building a brand Table of ConTenTs - Porter Gale · 2016-10-13 · Building a Brand ith ote ae 4 I...
Transcript of building a brand Table of ConTenTs - Porter Gale · 2016-10-13 · Building a Brand ith ote ae 4 I...
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Table of ConTenTs
seCTion 1 The Foundation 3Module 1 Business Basics 6Entrpreneur Profile Kara Goldin Founder amp CEO Hint Water 8
Module 2 Naming 12
Module 3 Legal 15Entrpreneur Profile Mike Del Ponte CEO amp Co-Founder Soma 17
Module 4 Branding amp Creative 21Entrpreneur Profile Ido Leffler Co-Founder YES TO 25
seCTion 2 Building Blocks 29Module 5 Culture and Innovation 31
Module 6 Website 34
Module 7 Email Marketing 39
Module 8 Communication Planning 43Entrpreneur Profile Brit Morin Founder amp CEO Brit + Co 46
seCTion 3 Design Reach amp Amplification 50Module 9 Partnerships 51Entrpreneur Profile TJ Sassani CEO amp Founder ZOZI 54
Module 10 The Experience 58Entrpreneur Profile Craig Min CEO LAMILL Coffee 61
Module 11 Social Media 65
Module 12 Public Relations 71
Conclusion 75show Host brand Mentors amp Category experts 76Recommended Reading list 79
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gt Business Basics
gt Naming
gt Legal
gt Branding amp Creative
seCTion 1The Foundation
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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If yoursquore starting a business trying to build a memorable brand or want to fine-tune your marketing skills my creativeLIVE course and supporting eBook have been developed for you On our show and in-
side the pages of this guide you will find sto-ries about and learn lessons from successful entrepreneurs Yoursquoll hear words of wisdom learn start-up secrets and follow a ques-tion-and-answer process to help you efficient-ly and effectively build your brand or business Yoursquoll meet the founders of Dollar Shave Club HINT Water Yes To Carrots Soma ZOZI and others who are on their way to building iconic and category changing brands
In addition to meeting passionate entrepre-neurs I will teach you what I have learned over the past twenty years rising from an intern to the General Manager of an advertising agency to the Vice President of Marketing at Virgin Ameri-ca where I led a team that launched the hippest most innovative airline in the skies I will also show you how marketing and brand-building is evolving with technological advancements and will introduce you to experts who are spe-cialists in the fields of naming legal creative
development social media email marketing digital marketing partnership marketing pub-lic relations and more Wersquoll review branding basics such as developing a focused core business proposition and discuss topics that are crucial to brand development such as passion culture team-building targeting and keeping innovation at the heart of your busi-ness If this sounds complicated donrsquot worry wersquoll take it step-by-step You can build your brand from scratch and from the ground up or you can tune-in to topic-based modules based on your interest or needs
Before we begin what is a brand anyway ldquoA brand is a personrsquos gut feeling about a product service or companyrdquo said Marty Neumeier au-thor of The Brand Gap and Zag Douglas B Holt author of How Brands Become Icons said ldquoA brand emerges as various lsquoauthorsrsquo tell stories that involve the brand Four types of authors are involved companies the culture industries intermediaries (eg critics and retail salespeo-ple) and customersrdquo My dear friend Nick Gra-ham Founder and Chief Underpants Officer of Joe Boxer once said ldquoThe Brand is The Amuse-ment Park the Product is the Souvenirrdquo
seCTion 1The Foundation W
hat IS a brand
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Each day your brand interactions start when you squeeze creamy paste out of a branded toothpaste tube or slip your feet into ldquoswooshrdquo adorned sneakers Like the infamous com-mercial you are probably an Apple person or a PC person but itrsquos not likely yoursquore both You make conscious and subconscious decisions about the brands you love and the brands you hate Logos icons and brand perceptions impact what we wear how we shop what we drive and eat and how we make decisions You might love driving a Prius or perhaps you wouldnrsquot be caught dead in one There are different types of brands and numerous seg-ments of customer types Creating a strong brand can help you insulate and differentiate
your company from competitive onslaught can help you build loyalty and stickiness with your consumers can create emotive respons-es and more As a marketer or entrepreneur you need to focus your efforts know your brand know your target and consider how consumers could react at every touch point of your product or service experience In the book The Start-up Playbook by David Kidder Reid Hoffman states ldquoI frequently describe entrepreneurship as jumping off a cliff and as-sembling an airplane on the way downrdquo So letrsquos get started to make sure you have the tools resources and the right questions to ask to start or continue your journey
seCTion 1 The Foundation
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MODULE 1Business BasicsStart with a solid foundationHave a focused and scalable idea unstoppable passion and a clear plan
Regardless whether your goal is to build an existing brand or start a new company below are fifteen questions and several key exercis-es to review with your team You can use these questions to start a dialog or to confirm or de-fine your business foundation and positioning
Passion Are you truly passionate about your business
Positioning Have you uncovered a true needmarket (eg SWOT) What is your core purpose (eg Google organize information Disney make people happy) Do you have a clear focused idea
Market Trends What market trends help support your idea (eg subscriptions healthwellness social connections aging demographics)
business Model exercise Create a 1-page business planmodel How will you activate users retain business and secure distributors or needed partners What is the potential revenue per user or customer type Do you have a sound way to test the validity of your business idea or model Can you answer Who What Why Where When for your brand product or service (Tip answers must be quick easy and clear)
barriers Do you know what you donrsquot know Have you researched barriers that might be in your way (eg capital manufacturing competitive legalpatents) Have you considered what could go wrong (eg external costs)
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3
4
5
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Business Basics
scaling amp Growth How will you scale Do you have a way to automate or create a system around your idea for repeat usebusiness (eg coffee machine and pods) Are you trying to franchise extend or exit etc What do you have thatrsquos own-able trainable and repeatable
Marketing exercise Create a 1-page marketing plan What are your main con-version events or methods What is your cost per acquisition (CPA) per channel How will you generate referrals
Metrics What metrics are important for you to track (eg case sales clicks sub-scriptions email sign-ups fans visitors)
Distribution Do you have a clear distribution strategy ldquoIf itrsquos not on the shelf your customer canrsquot buy itrdquo
Partnerships Do you have an advisory board Who are your friends Your ene-mies Do you need any partners or consultants to get your business off the ground (eg legal public relations manufacturing etc) Do you know how to run a fair and thorough RFP
Prioritizing Are you prioritizing and using your time and resources wisely Are you trying to do too much Can you list your top three objectives Are you delegat-ing and empowering people as much as possible
Continued gt gt gt
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Business Basics
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Kara Goldin Founder and CEO HINT Water
It was one day eight years ago that Kara Goldin on behalf of her own kids tossed all the beverages loaded with sweeteners and preservatives from her refrigerator and quit her own 20-year addiction to Diet Coke cold turkey Water -- that would be the drink of choice in the Goldinrsquos San Francisco home Alas the kids and her husband Theo found it boring It needed a little something a hint
of flavor Fruit perhaps She put some pomegranate slices into one pitcher rasp-berries in another That worked Her kids loved it the neighborhood kids made a beeline to her kitchen and raved
Today unsweetened zero-calorie HINT Essence Water -- with the mantra ldquoDrink Water Not Sugarrdquo -- is found in fine grocery stores and retailers in all 50 states and Canada and Kara Goldinrsquos passion for a healthy lifestyle and her companyrsquos role in trimming ever-climbing obesity and diabetes statistics is as boundless as that day the sugary juices and sodas were purged ldquoI get up every day thinking that we are changing health in Americardquo said Goldin ldquoIt is trailblazingrdquo she added and a worthy lesson for other would-be entrepreneurs ldquothat you can make a difference if you feel there is a need out there in the marketplacerdquo
Indeed when Goldinrsquos fruit-flavored water struck a chord with her family and friends she looked in the marketplace for just what she had concocted at home It wasnrsquot there Nothing Goldin who had previously worked in technology at AOL began researching the beverage industry seeing an opening in the market Then in one declarative sentence after another she said to Theo ldquoI am going to start this company where I am going to bottle the product and there will be two key com-ponents -- no preservatives no sweeteners I am taking $50000 out of our bank account to start the company and by the way I am pregnant with our fourth childrdquo
Kara Goldin Founder and CEO HINT Water
ldquoTwo strategic choices do what everyone else is doing only better faster cheaper Or do something different and truly distinctiverdquo ndash Professor Ron Sanchez Copenhagen Business School
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Theo Goldin a lawyer who is now Chief Operating Officer of HINT Inc walked out of the room Kara recalled saying ldquoI canrsquot believe you clumped all of those things togetherrdquo At first in 2005 HINT water -- the flavors include blackberry wa-termelon pomegranate-tangerine mango-grapefruit strawberry-kiwi and rasp-berry-lime plus carbonated Hint Fizz -- was sold out of the Goldinsrsquo Jeep then in markets in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York Along the way Kara Goldin learned she just had to say no to the naysayers beverage industry insiders and purveyors of sugar among them Itrsquos good advice for start-ups too she said
ldquoBe careful about the consumer perceptions that you hear or read about in your industry When trying to figure out where to launch our first case of HINT many so-called lsquoindustry expertsrsquo told us lsquoDonrsquot focus on the fly-over states and donrsquot focus on the South People who live in those places are not healthy That is where Bubba livesrsquo Instead what we found is that consumers in every state are craving healthier options It doesnrsquot matter today where you live Consumers are reading labels and want healthier beveragesrdquo
The South by the way did buy in HINT is the number-one beverage sold at The Fresh Market stores a major chain concentrated in the South Herersquos another key piece of advice from Goldin ldquoTrust your gut By that I mean you cannot be an entrepreneur and do this day in and day out if you do not believe in what you are doing And if you have any question that this is a needed product or service then you probably shouldnrsquot be doing thisrdquo
Interestingly while HINT -- which uses fruit skins and oils -- was launched with the vow of no sweeteners and no preservatives the calorie-free element was not part of Goldinrsquos original business plan ldquoThat was an absolute bonusrdquo she said
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
ldquo There is no way to fake hustlerdquo ndash Gary Vaynerchuk Co-founder of Vaynermedia
ldquo The term lsquoramen profitablersquo has become widespread Ra-men profitable means a start-up makes just enough to pay the foundersrsquo living expens-es This is a different form of profitability than startups have traditionally aimed forhellipthe main importance of ramen profitability is that it buys you timerdquo ndash Paul Graham Venture Capitalist
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Kararsquos Top Tips Say no to naysayers
Be careful about consumer perceptions that you hear or read
Trust your gut
Remember brand is key
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ldquoPeople are shockedrdquo drinking HINT she said saying ldquoThere is nothing in here that is bad for merdquo HINT Inc makes no health claims about the product except to say it ldquowill make you feel betterrdquo said Goldin There is a never-ending battle with Pepsi and Coca-Cola of course in the struggle for shelf space ldquoThey donlsquot want to undo their empirerdquo said Goldin But HINT now with 31 employees rules the category it created with a simple solution to a problem
Social media is important to the effort ldquoOur social media efforts are a way for us to interact with the consumerrdquo she said ldquoWe are learning there what our customers are looking forrdquo Brand is key too ldquoI think a successful brand makes us think and act differentlyrdquo said Goldin ldquoOften that brand can help us be the person we want to be A successful brand is aspirational It makes us feel special My favorite successful brands Nike Apple Beats by Dre And of course HINTrdquo
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
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ResouRCesgt asmartbearcomgt appsumocomgt brendonburchardcomgt The start-up Playbook by David s Kidder gt Seth Godinrsquos Bootstrapers Bible
gt Dave McClure500 start-ups - slide share Presentationsgt The lean start-up by eric Riesgt onstartupscomgt ventureneercomgt The Playbook
gt Kickstartercomgt angellistcom
ldquo I am a bootstrapper I have ini-tiative and insight and guts but not much money I will succeed because my efforts and my focus will defeat bigger and better-fund-ed competitors I am fearless I keep my focus on growing the businessmdashnot on politics career advancement or other wasteful distractionshellipI will read and learn and teachhellipI will be persistent consistent and willing to invest in the marketing of myself and my business I will measure what I do and wonrsquot lie about it to myself or my spousehellipMost of all Irsquoll remember that the journey is the reward I will learn and grow and enjoy every single dayrdquo ndash Seth Godin The Bootstrapperrsquos Manifesto
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MODULE 2NamingPick a name that drives your brand forwardConsider the competitive set legal positioning URL availability and more
One key component that influences the launch perception and memorability of a brand is its name Can you imagine the stir and commotion that started when Sir Richard Branson named his company Virgin Records In a similar vein when I was at Virgin America a company that manufactured a natural energy drink (partially funded by Sam and Holly Branson - Sir Richardrsquos chil-
dren) asked us to distribute their product I tasted the drink made from milk thistle and schizandra (whatever that is) and it was delicious However the name ndash not kidding ndash of the product was Pussy I swiveled in my chair and tried to imagine how our in-flight teammates would feel if guests asked for the drink Product and investors aside I could not comfortably recommend the elixir to our internal catering team because of the name
I recall chatting with Mike Dubin of Dollar Shave Club about the name of his company and he said ldquoI didnrsquot want to build a generic company like a cheaprazorscom I wanted to build a brand or lsquoa man caversquo Irsquom all about the brand and I wanted a great namerdquo Itrsquos also important to remember it often takes time for a name to gain acceptance Can you imagine the reaction when Yahoo or Google first launched Or do you recall when Apple launched the iPad in 2010 There was an initial flurry of backlash around that name I spoke with Mike Pile a naming expert and he added ldquoThe name isnrsquot the brand but it is certainly one piece of the brand puzzle rdquo
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Positioning amp strategy Do you have a positioning strategy for your company or product that has informed naming selection
Competitive Does your name set you apart from the competition Have you done a naming competitive analysis Consider the proscons of the four types of names and if they exist in your category 1) FunctionalDescriptive 2) Invented Prod-uct amp Corporation Names 3) Experiential Product amp Corporate 4) Evocative Product amp Company Names
Marketing amp Public Relations Does your selected name provide a deep well of marketing and advertising images Can your name propel itself into the world creating its own no-cost self-sustaining PR Have you tried looking at your name with a logo or in a logo Does it work for your creative needs Have you tested your name in the context of advertising or marketing Have you considered how your name will work with a tagline
simplicity Is your name easy to pronounce easy to spell legal memorable simple
Trademark Have you consulted a trademark attorney or prescreened names Have you applied for a trademark (more on this in Module 3)
evaluation Have you reviewed your name based on your pre-determined set criteria (eg sound trademark depth energy - see naming guide) Is your name available as a URL ndash even if with co or extensions other than com
NamingContinued gt gt gt
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Naming
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ResouRCes
gt wwwuppercasenamingcom
gt httpwwwintaorgPagesHomeaspx
gt httpthesauruscomRoget-alpha-indexhtml
gt httpwwwoedcom
gt httpwwwurbandictionarycom
gt igor international naming Guide
gt Trademark electronic search system
gt Trademark Process
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MODULE 3LegalDot your Irsquos and cross your TrsquosSetting up your business protecting your assets and more Legal Where to begin Legal or the rules and guidelines surrounding your busi-
ness will impact every aspect of your company From how you establish your cor-porate structure to the name you secure smart entrepreneurs take legal rules into consideration before making major actions and decisions In 2008 I was in London for a Virgin America business trip After a long day of meetings I was at my hotel
checking emails I remember reading the copy for an email that was used to introduce Virgin Americarsquos in-flight Wi-Fi product to our loyalty program members The copy went something like this ldquoNot unlike (insert famous astronaut) or (insert famous pilot) you have the oppor-tunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travelrdquo My heart sank I quickly emailed my team ldquoDid you get approval for the mentioned astronaut and pilot to use their namesrdquo Unfortunately the email had already been sent What happened next included a costly pub-lically announced lawsuit with the pilot Numerous hours of staff time were churned by Virgin America teammates our advertising agency and a handful of lawyers to address the suit Eventually the case was settledbut this is an example of how small actions can have major ramifications and legal implications Some of the questions you should ask regarding legal processes and procedures follow
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LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
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Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
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Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
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At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
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want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
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ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
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MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
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Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
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Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
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Branding amp Creative Development
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Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
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Branding amp Creative Development
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Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
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Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
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The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
3
gt Business Basics
gt Naming
gt Legal
gt Branding amp Creative
seCTion 1The Foundation
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
4
If yoursquore starting a business trying to build a memorable brand or want to fine-tune your marketing skills my creativeLIVE course and supporting eBook have been developed for you On our show and in-
side the pages of this guide you will find sto-ries about and learn lessons from successful entrepreneurs Yoursquoll hear words of wisdom learn start-up secrets and follow a ques-tion-and-answer process to help you efficient-ly and effectively build your brand or business Yoursquoll meet the founders of Dollar Shave Club HINT Water Yes To Carrots Soma ZOZI and others who are on their way to building iconic and category changing brands
