Chuck Brennan, CEO and founder of Dollar Loan Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, partners with author Steve Jones to discuss branding and its relationship to success. In October 2011, Chuck Brennan sat down at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, with author Stephen Jones for a launch party and discussion celebrating Jones’ new book Brand Like a Rock Star. During the two-hour discussion, Chuck Brennan and Steve Jones answered questions about why brand development is paramount to success.

Also with Chuck Brennan and Jones was Brand Marketing founder Virginia Martino. Chuck Brennan and Virginia Martino are known for their own wildly popular marketing campaigns. Brennan’s Dollar Loan Center was founded in a rundown part of Las Vegas, Nevada with a handful of staff members and a dream. With a background in rock music, Chuck Brennan marketed the company like he would have an up-and-coming music act—with fervor and blatant self-promotion. The strategy worked and Dollar Loan Center now employs nearly 500 individuals in nearly 50 stores in three states, mostly around Las Vegas, Nevada.

Chuck Brennan is also the founder of Loan Shack, which operates in 17 states and offers small microloans to cash borrowers.

According to Chuck Brennan, his first priority since opening Dollar Loan Center in 1998 has been to create awareness about the company’s name above everything. Now, when people in the Las Vegas, Nevada area need a short-term loan, the Dollar Loan Center jingle pops into their head, reports Chuck Brennan.

This ability to create such market awareness for his company made Chuck Brennan a perfect partner to discuss brand marketing with Jones. Throughout the evening, Chuck Brennan lauded Jones numerous times as a great public speaker and an expert in the area. Chuck Brennan remains diligent in following the advice in the book, as evidenced by Dollar Loan Center’s continued growth.

While Chuck Brennan is often known as an aggressive businessman, his community remembers him most for his big-hearted soft spot for the less fortunate. His giving to local charities is monumental. In 2011, Chuck Brennan gifted $10,000 to the Vegas area’s Henderson Little League, which allowed this nonprofit athletic organization to resume playing. Also in 2011, Chuck Brennan donated $15,000 to Opportunity Village. In addition to these sponsorships, Chuck Brennan is the founder and namesake of the Brennan Rock & Roll Academy, which helps underprivileged children gain access to music education.