Life in the Brand Lane with The Brand Guys

In this episode Finlay and Ronnie explore the significance of storytelling in branding and marketing, particularly in the context of AI's impact on creativity. They discuss how brands can become mere commodities without the emotional connection that storytelling provides. The dialogue also touches on the importance of translating these storytelling principles to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the evolving landscape of marketing in the digital age. The conversation concludes with reflections on the future of storytelling and its role in creating meaningful connections with consumers and investors alike.

Fin and Ron hook up in the studio for the start of a new series of Life in the Brand Lane.They start off the discussion around the sad passing of guitarist, songwriter and leader of The Band- Robbie Robertson.The mood lifts as they start to explore brand themes as they relate to cinema and famous directors such as Scorsese, Coppola and Spielberg. How do brands inter-play with these and the directors and movies as brands themselves.The Brand Guys highlight brand strategies and tools that can be used by brand managers and entrepreneurs to unlock the magic in their brands.

Finlay is joined by Sanket Mali, founder and CEO of Viewpod, Adam Morris, Director of Shorthand PR and Shane Herath, founder and CEO of LondonInc to discuss the future of news. Sanket's app Viewpod lets users listen to news and share their comments and opinions vocally. Our panel discuss the advantages of this method over the traditional written word; where news distribution could be heading in the future; and the development of sustainable technology.Frejz is a branding consultancy that can help your customers fall in love with your brand. If you'd like to know more about how we can help your business check out our website www.frejz.bizIntro/outro: Keep 'em dry - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

In this episode Finlay is joined by Ewan Reid. Ewan is the MD of Matthew Algie, a coffee roastery based in Glasgow that provides coffee and cafe supplies to coffee shops and cafes across the UK. He discusses their brand and how they've managed to strike the balance between being a heritage brand founded in the 19th century whilst continuing to evolve, stay relevant and innovate. He explains how sustainability and honesty is at the heart of their brand and how they've rebranded during lockdown. Ewan is also a big music fan and musician himself so does a fantastic job in connecting 3 tracks that really get to the heart of his brand. Tracks played:Living Colour – Cult of PersonalityGil Scott Heron & Brian Jackson – Winter in AmericaBlue Nile – Tinseltown in the RainIntro/outro music credit: Dragging Out The Loneliness - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

In this episode Finlay is joined by Ewan Reid. Ewan is the MD of Matthew Algie, a coffee roastery based in Glasgow that provides coffee and cafe supplies to coffee shops and cafes across the UK. He discusses their brand and how they've managed to strike the balance between being a heritage brand founded in the 19th century whilst continuing to evolve, stay relevant and innovate. He explains how sustainability and honesty is at the heart of their brand and how they've rebranded during lockdown. Ewan is also a big music fan and musician himself so does a fantastic job in connecting 3 tracks that really get to the heart of his brand. We are very sorry but for rights reasons we cannot play the tracks to a non-UK audience, but the tracks discussed are:Living Colour – Cult of PersonalityGil Scott Heron & Brian Jackson – Winter in AmericaBlue Nile – Tinseltown in the RainIntro/outro music credit: Dragging Out The Loneliness - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

What do Van Halen, Joe Walsh and Harry Styles have in common? They're 3 of the tracks that Fin and Ron have chosen to define the essence of Frejz. In previous episodes we asked brand managers or company founders to choose the tracks that they think best represent the essence of their brand. But this time Ron and Fin indulge themselves (it's Christmas after all!) and choose the tracks that they feel define the uniqueness of Frejz.They discuss how brands are composed of micro relationships and interconnections while listening to Bad Company, and compare the many layers of a Joe Walsh track to the many layers of branding.If you'd like to appear on the podcast to discuss your brand and the tracks that represent it please get in touch at www.frejz.biz - we'd love to hear from you.We are very sorry but for rights reasons we cannot play the tracks to a non-UK audience but if you would like to listen on Spotify we have set up a playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/74SjDOnjjSDQGszgBQVD9TTracks Played:Eruption - Van HalenBad Company - Bad CompanyLife’s Been Good - Joe WalshShe’s a Woman - Jeff BeckWatermelon Sugar - Harry StylesOver the Hills and Far Away - Led ZeppelinNever Say Die - Black SabbathIntro/outro music credit: Dragging Out The Loneliness - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

What do Van Halen, Joe Walsh and Harry Styles have in common? They're 3 of the tracks that Fin and Ron have chosen to define the essence of Frejz. In previous episodes we ask brand managers or company founders to choose the tracks that they think best represent the essence of their brand. But this time Ron and Fin indulge themselves (it's Christmas after all!) and choose the tracks that they feel define the uniqueness of Frejz. They discuss how brands are composed of micro relationships and interconnections while listening to Bad Company, and compare the many layers of a Joe Walsh track to the many layers of branding. If you'd like to appear on the podcast to discuss your brand and the tracks that represent it please get in touch at www.frejz.biz - we'd love to hear from you. Tracks Played:Eruption - Van HalenBad Company - Bad CompanyLife’s Been Good - Joe WalshShe’s a Woman - Jeff BeckWatermelon Sugar - Harry StylesOver the Hills and Far Away - Led ZeppelinNever Say Die - Black SabbathSpotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/74SjDOnjjSDQGszgBQVD9TIntro music credit: Dragging Out The Loneliness - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

