As we wind down another year, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle. We review the numbers, set new goals, and prepare for the next year. But are we truly seeing the bigger picture?

Reason #10: When you’re celebrating an anniversary. Ok, this is the last reason for real this time. Anniversaries are a great time to remind everyone of the amazing things you’ve accomplished, set a vision for the future and give your outdated brand a refresh.

Hoping to make room for branding in next year’s budget? This blog is just what you need.

Reason #9: When there’s a leadership change. As soon as we finished our eight reasons series, we realized there are so many reasons, we couldn’t just stop at eight. But we will stop at 10 (probably). Ready for number nine?

Mastering the Brand is the first step toward true victory for your business. Learn more with our Account Director, Bob Gager.

Change can be hard. And sometimes, that makes you push off things you need to do. We’ll help ease the anxiety of revisiting your brand and show you how doing this regularly will help you in the long run.

Marketing campaigns can be legendary, effective and fun—like “Got Milk?” or Dos Equis’ “Most Interesting Man.” But before your creative juices start flowing and you get carried away, we have one big caution for you.

When a potential customer doesn’t know you personally, you hope they go online, search for what they need and find you. But it is the “world wide web” after all, so you can easily get lost in a tangled mess. Here’s how to use SEO to direct people right to you.

Growth is good. But you want your org to be more like a majestic elm and not an invasive vine that spreads haphazardly and kills things in its path. Find out how taking a look at your brand may be just what you need for a solid growth plan.

More often than not, headlines are all your audience reads—so you need to make them count. Find out how in the last blog of our messaging series.

In part two, we want to explore the value of the tagline or slogan in your brand toolbox. Far too often we see brands that don’t use a tagline, or they have one but don’t use it to its full extent. Let’s explore the value of a tagline, types of taglines and examples of taglines developed by the BIG team.

In this first blog of a three-part series on the importance of messaging, we will take a look at the necessity of discovering your brand’s story to help transform your messaging from mundane to memorable.

Is there a place for A.I. in marketing agencies? Our director of IT and innovation, Mike Gerber, says yes—with a few rules.

You’ve only got one chance to make a first impression—so you’d better make it sing. Find out how you can make sure your new business has what it needs to knock everyone’s socks off.

How much impact can three words make? (Ok…”I love you,” is a big one, but beyond that!) Can you give a good sense for what your brand is in, say, three words?

The agency/client relationship is just that—a relationship. Most organizations seek out their next partner through FRPs, a form of business matchmaking that just doesn't work so well. What's a better alternative?

It takes more than just signing a certificate and changing your name to make a marriage work. It’s the same with mergers and acquisitions. Find out why creating a cohesive brand out of an M&A is a great opportunity to start a union off on the right foot.

Most sales and marketing teams fundamentally disagree on how to close the deal. Do you tailor your pitch directly for your prospect or drive home the established brand messaging that’s been carefully crafted but inherently broad? Find out how to make both approaches succeed together.

Your brand should both reflect who you are and appeal to the type of customers you’d like to have. Odds are good that if either your company or your customers have changed, your brand should too.

If you’re planning a big campaign, don’t put the cart before the horse. Before you embark on a huge ad spend, make sure you have something meaningful to say—and a reason for customers to stay—by dialing in your branding.

“It’s fast. It’s easy. You’ll see results.” When something new has a lot of hype and it’s worked for others, then naturally you want to try it for yourself. But should you when it comes to marketing initiatives?

Giving a fresh look and feel to something that’s old isn’t easy, which is exactly what a bank conglomerate set out to do with the Flagstar brand. But it’s not just the logo that changed—it's their entire approach to the financial industry. Our experts decide if they succeeded.

Do you have something big in your future? A shiny new product? A sparkling process? An extra-special service? A headline-worthy accomplishment? If so, you might be primed for a new brand.

Imagine a logo that’s as old as the Statue of Liberty. That’s what one company had (and the Guiness World record to boot) before they changed it up for something new. Smart move? Chad breaks it down for you.

Internal confusion leads to external confusion. If your employees, customers and stakeholders don’t sound like they’re reading from the same script, it might be time to reassess your brand.

“Put your money where your mouth is” isn’t just a good mantra—it’s good business. Read as we turn the tables and become our own client, benefitting ourselves and our customers in the process.

In the vast landscape of branding literature, few books have made as significant an impact as “Building a StoryBrand.” Even though we view this as a must read for marketing, it’s time to acknowledge its limitations. Keep reading to learn more.

There's a fine line between innovation and deviation. Sometimes those closest to an organization can stray too far from their company’s core identity, leading to a dilution of brand equity and confusion in the marketplace. We have the solution.

