Damn Good Brands

Welcome to DAMN GOOD BRANDS. Today, we're diving into the world of real estate with Julie Newdow and Mark Landisman. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, Julie and Mark are ranked in the top 1% of America's real estate broker teams by the Wall Street Journal.In this episode, Julie and Mark share their insights on professional growth in the real estate industry and the impact of the recession on the market. They also discuss how trust is the key to maintaining client retention and share details about their success mindsets, emphasizing the importance of working hard to make the lives of others better. Their inspiring conversation left me feeling fired up and motivated. So, if you're in the tri-state area and looking for your dream home, we encourage you to contact the Newdow-Landisman team. With their vast experience and commitment to excellence, you'll be in good hands. Check out their website at www.compass.com/agents/newdow-landisman or simply Google "Newdow Landisman."Thanks for listening.-----Produced by Simpler Media

Michelle Park is the Chief Marketing Officer for Territory Foods, a female-led fresh food platform that offers a new take on the food preparation and distribution industry with chef-prepared fresh food delivered locally.  Territory offers personalized menus with a chef's touch and can cater to paleo, vegan, pescetarian, any diet you name, they can do it and do it deliciously. As a customer of Territory I can attest to the fact that their food is fantastic - I kinda enjoy cooking but can never get around to doing it, so Territory is a real game changer because it gives you chef-caliber delicious meals that follow your diet and are delivered right to your door.  Michelle has a varied and fascinating job history that includes major positions across major CPG companies like Procter and Gamble, as well as leadership positions at multiple startups and venture capital firms. This was a great conversation about career trajectory as Michelle's did not follow a typical path by any means, but her experience across startups and major companies shaped her professional development to be extremely well-rounded and suited for leadership.  Really enjoyed this conversation and hope you do too. Without further ado, here is Territory Foods CMO, Michelle Park.  ----- Produced by https://podcastlaunch.pro (Simpler Media)

Jeremy Reid is the founder and CEO ofhttp://pinchme.com ( PINCHme.com) - the leading digital hub for CPG manufacturers to acquire new customers and increase sales through targeted and data-driven sampling. Since launching in 2012, PINCHme's community has grown to over 8 million members with $35 billion in collective spending power on consumer products and has powered sampling campaigns for multiple Fortune 400 CPG companies, including Kraft, Proctor & Gamble, Unilever, Kellog's, Reckitt Benckiser and Nestle to name a few. The origin of PinchMe started with the observation that CPG sampling programs were inefficient and ineffective, a problem that Jeremy sought to fix by building an entire business around an innovative and data-centric sampling platform. In this interview, Jeremy gets into his overall entrepreneurial origin story and how he overcame multiple obstacles in launching his company only to turn it into a major success story on today's episode of Damn Good Brands.  ----- Produced by https://podcastlaunch.pro (Simpler Media)

Joshua Ostrovsky is an entrepreneur, social media influencer, author, and plus-size model.  Having started his career as an Instagram humor influencer under the name The Fat Jewish, Josh went on to be a co-founder of Swish Beverages, which launched White Girl Rosé in 2015 followed by the Babe family of sparkling canned wines. In 2019, Anheuser-Busch acquired Swish Beverages, marking the brewer's largest wine investment to date.  In this wide-ranging conversation, Josh and I talked about his humble origins, entrepreneurship, the founding of Babe beverages, and his super exciting new venture. Guys, this episode is a treat, Josh is not only incredibly hilarious but surprisingly inspiring.  That being said, I will issue a disclaimer that this is definitely more of an R-Rated - episode so if bad language or crude jokes offend you even a little bit, you might want to stop listening now because there's QUITE A BIT OF IT. You've been warned.  Now without further ado, here is The Fat Jewish himself, Mr. Josh Ostrovsky.

We recently split up the prior episodes of Damn Good Brands into two different podcasts. If you may have noticed some of the previous episodes of the podcast are missing; but they're not. They've been transferred over to a brand new podcast called https://frictionless-marketing.captivate.fm/ (Frictionless Marketing). Frictionless Marketing will feature a series of corporate and creative conversations with CCOs, CMOs, and other executive marketing leaders to discuss today's best in class marketing campaigns and frictionless frameworks to help build your brand in an era where advertising is no longer the answer. Frictionless Marketing we'll feature behind the scenes stories and expert insights to help marketing decision-makers prepare for a future where the consumer rules. Damn Good Brands—this podcast—willl focus more on entrepreneurs, founders, upstarts, and edgier, more controversial brands and brand leaders. We hope you subscribe to both, but check out Frictionless Marketing for Fortune 500 brand leaders like CCOs, CMOs, and other comms and marketing leaders, while Damn Good Brands will be the place for edgier deep-dives into new companies and new brands.

Mike Cessario is the CEO and Founder of Liquid Death, an outrageous new canned water brand with quality mountain water engineered to murder your thirst! Liquid Death has made a name for itself as an extremely disruptive force of marketing, and the brand's outlandish marketing stunts are as refreshing as the water itself. To date, the brand has convinced 180,000 people to sell them their souls, has cursed its water with a real witch and performed a reverse exorcism with an accredited warlock that allegedly put demons into the water. Customers who purchased during this time period were entitled to a coupon for $1 off any exorcism (yes, this is all for real). Recently, to further raise awareness of plastic pollution in the oceans, Liquid Death released a series of plush marine animal stuffed toys called Cutie Polluties that were bloodied and choked with plastic garbage. Additionally, as you can imagine, this is a brand whose unholy approach to marketing inspires a lot of controversy and hate, which is why Liquid Death took their favorite angry online comments and turned them into lyrics for their own death metal album. Liquid Death also has a very compelling mission, which is to eradicate the over-use of plastic bottles. According to their website, the average aluminum can contains over 70% recycled material, whereby the average plastic bottle contains only 3%. Additionally, aluminum cans are infinitely recyclable, and of all the aluminum produced since 1888, over 75% of it is still in current use. Plastic, on the other hand, technically isn't even recyclable in the first place because it costs so much money to melt it down, sending most of it into landfills and into the ocean. The planet has been overrun by plastic pollution, and Liquid Death is here to do something about it, which is why 10% of profits from every can sold help kill plastic pollution. Prior to founding Liquid Death, Mike worked in marketing with companies like Vayner Media and worked on multiple viral promotions for Netflix on series like "House of Cards," "Stranger Things," and "Narcos." The entrepreneurial origin story behind Liquid Death is extremely inspirational and a real testament to how putting passion, fun, and personality into a brand can make it into a formidable gamechanger. We get into all of this on this very special episode of Damn Good Brands Origin Stories. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Mike Cessario. Throw the rules away. The world of branding is silently governed by a list of archaic rules that dictate what you can and can't do - if you want a groundbreaking brand, it's time to stop playing by these rules. During his advertising years, Mike asked himself why products, specifically in CPG, had to play by these bland and boring 1950's rules, which entertainment brands were never at the mercy of. As a result, Liquid Death's marketing is brash, violent, occasionally foul-mouthed, and extremely controversial, but as a result, it has a rabid fan base because it's so fun and different. So whether you're starting a new brand or want to do something different with an existing one, consider throwing out the puritanical rule book that's been governing the world of CPG for decades and do something new. Ideas don't sell. Proof sells. After coming up with the idea of Liquid Death, instead of running straight towards investors, Mike decided to prove the product's viability in a low-risk manner by producing a commercial for the product before it even existed. The commercial was completely insane, became instantly viral, and Mike set up a Facebook page to gauge interest and found that there was a serious amount of demand for his product. He was even pitched by stores like 7-11. Mike then took this data, made a pitch deck, and was off to the races with investors. Had Mike walked into a boardroom with the idea for a mountain water with unnecessarily aggressive branding called Liquid Death, he probably would have been laughed...

After a 30-year agency career that included notable stints with Edelman and WE Communications, Alan VanderMolen was named Chief Communications Officer at CPG giant SC Johnson last year. Alan oversees both internal and external communications at SC Johnson, reporting to CEO Fisk Johnson.  In this wide-ranging conversation with Lippe Taylor CEO Paul Dyer, Alan delves into the importance of trust, keys to revolutionizing sustainability practice, the importance of internal comms, advice for aspiring leaders, and what it was like joining SC Johnson at the height of the pandemic.   Below are some key takeaways from this conversation with Alan.  Trust is a must. Alan is often quoted as saying, “Trust is evolving into a core competency for business.” From his perspective, today's brands need to treat the notion of trust with as much reverence and focus as they would typical communications pillars like reputation and promotion.  Don't try to change the past. Alan states that “Trust is the expression of how stakeholders believe you're going to behave in the future” and emphasizes how reputation is a rear-view mirror and the sum of perceptions about past performances. From this angle, Alan finds it to be fruitless to try and change past perceptions via reputation management; focusing on the trust you build in the future is a much more fruitful endeavor. Define sustainability in terms your customers understand. SC Johnson takes sustainability very seriously at both macro and micro levels. Alan believes the key to sustainable change happens at the community level, which is why it's incumbent on brands to communicate sustainability practices effectively in terms customers can relate to. Phrases like “carbon neutral” and “zero emissions” mean a great deal to corporations, but to most people, they're jargon. SC Johnson leads with concepts like “a waste-free world” and showcases what this means on a community level with initiatives at sporting events so they can remain relevant and relatable to local communities. These are the keys to lasting change as opposed to one-off CSR initiatives.