In addition to meeting passionate entrepre-neurs I will teach you what I have learned over the past twenty years rising from an intern to the General Manager of an advertising agency to the Vice President of Marketing at Virgin Ameri-ca where I led a team that launched the hippest most innovative airline in the skies I will also show you how marketing and brand-building is evolving with technological advancements and will introduce you to experts who are spe-cialists in the fields of naming legal creative
development social media email marketing digital marketing partnership marketing pub-lic relations and more Wersquoll review branding basics such as developing a focused core business proposition and discuss topics that are crucial to brand development such as passion culture team-building targeting and keeping innovation at the heart of your busi-ness If this sounds complicated donrsquot worry wersquoll take it step-by-step You can build your brand from scratch and from the ground up or you can tune-in to topic-based modules based on your interest or needs
Before we begin what is a brand anyway ldquoA brand is a personrsquos gut feeling about a product service or companyrdquo said Marty Neumeier au-thor of The Brand Gap and Zag Douglas B Holt author of How Brands Become Icons said ldquoA brand emerges as various lsquoauthorsrsquo tell stories that involve the brand Four types of authors are involved companies the culture industries intermediaries (eg critics and retail salespeo-ple) and customersrdquo My dear friend Nick Gra-ham Founder and Chief Underpants Officer of Joe Boxer once said ldquoThe Brand is The Amuse-ment Park the Product is the Souvenirrdquo
seCTion 1The Foundation W
hat IS a brand
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
5
Each day your brand interactions start when you squeeze creamy paste out of a branded toothpaste tube or slip your feet into ldquoswooshrdquo adorned sneakers Like the infamous com-mercial you are probably an Apple person or a PC person but itrsquos not likely yoursquore both You make conscious and subconscious decisions about the brands you love and the brands you hate Logos icons and brand perceptions impact what we wear how we shop what we drive and eat and how we make decisions You might love driving a Prius or perhaps you wouldnrsquot be caught dead in one There are different types of brands and numerous seg-ments of customer types Creating a strong brand can help you insulate and differentiate
your company from competitive onslaught can help you build loyalty and stickiness with your consumers can create emotive respons-es and more As a marketer or entrepreneur you need to focus your efforts know your brand know your target and consider how consumers could react at every touch point of your product or service experience In the book The Start-up Playbook by David Kidder Reid Hoffman states ldquoI frequently describe entrepreneurship as jumping off a cliff and as-sembling an airplane on the way downrdquo So letrsquos get started to make sure you have the tools resources and the right questions to ask to start or continue your journey
seCTion 1 The Foundation
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
6
MODULE 1Business BasicsStart with a solid foundationHave a focused and scalable idea unstoppable passion and a clear plan
Regardless whether your goal is to build an existing brand or start a new company below are fifteen questions and several key exercis-es to review with your team You can use these questions to start a dialog or to confirm or de-fine your business foundation and positioning
Passion Are you truly passionate about your business
Positioning Have you uncovered a true needmarket (eg SWOT) What is your core purpose (eg Google organize information Disney make people happy) Do you have a clear focused idea
Market Trends What market trends help support your idea (eg subscriptions healthwellness social connections aging demographics)
business Model exercise Create a 1-page business planmodel How will you activate users retain business and secure distributors or needed partners What is the potential revenue per user or customer type Do you have a sound way to test the validity of your business idea or model Can you answer Who What Why Where When for your brand product or service (Tip answers must be quick easy and clear)
barriers Do you know what you donrsquot know Have you researched barriers that might be in your way (eg capital manufacturing competitive legalpatents) Have you considered what could go wrong (eg external costs)
1
2
3
4
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
7
Business Basics
scaling amp Growth How will you scale Do you have a way to automate or create a system around your idea for repeat usebusiness (eg coffee machine and pods) Are you trying to franchise extend or exit etc What do you have thatrsquos own-able trainable and repeatable
Marketing exercise Create a 1-page marketing plan What are your main con-version events or methods What is your cost per acquisition (CPA) per channel How will you generate referrals
Metrics What metrics are important for you to track (eg case sales clicks sub-scriptions email sign-ups fans visitors)
Distribution Do you have a clear distribution strategy ldquoIf itrsquos not on the shelf your customer canrsquot buy itrdquo
Partnerships Do you have an advisory board Who are your friends Your ene-mies Do you need any partners or consultants to get your business off the ground (eg legal public relations manufacturing etc) Do you know how to run a fair and thorough RFP
Prioritizing Are you prioritizing and using your time and resources wisely Are you trying to do too much Can you list your top three objectives Are you delegat-ing and empowering people as much as possible
Continued gt gt gt
6
7
8
9
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11
Business Basics
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Kara Goldin Founder and CEO HINT Water
It was one day eight years ago that Kara Goldin on behalf of her own kids tossed all the beverages loaded with sweeteners and preservatives from her refrigerator and quit her own 20-year addiction to Diet Coke cold turkey Water -- that would be the drink of choice in the Goldinrsquos San Francisco home Alas the kids and her husband Theo found it boring It needed a little something a hint
of flavor Fruit perhaps She put some pomegranate slices into one pitcher rasp-berries in another That worked Her kids loved it the neighborhood kids made a beeline to her kitchen and raved
Today unsweetened zero-calorie HINT Essence Water -- with the mantra ldquoDrink Water Not Sugarrdquo -- is found in fine grocery stores and retailers in all 50 states and Canada and Kara Goldinrsquos passion for a healthy lifestyle and her companyrsquos role in trimming ever-climbing obesity and diabetes statistics is as boundless as that day the sugary juices and sodas were purged ldquoI get up every day thinking that we are changing health in Americardquo said Goldin ldquoIt is trailblazingrdquo she added and a worthy lesson for other would-be entrepreneurs ldquothat you can make a difference if you feel there is a need out there in the marketplacerdquo
Indeed when Goldinrsquos fruit-flavored water struck a chord with her family and friends she looked in the marketplace for just what she had concocted at home It wasnrsquot there Nothing Goldin who had previously worked in technology at AOL began researching the beverage industry seeing an opening in the market Then in one declarative sentence after another she said to Theo ldquoI am going to start this company where I am going to bottle the product and there will be two key com-ponents -- no preservatives no sweeteners I am taking $50000 out of our bank account to start the company and by the way I am pregnant with our fourth childrdquo
Kara Goldin Founder and CEO HINT Water
ldquoTwo strategic choices do what everyone else is doing only better faster cheaper Or do something different and truly distinctiverdquo ndash Professor Ron Sanchez Copenhagen Business School
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
9
Theo Goldin a lawyer who is now Chief Operating Officer of HINT Inc walked out of the room Kara recalled saying ldquoI canrsquot believe you clumped all of those things togetherrdquo At first in 2005 HINT water -- the flavors include blackberry wa-termelon pomegranate-tangerine mango-grapefruit strawberry-kiwi and rasp-berry-lime plus carbonated Hint Fizz -- was sold out of the Goldinsrsquo Jeep then in markets in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York Along the way Kara Goldin learned she just had to say no to the naysayers beverage industry insiders and purveyors of sugar among them Itrsquos good advice for start-ups too she said
ldquoBe careful about the consumer perceptions that you hear or read about in your industry When trying to figure out where to launch our first case of HINT many so-called lsquoindustry expertsrsquo told us lsquoDonrsquot focus on the fly-over states and donrsquot focus on the South People who live in those places are not healthy That is where Bubba livesrsquo Instead what we found is that consumers in every state are craving healthier options It doesnrsquot matter today where you live Consumers are reading labels and want healthier beveragesrdquo
The South by the way did buy in HINT is the number-one beverage sold at The Fresh Market stores a major chain concentrated in the South Herersquos another key piece of advice from Goldin ldquoTrust your gut By that I mean you cannot be an entrepreneur and do this day in and day out if you do not believe in what you are doing And if you have any question that this is a needed product or service then you probably shouldnrsquot be doing thisrdquo
Interestingly while HINT -- which uses fruit skins and oils -- was launched with the vow of no sweeteners and no preservatives the calorie-free element was not part of Goldinrsquos original business plan ldquoThat was an absolute bonusrdquo she said
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
ldquo There is no way to fake hustlerdquo ndash Gary Vaynerchuk Co-founder of Vaynermedia
ldquo The term lsquoramen profitablersquo has become widespread Ra-men profitable means a start-up makes just enough to pay the foundersrsquo living expens-es This is a different form of profitability than startups have traditionally aimed forhellipthe main importance of ramen profitability is that it buys you timerdquo ndash Paul Graham Venture Capitalist
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Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Kararsquos Top Tips Say no to naysayers
Be careful about consumer perceptions that you hear or read
Trust your gut
Remember brand is key
1234
ldquoPeople are shockedrdquo drinking HINT she said saying ldquoThere is nothing in here that is bad for merdquo HINT Inc makes no health claims about the product except to say it ldquowill make you feel betterrdquo said Goldin There is a never-ending battle with Pepsi and Coca-Cola of course in the struggle for shelf space ldquoThey donlsquot want to undo their empirerdquo said Goldin But HINT now with 31 employees rules the category it created with a simple solution to a problem
Social media is important to the effort ldquoOur social media efforts are a way for us to interact with the consumerrdquo she said ldquoWe are learning there what our customers are looking forrdquo Brand is key too ldquoI think a successful brand makes us think and act differentlyrdquo said Goldin ldquoOften that brand can help us be the person we want to be A successful brand is aspirational It makes us feel special My favorite successful brands Nike Apple Beats by Dre And of course HINTrdquo
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
11
ResouRCesgt asmartbearcomgt appsumocomgt brendonburchardcomgt The start-up Playbook by David s Kidder gt Seth Godinrsquos Bootstrapers Bible
gt Dave McClure500 start-ups - slide share Presentationsgt The lean start-up by eric Riesgt onstartupscomgt ventureneercomgt The Playbook
gt Kickstartercomgt angellistcom
ldquo I am a bootstrapper I have ini-tiative and insight and guts but not much money I will succeed because my efforts and my focus will defeat bigger and better-fund-ed competitors I am fearless I keep my focus on growing the businessmdashnot on politics career advancement or other wasteful distractionshellipI will read and learn and teachhellipI will be persistent consistent and willing to invest in the marketing of myself and my business I will measure what I do and wonrsquot lie about it to myself or my spousehellipMost of all Irsquoll remember that the journey is the reward I will learn and grow and enjoy every single dayrdquo ndash Seth Godin The Bootstrapperrsquos Manifesto
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
12
MODULE 2NamingPick a name that drives your brand forwardConsider the competitive set legal positioning URL availability and more
One key component that influences the launch perception and memorability of a brand is its name Can you imagine the stir and commotion that started when Sir Richard Branson named his company Virgin Records In a similar vein when I was at Virgin America a company that manufactured a natural energy drink (partially funded by Sam and Holly Branson - Sir Richardrsquos chil-
dren) asked us to distribute their product I tasted the drink made from milk thistle and schizandra (whatever that is) and it was delicious However the name ndash not kidding ndash of the product was Pussy I swiveled in my chair and tried to imagine how our in-flight teammates would feel if guests asked for the drink Product and investors aside I could not comfortably recommend the elixir to our internal catering team because of the name
I recall chatting with Mike Dubin of Dollar Shave Club about the name of his company and he said ldquoI didnrsquot want to build a generic company like a cheaprazorscom I wanted to build a brand or lsquoa man caversquo Irsquom all about the brand and I wanted a great namerdquo Itrsquos also important to remember it often takes time for a name to gain acceptance Can you imagine the reaction when Yahoo or Google first launched Or do you recall when Apple launched the iPad in 2010 There was an initial flurry of backlash around that name I spoke with Mike Pile a naming expert and he added ldquoThe name isnrsquot the brand but it is certainly one piece of the brand puzzle rdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
13
Positioning amp strategy Do you have a positioning strategy for your company or product that has informed naming selection
Competitive Does your name set you apart from the competition Have you done a naming competitive analysis Consider the proscons of the four types of names and if they exist in your category 1) FunctionalDescriptive 2) Invented Prod-uct amp Corporation Names 3) Experiential Product amp Corporate 4) Evocative Product amp Company Names
Marketing amp Public Relations Does your selected name provide a deep well of marketing and advertising images Can your name propel itself into the world creating its own no-cost self-sustaining PR Have you tried looking at your name with a logo or in a logo Does it work for your creative needs Have you tested your name in the context of advertising or marketing Have you considered how your name will work with a tagline
simplicity Is your name easy to pronounce easy to spell legal memorable simple
Trademark Have you consulted a trademark attorney or prescreened names Have you applied for a trademark (more on this in Module 3)
evaluation Have you reviewed your name based on your pre-determined set criteria (eg sound trademark depth energy - see naming guide) Is your name available as a URL ndash even if with co or extensions other than com
NamingContinued gt gt gt
1
2
3
4
5
6
Naming
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
14
ResouRCes
gt wwwuppercasenamingcom
gt httpwwwintaorgPagesHomeaspx
gt httpthesauruscomRoget-alpha-indexhtml
gt httpwwwoedcom
gt httpwwwurbandictionarycom
gt igor international naming Guide
gt Trademark electronic search system
gt Trademark Process
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
15
MODULE 3LegalDot your Irsquos and cross your TrsquosSetting up your business protecting your assets and more Legal Where to begin Legal or the rules and guidelines surrounding your busi-
ness will impact every aspect of your company From how you establish your cor-porate structure to the name you secure smart entrepreneurs take legal rules into consideration before making major actions and decisions In 2008 I was in London for a Virgin America business trip After a long day of meetings I was at my hotel
checking emails I remember reading the copy for an email that was used to introduce Virgin Americarsquos in-flight Wi-Fi product to our loyalty program members The copy went something like this ldquoNot unlike (insert famous astronaut) or (insert famous pilot) you have the oppor-tunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travelrdquo My heart sank I quickly emailed my team ldquoDid you get approval for the mentioned astronaut and pilot to use their namesrdquo Unfortunately the email had already been sent What happened next included a costly pub-lically announced lawsuit with the pilot Numerous hours of staff time were churned by Virgin America teammates our advertising agency and a handful of lawyers to address the suit Eventually the case was settledbut this is an example of how small actions can have major ramifications and legal implications Some of the questions you should ask regarding legal processes and procedures follow
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
16
LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Legal
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
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Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
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Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
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The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
4
If yoursquore starting a business trying to build a memorable brand or want to fine-tune your marketing skills my creativeLIVE course and supporting eBook have been developed for you On our show and in-
side the pages of this guide you will find sto-ries about and learn lessons from successful entrepreneurs Yoursquoll hear words of wisdom learn start-up secrets and follow a ques-tion-and-answer process to help you efficient-ly and effectively build your brand or business Yoursquoll meet the founders of Dollar Shave Club HINT Water Yes To Carrots Soma ZOZI and others who are on their way to building iconic and category changing brands
In addition to meeting passionate entrepre-neurs I will teach you what I have learned over the past twenty years rising from an intern to the General Manager of an advertising agency to the Vice President of Marketing at Virgin Ameri-ca where I led a team that launched the hippest most innovative airline in the skies I will also show you how marketing and brand-building is evolving with technological advancements and will introduce you to experts who are spe-cialists in the fields of naming legal creative
development social media email marketing digital marketing partnership marketing pub-lic relations and more Wersquoll review branding basics such as developing a focused core business proposition and discuss topics that are crucial to brand development such as passion culture team-building targeting and keeping innovation at the heart of your busi-ness If this sounds complicated donrsquot worry wersquoll take it step-by-step You can build your brand from scratch and from the ground up or you can tune-in to topic-based modules based on your interest or needs
Before we begin what is a brand anyway ldquoA brand is a personrsquos gut feeling about a product service or companyrdquo said Marty Neumeier au-thor of The Brand Gap and Zag Douglas B Holt author of How Brands Become Icons said ldquoA brand emerges as various lsquoauthorsrsquo tell stories that involve the brand Four types of authors are involved companies the culture industries intermediaries (eg critics and retail salespeo-ple) and customersrdquo My dear friend Nick Gra-ham Founder and Chief Underpants Officer of Joe Boxer once said ldquoThe Brand is The Amuse-ment Park the Product is the Souvenirrdquo
seCTion 1The Foundation W
hat IS a brand
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
5
Each day your brand interactions start when you squeeze creamy paste out of a branded toothpaste tube or slip your feet into ldquoswooshrdquo adorned sneakers Like the infamous com-mercial you are probably an Apple person or a PC person but itrsquos not likely yoursquore both You make conscious and subconscious decisions about the brands you love and the brands you hate Logos icons and brand perceptions impact what we wear how we shop what we drive and eat and how we make decisions You might love driving a Prius or perhaps you wouldnrsquot be caught dead in one There are different types of brands and numerous seg-ments of customer types Creating a strong brand can help you insulate and differentiate
your company from competitive onslaught can help you build loyalty and stickiness with your consumers can create emotive respons-es and more As a marketer or entrepreneur you need to focus your efforts know your brand know your target and consider how consumers could react at every touch point of your product or service experience In the book The Start-up Playbook by David Kidder Reid Hoffman states ldquoI frequently describe entrepreneurship as jumping off a cliff and as-sembling an airplane on the way downrdquo So letrsquos get started to make sure you have the tools resources and the right questions to ask to start or continue your journey
seCTion 1 The Foundation
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
6
MODULE 1Business BasicsStart with a solid foundationHave a focused and scalable idea unstoppable passion and a clear plan
