Bri-EO

When stars venture into the consumer product world, they miss the mark far more often than they nail it for me.

I don't have all the answers, but I've got a wish list of famous faces I'd love to see expand into product, and some decent ideas for exactly how they should go about it. Picture:

• an Ashanti-fronted revival of Apple Bottoms clothing line with a 'Big Apple' New York-inspired spin

• a premium hair care line for silk-press lovers from Queen Latifah

• a unisex home fragrance collection with Tom Ford vibes spearheaded by Morris Chestnut

Dig into these ideas and more in my latest post on PlatformThis! Read at the link below.

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5 Celebrity Product Lines I’d Actually Be Excited About (If They Existed) ⟡ by-bri.com If I were Hollywood’s product strategist, these are the brands I’d develop first.

What do R&B artist KWN, comedian KevOnStage, and stylist Law Roach have in common? Hint: It's what every creator building an iconic platform needs in 2025.

Find out in my latest post on PlatformThis! Read 'Energetic Signature is the New Personal Brand' 👇🏾
https://by-bri.com/blog/energetic-signature

Can a crowd of thousands truly feel like "community"? That's what brands promise, but I'm not sure they can deliver.

In my latest post on PlatformThis!, I unpack the tension between community-centered marketing and the commodification of human connection through festivals, membership clubs, and branded events.

📖 Read the post below 👇🏾

The ‘Community’ Industrial Complex: What’s Lost When Brands Commodify Connection ⟡ by-bri.com When scale is the goal, genuine connection may be the cost. Growth-minded memberships, festivals, and events all promise “community,” but can they actually deliver?

We’ve seen the celebrity liquor brands. The luxury collabs. The creative director titles. But in a moment when consumers are prioritizing essentials over excess, maybe it’s time for something different.

In my latest piece, I ask: What if the next great celebrity brand wasn’t aspirational, but essential?

📖 Read the full post below 👇🏾

Fame, Meet Function: The Case for Celeb Product Brands That Actually Serve Us ⟡ by-bri.com “Celebrities are past simply endorsing products; they’re being appointed as creative directors at heritage luxury houses…But while their star power drives headlines and sales spikes, there’s an elephant in the showroom: sustainability, accessibility, and longevity often get left behind in fa...

"We’re watching legacy institutions crumble while new media empires are being built on vibes and virality. That’s a problem and an opportunity."

In my new blog post, I’m making a case for why creators in the arts, humanities, and public thought need to claim more space—and more funding—in the content economy. If federal support for public media is disappearing, what (and who) fills the gap?

Read the full piece below. 👇🏾

Public Art + Media is Losing Funding, and You Want to Start Another Relationship Podcast? ⟡ by-bri.com “We’re watching legacy institutions crumble while new media empires are being built on vibes and virality. That’s a problem and an opportunity.”

If you’re rebranding at the start of every year, something deeper is missing.

Someone posted a question on Threads recently that I mentally bookmarked to start asking my personal branding clients. The question was, “What can you confidently deliver?” Journaling on my own answer, I wrote, “I can confidently deliver a brand designed so timelessly and thoroughly that it earns your business profit and admiration for 5+ years without a rebrand.”

It’s true. This year marks 11 years since I began offering full brand development and design services as a solopreneur. Clients from the earliest days of my studio are still going strong with their brand identities, developing their product ecosystems and expanding their content portfolios. Their logos, core design elements, and color palettes have stood the test of time. And when I thought about it, that’s a serious flex.

Rebrands are costly and time-consuming. Even though the term “rebrand” has become a buzzword folks use when they really mean curating a Pinterest board and switching up their vibe, true rebranding—the kind that’s strategic, intentional, and rooted in business evolution—shouldn’t be a yearly ritual. It should be a milestone.

Is your brand designed to adapt without unraveling? If you find yourself constantly reinventing, chasing trends, or feeling a disconnect between who you are and the way you show up... it’s time to dig deeper.

Not into aesthetics.
Into alignment.

📍 Start by understanding what drives you most in life. Take my 4L Motivation Mapping Quiz to find out. ☞ https://by-bri.com/home -quiz

Your intuition will tell you when it’s time to scrap the map 🗺️ and head the opposite direction of your old expectations for yourself 🚶🏾‍♀️🚪. The harder part is making sure your sense of urgency, lack, and hyper-control don’t tag along with you. Major life transitions, whether in your career, location, or self-concept, can come with anxiety-inducing risks and a lot of uncertainty. But clarity about your North Star can arm you with the confidence you need to overcome those intrusive thoughts and feelings long enough to proceed in action.

