Acta non verba. 

This is Latin for "deeds, not words."

It’s a great reminder of what matters most — especially in brand building. Regardless of what your brand says or how it presents itself, it is known and remembered for its actions. Period.

Branding starts with perception but gets solidified by actions. So ask yourself ... How does your brand act? It’s easy to get lost in features and spreadsheets. But brands aren’t built there.

A great place to start with “on-brand” action is within your team. For example, at Focus Lab, our brand is extremely people-centric. Both customer and team. Internally, we value rest. So we act very intentionally on that front. For the past 15 years (since day one), we’ve closed our business for the last two weeks of the year. This is our time to completely rest. 

We do this regardless of our revenue outlook, etc. Frankly, we take a financial loss every December because of this. I don’t think twice about it, even in a hard economic landscape like last year. It’s a representation of our brand in action. 

Remember, brands are built from the inside out. 

So, as you prepare for your own rest over the holiday season and potentially start to consider 2025 goals, take some time to think about acta non verba. How might it show up for you or your brand?

See you in the new year! 

P.S. This will be the last newsletter this year; you now know why. :)

R O I   O F   B R A N D I N G

Brand is one of a company’s most valuable assets: It plays a key role in customer acquisition and justifies a higher price. As we discussed in our blog, The Biggest B2B Value Driver in the Intangible Economy, brand is one of the few assets that competitors cannot replicate without damaging their own reputation.

N O T E W O R T H Y

1. The Myth of B2B v B2C

“In the B2B arena, where sales cycles are long and relationships matter, brand investment often yields greater dividends. [...] Jann Schwarz [senior director at LinkedIn] highlighted this by saying, ‘Brand is perhaps more important in B2B than in B2C because groups of professionals will literally not buy from anyone where they can’t all be confident it’s the right choice.’”

2. Why B2B Brand Marketing Matters

“Brand marketing improves not only the brand but other components as well, such as the return on marketing investment on performance marketing, customer advocacy, and even employee satisfaction. The bottom line: B2B companies that underinvest in brand marketing are literally selling themselves short.”

3. Why Cisco Says Company Values In Marketing Messaging Are ‘Everything’
For brand values to have any meaning, they have to be at the forefront of company decisions. “It is about: Is this move, is this donation, is this venture going to actually be representative of our purpose of powering an inclusive future for all, and is it going to move us forward?” Walk the walk. 

4. Managing Your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and Employer Brand

“The employer brand can help with [growing skill shortages]; it influences a candidate’s decision to join, and stay with, an organization. Thus, the employer brand, representing the identity and reputation of an organization as an employer, plays a valuable role in closing skills gaps.”

N O W   H I R I N G

Creative Career Program Community Manager at Marketo

San Francisco, CA

M&A and Strategy Manager at Perion

Remote, US

Copywriter at Spellbook

Remote

Website Manager at Bitwise

Columbia, MD

Product Marketing Manager at Beamery

Remote, US

I N   C A S E   Y O U   M I S S E D   I T