Branding & Marketing FAQ
Questions I get asked often — about branding, personal branding, and what working together actually looks like. Answered plainly, without the industry vocabulary.
What is branding, and why does it matter?
Branding is the work of deciding who you are, what you stand for, and how that comes across — then making sure every piece of communication says the same thing. It is not a logo. A logo is a signature; the brand is the character behind the handwriting. It matters because attention is scarce and trust is slow: people decide very quickly whether something feels credible, and that judgement is made on signals most companies never think about deliberately.
What is personal branding?
The same question applied to a person rather than a company. What are you known for, who needs to know it, and does your public presence reflect the person who shows up in the room? For executives, founders, and consultants, this is not vanity — it is how opportunities find you instead of the other way round. Most people already have a personal brand. The choice is whether it was built on purpose.
Who do you work with for personal branding coaching?
Executives, founders, entrepreneurs, consultants, and professionals who want to establish their voice and visibility. The common thread is not industry — it is ambition and the recognition that how you are perceived matters. Some are building from scratch; others have a public presence that no longer fits who they have become. Both are the same work: clarity first, then communication.
What happens during a personal branding session?
We talk. I ask questions most people have never been asked about themselves — what they actually believe, what they want to be known for, who needs to hear it, and what is getting in the way. Then we turn the answers into something usable: positioning, messaging, content direction, or a plan for visibility. For longer engagements, I provide a written summary after each session with my advice and next steps.
What does a branding advisor actually do?
Asks difficult questions before writing anything. Most branding problems are clarity problems wearing a marketing costume — the company knows what it sells but has never articulated why it exists or who it is genuinely for. My work is to draw that out, put it into language a human would use, and turn it into something your team can act on: positioning, messaging, content direction, and the discipline to stay consistent.
How do you help cybersecurity and technology companies?
By knowing the room. Through ITSPmagazine I spend the year interviewing practitioners, moderating panels, and covering the major industry events, which means I can tell you what everyone at the conference is already saying — and therefore what saying something different would sound like. Most security marketing is interchangeable: the same threat language, the same promises. The opportunity is almost always in sounding like a person rather than a category.
What is Studio C60?
The branding advisory I run with my ITSPmagazine co-founder, Sean Martin — Analog Brains For The Digital Age. You get both of us: roughly sixty years of combined experience across branding, marketing, cybersecurity, journalism, creative direction, and analyst work. It is the kind of expertise that usually sits on an advisory board, available on demand and without a retainer.
What is ITSPmagazine?
An independent publication I co-founded in 2015, working at the intersection of technology, cybersecurity, and society. Podcasts, articles, webinars, and on-the-ground event coverage. It is journalism rather than vendor content, which is precisely why it informs the advisory work.
Do you only work with tech and security companies?
No. The advisory work through Studio C60 concentrates there because that is where the deep domain knowledge lives, but I take on branding and marketing clients in any industry, and personal branding coaching with individuals regardless of field. Storytelling problems are not sector-specific.
What does a consultation cost?
A fifteen-minute advisory call is $50 — tell me what you're working on and I'll give you a straight answer. A thirty-minute tactical session for one specific question is $150, and a sixty-minute deep advisory session covering strategy, positioning, and content planning is $275. Multi-session packages bring the per-session cost down: three sessions for $650, five for $1,000. For the 30- and 60-minute sessions and packages, you receive a written follow-up with my advice and next steps. Everything is bookable directly, with no contracts or minimum commitment.
What languages do you work in, and where are you based?
English and Italian, both fluently — I was born in Florence and have lived in Los Angeles for many years. I split my time between the two cities and work remotely or in person. Event coverage and client work take me elsewhere often enough that "where are you this week" is a fair question.
What are your qualifications?
A Master's degree in Political Science with a specialization in Sociology of Communication from the University of Florence (Cesare Alfieri), plus a post-graduate specialization in Advertising and Communication. I started in advertising in the mid-1990s, when the work was entirely analog, and have spent the years since watching the discipline become something else. That transition is more or less the subject of everything I do.
What is An Analog Brain In A Digital Age?
My podcast — conversations about technology and society, storytelling, branding, creativity, and whatever else earns its place. The premise is that in an age racing toward algorithms and automation, the ideas worth having still come from curiosity, experience, emotion, and unexpected connections. It is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon Music, and there is a player on the homepage.
Are you available for interviews, panels, or podcast appearances?
Yes, and I enjoy it. I bring perspective on technology and society, cybersecurity and society, storytelling, branding and advertising, content strategy, and podcasting. The best way to reach me about it is LinkedIn.
How do we start?
Book a fifteen-minute advisory call on the advisory page, or DM me on LinkedIn — that's free, and it's where I actually read what comes in. We talk about what you're trying to do, and if I'm not the right person for it I'll tell you.