Pierre Gasly, Formula 1 racing driver and winner of the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, has an important lesson to share with the branding community.

schedule a call share it if you like it Share on linkedin Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email commerce, conscience, culture, and control – the four dimensions of societal relevance a while back, I came across a tweet by Business Insider about the three key dimensions of...

comparing your type treatment to a face-to-face conversation as you’ve probably noticed, we have something against unnecessary capital letters. the reason being that, as a blog-centric organization, we look at our type strategy as a key element of how we relate to you. a while back, a designer colleague of...

the beauty of small innovation as I was scrolling through my social media feed one day, I stumbled across a news update from Dutch nursing company, Buurtzorg. they are one of those interesting businesses I like to keep an eye on from time to time (and if you have read...

in the story of your brand, you’re not the hero a while back, I learned that a strong enemy could strengthen your brand. the example that was given at the time was Pepsi versus Coke. and it seemed to make so much sense. many good stories have a hero and...

when the bird starts to sing – on the influence of organizational culture on your brand one of the biggest realizations I have had from my marketing and branding experience is that a company’s success can never prevail only by investing in outside-facing interactions. many organizations (including some that I...

schedule a call share it if you like it Share on linkedin Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email using the “metaphor of you” to explain the differences between product, brand, branding and marketing “brand” is one of those overused buzz words in the business and marketing world....

branding is like placing enough pieces of a puzzle to recognize the full picture imagine you are in front a box full of puzzle pieces. 100 of them. your objective is to recognize what the final picture of the puzzle is in the least amount of time. technically, you don’t...

a kind reminder about how you should approach the COVID-19 outbreak from a branding perspective. keep yourself and your brand safe and sane.

how is your brand showing up during these unusual times? how are you prepared to meet a crisis? maybe this is the perfect time for some reflection on that.

the gut has more to show us about how we are built than we think. Dive into the fascinating world of neurogastroenterology and see what we can learn from it in branding and marketing.

schedule a call share it if you like it Share on linkedin Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email listening to your heart is more scientific than you think  science is not static. what we know today may be obsolete tomorrow. our innate curiosity and healthy skeptical side...

“we’re not disciplined enough to be cool” – me one upon a meeting, in an office not so far away, I said: “we’re not disciplined enough to be cool”. and I love this quote! indeed, one of the most difficult things to fake consistently is… “being cool”. put in other...

guiding or manipulating? the spectrum of influence. I once read a book about the “theory of influence”. to be honest, I struggled to reach the end as it kept on providing tips, tricks and examples about techniques that felt more to me like manipulation than the sort of influence I...

don’t be your worst enemy. stop diluting your brand. most psychology experts would probably tell you that you are your worst enemy. that you are the biggest obstacle standing in your own way. knowing yourself usually helps to avoid falling into the easy traps. well, guess what. it’s the same...

schedule a call share it if you like it Share on linkedin Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email defining “culture” with Geert Hofstede one of the key aspects we focus on at the make sense academy is cross-cultural communication. being expats ourselves and having traveled quite a...

it's not only us saying this. Neil Patel, GrowthHackers, Avinash Kaushik, Deloitte - more people are starting to understand the pivotal role that brands will play in 2020 and beyond.

after fat cats, here's another creature of the corporate fauna to be aware of, and to be prepared for: HiPPO's. in this case, HiPPO is an acronym standing for "highest paid personal opinion".

at the make sense academy, we have identified eight different groups of stakeholders that you should keep in mind when designing your brand strategy. if you thought the only one that mattered was your potential future customers, don't be surprised if your brand doesn't go anywhere. you might sell products...

if you'd strip away the brand embellishment and storytelling layers from your product, what would remain? learn from Aston Martin how to design a product which speaks on its own.

there is an interesting paradox in the way we do branding: working with emotions, yet expecting linear results. what is good for your brand to adopt in this circumstance?

in today's growth-obsessed world, being yourself as a brand in not optional, but paramount: to your business, reputation, and longevity.

find out the amazing science behind memorable moments and how your brand can pay more attention to its moment creation.

there is a handful of teams in an organizations that most people prefer to avoid. I like to believe that the reason lies in the fact that they usually are the "stop-the-nonsense" or "stop-the-crap" teams. and I work in one of them and love working with the others. please give...

let's have a look at how tricking people's brains can actually save their life.

when it comes to emotions, opinions, preferences and many other things, they are matters of perspective. most of our thoughts are relative to who we are, where we are, where we come from or grew up. and it is by exposing them to different perspectives that we can better understand...

no language is better than any other. just like no culture is better than the other. they are different, value different things, structure things differently. they all have their own logic and weirdness. and it is by comparing them that those become obvious, and that you can get to better...

schedule a call share it if you like it Share on linkedin Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email don’t invite the fat cat in instead, focus on what really matters for your brand and leave the rest aside. here’s a question for you: does your brand suffer...

in this overwhelming world where everyone seems to be shouting for attention, softer and more intimate can be welcome. no need to shout if you build a message that is actually welcomed or content that actually matters…

The time has come to rethink the way we try to understand other fellow humans for our branding and marketing pursuits. Clinical market research methods are hurting your brand presence more than you think. Go deeper into why these research methods won't help you, and find out what will by...

we tend to over-index on words. there are more human and universal ways to communicate what we mean, but many marketing professionals tend to overlook them much too often.

there is a big difference between being available in a different language, and having a true and deep meaning for someone who happen to have a different way of expressing themselves and looking at the world.

brands can become much more meaningful when they stop considering themselves as a brand, and start defining themselves as what they represent and stand for. not just a logo, color codes and type treatments.

I was just browsing through my Instagram feed when I ended up on the profile of The Thin Gold Line. and if you believe, like we do, that shapes can be very powerful assets, you should definitely check them out.

I just heard a story about a language that doesn't actually count any further than two. everything more than two is just "many". when you hear why, it actually makes sense.

most of us have that one simple idea that we prioritize over everything else. that one deep thing we truly believe in and would not trade for anything else in the world. what is that core idea, that essence, that unwavering truth about you?

even digitally, our senses can be engaged. some brands protect characteristics like strategic sounds or visuals, like the pshit of a bottle opening or the jingle of ice cubes.

See how a coffee cup can appear human by adopting some basic body language...

imagine George Lucas' Star Wars without its soundtrack by John Williams or with different sound effects... not really the same mood.

so many people. so many cultures. so many channels. and everything should still be consistent, aligned, somehow, and yet with content customized to their specificities...

just like when we were babies, we always filter information based on how we categorize the sender: friend or enemy.

Ever heard the saying "sex sells"? What about "sexy"? Have a look at some Coca Cola ads...

Who thought washing powder could try to change perception and behaviors?

Brands compete on intangible attributes. Commodities compete on price or convenience.