This is not a call to change the colours of your logo. This isn’t about a “refresh.” This is something much bigger.
Every system needs calibration. Your brand is a system, and it requires frequent calibration.
A simple enough statement, but as with anything in the BAM universe, it is loaded with all kinds of meaning.
We’ll be discussing 3 things during this podcast:
I strongly recommend you start by understanding your brand archetypal mix, and we have a FREE quiz for that.
You can join our BAMFam Community dedicated to aligning your brand. We have Free Alignment resources there as well.
Finally, if you find yourself in need of guidance with your brand alignment. We have our BAM Academy, and frameworks to help you with that.
I would start with The Big BAM Process, this is the brand strategy framework I have led thousands of clients through and we have a self-guided option as well.
If you would like to be a guest on our podcast you can contact us.
This is not a call to change the colours of your logo. This isn’t about a “refresh.” This is something much bigger.
Every system needs calibration. Your brand is a system, and it requires frequent calibration.
A simple enough statement, but as with anything in the BAM universe, it is loaded with all kinds of meaning.
We’ll be discussing 3 things during this podcast:
I strongly recommend you start by understanding your brand archetypal mix, and we have a FREE quiz for that.
You can join our BAMFam Community dedicated to aligning your brand. We have Free Alignment resources there as well.
Finally, if you find yourself in need of guidance with your brand alignment. We have our BAM Academy, and frameworks to help you with that.
I would start with The Big BAM Process, this is the brand strategy framework I have led thousands of clients through and we have a self-guided option as well.
If you would like to be a guest on our podcast you can contact us.
This is our 12th episode. Welcome to our monthly podcast. We are going to be changing our format a bit and be more of a discussion around brand related topics, as well as introducing another person to stir up the conversation. But the goal is to still keep it under 20 minutes. This month's topic is"Can you return your brand to a hundred percent efficiency?" This is not a call to change the colors of your logo. This isn't about a refresh. This is something much bigger. It requires frequent calibration. A simple enough statement, but as with anything in the BAM universe, it is loaded with all kinds of meaning. Consider an ecosystem, plants and animals, move through Things, bloom, grow and die off. Dead plants decompose into essential elements before they are reused for something else. Trees shed their leaves in the autumn, as a reset for the spring. This calibration allows for longevity. Every few months, you change the oil in your car, you bring it in for a tuneup every year or so and parts wear down and get replaced. A car is a complicated machine for a simple task. If you ignore the calibration of its systems, the parts will wear down and soon enough, you're taking the bus to work Or bike. Every system, organic mechanical, spiritual, theological needs, routine realignment, and recalibration to run smoothly and efficiently for years to come. While the day in and out your business may have you feeling like your brand is a technical mechanical thing. It is definitely an organic being. Calibrating your brand requires craftsmanship to ensure you serve the right audiences in the right capacity. When your brand falls out of alignment, out of tune, the problems start. You might be working longer hours, less money for pain in the ass clients, or noticing the starting slivers of burnout. Without calibration, your brand could die off or grind to a halt on the side of the road. Without calibration, your brand is totaled. It's not effective or as effective as it could be. So before we deconstruct what this all means, let me tell you what bam cast is all about. Bam is a monthly podcast dedicated to recalibrating your brand audience and message. All resources, support and topics will be around brand recalibration to give you confidence and clarity on the right path for your brand's vision. I am Joel Kelly co-founder of BAM align, BAM academy and the BAM Fam and.
André Gagiano:Hi I'm am Andre Gagiano the RAD, relationship alignment director, here at BAM, and also the owner of Strike North Branding Company, which leverages the BAM frameworks and systems. We spent 20 plus years recalibrating brands and educating business owners on how to communicate to those who already looking for what they, as a brand are uniquely offering. To teach you the lessons we've learned from our successes and failures to share the wisdom we've gained along the way. We didn't follow our passion. We followed the opportunity, which led to our passion. If you wanna build a legacy and live the life you've always dreamed of, but just need a little guidance to get you there, we're here to help. This month's topic is"Can you return your brand to 100% efficiency?" We'll be discussing three things during this podcast when it comes to branding, what do we mean when we say recalibrate and alignment? Number two, how you probably approached building your initial brand and the problems I bet you're having right now. Number three, how to calibrate the brand you have into the brand. You. So let's start off with, uh, with point number one, calibration for branding purposes. Let's start by establishing a baseline understanding of some of the relevant terms. If I go to the dictionary, I can read that calibrate is a transitive verb meaning to measure precisely or to adjust precisely for a particular function. I can also read that alignment is a noun, meaning the act of aligning or being aligned, particularly the proper state or positioning of parts in relation to each other. But what is their application when it comes to branding?
