The Secret to Branding

The Secret to Branding

 

Mike Farley offers some inside information on the power of branding and what it means for your business.  Take some lessons from the “big boys”… there’s a reason why branding works, and in short, it’s because you continually pound your message home in everything you do.  Figure out what it is that you do, clarify that message and deliver it over and over and over again.

Ahead of his time…

Ahead of his time…

Remember what life was like before the Internet?

The Internet formally took hold in 1993, but really didn’t make much of a dent until 1996.  By the turn of the Millennium, every company knew it needed a website, but few design firms could build a site worthy of their own design skills… but one did — Vizid.  The brainchild of Mike Farley and Adam Emery, Vizid crafted sites that were literally, ahead of their time.

“We signed on some very good business, ” stated Vizid President Mike Farley in retrospect, “… we did Sargento,  we attracted the attention of Activision, primarily because Adam was just so brilliant in combining great design with wicked programming skills.”

But few business ventures find their true stride.  Not long after their rise to fame and fortune, the horrific events of 9-11 occurred and set the company back as companies across the globe cut their marketing budgets and delayed their advertising and web ventures.  However, the lessons learned were invaluable… and the executions delivered in the early 2000’s, looks as if the work could have been done today.

JSH&P’s Mike Farley

JSH&P’s Mike Farley

A little bio —

With 30 years of experience, the founder and leader of the JSH&P team is Mike Farley, one of Wisconsin’s leading brand experts.  He cut his advertising and design teeth with Fortune 500 giant General Mills, working the flagship Cheerios brand, as well as CocoPuffs, Yoplait, Hamburger Helper and Olive Garden.

Having worked in Minneapolis during the creative awakening in the late 1980’s, Mike became the youngest Creative Director in town while at Clarke Livingston & Associates.  He was recruited to the Milwaukee area in the 90’s and ultimately started his own award winning design firm Axis Creative in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.  However, the effects of the 9-11 disaster hit the marketing community hard, and Mike was lured to try a new venture with client Econoprint.

Then, in 2007, the itch of the entrepreneur took hold again and Farley started JacksonSpencer LLC in Cedarburg.  It’s there that JSH&P works it’s magic for clients big and small — handling the brand management and leading marketing efforts that not only look good, but add profit to any businesses bottom line.

Meet JSH&P

Meet JSH&P

Jackson C. Farley

26 and an immensely talented illustrator, film editor and designer.  His work has been utilized by many JSH&P clients over the years.  However,  you may find his latest trek into the incredibly dangerous world of bicycle messengering to his best boldest yet.  Take a peek into his world, if you dare.

Spencer W. Farley

At 24, Spencer is an Adobe Premier and After Effects specialist and a National Guardsman Specialist, too.  He, too, has great creative skill and a quick wit.  He has the power to turn two sticks and a rock into a entertaining game at a moments notice.  Very useful at parties.

Harrison W. B. Farley

The youngest of the three boys, Harry is 22 and a college senior at Northern Michigan University.  He is an accomplished copywriter and artist with the tenacity to finish even the most daunting of challenges.  You may find his work on Bael (a novel of epic proportions) to be a best seller come 2020.  My retirement is counting on it.

Peyton H. Farley

At just 15, Peyton’s enthusiasm, intellect and beauty may trump her three elder brothers. Currently a freshman at Cedarburg High School, her status on the varsity tennis and ski teams is only overshadowed by her accomplishments as an equestrian rider — being one of the very best in the state of Wisconsin. Go, girl, go!

Proud for these four?  Who me? 🙂

Yes, JSH&P

Yes, JSH&P

What’s in a name?

You may ask, “Why the name change from JacksonSpencer?”  JSH&P?
Really?
Well, back in 2007, I set up Jackson Spencer as the name of my business because it served two purposes:  first, my two eldest sons are the Jackson and Spencer in the name, and the ad agency world is filled with pompous names on the letterhead.  Oglivy Mather, Chiat Day, Weiden & Kennedy to name a few.  Further still, it set a tone that the work would be professional, creative and world-class. Lastly, the domain name “jacksonspencer.com” was available.  So my firm was born.
Problem is, I have four children, who all have pompous first names.  So, back then, I also purchased the domain “harrisonpeyton.com” for the day that I started a business for my younger children.  But, as time pushed on, the thought of establishing this other entity seemed to be less and less.  The only thing to do was to make an executive decision and put the other two on the mantle.  And, as is Madison Avenue tradition, when you get more than two, you shift to the acronym.  How many of you remember BBDO (Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn)?
Jackson Spencer Harrison & Peyton makes for a pretty smart bunch.  Now, if the ol’ man can keep the ship afloat long enough for one of them to come on board… well, stranger things have happened.  We trust that you’ll find your experience with JSH&P to be something akin to “Madison Avenue meets Mayberry RFD“.