Brand & Communications Planning, Advising & Mentoring.
I help organizations move from thought to action; creating
solutions-based outcomes that have impact.
I help move brands from thought to action.
Tap into the dream that fuels you,
your brand, your company.
Everyone in branding and marketing talks about reaching your North Star, executing your mission, achieving your vision. They've become boxes you just need to check. Most of us don't see where we need to go. What's our next move, or the one after that? Even if we see where we want to go, the best route to take is not always clear. Yet, it’s how we navigate that determines our level of success. And that’s my passion. To help clear the path; make the brand compelling, profitable and enjoyable.
Thirty some odd years in advertising, branding and marketing has taught me that the kernel of truth of a brand is at the heart of its story and development. It is what creates relevancy and lasting profits. It is what makes people love the brands they buy.
And it is this kernel of truth that comes from people: the founders, owners and builders of companies. It's what infuses their products and the brands they create with a uniqueness and purpose.
I love to help you sharpen your focus on brand innovation, integration, development and positioning, so you can provide your own solutions and enable your brands to respond successfully in market.
Gerard Schweitzer
Brand Consultant & Mentor
Core Beliefs
The Brand is the most important asset of any company.
The deeper the emotional connection to a brand, the greater the results.
Emotional distance is the enemy of brand development and management.
A brand must find its voice to emotionally gain attention and drive sales.
BRANDING
NOW IS THE TIME
It's getting hairy out there. Pressures force changes that are not always in our control.
Markets are more complex than ever
People and employees demand transparency
and a greater good from businesses. Customers
seek more value from the brands they buy and use.
Company leadership needs to become more self-aware, constantly re-inventing itself to face the challenges of the moving economy.
Repeated Disruptions
All companies facing repeated disruption - from start ups to mature businesses – must ask themselves the tough existential questions: what business are we really in, why do we exist, do we have the right people, and how do we build our organizations to perform against new KPIs?
Your intellectual assets are diminishing
People are leaving - the good ones too.
You realize you and your group can't do everything.
"It's harder to attract the best."
Gen Z and young Millennials aren't that interested.
Employee reviews are not flattering.
Your brand feels lackluster
Packaging redoes have not done the trick.
Lost steam with certain audiences.
"Meetings lack the zing of creativity."
Meetings feel stale and diluted.
Top managers are not excited or passionate.
STRATEGY
MOVE FROM THOUGHT TO ACTION
I can help you solve problems. No fancy jargon, just straight talk and a great deal of experience.
Advising around Brand, Product, People
Intent & Market Relevance
Rediscovering the original intent and ambition of the brand and its organization so it can be robust once again.
Strategy Audience Positioning
Uncovering insights which are the deeper motivations that drive experiences and fuel stories that resonate with audiences. People need to find products, services and brands they can trust, use and support.
Brand Coaching
Foundation
Development
Brand Immersion Workshops
Identity & Voice
Helping the brand and the company culture extend inward and outward to impact the organization with brand values - keeping everyone on the same page for now and into the future.
Communications
Reigniting passion, re-imagining the future, reorganizing energies, refocusing strategy, re-energizing brands.
Focused thinking, doing
Clarity
My approach is to drive clarity. I pull out insights capable of generating new ideas.
Speed
I do things fast. I uncover. Like a detective, I find the deeper motivations that answer the questions at the heart of the issues.
Leadership
Mentoring
Advising
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Brand Planning
Strategy & Creative Road Map
Communications
Architecture
Problem Solving
We'll work together to get at the things that impede your ambitions. We’ll make obstacles go away.
Organization
We work with employees in order to transform the brand businesses themselves.
Market Research
Brand Proximity
Customer Qual & Quant
Audience profiling
ADVISING
WHO I WORK FOR
Formulate solutions fast. I work as a member of your team; client facing or behind the scenes.
Together we determine the way of working you prefer.
Startups
Often times, startups need the most help. We start the mission and get you to launch. From research and brand strategy to a host of other supportive services, we have the keys to ignition.
Agencies & Their Clients
We work with brand consultancies and mid-tier communications agencies to buttress client projects and sustain tong-term relationships.
Companies
We work directly with companies - sometimes as member of your crew - in the cockpit or down in engineering. Together, we determine the best support for your team.
Capital Investor Groups
As your portfolio companies mature, founder-owners will need assistance in brand and product development, sales, marketing and internal organizational fine-tuning. This is a key to explosive exits.
CLIENTS
Gerry is the real-deal - a full stack marketing and branding executive. I've had the great pleasure of working with Gerry across the entire range of marketing activities, including: developing our brand and visuals for web and product; on content and content strategy including articles, webinars, and podcasts; and on sales presentations and collateral that capture customer interest and engagement. Gerry consistently delivers customer-focused value and strategies that fit timelines, budgets, and company capabilities to drive sales and expansion opportunities with new and existing customers.
Jason Cohen, Founder/Owner, Entrepreneur, Scientist
"Of his many talents, Gerry’s strength of empathy and deep understanding of the human condition rise above the rest. He adeptly uses these unique skills to quickly build the trust of his client partners to arrive at powerful insights and ideas that come organically, passionately, and authentically. Every organization looking to tackle a difficult strategic problem should start by having a conversation with Gerry to open their eyes to all that is possible and real.”
Peter Groome, Agency founder and CEO, client CMO
I have been working with Gerry for almost 5 years. He brings the kind of international experience that is hard to find. He has passion for building brands and for marketing however his real strength is in focusing the company on what's most important - really aiming at the goal and helping us to pivot and navigate extremely challenging circumstances. Our mission is to put Ukraine on the map as the birthplace of vodka. Gerry has supported me and advised me through the most challenging business circumstances that I think any business has ever faced - the full-fledged invasion of a country. He has been there with me every step of the way navigating through serious existential threats to our business. I really appreciate the wise counsel that he brings. I can't imagine what I would do without that.
Katherine Vellinga, Founder & CEO, Zirkova Vodka
“Gerry is one of the brightest minds in the business. He breaks through the clutter and distills complex human behavior into insightful strategic nuggets.”
Steve Luttmann - Founder, Entrepreneur, Author