# Citizen+Co. > Brand strategy, messaging, and culture consultancy. We help organizations make sense of who they are and say it clearly—internally and externally. Founded by Justin Bronson, based in Bend, Oregon. Brand strategy, messaging, and culture work for organizations at pivotal moments. Citizen and Company is a brand strategy and culture consultancy. We work with founders and leadership teams to clarify what a company stands for, build the language that carries it, and align the culture that makes it real. Site: https://citizenand.co Contact: https://citizenand.co/contact ## Philosophy Most brand strategy work treats messaging like a knowledge problem. Gather the data, define the target audience, write the words. It produces strategies that sound right but change nothing because knowing your business isn't the same as believing in it, and what people don't believe, they don't act on. The work we do starts somewhere else. We help you name what you actually believe about your business, your people, and the world you operate in. Then we build the language, positioning, and communication strategy around that belief—so what you say becomes what you do, because what you do proves what you believe. That's it. That's our standard. We won't help a brand sound like something it isn't, and we won't write a word we can't defend to the people on the receiving end of the business. If you're ready to build a brand that customers love to buy from and employees hate to leave, this is where that work begins. ## Services A founder is launching. A leader is repositioning. A team is integrating after an acquisition. The work below is what we do when those moments arrive. ### Strategy — Define who you are. Brand strategy and rebranding for founders launching, repositioning, or integrating after a leadership transition or M&A. *When to call:* Call us when the business has outgrown its story, when a new chapter needs a new position, or when two companies need to sound like one. What this looks like: - Brand Positioning - Brand Messaging - Brand Voice & Tone - Brand Naming - Tagline Development - Brand Architecture - Audience Research - Market Research - Competitive Analysis ### Words — Sound like yourself, at your best. Website copywriting, brand storytelling, and messaging frameworks—plus ghostwriting and thought leadership for founders and executives. *When to call:* Call us when the words on the page don't match the person in the room, when a launch needs language that lands, or when a founder needs a voice that travels. What this looks like: - Website Copywriting - Brand Copywriting - Landing Page Copywriting - Brand Storytelling - Messaging Framework - Thought Leadership & Ghostwriting - Manifestos ### Culture — Move forward, together. Culture consulting, leadership development, and change management for teams in transition, growth, or post-M&A integration. *When to call:* Call us when the culture you talk about isn't the culture you live, when leaders need shared language, or when growth has outpaced the systems holding it together. What this looks like: - Leadership Development - Leadership Workshops - Team Alignment - Employee Experience - Internal Communications - Change Management & M&A Integration - Performance Reviews - Hiring & Interview Systems ## Case Studies Selected client work across coffee, hospitality, healthcare, nonprofits, technology, and consumer goods. Full case studies at https://citizenand.co/work. ### Dr. Kelly — https://citizenand.co/work/dr-kelly **Dr. Kelly came to me with a brilliant product but a blurry position.** *Focus:* Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Messaging, Positioning, Research, Tagline, Web *Challenge:* The oral care aisle is packed with polished packaging and puffed-up promises—but very few brands that lead with substance. First referred to me by the leadership team of another client (www.auticate.com), Dr. Kelly had the science, the story, and the standards to do just that. But without a clear strategic position and a compelling voice, the brand risked blending into the very category it was built to challenge. The work ahead was about more than messaging—it was about making clarity the cornerstone of the brand. *Work delivered:* Spoken Identity Workshop™; Brand Positioning; Brand Messaging; BrandBook®; Tagline; Mission/Vision/Purpose Development; Category and Consumer Insight Research; Website Copy and Wireframing; Strategic Narrative. *Outcome:* Dr. Kelly now has a brand with presence, precision, and purpose. One that honors the intelligence behind the formula and earns the trust of discerning consumers. With the Southeast Asia launch underway, the brand is positioned to grow not just through marketing, but through meaning. It’s no longer just a smarter product. It’s a smarter brand. ### Maricopa County CHS — https://citizenand.co/work/maricopa-county-chs **A system built for order made healthcare feel heavy.** *Focus:* Research, Culture, Employee Experience, Messaging *Challenge:* Correctional healthcare is demanding even in the best conditions, but CHS employees weren’t strained by the care itself—they were strained by the system around it. Despite great pride in their mission and their patients, many felt unseen, unheard, or unsupported in the realities they face daily. Structural constraints, communication friction, and a widening intent–impact divergence weakened trust and made dignifying care harder than it should be. The challenge wasn’t about motivation. It was about alignment, visibility, and support. *Work delivered:* Culture Gap Analysis; 30 Confidential Interviews; Anonymous Organization-Wide Survey; Data Synthesis and Leadership Insights; Intent/Impact Mapping; Vertical Empathy Gap Analysis; Cultural Narrative Development; Strategic Roadmap for Culture, Communication, and Leadership Presence. *Outcome:* CHS now has a clear picture of the structural and human factors shaping its culture—and a narrative that names the real barriers to progress without placing blame. Leadership has tools to strengthen presence, improve communication, and respond to frontline realities with credibility. And because this work protects the anonymity of every employee who participated, the outcomes live not in public deliverables, but in a shared language for culture, a clearer path forward, and a renewed belief that support can match mission. ### City of Santa Clara — https://citizenand.co/work/city-of-santa-clara **A proud city needed help rising to meet a historic moment.** *Focus:* Research, Campaign Strategy, Copywriting, Messaging, Slogan *Challenge:* 2026 placed Santa Clara on a global stage unlike anything in its history. As the Mission City prepared to host both the Super Bowl and the FIFA World Cup, the scale of attention accelerated faster than its existing communication approach. The city had the pride, the capability, and the responsibility. What it lacked was a campaign that could translate that identity into clear public messaging for a year defined by extraordinary visibility. The work was about creating a narrative strong enough to carry Santa Clara through its most consequential moment. *Work delivered:* Slogan Ideation and Refinement; Campaign Strategy; Campaign Messaging; Narrative Architecture; Civic Communication Framework; Strategic Narrative Development; Leadership Alignment Sessions; Public-Facing Message Guide. *Outcome:* Santa Clara now has a campaign built for clarity, confidence, and global attention. One that helps leadership communicate with focus as they prepare for the Super Bowl and the World Cup. The city enters 2026 with a message equal to the moment and a narrative that reflects the pride and purpose of the Mission City. It is no longer communicating by default. It is communicating by design. ### Auticate — https://citizenand.co/work/auticate **Two creators needed an identity bigger than themselves.** *Focus:* Naming, Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Messaging, Web, Content Strategy, Tagline *Challenge:* Chris and Debby had a rapidly growing YouTube community—but no brand to hold it, scale it, or guide it. The channel was personality-led, the insights were scattered, and the mission was bigger than the format containing it. They wanted to shift the center of gravity away from “two creators making videos” and toward an ideology rooted in education tailored for autistic people. To do that, they needed strategic clarity: a name, a voice, a narrative, and a structure capable of helping autistic and late-identified neurodivergent people see their differences as worthy of understanding and celebration. The challenge wasn't just making the content clearer—it was making the identity clearer. *Work delivered:* Naming; Spoken Identity Workshop™; BrandBook®; Identity System Creative Direction; Website Copy and Wireframing; Membership Architecture; Program Structure and UX; Strategic Narrative; Content Strategy; YouTube and Newsletter Support. *Outcome:* Auticate now has a brand that leads with clarity, compassion, and purpose—one built on ideas, not personalities. The new name, message, and structure reframed the entire platform into a coherent educational brand with a mission that resonates deeply with autistic adults and the wider neurodivergent community. With stronger UX, program systems, and communication architecture, Auticate has become a place where people find language for their lived experience, confidence in their identity, and pride in who they are. And with the community doubling in size, the brand is now positioned to grow not just through content, but through meaning. ### Face Change Alliance — https://citizenand.co/work/face-change-alliance **F/CA challenged silence. The identity had to echo that.