On Brand: A Podcast About Branding For Brand Builders, By Brand Builders

“A challenger brand is defined by an ethos — a mindset. They have ambitions that outweigh their internal marketing resources. They have to outthink. They can’t outspend.” So how do you punch above your weight class? We talked about this with Door Number 3’s Prentice Howe, author of The Empowered Challenger Playbook. About Prentice Howe Prentice Howe has always believed in underdogs. Now, as Owner and Chief Creative Officer of Door Number 3, a full-service advertising agency based in Austin, Texas, he’s helping brands embrace their challenger-ability and topple their giants. Specializing in challenger brands—rising brands that may not have the resources of the top dogs in their industries but do have the bold ambition to go toe-to-toe with them and steal market share—Door Number 3 is changing the face of marketing and advertising. With features in The New York Times, AdWeek, The Wall Street Journal, Inc., and Communication Arts, as well as recognition from shows like Cannes Lion and the Webby Awards, Prentice

“Every company can be broken into three parts — marketing, operations, and product.” Raul Hernandez is an expert at helping business break down their marketing processes to boost both scale and impact. We discussed all of this and more this week on the On Brand podcast. About Raul Hernandez Raul Hernandez helps businesses build evergreen workflows so they can scale up their business while scaling down the time it needs them. His protocol has given 7-figure coaches the scale and lifestyle they’re looking for by cutting their work time by as much as 60%. He lives in San Diego and when he’s not training for a triathlon, half-marathon or Tough Mudder—he’s either surfing or drinking a homemade cold brew coffee. Episode Highlights Tool time. “I typically look at tools last. Every task can be done by you, someone else on your team, or a machine.” You have to choose wisely who does what. What trends is Raul seeing in marketing when it comes to where we spend human time? With the emergence of AI and other new automati

“The brand has changed from goods and services to a building block of personal identity.” David Lemley knows this first hand. Twenty years ago he led the team that helped Starbucks grow from a boutique coffee shop to a brand many have cited on this show as one that makes them smile consistently. Today, at his company Retail Voodoo, he helps food and beverage brands stand out while also standing for something in the hearts and minds of those they serve. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About David Lemley David Lemley helps brands become legendary. David is the President and Chief Strategist of Retail Voodoo, a U.S. based brand strategy firm l that helps specialty food and beverage brands gain market share by addressing their toughest growth challenges. Armed with a passion for ideology-driven companies and over 25 years of industry experience, David sets the standard for all research, brand strategy, brand positioning, and marketing translation for the firm. Cli

“Brand creates focus. It helps you prioritize. Because it’s a North Star in can help the leader allocate resources, determine how he or she should spend his or her time.” This week on the On Brand podcast, I was joined by Lindsay Pedersen, brand strategist and author of the book Forging an Ironclad Brand. About Lindsay Pedersen Lindsay Pedersen is the author of Forging An Ironclad Brand: A Leader’s Guide. She is a brand strategist and leadership coach who views brand as a blend of science, intuition, behavioral economics, and ancient storytelling. She developed the Ironclad Method™ while building brands with companies such as Starbucks, Clorox, Zulily, T-Mobile, IMDb, and burgeoning start-ups. Lindsay lives in Seattle with her husband and two children. Episode Highlights Branding as a leadership tool. “Brand creates focus. It helps you prioritize. Because it’s a North Star in can help the leader allocate resources, determine how he or she should spend his or her time. Who he or she should hire.” The economic

“Excel at what you can’t control. A lot of people say ‘control what you can control.’ But I think you excel at those things that you can’t control because those are the things that are gonna keep you until you get your breakthrough.” As an “undersized and overmatched” NFL running back, Justin Forsett became an underdog fan favorite. He’s brought this same scrappiness to his work as an entrepreneur as the creator of the ShowerPill. We discussed Justin’s journey as an athlete and brand builder this week on the On Brand Podcast. About Justin Forsett Justin Forsett is an NFL Running Back and Pro Bowl Player. He was ranked #65 of the Top 100 players of 2015. He’s been described as a powerful player despite being “undersized and overmatched.” At 5’8”, Justin became an underdog fan favorite in the NFL. Drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 7th round in the 2008 NFL Draft, Forsett started his 9-year football career in which he played with 7 different teams. He is a podcast host on LeBron James’ UNINTERRUPTED Podcast

