The Rise of Archetypes in Branding

First, a quick refresher: archetypes are universal characters or personas that tap into shared human experiences. Think of the Hero (Nike), the Caregiver (Johnson & Johnson), or the Rebel (Harley-Davidson). These archetypes have roots in Jungian psychology and storytelling but have found their sweet spot in branding by giving companies a consistent, relatable personality.
In a market oversaturated with choices, today’s consumers are looking for more than just products or services. They crave connection, purpose, and identity. Archetypes provide a shortcut to that connection by evoking emotion and creating instant recognition.

Why CMOs Are Betting on Archetypes

1. They Create Emotional Resonance

Emotionally charged brands outperform the competition, period. Archetypes tap into deep-seated emotions, fostering trust and loyalty. When customers feel like a brand “gets them,” they stick around.

2. Consistency Across Channels

One of the biggest challenges for marketers is maintaining a cohesive brand voice across platforms. Archetypes act as a blueprint, ensuring every Instagram post, email campaign, or TV spot aligns with the brand’s core personality.

3. They Simplify Decision-Making

For CMOs juggling multiple campaigns, archetypes reduce the guesswork. They guide everything from messaging to design choices, streamlining processes and saving time.

4. A Competitive Edge in Crowded Markets

In saturated spaces, archetypes help brands carve out a distinct identity. They allow businesses to stand for something more profound than their product features, making them memorable and, more importantly, irreplaceable.

Case in Point: Brands Getting It Right

Let’s look at a few success stories:

Dove (The Caregiver): Dove has built an empire by championing real beauty and self-care. Their ads don’t sell soap; they inspire confidence.

Tesla (The Magician): Tesla’s archetype evokes wonder, innovation, and the promise of a better future. Every touchpoint, from their sleek car designs to Elon Musk’s tweets, reinforces this persona.

Old Spice (The Jester): A complete rebrand using the Jester archetype transformed Old Spice into a cultural icon. Their quirky humor brought them back into relevance with younger audiences.

How to Start Building an Archetype-Driven Brand

Curious about where to begin? Follow these steps to identify and integrate an archetype into your branding strategy:

1. Know Your Audience:

What emotions drive their decisions? Which archetypes resonate with their values and aspirations?

2. Define Your Brand’s Core Purpose:

Beyond products and services, what does your brand stand for?

3. Commit to Consistency:

Archetypes are only effective when used consistently across all touchpoints.

4. Work with Experts:

Agencies like Tilted Chair specialize in uncovering and implementing the perfect archetype for your brand.

2025: The Year of Emotional Branding

As the marketing landscape continues to evolve, CMOs are shifting focus from transactional to relational branding. Archetypes provide the tools to create meaningful connections that transcend price wars and fleeting trends.
If you’re ready to take your brand from forgettable to unforgettable, there’s no better time to embrace archetypes. Because in 2025, the brands that win aren’t just selling products — they’re telling stories, forging relationships, and leaving lasting impressions.
Ready to find your archetype? Let’s start a conversation.

Here are Tilted Chair’s bold predictions for how branding will evolve in 2025 and beyond, including some controversial paths you might not expect.

1. Radical Transparency Will Be Non-Negotiable

Consumers are demanding brands lay it all out—flaws, failures, and all. Future-forward brands will:
Publish real-time data on their environmental impact, diversity metrics, and ethical sourcing.
Openly address past controversies or missteps in branding.
Allow customers to hold them accountable in public forums like social media.
This hyper-transparency might rattle some companies, but it’s a surefire way to build trust with savvy, skeptical audiences.

2. Micro-Niching Will Outshine Mass Appeal

Instead of casting a wide net, brands will focus on hyper-specific, even bizarre niches. Expect brands targeting audiences like:
Cat lovers who are also into punk rock.
Vegan tech enthusiasts with a passion for retro gaming.
Adventure-seeking grandparents looking for extreme sports gear.
By zeroing in on these micro-tribes, brands can create cult followings that feel intensely personal and exclusive.

3. AI-Generated Influencers Will Dominate Social Media

While human influencers still hold sway, 2025 will see a surge in AI-generated personalities. These hyper-realistic digital influencers will:
Customize their personas to perfectly reflect brand archetypes.
Never tire, flub a line, or stray from the brand’s narrative.
Spark debates about authenticity and whether human connection is being compromised.
The line between reality and simulation will blur, and not everyone will be comfortable with it.

4. Dark-Mode Branding Will Take Over

With the rise of dark mode on devices, brands will shift their visual identities to align with this preference. Expect to see:
Sleek, minimalistic designs in muted tones or neon-on-black palettes.
Logos optimized for both light and dark backgrounds.
A pivot from traditional bright and airy branding to something moodier, edgier, and more provocative.