Russell Dyer is the VP & Chief of Communications and Government Affairs at Mondelēz International. At Mondelēz, Russ is responsible for overseeing all external and internal communications as well as government affairs for Mondelēz International, a Fortune 150 and the global leader in snacking. Russ joined Mondelēz in 2015 as Vice President, Global Communications. In that role, he was responsible for all strategic communications plans, overseeing the worldwide external and internal communication activities. Prior to joining Mondelēz, Russ spent 2 years at Kraft, and before that, Russ was agency-side with a 6.5-year stint at Weber Shandwick.  To listen to the entire conversation, check it out below on Lippe Taylor's DAMN GOOD BRANDS PODCAST. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Russ Dyer.  Speed and playfulness are the names of the game. As a brand, Oreo has just about nixed the extensive content approval processes in favor of quick brand responses in real-time, which is what this digital age demands when it comes to brand relevance. Perhaps the most notable example of this was Oreo's Dunk in the Dark campaign, which has a place in the annals of marketing history. The idea itself was extremely simple, but the fact that they were the first brand to respond during this moment in culture catapulted them to the top of the conversation, making this one piece of content a best practice for years to come. As such, Oreo has built a social media content engine based on quick responses and engaging with conversations of the day in real-time and in ways that are authentic to the brand.  ESG is an open playing field; invent your own best practices. Mondelēz launched the first of its kind traceability program with the Triscuit brand, whereby consumers are able to see the exact path to production the crackers take; this includes everything from where their ingredients are sourced from to their exact manufacturing processes. As more and more consumers and stakeholders become interested in transparency, finding new ways of disclosing this information is going to become more and more important. Rather than studying how other brands were handling this element of ESG, Mondelēz decided to invent their own, and I'm sure other brands will begin to do similar things. ESG is still an evolving field, so rather than wait for a best practice to emulate, do what Mondelēz did and create your own pilot programs and test & learns to chart the path yourself.  The squeaky wheel gets the opportunities. Russ delivered a killer piece of career advice, which was to make sure you are constantly exposing yourself to new people, new knowledge, and new ways of thinking and learning. Throughout the course of a career in marketing, it's rare to have a manager who will give you the kind of mentorship and education that will really enable you to flourish towards executive leadership; these are things you're going to have to find for yourself. Russ specified that it takes a HUNGER for new knowledge and relationships to move upward, so get out there, start taking people out for lunches, coffees, or just casual conversations, if only to expose yourself to new ways of thinking and working. It all pays off eventually.  Speed and playfulness are the names of the game. As a brand, Oreo has just about nixed the extensive content approval processes in favor of quick brand responses in real-time, which is what this digital age demands when it comes to brand relevance. Perhaps the most notable example of this was Oreo's Dunk in the Dark campaign, which has a place in the annals of marketing history. The idea itself was extremely simple, but the fact that they were the first brand to respond during this moment in culture catapulted them to the top of the conversation, making this one piece of content a best practice for years to come. As such, Oreo has built a social media content engine based on quick responses and engaging with conversations of the day in real-time and in ways that are authentic to the brand.  ESG is an open playing field; invent your own best practices. Mondelēz launched the first of its kind traceability program with the Triscuit brand, whereby consumers are able to see the exact path to production the crackers take; this includes everything from where their ingredients are sourced from to their exact manufacturing processes. As more and more consumers and stakeholders become interested in transparency, finding new ways of disclosing this information is going to become more and more important. Rather than studying how other brands were handling this element of ESG, Mondelēz decided to invent their own, and I'm sure other brands will begin to do similar things. ESG is still an evolving field, so rather than wait for a best practice to emulate, do what Mondelēz did and create your own pilot programs and test & learns to chart the path yourself.  The squeaky wheel gets the opportunities. Russ delivered a killer piece of career advice, which was to make sure you are constantly exposing yourself to new people, new knowledge, and new ways of thinking and learning. Throughout the course of a career in marketing, it's rare to have a manager who will give you the kind of mentorship and education that will really enable you to flourish towards executive leadership; these are things you're going to have to find for yourself. Russ specified that it takes a HUNGER for new knowledge and relationships to move upward, so get out there, start taking people out for lunches, coffees, or just casual conversations, if only to expose yourself to new ways of thinking and working. It all pays off eventually.

June Lee Risser is Vice President and General Manager for the U.S. Galderma Consumer Care business.  A strategic business leader with a passion for building great brands, June is responsible for leading the U.S. commercial organization for the Galderma portfolio of consumer-available brands, including Cetaphil® Gentle Skin Care products, celebrating 70 years of healthy skin in 2017 and Differin® Gel,  first FDA-approved, prescription-strength retinoid acne treatment available over the counter since 2017.    June joined Galderma in April 2016 as Vice President of Marketing for the Consumer business.  In that role, she redefined the strategy and streamlined the structure of the marketing team to drive stronger growth on the priority brands of Cetaphil and Differin.    Prior to joining Galderma, June spent 12 years with Reckitt Benckiser in roles of increasing responsibility.  During her tenure there, she led key consumer brands such as Lysol and Clearasil to new heights.  As Global Innovation Director for the Personal Care Category based in the U.K., she led strategic planning and innovation for Clearasil. Before that, June was a Managing Director in a brand strategy consulting firm in NYC, Vivaldi Partners, advising clients on marketing and growth strategies.    June holds a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a master's degree from the JFK School of Government at Harvard University.   Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with June:   Boots on the ground = real commitment. Camp Wonder is the annual event for children suffering from skin disorders that Cetaphil sponsors and is particularly proud of. Instead of just dropshipping products, June and her team attend the event on a regular basis. By being there, their commitment is illustrated, and furthermore, the experience invigorates her and her team because they get to experience the good that the brand does first hand, which is an incredible boost to morale and, therefore, performance. Having a mission is critical for a brand, but make sure your teammates can witness the mission in action up close and personal.   Maintain relevance by returning to your brand's core purpose. In this day and age, there are endless amounts of upstarts that are disrupting many businesses, CPG & beauty in particular. To safeguard against this disruption, June recommends staying entirely in touch with what your brand's purpose was on day one instead of constantly reevaluating who you are, thereby confusing consumers. Third-party endorsements can help tremendously, not just doctors but influencer experts as well. Marketing, however, is a constant struggle and requires pivoting and reevaluating your strategies and tactics regularly but make sure you keep your core principles top of mind throughout the journey. Look for courage and integrity in new hires. When asked what she looks for when hiring new candidates, June, without question, stated courage and integrity. She went on to say that sales and marketing skills can be taught, but what cannot be taught are these two qualities that can tremendously enable an employee to have a consistently positive impact on the company's culture and bottom line, particularly during tough times like COVID-19. Find a way to seek these qualities out in your prospective employees in the interview process. This could be through stories of triumph over adversity or stories of courage. Integrity and courage can trump skills and experience in the long term.

Jen Sey is the global brand president at Levi Strauss & Co.,  where she is responsible for marketing, design, merchandising, and brand experience. Jen has been with Levi Strauss & Co. for more than 20 years, holding a variety of leadership positions within the Marketing, Strategy, and Ecommerce teams. In 2013, Jen became the global chief marketing officer for the Levi’s brand and in 2018 was appointed senior vice president and chief marketing officer, overseeing marketing for the company’s portfolio of brands. Jen has been named one of AdAge’s "Top 40 Marketers Under 40" one of Brand Innovators' "Top 50 Women in Marketing," Billboard Magazine’s "Top 25 Most Powerful People in Music and Fashion," receiver of the CMO Social Responsibility Award and she was featured on Forbes CMO Next List: 50 Chief Marketers Who Are Redefining the CMO role. As a child, Jen led an intense life of dedication, challenge, and competition. She won the U.S. National Gymnastics Championship title in 1986, less than one year after having suffered a devastating injury at the 1985 World Championships. As a result, the U.S. Olympic Committee named her Gymnastics’ Athlete of the Year. Jen retired after eight years on the national team and went on to study at Stanford University. In 2008, Jen released a memoir, “Chalked Up,” a New York Times E-Book Best Seller detailing her triumphs and struggles within the world of competitive gymnastics. Jen's book led to her producing a Netflix documentary on the investigation and ultimate conviction of Larry Nassar and the decades-long abusive culture of USA Gymnastics. This was a pretty wide-ranging conversation and Jen really over delivered on the leadership advice here, focusing a lot on how climbing the corporate ladder is not always a recipe for success in corporate America, as well as details on how Levi's weathered the storm of COVID-19 and keys to establishing an authentic company culture.    Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Jen. Focus on expansion over upward progression. This is a great piece of career advice. In addition to her executive position at a Fortune 500 brand, Jen is a former elite athlete, published author, and successful documentary producer. She has had accomplishments in many disparate arenas, and each experience seems to have compounded to develop her professionally in ways that serve just about everything she does. This may run counter to the 'Jack of all trades' debate, but Jen makes it work beautifully. When Jen found herself overly focused on climbing the corporate ladder, she frequently felt stuck. What Jen found to be a much more effective and enjoyable strategy for her career progression was to focus on experiences and projects that would expand her skill sets and knowledge base. Doing so made her a much more well-rounded professional with the ability to pivot, adapt, and learn new skills, all of which served her tremendously as a leader.   Bring a unified version of yourself to everything you do. When publishing her first book, Jen's initial instinct was to be silent about it out of concern it could make her seem less dedicated to her corporate work. As her book's popularity blew up and she began doing a robust amount of media interviews, ultimately, she could no longer hide it. What ended up happening when people found out though, was the opposite of what she had feared; her new accomplishment was extremely impressive to many people and made her more synonymous with being outspoken, creative, and downright more interesting, all of which ultimately helped her career. So if you're accomplishing a lot with your side hustles, don't hide them because they may just help boost your corporate persona. Creating an environment for true selves is the key to authenticity, and it starts at the top.  Leaders who are forthright about their own feelings give others permission to do the same. This has never been more important than now, where a lot of managers and executives are relinquishing the notion of a flawless and unfeeling leader as an outdated archetype.  Instead, today's leaders are feeling free to be honest and vulnerable around their staff, which gives those who report to them the license to do the same. This level of transparency is what truly allows corporate atmospheres to blossom into authentic communities.

John Galloway is chief marketing and innovation officer for Godiva Chocolatier, the 95-year-old Belgian maker of premium chocolate. He joined the company in 2018 after nearly 30 years in marketing, including substantial stints at Pepsi and Hard Rock.  John came to Godiva from a position as CEO of Beautiful Day, where he worked for three years to roll out the lifestyle brand startup. Before that he was with Hard Rock for eight years, handling advertising, public relations, loyalty, and social media for 208 hotels, casinos, cafés, and music venues in 75 countries.  At PepsiCo, he began with the Mountain Dew brand and worked in sports marketing, integration of new acquisitions, and other areas, concluding as vice president of marketing for Gatorade. Before that, he worked for agencies including TracyLocke and Burson Marsteller. John has a bachelor of arts in marketing from Manhattan College and attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with John Galloway.  Get your guard-rails in place to disaster-proof your brand. The past year was extremely challenging for most brands, but the brands who weathered the storm the best were the ones who had the strongest sense of who they are. The best way to respond to tragedy is with authenticity, which can only come from a brand that knows its identity, mission, purpose, and overall reason for being. Having a handle on this enables you to not only act fast in real-time, but it enables your team to do so as well. If your company has a universal understanding of your brand's identity, you can move faster and further in a crisis by giving more autonomy to your employees. This was a key to John’s ability to weather the storm of 2020 by hanging true to Godiva's north star of “opening people’s eyes to a more wonderful world.”    Stick to your cause. This is an interesting, albeit controversial topic. Godiva is a very cause-oriented organization, but John recommends picking a cause and sticking to it, investing in it, and focusing on it. In a world where there's a lot of bandwagon CSR, people can spot greenwashing, or any kind of washing, a mile away. Sticking to one cause not only prevents you from watering down your company's footprint in a specific charity or cause, but it's the kind of dedication that affects real change, all while showing your customers that you're the real deal.   Show your face! This is a simple one but potentially powerful. In our ZOOM-driven world, it's easy to turn the camera off and listen in on meetings, as ZOOM fatigue is a real thing. However, John claims that keeping the cameras on creates more energy, fosters community, and makes the meetings more productive. Today, a key element of retaining your staff is ensuring that they feel like they are part of a community, and having everyone see everyone else helps do that. Also, studies show that when people go through the motions of looking and dressing their best to prepare to be on camera, they're naturally more optimistic and productive, which we all could use more of.