In the dynamic world of branding, change is inevitable. As markets evolve and consumer preferences shift, brands must adapt to stay relevant. However, the manner in which a brand chooses to adapt can significantly impact its perception and equity. Enter the debate between brand evolution and brand revolution.

In today's dynamic marketplace, a brand is more than just a logo or a catchy tagline. It's a promise, a commitment and most importantly, a tool to drive tangible results. Yet many organizations find themselves disappointed with their brand. If you can relate, you’ll want to keep reading.

When business strategy and brand strategy align, you’ll find a competitive advantage that lasts.

A brand is its story. And good stories engage, inspire and sell. What story is your brand telling?

Don’t let the “B” in “B2B” stand for “boring.” Compelling, brand-building, creative campaigns can boost your B2B success.

When it comes to building your brand, it’s always a good idea to put yourself in your customers’ shoes. This is especially true during a recession. By tailoring your marketing strategy to the needs of your target audience and following industry trends while maintaining your brand voice, you can ensure that your business comes out ahead.

When it comes to building your brand, it’s always a good idea to put yourself in your customers’ shoes. This is especially true during a recession. By tailoring your marketing strategy to the needs of your target audience and following industry trends while maintaining your brand voice, you can ensure that your business comes out ahead.

In times of recession, marketing is more important than ever. Set yourself up for long-lasting success by preparing to maintain your advertising budget when other brands may not. In a less crowded market, you can stand out and rise above the competition.

Your brand should be engaging, not tedious. When your customer experience starts to feel like a mindless routine, you need to find your unique signature moments.

There are signs all over—perhaps the prices of gas and food being the biggest—that point to an upcoming recession. Are you prepared? How will your marketing hold up? Start focusing on your strategy now for better results.

You want a brand that connects with customers. But you need a brand that engages employees. The best brands do both. If your culture is coming up short, it might be time to take a look at your brand.

The best branding sometimes flies in the face of logic.

Make the sale. Close the deal. Win the bid. Is that all you or your organization is focused on? If so, then you’re missing a big part of the pie—a pie we call the Influence Loop.

There’s one universal truth we can all agree on: customer service is THE WORST.

We think about trust a lot when it comes to relationships. But how about brands?

There’s a growing trend in the design world, and it has to do with brand identities. Logos all over the place are being streamlined, following the adage, “Keep it simple, stupid.” See the evolutions of some of the most recognizable company symbols and read about what’s causing the shift.

You could almost say there are two camps in the advertising world: brand builders and performance marketers.

We talk a lot about the customer experience. So do our customers. But sometimes we find that they define it a bit more narrowly than we do.

You know the feeling. Sales are going soft. A new competitor is gaining traction. Your website is feeling wonky. The limelight has cooled. Whatever the circumstance, it’s enough to inspire a call to your marketing partners—and when you do, you ask for SOMETHING.

Think your strategy is spot-on? Well, you’d probably be hard pressed to say it’s better than a company based in Seattle that sells beverages in white cups with green logos.

Like many clients, Brookside Labs came to us with one goal in mind: GROWTH. As one of the nation’s oldest soil testing laboratories, they had decades of experience helping farmers and agribusinesses maximize profit. Now they wanted us to help them do the same.

In today’s global market, consumers have more choices than ever before. So if you want your company to stand out, you need a compelling brand. At Big, we believe effective, engaging brands aren’t created—they’re found. We’ve developed the 3D process to describe what we call Hi-Res Branding: Discover, Develop, Deliver.

Many organizations think that consistency is key to a successful brand. At Big, we think about it a bit differently.

There is a ground-breaking thought from one of marketing’s giants, Philip Kotler, that gets to the heart of Hi-Res branding. He says that to best serve a company’s interests, you have to serve a customer’s interest first. To put it bluntly, it’s not all about you.

What makes up a brand? It’s more than some slick visuals. Some of it’s invisible because it lives in the mind. Or it lives somewhere we can’t even define. And a firm that’s working to craft an identity while also really caring for people—that’s something folks want to get behind.

A strategic brand standards guide builds credibility and allows continuity. At Big, branding is what we do. But we approach brand standards guides a bit differently than some.

When was the last time your organization made a capital expenditure without first making a plan for that investment? Probably never, because spending without planning is foolish and wasteful.

The human brain is always passively listening for relevant information. That’s why we notice our name being said in a loud, crowded room. What is important to us cuts through, even when we aren’t paying attention. So, the key to standing out from other marketing background noise is to provide relevant and specific information.

You’ve probably heard the phrase "The medium is the message." It was coined by Marshall McLuhan in 1964 to explain the complicated relationship between a message and how it is conveyed. His theory was that the medium used influences how the message is perceived.