My Business Life: Gerard Tannam

Gerard Tannam, founder of Islandbridge Brand Development, shares his life and business lessons.

Islandbridge Brand Development is an agency now celebrating two decades of helping businesses across the world build their brands.

In addition to being a brand builder, Gerard is also a keynote speaker and an author.

His recently published book, “Branding for SMEs, a guide” is available to download for free.

Tell us about your background, what journey did you take to arrive at where you are? 

Sure. As you know, my background looks like an hourglass. In the first five to ten years of my professional life, my interests and activities were very broad. I studied at the seminary, attended university, engaged in various extracurricular activities and worked as a police officer. Alongside all this, I developed a growing involvement in the arts and events, which transitioned from an amateur interest to a professional one.

Around the age of 29 or 30, I reached an inflection point where my focus became very much on branding. I realised that my natural focal point was building connections, bridges and brands. Whether it was organising an event, selling art, performing as a musician or writing a piece of theatre, it was all about how you position yourself and relate what you’re doing to others in a way that makes sense to them and prompts them to take action.

In 1999, I developed the seminal Fly the Flag road safety campaign, which really opened my eyes to the power of branding and its potential to save lives. Up to that point, I knew the importance of positioning yourself properly, but that campaign really brought it all home.

Why are you doing what you are doing? What need are you meeting? What’s your USP? 

I don’t believe in the idea of a USP because everyone is unique. What’s important to others is not what makes us unique, but what’s distinctive and relevant to them. People buy based on what’s distinctive about someone else and what makes sense for them.

I do what I do because I believe in the importance of helping people make sense of a good idea, project, enterprise, product or service. It’s crucial that people understand and choose what’s right for them. Otherwise, great products and services may go unnoticed and unused.

The need I’m meeting is helping people who are doing excellent work to effectively reach their audience. It’s about connecting with their “far shore,” whatever that may be for them. For example, it might be reaching a new market, commanding a higher premium or ensuring the safe handover of their business to the next generation. If we don’t help them to reach that far shore, the journey is in vain.

How did you fund and start the business and what are your growth plans?

The business is now 20 years old. Like many service start-ups, I largely funded it myself. My starting costs were mainly providing myself with a working environment to deliver services. I was fortunate that my previous employer, which had a graphic design service, gifted me the services of one of their designers to work on a brand identity. That led to the creation of the name Islandbridge and the brand assets needed to go to market.

I spent many months planning the new business, developing strategies to attract customers, and building on my track record in business both here in Ireland and in Asia. Over the years, we’ve funded our growth ourselves. I don’t believe in growth for growth’s sake. Instead, I focus on matching market needs and doing the right work for the right people.

What are your key skills and qualities that set you apart?

My skill set lies in my ability to position myself in the middle of any communication scenario. Whether it’s a business presentation, a conversation at the kitchen table or a football match, I’m always focused on how well the message is being sent and received.

I have a distinct ability to judge the effectiveness of communication and ensure that people understand each other and exchange fair value. This skill is reflected in the brand guide tools and frameworks I’ve developed over the years.

What (or whom) has helped you most along the way? Who was your greatest mentor/inspiration?

I’ve been mentored by many different people over the years, many of whom were not aware they were mentoring me. Performers and broadcasters like Christy Moore and Gay Byrne, who brought traditional Ireland from the fringes to the cultural mainstream, were influential.

In business, Fergal Quinn was a significant inspiration. He understood the importance of standing in the customer’s shoes and making decisions that benefited them. His philosophy of offering value over cost has greatly influenced me.

What was the greatest piece of business advice you ever received?

One of the best pieces of advice came from a book called The Space Between, which was about theatre and the space between performers and the audience. It taught me the importance of the relationship between two parties and how crucial it is to manage it effectively.

What circumstaces/qualities/events can mark the difference between success or failure in life or business?

It’s a philosophical question and hard to give a definitive answer. I believe that success and failure often depend on resilience and the ability to learn from both successes and failures. People often share their success stories but omit to share their failures, which are equally important. Resilience and the ability to keep going are crucial, but it’s also important to learn from your experiences and adapt accordingly.

