode of The Briefcase, Jordon Meyer, founder and CEO of Granular, talks about the free tool ready to help business owners navigate the marketing landscape and see how far they've come!   What you'll learn: How crucial it is to your business to track your marketing performance regularly. The tools you have at...

Some people look at Myers-Briggs results to see if two people will work well together. More spiritual-minded people might find results in comparing star signs or birthstones. Nicole Mahoney, CEO of Travel Alliance Partnership, walks us through a more rooted model of navigating "Coopetition".  What you'll learn: If you're too busy and have 'no time for collaboration', you need collaboration to help...