Send us a Text Message. In this conversation, Martin Sully addresses the question of how to maintain a unified brand identity and consistent message for a two-sided marketplace with two target markets. He suggests creating personas for each target market and gathering information about their demographics, interests, and problems. By integrating thi…

Send us a Text Message. Brand guidelines are the most important document for a business, as they control and maintain consistency in branding. They can go deep and include strategy, tone of voice, and messaging. Even small businesses should have brand guidelines to guide their brand identity. Not having brand guidelines can lead to issues like inco…

Send us a Text Message. In this episode, Martin Sully discusses how to maintain a brand's tone of voice. He explains the difference between brand voice and tone of voice, and emphasizes the importance of aligning the brand voice with the company's mission, values, and target audience. Martin also suggests creating a written style guide to maintain …

Send us a Text Message. The conversation revolves around the importance of paying attention to the little details in business, particularly when it comes to aligning values with execution. The host shares a personal anecdote about a company he met that focused on renewable energy but had plastic-coated business cards, highlighting the disconnect be…

Send us a Text Message. Martin Sully discusses the importance of networking and building a personal brand. He emphasizes the need to connect with people both online and offline, and highlights the value of real-life conversations. He also shares his experience with starting a networking group called Chatterbox and the benefits it brings to business…

Send us a Text Message. In this episode, Martin Sully interviews Joe McKay, a LinkedIn ghostwriter and content creator. They discuss Joe's background, his approach to working with people on LinkedIn and personal branding. Joe emphasises the importance of listening to customers and understanding their pain points to create effective marketing conten…

Send us a Text Message. We're back from Christmas with a proper guest – Rebecca McCutcheon is the Managing Director of Fit Test Australia (FTA), a company that specialises in respiratory safety. We dcusses her business's growth and how vital it is to learn from mistakes, uphold strong values, and maintain authenticity in both personal and business …

Send us a Text Message. In this episode, we discuss the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in brand building. And, although SEO can be confusing and expensive, it offers long-term benefits that outshine short-term marketing strategies like influencer marketing, which can be unpredictable and less controllable. SEO should be a key compon…

Send us a Text Message. Just like you might set New Year's resolutions, the start of the year is the perfect time to set and track ambitious, achievable business goals. We talk about: Accountability My brand goals for the year Why brand goals need to be broken down into tasks Setting stretch goals and deadlines to help you achieve them.…

Send us a Text Message. An explanation of the importance of brand audits. In this episode, I describe how audits can be used to: Understand a brand's position Evaluate customer recall And to identify potential issues that a business might not have noticed. I use brand audits to analyse three key areas: External branding Internal branding Customer e…

Send us a Text Message. In this episode of the Level Up Your Brand Podcast, host Martin Sully, shares his Christmas experiences and discusses the concept of 'is your business a brand?'. It includes: A Christmas day wrap-up A thought provoking question raised by Kevin Finn Where the identity of a brand comes from And highlights that to build a brand…

Send us a Text Message. In this episode of the Level Up Your Brand Podcast, we discuss how baking a charismatic personality into a brand helps create meaningful connections to your audience. We cover: How every person working in a brand becomes an extension of its persona The connection between a brand and its employees. And give you a practical to…

Send us a Text Message. Snapper Studio and Martin want to announce limited availability for branding projects and podcasts due to Martin and his wife expecting a baby. I want to personally thank listeners for their support and encourage them during the holiday season to reach out if they need help. You can reach me on: LinkedIn Email – martin @ sna…

Send us a Text Message. In this episode, host we talk to Mathew Goddard from Aquacultr about creating a more efficient and sustainable system for seafood production. Mat shares his journey from discovering a Barramundi farm for sale to establishing a sustainable fish farming model. He emphasises on the need for sustainable, low footprint technologi…

Send us a Text Message. Martin Sully, a brand strategist and founder of Snapper Studio, discusses the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning on branding. He explores the tools currently available that incorporate AI, including Chat GPT, photo editors, AI-generated logos and even the emergence of AI-assisted brand dev…

Send us a Text Message. We talk with Claire from KidBiz Academy and Tara Clark Art about the pitfalls of working with kids, selling candles, fortune telling, and how we all need to persevere to get to where we want to. This episode is packed with gems, by two guests who are doing incredible things. Claire is empowering children to take on an entrep…

Send us a Text Message. Recycling 20 tonnes of plastic saves enough electricity to power 54 houses for a year. Yearly, it's reported that the world creates 460 million tonnes of plastic. Let that sink in. Luckily the world has smart entrepreneurs like Jess Hodge, from Resourceful Living, who are battling to solve the problem and create useful every…

