Bring the Real

We kick off season 3 exploring what it looks like to found and launch a small brand in the strange world of 2020. Our guests are Mitch Daugherty, founder of business incubator and accelerator Built Oregon, and Stephen Green, entrepreneur, self-proclaimed recovering banker and VC, and Director of Operations at Pensole Academy, among other titles. We dissect brand building across categories in the covid era, brand marketing in the context of the social justice movement, and we get plenty of great anecdotes along the way. 

Industrial designer Michael DiTullo shares his perspectives on the art and function of industrial design. Pulling from his experience designing some of the most innovative products for Fortune 500 companies, we dissect the evolution of the industry through the eyes of brands and consumers. 

Joining us in Portland from Melbourne, Australia are the minds behind retail design & brand activation agency Noise Noise Noise. Host Alex Vera and Guest Host Aaron Carlsson chat with Blair Cooper & Leigh Gallagher about trends in the Asian & Asian Pacific markets and the evolution of the fashion industry globally. 

Today's episode explores how the development of the young consumer over time and how they interact with brands, celebrities, and influencers in the modern market.  Featuring Aaron Carlsson of IDL and Jimmy Manley of Converse.  Edited by Tim Mulhern. 

This episode scratches an itch we've had for a while to explore how craft breweries connect to consumers in an industry that has grown and changed immensely in recent years.  We interview Dave Query, founder of The Post Brewing Co based in Colorado about the rise of the craft beer industry in general and the challenges in starting a brewery and reaching consumers in a saturated market.  For our feature interview, the IDL podcast team took a field trip to Bend, OR to interview 10 Barrel Brewing Co. We talk about their new podcast, Fully Aligned, as an organic channel to reach craft beer fans, 10 Barrel events, their brew pub experience and more. 

Join us for behind the scenes interviews with folks behind not-to-be-missed events at DWP. Design Week Portland takes place April 6-13. Visit designportland.org for more info and tune in today to hear from:  Tsilli Pines, co-founder of Design Week Portland Keith Hamilton of Torch sharing perspectives on AR Todd Adams of the Portland Trail Blazers  Adam Garcia, host of The Pressure is Good for You, A Talk Show

Listen in as we digest and pull apart how brands showed up at SXSW 2019. We attended activations, panels, and events; we rode scooters, ate tacos, and stood in too-long lines. Here's our round up of who did it right, who flopped, and our deep & meaningful insights from a week in Austin. 

Kicking off season 2, today's episode features 2 segments centered around what's hot now in sportswear.  Marketplace A new segment focusing on what's new in the brand marketing space featuring IDLers/sportswear fanatics Alex Gedrose & Henry Becker. References:  Nike Adapt: https://solecollector.com/news/2019/02/nike-adapt-bb-everything-to-know/nike-adapt-bb-top-secret  Adidas ocean plastic footwear: https://footwearnews.com/2019/focus/athletic-outdoor/adidas-parley-for-oceans-recycled-plastic-shoes-1202735137/  Travis Scott's Grammy Jordan Launch: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/travis-scott-jordan-nike-sneakers-shop-online-793486/ Monarch come back: https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/nike-air-monarch-history/     From Inception to Market Behind the scenes of Russell Westbrook's Why Not Zero.2 signature shoe. Featuring Jordan Footwear Designer Jay Enayah and Experiential Designer Tracee Enayah, we talk about the process of product design through launch through the lens of this husband & wife power couple.  Why Not Zero.2 Future History Colorway Reference: https://air.jordan.com/card/russell-westbrook-why-not-zero-2-future-history/    

IDL took a trip down the west coast to Long Beach to check out ComplexCon 2018. Joined by guest Zak Hoke of Addicted to Retail, we unpack the culture, experiences and brand activations that left an impact at this year’s event.    Episode References: ComplexCon - https://www.complexcon.com Sneakersnstuff & Sweet Chick - https://youtu.be/9ATMT0vXdT0 Pangaia - https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp9oQKSBTla/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet HBO The Shop - https://youtu.be/tc_X2YYZo7U

On this episode, we sit down with guest Whitney Wagoner, Director of the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. She shares how U of O delivers its athletic department to the world and how student experience influences recruiting. 

This week's episode explores experience within the nail salon industry. Guest Annie Stancliffe joins us to talk High Five Nails, her new nail salon concept that challenges industry standards through a mobile and pop-up based business model. 