Jeremy Parker is the Co-founder and CEO of Swag.com, the eCommerce platform for purchasing promotional materials that people actually want to keep. When you think of the promotional products industry, you might think of cheaply made items you pickup conferences only to eventually throw away. Or, god forbid you've ever had to order promotional products yourself and are aware of the nightmare of dealing with shipping inquiries, quality issues, and all manner of inconvenience synonymous with that industry. Swag.com's mission is to take the pain out of ordering customized promotional material with a focus on high quality, frictionless ordering, and seamless distribution. Swag.com launched in 2016 and has since become the fastest-growing company in the promotional product space. Inc. magazine recently included the company on its list of fastest-growing companies in the country. Swag.com’s thousands of customers include corporate giants like Facebook, Google, Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, and TikTok. In this conversation, Jeremy discusses the founding of Swag.com, what he learned from pivotal mentors, and how he was able to observe and utilize Uber's inventory-free model to great success.   Observe the Uber model of curation organization and obliterating friction. The foundation of SWAG.com was born out of the constant frustration most people have when ordering branded items for their companies or clients. Something as simple as branded t-shirts or water bottles can be a nightmarish process consisting of hours of research, waiting around for samples to arrive, comparing price quotes, etc. And even then, quality is never guaranteed. Instead of starting their own custom branding company from scratch, Swag.com yielded the Uber model of brokering, whereby they found and vetted a series of high-quality and trusted custom merchandise providers and created a network of them that they would dispatch orders to through their e-commerce platform. This allowed them to move fast and operate on a large scale, all with a very lean company structure.   Pound the pavement. When he was just starting out with Swag.com, Jeremy landed an enormous client right out of the gate, Facebook. How did he get Facebook? It wasn't from months of cold calling and emailing and asking for a meeting; no, he showed up at their office. By inserting his own foot in the door, decision-makers met with him and ultimately signed on to be his client. This caused a social proof domino effect because once he announced that he had a titan like Facebook as a client, WeWork and Netflix jumped on board next and the snowball for Swag.com was very much set in motion. Clearly, showing up at someone's office without an appointment doesn't always work, and you're likely to be turned away but, if you do it enough times, who knows, you may be surprised at who will take an impromptu meeting with you and what it can lead to. Surround yourself with greatness. In his earlier years, Jeremy worked very closely with Jessie Itzler, serial entrepreneur, social media personality,self-development guru, and husband to Spanx founder Sara Blakely. Jeremy's time with Jessie was incredibly formidable for his work ethic, entrepreneurial sensibility, intelligence, and overall hustle. If that wasn't enough, Jeremy got to spend a great deal of time with David Goggins; ex-Navy SEAL, motivational speaker, and downright badass in every sense of the word. The combination of these two mentors imbued Jeremy with innate entrepreneurial intelligence and a rock-solid discipline that he carried into Swag.com to the tune of great success. The saying goes that you become the sum total of the five people you spend the most amount of time with, so choose wisely. If you're around great, prosperous, and inspirational people, you're more than likely to turn out the same way.

Mike Cessario is the CEO and Founder of Liquid Death, an outrageous new canned water brand with quality mountain water engineered to murder your thirst! Liquid Death has made a name for itself as an extremely disruptive force of marketing, and the brand's outlandish marketing stunts are as refreshing as the water itself. To date, the brand has convinced 180,000 people to sell them their souls, has cursed its water with a real witch, and performed a reverse exorcism with an accredited warlock that allegedly put demons into the water. Customers who purchased during this time period were entitled to a coupon for $1 off any exorcism (yes, this is all for real). Recently, to further raise awareness of plastic pollution in the oceans, Liquid Death released a series of plush marine animal stuffed toys called Cutie Polluties that were bloodied and choked with plastic garbage. Additionally, as you can imagine, this is a brand whose unholy approach to marketing inspires a lot of controversy and hate, which is why Liquid Death took their favorite angry online comments and turned them into lyrics for their own death metal album. Liquid Death also has a very compelling mission, which is to eradicate the over-use of plastic bottles. According to their website, the average aluminum can contains over 70% recycled material, whereby the average plastic bottle contains only 3%. Additionally, aluminum cans are infinitely recyclable, and of all the aluminum produced since 1888, over 75% of it is still in current use. Plastic, on the other hand, technically isn't even recyclable in the first place because it costs so much money to melt it down, sending most of it into landfills and into the ocean. The planet has been overrun by plastic pollution, and Liquid Death is here to do something about it, which is why 10% of profits from every can sold help kill plastic pollution. Prior to founding Liquid Death, Mike worked in marketing with companies like Vayner Media and worked on multiple viral promotions for Netflix on series like "House of Cards," "Stranger Things," and "Narcos." The entrepreneurial origin story behind Liquid Death is extremely inspirational, and a real testament to how putting passion, fun, and personality into a brand can make it into a formidable gamechanger. We get into all of this on this very special episode of Damn Good Brands Origin Stories. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Mike Cessario. Throw the rules away. The world of branding is silently governed by a list of archaic rules that dictate what you can and can't do - if you want a groundbreaking brand, it's time to stop playing by these rules. During his advertising years, Mike asked himself why products, specifically in CPG, had to play by these bland and boring 1950's rules, which entertainment brands were never at the mercy of. As a result, Liquid Death's marketing is brash, violent, occasionally foul-mouthed, and extremely controversial, but as a result, it has a rabid fan base because it's so fun and different. So whether you're starting a new brand or want to do something different with an existing one, consider throwing out the puritanical rule book that's been governing the world of CPG for decades and do something new.   Ideas don't sell. Proof sells. After coming up with the idea of Liquid Death, instead of running straight towards investors, Mike decided to prove the product's viability in a low-risk manner by producing a commercial for the product before it even existed. The commercial was completely insane, became instantly viral, and Mike set up a Facebook page to gauge interest and found that there was a serious amount of demand for his product. He was even pitched by stores like 7-11. Mike then took this data, made a pitch deck, and was off to the races with investors. Had Mike walked into a boardroom with the idea for a mountain water with unnecessarily aggressive branding called Liquid Death, he probably would have been laughed out of the room. But, by showing the serious interest in the product, he de-risked the project and proved its viability. The public is dying for products as outlandish as Liquid Death, but you need to prove them before you can expect to get investors interested.   Compete within your culture, not your industry. One of the fascinating things about Liquid Death as a brand is how loyal the fans are and particularly how much merchandise they are selling. Posters, hats, sweatpants, limited edition T-shirts fly off their shelves because the company is more than a water brand; it’s a lifestyle. But it became that by taking a cue from other exciting and fanatical industries, like music, movies, and art, instead of trying to play by the rules within its own vertical. By doing that, it achieved icon status, and as a brand, it competes with entertainment properties because its marketing is always so hilarious and so insane, and fans are always on the lookout for what they're going to do next. Had they done an elaborate audit on what other brands in the water industry were doing and tried to compete by playing within their own space, the brand never would have had the impact it did. So, think outside of the box that your brand has put you in because that is the key to transcendent & compelling branding that enables truly loyal fans.

Jordan Silbert is the founder and CEO of Q Mixers, the premium brand of cocktail mixers. The idea for the company came to him while he was drinking top-shelf gin mixed with low-quality tonic with friends and asked himself, “Shouldn’t my tonic be as good as my gin?” Next came years of experimenting before he devised the perfect blend of high-quality ingredients and ample carbonation that became the brand’s first product. Today the Brooklyn-based company has 11 products and is distributed by all major retailers, in addition to being stocked by discerning bartenders everywhere. Before founding Q Mixers in 2006, Jordan was director of rebuilding initiatives for the Alliance for Downtown New York, where he provided the creative spark to revitalize parts of Lower Manhattan devastated by 9/11. Prior to that, he was director of business development for a startup, EQuill, that was eventually acquired by Microsoft. At earlier stages in his career, as an account executive with iTraffic, he oversaw day-to-day online marketing for Disney.com and was an economic development fellow with the Sonoma County Economic Development Board. Jordan has an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a bachelor of arts in public policy from Brown University. In this conversation with Lippe Taylor CEO Paul Dyer, Jordan discusses his entrepreneurial journey behind the launching of Q Mixers and how the brand has faired during the age of Covid. Please enjoy this conversation with Jordan Silbert.

Ray Kerins is senior vice president of corporate affairs for Bayer US.  Ray’s current position is the latest in a string of senior communications jobs in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry. Before joining Bayer in 2013, Ray was with Pfizer, serving as chief global spokesperson and overseeing global internal and external communications as vice president of external affairs and worldwide communications. Before that, he was chief global spokesperson for Merck & Co.  Ray has extensive experience on the agency side, including nine years at GCI Group and five years at Porter Novelli. Industry awards include PRWeek Magazine’s  “Outstanding In-House Professional Award” and a 2009 “Top 40 Under 40” recognition from PRWeek. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Iona College and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Bayer Executive Leadership Program. Here are some key takeaways from this interview.  Internal communications aid external communications more than ever.  If you’ve noticed that internal communications have recently become more central to corporate strategy, you’re right. As more employees have begun working from home, effective internal communications have turned out to be critical for telling employees what the corporation is doing and keeping them engaged. This ladders up to corporate strategy as well since employee awareness is critical for properly executed external comms. Invest in STEM. Bayer made a pledge to devote corporate resources to educate five million high school students in STEM subjects, despite the fact that it didn’t immediately and directly impact the corporation. The brilliance of this move is twofold; first, it fills the pipeline with a diverse group of potential future scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematics who will benefit society. Second, it shows real-world alignment with Bayer’s motto: “Science For A Better Life.” This is the kind of far-sighted thinking that ensures a company’s bright future and enables a brand to really walk the walk with their brand’s motto.  Having a strong reputation pays its best dividends during challenging times. If you are known as an organization that does what's right even when nobody is looking, then when the going gets rough, employees and customers will stand by you. This doesn't just happen, though; it’s the type of reputation that has to be earned over time, simply by doing the right thing. If your brand simply tries to cover up issues that occur without taking accountability and responsibility, you aren’t building your reputation in a sustainable way.    Thanks for listening, don't forget to subscribe!

Diane Gomez-Thinnes is Worldwide President at Mentor, one of the world’s biggest makers of breast implants for aesthetic and post-surgical breast reconstruction. Diane has been with the Johnson & Johnson company since 2016 and held the title of vice president for U.S. marketing and global strategic marketing before ascending to the role of president in 2019. Before Mentor, Diane was a marketing executive for medical device makers Ethicon and Cordis. She began her career as an engineer in the oil business and has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Princeton as well as an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. In this conversation with Lippe Taylor CEO, Paul Dyer, Diane got into everything from COVID ERA communications to mentorship and championing women in communications. Please enjoy this conversation with Mentor President Diane Gomez Thinnes. ----- Produced by Simpler Media

Matt Furman serves as the Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer at Best Buy, where he’s been since 2012. He’s responsible for communications--internal and external--as well as government affairs, CSR, and community relations. In addition, Matt manages event planning and Best Buy’s in-house production studio. Before joining the Minneapolis retailer, Matt held the Vice President of Corporate Affairs job at Mars Chocolate. Earlier gigs included communications leadership positions at Google and CNN. He worked in the administrations of Bill Clinton and Rudy Giuliani as well. A graduate of the American University School of Law, Matt is a licensed attorney and has been a member of the journalism and mass communication adjunct faculty at the University of Minnesota.  Here are some key takeaways from this interview. Consistency is the key to communications. Matt very elegantly stated, ‘if you speak to 100 people, a third of them didn't listen, a third of them forgot what you said, and the other third didn't believe you. And so you’ve got to speak, and you’ve got to speak again, and you’ve got to speak again.” The statement speaks for itself and is a true testament to how the job of a communicator is never truly done and comms workers must take note of that. Repetition is the key to scaling the efficacy of any communications campaign. Not everybody is convinced data and analytics have a central role to play. Matt has resisted the prevailing industry view that communications can be understood scientifically, the way marketing can, which is why he employs data in a limited fashion at Best Buy. The main reason, he says, is the difficulty of measuring sentiment in a communications context. For him, when a good story is told well,l it will be recognized. Similarly, when a crisis is handled well–or poorly—people will know it, and they don’t need data to convince them.  With matters of DEI, put everything on the table. The road to better DEI standards and practices can be daunting, but the best, and arguably, the only place to start is with your own company’s truth. Stating upfront where you know you need to do better not only inspires trust and faith in your employees & customers but allows you not to be paralyzed by the fear of your own company’s shortcomings since you owned up to them upfront. It may be uncomfortable, but any discussions that lead to lasting change have to start with the truth, regardless of how hard it may be. ----- Produced by Simpler Media

