Resources
Everything referenced in Bold Brand 2.0.
Book recommendations, organizations, figures, example vision statements, and the DIY Bold Brand Audit: the companion material for the book, plus a few free downloads.
Free downloads
Tools for bolder brands.
DIY Bold Brand Audit (PDF)
The bonus workbook from Bold Brand 2.0: score your firm across positioning, voice, identity, and proof.
DIY Website Audit: 7 AEC Website Mistakes
Read the article free, then grab the 13-page checklist to score your own site.
Free Chapter: “The Art of War for Talent”
The recruiting-and-retention chapter of Bold Brand 2.0, free.
From the book
The DIY Bold Brand Audit.
Work through these with your leadership team, honestly. The goal isn’t a score; it’s agreement about where you actually stand. Prefer paper? Download the workbook.
Positioning
- Who are you?
- What is your market?
- What is your product or service?
- What is your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?
- What is your brand essence?
- What are your brand values?
- Describe your corporate culture. Does it fit your brand?
- What is your elevator pitch? Mission? Vision?
- Would everyone in your company describe your brand similarly?
- Are important decision-makers aware of your branding and marketing initiatives?
Voice & Style
- Describe your brand voice.
- Review sample headlines.
- Review sample copy.
- Review usage (possessive, plural, product, service, combinations, etc.).
- How do you write your company name?
Visual Identity
- Is your name trademarked or registered?
- Do you have a single logo or trademark?
- Is it used consistently across materials?
Collateral
- Round up samples of materials (brochures, print, tradeshow displays, advertising).
- Do they look like they’re from the same company?
- Are any outdated or inappropriately formatted?
- Is the brand used consistently, following standard rules?
- Are colors consistent?
Website & Social
- Search performance: can you be found online?
- Are your social sites up to date, and do they accurately reflect your brand?
Other Brand Exposures
- Sponsorships, civic involvement, memberships
- News and PR
- External assets: speaking engagements, articles, books, blogs
- Testimonials
- Videos
- HR policies and onboarding
- Internal systems
- Customer service
- Internal surveys
- Client surveys
Envision the Future State
- What does your brand currently look like?
- What types of assets, tools, collateral, and stories do you want?
- Which pieces do you have now, and which are missing?
- What are the priorities for reaching the future state?
Homework
- Review the audit results.
- Identify who else needs to see them.
- Rally your team and leadership.
- Assess in-house expertise vs. the need for outside consultants.
- Hire the appropriate team.
Reading list
Books mentioned in Bold Brand 2.0.
- Pocket PorchLights
- Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself
- The Win Without Pitching Manifesto
- Rework
- Outliers: The Story of Success
- Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
- Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation
- Twitter Marketing For Dummies
- Collapse of Distinction: Stand Out and Move Up While Your Competition Fails
- The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance Between Business Strategy and Design
- The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
- Get Content Get Customers: Turn Prospects into Buyers with Content Marketing
- Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity
- The Art of War
Figures
Diagrams from the book, full size.
The frameworks referenced by chapter, for readers who want them larger than the printed page.
Examples
Vision statements worth studying.
Referenced in Chapter 6. Notice how few of them mention what the firm does.
“Our vision is a world where infrastructure creates opportunity for everyone: uplifting communities, improving access and sustaining our planet.”
AECOM
“To be a top-10 global design firm that maximizes long-term, sustainable value.”
Stantec
“In each HOK office, we create inclusive environments where ideas grow, innovation flourishes and people can be themselves. The diversity of experiences, backgrounds, locations, viewpoints and ideas is what makes HOK a special place. When you join our team, we’ll be counting on you to help us change the world.”
HOK
“We believe in business as a force for positive change. We chronicle how companies create and compete, highlight new business practices, and showcase the teams and individuals who are inventing the future and reinventing business.”
Co.Design
“As designers, we have a lasting impact on an equitable society and a thriving planet. Our responsibility is to think about the human and environmental experience to create the essential balance and diversity found in all beauty. At RATIO, we design for impact.”
RATIO Architects
Referenced
Organizations, people & sites.
- AIA
- AIGA
- Andrew Davis
- Adobe Color
- Content Marketing Institute
- Content Marketing World
- HubSpot
- Interface Engineering
- Kennedy Van der Laan
- Kyle Lacy
- Lorraine Ball
- Lucas Miles
- MarketingProfs
- Marketing Tech Blog
- Mark Zweig
- Emma
- OHM Advisors
- Primera Engineers
- Sally Hogshead
- Scott McKain
- SHRM
- SMPS
- Win Without Pitching
- Zweig Group
- “The Greatest Sales Deck I’ve Ever Seen” (Andy Raskin, Medium)
About Bold Brand 2.0
Bold Brand is a framework and best-practices approach to help professional services firms identify a niche, position themselves within that niche, and build a compelling brand. The book walks you through the process step by step. Get it on Amazon or Audible, or read about the author.
Acknowledgments
With gratitude to Andrew Davis; to family, friends, and the Indianapolis and international network that shaped this work; to the AIGA, SMPS, and Content Marketing Institute members featured in the book; to CJ McClanahan; to Joe Pulizzi, Newt Barrett, Lisa Beets, and the Content Marketing Institute team; to editor Amy J. Dean; and to the MilesHerndon team.
Set in Gotham by Hoefler&Co. Book design, layout, and illustrations by Brian K. Gray, Jon McClure, and Josh Miles. Photography by Cody Thompson.
Want the AEC marketing strategies newsletter?
Prefer the done-for-you version?
The book teaches the process. We also run it: strategy, identity, video, everything.
Schedule a Discovery Call Get the Free Chapter
Not ready for a call? Get AEC marketing strategies in your inbox →