What We Do

Business and Brand Evolution. If your business ceased to exist, would anyone really care? Would the world truly feel the void? Becoming an essential part of your customers’ lives is the ultimate expression of brand relevance – and can only be earned by a complete and integrated approach to business and brand building. From the strategic basis of a company’s Vision and Mission all the way through to marketing execution, our seasoned and diverse team ensures you are adapting to survive and thrive in an ever-changing marketplace.

Business Strategy

Survival of the Fittest. Management gurus, business revolutionaries, trendy theories…they all come and go.  When we were in your shoes as operators of leading brands, we learned that true success isn’t earned by intuition or happenstance.  Winning in today’s marketplace takes a willingness to examine every aspect of your business to ensure your growth plan is understood and validated by shareholders, management and customers – all at once.  With real-world assessment as our guide, we help you establish, fine-tune and execute breakthrough strategies and make the tough decisions that will take your business to the next level.

Business Strategy Services

• Management consulting
• Growth strategy
• New market entry
• eCommerce strategy
• Organizational Development
• Interim executive management

Brand Strategy

Your Natural Habitat. Viewing the world through your customers’ eyes is critical and supremely challenging. Who are they? What do they want? What are they thinking? What WILL they be thinking? Our proven, deep-dive research methods help you define and understand the customer segments that are critical to your past, present and future. And, how competitors and market trends shape the categories in which you compete. We arm you with actionable reconnaissance and messages that matter. The result is a stake in the ground, a galvanizing set of core brand principles and winning brand strategies driven by who you really are, what your customers really think, and what you really look like in the mirror at 5:00am.
Brand Strategy Services

• Consumer research
• Brand development
• eMarketing strategy
• Marketing planning
• Internal communications
• Brand management

Brand Design

Intelligent Design. Every nuance, inflection or random thought you transmit through design impacts the judgments your customers make – thousands of conscious and sub-conscious decisions to either embrace or reject your brand proposition. Pulse-quickening creative work that’s built upon a deep understanding of business goals and rock-solid brand strategy ensures you’re sending the right message, to the right people, at just the right time.
Brand Design Services

• Brand identity
• Advertising
• Interactive
• Packaging
• Retail environments
• Seamless brand experiences

Our Leadership

Daniel Erlbaum

President and CEO
Daniel Erlbaum joined Finch Brands after serving as an original investor and Vice President at David’s Bridal, Inc. During his tenure there, the Company grew from a relative up-start into the bridal category powerhouse with 120 superstores nationwide. Daniel’s role touched every functional area of the company; and much of the vision for Finch Brands’ holistic approach to servicing growth companies was born through this success story. As President and CEO of Finch Brands, Daniel focuses on bringing together a group of superlative professionals to provide outstanding service and value to our clients. Additionally, Daniel leverages an extensive network of influential contacts within the corporate and investor communities to benefit emerging companies. As a Limited Partner and investor in numerous investment funds and corporations throughout the United States, Daniel has unique access to key decision-makers that can be of value to Finch Brands’ clients. Enjoys…basketball (watching), clothing with stripes, antique piggy bank collection.

Bill Gullan

Senior Vice President, Business and Brand Strategy
Bill is Finch Brands’ lead strategist and one of the premier brand developers in the marketplace. He has been the prime mover in the development of breakthrough strategies for Affliction, Daffy’s, Everlast, Herman Miller, Joseph Abboud and World Wrestling Entertainment. To bring Finch Brands’ strategies to life, he frequently serves in adjunct executive positions for our clients. A world class speaker, writer and facilitator, Bill’s point of view is highly sought after by our clients and in the media and academic realms, including appearances on Fox Business, NPR and other outlets and as a lecturer at a host of leading universities. Prior to joining Finch Brands, Bill served as Managing Director for Ashton Brand Group, working with companies such as American Express, AT&T, General Mills, IBM, Kraft, Microsoft and Volkswagen. In that capacity, Bill managed creative, strategy and business development teams. Enjoys…Philadelphia’s newfound status of the “city of champions,” classic soul music, an occasional wager.