“It’s not a marketing veneer. It’s not a marketing campaign. It’s embedded in our values, our behaviors, and how we show up in the world.” Rebranding is a challenge many struggle with. But what if you’re a 75-year old category creator like ADP? This week on the On Brand podcast, I was joined by ADP Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Lorraine Barber-Miller who took us behind the scenes of their first rebrand in the company’s storied history. About Lorraine Barber-Miller Lorraine Barber-Miller is an accomplished global Chief Marketing Officer recognized for building businesses and delivering exceptional financial results in both Mature and Growth Markets. Having advanced through the marketing, sales, and communications disciplines both domestically and internationally, she has led marketing transformation and entrepreneurial business building in over 100 countries globally. Currently as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for ADP, Lorraine has global end-to-end functional and financ

“A lot of Wall Street people think that profit is the reason for business. I say profit is the applause you get for creating a motivating environment for your people so they'll take good care of your customers.” This week, for the 200th episode of the On Brand podcast, I had the honor of interviewing another business legend. Ken Blanchard is the coauthor of 65 books from The One Minute Manager to his latest The Simple Truths of Service. We talked about his life and work this week on the show. About Ken Blanchard Ken Blanchard is one of the most influential leadership experts in the world and coauthor of more than 65 books, including the groundbreaking best seller The One Minute Manager. His books have combined sales of more than 22 million copies in 42 languages. In addition to being a renowned speaker and consultant, Ken is cofounder and chief spiritual officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies, an international training and consulting firm started by Ken and his wife, Margie, in 1979. For more information abou

“A brand story should be built on a good narrative.” Jeff Swystun has built his career helping brands tell their stories. His career alone is storied with time at DDB and Interbrand. He’s also author fo the new book Why Marketing Works. We talked about why branding, marketing, and stories work this week on the On Brand podcast. About Jeff Swystun Jeff Swystun is a consulting CMO working with leading brands and brands that want to lead. Prior, Jeff was Chief Communications Officer at DDB Worldwide and Chief Marketing Officer at Interbrand. A prolific speaker and writer, Jeff has appeared at over 100 conferences in over 25 countries. He is the author of The Brand Glossary; The Brand Marketers Report; Best Global Brands; Best Canadian Brands; and Best Chinese Brands, and the new book Why Marketing Works. Over 100 publications have featured Jeff including The Wall Street Journal, Advertising Age, Fast Company, Rolling Stone, and Managing Intellectual Property. He is a marketing expert for CNBC, USA Today, Toronto

“I started out struggling with doing business and doing good. It’s always presented as this zero-sum game. And it doesn’t have to be.” Alexandra Dimiziani has spent her career building iconic brands such as Coca-Cola and Airbnb. Today she’s co-founder/managing partner of TwentyFirstCenturyBrand, where she helps build, well — brands for the 21st century! We discussed what this means and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Alexandra Dimiziani Alexandra Dimiziani has enjoyed a ‘lattice’ career full of both awe-inspiring and awkward moments. Her experience runs a gamut, from developing advertising campaigns for iconic brands like Ralph Lauren, National Geographic, and The Economist out of New York, to leading a non-profit organization in Rwanda committed to improving the health of the most vulnerable populations. Other sideways moves include a year of solo backpacking around the world, authoring a book, and obtaining a Masters degree in investigative journalism, to name a few. In 2006, Alex

“Someone’s story is what gets us most.” With a background in improvisational comedy and marketing, Judi Holler is an expert at crafting and remixing fearless stories. She’s also author of the new book Fear Is My Homeboy. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Judi Holler Judi Holler is a professionally trained improviser and alumna of the Second City Training Center Conservatory in Chicago, Illinois. Judi started working in the hospitality industry at the age of thirteen and has spent the past fifteen years working in the convention and meetings industry, specializing in sales and marketing for companies like Marriott, Omni, and Starwood Hotels before starting her company, HOLLA! Productions, in 2013. Judi is a past president of Meeting Professionals International, Chicago Area Chapter, and was named one of the 40 under 40 in the meetings industry by Connect magazine in 2015. Judi was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and spent ten years living in Chicago

