2. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
What we’re 01. What is branding?
going to cover
02. Biggest branding
mistakes made by startups
03. Some simple ways to
avoid these mistakes
August Twenty Twelve
3. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
First, a bit Director of Strategy at A Hundred Monkeys.
Formerly Brand Strategist and writer at
about me MetaDesign, Factor Design and Grey London.
Worked on branding for over 150 startups as
well as big companies like Coke, Apple, HP,
Hershey’s and Dolby.
Interviewed by NPR, Brandweek, The Street and
Inc. Magazine.
Studied Design and Comparative Literature
at UCLA.
Branded my first company at 16. They’re still
around.
August Twenty Twelve
4. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
So, what is Branding breathes life into
branding? companies and products.
By ‘life’ I mean: character, emotion, ideals, style,
personality–anything that shows people you’re
not a lifeless robot.
If your brand were a person, how would it act?
It’s about understanding people and the role you
want to play in their lives.
August Twenty Twelve
5. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
Branding is just How do you know if you trust
like life someone?
How do you make a good
first impression?
How do you keep someone
interested?
August Twenty Twelve
6. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
The biggest mistakes
in branding
August Twenty Twelve
7. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
Wanting to be This isn’t middle school.
like everyone The goal is not to blend in.
else
Show people why you’re different and/or more
interesting than what’s already out there.
You’re wasting marketing money down the road
if you build a brand that’s trying to fit in.
August Twenty Twelve
8.
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10. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
Too many cooks People involved equals
in the kitchen opinions involved.
Too many opinions puts emphasis on agreement
instead of making good work. (Ice Cream
Paradox)
Few factors cripple a brand like having too many
people involved.
If there are too many decision makers,
pay someone else to do it.
August Twenty Twelve
11.
12.
13. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
Trying to appeal Nothing is for everyone –
to everyone your brand is no exception.
Trying to appeal to everyone is the quickest way
to appeal to no one.
You can’t pick a piece of art that’s for everyone.
Focus on who’s important first.
Speak to them in a way that shows you
understand them.
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15.
16. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
Not communi- Try to forget how you learned
cating like a to write in high school.
human being It’s easy to forget that your audience is
composed of real people with dogs and friends
and a weakness for In-N-Out.
People tune out corporate language–
it’s everywhere.
Never use clip art ever, for any reason, for the
rest of your life.
Appeal to their human side – keep it real, make
them smile, give them something to think about.
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18.
19. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
Trying to explain A little mystery goes a
everything long way.
Imagine if you tried to tell your whole life story
on a first date.
Leaving people with questions is a good thing.
Only give enough information to keep the
attention of your audience.
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21.
22. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
Selling instead People can smell a sales
of educating pitch a mile away.
When you’re teaching, people feel it’s in their
best interest to listen.
You’re operating from belief and principle
instead of ‘Buy my product, it’s cool.’
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25. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
Trying to be Know your role.
core when Companies tend to believe they play a much
you’re not bigger role in their customers lives than they
actually do.
It’s easy to overestimate how you fit into
people’s lives when you spend all day with this
stuff.
Understanding the reality of the relationship is
very important. What do you stand for? What do
you have in common?
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28. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
Thinking Focus on how you want
humans people to feel.
make logical ...not what you want them to think.
decisions
We’re a lot better at creating emotional reactions
than controlling thoughts.
Thought processes are far more complicated
than we give them credit for. Read Jonah Lehrer,
Sheena Iyengar, Barry Schwartz.
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30. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
Trying to ‘test’ This is art, not science.
or crowdsource When you try to test branding, people pick up on
branding the lack of confidence.
People are not used to judging brands out of
context—but they’re happy to try, especially
when there’s no commitment.
See: Too many cooks in the kitchen.
Read: Real Leaders Don’t Do Focus Groups by
Dan Pallotta.
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33. BRANDING FOR STARTUPS Eli Altman for
General Assembly
Trying to make Branding is a living,
everything breathing thing
perfect No matter what you do, you won’t get everything
right from the start.
Know what is set in stone and play with
everything else.
Your brand evolves as your company evolves –
for better or for worse.
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