Richard Sauerman

RICHARD SAUERMAN
The Brand Guy and Speaker

Richard has the experience, insights, honesty, and energy to connect with his audience in a unique and powerful way.

Richard Sauerman is The Brand Guy and has been ranked in the Global Top 30 Brand Gurus since 2015 (currently ranked 9th). He has created and worked on brands at some of the world’s greatest advertising agencies (Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy & Mather, DDB, McCann Erickson) as well as in his own business, from established global brands (Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Levis, Nescafe, Vodafone) to Australian brands (CSIRO, QBE, Arnott’s, Tourism Australia, Lifestyle Solutions, Surf Lifesaving) to start-ups (LeukBook, T-shirt Ventures).

Richard has developed an intuitive sense of what makes people tick over his branding and communications career and has been using his knowledge to challenge, inspire and motivate audiences for twenty years. He has delivered keynotes and run workshops across Australia and the world. His clients include Clayton Utz, AMP, CBA, TAFE, QBE, Fitness First, Surf Lifesaving Australia, Aquent, News Corp, Prospa, Contiki, Microsoft, Nestle, Zurich, Bayer, Charter Hall, MFA, Munich Re and American Express.

Richard’s keynotes and workshops are a wake-up call for people at work. He believes each one of us has potential that extends far beyond our actual day-to-day performance. Instead of living and working 10/10 lives, we often settle for 7/10 because it’s a reasonable position to take, it gets the job done, it doesn’t require taking any unnecessary risks, and it’s just a very safe place to be.

Richard removes the barriers that are holding people back and inhibiting peak performance by inviting participants to step out of their comfort zone and step up their game. Richard’s delivery is backed up with videos, music, visuals, and a large whiteboard to map the journey and capture audience feedback.

Richard is a standout speaker. His style is passionate enthusiastic, provocative, empathetic, and ruthlessly honest. He’s an enemy of mediocrity, a challenger of norms and conventional thinking, and a champion of people. Be sure to book him now for your next conference, event, or seminar.

All of Richard’s topics are an ideal stand-alone conference keynote presentation, or an extended half day or full day program.

Our leaders rated you 9.3/10. You were by far the highlight of the entire 3 days.

Senior Manager, NewsCorp

We have never had such great feedback from one of our #digitalks: 90% rated your talk as “excellent”.

CMO, Aquent 

Richard brings more than just words – his thought provoking and powerful message drives a deep emotional response from the audience. Brilliant presentation!

CEO, Innovative Retail

If you’re looking for a speaker like no other to shift the gears of your daily grind, book him!

CEO, Surf Lifesaving Australia 

Richard’s workshop was high-energy, high-value and hilarious! He thinks like a pro and talks like he is walking on air. His energy is infectious.

Vice President Marketing, American Express

(PEAK PERFORMANCE/MOTIVATION)

Real YOU

It’s time to stop doing your job and living your life with the handbrake on.

Companies don’t make things happen: People do. When it comes to work and the workplace, too many people are doing their job with the handbrake on. Each of us has potential that extends far beyond our actual day-to-day performance. Instead, we settle for being a 7/10 because it’s a reasonable position to take, it gets the job done, it doesn’t require taking any unnecessary risks, and it’s just a very safe place to be.

Real YOU removes the barriers that are holding people back by inviting participants to step out of their comfort zone and step up their game.

When it comes to people, self-belief and attitude are everything. What people think, feel, and believe about themselves shapes and drives their identity, their performance at work, and their lives. Real YOU lays the foundations of positive self-belief and attitude for all people, at all levels and in all roles: Leaders, managers, sales and marketing teams, customer service teams, business owners, creatives and innovators.

Real YOU is a journey of self-discovery designed to take give participants an experience they will literally never forget. It’s like riding a bicycle: Once you learn how to ride a bicycle, you know forever; it’s always in you.

Real YOU is highly interactive with lots of audience participation. While the subject matter may be considered serious, the experience is high energy, fun, funny, and very real. Richard’s delivery is backed up with videos, music, and powerful images.

Real YOU audiences and participants will:

• Rediscover their passion (positive attitude)
• Doubt themselves less (self-belief)
• Know themselves more (self-awareness)
• See their colleagues in a new light (empathy)
• Leave the room with a plan of IMMEDIATE action (impact)
• And a skip in their step.

Real YOU is a 60-minute talk or full-day workshop – and anything in between – that lays the foundations of self-belief and a positive attitude for all people, at all levels and in all roles.

(CHANGE/INNOVATION)

Business as UNusual

How to embrace ambiguity and uncertainty in a changing world.

