[Cache #257]

Introducing a new service that increases profitability without adding additional headcount and gives you more time to focus on the business activities you love.
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The brand foundations I create for advisor clients are intended to be their ultimate decision-making filter. A document that sits above all else – above any marketing or even strategic plan. Your brand foundation is, indeed, your culture on a piece of paper.

But: if we do not take concrete steps, the brand foundation risks sitting in a drawer and being forgotten. Remember those promises you made – say, about having the best client service in your industry? To achieve that audacious revenue goal a few years from now?

What are you actually doing to make that happen?

To make your brand foundation a reality, it needs to be operationalized. Integrated into every aspect of your business – in a way that increases topline revenue without adding additional headcount, and frees you up to focus more on the stuff you love to do.

That’s precisely what Emile Studham and his team at Cooperation Works do. They take what’s on paper and turn it into how your team actually operates – the same way they do with the Toronto Blue Jays executive team, Hydro One, and various leadership teams throughout BMO.

Their approach is built around high-performance culture, the kind you see in elite sport. Purpose, vision, and values aren’t posters on a wall. They become the filter for every decision, every hire, every quarter.

With that kind of track record, you can see why I am excited to tell you that Emile is now providing these services to Coin clients, and that the time commitment from you will be light.

Learn more in the above video, which is my full 14-minute conversation with Emile, or watch this short one.

Or just reach out to me at andris@coinbranding.com or 416 560 0928.

Andris Pone
President
Coin Branding Inc.

See the full post and video on LinkedIn.

This is a big year for Canada. The Winter Olympics, the FIFA World Cup, and politics are all focusing the world’s attention on us, forcing us to look in the mirror like never before.

All while we are having a full-blown identity crisis.

Will we reach consensus on who we are?

Click above for my LinkedIn post, complete with video, on the subject.

As you will see, I pose the questions: What is Canada? Can you summarize it in one sentence?

PS If you are not already connected with me on LinkedIn, please send me a connection request.

Advisors don’t just want more referrals. They want more HNW referrals.

Podcasts are becoming one of the most effective ways to make that happen.

When an advisor hosts a podcast, introductions become much easier.

Instead of asking a client…
“Do you know anyone I should meet?

…You can say: “Is there someone interesting in your network I should have on the show?”

That simple shift changes everything. High net worth entrepreneurs, professionals, and business owners become podcast guests. Guests share the episode, and their network discovers you.

And that’s just one strategy of many.

At Coin, we help advisors launch and produce professional podcasts, so they get more and better referrals. Money Match, with wealth advisor Ian Ardill, is just one of the shows we are producing. To check it out, click the video at the top of this story.

If you’re curious about how it all works, send me an email at andris@coinbranding.com or call me at 416 560 0928.

Andris Pone
President
Coin Branding Inc.

Naming is one of my specialties. But it is not because naming forms a portion of my livelihood that I must tell you this:

Never have a naming contest.

I have praised the name Toronto Tempo for the city’s new WNBA team. You can see my laudatory statements here.

Only recently, in this video conversation with Brand and PR star Megan Matthews, did I discover that the Tempo had a naming contest.

The Tempo said the name was “informed by both the inputs of those contributions” from the contest “and feedback and insights from a community council.”

Was the name Tempo actually submitted by someone in the contest? Maybe it was not, which makes the process look like a selfish waste of everyone’s time. Maybe it was, in which case the team got lucky.

Naming decisions should not be left to luck.

More in the video above.

I have a great mentor. His name is Ted Matthews.

I first met Ted in the summer of 2006, in his office on Jarvis Street in Toronto. He had founded an integrated marketing communications firm, grown it to a staff of 80, worked with Fortune 500 clients, and then sold it. Then he launched a Brand Coaching firm, Instinct Brand Equity Coaches. I was looking for a copywriting gig, with designs on being a part of Instinct ongoing.

But first I had to make a good impression.

Ted answered the door and invited me to have a seat while he finished something up. Eager to make some kind of chitchat, I noticed on the wall a smartly-framed design award he’d won. He’d been given the silver.

I said something like, “Wow. This is impressive.” To which Ted replied, “When a client disagrees with me, I tell him to go see the guy who won the f****** gold.”

Devastatingly funny, yes. But more to the point, uncompromising. That’s what I thought of Ted, right from the very start. As he proclaims in one of his many maxims, consistency is the number one rule of Branding. True to what he preaches, Ted has never wavered.

Recently I had what was, to me, a massively entertaining conversation with Megan Matthews, Ted’s daughter, who took over his practice. She is an elite Brand and PR strategist who has worked in Toronto, London (UK) and New York, leading PR for Brands including Unilever (where she was global communications lead for Dove), Gap UK, Johnson & Johnson Beauty, adidas for Stella McCartney, Pandora and many more.

Above is a video of our conversation, in which we share our favourite Brand lessons learned from Ted – and which are still a priceless reservoir of wisdom.

