Driving Brand Growth

“How do you build your brand? You need to show the public that even though it's a bear market, you still have signs of life,” explains Jason Yanowitz, co-founder of BlockWorks. In today's episode of the Driving Brand Growth Podcast, Jason joins host Trevor Dudeck to talk about how to build a brand in today's bear market.  During a bear market, only the best of the best brands and products will succeed. Jason explains that it is a great opportunity to capture market share, keep hiring, and keep moving forward while other companies take a step back. In order to keep building your brand when the market is down, you have to show signs of life. It's important to keep shipping products, making launch announcements, appearing on podcasts, and posting to social media, rather than taking a step back and trying to wait for the bull market to return.  Tune into today's episode of Driving Brand Growth Podcast for a conversation with host Trevor Dudeck and special guest Jason Yanowitz to learn more about how to get ahead and build your brand in a bear market. Learn more about navigating crypto when the market is down and the best products to start using during this bear market, so that you are more prepared when crypto picks back up.  Quotes

“Growth and building community is as critical as it always has been, but even more so is engagement and creating content that is really hitting the audience that you're after,” explains Aaron Kaufman, Director of Social Media of 2K Core Games & Corporate Channels. In today's episode of the Driving Brand Growth Podcast, Aaron joins host Trevor Dudeck to talk about how to produce content that holds people's attention long enough for them to stop scrolling.  The human attention span has changed over the recent years as media has become more readily available at our fingertips. If a brand wants to capture someone's attention, they have about six seconds to do so before that person scrolls past that content to the next. Creating engaging content and understanding what platform to use to reach your desired audience is more important than ever. Aaron shares some of his tips for creating thumb-stopping content which are to increase content and engagement on the platform where your desired audience spends their time, to follow your gut when certain marketing campaigns catch your attention, and to keep your eye on the brands that inspire you.  Tune into today's episode of Driving Brand Growth Podcast for a conversation with host Trevor Dudeck and special guest Aaron Kaufman to learn more about producing engaging content that will inspire your audience to stop scrolling and pay attention to your messaging.  Quotes

What do Elizabeth Harmon (the Queen’s Gambit), brain surgeons, NBA players, and eSports pros all have in common? You'll have to watch this episode to find out. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Anton Borkel, Principal Marketing Creative Director on League of Legends and Wild Rift for Riot Games. We covered a lot of ground, including how passionate gamers are and how valuable it is to put yourself in their shoes when developing creative and marketing content. It's rare to find an industry where your audience wants to express themselves through forms of competition, cosplay, fanart, and high engagement on content. Their goal is always to reward that passion with creative product experiences. Tapping into that passion from the players has become a North Star for their team. In this episode, Anton shares what it’s like keeping up with demand in a high-growth industry and being pushed into hyper-mode by a global pandemic. He also discussed how putting yourself in the player’s seat, gives you an entirely different appreciation for the game. In this episode, you’ll also hear us talk about:

What happens when your brand isn't just about sales and revenue? What if you made decisions based on a strong belief system and an aspiration for a healthier life for the consumer? Kara Goldin, Founder and CEO of Hint, Inc. (Where my hint water fans at?), strongly believes in this approach. That's why she aims to help her consumers make healthier choices. In this episode of Driving Brand Growth, Kara proves that anything is possible with a lot of curiosity and a bit of courage. Her career started at Time magazine and CNN. She then went on to become the youngest VP of America Online. After having 3 children, Kara started to pay more attention to her family’s health. She became interested in the ingredients of the products they were consuming. Kara suddenly realized that not everything is as it seems. If you want an insider’s perspective into the food and beverage industry, join us for this episode, it's a great one! We cover:

Wax on. Wax off. The featured company on this week’s episode of Driving Brand Growth has thrived during the worst economic setback in decades. They’re the first business in their segment to reach the Inc. 5000. They have 120 locations. They’re… a car wash? That’s right! In this episode of Driving Brand Growth, we’ll be cleansing ourselves of previous notions of consumer engagement, and polishing up on the importance of purpose with Travis Kimball, Partner and Chief Experience Officer of Quick Quack Car Wash. Join us as we take a deep dive into their 17-year journey to success, from their early start to their ambitious current plan of opening up a new location each week of the year in 2021. Other topics will include:

Attention is the currency of marketing. And while video dominates as the most-effective medium… Only 20% even listen to the audio. How much attention are they giving you - actually? This week, we talk to Quentin Moreau-Defarges, Head of Strategy for Gameloft North America whose mission is creating brand assets that capture an audience’s attention - for real - by immersing them in interactive and playable experiences. In his 10 years at Gameloft, Quentin has worked his way up from project manager, to help create their in-house creative agency, where they work to bring the power of gamification to businesses across the spectrum: from small brands to the Fortune 500. In this episode, we talk about:

An Independent Data Survey found that 2020 has seen the rise of video games. The industry has become bigger than the global movie and sports ones combined. And as expected, everyone wants a piece of the pie. But most aren’t aware of the pitfalls within this multi-billion dollar industry. In our latest episode, Jay Powell and I discussed how important the business side of video games can be. Jay is the founder of the Powell Group, a small, video game consulting firm. He supports indie to bigger developers, works with publishers, conferences, and tech companies.  Jay’s objective is to help as many people as possible share great games with the rest of the world. He does that by:

In 2019 Peerfit received an investment of $18M to expand its wellness offerings.  But what was it about their platform that caught so much attention? Peerfit’s a network service that partners with employers to offer employees a wellness program benefit. It connects workers to local fitness experiences and wellness services.  The hook? By investing in the wellness of your employees, you’re investing in the health of your business.  In this episode, Trevor chats to Maria Juan, a diehard creative, and Peerfit’s Veep of Marketing. They talk about the benefits of using a program like Peerfit and deep dive into strategy.  The nature of Peerfit’s B2B services means their sales team relies on leads that target the C-level employees. They work from the top down.  But that doesn’t mean their marketing team has to do the same.   In fact, Maria’s team does the opposite. Their marketers target employees and work from the bottom up.  How? By pushing out as much content as possible on a variety of platforms.  She relies on content to reach those using the service. She engages with them, creating evangelists that will champion the brand from the ground up.  She says that by investing in content, you teach people about your organization. This creates opportunities to generate leads and drive sales. Trevor and Maria cover:

Startups and small businesses can’t always afford a CMO, and it’s up to founders and CEOs to fill in the gaps. But what does that cost the company? Can a young business afford distracted leadership? Can you put a value on outsourcing the right expertise? Roshni Wijayasinha knew finance wasn’t for her. She tried sales, but in the end, excelled in marketing. She leveraged her creative skills and made an impact at large tech giants, Sony and Microsoft. Later, she took on several leadership roles but gave up her CMO position at Foxquilt to found her own agency. Today at Prosh Marketing, Roshni’s aim is to apply the lessons she’s learned throughout her career. She offers services to startups and SMBs using a fractional CMO model. Trevor & Roshni talk about flexibility and cross-functionality in marketing. They draw on the pandemic to demonstrate how businesses can use changes in consumer behavior as opportunities to re-address their value propositions and pivot into new spaces.

Imagine a future where software could actually think for itself. Imagine analyzing millions of customer reviews, online opinions, and pieces of unstructured data.  How would software like this impact marketing strategy?   Meet Alon Ghelber:

As the pandemic continues to linger, consumers are changing their behavior. The increase in media consumption has been game-changing for brands & marketers. If you’re still trying to figure out this new normal, you’ve fallen behind.  Brands need to figure out their position in the COVID framework and re-communicate their value. What is your solution to the problems people are facing right now?  This episode’s guest, Melissa Kandel, knows all about uncertainty. She studied to become a great American novelist, but then, she had to pay the bills. Recruited by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in 2013, the largest real estate brokerage network in the US, she became the company’s youngest employee to be named a Director.  But what to do when you find yourself on a corporate ladder you never asked to climb? You throw caution to the wind and quit! And that’s what Melissa did. Melissa founded a boutique marketing agency in 2018, little word studio, where she’s relied on her passion to propel her career forward. Concentrating on her love for writing, little word studio creates high-quality content. Melissa uses anything with words on it to drive brand narrative. She emphasizes how important it is for brands to partner with customers and help them during these challenging times.  On the show we talk about:  Brands resonating with audiences by using content to portray genuine altruismDeveloping big ideas and opportunities during challenging times, and Building up your company’s resilience by fostering positivity in the workplace. She also talks about the widespread modernization of industries that were reluctant to evolve, and how going virtual is a long term solution for them.   Melissa wraps up by asking: What makes content valuable to consumers?  How can you respect the consumer’s time?How can you structure content so that consumers can take away relevant information?What platforms should consumer-facing brands to be using? Hit play for more marketing insights, and if you like what you hear, click one of the links for more.