A tailor by trade, Michael Frackowiak chats with Finlay about how he considers himself more of a branding/marketing guy. Working in a very traditional sector he explains how he's adapted and how we all need to be considering what our consumers need now. There are some great insights here that could apply across all industries, not just clothing and retail.The book Michael mentions is Talk Triggers - The Complete Guide to Creating Customers by Word of Mouth by Jay Baer and Daniel Lemin.You can contact Michael at https://michaelfrackowiak.com and https://bespokeshirt.clubFrejz is a branding consultancy that can help your customers fall in love with your brand. If you'd like to know more about how we can help your business check out our website www.frejz.bizIntro/outro: Keep 'em dry - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

A tailor by trade, Michael Frackowiak chats with Finlay about how he considers himself more of a branding/marketing guy. Working in a very traditional sector he explains how he's adapted and how we all need to be considering what our consumers need now. There are some great insights here that could apply across all industries, not just clothing and retail. The book Michael mentions is Talk Triggers - The Complete Guide to Creating Customers by Word of Mouth by Jay Baer and Daniel Lemin.You can contact Michael at https://michaelfrackowiak.com and https://bespokeshirt.clubMusicSmooth Criminal by Michael JacksonFrejz is a branding consultancy that can help your customers fall in love with your brand. If you'd like to know more about how we can help your business check out our website www.frejz.bizIntro/outro: Keep 'em dry - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)We use copyrighted music on some of our (UK) shows. To satisfy the local legislation and make sure the artists and publishers get paid correctly we hold a Limited Online Music Licence from PRS(LE-0022496). Listeners from outwith the UK are kindly requested to listen to the non-UK version.

Each week we discuss what makes an iconic brand and select Scottish examples to dissect. What brands make the list and possess the magic? Which brand will top the icon league?In this episode Ron and Fin look at the storytelling used in Johnnie Walker branding and discuss how the "Keep Walking" tagline of constant progress and overcoming adversity could also apply to the Scottish Football team (who at the time of recording had just qualified for their first major tournament in over 20 years). Frejz is a branding consultancy that can help your customers fall in love with your brand. If you'd like to know more about how we could help your business check out our website www.frejz.bizIntro/Outro: Bright And Beautiful - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Would you like to join us on our podcast? In this episode Finlay invites any brand managers, directors or founders out there that would like to come on to chat about the 3 tracks they would connect to their brand. Listen to find out more about getting involved.He also has a go at plotting rock music through folk, blues/country, pop and heavy rock and chooses his 4 tracks from these genres:The Waterboys - Fisherman's BluesZZ Top - ChevroletMichael Jackson - Black or WhiteMetallica - Enter Sandman(For rights reasons we cannot play the tracks for non-UK listeners)Frejz is a branding consultancy that can help your customers fall in love with your brand. If you'd like to know more about how we could help your business check out our website www.frejz.bizIntro/outro music credit: Dragging Out The Loneliness - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Would you like to join us on our podcast? In this episode Finlay invites any brand managers, directors or founders out there that would like to come on to chat about the 3 tracks they would connect to their brand. Listen to find out more about getting involved. He also has a go at plotting rock music through folk, blues/country, pop and heavy rock and chooses his 4 tracks from these genres:The Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues ZZ Top - Chevrolet Michael Jackson - Black or White Metallica - Enter Sandman Frejz is a branding consultancy that can help your customers fall in love with your brand. If you'd like to know more about how we could help your business check out our website www.frejz.bizIntro/outro music credit: Dragging Out The Loneliness - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)We use copyrighted music on the Life in the Brand Lane (UK) shows. To satisfy the local legislation and make sure the artists and publishers get paid correctly we hold a Limited Online Music Licence from PRS(LE-0022496). Listeners from outwith the UK are kindly requested to listen to the talk version of Life in the Brand Lane