Regardless whether your goal is to build an existing brand or start a new company below are fifteen questions and several key exercis-es to review with your team You can use these questions to start a dialog or to confirm or de-fine your business foundation and positioning
Passion Are you truly passionate about your business
Positioning Have you uncovered a true needmarket (eg SWOT) What is your core purpose (eg Google organize information Disney make people happy) Do you have a clear focused idea
Market Trends What market trends help support your idea (eg subscriptions healthwellness social connections aging demographics)
business Model exercise Create a 1-page business planmodel How will you activate users retain business and secure distributors or needed partners What is the potential revenue per user or customer type Do you have a sound way to test the validity of your business idea or model Can you answer Who What Why Where When for your brand product or service (Tip answers must be quick easy and clear)
barriers Do you know what you donrsquot know Have you researched barriers that might be in your way (eg capital manufacturing competitive legalpatents) Have you considered what could go wrong (eg external costs)
1
2
3
4
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
7
Business Basics
scaling amp Growth How will you scale Do you have a way to automate or create a system around your idea for repeat usebusiness (eg coffee machine and pods) Are you trying to franchise extend or exit etc What do you have thatrsquos own-able trainable and repeatable
Marketing exercise Create a 1-page marketing plan What are your main con-version events or methods What is your cost per acquisition (CPA) per channel How will you generate referrals
Metrics What metrics are important for you to track (eg case sales clicks sub-scriptions email sign-ups fans visitors)
Distribution Do you have a clear distribution strategy ldquoIf itrsquos not on the shelf your customer canrsquot buy itrdquo
Partnerships Do you have an advisory board Who are your friends Your ene-mies Do you need any partners or consultants to get your business off the ground (eg legal public relations manufacturing etc) Do you know how to run a fair and thorough RFP
Prioritizing Are you prioritizing and using your time and resources wisely Are you trying to do too much Can you list your top three objectives Are you delegat-ing and empowering people as much as possible
Continued gt gt gt
6
7
8
9
10
11
Business Basics
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Kara Goldin Founder and CEO HINT Water
It was one day eight years ago that Kara Goldin on behalf of her own kids tossed all the beverages loaded with sweeteners and preservatives from her refrigerator and quit her own 20-year addiction to Diet Coke cold turkey Water -- that would be the drink of choice in the Goldinrsquos San Francisco home Alas the kids and her husband Theo found it boring It needed a little something a hint
of flavor Fruit perhaps She put some pomegranate slices into one pitcher rasp-berries in another That worked Her kids loved it the neighborhood kids made a beeline to her kitchen and raved
Today unsweetened zero-calorie HINT Essence Water -- with the mantra ldquoDrink Water Not Sugarrdquo -- is found in fine grocery stores and retailers in all 50 states and Canada and Kara Goldinrsquos passion for a healthy lifestyle and her companyrsquos role in trimming ever-climbing obesity and diabetes statistics is as boundless as that day the sugary juices and sodas were purged ldquoI get up every day thinking that we are changing health in Americardquo said Goldin ldquoIt is trailblazingrdquo she added and a worthy lesson for other would-be entrepreneurs ldquothat you can make a difference if you feel there is a need out there in the marketplacerdquo
Indeed when Goldinrsquos fruit-flavored water struck a chord with her family and friends she looked in the marketplace for just what she had concocted at home It wasnrsquot there Nothing Goldin who had previously worked in technology at AOL began researching the beverage industry seeing an opening in the market Then in one declarative sentence after another she said to Theo ldquoI am going to start this company where I am going to bottle the product and there will be two key com-ponents -- no preservatives no sweeteners I am taking $50000 out of our bank account to start the company and by the way I am pregnant with our fourth childrdquo
Kara Goldin Founder and CEO HINT Water
ldquoTwo strategic choices do what everyone else is doing only better faster cheaper Or do something different and truly distinctiverdquo ndash Professor Ron Sanchez Copenhagen Business School
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
9
Theo Goldin a lawyer who is now Chief Operating Officer of HINT Inc walked out of the room Kara recalled saying ldquoI canrsquot believe you clumped all of those things togetherrdquo At first in 2005 HINT water -- the flavors include blackberry wa-termelon pomegranate-tangerine mango-grapefruit strawberry-kiwi and rasp-berry-lime plus carbonated Hint Fizz -- was sold out of the Goldinsrsquo Jeep then in markets in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York Along the way Kara Goldin learned she just had to say no to the naysayers beverage industry insiders and purveyors of sugar among them Itrsquos good advice for start-ups too she said
ldquoBe careful about the consumer perceptions that you hear or read about in your industry When trying to figure out where to launch our first case of HINT many so-called lsquoindustry expertsrsquo told us lsquoDonrsquot focus on the fly-over states and donrsquot focus on the South People who live in those places are not healthy That is where Bubba livesrsquo Instead what we found is that consumers in every state are craving healthier options It doesnrsquot matter today where you live Consumers are reading labels and want healthier beveragesrdquo
The South by the way did buy in HINT is the number-one beverage sold at The Fresh Market stores a major chain concentrated in the South Herersquos another key piece of advice from Goldin ldquoTrust your gut By that I mean you cannot be an entrepreneur and do this day in and day out if you do not believe in what you are doing And if you have any question that this is a needed product or service then you probably shouldnrsquot be doing thisrdquo
Interestingly while HINT -- which uses fruit skins and oils -- was launched with the vow of no sweeteners and no preservatives the calorie-free element was not part of Goldinrsquos original business plan ldquoThat was an absolute bonusrdquo she said
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
ldquo There is no way to fake hustlerdquo ndash Gary Vaynerchuk Co-founder of Vaynermedia
ldquo The term lsquoramen profitablersquo has become widespread Ra-men profitable means a start-up makes just enough to pay the foundersrsquo living expens-es This is a different form of profitability than startups have traditionally aimed forhellipthe main importance of ramen profitability is that it buys you timerdquo ndash Paul Graham Venture Capitalist
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Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Kararsquos Top Tips Say no to naysayers
Be careful about consumer perceptions that you hear or read
Trust your gut
Remember brand is key
1234
ldquoPeople are shockedrdquo drinking HINT she said saying ldquoThere is nothing in here that is bad for merdquo HINT Inc makes no health claims about the product except to say it ldquowill make you feel betterrdquo said Goldin There is a never-ending battle with Pepsi and Coca-Cola of course in the struggle for shelf space ldquoThey donlsquot want to undo their empirerdquo said Goldin But HINT now with 31 employees rules the category it created with a simple solution to a problem
Social media is important to the effort ldquoOur social media efforts are a way for us to interact with the consumerrdquo she said ldquoWe are learning there what our customers are looking forrdquo Brand is key too ldquoI think a successful brand makes us think and act differentlyrdquo said Goldin ldquoOften that brand can help us be the person we want to be A successful brand is aspirational It makes us feel special My favorite successful brands Nike Apple Beats by Dre And of course HINTrdquo
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
11
ResouRCesgt asmartbearcomgt appsumocomgt brendonburchardcomgt The start-up Playbook by David s Kidder gt Seth Godinrsquos Bootstrapers Bible
gt Dave McClure500 start-ups - slide share Presentationsgt The lean start-up by eric Riesgt onstartupscomgt ventureneercomgt The Playbook
gt Kickstartercomgt angellistcom
ldquo I am a bootstrapper I have ini-tiative and insight and guts but not much money I will succeed because my efforts and my focus will defeat bigger and better-fund-ed competitors I am fearless I keep my focus on growing the businessmdashnot on politics career advancement or other wasteful distractionshellipI will read and learn and teachhellipI will be persistent consistent and willing to invest in the marketing of myself and my business I will measure what I do and wonrsquot lie about it to myself or my spousehellipMost of all Irsquoll remember that the journey is the reward I will learn and grow and enjoy every single dayrdquo ndash Seth Godin The Bootstrapperrsquos Manifesto
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
12
MODULE 2NamingPick a name that drives your brand forwardConsider the competitive set legal positioning URL availability and more
One key component that influences the launch perception and memorability of a brand is its name Can you imagine the stir and commotion that started when Sir Richard Branson named his company Virgin Records In a similar vein when I was at Virgin America a company that manufactured a natural energy drink (partially funded by Sam and Holly Branson - Sir Richardrsquos chil-
dren) asked us to distribute their product I tasted the drink made from milk thistle and schizandra (whatever that is) and it was delicious However the name ndash not kidding ndash of the product was Pussy I swiveled in my chair and tried to imagine how our in-flight teammates would feel if guests asked for the drink Product and investors aside I could not comfortably recommend the elixir to our internal catering team because of the name
I recall chatting with Mike Dubin of Dollar Shave Club about the name of his company and he said ldquoI didnrsquot want to build a generic company like a cheaprazorscom I wanted to build a brand or lsquoa man caversquo Irsquom all about the brand and I wanted a great namerdquo Itrsquos also important to remember it often takes time for a name to gain acceptance Can you imagine the reaction when Yahoo or Google first launched Or do you recall when Apple launched the iPad in 2010 There was an initial flurry of backlash around that name I spoke with Mike Pile a naming expert and he added ldquoThe name isnrsquot the brand but it is certainly one piece of the brand puzzle rdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
13
Positioning amp strategy Do you have a positioning strategy for your company or product that has informed naming selection
Competitive Does your name set you apart from the competition Have you done a naming competitive analysis Consider the proscons of the four types of names and if they exist in your category 1) FunctionalDescriptive 2) Invented Prod-uct amp Corporation Names 3) Experiential Product amp Corporate 4) Evocative Product amp Company Names
Marketing amp Public Relations Does your selected name provide a deep well of marketing and advertising images Can your name propel itself into the world creating its own no-cost self-sustaining PR Have you tried looking at your name with a logo or in a logo Does it work for your creative needs Have you tested your name in the context of advertising or marketing Have you considered how your name will work with a tagline
simplicity Is your name easy to pronounce easy to spell legal memorable simple
Trademark Have you consulted a trademark attorney or prescreened names Have you applied for a trademark (more on this in Module 3)
evaluation Have you reviewed your name based on your pre-determined set criteria (eg sound trademark depth energy - see naming guide) Is your name available as a URL ndash even if with co or extensions other than com
NamingContinued gt gt gt
1
2
3
4
5
6
Naming
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
14
ResouRCes
gt wwwuppercasenamingcom
gt httpwwwintaorgPagesHomeaspx
gt httpthesauruscomRoget-alpha-indexhtml
gt httpwwwoedcom
gt httpwwwurbandictionarycom
gt igor international naming Guide
gt Trademark electronic search system
gt Trademark Process
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
15
MODULE 3LegalDot your Irsquos and cross your TrsquosSetting up your business protecting your assets and more Legal Where to begin Legal or the rules and guidelines surrounding your busi-
ness will impact every aspect of your company From how you establish your cor-porate structure to the name you secure smart entrepreneurs take legal rules into consideration before making major actions and decisions In 2008 I was in London for a Virgin America business trip After a long day of meetings I was at my hotel
checking emails I remember reading the copy for an email that was used to introduce Virgin Americarsquos in-flight Wi-Fi product to our loyalty program members The copy went something like this ldquoNot unlike (insert famous astronaut) or (insert famous pilot) you have the oppor-tunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travelrdquo My heart sank I quickly emailed my team ldquoDid you get approval for the mentioned astronaut and pilot to use their namesrdquo Unfortunately the email had already been sent What happened next included a costly pub-lically announced lawsuit with the pilot Numerous hours of staff time were churned by Virgin America teammates our advertising agency and a handful of lawyers to address the suit Eventually the case was settledbut this is an example of how small actions can have major ramifications and legal implications Some of the questions you should ask regarding legal processes and procedures follow
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
16
LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Legal
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
19
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At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
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Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
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26
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Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
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The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
5
Each day your brand interactions start when you squeeze creamy paste out of a branded toothpaste tube or slip your feet into ldquoswooshrdquo adorned sneakers Like the infamous com-mercial you are probably an Apple person or a PC person but itrsquos not likely yoursquore both You make conscious and subconscious decisions about the brands you love and the brands you hate Logos icons and brand perceptions impact what we wear how we shop what we drive and eat and how we make decisions You might love driving a Prius or perhaps you wouldnrsquot be caught dead in one There are different types of brands and numerous seg-ments of customer types Creating a strong brand can help you insulate and differentiate
your company from competitive onslaught can help you build loyalty and stickiness with your consumers can create emotive respons-es and more As a marketer or entrepreneur you need to focus your efforts know your brand know your target and consider how consumers could react at every touch point of your product or service experience In the book The Start-up Playbook by David Kidder Reid Hoffman states ldquoI frequently describe entrepreneurship as jumping off a cliff and as-sembling an airplane on the way downrdquo So letrsquos get started to make sure you have the tools resources and the right questions to ask to start or continue your journey
seCTion 1 The Foundation
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
6
MODULE 1Business BasicsStart with a solid foundationHave a focused and scalable idea unstoppable passion and a clear plan
Regardless whether your goal is to build an existing brand or start a new company below are fifteen questions and several key exercis-es to review with your team You can use these questions to start a dialog or to confirm or de-fine your business foundation and positioning
Passion Are you truly passionate about your business
Positioning Have you uncovered a true needmarket (eg SWOT) What is your core purpose (eg Google organize information Disney make people happy) Do you have a clear focused idea
Market Trends What market trends help support your idea (eg subscriptions healthwellness social connections aging demographics)
business Model exercise Create a 1-page business planmodel How will you activate users retain business and secure distributors or needed partners What is the potential revenue per user or customer type Do you have a sound way to test the validity of your business idea or model Can you answer Who What Why Where When for your brand product or service (Tip answers must be quick easy and clear)
barriers Do you know what you donrsquot know Have you researched barriers that might be in your way (eg capital manufacturing competitive legalpatents) Have you considered what could go wrong (eg external costs)
1
2
3
4
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
7
Business Basics
scaling amp Growth How will you scale Do you have a way to automate or create a system around your idea for repeat usebusiness (eg coffee machine and pods) Are you trying to franchise extend or exit etc What do you have thatrsquos own-able trainable and repeatable
Marketing exercise Create a 1-page marketing plan What are your main con-version events or methods What is your cost per acquisition (CPA) per channel How will you generate referrals
Metrics What metrics are important for you to track (eg case sales clicks sub-scriptions email sign-ups fans visitors)
Distribution Do you have a clear distribution strategy ldquoIf itrsquos not on the shelf your customer canrsquot buy itrdquo
Partnerships Do you have an advisory board Who are your friends Your ene-mies Do you need any partners or consultants to get your business off the ground (eg legal public relations manufacturing etc) Do you know how to run a fair and thorough RFP
Prioritizing Are you prioritizing and using your time and resources wisely Are you trying to do too much Can you list your top three objectives Are you delegat-ing and empowering people as much as possible
Continued gt gt gt
6
7
8
9
10
11
Business Basics
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Kara Goldin Founder and CEO HINT Water
It was one day eight years ago that Kara Goldin on behalf of her own kids tossed all the beverages loaded with sweeteners and preservatives from her refrigerator and quit her own 20-year addiction to Diet Coke cold turkey Water -- that would be the drink of choice in the Goldinrsquos San Francisco home Alas the kids and her husband Theo found it boring It needed a little something a hint
of flavor Fruit perhaps She put some pomegranate slices into one pitcher rasp-berries in another That worked Her kids loved it the neighborhood kids made a beeline to her kitchen and raved
Today unsweetened zero-calorie HINT Essence Water -- with the mantra ldquoDrink Water Not Sugarrdquo -- is found in fine grocery stores and retailers in all 50 states and Canada and Kara Goldinrsquos passion for a healthy lifestyle and her companyrsquos role in trimming ever-climbing obesity and diabetes statistics is as boundless as that day the sugary juices and sodas were purged ldquoI get up every day thinking that we are changing health in Americardquo said Goldin ldquoIt is trailblazingrdquo she added and a worthy lesson for other would-be entrepreneurs ldquothat you can make a difference if you feel there is a need out there in the marketplacerdquo
Indeed when Goldinrsquos fruit-flavored water struck a chord with her family and friends she looked in the marketplace for just what she had concocted at home It wasnrsquot there Nothing Goldin who had previously worked in technology at AOL began researching the beverage industry seeing an opening in the market Then in one declarative sentence after another she said to Theo ldquoI am going to start this company where I am going to bottle the product and there will be two key com-ponents -- no preservatives no sweeteners I am taking $50000 out of our bank account to start the company and by the way I am pregnant with our fourth childrdquo
Kara Goldin Founder and CEO HINT Water
ldquoTwo strategic choices do what everyone else is doing only better faster cheaper Or do something different and truly distinctiverdquo ndash Professor Ron Sanchez Copenhagen Business School
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
9
Theo Goldin a lawyer who is now Chief Operating Officer of HINT Inc walked out of the room Kara recalled saying ldquoI canrsquot believe you clumped all of those things togetherrdquo At first in 2005 HINT water -- the flavors include blackberry wa-termelon pomegranate-tangerine mango-grapefruit strawberry-kiwi and rasp-berry-lime plus carbonated Hint Fizz -- was sold out of the Goldinsrsquo Jeep then in markets in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York Along the way Kara Goldin learned she just had to say no to the naysayers beverage industry insiders and purveyors of sugar among them Itrsquos good advice for start-ups too she said
ldquoBe careful about the consumer perceptions that you hear or read about in your industry When trying to figure out where to launch our first case of HINT many so-called lsquoindustry expertsrsquo told us lsquoDonrsquot focus on the fly-over states and donrsquot focus on the South People who live in those places are not healthy That is where Bubba livesrsquo Instead what we found is that consumers in every state are craving healthier options It doesnrsquot matter today where you live Consumers are reading labels and want healthier beveragesrdquo
