CMO. Chief Strategist. Brand Director. Spark Generator.

Meet Murphy Funkhouser

Murphy’s Story

From center stage to center stage strategy—Murphy brings the spark.

Murphy Funkhouser is not your typical brand strategist. With a background in professional performance and two decades of business and branding experience, she blends creative intuition with sharp business insight to help founders and their brands shine.

Murphy has helped launch or grow over 500 brands in her 20-year career as a strategist, educator, and consultant. She co-founded Kudzu Brands—one of Asheville’s most recognized branding agencies—and now leads BrandStage Consulting, a boutique consultancy dedicated to helping purpose-driven businesses become unforgettable.

In addition to working with a select group of private clients through BrandStage, Murphy is also the Director of Marketing and Business Development for Integrative Family Medicine in Asheville.

Her approach combines clarity, confidence, and leadership. Whether you’re a solo founder, scaling team, or nonprofit executive, Murphy is here to help you step into your role as the leader of a brand that truly performs.

“I shine the spotlight on my clients’ brands and put them center stage in the market—because your business is worthy of applause.”

— Murphy Funkhouser

Murphy’s Credentials

Founder, BrandStage Consulting
Co-founder & CEO, Kudzu Brands (Asheville, NC)
Director of Marketing and Business Development, Integrative Family Medicine of Asheville
Graduate, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program
Educator in business, branding & entrepreneurship at multiple colleges and business schools
Coach & Facilitator at Mountain BizWorks
Entrepreneur of the Year, Asheville Chamber of Commerce
Woman of Distinction Award, Girl Scouts of America
Performer & Playwright of multiple award-winning shows
Master’s in Communications and Storytelling from East Tennessee State University

Brand Philosophy
What You Can Expect

Brand Philosophy

I believe your brand deserves more than marketing tactics—it deserves an award-winning strategy.

I don’t start with logos or websites or marketing plans. I start with mission, vision and clarity—because a brand that knows who it is can lead, inspire, and grow.

I believe in:

Strategy first – execution only works if it’s aligned
Clarity over chaos – no more throwing spaghetti at the marketing walls
Creative thinking meets business insight – because art and analytics belong together

What You Can Expect

If you’re a founder or business owner navigating a growth stage, market shift, or rebrand, chances are you’re:

Tired of marketing that feels reactive or random
Lacking a clear, cohesive message that resonates
Overwhelmed by decisions without a strategic anchor
Ready for visibility, but unsure how to truly own the room

BrandStage is your moment to stop scrambling and start leading.

Through business and brand strategy, consulting, and ongoing brand management, Murphy helps businesses:

Define their position and purpose
Develop brand messaging and voice
Create powerful brand systems
Align marketing efforts with long-term goals
Step confidently into the market as a leader

“Just as a spark bursts from a flame, most paths to success do not follow a straight line.”

— Murphy Funkhouser

Personal Note from Murphy

I studied theatre in college and have been a professional actress, sales leader, corporate trainer, business manager, and branding agency owner. Today, I use everything I’ve learned—on and off the stage—to help brands perform as a private brand and marketing consultant.

I understand how to capture an audience’s attention, tell a powerful story, and ensure that all the elements—team, timing, messaging, visuals—work together like a great performance.

If you want creative, strategic guidance to make your brand center stage in your market, I’d love to work with you.

Client Applause

I’ve worked with Murphy for over 10 years now, and I admire her sharp insights when it comes to all things branding and marketing. Her expertise is an asset for our small business community!

Dawn Chitwood

My journey with Murphy BrandStage was enlightening and rewarding. Very much appreciated her insight and direction to assist in establishing my brand and voice.

Charlie McDaniel

Murphy (BrandStage) is a fantastic partner and our business highly recommends her services to anyone looking for creative support. From design, to copywriting, to branding, and more, Murphy has helped our brand grow in ways we would never have achieved on our own. Not only is she extremely capable on strategy and tactics, Murphy is also a blast to work with!

Drew Hines

When it was time to give my brand story a full re-vamp, I knew exactly who to call! I had worked with Murphy many, many moons ago on another project and already knew her to have an incredible work ethic, an eye for detail, a wickedly creative brain,…

Kelly Aaron

BrandStage Consulting and Carolina Native Nursery has a wonderful partnership. Murphy has handling our social media campaign for over 2 years and the response is tremendous. Plus the return of this investment in our marketing is obvious and outstanding. Very well done!

Bill Jones

Murphy has been wonderful to work with. She has taken the time to listen to our concerns and goals. She has also been preceptive as to what makes our business unique. The whole process has been delightful and rewarding.

Mark Knollman

I can not thank Murphy at BrandStage Consulting enough for her help guiding our branding and marketing campaigns over the past 3 years. If I could give BrandStage 6 stars I would. Murphy is consistently on her A game which has brought peace of mind our admin team. I look forward to working with BrandStage well into the future.

Chad Krisel

We now see that working with BrandStaging Consulting, led by Murphy Funkhouser, was a great decision. In only a few months we have seen the effort, dedication, creativity, knowledge and RESULTS from her team of industry experts. Her leadership and…

Joel Burkhalter

Working with BrandStage helps make my job easier. Murphy is attentive to details that makes my business successful. I couldn’t do it without her.

Taft Draper

We really enjoyed and benefited from working with Murphy. She provided us with the structure we needed to start thinking about branding more seriously, and she worked tirelessly to understand our specific needs and voice. It has been a fantastic, helpful experience.

Amanda Vacharat

Just received the following feedback from an industry partner and couldn’t have achieved it without Murphy! “I spent 10 minutes on your website today and it is the best I have seen from a benefits consultancy perspective — truly.”

Cindy Kimmel

Murphy is brilliantly creative. If you want to out perform your competition, then Murphy is the answer! She will walk you through step by step and work with you on your ideas and combine a plan that is top notch!

Kimberly Jones

Murphy is fabulous. So many parts of my brand are better because of her: logo, photos, and website in particular.

Joseph Pelusi