** *Focus:* Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Naming, Messaging, Web, Creative Direction *Challenge:* In 2020, conversations about race were erupting across America—yet millions of white Americans still lacked the language, frameworks, and psychological safety to meaningfully engage. The founders of Face/Change Alliance saw a widening gap: the nation was in a civil-rights awakening, but many who benefited from systemic inequity had no structured path to understand it, confront it, or change it. What they needed was not simply a message, but a movement architecture—one that invited participation while refusing to dilute the truth. Face/Change Alliance came to me without a cohesive strategic position, a unified voice, or the narrative rigor required to steward such a critical mission. The challenge was to build a brand capable of holding discomfort, facilitating dialogue, and normalizing conversations about racism for those least accustomed to having them. *Work delivered:* Spoken Identity Workshop™; Brand Positioning; Naming - Brand Messaging; Cultural Markers; Tagline Development (“Normalize the Conversation.”); Slogans; Website Wireframing; Website Copywriting; Creative Direction; Research; Narrative Strategy; Brand Guidelines. *Outcome:* Face/Change Alliance now has a brand anchored in clarity, courage, and communal responsibility—one that speaks directly to white Americans while honoring the dignity of everyone in the room. Their messaging system gives structure to difficult conversations, their cultural markers provide behavioral guardrails for safe dialogue, and their website functions as an invitation into humility, proximity, and policy-shaping action. Most importantly, their brand now reflects the heart of their work: helping people face what must be faced and change what must be changed. With a clear strategic position and a voice built for truth-telling, Face/Change Alliance is equipped to grow not through guilt or performance, but through genuine transformation. ### Tetherow — https://citizenand.co/work/tetherow **Tetherow had a vision. The identity needed heart.** *Focus:* Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Messaging, Positioning, Research, Tagline *Challenge:* Tetherow had the setting, the service, and the ambition to become one of the most memorable destinations in the Pacific Northwest, but the brand lacked a unifying sense of meaning. Their story lived in fragments: amenities on one page, accolades on another, and a growing member community in between. Without a clear position or a coherent voice, the resort risked being perceived as merely another luxury property rather than the experience-driven escape it truly is. The work ahead was about returning the brand to its center—bringing intention, emotion, and identity back to the heart. *Work delivered:* Spoken Identity Workshop™; Cultural Markers; BrandBook®; Tagline; Slogans; Leadership Workshops; Stakeholder Interviews; Narrative Architecture; Website Copy Direction; Creative Guidance. *Outcome:* Tetherow emerged with a brand grounded in meaning rather than amenities; one that articulated the emotional truth guests felt but couldn’t name. The new positioning and messaging gave their internal team the strategic clarity to shape campaigns, guide decisions, and strengthen every moment of the guest experience. And with “Back to the heart” as their north star, Tetherow earned recognition not only for what they offer, but for what the place means. In 2023, Condé Nast Traveler named Tetherow the #28 resort in the world and the #1 resort in the Pacific Northwest—an honor that reflects both their excellence and the clarity of the brand now carrying it. ### Recovery Network of Oregon — https://citizenand.co/work/recovery-network-of-oregon **RNO made recovery reachable. They needed a message to match.** *Focus:* Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Positioning, Messaging *Challenge:* Recovery services in Oregon existed, but access to them did not. The landscape was scattered—directories in one place, programs in another, and no coordinated hub to help people find what they needed when they needed it. Misconceptions and stigma created additional barriers, keeping many from seeking help at all. When proximity is missing, empathy is missing, too. And in the case of recovery, that lack of understanding can have real consequences. The work ahead wasn’t just about visibility—it was about reframing recovery around dignity, agency, and choice, positioning RNO as the statewide resource built to close these gaps. *Work delivered:* Brand Strategy; Brand Positioning; Messaging; Cultural Markers; Narrative Architecture; Copywriting. *Outcome:* RNO emerged with a brand grounded in truth rather than stigma—one that reframed recovery as non-linear, personal, and self-directed, and gave people permission to define the journey for themselves. The new messaging, positioning, and campaign system made their role unmistakable: a statewide hub connecting individuals to culturally specific care and community through both technology and human support. With a clear voice and a unified identity, RNO launched an omnichannel campaign that not only reached people but resonated deeply—consistently surpassing KPI and ROI targets while helping individuals access the services they need, on their terms. ### Poppits — https://citizenand.co/work/poppits **Poppits had purpose, but the positioning needed focus.** *Focus:* Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Positioning, Messaging, Research, Tagline *Challenge:* Poppits had created a cleaner, smarter way to brush, but their early brand expression wasn’t communicating the simplicity or innovation behind the product. In a category dominated by legacy brands, loud claims, and indistinguishable messaging, their advantages were at risk of blending into the background. The team needed a clear, cohesive identity that could articulate what made Poppits different: a modern, capsule-based system designed for ease, cleanliness, and better everyday habits. The work ahead was about sharpening their voice, defining their promise, and giving the brand the clarity it deserved. *Work delivered:* Spoken Identity Workshop™; Brand Positioning; Brand Messaging; BrandBook®; Tagline; Mission/Vision/Purpose Development; Category and Consumer Insight Research. *Outcome:* Poppits emerged with a brand that finally communicated its purpose: brushing made simpler, cleaner, and better. The new messaging and brand system distilled the product’s core value into language anyone could understand—practical, modern, and unmistakably clear. With “Brush better” as their guiding idea, the Poppits team gained the strategic foundation they needed to expand marketing, strengthen their digital presence, and present themselves with the confidence of a brand built to lead, not follow. ### Hunter Fiber — https://citizenand.co/work/hunter-fiber **Hunter Fiber had the network, but no narrative.** *Focus:* Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Positioning, Messaging, Web, Campaign *Challenge:* Hunter Fiber had the infrastructure, service quality, and regional presence to lead, but their brand expression wasn’t clearly communicating what set them apart in an increasingly crowded fiber market. Customers trusted the service once they had it, yet the messaging lacked the strategic clarity needed to articulate Hunter Fiber’s strengths, simplify their offerings, and distinguish them from competitors relying on jargon, legacy perceptions, or flashy claims. The work ahead required turning a highly capable fiber provider into a brand with definition, direction, and a voice that customers could immediately understand. *Work delivered:* Brand Positioning; Brand Messaging; SWOT Analysis; Narrative Briefs; Nested Strategy Briefs; Landing Page Copy; Wireframing; Creative Direction Support; Campaign Strategy. *Outcome:* Armed with clearer positioning, Hunter Fiber stepped into the market with a message that finally separated them from the noise. No jargon. No clichés. Just a direct articulation of why their service outperforms the alternatives. That differentiation became a competitive advantage across campaigns, landing pages, and conversations with customers. ### Hearst — https://citizenand.co/work/hearst **Hearst's flagship program needed a new name and guiding idea.** *Focus:* Naming, Research, Tagline *Challenge:* Hearst Media Production Group had a flagship television program with national reach, established equity, and a loyal audience—but the name no longer reflected where the show was heading. The landscape of educational and inspirational programming had evolved, and the existing identity risked keeping the series tethered to the past rather than positioned for its future. The team needed a naming and messaging system that could honor what viewers loved while opening the door to a refreshed editorial direction, a broader cultural role, and a more future-forward identity. *Work delivered:* Naming; Tagline Development; Category and Company Research; Strategic Workshops; Linguistic Vetting; Narrative Direction; Stakeholder Alignment. *Outcome:* The renaming process gave Hearst something far more valuable than a new title: it gave them clarity. By rigorously testing concepts, aligning executive leadership, and grounding every option in strategy, the team gained a cohesive direction they could stand behind. The final shortlist equipped Hearst Media Production Group with names and taglines that were legally sound, creatively resonant, and strategically durable—setting the stage for a confident national relaunch. As the implementation team moves toward the show’s premiere, the identity now reflects the ambition of the program and the legacy of the Hearst brand. ### Adventure Wagon — https://citizenand.co/work/adventure-wagon **Adventure Wagon had direction, but no set path.