Peter Engelhardt: Brand Strategy Specialist

For 25 years+ I have been a design and marketing consultant, leading a traditional agency through the economic and technological challenges the past few decades have confronted us with. My move towards the digital side of the industry began some time around 1999 – 2000. Witnessing the degree to which the internet reshaped our industry led me to shift over time and focus on helping business & corporations to strip away the hype surrounding new media and focus on strategic planning and design that attracts.

Today you would have to say that I’m 100% fixated by differentiation. Why? Because all of the great brands that we love succeed by finding a unique position in the marketplace, and we believe small and medium sized businesses can too. So we’ve made it our mission to help passionate entrepreneurs and business creators make the transformation from a business, to brand of choice, through the power of education, strategic design and branding that connects.

Instead of merely helping my clients attract attention, I focus on helping them find their point of difference and the values their prospects will respect, so the resulting designs and branding reflect what’s meaningful to the them.

Too many companies are drawn to social media as “the answer”, but without a strategy of any kind, they actually don’t have anything worth saying or sharing. For many companies, social media simply relays faster, with greater efficiency, and to more people than ever in history, that their brand lacks depth and meaning.

By thinking strategically, making real observations and planning, anybody can build a brand that stands out (and not blend in). Having nothing to say and no distinct way of conveying your difference and value will only result in your messaging using cliches, which means you’re promoting your category, not your brand.