Month: August 2020

Mixed reality opens up the potential for a huge amount more data capture, about our environment, our experiences, and our emotional responses. I don’t think we will want to share this data directly with retailers, but we might share it with our own digital personal assistant. Once this AI knows enough about us, it can take decisions about purchases on our behalf, whether that’s changing our breakfast cereal for one that is cheaper or more appropriate to our tastes or nutritional needs, or buying us a new pair of jeans because it sees the old ones are wearing out.

As part of our series about the future of retail, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tom Cheesewright.

Tom Cheesewright is an Applied Futurist, working with people and organizations around the world to see the future first and build solutions to the trends and pressures they identify. His clients range from government departments and charities to global 500 corporations. Tom’s first book, High Frequency Change, explained our shared sense that the world moves faster, and offered tips for dealing with the waves of change we all face. His second book, Future-proof Your Business, is out now. Visit https://tomcheesewright.com/

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

You could argue it at started when I was three years old at a book fair, when my mum agreed to buy me the Usborne Book of the Future, a guide to life in the year 2000 and beyond. This was at the start of the 1980s so this seemed like the distant future then. The book was amazing, packed with pictures and predictions. It still lives on my desk now as a source of inspiration.

After graduating I spent five years working in marketing for technology companies before striking out on my own, initially as a consultant and then founding an agency, followed by a software start-up (and a number of other little ventures along the way).

In 2012, I left my last business and decided to turn my blog about the future, that I’d been writing since 2006, into a business. I launched a website to announce what I was doing and to my great surprise and delight, in the first six weeks I had calls from LG, Nikon, Sony Pictures and others saying that they needed the services of an applied futurist. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing from there, but it was immediately clear that this was something I could do, that I loved, that also allowed me to spend lots of time with my family.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

So many to choose from! I do quite a lot of media work, talking about technology and tomorrow on TV and radio. You meet some very interesting characters in the green room. I have found myself explaining climate change to a pop star, doing tech support for a boy band, and listening to a lecherous old actor being told he was too drunk for television — at six o’clock in the morning.

Perhaps a slightly more work related one is around the reaction to a recent project I undertook around the future of food. I was commissioned by a science and engineering fair for kids to come up with the future pizza as part of a marketing campaign. The brief was to connect some of the key science and technology challenges facing us in the future to something that kids are passionate about.

So, we swapped out the tomatoes for ones grown in an inner-city hydroponic farm, the cheese for one made from almond protein, and most controversially, some of the wheat for ground up insects. This got a lot of good attention, making it into national newspapers around the world and attracting a film crew from Germany’s biggest science show over to Manchester to film with me.

But it also caused an absolute furore amongst pizza fans. I got abusive messages on Instagram from upset Italians, and even had a right-wing columnist in the US call me a ‘professional toddler’.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or takeaway you learned from that?

Know your audience! I travelled to Latvia to do a talk to one of the country’s arts organisations. It was in the middle of nowhere, about two hours drive from Riga. I had misunderstood their website, thinking that it was mostly film and television professionals, so had prepared a talk about the future media landscape.

When I arrived a couple of hours before my talk, I did what I usually do and started networking to get a sense of who was in the crowd and what the big topics of the day were. I very quickly realised two things. First, almost no-one spoke English. Turns out they had booked two local students to do live translation for me. Second, none of them worked in film and television. It was all theater people.

I disappeared into a back room to hastily re-write my talk, and had to brief the translators on the changes as I went.

It went OK in the end, but the live translators weren’t set up in a booth with their audio being broadcast to headsets as I spoke. That’s what I had come to expect from previous events with live translation. Instead I had to pause after every statement for them to repeat it. This meant my talk took twice as long as I planned so I very quickly started self-editing to make it shorter. And it also meant that any jokes either fell flat or got two responses a few seconds apart, as the first group laughed at the original English and the second group laughed at the translation — or more often, didn’t.

Lesson learned: interrogate the organizer and get to know the audience you’re speaking to, and the set-up on the day!

Are you working on any new exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?

I’m just about to start a project on the future of healthcare. It’s a space I have done some work in before but not for a couple of years. It’s a really good excuse to take a deep dive into the challenges we face today and the challenges coming tomorrow, with our changing demographics, economy, tastes and culture. I’m really hopeful this project can be valuable in informing health policy and investment at a local level by hospitals and care trusts.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Although it seems everyone on LinkedIn has ‘futurist’ in their job title these days, I have relatively few real peers for whom it is their full-time occupation. And most of them seem to be a decade or so older than me, so perhaps I should be taking advice from them!

But seriously, I did take some time out recently because of a particular type of burnout. This is a job where you are very exposed. You are constantly putting your ideas and opinions out there for criticism. And you are doing so on stage (pre-lockdown), on camera, on microphone, in print, and on social media. With my new book coming out early, in April, plus the huge interest in the future impact of the pandemic and the lock down, I felt like I didn’t leave the ‘stage’ for about three months. This permanent performance is exhausting and in the end, I just had to take a week off everything — no social media, no Zoom calls, no radio interviews. Just a good book and lots of time with my family.

My advice would be to take time out to look at yourself. Ensure you give yourself space for self-awareness about how performing constantly is affecting you. And if it’s starting to feel like too much, step back.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Monika, my wife, has been incredibly supportive of my flights of fancy over the last fifteen years since we moved in together. We set up home together in a new city with just a few friends and me starting my own business for the first time. Since then I’ve experimented with lots of different businesses: founding a home technology support franchise called Eggheads, an iTunes/MySpace alternative called NetRecords, a digital marketing agency, a software company, and now this. Each time I’ve taken a leap of faith that might have seen us struggling financially and she has offered nothing but support — even when some of these projects became all consuming.

I am also incredibly grateful to a few long-standing clients who I have credited in the new book. They recognized where I could add value really early, and have kept feeding me with work ever since I started. Without them there would have been some very tough times indeed.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

There is a frequent misconception about my role. People think I’m here to campaign for a particular vision of the future, when actually my job is to help people see what might happen without intervention. For that reason, any good that might come of my professional work is very much a consequence of the projects I am asked to work on. Some of those I think absolutely have had some wider benefit, like helping local government to future-proof with greater foresight and resilience, for example. Others, like advising on the future of the superyacht, it’s hard to argue have any wider benefit.

But there are ways to use my reach and connections for good. It feels very un-British and uncomfortable to talk about charity work, but I am working with a refugee organisation at the moment, helping people to find work in the UK.

Ok super. Now let’s jump to the main question of our interview. Can you share 5 examples of how retail companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers like to shop?

The biggest thing to understand here is that consumers are fundamentally lazy. They hate friction. This was brought home to me in some research I worked on for a client back in 2016. We surveyed 7,000 16–35 year-olds around the world and the one thing that united them was that they want things with the minimum of effort and delay.

If you can take friction out of the buying process, then with a few exceptions, you will win.

How does this manifest?

