Community profile: Georges Schneller

We’re really proud of all the different people and perspectives within the Brand The Change community. The world doesn’t need another echo chamber. Whether veteran or green, in Calcutta or Quebec: we need your particular experience and perspective.

Georges adds his own special kind of calm wisdom to the community. His experience has taught him that it’s the relationships with clients, rather than the work on its own, that help us make a bigger impact in the world.

In his role as Sponsorship Director for Cirque du Soleil he built corporate partnerships that helped extend the brands' financial resources while remaining true to its values. As an independent consultant, he takes the relationship factor up a notch. An avid cyclist, he takes clients for bicycle rides, which creates the right vibe for collaboration.

WG: What's the story of your name?

GS: My name goes back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I’ve made it my athletic motto to always be the Schneller of my field, meaning ‘faster’ in German.

WG: Name one thing that you love about the place where you live.

GS: The change of seasons in Quebec is so very true.

WG: What problem in the world keeps you up at night?

GS: Why do I have such easy access to all the world’s problems on my tablet?

WG: What inspires you to get out of bed in the morning?

GS: My to-do list, which is always a little frustrating!

WG: What is the change you want to see in the world?

GS: Peace, Love, courage.

WG: How are you working towards that change in your own way?

GS: By thinking global and acting local.

WG: What is your first memory of a brand?

GS: The Canadian flag.

WG: If you were a brand, which brand would you be?

GS: Bike brand BMC. In the world of premium bike brands, they have spent decades building the sport and pushing technologies to the limits.

wG: What is the biggest branding mistake you ever made?

GS: Pushing for a poster production project with brand messaging for outdoor apparel brand Merrell. There was no distribution plan. We ended up throwing most of them to the recycling bin.

WG: What is your biggest branding success?

GS: I was the head of corporate alliances for Cirque du Soleil for four years and on three North-American tours. The partnerships with large corporations were very lucrative for us. At the same time, Cirque du Soleil was adamant about its artistic liberty and had very high standards of ethics, and this was always a challenge for my team. By focusing on common values with our sponsors, we proposed, negotiated and managed on-site activation programs, building successful partnerships with companies like AT&T, Acura and American Express.

WG: Is there a big trend in branding specifically in Canada that we should know about?

GS: Canadian values that contrast with American ones. Inclusiveness, non-violence & do-no-harm, universality, pacifism.

WG: Which brand is totally overrated?

GS: Tesla. The planet needs more bikes. Plus, at a price-to-earnings ratio of over 200 presently and questionable quality that is constantly surfacing, I think the brand is surfing the Elon Musk wave.

WG: What brand should finally get the attention it deserves?

GS: Georges Schneller 😉

WG: Who are your biggest changemaker heroes?

GS: Both my son who teaches ethics and philosophy at high school level in a challenging sector and my daughter who’s got the pro-environment fiber. It spurs progress.

WG: Business is/can be a force for good. Agree or disagree?

GS: I strongly agree. The business world has a mountain full of access to resources for economic, environmental, and social change. People give to people and business networks are well established. Political and banking systems will have an ear for businesses that make the switch and I feel a snowball effect is in the making.

WG: If you could give someone one million dollars in services from the best brand builders in the world, who would you give it to and what would you want them to do with it?

GS: I would give one-third to the Sustainable Fashion Alliance so they work on converting damaging clothing brands.

Another third to The Cyclists’ Alliance for supporting professional female cyclists during and after their careers to gain optimal support from traditional decision-makers.

And the third portion to my local community development office for alleviating immigration and integration challenges.

WG: Who would you want to collaborate with next?

GS: My municipal administrators for putting sustainable and social change organizations/projects in place.

WG: What would you want to do together?

GS: Design thinking with collaborative intelligence.

WG: We always say it takes a village to build a brand. Who is in your village - who is supporting you?

GS: This might sound so vain but the people I invest time in, listen to, and understand, typically support me in return.

WG: What is the next thing you want to learn?

GS: To attract people that know how to change the biking culture. How to be the best facilitator I can be so that leaders can fully express their brands sustainably.

WG: Where do we go to find out more about you and your work?

GS: Find me on LinkedIn, drop a message on the BTC chat, or through email 📧— georges@schnellermarketing.com