Had just enough time for a couple more questions with Cabell before he headed off for more client meetings. So take a few moments of your coffee break and have a look-see. Let us know if you have any questions for Cabell.

How do advertising agencies and design firms differ from one another?

It’s really just which door you enter. Each says they provide both services but rarely do they do both truly well. Advertising and design have distinctly different aesthetics and training, so clients can have their products hit by two very different points of view that unfortunately may not mesh well together. Having a solid foundation to your brand can help to prevent a breakdown between design and future advertising.

So what does building a brand mean exactly?

You don’t ever stop. It’s like building a house; foundation first, and then keep moving upwards with it. It’s not just throwing a logo on everything. Everything the brand touches, every piece of communication should be reinforcing the brand point of view. It works internally and externally. Corporate behaviors internally represent the brand just as much as external communications.