1. Far too much space in stores is given over to checkout infrastructure based on outmoded, slow processes. Likewise, they consume too much staff time in transactional activities when they could be actually helping the customer. So you can expect these to shrink and disappear as we introduce slicker checkout — or checkout-less — technologies in the coming years.
2. Despite all the concerns about privacy, stores actually know far too little about us. Or put more accurately, they are still not very good at using what they do know. My research suggests we like a personalized shopping experience. The better that stores can integrate on and offline data to tailor the shopping experience, the better.
3. The way this personalized experience might be presented in the near future is via mixed reality. Imagine everyone having a fully personalized in-store environment, as well as a digital personal shopper. Perhaps even personalized pricing.
4. Mixed reality opens up the potential for a huge amount more data capture, about our environment, our experiences, and our emotional responses. I don’t think we will want to share this data directly with retailers, but we might share it with our own digital personal assistant. Once this AI knows enough about us, it can take decisions about purchases on our behalf, whether that’s changing our breakfast cereal for one that is cheaper or more appropriate to our tastes or nutritional needs, or buying us a new pair of jeans because it sees the old ones are wearing out.
5. In the next few years, you are going to see huge changes in logistics and particularly reverse logistics. With lockdown accelerating the shift to digital for more and more classes of goods, retailers need to be able to get stuff to us quickly, cheaply and cleanly, and critically get it back again if it doesn’t fit, fails, or was sent in error. This will have both human and automated dimensions, with better integration between existing delivery services and the introduction of more robot warehouses and rolling drones before truly autonomous trucks become available.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

For me, the often-forgotten group that remains disadvantaged is also the largest: women. From the pay gap, to political representation, to conviction rates for sexual violence, women retain a massive disadvantage even in some of the most progressive countries. This is so often overlooked when there are other important campaigns going on.

I believe feminism is a movement by women, for women, so it’s not something I am going to start. But it’s an ongoing campaign that has my wholehearted support.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Twitter: @bookofthefuture

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomcheesewright/

Book of the Future podcast

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Futurist Tom Cheesewright: The Future of Retail Over The Next Five Years was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Braylon Creighton, The Creature Preacher: Why I Believe That Visualization Is One of the Best Success Habits

I would say that one of the best success habits is visualization. Visualizing your success, achievements, and events are key to victory in the modern world. Visualization gives you immense amounts of clarity, and further brings your desires to fruition. By visualizing your desires every day, and getting into the feeling of how it feels to have that thing which you would love to manifest or achieve, you consistently get into the receptive mode, letting that which you desire flow into your reality faster and easier than ever before!

I had the pleasure of interviewing Braylon Creighton.

Braylon lives in Silicon Valley in Northern California with his two brothers, mother, and father, and one-eyed rescue puppy. He is an upcoming 9th-grade student. His current YouTube name is The Creature Preacher. Braylon films hands-on videos with different organisms in a variety of environments! Braylon has had a passion for all living creatures since he can remember. His mom recently came across a video of Braylon teaching the viewers and his little brother all about how earthworms are great for the compost. He continues to be inspired by his two favorite wildlife explorers, Jonathan Bird and Coyote Peterson.

Braylon strives to teach and show people how cool and interesting all organisms are, and that we do not to have to be disgusted by them, but instead that we can appreciate them. As a vegetarian, he believes people will have a better appreciation for living things if they understand them better. He loves to be out in the field being led by his curiosity and hopes to do lots of traveling in the near future. He is also a yet to be an author, as he is currently writing a new book about being a deliberate creator of your reality by using the Law of Attraction. He is also currently planning a documentary about the Mojave Desert.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

So the very first spark of my career was a big family trip to Hawaii. I was so excited because I hadn’t been to the islands in eight years (I was only five then!). When I arrived, it ended up being one of the best experiences of my life…so far! We went snorkeling in an incredible reef at Molokini Crater. As I swam, I could see the vibrant and colorful fish beneath my feet, a moray eel weaving in and out of the rocks, parrotfish taking bites out of incredible corals, and a beautiful black triggerfish swarming our boat, plucking algae from the side of it. There were colorful reefs, delicious food, fire and hula dancers, and my awesome cousins to play with. I had an absolute blast! It was absolutely everything that anyone could ever want on a trip.

When I left Maui, it was one of the worst feelings in my entire life! I felt devastated. I had just experienced the best five days of my life, and now it was all slipping away from me as I crossed the Pacific Ocean back to my home in the Bay Area. So, I decided that I would get back to Hawai’i again, one way or another.

Little did I know, that very plane ride would inspire me to do so many great things, and share my big idea that I believe will change the world! By the time I was in my house, I was already thinking about ways to get back to the Hawaiian islands. Back then, I thought that was the only way for me to feel the way I felt in Hawai’i ever again. I asked myself how I was going to make it back, and of course, I needed money!

So, I decided to start a business called Braylon’s Bread Business selling loaves of gourmet homemade bread to customers around my city of Palo Alto. Before I knew it, I had around $800 dollars in my pocket! But, because I was selling them at $4 each loaf, I had to make a lot of bread and, in turn, had a lot of stress. I often stayed up past midnight, and woke up at six a.m., only to ensure my customers were satisfied. One night, I woke up in my sleep and started to vigorously knead my covers because I thought it was dough! That’s when I knew that I was doing way too much, for far too little.

After that endeavor, I started an online business, selling phone cases. By now, I was still figuring out the whole small business thing and entrepreneurialship. As I was learning the ropes of selling phone cases through my online shop, I remembered something my mother had told me many years ago. It was something called the Law of Attraction. I recalled that it had to do with something about getting back whatever you put out into the Universe. I thought my mind might have made it up, and I had truly no idea what it really meant, but I decided to ask my mom about it. She told me that it was true, and gave me a podcast to listen to called the Think, Believe, and Manifest show by Constance Arnold. I decided to take a listen…and was confused, yet astounded!

I thought it sounded absurd that if you believe something, have a desire for it, and trust that it will come, you can have it. Sure, I was confused, but I thought that if it were really true, then my business would be booming! By then I had a very basic understanding of how the Law of Attraction actually worked and decided to apply a few principles that I had learned from the podcast along the way. On one of Constance Arnold’s podcasts, I heard a guest say that our most productive time was in the morning. Because of this, I decided only to work on my business in the morning and at no other time in the day.

Now, looking back, I see that this is absurd because whatever time you feel most pulled to do whatever it is that you want to do is when it’s time to take action on it. But these were the sorts of thoughts that were in my head at the time. Because of my still limited understanding of the Universal Laws, I only made one sale on my phone case, a sale I was proud of, but still just one.

After that, I decided to take a break from making money, especially because summer was nearing an end. During my eighth grade year, I didn’t feel all that compelled to make money but to pursue my own desires. Because of the teachings of many Law of Attraction masters, I learned that you are most successful at whatever it is that you are passionate about. At the time, I was really getting into biology, specifically in the tropics, so I took inspired action, and created a YouTube channel called Life in the Tropics (now called The Creature Preacher). It focused on plants and animals found all over the tropics of the world. On the channel, I would showcase artifacts that either I had found, bought, or had gotten from my uncle, who is also into that sort of thing. I explained how organisms such as banana plants, corals, seahorses, octopuses, and shark egg sacks adapt and survive in their environment. Part of the reason why I started the channel was that I actually wanted to gain knowledge about the world of organisms. I decided to do research and share this knowledge with others. From that point on, I have been consistently putting out YouTube videos about the world of creatures, and have been continuously manifesting miracles in my life, and gained an immense amount of knowledge about wildlife in the process. The Law of Attraction has changed my life for the better, and through this interview, I hope I can help change yours!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

One night, I decided to meditate and visualize my success. I was working on my YouTube channel called the Creature Preacher, and was super excited about it! I couldn’t wait to share even more of my knowledge with the world about all sorts of different organisms. I decided that even though I didn’t know how anything would unfold, I would just let it flow! That very night, I came downstairs and my mom read me an email from my Uncle about a publicist, Grayce McCormick, who wanted to work with me on my Creature Preacher channel for free! I was a little surprised and a bit happy because I didn’t know how good the publicist was. The very next day, it turned out that she was bigger than I had originally thought, and had worked with many celebrities such as Jim Carrey, and Scarlett Johansson. This is just one example of how the Universe is always working miracles for you, and once you let go of the how, and allow them into your life, they will come to you like flies to sugar!

Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?

The main principles that have guided my life thus far are from the Law of Attraction. Anything regarding the creation of reality is what has guided my life. The Law of Attraction, intuition, spiritual relationships and visualization are all examples of what has guided my life, but in general, they all revolve around the knowledge and practice of Law of Attraction.

Ok. Let’s now move to the main focus of our interview. Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change The World”?

So my idea is more so a philosophy than an idea, but I guess you could say it is both! I believe so strongly in the Law of Attraction and manifestations, and the power that people hold. The Law of Attraction states that whatever vibration you broadcast out into the Universe, that vibration is then reflected back into your reality. Now I know this may sound complicated and a little strange to some, but let me explain. Your vibration can mean a lot of different things. (Mood, emotions, thoughts, and vibe are all other words for describing vibration, but I like the word vibration the most because it is the most specific). Essentially, the Law of Attraction means that you are the creator of your own reality! Many people go through life thinking that they are a product of their environment, or that life happens to them when in reality, life is the exact opposite. As we live our lives, we broadcast a vibration, or frequency, much like light or sound vibrations out into the Universe! These ‘vibes’ are picked up by the Source, God, or whatever you want to call it, and the Law of Attraction does all of the work. It lines up the path of least resistance in order to get that which you have broadcast, and turns it from vibration, into physical. You could essentially call this, ‘Law of Attraction’ , a mirror, which bounces right back at you, things which you cast into that mirror.

My idea is that we can use this seemingly magical Law of the Universe to our advantage, controlling what we broadcast into the Universe, and therefore controlling what we receive!

How do you think this will change the world?

By harnessing how to control the Law of Attraction, people can literally change their reality! This completely challenges most people’s perspective on life, and in fact, their realities, of course. Just imagine if everyone was consciously creating their own realities what the entire world could accomplish! We would have people passionate about what they do, everyone manifesting miracles daily, and all things working out for everybody all of the time! The Law of Attraction is incredibly powerful, yet to have the whole world harness that power would be just incredible! People would be able to achieve whatever success they could ever imagine, and there would be far less anger and sadness in the world if everybody implemented the Law of Attraction into their lives! There is so much possibility and potential in the Law of Attraction, so take my advice, and we can share this with the world!

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?

No, not in the least! The Law of Attraction says that you can manifest absolutely anything which you desire! This law already exists, and it is simply a matter of harnessing this Law of the Universe in order to achieve great things. One thing that I’ve noticed when using the Law of Attraction to manifest my desires, is that it not only works out for me but also for everybody involved. The Universe has a way of finding the path of least resistance in order to please everyone. So if harnessing the Law of Attraction allows your source/inner being to flow through you, allows total happiness, helps you to understand the true nature of who you are and your place in the world, and manifest absolutely anything and everything that you want and in everyone’s favor, then I see absolutely zero drawbacks!

Was there a “tipping point” that led you to embrace this idea? Can you tell us that story?

Really, it was Hawai’i that led to such a big change in my thinking, and in my life. Before Hawai’i, my plan for life was really just up to what others would influence me into doing. I might have become a wrestler like my dad wants, or an artist, or maybe a scientist. Who knows.

But after experiencing all that I could become from being so inspired in Hawai’i, and all the good things that I realized I was missing out on in life, I decided that I needed to make a real change.

I remember sitting by the window of the plane, imagining all of the terrible effort and hard work that lay ahead as we headed back home from our trip..and all of that leading me to absolutely nothing that I actually wanted to do! I could just imagine and see all the terrible things that were going to happen unless, of course, I made a change.

After that plane ride, and starting a series of small businesses, a sort of gradual change led me to the discovery of the Law of Attraction, and how to harness it. This was part of my journey.

What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?

Right now, I am actually in the middle of writing a book on the Law of Attraction, and how kids my age (teenagers) can implement this Law of the Universe into their lives. I think that this will be revolutionary, as many kids my age don’t have much literary material on the Law of Attraction that is intended for an audience such as themselves! But for widespread adoption throughout the globe, I think it is really just up to the people. Specifically, people who are into the Law of Attraction .

Personally, most of the people whom I know are into the Law of Attraction, have discovered it by others who have shared it with them. I, for example, was introduced to the Law of Attraction gradually, but my mother was really the one who shared a lot of the beginning basics with me.

Also, one of the greatest Law of Attraction masters, Esther Hicks, also discovered spirituality as well as the Law of Attraction through her husband, Jerry Hicks. Almost anybody that you ask who is into the Law of Attraction will likely tell you that they discovered it through somebody else, and I think that that is really the key to widespread adoption. As long as we keep sharing our discoveries and knowledge with each other about the subject, the more people will be involved, and the more lives the Law of Attraction can amaze!

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Everything is always working out for me! Sometimes it can feel like the whole world is falling beneath your feet, and all of the wrong things are happening in your life. Even if it feels like all is lost, or your life is falling apart, simply remember that everything is constantly and consistently working out for you! There was this one year in eighth grade, where I was fed up with school, and I didn’t want to do so much work all of the time. There was also a middle school wrestling season which I was dreading, and I couldn’t imagine dedicating 8.5 hours of my day to pointless things I hated doing! Thankfully, I just had the desire, and gave it to the Universe to handle it for me. After that, things started to look up, and the year ended early, due to the Covid-19 outbreak. I got a whole month of no school! The rest of the year, after that, I spent only half the time on academics, plus we got to learn from home! And the best part was the fact that the wrestling season was canceled! This is just one example of how things are always working out for you, and even though it may not always seem like it, the Universe lines up events that are always in your best interest…all you have to do is have faith.
2. Take only inspired action. Don’t do something just because you feel like you should do it, but because you actually feel compelled to do it, and want to do it. Whenever I am working on a Creature Preacher video, I am always working from a place of alignment, clarity, and inspiration. I only make videos because I feel compelled to make videos, not because I should. Have you ever seen a big actor, producer, music artist, architect, or big-time chef who does things because they feel like they should? The answer is NO! They do things because they want to, not the other way around. By not taking inspired action, you are actually working away from your goal, because you feel like you have to do something in order to get it, instead of letting your success/manifestations come to you! Inspired action, on the other hand, brings you closer to your goal, and is super fun to do! Inspired action is how you achieve success, not the shoulds.
3. Have faith. It is so easy for some people to get caught up in what is going to happen, or the doubt that something will not manifest. In reality, as long as they have faith, it will come. So don’t get all caught up in the how, and just trust that whatever you desire is on its way to you. There was this one time, where I was attempting to manifest a lottery winning, where the prize was $10,000 worth of reef tank supplies. I was very excited but also excited in the wrong way. I kept worrying about it not coming, and if the Law of Attraction was actually even a real thing. Unfortunately, I put so much of my energy into the how, and the worry of things, causing that which I truly desired didn’t come to me. Of course, it was even more proof that the Law of Attraction was working properly, but also it gave me more reason to just have faith in what it is that I desire, and trust that it is on its way to you, because if you do, there is no doubt that it will come.
4. Be in the present; be in the now! The now is the only time that we have, that we’ve had and that we ever will have. The now is our place of creation, and it is where everything that ever was, is, or will be starts and ends. Sometimes it can be easy to get wrapped up in the future, and what the future might hold. And it is great to visualize your future success, only as long as you are experiencing it as if it already is, and not worrying about what might come, something that I have done many times. Simply be in the present moment, have gratitude for what is, and what is to come, and I promise you, that you will achieve your desires in no time!
5. Trust your intuition. Your inner being knows what’s best for you 100% of the time. This story I am about to share may sound a little insane, but I promise you that it is true! I was playing some sort of game in P.E. which involved the players doing Rock Paper Scissors in order to see who serves first. I decided to work a little of my intuition and win at Rock Paper Scissors. To make a long story short, I won 15 times in a row when I listened to that voice inside of my head, and lost only when I didn’t. This is just a small example of what our intuition allows us to achieve, and by listening to it, you can do way more than win a simple child’s game…you can achieve success!

Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?

I would say that one of the best success habits is visualization. Visualizing your success, achievements, and events are key to victory in the modern world. Visualization gives you immense amounts of clarity, and further brings your desires to fruition. By visualizing your desires every day, and getting into the feeling of how it feels to have that thing which you would love to manifest or achieve, you consistently get into the receptive mode, letting that which you desire flow into your reality faster and easier than ever before!

Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂

Do you want to create the life of your dreams? Do you want ease, clarity, abundance, and absolutely anything and everything that you could ever desire in your life? If so, then I welcome you to the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction states that whatever vibration we broadcast into the Universe, it is reflected back into our realities as the form of physical manifestation. In short, the Law of Attraction means that we create our own realities, and we are in control of what we think, feel, and the physical outcome of what manifests in our lives!

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Follow me on Instagram @the_creature_preacher and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/The-Creature-Preacher-106761650853406/

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

Thank you!

Braylon Creighton, The Creature Preacher: Why I Believe That Visualization Is One of the Best… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Online community shopping forums where consumers can learn from each other’s shopping and product experiences, and where they can consolidate orders to save money will continue to grow. These forums will also produce valid online videos and tutorials that will create more awareness and information about any product or service.

As part of our series about the future of retail, I had the pleasure of interviewing Darab Ali.

Darab Ali is a serial entrepreneur who takes a very positive and inspirational approach to his business ventures. Born and raised in a small town (Saharanpur, India), Darab and his family immigrated to Canada in late 90’s and settled in Scarborough where he attended high school at Dunbarton High School and then went on to Australia for further studies. Today, Darab and his very young family reside in Vaughan, Ontario and run a number of businesses based in the Greater Toronto Area, including Better1.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Becoming an entrepreneur wasn’t something that was by design for me. In fact, upon attending university, I enrolled into a Pre-Dental course with the intent of becoming a dentist. Some people have a very clear idea from a young age as to what they want to do as their profession, but I think many might not have that early clarity. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as you are honest with yourself. During my first years at university, I discovered that my interests were much more people-oriented, and I was always more engaged when I was dealing with others in very dynamic discussions and projects.

So in my view, taking the path towards dentistry was not a wrong path. Really it was the road that gave me a chance to read the sign-posts that pointed me in the direction in which I was really interested. That destination was business, and it has further led me to where I am today, and becoming an entrepreneur.

Now having said that, knowing that I enjoyed business wasn’t enough. After trying a few businesses that taught me a lot about grit and determination, I reflected again on my interests, particularly in people. They say that “Business is an action taken after thinking” so that’s what I did, and I decided to get into the people business.

I started my career in human resources and recruitment industry 11 years ago with zero experience in that area. Zero is not a good number to use when mentioning your experience but if the will is there, you can soon add many zeroes after any digit in terms of your days of experience. You just have to stick with it and never give up if you believe you have a good business proposition. Today, I am fortunate to have a thriving placement agency business run by a very strong and capable team of professionals.

I now have more time and resources to look at other ways to interact with people. In particular, I see how technology is changing how we do things, and see so much opportunity to apply many innovations to improve the day-to-day lives of consumers. I recently put a team together to build an app with smart and innovative products for smarter living. While the idea has been further developed since its initial inception, with the help of my team, we created the Better1 business, an online destination for Canadian consumers to discover, learn and buy innovative products that best fit their needs.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

When I first started my business I had no customers, no phones ringing, no emails and no experience around how to run the organization. All I had was just a few credit cards in hand and some personal savings to keep the business afloat. For 6 months or so, it was all about doing door-to-door sales on my own everyday while learning about the industry and business.

I was trying to get an appointment with the HR head of a company one day and after a few unsuccessful calls, I tried just visiting their office location. As I was just entering the building I bumped into a gentleman who was on his way in as well and he asked me what the purpose of my visit was. I told him what the agency did and quickly pointed out some of the key benefits that we could bring. It was a brief conversation, maybe three or four minutes, but he essentially said “that’s great, and by the way, nice pen” and I said back to him “Thanks, but here, please keep the pen, it’s a company promo, and I want you to have it”. I figured, that was the end of the conversation and we would each just move on with our days. He simply smiled and asked me to follow him inside. Turns out he was the owner of the company and he arranged for me to present to the HR head that same day. All went well and I was able to gain a very important client in those early days. I know it wasn’t the pen, but more because I was so rehearsed in my elevator speech and so passionate about what I could bring to a customer, that he eventually made the decision to have me meet with his team. I still have the pen, and my company does have promotional pens, but more important is what the pen stands for, and the passion and belief we have for what we can do for our customers.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or take away you learned from that?

It’s funny when I look back now on the situation, but back when it happened, it was a bit stressful. I knew that advertising and exposure was important to building a business so when I first started my human resource placement agency business, I quickly placed banner and signage advertising up as soon as I secured my 200 square foot office space. With no other employees, and not even pen and paper yet in hand, candidates began to call and show up that very first day! I had to scramble to neighbouring offices in the building for office essentials and made due with a very progressive open-concept office setting! I learned quickly that your infrastructure and back-end processes are just as important as the front-end.

Are you working on any new exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?

Well, Better1 is brand new! We’re very excited as we just launched in late June, 2020 and currently building our exposure and business base. Better1 is all about helping consumers live better through today’s innovative products. Technology and innovation work hand-in-hand. We see so many new products being introduced to the marketplace and many of these products can really help to improve the day-to-day lives of consumers. Better1 is all about making today’s great products and innovations accessible to our customers. As an Ecommerce platform, we curate, sample and review products and then display those products in a uniquely immersive and familiar setting to help consumers find, understand and purchase innovative products that fit their needs. In a nutshell, we offer “better products for better living”.

I’ve got a few other projects underway, but one of them is an advanced Human Resources and recruitment project which will enhance simplified solutions for temporary, permanent and contract placements in day-to-day recruitment needs with a centralized platform that any business, agency candidate can use. This is still under development and more to come on that in the Fall.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

I think you’d have heard this before, but I truly believe in its importance. Always do what you enjoy doing, not something that you don’t. The more you don’t enjoy the work, the quicker and easier for you, your colleagues and employees to “burn out”. If you enjoy the work, and you allow your team to be creative and have meaningful input, they too can enjoy their work, and working hard becomes much more destination driven. What I mean is the team becomes much more productive and charged to get to achieve their goals. Working hard in a start-up is pretty well a given, but if you have a team that is enjoying their work, your chances of finding success are significantly greater.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

My Father, who is himself an entrepreneur, has had a huge influence on me. He’s always appreciated me and gave me the freedom, motivation and support to explore and experiment with different aspects of life. I am very fortunate and grateful for this. I’ve learned the importance of good values such as remaining humble, taking care of your employees and customers first. Our relationship allowed me to adopt these strong values early in life and in my career. I believe doing so is critically important for any successful business.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I think Better1 is an example. With the help of my business ventures and as an entrepreneur who has a passion towards technology, I am hoping to make smart and innovative products more accessible to consumers so that they can simplify their day-to-day lives and free-up time in their busy lives to spend it in more meaningful ways. I truly believe that there is a gap between the products that can make a difference in helping people live better, versus the number of people that should be benefiting from these. I would like to see Better1 play a bigger role in helping consumers as we continue to grow and find more innovative and unique products for them.