The South by the way did buy in HINT is the number-one beverage sold at The Fresh Market stores a major chain concentrated in the South Herersquos another key piece of advice from Goldin ldquoTrust your gut By that I mean you cannot be an entrepreneur and do this day in and day out if you do not believe in what you are doing And if you have any question that this is a needed product or service then you probably shouldnrsquot be doing thisrdquo
Interestingly while HINT -- which uses fruit skins and oils -- was launched with the vow of no sweeteners and no preservatives the calorie-free element was not part of Goldinrsquos original business plan ldquoThat was an absolute bonusrdquo she said
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
ldquo There is no way to fake hustlerdquo ndash Gary Vaynerchuk Co-founder of Vaynermedia
ldquo The term lsquoramen profitablersquo has become widespread Ra-men profitable means a start-up makes just enough to pay the foundersrsquo living expens-es This is a different form of profitability than startups have traditionally aimed forhellipthe main importance of ramen profitability is that it buys you timerdquo ndash Paul Graham Venture Capitalist
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Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Kararsquos Top Tips Say no to naysayers
Be careful about consumer perceptions that you hear or read
Trust your gut
Remember brand is key
1234
ldquoPeople are shockedrdquo drinking HINT she said saying ldquoThere is nothing in here that is bad for merdquo HINT Inc makes no health claims about the product except to say it ldquowill make you feel betterrdquo said Goldin There is a never-ending battle with Pepsi and Coca-Cola of course in the struggle for shelf space ldquoThey donlsquot want to undo their empirerdquo said Goldin But HINT now with 31 employees rules the category it created with a simple solution to a problem
Social media is important to the effort ldquoOur social media efforts are a way for us to interact with the consumerrdquo she said ldquoWe are learning there what our customers are looking forrdquo Brand is key too ldquoI think a successful brand makes us think and act differentlyrdquo said Goldin ldquoOften that brand can help us be the person we want to be A successful brand is aspirational It makes us feel special My favorite successful brands Nike Apple Beats by Dre And of course HINTrdquo
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
11
ResouRCesgt asmartbearcomgt appsumocomgt brendonburchardcomgt The start-up Playbook by David s Kidder gt Seth Godinrsquos Bootstrapers Bible
gt Dave McClure500 start-ups - slide share Presentationsgt The lean start-up by eric Riesgt onstartupscomgt ventureneercomgt The Playbook
gt Kickstartercomgt angellistcom
ldquo I am a bootstrapper I have ini-tiative and insight and guts but not much money I will succeed because my efforts and my focus will defeat bigger and better-fund-ed competitors I am fearless I keep my focus on growing the businessmdashnot on politics career advancement or other wasteful distractionshellipI will read and learn and teachhellipI will be persistent consistent and willing to invest in the marketing of myself and my business I will measure what I do and wonrsquot lie about it to myself or my spousehellipMost of all Irsquoll remember that the journey is the reward I will learn and grow and enjoy every single dayrdquo ndash Seth Godin The Bootstrapperrsquos Manifesto
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
12
MODULE 2NamingPick a name that drives your brand forwardConsider the competitive set legal positioning URL availability and more
One key component that influences the launch perception and memorability of a brand is its name Can you imagine the stir and commotion that started when Sir Richard Branson named his company Virgin Records In a similar vein when I was at Virgin America a company that manufactured a natural energy drink (partially funded by Sam and Holly Branson - Sir Richardrsquos chil-
dren) asked us to distribute their product I tasted the drink made from milk thistle and schizandra (whatever that is) and it was delicious However the name ndash not kidding ndash of the product was Pussy I swiveled in my chair and tried to imagine how our in-flight teammates would feel if guests asked for the drink Product and investors aside I could not comfortably recommend the elixir to our internal catering team because of the name
I recall chatting with Mike Dubin of Dollar Shave Club about the name of his company and he said ldquoI didnrsquot want to build a generic company like a cheaprazorscom I wanted to build a brand or lsquoa man caversquo Irsquom all about the brand and I wanted a great namerdquo Itrsquos also important to remember it often takes time for a name to gain acceptance Can you imagine the reaction when Yahoo or Google first launched Or do you recall when Apple launched the iPad in 2010 There was an initial flurry of backlash around that name I spoke with Mike Pile a naming expert and he added ldquoThe name isnrsquot the brand but it is certainly one piece of the brand puzzle rdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
13
Positioning amp strategy Do you have a positioning strategy for your company or product that has informed naming selection
Competitive Does your name set you apart from the competition Have you done a naming competitive analysis Consider the proscons of the four types of names and if they exist in your category 1) FunctionalDescriptive 2) Invented Prod-uct amp Corporation Names 3) Experiential Product amp Corporate 4) Evocative Product amp Company Names
Marketing amp Public Relations Does your selected name provide a deep well of marketing and advertising images Can your name propel itself into the world creating its own no-cost self-sustaining PR Have you tried looking at your name with a logo or in a logo Does it work for your creative needs Have you tested your name in the context of advertising or marketing Have you considered how your name will work with a tagline
simplicity Is your name easy to pronounce easy to spell legal memorable simple
Trademark Have you consulted a trademark attorney or prescreened names Have you applied for a trademark (more on this in Module 3)
evaluation Have you reviewed your name based on your pre-determined set criteria (eg sound trademark depth energy - see naming guide) Is your name available as a URL ndash even if with co or extensions other than com
NamingContinued gt gt gt
1
2
3
4
5
6
Naming
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
14
ResouRCes
gt wwwuppercasenamingcom
gt httpwwwintaorgPagesHomeaspx
gt httpthesauruscomRoget-alpha-indexhtml
gt httpwwwoedcom
gt httpwwwurbandictionarycom
gt igor international naming Guide
gt Trademark electronic search system
gt Trademark Process
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
15
MODULE 3LegalDot your Irsquos and cross your TrsquosSetting up your business protecting your assets and more Legal Where to begin Legal or the rules and guidelines surrounding your busi-
ness will impact every aspect of your company From how you establish your cor-porate structure to the name you secure smart entrepreneurs take legal rules into consideration before making major actions and decisions In 2008 I was in London for a Virgin America business trip After a long day of meetings I was at my hotel
checking emails I remember reading the copy for an email that was used to introduce Virgin Americarsquos in-flight Wi-Fi product to our loyalty program members The copy went something like this ldquoNot unlike (insert famous astronaut) or (insert famous pilot) you have the oppor-tunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travelrdquo My heart sank I quickly emailed my team ldquoDid you get approval for the mentioned astronaut and pilot to use their namesrdquo Unfortunately the email had already been sent What happened next included a costly pub-lically announced lawsuit with the pilot Numerous hours of staff time were churned by Virgin America teammates our advertising agency and a handful of lawyers to address the suit Eventually the case was settledbut this is an example of how small actions can have major ramifications and legal implications Some of the questions you should ask regarding legal processes and procedures follow
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
16
LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Legal
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Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
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rofile Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
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Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
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26
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Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
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The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
6
MODULE 1Business BasicsStart with a solid foundationHave a focused and scalable idea unstoppable passion and a clear plan
Regardless whether your goal is to build an existing brand or start a new company below are fifteen questions and several key exercis-es to review with your team You can use these questions to start a dialog or to confirm or de-fine your business foundation and positioning
Passion Are you truly passionate about your business
Positioning Have you uncovered a true needmarket (eg SWOT) What is your core purpose (eg Google organize information Disney make people happy) Do you have a clear focused idea
Market Trends What market trends help support your idea (eg subscriptions healthwellness social connections aging demographics)
business Model exercise Create a 1-page business planmodel How will you activate users retain business and secure distributors or needed partners What is the potential revenue per user or customer type Do you have a sound way to test the validity of your business idea or model Can you answer Who What Why Where When for your brand product or service (Tip answers must be quick easy and clear)
barriers Do you know what you donrsquot know Have you researched barriers that might be in your way (eg capital manufacturing competitive legalpatents) Have you considered what could go wrong (eg external costs)
1
2
3
4
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
7
Business Basics
scaling amp Growth How will you scale Do you have a way to automate or create a system around your idea for repeat usebusiness (eg coffee machine and pods) Are you trying to franchise extend or exit etc What do you have thatrsquos own-able trainable and repeatable
Marketing exercise Create a 1-page marketing plan What are your main con-version events or methods What is your cost per acquisition (CPA) per channel How will you generate referrals
Metrics What metrics are important for you to track (eg case sales clicks sub-scriptions email sign-ups fans visitors)
Distribution Do you have a clear distribution strategy ldquoIf itrsquos not on the shelf your customer canrsquot buy itrdquo
Partnerships Do you have an advisory board Who are your friends Your ene-mies Do you need any partners or consultants to get your business off the ground (eg legal public relations manufacturing etc) Do you know how to run a fair and thorough RFP
Prioritizing Are you prioritizing and using your time and resources wisely Are you trying to do too much Can you list your top three objectives Are you delegat-ing and empowering people as much as possible
Continued gt gt gt
6
7
8
9
10
11
Business Basics
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Kara Goldin Founder and CEO HINT Water
It was one day eight years ago that Kara Goldin on behalf of her own kids tossed all the beverages loaded with sweeteners and preservatives from her refrigerator and quit her own 20-year addiction to Diet Coke cold turkey Water -- that would be the drink of choice in the Goldinrsquos San Francisco home Alas the kids and her husband Theo found it boring It needed a little something a hint
of flavor Fruit perhaps She put some pomegranate slices into one pitcher rasp-berries in another That worked Her kids loved it the neighborhood kids made a beeline to her kitchen and raved
Today unsweetened zero-calorie HINT Essence Water -- with the mantra ldquoDrink Water Not Sugarrdquo -- is found in fine grocery stores and retailers in all 50 states and Canada and Kara Goldinrsquos passion for a healthy lifestyle and her companyrsquos role in trimming ever-climbing obesity and diabetes statistics is as boundless as that day the sugary juices and sodas were purged ldquoI get up every day thinking that we are changing health in Americardquo said Goldin ldquoIt is trailblazingrdquo she added and a worthy lesson for other would-be entrepreneurs ldquothat you can make a difference if you feel there is a need out there in the marketplacerdquo
Indeed when Goldinrsquos fruit-flavored water struck a chord with her family and friends she looked in the marketplace for just what she had concocted at home It wasnrsquot there Nothing Goldin who had previously worked in technology at AOL began researching the beverage industry seeing an opening in the market Then in one declarative sentence after another she said to Theo ldquoI am going to start this company where I am going to bottle the product and there will be two key com-ponents -- no preservatives no sweeteners I am taking $50000 out of our bank account to start the company and by the way I am pregnant with our fourth childrdquo
Kara Goldin Founder and CEO HINT Water
ldquoTwo strategic choices do what everyone else is doing only better faster cheaper Or do something different and truly distinctiverdquo ndash Professor Ron Sanchez Copenhagen Business School
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
9
Theo Goldin a lawyer who is now Chief Operating Officer of HINT Inc walked out of the room Kara recalled saying ldquoI canrsquot believe you clumped all of those things togetherrdquo At first in 2005 HINT water -- the flavors include blackberry wa-termelon pomegranate-tangerine mango-grapefruit strawberry-kiwi and rasp-berry-lime plus carbonated Hint Fizz -- was sold out of the Goldinsrsquo Jeep then in markets in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York Along the way Kara Goldin learned she just had to say no to the naysayers beverage industry insiders and purveyors of sugar among them Itrsquos good advice for start-ups too she said
ldquoBe careful about the consumer perceptions that you hear or read about in your industry When trying to figure out where to launch our first case of HINT many so-called lsquoindustry expertsrsquo told us lsquoDonrsquot focus on the fly-over states and donrsquot focus on the South People who live in those places are not healthy That is where Bubba livesrsquo Instead what we found is that consumers in every state are craving healthier options It doesnrsquot matter today where you live Consumers are reading labels and want healthier beveragesrdquo
The South by the way did buy in HINT is the number-one beverage sold at The Fresh Market stores a major chain concentrated in the South Herersquos another key piece of advice from Goldin ldquoTrust your gut By that I mean you cannot be an entrepreneur and do this day in and day out if you do not believe in what you are doing And if you have any question that this is a needed product or service then you probably shouldnrsquot be doing thisrdquo
Interestingly while HINT -- which uses fruit skins and oils -- was launched with the vow of no sweeteners and no preservatives the calorie-free element was not part of Goldinrsquos original business plan ldquoThat was an absolute bonusrdquo she said
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
ldquo There is no way to fake hustlerdquo ndash Gary Vaynerchuk Co-founder of Vaynermedia
ldquo The term lsquoramen profitablersquo has become widespread Ra-men profitable means a start-up makes just enough to pay the foundersrsquo living expens-es This is a different form of profitability than startups have traditionally aimed forhellipthe main importance of ramen profitability is that it buys you timerdquo ndash Paul Graham Venture Capitalist
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Kararsquos Top Tips Say no to naysayers
Be careful about consumer perceptions that you hear or read
Trust your gut
Remember brand is key
1234
ldquoPeople are shockedrdquo drinking HINT she said saying ldquoThere is nothing in here that is bad for merdquo HINT Inc makes no health claims about the product except to say it ldquowill make you feel betterrdquo said Goldin There is a never-ending battle with Pepsi and Coca-Cola of course in the struggle for shelf space ldquoThey donlsquot want to undo their empirerdquo said Goldin But HINT now with 31 employees rules the category it created with a simple solution to a problem
Social media is important to the effort ldquoOur social media efforts are a way for us to interact with the consumerrdquo she said ldquoWe are learning there what our customers are looking forrdquo Brand is key too ldquoI think a successful brand makes us think and act differentlyrdquo said Goldin ldquoOften that brand can help us be the person we want to be A successful brand is aspirational It makes us feel special My favorite successful brands Nike Apple Beats by Dre And of course HINTrdquo
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
11
ResouRCesgt asmartbearcomgt appsumocomgt brendonburchardcomgt The start-up Playbook by David s Kidder gt Seth Godinrsquos Bootstrapers Bible
gt Dave McClure500 start-ups - slide share Presentationsgt The lean start-up by eric Riesgt onstartupscomgt ventureneercomgt The Playbook
gt Kickstartercomgt angellistcom
ldquo I am a bootstrapper I have ini-tiative and insight and guts but not much money I will succeed because my efforts and my focus will defeat bigger and better-fund-ed competitors I am fearless I keep my focus on growing the businessmdashnot on politics career advancement or other wasteful distractionshellipI will read and learn and teachhellipI will be persistent consistent and willing to invest in the marketing of myself and my business I will measure what I do and wonrsquot lie about it to myself or my spousehellipMost of all Irsquoll remember that the journey is the reward I will learn and grow and enjoy every single dayrdquo ndash Seth Godin The Bootstrapperrsquos Manifesto
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
12
MODULE 2NamingPick a name that drives your brand forwardConsider the competitive set legal positioning URL availability and more
One key component that influences the launch perception and memorability of a brand is its name Can you imagine the stir and commotion that started when Sir Richard Branson named his company Virgin Records In a similar vein when I was at Virgin America a company that manufactured a natural energy drink (partially funded by Sam and Holly Branson - Sir Richardrsquos chil-
dren) asked us to distribute their product I tasted the drink made from milk thistle and schizandra (whatever that is) and it was delicious However the name ndash not kidding ndash of the product was Pussy I swiveled in my chair and tried to imagine how our in-flight teammates would feel if guests asked for the drink Product and investors aside I could not comfortably recommend the elixir to our internal catering team because of the name
I recall chatting with Mike Dubin of Dollar Shave Club about the name of his company and he said ldquoI didnrsquot want to build a generic company like a cheaprazorscom I wanted to build a brand or lsquoa man caversquo Irsquom all about the brand and I wanted a great namerdquo Itrsquos also important to remember it often takes time for a name to gain acceptance Can you imagine the reaction when Yahoo or Google first launched Or do you recall when Apple launched the iPad in 2010 There was an initial flurry of backlash around that name I spoke with Mike Pile a naming expert and he added ldquoThe name isnrsquot the brand but it is certainly one piece of the brand puzzle rdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
13
Positioning amp strategy Do you have a positioning strategy for your company or product that has informed naming selection
Competitive Does your name set you apart from the competition Have you done a naming competitive analysis Consider the proscons of the four types of names and if they exist in your category 1) FunctionalDescriptive 2) Invented Prod-uct amp Corporation Names 3) Experiential Product amp Corporate 4) Evocative Product amp Company Names
Marketing amp Public Relations Does your selected name provide a deep well of marketing and advertising images Can your name propel itself into the world creating its own no-cost self-sustaining PR Have you tried looking at your name with a logo or in a logo Does it work for your creative needs Have you tested your name in the context of advertising or marketing Have you considered how your name will work with a tagline
simplicity Is your name easy to pronounce easy to spell legal memorable simple
Trademark Have you consulted a trademark attorney or prescreened names Have you applied for a trademark (more on this in Module 3)
evaluation Have you reviewed your name based on your pre-determined set criteria (eg sound trademark depth energy - see naming guide) Is your name available as a URL ndash even if with co or extensions other than com
NamingContinued gt gt gt
1
2
3
4
5
6
Naming
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
14
ResouRCes
gt wwwuppercasenamingcom
gt httpwwwintaorgPagesHomeaspx
gt httpthesauruscomRoget-alpha-indexhtml
gt httpwwwoedcom
gt httpwwwurbandictionarycom
gt igor international naming Guide
gt Trademark electronic search system
gt Trademark Process
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
15