** *Focus:* Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Messaging, Positioning, Research, Tagline *Challenge:* Adventure Wagon had built one of the most flexible and thoughtfully engineered modular van systems on the market, but their brand wasn’t yet communicating the potential it unlocked. Customers understood the parts but not the possibilities. The product invited people to build a life of movement and exploration, yet the identity lacked the focus and cohesion needed to express that vision. The work ahead called for refining their voice, clarifying their promise, and shaping a brand that captured the freedom at the heart of their system. *Work delivered:* Spoken Identity Workshop™; Brand Positioning; Brand Messaging; BrandBook®; Tagline; Mission/Vision/Purpose Development; Category and Consumer Insight Research; Strategic Narrative. *Outcome:* The strategic work gave Adventure Wagon something essential: a way to articulate what their product makes possible. With a clearer message, a defined narrative, and a cohesive brand system, the team could speak confidently about the experience they offer, not just components, but a platform for building one’s own path. The new identity became a guide for marketing, partnerships, and customer education, helping Adventure Wagon show up with the clarity and confidence of a brand built for movement, meaning, and self-directed adventure. ### Dr Hops — https://citizenand.co/work/dr-hops **Dr Hops needed a wilder way to tell their story.** *Focus:* Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Messaging, Packaging, Positioning, Research, Tagline, Web *Challenge:* Dr Hops had a beloved product and a fiercely loyal following, but the brand had drifted from the spirit that made people fall in love with it in the first place. In the beyond-beer category—where standing out means far more than having a great drink—identity is everything. A unique name, a handcrafted product line, even strong distribution aren’t enough; they’re simply the cost of entry. To grow into new markets without losing their edge, Dr Hops needed a brand that could reclaim its original soul, break from category mimicry, and express a point of view bold enough to turn heads. *Work delivered:* Spoken Identity Workshop™; Brand Positioning; Brand Messaging; BrandBook®; Tagline; Mission/Vision/Purpose Development; Category and Consumer Insight Research; Website Copy and Wireframing; Strategic Narrative - Packaging Design. *Outcome:* By grounding every decision in the rabbit—the mascot, the attitude, the spark—the brand stopped blending in neatly and started standing out wildly. The story became sharper. The personality became unmistakable. And the identity reclaimed the playful irreverence and soul-moving idea that launched Dr Hops in the first place. With a full brand book, new packaging, a reimagined website, and a long-term omnichannel marketing plan, the team now had a brand that didn’t chase trends—it hops different, confidently setting its own pace in a category that often feels copy-and-paste. ### Thump Coffee — https://citizenand.co/work/thump-coffee **Thump Coffee came to me with an obscure sense of purpose.** *Focus:* Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Culture, Employee Experience, Messaging, Research, Tagline *Challenge:* Thump wanted to more deeply engage their customers and team members around the ideas and passions that drive them. But rather than rallying support around abstract and ethereal ideas, they wanted to stoke buy-in from both the people on their teams and the people in their cafes around real, tangible commitments. Commitments to community, decency, and shining brightly in a dark world. *Work delivered:* Spoken Identity Workshop™; Brand Development; Brand Strategy; BrandBook®; Copywriting; Social Media Strategy; Creative Direction; Customer Experience; Interviewing/Hiring/Training; Internal Procedures and Manuals; CultureShift (Culture and Leadership Development). *Outcome:* Since their BrandBook® was published and it’s ideas disseminated into all customer and culture-facing expressions of the brand; Thump has increased it’s year-over-year growth targets, opened new locations, and expanded the reach of its wholesale product footprint into new markets across the US, Canada, and Australia. ### Green State Coffee — https://citizenand.co/work/green-state-coffee **Green State Coffee came to me with an idea and little else.** *Focus:* Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Messaging, Naming, Research, Tagline *Challenge:* The ownership group at Green State Coffee came to me with the need for almost everything. Although real estate and capital were secured, they had made little headway in every other area. Knowing that market conditions provided an opportune entry-point for a new drive-thru coffee brand - they wanted to take advantage of the moment and enter the category differently. *Work delivered:* Spoken Identity Workshop™; Brand Development; Brand Strategy; BrandBook®; Copywriting; Social Media Strategy; Creative Direction; Naming; Customer Interviews; Resident Polling; Local Market Research; Historical Research; Interviewing/Hiring/Training; Internal Procedures and Manuals; Culture and Leadership Development. *Outcome:* Since their BrandBook® was published and it’s ideas disseminated into all customer and culture-facing expressions of the brand; Green State launched in the Yakima, WA market to great success. After only 5 months of operation, a competitor came to the ownership group and bought out the entirety of the Green State brand - for almost 50% more than the totality of their startup and operational costs. An unexpected exit strategy for the win. Although they no longer exist, you can still find information about them online. ### Spoken Moto — https://citizenand.co/work/spoken-moto **Spoken Moto came to me with a dream for change.** *Focus:* Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Culture, Employee Experience, Messaging, Research, Tagline *Challenge:* Spoken Moto was caught within the tension of an identity crisis. The ownership group knew exactly what they were trying to build, but strong staff opinions regarding brand identity and direction produced a reputation they never wanted: they were making patrons feel cast out like outsiders rather than welcomed as friends. *Work delivered:* Spoken Identity Workshop™; Brand Development; Brand Strategy; BrandBook®; Copywriting; Social Media Strategy; Creative Direction; Customer Experience; Interviewing/Hiring/Training; Internal Procedures and Manuals; Culture and Leadership Development; Ongoing Consultation. *Outcome:* Since their BrandBook® was published and it’s ideas disseminated into all customer and culture-facing expressions of the brand; Spoken has been able to rebuild their image - most dramatically through the rebuilding of their teams. Equipped with a clearer sense of direction and purpose, the ownership group is reinvigorated in their passion for this work and is committed to their future growth. ### City Without Orphans — https://citizenand.co/work/city-without-orphans **City Without Orphans came to me looking for direction.** *Focus:* Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Messaging, Research, Tagline *Challenge:* After seven years of operation, City Without Orphans came to me looking for ways to better engage their volunteers, donors and partner agencies. With dozens of active initiatives, City Without Orphans was serving foster families and children in a variety of ways - but they were struggling to increase fundraising and volunteerism efforts. Although they didn’t stand for nothing, they struggled to give volunteers and donors something to buy into. *Work delivered:* Spoken Identity Workshop™; Brand Development; Brand Strategy; BrandBook®; Copywriting; Ongoing Consultation. *Outcome:* Since their BrandBook® was published and it’s ideas disseminated into all internal and external-facing expressions of the brand; City Without Orphans has been able to increasingly scale their vision while meeting or exceeding goals in volunteer recruitment and fundraising. ## Notes & Writing Occasional writing on brand, messaging, and culture. Full archive at https://citizenand.co/blog. ### When there are Jobs to be Done — https://citizenand.co/blog/when-there-are-jobs-to-be-done *Published:* 2026-05-09 *Categories:* Brand Strategy *Tags:* jobs to be done, brand strategy, brand positioning, brand messaging, value proposition *Summary:* People buy products and pay for services to make progress—functionally, emotionally, and socially. An introduction to the framework that should be shaping more brand strategy than it does. I've spent fifteen years in marketing. Media side, client side, agency side. I've worked alongside specialists who go deep on a single tactic and full-suite agencies that do everything. And in all that time, across all those teams, maybe five percent of the people I've worked with have any working understanding of Jobs to Be Done. That number still surprises me. Because once you understand the framework, it changes how you think about almost every decision in brand strategy, brand positioning, and brand messaging. So this post is an introduction. If you've never heard of Jobs to Be Done, here's what it is, why it matters, and how it might change the way you think about positioning your brand and writing copy that actually resonates with people. ## The basic idea Jobs to Be Done is a framework for understanding why people make the choices they make. It argues that people don't really buy products or services for their own sake. They buy these things to help them make progress toward gaining or achieving the outcomes they desire. A person buying a drill isn't really buying a drill. They're buying a way to get a job done—putting up a shelf, hanging a picture, finishing a project they've been putting off. The drill is the means. The job is the end. That distinction sounds small. It isn't. Once you see it, you start to notice that almost every