Ok super. Now let’s jump to the main question of our interview. Can you share 5 examples of how retail companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers like to shop?

1. In my opinion, retail change will continue to accelerate. As I said earlier, technology and innovation go hand-in hand, and as new technology arises, products and services in retail will continue to evolve and consumers will continue to change how they shop. I believe most retail companies will be moving towards using A.I., robotics, automated kiosks, augmented and virtual reality platforms as part of the continued growth in online shopping, rather than retail stores and outlets. While the recent pandemic certainly has accelerated the use of online shopping, I believe that consumers see inherent benefits as technology improves and costs continue to fall.
2. Online growth will increase the direct Business-to-Consumer (B2C) channel as brands can access and interact with consumers more directly and intimately via all of their technology touch points (PCs/laptops, touchpads, Phones/PDAs). This will further pressure intermediary (middle-man) businesses unless they bring true value to the product-to-consumer process.
3. The prevalence of social media advertising and digital marketing including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat will increase, as will the advent and proliferation of new social media channels. Additionally, influencers and social media celebrities will become a larger voice as consumer advocates and reviewers of brand and product value, versus traditional mass media approaches.
4. Smart shopping options with the use of online reviews and ratings will accelerate. Consumer validated information will increasingly become the currency by which products are viewed. While brand owners and product manufacturers will always need to have a voice, consumer reviews will continue to evolve into a more prevalent part of the purchase process.
5. Online community shopping forums where consumers can learn from each other’s shopping and product experiences, and where they can consolidate orders to save money will continue to grow. These forums will also produce valid online videos and tutorials that will create more awareness and information about any product or service.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I think my answer reflects on my people background as well as my passion for technology in people’s lives. If I could start a movement, it might be one where there is one common global talent platform where people could post their skills and services. With technology, so much can be done to allow all countries and economies to benefit either from providing talent, employing talent or both. With such a platform, technology and best practice standards could be readily shared across borders and so much could be advanced, whether that is technologically, economically or socially. I realize of course there is the reality of political factors , but I also believe that nothing is impossible, and to achieve the impossible, all we need to have is the will and the persistence from talented individuals acting as a team. Just like a start-up, but at a much larger scale!

How can our readers follow you on social media?

You can always follow my LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darab-ali/

And follow Better1 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/better1.store

Darab Ali of Better1: The Future of Retail Over The Next Five Years was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Simplify your message. In the beginning, we were way too technical in our messaging…thinking that everyone studied plastic and understood that recycling isn’t working. It wasn’t until we dialed back to the very basics of recycling — -i.e. 1,500 bottles are made every second and 90% are garbage…. then people finally started to understand the scale. People are busier than ever and don’t have time to unpack a complicated message.

As part of our series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand, I had the pleasure to interview Rob Koenen.

Rob is the Chief Marketing Officer of Boxed Water Is Better; the first national company to offer a sustainable alternative to plastic water bottles. Rob is charged with expanding Boxed Water’s core message and empowering consumers to make a statement that “sustainability matters.” Rob’s extensive marketing and leadership experience is rooted in story-telling with innovative campaigns that span multiple communication channels. In his role at Boxed Water, Rob leads the brand’s trial and awareness efforts, digital opportunities, and retail experiences. In prior leadership roles, Rob has built true lifestyle brands for companies in food, apparel and footwear.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I don’t think there is a straight-line career-path for anyone; you have to go where your heart takes you. Boxed Water™ was not on my career path when I graduated from college. I was going to be a stockbroker. After a few years, I was needing a creative outlet, so I started working on brand building. I had the traditional career path in larger corporations, primarily in the fashion industry. My career took me all over the world and eventually, I ended running some of them. I loved making connections with consumers and building trust; but at a certain point in your life, you realize you want to do more than build a brand; you want to leave something more enduring. So I looked for a way to help others….I was blind to the plastic pollution problem like the rest of us, until my daughter mentioned that Boxed Water Is Better® was focused on renewably packaged on-the-go water. After researching the problem, it was clear that robbing the planet to service a single-use society is not sustainable.

Can you share a story about the funniest marketing mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Early on, with Rollerblade, our leaders wanted to branch out into other products. They had an offsite where they looked into other opportunities and came back with the idea of selling Rollerblade bicycles….since both in-line skates and bicycles have wheels; so it was a natural connection to them. I was in charge of innovation and had to launch the concept. After numerous focus groups, we showed that wheels were not a connective tissue for the consumers. Luckily, we were able to redirect our efforts to an “off road” skate which was a success. The overriding lesson is to look at your business through the eyes of the consumer. Realize that your consumer is not thinking about your brand, your product, or your product category as much as you are (or should be)….so always step back and think of how you fit into their world; not the other way around.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Our consumers and our community make Boxed Water special. We make great water, but beyond that, we believe strongly that one small act can make a big impact. As such, we’ve been planting trees in our national forests and for every photo of our box that is posted by consumers at @boxedwater or #betterplanet we plant a tree. For free. Think about that…do you know of a company that is willing to that? And based on our consumer posts, we’ve planted over 1,000,000 trees with the National Forest Foundation so far. We have a passionate community of people who want to help this planet.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

We have a ton going on…We finally developed a new plant-based cap which is made from the by-product of paper production. This is a huge breakthrough and now our carton is made from 92% renewable materials. Most plastic is made from petroleum oil and some companies have been offering caps made from sugarcane residue as an alternative. Sugar cane is not an environmentally-friendly crop, and now it’s being grown to make plastic. This didn’t make sense to us, so we waited until we could use caps that leave a smaller environmental footprint. We are working on our next million trees- “You Post. We Plant.” We are also working with our partners on beach cleaning…and just finished a Life Cycle analysis that shows how plastic and aluminum production is a greater emerging threat than anybody had anticipated. We are always challenging ourselves to do “better.” It’s in our name.

Ok let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?

Branding today is rooted in your brand’s values and provides transparency into your company’s personality. Advertising usually revolves around product features, or lifestyle shots of models implying that you can have a better life with a particular product. Consumers have moved far beyond this type of advertising, but a lot of companies have yet to figure that out. For us, plenty of companies provide pure pH neutral, BPA free water like us; but we’re the only ones that go beyond water into reforestation and other major environmental efforts. Branding builds an emotional connection and relationship with the consumer built on trust — and asks them to come along with us on a journey.

Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?

Consumers are smarter and have more resources than ever. They have been over-marketed to and are skeptical of claims. The internet gives them the tools to do extensive research into your brand beyond its products. Your website is a critical source of information to introduce you to current and future consumers. Also, it’s a perfect place to get feedback from them. Remember, they will also be visiting your competitors’ websites, so you better be compelling.

Can you share 5 strategies that a company should be doing to build a trusted and believable brand? Please tell us a story or example for each.

Simplify your message. In the beginning, we were way too technical in our messaging…thinking that everyone studied plastic and understood that recycling isn’t working. It wasn’t until we dialed back to the very basics of recycling — -i.e. 1,500 bottles are made every second and 90% are garbage…. then people finally started to understand the scale. People are busier than ever and don’t have time to unpack a complicated message.

Focus on the consumer in every way. Everything we do goes through a consumer-lens. We ask ourselves if it’s important, impactful, understandable for our consumer. We also listen to our consumer. So many consumers asked us about single-use, that we started testing our product over multiple refills. It turns out our product is refillable and reusable. So now we have a sustainable and refillable option.