“Marketing doesn’t always have one right answer.” As both a branding expert and instructor at NYU Stern School of Business, Allen Adamson knows how the world of branding has changed and what’s important for students and brand builders alike to understand. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Allen Adamson Allen Adamson is a noted industry expert in all disciplines of branding. He is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Metaforce.co, NYU Stern School of Business Adjunct Professor of Marketing, and the author of BrandSimple, BrandDigital, The Edge: 50 Tips from Brands That Lead, and his latest Shift Ahead. Prior to Metaforce, Allen was Chairman, North America of Landor Associates, a global branding firm. Episode Highlights Part of marketing success is stepping back and looking. Today, too often we’re focused on what’s happening right now. As a result, we miss the opportunity for marketing innovation. As Allen notes, “People were standing on the street yelling for

"Experience design is the suite of emotions that you deliver over time.” This clear and concise answer came from this week’s guest on the On Brand podcast, Karin Soukup. As Brand Experience Director at Collins San Francisco, she spends her time answering this question with clients and helping them develop innovative solutions. We discussed all of this and more this week on the show. About Karin Soukup Karin is an award-winning creative lead and design educator with over 15 years of multi-platform experience focusing on strategic product innovation, experience design, branding and systems-thinking for work across the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Her contributions have been recognized by Graphis, Type Directors Club, Eye Magazine, Communication Arts, AIGA, the Society of Publication Designers, Brand New, The Center for Plain Language, and The Emmys. Episode Highlights “Experience design is the orchestration of feelings.” As this episode is focused on design, we spent a lot of time talking about inte

“Brand and culture are two weird words that are getting put together more and more.” This week on the On Brand podcast, we explore these two words—brand and culture—and how to activate them in the creation of meaningful brand experiences with Dennis Hahn, chief strategy officer at Liquid. About Dennis Hahn As chief strategy officer at Liquid, Dennis Hahn is responsible for the methodologies that Liquid uses to address the strategic challenges of our clients. Dennis leads teams of strategists across all of Liquid’s offices, providing expertise, mentoring and consulting on a wide range of significant strategic branding initiatives for clients that include John Deere, HP, Microsoft, Motorola, Nasdaq, PayPal and Walmart. Prior to joining Liquid, Dennis spent 10 years as the president and chief strategy officer of ID Branding, a multi-disciplinary agency that grows meaningful brands for consumers and employees. It was here that he worked closely with cultural anthropologists to pioneer methods that help organizati

“Everyone has an important role to play in the big vision.” This week on the On Brand podcast, I was joined by Stephanie Nivinskus, CEO of SizzleForce Marketing. We talked about the impact of effective copywriting, creating brands with heart, leadership and culture, and more. About Stephanie Nivinskus Stephanie Nivinskus is CEO of SizzleForce Marketing, a strategic copywriting agency. Since 1995, Stephanie has developed brand-building campaigns that have been used by Fortune 500 companies, including Starbucks, Quicksilver, and The National Football League, along with hundreds of small, privately owned companies. She also is the creator of SizzleForce Marketing Academy, a digital training platform for small business owners who want to learn how to master their own marketing. She has written for Forbes and Entrepreneur magazines and is the author of the Internataional #1 Bestseller, Absolutely Unforgettable: The Entrepreneur's Guide To Creating A Heart-Centered Brand And Standing Out In A Noisy World. Episode H

“If your brand was to go away tomorrow, would anyone miss it?” Awkward silence. That’s because, for the most part, very few brands today are truly indispensable. Mitch Duckler is out to change that. The author of the new book The Indispensable Brand and founder of Full Surge was my guest this week on the On Brand podcast. About Mitch Duckler Mitch Duckler is author of The Indispensable Brand, and a founder and managing partner of FullSurge, a brand and marketing strategy consultancy based in Chicago, Illinois. He has more than 25 years of brand management and management consulting experience, at Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company, Vivaldi Partners Group, and Prophet, where he co-led the brand strategy practice area. His client base includes Fortune 500 companies and numerous world-class brands, such as Boeing, Deloitte, and General Electric. Mitch is a faculty member of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) School of Marketing. Episode Highlights The trouble with brand strategy. It has to work at both th

