SME News UK Enterprise Awards 2025/ 32 SME Brand Specialist of the Year 2025 Phil Strachan, The Think Brand not bland Guy, is on a mission to eradicate the bland. Drawing on his extensive experience working with brands of all shapes and sizes on both the Client and Consultancy sides, he is dedicated to taking his Clients from being seen to be me-too blands to being seen to be the go-too brand in their market. Having established a successful Branding Consultancy, and having worked with blue chip companies and premium brands in London and the South for 25 years, Phil made the decision to specialise in offering his expertise and experience to SME businesses at an affordable price. For 20 years, he traded as Strangebrew – reflecting the fact that in the world of branding and design agencies he was a Strangebrew – because of his unusual and important combination of Client-side and Consultancy-side experience. Building on his understanding of what makes a strong brand, his clear and consistent message has been for businesses to ‘Think Brand not bland’ in order for them to stand out from the crowd. “Far too many businesses simply don’t stand out from the crowd,” says Phil. “They seem determined to just bland in with the competition. All too often, they present themselves as commodities (“I am a…..” or “we are a…..”) and fail to differentiate themselves from their perceived competitors. Sadly, they are nothing more than blands of very little hope and even less chance of glory destined to become yet more examples of the bland that time forgot. They need to throw away the bland guidelines manual.” Originally born in Glasgow but having spent most of his working life in London and the South, Phil is now based in North Wales trading as The Think Brand not bland Guy. This is what he had become known as and had built his reputation on and he continues to offer what he calls ‘London quality at Glasgow prices’ in terms of the value he delivers across his Branding, Identity, and Design services. “No business needs to be bland,” explains Phil. “Who ever heard of a bland leader or an iconic bland – but everywhere I go I come across examples of the bland following the bland, businesses just blandly going where every other bland has gone before. But the blandwagon is already overcrowded and overloaded and businesses suffering from such delusions of blandeur are simply destined to become anonymous blots on an already overpopulated blandscape.” Phil observes that in the case of new businesses, they tend to dive headlong into marketing and execution. “Having come up with a name and a logo (both of which are elements of marketing) without proper serious thought, they set about building a website and launching a social media campaign, says Phil. “This is execution without strategy, marketing without a brand to market. The brand of a business is its strategy, its positioning, and that is where new businesses should start.” He cites Sir John Hegarty of Bartle Bogle Hegarty advertising fame who advises would-be entrepreneurs saying, ‘Don’t start a business, build a brand’. He also emphasises that you have to make sure that you really are building a distinctive brand and not just a business that is distinctly bland. He believes there is far too much bland out there already and that there is no point in trying to outbland the bland. Phil also endorses Sir John’s follow-up advice of ‘Don’t just build a brand, build a movement’ i.e. give people something to relate to, to engage with and to get behind – ‘Just do it’ and ‘Because you’re worth it’ being good examples. Phil adds, “I love Richard Branson’s message of ‘If you want to stand out from the crowd, give people a reason not to forget you’ because so many businesses are instantly forgettable. As I see it, they are just another indistinguishable brick in the wall.” When it comes to established businesses, Phil believes that necessity is the mother of re-invention and that such businesses need to step back every so often and take a long hard look themselves - or better still, get someone else to help them to do so and to re-position, re-energise, refresh and rebrand their business if and as required if they are to remain relevant. Phil considers brands and branding to be the art of managing perceptions, about communicating what a business needs to be seen to stand for – which is what people actually buy into. The problem he repeatedly comes across is that most businesses don’t know what they stand for and need to be seen to stand for if they are to be seen to be the go-to brand in their market and not just another me-too bland – something they can’t do for themselves. The Think Brand not bland Guy offers an initial no cost/no commitment meeting or conversation to explore if and how he might be able to be of value and emphasises that the writing is on the wall and that it is time to Think Brand – not bland. Contact: Phil Strachan Company: The Think Brand not bland Guy Telephone: 07770 753975 Web Address: www.thinkbrandnotbland.co.uk LinkedIn: philstrachan
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