Re Perez
CEO & FOUNDER
I’m 30 years old sitting across the Global Human Resources Director’s chair at one of the top global branding firms, and I ask: “Why am I being passed up for the next level in this company?”
Her response. “You don’t have enough gray hair.”
Translation: I didn’t look old enough.
At that moment, I realized no matter how smart, talented, or dedicated I am, the perception people have of me would either accelerate or stunt my growth. So, I left that position and got recruited to work at other consulting firms. My career eventually took me to work at a firm in Dubai, U.A.E.
No doubt, the experience I gained was invaluable and had shaped my professional branding career. With a resume featuring Interbrand and Siegel+Gale, and a Fortune 500 branding experience with Abbott, GE Money, Intel, Lilly, Nielsen Company, Novo Nordisk, Motorola, TD Ameritrade and Xerox, I had a colorful career learning from some of the most creative and brightest branding professionals in the industry.
But that’s my past. Not my future.
Read MoreIn 2010, I left the corporate branding world after a series of personal life-changing events and a spiritual journey. I needed a change. In a big way. I decided to shift my time, energy and focus towards brands making a social or economic impact in the world. This led to me work with entrepreneurs and small businesses.
My vision: help entrepreneurs be more creative and disruptive than their corporate counterparts. Why? There’s something about the DNA of entrepreneurs that inspires me. Entrepreneurs are self-motivated risk-takers who believe they can create their own destiny and change the world. After months of reading, journaling, and meditating, in January 2011, the concept of BRANDING FOR THE PEOPLE was born.
We quickly became the leading branding agency and have branded some of the most inspiring and influential entrepreneurs across 45+ industries. Our global clients include emerging entrepreneurs, Inc. 500 fastest growing companies, and established multi million-dollar businesses. Since launching the agency, we have built a reputation and a proven track record for creating new market leaders and helping existing ones double, triple, and quadruple their business.
Here’s my truth: the more authentic your brand, the more attractive and lucrative your life AND business will be.
If you want just a cheap, amateur logo to build your brand, we can’t help you.
If you’re afraid to invest and would rather play a small game, we’re not a fit.
If you want a cookie-cutter, out-of-the box and unoriginal brand, please look elsewhere.
But…
IF YOU WANT A BRAND THAT
Defines the soul of your business on a deep level.
Is professionally created just like the Fortune 500 players.
Is custom-built and authentic.
Creates a movement and makes a positive impact.
YOU’RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE.
WELCOME HOME.
OUR MANIFESTO
In today’s market, it’s not enough to simply be a brand. It’s takes something more. Something beyond a well-designed logo, a catchy name, and a well-crafted mission statement. What do you want to be known for? How do you want people to remember you? How will you make your brand on the world? You can choose to play small. Or you can choose to play big. At BRANDING FOR THE PEOPLE, we know that it’s not enough to play the game. It’s about changing the game altogether.
The Team
Joseph Cote
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
joseph@brandingforthepeople.com
No amount of advertising, marketing or promotion can overcome the unattractive. Create to compel and your brand will sell itself.
Joseph Cote is a serial entrepreneur and founder of successful brands, always focused on enabling people to live life to the fullest.
His work has included the founding of the world’s largest dance website, Dance.com, the world’s first Pilates apparel brand, PilatesSport, and the world’s most discreet medication container, the CapsulePen.
Joe studied advertising at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and moved to New York City shortly thereafter. When the opportunity to take a position at the (then) largest publisher of dance-related media arose, Joe jumped at the chance to put two of his passions (the arts and advertising) together.
After two years and several promotions, he left the dance media publishing business for the apparel manufacturing industry and launched a women’s active apparel brand called Pilates Sport. The brand quickly grew to receive a purchase order from QVC, America’s largest home shopping network. At that point, he decided to sell that business and return to dance media publishing.
He took over the day-to-day operations of Dancer Publishing Co. in October of 2007. In June 2009, Joe purchased both Dance.Com and Dancer Magazine, and created a new entity entitled Dance.Com LLC, while moving all of the business online.
Read MoreHis next entrepreneurial venture was the relaunch of LighterLiving.Com, a healthy consumables and media company with distribution via QVC. When he took over in 2011, the company was in the red. When he left a year later, it was comfortably in the black and had been diversified into markets beyond QVC, including a highly profitable, subscription-based, streaming instructional video service.
Joseph’s work at BRANDING FOR THE PEOPLE allows him to take all of his varied experience and use it to catapult the trajectory of other emerging entrepreneurs and expanding small businesses. He couldn’t be more proud of the companies that we work with, or the products and services that we create together.
