Project NEXT

Brian talks with Stephanie Nadi Olson, the founder of We Are Rosie which has grown from start up to over 4,000 people in two years. They discuss flexible talent strategy, modern working arrangements, and treating people with dignity. Stephanie is the founder of We Are Rosie, a consultancy that connects brands and agencies with talent in the advertising and marketing space. She has created a human-centered approach to marketing that celebrates diversity and facilitates happiness. Stephanie was the 2020 Ad Age Visionary/Founder of the Year Creativity Awards Finalist.

Brian talks purpose & social good in business with Ian Shafer, co-founder & CEO of Kindred. Kindred 2020 is a gathering of consumers, employees and business leaders focused on extending their motivations beyond the bottom line. It will debut at the San Diego Convention Center May 11th-14th, 2020.

Brian talks with Flynn McGarry, a young chef who is known for creating unique experiences. They discuss the evolving world of chefs, restaurants, and food culture. Flynn's creativity is fueled by his passion for food and the food scene since the age of 12. This propelled him to become a celebrity chef and one of the most famous restaurateurs in New York at the age of 19. He considers today's chefs' role to be more akin to that of a creative director and describes the intricacies of successfully translating the brand through its various manifestations and components throughout his various ventures - be it a restaurant, an event, a book or a bakery. "5% of what we actually do at the restaurant is a normal thing to do at a restaurant."

Brian talks with Rob Smith, founder of The Phluid Project, a retail concept providing gender neutral clothing and accessories. They discuss gender fluidity, the challenges of retail, and the changes that are being driven by younger generations.

Brian talks with Chris Paquette, CEO of DeepIntent, a healthcare advertising company. They discuss how data is helping to shape the future of healthcare.

Brian talks with Matt Statman, CEO of Motive Made Studios, a "creative collective" of an agency that disrupts culture through marketing on numerous levels.

Brian talks all things virtual reality with the award-winning documentary filmmaker, journalist and entrepreneur Nonny de la Peña. Nonny also touches upon the use of VR by marketers in brand activation, with a real life use case by Cartier in New York as well as museums such as the V&A and the British Museum in London. “Journalism in VR is immersive journalism. People said it would never work, but Hunger in LA was the first VR piece shown at Sundance.” “When people put on a VR headset, that’s undivided attention, and we know that’s great for storytelling purposes.” Nonny is a pioneering journalist, filmmaker, and the founder and CEO of Emblematic Group, an award-winning immersive reality company which uses cutting-edge technologies to tell stories - both fictional and news-based - that create intense, empathic engagement on the part of viewers.

Brian talks with CEO of Spinifex Group Ben Casey about crafting grand marketing experiences that shift our perception of reality.

Brian speaks with Kendra Bracken-Ferguson, a pioneer in the marketing space where influencers, social media and digital content come together.

Brian discusses the modern scope of PR with Andy Pray, founder of Praytell, a creative communications agency within the Project Worldwide network. Andy shares stories and tips about the ingredients for a brand to get content distributed through earned media by bringing the human elements to life. “Anybody can come up with a pretty good video idea, but how do you get people to see it? We are obsessed with distribution.” "The biggest ingredient to making a video PRable is that's not all about a brand!" Andy is founder and CEO of Praytell, a creative communications agency, and has been leading integrated PR campaigns that cover social, digital, and traditional PR for nearly a decade, earning him a spot on PRWeek’s 40-under-40 list in 2015 and The Holmes Report’s Top 25 Innovators list in 2019.

Brian discusses experiential, human-to-human brand marketing with Chris Meyer, CEO of George P. Johnson, a company paving the trend's way.

Brian talks with author and CMO Dave Knox about innovation strategy in the modern age.

Brian talks with Parinaz Vahabzadeh, Founder and CEO of Blue Boat Data, an enterprise software startup in the analytics and marketing space. They discuss the challenges of data management, the promise of analytics, and the what’s on the horizon for data. Parinaz draws on her experience in direct to consumer marketing roles she held in companies such as J Crew and Ralph Lauren to clearly articulate the marketing teams' pain points in accessing and fully benefiting from customer data analytics. This inspired her on her entrepreneurial journey to create solutions adapted to the need of today's CMOs. “People making line of business decisions should have access to data in a way that doesn't involve them having to email the data science team.”

Brian interviews John Winsor, Founder and CEO of Open Assembly, a strategy and innovation consultancy. They discuss the growth of crowdsourcing, how NASA is using open systems, and the future of work.

Brian talks with Max Lenderman, founder of School, a purpose-led strategic and creative consultancy. The two discuss the role of purpose in culture, Colin Kaepernick and Nike, and what millennials and Gen Z expect of brands today.