5. “De-Influencing” Will Become a Brand Strategy

As consumers grow weary of constant “buy this now” messages, de-influencing will rise as a counter-movement. Brands will:
Encourage minimalism and mindful consumption.
Release campaigns urging customers to “buy less, but buy better.”
Risk alienating shareholders in the short term but win long-term loyalty from ethically driven audiences.

6. Psychedelic Branding for the Mindful Generation

With the growing acceptance of psychedelics in wellness and therapy, brands will lean into trippy, mind-expanding visuals and messaging. Think:

• Swirling, vibrant color palettes inspired by altered states.
• Campaigns emphasizing mindfulness, introspection, and emotional healing.
• Partnerships with wellness startups that explore the intersection of science and spirituality.

This approach will appeal to younger generations embracing mental health and self-discovery but may alienate more traditional audiences.

7. Meme-First Branding Will Shake Up Traditional Strategies

Memes aren’t just for fun anymore—they’re a powerful branding tool. In 2025, brands will build entire campaigns around viral humor. This means:
Launching meme-based advertising that feels organic and absurd.
Engaging in playful “brand feuds” that entertain audiences and drive visibility.
Risking backlash if humor misses the mark or alienates certain groups.

What These Predictions Mean for Your Brand

While not all of these trends will resonate with every company, they highlight the bold and unconventional directions branding may take. To stay ahead, brands must be ready to experiment, adapt, and, yes, even polarize.

At Tilted Chair, we’ve spent 15 years at the forefront of branding, helping companies turn audacious ideas into impactful strategies. Are you ready to embrace the future of branding—quirks, controversies, and all? Let’s start a conversation.

Margaret Mark and Carol Pearson’s The Hero and the Outlaw breaks down this idea beautifully and is a great introduction to Jungian archetypes as they apply to brands. They explain that every brand can embody one of 12 archetypes, each of which resonates with core human desires. When done right, brands that align with these archetypes can form deep, emotional bonds with consumers. These brands stop being just products—they become part of who people are, and who they want to be.

And what better way to show the power of archetypes than to look at one of the most commodified products on the planet: water. Seriously—how do you make something as basic as water stand out? Some brands have mastered it, using archetypes to transcend the everyday and create something unforgettable.

The Hero: Gatorade Water

Every great story needs a hero. Gatorade Water embodies the Hero archetype, appealing to our desire for courage, strength, and achievement. It’s not just water; it’s the water that powers athletes, the water that fuels victory. Gatorade Water positions itself as essential for those who push themselves to their limits. It’s not just about hydration; it’s about conquering challenges. Whether you’re a marathon runner or someone striving to live a healthier life, drinking Gatorade Water is about embodying the spirit of a hero.

The Outlaw: Liquid Death

Liquid Death is the rebel of the water world. Channeling the Outlaw archetype, Liquid Death has completely upended the image of what bottled water should be. It’s raw, it’s edgy, and it’s not afraid to be disruptive. With its punk-rock branding and the tagline “Murder Your Thirst,” this brand goes against the grain of the pristine, clean-cut water category. It appeals to those who don’t just want to be different—they *demand* it. Liquid Death isn’t just about quenching thirst, it’s about rejecting the norm and embracing rebellion.

The Innocent: Evian

Evian embodies the Innocent archetype, symbolizing purity, simplicity, and the desire to return to nature. Its marketing is all about natural beauty, health, and purity, with imagery of pristine snow-capped mountains and crystal-clear streams. When you drink Evian, you’re not just hydrating—you’re engaging in a ritual of self-care that promises to cleanse and refresh you from the inside out. It appeals to the part of us that longs for simplicity and innocence in a complicated world.

The Sage: Smartwater

Smartwater is the Sage archetype incarnate. It’s marketed as the wise choice, the water that’s “vapor-distilled” and enhanced with electrolytes for purity and taste. The brand doesn’t just sell water; it sells knowledge. Smartwater appeals to those who want to make informed, intelligent decisions. It speaks to consumers who value wisdom and insight, who want to feel that they’re choosing the best, most scientifically sound option for their hydration needs. In essence, it’s water for thinkers.

The Ruler: Voss

Voss is the Ruler in the bottled water kingdom. It’s sophisticated, premium, and authoritative. The Ruler archetype is all about power, control, and status—and Voss oozes it. With its elongated modern bottle and reputation for being a luxury water, Voss is the go-to for those who see themselves as tastemakers. It’s for people who value refinement and prestige, for those who don’t just drink water—they drink the finest. When you reach for a Voss, you’re making a statement about who you are: someone in control of life, down to their water choices.

