“Branding is knowing what you stand for and bringing it to life.” The originator of this quote is unknown, but it could easily be attributed to anyone who has built, worked with or successfully developed a brand. It takes the brand beyond tangible aspects like your name and logo and elevates your brand into something that is lived by employees, brand ambassadors and proper execution of your brand’s character. Brands today are increasingly influenced more to ensure that each and every aspect of their brand – from their logo and name to their employees and customer touch points – fit within a we ..read more

We’re excited to introduce a new Brand Salsa series, “Brains Behind the Brands,” In each edition of the series, we will be shining the spotlight on one of our brand experts and getting their thoughts on a range of topics, from new trends in the branding industry to advice they’d give someone working on building their brand. Our first expert is Brittany Scott, Addison Whitney’s Creative Director. Brittany has extensive experience creating brands, specifically on the verbal branding side of the process. Below, we get a look inside the brain behind the brands: When thinking of creative cues for a ..read more

When starting a new company, building your brand should be at the top of your to-do list. Having a strong brand in your arsenal is crucial to starting at the bottom and moving up the ladder. These new organizations seemingly live at the forefront of the brand development landscape, driving new best practices and rolling out new techniques all the time. But just because you’re an older organization that came to fruition before strategic brand building was commonplace doesn’t mean you’ve missed the boat. If your brand needs a refresh or a restart, don’t feel as if the latest and greatest brandin ..read more

I was recently looking through AddisonWhitney.com, and when one of the sliding boxes popped up, what it included caught my eye, talking about who Addison Whitney is and what we do: “…Helping companies envision their futures – through design, naming, research & brand strategy.” This phrase stood out to me – and not just because it came from the AW site. The concept of a brand helping to shape a company’s future, along with its ability to put into motion the future they envision, shows the true impact of branding and brand development and drives the case to developing a strong brand. It’s a ..read more

Welcome to our almost-Halloween edition of the AW in Review, our roundup of our latest brand salsa and Addison Whitney news and posts! Don’t forget, you can stay up-to-date with everything from Addison Whitney by joining the conversation with us on our social media channels – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. How Do You Know If You’ve Achieved True Brand Loyalty? True brand loyalty supersedes these traditional purchase drivers, revealing itself as a force upon the consumer to which typical purchase-driving factors do not apply. How can you really know ..read more

A consumer is at the store, faced with a specific need and a wall full of potential solutions, looking to make a purchase decision. This is the moment of truth for any brand – the first barrier to purchase has been crossed – the consumer is in the door and is considering that brand as an option. But success has not yet been achieved, as there are a number of factors and situations which play into a purchase decision, all of which are running through their mind as they work through the decision. But just then, another consumer walks down the aisle toward our subject, heading straight toward the ..read more

This week, 68 teams from around the country will take the floor to battle for a national championship in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. “March Madness” as it’s known to millions of fans (some more casual than others), is one of the biggest sporting events in the country each year. And as any branding expert will tell you, that much attention brings an even bigger need for a strong branding production. We’ve covered how the tournament can help the brand efforts of smaller schools who make a strong appearance, and the brand strength of the term “March Madness” is well-known, but the brand ..read more

There you are. Right in the middle of building your brand, and things couldn’t be going any better. It’s been smooth sailing the whole time – you have created a name that you love, your visual brand development process has produced logos, color palates and collateral that are aesthetically appealing and have you sure they are on the fast track to iconic status. But don’t start printing the “best new brand” certificates quite yet. It could make itself known in a number of ways. Maybe you have a dream of one day expanding your offerings to include new products, and you realize your current name ..read more

Welcome to the third annual edition of Brands We Love Week! All week, we will be revealing what brands our resident brand fanatics thought stood out this year. Whether it was because of something they did, or a great experience they had with a brand, Brands We Love Week is a chance to tell our favorite brand stories! If you missed the inaugural series, you can catch up here, and check out Brands We Love 2015 here. Additionally, we want to hear who you’d add to the list! Let us know what brands you loved in 2016, using the hashtag ‪#‎BrandsWeLove‬, or let us know d ..read more

Today we are excited to have a guest blog from Joshira Maduro, Verbal Branding Associate at Addison Whitney! By understanding the general buckets of naming strategies and the scenarios in which these types of names thrive, pharmaceutical companies can hone their naming strategy.  At the same time, these teams can hedge their risk by including options from different strategies, specifically blank canvas, to avoid the need to start over. When looking into a naming strategy for your product here are a few questions to consider: Is this drug being marketed to patients or doctors? The answer ..read more