Episoder

  • What happens when the host becomes the guest? Today, David Baldwin sits on the other side of the microphone to talk with Mitch Bennett, the ECD who took over creative duties for David, and Ashley Yetman, Co-CEO and head of strategy at Baldwin&, who recently bought the agency. Join us for a fun discussion about what it was like building three purpose-based brands, the power of creativity, and what retirement might look like for someone who can't stop creating things.

    00:18 - David Intro

    03:12 - David's Story/Podcast Purpose

    09:20 - Balancing starting an agency with purpose

    12:03 - David's Core Beliefs

    14:31 - HB2 and Ponysaurus

    20:31 - Creativity going forward

    23:17 - Determining how to choose which idea comes next

    26:54 - Stepping away and being held accountable

    31:34 - How did you pull off the transition


    https://www.baldwinand.com/
    https://www.ponysaurusbrewing.com/
    https://takeyourseat.co/

  • Mariah Eckhardt runs one of the coolest natural brands going, and one of the OG purpose brands at that. On today’s episode, we talk with Mariah about how running everything at Burt’s Bees – from PR and promotions to marketing and everything in between – has led her to know and live this brand, inside and out. She also talks about how their purpose drives everything they do, not just the communications.

    00:18 - Mariah Intro

    02:10 - Mariah's background

    07:37 - Burt's Bees Mission

    09:48 - How does Burt's Bees fit into the natural marketr

    14:34 - Customer trust driving other products

    16:29 - Who are Burt and Roxanne

    22:34 - How does Burt live on now in the brand

    24:28 - Other Iconography

    26:10 - Conscious Beauty

    31:31 - Where can the brand go that it hasn't and vice versa

    37:28 - How did Burt's Bees influence Clorox

    39:50 - Influencers and Social Media

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  • Bojangles is an iconic Southern brand with a storied past and some pretty famous fried chicken around these here parts. Today, Bojangles Restaurants CMO Jackie Woodward talks about what it’s like to market a brand that is entrenched in the South and to take it to greater heights than ever before. Give it a listen.

    00:18 - Jackie Intro

    01:21 - How Jackie got to Bojangles

    04:20 - What is Bojangles

    09:22 - Bojangles "Southern” branding

    14:03 - Tailgating

    16:32 - Telling the Bojangles brand story

    19:05 - Tone of Voice

    19:52 - Hard Sweet Tea

    22:35 - Testing/Research

    24:03 - Championing Women Executives

    26:35 - Where to find Bojangles

  • Can you think of a brand with better unaided awareness than Butterball? Today, Christa Leupen talks about how the company uses their purpose to drive the entire organization. Join us for a lively discussion on what makes the brand tick and how they use their purpose to drive the use of turkey every day – not just on Thanksgiving.

    00:18 - Christa Intro

    01:22 - Director of Purpose and Consumer Communication Role

    02:34 - Path to this role

    04:49 - Work/Life Balance

    06:11 - Purpose defined by Butterball

    12:42 - Iconography

    13:22 - Challenges of being popular in specific seasons

    16:37 - Turkey Talk Line

    17:17 - Tone of Voice

    18:29 - Branching outside of tukey

    20:10 - Jimmy Fallon

    22:11 - Influencers

    26:17 - Driving the message for customers

    27:28 - Where are you in driving the purpose throughout the entire organization

    https://www.butterball.com/

  • Philip Freeman is a walk-the-talk kinda guy in every aspect of his life. As the founder of Murphy's Naturals, he's building a company that brings natural mosquito repellents to the world that are good for you and good for the environment at the same time. They call their philosophy DOG – Do Others Good. Philip uses the Murphy's brand and mission to drive everything they do, and they're growing like crazy – so maybe give it a listen.

    00:18 - Philip Intro

    01:13 - Murphy the Dog

    02:40 - How did your background lead you here

    05:16 - Formulation

    09:50 - B-Corp Status

    13:49 - The Dog Philosophy

    16:53 - Articulation of Brand's Purpose

    18:51 - Driving Culture

    22:01 - Company Traditions

    23:48 - Getting customer onboard

    28:47 - What are you most proud of at Murphys

    29:41 - The Loading Dock

    32:18 - How can people find you?

    Additional Resources:

    https://www.murphysnaturals.com/

  • We’re talking education this week with Quinn O’Brien, CMO at Carnegie Learning, which is the leading brand for education tools and methods. Quinn brings his experience working on mega brands like IBM, Volkswagen, and Lenovo to the space where Carnegie is dedicated to helping teachers create more “Aha!" moments” for students. Quinn has a lot of marketing wisdom, give him a listen.

