Get All Access for $5/mo

How the President of K-Swiss Approaches Building (and Rebuilding) a Brand Barney Waters talks about the benefits of curiosity in marketing.

By David Meltzer

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Barney Waters, the former marketing chair of Puma and the current President of K-Swiss, discusses the current aspirations of the next generation of entrepreneurs as well as the role that brand integrity plays in marketing efforts.

According to Waters and host David Meltzer, tapping into the emotion of a market requires messaging that is "authentic and meaningful," as well as differentiating itself from the efforts of competitors. Waters shows the next group of entrepreneurs how to be different from the pack, whether through pricing, distribution, features or functions. Understanding the hopes and dreams of your target market is what enables you to build a brand that consumers will believe in.

Related: How to Find Your Drive and Persevere Through Difficult Times

David Meltzer

Co-Founder of Sports 1 Marketing, Speaker, Author and Business Coach

David Meltzer, co-founder of Sports 1 Marketing and host of Entrepreneur's podcast, “The Playbook”, is a Top 100 Business Coach, global public speaker and three-time international best-selling author who has been honored by Variety as “Sports Humanitarian of the Year”.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Side Hustle He Started in His College Apartment Turned Into a $70,000-a-Month Income Stream — Then Earned Nearly $2 Million Last Year

Kyle Morrand and his college roommates loved playing retro video games — and the pastime would help launch his career.

Business News

A Former Corporate Lawyer Now Makes Six Figures on YouTube — Here's How She Does It

Here are the secrets to starting and growing a successful YouTube channel, according to a YouTuber with millions of subscribers.

Growing a Business

How to Determine The Ideal Length of Your Marketing Emails Your Customers Will Actually Read

Wondering how long your marketing emails should be? Here's what consumers say — so you can send them exactly what they like.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

Y Combinator Helped Launch Reddit, Airbnb and Dropbox. Here's What I Learned From Its Free Startup School.

The famed startup accelerator offers a free course on building a business — and answers five pressing questions for founders.