E 54: Bill Ellis- Brand Architect

On this episode of The Massimo show, Rod sat down with Brand Architect, Speaker, and Certified Go-Giver Coach Bill Ellis.  

Bill Ellis is a master at unlocking the fearless potential in others.  A veteran of corporate brand management for more than 25 years at global beverage giant Anheuser-Busch, Bill has come to learn and deliver his true value in the past decade as a public speaker, certified coach, and brand architect for individuals and businesses.

Untraditional roles require Untraditional paths 

As with most people in less traditional jobs Bill didn’t start out knowing he would be working with companies and individuals to build their brands. Bill was the 4th out of 5 children in a military family who moved around a lot.  Despite their constant relocation, Bill found a sense of identity in the fact that both of his  parents were from New Orleans.  “My influence was around moving around, military life, and Louisiana culture,” Bill tells Rod.  Adding to his love for NOLA Bill attended high school in New Orleans.  “What I was focused on during that time was being able to stay in one place for some time.  I could make friends that I wasn’t going to leave in a year.  Beyond that I did not have big dreams or big ideas.” Bill recalls. 

His first professional job was working for National Supermarkets.  As with most first forays into work for pay Bill felt he learned the most in those first few roles. From stock work to overnight clerk to customer service desk to cleaning out the incinerators, Bill cultivated a sense of self-motivation and work ethic. In the end,  he knew he didn’t want to be working at a supermarket for the rest of his life and decided to go to college.  After graduating from college Bill thought his path would be in the financial world and he went to work for The Bank oF New Orleans.  There he met his first wife and eventually decided he didn’t enjoy banking as a career. He found himself working in sales for one of 12 Anheuser Busch-owned distributors.  “I worked in New Orleans in sales for 3 years.  During that time I traveled to St Louis and was able to contribute to marketing.  That led me to a job offer in St Louis working in the marketing department” Bill explains.  “We moved from New Orleans to St Louis where I started a career in Brand Management which is the heart and soul of marketing at Anheuser Busch.”  Bill admits that this was not a path that he had anticipated but, it was the one that connected him to what he does today. 

Branding is not the logo

…. It is more the value a product has.  

According to Bill, the first step to creating a well-thought-out brand is to identify what your value is and what service you are going to provide.  Pro Tip: It should be something you and other people believe in.   While a logo is critical in branding it is not something pretty or arbitrary - people need to understand what value they get from your company when looking at the logo.  

If you provide a service instead of a physical product branding is still important! 

When trying to suss out your branding start with “What’s the point?”  Does this speak to the purpose of your service? Does that purpose have relevance to anyone else out there?  If yes then ask what’s the point to them (prospect or customer). How does our service differentiate from someone else? Who is providing the same service? These questions will help you identify your own brand and set you apart from others in your industry. 

Rod and Bill finish out the podcast by discussing Bill’s 3 Ps (Passion, Purpose, Persistence) and as well as the 5 Pillars of Branding (Leadership, Behavior, Communication, Influence, Team).