What is Branding? A deep dive with Marty Neumeier

How to get started in branding? What is branding? A brand is not a logo. A brand is not a product. A brand is not a promise. A brand is not the sum of all the impressions it makes on an audience. A brand is a result-it's a person's gut feeling about a product, service or company. It's in their heads and in their hearts. A brand is your reputation.
Marty Neumeier started as a graphic designer and copywriter in the 1970s. In 1984, when the Macintosh launched, he moved to Silicon Valley to help companies like Apple, Netscape, HP, Adobe, and Google build their brands.
"Your brand isn’t what you say it is. It’s what they say it is."
Listen to the whole talk on our podcast
thefutur.com/podcast/073-deep...
www.martyneumeier.com/
Books by Marty Neumeier
The Brand Gap - amzn.to/2Q26Kh4
Zag - amzn.to/2M2dwly
The Designful Company - amzn.to/2r24ttz
Metaskills - amzn.to/2Z8GJAR
The 46 Rules Of Genius - amzn.to/34vpHO8
The Brand Flip - amzn.to/35AJf4Y
02:00 - How did Marty Neumeier end up at art center
06:00 - How Marty Neumeier became so articulate and concise in his writing
08:30 - The advice Marty Neumeier has for young people to communicate what branding means for companies
10:50 - What is branding? What branding is not. The definition from the brand master himself Marty Neumeier
16:20 - What advice would Marty Neumeier give to point someone in the right direction?
22:00 - What Marty Neumeier did to get brand new business in the beginning of his career
27:00 - How Marty Neumeier became a business man
30:00 - What Marty Neumeier has to say on specializing and niching down
33:00 - How does Marty Neumeier measure ROI of branding?
46:00 - How Marty Neumeier presents to a clients. Give the business people what they want to hear.
50:00 - how Marty Neumeier did a deal for $500k with Apple
58:00 - The results of specializing
1:00:00 - Marty Neumeier’s pitch when he was first starting out (You’re going to watch this over and over)
1:05:00 - What got Marty Neumeier to write The Brand Gap
1:12:00 - Marty Neumeier’s new book “Scramble”
1:19:00 - The 5 levels of branding from Marty Neumeier
#Brand #Branding #Zag #MartyNeumeier
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Host- Chris Do
Content Director- Matthew Encina
Cinematography- Mark Contreras, Stewart Schuster, Ricky Lucas, Jona Garcia
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[@Steven-dm5dk]

Brand is like reputation. Wow best definition ever.

[@GANJAC]

"Branding is a way to get more people, to buy more stuff for more years at the higher price" @Mind Oner , you missed this one

[@kunishasamunathan5744]

I cant tell if this was a sarcastic or genuine comment 😅

[@check1722]

@@GANJAC yes bro u right.... Brand= Grab Customers mind Space

[@champjitta]

Facts

[@pushupbrands397]

“You don’t need to be the biggest company to ‘wipe out’ the ‘biggest company’. You just have to be so specialized they they can’t afford to do the same thing” Legendary!!🏅

[@benzflynn]

Yet the whole goal of so many start-ups (and especially of their venture capital backers) is to reach a level of expertise and market dominance that they _must_ be bought out by larger, richer and older companies. An unrefusable offer is made and always accepted. Every business has its price to its owners. Anything more they could make from that business would not be worth the effort they'd have to put into it. And with the money they get, they can start other businesses or just become investors themselves.

[@ctaylorgh91]

Marty makes me nod me head and say "ok, boomer" with out the sassy sarcastic tone, just authentic respect and pure agreement

[@itajac80]

No way was that over an hour. It felt like 15mins, so much value. Thank u TheFutur for putting this together for all of us to enjoy.

[@thefutur]

Thank you Mariela.

[@madebymarco]

Same here. I can't believe I just finished the video.

[@dimitrisantrizos]

These two have changed my life over the last year of discovering them

[@ChuangJoey]

Same! Chris do and Marty Neumeier bring my level from a designer to a branding director

[@sandipsrawat]

I have discovered him today and started learn alot of things.

[@check1722]

❤️

[@mukondeleliratshilavhi5634]

@dimitrisantrizos what was your biggest lesson from them

[@csgoodies]

I feel really guitly. This type of content makes me feel like I should be paying - SO STOKED FOR THE WORKSHOP!

