Kara Kelley on Building a Brand People Trust
Entrepreneurship · From Student of the Game
Kara Kelley on Building a Brand People Trust
Every business has a brand, whether it is a barber shop, a t-shirt company, or a real estate team. On this episode of Student of the Game, Brad Noll sits down with Kara Kelley, president and co-owner of Asher Agency, to talk about what a brand really is and how to build one that lasts.
Brad introduces Asher as one of the Midwest's most respected marketing firms and Greater Fort Wayne's 2023 Small Business of the Year. Kara has been with the agency for about 20 years, and she and Brad have a long relationship, including Kara's team helping launch Noll Reserve, the Noll Team's luxury division.
What Is a Brand, Really?
Kara says branding is simpler than it might seem. "A brand is really fundamentally knowing who you are, who you represent, and who you're talking to," she explains. Different audiences care about different things, so you need a clear sense of your own perspective and voice to stay authentic as you speak to each of them.
The most important piece, she says, is consistency. Colors, fonts, and messaging should look unified everywhere the brand appears, whether that is a sponsorship or a social media post, "because that consistency will then build trust."
Brad shares how his team thinks about it. "We say that our brand is the emotional connection we have with our clients," he says. In other words, a brand is what clients actually think of you, not just the color palette you pick.
“Building a strong team culture isn't telling people what to do, but rowing alongside them.”
Kara Kelley
From Account Executive to Owner
Before Asher, Kara did PR and marketing in the Bay Area and spent about a year at another Fort Wayne agency. She joined Asher in 2007 as an account executive, rose to vice president, was named president in 2016, and has co-owned the business for three years. Today the agency has about 40 employees.
She is especially proud that Asher is a women-owned business, certified at both the state and federal level, in an industry where she says fewer than 1 percent of agencies are owned by women. As female leaders, she believes, "we have that intuitive instinct" to make emotional connections a little faster.
Her leadership brand matches her personal one: integrity, transparency, grit, and a Midwest work ethic. "I always like to lead by kindness," she says, adding that kindness can be honest and direct. She also works hard to be a good listener, both with her team and with clients, rather than making assumptions about where they want to go.
The Fundamentals: Consistency, Clarity, and Aspiration
Beyond consistency, Kara says strong brands are rooted in core values, both internally for the team and externally for clients. Branding can also be aspirational, keeping an eye on the North Star of where you want to go. She uses a car example: you want to strive to be the Lexus, not the Pinto, and back that up with the quality of service around it.
Brad adds clarity. His daughter once told him a post he made was confusing because she did not know what she was supposed to do with it. Kara agrees that clarity is key. "You have to boil it down," she says.
To know whether a brand is working, Kara looks at a mix of signals:
- Website analytics and social media engagement.
- Sales reports, especially when a specific product is being featured.
- Creative testing of headlines and concepts. For one wellness client, Asher tests whether images of people or clean product photography perform better.
- Social listening and anecdotal feedback about what people are saying online.
- A clear, simple message that is repeated consistently everywhere.
Trusting the Team Behind the Work
Asher is a full-service agency with specialists in creative, media buying, and web development. To keep those teams from getting siloed, Kara hosts monthly breakfast brainstorms focused on what else the agency could do for a client and what blind spots that client might have. A shout-out channel lets teams celebrate each other's work, and department managers huddle every week to talk through problems and ideas.
When Brad asks what she had to unlearn moving from employee to owner, Kara answers without hesitation. "I was and still am a perfectionist," she says. She learned to trust and empower her team, step back, and coach instead of jumping in. "When I do that, I just mess it up," she laughs.
Her advice for building a team culture comes back to listening. "Building a strong team culture isn't telling people what to do, but rowing alongside them," she says. Brad notes that his next guest, Keion Henderson, gave nearly the same answer about listening.
Balance, Community, and a Campaign She Loved
For Kara, winning at the game of life starts with work life balance. She used to travel nearly every week, with no fresh produce in the refrigerator, and says the pandemic reminded many people that the most important things are right in front of us. Now she schedules hot yoga and time outdoors and protects it. Brad agrees: you don't find time, you schedule it.
She also gives back. Kara served six years on the Embassy Theatre board, supports Community Harvest Food Bank, and sits on the boards of Amani Family Services and Bishop Luers High School. Her favorite campaign was for longtime client Subway, a sustainability effort that featured the local farmers who grew produce for the brand and aired in multiple states.
Kara and Brad also talk about launching Noll Reserve. Asher helped develop its logo and brand, and Kara's team named the flagship listing, The Hamilton, a home of nearly 30,000 square feet on 40 acres listed at $6.75 million. Kara describes the brand as "rich and yet approachable." Brad says that hiring a professional helped his team see where it needed to go without letting emotion steer the decisions.
How Do You Build a Brand That Lasts?
Kara's answer throughout the conversation is consistent: know who you are, stay consistent, keep the message clear, listen, and surround yourself with people you trust. She also keeps learning, from authors like Patrick Lencioni and from CEO peer groups of marketing leaders around the country.
When Brad asks her to send some virtual flowers, Kara chooses one of Asher's founders, who saw her leadership potential and named her president. She still talks with him almost every day. "It's not about titles to me at all," she says. "It is about that trust."
▶ Listen to the full episode
Building Your Brand with Asher Agency President Kara Kelley, on Student of the Game.
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