Live your values (set values). This is another way to be authentic. In today’s market, consumers can see if you’re just paying lip-service. Make sure you set down some solid values- and make sure you live to them- in all aspects of the business; staffing, messaging, quality etc.

Find your tribe — consumers and partners that believe in what you believe. We have high standards and have turned down partners that want to use us as a publicity stunt. Protect what you have built and don’t chase down a fast buck…your reputation is your brand. Conversely, once you find an authentic partner- do all you can to support them.

Leverage partnerships. We’ve managed to find like-minded companies with comparable consumers — we’ve used social media, field marketing and promotions to share each other’s messages. Many hands make lighter work.

In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job building a believable and beloved brand. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?

Patagonia is the easiest answer. They have consistently held to their beliefs of great product, but moreover helping the planet. But I salute some of the brands that go out of their core competency to support the environment….Some of our partners like Rag&Bone, DVF in fashion or Dogpound fitness are companies that could keep buying plastic, but have made the commitment to switch to a sustainable alternative. Companies like this have taken millions of bottles out of circulation, and aren’t doing it for publicity.

In advertising, one generally measures success by the number of sales. How does one measure the success of a brand building campaign? Is it similar, is it different?

In our company, we look at Marketing as demand-creation. Everything we do should drive demand in some manner; but some things are more directly related to sales. We set up KPI’s like any company, but sometimes sales are secondary in the brand-building strategies to consumer loyalty and awareness. We know that once people know the facts about plastic, or our overarching brand mission, they will make the right choice for the planet. For example, our reforestation efforts are part of brand-building, and we’ve had many new customers choose us strictly because they want to be part of 1,000,0000 trees. But in the end, our brand reflects the beliefs held by our employees and our customers….like-minded people can join the brand and sales will come naturally.

What role does social media play in your branding efforts?

Critical to branding. As I stated earlier, our website is the most critical platform to tell our story. Social media and digital advertising will bring people to your website as well as amplify your brand’s message. In addition, it’s a chance to show your brand’s personality — are you serious, luxurious or relatable and fun. It’s also a great way to measure your message. We spent 8 years trying to explain why recycling is no longer enough — you need to use renewable materials…..we were able to see when the market shifted to understanding sustainability and started looking to us for answers. Social media also is a two-way street. We listen and learn from our consumers everyday- and on every subject.

What advice would you give to other marketers or business leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?

Make sure you find other outlets to find balance….whether it’s reading, exercise, or family….do something that helps you unplug. Make sure your teams are also taking time. You’re only as good as your team, so make sure that they’re taking enough time to be energized. And make sure you make time for fun.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I honestly believe that the world-wide single use plastic pollution problem, coupled with the aluminum problem, will be one of the greatest threats to our environment’s eco-system…education and hunger.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My two favorites are:

Persistence breaks down resistance

You didn’t get up today to be mediocre

Over the years, I’ve found both to be true. If you believe and stay persistent, you will eventually meet your goals.

We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have a lunch or breakfast with? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them.

My daughter and I just had that conversation……both of us said: Malcom Gladwell. He offers most unique insights into modern culture. I’ll buy breakfast.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

One small act can make a big difference. Everything is on Boxedwaterisbetter.com, but also follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook…..@BoxedWater….but also post a picture #betterplanet….Help us plant the next million trees….it’s actually fun to see all the creative posts. And, learn more on the aluminum effect here…. https://boxedwaterisbetter.com/blogs/blog/is-aluminum-really-sustainable

Rob Koenen of Boxed Water Is Better: Five Things You Need To Build A Trusted And Beloved Brand was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

It’s more important to have a well branded brand and product than to have a great advertising campaign with a mediocre brand presence. Let’s say people finally go back to your site or product and it doesn’t represent what you have sold in your advertising. Consumers may not buy into it as they may not be confident that your product will last, get delivered on time, or the message is so scrambled that they do not believe in the integrity of your brand. When you spend dollars on advertising, you want 100% certainty that when they go to your brand it’s flawless.

As part of our series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand, I had the pleasure to interview Rick Caballo, Art Director and Co-Founder of Dead Horse Branding.

Equally at home on stage before thousands, or working up designs for a cutting-edge brand, Rick Caballo is nothing if not creative. Now based in Nashville TN, Rick was born and raised in Wollongong, near Sydney, Australia. This accomplished singer-songwriter, artist, photographer and designer has a rare combination of charisma and ingenuity that means he is constantly in demand.

Working with partner Melissa Core, Rick has established numerous successful enterprises. After launching their flagship company, rock-fashion label CORELLO, in 2012 the pair quickly attracted interest from several quarters. Rick’s CORELLO designs have been donned by Steven Tyler, Don Was, Miranda Lambert, Train, Hayden Panettiere and Ryan Roxie / Alice Cooper, among others. The line also featured in hit TV series Nashville and Duck Dynasty, plus LA Fashion Magazine, Country Weekly, People Magazine and InStyle.

In 2015, the pair launched Dead Horse Branding. This 360-degree creative management company provides creative art and brand management, combining Rick’s across-the-board art and design direction with Melissa’s visionary approach to marketing and management. One of Dead Horse’s major projects is a coffee table book for legendary music producer (and keys player for Elvis) Tony Brown. Due for release in 2016, the book is entirely art-directed by Rick, from graphic design to photographing the 40+ featured celebrity portraits and working with Brown to document the history of modern country music.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

As a kid, I always wanted to work in a visually creative field, I used to draw a lot. I left school at 16 and started my apprenticeship as a sign painter, as it was the only place I could be creative and get paid at the time, BC…Before Computers. The skills I learned there gave me the capacity to take on anything from mural art, screen printing, sign painting, graphic design, fabrication, sculpting to automotive painting , branding and marketing.

Can you share a story about the funniest marketing mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I can’t say I have a funny story with marketing as everything is so strategically prepared before we go for it. But as a sign painter’s apprentice, I went out and painted a sign, only to get a call later that day to let me know I had spelled the word available wrong. Keep in mind, back in those days it was paint not digital printing. So, I drove back out to paint over the mistake and then corrected the spelling. The next day I got another call, “Hey man, you spelled the word available wrong again!!” That story is more embarrassing than funny.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Dead Horse Branding is a one stop shop in having all services from graphic / visual design, publicity, marketing to overall brand management all under one roof. If you are outsourcing several services to different companies for your company, there’s a good chance the end product of your brand will be disjointed and incohesive. We encompass all facets of branding. We aren’t just a PR and marketing company; everything is executed from a branding perspective. Most PR firms will take what you’ve given them and then run with it without any revision to entire business structure. We like to look at the overview of the brand and fix any cracks in the foundation, which will save a lot of time and hardship on the back end. Given our edgy approach to doing things, we’ve had several corporate companies that have acquired our services because they want to shake things up and be a little cooler than usual.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

We just finished working with the Baha Men on their rebranding of a logo, website and social media.
They are super talented and equally as fun to work with. 2020 sees their 20 year anniversary of the release of ‘Who Let The Dogs Out?’. We are also in the works with a country music documentary and a TV show that we can’t talk about quite yet but are super excited about.

Ok let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?

A BRAND is your identity. Who you are, what you stand for and what are selling?

Marketing and advertising are the vehicles you use to sell your brand.

Think of a brand as your home. You can decorate it how you like it, paint the walls a certain color and hang all your favorite pictures on the wall that represent you best. To finish it off, you place your number and house name on your mailbox for all to see.

