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    Bigger Than This
    Bigger Than This
    Bigger Than This
    Ebook107 pages1 hour

    Bigger Than This

    By Fabian Geyrhalter

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    What do brands like Planet Fitness, Everlane, and Bombas all have in common? They’re capturing peoples’ emotions and winning customers’ hearts. And they are based on commodity products or services.

    Following the success of his #1 bestselling book, “How to Launch a Brand,” acclaimed brand strategist Fabian Geyrhalter is back with an enlightening new book that digs deep into today’s new world of brand creation. “Bigger Than This” challenges companies – from startups to Fortune 100s – to (re)discover their spark and connect with today’s consumers on a deeper level.

    In “Bigger Than This,” Geyrhalter analyzes brands that are based on commodity products – watches, socks, shoes, fish – yet they quickly turn into beloved brands. He emphasizes the importance of storytelling, encouraging brands to embrace 8 simple traits these brands showcase and offers specific, actionable commandments that any brand can implement – story, belief, cause, heritage, delight, transparency, solidarity and individuality. Instead of playing “dress-up,” he wants businesses to uncover the roots of their ventures and share honest, empathetic stories that resonate with consumers, creating a loyal following that leads to strong, successful brands.

    Delightfully concise and refreshing, Geyrhalter draws on his personal experience of having helped shape over 60 brands, and intentionally (and noticeably) steps away from marketing fluff and business lingo that often clouds the integrity of marketing books.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFabian Geyrhalter
    Release dateJan 23, 2018
    ISBN9780989646116
    Bigger Than This
    Author

    Fabian Geyrhalter

    Fabian Geyrhalter is a renowned brand strategist and the founder and Principal of FINIEN, a Los Angeles-based consultancy specializing in turning ventures into brands. Geyrhalter is also a columnist for Inc and Forbes, and he has been published by the likes of The Washington Post, Mashable, Entrepreneur and The Huffington Post. He is an advisory board member of Santa Monica College and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California and Art Center College of Design. A frequent speaker and mentor to entrepreneurs worldwide, he is a “Global 100” mentor at the Founder Institute, and his book “How to Launch a Brand” is a #1 Amazon Bestseller. His newest book is “Bigger Than This.” He lives and works in Long Beach, California and is a graduate of Art Center College of Design.

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    Reviews for Bigger Than This

    4.5/5

    5 ratings2 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Great Book from a great human being. Thank you Fabian
    • 4/5
      I love how the author gives me a taste on how each brand exemplified in the book manifest individual trait leading its unique personality crafting from the start-up one to succeed in the business venture.

    Book preview

    Bigger Than This - Fabian Geyrhalter

    BIGGER THAN this

    by Fabian Geyrhalter

    Copyright © 2018 by Fabian Geyrhalter

    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at the address below.

    BRANDTRO PUBLISHING

    320 Pine Avenue, Suite 1010

    Long Beach, CA 90802

    ORDERING INFORMATION:

    For details, contact the publisher at the address above or

    send an email to orders@brandtro.com

    ISBN 978-0-9896461-7-8

    Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information in this book is accurate at the time of first publishing. The editor, publisher or author cannot accept responsibility for damage or loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of the content of this publication.

    This book is dedicated to those entrepreneurs who are driven to launch brands rooted in empathy for humanity.

    CONTENTS

    BRANDS IN COSTUMES, About Bigger Than This

    THE RESURGENCE OF COMMODITY BRANDS IN TIMES OF INNOVATION AND DISRUPTION

    THE 8 COMMODITY BRAND TRAITS AND THEIR COMMANDMENTS

    | 1 |

    STORY

    When the background story is bigger than the product

    CASE STUDY: FISHPEOPLE SEAFOOD, Fish

    COMMANDMENTS

    | 2 |

    BELIEF

    When values are bigger than the product

    CASE STUDY: GEA, Shoes

    COMMANDMENTS

    | 3 |

    CAUSE

    When the cause is bigger than the product

    CASE STUDY: BOMBAS, Socks

    COMMANDMENTS

    | 4 |

    HERITAGE

    When a sense of location is bigger than the product

    CASE STUDY: SHINOLA, Watches

    COMMANDMENTS

    | 5 |

    DELIGHT

    When the small delight is bigger than the product

    CASE STUDY: POPPIN, Inexpensive Office Supplies

    COMMANDMENTS

    | 6 |

    TRANSPARENCY

    When trust is bigger than the product

    CASE STUDY: EVERLANE, Apparel

    COMMANDMENTS

    | 7 |

    SOLIDARITY

    When solidarity is bigger than the product

    CASE STUDY: PLANET FITNESS, Fitness Centers

    COMMANDMENTS

    | 8 |

    INDIVIDUALITY

    When customization is bigger than the product

    CASE STUDY: FANATICS, Fan T-shirts

    COMMANDMENTS

    THINK BIGGER THAN THIS

    APPENDIX

    RESOURCES

    FURTHER READING

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    REFERENCES

    INDEX

    FOREWORD

    by David Glaze, Creative Director, AMAZON

    Authenticity. Like storytelling, disruption and the dreaded innovator, authenticity has become one of those buzzwords that gets tossed around with abandon, often vaguely twisted into copy in the hopes of riding a current marketing wave and ultimately blurring its actual meaning. However, like all such overwrought terms, the concept is actually based in an underlying truth...authenticity is indeed a valuable brand attribute, so long as it is, well, authentic. In Bigger Than This, Fabian Geyrhalter quickly moves beyond the clichés, identifying key building blocks of an authentic brand and specific ways to leverage them. In a delightfully concise, rapid-fire read, he makes the case for rediscovering the spark in seemingly mundane commodity products and services. Brands need not be radically new to inspire passion, he argues, but thoughtful and honest in finding, telling and embracing their story.

    We all want to believe our favorite brands have a soul. Not so long ago, advertisers had the luxury of telling whatever story they chose with little chance of negative consequences. We were willing to suspend our admittedly less-developed cynicism to embrace brand stories we could relate (or aspire) to. No matter that our corn flakes were mass-produced in enormous factories; there was a nurturing breakfast in every bowl...the box clearly said so. Some cigarettes would make us sexy, others hip or macho. Brands told us what they believed in, and we believed what they told us. Activists or regulators would occasionally burst the brand bubble of a particularly bad actor, but generally we were left to our contented illusions.

    Then came the Internet and social media. Suddenly consumers have the ability to share their individual brand experiences and echo those of others. No institution, individual or product is safe from scrutiny. Many once-revered brands have been revealed to be not so much interested in our well-being as their bottom lines, their stories simply fabricated to appeal to a particular target market. Banks, cable companies, food producers, telecoms, insurance companies...the list goes on and on.

    At the same time, technological innovation has exploded, challenging us not only with an ongoing deluge of new devices and services but also whole new ways of interacting with each other and the world at large. This flood of information and paradigm shifting can all feel rather sterile and overwhelming, even for digital natives. The soul is missing.

    It’s no surprise, then, that consumers are embracing brands, both new and old, that convey simplicity, caring and craftsmanship. It’s also no surprise that this trend creates an enormous opportunity for commodity products. We inherently understand commodity products: a watch that just tells time, a shoe that just protects feet, a whisky that’s just for drinking as is, no explanation needed. And who wouldn’t be more interested in reading an engaging founder’s story than a magazine-thick instruction manual?

    The author’s genuine enthusiasm for this topic is infectious. I’ve known Fabian for almost two decades, since we worked together to bring the car brand Acura to life in the digital world. His passion and optimism for the process of reimagining existing brands and birthing new ones seems to have only grown over the years, along with

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