MODULE 3LegalDot your Irsquos and cross your TrsquosSetting up your business protecting your assets and more Legal Where to begin Legal or the rules and guidelines surrounding your busi-
ness will impact every aspect of your company From how you establish your cor-porate structure to the name you secure smart entrepreneurs take legal rules into consideration before making major actions and decisions In 2008 I was in London for a Virgin America business trip After a long day of meetings I was at my hotel
checking emails I remember reading the copy for an email that was used to introduce Virgin Americarsquos in-flight Wi-Fi product to our loyalty program members The copy went something like this ldquoNot unlike (insert famous astronaut) or (insert famous pilot) you have the oppor-tunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travelrdquo My heart sank I quickly emailed my team ldquoDid you get approval for the mentioned astronaut and pilot to use their namesrdquo Unfortunately the email had already been sent What happened next included a costly pub-lically announced lawsuit with the pilot Numerous hours of staff time were churned by Virgin America teammates our advertising agency and a handful of lawyers to address the suit Eventually the case was settledbut this is an example of how small actions can have major ramifications and legal implications Some of the questions you should ask regarding legal processes and procedures follow
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
16
LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Legal
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Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
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Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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rofile Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
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Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
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Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
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27
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The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
7
Business Basics
scaling amp Growth How will you scale Do you have a way to automate or create a system around your idea for repeat usebusiness (eg coffee machine and pods) Are you trying to franchise extend or exit etc What do you have thatrsquos own-able trainable and repeatable
Marketing exercise Create a 1-page marketing plan What are your main con-version events or methods What is your cost per acquisition (CPA) per channel How will you generate referrals
Metrics What metrics are important for you to track (eg case sales clicks sub-scriptions email sign-ups fans visitors)
Distribution Do you have a clear distribution strategy ldquoIf itrsquos not on the shelf your customer canrsquot buy itrdquo
Partnerships Do you have an advisory board Who are your friends Your ene-mies Do you need any partners or consultants to get your business off the ground (eg legal public relations manufacturing etc) Do you know how to run a fair and thorough RFP
Prioritizing Are you prioritizing and using your time and resources wisely Are you trying to do too much Can you list your top three objectives Are you delegat-ing and empowering people as much as possible
Continued gt gt gt
6
7
8
9
10
11
Business Basics
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Kara Goldin Founder and CEO HINT Water
It was one day eight years ago that Kara Goldin on behalf of her own kids tossed all the beverages loaded with sweeteners and preservatives from her refrigerator and quit her own 20-year addiction to Diet Coke cold turkey Water -- that would be the drink of choice in the Goldinrsquos San Francisco home Alas the kids and her husband Theo found it boring It needed a little something a hint
of flavor Fruit perhaps She put some pomegranate slices into one pitcher rasp-berries in another That worked Her kids loved it the neighborhood kids made a beeline to her kitchen and raved
Today unsweetened zero-calorie HINT Essence Water -- with the mantra ldquoDrink Water Not Sugarrdquo -- is found in fine grocery stores and retailers in all 50 states and Canada and Kara Goldinrsquos passion for a healthy lifestyle and her companyrsquos role in trimming ever-climbing obesity and diabetes statistics is as boundless as that day the sugary juices and sodas were purged ldquoI get up every day thinking that we are changing health in Americardquo said Goldin ldquoIt is trailblazingrdquo she added and a worthy lesson for other would-be entrepreneurs ldquothat you can make a difference if you feel there is a need out there in the marketplacerdquo
Indeed when Goldinrsquos fruit-flavored water struck a chord with her family and friends she looked in the marketplace for just what she had concocted at home It wasnrsquot there Nothing Goldin who had previously worked in technology at AOL began researching the beverage industry seeing an opening in the market Then in one declarative sentence after another she said to Theo ldquoI am going to start this company where I am going to bottle the product and there will be two key com-ponents -- no preservatives no sweeteners I am taking $50000 out of our bank account to start the company and by the way I am pregnant with our fourth childrdquo
Kara Goldin Founder and CEO HINT Water
ldquoTwo strategic choices do what everyone else is doing only better faster cheaper Or do something different and truly distinctiverdquo ndash Professor Ron Sanchez Copenhagen Business School
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
9
Theo Goldin a lawyer who is now Chief Operating Officer of HINT Inc walked out of the room Kara recalled saying ldquoI canrsquot believe you clumped all of those things togetherrdquo At first in 2005 HINT water -- the flavors include blackberry wa-termelon pomegranate-tangerine mango-grapefruit strawberry-kiwi and rasp-berry-lime plus carbonated Hint Fizz -- was sold out of the Goldinsrsquo Jeep then in markets in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York Along the way Kara Goldin learned she just had to say no to the naysayers beverage industry insiders and purveyors of sugar among them Itrsquos good advice for start-ups too she said
ldquoBe careful about the consumer perceptions that you hear or read about in your industry When trying to figure out where to launch our first case of HINT many so-called lsquoindustry expertsrsquo told us lsquoDonrsquot focus on the fly-over states and donrsquot focus on the South People who live in those places are not healthy That is where Bubba livesrsquo Instead what we found is that consumers in every state are craving healthier options It doesnrsquot matter today where you live Consumers are reading labels and want healthier beveragesrdquo
The South by the way did buy in HINT is the number-one beverage sold at The Fresh Market stores a major chain concentrated in the South Herersquos another key piece of advice from Goldin ldquoTrust your gut By that I mean you cannot be an entrepreneur and do this day in and day out if you do not believe in what you are doing And if you have any question that this is a needed product or service then you probably shouldnrsquot be doing thisrdquo
Interestingly while HINT -- which uses fruit skins and oils -- was launched with the vow of no sweeteners and no preservatives the calorie-free element was not part of Goldinrsquos original business plan ldquoThat was an absolute bonusrdquo she said
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
ldquo There is no way to fake hustlerdquo ndash Gary Vaynerchuk Co-founder of Vaynermedia
ldquo The term lsquoramen profitablersquo has become widespread Ra-men profitable means a start-up makes just enough to pay the foundersrsquo living expens-es This is a different form of profitability than startups have traditionally aimed forhellipthe main importance of ramen profitability is that it buys you timerdquo ndash Paul Graham Venture Capitalist
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Kararsquos Top Tips Say no to naysayers
Be careful about consumer perceptions that you hear or read
Trust your gut
Remember brand is key
1234
ldquoPeople are shockedrdquo drinking HINT she said saying ldquoThere is nothing in here that is bad for merdquo HINT Inc makes no health claims about the product except to say it ldquowill make you feel betterrdquo said Goldin There is a never-ending battle with Pepsi and Coca-Cola of course in the struggle for shelf space ldquoThey donlsquot want to undo their empirerdquo said Goldin But HINT now with 31 employees rules the category it created with a simple solution to a problem
Social media is important to the effort ldquoOur social media efforts are a way for us to interact with the consumerrdquo she said ldquoWe are learning there what our customers are looking forrdquo Brand is key too ldquoI think a successful brand makes us think and act differentlyrdquo said Goldin ldquoOften that brand can help us be the person we want to be A successful brand is aspirational It makes us feel special My favorite successful brands Nike Apple Beats by Dre And of course HINTrdquo
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
11
ResouRCesgt asmartbearcomgt appsumocomgt brendonburchardcomgt The start-up Playbook by David s Kidder gt Seth Godinrsquos Bootstrapers Bible
gt Dave McClure500 start-ups - slide share Presentationsgt The lean start-up by eric Riesgt onstartupscomgt ventureneercomgt The Playbook
gt Kickstartercomgt angellistcom
ldquo I am a bootstrapper I have ini-tiative and insight and guts but not much money I will succeed because my efforts and my focus will defeat bigger and better-fund-ed competitors I am fearless I keep my focus on growing the businessmdashnot on politics career advancement or other wasteful distractionshellipI will read and learn and teachhellipI will be persistent consistent and willing to invest in the marketing of myself and my business I will measure what I do and wonrsquot lie about it to myself or my spousehellipMost of all Irsquoll remember that the journey is the reward I will learn and grow and enjoy every single dayrdquo ndash Seth Godin The Bootstrapperrsquos Manifesto
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
12
MODULE 2NamingPick a name that drives your brand forwardConsider the competitive set legal positioning URL availability and more
One key component that influences the launch perception and memorability of a brand is its name Can you imagine the stir and commotion that started when Sir Richard Branson named his company Virgin Records In a similar vein when I was at Virgin America a company that manufactured a natural energy drink (partially funded by Sam and Holly Branson - Sir Richardrsquos chil-
dren) asked us to distribute their product I tasted the drink made from milk thistle and schizandra (whatever that is) and it was delicious However the name ndash not kidding ndash of the product was Pussy I swiveled in my chair and tried to imagine how our in-flight teammates would feel if guests asked for the drink Product and investors aside I could not comfortably recommend the elixir to our internal catering team because of the name
I recall chatting with Mike Dubin of Dollar Shave Club about the name of his company and he said ldquoI didnrsquot want to build a generic company like a cheaprazorscom I wanted to build a brand or lsquoa man caversquo Irsquom all about the brand and I wanted a great namerdquo Itrsquos also important to remember it often takes time for a name to gain acceptance Can you imagine the reaction when Yahoo or Google first launched Or do you recall when Apple launched the iPad in 2010 There was an initial flurry of backlash around that name I spoke with Mike Pile a naming expert and he added ldquoThe name isnrsquot the brand but it is certainly one piece of the brand puzzle rdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
13
Positioning amp strategy Do you have a positioning strategy for your company or product that has informed naming selection
Competitive Does your name set you apart from the competition Have you done a naming competitive analysis Consider the proscons of the four types of names and if they exist in your category 1) FunctionalDescriptive 2) Invented Prod-uct amp Corporation Names 3) Experiential Product amp Corporate 4) Evocative Product amp Company Names
Marketing amp Public Relations Does your selected name provide a deep well of marketing and advertising images Can your name propel itself into the world creating its own no-cost self-sustaining PR Have you tried looking at your name with a logo or in a logo Does it work for your creative needs Have you tested your name in the context of advertising or marketing Have you considered how your name will work with a tagline
simplicity Is your name easy to pronounce easy to spell legal memorable simple
Trademark Have you consulted a trademark attorney or prescreened names Have you applied for a trademark (more on this in Module 3)
evaluation Have you reviewed your name based on your pre-determined set criteria (eg sound trademark depth energy - see naming guide) Is your name available as a URL ndash even if with co or extensions other than com
NamingContinued gt gt gt
1
2
3
4
5
6
Naming
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
14
ResouRCes
gt wwwuppercasenamingcom
gt httpwwwintaorgPagesHomeaspx
gt httpthesauruscomRoget-alpha-indexhtml
gt httpwwwoedcom
gt httpwwwurbandictionarycom
gt igor international naming Guide
gt Trademark electronic search system
gt Trademark Process
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
15
MODULE 3LegalDot your Irsquos and cross your TrsquosSetting up your business protecting your assets and more Legal Where to begin Legal or the rules and guidelines surrounding your busi-
ness will impact every aspect of your company From how you establish your cor-porate structure to the name you secure smart entrepreneurs take legal rules into consideration before making major actions and decisions In 2008 I was in London for a Virgin America business trip After a long day of meetings I was at my hotel
checking emails I remember reading the copy for an email that was used to introduce Virgin Americarsquos in-flight Wi-Fi product to our loyalty program members The copy went something like this ldquoNot unlike (insert famous astronaut) or (insert famous pilot) you have the oppor-tunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travelrdquo My heart sank I quickly emailed my team ldquoDid you get approval for the mentioned astronaut and pilot to use their namesrdquo Unfortunately the email had already been sent What happened next included a costly pub-lically announced lawsuit with the pilot Numerous hours of staff time were churned by Virgin America teammates our advertising agency and a handful of lawyers to address the suit Eventually the case was settledbut this is an example of how small actions can have major ramifications and legal implications Some of the questions you should ask regarding legal processes and procedures follow
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
16
LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Legal
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Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
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At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
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Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
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26
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Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
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27
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The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Kara Goldin Founder and CEO HINT Water
It was one day eight years ago that Kara Goldin on behalf of her own kids tossed all the beverages loaded with sweeteners and preservatives from her refrigerator and quit her own 20-year addiction to Diet Coke cold turkey Water -- that would be the drink of choice in the Goldinrsquos San Francisco home Alas the kids and her husband Theo found it boring It needed a little something a hint
of flavor Fruit perhaps She put some pomegranate slices into one pitcher rasp-berries in another That worked Her kids loved it the neighborhood kids made a beeline to her kitchen and raved
Today unsweetened zero-calorie HINT Essence Water -- with the mantra ldquoDrink Water Not Sugarrdquo -- is found in fine grocery stores and retailers in all 50 states and Canada and Kara Goldinrsquos passion for a healthy lifestyle and her companyrsquos role in trimming ever-climbing obesity and diabetes statistics is as boundless as that day the sugary juices and sodas were purged ldquoI get up every day thinking that we are changing health in Americardquo said Goldin ldquoIt is trailblazingrdquo she added and a worthy lesson for other would-be entrepreneurs ldquothat you can make a difference if you feel there is a need out there in the marketplacerdquo
Indeed when Goldinrsquos fruit-flavored water struck a chord with her family and friends she looked in the marketplace for just what she had concocted at home It wasnrsquot there Nothing Goldin who had previously worked in technology at AOL began researching the beverage industry seeing an opening in the market Then in one declarative sentence after another she said to Theo ldquoI am going to start this company where I am going to bottle the product and there will be two key com-ponents -- no preservatives no sweeteners I am taking $50000 out of our bank account to start the company and by the way I am pregnant with our fourth childrdquo
Kara Goldin Founder and CEO HINT Water
ldquoTwo strategic choices do what everyone else is doing only better faster cheaper Or do something different and truly distinctiverdquo ndash Professor Ron Sanchez Copenhagen Business School
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
9
Theo Goldin a lawyer who is now Chief Operating Officer of HINT Inc walked out of the room Kara recalled saying ldquoI canrsquot believe you clumped all of those things togetherrdquo At first in 2005 HINT water -- the flavors include blackberry wa-termelon pomegranate-tangerine mango-grapefruit strawberry-kiwi and rasp-berry-lime plus carbonated Hint Fizz -- was sold out of the Goldinsrsquo Jeep then in markets in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York Along the way Kara Goldin learned she just had to say no to the naysayers beverage industry insiders and purveyors of sugar among them Itrsquos good advice for start-ups too she said
ldquoBe careful about the consumer perceptions that you hear or read about in your industry When trying to figure out where to launch our first case of HINT many so-called lsquoindustry expertsrsquo told us lsquoDonrsquot focus on the fly-over states and donrsquot focus on the South People who live in those places are not healthy That is where Bubba livesrsquo Instead what we found is that consumers in every state are craving healthier options It doesnrsquot matter today where you live Consumers are reading labels and want healthier beveragesrdquo
The South by the way did buy in HINT is the number-one beverage sold at The Fresh Market stores a major chain concentrated in the South Herersquos another key piece of advice from Goldin ldquoTrust your gut By that I mean you cannot be an entrepreneur and do this day in and day out if you do not believe in what you are doing And if you have any question that this is a needed product or service then you probably shouldnrsquot be doing thisrdquo
Interestingly while HINT -- which uses fruit skins and oils -- was launched with the vow of no sweeteners and no preservatives the calorie-free element was not part of Goldinrsquos original business plan ldquoThat was an absolute bonusrdquo she said
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
ldquo There is no way to fake hustlerdquo ndash Gary Vaynerchuk Co-founder of Vaynermedia
ldquo The term lsquoramen profitablersquo has become widespread Ra-men profitable means a start-up makes just enough to pay the foundersrsquo living expens-es This is a different form of profitability than startups have traditionally aimed forhellipthe main importance of ramen profitability is that it buys you timerdquo ndash Paul Graham Venture Capitalist
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Kararsquos Top Tips Say no to naysayers
Be careful about consumer perceptions that you hear or read
Trust your gut
Remember brand is key
1234
ldquoPeople are shockedrdquo drinking HINT she said saying ldquoThere is nothing in here that is bad for merdquo HINT Inc makes no health claims about the product except to say it ldquowill make you feel betterrdquo said Goldin There is a never-ending battle with Pepsi and Coca-Cola of course in the struggle for shelf space ldquoThey donlsquot want to undo their empirerdquo said Goldin But HINT now with 31 employees rules the category it created with a simple solution to a problem
Social media is important to the effort ldquoOur social media efforts are a way for us to interact with the consumerrdquo she said ldquoWe are learning there what our customers are looking forrdquo Brand is key too ldquoI think a successful brand makes us think and act differentlyrdquo said Goldin ldquoOften that brand can help us be the person we want to be A successful brand is aspirational It makes us feel special My favorite successful brands Nike Apple Beats by Dre And of course HINTrdquo
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
11
ResouRCesgt asmartbearcomgt appsumocomgt brendonburchardcomgt The start-up Playbook by David s Kidder gt Seth Godinrsquos Bootstrapers Bible
gt Dave McClure500 start-ups - slide share Presentationsgt The lean start-up by eric Riesgt onstartupscomgt ventureneercomgt The Playbook
gt Kickstartercomgt angellistcom