The Explorer: Flow Water

Flow Water is the archetypal Explorer, and does an excellent job of marketing itself as a naturally alkaline spring water, packaged in an eco-friendly, Tetra Pak design. The brand’s commitment to environmentalism and its emphasis on exploring sustainable practices tap into the Explorer’s love for innovation and eco-conscious choices. Flow invites consumers to join the journey toward a cleaner planet, making it a great fit for those looking to make more adventurous and ethical decisions.

The Creator: San Pellegrino

San Pellegrino embodies the Creator archetype, representing artistry, innovation, and craftsmanship. This sparkling water is not just about taste; it’s about the entire experience. With its long history, elegant packaging, and Italian heritage, San Pellegrino is water elevated to an art form. The brand appeals to those who value creativity and expression, offering more than just hydration—it offers a taste of la dolce vita. The Creator archetype connects with consumers who see themselves as visionaries, as people who appreciate the finer, more artistic side of life.

The Caregiver: Poland Spring

Poland Spring taps into the Caregiver archetype, positioning itself as a brand that’s dependable, nurturing, and trustworthy. With its focus on sustainability and its long-standing heritage, Poland Spring aims to provide not just water, but a sense of comfort and care. It’s the kind of water that’s been on family tables for generations, trusted to quench the thirst of everyone from kids to grandparents. The Caregiver archetype connects with consumers who value reliability and community, appealing to those who want to take care of themselves and their loved ones.

The Lover: Fiji

Fiji is pure indulgence, making it the perfect representation of the Lover archetype. From its tropical origins to its iconic square bottle, Fiji is all about sensuality and desire. The brand markets itself as exotic and luxurious, with a taste and feel that transports you to a remote paradise. The Lover archetype speaks to people who want to surround themselves with beauty, who appreciate the finer things in life and aren’t afraid to treat themselves. Drinking Fiji is about more than quenching your thirst—it’s about indulging in a moment of pure pleasure.

The Jester: Hint

Hint takes a playful approach to water, making it the perfect Jester. With its fruit-infused flavors and light-hearted branding, Hint is here to remind us that water doesn’t have to be boring. The Jester archetype brings fun, spontaneity, and a sense of mischief, and Hint’s colorful, cheeky packaging delivers exactly that. This brand speaks to those who want to inject a bit of joy into their daily routine, showing that even something as mundane as water can be a source of fun and excitement.

The Everyman: Ozarka

Ozarka is the water of the people. As the embodiment of the Everyman archetype, it’s straightforward, no-frills, and reliable. Ozarka doesn’t try to be fancy or pretentious—it’s just good, honest water sourced from Texas springs. The Everyman archetype connects with consumers who value authenticity and simplicity, who want products they can trust without the bells and whistles. Ozarka is the go-to choice for those who just want to quench their thirst without overthinking it.

—

Why Archetypes Make or Break Brands

If water—a product that’s literally as basic as it gets—can leverage archetypes to create distinct emotional connections with consumers, imagine what your brand could do. The secret to a memorable brand isn’t in the features or benefits you list. It’s in the story you tell, the archetype you embody.

When you align your brand with the right archetype, you’re no longer just selling a product—you’re offering an identity. Consumers don’t just buy your product; they buy into the values, emotions, and aspirations that your archetype represents. So, which archetype are you? Are you the Hero, the Outlaw, the Caregiver? Or are you still trying to win over customers with logic and losing them to brands that understand the power of emotion?

Stop blending in. Find your archetype, and watch your brand come to life. If you need help standing out from the crowd, we can help. Reach out today for a free consultation.

Not war hard, or roofing hard, but it’s hard nonetheless. Is “hard” the right word? Maybe “exhausting” is more appropriate. First-world problem of the capital order, I know. But I suspect that exhausted, brain-dead feeling is something humans have experienced since time immemorial. Today it’s music, art, design, and advertising; 50,000 years ago it was cave drawings. Every humanoid who’s had regular pressure applied to the right hemisphere of their brain probably knows what I’m talking about.

I would imagine this isn’t something that occurs regularly for accountants or bankers. No disrespect to either of these esteemed and essential disciplines, but it’s just not the same. Those left-brain professionals might dread a long week at work because they know what awaits them. As a creative, your week is long because you don’t know what awaits you—you haven’t made it yet. And if you’re doing your job right, neither has anyone else. Thus, the cycle continues, and the drain on the brain regenerates anew.