I hope you enjoy it even a fraction as much as I did.

[Cache #256]

Many people and organizations are afraid to say “Merry Christmas” to their clients. Or even use the word “Christmas” at all.

I have struggled with it myself.

My sense of the argument against wishing people a Merry Christmas is that it is exclusive – that it excludes people. Ultimately, my view is that wishing someone a Merry Christmas is a positive thing, and hence is inclusive.

In an environment when most brands are not using the word “Christmas” in their holiday messaging, there is an opportunity for brands – personal and corporate alike – to stand out by doing that very thing.

This video is a discussion I recently had on this topic with Branding and PR Strategist Megan Matthews. Megan has worked at major agencies in Toronto, New York and London on global brands, and brings us her expert POV on the three points on the Christmas continuum:

1. Right down the chimney: Brands that are actually using the word “Christmas”
2. One stocking on, one stocking off: Brands that are using Christmas imagery but not the dreaded word itself
3. No ho ho: Brands that are not referencing Christmas at all.

Check it out. And a very Merry Christmas to all.

PS Some of the brands we discuss:

• Canadian Tire
• Real Canadian Superstore
• Canadian Pacific Railway
• WestJet
• LCBO
• Tim Hortons
• Air Canada
• Starbucks

The main story I wanted to cover in this edition of Cache is the fear that many people have over saying Merry Christmas, and how leaning into it is an opportunity for you and your brand to stand out and create goodwill. Then Bondi Beach happened, and it seemed like talking about the fear that Christians and other Canadians have about saying Merry Christmas paled in comparison to the fear and murder that Jews are facing when it comes to Hanukkah. Hence this post.

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The lead story in this edition of Cache discusses the fear that many people feel about saying Merry Christmas to their clients.

That fear is based on the possibility that they might make someone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas feel uncomfortable, or that they might make a Christmas non-celebrator feel excluded, all with a possible detrimental effect on their relationships or business.

Much consternation – usually whispered – as to this situation exists in wide swaths of the Canadian population. Many Christians, and other people who simply like Christmas, are quietly dismayed at this state of affairs. Someone I know said roughly this: When we as a country have to worry about making a statement of kindness and even love to others, we really have some soul-searching to do and some action to take.

But here is something to consider: Canadians’ fear of saying Merry Christmas is not based on a possibility of being murdered en masse for their views.

This fear, of being killed at any time (potentially in great numbers) for your religious beliefs, is the hatred and terror that the Jewish community faces – abroad and right here in the Canadian community in which you live – and it is utterly unacceptable that this is so.

Ask your Jewish friends, colleagues and neighbours how they are feeling. Many are afraid to do something as simple as wear a yarmulke or other dress or symbols that will identify them, on Canadian streets, as Jews.

The at least 15 people who were massacred on Bondi Beach, and the more than 40 others who were injured, were in the process of celebrating Hanukkah, a Jewish religious holiday. News reports indicate they were between the ages of 10 and 87. They included two rabbis and a Holocaust survivor.

The first of many unconscionable offences here is that these people were targeted specifically because of their religious beliefs.

A second and aggravating factor is that they were in the process of celebrating a religious holiday. For those observing, Hanukkah commemorates a moment in Jewish history when a persecuted community reclaimed its right to live according to its beliefs. It is marked by lighting candles over eight nights, symbolizing resilience, hope, and the idea that even a small light can push back great darkness. This year, Hanukkah runs from sundown on December 14 to nightfall on December 22.

So here we go: not only will I wish Merry Christmas to all, with all of the love it represents, but also Happy Hanukkah to all, with the hope that the light will indeed last long enough to lead us out of this darkness.

If you are wondering: I, as a gentile, did first ask a Jewish friend if it would be appropriate to wish Happy Hanukkah to everyone. He replied that not only would it be appropriate, but also appreciated – especially in this very (and watch his word choice here) dark time for Jews.

Merry Christmas!
Happy Hanukkah!

Regarding the mass email that says Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays: the intent, presumably, is to reach out and make some kind of personal connection with your audience. It is also an excellent opportunity to say thank you.

However, if it is not well-executed, it ends up feeling impersonal. Like an effort to simply tick the box.

Clients Doing it Well

And here are some Coin clients doing it well – making the most of their opportunity to communicate important aspects of their brand, convey a warm holiday message, say thank you and ultimately, strengthen their bond with their clients.

Ardill Group:

This is the fifth consecutive year in which they are making a donation in honour of their clients, through non-profit Compassion Canada, to fund a clean drinking water project in a developing nation.

This year’s donation, of $10,000, brings alive a fundamental element of the Ardill Group brand: giving back. The money will fund a borehole in Mokdale Village, Indonesia. Until this project, children have borne the burden of walking long distances to collect water, causing them to miss school while increasing their exposure to waterborne illnesses like diarrhea and cholera.

Now, 261 children and their families will have reliable access to safe water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning – and the benefits will cascade down through many generations.