Joel J. Kelly:Sure. I mean, so calibration starts with establishing a baseline, a zero point a place to work from as companies do more work, reach wider audiences, and find ways to leverage their brand. They get further from the baseline purpose, recalibration, aligns your brand with purpose and the audience who needs you the most. Calibration in general, like, as we've stated prior for the mechanical, or organic systems, like if you go on a diet or a cleanse, it's meant to recalibrate your organic system. And so there are ways that sometimes we just need to jump start our system, or there's an imbalance somewhere else, and we need to address that. And so, a lot of people when they do like brand development or brand strategy or whatever, it's like, I set it and forget it. And then they, they don't have anything to monitor the progress or some of the stuff that's going on and they definitely don't have anything to see if it's a healthy brand or not. It's just everyone else's opinions and biases and so, that's not a really great thing. But the fundamentals of calibration and alignment really is, is taking a hard look at the variables that make up your brand and seeing if they're working together or against each other.
André Gagiano:That makes sense. Let's hop onto point number two, how 99.4% of all brands are born. I understand that everyone has to start somewhere and businesses that start off as solar shops or consultants need something to build from, so a brand doesn't always feel like a priority when you're thinking about securing clients and making deadlines, especially in the beginning. So what are the consequences of taking shortcuts when you're starting up a new brand or business?
Joel J. Kelly:So there's a common misconception that branding is easy. I can't tell you how many people build their brand in an afternoon and think the work is done. They buy a domain, secure social media handles, and get a discounted logo from fiverr or an online generator. Others build their brand from mood boards and feeling, or my favorite, the countless companies who build their brand by copying the mega brands like Apples, the Pepsis, the Teslas of the world. Their brand may be recognizable, but that doesn't mean anything about the mega brands will apply to you. You may like a logo or a color scheme, but the visuals are not a baseline for the brand. They will do little for establishing the structure of your brand that needs to thrive. And eventually there's no way around it. Your brand needs alignment. You need to calibrate what you are doing and who you are doing it for into a representative brand. Another issue. I, I guess I would have to say is, people don't understand that branding is foundational. It's the process of creating that identity, that visual identity, the core values, what you stand for, what your purpose is for, but it's, it's really the who of who you are. And so a lot of people, they don't, they don't figure out who they are. They just quickly go out to market. It's very quickly, your audience realizes that you are lost and confused and you don't know who you are. And so they see that as well. I can't be confident and have authority and take you seriously or whatever, because you don't sound like, you know what you're talking about, you sound like you're still trying to figure it out. And in truth, a lot of us are still trying to figure it out to some way to lean off that allows that evolution of that brand to move forward. And so as you apply those in the audience or whatever, like with your audience, you'll start to see and shape, your brand into something that is much bigger than just a business. And I guess the thing is a lot of people say, oh, I have a brand, no, you have a business. And I think that's a, a topic for another time, but yeah.
André Gagiano:So everything good in life starts with a handful of questions. What's working? What's not? What do you love? Are your clients returning? Are they sticking around and letting your brand shape their lifestyle? Are you solving more problems than you create? Does your business life purpose feel sustainable?
Joel J. Kelly:Yeah. So, I mean, regardless of how you answer, there's a pretty good chance you need your brand calibrated so what people think of you matches what you do for them. Regular maintenance is essential for your brand, just as you check your ledgers for ways to reduce cost or expand clients. You know, the brand is continuously evolving, as we stated prior and it's an entity of your business that needs frequent attention.
André Gagiano:Ah, yeah, the good old constant in life. The, the good old consistency nothing's consistent, nothing is consistent, only inconsistent. But do I need to start from the ground up to recalibrate my brand?
Joel J. Kelly:No, not no. No, definitely not. What you need is assisting capable of testing your brand's fortitude. This is the very idea that, we built the Big BAM Process around. Offhand people think we are a branding agency. We're not, we don't build brands. We break them down. We tear them to pieces to deconstruct your vision and determine what you need, to put your brand on a successful path. Again, it's really about the recalibration.
