FYI: This episode was recorded before we rebranded from Obedient to Semiserious.
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The wheels have certainly fallen off on this week's new episode of Can They Brand That?—and as always, that's a good thing. This week, we featured Slate: a new brand that makes fully-customizable, electric pickup trucks. Hop in the passenger seat with us as we speed-improvise our way through entertaining ideas that would help Slate pickup new consumers. From a build-a-bro expo, to a Pimp My Ride nostalgia campaign, to, for some reason, a mime mascot…we put our brain pedals to the medal and ran every red light. Backstory in case you missed it: these time-pressured, improvised brainstorms have long been our favorite creative exercises, and so we turned them into a show! For you! …And also startup CPG brands looking for an actually-creative team to help them launch with a bang instead of the sad, beige thud of blanding agencies (ooh, burn!) and AI-slop.

Anyway! It's a fun watch, especially if you like cars (or Mario Lopez, as it turns out.) https://youtu.be/1jaC9YzBlWE

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Semiserious and Improvised Branding

01:45 Customizing Slate Auto: Build-A-Bear Concept

04:33 Innovative Marketing Ideas for Slate Auto

10:31 Creative Campaigns and Taglines

17:30 Hired or Fired: Evaluating Ideas

Wisdom for the Road:

• Improvised branding can lead to unique and engaging ideas.
• The concept of customization can be likened to Build-A-Bear workshops.
• Celebrity endorsements can add humor and relatability to branding campaigns.
• Using humor in marketing, such as pickup lines, can create memorable connections.
• Sustainability is an important aspect of modern branding, especially for electric vehicles.
• Interactive pop-up events can enhance customer engagement and brand experience.
• Creative campaigns can play on cultural references and nostalgia.
• Evaluating ideas through a 'hired or fired' lens can help refine branding strategies.
• Collaboration with other brands, like Lego, can expand marketing reach.
• A strong call to action is essential for effective branding.

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As the world's first humor branding agency, Semiserious has worked its magic for industry darlings like Clif Bar, Native, Waterboy, Blue Bunny, Yogi Tea, JOI, Alleyoop, The University of Chicago, Hilton, and Pie. But they would never brag about it in their episode description.