Michelle Peake
DIRECTOR, DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT
michelle@brandingforthepeople.com
“Better is one’s own dharma though imperfectly carried out than the dharma of another carried out perfectly.” – Bhagavad Gita
A veteran in the field of web development, Michelle has over 18+ years of experience spearheading the production of innovative websites and web-based applications for a wide range of industries, both in the domestic and international arenas. Michelle brings to the team the necessary problem-solving skills and risk management perspective that is essential for building award-winning digital solutions. Prescribing to a philosophy that there are no limits, Michelle approaches all aspects of her life with an open mind and an appetite to learn more.
At the age of 18, with a desire to experience the world, Michelle bought a ticket to Spain. With no guidebook, no Spanish speaking skills, and little money, she boarded a plane for Madrid. After two life-changing months in Europe, Michelle returned to the U.S. with a greater sense of self and a hunger to experience more.
Read More
Motivated by her European adventure, Michelle continues to travel to exotic destinations. She has traveled to more than 40 countries, each journey affording her a range of unique and challenging experiences: from learning Kung-fu in the foothills of China at a remote Buddhist monastery to studying Haitian Creole while researching for her Master’s Thesis in Haiti. There is no challenge or experience that Michelle is unwilling to face.
Michelle brings the same sense of adventure and appetite for life to the world of the web. Fascinated by technology’s ability to empower people to live life to the fullest and the Internet’s capacity to connect people from around the world, Michelle is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to share information and streamline communication.
Michelle holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Ecology and Information Technology and a Master’s degree in International Relations.
Cindy Reyes
BRAND DESIGNER
“Simplicity does not signify dull or mundane. Simplicity in design is communicating complexity without the clutter.”
Cindy Reyes is a creative thinker, innovator and content creator.
At the tender age of three, rather than playing outside, Cindy would write her own story books and draw illustrations. She’d play restaurant and design her own menus. She’d put on talent shows and design her own posters. Creating visual content has always come naturally for her and has been a pursuit of passion from day one. Creativity runs in her blood.
The works of great minds such as Saul Bass, Paul Rand, Herb Lubalin, Chipp Kidd, Jessica Walsh, & Milton Glaser have been a great inspiration in her work and the ability of color to evoke emotion and affect human psychology has always fascinated her. This passion is what drove her towards Graphic Design.
In 2012, Cindy graduated at the top of her class from San Diego State University where she majored in Graphic Design, and minored in Child & Family Development. Upon graduating from San Diego State University, Cindy began her fast-rising career as an intern at SOLO Eyewear. Her work quickly caught the attention of web-based ecommerce store ModDeals and then recruited by BRANDING FOR THE PEOPLE.
Read MoreCindy’s expertise in both print and web design makes her a valuable asset to the company and clients alike. To Cindy, the most rewarding aspect of being a Brand Designer is creating visual identities that truly express a company’s brand vision and self-expression.
In her spare time, when not silently judging your choice of font, Cindy enjoys being active and spending time at the gym. This allows her to go out on the weekends and explore new places to eat around San Diego (guilt-free).
Lidya Toscano
BRAND DESIGNER
“Less is More”
– Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Lidya Toscano is a Graphic Designer passionate about digital design.
She received her B.A. in Graphic Design from the San Diego State University and quickly began working for a variety of clients, addressing needs that included packaging, layout, website design, email marketing, photo editing, and much more.
After two years as a freelancer, where she not only produced amazing work but also coached clients and agencies about design, one of her clients, ModMerica (a new fashion company), offered Lidya a full-time opportunity. She worked with ModMerica for the next two years and developed the conceptual creative foundation for their emails, which served as ModMerica’s primary advertising channel.
Read MoreWhen the time came, Lidya committed to finding a new position where she could assist in a company’s growth while also further developing herself. This decision led her to BRANDING FOR THE PEOPLE. When she is not designing, you can find her enjoying a good read, going on a hike, eating healthy (except pizza), joking in English and laughing in Spanish.
Solomiya Pyatkovska
PROJECT MANAGER
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only once.”
– George R.R. Martin
Solomiya Pyatkovska is project organization and management professional, who joined BRANDING FOR THE PEOPLE after a decade of work in several industries, including nonprofit social justice work, fitness, travel and concierge services.
Solomiya attended Georgetown University for her undergraduate degree in government, where she worked and volunteered for various on and off campus organizations. These opportunities included mostly project organization and management capacities, as well as volunteer coordination.
Following Georgetown, Solomiya joined AmeriCorps in San Antonio, Texas where she worked for City Year San Antonio and Public Allies San Antonio. Through her work in AmeriCorps, Solomiya collaborated with local educational institutions, government offices, and nonprofits on issues of inner-city education.
Read MoreAfter two years in AmeriCorps, Solomiya attended Notre Dame University where she completed her Master’s Degree in conflict resolution in 2012. After graduation, Solomiya moved to New York City and worked in management at Equinox Fitness, followed by an organizational development position with The Partnership for Inner City Education, addressing urban education issues.
