BRITE Ideas

On this Episode of the BRITE Ideas podcast, JP and Matt interview Marissa Freeman (CMO, Union Square Hospitality Group) who discusses the unique customer experience Danny Meyer created first with Union Square Café and which now encompasses entertainment, hospitality, and entrepreneurial lessons as the brands within the USHG portfolio continue to grow. [NOTE: This episode was first recorded in 2021.]

In BRITE Ideas Ep. 12, JP and Matt speak with Lynne Biggar '90 (senior advisor, Boston Consulting Group; board member, Voya Financial) about the crucial need to link together marketing and business goals with both short- and medium-term metrics. In addition, Lynne also shares insights on using corporate purpose to drive stakeholder relationships at a time when trust it waning globally and how data-informed decision-making is critical, but is still not doing well at capturing brand investment impacts.

On this Episode of the BRITE Ideas podcast, Matt and JP speak with Kim Miller '08, Chief Marketing Officer of The Economist Group [NOTE: Kim left her role between recording this interview and posting it]. Kim talks about the unique charter of The Economist that is designed to protect its journalist independence – as an example, on marketing communications decisions Kim reports to the Editor in Chief who has authority over The Economist brand. As with many episodes, Kim also details the strong mission driven nature of the company – driving progress – and how that can help balance the commercial and brand needs facing any media company. In addition, Kim talks about leadership as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and her own BRITE Idea passion to combat the climate crisis – a pillar of the brand she works for.

In this episode of BRITE Ideas, Matt and JP speak with David Rubin (Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, The New York Times Company) about his passion as a marketer to "turn the mundane into the magical." He acknowledges that world news is far from mundane, but in broad competitive marketplaces, like media, uncovering and then tapping into the emotional impact on your customers leads to success. David also talks about the challenges and opportunities of the digital subscription news model and the crucial need to maintain an independent free press. Enjoy!

In this episode of BRITE Ideas, Matt and JP speak with Connor Wilson '15 (co-founder and executive chairman, Thursday Boot Company) about his journey building a direct-to-consumer brand. From recognizing a personal need that was a white space in the marketplace -- high-quality, versatile, mid-priced boots -- Connor talks through the everything he feels is crucial to build a business from idea to design to supply chain development to culture to brand execution. Through these efforts, he also shares his "brite idea" around the need for many more modular manufacturing facilities in the US and around the world accepting redundancy to enable resilience.

On this episode of BRITE Ideas, Matt and JP speak with Amy Binder '94 (Founder and CEO, R|F Binder) about the power of communications to solve business problems. Amy highlights the dire need to bridge the gap between the communications and business disciplines --- they are intricately linked, and yet neither side is effectively trained to understand the other. In addition, the discussion dips into the topics of company values and authenticity, a need for social impact metrics, and how leaders must adapt company culture out of the societal changes brought on by the COVID pandemic.

On this episode of BRITE Ideas, JP and Matt speak with Dilhan Fernando (CEO, Dilmah Tea) and Malik Fernando (Managing Director, Resplendent Ceylon) about the creation and growth of the first owned and operated tea company in Sri Lanka, Dilmah Tea.  The Fernando brothers talk about their father's purpose in launching the brand -- creating a locally-owned single-origin tea -- and how the family maintains its mission to share great tea with the world, while supporting the environment and the country of Sri Lanka.  [NOTE: This interview took place several months before the May 2022 crisis in Sri Lanka, and we offer our thanks and our support to Dilmah Tea and the citizens of the country as they work through these troubled times.]

In this BRITE Ideas episode, JP and Matt speak with Maria Thomas who currently serves in a variety of senior advisory and board roles (Redesign Health, Duos, Pew Research Center). Her career spans stints in the early years of Amazon, building NPR's digital platform, leading Etsy as CEO, and heading marketing at SmartThings (through its acquisition by Samsung). Maria notes pattern recognition as a key to business innovation and she shares her insights on the power of platforms, the deep impact of understanding a brand's culture both internally and externally, the future of technology and healthcare, and some pathways the metaverse may take. 

In this BRITE Ideas episode, JP and Matt speak with Scott Goodson (Founder and CEO, Strawberry Frog) and Chip Walker (Chief Strategy Officer, Strawberry Frog) about their book Activate Brand Purpose: How to Harness the Power of Movements to Transform Your Company . The discussion tackles how best to define purpose, its growing impact on talent management and investor relations, and knowing when a company is truly following a purpose via what it stands against and what it is willing to sacrifice. Activate  Brand Purpose is published by Kogan Page, a gracious supporter of the BRITE Ideas podcast!

Matt and JP speak with David Placek (Founder and President, Lexicon) about what goes into creating effective brand names. Drawn from the efforts to craft brand names like Sonos, Impossible Foods, Swiffer, and Blackberry, David talks about the importance of choosing a name that provides a platform for future product launches and innovations, the value of simplicity, the need to test names across cultures, and the importance of evaluating the equity of a name as brands, business, and society change over time.  We are thankful for Lexicon's support as a sponsor of the BRITE Ideas podcast, and believe David's tips and reflections on brand naming will be valuable to everyone building a brand.

On episode 3, JP and Matt interview John Goodwin (then-CEO, LEGO Foundation) and Kevin Frey (just-departed-CEO, Right to Play) about the relationships between brands, foundations, and social impact organizations.  They share insights on: how a company can effectively deliver social impact, tied to its business purpose, by supporting all elements of that ecosystem; how NGOs need to think strategically about their partnerships with brands and foundations; and how to build a brand idea -- in this case on "the impact of play" -- through educating all the stakeholders (governments, companies, and people) that must work together to drive lasting social change.

Matt and JP speak with Catherine Williams (Head of IQ, Qualtrics) about artificial intelligence and machine learning. Catherine discusses the current 'single problem, single solution' AI models of today while noting that advances allowing AI to tackle multiple problems are on the horizon. Her firm belief is that the complexity of human behavior and human emotions will require people and machines to work in concert to deliver meaningful impacts for business and society. 

On this episode of BRITE Ideas, JP and Matt speak with Musa Tariq, Chief Marketing Officer of GoFundMe. Musa gives examples from Nike, AirBnB, and GoFundMe – all of which he has worked for -- that exemplify his belief that brand building is akin to how people build relationships with each other. He also details how brands, at their core, are most powerful when they meet a fundamental human need. The challenge is effectively communicating the ethos of a brand's core target – especially brands that are bought by a wide range of people – within and outside the organization. As individuals increasingly look to reflect who they are in what they buy, Musa notes, “I think its brands that come out and say, ‘I am ok offending some people to stand for something'” that will win the future.