Bob Davies

I joined BBDO Chicago where I was Account Supervisor on Wrigley Spearmint and other brands in the Wrigley portfolio. I worked throughout the '80s and early '90s in agencies in Chicago and eventually re-joined executives from my first employer, this time as a principal in the firm.

As an account manager in the 1980s, I worked on a range of businesses that included consumer products, business to business, services and durables. I worked on small, regional brands as well as iconic brands such as Corona Beer and Wrigley Chewing Gum. I left Chicago in 1995 to work and live in North Carolina and was recruited by Charlotte advertising agency Price McNabb. I joined as an account manager and soon created "The Brand Studio," the agency's strategic and brand planning practice group, which I managed for eight years.

In 2004 I created candescence, an S-Corporation specializing in branding strategy and brand activation and especially in "Brands in Transition." The firm is known for its strong processes in the branding and product ideation disciplines and works for a diverse group of clients. candescence utilizes a suite of strategy development tools honed from years of experience in countless industries. The firm's mission is to advance brands facing uncertainty by improving their strategy and implementing well crafted branding campaigns. These can be and have been applied to new businesses, emerging and high-growth businesses and large, well established corporations.

All projects at candescence are closely managed by me and typically begin with a proprietary discovery process known as a "Context Analysis." This process gleans information from the three domains that define the marketing context for any product or service: the company, the consumer and the competition. A large number of potential branding concepts or statements are developed and evaluated based their performance on three strategic criteria: validity, motivation and differentiation. High potential concepts are then selected for campaign development and frequently for various forms of communications testing. The success of this process is based on its efficiency, inclusivity (with key client stakeholders) and actionability. When used at the outset of an engagement, branding strategy can be effectively and efficiently developed and ideas for tactical support are often created leading to more imaginative and integrated branding campaigns.

When not building brands, I am often found in my workshop building furniture or outdoors hiking, biking, golfing or skiing. I am a husband, father of two boys, a Stephen Minister and an Elder at my church.