Our team and the crew from Fat Bottom Brewing got together last week to speak to 150 captive Nashville Chamber members about brews and brands – more specifically – why branding is an important consideration for any business, big or small, and how the team from Fat Bottom has focused and re-focused their attention on brand positioning as the brewery has grown over the years.
A few noteworthy items and takeaways from our session:
- Branding should be in the budget for every business. Much of our work in brand development runs parallel with business model planning. This is why we take so much time up front during our Understand Your Brand Workshop/kickoff with clients to make sure we understand their business goals and measurable outcomes both near and far into the future. Your budget for branding obviously will be different based on your financials and forecasting, but it shouldn’t be overlooked – the way you look and, most importantly, the way you communicate who you are is an integral part to success in any business or organization, big or small.
- Establish a firm, consistent foundation for your brand that can be extended. Our work with Fat Bottom over the years is an excellent example. We first established a foundation for the brand that is committed to quality, fun, flirty, and elevated/sophisticated. This brand identity defines everything we create, but it can also be flexible. Various product lines and mediums take on a different focus of the brand’s core identity – while staying true to that foundation. In other words, everything doesn’t have to look and feel the same as long as there’s consistency and intentionality.
- In any creative partnership, be honest and direct. The team at Fat Bottom is more than clients, they’re our friends. That doesn’t mean we always see eye to eye or that everything we develop gets approved without a hitch. But, the rapport we’ve built allows us to be honest and direct in our desires and feedback. Ultimately, if we don’t trust our client – or they don’t trust us, it’s a lose-lose situation. When you hire an agency, trust them. And if you work at an agency, listen to your clients and remember that, at the end of the day, this is for them and their customers.
Special thanks to the Nashville Chamber for having us as part of their Business Studio series, thanks to Fat Bottom for hosting and partnering with us, thanks to everyone who came out and attended, and, thanks to all of you for reading here. Cheers!