It’s no surprise, then, that we sometimes feel the need to get away for a little bit. In this business, it’s easy to get lazy and resort to alcohol; lord knows agents of advertising are no strangers to the sauce. But it’s a band-aid, and the real escape is, well, a real escape. Travel. Vacation. Pilgrimage. Call it what you like, but it’s a useful tool in dusting off that oft-pressed creative button, and getting some fresh perspective on your work—and your life. Don’t take my word for it: take theirs, and theirs. And theirs.

Sometimes it’s a weekend trip to wine country, or a quick jaunt down to San Antonio’s Riverwalk. Other times you need something a little more extensive. Such was the case for me this past October, when I had the chance to descend on what some consider the most creatively refreshing place on Earth: Europe. What follows is a photo journal of my journey, and a chronicle of my transformation from struck creative match back to real fire starter.

Paris’ famous Arc de Triomphe.

The view from the top.

Nothing says “refreshing” like the Catacombs, amirite?!

The Mona Lisa: bigger than I’d expected because of how many times I’d been told that it would be smaller than I expected.

Taking a break from wine at the Bordeaux Cathedral.

Andorra, a country I didn’t know existed until we found ourselves repairing a flat tire smack in the middle of it.

You’re never too far from home to keep an eye on your enemies.

I wonder if Gaudí ever felt the urge to get out of Barcelona?

Even Europe’s rest stops have ruins. Show-offs.

One of many million-dollar views from the South of France.

The looming cliffs of Tourettes sur-Loup.

Monte Carlo’s famous Turn 6.

Europe has castles. Lots of castles.

The view from the top of the world in Eze, France.

After 16 days, five countries, six speeding tickets, and about a thousand bottles of wine, I packed my bags and boarded my plane back to the mainland. With a renewed spirit and a boat load of stories, I returned to The Chair ready to tap my newfound perspective to the benefit of the agency and our client-partners.

What is it about travel that restores one’s creativity? Is it the food? The people? The views? The spontaneous adventures? Or is it all just a placebo? The simple answer is, yes. And for all the other creatives out there, take it from someone who’s made a concerted effort to weave travel into the fabric of his existence: it’s essential. A well-timed trip sometimes means the difference between burning out and breaking through. Bon voyage!

We’ve grown a lot over the last year and half.

That means we have had to do a lot of hiring. While doing all that hiring we discovered that a lot of people are not really that good at getting a job. Some use a very obvious template where they copy and paste a position and company name into their cover letter. Others just don’t seem to think about the hiring process from the employers POV. So we thought it would be advantageous to help future applicants. Whether you are applying at Tilted Chair or another agency, these 7 tips should be taken into consideration.

I will say that 90% of the time we only hire people who are exactly qualified for the position. However, we found about 30% of applicants are not qualified. If the job posting says “2-3 years of agency experience” then make sure that you have 2-3 years of agency experience. Your chances of being dismissed are pretty good if you are a recent graduate or you have 10 years experience. There is a reason employers put criteria in the listing. If you told a real estate agent that you were looking for a house in the $200k-$300k range you probably wouldn’t be too happy if he/she showed you $100k or $900k house. So make sure you are qualified for the position. With that being said, our most recent creatives were not qualified for the position we were looking for. They were in the 10% of unqualified applicants that got the other 6 items on our list right.

Even if you are incredibly qualified and exactly what the employer is looking for, you should still try to be unique. By this I mean there should be some part of your application, resume, portfolio that really stands out from the rest. It might be the subject line in your email [“Hello, is me you’re looking for?”]. It might be the layout of your resume. It could even be that your portfolio is just so epic that it just pops out from the rest [screen shot of Jared and Jane portfolio]. Our last few hires all had unique selling points. Have a unique selling point in order to get noticed…hmmm, I think I’ve heard that before.

You can do this a few different ways.

• If you have a cover letter or an introductory email I personally love when the strengths are bullet-pointed or highlighted in some way.
• Paragraphs are so old school.
• We have to go through tons of applicants.
• If you can make it easy for us to find the info we are really looking for, then you are making our job easier.
• Ok, please don’t just put bullet points instead of paragraphs. This was for for demonstration purposes only.

Tell the company that you want to work for them. Austin is a great city. It’s decently affordable compared to other large cities. We have great entertainment. It’s hip. It’s educated. Low crime rates. It has been voted one of the top cities to live in by Forbes many times. We get it. Austin rocks. Please don’t tell a potential employer that you’re reason for wanting to work for them is because you want to move to Austin. If you want to move to Austin, do it. We almost always ask candidates “Why do you want to work at Tilted Chair?” and the best way to lose our interest is by replying with “Well, I’ve heard so many great things about Austin. I was there for a wedding/festival/vacation and thought it was such a fun city.” I’m sorry, but that is the wrong answer. Our recent creative team nailed their answer when they said “Well, we have been following Tilted Chair for a while now and we really love the work you all have been doing. You have cool brands, and seem share the same values as us. Plus, Austin seems like a cool city.”

