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Our Thinking

At Stokefire we don't just do things differently. We believe that many of the core ideas supporting standard branding practices are on unstable ground. We've had enough of smiling politely as we've watched brand credibility wash away in an avalanche of exclamation points, all caps, and repetition, and fake Latin. Oh, and don't get us started on Three. Word. Taglines.

  • Just say it

    We read a whole lot of stuff in our jobs as branders. Sadly, most of it doesn't make a lot of sense to us. Even in our own industry there's a tendency to use twelve words when four will do. It seems that consultants sometimes try to cover up uninspired offerings with an effusive display of obscure verbiage. At Stokefire, we figure if we can't explain what we do in plain English, we must not be doing it right.

    Next time you're looking for a brander, take a look at the words they use to describe what they do. Are they using ideation to get you to share and develop your ideas? Who talks like that? And why would you trust them to speak for you?

    We brand stuff. And we do it pretty damn well. Any questions?

  • Perfection is for the uninformed

    Let's get this out of the way. There is no perfect brand. Please don't ask us for one. Every name in existence is flawed in some way: maybe it's more complex than you'd prefer, or doesn't translate well, or looks a bit underwhelming on the page. There is always a tradeoff involved when you go after something desirable. If you want the illusion of perfection, you're better off just reading a magazine article about branding and doing it yourself. That way you won't have to hear about the brands's imperfections or go through the analytical process that actually finds the flaws and teaches you how to deal with them. Ignorance can be bliss... at least until you're forced to educate yourself while recovering from a mistake.

    Perfection isn't for sale here. Powerful and deep identities, however, are.

  • Good Risk - Better than any board game

    If you're reading this you're probably willing to invest in your brand. Of course, lots of people are reading this. So if lots of people are willing to invest in their brand, how will your own stand out? The answer is risk - or rather, smart risk. Any sort of risk helps you stand out; smart risks help you stand out for the right reasons.

    • Good risks: Avoiding trends in naming; using words other brands wouldn't consider; being different in ways that matter to your clients, investors, and employees.
    • Bad risks: Not examining your brand; being different just to be different; offending your audience.

    Good risks are hard to find and identify, but we hunt 'em for sport. Bad risks? Sadly they're just about everywhere and often are the easiest to take. We find those too - and show you how and why to avoid them.

  • Consensus is the enemy

    Consensus is the natural enemy of great brands. When everyone agrees that a concept they have just heard of could be workable, it typically is an indicator that just about everyone is settling. Taking smart risks makes the takers feel a bit uncomfortable. In the early stages of the process, consensus can be an indicator that not enough risk is being taken. Any time we see every hand in the room go up in support of a name, we know it's time to reevaluate.

    The only consensus we want is consensus that the right risk is being taken, never that a particular name is an easy choice.

    Brands do not require early consensus to be successful. Goals, however, do, and it is in goal-setting that consensus is critical. Before we even begin to work on a brand we must establish your goals for it and how those mesh with the overall goals of your organization or product. Without consensus about where you want to go, your team will never get there. Your name, your brand, and your company cannot grow healthily without that direction. You've got to know where you're going before you can decide on the path or method of transportation.

  • We're guides, not dictators

    You need a brand. We've got the know-how not only to find it, but to help you make the decision that suits your situation. What we won't do is make that decision for you. Whatever you need named is yours, not ours. We may encourage you to keep your mind open, or advise you to consider strengths and weaknesses - but we're not here to force an identity on you.

    If you really care about your brand you'll want to keep the right to select it yourself. There's a reason that most of us don't let experts choose names for our children… the choice is too personal, too important. We believe that same level of connection needs to be there for your brand - your metaphorical baby. If we picked it ourselves you could lose out on a potentially powerful bond.