piece of brand messaging you've ever read describes the product, not the job. And that's where most brand positioning fails. ## Three kinds of jobs, not one Here's where most people stop, and where most marketing misses. If we reduce Jobs to Be Done to the functional job—the practical task the product accomplishes—we miss the full picture of what motivates people to buy. The Value Proposition Canvas gets specific about this: people are always trying to do three different kinds of jobs at once. **Functional jobs** are the practical tasks. Boost my energy. Hang the picture. Whiten my teeth. These are the easiest to identify and, not coincidentally, the easiest to write product copy about. **Emotional jobs** are about how the choice makes the person feel about themselves. Confident. Capable. Cared for. In control. The emotional job is invisible from the outside, but it's often the deciding factor inside. **Social jobs** are about how the choice shapes how the person is seen by others. Sophisticated. Health-conscious. Part of a particular community. The social job is what people would never explicitly say out loud, but it's almost always present in the decision. Take coffee. If a person's motivation for buying coffee were purely functional—just boost my energy—and they were optimizing for cost, they wouldn't go to Starbucks and spend eight dollars on a latte. They'd go to the grocery store and buy a head of kale for three. The energy boost from kale is equivalent to, and often exceeds, the boost from coffee. But people still spend eight dollars at Starbucks. Every day. Because the job they're paying Starbucks to do isn't just functional. It's emotional—I'm the kind of person who treats myself in the morning, who takes a moment for myself before the day starts. It's social—I'm the kind of person who's seen at this kind of place, who participates in this kind of culture, who belongs in this kind of community. Strip those out and the eight dollars makes no sense. Include them and it makes perfect sense. ## Why this matters: indirect competition Here's the practical implication, and it's one most brands never think through. If your customer is buying your product to do functional, emotional, and social jobs all at once, then your real competition isn't just the brands in your category. It's any brand that can do those same jobs. Starbucks doesn't really compete with Dunkin' and Peet's. Starbucks competes with kale, with energy drinks, with a walk around the block, with a meditation app, with a quiet morning at home. Anything that can satisfy the cluster of jobs the customer is trying to get done is competition—whether it looks like Starbucks or not. We call this indirect competition, and most brands underestimate it badly. They benchmark themselves against direct category competitors and miss the brands that are actually pulling customers away. A toothpaste brand isn't just competing with other toothpastes. It's competing with mouthwash, with whitening strips, with cosmetic dentistry, with the decision to skip oral care entirely and rely on cosmetic confidence. A coffee brand isn't just competing with coffee. It's competing with everything that does the emotional and social job of "morning ritual." If your brand strategy is built only against your direct category, your brand positioning is missing the bigger picture. ## The three forces that shape every decision Jobs to Be Done also gets specific about what's actually happening when someone considers buying something. Three forces are always at play: **Push forces** are what's driving the person away from where they are. The current situation isn't working. Something has to change. Push is the dissatisfaction with the status quo. **Pull forces** are what's drawing the person toward where they want to go. The promise of a better outcome, a new identity, a problem solved. Pull is the appeal of the alternative. **Anxieties** are the obstacles that slow or stop the decision. Doubt. Fear of making the wrong choice. Worry that the new thing won't actually work. Anxieties are why people stay where they are even when they know they shouldn't. By focusing on the unique anxieties and motivations that influence consumer decision-making, we can better identify the causalities behind a consumer decision and how these factors lead consumers toward their desired outcomes. We call this progress. Consumers want to make progress toward their desired outcomes, and our job as brand-builders is to position the brand as their best ally on the journey. That's the shift. The brand isn't the hero of the story. The customer is. The brand is the guide who helps them get where they're trying to go. ## How we apply this at Citizen+Co. When we write a value proposition for a client, we're not asking, "What does the product do?" We're asking, "What is this person trying to accomplish—functionally, emotionally, and socially—and what's standing in their way?" That question reframes everything. The product becomes the answer to a real human pursuit rather than a thing competing for attention in a feed. The brand starts speaking the customer's language because it's grounded in what they're actually experiencing and who they're actually trying to be. This is core to how we build a BrandBook®, our trademarked deliverable. Every value proposition we write for every audience segment gets mapped through Jobs to Be Done—functional, emotional, and social jobs, plus push forces, pull forces, and anxieties—so the brand strategy isn't theoretical. It's grounded in the specific reality of the person the brand exists for, and it's written to meet them in their pursuit of progress. It's the difference between writing "Our toothpaste contains nano-hydroxyapatite for enamel remineralization" and writing "Brush your teeth without wondering if you're slowly damaging them." The first one describes the drill. The second one names the job. Same product. Different brand positioning. Wildly different result. ## Why so few people know this Here's the part that puzzles me. Jobs to Be Done isn't new. Clayton Christensen developed and popularized the framework decades ago. Tony Ulwick built an entire methodology around it. Alexander Osterwalder's Value Proposition Canvas extended it into the three-jobs framework most strategists use today. There are books, courses, frameworks, case studies—everything you'd need to learn it deeply. And yet, in fifteen years of working across media, agencies, and brands, I've encountered maybe a handful of people who actually use it. Most marketers I've worked alongside have never heard of it. Most brand strategy work I've seen done by other agencies doesn't reflect it. It's one of the most useful frameworks in the field, and it's almost completely absent from how the field actually operates. I don't fully understand why. Maybe it's that the framework requires you to slow down and think before you write, and most marketing operates on speed. Maybe it's that the language ("jobs," "progress," "forces") sounds academic and gets dismissed before it gets understood. Maybe it's just that the people who teach marketing don't teach this. Whatever the reason, it means there's a real gap between how brand positioning and brand messaging usually get done and how they could get done. ## Where to start If this is the first time you've encountered the framework, start small. The next time you write copy—any copy, for anything—ask one question before you begin: > What is the person reading this trying to accomplish—functionally, emotionally, and socially—and what's making it hard? If you can answer that question with specificity, you'll write better copy than ninety-five percent of what's out there. Because you'll be writing about a job, not a product. You'll be doing brand positioning that's grounded in reality rather than aspiration. You'll be helping someone make progress toward what they actually want, with your brand as their ally on the way there. That's where good brand messaging starts. And, in my experience, that's where most marketing forgets to look. --- If you want to apply Jobs to Be Done to your own brand strategy, that's the kind of work we do at Citizen+Co. Every BrandBook® we build is grounded in this framework—mapping your audience's functional, emotional, and social jobs alongside their push forces, pull forces, and anxieties—so your brand positioning and brand messaging actually meet people where they are. [Get in touch](/how) to talk about what that could look like for your company. ### When Tension Builds and Dissonance Breaks — https://citizenand.co/blog/when-tension-builds-and-dissonance-breaks *Published:* 2025-10-09 *Categories:* branding, brand strategy *Tags:* brandstrategy, branding, tension, cognitivedissonance, ethics *Summary:* True tension in branding creates depth; dissonance destroys trust. This article explores how brands like Patagonia balance opposing values to build authentic brand identity, while others fall into cognitive dissonance. Learn how ethical brand strategy can restore coherence, credibility, and authenticity in a world full of contradictions. Every brand lives between two truths: who it says it is, and who it really is. The space between those truths can create either tension or dissonance. One builds coherence. The other erodes it. In branding, tension is rare, but powerful. Dissonance, on the other hand, is everywhere. We’ve been taught to think contradiction equals depth, but most contradictions in modern brand identity aren’t depth at all. They’re symptoms of a widening gap between expression and embodiment. ### The Beauty of Honest Tension Tension in branding is deliberate. It’s what happens when two opposing forces—values, aesthetics, or emotions—are held in honest coexistence. It’s not about playing both sides; it’s about revealing the normalcy of complexity. When handled intentionally, tension becomes magnetic. It gives a brand its pulse. It makes the brand feel human. Few brands embody this better than Patagonia. The company sits at the intersection of anti-consumerism and commerce—a paradox most businesses would run from. Patagonia urges customers to “buy less” while selling high-quality products that last for years. It’s a billion-dollar company that actively discourages disposable consumer behavior. That contradiction doesn’t make Patagonia hypocritical; it makes it human. The tension between profit and planet fuels the brand’s sense of purpose. It challenges both the company and its customers to confront the uneasy truth that we can’t consume our way to sustainability—but we also can’t abandon commerce altogether. That’s tension at its best: self-aware, value-driven, and creatively unresolved. ### When Dissonance Masquerades as Depth Cognitive dissonance in branding is something else entirely. It happens when a brand’s stated values don’t align with its actions—when its external message and internal culture are at odds. Unlike tension, which is intentional and integrated, dissonance is unacknowledged and corrosive. Think of OpenAI in 2019. Founded as a nonprofit devoted to transparency and collaboration, it later restructured as a closed, competitive, for-profit entity. As journalist Karen Hao reported, the organization that once championed openness began labeling internal information as “not for sharing.”