Alice asked the Cheshire Cat,
who was sitting in a tree,
“What road do I take?”
The cat asked,
“Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know,” Alice answered.
“Then,” said the cat,
“it really doesn’t matter, does it?”
Alice asked the Cheshire Cat,
who was sitting in a tree,
“What road do I take?”
The cat asked,
“Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know,” Alice answered.
“Then,” said the cat,
“it really doesn’t matter, does it?”
We believe that responsible brands can be a source of common good due to their capacity to influence people and society while earning profits for the company. We’re not naïve, we are well aware that brands must generate shareholder value, but we think that this is a consequence of creating social value first, because brands that adopt a moral compass and act are those that shine and lead the way. These principles have accompanied BrandSmith since we began. We’ve gone through many ideas and different working methods, but what hasn’t changed is our quest to align purpose and strategy, ethics and performance, customer experience and brand, never compromising on our integrity. If we can’t help, we will say no. And if we can, we will be focused on producing an outcome that inspires positive change in the company and throughout society.
Companies are increasingly held accountable for any damage they cause and also for neglecting their responsibilities. The time when these issues were left to politics and NGOs has past, everyone is in the spotlight now. The need to develop bio-, circular- and carbon neutral economies are concerns that directly involve how business processes are designed, but moreover, a brand, given its influence, can emerge as a phenomenal platform for developing society’s awareness of the sustainability challenges we have ahead. And not only environmental issues. Social and economic challenges like gender equality or civil rights need to be addressed, too.
After more than five years consulting and delivering agency services for sustainability-related organizations, especially in the field of forestry with associations like PEFC and ProPopulus or companies like Garnica, we have developed a deep understanding of the scientific, cultural and economic aspects of the problem. Consequently, since 2015, Christopher Smith delivers keynotes and workshop sessions on how to build sustainability into a brand story with authenticity. If sustainability is on your agenda (and it should) we surely can help.
We are a small but highly skilled team led by Christopher R. Smith. Born in the UK, brought up in Saudi Arabia and settled in Madrid, Spain, after years of work in advertising and design as creative director and project manager, he decided to launch his own consultancy in 2008 in search of more adequate tools and processes to unlock the concepts and values that underpin brands and to integrate them into business strategies. Now he is a respected consultant, speaker, author and lecturer.
With a degree in Communication from the Complutense University of Madrid, a Master in Design Management from the EOI Business School and postgraduate studies in Branding at the University of East Anglia, he has developed projects in Malaysia, USA, Uruguay, Argentina, Switzerland, Belgium and Hong Kong, as well as in Spain, of course. He has lectured for a wide range of MBA programs at business schools and for various degrees at universities, written more than ten books, supervised the translation to Spanish of Mark Batey’s “Brand Meaning” and is a seasoned keynote speaker, having participated in the World Mobile Congress Barcelona 2018, the opening event of the Cre100do program and Ambrosetti’s Markeing Summit in Milan. You can connect with him on Linkedin here and see some interviews and keynotes on our YouTube channel.
Our experienced and valuable creative team is steered by Miguel Garcia Machín, a recognized Spanish designer with over twenty years of experience in Milan and Madrid, particularly noted for developing corporate identity programs for many Spanish banking multinationals. We also count upon a pool of collaborators and specialists that, as well as being good friends, help our clients understand and apply agile innovation processes, cultural change and advertising, marketing and communication strategies.
