Brand Makeovers: George Gill of ApeSonic On The 5 Things You Should Do To Upgrade and Re-Energize Your Brand and Image
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
The most important thing is figuring out what you stand for, what the core of your brand is, what it means to you, and what it’s going to mean to your customers. If your product isn’t meaningful to you, you’re probably going to have a hard time convincing other people that it should mean something to them!
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview George Gill.
ApeSonic is a small business that is connected to both nature and its roots. George Gill, the CMO of ApeSonic, strives to provide high-quality audio at an affordable price with great customer service all while contributing to the preservation of ape habitats. Their mantra at ApeSonic is to maintain their company’s core values, which is why they donate $1 for every purchase to conservation efforts targeted at ensuring wild, natural living spaces for primates.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
For me, it all started when I bought my first pair of expensive earbuds back in 2010. I had just started buying slightly pricier headphones — around $200 — for the first time ever, and I was convinced they would be so much nicer than the cheaper stuff I had been buying, but they sounded worse than the buds I already had! I was convinced that there had to be better stuff out there, so I started doing a bit of research on the internet, and I found a website called Head-Fi. That’s where I really got my first exposure to the world of upscale headphones, and it made me realize just how hard it is to find a durable, reliable pair of headphones that sounds good and isn’t overpriced.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Well, my first real job in the industry was working for a company called Echobox. We crowdfunded what was, at the time of development, the first high-fidelity portable audio player with streaming capabilities. We were eventually beaten to market by a few larger brands, but the biggest lesson I learned was to under promise and over deliver. Electronics are difficult to design and build properly, and a touchscreen smart device is about as tough as it gets. We wound up trying to do so much that we ran into production delays, and even though we delivered everything we promised, the first round of players we made didn’t really meet our expectations, because we spent more time on design than quality control. I think that hurt our brand quite a bit, and it is a mistake I certainly won’t make again.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
You know, it sounds cheesy, but as soon as I started working on things that I’m passionate about, it felt like doors just started opening. When you focus on something that’s genuinely interesting to you, I think that just makes it so much easier to learn and grow and become better at what you do.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
ApeSonic has an assortment of cool products in the pipeline. Right now, we’re crowdfunding the Mist, a pair of very ergonomic open backed earbuds. Our goal is to make it easier for people to enjoy music and live a healthy lifestyle, no matter where they are or what they are doing, so all our new products share the theme of personal wellness. The Mist let you enjoy music while staying in touch with your surroundings. They are very low profile and super comfortable, so they aren’t gaudy or very noticeable, and can easily be worn while you sleep. The Mist are really designed to become a seamless part of daily life. We are also in the process of developing earbuds that have a blood-oxygen sensor, so you can keep track of your own health and fitness.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
Don’t take life too seriously! Brands should be fun, especially for consumer products, and personally I think that goes double for hardware and tangible products. People want to buy products that make them feel good, and the brand should reflect that. And if your brand is fun, you’ll have fun being a part of that brand and making content.
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?
Traditional advertising and product marketing is all about getting people to buy what you are selling — the product comes first, and then you figure out how to sell it to people. I think there’s a place for that industrial design/product marketing dyad — we need people out there pushing limits in design and finding ways to sell the things they can make. That’s how economies of scale become a reality, and that’s how you get to a place where you can try new things. But ultimately, if you are starting with what you can make, and figuring out where it fits in the market, and how to sell it, I don’t think your response will be as enthusiastic.
I think branding is a lot more subtle, subjective, and holistic, and it’s only becoming more important as technology proliferates and people have more choices. A brand is supposed to be something people can identify with and care about, and so it must be driven by values. Those values must inform everything you do, including the products you make and the content you put out into the world, or else your brand is just empty words. Brand marketing starts with people, and the technology must fit the human side of the brand. People can’t stand being pigeonholed, and that hits you twice if you’re selling something: you want to design something that’s easy to use, something that doesn’t force people to live their life a certain way to use it, and you also want your brand to be expressive enough to be interesting and appealing, without being so niche that you alienate people who might otherwise be interested.
