Building a Brand Identity for Reply Two

You know, when we think about building
a strong brand, our minds often jump to

these like massive advertising campaigns
or maybe flashy social media strategies.

Yeah, the big stuff.

Exactly.

But what about something that
seems, I don't know, maybe more

straightforward, like an agency that
helps you with your email newsletter?

Right.

Seems simple on the surface,

but it turns out crafting a really
resonant brand identity, there

can be surprisingly complex,
um, especially when you've got

different viewpoints in the mix.

Absolutely, and that's precisely
what we're gonna explore today by

looking at the story of reply two.

You're an email newsletter agency
founded by Ambreen and Sam.

Ah, okay.

And what makes their experience so
insightful, I think especially for

our listeners, is how they're really
distinct approaches to business and well,

creativity ultimately shaped their brand.

Right?

Because you've got Ambreen
who's a designer with a

seriously keen eye for visuals.

I mean, she talks about trading
print portfolio perfection

for dreamy digital design.

Yeah.

Which.

Tells you a lot, right?

Definitely

paints a picture.

And then there's Sam, he's the
analytical strategist, a self-described

startup scaling sensei who, uh,
made the leap from the cushy

corporate cog world White, the jump.

They've even described their
partnership in building this as

a fascinating challenge and maybe
even a marriage stress test.

But it's that very dynamic that friction.

That forged their brand.

What's fascinating here and I think
really useful for listeners to con,

especially if you're say a creator
looking to build your own brand and

connect effectively through email is
how these contrasting perspectives Yeah.

You know of.

A strong visual sense meeting a
strategic, data-driven mind, how

that can become a real superpower.

Their journey offers some
incredibly valuable lessons.

Okay, so let's dig into where Ambreen
and Sam are actually coming from.

Tell me about Ambreen's background first.

It's heavily designed, focused,

oh, deeply immersed in design.

She has a design degree shirt,
but she also spent eight years

teaching it and crafting layouts
for major international brands.

Well, you might have
even seen her designs in.

Like a Marvel show, various
luxury publications.

This was before she went fully
digital around uh, 2D 15.

So real print chops too.

Exactly.

But she's also got the
marketing automation knowhow.

I. Certifications from HubSpot,
Iterable Plus training from the

Beehive and Morning Brew folks.

Ah, the big names and newsletters now.

Right.

So she approaches this with a
really strong grasp of visual

appeal and user experience.

Mm-hmm.

For anyone listening, thinking about their
brand, this just highlights the importance

of that visual polish, you know?

Yeah.

How your audience actually
experiences your content.

Okay, so that's Ambreen.

What about Sam?

You said analytical strategist.

That's him.

He brings the strategic
and analytical muscle.

He, uh, jokingly describes himself
as half Mexican, half German

Shepherd, born and raised stateside,
but initially spoke Spanish, eh?

Okay.

Background wise, we're talking
13 years as a senior consultant.

Five years leading significant
e-business projects over in Asia

advising fast growth startups.

So big picture stuff, scaling

totally.

His background is all about strategy,
scaling, making complex systems work.

In fact, he was managing
newsletters at scale.

Way back in 2006.

2006. Wow.

That's early days for scaled newsletters.

It really is.

He's got a real knack for seeing
patterns, understanding the data that

drives successful digital communication.

So for listeners, this really
underscores that need to think

strategically about your email efforts.

You gotta understand
what's actually working.

It's a real meeting of
different worlds then, isn't it?

Ambreen often kicking things
off, focusing on the look,

the feel, the initial message.

That's who starts it

and then Sam comes in to make sure it's
technically sound strategically aligned.

He finishes it.

Yeah, that's how they describe it.

But interestingly, they both share
this core belief in design thinking,

which is

that the best design is often the
one you don't consciously notice

because it just works so well.

It's seamless.

Yeah, that

makes sense.

Invisible design.

Exactly.

And this combination gives their
agency a distinct advantage.

And it's something for, you know,
listeners to think about too.

They're not just asking how does it look?

Right?

They're deeply invested in the technical
delivery, the overall strategy.

It's about understanding both the
creative and the technical gears that

make an email newsletter truly effective.

Yeah.

Getting it to your audience,
getting them engaged.

Okay.

Now, when you have these two
very different ways of thinking.

