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

"Brand identity helps doctors see the patient behind the condition.” Vince Parry has spent his career at the forefront of the healthcare branding industry. He has launched some of the most iconic healthcare brands, such as Lipitor, Botox, and Prozac. He has also been instrumental in transforming the way society is educated about illness and the possible options for relief. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.  About Vince Parry Vince Parry, a 30-year veteran of the health and wellness communications industry is the founder of the Parry Branding Group. Throughout his distinguished career, Vince has worked on many of the most well-known corporate, franchise, service, and product brands. He was previously the Chief Branding Officer at inVentiv Health, the Founder and President of Y Brand, the Founder and President of GSW NY and the Chief Creative Officer at Sudler & Hennessy. Vince has appeared on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and BBC radio, has been featured i

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jerry and I discussed some new data on Snapchat's users following the growth Instagram has experienced since copying Snapchat adding a stories feature of their own. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week's show. Beyond the Sound Bite Snapchat users stay loyal, but Instagram could block its growth (TechCrunch). Remember, the Social Sound Bite is just the appetizer! On Monday morning we'll serve up a fresh new episode of the On Brand Podcast. Register now and SAVE for Social Brand Forum 2017 — September 14, 2017, at the Iowa Memorial Union. Learn more.  Last but not least … Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of senten

“There’s often some confusion and conflict around personal branding.” It’s true. For whatever reason, some people and companies have trouble with this concept. But in the interconnected digital age, personal interaction and influence matters more and more for brands. Barry Feldman’s new book, The Road to Recognition, provides a handy reference guide for those building new personal brands as well as seasoned personal brands. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Barry Feldman Barry Feldman is a copywriter, content marketing strategist, digital marketing consultant, blogger, speaker, and podcaster. Barry is a voice of authority in personal branding, SEO, content marketing, copywriting, and social media marketing. He works with companies big and small all over the globe to plan and create content that matters, guiding clients in their efforts to drive more traffic, leads and sales via their digital marketing efforts. Barry’s “the marketer’s marketer,” providing c

“Research shows that our psychology is very similar in situations where we’re struggling with branding and marketing challenges and when we’ve crash-landed on a mountain.” Today’s marketplace is chaotic. Jonathan David Lewis, partner at McKee Wallwork + Company, calls this new normal we find ourselves in “the wild.” This is the focus of his new book, Brand vs. Wild: Building Resilient Brands for Harsh Business Environments. We chatted about survival, leadership, and how your brand can avoid walking in circles on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.  About Jonathan David Lewis The author of Brand vs. Wild: Building Resilient Brands for Harsh Business Environments, Jonathan David Lewis is an engaging and authoritative speaker on shaping a brand that can survive—and thrive—in today’s tough, uncertain world. As partner and strategy director at McKee Wallwork + Company, Jonathan led his firm to be recognized by industry purveyor Advertising Age as a national leader in branding and marketing, winning the So

On this week’s Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jerry and I discussed the latest social media usage statistics. Specifically the fact that Instagram now has 700 million monthly active users — more than doubling over the past two years. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show. Beyond the Sound Bite Instagram Now Has 700 Million Monthly Users (Adweek). Remember, the Social Sound Bite is just the appetizer! On Monday morning we’ll serve up a fresh new episode of the On Brand Podcast. Last but not least … Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick

“Our brand values are up on the wall but there’s more to it. We have a very specific way of talking.” In addition to being a part of Nationwide’s Member Experience Team, Seth Sparks has a lot of the same non-branding interests as I do. In addition to talking branding, we managed to work in The West Wing, Doctor Who, and Star Trek on this week’s lively episode of the On Brand podcast. About Seth Sparks Seth Sparks is a blogger, vlogger, podcaster, and aspiring author. Professionally, he’s the head of media and technology for the Member Experience Network, a private community for strategic partners of Nationwide, as well as a partnership marketing manager for national member-based organizations. Episode Highlights How does Nationwide share their brand culture internally? Beyond the standard style guide, Nationwide has what Seth calls, “A particular way of talking. Bullet points instead of paragraphs. Visuals instead of words. Speak simply.” While this could sound like clarity in communications the outcome creat

“For us, marketing meant polishing the apple. Not chasing people, letting them find you.” Over the past 59 years, quite a few people have found Maker’s Mark. The distinctive bourbon has grown from being the hobby of founder Bill Samuels, Sr. His son, Bill Samuels, Jr., led much of that growth. From their wax-dipped bottles to their brand ambassador program, Maker’s has built a brand as unique as their spirits. I couldn’t wait to discuss all of this and more with Bill on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Bill Samuels, Jr. Growing up on Distiller’s Row in Bardstown, Kentucky – son of Maker’s Mark Founder Bill Samuels, Sr. and godson of Jim Beam – Bill Samuels, Jr. has been an eyewitness to many milestones in bourbon history and has made history himself. As the current Chairman Emeritus of Maker’s Mark, Bill ran his family’s company for 35 years as President and CEO. Under his watchful eye, he followed his father’s stern but simple piece of advice for him: “don’t screw up the whisky,” which is t