So you got an interview! Congrats. You now have your opportunity to shine. I could write an entire new blog on interview do’s and don’t’s but I’ll keep this brief. First, this is as much of a chemistry check as anything else, so be cool. Smile. I know that’s easier said than done, but try your best. I’m sure not every employer will agree with us, but we want the interview to be a two-way conversation. Like a first date. We will ask you some questions, but you should ask us some questions too. Let’s get to know each other, right? And just like on a first date, don’t talk about your ex. Especially don’t talk about your ex if you did not have a good experience. Saying your last employer didn’t know what they were doing, or was too crazy, or micromanaged you just brings the energy of the interview down. Be positive. We want to work with positive people. Say you’re looking to gain leadership experience or more autonomy. Second, be memorable. We had a candidate that wrote an awesome slam poem for us. You don’t always have to be that memorable, but you should definitely leave us with something to help differentiate you from the other candidates. In her interview, our office manager shared the thoughtful email that her last boss sent to the entire company regarding her departure and the impact she made there.

This seems pretty basic, but send an email after the interview. Before we make anyone an offer, we make sure they sent us a “thank you” email. Be Lovable is one of our agency principles, after all.

Austin is full of smart, cool people. There have been lots of times we have had more than a few really qualified candidates. For our office manager position we had three awesome candidates. All qualified. All smart. All a great culture fit. Sometimes it just comes down to a flip of the coin. No, not a literal flip of the coin. Sometimes the final tipping point does come down to just a gut feeling. So if you’ve done everything else right, the last thing to do is simply cross your fingers and hope you’ll be getting an offer.

I hope this helps anyone looking for a job in Austin or at Tilted Chair. We know it can be tough out there. Keep grinding it out and keep checking our website for future job openings. Good luck!

We brainstormed for a couple of weeks prior to the summit in search of a breakthrough idea. The theory went that all of the other sponsors/vendors would fill their booths with the usual boring pens and stress balls—they did—leaving an opportunity to do something a little more memorable. A month or so before the summit, we had our idea: “One Hour Ads.” In lieu of a traditional booth, our team would set up a green screen backdrop, bring improv actors, and then film and edit a video spot for any brand who wanted one. All in an hour. One. Hour. Ads.

At the Summit

All-in-all, the day itself went extremely well. We think it may have had something to do with Tilted Chair being the summit’s first sponsor—thanks, Will—but we found ourselves situated right next to the buffet line. We also had about double the booth space of any other sponsors, which was nice. Space and location, two commodities that are like gold at a conference like this.

We kicked things off at 8am, and took turns attending panels/manning the booth throughout the day. 10 hours later, we’d made eleven spots—should we have named it 55 minute ads? Nah—some amazing new contacts, and had an absolute blast. Here are the three things we learned while rocking the summit.

1. Clarity comes first

When expressing a new idea, clarity of intention is of the utmost importance. We thought “One Hour Ads” was pretty simple and self-explanatory, but it became abundantly clear early on that we needed to adjust our pitch to attendees. Several booth visitors thought we were debuting a new concept for a creative agency, in which one hour ads was all we did. A new agency model, of sorts. Hmmm. Interesting idea, but not what we were shooting for.
As a full service creative advertising agency, our approach lacked clarity. Easy fix, though. The new pitch went something like this: “We’re a full service creative agency. Today only, we’re offering one hour ads.” Voila! Attendees finally got it, and our unique hook was anchored in something clear and intelligible. Clarity achieved.

2. You do you; not everyone will get it, and that’s okay

One hour ads wasn’t for everyone. It certainly wasn’t for our neighboring booth, but maybe that was just the endless looping bumper music. Of the several hundred attendees and who-knows-how-many companies represented, we were approached by 11 to make ads. Might seem like a paltry conversion rate, but every one of those 11 contacts represented a meaningful impression. We talked. We laughed. And perhaps more importantly, they got a little taste of the Tilted Chair flavor of creativity.
“One Hour Ads” was truly an expression of Tilted Chair thinking and culture. Those potential clients who didn’t “get it” wouldn’t be a good fit for Tilted Chair, and vice versa. On the other hand, those who were willing to take a risk and laugh with us got it. As a culture match filter, “One Hour Ads” worked beautifully.