André Gagiano:So, what does that mean for my brand, for example, Strike North?
Joel J. Kelly:Yeah. So this means calibrating your brand with the right audience, not the biggest or the most expensive, but the right one for you, this might be restructuring your products or repackaging them in a new way. This might mean you're completely talking to the wrong audience and you're not aware of it. This may lead to a problem that you didn't know was there and that through addressing the pain points, it starts coming out and then you can create a product or service around that that actually is really gonna help your audience and the one that's right for you. And so, yeah, as a consolation prize, this might mean you get a new logo or whatever rebrand, but again, that's not the focus, the visuals are definitely not the focus. But it can happen and sometimes it's necessary. But rebrands are really there if your image in your customer or client is so bad that it can't be fixed. And so you have to change the imagery because of that perception is so damaged. And that does happen obviously, especially with acquisition mergers, sometimes that happens is they have a really good system, but their service sucks. And then there's another company who's acquiring them and they have really great service, but their system sucks and they merge together. Best of both worlds, but they actually take the, the branding or rebrand things a little bit differently based on the service from the previous company. Sometimes they just keep with acquisitions and mergers. But anyway,
André Gagiano:I mean, I can speak from experience that the Big BAM Process is not easy. It's not meant to be. It's very much the program designed to separate the wheat from the chaff. Just take a look at some of the brands that have recently dismantled their idea of branding and calibrated into something that will stand the test of time. They're all seeing incredible results and changed how they personally view the world around them.
Joel J. Kelly:Yeah, but it's not for everyone. Most owners won't even take the time or business owners or CEOs, or like, you know, C Corp or whatever. They don't take the time to recalibrate their brand. They won't bother finding the foundation or fine tuning their messaging or even giving it a second glance. Once they got it, they think it's great. They go to market and then they just try to kind of like push it through. Again it's like, if you think about it, it's like playing pin the tail on the donkey with their audience. They're blindfolded and they're trying to find the right audience and they're just like sticking holes everywhere they can possibly go. And then at the same time, they don't want their to know,"Hey, we're still trying to figure it out." And so their ego is getting in that way and creating all sorts of fun and complications and different things. So they likely just let their brand grind to a halt or wonder why nothing's selling and why no one cares or feels and they feel totally burnt out. And it's a total shame, but it's not the reality of the situation. It's just like, there's an audience out there, for you. Like ours is we only wanna effectively in the, the life of BAM, we wanna affect 250,000 business. Now that's not a lot, honestly, that's very small and numbers compared to the planet and know that you can have multiple businesses for a single person. So it's like 0.0 0 0, 0, uh, 0 3, 1 8 something percent or whatever, if you calculate it based on the people. And then it even goes even smaller if you calculate it based on the businesses. So, because there are a lot of people who are entrepreneurs and they have a lot of businesses. But the idea is that you need something to be able to measure the growth of your brand, but you need to test and see is it working? Is it not? And once a year, is more than effective to go through at least once a year, or if you're doing a major shift or change in the company, you're offering a new service, bring out the Big BAM Process. If you are thinking about testing a new product, put it through the process, does it align with you? And it's really cool because the process can be nested, meaning like it doesn't matter if it's top level, if you're just starting out or if you are in the thick of it, and you're trying to figure out how to get the attention of your audience and you want to put out a new product or service, or you are wanting to build another department a new division. Is it aligned with you? Does it make sense and if it isn't, how can we recalibrate it? Or is it something we just need to cut? Again it's just really about staying in your own lane for your brand, and not imitating everyone else's, that's out there. And the, the interesting thing about the Big BAM Process is the fact that it is, it's the variables that you put in and the output is different for everyone. So when we go into the process and Andre, you know, this from it as well that we don't actually know the outcome, but we walk you through a process consistently, and it produces incredible results and people have this clarity and different things, and they think that obviously we, as the guides are the genius, but the genius really is the process and the methodical weight it's designed. And there are ways where it challenges you where you're like, well, I naturally think it would be this way, and it's meant to be that disruption, it's meant to be that reverse, and and the methodology is intent. And again, like Andre said, it's not easy. It is not easy. You might swear, you might get upset, you might get frustrated, you might wanna throw in the towel. In the history. We've had one person who's thrown in the tap. One person, they couldn't do it. Their brain couldn't take it anymore, and they just like, and what would it actually was ended up doing is it challenged the very foundation of who they were unintentionally. Didn't know it was gonna do that. But it challenged the very foundation of who they were and it opened up, it started poking holes in their reality and was like, actually, what you believe doesn't have a lot of substance. And I wasn't expecting it to be a counseling session, but it ended up being one of those. And it's not a knock on the person. It's just, it hits you where you are and it helps you get to where you need to be. And I think that's the brilliance of the BAM ecosystem in general and obviously I'm biased because we built it years and years and years of testing, but we just put together, two test workshops for the new format for the group and they've gone amazing, like absolutely amazing Andre. You can actually speak more about that because you were actually in there teaching with Darlene. And we've got another one coming up in, end of September, October or whatever, again, another discounted one, but anyway, yeah. Tell us your experience.