[@thefutur]

you should. consider supporting us by becoming a sustaining member.

[@csgoodies]

@@thefutur Beat you to the punch - I've been a pro group member for a year now :)

[@99CaNdYfLiP99]

There you see how bad the content you pay for, outside is.

[@antoniostojceski944]

Amazing! Watching Chris Do talking with Marty Neumeier about branding = knowledge overload! A brand is a "result". It's a customer gut feeling. Building a brand is like building a personality. When you created a brand, you actually created a different gut feeling for each of your customers! Thank you!

[@williamhardaway4432]

The creating a DIFFERENT brand feeling part was a different vibe.

[@mostlymichaela]

43:17 Giving real value to customers 1:01:25 The "sales" call 1:07:01 Practical steps for learning branding

[@Ilyass_0732]

what about first minutes

[@LindyDesignLab]

Props to the lighting guys. Beautiful set.

[@rickylucas]

😄 thank you, we try

[@williamhardaway4432]

Ricky Lucas you killed that.

[@rickylucas]

@@williamhardaway4432 I appreciate that :)

[@AlexMcDaniels]

@@rickylucas Yeah, this lighting is awesome

[@ThisDesignLife]

Definitely needs a Part 2. I'd like to know more about how he transitioned from the packaging design to more brand strategy. It seems a big jump.

[@alfio_dipane]

Packaging design itself is a ramification of Product Development, you get all the insights and knowledge about the product you are designing for, and from then, it's just a matter of gaining more experience and build expertise over the years to become a good marketeer.

[@hangoutwithsid]

Please never let this channel become a subscription 💵 based channel... We couldn't thank you enough for the value you are providing here.. and millions of creative fallows gonna thank you guys in the near future soon!! And you guys gonna become One of the top nonprofit/loved organisation in the near future.🤘🏻👍🏻🙏🏻

[@ashleykhan447]

This channel brings endless value and truly appreciate the dedication of The Futura giving back to teach. Thank you!

[@balddog642]

This is incredible. The brand concept has become a lot clearer. Right now, my understanding is that brand is a blend of WHAT results I've got and HOW much I've enjoyed doing business with the company. Then the combination of the WHAT and the HOW creates my perception of the company, which is reputation.

[@adelusikunle4473]

One of the words of Marty Nuemiere that stuck with me after reading his books, watching and listening to several of his talks is "Beyond Making Money", Purpose. What's your purpose beyond making money? I love how he demonstrated it in The Brand Gap and Scramble with the Obituary idea. Writing your business biography imagining its demise in 25 years of operations would reveal why you and your business exist. Steve jobs alluded to the death inspiration when he says, what would you do better if today is your last? That exercise could be life changing. You immediately realise how little your effort has been toward people, work, service and humanity. Thank you @thefutur, @chrisDo you connected me with @martyNeumeier 3 years ago and it changed my thinking.

[@graceunderfire45]

Thank you for such a wonderful perspective.

[@williambonessi3128]

I'm thinking that a brand is like people's gut feeling about a person. We introduce ourselves to the world with our strenghts and weaknesses and people build an opinion about us in their mind. Hairstyle, clothing, thinking, interests are only expressions of personality but the way they are perceived is branding (for some people they might be ugly, for other people might be cool). So is a question of points of view. According to what Marty says, everyone has a different brand perception on the same person (or a company, if we talk about business). Oh God, what a lesson!

[@emersonvolkova6715]

For someone just stepping into this world of graphic design, Marty’s definition of branding put many things into perspective for me as a lost creative.

[@thefutur]

Glad to hear

[@xvanegas89]

It's such a great day and age when you can read a book and watch a livestream of the author of that book. The Brand Gap was great Marty!

[@thefutur]

indeed

[@orcaceo]

Fantastic book!

[@Jieun3733]

As always, such an authentic lesson that I can hardly find anywhere. The Futur rocks!

[@SuperMannyphoto]

Im in the Video side of branding and I continue to learn so much from Chris Do and the Futur and all the guests. This episode by far hit me the hardest and really put a roadmap for me to follow and do. Such amazing value.

[@artkeologo3863]

No smoke just transparency! Thank You Chris! and Marty!

