Founder Of Studio Brinks, Veronica Brinkmann
Introduce yourself and tell us about yourself and your company.
My name is Veronica Brinkmann and I am the Founder of Studio Brinks, a branding agency focused on clean beauty. After college, I joined the ranks of the corporate world and worked as a creative director in tech for twelve years, where I learned from the best of the best in the marketing world, was mentored by some of the sharpest executives in the industry, and learned how to build internal creative agencies from the ground up. I traveled the world, managed a team in Buenos Aires, and was a part of a successful IPO and $6.5B acquisition by Salesforce. I became a multi-millionaire at age 35, was able to provide everything I dreamt of for my family, and was living “the dream.” However, something was missing. Working long hours at rocket-ship speed finally took a toll on my health and my family, leading me to make one of the most difficult decisions of my life. I had a small family and my values were shifting.
When I became pregnant with my third child, I started my own business. At that time, I also learned to slow down and take better care of my health. I learned to read the ingredients labels of the foods I was eating as well as those of the products I used on my skin. As it turned out, many of these products were highly toxic. After uncovering some hard truths about the unregulated cosmetics industry, I made it my mission to bring awareness to clean beauty and help conscious beauty founders in starting their own brands. I am also a big advocate of mental health and sustainable practices. We have a no skin-retouch policy in our marketing strategy, as over-retouching has had a devastating effect on the mental health of the population, particularly our youth. We design our product packaging in the most eco-friendly and sustainable ways possible. We see these two areas as some of the most essential changes we need to be making in our industry.
What makes for a good brand identity?
Your logo is not your brand. Your brand is the perception of your company through the eyes of your customer; so many factors have an influence on that, from product design to customer support.
When first starting out in the business world, the first thing that many of us want to do is to find a designer that will make our company a logo. However, your logo is merely a representation of your brand. In order to develop a memorable brand identity, you need to focus on:
Audience: 95% of purchasing decisions are based on emotion, so it is really important that you tap into what incentivizes your audience to buy your products. Know them intimately. Know their fears, what they buy, and why they buy.
Unique Value Proposition: The cosmetics industry is highly saturated; there is a lot of competition to stand out from. Emphasize what uniquely sets you apart from the others, how your product benefits your customers, and how it solves their problems. You have a unique story; don't be afraid to share it.
Values: Every memorable brand stands for something, and consumers are more likely to purchase from brands that make them feel like they're giving back in some way. Failing to communicate brand values leads to branding that doesn't feel "alive."
Once you have established these foundational elements of your brand, you can start to develop its personality. Is it loud and rebellious or friendly and approachable? Choose five adjectives that you would use to describe your brand's personality and how you would want others to describe you. If you were to choose a celebrity to be the face of your brand, who would it be? Do they share the same values?
Now you can begin the process of building the visual parts of your brand: logo, colors, typography, photography, and tone of voice. A great branding agency will know how to translate your brand’s personality into compelling visuals that will attract your ideal audience.
The last piece to creating a strong brand identity is consistency in design across all marketing activities, from your website to social media and ads. Chances are that you'll have multiple people working in these areas. Your brand guidelines are a set of rules regarding how to use your logo, which exact hex-code colors to use, which typography is used for headers vs body copy, photography do's and don'ts, and even the tone in which you speak (i.e., use of emojis). Each of these areas has to be on the same page in order to ensure that your brand delivers a consistent experience across all of your channels.
If you could collaborate with any brand, which brand would it be and why?
I'm a big fan of Kora Organics, Miranda Kerr's skincare line. They embody all of our values and their products are of the highest quality and integrity. They are definitely a brand that is in high alignment with our agency.
Who is your biggest inspiration, and how do you try to emulate that person?
Alexi Panos, is a life and business strategist, author, and humanitarian. I am inspired by the way in which she genuinely cares about and connects with people. I try to emulate her in the ways in which I work with others on a daily basis. Whether I am interacting with a customer, employee, supplier, or partner, I try to keep in mind that we are all humans with stories, fears, hopes, and dreams. We are all more similar than we are different. I try to keep that at the forefront of everything that I do in business.
How do you pick yourself up after a difficult day?
A long, hot bath always fixes everything; it cleans the slate and sets me up for a new day. I also write down three things - and only three things - that I want to accomplish the next day. Knowing that there is a plan in place helps me to feel prepared and grounded. Then, I try to get a good night's sleep.
What was the biggest lesson that you got out of 2021?
From a young age, I have always been a DIYer. In 2021, I realized that no one can do it all on their own. When running a business, your job is to build the machine and then to get out of the way and allow your team to run it. If you are constantly performing tasks that someone on your team can do, you’ll never grow and you'll burn out quickly. As for at home, there is truth to the saying that you need a village to raise a family. Delegate tasks to your kids when they can do things for themselves, ask for help from your partner and reach out to other moms in your community when you need it. □