So, I made you something. It’s called the 4L Motivation Mapping Quiz, and it’s a short survey that’ll help you identify the driving force behind your decision-making.

https://by-bri.com/home -quiz

✨ How does it help? ✨

Some moments in life don’t call for a strategy, they call for the skill of personal leadership and self-regulation. Put differently, when you don’t have clear answers, you can still make clear choices if you understand your big-picture priority. My mini-quiz offers a glimpse at what motivates you most between Love, Leisure, Liberty, and Legacy.

🤳🏾 Take the quiz on my website (less than 1 min!), then come back and comment which “L” is your top motivator.

〰️
If you’re new here, I’m Bri {the Brand Whisperer} - strategist, designer, and creative leader. I help self-made powerhouses build public platforms without burning out or selling out.

by-bri.com

https://by-bri.com/ just got a fresh remodel! Check out the new online home for the Brand Whisperer ✨

I write and create for self-starters who are ascending past their old standards and designing public platforms built to support their most brazen dreams.

Branding is my mechanism, but self-liberation is my mission. Living by example, I show rising leaders how to pursue their uncommon aspirations with creative gusto and executive presence.

Briaan L. Barron ⟡ Premium Brand Strategist | Designer | Speaker Briaan is a Seattle-based brand consultant and creative business leader who helps rising powerhouses command the public eye without burning out or selling out.

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Can I tell y'all the no.1 ✨underrated result✨ I love to gain for my clients and partners most? Relief. Let's talk about it 👇🏾👇🏾

I've worked in marketing and branding for 11 years in a full-time capacity and 17 if you count study and practice. It's a peculiar industry because it requires a constantly evolving and complex skill set, but everyone thinks they can do it.

That's because good marketing does *look* easy. It feels intuitive and simple when you encounter it. And this is what trips up a lot of early-stage business owners.

The assumption that marketing is something anyone can do, regardless of their skill set or experience, leads many new business owners to one of these fates:

1) They become their own marketing department, then neglect or avoid the work due to overwhelm or lack of expertise.

2) They rely on trends, templates, and generic advice to drive their strategic decision-making, ultimately sculpting a weak brand.

3) They start strong but lack systems, lose momentum, and let the brand fizzle.

After a decade plus in the game, primarily working with leaders who were driven and capable but under-resourced, I spotted a pattern. By the time they hired me, these people were exhausted, skeptical, and ready to see some progress. My clients weren't looking for a flashy ad agency or a bunch of social media marketing jargon. They were looking for relief. 😌

I learned that my portfolio is what hooked people, but my process is what held them. Case studies, metric highlights, all of that was cool. But my client base chooses and trusts me for my empathy, problem-solving approach, and genuine investment in translating their unanchored vision.

A great way to differentiate your brand is to stop ranking yourself with the same scorecard as everyone else in your category. So, here's my prompt for you ✍🏾

⌛ Take the next 5 minutes to think about and write down the ✨signature result✨ you drive for your target audience. Bonus points if you can articulate it as a single word 😉.

I've been supporting and developing brands for leaders for 17 years. In that time, I've observed that there are a lot of folks in leadership positions who don't actually trust themselves.

The consequences?

⟡ Codependency on other experts
⟡ Delayed decision-making resulting in missed opportunities
⟡ Fear and avoidance of risk
⟡ Unwarranted urgency
⟡ Baseless comparisons that distract them from their purpose

It's impossible to cultivate a brand that has staying power on an insecure foundation. So, I've been initiating more conversations that aim to help *unexpected leaders* develop the mindset, principles, and habits necessary to power an iconic leadership brand. You have to lead your OWN life before you can attract followers ✨.

To join the conversation with me this year:

Subscribe to my YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/

Read my blog:
https://briaan.substack.com/

Chat with me on Threads:
https://www.threads.net/

https://youtu.be/GAXbTmwuzHE?si=ox97V7BJJ_lb_rON

Motivation is Short-lived. Ride the Wave. If you’re new here, I’m Bri - strategist, speaker, and creative business leader. I help self-made powerhouses build public platforms without burning out or s...