I mean, you're bound to encounter
some interesting creative friction.

Yeah.

Oh,

for sure.

Ambreen calls it the left brain
meets right brain dilemma.

Oh, and

I love how she illustrates it with a peek
into their internal thought processes.

Gimme an example.

I.

So you can almost hear Sam
thinking, right, let's build a

priority matrix weighted criteria.

We'll decide this logically

very structured

and ambien's immediate reaction is okay,
but fundamentally how does it feel?

Uhhuh?

Yeah, I can picture that.

Or you know, Sam might be off
creating a Python model to

analyze different naming options.

Seriously.

A Python model for names,

apparently.

Hmm.

Well, Ambreen's asking
the crucial question.

But does it actually sound
good when you say it out loud,

which is also super important.

It really shines a light on those
different but equally valid ways

of tackling a problem, doesn't it?

Totally.

Sam leans into frameworks, data analysis.

Ambreen brings that vital element
of intuition, the emotional

connection to the brand.

But what's key here, and maybe
the big lesson is that this

tension wasn't destructive.

You said she called it.

Productive tension, that's the
term Sam's structured approach.

Ambreen's gut feelings.

They eventually find a middle ground.

They might take different routes, but
they share those fundamental values, which

are

a strong focus on the customer, in
their case creators, and a belief that

ultimately data should inform opinions.

They might debate, but
they look at the results

and that shared goal, right, to
build an email newsletter agency

brand that perfectly marries that
technical know-how with creative flare

exactly.

They needed to show they understood
the, uh, the nuts and bolts of

newsletter s and the imaginative
spark that makes people actually

want to open and read those emails.

Which I guess leads us nicely into
the story of how they actually

named the agency, because that
wasn't straightforward either.

Not at all.

Their initial idea was.

Crew.

Grit.

Crew grit.

Where did that come from?

Sam's fondness for Western
films, believe it or not.

Yeah.

The concept was this like
dependable behind the scenes team

working diligently for creators.

Okay.

I can almost picture the logo.

I. Maybe a bit dusty old school.

There's a certain rugged
charm to that idea.

Like the unsung heroes of your newsletter.

There is, yeah.

A certain appeal, but as
they quickly learned, charm

doesn't always equal clarity.

Mm-hmm.

Especially when you're trying to
communicate what you actually do.

Right.

So what happened when

they shared crew grit with
potential creator clients?

The feedback was.

Well, pretty clear.

Let me guess.

What do you guys do

exactly?

It didn't convey anything
about newsletters or email.

Mm. People were left wondering
what kind of crew, what grit?

How does that help me with my emails?

Ouch.

That's a tough but incredibly
valuable lesson for anyone

building a brand, isn't it?

You might personally love a
name, but if your target audience

doesn't get it immediately,

it's just not doing its job effectively.

Yep.

So yeah, back to the drawing board.

Okay.

So how did they get from Crew
Grit to, well, to reply to

the Breakthrough came from
a very practical place.

Sam's own email inbox, actually his inbox,
yeah, he suggested using something with

reply because it has that immediate,
almost universal association with email.

Everyone gets reply.

That's smart, very direct,

and that's how they landed on Reply too.

Reply too.

Okay.

I like it.

It's clever.

A better word.

Play the two, like both of them maybe.

And crucially it instantly signals email

Bingo plus.

And this is like hitting the
jackpot for any online venture.

Don't tell me

the domain name was available.

Nice.

I. That's huge.

It really is.

Although it wasn't entirely smooth
sailing even then, they faced this kind

of unexpected challenge of trying to
convince search engines that they weren't

just about the generic phrase reply to,

ah, the joys of SEO.

So even a seemingly perfect name
can have its own little hurdles.

Exactly.

It highlights that digital
landscape complexity.

All right, so they've
nailed the name Reply two.

Next up the visual identity.

This must be where am Rain really got
to, uh, flex her design expertise.

Oh,

definitely.

Yeah.

And the starting point for the color
palette is actually kind of funny.

Do tell

Stan was watching an episode
of Everybody Loves Raymond.

Okay.

Random,

right.

And he was struck by
the colors in Deborah's.

The wife's ropy looking sweater, he
screenshotted it, sent it to Ambreen, and

that became their initial inspiration.