* The result wasn’t creative complexity; it was confusion and mistrust. Dissonance erodes brand identity because it fractures credibility. It teaches audiences to expect inconsistency—to assume that what brands say and what they do will never align. And that cynicism doesn’t stay confined to one company. It seeps into culture. ### The Ethical Cost of Dissonance This isn’t just about optics or brand strategy—it’s about ethics. Dissonance normalizes dishonesty. It teaches us to see manipulation as marketing and inconsistency as innovation. When corporations claim to “empower communities” while quietly exploiting them, that’s not sophisticated branding—it’s exploitation in a prettier package. Too often, business culture celebrates contradiction without consciousness. But sophistication without integrity is theater. The problem isn’t that brands are complex; it’s that they’re incoherent. They speak the language of progress while practicing the logic of power. And that power, when aggregated at the top, harms the people pushed to the bottom—especially those in marginalized communities whose labor, likeness, or data are too often commodified in the name of “growth.” ### Branding that Restores Coherence If we want a better future for business and for people, we have to close the gap between expression and embodiment. That starts with how we define brand identity itself. A brand isn’t just what it looks like or sounds like; it’s what it acts like. Authenticity is no longer a design choice—it’s a structural one. Real branding must extend beyond the surface of communication into the systems that sustain it. Tension, when practiced with integrity, invites honesty. It holds competing truths—profit and purpose, innovation and responsibility—and asks them to coexist without canceling the other out. That’s not easy work, but it’s the work that makes a brand worth believing in. Cognitive dissonance, however, can’t be fixed with a rebrand. It can only be resolved by changing behavior. The message has to match the mechanics. The values have to show up in decisions, not just slogans. ### The Future We Could Choose I can’t shake the conviction that business could be different—that the future of branding doesn’t have to be defined by the aggregation of power. We could build systems where power is distributed among people, not hoarded by corporations. But that requires more than better storytelling. It requires moral imagination—the willingness to design coherence where contradiction has been the norm. Tension builds. Dissonance breaks. The choice between them isn’t stylistic; it’s ethical. And it’s yours. Choose wisely. *Karen Hao, “The Messy, Secretive Reality Behind OpenAI’s Bid to Save the World,” MIT Technology Review, February 17, 2020, https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/17/844721/ai-openai-moonshot-elon-musk-sam-altman-greg-brockman-messy-secretive-reality/ ### When Everyone Uses the Same Tools — https://citizenand.co/blog/when-everyone-uses-the-same-tools *Published:* 2025-04-16 *Summary:* When everyone's using the same tools to create, it's important as creators to develop greater "taste." Remember: AI does the work. Taste determines if the work is worthwhile. Everyone has access to AI writing tools now. The playing field has been leveled - anyone can produce content with a few prompts. But here's what's interesting: when everyone uses the same tools, the results start looking eerily similar. This is where taste becomes crucial. Not aesthetic preference, but the human ability to recognize what actually matters. AI can generate mountains of content, but it can't tell you which pieces will connect with real people. It can follow patterns but can't discern which patterns are meaningful versus merely correct. It can produce "good enough" work without understanding what makes something truly good. Take a look at content today—not all of it, but much of the written stuff. We're drowning in AI-generated blogs, social posts, and emails that check all the technical boxes but say little that’s worth reading. They follow formulas but lack unique points-of-view. They're optimized for algorithms, not us. Taste asks different questions: Does this move people? Does it say something true? Will anyone remember it tomorrow? These questions remain stubbornly beyond AI's capabilities, and I for one am thankful. Because humanity isn’t a feature, it’s the point. What makes taste valuable is that it can't be automated. It’s shaped by lived experience, education, cultural context, subject matter mastery, and ideals. Two people using identical AI tools but applying different taste will create entirely different results - one forgettable, one meaningful. This explains why some brands thrive with AI while others don’t. The difference isn't the technology but the human judgment guiding and directing what it creates. Companies with strong taste use AI to amplify their distinctive voice rather than dilute it. It’s no surprise why brands that lack distinctive voice are the ones who fail to use these tools well. There's another dimension worth noting: recognition. People can often sense when something feels algorithmic versus authentic - even without being told. This desire for “human” content will only increase as AI-generated content floods every channel. The implications go beyond marketing. As AI expands into design, strategy, and product development, taste becomes the essential filter separating what advances our goals from what merely looks competent on the surface. How do we develop better taste in the era of AI? Hint: it’s not through more technology, but through deeper human development. Read more. Experience art or music that you once decided “wasn’t for you.” Engage with perspectives different from your own. Get clear on your values and how you want to see the world change because of your work. As AI tools become standard, taste will emerge as the real competitive advantage. Soon, everyone will use AI. The question is whether you're using it in ways that create meaningful distinction or simply add to the noise. Remember: AI does the work. Taste determines if the work is worthwhile. ### When to Evolve vs. When to Overhaul: 5 Signs Your Brand Needs More Than a Refresh — https://citizenand.co/blog/brand-evolution-vs-overhaul *Published:* 2024-12-07 *Summary:* Struggling to decide between a brand refresh or complete rebrand? Learn the 5 clear signs your brand needs more than surface-level updates to stay competitive. That nagging feeling that something's off with your brand isn't just in your head. Maybe your sales team is struggling to explain what makes you different. Perhaps your best employees can't quite articulate why they stay. Or your marketing team is burning through budget without moving the needle. The question isn't whether your brand needs attention—it's how much. Many business leaders default to a "brand refresh" when they sense trouble. A new logo here, updated colors there, maybe a tagline tweak. But sometimes that's like putting a fresh coat of paint on a house with foundation problems. You might make it look better temporarily, but you haven't addressed the underlying issues. Let's explore five clear signs that your brand needs more than just a cosmetic update. 1. Your Employees Tell Different Stories About Why You Exist When your team members give wildly different answers about what your company does and why it matters, you're looking at a fundamental brand alignment problem. This isn't fixed with new visuals—it requires a deep dive into your core purpose and positioning. 2. You're Competing Solely on Price If you can't command premium prices without losing customers to cheaper alternatives, your brand isn't effectively communicating value. Remember when we talked about this in another post on the Multi-Attribute Model? (https://www.citizenand.co/blog/multi-attribute-model) A surface-level refresh won't solve this. You need to completely rethink how you position your offerings in the market. 3. Your Growth Has Outpaced Your Brand Maybe you started in one market but have expanded well beyond it. Or your service offerings have evolved significantly. When there's a massive gulf between who you were and who you've become, it's time for a comprehensive brand overhaul. 4. High Marketing Spend, Low Impact When you're investing heavily in marketing but seeing diminishing returns, it's often because your fundamental brand story isn't resonating. No amount of media spend can overcome a weak brand foundation. 