3. Get people talking about themselves

The greatest conversationalists ask questions, and get people talking about themselves. It’s easy to forget, but every one of the world’s most ubiquitous and popular brands is nothing but an organization of people. People love to talk about themselves—their lives, their struggles, their hopes. Businesses are no different.
Our exploratory questionnaire for “One Hour Ads” asked a simple question, “What is your biggest marketing challenge?” That was it. That was enough to get people talking about themselves, their businesses, and their challenges. We took it from there.

Summ(it)ing it up

There were probably other lessons to be learned, but these were certainly the most memorable. Whether we add clients to the roster based solely on this adventure remains to be seen—my guess is, we will, ;)—but that’s not even really the point. We learned a lot from the whole experience, and that alone was worth the cost of entry.

Oh, what about those ads? Well, here they are:

Woo hoo! It has been a crazy year of change and growth here. For those of you who are visual learners I put this together:

We actually had a nice little company profile in the Austin Business Journal two weeks ago discussing our growth. You can read it HERE. Since then a lot of people have been reaching out and asking for more details on what we did to accelerate Tilted Chair’s growth. For easy implementation I will share the top 3 things we did, or rather, stopped doing, to help propel our agency’s growth.

#1 Stop Focusing Only On Your Clients.

This was the first challenge that we faced when I first came aboard at Tilted Chair. And it’s the same challenge that many, many other businesses face. We focused so much on the needs of our clients that we didn’t pay attention to our own needs.

Think about it this way: if you were a personal trainer who was weak and out of shape would you be as effective of a trainer as someone who was strong and looked like Thor? In theory, you could be, but would anyone trust you to train them? Probably not.

So as an ad agency, it was imperative that we spent time getting our brand in shape. We sat down as a leadership team an extra 3 hours a week outside of work hours and in the span of about 5 months we developed a mission statement, core company principles, a brand story, revamped our website, created internal processes for almost every department, developed some great case studies, and finally restructured our vacation and benefits for employees to further demonstrate our brand culture.

It was not an easy task, but it has paid off tremendously. We have literally closed new business with clients because they said our website was just that “damn awesome” and they loved what our company stood for. So no matter what your expertise might be, make sure it shines though your company’s walls, marketing materials, and its people.

#2 Stop Letting Yourself Be Held Down.

This applies to both internal and external forces. As a small agency there wasn’t anyone really holding us down other than ourselves, but I’ll get to that in #3. Internally we were sound. It was externally that we had some problems. There comes a time in every business’s life when they start thinking more about the money, than about the craft. You start out with this plan of rebuilding classic Mustangs or designing sport stadiums, and you find yourself one day working on a 2002 Civic or designing homes for rich yuppies in Round Rock, TX.

If you don’t drop bad clients, you’ll find it much harder to reach your goals. This was really difficult for us. We turned down a few financially lucrative, but boring clients, because they were not going to get us closer to our dream. Those clients weren’t going to help us innovate and inspire the kind of advertising we believed in doing.

So even though it was difficult at first, we quickly realized that by getting rid of clients that were holding us down, we made room for clients who could help us grow. For example, if we hadn’t turned down a major furniture store opportunity we probably wouldn’t have been able to work with our awesome friends at Camp Gladiator. What a shame that would have been!

#3 Stop Dreaming Small

The biggest obstacle we had to overcome was ourselves. One of the first clients Mike and Jamie tried to pitch was Red Box (a big red box outside grocery stores like WalMart where you rented round discs called DVD’s which contained movies…weird, right?) which at the time was a pretty cool and fast-growing company. They had big dreams! As time went on they settled for smaller and less sexy clients. They started dreaming small.

I think this is probably the case for any business, but especially true for a company in that 3-5 year range. You start to get complacent. It’s easy to lose that passion for what you’re doing. You forget how to dream big. If you’re a leader in your company it’s up to you to dream big. If you’re not a big dreamer or have forgotten that big dream, then you better hire someone who is a big dreamer. I think Tilted Chair had forgotten that big dreams existed and I simply reminded them of it.

We started to put together plans to build Tilted Chair into an agency that could compete with any other agency in Austin and work with any client that fit the “Challenger Brand” personality. We started dreaming big again. Guess what? We started landing dream clients like Torchy’s Tacos, Hostgater, Camp Gladiator, SpareFoot and a few more that we can’t tell you about at the time of this writing, but that you’ll be hearing about very soon. Dreaming small is a great way to stay small. If you want to experience big growth, then you have to believe that big growth is possible and actually reach for those dreams.

“Dreaming small is a great way to stay small.”