A sitcom sweater.

That's amazing,

isn't it?

They then refine it, of course,
using more precise digital color

spaces like P three and O-K-L-C-H.

These allow for richer,
more vibrant colors online.

It really shows their commitment to
high quality visual presentation for,

you know, client newsletters too.

That's such a wonderfully random, but also
very relatable way to find inspiration.

It just goes to show.

Good ideas can pop up anywhere,
even from nineties sitcoms.

Totally.

And Ambreen also wanted to weave in some
subtle nods to their cultural backgrounds.

Oh yeah.

How so?

Yes.

She ingeniously incorporated a
subtle nod to the Urdu numeral

for two into their logo.

It actually forms part of the letter R

get out.

Really?

That's subtle.

Super subtle.

It's a small, almost hidden
detail like a personal Easter egg.

Adds a layer of uniqueness, meaning
even if most people don't consciously

notice it, that kind of authentic
touch can really enrich your brand

story too, if you're listening.

I love that.

Okay, so the logo itself, you mentioned
the Urdu two within the R. What else?

It features what Sam jokingly called
a slightly cheesy ascend icon.

You know, the paper
for airplane thing, but

yeah, the classic email icon

combined with that subtle Urdu two.

And then for the typography, the
actual font for reply to, they opted

for something slightly nerdy or techy

to reflect Sam's Side

exactly reflects his background
hints at the technical expertise

they bring to email newsletters.

It sounds like a really thoughtful
layering of different elements, right?

It

really does.

But I imagine getting that
balance right wasn't easy.

No, it was definitely an iterative
process as good design often is.

Yeah.

They had to navigate
that delicate balance.

Yeah.

You know, not too corporate and sterile.

Right.

Not too playful and maybe unserious not
too minimalist and lacking personality

and not too busy either.

Definitely not too busy.

The goal was finding that sweet
spot where the visual identity

felt genuinely them, while clearly
communicating, Hey, we are experts in

email newsletters and we can help you.

So they've got the name, the visuals,
but a brand is so much more than

just a logo and colors, isn't it?

It's also how you
communicate your brand voice,

Roel.

Absolutely crucial.

How did Ambreen and Sam
approach crafting that?

Especially knowing their
audience's creators?

Their guiding principles for the voice
were really smart, straightforward,

and honestly great principles
for anyone listening to consider.

Be smart, but approachable.

Okay.

Be direct.

Avoid unnecessary jargon, marketing fluff.

Yes, please.

And

be authentic, which for them meant
letting their personality shine through,

including, you know, a bit of humor.

That makes perfect sense.

When you're trying to connect with
creators, you need to show you know

your stuff, but also be relatable,
speak their language without sounding

condescending.

Right.

Or overly corporate.

Yeah.

You wanna feel like a trusted
partner, not some faceless entity.

Exactly.

So they really focused on.

Clear, concise language, steering
clear of all those marketing

buzzwords that often feel empty.

Sam's professional background,
that consultancy experience really

instilled that value of clarity

and that meshes with Ambreen's design
focus on efficient communication

perfectly.

It aligned perfectly with her focus
on efficient, effective communication.

The ultimate aim was a voice that felt.

Genuine, authentic, and would
truly resonate with their

specific audience of creators.

Now, all of this brand building
the name, the look, the voice, it

ultimately needs to connect with
what their potential clients, the

creators, actually want and need, right?

Absolutely.

It has to serve the audience.

How did they make sure their brand
was really speaking to those desires?

Speaking to the progress
creators are trying to make,

they used a framework called.

Jobs to be done.

Have you heard of it?

Vaguely remind me.

Yeah.

Essentially, it's about understanding
what job a customer is hiring your

product or service to do for them.

What problem are they trying to solve?

What progress are they trying to achieve?

Okay.

Like what's the underlying motivation?

Exactly.

So in their case, what are creators
truly looking for when they hire someone

to help with their email newsletters?

Yeah.

What's the real job they need done

and what did they find?

What were those key desired outcomes?

Those jobs that creators
were hiring them for.

Three main things really stood out.

Firstly, creators want freedom.

Freedom to focus on what
they love and do best.

Creating their content

makes sense.

They don't wanna get bogged
down in MailChimp settings.

Exactly.

They don't wanna get bogged
down in the technicalities.