What was the most challenging aspect of either starting or growing the business? 

One of the most difficult things when you’re growing is keeping pace with yourself and your business. It’s easy to add numbers to a spreadsheet as opposed to adding numbers in real life, such as new clients, staff, resources etc. Sometimes growth for growth’s sake is not the right answer.

How did you navigate your business through the pandemic and what lessons did you learn?

I did a lot of work with my coach Jane Hogan early on in the pandemic. We had to determine quickly what aspects of the Islandbridge operations were suited to online. This was really effective as we managed our client work well via digital channels during those early days of working remotely.

However, from a business development perspective things were tough.

The lesson I learned is that the importance of certain media formats to build relationships were exaggerated. Their usefulness in helping us transact during lockdowns cannot be disputed, but this lesson really brought home the importance of matching the business environment to the task you’re wishing to achieve. Obviously during lockdowns we had to work within the restrictions, but post lockdowns we are once again building relationships by being analogue! Our results are showing just how well this works for us.

How has digital transformation been a factor in your scaling journey and do you believe Irish firms are utilising digital technologies sufficiently?

Yes, of course technology has played a role in how long Islandbridge has been in business as well as how we’ve grown. And in general I do believe Irish businesses are utilising digital technologies sufficiently – perhaps because we’re well used to managing relationships over a long distance. However, I believe there’s a real need for firms to become a lot more discerning about embracing new technologies.

I’ve witnessed many times how there can be a mad rush to adopt a new technology simply because it’s new. New doesn’t always equal better. I’m not advocating that we be Luddite, but I’d like to see more firms really interrogating what purpose they want the technology to fulfil before they sign up to the latest new thing. Sometimes picking up the telephone or meeting in a cafe is the best thing you can do to successfully complete the task in hand.

If you were to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

Going back to my point that you learn from your successes and failures, there isn’t too much I’d do differently. However, one thing we learnt while working with clients is to place an equal focus on the implementation phase as well as the strategic planning phase of how Islandbridge helps businesses build their brands.

Who inspires you in business today?  

I’m a great admirer of local Irish businesses who have risen to the challenge of coming through the pandemic, but maintain a uniquely local approach to their firms. For example, my local cobbler/shoe repairer Isaac Jackman provides a brilliant service. He stays open later than “normal” working hours so people can drop off or pick up their shoes after work, but he closes on weekends. He’s a well-established and much loved local business – and everyone knows to get their shoes fixed through the week!

What advice/guidance do you give new hires and how do you nurture talent in your organisation?

My advice to a new hire in any environment is to focus on what you do best. Happiness, success and fulfilment follows when you can bring your best self to your work. This doesn’t always relate to the technical task at hand. Often it relates more to the environment.

What business books do you read or would recommend?

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey can rightly be called a classic in my view. It’s a superb book for business and life. The E Myth books (“e” standing for entrepreneur) by Michael Gerber are excellent. I’d also highly recommend Donald Clifton’s and Marcus Buckingham’s book Now Discover Your Strengths. This book advocates playing to your strengths and managing around rather than trying to fix your weaknesses.

What technologies/tools do you use personally to keep you on track?

My calendar! But all jokes aside, I really do believe a calendar is a brilliant tool and I use calendars in multiple forms, from keeping my own schedule updated to managing client work. Secondly, the “to do” list is technology that’s stood the test of time. We now use Trello for this reason as well as to project manage our clients. And I’m an Excel fan.

What social media platforms do you prefer and why?

LinkedIn is my social media platform of choice. I have a personal profile and a company page profile. I’d welcome connections on both!

Finally, if you had advice for your 21-year-old self – knowing what you know now – what would it be?

In the business context, don’t be afraid of the “no”. I was quite fearful of this when I first started. Stand proudly over your offer and offer it to the businesses you believe you can help. If you receive a “no”, move on. There is nothing personal about the “no”.

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