Solomiya’s work at BRANDING FOR THE PEOPLE allows her to use her project management and organizational development experiences to help the team in its creative branding work for emerging entrepreneurs and expanding small businesses. She couldn’t be more excited to exercise her skills within the world of branding and the dynamic and creative environment of BRANDING FOR THE PEOPLE.
Liz Maliga
DIRECTOR OF CONTENT MARKETING
“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”
–Hans Hoffman
Liz Maliga is a writing and communication professional with a background that includes work with small businesses, nonprofits, healthcare organizations, and universities.
She received her M.A. in Professional and Technical Writing with a focus on visual rhetoric and entrepreneurship from the University of Maine in 2013. She spent time freelancing and teaching writing and rhetoric at UMaine, the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and Central New Mexico Community College before joining BRANDING FOR THE PEOPLE.
More than anything, Liz loves working with people to develop a unique, compelling textual presence. In her free time, Liz loves photography, cooking, and reading and writing about popular culture.
Tasos Stylianou
CLIENT RELATIONSHIP MANAGER
“When people succeed, it is because of hard work. Luck has nothing to do with success.”
– Diego Maradona
Our Relationship Manager, Tasos Stylianou, moved from the sunny island of Cyprus to New York in 1997. He studied Finance and Economics at Baruch College and got his MBA in Management from New York Institute of Technology.
Tasos put his diplomatic and interpersonal skills to use for the Cyprus Consulate in New York City for 11 years. In this position, he interfaced with high-level government officials from Cyprus and the US to help boost tourism to Cyprus and introduce their products to the US market. Tasos promoted Cyprus through diplomatic events and helped preserve Cypriot community and tradition in the Tri-State area.
Read MoreTasos played semi-professional soccer before a knee injury sidelined him. These days, he can be found waking up early on Saturdays to watch Premier League games. Tasos loves to travel and has a life mission of visiting every beach in the world with his beautiful wife. He also loves to cook, but makes it a rule to never follow a recipe.
THE INDUSTRIES WE SERVE
Accounting
Acupuncture
Administrative Support Services
Advertising/Publication
Agriculture
Alternative Medicine
Apparel/Accessories
Architecture/Design
Arts, Entertainment
Automotive
Biotechnology
Book Publishing
Branding Agencies
Bridal Wear
Business Coaching
Call Centers
Caregiving
Chemical
Communications Services
Computer/Consulting
Computer/Software
Cosmetics
Data Analytics
Digital Marketing Agencies
Distribution
Education
Electronic Services
Employment
Event Planning
Event Production
Fashion Brands
Financial Services
Fitness
Health & Wellness
Health/Medical Services
Home Improvement
Hospitality Services
Hotel
Human Resources
Industrial Services
Insurance
Interior Design
Investment Services
Janitorial
Landscaping
Legal Services
Management Services
Manufacturing
Marketing Consulting
Media Services
Medical Devices
Merchant Services
Multimedia/Internet/On-line Services
Nutrition
Oil/Gas
Personal Development
Pet Suppliers
Pharmaceutical
Photography
Professional Cleaning Services
Professional Organizing
Real Estate
Rental/Leasing
Restaurant
Security & Investigation
Sexual Empowerment
Speaker Training
Spirituality
Talent Recruitment
Technology
Telecommunication Services
Travel & Tourism
Travel/Transportation
Video
Web Designers
Wholesale
Yoga
- Accounting
- Acupuncture
- Administrative Support Services
- Advertising/Publication
- Agriculture
- Alternative Medicine
- Apparel/Accessories
- Architecture/Design
- Arts, Entertainment
- Automotive
- Biotechnology
- Book Publishing
- Branding Agencies
- Bridal Wear
- Business Coaching
- Call Centers
- Caregiving
- Chemical
- Communications Services
- Computer/Consulting
- Computer/Software
- Cosmetics
- Data Analytics
- Digital Marketing Agencies
- Distribution
- Education
- Electronic Services
- Employment
- Event Planning
- Event Production
- Fashion Brands
- Financial Services
- Fitness
- Health & Wellness
- Health/Medical Services
- Home Improvement
- Hospitality Services
- Hotel
- Human Resources
- Industrial Services
- Insurance
- Interior Design
- Investment Services
- Janitorial
- Landscaping
- Legal Services
- Management Services
- Manufacturing
- Marketing Consulting
- Media Services
- Medical Devices
- Merchant Services
- Multimedia/Internet/On-line Services
- Nutrition
- Oil/Gas
- Personal Development
- Pet Suppliers
- Pharmaceutical
- Photography
- Professional Cleaning Services
- Professional Organizing
- Real Estate
- Rental/Leasing
- Restaurant
- Security & Investigation
- Sexual Empowerment
- Speaker Training
- Spirituality
- Talent Recruitment
- Technology
- Telecommunication Services
- Travel & Tourism
- Travel/Transportation
- Video
- Web Designers
- Wholesale
- Yoga