Secondly, they want confidence.

Confidence that the technical side
will be handled reliably, effectively.

They need systems that just work.

Peace of mind.

Peace of mind without them having to
constantly worry about deliverability or

design issues or integrations breaking.

And finally, they're
looking for opportunity.

Opportunity for

growth.

I. Opportunity to grow their audience,
increase engagement, boost revenue.

Mm-hmm.

Attract those, as they
put it, drooling sponsors

uhhuh.

Okay.

So freedom, confidence, and growth.

Those are the key areas
of progress creators want.

Those all sound like pretty
fundamental needs and aspirations

for creators, don't they?

They wanna focus on their craft, see it,
reach more people and make it sustainable.

Yeah, absolutely.

So.

Reply Two's brand
positioning, their messaging.

It directly addresses these core
needs, this desired progress.

They make a point to emphasize that
they deeply value the creator's content.

They're not just tech people,

right?

They highlight the growth potential, their
operational expertise can unlock, and they

explicitly take away those frustrating.

Technical barriers that
can often stifle creators.

They essentially position themselves as
enablers of creator success, helping you

make tangible progress towards your goals.

And they back this up too, right?

By showing their expertise.

Oh yeah.

They don't just say it, they show it.

They make sure to mention
their years of experience.

Managing newsletters at scale since 2006.

That date, again, impressive,

right?

Yeah.

Handling all the really technical
stuff like DRC authentication, ensuring

accessibility A 11 Y in templates,
they highlight their experience

with various platforms, MailChimp,
Kit, beehiiv, Substack, Brevo,

so they cover the bases.

It all builds that crucial sense of
confidence for potential clients.

It's not just making promises,
they're providing clear evidence.

Proof that they have the knowledge,
the track record to deliver

on those desired outcomes.

More clicks, higher
engagement, better revenue,

the whole package, they really
understand the progress creators

are striving to achieve.

Okay.

So as we look back at their whole
journey, building the reply to

brand, what would you say are maybe
the most important lessons learned?

Things are listeners can really take
away and apply, whether they're building

an agency or their own creator brand.

I think there are three big ones.

Firstly, and maybe most importantly.

Functional Clarity often
Trumps personal preference.

The crew Grit lesson.

Exactly.

Crew Grit might have had personal appeal,
but reply two was just much clearer,

more direct about what they actually do.

That clarity is key.

Okay, number two.

Secondly, authentic personal influences
often lead to the most effective

and distinctive brand elements.

You know, their unique backgrounds,
their specific skills, even that

random sweater, the Raymond Sweater.

Raymond Sweater, it all played a
role in shaping a brand identity

that felt genuinely theirs.

Don't be afraid to bring
your own story into it.

And the third lesson,

finally, remember, the brand
development isn't a one-time task.

It's not set it and forget it.

It's an ongoing process of
learning, adapting, refining as

you and your business evolve.

That's a great point.

It's never really done.

It's a really insightful look I
think, into how a business that might

seem relatively straightforward on
the surface can have such a nuanced

and fascinating branding journey.

Absolutely.

Ultimately, it seems to come down
to really understanding who you are,

what unique value you offer, and
crucially, what tangible progress

your audience is truly seeking.

Exactly.

And Reply Two really distills their
core offering for creators down to this

simple but powerful statement you create.

We ship

simple, effective.

They handle all those intricate
complexities of email newsletters,

taking everything off the creator's
plate except the actual writing, allowing

creators like you if you're listening
to just focus on what you do best.

So for everyone listening as you think
about your own brand, maybe take some time

to consider that balance, that tension.

Between your own unique strengths,
your personal preferences, and

the very practical needs, the
desired progress of your audience,

what are those productive tensions
you might need to navigate?

Yeah.

To build something that's not only
genuinely authentic to you, but

also truly effective and helping
your audience achieve their goals.

And who knows?

Maybe watch some old sitcoms

maybe.

Maybe a casual observation
will spark your next big idea.

And ultimately, as replied to
firmly believes in a world that's

just increasingly saturated with
synthetic noise, automated content,

it's that authentic human creativity
that truly stands out, that

resonates, that holds immense value.

That's the unique power that
creators bring, and that's what a

well-crafted brain can really help
you amplify and share with the world.