If Covid taught us one thing it’s that the world is not as stable and predictable as we once thought. Living and working with change is the new norm now more than ever before. Despite that, talk of ‘change’ creates unease, anxiety, and stress. And that’s because our brains are biologically hardwired to resist change: The #1 reason why 70% of Change Management processes fail.

Business as UNusual is a new change paradigm for all people, at all levels and in all roles.

We are all immigrants into a new time. There are no signposts indicating the way forward, no how-to instruction manual, and a lack of precedent as yesterday’s lessons and experiences count for little in a brand new, very different world.

And yet, old habits die hard. Too many companies and organisations are run like Country Clubs. No one disagrees with anyone else in a substantive way. When asked for an opinion, they’ll either check with the boss or hide through clichés. Questions are discouraged and giving answers is avoided. No-one contradicts a position already taken. All because people are afraid of the unknown, and so old habits rule supreme.

Richard will make the case for taking more intelligent risks in business (as well as in life), and he will leave his audience with a stronger determination to back themselves and their ability to be brave and bold AGENTS OF CHANGE in a world that’s not waiting for anyone.

Business as UNusual is an interactive talk with real-life lessons, examples and stories from Richard’s 35-year professional career. The experience is high energy, fun, funny, and very real. Richard’s delivery is supported by videos and powerful images.

Business as UNusual audiences will learn:

• What change looks like
• Why people resist change
• How people resist change
• How to change people’s attitude towards change.
• What things never change.
• How to make change work in your favour.

(CULTURE & PEOPLE)

Branding the Inside

How to profit from purpose and passion

Companies don’t make things happen, people do. And when it comes to work and the workplace, Gallup’s 2022 Global Engagement Survey reports that only 17% of employees in Australia (21% in the world) are engaged. Not only is this bad for business and company culture, but it’s also bad for people and their lives.

Branding the Inside is based on the pioneering work of The Brand Guy, Richard Sauerman.

One of the most effective ways to transform your culture is through branding, but not as you know it. The days when branding sat in the Marketing Department are over. Brand is a leadership issue.

Your brand is not something you add to your business: it’s the reason your business exists. Your brand is the purpose, vision and values that propel everything your company or organisation is, says, and does.

Along with the traditional bottom line, businesses and organisations have a second bottom line: A return on human investment that advances a larger purpose. This is Branding the Inside, and it drives high employee engagement, retention, and loyalty.

Companies Richard has branded in this way include QBE, CSIRO, Vodafone, Breast Cancer Trials, Lifestyle Solutions, IQumulate, and Laborie (USA).

Branding the Inside is an interactive talk with real-life lessons, examples and stories from Richard’s branding career. The experience is high energy, fun, funny, and very real. Richard’s delivery is supported by videos and powerful images.

Branding the Inside audiences will learn:

– How to discover the truth and purpose of your brand.

– How to put purpose at the heart of what you do and say.

– How to build a brand-driven culture.

– How to use your brand to engage your employees.

– How to shift attitudes, performance, your world.

(BRANDING)

Power Branding

How to build brands that make sense and are believed and loved

Most branding falls short of being powerful because it’s too rational. The brand makes sense, but it’s not believed and loved. And that’s the big trap you want to avoid: You don’t want a brand that just makes sense, you want a brand that people are going to believe and love, that also makes sense.

Power Branding is based on the pioneering work of The Brand Guy, Richard Sauerman.

Richard pioneered a new way to do branding, where everything you do and say as a company or organisation is driven by and aligned to your brand strategy: the way you do business, the way you treat your employees, the way you treat your customers and suppliers, your products and services, as well as [and not just] your marketing communications.

Richard has created and worked on brands at some of the world’s greatest advertising agencies (Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy & Mather, DDB, McCann Erickson) as well as in his own business, from global brands (Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Levis, Streets, Toyota, Nescafe, Vodafone) to Australian brands (Arnott’s, CSIRO, QBE, Data61, Surf Lifesaving Australia, Tourism Australia, Mortgage Choice) to start-ups (LeukBook, T-shirt Ventures).

He works closely with CEOs and Executive, HR and Marketing teams to reboot and reshape their brands and businesses, and he is an Advisory Board member for two start-ups.

Power Branding is an interactive talk with real-life lessons, examples and stories from Richard’s 35-year branding career. The experience is high energy, fun, funny, and very real. Richard’s delivery is supported by videos and powerful images.

Power Branding audiences will learn:

• Why power brands are important today
• What it takes to build a power brand
• How power branding is everything you do and say
• How power branding understands and connect with people
• How power branding is a major source of intangible value