Julie Gavrilis

Vice President, Business & Brand Strategy
Prior to joining Finch Brands, Julie developed deep strategic and tactical marketing expertise over a 16-year career in the sports marketing, technology and non-profit arenas. Her ability to provide realistic business counsel and utilize the best of the marketing mix for the specific needs of an organization, has translated into highly successful initiatives with tangible and well regarded results. Her background includes global corporations, technology start-ups and unique entrepreneurial ventures. While leading marketing efforts at McAfee Security, a worldwide provider of network security solutions, Julie was instrumental in re-organizing and standardizing the company’s direct marketing strategies, which resulted in marked increases in lead-generation and revenue. As the founder of the world’s first all-women’s professional mountain bike team, Julie piloted targeted cross-promotional programs with premier brands, including Evian, American Airlines, Subaru and PowerBar. Enjoys...finding drastic markdowns in clearance racks, Cary Grant movies, cupcakes with sprinkles on top.

Jordan Goldenberg

Creative Director
Jordan Goldenberg co-founded fabGORGON (now Finch Brands’ Brand Design group) in 1996 alongside Jesse Kramer. Jordan landed in the position of Creative Director at fabGORGON, and assisted in the growth, and eventual acquisition of the company by Kanter International, LLC, in January of 2003. Jordan delivers on the promise of Finch Brands’ holistic approach to building brands and businesses through inspired design and flawless execution of strategically informed and creatively surprising marketing materials. His unfailing commitment to creative excellence has contributed to Finch Brands’ impressive roster of successful brands and has resulted in numerous accolades from clients and peers alike. Jordan has applied his exceptional creative direction and vision to help clients in widely varying disciplines achieve brand leadership positions, including fashion, retail, sporting goods, home products, interior design, restaurants, consumer products, technology, and many more. Enjoys…meaningful mustaches, enthusiastic taco salesmen, pretending to be a “reader”.

Jesse Kramer

Vice President, Sales & Marketing
In 1996, Jesse Kramer co-founded fabGORGON (now Finch Brands’ Brand Design group) alongside our Creative Director, Jordan Goldenberg. As the fabGORGON CEO, he grew the group from a freelance copywriting shop into a creative marketing powerhouse, with dramatic revenue leaps. In 2003 Jesse led the agency to be acquired by Kanter International, now Finch Brands, becoming Vice President of Business Development. Today, as Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Jesse oversees business development and internal brand management for Finch Brands. Jesse has sat on committees and panels for The Breast Health Institute, Temple University’s Fox School of Business, The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, The Philadelphia Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and The ESPN X-Games. He currently chairs one of the mid-Atlantic’s most historic and renowned business recognition programs, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Annual Excellence Awards. Enjoys…riding a new bike and driving an old car.

Michael Cleary

Director, Business and Brand Strategy
Mike is an experienced brand strategist and researcher who brings to Finch Brands diverse experience in market research, strategy development, marketing program execution, and analytics. Since joining the Finch Brands Team he has led consumer research efforts for brands ranging from Affliction to Daffy’s. Prior to joining Finch Brands, Mike was with US Airways, focusing on e-commerce strategy development, and the American Diabetes Association, designing and implementing primary research studies with the organization’s varied constituencies. Mike has also worked on the agency side with companies including Abbott Laboratories, GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AARP, and Microsoft with responsibilities including primary research development, design and management of complex relationship marketing programs, channel mix optimization and frequency testing, and creation and delivery of offline and online analytics. Enjoys...being a Giants fan in Philadelphia, refereeing fights between the cat and the dog, using public transportation.

Kristen Cline

Director, Integrated Marketing Strategy
Kristen draws upon her extensive marketing experience to ensure projects are on strategy, thought provoking and results oriented. Before coming to Finch Brands, Kristen spent six years working for apparel retailer Lilly Pulitzer, managing their advertising and promotions efforts. Kristen was responsible for not only building and maintaining the integrity of the brand through communications, but ultimately accountable for driving retail sales. Additional successes with the fashion brand included brand re-positioning and in-depth merchandising analysis. Kristen was responsible for planning and assorting the line in order to maximize sales and profitability. Her nose for numbers enabled the company to operate more effectively by increasing company profits while decreasing the assortment. Enjoys…excessive shopping, the Food Network, poring over US Weekly for up to the minute celebrity gossip.

