We believe every great brand is a spiritual experience. A movement. A brand is the only place in business where your inner world is experienced by the outer world. For too long, we have accepted the belief that these worlds are supposed to be separate. We say no. When these worlds are kept separate, dissonance occurs. Identity crises emerge. Leaders drift from the mission. Employees feel ...
Find the Flow, F (orget) the Formula
By Emily Soccorsy and Justin Foster The marketing world is over-saturated with formulas. This is because formulas are intended to remove uncertainty. And because uncertainty is the boondoggle of human existence. There’s no way to remove uncertainty, folks. Life is uncertainty. And as part of that: all formulas are flawed. Most formulas only work for some people, some of the time. That’s the ...
Synthesis Episode #11: Justin Zoradi on Incompleteness, Resistance and Pursuing Your Time
LISTEN HERE (audio + video) Synthesis is a Root + River hosted webcast featuring nonconformist leaders whose ideas make them — and us — see the world differently. Our eleventh episode features Justin Zoradi, social entrepreneur and author of the recently published “Made For These Times.” Justin is exactly the type of leader and human we love to visit with you. Justin has organized his life ...
Branding happens in moments
By Emily Soccorsy and Justin Foster A brand doesn’t magically appear. A logo might. But not a brand. Brands are really deeply seeded ideas, so they take time to formulate completely, mature and bear fruit. Brands are made, not in a moment, but in moments -- big and small. Where do these moments arise from? How do we tend to them? Just like in life, many of them are unplanned. Have ...
You Don’t Need a Marketing Agency
By Emily Soccorsy + Justin Foster Small business owners are in a bit of a conundrum when it comes to marketing. You can either do it yourself or bring in a marketing agency. Let’s be real. Doing marketing yourself is not an option. Even if you enjoy it, there’s too much. Contemporary branding and marketing is not something you do in the seams and creases of running a business. A marketing ...
Ungrateful about marketing?
Marketing is a little bit like a Rodney Dangerfield quote. It can’t get no respect. Everybody in the business wants great marketing and basically nobody wants to do great marketing. This is fueled by an Industrial Age bias in many leaders that marketing still follows a direct, linear path. That there’s a straight line between Product A and Audience B. Leaders want marketing to be simple. ...
You’re in charge of marketing, right? No. You’re not.
There’s this paradox about being responsible for the marketing of an organization: You are “in charge” of the brand and at the same time, you are not in charge of the brand, like -- at all. Being in charge means you are expected to come up with, organize and execute every single marketing objective of the organization. Even in small, simple organizations, of course, there is nothing simple ...
What is your brand’s MLE (minimum level of excellence)?
By Emily Soccorsy and Justin Foster A brand is an organic, living thing. It is both a practice and a discipline. And yet there is also a baseline, or minimum, level of organic environmental excellence to create for your brand to grow and thrive. Without this brand primordial soup, you may inadvertently stunt the growth of your brand and reduce its vibrancy and reach. Most people begin ...
Synthesis Episode 10: Ron Price + Stacy Ennis on Growing Influence
LISTEN HERE (audio + video) Synthesis is a Root + River hosted webcast featuring nonconformist leaders whose ideas make them — and us — see the world differently. Our tenth episode features Ron Price and Stacy Ennis, authors of Growing Influence: A Story of How to Lead with Character, Expertise and Impact, which was recently published and is now available. Growing Influence is a modern ...
Why Ego Kills Brands
By Emily Soccorsy + Justin Foster To be a leader you need a healthy ego. Leading with your ego will kill your brand. Discuss. Not sure what to discuss? We got you. First off, we need an ego. It keeps us alive and moving. It looks out for us and spurs urgency. This is why the ego makes a great employee but a terrible boss. Leaders who allow the ego to lead are making themselves highly ...