In 2006, Tim McClure lived in New York City during the week after accepting a senior executive role with Luxottica Group, the worldwide leader in fashion and luxury eyewear.
It didn’t take long for Tim to become encapsulated with the vibrancy and energy of ‘The Big Apple’!
To escape the hustle and bustle of the downtown core, Tim would often go to Little Italy. Mulberry Street was THE place to be and from the very first night that he spent time there, he was hooked!
The quaint cafes, the patios and streets that were so tastefully lit up, and the relaxed feeling that was in the air…it was Tim’s kind of place! The atmosphere was so special. People were filled with the anticipation of enjoying a fabulous meal or gathering with friends and loved ones to share a latte, a pastry, and talk about life.
This experience was a way of taking Tim away from the pressures that our personal and professional lives can bring upon us. Aside from enjoying great food, this was a place where he could find balance and quieten his soul.
Tim LOVED this part of his time in New York!
Did you know that the first known pizzeria was said to be established in the heart of Little Italy and only steps away from Mulberry St.?
Fast forward to 2020 when Ella’s Oven was purchased and the ownership group was building their new brand.
What is the smartest thing that Founders of a business can do when it comes to helping to decide on something as important as a brand name? There are 2 things:
“We have been in the branding and marketing business for over 25 years. When we begin to work with a client, oftentimes they are not sure what they need in terms of marketing and branding. That was not the case with Mulberry’s Oven.
Their leadership team had a crystal-clear vision of what they needed and where they wanted to go; they just needed help figuring out how to get there. This is where our team at Alive Pro Studios came in to do what we do best.”
We assembled a ‘think tank’ group of 70 people that were made up members of 20 families.
Each of them came from different backgrounds, included males and females with varying careers, and it involved kids that ranged from 5 - 18 years of age. We asked them to pick their Top 3 choices out of the final 10 names that had been narrowed down from a list of over 100.
Tim’s relationship with Bryan Eisenberg began just a few years ago after meeting through the speaking business. it didn't take long before they discovered that they shared a strong interest in 2 things: 1. Building brands and 2. Their love of baseball.
Bryan is the co-founder of BuyerLegends. He is the co-author of the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, USA Today and New York Times bestselling books “Call to Action”, “Waiting For Your Cat to Bark?”, “Always Be Testing”, “Buyer Legends” and “Be Like Amazon: Even a Lemonade Stand Can Do It“.
As a keynote speaker and a brand and marketing professional, Bryan has spoken at corporate events and conferences such as Gultaggen, Shop.org, Direct Marketing Association, DreamForce, E-consultancy, Emerce, and the Canadian Marketing Association.
Bryan has been a featured expert by The Wall Street Journal and the The New York Times. He has been quoted in several articles such as Advertising Age, CNN, Forrester Research, Inc Magazine, Entrepreneur, the Toronto Star, and Smart Money for his thought leadership in internet marketing and branding.
His proudest professional accomplishments are the thousands of companies, students and clients, including Google, Chase, HP, NBC Universal, GE, WebEx, Overstock and Dell, that have consistently enjoyed dramatic improvement in sales.
Even though Bryan Eisenberg is a brand expert who shares his vast knowledge in his book, Be Like Amazon, his expertise was not the the deciding factor that Tim and Ketty decided to use Mulberry’s as their brand name. It was something much more meaningful than that.
Bryan shared a story with Tim about his mom, Esther. He talked about what his favourite pizza was growing up and in fact, he even sent Esther’s personal recipe to them to consider for their menu. It didn’t take long to realize that as fond as he was of Esther's pizza, Bryan’s passion came from the fact that he had a chance to share a story with me about his mom. Priceless.
That made the decision very easy! Bryan’s choice for the new brand name – Mulberry’s - was also in alignment with what the focus group had chosen.
A special pizza will be featured that is named after Bryan's mom. It will simply be called, Esther.