    00:18 - Quinn Intro

    02:14 - Journey to current position

    05:26 - Lenovo and IBM

    10:47 - How did those experiences leave a stamp on you

    15:27 - Unpacking Carnegie's offerings

    23:09 - Carnegie Mission

    25:46 - Biggest challenges

    27:27 - What role do the parents play

    29:14 - How do you advertise most effectively

    30:30 - Brand Articulation

    33:22 - The future of learning

    35:54 - Tone of Voice

    41:18 - Being an objective voice in education

    https://www.carnegielearning.com/

  • Join us for an inspiring conversation with Christopher Symmes, Director of Marketing at Unilever where he manages their dressings line, including Hellmann’s, Sir Kensington’s, and Maille. Christopher is a living, breathing adherent to Brand Purpose and showing how it can drive your business – not just your advertising – to foster growth and create change. In fact, sometimes Brand Purpose isn’t part of the advertising at all.

    00:18 - Christopher Intro

    01:18 - What brought you to Unilever

    06:50 - How do you define brand purpose and how does that fit at Unilever

    13:17 - Super Bowl Commercials / Brie and Ham

    18:56 - Does the purpose of food waste live outside of Hellman's within Unilever

    19:54 - Does every Unilever brand have a social good component

    22:26 - Customer feedback

    25:21 - Other adjacent brands and their purposes

    29:25 - How does your personal purpose manifest itself professionally

    34:18 - Googling Hellmans Food Waste

  • Brilliant decisions, a great culture, and really smart people are the reason Best Buy has thrived during the great migration to e-commerce. That and smart people like Bruce Bildsten. Bruce has built a world class in-house agency and now produces work as good as any you can find in the biz. In today’s episode, he talks about what makes a great in-house agency, creative person, and brand.

    00:18 - Bruce Intro

    02:02 - Moving out of the "Silver Age" and going in-house

    05:47 - What are the challenges of moving in-house

    10:40 - Is it possible to have the same type of career if you're in-house

    16:23 - Best Buy's comeback

    20:33 - Articulation of Purpose

    25:42 - Brand Iconography

    27:18 - Tone of Voice Articulation

    29:03 - What have you learned being on the inside at Best Buy that you would take back to the agency world

    32:29 - BMW Films

    37:23 - Should you get the warranty?

    37:46 - What Best Buy work should people check out?


    https://bestbuy.box.com/s/kiii5k51j21r29apuwt9yc5uviqlbmtw

  • How good are you when it comes to listening? Matty Wishnow believes it's one of the keys to growing a company and, in particular, to accelerating a startup's success and efficiency. Today I talk to Matty about his book, "Listening for Growth," it’s a great read about lessons he’s learned and the plan forward he developed for launching his three successful startups. A must-read for anyone thinking of starting their own company.

    00:18 - Matty Intro

    01:45 - Starting your first company

    03:58 - How do you define growth

    08:38 - The pressure to grow disrupting the company

    10:09 - Epiphany leading to changes in entrepreneurship

    13:31 - GPS (Goals, Problems, Solutions)

    16:00 - Pentagon tool

    20:53 - How do you institutionalize this mindset within a company

    23:04 - Definition of “Listening"

    25:58 - Experiments and Hypotheses

    30:00 - When did you implement GPS with your companies

    33:48 - The business you didn't start

    36:47 - Past Prime Podcast

    39:49 - How can people find you


    https://www.mattywishnow.com/
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattywish/

  • On this week’s episode, we take another look at excellence in B2B marketing with our guest Emma Powers, Executive Director of Enterprise Marketing at Comcast Business. Emma has had a ringside seat for some massive changes in technology over the years, including the BlackBerry and IBM's Watson. And, during our conversation, she talks about how to bring a human touch to B2B marketing. Give it a listen.

    00:18 - Emma Intro

    01:29 - Emma's background

    04:10 - Beginnings of AI

    06:51 - AI as a creative revolution

    08:11 - AI at Comcast Business

    10:17 - What drew you to Comcast

    11:22 - How do you approach B2B marketing

    14:59 - What have you learned as technology changes so fast

    17:47 - How is Comcast showing up in the world

    20:37 - What do the customers rely on Comcast for

    22:32 - The human touch

    23:25 - Advice to other B2B marketers

    25:57 - Where can you find more about Comcast Business

    Additional Resources:

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmapowers/

  • On today’s episode, we welcome Amy Merrill. When it comes to brands leading the way in using what they do to create social change, Amy and her brand, Plan C, are the real deal. Amy talks about the opportunities and challenges Plan C has found in providing information and access to women who’ve been deprived of their personal choice. Branding, social mission, and creativity collide in a fascinating conversation.

