{"id":1720,"date":"2009-05-13T11:39:48","date_gmt":"2009-05-13T16:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crowdspring.wpengine.com\/?p=1720"},"modified":"2022-05-09T14:35:30","modified_gmt":"2022-05-09T19:35:30","slug":"client-interview-tate-linden-stokefire-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/client-interview-tate-linden-stokefire-usa\/","title":{"rendered":"Client Interview: Tate Linden (Stokefire – USA)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In our Client Interview<\/strong> blog series, we feature interviews with a client from the crowdSPRING community. Today, we’re very proud to feature Tate Linden and his company, Stokefire<\/a>. Tate and Stokefire have posted numerous projects on crowdSPRING. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>1. Please tell us about yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Easy enough.\u00a0 I’m Tate Linden, age 38. I’ve been married to my incredible wife Sarah for almost eleven years, the last two of which we’ve been blessed to share with our son, Teddy.\u00a0 When not at home I’m President and Chief Creative of Stokefire – a branding agency located in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.\u00a0 Before Stokefire I held a series of management positions for Fortune 500 companies (most recently ADP) and a startup or two where I was responsible for various aspects of marketing, product management, and client service.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, though, I hate pears.<\/p>\n

2. What motivated you to start Stokefire Consulting Group?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wanted to create a workplace where passion, creativity, and the ability to get things done were rewarded.\u00a0 I spent a decade working with people who had the optimism and enthusiasm beaten out of them by the workplace.\u00a0 I wanted to work for a company that sought out the enthusiastic, visionary minds – and ensured that the potential and power inherent in these people wasn’t broken.\u00a0 Mostly, though, I wanted to work for a place I could believe in.\u00a0 I saw that if I wanted to work for a company like that I’d have to build it myself.\u00a0 What I was looking for didn’t exist – or at least if it did – I didn’t know how to find it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Stokefire’s site says that “We’re Un-Same.”\u00a0 So how is Stokefire different?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If I were to say, “Stokefire is just like every other branding firm out there” it’d certainly be refreshing, wouldn’t it?\u00a0 I mean, with the tens of thousands of branding firms dotting the globe you’d think at least a few would be similar, and yet we all go around shouting about our uniqueness.<\/p>\n

There are a few things I usually mention when this question is asked.\u00a0 Probably the most intriguing of the bunch is our anti-consensus angle.\u00a0 So often great ideas get quashed because some people think it’s the wrong direction.\u00a0 This leads to what my team affectionately calls “Linden’s First Law.”\u00a0 For every worthwhile idea presented there shall be at least one person who finds it offensive.\u00a0 I know this law must be true because when we posted it to our blog one of our clients called to complain (seriously) that they were offended by it.<\/p>\n

The one our clients most frequently talk about is our freakish attention to detail.\u00a0 Our system (it’s called FAINTS) allows us to analyze more than one hundred measurable aspects of the potential brand.\u00a0 Names, taglines, and logos are all analyzed in detail.\u00a0 Why? Because in order to make an informed decision the client needs to know the potential brand\u2019s strengths and weaknesses.\u00a0 When it comes to design, many clients ask for something that looks good when instead they should be looking for something that helps them tell their story.\u00a0 Remind me about that one, because we had a project on crowdSPRING recently that is an excellent example of how it can be done right.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

4. When you founded Stokefire, the initial focus was on naming stuff. Why did your focus expand to brand strategy, campaigns, and art direction?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’ll answer your question with a question.\u00a0 Can you imagine naming your critically important organization or other thing without considering brand strategy, campaigns, and design?<\/p>\n

What we saw as “naming stuff” other people were seeing as entirely different and unrelated activities.\u00a0 We’ve always done brand strategy, campaigns, and art direction, we just called it naming.\u00a0 That other agencies didn’t do this sort of work was a bit surprising, but once we figured out that we weren’t being descriptive enough we redefined our service offerings so our clients could understand the quality of work we deliver.<\/p>\n

5. Please talk about a few of your clients and the work you did for them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of our favorite projects involved developing the brand for a web development company located in the wilds of New Hampshire.\u00a0 We had been working on their project for a few weeks, progressing slowly, when we went back again to be sure that we had a solid understanding of what made our client different.\u00a0 An offhand comment about our client operating out of a solar-powered office\u2026and their raising ducks… helped us find them an identity that fit perfectly.\u00a0 Enter “webmeadow”.\u00a0 The brand identity we created was approachable, non-threatening, and competent… just like them.\u00a0 Incidentally, if you have a desire to read a blog about web development and what its like to have fowl walking around outside your office then theirs is a must read.<\/p>\n