Paul Cohen joined Visa as Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer in 2017, coming from a similar role at PayPal. At PayPal, he spent two years setting up the company’s first corporate communications function and overseeing communications about its separation from eBay. Before that, he’d been with Visa for more than a decade, serving in his last position as Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Marketing for North America.   His time at Visa has been marked by, among other notable accomplishments, overseeing the company’s record-setting initial public offering. Before Visa, he was in-house at AT&T and also spent time with Fleishman-Hillard and The PBN Company agencies. Paul has been identified by PRovoke as one of the globe’s 100 most influential in-house communicators multiple times, most recently in 2020.   Here are some key takeaways from this interview.   When communicating with employees around major shifts like the overnight switch to working from home, transparency is the key. Over-communicate and make sure employees feel cared for and safe. And come at it from a variety of angles. Visa not only connected employees virtually with doctors who could explain health issues but also with psychologists who could provide expert insight into coping with the changes. The company also connected employees with each other through an intranet that facilitated activities from swapping recipes to exchanging homeschooling tips.   Traditional advertising that disrupts consumer experiences is being replaced by experiential communications. We all know consumers won’t tolerate long commercial breaks in the middle of a television program. So what marketers do instead is embed messages in ways that feel more natural. Communications can help here, with more engagement on social media and though events. Visa, for instance, is a sponsor of the Olympics, FIFA and the NFL. The expanded importance of experiential communications is here to stay while traditional advertising’s days are very much numbered.   Measurement is critical when interacting with business leaders, but so far AI isn’t making much impact. At Visa, a longstanding challenge has been to transition the brand's image from that of a credit company to that of a payment technology company. Reputation is also a focus. In both areas, measurement of communications impact is vital. Visa is increasingly investing in more reputation measurement type tools, including pulse polling done periodically as well as spot polls on current issues to guide decisions about whether to engage or not. AI and predictive tools, however, haven’t proven themselves at this brand.  ----- Produced by Simpler Media

Jeffrey Kuhlman is Chief Communications and Marketing Officer at Bentley Motors, Inc. Jeff was serving as communications chief for the U.S. arm of the British luxury automobile brand when he added marketing responsibilities in 2016. He reports to the president of Bentley USA as well as the U.K.-based global communications director. Jeff is an auto industry comms veteran, having worked for several automobile brands during his career. In addition to Bentley, which he joined in 2015, he’s filled communications shoes at Nissan, Audi, and General Motors. GM was his longest stint, extending 22 years until 2006 when he began a five-year engagement as chief communications officer at Audi. He handled jobs from speechwriter to environmental communications for Cadillac, GM Truck, and other divisions. Here are some key takeaways from this interview.    You can still have events safely during a pandemic if you follow health guidelines. As a brand that emphasized in-person events as a key marketing channel, Bentley needed to find a way to keep bringing customers and prospects together with its cars and people face-to-face. They found it in the form of limited-contact get-togethers with small numbers of people where effective social distancing was observed along with effective exposure to the brand and the vehicles.   If you’re looking for a mentor, don’t look far. The best mentor is probably someone you’re already working with or for. This person will be familiar with your work and be senior enough to give you some insight into what you’ll face as you ascend the ladder; and, ideally, a push from behind if you need it. Start by just hanging around and asking questions. If the connection is there, then and only then inquire about the prospects for being mentored.   Addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion starts as an inside job. If your brand isn’t working to be more fair and just with its own employees, it won’t be perceived as credible by those outside the company. For Jeff, this starts with discussing what diversity and inclusion mean to your team members and identifying the current challenges and opportunities there.   To craft the professional future you want, stay curious, and close to your passion. Jeff’s career with General Motors took off when he was challenged to master advanced automotive technology. That showed him the value of learning and staying interested and curious. Later, when he returned to the U.S. from Japan, he was motivated in part by a passion to return to a more boots-on-the-ground mode of working than he was getting as global head of communications for Nissan.   If your brand is celebrating a major anniversary, focus as much or more on the future as the past. For Bentley’s “Beyond 100” initiative, marking a century of existence, the brand naturally looked back at its legendary designs but also emphasized what it was doing to attract tomorrow’s buyers. One result was the determination to go all-electric by 2030. Thank you for listening! Don't forget to subscribe.  ----- Produced by Simpler Media

Chris Chiames is the Chief Communications Officer of Carnival Cruises.  As CCO, Chris reports directly to Carnival Cruise Line’s President, Christine Duffy. He oversees the company’s internal and external communications, reputation and issues management, and executive communications. Before joining Carnival in 2018, he worked as a senior communications executive mostly for major travel industry organizations including, among others, Sabre Corporation and Orbitz Worldwide. He has a master’s degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School as well as a master’s in journalism from the University of Maryland and a bachelor of arts in journalism from Fresno State University. In the interview, Chris describes some innovative ways Carnival kept in touch with its legions of devoted customers when the company was unable to run cruises for three-quarters of a full year. And he advises that the best way to be ready to communicate during an emergency is to act as though every day is a crisis along with thoughts on best practices for D&I. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Chris It’s fine to pitch yourself as a storyteller as long as your stories are relatable to financial people. In business, success is measured in financial terms and odds are good that HR, marketing, and other senior executives you are answering to and working with have financial backgrounds. That means comms people have to be comfortable with the numbers as well as the words. Sometimes making culture more welcoming to people of different ethnicities, genders, and backgrounds are as simple as changing a word. For example, after suggesting Carnival edit the description of the onboard job position for “Hostess” to something more gender-neutral, Chris was told there weren’t any male hosts anyway. Of course, no one is likely to apply for a job with a title that excludes them. Communicating effectively during a crisis has to start long before the emergency arrives. Every comms worker knows that advance planning is essential if you are to navigate troubled times successfully. Chris takes that a lot farther, arguing that every day is a crisis dress rehearsal. That means making sure you’re always grooming your brand’s reputation as assiduously as you would if you were actually in a crisis. A crisis is no time to try to fix a bad reputation, so do the work as far upstream as possible.  Difficult times can enable bonding among teams. Counter-intuitive? It sure sounds like it. But it’s less counter-intuitive when you consider that survivors of tumultuous times can develop a bond -- Chris describes it as a foxhole mentality – that gets its adhesive qualities from everyone doing unfamiliar jobs, having to rely on one another like never before – and not having to struggle against as much bureaucratic obstruction. Try to find time and perspective to observe the positive effects of this difficult time period on your teams’ dynamics as there may be major lessons there for less chaotic times. ----- Produced by Simpler Media

The Luminaries Mentoring Circle is a conversation series on female leadership with Lippe Taylor Founder & Chairwoman, Maureen Lippe and PRovoke Media’s Aarti Shah.  In this series, we invite the industry's most accomplished and respected leaders to provide mentorship and guidance for the industry's rising stars. At a time when PR professionals — especially women — are missing key opportunities for networking, we hope this series can help fill a void. This week’s conversation is with Levi’s CCO, Kelly McGinnis. Maureen & Kelly reflect on their careers while providing guidance and key strategies for the marketing industry's rising female leaders. The conversation, moderated by PRovoke's executive editor Aarti Shah, covers the importance of trusting your instincts, the crucial workplace transitions that are necessary as professionals grow into leadership roles, why vulnerability builds effective and empathetic leadership, and the long view on purpose and the pandemic — and more. Without further ado here is Levi Strauss CCO, Kelly McGinnis in conversation with Maureen Lippe and Aarti Shah.  ----- Produced by Simpler Media

For today’s episode, I sat down for the second time with Greg Galant, co-founder, and CEO of Muck Rack. A lot has changed in the year since we last spoke. Muck Rack was already important to PR specialists and journalists, but with the onset of the pandemic, they’ve seen their use by journalists explode, with their online portfolio tool now being used over a million times per month.  Journalists are also benefiting from the release of Muck Rack Trends, which allows users to track how stories are being reported in the media in real-time. Greg is also the founder of the Shorty Awards for social media and the Shorty Social Good Awards, which has developed into a master class on cause campaigns. Today, having a social purpose is the cost of admission for brands, and it goes way beyond the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of years past. Greg believes that “Social good is the only marketing that matters now.” The companies that thrive over the long run now will be those that successfully pivot to having a mission. Greg and I caught up on new and exciting trends in social media, how he and his companies have weathered, and thrived during the storm of COVID19 and what to expect from this year’s Shorty Social Good Awards. I always enjoy speaking to Greg; he is deeply steeped in the worlds of social media and communications and is overall a dynamic and fascinating entrepreneur who never seems to stop hustling. To my delight, Greg also recently re-launched his podcast Venture Voice and kicked it off with an interview with none other than Mark Cuban. So definitely be sure to check out Greg’s podcast Venture Voice and please enjoy this wide-ranging conversation with Greg Galant.

As President of Kao USA, Karen has overall responsibility for the Japanese consumer product giant’s operations in the Americas and Europe. An 11-year veteran of Kao, Karen previously filled dual roles as General Manager, US Sales, and Marketing and Europe Innovation for the Mass Channel.   Paul Dyer, CEO at Lippe Taylor and Shop PR, spoke with Karen about what she’s learned throughout her career of consumer marketing and how she’s had to pivot in the midst of 2020. In the interview, Karen talks about why having a brand that really speaks to the consumer is more important than ever before. She also discusses what newly minted professional communicators can bring to the game, as well as the risks of not taking a stand on important issues.   A few takeaways from this wide-ranging conversation are below.   Launch a brand any time as long as it connects to the consumer. Kao went against convention by launching the MyKirei line in the middle of the upheaval caused by COVID. MyKirei didn’t get buried as an irrelevant introduction because it combines performance with purpose. By incorporating environmental sustainability and a concern for the greater good, MyKirei managed to stand out even in a world consumed by a global health crisis and was a success, despite launching during covid.   New college graduates have in-demand 21st Century communications DNA. If product marketers understandably are nervous about launching products during COVID, 2020s, it’s understandable that graduates are feeling despondent about the future of communications. This doesn’t have to be the case because by virtue of their upbringing as the first truly digital-from-birth generation, today’s grads have unmatched insight into the communications standards & platforms of the day. By leveraging that, they can launch satisfying and successful careers despite the shaky economy.   Balance respect for intuition with knowledge derived from data. Beyond a doubt, Big Data gets more headlines these days than insight derived from sources such as personal intuition. But that may be more due to the newness of data as a key tool for communicators rather than to any real weakness of intuition. In reality, hunches have a role to play in providing a backstop to the results of analyzing data. That is if the data says something that should make you say, “Wow!” and instead, you say, “Meh,” the data may be misleading. ----- Produced by Simpler Media

