A few thing I believe about building brands that shape the way I work with clients.

We’re living in an age of radical transparency.

Hiring practices, supply chains, company culture, and your marketing should all be things you’re proud of. If what you say and what you do aren’t aligned, now is the perfect time to make sure you’re adding value everywhere you show up.

Data + curation for slow(er) content.

Yes, data often leads to better, faster decisions. But like people seeking slow fashion as a reaction to fast fashion’s global domination, human intentionality is becoming a signal of quality.

Design isn’t just for design people.

Design isn’t about making your brand look expensive or exclusive. It can do that, but good design makes products (both digital and physical) easier to understand and relate to, and it shows the audience that a product is for them. It’s worth investing in.

Brands are not their categories.

Media and cultural shifts have made traditional product categories less meaningful. Beverage brands aren’t necessarily competing with other beverage brands. Traditional category tropes have given way to ideas based in human insights, psychographic tribes, and core values.

Nobody wants to be sold to.

Hard selling is a race to the bottom. Playing the numbers game might work in the short term, but someone else can always find a way to reach more people more cheaply.