On the major brand front, EMC \u2013 a $13 billion Fortune 500 firm \u2013 brought us in to rescue them from a branding project gone wrong.\u00a0 They\u2019d hired the biggest branding firm in the world [name withheld as a professional courtesy] and couldn\u2019t figure out how to turn what they\u2019d been given into something usable.\u00a0 Three weeks before their annual conference, EMC brought us in and we helped them to rename a division, develop a naming strategy for their more than 150 unique products, refine their strategic vision, and identify talking points for their executives to deliver.\u00a0 Feedback from clients and press attending the annual event was enthusiastic and positive.\u00a0 That\u2019s a rare thing when you\u2019re dealing with such a large and conservative firm.\u00a0 We\u2019re pretty sure we did a good job, because when one of the executives we worked with left for another firm he brought us in immediately to get them moving in the right direction.\u00a0 [Check the Open Text BLOOM project on Google for details on that follow-on work.]\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Another favorite \u2013 as if there are any unfavorites \u2013 is Causeworth<\/a>. CEO Jason Jenkins came to us with a powerful vision, but without the words to communicate it.\u00a0 He wanted to build an insurance brokerage that donated up to 30% of the profits from every policy to the charity of the clients\u2019 choice.\u00a0 We created Causeworth Insurance \u2013 Where every policy shares your passion.\u00a0 Even better, we crowdsourced the development of the logo on crowdSPRING<\/a>, giving Jenkins a wide array of design ideas to choose from, and offering our art direction services to ensure that the design would support the message and vision of the organization.\u00a0 The \u201c4 C Flower\u201d developed by dans<\/a> added significant value by showing how different people, causes, concerns, charities can combine to create a beautiful solution.\u00a0 There\u2019s even a nifty frame in the middle that in marketing campaigns could be used to contextualize the brand.\u00a0 We could center the logo over a visual representation of a cause worth supporting.<\/p>\n

How well is Causeworth doing?\u00a0 Well, in less than six weeks \u2013 and with no advertising \u2013 Jenkins has amassed hundreds of policies.\u00a0 He\u2019s had to rebuild the entire back-end of his web portal to handle the load.\u00a0 Perhaps even more telling, he\u2019s gained the attention of movie stars, professional athletes, and major non-profits who are trying to find ways to help realize Jenkins\u2019 vision.\u00a0 Now that is a brand that is kicking ass.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve worked with casinos, nightclubs, hotels, hospitals, toothbrush manufacturers , defense contractors, chocolatiers, conference providers, web technologists, realtors, communications firms, mobile phone companies\u2026 Boy, I really should take another look at our client list.\u00a0 I know there are many, many more.<\/p>\n

6. Finding a great name today also requires being able to register a URL for that name. How much of a challenge does this present in your work and how do you overcome the challenge? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Less than you might think.\u00a0 The number of people who type in URLs is shrinking every day.\u00a0 Small business owners still seem to be obsessing over getting the pure URL as MyCompanyName.com, but the larger organizations have adapted.\u00a0 We’ve done quite a bit of research that indicates the URL is becoming much less important.\u00a0 Nowadays people are putting the name into Google to find sites.\u00a0 We see this as a great thing.\u00a0 The sad fact is that the vast majority of names we consider are ‘camped’ by squatters hoping to make a quick buck.\u00a0 If you don’t have deep pockets or a convincing story to share you’re going to get taken to the cleaners.<\/p>\n

Google is a great tool for getting around this issue\u2014if you’ve got a strong brand and you’re getting links from people you’ll end up as the number one response for your name even if it isn’t the pure dotcom domain.<\/p>\n

Name availability accounts for about 10% of the overall FAINTS score, and domain availability is about 3%.\u00a0 It’s more important that the name isn’t already registered with the USPTO or other State agency that would cause a trademark conflict.<\/p>\n

Last, there are some promising developments on the horizon.\u00a0 There’s talk of opening up the area to the right of the \u2018dot\u2019 that would at least temporarily help businesses get their own domains.\u00a0 There are also some processes in place where business owners can go to ICANN and file a complaint based on the fact that their trademarked domain name is being held for ransom.\u00a0 I’ve heard some success stories of businesses going through the process and winning the domain rights from people whose sole intent in owning the sites is to sell them.<\/p>\n

7. Take us through a naming strategy for a business or product. Where do you start and what’s your primary focus?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We really don’t start with the naming strategy.\u00a0 We start with identifying what makes the brand unique.\u00a0 From there the name is just one of the tools that we use to make the brand real and powerful.\u00a0 One of the things that trips up most branding projects is that too many expectations are put upon the name or the tagline. We strongly suggest that our clients identify a single goal for each aspect of the brand identity.\u00a0 The name has a single purpose; the tagline has a single purpose.\u00a0 Same goes for logo, the web design, each brochure, and even the talking points.<\/p>\n

