(Make sure to read Part 1 of Bill's Spotlight first!)
Welcome part two of our Consultant Spotlight featuring Bill Bubenik of bigdirty.agency. Last we left Bill’s client, they had just received the results of their “bigdirty.review”, and had hired Bill to take the next step: drafting a customized plan, or roadmap, for his client to follow. They may then take it and run with it on their own, or implement it with Bill's help. Either way, the destination is the same: a clean, cohesive brand.
Every plan is different, but they're all structured around the primary cornerstones of branding - vision, mission, target audience, unique selling proposition (USP), voice, and positioning statement. Bill says, to clarify, that his clients aren't necessarily unfamiliar with these fundamentals, and most likely, in their company's early years, their team did put substantial effort into creating a brand identity. But, he continues, unless they have a dedicated marketing department, maintaining it pretty quickly falls to the bottom of everyone's priority list as they grow and get consumed with more urgent tasks. It's completely understandable... but, unfortunately, branding is never a one-and-done job. Without consistent, aligned effort, things start to slip. And when any of the individual components get sloppy, the whole brand identity is compromised. A pro baker knows that no amount of icing wizardry can disguise uneven, mismatched cakes. Similarly, slick visuals and witty bits of copy aren't enough to rescue a slapdash brand strategy.
At the core of every great brand is a solid USP; but, Bill says, it's not uncommon for his client to be so overly-familiar with their work that they start to lose sight of what makes them special. What once inspired passion now just seems ordinary. Bill, however, knows that by drilling down into his client's story, he can help them rediscover the thing that makes them extraordinary. And that thing, he says, whatever it is, is marketing gold. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Before his client can leverage this treasure to cultivate brand awareness amongst their audience (aka "marketing"), they must first develop a crystal-clear picture of their company's identity and character (aka “branding”). To put it simply: branding is knowing who you are and what you are like. Marketing is telling other people who you are and why they should care. Putting the marketing cart before the branding course will always lead to frustration, and what's worse, won't get you the results you want.
So friends, if your marketing campaigns have been falling a little flat, maybe take a beat to check in with your brand. How's it looking? A little disheveled? A lot disheveled? Well, whether your company need a quick tune-up or a total overhaul, Bill is your man. Call or email us today to schedule a free 15-minute “bigdirty.vibecheck”, and take the first step towards getting your brand back on track!
Q & A with Bill
Q: Bill, you’re great at helping clients find their USP… but what is your USP?
A: It's me! Because I'm rad, and we get to hang out.
Q: What common misconception do clients have about you or working with you?
A: I think people are often worried about offending me when I show them art and they don't like it, or it doesn't feel right. They worry that I’ll be upset, but I don't care! I made something so we could react to it, so I succeeded. I made something, and you gave specific feedback that turned into guidance and direction.
Q: How do you keep your creativity and inspiration fresh when art is literally your job?
A: By making room for it. So, that means staring at a blank screen. That means turning off my computer and throwing a ball around, or just sitting in silence. Being bored is like an art. It's a skill muscle to stretch, especially nowadays. We have all these professional [design] programs now… but it's still my job as an artist, as a creative, to have an idea. Just because you have tools (and this includes AI)… just because you have tools at your fingertips doesn't mean you have a good idea.
Q: Do you think your work has a discernible aesthetic?
A: Well, Big Dirty Agency has been a wonderful opportunity for me to take all the rules I thought I needed to follow and just break them, ruin them… not follow them.
So, I'm taking opportunities to make art in the way that I want to make art. It's been fun to identify those rules… to give myself permission to break them.
Q: But you’re willing to be sort of a design chameleon for your clients?
A: Oh, absolutely. When I'm working with a client's brand, there's none of me in it.
Q: Name one thing on your bucket-list that is completely unrelated to work.
A: I want to live in an RV full time and drive around the continent with my family. Beach life…is life.
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