Thoughts on Brand Building From A Geoscientist

I never (and still don't) consider myself as one who's particularly good at identity or branding.

I'm a primarly a distracted geoscientist, although my recent lack of field experience makes me a rather rusty one at that.

So I always have to double check myself when I'm in the middle of delivering a workshop on branding to some of the brightest student's I've encountered in my work with Exeter University's School of Engineering and The Royal Society.

Brand is so much more than a name and a logo (a good thing in our case, since we painfully crafted ours in CorelDRAW over 25 years ago).

As a co-founders, our roles evolve over time. Teams grow and need nurturing. The founding ethos needs to be kept alive. Our voice needs to be as fresh as when we were a young company, eager to please. Hungry to learn and grow.

Am I going backwards when I pick up bad grammar in a colleagues' hastily thown together email, or am I just wiser to the fact that the only thing that matters is EVERYTHING?

Good brands are simply about people and how you make them feel. Our customers, suppliers, colleagues, friends, family and those we're yet to meet...

Helping people do what they want to do or get where they want to go, and making them feel good about it pretty much all we need to do.?

It really is that simple.

The video above is a recording of my recent workshop on brand building. I am indebted to David Hieatt and Duke Stump for their wisdom and coaching and making me realise that building a good brand is really just about being a good human.