ldquo I am a bootstrapper I have ini-tiative and insight and guts but not much money I will succeed because my efforts and my focus will defeat bigger and better-fund-ed competitors I am fearless I keep my focus on growing the businessmdashnot on politics career advancement or other wasteful distractionshellipI will read and learn and teachhellipI will be persistent consistent and willing to invest in the marketing of myself and my business I will measure what I do and wonrsquot lie about it to myself or my spousehellipMost of all Irsquoll remember that the journey is the reward I will learn and grow and enjoy every single dayrdquo ndash Seth Godin The Bootstrapperrsquos Manifesto
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
12
MODULE 2NamingPick a name that drives your brand forwardConsider the competitive set legal positioning URL availability and more
One key component that influences the launch perception and memorability of a brand is its name Can you imagine the stir and commotion that started when Sir Richard Branson named his company Virgin Records In a similar vein when I was at Virgin America a company that manufactured a natural energy drink (partially funded by Sam and Holly Branson - Sir Richardrsquos chil-
dren) asked us to distribute their product I tasted the drink made from milk thistle and schizandra (whatever that is) and it was delicious However the name ndash not kidding ndash of the product was Pussy I swiveled in my chair and tried to imagine how our in-flight teammates would feel if guests asked for the drink Product and investors aside I could not comfortably recommend the elixir to our internal catering team because of the name
I recall chatting with Mike Dubin of Dollar Shave Club about the name of his company and he said ldquoI didnrsquot want to build a generic company like a cheaprazorscom I wanted to build a brand or lsquoa man caversquo Irsquom all about the brand and I wanted a great namerdquo Itrsquos also important to remember it often takes time for a name to gain acceptance Can you imagine the reaction when Yahoo or Google first launched Or do you recall when Apple launched the iPad in 2010 There was an initial flurry of backlash around that name I spoke with Mike Pile a naming expert and he added ldquoThe name isnrsquot the brand but it is certainly one piece of the brand puzzle rdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
13
Positioning amp strategy Do you have a positioning strategy for your company or product that has informed naming selection
Competitive Does your name set you apart from the competition Have you done a naming competitive analysis Consider the proscons of the four types of names and if they exist in your category 1) FunctionalDescriptive 2) Invented Prod-uct amp Corporation Names 3) Experiential Product amp Corporate 4) Evocative Product amp Company Names
Marketing amp Public Relations Does your selected name provide a deep well of marketing and advertising images Can your name propel itself into the world creating its own no-cost self-sustaining PR Have you tried looking at your name with a logo or in a logo Does it work for your creative needs Have you tested your name in the context of advertising or marketing Have you considered how your name will work with a tagline
simplicity Is your name easy to pronounce easy to spell legal memorable simple
Trademark Have you consulted a trademark attorney or prescreened names Have you applied for a trademark (more on this in Module 3)
evaluation Have you reviewed your name based on your pre-determined set criteria (eg sound trademark depth energy - see naming guide) Is your name available as a URL ndash even if with co or extensions other than com
NamingContinued gt gt gt
1
2
3
4
5
6
Naming
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
14
ResouRCes
gt wwwuppercasenamingcom
gt httpwwwintaorgPagesHomeaspx
gt httpthesauruscomRoget-alpha-indexhtml
gt httpwwwoedcom
gt httpwwwurbandictionarycom
gt igor international naming Guide
gt Trademark electronic search system
gt Trademark Process
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
15
MODULE 3LegalDot your Irsquos and cross your TrsquosSetting up your business protecting your assets and more Legal Where to begin Legal or the rules and guidelines surrounding your busi-
ness will impact every aspect of your company From how you establish your cor-porate structure to the name you secure smart entrepreneurs take legal rules into consideration before making major actions and decisions In 2008 I was in London for a Virgin America business trip After a long day of meetings I was at my hotel
checking emails I remember reading the copy for an email that was used to introduce Virgin Americarsquos in-flight Wi-Fi product to our loyalty program members The copy went something like this ldquoNot unlike (insert famous astronaut) or (insert famous pilot) you have the oppor-tunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travelrdquo My heart sank I quickly emailed my team ldquoDid you get approval for the mentioned astronaut and pilot to use their namesrdquo Unfortunately the email had already been sent What happened next included a costly pub-lically announced lawsuit with the pilot Numerous hours of staff time were churned by Virgin America teammates our advertising agency and a handful of lawyers to address the suit Eventually the case was settledbut this is an example of how small actions can have major ramifications and legal implications Some of the questions you should ask regarding legal processes and procedures follow
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
16
LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Legal
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Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
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Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
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At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
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Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
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Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
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The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
9
Theo Goldin a lawyer who is now Chief Operating Officer of HINT Inc walked out of the room Kara recalled saying ldquoI canrsquot believe you clumped all of those things togetherrdquo At first in 2005 HINT water -- the flavors include blackberry wa-termelon pomegranate-tangerine mango-grapefruit strawberry-kiwi and rasp-berry-lime plus carbonated Hint Fizz -- was sold out of the Goldinsrsquo Jeep then in markets in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York Along the way Kara Goldin learned she just had to say no to the naysayers beverage industry insiders and purveyors of sugar among them Itrsquos good advice for start-ups too she said
ldquoBe careful about the consumer perceptions that you hear or read about in your industry When trying to figure out where to launch our first case of HINT many so-called lsquoindustry expertsrsquo told us lsquoDonrsquot focus on the fly-over states and donrsquot focus on the South People who live in those places are not healthy That is where Bubba livesrsquo Instead what we found is that consumers in every state are craving healthier options It doesnrsquot matter today where you live Consumers are reading labels and want healthier beveragesrdquo
The South by the way did buy in HINT is the number-one beverage sold at The Fresh Market stores a major chain concentrated in the South Herersquos another key piece of advice from Goldin ldquoTrust your gut By that I mean you cannot be an entrepreneur and do this day in and day out if you do not believe in what you are doing And if you have any question that this is a needed product or service then you probably shouldnrsquot be doing thisrdquo
Interestingly while HINT -- which uses fruit skins and oils -- was launched with the vow of no sweeteners and no preservatives the calorie-free element was not part of Goldinrsquos original business plan ldquoThat was an absolute bonusrdquo she said
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
ldquo There is no way to fake hustlerdquo ndash Gary Vaynerchuk Co-founder of Vaynermedia
ldquo The term lsquoramen profitablersquo has become widespread Ra-men profitable means a start-up makes just enough to pay the foundersrsquo living expens-es This is a different form of profitability than startups have traditionally aimed forhellipthe main importance of ramen profitability is that it buys you timerdquo ndash Paul Graham Venture Capitalist
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Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Kararsquos Top Tips Say no to naysayers
Be careful about consumer perceptions that you hear or read
Trust your gut
Remember brand is key
1234
ldquoPeople are shockedrdquo drinking HINT she said saying ldquoThere is nothing in here that is bad for merdquo HINT Inc makes no health claims about the product except to say it ldquowill make you feel betterrdquo said Goldin There is a never-ending battle with Pepsi and Coca-Cola of course in the struggle for shelf space ldquoThey donlsquot want to undo their empirerdquo said Goldin But HINT now with 31 employees rules the category it created with a simple solution to a problem
Social media is important to the effort ldquoOur social media efforts are a way for us to interact with the consumerrdquo she said ldquoWe are learning there what our customers are looking forrdquo Brand is key too ldquoI think a successful brand makes us think and act differentlyrdquo said Goldin ldquoOften that brand can help us be the person we want to be A successful brand is aspirational It makes us feel special My favorite successful brands Nike Apple Beats by Dre And of course HINTrdquo
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
11
ResouRCesgt asmartbearcomgt appsumocomgt brendonburchardcomgt The start-up Playbook by David s Kidder gt Seth Godinrsquos Bootstrapers Bible
gt Dave McClure500 start-ups - slide share Presentationsgt The lean start-up by eric Riesgt onstartupscomgt ventureneercomgt The Playbook
gt Kickstartercomgt angellistcom
ldquo I am a bootstrapper I have ini-tiative and insight and guts but not much money I will succeed because my efforts and my focus will defeat bigger and better-fund-ed competitors I am fearless I keep my focus on growing the businessmdashnot on politics career advancement or other wasteful distractionshellipI will read and learn and teachhellipI will be persistent consistent and willing to invest in the marketing of myself and my business I will measure what I do and wonrsquot lie about it to myself or my spousehellipMost of all Irsquoll remember that the journey is the reward I will learn and grow and enjoy every single dayrdquo ndash Seth Godin The Bootstrapperrsquos Manifesto
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
12
MODULE 2NamingPick a name that drives your brand forwardConsider the competitive set legal positioning URL availability and more
One key component that influences the launch perception and memorability of a brand is its name Can you imagine the stir and commotion that started when Sir Richard Branson named his company Virgin Records In a similar vein when I was at Virgin America a company that manufactured a natural energy drink (partially funded by Sam and Holly Branson - Sir Richardrsquos chil-
dren) asked us to distribute their product I tasted the drink made from milk thistle and schizandra (whatever that is) and it was delicious However the name ndash not kidding ndash of the product was Pussy I swiveled in my chair and tried to imagine how our in-flight teammates would feel if guests asked for the drink Product and investors aside I could not comfortably recommend the elixir to our internal catering team because of the name
I recall chatting with Mike Dubin of Dollar Shave Club about the name of his company and he said ldquoI didnrsquot want to build a generic company like a cheaprazorscom I wanted to build a brand or lsquoa man caversquo Irsquom all about the brand and I wanted a great namerdquo Itrsquos also important to remember it often takes time for a name to gain acceptance Can you imagine the reaction when Yahoo or Google first launched Or do you recall when Apple launched the iPad in 2010 There was an initial flurry of backlash around that name I spoke with Mike Pile a naming expert and he added ldquoThe name isnrsquot the brand but it is certainly one piece of the brand puzzle rdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
13
Positioning amp strategy Do you have a positioning strategy for your company or product that has informed naming selection
Competitive Does your name set you apart from the competition Have you done a naming competitive analysis Consider the proscons of the four types of names and if they exist in your category 1) FunctionalDescriptive 2) Invented Prod-uct amp Corporation Names 3) Experiential Product amp Corporate 4) Evocative Product amp Company Names
Marketing amp Public Relations Does your selected name provide a deep well of marketing and advertising images Can your name propel itself into the world creating its own no-cost self-sustaining PR Have you tried looking at your name with a logo or in a logo Does it work for your creative needs Have you tested your name in the context of advertising or marketing Have you considered how your name will work with a tagline
simplicity Is your name easy to pronounce easy to spell legal memorable simple
Trademark Have you consulted a trademark attorney or prescreened names Have you applied for a trademark (more on this in Module 3)
evaluation Have you reviewed your name based on your pre-determined set criteria (eg sound trademark depth energy - see naming guide) Is your name available as a URL ndash even if with co or extensions other than com
NamingContinued gt gt gt
1
2
3
4
5
6
Naming
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
14
ResouRCes
gt wwwuppercasenamingcom
gt httpwwwintaorgPagesHomeaspx
gt httpthesauruscomRoget-alpha-indexhtml
gt httpwwwoedcom
gt httpwwwurbandictionarycom
gt igor international naming Guide
gt Trademark electronic search system
gt Trademark Process
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
15
MODULE 3LegalDot your Irsquos and cross your TrsquosSetting up your business protecting your assets and more Legal Where to begin Legal or the rules and guidelines surrounding your busi-
ness will impact every aspect of your company From how you establish your cor-porate structure to the name you secure smart entrepreneurs take legal rules into consideration before making major actions and decisions In 2008 I was in London for a Virgin America business trip After a long day of meetings I was at my hotel
checking emails I remember reading the copy for an email that was used to introduce Virgin Americarsquos in-flight Wi-Fi product to our loyalty program members The copy went something like this ldquoNot unlike (insert famous astronaut) or (insert famous pilot) you have the oppor-tunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travelrdquo My heart sank I quickly emailed my team ldquoDid you get approval for the mentioned astronaut and pilot to use their namesrdquo Unfortunately the email had already been sent What happened next included a costly pub-lically announced lawsuit with the pilot Numerous hours of staff time were churned by Virgin America teammates our advertising agency and a handful of lawyers to address the suit Eventually the case was settledbut this is an example of how small actions can have major ramifications and legal implications Some of the questions you should ask regarding legal processes and procedures follow
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
16
LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Legal
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Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
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Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
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At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
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Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
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Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
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The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Kararsquos Top Tips Say no to naysayers
Be careful about consumer perceptions that you hear or read
Trust your gut
Remember brand is key
1234
ldquoPeople are shockedrdquo drinking HINT she said saying ldquoThere is nothing in here that is bad for merdquo HINT Inc makes no health claims about the product except to say it ldquowill make you feel betterrdquo said Goldin There is a never-ending battle with Pepsi and Coca-Cola of course in the struggle for shelf space ldquoThey donlsquot want to undo their empirerdquo said Goldin But HINT now with 31 employees rules the category it created with a simple solution to a problem
Social media is important to the effort ldquoOur social media efforts are a way for us to interact with the consumerrdquo she said ldquoWe are learning there what our customers are looking forrdquo Brand is key too ldquoI think a successful brand makes us think and act differentlyrdquo said Goldin ldquoOften that brand can help us be the person we want to be A successful brand is aspirational It makes us feel special My favorite successful brands Nike Apple Beats by Dre And of course HINTrdquo
Kara Goldin Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
11
ResouRCesgt asmartbearcomgt appsumocomgt brendonburchardcomgt The start-up Playbook by David s Kidder gt Seth Godinrsquos Bootstrapers Bible
gt Dave McClure500 start-ups - slide share Presentationsgt The lean start-up by eric Riesgt onstartupscomgt ventureneercomgt The Playbook
gt Kickstartercomgt angellistcom
ldquo I am a bootstrapper I have ini-tiative and insight and guts but not much money I will succeed because my efforts and my focus will defeat bigger and better-fund-ed competitors I am fearless I keep my focus on growing the businessmdashnot on politics career advancement or other wasteful distractionshellipI will read and learn and teachhellipI will be persistent consistent and willing to invest in the marketing of myself and my business I will measure what I do and wonrsquot lie about it to myself or my spousehellipMost of all Irsquoll remember that the journey is the reward I will learn and grow and enjoy every single dayrdquo ndash Seth Godin The Bootstrapperrsquos Manifesto
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
12
MODULE 2NamingPick a name that drives your brand forwardConsider the competitive set legal positioning URL availability and more
One key component that influences the launch perception and memorability of a brand is its name Can you imagine the stir and commotion that started when Sir Richard Branson named his company Virgin Records In a similar vein when I was at Virgin America a company that manufactured a natural energy drink (partially funded by Sam and Holly Branson - Sir Richardrsquos chil-
dren) asked us to distribute their product I tasted the drink made from milk thistle and schizandra (whatever that is) and it was delicious However the name ndash not kidding ndash of the product was Pussy I swiveled in my chair and tried to imagine how our in-flight teammates would feel if guests asked for the drink Product and investors aside I could not comfortably recommend the elixir to our internal catering team because of the name
I recall chatting with Mike Dubin of Dollar Shave Club about the name of his company and he said ldquoI didnrsquot want to build a generic company like a cheaprazorscom I wanted to build a brand or lsquoa man caversquo Irsquom all about the brand and I wanted a great namerdquo Itrsquos also important to remember it often takes time for a name to gain acceptance Can you imagine the reaction when Yahoo or Google first launched Or do you recall when Apple launched the iPad in 2010 There was an initial flurry of backlash around that name I spoke with Mike Pile a naming expert and he added ldquoThe name isnrsquot the brand but it is certainly one piece of the brand puzzle rdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
13
Positioning amp strategy Do you have a positioning strategy for your company or product that has informed naming selection
Competitive Does your name set you apart from the competition Have you done a naming competitive analysis Consider the proscons of the four types of names and if they exist in your category 1) FunctionalDescriptive 2) Invented Prod-uct amp Corporation Names 3) Experiential Product amp Corporate 4) Evocative Product amp Company Names
Marketing amp Public Relations Does your selected name provide a deep well of marketing and advertising images Can your name propel itself into the world creating its own no-cost self-sustaining PR Have you tried looking at your name with a logo or in a logo Does it work for your creative needs Have you tested your name in the context of advertising or marketing Have you considered how your name will work with a tagline
simplicity Is your name easy to pronounce easy to spell legal memorable simple
Trademark Have you consulted a trademark attorney or prescreened names Have you applied for a trademark (more on this in Module 3)
evaluation Have you reviewed your name based on your pre-determined set criteria (eg sound trademark depth energy - see naming guide) Is your name available as a URL ndash even if with co or extensions other than com
NamingContinued gt gt gt
1
2
3
4
5
6
Naming
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
14
ResouRCes
gt wwwuppercasenamingcom
gt httpwwwintaorgPagesHomeaspx
gt httpthesauruscomRoget-alpha-indexhtml
gt httpwwwoedcom
gt httpwwwurbandictionarycom
gt igor international naming Guide
gt Trademark electronic search system
gt Trademark Process
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
15