Why Us

Why Finch Brands

The Natural Selection. In our past lives, we served as key figures in the growth of some of the world’s most prominent brands. We experienced both triumphs and casualties, first hand. Along the way, we encountered plenty of blue sky thinkers who just didn’t grasp the essential market requirements for bona fide business success. Following behind them were the usual herds of “specialists”, who hadn’t truly mastered how to drive a brand and business forward. That void between expectation and execution is the one we are passionately determined to fill. Simply put, we’ve built the company we wished we could have worked with when we were in your shoes.

Our Model

We live by a holistic approach to Business Strategy, Brand Strategy and Brand Design that leaps ahead of traditional consulting and agency models. We get closer, go deeper, stretch further, and eat more fried foods. The cornerstone of Finch Brands is research-fueled strategy, seamlessly integrated into business initiative and design execution. Bringing deep, multi-disciplinary experience and a get-it-done mindset to every client relationship, ours is a team and service model specifically designed to activate the full potential of our clients’ businesses.

Our Philosophy

Our philosophy about business and brand evolution is simple. If you build a strong foundation, base it on the principles you live and breathe, and construct and fortify each subsequent layer of business, you will earn your customers from the top down. The end goal is to become an essential part of your customers’ lives.

Our Teams

Our distinctive work style embraces a diversity of skills and perspectives, while asserting a common Finch Brands DNA of strategic thinking, proven executional know-how and relentlessness about client satisfaction. We hand-select individuals from our roster of experienced and energetic businesspeople to create teams that are tailored to the specific needs of each client. This team stays in place throughout the client engagement, learning as our clients learn, growing as they grow.

Clients

Daffy's
Revitalized this edgy fashion discounter via a breakthrough brand strategy, operational advances and standout creative execution.

China Grill Management
Provided this global hospitality icon with strategic marketing and brand design to reflect the elite level of its restaurant creations.

Performance Bicycle
Partnering with the nation’s largest bicycle retailer to evolve its brand presence and multi touch point shopping environment

Affliction
Helping this skyrocketing fashion power house to refine its business and brand strategy, ensuring that they stay in flight for a long time to come.

Joseph Abboud
Reinvigorated this classic American retailer through deep-dive customer research and a progressive brand strategy.

Everlast
Transformed this legendary boxing manufacturer into a relevant, aspirational athletic lifestyle brand.

WWE
Supplied this global entertainment powerhouse with the strategic insight to make critical business and brand decisions.

Lord & Taylor
Reinvigorated this classic American retailer through deep-dive customer research and a progressive brand strategy.

Herman Miller
Helping this office furnishing notable replicate its workplace success with home furnishings products.

Tele Atlas
Navigating this digital map data provider’s marketing towards its global brand.

Boiron Laboratories
Creating award-winning marketing for international maker of homeopathic medicines.

Lansinoh
Joined forces with this leader in breastfeeding and baby care products to re-fresh the brand and drive awareness to new levels.

ARAMARK
Helping an industry leader create a comprehensive marketing services business from the ground up.

Red Swan
Evolved this innovative business concept into a full-fledged brand via strategic stewardship and compelling design.

Triple Five Soul
Unifying the team around a cohesive growth plan.

Guitar Center
Creating and developing a revolutionary internal branding program for  team members.

Goodwill
We supported this organization with research, marketing and creating a retail store.

Room & Board
Provided business and brand consulting for this home furnishings retailer.

Jonathan Adler
Helping this hip design house get intimate with its customers and navigate the growth path.

Barry Callebaut
Launching a full re-brand of this global leader’s domestic chocolate brand.

Astra Zeneca
Prescribing internal interactive support to this pharmaceutical giant.

Mohawk Industries, Inc.
Supporting this flooring giant in furthering the success of its relationship with retailers.

Modell's
Reinvigorating this sporting good icon through customer research, an evolved brand strategy and an execution plan.

Longwood Gardens
Conducting brand positioning research and creating campaigns for this premiere horticulture attraction.

Temple University
Working with Temple's College of Health Professions to assess student awareness and satisfaction levels, and drive graduate admissions.

University City District
Provided research and marketing to drive the branding efforts of this eclectic community.

Robbins Bros
Got to the heart of this business to optimize growth and attract capital.

WXPN 88.5
Conducted listener research and marketing execution for renowned progressive radio station.

Charles & Colvard
Assessing the entire business model of this publicly traded jewelry manufacturer, driving brand equity and accelerating profitable growth.

Huntington Learning Center
Developed a conversation-driven web presence for aspiring students and their parents.

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