5. Your Culture and Brand Don't Match If there's a disconnect between your external brand promise and your internal reality, you need more than new visuals. This misalignment erodes trust with both customers and employees. Evolution vs. Overhaul: Making the Right Choice A brand evolution makes sense when: - Your core purpose and values remain relevant - Market position is strong but needs updating - Visual identity just feels dated - Messaging needs refinement, not reinvention You need a complete overhaul when: - Core positioning no longer differentiates you - Business strategy has fundamentally shifted - Internal and external perceptions are misaligned - Current brand actively holds back growth The Cost of Choosing Wrong Underinvesting in your brand—trying to solve structural problems with surface solutions—is costly. It burns through marketing budgets, confuses customers, and demoralizes employees. But equally dangerous is overcomplicating a simple update by trying to reinvent everything when you don't need to. The key is honest assessment. Look beyond symptoms to understand root causes. Talk to your employees, customers, and lost prospects. The answers are usually there—you just have to be willing to hear them. Moving Forward Whether you need an evolution or an overhaul, the next step is the same: get clear on where you really stand in the market. Not where you wish you stood, but where you actually are today. Only then can you chart the right course forward. Your brand is too valuable to guess. If you're seeing these signs, let's talk about what's really going on with your brand and what it will take to fix it. ### When to use the Four Points Framework — https://citizenand.co/blog/four-points-framework *Published:* 2021-02-09 *Summary:* A simple framework for finding clarity when your brand feels scattered across too many messages, markets, and moments. With endless content and messaging flooding our minds every day, it can be an overwhelming task as a brand to communicate in a way that people will view and treat as different. Think about it: the majority of ads, commercials, and content we see exist solely to sell us a solution to whatever problems we may be experiencing. When it comes time to create an ad for our own business, we feel like we have to follow suit - pressured to do as others do; communicating a message that seeks only to sell, falling in line with every other marketing message we see advertised. We don’t want to add to the noise, we want to stand out - the trouble is, how do we do that when genius, creative ideas don’t just come from nowhere. How do we build towards that genius, creative idea? The challenge is found in trying to say something that will not only move people to choose our solution to their problem, but will cause them to think about the problem in a completely new way. This tool helps us build a more compelling, true, and evocative marketing message that will be the anchor of our strategy. So how do we use it? We start by identifying the problem we’ll be speaking to. What problem is our customer experiencing that we can solve for them. Additionally, what deeper, more human needs might be ailing our customers that this problem helps us see with greater empathy? Second, what makes us motivating or interesting in people’s minds and how can we position that as a competitive advantage? Third, what themes or truths do we see play out in culture that can help us better understand the cause(s) of the problem in a new way? Thoughtfully and honestly navigating through the discovery and articulation of these three things will birth the core message of our strategy. By knowing the problem we’re addressing - and how it causes deeper pain for the person we are speaking to - and then aligning our advantage with an insight drawn out of culture, will not only strategically position us as the only answer to their problem; but speak to the most human parts of our customers, connecting them with us in a way that they will never forget. If you’re interested in learning more about this tool, feel free to watch the video below. My presentation on this framework begins just after the 1:00:30 mark. ### When to use the Leadership Cultivation Model — https://citizenand.co/blog/leadership-cultivation-model *Published:* 2021-02-09 *Summary:* How to identify the leaders already inside your organization and cultivate the conditions for them to step forward. When I work with leadership teams of brands - more specifically the people in charge of employees and culture - I often hear about the frustrations they have with employee review processes that feel pointless; as if they do nothing to help develop or build up their people. Not only do I hear the frustrations, but I totally get it. When you care about your work and give so much of yourself to it, it’s highly discouraging to work side by side with those who don’t. So how do we help shift the paradigm? How do we systematically identify and develop leadership in people, so they can help us carry the vision of our brands forward? We first need to build a culture of shared ownership and collective accountability. A great starting point is creating a system for employee review. To prove to our people that we care about their personal and professional growth, we must be frequently having honest conversations with them about how they are growing both in the quality of their work and the quantity of their care. The Leadership Cultivation Model gives us the means to better develop our employees through the lens of their own individual growth - specifically in the areas of outcomes and ownership. After going through the formal review process with a team member, meet with others in your brand’s leadership and do the following: first, honestly assess how well the employee is meeting the expected outcomes of their position. Second, honestly assess how they care about (i.e. - ownership) or align with the purposes and positions that drive your work. Third, identify where on the x and y axes they fall, based on your assessment of them in the areas of outcomes and ownership. Once you know where they live on the diagram, you can know what the best next steps are for the good of their development and the advancement of your brand. ### When to use the Strategic Intent Framework — https://citizenand.co/blog/strategic-intent-framework *Published:* 2021-02-09 *Summary:* A way to align daily decisions with long-term direction when the path forward feels uncertain. I want to introduce you to an area of brand positioning called Strategic Intent. To clarify Strategic Intent is to define the key initiatives that will carry your brand’s mission forward. Strategic Intent helps keep your brand’s mission statement accountable to narrow, focused goals that all people in your organization are moving towards. It causes your people to believe in greater possibility, while keeping them always mindful of what you are specifically working to accomplish. Remember, your customers don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it, so to be able to build towards Strategic Intent we must be clear on vision, mission, and purpose. Watch the video below to learn all about this tool and how to implement it in your business’ context. ### When to consider the Multi-Attribute Model — https://citizenand.co/blog/multi-attribute-model *Published:* 2020-06-13 *Summary:* When choice becomes overwhelming, a model for weighing what actually matters against what merely seems to. The Multi-Attribute Model is a tool taught in graduate and undergraduate marketing curriculums across the globe to help students better understand competitive advantage and the Customer Needs Analysis means-end approach. Essentially, it helps us take a more objective look at the products or product features we offer our customers; whether similar or different to a competitor, through the lens of customer need. It supports the truth that successful brands commit to the following things: they build clear and compelling identity, they market effectively and constantly, and they operate in accordance with the fundamental lean principles of “build, measure, learn.” The brands that don’t operate this way or incorporate this thinking fall subject to commoditization and will be forced to offer the lowest price just to survive; simply because price becomes the only area where they can compete. We want to help you understand the model, so here's what you need to know when looking at it: the top-left ring is your brand, the top-right ring is one of your competitors, and the bottom ring is the customer whose business both you and your competitor are vying for. Each dot represents a product feature or offer. Here's what each number in the Multi-Attribute Model represents: 1. You offer something your customer wants but your competitor offers it too. Lowest price wins here. 2. Both you and your competitor offer something, but your customer doesn't want it. The question we must ask ourselves is this: “why are we wasting resources offering something our customers don’t want?” 3. You offer something your competitor doesn't and your customer wants it. This is a competitive advantage. 4. Your competitor offers something you don't and your customer wants it. This is their competitive advantage. 5. Our customer doesn't want these things we offer, but could learn to want them if we communicated their unique value (marketing) from a place of trust and belief (brand). 6. Our customer doesn't want these things our competitor offers, but could learn to want them if they were marketed effectively and they trusted the brand. 