“Branding is thousands of tiny punches that add up.” And few deliver as many meaningful little punches as Bark & Co, the powerhouse brand dedicated to bringing joy to dog parents everywhere through innovative products and services like BarkBox. The company and its people love what they do and who they do it for. And it shows. This week, Bark’s Editor in Chief Stacie Grissom joined me for a chat on the On Brand podcast about all of this and much more. About Stacie Grissom Stacie Grissom is the head of content at BARK, the company building a next-generation brand for dogs and dog people. Stacie leads the team behind the BARK’s interactive, humor-driven content strategy and is a co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Dogs and Their People. She lives in NYC with her rescue mutt, Pimm. Episode Highlights What’s the difference between a dog owner and a dog parent? And, does it matter? It does to Bark & Co. “A dog owner is someone who looks at their dog as property. Not as a part of the family. A dog parent thr

“The only policy you need is ‘don’t be a jerk!'” While this may seem like surprising legal advice, it shouldn’t be considering the source. In addition to being a lawyer, marketing professional, and podcaster, Kerry O’Shea Gorgone is one of the nicest (read: not jerky!) people both online and off. We discussed the legal implications of new forms of media, copyright, podcasting, and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Kerry O’Shea Gorgone Kerry O’Shea Gorgone, JD, MBA, is a lawyer, podcaster, speaker, and writer. By day, she designs training programs for marketing professionals in her role as Director of Product Strategy, Training, at MarketingProfs. By night (and on weekends) Kerry writes for some of the most authoritative sites in the marketing and PR industry, including Mark Schaefer’s {grow} blog, Social Media Explorer, Entrepreneur, Spin Sucks, and MackCollier.com, and also contributes to Huffington Post. Kerry hosts the MarketingProfs weekly interview series, Marketing Smarts, named

“Too often today we over-survey our customers.” As Amazon’s first Worldwide VP of Customer Service, Bill Price is a legend in the field of customer service. As an author and advisor, he continues to drive home the fact that service is one of the most critical brand touchpoints. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Bill Price Bill Price is a Partner with Big Data player Antuit leading its global customer experience and customer service advanced analytics program and is President of Driva Solutions that has worked with over 150 clients to forge the balance between cost controls and greater customer loyalty. Bill co-founded the 9-country LimeBridge Global Alliance; chairs the 41-company Global Operations Council; has taught at the University of Washington and Stanford MBA programs; and is the lead author of The Best Service is No Service: Liberating Your Customers From Customer Service, Keep Them Happy, and Control Costs (Wiley 2008) and Your Customer Rules! Del

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jerry and I discussed the latest social media insights from the 2017 Infinite Dial study from Edison Research (I also explained why this is one of my favorite data sources). Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week's show. Beyond the Sound Bite Here's a link to the 2017 Infinite Dial study from Edison Research. Remember, the Social Sound Bite is just the appetizer! On Monday morning we'll serve up a fresh new episode of the On Brand Podcast. Last but not least … Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick

“If you want to be authentic as a brand, you have to be able to make a mistake.” As social media manager for Cision, Bruce Kennedy is on the front lines of the brand's online conversations. Last week, he was in the front row for our live podcast onstage at SXSW, where we talked about how brands need to be more authentic than ever to stand out today. I couldn't wait to continue this conversation with Bruce on this week's episode of the On Brand podcast. About Bruce Kennedy Bruce Kennedy is a social media manager at Cision, where he manages Cision's global brands. Previously, he worked in public relations in tech and entertainment, helping brands from early stage startups to household names like Red Bull, Disney on Ice, Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey, Techweek and more. Connect with him on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter. Episode Highlights What does brand mean today? "We're seeing this change — especially with social media. Increasingly the brand is who's behind the brand." Why those photos of your offic

This week, we have a special LIVE episode of the On Brand podcast — on stage from SXSW Interactive. Recorded last Saturday, March 11 in Austin, this episode featured a timely discussion of a big question that many brand builders are struggling with in these divisive times — should your brand take a stand socially and politically? Joining me were guests Duff Stewart of GSD&M and Heather Whaling of Geben Communication. Next week, I’ll be back with a full-length brand builder interview. In the meantime, enjoy this week’s special episode. About Duff Stewart and Heather Whaling Duff Stewart is a 27-year veteran of GSD&M, where he serves as CEO. Through purpose-based branding, GSD&M helps articulate and activate a client’s core purpose and creates simple yet powerful ideas that make a difference. With a passion for bold creative and a well-developed business sense, Duff has led a profitable agency turnaround over the past five years. Since becoming CEO, more than 75% of the agency’s roster is new and the team has e