By 2020, Millennials and Zoomers will make up 40% of the market and be worth ~$3 trillion. If you want to engage with them, gaming is a solid play. This week, we welcome Chris Erb, a marketing expert and OG of the gaming space, as well as the Founder of TripleClix Marketing Agency. We chat about the real MVPs, creative campaigns, and challenger brands that use strategic marketing partnerships to resonate with this generation of gamers. Success in digital marketing means staying on top of industry trends, and Chris has been setting trends for two decades. Channeling his talents through his agency, TripleClix creates promotional lifestyle content by forging partnerships between brands and studios, and connects them to consumers.  We talk about some of his most notable campaign strategies, like the Taco Bell / Win-an-Xbox campaign, and his work on the Madden NFL franchise.  Check out the episode to hear answers to these two big questions and more! How can you use marketing to do something unique for your consumers?How can a brand tap into cultural moments?  So sit back, relax, and hit play. If you enjoy the episode, subscribe to our podcast. If you cannot get enough of our content, click one of the links for more:

To have the key marketing role in a fresh, up-and-coming organization is no easy task. But to be the VP of Marketing in a legacy brand which has been around for 111 years - now that’s a challenge of a lifetime. Our guest today is Trovon Williams. An expert who is the head of Marketing and Communications for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. On his journey, Trovon was able to put plenty of accomplishments under his belt. He has been a member of the American Marketing Association for almost 18 years.He is a member of the Forbes Communications Council.His experience in Tech provided a fresh perspective on the NAACP marketing approach. And to top all that, Trovon is a husband and a father of 3 remarkable kids. Trovon's mission is to keep the history of the NAACP alive for the younger generation. At the same time, he aims to establish a healthy team environment by celebrating the success of all his colleagues. To our advantage, this gentleman came to the podcast packed with value bombs. On today’s Driving Brand Growth episode we are covering: How to sustain the legacy of a brand which has been around for more than a - century, while gradually evolving it.How to have a powerful stance in chaotic times as the ones we are in.How to strategically reach the Gen Z members of your community, and still speak to the rest of the people.How to turn social media into a space which ignites actions for change.Why a car accident made him rethink his tireless 18-hour-a-day hustle.How to balance the growth of your team as professionals and as persons.How you can utilize your skills to make an impact on the world, rather than jumping from a job to a job. Join us as Trovon unravels the challenges of an organization as valuable as NAACP. He comes forward with an energizing approach and a refreshing perspective. Hit play and if you've enjoyed the episode - don't forget to subscribe.

Lisa has built an impressive career by showing care and compassion for others. She grew UPS’s United Way campaign from $48 to $65M, receiving the AMA’s Non-Profit Marketer of the Year award in 2017. Today Lisa is the Chief Mojo Officer at the Marketing Mojo, a full-service digital marketing and demand-gen agency.  One of Lisa’s superpowers is finding the place where purpose and profit co-exist. That instinct has propelled Lisa into becoming a savvy marketer. What we discussed and what you’ll learn: - How marketers need to lead with purpose over profit for the greater good. - The best marketing tactics are evergreen. - How to be authentic and more credible when telling your story. - What it means to uphold the promise of your brand. - The Gen Z market and how their purchase habits will change after watching their parents get laid off. Today’s episode offers feel-good food-for-thought. So, if you are eager to learn more marketing insights - subscribe to our podcast, watch us on YouTube, or checkout our LinkedIn content.