    00:24 - Amy Intro

    01:35 - Amy's Story

    14:41 - Making world changes in a capitalistic society

    17:49 - How did Plan C come about?

    24:47 - US background compared to other countries

    30:02 - Complexities of working with each state

    36:50 - Bigger goal for the company

    44:44 - How do you get the message out via the brand

    47:43 - Does "C" have another meaning

    51:01 - Formerly Alien

    54:27 - How can you find Amy and Plan C


    Additional Resources:

    Amy Merrill
    https://www.eyesopendesign.com/about
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyjmerrill/
    instagram.com/amyjmerrill

    Plan C

    https://www.plancpills.org/
    instagram.com/plancpills

    Formerly Alien

    https://www.formerlyalien.com/
    Formerly Alien on Spotify
    instagram.com/formerlyalien

    The NYT podcast Amy referenced on the story of how abortion became a politically conservative issue:https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/07/podcasts/the-daily/roe-v-wade-supreme-court-jane-roe.html

  • It's not often you get to talk to someone who is transforming the music industry but that’s exactly what Garland Brown, CEO and founder of Swaye for Music, is doing. Garland describes how his super cool company lets fans support the artists they love while putting musicians in charge of the music they create. Talk about a powerful mission – check it out!

    00:18 - Garland Intro

    01:15 - America's "Techiest” Lawyer

    03:52 - What is Swaye?

    07:36 - How does it work for independent artists?

    10:54 - Where does Swaye "live”?

    12:47 - What does this do for streaming partners?

    14:49 - What is the music industry excited about this?

    22:25 - How does it work for an artist who signs up

    24:42 - Brand mission

    32:15 - How can you find Swaye?

    Additional Resources:

    https://swaye.com/
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/garlandb/

  • Every now and then, we’re going to replay your favorite episodes. This one features Andy Pearson, VP of Creative at Liquid Death. Andy talks about how to grow a business using creativity as a fame builder and how to turn a startup into a category dominator.

    00:32 - Andy Intro

    01:39 - Andy's story

    04:20 - Journey of Liquid Death

    11:22 - Plastic in the environment

    12:16 - Purpose Brand

    14:52 - Traditional Brand Work prior to the product

    18:00 - Articulation

    25:14 - What is too far?

    26:02 - Using agencies

    29:31 - Using the first idea

    31:22 - Creating Briefs

    33:30 - Business ethos

    37:17 - Hiring creative in house

    39:29 - What advice do you give start ups?

    43:51 - What's next for Liquid Death

    Additional Resources:
    https://liquiddeath.com/

  • Today’s episode is a doozy. We’re featuring Mike Watson: technologist, marketer, entrepreneur. The man was on the team that invented Bluetooth, of all things. Now he’s turning his acumen to the spirits category as president of Lonerider Spirits, which is new on the scene of spirits but sure to make noise with Mike in charge.

    00:18 - Mike Intro

    01:22 - How does a Tech and Bluetooth background lead to Spirits

    03:54 - Origin of Lonerider Spirits

    05:01 - Decision to move from beer to spirits

    07:51 - How do you make your brand stand out on the shelf

    12:31 - What are the challenges for being known for the Lonerider Brewery

    12:58 - Beer only drinkers vs Spirits only drinkers

    16:09 - How did you gain the expertise to make whiskey

    17:28 - Lonerider sub-brands

    21:22 - Driving penetration

    24:22 - Tone of Voice

    25:36 - How do you use measurements

    27:48 - Marketing specific cocktails and using influencers

    29:42 - How did Covid affect Lonerider

    31:25 - Sober curious movement

    39:16 - What's next for Lonerider

    https://loneriderspirits.com/

  • Today we welcome Tara Sahu, VP, Head of Integrated Marketing at Varo Bank. Tara talks about Varo's mission to democratize financial power and create a world where that power is no longer a privilege – providing access for over 100 million underbanked people. When was the last time you were inspired by a bank? Today. Today is the answer. Give it a listen.

    00:18 - Tara Intro

    02:05 - Journey to where you are now

    10:11 - Varo Bank Charter

    13:14 - Trust with online banking

    14:48 - Varo Mission Statement

    18:56 - History of income equality in banking space

    22:49 - Definition of Underbanked and Unbanked

    24:19 - Varo ideal customer

    27:21 - How does Varo make money

    28:42 - Getting people to switch to Varo

    30:04 - Purchase Funnel

    34:38 - Diversity moving from Coke to Fintech

    37:09 - How does the brand drive the culture

    38:31 - What keeps you up at night

  • Would you look at that, our 50th episode. While that ain’t nothing but a thing, we do have a doozy for you this time, an episode about the impact of AI. Few creative people in the ad industry know AI the way George Tannenbaum does. Considering his long stint working with Watson at IBM, who better to engage in a thoughtful discussion about the effects and ramifications of AI? As usual, George says things you should listen to – so listen here.