Ardill Group CEO Ian Ardill announced the donation in the firm’s Q4 newsletter, which was emailed to clients along with a video message, and also posted on LinkedIn. Ardill Group also mailed out a Christmas Card which highlighted the donation and made clear an important truth: the donation never could have been made without the trust and therefore business of their clients.

Here’s another benefit: just like the team at Flourish Family Wealth feels about their donation, the entire Ardill team feels immensely proud of theirs.

Flourish Family Wealth:

Flourish forgot one thing: to include some Flourish-branded Kleenex with their gift, so recipients could wipe away their tears of joy.

Senior Wealth Advisor Gillian Stovel Rivers and her team create frameworks for human flourishing through wealth. Flourishing is not a luxury – it is a lifeline. The Flourish team was reminded of this in the most powerful way when they learned of Simon’s wish, which Flourish funded through a partnership with Make-A-Wish and Rocky Mountain Chocolate, featuring chocolate bars invented and illustrated entirely by Wish Kids across Canada.

Each limited-edition chocolate bar is 100% Canadian and 100% made from the pure, beautiful imagination of children whose wishes remind us of what hope can do. And, 100% of proceeds donated to Make-A-Wish Canada go to help grant life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

Children such as Simon, a courageous six-year-old boy whose dream was to meet “cars with jobs.” His wish day was nothing short of heroic: firetrucks, SWAT vehicles, cranes, motorcycles, and a Hero’s Welcome that lit up the world around him. His mother described it as “absolutely epic,” a day he has proudly talked about ever since.

Clients and partners of Flourish Family Wealth received a box of these beautiful chocolate bars, together with a letter describing Simon’s day and with thanks from Gillian.

A post will soon be made on LinkedIn.

Mark Halpern, founder of WEALTHinsurance.com, is one of our elite advisor clients, each of whom has a unique brand position.

Fundamental to Mark’s is that he educates fellow advisors. Lots of them. Through his groundbreaking Power of Platinum program, he is equipping great advisors with the clarity, confidence, and tools to realize their full potential.

–The next POP program starts January 14th, 2026, and space is limited.–

Through Power of Platinum, you’ll learn directly from Mark and his team AND be coached by Emelia Prempeh, Mark’s personal coach for over 10 years, to learn how to:

• Become an Expert in Strategic Philanthropy, HNW Life Insurance, and the Business Market by using Mark’s proven strategies to consistently create large premium cases
• Attract and serve High-Net-Worth clients with confidence
• Apply proven sales, marketing, and interview techniques in any situation that have doubled and tripled POP member results
• Join a national community of ambitious, growth-oriented, high-performing, purpose-driven advisors (more than 200 advisors have graduated from POP since 2020)

Interested? Contact me directly for more information.

By Faith Seekings

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Season’s Greetings. Happy Hanukkah. Thank you.
How about none of the above?

We have written elsewhere in this blog, here and here, about Christmas and Hanukkah and still believe strongly that they are great ways to express caring and thanks.

But guess what? You can keep your powder dry for other times of year – and thereby really stand out.

Two Reasons to Skip a Greeting/Thank You this Winter

1. It may get lost in the noise anyway. Your message may get missed because so many people are doing the same thing at the same time. December is definitely the busiest month for email cards, corporate gifts, client appreciation parties and social media posts sharing company well-wishes. Unless you go really big, creative and fantastic, it could very well be lost in the noise. When I worked as a designer, many of my clients would wait until the last minute to request something. They saw others’ start coming in – panicked, and sent something into the fray with little thought behind it. You don’t have to do it. You know when I need a fun or warm message? February.
2. If this is your main outreach, there may be a problem. You should keep in mind that engagement could suffer if this is one of the few, or the only, client outreach campaigns you do. It’s more important to create and share meaningful content regularly. Client feedback has told us time and time again that regular communication builds brands through relationships and trust, all of which generates referrals. Choose the media (blog posts, email campaigns, social media, podcasts), set a schedule with time for content creation blocked out, and stick to it – if you want to create meaningful engagement. Consider putting this year’s last-minute effort towards something more intentional, and include a holiday greeting in the plan for 2026 – or, as you will see in the next section, not.

Want to do Something Different?

• Send a New Year’s Greeting in early January.
• Do a thank you campaign to clients, suppliers or referral sources around Thanksgiving.
• Celebrate the summer solstice with tidbits about science and traditions.
• Send a series of funny memes in February. Please.

All of these occasions are BEGGING to be owned! You can scoop them up and make them a pillar of your brand identity. You can even find a special day that aligns with an element of your brand foundation and send out a brand-inspired message then.

The winter holiday greeting shouldn’t be your primary client outreach, especially at a time when everyone is doing the same thing. If it feels rushed and inauthentic, it’s not that effective. If this is all you do, I challenge you to set an intention for the new year to communicate with clients and your community regularly. They want to hear from you because they chose you. They chose you because you are brilliant. And we can help.