MODULE 3LegalDot your Irsquos and cross your TrsquosSetting up your business protecting your assets and more Legal Where to begin Legal or the rules and guidelines surrounding your busi-
ness will impact every aspect of your company From how you establish your cor-porate structure to the name you secure smart entrepreneurs take legal rules into consideration before making major actions and decisions In 2008 I was in London for a Virgin America business trip After a long day of meetings I was at my hotel
checking emails I remember reading the copy for an email that was used to introduce Virgin Americarsquos in-flight Wi-Fi product to our loyalty program members The copy went something like this ldquoNot unlike (insert famous astronaut) or (insert famous pilot) you have the oppor-tunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travelrdquo My heart sank I quickly emailed my team ldquoDid you get approval for the mentioned astronaut and pilot to use their namesrdquo Unfortunately the email had already been sent What happened next included a costly pub-lically announced lawsuit with the pilot Numerous hours of staff time were churned by Virgin America teammates our advertising agency and a handful of lawyers to address the suit Eventually the case was settledbut this is an example of how small actions can have major ramifications and legal implications Some of the questions you should ask regarding legal processes and procedures follow
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
16
LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Legal
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Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
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Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
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At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
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Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
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Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
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The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
11
ResouRCesgt asmartbearcomgt appsumocomgt brendonburchardcomgt The start-up Playbook by David s Kidder gt Seth Godinrsquos Bootstrapers Bible
gt Dave McClure500 start-ups - slide share Presentationsgt The lean start-up by eric Riesgt onstartupscomgt ventureneercomgt The Playbook
gt Kickstartercomgt angellistcom
ldquo I am a bootstrapper I have ini-tiative and insight and guts but not much money I will succeed because my efforts and my focus will defeat bigger and better-fund-ed competitors I am fearless I keep my focus on growing the businessmdashnot on politics career advancement or other wasteful distractionshellipI will read and learn and teachhellipI will be persistent consistent and willing to invest in the marketing of myself and my business I will measure what I do and wonrsquot lie about it to myself or my spousehellipMost of all Irsquoll remember that the journey is the reward I will learn and grow and enjoy every single dayrdquo ndash Seth Godin The Bootstrapperrsquos Manifesto
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
12
MODULE 2NamingPick a name that drives your brand forwardConsider the competitive set legal positioning URL availability and more
One key component that influences the launch perception and memorability of a brand is its name Can you imagine the stir and commotion that started when Sir Richard Branson named his company Virgin Records In a similar vein when I was at Virgin America a company that manufactured a natural energy drink (partially funded by Sam and Holly Branson - Sir Richardrsquos chil-
dren) asked us to distribute their product I tasted the drink made from milk thistle and schizandra (whatever that is) and it was delicious However the name ndash not kidding ndash of the product was Pussy I swiveled in my chair and tried to imagine how our in-flight teammates would feel if guests asked for the drink Product and investors aside I could not comfortably recommend the elixir to our internal catering team because of the name
I recall chatting with Mike Dubin of Dollar Shave Club about the name of his company and he said ldquoI didnrsquot want to build a generic company like a cheaprazorscom I wanted to build a brand or lsquoa man caversquo Irsquom all about the brand and I wanted a great namerdquo Itrsquos also important to remember it often takes time for a name to gain acceptance Can you imagine the reaction when Yahoo or Google first launched Or do you recall when Apple launched the iPad in 2010 There was an initial flurry of backlash around that name I spoke with Mike Pile a naming expert and he added ldquoThe name isnrsquot the brand but it is certainly one piece of the brand puzzle rdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
13
Positioning amp strategy Do you have a positioning strategy for your company or product that has informed naming selection
Competitive Does your name set you apart from the competition Have you done a naming competitive analysis Consider the proscons of the four types of names and if they exist in your category 1) FunctionalDescriptive 2) Invented Prod-uct amp Corporation Names 3) Experiential Product amp Corporate 4) Evocative Product amp Company Names
Marketing amp Public Relations Does your selected name provide a deep well of marketing and advertising images Can your name propel itself into the world creating its own no-cost self-sustaining PR Have you tried looking at your name with a logo or in a logo Does it work for your creative needs Have you tested your name in the context of advertising or marketing Have you considered how your name will work with a tagline
simplicity Is your name easy to pronounce easy to spell legal memorable simple
Trademark Have you consulted a trademark attorney or prescreened names Have you applied for a trademark (more on this in Module 3)
evaluation Have you reviewed your name based on your pre-determined set criteria (eg sound trademark depth energy - see naming guide) Is your name available as a URL ndash even if with co or extensions other than com
NamingContinued gt gt gt
1
2
3
4
5
6
Naming
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
14
ResouRCes
gt wwwuppercasenamingcom
gt httpwwwintaorgPagesHomeaspx
gt httpthesauruscomRoget-alpha-indexhtml
gt httpwwwoedcom
gt httpwwwurbandictionarycom
gt igor international naming Guide
gt Trademark electronic search system
gt Trademark Process
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
15
MODULE 3LegalDot your Irsquos and cross your TrsquosSetting up your business protecting your assets and more Legal Where to begin Legal or the rules and guidelines surrounding your busi-
ness will impact every aspect of your company From how you establish your cor-porate structure to the name you secure smart entrepreneurs take legal rules into consideration before making major actions and decisions In 2008 I was in London for a Virgin America business trip After a long day of meetings I was at my hotel
checking emails I remember reading the copy for an email that was used to introduce Virgin Americarsquos in-flight Wi-Fi product to our loyalty program members The copy went something like this ldquoNot unlike (insert famous astronaut) or (insert famous pilot) you have the oppor-tunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travelrdquo My heart sank I quickly emailed my team ldquoDid you get approval for the mentioned astronaut and pilot to use their namesrdquo Unfortunately the email had already been sent What happened next included a costly pub-lically announced lawsuit with the pilot Numerous hours of staff time were churned by Virgin America teammates our advertising agency and a handful of lawyers to address the suit Eventually the case was settledbut this is an example of how small actions can have major ramifications and legal implications Some of the questions you should ask regarding legal processes and procedures follow
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
16
LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Legal
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
17
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Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
18
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Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
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19
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rofile Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
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Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
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Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
12
MODULE 2NamingPick a name that drives your brand forwardConsider the competitive set legal positioning URL availability and more
One key component that influences the launch perception and memorability of a brand is its name Can you imagine the stir and commotion that started when Sir Richard Branson named his company Virgin Records In a similar vein when I was at Virgin America a company that manufactured a natural energy drink (partially funded by Sam and Holly Branson - Sir Richardrsquos chil-
dren) asked us to distribute their product I tasted the drink made from milk thistle and schizandra (whatever that is) and it was delicious However the name ndash not kidding ndash of the product was Pussy I swiveled in my chair and tried to imagine how our in-flight teammates would feel if guests asked for the drink Product and investors aside I could not comfortably recommend the elixir to our internal catering team because of the name
I recall chatting with Mike Dubin of Dollar Shave Club about the name of his company and he said ldquoI didnrsquot want to build a generic company like a cheaprazorscom I wanted to build a brand or lsquoa man caversquo Irsquom all about the brand and I wanted a great namerdquo Itrsquos also important to remember it often takes time for a name to gain acceptance Can you imagine the reaction when Yahoo or Google first launched Or do you recall when Apple launched the iPad in 2010 There was an initial flurry of backlash around that name I spoke with Mike Pile a naming expert and he added ldquoThe name isnrsquot the brand but it is certainly one piece of the brand puzzle rdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
13
Positioning amp strategy Do you have a positioning strategy for your company or product that has informed naming selection
Competitive Does your name set you apart from the competition Have you done a naming competitive analysis Consider the proscons of the four types of names and if they exist in your category 1) FunctionalDescriptive 2) Invented Prod-uct amp Corporation Names 3) Experiential Product amp Corporate 4) Evocative Product amp Company Names
Marketing amp Public Relations Does your selected name provide a deep well of marketing and advertising images Can your name propel itself into the world creating its own no-cost self-sustaining PR Have you tried looking at your name with a logo or in a logo Does it work for your creative needs Have you tested your name in the context of advertising or marketing Have you considered how your name will work with a tagline
simplicity Is your name easy to pronounce easy to spell legal memorable simple
Trademark Have you consulted a trademark attorney or prescreened names Have you applied for a trademark (more on this in Module 3)
evaluation Have you reviewed your name based on your pre-determined set criteria (eg sound trademark depth energy - see naming guide) Is your name available as a URL ndash even if with co or extensions other than com
NamingContinued gt gt gt
1
2
3
4
5
6
Naming
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
14
ResouRCes
gt wwwuppercasenamingcom
gt httpwwwintaorgPagesHomeaspx
gt httpthesauruscomRoget-alpha-indexhtml
gt httpwwwoedcom
gt httpwwwurbandictionarycom
gt igor international naming Guide
gt Trademark electronic search system
gt Trademark Process
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
15
MODULE 3LegalDot your Irsquos and cross your TrsquosSetting up your business protecting your assets and more Legal Where to begin Legal or the rules and guidelines surrounding your busi-
ness will impact every aspect of your company From how you establish your cor-porate structure to the name you secure smart entrepreneurs take legal rules into consideration before making major actions and decisions In 2008 I was in London for a Virgin America business trip After a long day of meetings I was at my hotel
checking emails I remember reading the copy for an email that was used to introduce Virgin Americarsquos in-flight Wi-Fi product to our loyalty program members The copy went something like this ldquoNot unlike (insert famous astronaut) or (insert famous pilot) you have the oppor-tunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travelrdquo My heart sank I quickly emailed my team ldquoDid you get approval for the mentioned astronaut and pilot to use their namesrdquo Unfortunately the email had already been sent What happened next included a costly pub-lically announced lawsuit with the pilot Numerous hours of staff time were churned by Virgin America teammates our advertising agency and a handful of lawyers to address the suit Eventually the case was settledbut this is an example of how small actions can have major ramifications and legal implications Some of the questions you should ask regarding legal processes and procedures follow
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
16
LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Legal
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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rofile
Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
18
Entre
pren
eur P
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Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
19
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
Entre
pren
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Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
Entre
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Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
Entre
pren
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The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
13
Positioning amp strategy Do you have a positioning strategy for your company or product that has informed naming selection
Competitive Does your name set you apart from the competition Have you done a naming competitive analysis Consider the proscons of the four types of names and if they exist in your category 1) FunctionalDescriptive 2) Invented Prod-uct amp Corporation Names 3) Experiential Product amp Corporate 4) Evocative Product amp Company Names
Marketing amp Public Relations Does your selected name provide a deep well of marketing and advertising images Can your name propel itself into the world creating its own no-cost self-sustaining PR Have you tried looking at your name with a logo or in a logo Does it work for your creative needs Have you tested your name in the context of advertising or marketing Have you considered how your name will work with a tagline
simplicity Is your name easy to pronounce easy to spell legal memorable simple
Trademark Have you consulted a trademark attorney or prescreened names Have you applied for a trademark (more on this in Module 3)
evaluation Have you reviewed your name based on your pre-determined set criteria (eg sound trademark depth energy - see naming guide) Is your name available as a URL ndash even if with co or extensions other than com
NamingContinued gt gt gt
1
2
3
4
5
6
Naming
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
14
ResouRCes
gt wwwuppercasenamingcom
gt httpwwwintaorgPagesHomeaspx
gt httpthesauruscomRoget-alpha-indexhtml
gt httpwwwoedcom
gt httpwwwurbandictionarycom
gt igor international naming Guide
gt Trademark electronic search system
gt Trademark Process
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
15
MODULE 3LegalDot your Irsquos and cross your TrsquosSetting up your business protecting your assets and more Legal Where to begin Legal or the rules and guidelines surrounding your busi-
ness will impact every aspect of your company From how you establish your cor-porate structure to the name you secure smart entrepreneurs take legal rules into consideration before making major actions and decisions In 2008 I was in London for a Virgin America business trip After a long day of meetings I was at my hotel
checking emails I remember reading the copy for an email that was used to introduce Virgin Americarsquos in-flight Wi-Fi product to our loyalty program members The copy went something like this ldquoNot unlike (insert famous astronaut) or (insert famous pilot) you have the oppor-tunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travelrdquo My heart sank I quickly emailed my team ldquoDid you get approval for the mentioned astronaut and pilot to use their namesrdquo Unfortunately the email had already been sent What happened next included a costly pub-lically announced lawsuit with the pilot Numerous hours of staff time were churned by Virgin America teammates our advertising agency and a handful of lawyers to address the suit Eventually the case was settledbut this is an example of how small actions can have major ramifications and legal implications Some of the questions you should ask regarding legal processes and procedures follow
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
16
LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Legal
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
17
Entre
pren
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rofile
Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
18
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
19
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
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pren
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Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Entre
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Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
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The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
14
ResouRCes
gt wwwuppercasenamingcom
gt httpwwwintaorgPagesHomeaspx
gt httpthesauruscomRoget-alpha-indexhtml
gt httpwwwoedcom
gt httpwwwurbandictionarycom
gt igor international naming Guide
gt Trademark electronic search system
gt Trademark Process
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
15
MODULE 3LegalDot your Irsquos and cross your TrsquosSetting up your business protecting your assets and more Legal Where to begin Legal or the rules and guidelines surrounding your busi-
ness will impact every aspect of your company From how you establish your cor-porate structure to the name you secure smart entrepreneurs take legal rules into consideration before making major actions and decisions In 2008 I was in London for a Virgin America business trip After a long day of meetings I was at my hotel
checking emails I remember reading the copy for an email that was used to introduce Virgin Americarsquos in-flight Wi-Fi product to our loyalty program members The copy went something like this ldquoNot unlike (insert famous astronaut) or (insert famous pilot) you have the oppor-tunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travelrdquo My heart sank I quickly emailed my team ldquoDid you get approval for the mentioned astronaut and pilot to use their namesrdquo Unfortunately the email had already been sent What happened next included a costly pub-lically announced lawsuit with the pilot Numerous hours of staff time were churned by Virgin America teammates our advertising agency and a handful of lawyers to address the suit Eventually the case was settledbut this is an example of how small actions can have major ramifications and legal implications Some of the questions you should ask regarding legal processes and procedures follow
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
16
LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Legal
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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pren
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Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
Entre
pren
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rofile
Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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rofile
The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
15
MODULE 3LegalDot your Irsquos and cross your TrsquosSetting up your business protecting your assets and more Legal Where to begin Legal or the rules and guidelines surrounding your busi-
ness will impact every aspect of your company From how you establish your cor-porate structure to the name you secure smart entrepreneurs take legal rules into consideration before making major actions and decisions In 2008 I was in London for a Virgin America business trip After a long day of meetings I was at my hotel
checking emails I remember reading the copy for an email that was used to introduce Virgin Americarsquos in-flight Wi-Fi product to our loyalty program members The copy went something like this ldquoNot unlike (insert famous astronaut) or (insert famous pilot) you have the oppor-tunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travelrdquo My heart sank I quickly emailed my team ldquoDid you get approval for the mentioned astronaut and pilot to use their namesrdquo Unfortunately the email had already been sent What happened next included a costly pub-lically announced lawsuit with the pilot Numerous hours of staff time were churned by Virgin America teammates our advertising agency and a handful of lawyers to address the suit Eventually the case was settledbut this is an example of how small actions can have major ramifications and legal implications Some of the questions you should ask regarding legal processes and procedures follow