    00:18 - George Intro

    02:57 - George's thoughts on AI

    04:29 - George's AI Experience

    07:44 - Gutenberg Press

    09:10 - Has the Smartphone changed us

    13:05 - What does AI do well

    15:29 - AI and Economic Pull

    26:49 - Curating the bottom but creating the top

    30:32 - 10 year AI ad projection

    35:11 - Behaviors affecting brands

    38:33 - AI and churn

    45:56 - Showing companies and value and downfall of AI

    https://georgeco.de/

  • In this episode of Brands In Action, we welcome Will Burns, CEO and Founder of Ideasicle X, to talk about creativity and, more specifically, how to generate a ton of ideas that will solve a problem for you. Ideasicle X’s philosophy is “Nothing is Unthinkable,” and Will tells you all about the platform and how it can transform your work.

    00:18 - Will Intro

    01:58 - Ghosts

    2:57 - How your experience led to the creation of Ideasicle

    9:59 - How does Ideasicle work

    12:32 - How does Ideasicle work with people

    15:22 - Crowdsourcing

    16:45 - How do you put a team together

    17:55 - Brainstorming doesn't work

    21:04 - Bad ideas leading to good ones

    24:25 - Is Ideasicle a product or brand?

    28:19 - Where else can Ideasicle go

    32:57 - Where does AI fit into this platform

    35:52 - Creativity as a force versus a resource

    39:30 - What's next for Ideasicle

    42:08 - Who plays Will Burns in the movie

    https://www.ideasiclex.com/

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamoburns/

  • Yeesh, when you talk about clients who understand how to build a brand through great work, you’ll undoubtedly bring up Melissa Waters, CMO of Upwork. Melissa talks about how Upwork is leading the way in the “new work awakening” and telling those stories with some of the best advertising of the year, their “This is how we work now” campaign…okay, the Zombie CEO campaign. If you haven’t seen it, you’ll want to.

    00:18 - Melissa Intro

    02:04 - Journey to Upwork

    05:42 - Upwork Mission

    08:47 - Does Upwork drive the industry or fill the need

    12:41 - Covid affecting strategy

    15:38 - Empathy with your customer

    20:22 - Company culture in a remote workforce

    23:21 - Global layoffs bringing opportunity to Upwork

    26:02 - Smart advertising

    37:39 - What needed to change at Upwork when you arrived

    39:51 - Tone of voice

    44:27 - Where can you find Upwork

    https://www.upwork.com/howwework

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissawaters/

  • Welcome to the Best of Brands in Action. Today we’re replaying our most popular episode of 2022 with our guest Joey Manfre from Fender Guitars. Joey talks about keeping the flame alive to take one of America’s most iconic brands into the future. Happy holidays everyone.

    00:33 - Joey Intro

    01:45 - How did you get to Fender?

    05:51 - Being mission driven

    08:23 - Fender culture

    11:43 - Intimidation to start working for Fender

    13:23 - Response to "Guitar is Dead”

    18:35 - Influencers

    22:43 - Mission of Fender

    24:39 - How does Fender support artists

    33:07 - Genre stories in marketing communication

    37:48 - Fender Brand ID

    41:05 - New Fender guitar

    42:40 - Imitations

    44:11 - Tone of Voice

    46:21 - What knowledge would you take with you to former self

    47:31 - How can you find Fender


    https://www.linkedin.com/in/joey-manfre-10218612/

    https://www.fender.com/en-US/start

    https://www.facebook.com/Fender/

    https://twitter.com/Fender

    https://www.instagram.com/fender/

    https://www.youtube.com/user/fendermusical

  • Not everyone gets to climb a mountain twice. Almost 20 years ago, Chris Knott built a brand called Peter Millar working out of his closet, turning it into a global force in the process. And now he’s doing it again with his new partners at johnnie-O. Chris talks about how his merchandising knowledge and his sense of design come together to help him make very special things.

    00:18 - Chris Intro

    01:33 - How Chris got here

    07:03 – johnnie-O Style

    10:12 - Distribution Strategy

    13:46 - Label vs Brand

    16:03 - Brand Articulation

    20:16 - Near Luxury Casual

    22:52 - Is the SoCal lifestyle aspirational everywhere?

    25:38 - Value

    32:33 - Who plays Chris Knott in the movie?

    33:55 - Where can you find johnnie-O?

    https://www.johnnie-o.com/