[@D4NNN]

I'm 29 mins in the video and this video is already changing my life thinking & perspectives, empowering my confidence, aims and my knowledge. Thank you for providing so much value. This is lifechanging. Marty Neumeier is a legend and Chris will be in Marty's legendary position getting interviewed in The Futur for sure.

[@zozulya2]

Im in the archiviz industry and after listening to this and his definition of branding, i realized that what im actually doing is creating brands for each building i visualize. I always felt on a subconscious level that there was a connection between visualization and business but now there it is. I was so excited, i had to pull over to write this stuff down. Good job Chris. Good job indeed.

[@NicoleGraphix]

I love his books, how humbling to see such a nice non-greedy man behind these books! Makes it even more of a sweet treat to reread them knowing it's written with these intentions. Thank you Marty!!

[@user-zm4bc7cs5b]

This interview is pure gold.. Thank you Chris!! Love your content.

[@mirandam8857]

You all need to win an award for all of the quality content you put out. Absolutely phenomenal!

[@thefutur]

Your appreciation is all the award we need.

[@rachelgillespie3257]

I didn't want this video to end! Hope he gets to come back and share more juicy insights

[@williamhardaway4432]

“They take the raw materials and make something out of them.” Pure 🔥

[@patricksawaya9376]

This is gold! Definitely going to watch it over and over again to let all the information sink in. Thank you Chris 🙌🏼

[@nibapositive]

Now I know what I want to do when I grow up! Marty Neumeier is the new Mandela for me! Thanks, Chris for make our lives easier!

[@thefutur]

you bet. grow up to be Marty

[@Mugetsuism]

I'm an automation engineer, and since I had free time, I got tasked with coming up with a logo for a new split-off company we are having lol. But I ain't no designer - I had no experience on the 1st thing to do. Now I'm neck-deep 3 weeks in lol. Your channel, the content, the interviews have helped me immensely in gaining insight, inspiration, and motivation into the world of design. Many other channels helped me with the 1st steps, the process, guidelines on how to become a better designer. But content like this is something unique. Listening to such amazing people with their insights and, not just inspirational but many times PRACTICAL knowledge is really helpful. Thank you thefutur :)

[@nojon235]

Lol how’s it going

[@Mugetsuism]

@@nojon235 The logo made the face of the new company website and linked in. They didn't use the font or the typography formatting even that I provided (opting for basic one) but otherwise, it was cool to see :D

[@tamandakamunga8342]

​@@Mugetsuism what other channels teach about branding? I'd like to brand my business and I'm a newbie to this whole designing thing

[@toniislyfield]

props to whoever put cc/subtitle in this video! you guys are legend!

[@nilanjanNM37]

The most relatable definition. Brand=Reputation...wow !!

[@diegorafaelsfo]

Thank you Marty. Good man giving and sharing the content. Then for others to follow through with the rest of the learning.

[@sahilbhagat181]

I love Futur

[@mm-zw4ng]

15:00 Marty it's like drinking 'design' 'from a mountain spring; so fresh, clear and revigorating. Thanks, Chris.

[@thefutur]

Ahh. Refreshing. Zero calories.

[@justinwilliams938]

Each customer will brand your business differently, your responsibility is to lead and keep the masses in the direction you want to. Completely blown away by this discussion!

[@flyryde]

Old school branding dudes are the sages of our time. I swear it’s like peeking behind the curtain of how and why people have lived and thought for the last 100 years when you look at the Cartoons, Madmen, and even now the online markers that are influencing us all without most people even aware it’s happening. Guys like this will explain to you projects they worked on that impacted how our parents (boomer parents) thought, believed, and acted, all based on colors, logos, brand loyalty, etc. lol. People all focused on politics and religion while being more subconsciously influenced in their life by marketing.

[@TrollProductionsMC]

That is what got me so interested in branding strategy, besides it combining the two things I enjoy the most, Design and Business.

[@Tubingonline1]

This is pure gold as always from Chris and the Futur team. My world wouldn't have been so rich without you guys. So you clearly are up there in that brand ladder thing :) (empowering us all).

[@observandoAvida]

Amazing. I could listen to their histories for hours.

[@multiscan8]

I love this interview! I've revered Marty Neumeier for a long time... great to hear his story in his own words.