This week Finlay flies solo in the Frejz Thinking podcast. Regular listeners will know Finlay and Ron's passion for music but this week Finlay considers not what we listen to or why we listen but how we listen. He contemplates how he's gone full circle from vinyl to cassette to CD, MP3 and streaming and is now back to vinyl. Frejz is a branding consultancy that can help your customers fall in love with your brand. If you'd like to know more about how we can help your business check out our website www.frejz.bizIntro/outro: Keep 'em dry - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Finlay and Simon chat with Dorothy Fulop of Fillipbrands. Dorothy is a Hungarian based brand strategist who explains how her initial training as an architect helps her in her work today. They discuss why it's important to hire a professional and Simon chats about how in his job as a photographer he had initially ignored the idea of branding to his peril.You can connect with Dorothy on Instagram: @fillipbrands or LinkedinFrejz is a branding consultancy that can help your customers fall in love with your brand. If you'd like to know more about how we can help your business check out our website www.frejz.bizIntro/outro: Keep 'em dry - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Ron and Fin of www.frejz.biz take an irreverent look at brands, advertising and rock music. They look at music and brands and brands in music, chatting with brand managers and music lovers, connecting the two and sometimes finding connections that nobody else does.In this, our 6th show, Ron and Fin chat with their first guest, Archie Paton, non-exec director of Hibs FC and CEO of Openside Sports. For almost 30 years Archie has worked with top global sports organisations on creating clear brand propositions and how to bring this into the organisation from a strategic and operational perspective.Listen in to find out how his 3 chosen tracks can be linked to Hibs FC, Carnoustie Golf Links and the Open Golf Championship brands.Tracks played:The Pretenders - Brass in PocketIron Maiden - The Number of the BeastGuns n Roses - Sweet Child O MineFrejz is a branding consultancy that can help your customers fall in love with your brand. If you'd like to know more about how we could help your business check out our website www.frejz.bizIntro/outro music credit: Dragging Out The Loneliness - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)We use copyrighted music on the Life in the Brand Lane (UK) shows. To satisfy the local legislation and make sure the artists and publishers get paid correctly we hold a Limited Online Music Licence from PRS(LE-0022496). Listeners from outwith the UK are kindly requested to listen to the talk version of Life in the Brand Lane

Ron and Fin of www.frejz.biz take an irreverent look at brands, advertising and rock music. They look at music and brands and brands in music, chatting with brand managers and music lovers, connecting the two and sometimes finding connections that nobody else does.In this, our 6th show, Ron and Fin chat with their first guest Archie Paton, non-exec director of Hibs FC and CEO of Openside Sports. For almost 30 years Archie has worked with top global sports organisations on creating clear brand propositions and how to bring this into the organisation from a strategic and operational perspective.Listen in to find out how his 3 chosen tracks can be linked to Hibs FC, Carnoustie and the Open Golf Championship brands.Tracks discussed:The Pretenders - Brass in PocketIron Maiden - The Number of the BeastGuns n Roses - Sweet Child O Mine(please note for rights reasons we cannot include the tracks for non UK listeners).Frejz is a branding consultancy that can help your customers fall in love with your brand. If you'd like to know more about how we could help your business check out our website www.frejz.bizIntro/outro music credit: Dragging Out The Loneliness - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Linz, (aka Dr Lindsay Carey, Glasgow Caledonian University) and Ron and Fin (of Frejz)discuss what makes an iconic brand and select Scottish examples to dissect. What brands make the list and possess the magic? Which brand will top the icon league?In this episode they look at storytelling in branding and chat about Loganair, the Caledonian Sleeper and Billy Connolly. Frejz is a branding consultancy that can help your customers fall in love with your brand. If you'd like to know more about how we could help your business check out our website www.frejz.bizIntro/Outro: Bright And Beautiful - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Finlay and Simon chat with Jo De Sylva, founder and director of Macgregors Bars and Bogbain Farm (www.macgregorsbars.com / www.bogbainfarm.com) about design and the importance of getting every little corner right.Frejz is a branding consultancy that can help your customers fall in love with your brand. If you'd like to know more about how we can help your business check out our website www.frejz.bizIntro/outro: Keep 'em dry - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.comLicense: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Ron and Fin of www.frejz.biz take an irreverent look at brands, advertising and rock music. They look at music and brands and brands in music, chatting with brand managers and music lovers, connecting the two and sometimes finding connections that nobody else does. Still on coronavirus restrictions Ron and Fin record from their respective homes. They discuss prog rock and bands such as Yes, Rush and Asia. Chat about the Blade Runner Love Theme by Vangelis and consider the question "do bands need to be evolving to be enduring". Enjoy! Frejz is a branding consultancy that can help your customers fall in love with your brand. If you'd like to know more about how we could help your business check out our website www.frejz.biz Intro/outro music credit: Dragging Out The Loneliness - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.com License: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

In the second of our series of "Frejz Thinking", Finlay and Simon chat with Harmeet Singh, MD of Marketing Voice. Harmeet believes that our individual efforts will always be capped but in a group we can do so much more. They chat about how Harmeet built up his Airbnb property management business and the importance of collaboration and relationships in business. Frejz is a branding consultancy that can help your customers fall in love with your brand. If you'd like to know more about how we could help your business check out our website www.frejz.biz Intro/outro: Keep 'em dry - Royalty-Free Music by audiohub.com License: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)