Teenage Wastebrand: How Your Brand Can Stop Struggling and Start Scaling

by Evelyn J. Starr

Overview

Break through your brand's invisible barrier.

Has your business hit a wall? Have you struggled to figure out why?

Business owners bear the burden of chief brand builder. You think it will get easier once you get past start-up mode, but growth brings more to manage, not less.

It's hard to know if you're doing well.

When your numbers climb, they signal success to you. But then they level off. And refuse to budge.

Your brand's hit its awkward adolescent stage.

Based on 30 years of marketing experience and extensive study, brand expert Evelyn Starr shows you how to identify what holds your brand back and overcome it. 

In this groundbreaking book, you'll discover:

• The eight symptoms adolescent brands display, including identity crisis, oversleeping, and suffering from FOMO.

• Specific questions to help you diagnose the symptom hindering your brand.

• How brands like FedEx, Netflix, Spotify, and Crocs navigated their adolescence to emerge stronger.

• What business owners like you have done to course correct their brands and what worked best.

• Step-by-step guides to help you exit that stage ready to scale.

Finally, you can stop guessing what your brand needs. With the right pieces in place, your brand will be ready for its next leap of growth.

If you like sports and entertainment stories, easy-to-understand explanations, and plenty of examples, you'll love how this book demystifies your brand woes and helps you fix them. Get it now to jump-start your business growth!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781736287231
Publisher:	E. Starr Associates
Publication date:	04/20/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	188
File size:	837 KB

About the Author

Evelyn Starr is a brand expert and writer with over 25 years of marketing strategy and research experience. Evelyn uses her keen powers of observation and insight to help her clients wow their customers and grow their businesses. She specializes in working with Brands in Adolescence, brands that have stalled after their initial success. Her clients have ranged from small businesses like Laird Superfood and Harbor Sweets to global brands like Hasbro and Gillette. Before founding E. Starr Associates in 1999, Evelyn worked for some of New England's most recognized brands including Dunkin', Veryfine Products and The First Years. As leader of the Care & Safety category at The First Years, she launched one of the company's most successful products, the Hands-Free Gate, which won The National Parenting Seal of Approval in 2002. Evelyn earned an MBA in Marketing from Boston College's Carroll School of Management and graduated with honors from Vassar College with a BA in Economics and French. Living in the Greater Boston area, her passions include travel, reading, writing, yoga, tea, dark chocolate and nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit in both her husband and her two children.

Table of Contents

Introduction: It Was Going So Well until It Wasn't 1

 

PART 1: AWKWARD ADOLESCENCE, IT'S NOT JUST FOR HUMANS

ANYMORE

1. A Brief Bit about Brands and Brand Adolescence 8

How Brands Form 8

We Brand to Survive 9

What is a brand? 10

Brands Are Dynamic 10

What Causes Brand Adolescence? 11

 

2. Scenarios That May Masquerade as Brand Adolescence, but

Are Not 16

Economic Downturns 16

The Technology Brand Treadmill 18

Entrepreneur/Owner Evolution 19

Growth Spurts 20

Lifestyle Business 21

 

PART 2: BRAND ADOLESCENCE SYMPTOMS & REMEDIES

 

3. Having an Identity Crisis 27

What Is an Identity Crisis? 29

Dangers of Identity Crisis 32

Brand Identity = Purpose + Attributes 35

Your Purpose Is What Your Brand Wants to Be 36

Brand Purpose Anchors Your Company 38

Finding Your Brand's Purpose 40

Attributes Define Your Brand Personality 47

Determining Your Brand Attributes 52

 

4. Running with the Wrong Crowd 66

The Wrong Audience Can Hold Your Brand Back 70

Dangers of Running with the Wrong Crowd 71

Separating from the Wrong Customers 74

Finding the Right Customers 79

 

5. Acting Self-Centered 86

The Rebellious and Self-Centered Brand in Adolescence 89

Dangers of Self-Centered Brands 96

Values Keep Your Brand on Course 98

Declaring Your Brand Values 100

 

6. Suffering from FOMO and Trying Too Hard to Fit In 121

FOMO: The Endless Hamster Wheel of Fear 123

Dangers of FOMO 127

Busting the Niche Myth 129

How Narrow Should Your Niche Be? 133

Discovering Your Brand's Niche 138

 

7. Needing to Make New Friends 147

New Markets and Niches as New Friend Groups 151

Dangers of Needing to Make New Friends 154

Generating Niche Ideas 157

Vetting Your Niche Ideas 160

 

8. Defending Your Varsity Team Spot 165

The Level of Competition Rises in Adolescence 167

Opportunity Attracts Competition 170

Dangers of Failing to Defend Your Varsity Team Spot 177

Upping Your Brand's Game 178

 

9. Oversleeping 190

Nature Puts Adolescents on a Different Sleep Schedule 192

Good Times and Rigid Thinking Can Lull Your Brand to Sleep 195

Dangers of Oversleeping 199

Developing Your Strategic Plan 199

 

10. Asserting Independence 216

When Adolescents Assert Independence 220

When Brands Assert Independence 221

Dangers of Asserting Independence 228

Deciding If You Should Step Aside 232

Recruiting a New CEO 234

 

Conclusion: How I Untangled My Brand's Adolescence 241

 

Further Reading 251

Acknowledgements 252

About the Author 255

Endnotes 257

Index 270

Editorial Reviews

"You know an idea is great when it makes you think 'why didn't I think of that?' Evelyn hits it out of the park with a book that is thorough, relevant, and unique in the marketing world."

-Mark W. Schaefer, Best-selling author of KNOWN and Marketing Rebellion

"Applying intuitive lessons from human adolescence to brand-building, Evelyn Starr's Teenage Wastebrand is a story-driven, example-rich, actionable read!"

-Whitney Johnson, Author of Build an A Team

"Teenage Wastebrand is a fun, easy-to-read, and practical guide to solving your brand's issues and cultivating brand leadership. Evelyn Starr's brand adolescence concept is an innovative lens for diagnosing why brands fail to scale and helping them get back on a growth track."

-Denise Lee Yohn, author of What Great Brands Do and FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies

"Evelyn Starr shows you how to bust through walls and break through revenue plateaus. Teenage Wastebrand is a must read for entrepreneurs working to scale their businesses."

-Jeremy Miller, founder of Sticky Branding, author of Sticky Branding and Brand New Name

"This is an entertaining, enjoyable, and useful book. It's extremely practical, chock full of examples, and anecdotes. It also contains numerous tips and suggestions. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in taking their brand to the next level."

-Dr. Graham Kenny, strategy expert and regular author in the Harvard Business Review

"From brands ranging from Netflix, Crocs, Lyft, and Facebook, to myriad entrepreneurs who all had to navigate these treacherous waters to move forward, Evelyn Starr weaves engaging behind-the-scenes stories and pop culture references from hit teen movies with key brand growth principles. A great must-read for everyone from seasoned CEOs to striving entrepreneurs!"

-Stacy DeBroff, CEO and founder, Influence Central

From the Publisher