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?
People want to buy things that say something about them, and they don’t want to give money to companies that don’t share their values. It’s really that simple!
If you don’t believe it — if you don’t have those priorities for yourself when you make purchases, and you can’t sense it intuitively — all you must do is look at the political and investing environment. ESG is becoming a huge priority, even for Fortune 500 companies. The most successful brands of our era — Apple, Tesla, Google — they all make ESG a big part of their messaging, and they are delivering on it, too. A 2020 Gartner survey showed that 85% of investors make ESG a priority in their decision-making process. Consumers want companies to do the right thing, and investors know it, because they know that if they don’t step up, voters are going to start forcing them to!
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
I think most people can come up with an idea for a product they like, and most companies that are selling products are selling stuff that people already want or need. If you’re making a product, and it does what it’s supposed to do, but you’re not seeing results, it’s probably time to start rethinking your brand.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
Rebranding always costs money, and it takes time and deliberation. It’s the kind of thing you want to do either early on, before you’ve spent a lot of money putting your brand out there, or when you have the breathing room, in terms of capital and attention, to make a big change.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
I think most of the tips I would give come down to messaging and design.
The most important thing is figuring out what you stand for, what the core of your brand is, what it means to you, and what it’s going to mean to your customers. If your product isn’t meaningful to you, you’re probably going to have a hard time convincing other people that it should mean something to them!
So, start with your product. What is it supposed to do? How does it make someone’s life better or easier? Does it do that successfully? If not, where are you coming up short?
And that leads to the next question I ask: is your intent reflected in the design? If the product does what it’s supposed to do, but it’s clumsy, or too heavy, or too fragile, or not the right shape, that’s always going to hurt perception of your brand. There’s nothing more frustrating than buying something you wanted, and then finding out that it’s just a huge pain to use.
Functionality is always number one, but aesthetics is so important. Does your brand’s aesthetics match your values? What do your website, ads, and packaging say about your products and the brand?
And then, of course, does the design of your product match the brand you’re building? If your hero product doesn’t come in the colors that are on your website, you’re missing a major branding opportunity, especially if your product is something that’s large, visible, or wearable.
Last, but certainly not least, take a long, hard look at your messaging. Does your content reflect your brand’s aesthetics and values? Are you doing anything other than selling? If not, you should! If you are, does it reflect your brand?
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
T-Mobile is probably the most impressive corporate comeback story of our generation. I was lucky enough to work for Magenta when John Legere took over, and it was incredible to watch from the inside: how he took a failing brand that had some fun elements but had kind of failed to really deliver on them, and turned it into this youthful, irreverent, progressive juggernaut that took the whole industry by storm. It’s really a testament to what a good executive with street smarts can do for a company. I think Leger proved to Wall Street once and for all that entertainment sells, and that you don’t have to be young to have 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? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Oh wow, I don’t know about all that…but, if I could inspire a movement, I would try to get businesses and their customers to think more about material sustainability and repairability. Making products that are durable or easy to repair is tough sometimes, but it’s so important. Reducing waste should be a priority for every business, and it’s all well and good to buy solar panels or carbon credits, but the real change will come when companies start looking at their core business and products. It should really be obvious — people want to buy something that lasts. That’s good for your brand, too!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Stan Lee had a great bit when he did his TED Talk, about writing stories that he wanted to read — he said you can never really know how to please someone else, but people are essentially alike, so if you create something that you enjoy, odds are, there are a bunch of other people out there who will enjoy it, too! I can’t imagine any better advice for marketing or product design.
How can our readers follow you online?
ApeSonic is on all the major socials! Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter…we have a Discord server, too, if you want to come hangout with some fellow apes.
Thank you so much for these excellent insights! We wish you continued success in your work.
Thank you! It’s been a pleasure.
Brand Makeovers: George Gill of ApeSonic On The 5 Things You Should Do To Upgrade and Re-Energize… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
