The Rise Of The Craft Brand

Ben Zifkin

Big Retailers. Big Brands. Big Changes.

The world of commerce is dramatically changing. The age of big retailers and big brands is giving way to a new type of commerce that is driven by unstoppable changes in technology and the economy. As a result, “craft brands” are coming to the forefront—brands that thrive on their uniqueness and their bond with consumers.

Leaner, sleeker, and faster, Craft Brands are deeply disrupting commerce by building engaged communities, creating unique value propositions, and out-innovating monolithic, legacy brands and retailers.

This book is a guide to the forces reshaping buying and selling, and how those forces are pushing us toward a decentralized world of commerce in which craft brands reign. It shows why quality and resonance are the most important drivers of craft brand success—and it lays out strategies and case studies that emerging craft brands (or big brands struggling to stay relevant) can emulate.

Ben Zifkin

Ben Zifkin has spent the last fifteen years helping some of the world’s largest organizations leverage technology to compete in business. After living and working in North America, Europe, and Asia, he has become a trusted advisor to senior executives of Fortune 1000 companies.

A repeat founder, Ben has built three organizations with successful exits and raised significant venture funding. His companies have been recognized as Top 3 Best New Start-Ups, Top 20 Most Innovative Companies, Fast 50 Companies to Watch, and Hot 50 Fastest Growing Companies.

His most recent business, Hubba, is the fastest growing business-to-business network connecting brands and retailers. Through this network, Hubba is building out the world’s richest, most comprehensive data set of product information. Hubba is routinely recognized as one of the most powerful companies powering the next generation of commerce. Utilizing years of experience dealing with large organizations, Ben has focused his effort to shining a spotlight on amazing craft brands and their products.

Ben is heavily involved with the technology community and sits on the board of directors of Ladies Learning Code, an organization focused on increasing the digital literacy of women, and the Upside Foundation, a charity that works with start-ups to donate 1 percent of their equity in support of local communities. In addition, Ben advises HackerYou and Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District, and he mentors at the Next 36 and Founder’s Institute.

A proud Canadian, Ben makes his home in Toronto with his wife and two children.


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