Marketing, advertising and sales are the real estate agent selling your house. You advertise your house on certain websites and magazines. You may also choose to plant an abundance of beautiful, rare plants in your front yard to entice people with green thumbs to seek out purchasing your home, for example.

You need a brand to be able to market something. Marketing a product that has no foundational identity will be short lived as you will be a bland rival to your competitor.

Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?

These days websites are your storefront where you get to curate and showcase your brand. If people are Googling you and getting information from a multitude of places, they will make up their own minds on who you are rather than you driving the narrative for them.

Just investing your efforts into socials like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook is not a smart move. What if these platforms fizzle out like Myspace did? It is so important to own and control your assets by building a website of your own sharing to socials from there and visa-versa.

As for general advertising efforts, it truly depends on the business. Most of the time we’ve built a solid brand, PR and marketing strategy with a great social media roll out, so we don’t need to engage in advertising as the PR is enough to get the eyes on our clients.

Anyone can pay for a billboard or a page in a magazine if they have the money. However, not everyone is worthy to have an editorial written about them in a magazine or TV spot. For that reason alone, PR shows more credibility than advertising to us. Let others talk about you, rather than you speaking about yourself.

Can you share 5 strategies/ methods that a company should be doing to build a trusted and believable brand?

1. Who are you and what’s your story?
2. Who are you selling to?
3. After reassessing your brand’s core attributes, make sure your message aligns with your brand’s identity and audience. It’s great to be happy with what your brand is, but if your core demographic doesn’t connect with your message, then you won’t be able to capitalize from your audience.
4. Once you have gotten your brand’s identity and message down, now is the time to get your assets together to make sure your message is loud and clear across all platforms. This includes your mission statement, photography, website, social media aesthetic and voice, in the flavor of your brand.
5. Finally, get out there and be seen. Clever marketing and PR will help shape the story and bring eyes towards what you have spent all this time building.

In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job building a believable and beloved brand. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?

APPLE, they say so much with so little. They are clean, sleek, sexy, high quality, cool and consistent with their brand messaging throughout the entire company. The less you have to explain yourself to the consumer the better. Each brand is different and requires their own aesthetic, so replicating the Apple format when you’re selling $2 fidget spinners is generally not going to work. Find out what your demographic is, as well as who your competitors are and check what they are doing, then fill in the blanks.

In advertising, one generally measures success by the number of sales. How does one measure the success of a brand building campaign? Is it similar, is it different?

It’s hard to quantify both advertising and a brand build as they both have more of a trickle down effect in regards to sales. How do we know that the sales you received were purely based on your advertising spend? Versus, what if the brand build was so solid, it convinced people to buy your product?

It’s more important to have a well branded brand and product than to have a great advertising campaign with a mediocre brand presence. Let’s say people finally go back to your site or product and it doesn’t represent what you have sold in your advertising. Consumers may not buy into it as they may not be confident that your product will last, get delivered on time, or the message is so scrambled that they do not believe in the integrity of your brand. When you spend dollars on advertising, you want 100% certainty that when they go to your brand it’s flawless.

What role does social media play in your branding efforts?

It’s super important to be actively on it and redirecting people back to your website. Between all the traffic from various social media platforms and your own website, you can compile stats which help you adjust your message, as well as provide you a laser focused target audience to sell to.

What advice would you give to other marketers or business leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?

Nothing burns you out more than working with clients and products that you’re not passionate about.

Do what you love and love what you do, show that enthusiasm and the clients will come.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

We are so polarized as a nation and the list is too long to mention just one. But right now, I would love to see the day, sooner rather than later, where all our brothers and sisters of all different creeds and colors are treated as equals without question. In these hard times, the creatives of our world pull everything together through, art and music. They are the HE-ART!!

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“A river cuts through stone not because of its power, but because of its persistence.”

Be patient, be focused and be consistent. You may have the skills, but relationships take a lot of time to build. It doesn’t matter how good you are as a marketer or designer, if you can’t consistently deliver on time, you’re no good to the client. Baby steps then big leaps!!

We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have a lunch or breakfast with? –

Bono, not only is he an amazing performer and great songsmith, he constantly is fighting for a better world and speaking out for the less fortunate. I’m also a huge fan of U2’s graphic design and merchandise team, as well as their very creative stage production and music videos. Very cool!!!

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Our company can be found on Instagram or online at

https://instagram.com/deadhorsebranding

www.deadhorsebranding.com

Rick Caballo of Dead Horse Branding: Five Things You Need To Build A Trusted And Beloved Brand was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Focus on social good: Today, as our society is coming to terms with issues of racial and health injustice, viable brands must focus on goals beyond themselves. Since we launched our firm, we have made a commitment to help all of our clients pursue and share work in the social good space. When you show what you care about and how you are making the world better, you’ll establish yourself as a values-driven brand, consumers will respond and you and your employees will feel good while doing it.

As part of our series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand, I had the pleasure to interview Beth Doane, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Main & Rose, a global creative agency. With nearly a decade of experience creating, growing, and selling several companies by the age of 30, today Beth serves as a trusted advisor for some of the world’s most innovative CEOs, nonprofits, and governments. From delivering insights that pioneer digital movements to overseeing creative concepts for multi-million dollar campaigns, she is the driving force behind ROI-driven work. Previous to founding Main & Rose, Beth established one of the first sustainably and ethically produced fashion brands on the market, as well as founded and later led the private acquisition of Parlor, the first open marketplace for freelancers in a diverse set of industries. An award-winning author and writer, Beth frequently contributes to Forbes and Darling Magazine and has advised on literary strategy for several New York Times best-selling books. She sits on The Pacific Council on International Policy, and The Forbes Young Entrepreneurs Council and was named one of the world’s top branding experts by Inc. Magazine. Beth also speaks frequently about branding, social impact and the importance of mental health initiatives in the workplace. She has spoken at conferences and events for prestigious organizations including Google, Harvard, MIT, The United Nations, and the Concordia Summit.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I have always had a passion for how products and companies can create a positive impact on a global scale, and I founded my first company when I was 22 years old. It was one of the first fashion lines that was manufactured sustainably and launched at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Los Angeles. The success of the line led me to consult for several brands on how to make their lines more sustainable. My love for consulting and creative thinking eventually led me to start advising more on branding, marketing and design, and I launched an agency. I eventually met Kelly Gibbons, my business partner a few years later and we created Main & Rose together.

Can you share a story about the funniest marketing mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

While it’s nice to be able to learn (and survive) from past mistakes, rather than being funny memories, my mistakes have helped guide my decision-making. They continually serve as powerful reminders of how much I’ve learned as a business owner and leader. Among the mistakes, losing hundreds of thousands of dollars from failing to do enough market research. Today, this lesson helps me see where my clients may take a wrong turn, and steer them away from the same mistake I had once made. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that when people have an idea, they go full-steam ahead and invest too much money into something without testing the idea or investing in a GTM strategy. It’s too easy to think something may work, and then lose everything along the way. My advice is market test, A/B test, get advisors, hire experts, and don’t invest a fortune. Leaving room and capital for mistakes is key to success.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

At Main & Rose, we believe that we are the design firm of the future. What sets us apart is that we’re intention-oriented and committed to working with impact-driven brands that truly make a difference in the world. We believe that commitment to diversity, inclusion and change starts internally, and we take great pride in being women-founded and women-led, with communities of color and LGBTQ people represented at our highest ranks. With offices around the globe, including in the Middle East where we have a strong female presence, we’re dedicated to building a team that is strengthened by our strong workplace culture, top management, and values-based brand.