André Gagiano:The energy was amazing. Absolutely amazing. Um, yeah. So, uh, just watching and guiding, uh, working with, with Darlene, watching and guiding the people who've who've recently gone through the group courses, i, I can't recommend it enough. It really doesn't matter how different the industries are or the businesses are amongst the group. It's just that interaction and new, fresh ideas coming out, plus the energy as well. I mean, maybe we're just lucky, but the energy was something that was, it was, uh, re you could really sense it. So it's very different dynamic from perhaps doing it yourself. But I, I would highly recommend it. I just think that having fresh ideas and being different industries helps you evolve when you are in your, discussion, uh, rooms. And from what I've heard back from the people who've done, the group sessions are, are only positive as we can see in the testimonials. So yeah, I, I would highly recommend them. I think the next one is there. Won't be three in, in a group there'll be six mm-hmm Uh, but they're still small enough, uh, to get to, to get the energy of everybody in there. Um, so yeah, I I'm looking forward to that actually.
Joel J. Kelly:It's, it's really cool. Um, I mean, obviously for, from my point of view, it's really cool to have someone else teach a process that you have put your life's work into, and see the results, then get that consistency, no matter who's guiding. Obviously there's some training re like some pretty serious training that went in the background for, for Andre, uh, to do that. But, um, yeah, we have options for recalibrating your brand. We have the self-guided version, which if you're, you know, if you're pretty good, you can keep yourself on track and accountable to your, like, you can be accountable to yourself and reach your goals and milestones without having someone else there with you, then yeah, the self-guided is a really great option. But if you need that accountability and that collaboration, like there's a saying that it says within 30 minutes of getting together, you can accomplish so much and solve so many problems by having other people's point of view. And sometimes you can get off track. Obviously when you add too much chaos to the mix. But for the most part, it, it just, it incubates an environment of, of exponential growth. And that's one of the things like the group session, to be honest is one of the most valuable sessions. Now, if you are quiet and your person who probably doesn't feel like your voice is heard and whatnot, you want the one on one. And yeah, it's obviously, on the more expensive side it's on, whatever it is, but it's that one on one, it's that attention that's necessary, and really it it's, it's such a small price to pay for what it's going to yield you, that clarity and that focus to move forward with the audience that already needs what you already have. Like they, they already want it. And so that's the thing is a lot of people think that we have to go build the pond or create the pond, that's not true, you have to go find the pond. And I think that's something that we need to understand.
André Gagiano:Actually, whilst we're on that subject, Joel, I'm gonna, I'm gonna ask you, cause I think you probably articulated a little bit better than me, but just to let the viewers make them aware of what you actually physically get out of BAM in terms of, if they go for the BAM shot, that is what is it that you get at the end of, of, of finishing the self-guided or the group or the, one-on-one?
