Build Your Brand Like You Give a Shit

"Build your brand like you give a shit" cover, Bobby's Gillespie Book on Branding

Bobby Gillespie, founder of Propr, authored the provocative, no-holds-barred, in-your-face, do-the-right-thing branding book (which has nothing to do with design), Build Your Brand Like You Give a Shit: Embrace Your Purpose and Unleash Your Potential.

“A passionate, raw, and gutsy manifesto…”

Why I wrote This Book

“I wrote this book for myriad reasons. Besides wanting to make my family proud and lead by example, I want to ensure my experiences and insights add to the conversation, and inspire others to give a damn about their choices and do things in a way that helps more than hurts, brings more fulfillment than frustration, and establishes a healthier and more symbiotic relationship with our teams, customers, community, and world.

I also want to call out all the heinous practices that are too common in business. Exploitation and cruelty are the norm for no reason but to further enrich the few while devastating the many—that’s bullshit.

A better way

Compelled to found Propr in 2014—partly because I became fed up with the standard way of doing things—I knew there was another way, a better way. You and I both know this to be true. To this day, my team and I prove that. Yes, you can be successful in business without hurting others. Just look at us and many of our amazing clients.

Pointlessly tracking hours down to the minute, supporting union-busting corporations, chronically low wages, micromanaging bosses, deceptive practices and lying, greed, gimmicks and hacks, destruction of the earth, exploiting people and animals, relentlessly craving power, feigning unlimited growth, and senselessly hoarding money and resources are celebrated (probably because those evil people also own much of the media).

This is not the way, and we all have the power to stop it; if we build our brands like we give a shit, we can do it.” – Bobby Gillespie

Summary:

Bobby Gillespie redefines your brand as your reputation to make it more personal—as it should be because you want to engage with people no matter what your business or organization’s purpose. In an overly transactional world, where financial statements are one of the only elements that factor into major decisions by business leaders, Bobby G reminds us there is a better way.

At its core, Build Your Brand Like You Give a Shit is a wake-up call to focus on what matters most, realness. Ditch the gimmicks, false narratives, and short-term gains for a more sustainable, scalable, and fruitful approach to building brands that matter.

Your call to arms

It’s time to replace frustration with fulfillment.
It’s time to stop hoarding power and money.
It’s time to stop thinking of people as expendable.
It’s time to create an honorable legacy.
It’s time to lead by example.

Bobby Gillespie, author of "Build your brand like you give a shit" siting on an old chair in Baltimore

Beyond the book

Bobby & Propr encourages you to explore our powerful Brand Strategy Workshop for when it’s time to take action for your brand’s success. A Step-by-step framework to help you clear the crap and focus on what matters most to your brand and customers with empowering and actionable strategies, engaging messaging, and bottomless confidence to build your brand correctly.


“Bobby Gillespie is the ultimate brand pro. Knowing him for several years, it has been amazing to watch him refine and perfect his craft. He is one of the deepest thinkers I know. Bobby G is firm in his convictions and will always give it to you straight. Anyone looking to build or improve their brand will benefit from this book.”

— Chris Feroli, VP of Global Sales at Rivery

“In typical Bobby G form, he gets in your face about your brand. He takes us all the way to the root of our brands - our core values. Bobby is our big brother loving us enough to tell us the truth. The truth is that people who give a sh!t about their brands will reveal their potential in this milk toast market. Authenticity is what it’s all about; Bobby Gillespie lives it in our face in Build Your Brand. Read this book, then build your brand.”

— Jason Blumer, CPA, CEO of Blumer CPAs, CEO of Thriveal Network, Consultant & Advisor to agencies that want to scale

“I dislike nearly every book on branding, but this one is not as bad as the rest.”

— David C. Baker, author of The Business of Expertise

“This book, like its author, provides a fresh, practical, and powerful guide to build a brand that people actually care about."

— Michael Zipursky, CEO & Co-Founder, Consulting Success®

"This little book is an antidote to the direction society seems to be driving towards, with AI seemingly accelerating our descent into a cold and soulless world. This book is all heart and common sense and reads like a personal manifesto reminding us how to be decent human beings above all else. With that as the basis, this engaging, easy to read book serves as a code for conducting business and quite honestly gives me hope for the future."

— Rachael Maier, Best Selling Author + Writer

“In the always-on economy, brand authenticity matters more than ever. Bobby Gillespie’s Build Your Brand Like You Give a Shit is a blueprint for understanding why you get out of bed in the morning and how to activate brand loyalty based on your true self."

— Alexei Yukna, Sc.M., Innovation Architect

“When it comes to building a brand, Bobby doesn’t beat around the bush. As a brand clarity expert who has been in the business for over two decades helping his clients clarify their brands, Bobby keeps it fucking real. By focusing on the core message, he taps into the heart and soul of a brand. In his new book, he brings the same authenticity, audacity, and personality onto the page. From success stories to unforeseeable mistakes, Bobby puts everything on the line because his brand is his reputation. His writing is as authoritative as it is informative. If you give a shit about building your brand, this book is for you.”

— Donny Truong, Director of Design & Web Services, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, author of Vietnamese Typography & Professional Web Typography

“ Bobby’s been successfully helping brands for over 20 years but even more impressive is his ability to live out his teachings. If you work with him or subscribe to his content you know he leads by word and example.”

— Ozzy Torres, Marketing Manager at CloseKnit

"A fun read written by an actual, real practitioner. I could relate to much of it, and it’s got very useful lessons and really good advice for anyone who needs to create and grow a brand for their own company—or for someone who’s been hired to do so."

— Bill Heinrich, Art Director

"Build your brand like you give a shit" cover, Bobby's Gillespie Book on Branding

[Hard cover, soft cover, kindle]

CONTENTS

Introduction

Part I

Be Yourself and Be Great at Business

1. Are you faking it?
2. Don’t Focus on Winning
3. Build Your Reputation
4. Authentic Leadership

Part II

Building Your Brand the Right Way

5. No Dogma
6. It’s Our Duty to Give Back
7. Too Transactional
8. Creative Problem Solving
9. Build Your Tribe
10. Take Care of Yourself
Conclusion

Library of Congress Control Number:
2022913361
ISBN:
979-8-218-01713-2 (hardcopy print),
979-8-218-03260-9 (softcover)
979-8-218-02548-9 (ebook)
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