I’m proud to say that Main & Rose is an award-winning global creative marketing agency that works with some of the leading brands and non-profits around the world, from the United Nations to YouTube and Disney. We run multinational branding, design and marketing campaigns that are values-based and evidence-driven, striking the balance between cutting-edge and time-tested, to harness the power of data and beauty of storytelling to shape and share a narrative that always puts our clients above the competition.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

We’re working on several exciting projects. Recently, our team was hired to design and launch a rebrand for Oceana, a stunning luxury hotel in California and the first Hilton LXR property in the United States. As a company, one of the industries we specialize in is the travel, real estate, and hospitality sector and we’re proud to take the lead on campaigns and initiatives that will help drive the evolution of the industry forward.

We also focus on governments and emerging global markets, and have a strong presence across the MENA region. We recently partnered with the United Nations to raise awareness around the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in support of the UN Agenda 2030. As we work to mobilize a new force of activists that’s largely focused on GenZ, we’re creating shareable grassroots campaigns to drive unprecedented change and measurable impact in the world.

Ok let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?

Brand marketing tells us the story, the mission, the underlying values of a brand, while product marketing should tell us what something is. Think about Nike, and its tagline “Just Do It.”and the iconic swoosh symbol. It’s brand marketing enables us to instantly recognize all Nike products because it’s constant. What makes it impactful is that the swoosh and tagline have remained the same, while promoting the company’s underlying mission around innovation and inspiration.

Yet, every year we see Nike release new products. Advertising and marketing enable Nike to continually change and evolve its products without having to change its original branding and mission.

Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?

Building a brand doesn’t happen overnight. If done right, it can take years and may involve a large amount of investment in advertising, marketing, and design. While people often hear about a start-up company that “took off” over night or went viral, it’s important to know that that’s usually a one-in-a-million story. To establish a recognizable brand, it’s going to take time and investment. The reality is that any brand is going to have to compete with competitors that can spend millions of dollars more on marketing and advertising. To stand out, you’re going to have to realize the importance of strategically planning, building, and launching a campaign that helps you tell your story and sustain your brand.

Can you share 5 strategies that a company should be doing to build a trusted and believable brand? Please tell us a story or example for each.

1. Tell Your Brand Story Well: Most agencies and companies make a fatal mistake by focusing on new products and services, rather than the story behind the person making those products or services. My philosophy is based on the truth that humans have a natural urge to connect with people and want to share powerful stories. To build a trusted and authentic brand, focus on having a strong, relatable identity and brand story that resonates.

2. Focus on social good: Today, as our society is coming to terms with issues of racial and health injustice, viable brands must focus on goals beyond themselves. Since we launched our firm, we have made a commitment to help all of our clients pursue and share work in the social good space. When you show what you care about and how you are making the world better, you’ll establish yourself as a values-driven brand, consumers will respond and you and your employees will feel good while doing it.

3. Balance Timeless & Trendy: One of the toughest challenges for both new and old brands is figuring out how to offer a service or product that is trendy and current, but also feels classic and enduring. I advise my clients to study trends without copying them, which risks coming off as inauthentic, and is the quickest way to cause issues. I urge clients to find a balance between timeless values (reliability, creativity, honesty, service, e.g.) and more modern methods of branding (social media, video content, earned media, e.g.).

4. Create Communities: Brands are strengthened by having many enduring ties across customers and audiences. I encourage my clients to not only foster traditional relationships with their target audiences, but to also create communities centered around their personal brand, and a shared ethos or lifestyle. Create social media environments where your followers can interact and share their stories, or go offline and organize hikes, dinners, or retreats for your customers and your team. The point is to offer something more than just a product or a service — and in doing so, you can gain a major marketing advantage.

5. Be inclusive: For years, we have been saying that inclusion is the new golden rule of branding. Gender equality, diversity, and inclusion are not only morally important, they are also absolutely imperative to your brand if you want to succeed. Modern customers prize these values: regardless of what industry or market you’re in, any business leader who wants their company to be able to compete and thrive in the modern era needs to embrace the values of equality and inclusion. 21st-century clients and customers overwhelmingly consider these to be non-negotiables, particularly millennials, who grew up with a greater appreciation for diversity and tolerance. Inclusive brands will help your company tap into new markets and tend to financially outperform their less diverse counterparts, especially because they lead to better, faster, and more innovative thinking.

In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job building a believable and beloved brand. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?

There are so many unique brands that I have fallen in love with over the years. Some are smaller brands like Ila products, Aromatherapy Associates, TKEES, and Opal + Sage who I think have all done a beautiful job with their products, brand story, and more and have a loyal customer base which really speaks to their success.

In advertising, one generally measures success by the number of sales. How does one measure the success of a brand building campaign? Is it similar, is it different?

Advertising and branding go hand-in-hand, and sales also capture the success of branding. Like advertising, with any branding campaign, we can measure impressions, and base measurable impact on how a person views a branded campaign. Perception plays a huge role in the success of branding campaigns, and can impact loyalty, trust, and ultimately, the survival of a company.

What role does social media play in your branding efforts?

Social media plays a massive role in our branding efforts and understanding its value is key to our clients’ success. Many agencies today don’t understand how to use social media or how true creativity plays such a role for it to really “work.” The key is not simply consistency or even posting nice images, but rather, knowing your audience, it’s interests, and how to engage them. At Main & Rose, our clients count on us to advise and execute their social media and digital marketing strategies. Whether that means creating plans or posting daily, just as we do with creating a branded campaign, we prioritize strategic and creative thinking in order to truly understand a brand and its target.

What advice would you give to other marketers or business leaders to thrive and avoid burnout?

Thriving and burnout go hand-in-hand with mental health, which is something that’s personally close to my heart. Discussing my own experiences with mental health and the support systems I created has helped my team and business relationships grow. A challenge with working remotely that many organizations are facing today is identifying and managing the balance between work and home life. It can be very easy for the lines between personal/professional lives to blur and to create an expectation of being “always on” for your team, which leads to burnout quickly. As a leader, you set the tone for the rest of the team — so it’s important to be intentional about 1) setting appropriate expectations among the team that they aren’t expected to be dedicated their lives to working around the clock and 2) walking the talk and leading by example. If I am intentional about prioritizing my mental health and that of my team, they’ll follow that lead.

At Main & Rose, as a fully distributed and remote team due to the nature of our work, we’ve cultivated a transparent, open, and communicative culture that helps team members be seen and heard during challenging times — whether it’s about a personal or business matter. Several of our team members, including me, cite meditation as a key practice for success when it comes to taking a break. This break allows us to “turn-off” the noise, and thrive in our own controlled environment. In fact, many studies have proven meditation can increase productivity and even empathy. Taking time to practice wellness that can help relieve burnout can be as simple as taking a 20 minute walk every afternoon, or making time for an evening run or virtual yoga class. You’ll be happier, healthier, and have an easier time filtering out the chaos and finding the spark of inspiration you need to succeed during this challenging time.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Luckily, the work I do each day involves building movements. Our clients are some of the most recognizable and impactful brands in the world. We’re honored to work with brands like The United Nations and TED and help build movements that drive monumental change, help spread innovative ideas, and inspire and impact millions of people.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do that because what the world needs are people who have come alive.” — Howard Thurman

We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have a lunch or breakfast with? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂

There are so many people I would love to meet and who greatly inspire me. I’d love to sit down with Michelle Obama, Marc Benioff, and Rose Marcario, former CEO of Patagonia.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

I encourage you to follow everything Main & Rose is doing by visiting our website and our Twitter page.

https://www.main-rose.com/

https://twitter.com/mainandrose

Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethdoane/

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

Beth Doane of Main & Rose: Five Things You Need To Build A Trusted And Beloved Brand was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.