Were these three things revolutionary ideas? No, not at all. There are entire books written about these ideas. Some of my favorites include Start with Why, The Lean Start-up, and Good to Great. Additionally, two of the three items cost us $0. It didn’t cost us anything to get rid of the things holding us down, and to stop thinking small.

It was ultimately just an attitude and motivational adjustment. Focusing more on ourselves and revamping our company image was probably the most costly, but it was the easiest item to tie back to increased revenue and a happier company culture. The return on our rebranding investment has paid off exponentially.

So if you are launching a company or you’re an established brand that has become stagnant, try to stop doing these three things and see if you’re company can grow some wings like Tilted Chair did. Good Luck!

B2B marketing doesn’t always have to be boring. B2B clients often demand highly targeted campaigns focusing on specific groups of professionals. Below are two examples of how Spotify and The Insights Group used integrated marketing campaigns to influence small but incredibly valuable audiences.

Integrated campaigns, and people for that matter, are not an exact science. While new digital tools might give us the illusion of control, there remain innumerable factors that are out of our control. Political events, economics, and new technology all play a role in influencing how audiences view and interact with our campaigns, so we can only do our best to go with the flow.

Consider how the stars were aligned this Valentines day:
– History, tradition, and sappy advertising demand we think about love.
– 38% of Americans who describe themselves as single and ready to mingle have used an online-­dating site.
– Same sex couples are more than twice as likely to meet online than through friends.
– Dating apps like Tinder are part of a $2.4 billion online dating industry.
– What can we do to tap into that?

Thanks for the great research Aziz!

Last year, on Valentine’s Day, Spotify launched their Musical Matchmaker web app and targeted this interactive digital experience to media professionals in Europe. This year, Spotify included American media buyers (like me) in their campaign. To prove that ad formats like “Sponsored Sessions” and “Branded Playlists” can help audiences fall in love with advertiser’s brands, Spotify set out to help us media professionals find love ourselves.

Using workplace posters, Facebook, and interactive emails, Spotify promoted their “dating app” to people who had bought Spotify ads or subscribed to their marketing newsletter. There, people could sign in through Spotify and answer questions about where they lived, what company they worked for, and which bands they liked and didn’t like. The app then analyzed the data and identified other people with similar musical tastes.

4,000 professionals in 13 countries received their matches via email on February 12th. We can’t be sure how many of these professionals found love, but in the end, Spotify proved to thousands of media buyers worldwide how personal and engaging their promotions can be.

Tilted Chair Faced a Similar Marketing Challenge Last Spring

Our client, Insights Group, describes themselves as “a global people development company.” Basically they assist organizations in creating and maintaining an empathetic culture by teaching individuals more about themselves and how they relate to others. Insights’ ideal clientele are companies with more than 1000 employees, and like many B2B brands, they rely on connecting with these companies at conferences.

Insights was on a mission to take advantage of their keynote sponsorship at the 2015 ATD (Association for Talent Development) International Conference and Exposition. The conference focuses exclusively on innovations in talent development, and presented an opportunity for Insights to generate leads with a niche executive audience interested in learning more about developing their people and culture.

The Insights Discovery test assigns colors (Fiery Red, Cool Blue, Sunshine Yellow, and Earth Green) to social tendencies and identifies an individual’s unique blend of color preferences. Insight’s Discovery is the company’s most popular product, but it doubles as a sales tool. The objective was to introduce members of the audience to Insights’ premiere product by introducing potential clients to an Insights sales manager via an online form. Our campaign utilized elements of the Discovery test itself, teaching our audience a little bit more about themselves each step of the way.

The idea was to frame the promotional experience as a social experiment. We placed a mysterious black box on each seat at the keynote presentation, and implemented a little reverse psychology to get people to open it.

Those daring individuals who ignored our instructions and opened the box discovered a branded bag of a jelly beans and the line “So, you’re a box opener. Now we know. But what else makes you, you?” The box asked our audience to choose what color they identified with most, and to text this color “energy” to 31996. In return, they received curated advice and insights for interacting with someone such as themselves depending on what color they chose. They were also texted a link to the landing page where they could sign up to receive Insights Discovery for free.

By the end of the conference, 56 people signed up for our text campaign and 14 people filled out the form. Considering one client is worth tens of thousands of dollars, Insights was more than satisfied with the results. Sometimes it pays to think inside the box.

Once upon a time, there were four ways to reach your target audience: on television, with a billboard, in print, or on the radio. Each medium represented a unique way of serving a creative message to a large audience, which is exactly what agencies did.