Send us a Text Message. Rachel Smith is this episodes guest. We first connected when she took the quiz on my website. Point's don't mean prizes, but she's currently the high scorer with 3. Have a go here - Feels Finder Quiz We chat about • Yum cha and wine • Rachel's list, how it all began and maintaining a community. • The Content Byte Summit and …

Send us a Text Message. Branding, it's history and the dark, disturbing reason we changed our podcast name to the Level Up Podcast. This episode covers: • The Industrial Revolution and it's impact on branding. • Branding's disturbing past • Where we see branding going and how business will have to adapt. I also spoke about Personal Branding Unlocke…

Send us a Text Message. A 10-month hiatus. But the podcast is back. This week we're talking all about scent branding and how you can introduce it into your brand. Read more about scent branding on our website – https://www.snapper.studio/blog/scent-brandingBy Snapper Studio

Send us a text On August 8, 2004, a tour bus belonging to the Dave Matthews Band dumped an estimated 800 pounds of human waste from the bus's blackwater tank through the Kinzie Street Bridge in Chicago onto a passenger sightseeing boat sailing in the Chicago River below. STORYTELLER Gina Palm BAND Fiddle - Sam Hyson Piano - Matt Griffo Drums - Mike…

Send us a text Chance the Snapper is a four to five foot long alligator that was found swimming in the Humboldt Park lagoon, in Chicago, Illinois, on the evening of July 9, 2019. The animal was named after Chance the Rapper in an online poll conducted by the Block Club Chicago news website,beating other suggested nicknames such as Ruth Gator Ginsbe…

Send us a text CHARNA HALPERN Charna Halpern (born June 1, 1952) is founded the ImprovOlympic, now known as iO. Upon iO's founding, in 1983, with partner Del Close, she began teaching Harold to many students in the Chicago theater community. Many prominent comedians performed at iO, from Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mike Myers, She and Close co-authored …

Send us a text In 1910, Halley’s Comet was due to pass close by Earth — and everyone from religious fanatics to news reporters stoked the fires of a global panic, believing it was the end of the world. Samba/Bossa Nova Band (Chambered Electric/Acoustic Guitar) Mercedes Sara Landazuri (Ukulele Bass) Adam Haus (Percussion) Leo Peña 18" bass drum 14" …

Send us a text The Curse of the Colonel refers to a 1985 Japanese urban legend regarding a reputed curse placed on the Japanese Kansai-based Hanshin Tigers baseball team by the ghost of deceased KFC founder and mascot Colonel Sanders. The curse was said to be placed on the team because of the Colonel's anger over treatment of one of his store-front…

Send us a text When complex computer programs were first written in the 1960s, engineers used a two-digit code for the year, leaving out the "19." As the year 2000 approached, many believed that the systems would not interpret the "00" correctly, therefore causing a major glitch in the system STORYTELLER Jonald Reyes BAND Piano, Organ - Matt Griffo…

Send us a Text Message. 2023 is knock, knock, knocking on your door, with all the jingling of Santa's bells. It's time to talk about graphic design trends in 2023. I'll cover 6 design trends to avoid in 2023, summarise what we saw in 2022, and explain why you should avoid looking at trends. Design trends 2023…

Send us a Text Message. Martin, when should I rebrand? How much does a rebrand cost? I regularly get asked these types of questions. And there’s a bunch of things to consider. What's your biggest challenge right now? How do you overcome it? Is it a revolution or evolution? A rebrand is about redesigning or rewriting your story. It's more about reva…

Send us a Text Message. If you're struggling to pick your brand colours, this episode is for you. When you have a clear direction, picking your brand colours will feel less like picking colours out of thin air and more wahoo! In this episode, I discuss the thought process behind choosing brand colours and the considerations you need to make when se…

Send us a Text Message. A tub-thumping brand personality and tone of voice will shape how customers engage with your brand. It will make storytelling simpler, so you no matter the platform, you can talk to them like humans. What you'll be left with is a vibrant, authentic, unique way to market your business. In this episode, we cover: Transforming …

Send us a Text Message. By elevating your customer experience, you create an army of loyal customers who will be out there talking up your brand and saving you marketing dollars. This is a big task, and you will continue to do this as your business evolves. It pays out in trust and improved customer experience. In this episode I run through two met…

Send us a Text Message. Learn how to nurture your brand's promise and successfully deliver exceptional service to your customers. In this episode of the Hot Metal Brand Podcast, I'll show you 4 ways to build your brand promise. Including: Unifying your team with your mission Hiring the right people Including your team in brand strategy decisions Le…

Send us a text The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint. The painting was done by women at three different factories, and the term now applies to the women working at the facilities: one in Orange, New Jersey, beginning around 1917; one in Ottawa, Illinois, be…