Jerilan Greene is the Global Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer of Yum! Brands, Inc., parent company of the iconic KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell brands that also recently acquired fast-casual concept The Habit Burger Grill. Jerilan leads the company’s global reputation-building and oversees global communications, crisis management, government affairs, and the company’s ESG and sustainability strategies. Jerilan served as the lead communications architect for the spinoff of Yum!’s China business into an independent company in 2016 and the multi-year strategy for global growth to transform Yum! into a capital-light, pure-play franchisor. Prior to Yum! Brands, Jerilan was Executive Vice President at global communications firm Edelman. She has also held leadership positions at Deloitte, Burson-Marsteller, and Willis Towers Watson. A member of the Fast Company Impact Council and the Arthur W. Page Society, Jerilan was named on the list of 100 Most Influential African-Americans in Corporate America by Savoy Magazine in 2018. In our interview, Lippe Taylor CEO Paul Dyer gets Jerilan’s perspective on the importance of deep listening across stakeholders, how Yum! Brands prioritizes equity, diversity & inclusion, and why mentorship, coaching, and sponsorship is critical to cultivating world-class talent.  Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Jerilan It all begins with listening. As social unrest began to take hold in the spring, leaders at Yum! Brands knew that the first thing they had to do to determine the right actions was to listen. They facilitated listening sessions across the entire company, connecting to diverse employees at all levels and branches to determine how they could better serve. Jerilan claims this forum was extremely effective, as change always starts with a conversation and exchange of ideas. Jerilan further claimed that despite the fact that Yum! was observing how other brands were reacting to the crises, it was important for their team to develop their own strategy and do their own listening to ensure they were addressing the specific needs of their customers & shareholders.  Yum! Brands developed a robust plan to fight inequality by unlocking opportunities for their restaurant teams and the local communities they serve. For example, globally, they are investing $100 million over five years in education & skill development, equity & inclusion, and entrepreneurship to give people opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have. The first step in driving conversations and actions at this scale and magnitude was listening to their local customers and internal stakeholders.   Integrate internal and external strategic teams for dynamic solutions. Great ideas can come from anywhere – and anyone. As chief communications officer, Jerilan sees her job as the curator of conversations. She says this requires bringing multiple stakeholders together to integrate ideas and perspectives horizontally. The real magic happens within collaborations between internal teams (HR, communications, and operations) and external teams (PR and marketing agencies). When everyone comes to the table with diverse perspectives while sharing a cohesive brand view, it’s possible to think around corners to solve the brand’s greatest challenges as a dynamically integrated unit.   Earned creative is picking up where advertising left off.  In this age of ad blockers and DVR, advertising has been disrupted big time. Great ideas are going to require more integrated and cross-channel relevance to work and resonate with customers. Once again, this comes down to listening; listen to your customers and the broader culture as they continue to evolve and change. Yum! Brands continues to take a creative, playful, and unexpected approach with their marketing assets through earned creative ideas that are so bold and noteworthy they naturally garner significant media attention. Case in point: Kentucky Fried Chicken Crocs! A playful campaign that garnered nearly 3 billion impressions. ----- Produced by Simpler Media

Raja Rajamannar is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of Mastercard and the President of its Healthcare division. In the past, Raja has held management positions at multiple Fortune 500 companies, including Unilever, Citigroup, Anthem, and, most recently, Mastercard, where he’s been for the past 7 years.    Raja has been named as one of the Top 5 World's Most Influential CMOs by Forbes, is a member of the Campaign Power 100, one of Business Insider’s 25 Most Innovative CMOs in the World, a Top Branding Power Player by Billboard, a member of The CMO Club, and of course one of PRovoke Media’s Influence 100.    Recently, Raja has been an incredible thought leader on the obligation that brands have to do the right thing during Covid - he’s specifically been quoted most notably for saying, “now is not the time to sell, but to serve.” In this conversation, Raja delves further into this concept and also discusses the evolution of Mastercard’s Priceless campaign, the magic of comms-led creative, and the fascinating world of sonic branding.   Below are key takeaways from this conversation with Mastercard CMO Raja Rajamannar and Lippe Taylor CEO, Paul Dyer.  Hire a Chief Risk Officer for your marketing cabinet.  Of the many brands that faced downturns during covid, Mastercard was one of the few who was able to thrive, and Raja attributes this to the work of his Chief Risk Manager. This position was created only a few years ago, and while originally created to monitor risks in security, brand reputation, and finance, its framework enabled Mastercard to immediately jump into action in the face of the crisis because they had a team ready to craft solutions. When crises arise, most companies assume an ‘all hands on deck’ position and loop in key management to arrive at solutions. As effective as it may sometimes be, this approach collectively disrupts business as usual by pooling the collective brainpower AWAY from the day to day work and responsibilities of some of your most crucial people, which can destabilize a company. Establishing and nourishing a risk- management position and team function is critical for creating a culture of safety and stability.  Use Comms as a Force Multiplier.  Raja is very enthusiastic when discussing the structure of his marketing team, specifically how thoroughly integrated communications is throughout the entire marketing function. This level of integration has been such a breakthrough that Raja refers to it as a force multiplier, whereby the comms function and marketing function greatly increase each other’s efficacy by quantum leaps when they’re working in tandem as opposed to separately. This integration has allowed for a free-flowing supply of well-rounded ideas that have serious media legs.   When Mastercard's comms team discovered that many transgender people faced painful suspicion among checkout tellers when using cards that had their outdated names on them, they not only solved this problem but executed a highly successful campaign that documented the struggle with a happy ending. The campaign was fully integrated between comms & advertising, which enabled it to be both creatively compelling and culturally relevant. Use creative risks to learn more about your customers.  With the Fan Wave concept, Raja & his team wanted to find a way to create an engaging virtual event that sports fans could participate in, so they came up with the idea of the largest ‘fan wave’ in history, whereby consumers all over the world would record themselves performing a wave (when groups of sports fans rhythmically recreate an oceanic wave by standing up and sitting down in synchronicity). The problem was, the marketing leaders didn’t know if their adult customers would participate. They ran it anyway, and in the end, the program was a smashing success; over half a million people participated with over 1 billion video views, and a world record was set.   As crucial as it is to turn to data and analytics to inform creative concepts, sometimes you simply have to test ideas on the market directly to see what works - ultimately, this allows you to uncover new insights about your customers that the data may not have shown you. In the case of Mastercard, they discovered that the majority of their customer base were kids at heart.  Raise your DQ (Decency Quotient). Raja believes that IQ & EQ are important for success, but an ingredient that is often missing in many corporate cultures is DQ, your Decency Quotient. Raja elaborates on how there are many paths to success, but the most meaningful and sustainable paths are paved with ethically sound decisions and conduct. Raja further stipulates that being a good human being should be a precursor to being a good marketer, as values of empathy and humanity are critical for effectively reaching & benefitting your target consumers.    With this concept in mind, Raja has been very outspoken about how this time period is not the time for brands to sell, but to serve. During uncertain times when consumers are nervous, it is easy to exploit their fear for short term gain, but this approach ruins loyalty. Serving customers during difficult times in favor of short-term gains not only strengthens brand loyalty and profitability in the long term, but it’s the right thing for brands to do.  ----- Produced by Simpler Media

Catherine Blades is the SVP, Chief ESG, and Communications Officer of Aflac, a company she’s been at for over 6 years. Catherine is a PR News Hall of Famer, Forbes' inaugural inductee in the Women in Communications Hall of Fame, a two-time Cannes Lion winner, a 2017 inductee into the PR Week Hall of Femme as well as the first American to win the Relations 4 the Future Medal at Davos.   Catherine has also been named to the Latino Leaders’ Latina 100 (2020), a Children’s’ Miracle Network CHANGEMAKER (2020), the inaugural PR Week Most Purposeful CCO (2019), a Top 25 Power Woman by NY Moves magazine, four-time Top Woman in PR winner, was named to the Forbes Communications Council, as a contributing writer and serves as a member of the Fortune Most Powerful Women Community.  In the interview, we get into Catherine’s perspective on purpose-driven companies, what an ESG communication entails, and an incredible new incarnation of the Aflac duck that brought hope and care to victims of childhood cancer through innovation.  Here are some key takeaways from this conversation between Lippe Taylor CEO Paul Dyer Aflac CCO, Catherine Blades. To hear the entire conversation, check it out on the Damn Good Brands Podcast below.  Never waste a crisis. In the midst of the pandemic, Aflac took tremendous strides to keep their entire shareholder base whole including setting up a no-interest loan program for their sales force which mostly worked on commissions. Aflac also gave very generously (to the tune of $11 Million) followed by a multitude of donations to minority-related causes that added up to 50% of the company’s total donations for the year. From a communications standpoint, crises enable companies to reveal who they really are, don’t let them go to waste.   Embrace your holistic view. Catherine made a very interesting observation on how Communications professionals are the only members of a company, outside of a president or CEO, who have to take the perspective of all shareholders into account when making decisions. Customers, investors, employees, shareholders, et al. are all perspectives you must consider as a comms executive, which speaks to the larger responsibility of Communications leadership and the holistic & macro perspectives it requires.    Purpose and Profit Can Go Hand in Hand. Catherine spoke about how Aflac’s commitment to being a company dedicated to a purpose beyond shareholder value was pushed back on by some investors. Catherine then went on to explain how being purposeful, in addition to being the right thing, is profitable because, in this day and age, people want to purchase from companies that are contributing to the greater good of society. This echoes a larger truth about how giving back is no longer a ‘nice to have’ for brands but is entirely table stakes in today’s economy. 

Linda Rutherford began her career at Southwest Airlines in 1992. In the subsequent 28 years, Linda has been a pivotal part of the development of the brand’s communications function, ultimately culminating into the role of Senior Vice President & Chief Communications Officer. In addition to leading the communications function, Linda’s role entails a focus on all things media relations, internal communications, community outreach, culture services, and change leadership. Linda has been named one of the 36 Women Champions of PR by PRWeek, was inducted into the PR News Measurement Hall of Fame, was the recipient of the Margaret Bush Wilson Lifetime Achievement Award by the St. Louis NAACP. Linda was also named a Top Executive in Diversity by Black Enterprise magazine and most recently was a recipient of a PR Week Purpose Award. We really enjoyed this wide-ranging conversation about Southwest’s dedication to its purpose, the importance of social listening during a volatile time, and some of the most poignant leadership lessons learned from female executive mentors. All of this and so much more on today’s episode of Damn Good Brands.  Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Linda:   Define your culture through your origin story. Southwest Airlines’ culture is described as having "a servant’s heart complemented by a warrior’s spirit and a ‘fun-loving’ attitude." The warrior part of this ethos is an homage to the original staff of Southwest who had to face insurmountable odds in order for the fledgling company to survive in the very cutthroat airline industry as competitors tried to squash them. The warrior ethic of early Southwest employees has been kept alive to this day and is especially meaningful because it’s one of the very cornerstones that the company was built on. So if you’re trying to discover or reevaluate the tenets of your company culture, search for it in your origin story.  Live beyond your purpose. Part of ensuring your company lives up to its purpose is observing what business you're in and then determining what greater good that business can serve. In the case of Southwest, who’s purpose is to 'connect people to what's important in their lives,' they acknowledged that they are in the airline business, which is technically a business of moving people. As they dug deeper into this concept, the plight of human trafficking victims became a cause that was immediately relevant and resonant, especially when they realized that trafficking atrocities could be occurring on their own airline. As a result, they trained their entire staff to recognize the signs of human trafficking and follow protocols to bring victims to safety. As a brand dedicated to safely connecting people to the things that matter, they knew they had to align against the polar opposite of that in order to truly serve their purpose.    Use social listening to fail fast. In an age where many marketers are cautious about communications for fear of being accused of 'cause washing' or being labeled tone-deaf, real-time analytics and social listening has never been more important. Social data allows marketers to test the nuances of their messaging in real-time to make sure they’re resonating with consumers and stakeholders, and then correct course immediately if they aren’t.  Southwest has taken this approach to inform everything from executive speeches to online ads and overall marketing messages.  The truth is, no brand really ever knows how their message is going to be received, particularly in volatile times, but silence and analysis paralysis aren’t an option either. Today’s times call for better listening overall, and social listening is the perfect place to start to get your true message across.

