Podcast
How Brands Are Built
Hosted by How Brands Are Built · EN
On How Brands Are Built, branding professionals get into the details of what they do and how they do it. Other podcasts about branding focus on news, opinion, and high-level theory. They can give you a 30,000-foot view of branding; How Brands Are Built is where the rubber meets the road. In each episode, Rob Meyerson, a San Francisco-based brand strategist, interviews other strategists, designers, writers, namers, and researchers to help you understand how brands are really built.
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Alex Foss says good research starts with good questions
Mar 900:43:01Summary readyIn this episode of How Brands Are Built, I talk with Alexander Foss about research—why it matters, what makes it valuable, and a few pitfalls to avoid. Alex and I first worked together at Interbrand, where he was on the strategy team before moving more deeply into research and insights. In our conversation, he explains what pulled him in that direction: the feeling of backing up recommendations with something stronger than a "finger in the air." We talk about the shift from agency work to client-side research, and how different it is when you're responsible not just for delivering against a brief, but for defining the business problem in the first place. A big theme throughout the episode is purpose. Alex makes the point repeatedly: research should start with a clear question. If you don't know why you're conducting a survey, for example—what decisions it's meant to inform—you probably shouldn't be doing it. We also dig into a naming research study I conducted last year—research on research—and the tensions it revealed between how namers and researchers think about the topic. Why are experienced namers often skeptical of quantitative testing? Which methodologies do namers and researchers recommend? And how much influence should research have over a naming decision versus other important factors? Alex argues that research should inform decisions, but not make them. He uses the analogy of buying a house: you can quantify square footage and energy efficiency, but at some point you also have to decide whether it feels right. Naming is similar. Quantified consumer reactions matter, but they're just one input. Finally, we discuss updating the research section of Designing Brand Identity, sixth edition, and what young strategists can do to build real expertise in a world where AI can handle more and more of the executional work. If you care about branding, naming, or research—and especially if you've ever struggled with how much weight to give the numbers—this conversation will give you a clearer framework for thinking about it.
SummaryRobin Goffman is all in on Designing Brand Identity
Nov 1400:54:26Summary readyOn today's episode of How Brands Are Built, host Rob Meyerson of Heirloom speaks with Robin Goffman—brand thinker, design strategist, and founder of Studio RBG—about her career path, her approach to creative work, and her experience designing multiple editions of Designing Brand Identity. Robin shares the story of how she first entered the world of design, from early hands-on tutorials in Adobe software to studying art direction at Temple University. She describes how a single introduction—through her professor, Kathy Mueller—connected her with the late Alina Wheeler and ultimately set her on the path to helping design several editions of the iconic branding book. In the conversation, Robin explains the unique challenges and rewards of book design, including the rhythm of multi-page layout, the importance of a strong grid, the process of curating case studies and imagery, and the extensive coordination required to keep a 300-plus-page reference book consistent and cohesive. She also talks about what she learned through years of collaborating with Alina—from creative rigor to the contagious sense of passion and curiosity Alina brought to every project. The episode also touches on Robin's work as a creative strategist, how she blends design with big-picture thinking, and why she believes great design is as much about listening and problem-solving as it is about aesthetic decisions. Listeners can learn more about Robin's work at robingoffman.com. Join us for a thoughtful, behind-the-scenes conversation about career beginnings, the craft of book design, and the creative lessons that continue to shape how brands are built.
SummaryThe Q&A episode
Mar 10, 202500:51:13Summary readyA few weeks back, on LinkedIn and Instagram, I asked whether anyone had questions about branding, naming, or other topics I might be able to speak to. My plan was to do a Q&A episode—and this is it. On this episode, I answer questions from branding professionals and others about branding, naming, and book publishing. Here's a sample of what was asked: How do you manage clients wanting to wordsmith your brand strategy work? What guidance should you give clients to help them implement your recommended brand strategy? How do you maintain brand consistency when people at your company won't use design templates? What is the current state of AI in naming? How can you attract new clients if you can't show your work online due to an NDA? Can you walk through the book publishing process? Here are links to a few things mentioned during the episode: Brand Naming Designing Brand Identity, sixth edition David Placek, founder of Lexicon, on an early episode of the StartUp podcast AI-powered naming agency, Monika Tessera Trademark Screening Brand implementation agencies TenTen, Monigle, and BrandActive Clutch (B2B company reviews) Swiss Cheese Mono font Ohno Type School with James Edmondson Thanks to everyone for your questions. If you have questions that I didn't answer, please reach out—maybe I'll do another one of these episodes at some point.
