J.CINQUINA
World-class brands Win the game of growth
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Through successful exits and gut wrenching lessons, I’ve learned that great brands win. They are unique, consistent, and forces to be reckoned with. It's not about pretty, but pretty helps. Instead, they break the box and command attention in a sea of vanilla competitors by saying something of substance. Great brands are the result of great processes. When I’m standing up my own brand or advising to my portfolio - this is what my process looks like. It works for me. Feel free to copy it if you like it, or send me improvements if you don't.
- Uncover the story Every brand has a story - it doesn’t work without one.
- Brand & creative audit We need to know the state of affairs before we can change anything.
- Opportunity audit There’s always low hanging fruit. Get the early wins.
- Brand positioning strategy Know who you are. Know why it matters.
Know how to articulate it in non-clichéd language. - Brand story and messaging lexicon If strategy is inwards, story is outwards. How do we tell our story to someone who doesn’t give a sh!t and make them give a sh!t?
Consistency is required. A lexicon is the way to get it. Make it comprehensive. Make it usable. - Internal brand alignment Brand goes beyond pretty pictures and fun design. It’s the living breathing interactions as well. People either add weight, nuance, and authenticity to a brand, or they don’t. Get them on the same page.
- Creative strategy and brand identity Strategy is nothing without execution. Build the bridge from strategic intention into considered creative language. The logo isn’t everything but it is the anchor. Get the anchor right, then build outwards.
- Creative asset alignment Consistency and alignment is not the same font and same colors in every place. Consistency is a cohesive and textured story, unfolding as someone experiences the brand across different territories.
- Digital positioning The digital experiences that make up a brand are not just afterthoughts anymore. They are the first thing to consider.
- Immersive brand experiences How does the brand live in the wild? How do we activate our brand outside of our 4 walls? How do we immerse people in an experience that is unforgettable and compelling?
- Product brand alignment If brand is the promise, product is the delivery. Aligning product experience, pricing, positioning, and proposition to the brand promise is essential.
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Brand voice needs to be amplified. More eyes, more experiences. It's a volume game. True growth needs volume - It is disciplined, systematized, measured, and relentless. It leans on creativity but not without data. This kind of growth rarely happens by chance. Here's how I approach growth and I'm consistently working to improving it.
- Market expansion strategy What does winning look like? How will we win? How will we know when we win? I can't tell you how many times we 'forget' to answer these questions at the beginning.
- Omni channel rollout Which channels hold the highest efficiency and lowest barrier to entry? Let’s start there and work our way up the complexity curve. The true potential of omnichannel is when we synergize online and offline to work together.
- Growth prototype testing Moving in agile and fast ways allows us to stand up tests quickly and learn what we don’t know so that when it’s time to spend big, we’re confident in where we’re placing our dollars.
- Full funnel content marketing Delivering value, validation, urgency, and education at key moments in the life cycle.
- Marketing tech stack setup Misunderstood and undervalued. Likely the most important thing any fast growth company can do. Get the right technology pieces in place while you can. It’s harder to change later on.
- Metrics models and reporting Know the numbers that matter and report with simplicity and relentless accuracy.
- Map the ecomomics of growth Growth can be seen as impressions (eyes on the brand), visits (interactions with the brand), and conversions (sales for the brand). The economics of growth focuse on the distance between points and how we optimize the movement between these steps.
- The function of growth Sustainable growth requires a team effort and as you grow, it will be a hybrid of inhouse and out-of-house. Unless you've done it before, it's difficult to build and resource the function of growth in the right sequential order so that the sum of all parts is greater.
- Customer feedback loop Hear the truth from the mouths of those who don't have a vested interest in your success. Set up systems to hear what people really think of the product, and innovate relentlessly based on their signals.
Brands and companies I own and have worked with.