In less than 10 years, Dave Phinney has become the undisputed rock star of California’s wine world. Have you ever seen a wine label in a liquor store that made you go 'holy shit!'? It was probably one of Dave’s. Have you ever tasted a California red blend that made you go 'holy shit!'? Also probably one of Dave’s. Having apprenticed under Robert Mondavi, Dave worked his way up the wine chain, ultimately starting his own Napa Valley brand, Orin Swift Cellars. After selling his runaway-hit debut wine, The Prisoner, to Constellation Brands, Dave continued releasing multiple wines that pushed boundaries for their unique flavor profiles and beautiful & edgy branding. After spending years building this portfolio of best-selling and award winning wines, Dave sold off his brands and assets to E. J. Gallo. One of his more recent ventures is Savage & Cooke, a distillery he recently founded, set between San Francisco and Napa Valley - through Savage & Cooke Dave is producing spirits labels that include The Burning Chair Bourbon, Second Glance American Whiskey (my personal favorite), Lip Service Rye, and Ayate Tequila. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation and Dave seriously over-delivered on the entrepreneurial advice and insight. I had to listen to this a few times to get a grasp on everything because there is so much to learn here.  We hear all about Dave’s origin story as a struggling wine maker all the way to the building of his wine empire, as well as his creative process, and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. All of this, and so much more on today’s special episode of DAMN GOOD BRANDS: Origin Stories.    Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Dave Phinney:    Heed the 10 percent rule. A piece of advice that Dave got early in the process was, that if ten percent of people hate your guts, you’re doing something right. Dave was told by countless people that his ideas were silly, outlandish and would not translate in the wine industry. Comedy cut to 10 years later he’s one of the most avant garde and successful innovators in the history of wine. Dave knew that if he heeded conventional wisdom he would have a conventional product, so, he chose to excite himself first, because he knew that if he excited himself with his products, he’d excite his customers. Clearly, this paid off, but of course, there were haters. You aren’t going to break any new ground without offending someone or without people thinking you’re at least a little bit crazy. This is a good thing, and a sign you’re onto something groundbreaking.   Don’t try to compete within your industry, compete across multiple industries. When Dave was developing his wine brand, he decided not to compete within the wine category, instead he wanted for the brand to compete within the worlds of fashion, art, and music, and other cultural staples instead. He went out to immerse himself in as much culture as he could; within streetwear, fashion, art, music, skater culture, you name it. Because of this, Dave’s wines are reminiscent of all of these things and stand out in their category because they're striking anomalies in a sea of sameness. This is transcendent branding. Brands that challenge themselves to compete outside of their category not only avoid stagnation but earn an indelible place in culture, as opposed to temporary market share or share of voice within their vertical.   It has to hit you in the face. I am particularly fascinated with Dave’s creative process,  when you look at the elegance of the wine labels, you can tell that a lot of thought went into each one of them - one thing Dave touched on that struck me as really interesting, was when he was talking about how he would turn to foreign magazines for inspiration - when doing so, he would flip through these magazines really quickly. Reason being: if something didn't visually strike him immediately, and he had to think it through, it was probably a B idea at best.  This is a serious lesson in creativity that speaks to the importance of trusting your instinct. Usually your first reaction to something is the purest, and the most potent, and therefore needs to be acknowledged & nourished. So pay attention to what you have the most instant reactions to. Those are probably the most powerful things to focus on. Anyway guys, thank you as always for listening to Damn Good Brands and big thanks to Dave Phinney for being here today and to Samantha Smith for making it happen. I highly recommend that you try Dave’s wines, the brand again is Orin Swift and my personal favorites are Papillon, Abstract, and Machete. But you truly can’t go wrong with any of these wines - they also make amazing gifts. If you enjoyed this episode, why not share it with your friends, and colleagues on Linkedin. To learn more about our communications and digital marketing agency Lippe Taylor, visit us at Lippetaylor.com.  ----- Produced by Simpler Media

Dustee Jenkins is the Head Of Global Communications and Public Relations at Spotify. Dustee joined Spotify in late 2017 from Target, where she spent seven years, culminating in the role of Chief Communications Officer. In addition to being part of PRovoke Media’s Influence 100, Dustee has been Recognized by Mashable as one of 10 Pioneering Women Changing the Field of Communications, and was listed on PR Week’s Global Power Book and also highlighted by Ad Age for 40 Under 40 in Marketing, and PR Week’s 40 Under 40 in Public Relations. In this conversation, Dustee and Lippe Taylor CEO, Paul Dyer, discuss internal and external communications in the era of COVID, new and exciting advancements at Spotify, as well as the virtues of being press shy. Before we begin, here are three key takeaways from this conversation with Spotify’s Dustee Jenkins.  Be press shy (or at least ‘press selective’). Daniel Ek, Spotify’s CEO, is notorious for being ‘press shy,’ but upon closer inspection, it’s clear that Daniel is simply highly selective about what he talks to the press about, which is extremely strategic. As a result, people pay more attention to his announcements because they’re usually exciting and meaningful. The practice of forgoing 'press for press sake' also gives Daniel more focus and energy to spend on internal communications (see next bullet).  Double-down on internal communications. Spotify has always been very focused on internal communications and transparency, two qualities that have become significantly more important in today’s very uncertain times. Spotify takes transparency so seriously that they have even coordinated a way for any of their staff to ask their CEO Daniel anything they want, and to do so anonymously using an app called Slido, which allows a Reddit-like function to upvote and downvote questions.   Use your mission to move mountains. Before becoming the behemoth audio platform that it is today, Spotify had to start off by individually going to all the major record labels to convince them to license their artists on the Spotify platform. That is an incredibly herculean task, especially considering that many of those labels considered Spotify to compete with record sales at the time. Daniel accomplished this primarily by explaining his mission against piracy with enough passion and purpose, and the rest is Spotify history. This story is indicative of how the communications function goes above and beyond press, and how the right mission can enable your company to transcend extremely daunting, even seemingly impossible tasks. So work on that mission statement, you never know where it can ultimately take your company.  ----- Produced by Simpler Media

In today's interview, Lippe Taylor CEO Paul Dyer sits down with Javier Boix, the Head of U.S. Communications at AbbVie to dive into the true meaning of the commonly-used term “storytelling” in the context of communications and analytics. They also look at how to approach one's career as a generalist versus a specialist, and much more.  Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Javier:  Communications pros need to focus on creating a model for always-on storytelling. There is an increasing number of platforms on which a brand can tell its story, and this enables comms professionals to identify ways to keep the storytelling engine running. Whether it’s social media, a brand newsroom, or an online publication, the demand for original content requires communicators to focus on keeping the brand narrative alive across multiple platforms simultaneously. Conversely, one-off campaigns may be distracting and not advance the larger story. Ultimately, communications professionals need to take a multichannel approach and ensure that their brand's story has cohesion across all platforms.    Don’t mistake the brand for the “hero” of the story. Although brands play a role in stories, they should never be the center of the narrative they are trying to create. Compelling stories are about heroes, whether that is the patient bravely fighting a disease for 40 years, or the scientist devoted to finding a cure for Hepatitis C. These are the Hero's Journeys (in the Joseph Campbell sense) which audiences are hardwired to follow. Before running U.S. Communications, Javier oversaw AbbVie’s StoryLab, a content strategy team that brought the work of different departments to life through content development. This type of narrative-focused storytelling enabled AbbVie to be part of conversations by creating relevant, engaging, and authentic content without overtly pushing their brand.   A global mindset is about understanding local needs. Javier believes that having a global mindset is about knowing how to establish the right relationships within key markets. It’s the local communicators, however, who know how to translate big-picture ideas so that the global strategy makes sense on a local level. On the ground, communicators are tapped into the cultural nuances and local regulatory requirements and they own the relationships that enable them to execute the larger global strategies within specific countries. Javier states that “you are in a global role to understand local teams, not so they can understand you.”   Key Links Javier Boix LinkedIn bio Javier Boix Twitter page AbbVie Inc. GE Reports ----- Produced by Simpler Media

Having joined the company in August 2015, Jon Harris is the Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer of Conagra Brands. Prior to Conagra, Jon was the Chief Communications Officer of Hillshire Brands, and also served as SVP, Global Communications for Sara Lee Corporation. Before this Jon held leadership positions at Bally Total Fitness, PepsiCo, Ketchum Public Relations and Medicus PR.  Jon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Rutgers University and is an adjunct professor for PR & Marketing at the University of Chicago's Graham School. Jon is also a trained musician and one of the founding members of the GRAMMY Music Education Coalition, a non-profit dedicated to building universal music education in elementary and secondary schools nationwide. You can learn more at grammymusiced.com. If that wasn’t enough, Jon is also an on-screen talent who’s appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show and has been named as one of PRovoke Media’s Influence 100.  This was a very insightful conversation and very relevant for heritage brands and any brands who are trying to weather the storm of COVID19. Jon dives into strategies for keeping heritage brands on the cutting edge and why internal communications has never been more important than today.  Below are some key takeaways from this conversation between Jon and Lippe Taylor CEO, Paul Dyer.    Be a storyteller, but a REAL one. Even though it’s a commonly-used buzz term, storytelling is a timeless part of good marketing and a mission-critical element of effective Communications. When done right, it’s the job of Comms people to take people on journeys. In order to build a pitch or a press release or a news story that will move your customers and target editors, you need to know how stories work. Characters, conflicts, resolutions, stakes and story arcs are all parts of compelling narratives that Communications pros should familiarize themselves with.   The best way to get better at storytelling is to simply immerse yourself in good stories; why not re-read Shakespeare, Hemingway or some good ole Stephen King? Novels not your thing? Pop in some well-worn classics like Lawrence of Arabia, Citizen Kane, It’s a Wonderful Life, or even Jaws. These are all flawlessly told stories, which can inspire your own approach to Comms-driven storytelling which in turn can make everything from a press release to a brand narrative sing with resonance for consumers. (And yes, I did just say that watching Jaws can help you write better press releases).    In this era, focus on solution-based communications. In today’s unfortunate era of coronavirus, many brands are gun-shy about their communications strategies for fear of being labeled as tone deaf. Jon had a number of interesting responses to this. First of all, focus your communications on solutions. In the wake of COVID, Conagra paid attention to the needs of their customers who now were relegated to being home all day. As a response, they rapidly pivoted their communications to focus on things like recipes, projects you can do with kids, and other family activities. Here Conagra became a part of the conversation by being part of the solution which gave the brand a very natural place in conversations and the day to day lives of their customers. So during times like these, find solutions for your customers and your brand equity will naturally shine through. Furthermore, doing the right thing is always the best policy; Conagra has a long history of (silently) giving back to multiple charities and as Jon said, 'giving never goes out of style.' So when in doubt, give.    Solve problems internally by crowdsourcing solutions. Jon discussed a fascinating executive-led, initiative within Conagra called Catapult where Conagra employees from all over the world submit innovative solutions to the problems and challenges that the brand faces.  Executives then judge the solutions and not only award the teams behind the proposals, but they implement the solutions themselves. This is a brilliant lesson in leadership. Companies like Conagra have thousands of people within their organization, all of which have different perspectives, skills, and experience - this is an extremely abundant resource of brainpower which most companies need to tap. Not only does this approach allow companies to rapidly solve problems with informed and relevant solutions, but it makes employees feel heard and therefore valued which is extremely motivating. A common misconception of leadership is to feel the responsibility to have all the answers, when in fact, the best leaders are those who can find all the answers. So turn your employee base into a think tank.     Double down on internal comms. Conagra is a company of over 18,000 people, with such a strong sense of brand equity, its critical for companies like Conagra to ensure their employees are all in alignment and singing the same tune to make sure their slate of products are on the shelves and in the pantries of their customers.   During this era of coronavirus, where most companies are forced to work remotely, it’s easy for employees to feel distant and therefore disengaged - to counter this, Jon and his team have stepped up internal communications substantially with informative videos from the CEO, and a series spearheaded by Jon called the Conagra connection where he highlights success stories and important information to employees. Jon used to do this once a week and now does it two to three times a week, all for the sake of ensuring his employees are connected. Increased internal communications can solve the gaps in awareness caused by this very disruptive time period.   Big thanks to Jon Harris for joining us this week, and big thanks to Cindy Irizarri and Lanie Friedman for making this happen. You can follow Jon on twitter at @jonjayharris. Don’t forget to subscribe to Damn Good Brands on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.  ----- Produced by Simpler Media

