I partner with executives, founders, and multi-disciplinary teams to solve complex business problems using brand as a lens, impact as a gauge and culture as a guide.
For the last decade+, I’ve been lucky enough to work with leading brands and agencies on some of their toughest brand, innovation, and communication challenges.
My approach is deeply empathetic with respect to both audience and culture, asking how brands can most meaningfully interact with the people they seek to serve through products, services, and marketing initiatives. At its best, my work addresses pain points, resolves unmet needs and shifts culture for the better. I look up and down the customer value chain to see where brands are delivering (or not) to define opportunities to engage.
My focus is addressing clients' deep-lying business challenges- their values, culture, processes and overall positioning, before moving into communications and the way they express their identity to the world. I’m grounded by both theory and practice, combining a tactical understanding of what goes into a compelling communication's plan with a fundamental understanding of how brands grow. I’ve built, and rebuilt brands from scratch, giving me a full view (and respect) towards all aspects of end-to-end brand design and delivery experience.
My talent is in making connections across culture and category. My background exploring cross-industry trends and patterns in both business and culture helps me zoom out to the bigger picture and place companies within the larger context. I’ve been fortunate to lead consulting teams, been a featured speaker at innovation conferences, and hosted panels that push and pull at different facets of culture and innovation in the context of creative business.
Most of all I love a challenge, and working with thoughtful, engaging people who enjoy what they do. My way of working is collaborative by nature, and I value diversity in my thinking, and look for it in the people around me. My newsletter where I share what’s interesting at the intersection of business and culture can be found here.
Reach out and say hi at tim.jamesryan[at]gmail.com