Send us a Text Message. When the world zigs. Zag. You probably don't know the origin of this phrase, but the important thing is to embrace it. In this episode, we move into looking at competition, analysing what they do, then tossing it out the window and running your own race. Keeping you one step ahead, and forging your own path. My website is pa…

Send us a Text Message. Last week, we looked at repelling your non-ideal customers by standing for something, getting to know your ideal customer and setting them expectations. This week we're focusing on working on who is your dream customer. We'll cover: Focusing on a niche rather than a broad market Why you should look at buyer/customer personas…

Send us a Text Message. The first of a 2-part series introducing you to finding your ideal customers. First, you have to work out how to not attract the wrong customers to your business. There's a 3 step strategy to this: Stand for something, people who don't align with your beliefs and values won't be inclined to make a purchase Get to know what y…

Send us a Text Message. Creating thoughtful brands that get to the heart of what customers want is called intentional alignment, where you align your reputation, values, mission + vision statements and your brand's promise to make an emotional connection to your customers. We dive right into: Building a positive reputation by understanding negative…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome back to the first proper episode of the podcast! Where I dive deeper into the foundations of a great brand! I cover: • What branding is to me. • Common misconceptions of what a brand is. • Why you need to carefully think about all the decisions in your business. • What branding can do for you. • How to build strong f…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to theLevel Up Podcast. Formerly the Hot Metal Brand Podcast. I'm Martin from Snapper Studio, and I'm on a mission to help you get clarity in your brand and confidence in what you're selling. From thoughtful empowering brand strategies to defining powerful visual stories - I'll arm you with bite-size branding tools t…

Send us a text The Montreal Screwjob was an infamous unscripted professional wrestling incident that occurred on November 9, 1997, at the Survivor Series pay-per-view at the Molson Centre. Vince McMahon and his employees covertly manipulated the outcome of the match between Bret Hart, the reigning WWF Champion, and Shawn Michaels. Storyteller Chris…

Send us a text Most Brazilians believe their national identity is closely tied to the country’s music, as it unites those of all social backgrounds and creates a place of refuge from real life. However, as the dictatorship gained more control and became increasingly strict during the mid-1960s, innovation and creativity in art greatly diminished. O…

Send us a text Aileen Wuornos is an American serial killer who murdered at least seven people in 1989–90. Her case drew national attention to issues such as the relationship between gender and violence and the legal treatment of acts of self-defense by women. Storyteller Sharron Palm BAND: Charlie Malave (vocal, guitar, electronic drums, synth) Mat…

Send us a text About 27 tonnes of caramelised brown goat cheese - a delicacy known as Brunost - caught light as it was being driven through the Brattli Tunnel at Tysfjord, northern Norway in 2013. The fire raged for five days. Told by Asgeir Døhl Dybvig from Oslo, Norway. BAND: Charlie Malave (vocal, guitar, electronic drums, synth) Matt Griffo (pi…

Send us a text A coyote bit a little boy, Chicagoans wanted the coyote dead, but Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation in suburban Barrington, IL stepped in to show everyone Mercy. Listen to the unedited podcast and help support the episodes at --> https://www.patreon.com/mattgriffo

Send us a text Cosmic science. Black holes and how we know about them thanks to multiple scientists and LIGO (The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory). Listen to the unedited podcast and help support the episodes at --> https://www.patreon.com/mattgriffo

Send us a text This is a Story about Cap Streeter, a drifter who schemed his way into creating what is now one of the most expensive parts of Chicago. Steph Charaska (Storyteller) BAND: Drake Shrader (vocals) Holly Souchack (vocals) Mary Hynes (vocals) Lexi Alioto (vocals) Arne Parrott (guitar) Matt Griffo (vocal/piano/bass) Dan Krackhardt (cajon) …

Send us a text The woman who threw a dildo at Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce on New Zealand's national day. Listen to the unedited podcast and help support the episodes at --> https://www.patreon.com/mattgriffo

Send us a text In 2019, a scandal arose over a criminal conspiracy to influence undergraduate admissions decisions at several top American universities. The investigation into the conspiracy was nicknamed Operation Varsity Blues. Listen to the unedited podcast and help support the episodes at --> https://www.patreon.com/mattgriffo

Send us a text Jane Fonda has had a life full of activism and has now begun “Fire Drill Fridays.” The protests, which Fonda refers to as "Fire Drill Friday," are to show support for a Green New Deal and bring awareness to the ways in which climate change affects other parts of human life, such as women's rights, access to drinking water and global …

Send us a text An art feud over color between Stuart Semple and Anish Kapoor. They have been feuding since 2016 when Kapoor received exclusive rights to the Vantablack pigment, said to be the blackest shade of black ever created. In retaliation, Semple created the "pinkest pink" paint pigment and banned Kapoor from purchasing it, shortly followed b…