Dene Menzel Founder of Branthem

Who are you and what business did you start?

My name is Dene Menzel and I am the Founder of Branthem, a multi-award winning agency based in Melbourne specialising in sonic brand engagement.

What’s your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?

I have had a 25+ year career as a musician, choir director, vocal coach and songwriter. I came up with the idea of Branthem around 4 years ago after starting the business as a music team building experience. The networking group I was a part of didn’t have “teams” to pitch to, so rather than leaving the group, I paid attention each week to how these businesses were marketing themselves, using forgettable stock music and to saw a ‘musical’ gap that’s how the idea to help businesses cut through content noise and become more memorable to their audiences by composing bespoke anthems for brands was born.

Describe the process of launching the business.

I feel like the true launch happened 6 years ago – 2 years after my business “launched” The business was initially called Voice Your Brand in the beginning. It was a time of starting small, learning how to market, and finding out what worked and what didn’t. At the time I had been accepted into a business mentorship program. The mentor on the final day remarked: “Voice Your Brand sounds more like a tag line than a business name.” 3 weeks later I had made the decision to rebrand as Branthem. Everything from our logo, to our website to our apparel reflected our sonic concept, and where applicable, our own branthem – which was important for us to walk our own talk. From all our social platforms including YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and more, we used our network and social platforms to announce our rebrand and the feedback was amazing.

Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?

Visibility: Networking has been very important to our business for visibility to our target audience, and as we value long term relationships with our clients. We have also used our own platforms to demonstrate real live case studies of how music can amplify brand content to new clients.
Trust: Though winning multiple industry awards has lifted our profile over the years as a reputable emerging business, we believe that trust from new clients, or repeat clients can only happen if you provide a consistently high level of service, so service excellence is at the heart of what we do, and we value all the positive reviews our clients have shared publicly.

How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

Branthem is continuing its mission to innovate and connect brands to its customers and its people with music, tapping into the potential of music as a touch point amplifier and emotive connector, challenging what has been done before and stepping fearlessly into possibility by bringing new elements together.
We are committed to expand our client base globally, with progressive businesses, industry leaders and change agents, and like minded marketing innovators who are open to infinite possibility.

Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?

The most important lessons that I have learned over the years are
1. To trust in my own vision and ability.
2. To allow those who can do it better to help me achieve it.

What platform/tools do you use for your business?

Audio editing – Logic
Video editing tools like Final Cut Pro, Inshot
Design – Procreate, Canva
Social – Facebook, Insta, YouTube, LinkedIn
Website – WordPress

What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?

There is a great book that a business coach once gifted to me, it is a great book called “Pitch Anything” by Oren Klaff. I am also a fan of Law Of Attraction (Abraham Hicks)

Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?

Firstly, there is no wrong answer, being an entrepreneur is not a destination, but a journey. Secondly, be clear on what you want – that will get you through.

Where can we go to learn more?

www.branthem.com.au