Mark Busse | Industrial Brand

I don’t always have all the answers

Sometimes, before I am to present or walk into a big meeting, I will ask my colleagues and clients for advice and input. When I prepare to speak to a large group and want to be sure I am hitting the mark, I will usually present more than just my idea or a lone “version” […]

Lessons learned by narrowing the focus of my firm

The following article was recently published in Design Edge Magazine. What do you want to be known for? It’s a philosophical question, but also a practical one. It’s certainly one designers need to consider and re-evaluate as their careers progress. I’ll never forget the night I decided to take control of my business, the kind […]

Interesting Vancouver 2014 is coming!

We’re excited to be supporting Interesting Vancouver on November 7th at SFU Woodward’s this year. Interesting Vancouver is an annual community event showcasing the Metro Vancouver’s most fascinating people and the way they express their creativity through their interesting hobbies, passions and obsessions. More than another “sage on the stage” lecture series, Interesting Vancouver is […]

An Exercise in Terror: What I’ve Learned from Narrowing the Focus of My Firm

I was honoured to be asked to present a talk at this year’s IDSA International Conference in Austin, Texas. The room was full of designers, managers, and firm owners, and the theme was “Exchange”, so I shared the story of how we’ve used specialization as a marketing and positioning strategy for our firm. The topic of specialization seems to […]

Webinar: Lessons learned from renaming AEC firms: A frank discussion

Webinar – 31 July 2014, 10:00am PDT There is a long tradition of professional services firms being named after founding partners. As companies grow and change with the times, there are numerous factors and triggering events that lead to questioning old paradigms and reconsidering a firm name: market changes; a partner’s departure or succession plan; and distancing the […]

Brand positioning: the key to defining your firm

When it comes to business, it’s important for everyone to understand how much your brand positioning matters. Wikipedia defines brand positioning as “identifying and attempting to occupy a market niche for a brand, product or service.” This is how you begin to craft your brand identity and is a crucial starting place for the branding […]

Duplication dangers and downsides of the new DIY culture

Cutting corners with crowdsourcing or even DIY can be expensive when the work purchased turns out to be something that can’t be owned or trademarked.

Brand Strength Assessment Worksheet

The purpose of this worksheet is to help assess the current state of the effectiveness of your brand— both positives and negatives. This is not an exhaustive list, and is intended merely as a starting point to identify and evaluate the various primary touch points that should be reviewed. The eventual goal is to find […]