Joel J. Kelly:Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So you're talking about the BAM shot your aligning blueprint. Yeah. So we have a recalibration alignment blueprint that after we go through, if you decide to go with the self-guided you have, what's called, the BAM shot in all three levels. And so the BAM shot is really where we, as the, the guides of the, the BAM process, we look at it and we realign it to make it whatever it needs to be. So if we're looking at the different variables and we're starting to see, this is outta sync, this is out of alignment this needs some recalibration, we give it some fresh eyes. See, a lot of times we're sitting here going through making decisions, biasedly. It gives us an unbiased objective opinion of our brand alignment in our brand and what needs to be recalibrated. And then we provide that feedback within the meeting and then we make a plan as far as to move forward, and it's really, it's really that simple. So it gives us as the quote unquote experts, if you will just further along in that process, evolution of understanding how to recalibrate a brand and basically it's, it's your guide. We had a restaurant family owned restaurant, and they went through it, they use it, it's like their Bible. And it's, it's only like ninety pages, so it's not a very thick Bible, but it's their, their guide in everything. They have their stuff it's posted up in the, in, in the back end where, where all the staff can see it. They started noting more repeat customers and the right type of repeated customers, they started spending more money with them, they started, um, and just little changes in different things. And so it's really cool. Just some of those little changes that are necessary, that made a huge difference. But again, that BAM shot provides that accountability, if you will, for that document for it, and whether you're self-guided, there's an option for adding the BAM shot on which I'd highly recommend, no matter what. And then the group session you get that, we, we show you how to do it and, and if you need us to do it, then we do it for you. I think you just finished one yesterday, actually. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. So, and then with the one on one it's it's included. So from your experience, not from my bias perspective, but for your perspective, Andre, how did you, like, what was it like in doing the, the bam shot with, the client yesterday?
André Gagiano:What I like about it, the BAM shot is that it's, it's not pretty. It's a document and it's non fluff. So it gives you a, a working strategy. So the client, we went through it with the client. So what, what that is, what that entails is obtaining her handwritten notes and transcribing them into the BAM shot. And what we are really doing is we are just looking at the alignment between the archetypes of the client themselves, the intrinsic and the environmental mm-hmm And it's just in that just gives us the thread or the, the guiding star as it were throughout the strategy session. Throughout the BAM shot itself. For most part, the client was relatively happy, or very happy should we say, but she was very happy in terms of how aligned it was to how she felt about her brand. She was very clear on who her clients should be and there is a few things that, that maybe have, have shifted in her way of thinking, especially when it comes to her office. So in the BAM shot or, or in the overall BAM strategy, we have the good, better, best. It just clarified it for her. But there were also add-ons on top of that. So I think what the, what it did for her was really put everything in one place and sort of give her a clear idea of where she's going next. Not only that, it also gives her the opportunity to give this document to her marketers, to people that she's working with, which it keeps that alignment in progress. Unfortunately, she has had some, personal issues with flooding, so she wasn't, uh, there were times when perhaps she needed a bit of time out, but generally speaking, the feedback was positive.
Joel J. Kelly:Yeah, that's awesome. So, I mean like, yeah, that, so the conversation is really about that recalibration and investing into that yearly and again, we have the process and we, we have the different things, for that I think it's, it's fantastic that it's, it's the right kind of disruption in order to create that growth and that change. And that that's really what BAM is about. BAM is isn't a branding agency, we are a brand recalibration company, and that's what we do. And we're a tool, we're a resource that you can leverage. Then you can go back to your marketers, you can go back to the branding company you were working with, you can go back to them with this blueprint and, and run with it. We're not here to steal, we don't wanna take, we're just here to educate. We're here to recalibrate and, and help you focus on getting your time back, you know, and, and getting it to invest into things that you wanna do and you, you love. And working with the people who already are huge fans, man. I can't tell. How amazing it is. Like my clients are amazing. They're they're absolutely amazing. And I'm so grateful and thankful that, um, to be working with them. It it's just, it's awesome. I, I don't wake up going, oh man, I gotta go to work. No, man. I wake up. I get excited. Now I'm a little drained right now. As you can see, there's a little bit weirdness going on around me and maybe you can't see because you're hearing this and it's just a podcast, but we're moving. We sold our house in 10 days. T minus 10 days, that's it. We're done we're out. Um, and so we are, we are on a new adventure in different things and gonna be living in an RV and all this other stuff, state, that's another topic of conversation, but the point is that, um, there's a lot of change and it's necessary and sometimes it's changed for that growth. It's painful. It's not easy. We're getting rid of so much stuff and going down into an RV, we're not putting things in storage. And, and some of the things that we realized is that we put a lot of stuff in houses that doesn't need to be there. And we put a lot of stuff in our brand that doesn't need to be there. And I think that what the process does ultimately is it strips back into what is the essential parts to make the brand, um, to, to help or to empower the brand to grow. And I think that's, that's one thing that we can dig. Anyway, would you agree? Andre? Think that makes sense.
