The Company Behind the Company 2023:
Graj and Gustavsen partners with Brand Owners, Investors and Operators to maximize their brand value by creating, extending & rejuvenating businesses and brands.
Recent Blog Posts:
A SEA OF GAMING
In many cases, gaming is a distraction. In a growing way, it’s an opportunity to participate socially. On the train home, I gaze over the [...]
THE FUTURE OF CONSUMER MARKETING?
The future of consumer marketing? The CMO of Unilever says it’s ‘consumer segments of one’ Recently, I was reading an article that I have attatched [...]
The Company Behind the Company 2023:
Graj and Gustavsen partners with Brand Owners, Investors and Operators to maximize their brand value by creating, extending & rejuvenating businesses and brands.
Recent Blog Posts:
A SEA OF GAMING
In many cases, gaming is a distraction. In a growing way, it’s an opportunity to participate socially. On the train home, I gaze over the [...]
THE FUTURE OF CONSUMER MARKETING?
The future of consumer marketing? The CMO of Unilever says it’s ‘consumer segments of one’ Recently, I was reading an article that I have attatched [...]
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PRESS
NFL Hall of Fame QB Terry Bradshaw and Family Retains Graj + Gustavsen as Branding & Licensing Agency
Terry has so many passions that he wants to share with his extended fanbase by offering products and services that will allow his fans to share in his life experiences through this partnership with Graj + Gustavsen.
New York, N.Y. — Bradshaw Whitener, doing business as Bradshaw Brands, announced this week that it has retained G+G as its branding & licensing agency to identify and secure brand-right business opportunities across multiple industries and categories. As part of the licensing initiative, G+G will be reimagining the Bradshaw Brand for a new generation of consumers.
“Few celebrities come with Terry’s bigger than life personality and amazing cross-generational fan base. We are pursuing brand-right and market-right partners to extend this incredible multi-faceted entrepreneur and his family into new products, experiences, and audiences,” says G+G CEO Simon Graj.
PRESS
This Genius App Basically Grocery Shops for You
Recipe app Manna makes grocery shopping effortless so you have one less thing to worry about
New York, N.Y. — I love flipping through recipes to find exciting new things to cook – if I didn’t, I probably wouldn’t work at a food magazine, right? – and I love actually cooking. But the stuff in between, all the steps from shopping list making to mise en place, can be kind of a drag, especially on busy weeknights when I would much rather spend any free window of time I can claim for myself chilling with a glass of rosé than braving the supermarket parking lot. Enter Manna. Already a very cool recipe-discovery app, it’s just added a shopping functionality that makes shopping effortless.
Here’s how it works: You log in to the app and swipe Tinder-style through recipes that it thinks you might like and meet your stated dietary needs. You can tell it you’re a vegan, for example, or gluten-free. Once you find your perfect matches, you can tap to add all the relevant ingredients directly to an Amazon Fresh shopping cart. You can modify brands or make swaps and then check out with Amazon to have your groceries delivered. Before you know it, you have everything you need to get cooking, and you’ve never left the house.
PRESS
MAVERICKS & LEGENDS SERIES: Simon Graj, The Co-founder Of Graj & Gustavsen
MR shares profiles of industry execs whose vision, creativity, and courage continue to inspire us.
New York, N.Y. — Today’s thought leader is Graj & Gustavsen co-founder Simon Graj, whose brand transformation agency has guided numerous brands – both established and up-and-coming such as the new footwear line Pinnz – through a changing and challenging marketplace.
For several decades, Simon Graj, his brother Ray, their business partner Eric Gustavsen, (more recently joined by Simon’s son Ashley), have created successful marketing campaigns for some of the world’s top brands.
Levi’s, Brooks Brothers, Supima, Timberland, Kohls, Ross Stores, Capezio, Harley Davidson, to name just a few. How ironic, therefore, that Graj now maintains that mega-brands are no longer in charge, that being dressed head to toe by a name designer no longer reflects the current zeitgeist.
“We’re moving into an era of unique, limited edition product,” he explains. “Products that are less affected by advertising and marketing. It seems the more commercial something is, the less desirable, which is why microbreweries are challenging Budweiser, and Harry’s is outselling Gillette.
“What’s more, artificial intelligence tracks us every step of the way so we get fed more information than we can ingest. AI has created an enormous feeding machine that knows everything we consume, every move we make. We think we’re free to make our own choices but we’re tracked so that our choices are dictated by data. And this paradox continues to divide us.
“I believe advertising will adjust and will ultimately become more savvy. We’ll see more life-enhancing product, more companies creating special limited editions, more collaborations that don’t exploit the brand, that offer credibility beyond trafficking in consumption.
Graj insists that today’s brands need a purpose, or at least genuine core values. “Be it sustainability, diversity, social justice, a brand today must stand for something. And not just for marketing purposes: authenticity matters; brands must truly care about saving the planet or improving the world. Not that the cause need be so lofty: it can be as simple as making the best possible product, or solving a problem like Untuckit and Smartwool have done. But brands have to stand for something; they can’t be just another designer or denim collection. People have more important things to worry about than which designer labels are cool and what to wear with what.”
As for growth opportunities in apparel, Graj sees further potential in performance, outdoors and workwear. “Branding in the future will mean fewer SKUs and more ideas,” he concludes. “More relevance, more transparency and more integrity. In addition to running a business with far less waste, retailing should provide a dynamically different experience, guiding customers to find clothing that makes an individual statement, that reflects their personal DNA. It should fulfill our eternal quest for identity, reflecting who we are and how we want to present ourselves to the world.”
PRESS
CAPEZIO Taps Graj + Gustavsen as Exclusive Global Licensing Agency
Graj + Gustavsen is reimagining and re-positioning CAPEZIO for a new generation of consumers.
New York, N.Y. — Graj + Gustavsen is reimagining and re-positioning CAPEZIO for a new generation of consumers and is pursuing brand-right and market-right pathways to extend the 130-year-old dance brand into new products, experiences, and audiences in line with market and consumer trends of fitness, self-expression and demand for authenticity.
The new positioning was created to inspire and empower everyone to dance, perform, and express themselves — beyond the stage into a world of dance infused and inspired products, experiences and inspiration for everyone who loves to move.