I mentioned the FAINTS system earlier, and that really helps us to nail down what we need from each brand piece.\u00a0 The aspects of FAINTS are:<\/p>\n

Fidelity<\/strong> – Are you being true to your mission, voice, and abilities?
\nAvailability <\/strong>– Can you legally use the name, tagline, or other brand aspect?
\nIntangibles<\/strong> – Does it have a nice ring to it?\u00a0 Can people relate to it?
\nNeed<\/strong> – Does it meet the singular goal set for the name?
\nTangibles<\/strong> – Is it easy to spell, say, write, and remember?
\nStrategy<\/strong> \u2013 Does it provide a deep well of marketing ideas, and is it distinct in the industry?<\/p>\n

I suppose our focus is on making sure the name is adding value – and meets the need specified.\u00a0 We start naming only when we have identified what makes the brand tick and why it matters.<\/p>\n

8. Take us through a branding strategy for a logo. What’s involved with branding?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s quite simple.\u00a0 By the time we get to logo development we’ve already got a solid verbal brand and brand strategy.\u00a0 More than anything else we look for a visual that adds tangible value to what we\u2019ve already put in place.\u00a0 It pains us to see a ‘green’ company that uses a picture of a leaf or a tree.\u00a0 That’s expected and does nothing more than just sum up what everything else is saying.\u00a0 It’s a waste of space.<\/p>\n

An example of what I’m talking about?\u00a0 Okay.\u00a0 We’re doing a logo design<\/a> for a technology consulting firm using crowdSPRING.\u00a0 I can’t name the company due to confidentiality agreements, but a key portion of the brand identity involves their ability to see things that others can’t.\u00a0 We got countless entries involving lights, lamps, and the like.\u00a0 They were pretty… but expected.\u00a0 One designer came up with a concept that was quite powerful and avoided the obvious metaphor – he used the shadow from the lights to show how much could be seen.\u00a0 Pretty cool.\u00a0 Even more powerful, though, was a very simple graphic involving three circles.\u00a0 [The number three was a critical part of the organization’s identity for reasons we won’t get into here.] Through strategic arrangement of the circles a subliminal numeral “3” is shown – without ever actually being written.\u00a0 Now that adds to the brand message.\u00a0 Once we show people where it is they can’t help but see it.\u00a0 And they tell their friends.\u00a0 It looks cool, it’s viral, and it connects people to the brand.<\/p>\n

And it’s something no one on our internal team had even thought of.\u00a0 And we’re pretty damn good at this stuff.<\/p>\n

9. What advice can you offer to small businesses who cannot afford to hire a consultant to help with their brand strategy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The easiest way to create a brand strategy that works is to figure out what makes you or your offering unique in your market, then make sure you mention that one thing within the first two sentences of your website, press releases, and every conversation you have.\u00a0 Whether you’re coming to us for an hour of consulting or a full year project we’ll spend the majority of that time focusing on what makes you different and how we can make that matter to your audience.<\/p>\n

Better yet, if you\u2019re in the United States, check out your local Small Business Development Center<\/a> and you’ll be able to get some very good advice.\u00a0 They may not offer brand strategy, but they’ll help you pull together a solid business plan.\u00a0 I speak from experience.\u00a0 Stokefire grew out of an incubator space co-located with an SBDC office.<\/p>\n

10. You’ve openly supported crowdsourcing, even though it could threaten your business. Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I serve dual roles as Stokefire’s president and chief creative, and in the first role I must anticipate where the branding industry is headed so we can stay competitive.\u00a0 If I look at the market today I’m not threatened at all by crowdsourcing.\u00a0 It’s the five-year mark that could make the antiquated agency model extinct.\u00a0 There is just no way that a single agency can match the sheer creative force that crowds can muster.
\nOnce crowdsourcing solutions begin providing real project management and evaluation tools with real power behind them… is when agencies will start hurting.\u00a0 It’s going to happen whether or not agencies like Stokefire support the effort.<\/p>\n

Why would I knowingly put my firm in opposition to an irresistible force?\u00a0 As it stands we’re looking for ways to capture the power of crowds for our clients – and we’re working with crowdSPRING and other industry players to find ways to resolve many of the key concerns with the basic crowdsourcing concept – chief among them the perceived unfairness to the creatives that are often described as providing uncompensated work.<\/p>\n