SummaryJacob Cass ran a wildly successful summit
Dec 23, 202400:40:50Summary readyIn today's episode of How Brands Are Built, host Rob Meyerson speaks with Jacob Cass, designer, brand strategist, and founder of Just Creative, about his recent venture: the Brand Builders Summit. This innovative, four-day virtual event featured 24 speakers and attracted over 20,000 attendees from 156 countries, significantly surpassing Jacob's initial goals. Jacob discusses the unique format of the summit, which blended pre-recorded sessions with live Q&As, panels, and workshops, emphasizing the crucial integration of brand strategy, design, marketing, and community. He reveals insights into the promotional strategies that generated buzz and shares logistical lessons learned while managing a large-scale event. The conversation also highlights the importance of speaker relationships, communication tools like AI chatbots for participant support, and plans for future enhancements to improve networking opportunities. Jacob's commitment to feedback and reflection post-event underscores his dedication to continual improvement. Listeners are invited to explore Jacob's work at Just Creative and look forward to the next Brand Builders Summit in 2025 (if Jacob decides to give it another go!). Join us to dive into an inspiring discussion on strategic marketing, community engagement, and the key elements driving successful brand experiences.
SummaryAlex Center links package design to fashion
Jul 2, 202400:56:18Summary readyToday's guest is Alex Center, a designer and podcaster and founder of the award-winning design and branding studio, CENTER. From 2006 to 2017, Center worked for the Coca-Cola Company, helping build the brands Vitaminwater, Powerade, and Smartwater. Today, he and the team at CENTER are building the next generation of icon brands partnering with companies like United Sodas of America, Apple, HEYWEAR, Good Light, New Balance, SIMULATE, and Liquid Death. One of the reasons I wanted to talk to Alex today is because his agency, CENTER, is a contributor to the new edition of Designing Brand Identity. CENTER pitched in on the pages about package design and differentiation, and also contributed a case study for KatKin, "a nutrition, education, and community-focused cat-care brand based in the UK that works with world-leading veterinarians and nutritionists to develop food that gives cats the nutrients they actually need." We talk about these cases, how Alex approaches branding and package design, and more on this episode of the podcast.
SummaryDesigning Brand Identity book launch at Noise 13
Jun 20, 202400:42:54Summary readyThis episode of How Brands Are Built is a live recording of an April 25, 2024 book launch for Designing Brand Identity, sixth edition, held at Noise 13 in San Francisco. The event included a panel discussion moderated by Rob Goodman. The panelists were Dava Guthmiller, founder of Noise 13, Rob Meyerson co-author of the sixth edition of Designing Brand Identity, and Robin Goffman, creative director for the book. The discussion includes thoughts on rebranding, trends in branding, and how Rob and Robin first got involved with Alina Wheeler (the creator and author of Designing Brand Identity, who passed away in December, 2023). Panelists also talked about Noise 13's work for Adventr—a case study featured in the book.
SummaryThe Brand Names Report: A walkthrough and summary
May 30, 202400:27:24Summary readyBack in February of this year, I released the first Brand Names Report, an analysis of polling data on brand names from Brand New, the leading brand identity review site edited and written by Armin Vit. From July 2020 to June 2023, visitors to Brand New cast a total of 22,769 votes across 131 brand names, rating each as Great, Fine, or Bad. These polls are the only easily available opinion data on brand names that I'm aware of. And while the data is far from perfect (I'll walk through some weaknesses on this episode), I wanted to see whether it could tell us anything useful about which brand names are preferred, and why. To see the report as I walk through it page by page, visit How Brands Are Built on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@howbrandsarebuilt. You can download the the Brand Names Report for free at https://howbrandsarebuilt.com/brandnamesreport/.
