Brand Clarity Is Everything.
Dan Crask Brand Consultant | Brand Strategist | Creator of Vibe, Tribe, & Why® I sell clarity. It shows up in a brand’s website, product packaging, logo, etc., but the reason behind Brand Shepherd’s effective work is our process. After years of development, I’m elated to announce that our process is now a standalone product, […]
What Is A Brand?
Dan Crask Brand Consultant | Brand Strategist | Creator of Vibe, Tribe, & Why® A friend and I had been talking about this new post-pandemic economy and how marketing is now distinct from branding. The next day, out of nowhere, my friend texted me a simple question: What is a brand? Usually, I would have […]
How To Get And Stay Customer Focused
Dan Crask Brand Consultant | Brand Strategist | Creator of Vibe, Tribe, & Why® A guideline that helped me shift my focus to my clients’ tribe is to avoid using the words “we” or “I” in the main headline of content. A website hero area, ad copy, video intro, etc., are tempting spaces to make […]
It’s All Connected To Brand
Dan Crask Brand Consultant | Brand Strategist | Creator of Vibe, Tribe, & Why® It’s all connected. I believe in and help brands create a brand architecture where Brand is the center hub and the spokes connecting to and from Brand are things like marketing, sales, HR, investor relations, operations, etc. Everything connects to Brand. […]
i don’t want a work-life balance
Dan Crask Brand Consultant | Brand Strategist | Creator of Vibe, Tribe, & Why® I no longer believe in work-family balance. Spending time with a couple of people I loved deeply on their deathbed gave me a vivid vision of what’s important. I don’t want balance. I don’t want work to get just as much […]
Marketing Is Fundamentally Broken
Dan Crask Brand Consultant | Brand Strategist | Creator of Vibe, Tribe, & Why® On one hand, this isn’t fair to product brands because they don’t control when and where an ad is shown. On the other hand, brands pay platforms for a “whatever it takes to get eyes” tactic. I’ve seen this meme 2-10x/week […]
AI and the Creative Professional
Dan Crask Brand Consultant | Brand Strategist | Creator of Vibe, Tribe, & Why® Amongst professional creatives, there is a vocal bunch with a lot of angst regarding the role of AI in our processes. The complaints and worries boil down to the following: “Why are we training AI models at Adobe and Figma to […]
Portillo’s: A Brand That Gets It
Dan Crask Brand Consultant | Brand Strategist | Creator of Vibe, Tribe, & Why® My brother’s final Christmas gift to me and my family was two shipments of Portillo’s: Italian Beef and Chicago Hot Dogs. He saw a post where I was bemoaning how homesick I was for a real Italian Beef. He ordered Portillo’s […]
The New Era of the Clarified Brand
Dan Crask Brand Consultant | Brand Strategist | Creator of Vibe, Tribe, & Why® I believe the basics of brand marketing have radically shifted in light of the perfect cocktail of post-pandemic consumer expectations, web3, and AI. Here’s what I now believe: ✅ Marketing’s sole job is to draw people to the Brand. Marketing’s job […]
The Perfect Prequel To StoryBrand
Dan Crask Brand Consultant | Brand Strategist | Creator of Vibe, Tribe, & Why® Are you looking to clarify your brand’s people, presence, and purpose? It’s why I created the Vibe, Tribe, & Why™ framework. As a StoryBrand enthusiast, I was excited to find that I had been using a complementary framework to develop brands. […]
Implementing the 4-Day Workweek
Dan Crask Brand Consultant | Brand Strategist | Creator of Vibe, Tribe, & Why® After my brother’s unexpected death last summer, I have made several work-life changes that are all aimed at reducing or eliminating stress. Life is too short to continue in ways that add stress. In that spirit, I wanted to move Brand […]
Lincat Website Refresh & Vibe, Tribe, & Why™
challenge As a “house of brands,” the UK-based commercial kitchen equipment brand, having been acquired by Middleby®, needed to give its customers a more fluid user experience to find the needed equipment. solution By spending a great deal of time and strategy on a sophisticated yet intuitive navigation and website architecture, I led the team […]
Corepoint Scientific Website Refresh & Vibe, Tribe, & Why™
challenge Having rebranded, Corepoint Scientific needed a new website experience that reflected its latest chapter. solution I led the team through my Vibe, Tribe, & Why® brand development process to capture and clarify the brand in the meaty areas the rebrand left out. We then used the Brand Experience Guide™ to craft a web experience […]
Middleby Website Refresh & Vibe, Tribe, & Why™
challenge Having experienced exponential growth in recent years, Middley®’s website did not portray the vibe of its leader position in commercial foodservice equipment, residential kitchen equipment, and commercial food processing equipment. solution Through a multi-tiered process, I led the design team through an iterative approach to elevating Middleby’s brand voice and vibe. I used my […]
Crown Steam Group Website
challenge Having acquired three top brands in steam commercial kitchen equipment, Middleby® created the Crown Steam Group™ to give customers a parent brand to find their equipment. solution Starting with a brand identity system that determined the overall visual vibe of the Crown Steam Group, I then created an innovative website experience that allows customers […]
Icetro America Website Refresh & Vibe, Tribe, & Why™
challenge Having been acquired by Middleby®, Icetro America® needed to provide its existing and forthcoming expanded customer base with a fluid brand experience through its website, allowing customers to access products without friction. solution Using the Vibe, Tribe, & Why® framework, we clarified the brand’s ideal customers and brand vibe, then used this information to […]
Doyon Baking Equipment Website Refresh & Vibe, Tribe, & Why™
challenge Doyon’s website offered customers a brand experience well over 10 years old. Finding the right baking equipment was not intuitive. Overall, the website was not an asset for the brand, as it did not sell equipment to the degree it could/should. solution A new, engaging website that follows established best practices to help Doyon […]
Imperial Range Website
challenge Imperial’s strong brand reputation was not accurately reflected in the website experience it provided for its customers. A redesigned website was needed. solution Simply put, I led the team to design a website that reflected the brand as it is today, leaning hard on its stellar reputation and brand equity in the minds of […]
Carter-Hoffmann Website
challenge The brand’s old website caused people to take too long to find products, and the brand experience did not reflect the brand’s quality and innovation. solution The brand’s website experience was redesigned from start to finish, giving customers an accurate brand experience while respecting their time by giving them a frictionless path to product […]
WiserSites – Brand Identity – Vibe, Tribe, & Why™
challenge Wisersites had a website and brand identity that no longer aligned with the actual work it produced. solution Using the Vibe, Tribe, & Why® process, I led a team of designers and developers to craft a brand identity and website for an agency that leads with the code side of websites yet offers impactful […]
CompXL – Vibe, Tribe, & Why™
challenge CompXL suffered from ambiguity in messaging towards its audience. The main call-to-action on its website asked readers to schedule a 30-minute product demo, but without presenting a clear understanding of the brand’s product offering or who it was designed for, the brand’s effectiveness was hampered. solution By identifying CompXL’s ideal customers and their overlapping […]