“Leading with the who is something people want to jump right past.” No, my guest this week wasn’t talking about the band The Who. We were talking about why it’s so important to start with the customer—the who—in mind. This seems easy enough and yet … I discussed being a generalist, naming, and customer-journey mapping with Nancie McDonnell Ruder, fonder of Noetic Consultants, this week on the On Brand podcast. About Nancie McDonnell Ruder Nancie McDonnell Ruder’s 25-year career began at the Leo Burnett Company where she worked in account management and strategy for Procter & Gamble, Eli Lilly, The Gap, Lexmark Computers and Hoerchst Marion Rousseau. In 2002, Nancie founded Noetic Consultants with the goal of becoming an effective extension of her clients’ teams. The word “noetic” is related to one’s intellect and thinking. Nancie chose this name for the company because it reflects her team’s commitment to helping clients strategically think through their challenges so that, together, they can take the actions

“Culture internally seems like one of the most intuitive things to support. It’s a no brainer. And yet …” We miss it. Often. Thankfully there’s a new book to help us keep the connection between brand and culture top of mind — Cultivating a Creative Culture. The author Justin Dauer is my guest on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Justin Dauer Justin Dauer is the author of Cultivating a Creative Culture. The belief behind his book is simple: a happy and well-supported employee is a fueled, charged, inspired creator. Quality of work is elevated, quality of life is strengthened, and the organization’s brand becomes organically championed by the very people it supports. Justin graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. With Josef Müller-Brockmann and user advocacy claiming equal parts of his creative heart, he’s crafted digital experiences for clients like Sony, Chase, SRAM, IBM, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Through bloodshot tunnel vision, he’s drawn from those career experi

“People tend to see strategy and design as two separate things.” As the founder and CEO of Sylvain Labs, Alain Sylvain sits at the intersection of strategy and design. We discussed this including several examples of design thinking at work on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Alain Sylvain Alain Sylvain is the founder and CEO of Sylvain Labs, a strategy and design consultancy that helps companies seize the reality and potential of their business, products and brands. Clients include, Google, American Express, Airbnb, Spotify, Blackrock, Samsung, Pepsico, AB InBev, Jet, IKEA, GM, Sonos, the NBA, and others. Founded in 2010, the company is headquartered in NYC, with offices in Amsterdam and Richmond, VA, and a Certified B-Corporation. In addition to Sylvain Labs, Alain is a partner and investor in several ventures, including Master + Dynamic, a design-driven, premium audio brand, So Choice Softworks, a mobile gaming company, Lilo, an açai bowl company, and PetMio, a smart pet food startup. In a

“Building a brand is everyone's job and it’s challenging. It can feel like moving a mammoth.” As the Founder and Managing Consultant at Wavelength Marketing, Darren Coleman helps brands throughout the world like Johnson & Johnson and Pepsi build standout brand experiences. We discussed how to tame this beast and more this week on the On Brand podcast. About Darren Coleman Darren Coleman has over 20 years brand marketing experience spanning Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia and Japan. He counts Johnson & Johnson, BUPA, Maybank, Orange, Saudi Telecom Company, Ooredoo and PepsiCo are amongst the brands he has helped. Darren is frequently invited to deliver keynote talks at international conferences, moderate panel discussions and roundtables, sit on expert panel boards and comment on brand-related issues in national and international media. He holds an MA in marketing (University of Nottingham) and PhD in B2B services brand marketing (University of Birmingham, UK. He’s the Founder and Managing Consultant

“One of the thing’s that’s hardest to do is continue to grow.” As Vice President of Marketing and Growth at Hubspot, Kieran Flanagan has helped the inbound marketing giant do just that. He's responsible for managing all of HubSpot's global demand, acquisition of new users, monetization of freemium funnels, and leading the global marketing team. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Kieran Flanagan Kieran Flanagan is the VP of Marketing & Growth at HubSpot, and has helped add millions in additional traffic, users, and revenue to their bottom line. He's responsible for managing all of HubSpot's global demand, acquisition of new users, monetizing freemium funnels, and leading the global marketing team. Previously, Kieran served as Marketing Manager at Marketo and Salesforce, and launched the first inbound marketing campaign ever for Salesforce, which accomplished 70% of their annual traffic in just three weeks. Kieran is also an author, speaker, startup advisor,