7. These are unmet customer needs - our greatest area of opportunity. Our brand will prove itself empathetic if we listen and respond to the needs that are voiced here. 8. This is where we win: by increasing our competitive advantage to a point where our competitor can't keep up. So according to this tool, how do we win? First: you must build a compelling brand identity. Second: you must market your brand constantly and effectively. And third: you must think lean (build/measure/learn). Don’t assume you know what your customers value. Talk to them. Discover those things by actively listening. Once you’ve done that, build what they asked for. Once built and released, measure the outcomes. What happened? Did they love it? Did they hate it? This is where the opportunity to learn, lives. What did we discover about our customers? What do they really value? What do they really want? If you really want to provide value to the customers in your space, you must create environments where they can provide feedback and you must be willing to listen. ### When to consider the Effort-Results Gap — https://citizenand.co/blog/effort-results-gap *Published:* 2020-06-13 *Summary:* Recognizing the moment when working harder is not the answer—and what to look at instead. With this post I have one question to ask you: why is change hard? Why? You may have answers or ideas that immediately come to mind, but did you know that part of what makes change hard is the mental work we have to do to navigate it? Change is hard because our brains have to transition from having felt secure in our understanding of what was, to now needing to process and accept what has changed. This transition in thinking can be really difficult to navigate. Now imagine the difficulty of that transition happening within the minds of every single person on your team - change can feel impossible when compounded by dozens of people needing to find their way through it. Examples of this in the context of your company could be any number of things: you may be going through a rebrand, new leadership may come in with a new vision or company direction, etc. One of the things I hear often from those I work with is “how do we get through it?” I’ve found that people don’t often fear what’s changing, they often fear how that change will impact everything else around them. The effort-results gap is a tool that helps us better understand how to navigate the conflict of change and manage the timeline of change adoption. When major change is first implemented, it's important to acknowledge what's true: it will take time for all of your people (customers, employees, etc.) to accept or to adopt what has changed. We often expect the results of our effort to be immediate, when in reality it takes time. How much time? There's no set answer for that. So, how do we make the timeline shorter? First, be mindful and encourage others of why the change matters. Commit to that conviction. Second, find within yourself the stamina necessary to endure managing the change. Third, be resilient to all obstacles that are opposing the change. Be sure to do this in a manner that is empathetic and understanding. If you have an employee who doesn’t agree with the new direction for your company, engage them in a conversation about it and find out why. Lastly: communicate. Regardless of what’s changing, if we want others to adopt the change as something important and worth doing, then we need to prioritize communication around it: balancing our desire to talk about it with an equal commitment to listening to the feedback, feelings, and thoughts of others. Navigating change is always a difficult process, but you can find your culture healthier on the other side of it if you commit to the rhythm of the above steps. ### When you think about Naming — https://citizenand.co/blog/naming *Published:* 2020-06-13 *Summary:* The quiet art of choosing words that carry weight, hold meaning, and stay with people over time. If you follow us on Instagram, then you know that within the last year we changed the name of our brand to better align with the purposes driving our work. At times, name changes or rebranding processes are done to try and spark new interest from consumers in brands that have plateaued in sales or are struggling to bring new customer interest into the funnel. Our situation was different than that and I’d love to tell you the story. So I was hired in May of last year to help develop the name for a new drive-thru coffee brand that launched its first drive-thru location in Yakima, Washington earlier this year. My process for this is thoughtful, very involved, and is fully intended to generate multiple name options for the client. In addition, these options I present not only embody what’s true of the brand and why they exist, but they must pass a strict series of qualifying criteria - in order to help prove that the name options I present have proven value. I learned of these criteria from Marty Neumeier - a legend in the branding industry, and author of a brilliant book titled The Brand Gap. His criteria are as follows: Distinctiveness | Does it stand out from the crowd, especially from other brand names within direct or indirect competitive arenas? Brevity | Is it short enough to be easily recalled or remembered after someone heard it? Appropriateness | Does the name fit for the industry you operate in? Is it relevant to the purposes of your work? Easy Spelling and Pronunciation | Will people be able to spell the name after hearing it spoken? Will they be able to pronounce it after they see it? Likability | How does the name roll off the tongue? Will people find it enjoyable or intellectually stimulating to say? Extendability | Does this name play well in a creative space? Great names provide endless opportunities for brandplay. Protectability | Can it be trademarked? Are the best URLs available? Are the best social handles available? Once I found myself on the other side of this project - which went very well for the ownership group that hired me - I started to think deeply and critically about the process I went through for naming my own brand. Can I be honest? When I chose a name for myself, I didn’t think through it this much. I landed on a philosophical idea, a name that kind of captured what I was doing - but not a name that could communicate with brevity the reason why I am doing this. Citizen + Co. communicates my company’s purpose with much greater clarity and intent. The word “Citizen” comes straight out of the nomenclature of the brand archetype that my company best embodies. To its core, the Citizen Archetype wants to contribute positively towards the greater good of society and the people within it. This archetype is also the inspiration for our slogan: “Building brands for the good of society.” We see enough creative work happening that exists to drive profit. We believe that if a brand were to refocus its effort on valuing people, progress, and purpose above all else - not only could they better change the lives of the people they interact with; they would also see increased profitability as the byproduct of a more compelling purpose. ### When to use the Action to Advocacy Funnel — https://citizenand.co/blog/action-to-advocacy-funnel *Published:* 2020-06-13 *Summary:* Moving customers from a single action to sustained advocacy through the stages of genuine connection. During my time working for media companies and creative agencies I’ve sat in board rooms with clients on many occasions, discussing the metrics and outcomes of recent campaigns. In these meetings, the primary topic of discussion was often conversion - and it’s easy to understand why. Each conversion means that our tactics worked, and that the customers we targeted took the actions we wanted them to. Over time though I’ve learned that our interest in our customers doesn’t often move much beyond conversion. We focus so much on it that it naturally pulls from our ability to give any attention to making advocates out of these customers. After the conversion point, we should be working to deepen connection with our people, inviting them into deeper relationship with us and a more intimate understanding of our brand's purposes. So how does a funnel like that compare to the design of a standard conversion funnel? The truth is: the adjustment is slight but the impact is significant. If you’re not fluent in sales or marketing funnels, don’t worry! Many people love to preach them as science when they’re really still just theory. That said, they’re worth testing, so I’m going to give you a little context on how they work. Here’s how each phase of the funnel breaks down. At the top we have Awareness which is where your customer is introduced to the brand. Examples of this are digital ads, short-form video, or blog posts - exactly like this one! Next we have Interest. Interest is sparked through an invitation to deeper engagement. A common example of this is called a ‘gated offer.’ A gated offer is the gift of exclusive content to a user who is willing to share contact information with you. They provide their email address, you give them access to a special ebook, one-time-only webinar, or something similar. Next is Consideration. This phase easily takes the longest, and I’m going to tell you now that we should all be okay that it does. Many agencies deploy nurturing campaigns with their target users; sometimes sending them anywhere between 10 to 20 extra emails to try to sway the user into a purchasing decision. If you ask me, our only goal during the Consideration phase should be patience. Don’t try to convince. Don’t try to coerce. Continue to feed their interest, teaching them about the value you alone provide. Consideration is defined as “careful thought over a period of time” and if we give people the space to do exactly that, it will be to their benefit and ours. After Consideration comes Intent. Intent is the most important phase, and like Consideration, it’s out of our control. Some funnels - especially digital marketing funnels - rename this phase the Evaluation phase. Why? Mostly it’s so they can implement a final sales push: one last barrage of another dozen or so emails to push the user over the line of action. The problem with forcing action? When someone is forced to take action once, they won’t choose to do it a second time. There will be no personal sense of purpose causing them to engage with longevity. This is why Intent is so important. A common synonym for intent is purpose - and your customers need to come to their own conclusions about your product. You can help shape their understanding so that authentic intent might be sparked, but you cannot force it if it doesn’t exist. You’ll simply make them do something they don’t want to do: spending countless resources on a conversion that really doesn’t have much value. Action is the final phase, and that’s when they make the decision we’ve been encouraging them to make all along: a purchase, a subscription, etc. Once the action has been taken, how often are you following up with these customers? Do you still show interest in them? Do you still feed their interest in your brand; continuing to teach them about the value only you can provide? What more have you told them about your story? Your origin? The positions you take in the world and the reasons why you exist? Do you share this part of your brand identity with your customers? You can, and you should. Doing so builds deeper relationship, and over time, that relationship causes them to become advocates for you, for your brand, and for the positions you take in the world. What if our customers became such passionate advocates of us that we didn't need to market at our current volume to fill the top of the funnel? What if our customers' advocacy for us did that on its own? Imagine for a moment what our world would be like. If you have questions or need help building a brand that’s good for society, we are here for you. ## Where We Work Citizen+Co. is rooted in Bend, Oregon. The Cascades to the west, the high desert to the east, and a community of founders, leadership teams, and creative practices in between. We work with companies based in Central Oregon and across the Pacific Northwest—Portland, Seattle, Boise—and nationally for clients who come to us by referral. Most engagements run remotely, with focused on-site sessions for leadership work, employee interviews, and culture sessions. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What's the difference between brand strategy, brand positioning, and brand messaging? These three get used interchangeably, and the imprecision causes real problems. Brand strategy is the full system: who you serve, what you stand for, how you compete, and how you grow. Brand positioning is one piece of that strategy—the specific space you occupy in your customer's mind relative to every other option they have. Brand messaging is how that positioning becomes language: the words, phrases, and stories your team uses across your website, sales conversations, internal communications, and marketing. At Citizen+Co., we work across all three, because a positioning statement nobody can articulate is the same as no positioning at all. The point isn't a deck. The point is a brand your team can speak fluently and your customers can recognize without prompting. ### Do you work with companies outside Bend, Oregon? Yes. We're based in Bend and we work with leadership teams across the Pacific Northwest—Portland, Seattle, Boise—and nationally. Most of our brand strategy and messaging engagements run remotely with focused on-site sessions for leadership workshops, employee interviews, and culture work. The geography isn't the limiting factor. The fit is. We work with founders, CEOs, and marketing leaders who are ready to say something true and willing to live it out internally before they ask the market to believe it. ### When should a company invest in brand strategy work? Usually at a transition. A new CEO, a merger or acquisition, a category shift, a season of growth that's outpacing the clarity of the story, a fundraise that requires sharper positioning, or a moment when leadership realizes the internal version of the brand and the external version no longer match. Companies often wait too long. The signals are there earlier: sales cycles get harder to close, marketing copy starts drifting, new hires can't explain what the company does, and leadership starts hedging when asked the simple questions. If any of that sounds familiar, the work is already overdue. ### What does a brand messaging engagement actually produce? A messaging engagement produces a BrandBook®—our trademarked deliverable and the foundational document your team will use to speak about your company with clarity and consistency. The BrandBook® captures the full architecture of your brand in one place: your origin story, the audience segments you exist for, your vision and strategic intent, your mission and purpose, a manifesto, a tagline, value propositions written specifically for each segment of your audience, your archetypal identity, brand personality, and a key messaging framework that includes your lexicon, archetype statements, and unique selling proposition. We write through the lens of the Jobs to Be Done framework, which means we map what's pushing your customer away from their current situation, what's pulling them toward what they want, and what anxieties might stop them from choosing you. The BrandBook® is the deliverable. The result is a team that finally sounds like itself—internally and externally. ### How is internal brand work different from culture consulting? Most culture consulting starts with engagement surveys and ends with values posters. Our internal brand work at Citizen+Co. starts with a different question: does what your company says it believes actually show up in how it operates? We call this the gap between embodiment and disembodiment. A mission statement that doesn't change a single decision is disembodied. A core value that leadership doesn't model is disembodied. Internal brand work closes that gap. It clarifies what the organization actually stands for, gets leadership aligned on living it first, and gives every team a shared language for the work. It's culture work, but it starts with truth-telling rather than team-building. ### What's involved in a leadership workshop or facilitation engagement? Our workshops are designed for leadership teams at inflection points—pre-launch, post-merger, mid-rebrand, or any moment when alignment at the top is the prerequisite for everything that comes next. A typical engagement includes pre-work interviews with each leader, one or two facilitated working sessions, and a synthesis document that captures the decisions made and the language agreed upon. We don't run generic offsites. We run sessions with a specific outcome: a leadership team that walks out saying the same thing, in the same words, for the same reasons. That's the version of alignment that actually holds when the room empties. ### How do you price your work, and how long does an engagement take? Pricing depends on scope. A focused messaging or positioning project typically runs four to six weeks. A full brand strategy engagement—including positioning, messaging, internal alignment work, and website copy—runs eight to twelve weeks. Workshop and facilitation work is scoped separately. We share a fixed-price proposal after an initial conversation, so there are no surprises and no hourly billing games. We also believe in being upfront about something most agencies won't say: not every company is ready for this work. If you're looking for a logo refresh or a tagline, we'll point you to people who do that well. If you're ready to build a brand that customers love to buy from and employees hate to leave, we should talk. ### What is a BrandBook® and what's included? A BrandBook® is the trademarked deliverable Citizen+Co. produces at the end of a brand strategy and messaging engagement. It's the single document your team uses to understand, speak, and live out your brand—the foundation every piece of marketing, sales, recruiting, and internal communication is built on. Most agencies hand off a slide deck with a logo, a few values, and a positioning statement. A BrandBook® goes much further. Each BrandBook® includes your origin story, written to capture the founding conviction behind the company. It defines your brand community—the specific audience segments you exist for, with detailed profiles covering who they are, what they care about, what's driving their decisions, and what's standing in their way. It articulates your positions: vision, strategic intent, mission, and purpose. It captures your manifesto and tagline, the public-facing language that signals what your brand stands for. It maps value propositions for each audience segment, written through the Jobs to Be Done framework so they speak to push forces, pull forces, and anxieties. It defines your archetypal identity, which gives the brand a recognizable voice rather than a generic one. It clarifies your brand personality through paired traits that establish what your brand is and what it isn't. And it closes with a key messaging framework that includes your lexicon, archetype statements, personality statements, and unique selling proposition—the language your team can use immediately, internally and externally. The BrandBook® is built to be lived in. It's the document new hires read on day one, the reference your marketing team writes from, and the filter leadership uses when deciding what fits the brand and what doesn't. If a brand strategy engagement doesn't end in something this concrete, the work won't survive the handoff. ## Contact Talk with us: https://citizenand.co/contact Founder: Justin Bronson Based in: Bend, Oregon, USA Works with: founders and leadership teams across the Pacific Northwest and nationally.