Welcome to DAMN GOOD BRANDS Origin Stories! A new series dedicated to uncovering the entrepreneurial journeys behind some of today’s most successful brands straight from the founders themselves.  Today we’re talking to Joel Clark, the co-founder and CEO of Kodiak Cakes. In addition to being a client, Kodiak Cakes is an all natural food company based in Utah that specializes in pancake mix. Their product also includes other healthy snacks like bars, oatmeal and more. The story behind Kodiak Cakes is very inspiring since the company struggled for over a decade before becoming a huge success.  Kodiak Cakes started when Joel sold his family recipe pancake mix door to door in a little red wagon as a child.  He basically kept on going until the brand became a success. There may be a little more to the story than that, so I’ll let Joel tell it. The story behind the brand is a long road of struggles that end in glory as the brand is the fastest-growing pancake mix brand in the US, growing 80% year-on-year and approaching $100 million in revenue. The critical moment for Kodiak Cakes was with the introduction of Power Cakes; a super healthy, super hearty pancake mix that included protein powder. Power Cakes really enabled the brand to break through in the market place and the story behind it’s inception is a real lesson in pivoting and product innovation, and even to a degree, a Blue Ocean Strategy.  You may have seen Power Cakes on Shark Tank where, despite receiving offers, Joel walked away empty handed. The resulting coverage from the appearance, however, gave Kodiak Cakes a significant boost in sales, and today the brand is on the fast track to becoming a household name. We talked to Joel about the grueling path to success, major leadership lessons, and tips to boost your resilience in the face of the inevitable adversity that comes with entrepreneurship. All this and so much more on today’s episode of Damn Good Brands.  Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Joel Clark.    Get experience selling door to door (or at least making cold calls). Joel began Kodiak Cakes by selling the recipe door to door as a child. This may seem like a cute story but it instilled in him some very important skills. A number of notable entrepreneurs & business leaders have a background in door to door sales including Paul Mitchell and Patrón founder, John Paul Dejoria, who used to sell encyclopedias. The nature of semi-confrontational sales tactics like selling door to door and cold calls forces you to master a number of skills that will tremendously serve you as an entrepreneur; it forces you to learn to build instant rapport, have a tight and compelling elevator pitch, and embrace discomfort. Perhaps most importantly, these sales tactics also instill a sense of resilience, as salesmen have to take a lot of rejection, as do entrepreneurs.    Set goals. With something as daunting as launching a national brand, it’s very instinctual for most people to get overwhelmed by the largeness of the task and either give up or be driven to analysis paralysis. As Reverend Desmond Tutu said, 'the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time,' meaning that even the most daunting tasks in life can be accomplished gradually by taking one step at a time.  As he was building Kodiak Cakes, Joel would set six month goals for himself and depending on whether he hit them, he’d decide whether or not to move forward with the business. Of course, he kept hitting them, and the incremental progress launched Kodiak Cakes into a very successful place.    Focus on the little wins. During the many difficulties and dark nights of the soul that come with launching a successful brand, Joel would focus on the fan mail he’d receive from happy customers instead of his inbox of unread emails and bills - these seemingly little things had a major effect on his level of motivation and inspired him to push forward despite the difficulties. In the scheme of it all, little things like glowing customer reviews aren’t little at all because they can be tremendously motivating when the going gets tough. So try to focus on the good where you can get it because often your psychology needs it to push forward.    Create your brand organically. Kodiak as a brand very naturally conveys a rustic and adventurous image of the outdoors, hiking, and even bears - all of which was what Joel and his family grew up with. The brand pillars of Kodiak are entirely authentic because they’re outgrowths of who Joel is and where he comes from. This instills a very strong sense of authenticity into his brand which is what a lot of consumers are very attracted to. Many products attempt to reverse engineer a compelling brand based on focus groups and market research - both of which are important but there’s an undeniable level of authenticity that occurs when a brand's identity is based on genuine elements of the founders identity and passion.  Books mentioned:  Built to Last by Jim Collins  Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to subscribe and follow the show on Linkedin.

Welcome to Damn Good Brands.  Today we’re talking to Director of PR at Capital One, Sukhi Sahni.  Sukhi, she was added to The Holmes Report’s Innovator Twenty-Five list of top PR movers-and-shakers and prior to joining Capital One, Sukhi worked in Communications at Sprint Nextel and before that she was a part of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. We discussed a lot of things, but primarily Sukhi will be sharing with us her thoughts on insights-driven PR and her work on Capital One’s Purpose Project; a fascinating creative initiative that focuses on the many ways card users are rethinking the power of travel as a vehicle for personal change and improvement. All of that and so much more on this week’s episode of Damn Good Brands. Now, please give it up, for Sukhi Sahni, PR Director at Capital One, in conversation with Lippe Taylor president, Paul Dyer.   Key Links: Capital One Sukhi Sahni Purpose Project PESO model ----- Produced by Simpler Media

Here are some of the main takeaways from our visit with Benton Crane, CEO of Provo, Utah-based Harmon Brothers   The most effective creative collaboration starts in a vacuum. Benton said that, in every Harmon Brothers project, four writers are tasked with writing four separate initial scripts. No exchanging notes, no bouncing ideas off one another. Then, the client is called in for a reading of each script. Until this moment, no higher-up in the agency has seen or weighed in on any of them. This may seem like a huge risk, but the clients love it because it allows them to get involved in the raw creative process, resulting in a superior final product that is closer to what they want.   Test EVERYTHING. Every Harmon Brothers campaign undergoes an insane amount of testing - for instance, in the conceptualization stage, the initial script is read to 10 semi-disinterested people. During the reading, their facial reactions are captured on video. A scorecard referred to as a "laugh graph" correlates the reactions to each part of the script in order to gauge whether it's a hit or not.   Learn from Pixar and Create a Brain Trust. Harmon Brothers operates a Pixar-style creative brain trust that exists in part to identify weaknesses in the scripts, storyboards, and shoots. Benton said this group never overrides the agency’s quintet of creative directors but do offer constructive feedback for them to ponder and utilize (or not). This concept was borrowed from Pixar who operates similarly. You can learn more by reading Ed Catmull’s pinnacle book, CREATIVITY INC.    Learn REAL Storytelling Structures like Joseph Cambell’s Hero’s Journey. Benton spoke about how humans are hard-wired to pay lasting attention to stories featuring a protagonist on a quest. He said the hero’s journey formula is a solid-gold framework to approach ad-writing with because no other archetypal structure makes as deep of an emotional connection with audiences. However in Harmon Brothers ads, the viewers are positioned as the hero INSTEAD of the product. Instead, the product is the ‘sword that slays the dragon’ or the bridge stands between them and the prize—typically a happier life.   Thank you for listening to Damn Good Brands, don’t forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen!   Key Links Benton Crane LinkedIn page Harmon Brothers website From Poop To Gold: The Marketing Magic of Harmon Brothers by Chris Jones Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller Squatty Potty ad Poo-Pourri ad ----- Produced by Simpler Media

Welcome to Damn Good Brands. Today, as part of our Influence 100 series in partnership with The Holmes Report, we are speaking to Ken Hong, the Head of Global Corporate Communications at LG. Ken has been at LG for over ten years.  Throughout the course of that time, he has witnessed and led the company through a number of technological and overall changes in the marketing landscape. Ken currently resides in Korea, but his position has taken him all over the world, giving him a very globalized perspective on consumer technology and the state of communications.   We discuss Ken’s philosophy of leadership during comprehensive company evolution, and his overall thoughts on today’s state of communications.  Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Ken Hong: Study psychology and political science or hire those who have. Ken is very vocal about the importance of lesser-mentioned disciplines that better enable communications professionals, specifically political science and psychology. Ken claims that his studies in both of these fields helped him tremendously as a communications leader since they gave him a fundamentally better understanding of humanity, culture, and therefore communications.    Think global, stay local. Despite working in five international cities, Ken finds that experience in global comms is in low demand, whereas local expertise in any given market is much more valuable. Ken recommends that comms leaders have a baseline understanding of global communications but remain focused on their local markets, since global expertise is rarely important to local clients. Keep your challenger mindset. Part of Ken’s success comes down to his refusal to rest on his laurels even when LG achieves market leader status in certain categories. In Ken's view, there is no fundamental sense of “having arrived,” considering the speed of change. In an industry like electronics with its diverse array of products, it’s critical to always be cognizant of the brands that aren’t market leaders and keep pushing them forward to remain vigilant.   ----- Produced by Simpler Media

Our guest today is Greg Galant. He is one of the minds behind the Shorty Awards, which is a highly popular digital awards ceremonies that showcases groundbreaking short-form digital and social media content across all major platforms.   Key Links for Greg Website for Shorty Awards Greg’s LinkedIn page Muck Rack website Facebook News Feed Eradicator  Book that Greg recommends: High Output Management by Andrew Grove ---- In this episode, Greg shares how the origins and early days of Twitter and other early platforms necessitated the rise of the Shorty Awards and his career in the field. Greg talks about a wide array of topics including: how powerful a work-from-home office dynamic can be, the importance of actively listening to customers and fans, the most effective initiatives for social good, influencer marketing, ways to stay productive despite constant social media bombardment, and much more.   ---- In This Episode: The origin story of the Shorty Awards and Muck Rack. The largest shifts in social media according to Greg. How social good has taken over social media in popularity. How to properly approach social good as a brand. The unique workplace culture of Greg’s companies. The benefits of a work-from-home company. On influencer-driven marketing: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Tools that Greg uses to minimize time wasted on social media and increased productivity.   Key Takeaways From This Episode of the Damn Good Brands Podcast Greg thinks that one of the largest changes in social media since he first started in the field is just the sheer amount of platforms that are out there now. Sure, social media is still volatile, and platforms fold, but the digital infrastructure is much vaster. When talking about the exciting things that brands are doing differently now on social media, Greg says that user-generated content is much more prevalent. This means that many brands are actively listening to customers or fans and creating a bottom-up experience instead of the isolated and contrived top-down dynamic of years prior. The best campaigns for social good come from a deep understanding of whatever initiative for social good is being showcased. Many companies build strong social good campaigns by actively listening to the community it serves and addressing any disconnect between conception and execution of any drive for social good. Influencers are the new athletes for marketing products. Just like Michael Jordan used to drive Nike shoe sales, so too influencers are marketing products in a similar way using their social media clout instead. Many businesses need to remind themselves that their work with influencers needs to incorporate the unique personality and creativity of the influencer in the marketing model as well. ---- Damn Good Brands is brought to you by Lippe Taylor, a Public Relations and Digital Marketing agency committed to telling riveting stories that move brands forward. The host for this episode was Nick Taylor, Innovation Technology Officer for Lippe Taylor.  This podcast is a production of Evo Terra and the team at Simpler Media Productions.