[@tlhalefang__]

There is so much valuable insight in this conversation, I can't believe that such content is free. Thank you!

[@LosFoodiesMagazine]

Another great learning experience. I have the Brand Gap on Audible. Going to dive into it over the weekend. I remember you told me once that I needed to make it a point to learn all this stuff. Your stuff, their stuff. I’ve been diving in all that I can. Thanks again Chris and team!!

[@CREDOMALT]

Honestly thank you so much. This is pure gold. I’m inspired.

[@vhiely]

This is awesome! Can't believe I watched the whole thing! Now I understand branding better.

[@joelygoe]

Marty's Masterclass is excellent!

[@NGH99999]

Yes, PLEASE have a follow-up session with Marty. I could've listened to the both of you for many more hours. Bravo to you both, and to The Futur for bringing this to the world.

[@thefutur]

oh. we are already cooking ideas for ep. 2

[@AlexanderMorseDesigner]

1:01:50 Marty has a genuine flashback to the days of picking up the phone to make a sales call as a designer. Not afraid to humble himself. Great video Futur

[@DonnaLeeBugden]

So glad I watched this today. Thank you

[@mrsnack3118]

This was pure gold. 👌

[@TestRabbit2]

Nice and very interesting thoughts about branding. As somebody who wants to learn, this is great stuff! I bought his book half way thru the video. Ty!

[@basketballevryday]

Wow... this was PACKED! Thank you so much for continually placing information-rich individuals in front of us!

[@jermaine.m.charles]

Just watched this for the second time. That 'ONLY' concept is key! Thank you Chris & Team!

[@prakharmathur619]

WOW! I would have to watch this video, again and again, to get everything in my mind. I truly am thankful to The Futur for bringing us this value.

[@thefutur]

Glad it was helpful!

[@markzajac6208]

I love Marty and what he does. Great interview!

[@sfgwraps1801]

This video is so informative 🤯 Has me rethinking everything about how we interact with clients and our process. Crazy

[@carlangelotardecilla8675]

Best interview about branding!

[@mind_biscuit]

Excellent show, this was really interesting. Thank you Chris Do, the Futur, and Marty Neumeier. Side note: I would love a Marty Neumeier autobiography.

[@carlosastudillo5487]

Amazing work on this interview!!!.. by the way the production looks professional and clean, the camera angles and the audio and even how Chris ask questions... Marty is an amazing teacher and inspirational human... again great work from the team "The Futur"... A+ ... Thanks for this interview! :)

[@thefutur]

Thank you.

[@justinalvarado3717]

I love when Marty goes over his sales call! I was wondering where I could find his 22 secrets? What sort of guidelines should I follow in order to make my own?

[@andrej94mne]

This interview is pure gold.

[@thefutur]

Thank you

[@BigDadNRG]

Marty Neumeier is the West Coast Milton Glaser! Pioneers!!

[@walston20]

I can't believe this video has just 70k views. There's so much knowledge and quality here.

[@lucasasselmeier7825]

It’s multiplied 5x sitting here!!

[@jiteshdevadiga5230]

I tip my hat to both of you! This was brilliant and as a young design entrepreneur just starting out this is super insightful. Thank you so much! :)

[@shoesandcarstv23]

Great content as always. Such a great and down to earth guy he is.

[@freshmindideas3222]

100% Value. Thank you so much Marty. And thank you, Chris, you asked the right questions which gave so much of clarity.

[@felixquansah5214]

We want more!!!!! We want more!!!!! we want more!!!!!!!!!! Arguably one of the best videos on thefutur

[@thefutur]

It’s up there for sure.

[@mabel.e.kgalley9710]

Awesome talk, very insightful. Really deeeeep talk. Thanks a lot.

[@manzimfura]

Thank you The futur and Marty Neumeier , this was very Informative!

[@davziafilms]

Kudos to @thefutur ...this content & all of your contents are just mind blowing!✊

[@IvanTorresJmz]

This was an amazing interview, I'm not a designer so I didn't know Marty but, gosh! the clarity of this guy is impressive. Marty's books are at the top of my wish-list now. Thanks Chris!!!