“A brand is a relationship between a customer and an organization.” Don E. Schultz has spent his storied career navigating, teaching, and writing about that very complex relationship. He’s a Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University’s Medill School, President of Agora, Inc, and author of over twenty-eight books on marketing. He’s also this week’s guest on the On Brand podcast. About Don E. Schultz Don E. Schultz, BBA (University of Oklahoma), MA and PhD (Michigan State University) is Professor (Emeritus-in-Service) Integrated Marketing Communications, The Medill School, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL and President of Agora, Inc., a global marketing, communication, and branding consulting firm. Schultz consults, lectures, and holds seminars on integrated marketing communication, marketing, branding, advertising, sales promotion, and communication management in Europe, South America, Asia/Pacific, the Middle East, Australia, and North America. He is the author/co-author

“A brand is a set of promises. If you break that, you hurt the brand.” With a storied career in advertising including his current gig as co-founder and creative director of the Velocity Partners agency, Doug Kessler has spent his career helping brands create and communicate promises to their communities. This week, Doug stopped by the On Brand podcast for a chat about content, creative, and strategy. About Doug Kessler Doug Kessler is co-founder and creative director of Velocity Partners, the London-based B2B content marketing agency — and Content Marketing Institute Agency of the Year. Doug has written a lot about content marketing including the B2B Content Strategy Checklist, Insane Honesty in Content Marketing and Crap: Why the Biggest Threat to Content Marketing is Content Marketing. Episode Highlights We started the show with … crap. Doug has spent a lot of time writing about crap. Or specifically, what we need to avoid creating as content marketers. As he notes, “the biggest threat to content marketing

On this week’s Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jay and I discussed Facebook’s newest feature for businesses — job listings! That’s right, when Facebook polled businesses they found that finding the right people was the top need. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show. Beyond the Sound Bite Here’s the full story at Business Insider – Facebook is taking on LinkedIn by letting businesses post job listings. Remember, the Social Sound Bite is just the appetizer! On Monday morning we’ll serve up a fresh new episode of the On Brand Podcast. Last but not least … Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast.

“When you don’t answer your customers — you’re sending them a message.” Today we have to meet our audience on an increasingly diverse array of traditional and digital media touch points. None has garnered more headlines over the past year than Snapchat. Jed Record joined us in Iowa last fall for the Social Brand Forum. Since then, both Snapchat and the emerging story media format have evolved even more. We discussed all of this on this week’s On Brand podcast.  About Jed Record A consultant, speaker, and educator, Jed Record guides corporate teams through the quickly changing landscape of emerging marketing technologies. He teaches marketing at Meredith College’s School of Business. Jed’s clients include both start-ups and global brands such as Lenovo, eBay, Thomson Reuters and Quintiles Transnational. He has worked with Toyota, Capital One, SanDisk and others on influence marketing campaigns as well. Episode Highlights Instagram stories vs. Snapchat stories. One big thing that’s changed since last summer/fal

On this week’s Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jay and I discussed a recent report on how Instagram’s algorithm works. While many thought the algorithm would kill the social network, Instagram is actually stronger than ever. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show. Beyond the Sound Bite Here’s the full story at Social Media Today – Inside the Instagram Algorithm. Remember, the Social Sound Bite is just the appetizer! On Monday morning we’ll serve up a fresh new episode of the On Brand Podcast. Last but not least … Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast?

"Branding is complicated when you try to define it." If there was an ongoing theme of the On Brand podcast, this week's guest hit the nail on the head. Of course, your brand is more than your logo but how do you organize the words and language around your story and communicate that internally. Brad Flowers co-founded and leads a language and story-focused branding firm, Bullhorn. We talked about all of that and more on this week’s On Brand podcast.  About Brad Flowers Brad Flowers co-founded Bullhorn in 2008. A graduate of the University of North Texas, Brad’s degree in Literature serves him well in his strategy and language work during the branding process. It does not serve him well in his operational work, which is primarily informed by his rugged real-world experience and self-taught MBA. He is also an avid cycler – for commuting and for competition. He co-founded and currently serves on the board of a non-profit community bike shop called Broke Spoke. Spreading the good word. Episode Highlights What does

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jay and I discussed some recently released numbers from both Facebook and Snapchat. As the upstart Snapchat prepares for their IPO, use, growth, and revenue are faltering. Over at Facebook, it's the exact opposite. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week's show. Beyond the Sound Bite Here's the full story at TechCrunch – Snapchat Stumbles Toward IPO. And now for something completely different over at eMarketer – For Facebook, an Exclamation Point to Cap a Chaotic Year. Remember, the Social Sound Bite is just the appetizer! On Monday morning we'll serve up a fresh new episode of the On Brand Podcast. Last but not least … Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And if you have