  • We're here to build your reputation, not ours

    Come on, people. Who thinks that renaming PricewaterhouseCoopers - one of the world's most renowned companies -"Monday" was a brilliant and strategic business move? Who claims that "ADN" recalls Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA), meaning that the company "offers accessible, objective information and reflexive and accurate content." Who had the courage to sell "Forth & Town" (or FAT, for short) to a (now closed) store selling plus sized women's clothing? Who builds brands for American companies that require the use of letters that don't exist on standard computer keyboards? Who decided the name "Spunkwave" was the best name for a company not in the adult entertainment business?

    Who? Our competition. Really.

    We don't understand it either. But we're incredibly impressed. We know we couldn't sell names like that. And we don't want the reputation for doing so. We're here to give you a name that helps you reach your performance goals, not our sales goals.

    Other names we wouldn't try to sell - but our competitors did:

    • Questrill
    • Claricent
    • Verigy
    • Viscira
    • Ultriva
    • Aptora
    • Learnia
    • Sxoop
    • 5ive

  • Preparation and Wisdom are related

    Preparation has a way of making people look brilliant. You know what to expect so you're always ready for it. Stokefire's entire process is built around preparing your firm or organization for every next step. From the first clarifying question to the final post-branding talking-point sessions with your executive team, every stage lays the groundwork for success. The result is a battle-tested brand that inspires confidence from leadership, staff, membership, and clients.

    How prepared will you be? Every finalist brand candidate is evaluated on more than one hundred critical aspects across six categories. There's no one in the world (as of this writing) that provides even a quarter of the analytical backstopping we do.

    There are two ways to gain confidence in your own identity - either you can entrust a talented team to research, develop, and help you select the best possible name and teach you how to use it well, or you can take it on faith that the brand you select will be just plain great no matter what.

    Tough choice, isn't it?

  • Focus Groups Don't

    Often, when we get to a client site for our initial session, we get the question, "When do we bring in the focus group?" Let us be clear here: we don't do focus groups. Focus groups are predisposed to hate great brands. The process of building consensus among a group of people who aren't invested in the company or its brand leads to dull, ill-fitting identities. The only thing that we've found these groups to be good at is avoiding risk. As we've already said, a good brand requires at least little smart risk.

    We may use surveys, round-tables, or information gathering sessions early in the process to establish direction, but once the creative process begins the time for group-think is over.

    If you want to avoid all risk, then we suggest using focus groups. And not us.

  • Stick with what we know - but help where we can

    There's a whole bunch of stuff that we don't do. We don't write articles. We don't manage your PR. We don't execute your marketing plan. We may have some of those capabilities, but not the desire nor the ability to be the best in the world at those activities. You're coming to us for what you're hoping is the world's greatest brand - why would we offer you just so-so supporting services? Instead we give you guidance that you can hand off to your internal or contract experts in these categories so that the ball isn't dropped between inspiration and execution. We're available to stay on board and assist in or direct the launch process to hide the seams even more effectively. We're quite proud of the fact our guidance is typically so straight forward that we can spare our clients the expense of keeping us around for the weeks or months leading up to launch. Just follow the Manual (yes - we actually give you a user's manual for your brand) and you'll get where you need to go.

  • Creativity without bounds is useless creativity

    Have you ever noticed that meetings with great facilitators seem to go quickly, get stuff done, and that everyone attending typically feels that they were involved and heard? So have we. That's why we offer a dedicated and professionally trained facilitator for every one of our major projects. Having our creative sessions, round tables, and evaluation meetings facilitated means that they're always productive. When you've got a room packed with critically important employees you want to be fast and effective, and let these people get back to their jobs. Our facilitators are paired with experienced branders and strategists - and sometimes we'll even throw in a runner to help keep things flowing even more smoothly.

    Sadly, our facilitation can be so good that people don't even notice it (so we're forced to bring it up parenthetically.) But trust us on this one. You don't want to have a creative professional try to facilitate your meeting while simultaneously trying to develop your brand.  It will be an incredibly fun event at which nothing gets done.