André Gagiano:Absolutely. Yeah. A hundred percent. And I mean, I think that's where, from my point of view, as a BAMbassador and a BAM strategist, it's, it gets, it can sometimes, um, get complicated, trying to explain to people that we are not there to do your logo or your graphic design, uh, or your marketing. We're simply there to give you the blueprint of your company. Almost like your manifesto. And personally speaking, I've gone back to the, my bam shot and I've whenever I hit a roadblock. I go back to it and I use that blueprint to find out where the roadblocks are. And that's the beauty about this, uh, about, about the bam that, uh, it, it, it gives you the ability to, to, to go in and find out where the issues lie. And that's the beauty about it because you can carry on reverting back to this over and over again. As your business grows, which is at the, which is what we are all wanting at the end of the day is our businesses to grow.
Joel J. Kelly:Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it it's really incredible once you see it, once you see your brand, your business idea transcend into a brand, I think it's fantastic when people start, the reputation starts developing um, it, it's, it's really a fascinating process. But at the same time, the it's not easy and it's, it's, it's not for everyone to go into business or whatever. You've gotta have discipline and sacrifice and be able to do things like I've been doing this for years and years and years and years and years, and then, uh, in my forties decided to not decided, but the path led to now I'm going to teach what I've been helping so many brands do for so many years, and now I'm gonna switch to teaching and still I work with, with live clients, of course, because I wanna always sharpen and, and keep myself sharp. It's more transitioning and empowering others to teach this process. And that wasn't something I planned doing. It wasn't in my roadmap to do. It's just, it's an opportunity that presented itself. And I had this structure already somewhat in place, it just needed more developed. So I picked up the ball, I developed it more and now we have a BAM strategist. They, so it's not just me now, it's other people who can help recalibrate brands and do things. And Andre does a phenomenal job. I can't recommend him enough. I think you need to hire him immediately. Um, because of just how he sees the thing, like how he sees the world and, and where he goes through in the process. And, you know, honestly he's gonna be better than me. I think so. And Darlene she's phenomenal as well, and absolutely amazing. We've got Britton as well. He comes from videography and his way of telling story and incorporating that with his journalistic background, working with papers and news and, and all sorts of broadcasting and different things. Like he just comes from a different point of view and just adds so much more to it. And Darlene has that educational background and music and theory and frequency and, and putting really things in alignment and recognizing when things are out at tune, to make that tonal shift. It's just fantastic. So we couldn't ask for better BAM strategists to be a part of this system, and you're in really good hands. And again, it's not easy, but it's necessary. So yeah, I mean, that's where we're at. So I think that, I think that's good. I think we talked a little more than we usually do, and I do appreciate that you guys allowed us to have that freedom and hopefully you found this beneficial. Yeah. Um, no, I thank you for your, your kind words there, Joel and, uh, I think it's been a good one just to sort of explain or go a little bit deeper than usual. You know, getting the word out about BAM and how it works and how it can actually help you. And also again, that it's not something that's easy or fluffy. There's no fluff involved. So I think that wraps up this week's, podcast. Thank you for or this month. Thank you for, for listening in, if you'd like to be a guest on, on our podcast, you can email clarity@bamalign.com with the subject line I would like to be a guest on BAM Cast. I, I strongly recommend you start by understanding your, your brand archetypal mix.
André Gagiano:We have a free quiz for that. The link will be in the description. You can join our BAMFAM community dedicated to aligning your brand. We have a free alignment resources there as well. It's also a great way just to get further understanding on how it all works and how it all fits together. And also speaking to fellow BAM strategists or BAM business owners. The link will be in the description.
Joel J. Kelly:Finally, if you find yourself in need of guidance with your brand alignment, we have the bam academy and frameworks to help you with that. I would start with the Big BAM Process. This is the brand strategy framework that we have led thousands of clients through. And we have a self-guided option as well. And the group one that we discussed, um, that will be in the end of September, October, we can put a link in that description if you're interested in signing up. So, um, and then obviously we still have the one to one. So that's also an option if you want. And thanks again for listening and we hope you understand how brand recalibration can return your brand to a hundred percent efficiency or at least point you in the right direction.