From the creative side I see crowdsourcing<\/a> as an incredible blessing.\u00a0 Having over 100 ideas to examine when considering a design is a luxury most advertising firms just don’t have.\u00a0 We do.\u00a0 Firms that realize this and find a way to utilize both the ideas from the crowd and compensate those whose ideas help to move a project forward (but might not necessarily have their design used) are going to be pretty hard to compete with in the long term.<\/p>\n

Really… imagine a world where there are no silos and people can create teams on the fly to go after and win business\u2026where the work of someone in San Francisco can be iterated and finalized by people in DC or Singapore.\u00a0 The agency model assumes that one firm can provide the very best person for every task.\u00a0 There’s just no way that’s true.\u00a0 Anyone who insists on staying within their agency silo is going to get creamed by organizations that are willing to break down walls and work with freelancers and other organizations willing to share their best talent.<\/p>\n

I’m making sure that Stokefire is at the forefront of the movement by adopting the open model and working with key industry players to fix the problems inherent in the system as it exists today.\u00a0 We don’t want to throw stones and say what isn’t working.\u00a0 That’s useless.\u00a0 We want to understand what’s broken, fix it, and then use the system to better serve our clients.<\/p>\n

11.A little birdie told me you’re a classically trained singer. How did that happen?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Honestly I have no Idea.\u00a0 One day I opened up my mouth and I could sing.\u00a0 Evidently quite well.\u00a0 It got me into a great university and accepted into some of the top graduate music programs in the country, but my heart wasn’t in it.\u00a0\u00a0 I loved to perform, but… I don’t think I’ve ever admitted this publicly… I can’t stand listening to most classical music and all but the very best opera singers make me irritable.\u00a0 That’s a bit of a disincentive to pursuing the craft.<\/p>\n

On the plus side I did get to sing on a Chipmunks album.\u00a0 So I’ve got that going for me.<\/p>\n

12. What do you like to do in your free time?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have a two-year-old son so my definition of free time has changed a bit.\u00a0 For now I spend it helping Teddy explore the world with my wife, Sarah.\u00a0 Often this involves holding onto one of his hands as he runs around me laughing hysterically.\u00a0 I’m serious.\u00a0 Like fifteen minutes a day, every day…Is that weird?<\/p>\n

I also serve on the board of Imagine Alexandria (www.imaginealexandria.org) \u2013 a non-profit dedicated to supporting, celebrating, and empowering commercially oriented creatives.<\/p>\n

Other than that, I’m a hobbyist photographer, musician and gardener, and occasional home brewer.\u00a0 Next batch (a light, Summery Mexican ale) should be ready in June.\u00a0 Samples may be available at Stokefire HQ…<\/p>\n