The discussion was intended to distill the key lessons each woman learned from their respective rise to seniority, and their advice for future generations of female leaders. This episode features full audio from the event and a distillation of the wisdom and key insights from all of our guests.    Key Links and Info for our Guests Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for Pfizer, Sally Susman’s business bio || LinkedIn profile. Head of Corporate Communications at Citi, Jennifer Lowney’s LinkedIn profile || Her Twitter page. EVP Corporate Communications at Scholastic, Stephanie Smirnov’s LinkedIn profile || Her Twitter page. Global Executive Director, Communications at Merck, Joanna Breitstein’s LinkedIn profile.  Former Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Kym White’s LinkedIn profile.  Director of External Communications and Customer Success, Pernod Ricard USA at Pernod Ricard, Taylor Foxman’s LinkedIn profile. [The roundtable was moderated by] The Former Chief Digital Officer of Bayer, Jessica Federer and The CEO of Lippe Taylor, Maureen Lippe.  ---- The discussion was intended to distill the key lessons each woman learned from their respective rise to seniority, and their advice for future generations of female leaders. Below are our key takeaways from the evening. ---- Key Takeaways: Don’t wait for an invitation. As Sally Susman shares, getting ahead in male-dominated fields means you invite yourself to events. Or in other words, you can learn to play golf just like Sally did. She learned that by playing golf, she wouldn’t be left behind or excluded. By being proactive and not backing off by an inch, Sally ensured her inclusion in the company.  Have an analytical approach to inclusion and for fighting bias. Jennifer Lowney of Citi accentuated the importance of leaning on data as a concrete tool for staving off unconscious gender bias. Citi does this through a hired third-party analyst who measures trends in real time to report any instances of unconscious bias in talent acquisition spheres or internal operations. There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’...and that’s just fine. As Kym White says, women often find themselves deflecting the credit that would drive professional advancement instead of accepting it. This is often done by giving credit to the team instead of individually claiming ownership. True credit gets lost within the team (or applied to men) when women are encouraged not to take credit for their actions. Find accomplices not allies, sponsors not mentors. As Stephanie Smirnov puts it, sponsors can be crucial for your development as a professional. A sponsor will coach you and push you farther than a mentor. And when differentiating between an ally and an accomplice: an ally will fight with you, but an accomplice will fight for you because they are inextricably dedicated to your professional development. Find yourself an accomplice! During a crisis, focus on unity and not division. Joanna Breitstein used the #MeToo Movement to illustrate how companies can come together and focus on organizational openness and communication on important issues, instead of functioning in a tight-lipped, reactionary mode. There’s a difference between speaking up and being heard. Taylor Foxman says that she has learned to be in as many meetings as possible, to formulate her thoughts carefully, and only speak when she has something insightful to say. This emphasis on coherency and tactfulness means that all present at those meetings equate her voice to thoughtfulness and truly listen every time she speaks.   ---- Damn Good Brands is brought to you by Lippe Taylor, a Public Relations and Digital Marketing agency committed to telling riveting stories that move brands forward. The host for this episode was Nick Taylor, Innovation Technology Officer for Lippe Taylor.  This podcast is a production of Evo Terra & the team at Simpler Media Productions.

Chester Twigg is the Global Chief Customer Officer of Johnson and Johnson and under this title, he oversees J&J’s Global Commercial Strategy, while maximizing growth and value within the company on a global level. Chester joined Johnson & Johnson from Procter & Gamble, where he spent over 25 years. At P&G he led sales for a massive global category that included baby, feminine and family care products and he also ran the global AS Watson customer account. This role took him across the world including all over the US, China, India, Singapore and Europe.   Chester holds an MBA in Marketing and a Bachelor of Commerce and Economics from the University of Mumbai, India. He is a fascinating and incredibly accomplished person with a deeply global sensibility and we were very honored to speak with him. We covered A LOT of ground in this conversation, including: The value of keeping a large company like J&J agile and why it’s a critical part of keeping pace with market trends and consumer demands that are constantly changing at an accelerated rate. The challenges of deriving actionable insights from the vast amounts of consumer-related data that brands have access to in an age where consumers expect personalized experiences. Chester’s advice for future generations of marketers who want to remain competent and competitive in the brand workforce (hint, it all comes down to curiosity and constant learning).   ----- Produced by Simpler Media

In this installment of Damn Good Brands, Paul Dyer interviews Torod Neptune about his ambitious marketing and communications vision for Lenovo. Utilizing Torod’s cogent methodology, listeners will learn how the Chief Communications Officer for Lenovo maintains a consistently effective cross-cultural branding effort. Torod also discusses the challenges of staying relevant as a company, the language and cultural hurdles when developing an international ‘master brand story’, and the importance for marketing and communications teams to be adequately data informed. When describing the nuances of communicating a clear-cut brand vision internally, as well as externally, Torod articulates the importance of having a well-defined narrative or story to tell--one which provides relevance, meaning, and context to customers and stakeholders alike. He says there are a few core  principles that are at the center of Lenovo’s master brand story. The first is diversity. This means that culturally and philosophically, Lenovo has absorbed a myriad of Eastern and Western influences and mentalities over the years which drive and inspire all major business and marketing decisions. The second is the insight and innovation that goes into the products that Lenovo creates. And lastly, he gets into the importance of conveying Lenovo’s financial story, it’s origins and history, and the global citizenship work that Lenovo has done to bring different cultures together in a global, collaborative scope. Other important facets of this conversation include the need to broaden one’s aperture. Because Torod worked with Verizon, one of the nation’s leading communications behemoths, he was heavily involved on a national level, but only when he started working with Lenovo, did he have to shift his perspective to one that was more global. Another key topic is just how important diversity is for a global titan like Lenovo, especially from a creative, financial, and technological standpoint. Additionally, the importance of disruptors is explained at length, and the value of taking calculated risks is held up as a viable strategy for sustainable branding success.

As part of our Digital Reductionism series with The Holmes Report, we are interviewing the communications leaders behind today’s most influential brands. Our conversations are meant to uncover key learnings about how marketing and communications leaders can best take advantage of today’s digital enlightenment. Today’s episode is with Franz Paasche, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Communications at PayPal. When PayPal split from Ebay, Franz built a corporate affairs function by integrating the communications practice with governmental relations and social innovation, all operating as a single entity. We get into the benefits of consolidating previously disparate communications practices and key insights for other brands seeking to better integrate their own comms departments. Prior to joining PayPal in 2015, Franz spent spent almost four years at McKinsey & Company, where he was responsible for external relations, public affair and strategic communications. Before that, he was a senior partner at FleishmanHillard and is one of the few comms industry leaders to hold a law degree. Earlier this year Franz, was ranked as one of the most important and influential in-house communicators in the world by Holmes Report’s Influence 100.

As part of our Digital Reductionism series with The Holmes Report, we are interviewing the communications leaders behind today’s most influential brands. Our conversations are meant to uncover key learnings about how marketing and communications leaders can best take advantage of today’s digital enlightenment. Today’s episode is with Dan Tarman, Chief Communications Officer of eBay. eBay, as a company, is driven by a strong sense of purpose as a platform that democratizes commerce through technology; this purpose is remarkably consistent with everything they do in a marketing and communications capacity. In this interview, we get into the nitty gritty of how eBay is able to walk the walk in ensuring indelible consistency between their communications strategy and brand mission. We also get into how brands can use data for their own storytelling, the importance of self-disruption and the power of a brand’s purpose to inspire and energize its staff.

Robyn Streisand is an entrepreneur, marketer and founder of Titanium Worldwide and The Mixx; a collective of certified diverse agencies that act as a single unified marketing force for brands. We talk about Robyn’s background in entrepreneurship including how she became one of the most authoritative voices in her space and get into the finer details of how brands can best engage the LGBT community.

In this podcast, we talk about the startup founder’s journey from idea to major funding and all the trials, tribulations and iterations in between, including quintessential books, tools, and mindsets for launching a successful startup. We also get into the state of the world of digital ad buying and why it was so ripe for Insticator’s disruption.

Selena’s strategies have led to strategic alliances with multiple powerful influencers including Marie Forleo, Marianne Williamson,  Pat Flynn, Derek Halpern and Ramit Check out her educational product ‘Impacting Millions’ at impactingmillions.com

Claire Graves is Managing Director of The Webby Awards; the prestigious annual event that awards excellence on the Internet. The Webby’s are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousands industry experts and technology innovators.

Lauren McGrath is Head of Influencer Engagement at Lippe Taylor where she leads influencer marketing efforts, driving value and thought leadership through partnerships with leading creators and tastemakers. Previously, Lauren was the Vice President of Talent Partnerships and Influencer Strategy at Refinery29 where she launched their dedicated influencer division and lead the team retaining cultural tastemakers, digital influencers and celebrities for R29's array of branded partnerships, ranging from sponsored content to full scale endorsement deals.

Christine Cattano is the Global Head of VR & Executive Producer at Framestore where she’s front and center in the development of VR/AR content. Christine has produced and launched a series of award-winning VR experiences including: HBO's Game of Thrones "Ascend the Wall" Paramount's Interstellar Marvel's Avengers Merrell's "Trailscape" Volvo's "Volvo Reality" Marriott Hotels "The Teleporter" and "VR Postcards"

Chris Kooluris is a creative media specialist and disruptive marketer. Chris has worked across many major brands including Budweiser, Dove, Tropicana, General Motors, NFL, Smirnoff, Microsoft, Macy’s and Nestle. His unique approach to PR effortlessly blends pop culture relevance with humor and well executed stunts that delight demographics and thrill clients. His work history involves such celebrities as Axl Rose, Meghan Fox, Donna Summers and many more.