[@thefutur]

they're super affordable considering how much knowledge is packed in there

[@irfanadamm5819]

This should totally be on the podcast

[@himanshushah8926]

great one! a real deep dive into branding - thanks chris

[@mainagakere7305]

Thank you for sharing this valuable piece of information that all creatives should view

[@alexis3605]

"The bigger the market the less you have to do. Specialize." : in another way, it means «Less is More». Every designer should implement this in all their practice. Not only in visuals.

[@tavongagune7783]

After listening to this whilst in the shower I’ve actually had a train of thought. Brand is somewhat like Architecture in a way. Looking at the Cathgolic Church for example. There’s a type of building we identify as a church and at the same time says in which the followers relate to it, spiritually. When designing for a brand to some degree you’re actually designing a religion. (I’m a Catholic and an Architecture student so it’s been interesting just reflecting over this topic)

[@pm217]

Amazing! Thank you guys so much!

[@juliarutkowski549]

Amazing! Thank you so much for this, Chris!

[@thefutur]

My pleasure Julia

[@gravid.design]

The sales call was amazing 🔥

[@johnfink3103]

Thank you both!! Marty is so down to earth and approachable! Doesn't hurt that the laid-back, two guys chatting on a couch, atmosphere is excellent. I have a couple of those books already, but now the rest are solidly on my list.

[@reshanjayamanne516]

21 mins in and I'm learning a heap. Thank you guys 🙏🏼

[@thefutur]

Great to hear!

[@afsarali-xp5kr]

Wow !! experience and wisdom really comes with age and real dedication one puts out there, truly inspiring and amazing story to share. Loved the interview from start to end.

[@thefutur]

Thank you

[@STVinMotion]

What an awesome & full of wisdom interview! Marty connects all the dots in a simple to understand and charming way. So happy you initiated it, the Futur! To the camera guys, I think there's a bit too much headspace above both of their heads in the medium shots. Just my opinion. Keep on rocking!

[@JUSTCreative]

Marty Do. Boom. Looking forward to Scramble! Thanks for organising this team, I hope to meet Marty one day in Australia!

[@sergiocardenas9324]

Wow!!! What an amazing and informative interview, Chris - a great way to close out the year. Thanks for all of the great content and for always sharing your knowledge.

[@SharonDeCaro]

Marty's the man! I've followed him for years. I'm at a point where I need to increase business. Re-reading all his work and listening to this interview. Wow, it's enlightening! Question: How would you do testing on the package design? Get a group of people in a room? Surveys? What tangible results, tallying sales volume?

[@thedanielefeni]

Please can I get some of his book in PDF format from you?

[@kevinanim97]

Thanks for sharing all this value!

[@onetruecalling]

Cue up the clap track because... that was amazing! I learned so much and as the creator of a 12 million dollar design-build firm that might be saying something. Super informative in ways that will help me to the next rung.

[@thefutur]

Wow, thanks!

[@onetruecalling]

Love your content brother. Keep up the great work and hope to see you at a live event. @@thefutur

[@leonardjohnson712]

This is gold Chris...thanks

[@davethedesigner6835]

I'm so excited for this! His books are amazing

[@KELVENFOUAD]

Great work! Keep it up! Really nice work!

[@leonidslipets6783]

Thank you Chris!! Love your content

[@thefutur]

You’re very welcome

[@dennismolina1127]

Brand is simply a matter of perception. It is that unique idea of value set in the mind of a person.

[@mateineagu5896]

38:57 - amazing.

[@simongoode7025]

Wow great interview and what a guest to get on!

[@Bgamer011]

This is amazing man... like, i couldn't you enough for having educated me for over a year. Thanks a lot

[@thefutur]

You’re very welcome

[@cirobunn7149]

Amazing! Thank you!!!

[@itsdevgarg]

Thanks for sharing this valuable video! Love from India

[@ezotheceo]

So much gems 💎

[@sergioariza7566]

Just thank you for this one. Thank you. Really really thank you.

[@thefutur]

you're very welcome

[@turquoisecoleman6437]

OMGGGGGG!! Marty Neumeier is Thought provoking, inspiring, exciting .. This was educational; I definitely grew new marketing Brain Cells.. ..great interview as well LOVE IT!! Thanks so much !!

[@thefutur]

Glad you enjoyed it!