We talk with guest Mitch Daugherty who founded Built Oregon, which connects, amplifies, and accelerates Oregon's consumer product companies and ecosystem. Mitch shares some examples of how emerging & locally focused brands are leveraging experience as a key brand building tool.  http://www.builtoregon.com     

Part of our Trends series, IDLer Bryan Humphreys talks seeding kits as the medium of the moment in brand marketing. A well placed seeding kit harnesses the power of social media to create a sense of exclusivity and excite a set of target consumers via an influencer who has an authentic, credible connection to a brand. A viral “unboxing” post by an influencer has the power to seed a product story to a massive yet targeted group of consumers, often at a lower price tag and with higher impact than traditional forms of marketing or advertising. 

This week, we drop a line into a candid conversation between IDLers over beers at our favorite local PDX watering hole, The Big Legrowlski. You'll get a rough cut of chatter as we riff on PR stunts like IHOP's recent temporary name change to IHOB and the trend of social media personalities and celebrities as brand ambassadors.  References:  IHOb:http://fortune.com/2018/06/11/ihop-ihob-name-meaning/ Fyre Festival: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/06/fyre-festival-billy-mcfarland-millennial-marketing-fiasco  Thomas Middleditch of Silicon Valley + Verizon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3zptG2nVmM 

In this episode, we are joined by special guest Liz Valentine, CEO & co-founder of Swift, a powerhouse creative agency in Portland, OR. We ask Liz what it means to be a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry, and how that has played out both in her own career and as a business owner. Liz shares the story behind her company, and we talk digital brand marketing in an increasingly social era.   Featured Links: http://www.swift.co https://www.instagram.com/swiftcollective https://www.designweekportland.com/events/ftw-for-the-women

This week, our guest of honor is none other than host Bryan Laing. We’re turning the tables on the man behind the mic and gaining insight into his background, passion as a winemaker, and lessons learned in business. There’s plenty of juicy brand marketing talk with ad hoc hosts Alex Vera and Pete Beck, and a good dose of tangents on chocolate, sports, and of course, wine.

Guest Anne Marie Stephen from the Retail Innovation Lounge joins us in a conversation rooted in retail technology. We cover the trends and hot topics like AR & VR, talk about how luxury retail has changed, and how brands and retailers can integrate seamless technology into their consumer experiences. Most importantly, we discuss the rapidly shifting industry and how brands have to adapt when it comes to the old measurements of data and ROI.

Consumers feel empowered on their own time, where they have the best experience. Thus, they reward brands for accessibility & quality. This means telling a rich story digitally, layering it atop dynamic physical moments. Both are platforms to better understand the consumer & interests. Upping their physical game means flexibility, change, & immersion – aka digital solutions.

This week in our Trends series, we dissect one of today’s biggest trends in brand marketing – influencer marketing. Joined by branding, PR & fashion influencer expert Alexandra Basch, we discuss the world of social influencers of fashion in the hub of it all - LA. We cover topics like how brands identify the right influencers, the best friend effect, the cost of influencer marketing, sponsored vs. organic content, and what’s behind the emerging phenomenon of micro-influencers.  

Podcasting from the IDL house in Austin, host Bryan Laing is joined by IDLers Bryan Humphreys, David Rocco, Scott Girard and Clark Johnson as they talk highlights and trends in experiential brand marketing at SXSW 2018. 

Podcasting from the IDL house in Austin, host Bryan Laing is joined by IDLers Sonya Klinger & Sarah Pletka as they talk highlights and trends in experiential brand marketing at SXSW 2018. 

In recent years, forward thinking disruptors have re-calibrated spend to create premium, bespoke experiences to garner global impressions. Pete dissects why established brands have such a difficult time staying ahead, and how the cult waves of Nike, Glossier, and Whole30 have driven market shifts.

Entrepreneur Bryan Meszaros started an agency out of his basement, which currently creates highly interactive experiential campaigns for global brands. He shares his thoughts on what’s becoming the focal point of the industry, and how to leverage that to resonate and educate users to build a brand with emotional and educational reach.

For brands, expressing an authentic message in a content polluted world requires careful, thoughtful design. Guest Bryan Boul discusses the challenge of creating authentic designs for products with little personal connection, and the no-brainer authentic expression that came through for his design of a man-cave pop-up for Persol. Our perception of authenticity is constantly changing, and it only gets harder to fake it.

An industry expert with high-impact global brands, Jeff Fisher drops some knowledge on tailoring accessible experiences for your target consumer. Our discussion dissects how to energize customers, maintain emotion, and tell a story through interactions within a space.

Critically consider personal shopping experiences. It’s a brand’s job to identify their message & deliver it, communicated through design. Designers must understand the motivation of the brand & keep a pulse on consumer interests. This is best achieved through an experiential lens firsthand. Today's consumers resonate with stories that aren’t pushy - where they can control the journey.