Recently, Tate was asked by Imagine Alexandria to put together a short video answering the question: what is creativity?<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In our Client Interview blog series, we feature interviews with a client from the crowdSPRING community. Today, we’re very proud to feature Tate Linden and his company, Stokefire. Tate and Stokefire have posted numerous projects on crowdSPRING. 1. Please tell us about yourself. Easy enough.\u00a0 I’m Tate Linden, age 38. I’ve been married to my incredible wife Sarah for almost eleven years, the last two of which we’ve been blessed to share with our son, Teddy.\u00a0 When not at home I’m President and Chief Creative of Stokefire – a branding agency located in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.\u00a0 Before Stokefire I held a series of management positions for Fortune 500 companies (most recently ADP) and a startup or two where I was responsible for various aspects of marketing, product management, and client service. Most importantly, though, I hate pears. 2. What motivated you to start Stokefire Consulting Group? I wanted to create a workplace where passion, creativity, and the ability to get things done were rewarded.\u00a0 I spent a decade working with people who had the optimism and enthusiasm beaten out of them by the workplace.\u00a0 I wanted to work for a company that sought out the enthusiastic, visionary minds – and ensured that the potential and power inherent in these people wasn’t broken.\u00a0 Mostly, though, I wanted to work for a place I could believe in.\u00a0 I saw that if I wanted to work for a company like that I’d have to build it myself.\u00a0 What I was looking for didn’t exist – or at least if it did – I didn’t know how to find it. 3. Stokefire’s site says that “We’re Un-Same.”\u00a0 So how is Stokefire different? If I were to say, “Stokefire is just like every other branding firm out there” it’d certainly be refreshing, wouldn’t it?\u00a0 I mean, with the tens of thousands of branding firms dotting the globe you’d think at least a few would be similar, and yet we all go around shouting about our uniqueness. There are a few things I usually mention when this question is asked.\u00a0 Probably the most intriguing of the bunch is our anti-consensus angle.\u00a0 So often great ideas get quashed because some people think it’s the wrong direction.\u00a0 This leads to what my team affectionately calls “Linden’s First Law.”\u00a0 For every worthwhile idea presented there shall be at least one person who finds it offensive.\u00a0 I know this law must be true because when we posted it to our blog one of our clients called to complain (seriously) that they were offended by it. The one our clients most frequently talk about is our freakish attention to detail.\u00a0 Our system (it’s called FAINTS) allows us to analyze more than one hundred measurable aspects of the potential brand.\u00a0 Names, taglines, and logos are all analyzed in detail.\u00a0 Why? Because in order to make an informed decision the client needs to know the potential brand\u2019s strengths and weaknesses.\u00a0 When it comes to design, many clients ask for something that looks..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23349,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3158],"tags":[3183],"class_list":["post-1720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-interviews"],"yoast_head":"\nClient Interview: Tate Linden (Stokefire - USA) - crowdspring Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Client Interview: Tate Linden (Stokefire - USA) - crowdspring Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In our Client Interview blog series, we feature interviews with a client from the crowdSPRING community. Today, we’re very proud to feature Tate Linden and his company, Stokefire. Tate and Stokefire have posted numerous projects on crowdSPRING. 1. Please tell us about yourself. Easy enough.\u00a0 I’m Tate Linden, age 38. I’ve been married to my incredible wife Sarah for almost eleven years, the last two of which we’ve been blessed to share with our son, Teddy.\u00a0 When not at home I’m President and Chief Creative of Stokefire – a branding agency located in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.\u00a0 Before Stokefire I held a series of management positions for Fortune 500 companies (most recently ADP) and a startup or two where I was responsible for various aspects of marketing, product management, and client service. Most importantly, though, I hate pears. 2. What motivated you to start Stokefire Consulting Group? I wanted to create a workplace where passion, creativity, and the ability to get things done were rewarded.\u00a0 I spent a decade working with people who had the optimism and enthusiasm beaten out of them by the workplace.\u00a0 I wanted to work for a company that sought out the enthusiastic, visionary minds – and ensured that the potential and power inherent in these people wasn’t broken.\u00a0 Mostly, though, I wanted to work for a place I could believe in.\u00a0 I saw that if I wanted to work for a company like that I’d have to build it myself.\u00a0 What I was looking for didn’t exist – or at least if it did – I didn’t know how to find it. 3. Stokefire’s site says that “We’re Un-Same.”\u00a0 So how is Stokefire different? 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The one our clients most frequently talk about is our freakish attention to detail.\u00a0 Our system (it’s called FAINTS) allows us to analyze more than one hundred measurable aspects of the potential brand.\u00a0 Names, taglines, and logos are all analyzed in detail.\u00a0 Why? 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I’ve been married to my incredible wife Sarah for almost eleven years, the last two of which we’ve been blessed to share with our son, Teddy.\u00a0 When not at home I’m President and Chief Creative of Stokefire – a branding agency located in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.\u00a0 Before Stokefire I held a series of management positions for Fortune 500 companies (most recently ADP) and a startup or two where I was responsible for various aspects of marketing, product management, and client service. Most importantly, though, I hate pears. 2. What motivated you to start Stokefire Consulting Group? I wanted to create a workplace where passion, creativity, and the ability to get things done were rewarded.\u00a0 I spent a decade working with people who had the optimism and enthusiasm beaten out of them by the workplace.\u00a0 I wanted to work for a company that sought out the enthusiastic, visionary minds – and ensured that the potential and power inherent in these people wasn’t broken.\u00a0 Mostly, though, I wanted to work for a place I could believe in.\u00a0 I saw that if I wanted to work for a company like that I’d have to build it myself.\u00a0 What I was looking for didn’t exist – or at least if it did – I didn’t know how to find it. 3. Stokefire’s site says that “We’re Un-Same.”\u00a0 So how is Stokefire different? If I were to say, “Stokefire is just like every other branding firm out there” it’d certainly be refreshing, wouldn’t it?\u00a0 I mean, with the tens of thousands of branding firms dotting the globe you’d think at least a few would be similar, and yet we all go around shouting about our uniqueness. There are a few things I usually mention when this question is asked.\u00a0 Probably the most intriguing of the bunch is our anti-consensus angle.\u00a0 So often great ideas get quashed because some people think it’s the wrong direction.\u00a0 This leads to what my team affectionately calls “Linden’s First Law.”\u00a0 For every worthwhile idea presented there shall be at least one person who finds it offensive.\u00a0 I know this law must be true because when we posted it to our blog one of our clients called to complain (seriously) that they were offended by it. 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