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
16
LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Legal
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
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Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
18
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
19
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
Entre
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Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
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The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
16
LegalContinued gt gt gt
structure Have you selected the right legal structure for your company Key items to consider liability ownershipmanagementcontrol and taxes
founder equity Have you discussed founder equity and vesting provisions
intellectual Property Have you protected your companyrsquos intellectual proper-ty assets (eg patents and trade secrets trademarks)
board of Directorsadvisors Have you assembled an advisory team or board of directors When should you do these things
employment Do you know the difference between employees and consultants
initial Capital Have you raised enough start-up capital and are you spending it efficiently on the right things
fundraising Have you secured needed financing Potential options Bootstrap-pingcrowd-sourcing seed financing note financing convertible note financing common stock financing series seed financing venture capital financing What are the advantages and disadvantages for each
legal Process Have you used the appropriate legal forms or consulted an attorney to document your decisions and legal matters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Legal
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
17
Entre
pren
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Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
18
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
19
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
17
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Mike Del PonteCEO and Co-founder Soma
Mike Del Ponte CEO and Co-Founder Soma
Though only 30 Mike Del Pontersquos resume is rich and varied steeped in social consciousness However he is convinced that this variety has led to Soma a company whose debut product is a sleek glass carafe containing the first compostable water filter of its kind Del Ponte is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Soma that will officially
launch this summer when products are shipped via subscription but already there is significant buzz and media attention There is also $147000 generated in a test launch in December through Kickstarter in a remarkable nine days with more than 2300 customers That is $47000 beyond the goal set by Del Ponte and his co-founder Ido Leffler
Del Pontersquos inspiration was simple ldquoI always have been searching for the answer to this question lsquoHow can I have the biggest impact in the worldrsquordquo he said With Soma he said he is combining love of design sustainability and health all in-formed by a personal agenda of doing the right thing The CEO earned a masterrsquos degree at the Yale Divinity School believing at the time he would become a priest He served as a Christian peacemaker in the West Bank as a volunteer at an or-phanage in Jamaica as a microfinance consultant in Nepal and was part of a team that created a child health care program serving 355000 kids in Kutch India
In high-tech he led marketing at BranchOut the largest professional network on Facebook acquiring 25 million users in 16 months He founded and was CEO of Sparkseed a global nonprofit investing in social entrepreneurs and since its merger with Mobilizeorg has served on the Mobilize board ldquoI feel that we are all called upon to do something great with our livesrdquo said Del Ponte ldquowhether that is to be a stay-at-home mom or a social entrepreneur or a lawyer or a doctor Whatever it might be every day is an opportunity to make a differencerdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
18
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
19
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
18
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Del Ponte sees symmetry between the social service his re-sume lists and Soma because Soma too intends to make a difference in the market for the good of consumers This is a guiding principle for him While the vision of the company is to ldquoredefine how the world consumes beverages in their homesrdquo the underlying business plan in part includes what he calls ldquoSoma Thriverdquo a business philosophy and culture that includes emphasis on sustainability through the sus-tainable products used on health by helping to bring clean healthy drinking water to consumers and increasing hydra-tion and on jobs as the filters are manufactured in the US The carafe also may be manufactured in the US as well once the company is launched
Other entrepreneurs can learn from Somarsquos Kickstarter ex-perience They can read about it in detail in an article Del Ponte and author and angel investor Tim Ferriss wrote titled
ldquoHacking Kickstarterrdquo on Ferrissrsquo blog fourhourworkweekcom The subtitle is ldquoHow to Raise $100000 in 10 Daysrdquo and it includes e-mail templates spreadsheets and open-source code to build landing pages Del Ponte interviewed 15 of the top-earning Kickstarter creators their projects ranging from a grizzly bear jacket to a gaming console that raised nearly $86 million on Kickstarter
Del Ponte learned that to create buzz focus on getting cover-
age on the right blogs ldquoWe knew that if we did this we would be listed on Kickstarterrsquos lsquopopular projectsrsquo sections which is how you get people who are browsing Kickstarter to check out and back your productrdquo Del Ponte wrote He also activat-ed a network to get people talking about Soma on Facebook Twitter and in e-mail Within 10 days during the December Kickstarter run there was coverage in Forbes Fast Company Inc Mashable Cool Hunting Business Insider GOOD Salon Gear Patrol Thrillist The Huffington Post and more
Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
19
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
19
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile Mike Del Ponte Continued gt gt gt
At Soma itrsquos all about the carafe and the compostable filter that the company says removes chlorine heavy metals and other contaminants from tap water Soma contracted with Da-vid Beeman a water filtration expert who created proprietary formulas for Starbucks Coffee Company Peetrsquos Coffee amp Tea and other leading brands The filter is made of a food-based polylactic acid composite carbon granules derived from Ma-laysian coconut shells and a layer of vegan Ahimsa silk from India -- and is manufactured in the United States
In the test launch filters are being sent direct to customers every two months via subscription Soma has not released pricing in effect at official launch time and is still searching for a manufacturer for the glass carafe although Del Ponte is hopeful it too will be made in the US Del Pontersquos passion for Soma he said combines three loves -- design sustainability and health -- and that is the pitch for the company Should it be successful he has a roadmap for other products and job creation beyond those held by a core group of 10 people hun-kered down pre-launch in a live-work space in San Francisco
ldquoWe are starting small but we figure you point the boat in the right direction and you pick up the pacerdquo he said ldquoWe are 247 We wake up and we get to work and do yoga together and walk around the park together and believe in our motto lsquoThirst For Morersquordquo He said the motto speaks of a lifestyle in which there is no settling ldquoThat is a reflection on the life we
Mikersquos Top Tips Make a difference in everything you do
Talk to others and learn the tips amp tricks
Target blogs amp activate social media to generate buzz
Focus on the people
Have a clear purpose
123
4
want to live and we wish for our customers -- whatever they want they donrsquot have to settlerdquo meaning settle for trade-offs
ldquoThey can have it allrdquo
Lessons learned in startup mode ldquoItrsquos all about people We focus on the people in our organization our partners our community of supportersrdquo As important the startup ecosys-tem in San Francisco plays a key role he said Moreover Soma is being assisted by an impressive group of advisors including Ferriss Elizabeth Gore Vice President of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation and Neil Blu-menthal Co-Founder of eyeglass company Warby Parker
ldquoTherersquos a lot of creativity which we loverdquo said Del Ponte
5
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
20
ResouRces
gt Founderrsquos Workbench (free legal documents information best practices and resources to launch a start-up) gt Businessgov (steps for hiring your first employee)gt us Department of labor employment law Guide gt US Patent and Trademark Office
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
21
MODULE 4Branding amp CreativeHave a well-defined brand position and simple creativeKeep it simple transparent honest and rally your entire team behind your mission A brand is the overall positioning of
your company the look and feel of all materials and a sum of the experiences and stories people are having and sharing about
your business A brand is not the business identity system a logo or a tagline Looking to Virgin America as an example the com-pany and brand was born in 2003 in a small New York City office by a team of people committed to reinventing the airline industry The brand was built not solely by marketers or communication experts or born because of a Virgin-branded tail fin There was a tireless team of engineers financial experts aviation zealots designers and more that ate slept and lived every breath of the brand and the defined mission To Create An Airline People Loved In the case of Virgin America the time was right to reinvent a category When the company went ldquowheels-uprdquo or had their first inaugural flight on August 8 2007 consumer satisfaction with the airline industry was at an all time low and the company mission became a mantra and rallying cry for the passionate team
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
22
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
During year one some of our goals and strat-egies were to build name recognition drive trial and launch new markets From a commu-nication standpoint we quickly noticed guests would ldquoooh and ahhrdquo when entering the infa-mous mood-light cabin Because of the unique cabin interior and category-changing features like food-on-demand and in-flight Wi-Fi we found that visual demonstrations of the Vir-gin America cabin in-cabin ldquoactivationsrdquo and events designed to create press were at the core of our communication strategy
Over the years Irsquove worked with numerous brands and Irsquove found the ones with clear well-defined brand positions and clearly de-fined communication strategies are more likely to succeed Below are some branding and creative development questions and exercises to review
ldquo Capital isnrsquot so important in busi-ness Experience isnrsquot so import-ant You can get both these things What is important are ideas If you have ideas you have the main asset you need and there isnrsquot any limit to what you can do with your business and your liferdquo ndash Harvey Firestone
ldquo Look this is about the experience and you have to understand that the most powerful asset that Apple has is its brand and the experience that people have You cannot sacrifice that In fact you have to constantly make it betterrdquo ndash Steve Jobs
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
23
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
brand audit exercise Audit your brand and review materials for consistency Do you have clear integrated brand communications
Creative strategy exercise Take the 3-Step Funnel Test (use this as a filter for your actions and activities) A) What three words (brand pillars) best describe your company (eg innovative simple and honest) B) What is the overall tonality (eg bold or irreverent) you want to convey C) Is your ideaproductservice sim-ple and clear At the bottom of your funnel write in 15 words or less why someone should use or buy your product or service Have you developed a creative brief
Target Do you have a clearly defined target Remember niche audiences are easier to find today because of the Internet Where does your target live Shop How do they behave Need consumer insights Make a list of 20-50 people that fit your profile Ask them what they think of your product and your idea Anything you need to change
budget Do you have a defined budget based on cost per acquisition (CPA) de-sired metrics or goals
simplicity Are your logo and name simple and easy to read on- and offline Does your packaging andor forward-facing materials reinforce your core business proposition Are your creative ideas simple Will people care about the idea Un-derstand it Share it Are your ideas unexpected fresh or not typically seen done or heard Have you avoided the temptation to be clicheacute
1
2
3
4
5
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
24
Branding amp CreativeContinued gt gt gt
objectives Do you have clear measurable communication objectives
Transparency Is there a brand story testimonial or analogy you can use to sup-port your creative ideas Are you documenting the stories and processes around your brand product or service Can people see results and share their results with other (eg P90X Spanx before amp after) Are you being honest and not overpromis-ing or creating false expectations
Media Types Are you using creative mediums appropriately (eg simple copy on billboards)
legal Have you cleared all creative elements claims and facts via your legal counsel
Taglines Are you using a tagline to reinforce your idea (eg VX Breath of Fresh Airline Walgreens At the Corner of Happy and Healthy Nike Just Do It Cirque de Soleil We Reinvent the Circus)
Credibility What gives you your brand and your product or service credibility (eg Yelp ratings best-seller lists advisors awards bag tags) How do you stand
Call To action amp Virility What do you hope will happen Does your creative have a call to action Are you collecting emails in a database Fans Followers How will you move into a 2-way or multi-person dialog with viewers or customers Do you hope your target will share or forward creative Do your ideas elicit an emo-tional reaction or feeling (note remember when Gap tried to change their logo)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Branding amp Creative Development
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
25
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Ido LefflerCo-Founder YES TO
Ido Leffler Co-founder YES TO
Ido Leffler his girlfriend Ronit and his business partner were living the good life in Tel Aviv working hard playing hard when they took stock of their life-styles and made a decision to live healthier and surround themselves with natural products beauty brands among them They found however a void in the marketplace -- brands that were preachy had made compromises
had no halo effect did not trigger an emotional response Nothing in the market of natural beauty attracted them Leffler came from marketing He knew better
ldquoWe were Mini-driving Virgin-flying Apple-using people and all the products on the market at the time were created like IBM and you couldnrsquot get excited about themrdquo said Leffler who in 2006 would go on to co-found with his business part-ner Lance Kalish San Francisco-based Yes To a company that shouts as the company says ldquopositivityrdquo ldquoWe said you know what we are going to apply the same methodology some of those great brands had done like Apple and Virgin and Mini by creating the Apple of the natural beauty worldrdquo said Leffler And the idea was to take products to mass audiences Remember Think positive
Before we move on to Module 5 meet Ido Leffler Co-Founder of Yes To Ido and his partner Lance Kalish have built a dynamic and rapidly grow-ing natural skincare brand They have a laser focus on product brand and culture In seven years the inspirational duo grew their start-up into a major player in the skincare space with distribution in 25000 retail points in 25 countries Full disclosure Irsquom a loyal Yes To Blueberries user and can frequently be seen at Target buying every one of their products
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
26
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
Headquartered in San Francisco since 2008 Yes To has had phenomenal growth becoming the number-two natural beauty brand in the United States trailing only Burtrsquos Bees (which is now owned by Clorox) Yes To -- the skin and hair lines are Yes to Carrots Yes to Cucumbers Yes to Grapefruit Yes to Blueberries Yes to Tomatoes and Yes to Baby Carrots for babies and toddlers -- are now in more than 25000 stores in more than 25 countries The work was dogged Leffler who lives with his now-wife Ronit and two young daughters in Mill Valley flew 226 days in the first year of the company 186 in the second and he is still flying some 100 days annually That is by his design as he is a believer that face-to-face busi-ness pays dividends
ldquoI would travel across the world to have a 20-minute coffee with somebody I thought would be instrumental for our business That has paid off dividends in the tens of millionsrdquo said Leffler
Indeed Yes To may not have reached the high rung on the ladder that it has were it not for a trip to Deerfield IL to meet with a Walgreens executive in Yes Torsquos nascent period -- when its single brand was Yes to Carrots a nourishing product for normal-to-dry skin and hair types He was told he needed to wear a suit and tie for the meeting with the woman who headed the corporationrsquos beauty division Suits and ties are not his thing He dressed in a suit however and en route to
Walgreensrsquo offices stopped at a Neiman Marcus and quickly bought a ldquohideousrdquo (by his thinking) orange tie
He was ushered into the executiversquos office she extended her hand to shake his and he brushed it aside and kissed her on her cheeks saying ldquoThis is how we do it in Israelrdquo They clicked Yes To is in more than 7000 Walgreens stores To this day Leffler wears something orange every day at work Itrsquos a reminder of from whence the company came The deal necessitated ramping up Yes To and yes mistakes were made as the company grew ldquoway too fastrdquo but the experi-ence has been in a word ldquoextraordinaryrdquo said 35-year-old Leffler ldquoI would not have done it any differentlyrdquo
Since the beginning Yes To has followed what Leffler calls ldquothe four love pointsrdquo that drive the business Leffler recalls writing them on a Post-it note
1 Would she (the customer) love how the product works It needed to work as well as those of peers and competitors not necessarily natural beauty providers
2 Would she love how the product looks He wanted it to look good so it could be placed in a guest bathroom and have the host feel proud
3 Would she love the price He wanted guilt-free pricing
4 Would she love to tell her friends about it
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
27
Entre
pren
eur P
rofile
The companyrsquos success said Leffler is first and foremost due to the product ldquoThe star is the product Without a phe-nomenal product no one is going to repeat purchase and you are not going to grow We have a remarkable team We run the entire company with fewer than 40 people The team gives their heart and soul to the company every day We do not hire a team we adopt a team Everybody here is family We want them to feel like they are coming homerdquo he said
As important Yes To listens to consumers a philosophy that began with inviting them to join conference calls now video conferencing The company employees have tagged along with customers on shopping trips and theyrsquore invited to Yes To offices in the South of Market district in San Francisco for cocktail receptions ldquoItrsquos really getting to know them as peo-ple not as numbersrdquo said Leffler Social media organizes those gatherings
Herersquos Lefflerrsquos advice to new entrepreneurs ldquoSurround your-self with positive people people who will drive you forwardrdquo There are hundreds of companies in his SoMa commercial district neighborhood full of people ldquowho have drunk this de-lusional drink called entrepreneurship and we surround our-selves with people who want you to succeed and you want them to succeed and having the right kind of community has been incrediblerdquo said Leffler ldquoI love drinking that Kool-Aidrdquo
Ido Leffler Continued gt gt gt
Idorsquos Top Tips Hold face-to-face meetings
Live your brand
Listen to customers
Surround yourself with positive people
Make your product the star
12345
Leffler recalls walking past an Apple store for the first time and the emotion it triggered He wanted the same for Yes To He wanted people passing Yes To products on the shelves to smile to give them ldquoa little sense of feeling goodrdquo He added ldquoWhen you step onboard a Virgin America airplane you feel like you are in a nightclub in the sky When you see Yes To you read the back of the product and the directions you know itrsquos probably going to give you a cheeky wink And you are going to laugh and it will make you feel you are part of something specialrdquo
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom
Building a Brand with Porter Gale
28
ResouRces
Designlogos gt 99designscom
stock Photos amp footage gt iPhoto
gt Gettyimagescom
gt rubberballcom
gt shutterstockcom
gt corbisimagescom
gt fotosearchcom
gt jupiterimagescom
gt veercom
Clipart gt clipartcom
gt classroomclipartcom
gt dreamstimecom
gt graphicsfactorycom
gt clipartguidecom
gt clipartheavencom
fonts gt fontsquirrelcom
gt fontscom
gt myfontscom
gt 1001fontscom
gt spacefontscom