4 brands making Christmas meaningful
Christmas is around the corner, and along with it, the familiar “all together” message that circulates each year. The message, whilst a cheery notion, is frequently met with the suspicion of “brand box-ticking” if companies aren’t willing to be consistent with their community-focused messages all year round. In this post we’ll shine a spotlight on the brands […]
Christmas ads 2021 – Top Trumps
With Christmas swiftly approaching, many brands have released their ads for this year. The promotion of Christmas ads is a great time for brands to showcase their personality, their values, and occasionally, they’ll mention what they are selling too. As a lover of all things Christmassy and working as a marketer within a creative design agency, strategic brand moves […]
Suspense: meet your brand’s new superpower
So, it’s been years since I studied film, but ever since working in a brand design agency and entering the big world of brand marketing, one film theory has always strangely stuck with me. Coined by Alfred Hitchcock, it’s called the ‘bomb theory’. Here’s how Hitchcock defines his ‘bomb theory’ process in order to explain how he creates fantastic, tense, horror films: “Let’s suppose that […]
3 big branding myths busted
As some of you may or may not have read in our most recent blog, Are & Be’s new hire Jesamine discovered that branding is storytelling. We figured that much like storytelling, in the world of branding, it’s important to clarify fact from fiction. So, in this short post, we’ll pick apart, debunk, and dissect […]
Onlooker to Employee: 4 things I learned working in a brand agency you should know
1. What branding really is Before working at a brand agency, if I was asked about branding, I’d likely mention the importance of visuals – a logo, a font, or a colour palette. If I stretched my mind to think about the verbal, I may have commented on formal or informal grammar. These aspects, visual […]
Does your candidate experience reflect your brand? 6 quick ways to make sure it does
As some of you may, or may not know, here at Are & Be we’ve recently been through the hiring process. As a creative brand agency, we may be biased, but we believe that branding is one of the most important factors within candidate experience. In this post, we’d love to share a few ideas to make your candidate experience as thoughtful and compelling as it can be. Because your […]
First time hiring as a startup?
I firmly believe that in startups, hiring your first employee is the largest risk and greatest potential you can bring to your business. After celebrating two years of business (and surviving the pandemic!) I decided I wanted to expand Are & Be by hiring my first employee. As an up-and-coming brand agency, based in the […]
Why registering a trademark for your brand is easier than you think – and even more valuable
I’m proud to say that Are & Be is now a registered trademark! When we decided on the name of our strategic brand design agency (based on my wife and I’s initials and ties to our proposition – we get you from where you are to where you want to be), I never thought I’d […]
Are & Be? Tell me more…
Ok, so it’s not super obvious who or what Are & Be are right? Want to learn a little more? WhatSimply put we are a branding, design and marketing company. We work with founders and leaders of small and large companies. We also specialise in supporting local creative/digital/marketing agencies in the quest to grow/change through […]