Liz Heinberg

What is your role at Brand Federation?

I work primarily on the naming team, but have also taken on strategy roles.

‍

What work are you doing now and what about it inspires you?

I’m currently working on one naming project and one brand strategy project with Brand Federation. Naming is so fun for me - I’ve always been a total word nerd, and then you add the strategic branding elements and the random research rabbit holes we sometimes go down to come up with interesting names, and all together it takes me to my happy place. I never get tired of it. The strategy work is also enjoyable because listening to people and looking for threads and trends in the research stretches my brain in different ways. It inspires me to know that I can be a part of helping a company get to a better place, where they’ll be more successful thanks to good branding.

The companies we’re working with have great products and great people — they just need some help with branding and strategy - and they’re getting it from us. Plus, everyone on the client side is just so nice and appreciative of our efforts. It feels good to be a part of that.

‍

What superpower do you bring to your clients and colleagues?

I’m often one of the quieter people on a call, but I think every team needs that. Sometimes the best way to contribute is to just listen and absorb everything that is being said. It can take me a little while to process information, but I like to think that this style of listening, thinking, and reflecting is a superpower.

‍

Why did you join the Brand Federation team?

I joined Brand Federation because I really like the people: they are smart people, and really good to work with. When I’m working on a naming project, it’s much easier and more fun to do my job when there’s a solid strategy in place. That isn’t always the case on projects I’ve worked on with other teams, but Brand Federation always produces great strategy work that really gets the creative juices flowing. And it is such a collaborative environment, with high levels of trust; we defer to each others’ areas of expertise to create the best possible outcome. Everyone jumps in to make sure that a project is successful.

Have you read a book (or seen a movie, or listened to a podcast) lately that you’d recommend?

Ha - I read all the time, but I can never remember the titles of anything I’ve just read - it’s terrible. So I’ll go with the first thing that comes to mind - I love the “How I Built This” podcast. I have an entrepreneurial itch, so I really enjoy listening to the success stories of entrepreneurs, and the storytelling on this series is just so well done.

‍

What gets your energy and time outside of work?

I live on a little farm with my husband, so chickens, horses, fruits, and vegetables — and grass and fencing, which no one ever talks about, and which aren’t very much fun — get a lot of my time and energy. I’m also working on a startup with three other co-founders. It’s called Ditto, and it’s a payment platform that’s purpose-built for project-based work. That takes up a lot of my time, too. And I’m a pretty consistent runner/spinner/yoga-er.I love everything I’m doing, and don’t want to give anything up, but I never seem to have enough time. I’m slowly learning to feel less frazzled about that. It’s life. And at least I’m not bored!