Since then, 10 channels turned into 300 channels which turned into people streaming their TV on demand. Media is constantly becoming more fragmented as consumers are presented with more ways to watch, listen to, or otherwise digest content.

Today, all of the content we could possibly want can be viewed wherever we are–on the 65-inch screen in our living room or the 5-inch screen in our pocket (or both at the same time).

Social media helps consumers of content become content creators, simultaneously cooking up and snacking on creative throughout the day. We text and drive, Netflix and chill, meet our spouses online and otherwise spend our whole lives using the thousands of media options we have at our disposal.

This new media world has evolved into a “media ecosystem” and it’s a living, breathing thing. And while it’s a lot more complicated than before, we see that with more options comes more opportunity.

Geographic and Demographic Audience Targeting

This type of audience targeting has been around the longest, but still acts as the foundation to any media strategy. Even in the 60’s, you could serve a TV ad to 25- to 55-year-old women living on the west coast by selecting the right networks, dayparts, and local channels.

Today, demographics have become more in-depth and geographics, more specific. Brands like Moviehouse can serve their new “Mommy Mondays Calendar” to moms of 0- to 12-month-olds living within 15 miles of the theater with an average household income of over $150,000. That was a mouthful. See below example:

Schedule and Device Audience Targeting

In addition to knowing who will see your ad, knowing when and where they will see it allows agencies to create a more relevant and compelling experience for their audiences. For example, let’s say we’re serving video to our “mom” audience on HGTV and Facebook.

By synchronizing ad schedules and serving our Facebook ads to mobile devices, we create an environment where moms might stumble across our video in their news feed while the same video is playing on their TV.

Smart brands are using comparable targeting strategies to break through the promotional clutter and surround their audience with more relevant creative messaging. Twitter offers TV targeting natively, making it easy for agencies to serve ads to audiences watching certain networks or specific shows.

Companies like Twitter are constantly developing new tools for advertisers that make it easy to consider an audience’s daily schedule and device.

Check this video introducing Twitter’s TV Sync product:

Interest and Behavior Audience Targeting

This is where things start to get exciting, or terrifying depending on your perspective. In the age where every question courses through a search engine, and every purchase goes on a credit card, it’s getting easier to guess what’s going on inside your audience’s head.

Consider all of the moms that were engaged with our video campaign that eventually made their way to our event page on themoviehouse.com. We can retarget these moms across the internet, tailoring creative based on what they’re buying and searching for.

We can also serve one set of creative to moms worried about the flu, and another set to fashionistas who buy organic products and love to host parties. Essentially, we can make it seem like an ad was written specifically for an individual. Now that’s getting personal.

Here’s a video about Facebook’s retargeting tool called “Custom Audiences.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzCRpzDCVmk

Anybody can use these targeting tools to improve campaign performance. New programmatic platforms are making it easy for brands, agencies, or your local barber to schedule a campaign and target it to a specific audience within a specific geographic zone on a specific device searching for specific things. Phew.

Successful campaigns are the ones that consider the bigger picture–the ones that understand the essential partnership between creative and placement, and the ones that listen to their target audience and act accordingly. In Adweek’s Audience Targeting Guide, companies showcase a few of their latest tools. We’ll talk more about successful audience targeting campaigns next month with Part 2: Curated Creative and Perfect Placement. 

Wide-tracked serifs look imposing

Not sure why. But it’s something a lot of universities and government agencies have figured out. Don’t these words just feel resolute?

Only adjust tracking on all caps

Any font worth its weight(s) should possess some reasonably sound inter-letter dynamics right out of the box. If you’re laying out a headline in sentence case, leave the tracking alone, and use your kerning eye to adjust any spacing anomalies.

Larger-leaded text looks elegant

Got a luxury brand? Space out that leading.

Ragged right is beautiful

Don’t be afraid of the unique and spontaneous edge a left-justified bit of copy creates. Embrace the edge. Love the edge.

Avoid long lines of text

Be mindful of how many words your copy rows possess. Generally, your text rows should contain somewhere between 50-100 characters per line. More than that and your copy starts looking like a css-less HTML page. No good. Overly long lines of text are graphic design’s version of a run-on sentence.

Mix serifs and sans-serifs

Seemingly at odds, serifs and sans serifs can be thoughtfully paired with one another in certain applications. The result can be equal parts modern and elegant.

Avoid pure black body copy

It’s hard on the eyes, and it looks amateurish. Pulling back to 60-70% can really improve the look of page, and aid legibility.

In closing

There are type crimes being committed everyday, but with your help, and a good bit of diligence, we can leave the world’s words looking a lot more beautiful. Until next time.