Differentiate by Design with Ted Church (Anthem Branding)

1. What does it mean to offer creative services as a strategic value for your customers?
2. How do you develop creativity as a genuine business advantage that drives revenue?
3. How does creativity, as a pillar value of your company, compel you to do more than you ever imagined?

• 2:55 - How Ted got his start selling merchandise to the University of Colorado at Boulder
• 3:46 - A transformation began to occur and Ted combines his personal passions with business .... and begins to find his mojo.
• 4:55 - Ted begins to seek his tribe, the type of clients he wants to work with.
• 5:50 - Anthem branding is born, crystallizing a vision to become a best-in-class branding agency who takes a strategic (advertising agency) approach through creative merchandising.
• 6:11 - Who inspires Ted?
• 6:35 - A brand as an authentic experience.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten out of a meeting and said, 'How the hell are we going to pull that off?'

• 7:00 - Ted calls millennials "the connected consumers" (more on millennials at 10:22).
• 7:31 - Who are the winners today? Those whose brands breathe relevance and authenticity.
• 8:31 - The five keys that show you how to attract the client you want to go after, along with secrets to connecting authentically (and thereby living the brand story).  
• 10:35 - Anthem branding begins to evolve creatively (they currently have 14 designers on staff), they learn how to amplify the client’s brand message using apparel, products, and strategic design.
• 11:24 - Anthem learns how to take price out of the equation (hint: fashion forward inspiration, global sourcing ambitions).
• 12:12 - Everything you do tells a story. Ted shares a recent Silicon Valley story about delivering on objectives and how to help brands tell a cohesive story with creative merchandise.
• 12:40 - (Editor's note: Everything you thought you knew about self-promotion was wrong). Anthem’s strategic and beautiful collection that they build every quarter to inspire clients and drive sales. These are not products, these are experiences.
• 13:25 - How to transform any promotional product into a gift (hint: the details matter).
• 14:20 - Differentiating your brand: “Low-quality promotional products is not where we choose to play.” How anthem curates and designs for customer experiences.
• 15:05 - Google example of how they work with clients. (1) Understanding the ethos of what makes a brand special. (2) Translating that ethos tactically and in a tactile manner onto a product.
• 16:28 - The craft beer industry and the skill of building brand experiences to reflect the uniqueness of every customer.
• 17:05 - “We’re not trying to be all things to all people.” How Anthem uses merchandise to engage rabid fans and inspire a lifestyle brand.  
• 19:01 - A project collaboration for Wiz Khalifa that resulted in millions of dollars worth of exposure.  
• 20:22 - Anthem’s growth leads them to consumer packaging, corporate identity development, digital deliverable, product design, catalog development, and more.  
• 22:40 - Working with lululemon and Simms.  
• 23:55 - Never say ‘no’ and getting out of your comfort zone: this is where growth happens.

Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to the quality. - Charles Eames

• 24:43 - “We make friends.” Ted’s primary take-away from his talk: Curating an authentic experience by taking the things you’re passionate about and applying extra-level detail (packaging, message) to the projects while asking: How can I really be an advocate and offer sage advice to my customer?25:12 - Anthem Branding’s work with distributors within the industry.