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Learn “How Not to Name Your Startup” at General Assembly

Join Eli and he’ll give you the tools to create and evaluate brand names so you will never have to apologize for having a name that, like a bad tattoo, you will regret for the rest of your life. February 20, 2014 General Assembly San Francisco Sign up here

Stupidest Product of the Year (and it’s only January 3rd)

On the way into work this morning, I was listening to Marc Maron interview Artie Lange. One of the things I love about Maron is the way he hawks his sponsors like stamps.com and Adam and Eve in fine old time radio style. You’re rooting for him to pull it off but you know the only…

Don’t Call It That: A Naming Workbook

  • About: Naming

After 18 months of hard work, Don’t Call It That is finally here! Don’t Call It That is a naming workbook written by our Creative Director, Eli Altman, and published by ExtraCurricular Press. This isn’t a book about naming, it’s a step-by-step guide that walks you through the naming process– covering everything from creativity and…

Competing Against Big Companies: No One is Going to Save You.

In the Mission District, San Francisco, local merchants are banding together to try and prevent Jack Spade from selling tote bags and oxford shirts near them. The same thing happened with American Apparel a few years ago. In Berkeley on Telegraph Avenue, Mokka Coffee’s windows are plastered with “SAVE MOKKA”. (A Starbucks is opening down…

Hello Berkeley

You can now find us in an old clock factory at: 2604 Ninth St. Berkeley, CA 94710

Embarking on Brand Building Ventures

Embarking on  a brand building venture is an exciting and sometimes unnerving experience. The brand you build will, in many ways, determine the success of your company. It’s exciting to create concrete ways to express the vision and values of your company to your prospective customer audience, but there can be a lot of pressure…

Developing Brand Building Strategy

The task of building a successful brand can sound daunting, but if you approach it with a well-defined brand building strategy, it becomes much easier. Brand building is a complicated concept that begins with getting your brand noticed. But it can’t just stop there. Successful brand building means getting the people who notice you to…

The Difficulties of Brand Building Online

These days, a strong online presence is essential to establishing any kind of successful brand. Whether you’re starting a fresh new business venture or rebranding a company that for whatever reason needs an image makeover, brand building online is hard work and doesn’t happen overnight. There are many elements to brand building online, ranging from…

What to Expect from a Brand Consultant

So you’ve decided to work with a brand consultant. That’s the first step. Of course, now that you know you are doing it, you have to hire a brand consultant, and there are a lot of people out there offering their services. Since the reason you decided to hire a brand consultant in the first…