SummaryFabian Geyrhalter builds and launches successful brands
May 13, 202400:56:45Summary readyRob Meyerson and Fabian Geyrhalter discuss brand strategy's balance of innovation and foundational rules, touching on brand creation challenges and successful launches in the evolving marketing landscape. Today's episode is special. It's an edited version of a LinkedIn livestream chat with Fabian Geyrhalter, founder and principal at FINIEN, "a purposefully small consultancy based in Los Angeles." Fabian is a brand strategist and creative director and host of the Hitting the Mark podcast. He's also written several best-selling books, including How to Launch a Brand and The Brand Therapy Book. Lastly, Fabian is founder of Toneoptic, which we discuss on the show. Fabian was a guest on season two of How Brands Are Built, and I had a great time talking to him again. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. To learn more about Fabian, visit www.finien.com. From there, you'll find links to his podcast and books. For Toneoptic, visit www.toneoptic.com.
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Rob Goodman uses content to drive business outcomes
Mar 6, 202400:46:18Summary readyToday's guest is Rob Goodman. Rob specializes in content strategy and creative content production, with experience at companies like Google, Wix, and Webflow. He's delivered award-winning branded content, content strategies, and comprehensive content calendars for these companies and other clients, helping brands transform into publishers built for engaging today's audiences. Rob also hosts his own podcast, Making Ways, about the intersection of art and music. He interviews bands, like Melvins and Nada Surf, and the visual artists they collaborate with to create album art, music videos, and more. It's as cool as it sounds—I highly recommend you check it out. One of the reasons I wanted to talk to Rob is because he's also a contributor to the new edition of Designing Brand Identity, which I co-authored with the late Alina Wheeler. Rob pitched in on the pages about social media and a few others, but his biggest contribution was helping us update the content strategy spread, where you'll find the following quote from him: "The best content cuts through the noise, connects with customers, and drives the business—all while moving at the speed of culture." On the episode, we talk about definitions of terms like content strategy, content planning, and content production. We dive into the different objectives of content strategy, and Rob shares some high-level process tips for creating great content. We also run through Jonah Berger's six "STEPPS" to viral content, and Rob shares his take on a few of them. To learn more about Rob Goodman, visit robgoodman.com or find him on LinkedIn. You can listen to his Making Ways podcast at makingways.co. And if you're interested in the sixth edition of Designing Brand Identity, find it on Amazon or at dbibook.com.
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Season four wrap-up: How brands (and branding professionals) can do good
Jun 7, 202100:39:30Summary readyIt's the summer of 2021—one year since the murder of George Floyd. And if you're wondering what that has to do with the season-four wrap-up of a podcast about branding, let me tell you: in early 2020 I had a plan for season four of How Brands Are Built. But in the wake of George Floyd's murder and protests around the world, my plan changed a bit. 2020 was already a pretty awful year for most people, and it just seemed to be getting worse and worse. So I started thinking about whether there was a way I could use this little platform of mine to do some good—or at least talk about something positive. That led me to reach out to my most diverse set of guests yet, starting with Dr. Jason Chambers, who talked about the origins of racist brand names and what to do about them. I talked to female agency founders like Dava Guthmiller of Noise 13, Sunny Bonnell of Motto, and Emily Heyward of Red Antler about how they got started and the role of diversity in their agency cultures. The season ended with a two-part episode featuring Brian Collins and his agency's design apprentice, Diego Segura, who told me about one way to create opportunities for talented, but less privileged, designers and strategists. And along the way, I talked to Armin Vit of Brand New, Alina Wheeler, author of Designing Brand Identity, and Nirm Shanbhag of Sid Lee. While I talked to guests about their agencies, books they'd written, or other topics specific to their areas of expertise, I also asked nearly all of them about what brands and branding professionals could be doing to improve the state of the world—in light of COVID-19, in light of racial injustice, and just in general. Are brands a force for good? Can they be? Should they try to be? At the end of this episode, which features clips from every interview this season, I boil everything I heard and learned down into five ways brands—and branding professionals like you and me—can make the world a better place (sorry): Be selective (and stick to your values) Walk the talk Wield your influence Proactively pursue diversity Don't underestimate the power of your work In the episode, I break down each of these ideas in detail.
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