Brand Fast-Trackers http://www.brandfasttrackers.com Wed, 02 Jul 2014 14:14:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Brand Fast Trackers is a weekly podcast focused on helping you become a top marketer. Whether your specific discipline is advertising, media or brand marketing, the goal is still the same...to build brands and sell more product. Each week we will speak with some of the best in the business working on some of the biggest brands in the world. We will all collectively learn from those who are doing it every day...not those who are talking about it, but those who are doing it. If you are passionate about marketing, are passionate about your career and want to be the very best, we think you will love this podcast. BFT Productions clean BFT Productions kkrieger@brandconnections.com kkrieger@brandconnections.com (BFT Productions) Copyright © Brand Fast-Trackers 2013 Marketing & Media marketing, branding, advertising, entrepreneurship Brand Fast-Trackers http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/wp-content/BFT_Logo_iTunes.jpg http://www.brandfasttrackers.com Brand Fast-Trackers #214 — Charisma. New Weapon for Success http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/07/17/brand-fast-trackers-214-charisma/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/07/17/brand-fast-trackers-214-charisma/#comments Wed, 17 Jul 2013 16:31:18 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=4330

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy

Charismatic Leadership  Take a moment to think of the most effective and powerful leaders in history. Martin Luther King Jr. Abraham Lincoln. Nelson Mandela. What do all of these renowned leaders have in common? Charisma. In today’s podcast, we had the opportunity to speak with Bud Haney, co-author of Leadership Charisma, a step [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/07/17/brand-fast-trackers-214-charisma/feed/ 0 Charismatic Leadership  Take a moment to think of the most effective and powerful leaders in history. Martin Luther King Jr. Abraham Lincoln. Nelson Mandela. What do all of these renowned leaders have in common? Charisma. In today’s podcast, Charismatic Leadership  Take a moment to think of the most effective and powerful leaders in history. Martin Luther King Jr. Abraham Lincoln. Nelson Mandela. What do all of these renowned leaders have in common? Charisma. In today’s podcast, we had the opportunity to speak with Bud Haney, co-author of Leadership Charisma, a step by step guide on how to become a more successful and charismatic leader. Successful leaders demonstrate multiple qualities, so why is charisma the diamond in the ruff? Stated simply by Bud- “Charisma creates positive engagement and engagement drives business results.” An effective and charismatic leader can dramatically improve productivity, motivation and overall company success. So what exactly is charisma defined as? “A special quality of leadership that captures the popular imagination and inspires allegiance and devotion.” Imagine the productivity and bottom line results companies could achieve if all of their employees felt an allegiance and devotion to the leader of their company; if every day they showed up prepared to give the results their leader desires. Four Essential Steps Bud reiterated a charismatic leader can absolutely be taught and he discusses the four key steps to be effectively charismatic: 1. Make a Decision to become a charismatic leader and commit. 2. Build a foundation for your charisma. Be self confident, visualize your success, and be proactive. 3. Fine tune your physical charisma, we communicate mostly through body language after all! 4. Create a charismatic leader’s persona. I would like to leave today with a quote taken directly from the book: “Charismatic leaders create and maintain a work environment where people are emotionally and intellectually committed to the organizations goals. They build an energetic and positive attitude in others and inspire them to do their very best.” Key learning- everyone has the ability to be a leader and specifically a charismatic leader. You don’t have to be in an executive or senior role to be a leader either. Imagine the productivity, results and positive work environment everyone would experience if they made a conscience decision to change from a follower to a leader. Tune into the full podcast below or check us out on iTunes or Stitcher. [ Lead Image via Creative Commons by Small Business Trends ] BFT Productions clean 23:21 Brand Fast-Trackers #213 — Seize the Narrative http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/07/10/brand-fast-trackers-213-seize-the-narrative/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/07/10/brand-fast-trackers-213-seize-the-narrative/#comments Wed, 10 Jul 2013 14:16:42 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=4316

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy

So Long and Farewell I hope everyone had a great holiday last week. Today is bittersweet. This will be my last blog post for Brand Fast-Trackers and Brand Connections. After 3.5 wonderful years I’ve found a new opportunity and will be transferring duties to two trusted and wonderful colleagues: Breanne Hiser & Wendy [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/07/10/brand-fast-trackers-213-seize-the-narrative/feed/ 1 So Long and Farewell I hope everyone had a great holiday last week. Today is bittersweet. This will be my last blog post for Brand Fast-Trackers and Brand Connections. After 3.5 wonderful years I’ve found a new opportunity and will be transferring dut... So Long and Farewell I hope everyone had a great holiday last week. Today is bittersweet. This will be my last blog post for Brand Fast-Trackers and Brand Connections. After 3.5 wonderful years I’ve found a new opportunity and will be transferring duties to two trusted and wonderful colleagues: Breanne Hiser & Wendy Benstock. Bre will take over writing duties and a lot of the technical aspects and Wendy will manage the overall production of the show. It has been such a pleasure producing and writing about these shows these past few years. What started as a task turned into a true love for podcasting and audio. I’m proud of each and every interview and hope to see Brand Fast-Trackers live a long time into the future. I hope to stay in touch with many of you. Killing Giants Now to today’s episode. We first spoke with Stephen Denny when his book Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliaths in Your Industry came out. Since that time, Stephen has toured the world speaking about book and it is now available in 6 languages. A very impressive feat! As he toured around speaking about the book, he realized there was a supplementary need, so he recently published a Killing Giants eBook update that includes the KG frame work with a few more real world case studies. One of those case studies was of GM Netcon/Jabra and their GM Pete Fox.  Both Stephen and Pete joined us for this interview.  The Killing Giants Frame Work: How many times have you read a really great business book? I mean a really great business book. One that changed how you approach your business? Have you ever read a book that drove you to contact the author and hire them for your business? I am guessing not. But that is exactly what happened when Pete Fox read Killing Giants. Of the three frames above, Stephen said that the idea of Seizing the Narrative had been resonating the most with his readers/listeners and it was that knowledge that led him to put together the eBook. It was this idea that also sparked Pete to contact Stephen.                                                                                                “I found the book really practical, so I got a hold of Stephen and realized immediately if we allowed our competitor to define who we were, then we would stay exactly there. So changing the narrative was really exciting.” Giant Slayed So what were the results of Jabra seizing the narrative with Stephen's help? An impressive 20MM in incremental sales. That's nothing to slouch at. Jabra found themselves getting in front of targets in a way no one had the ability to do before with a 20% lead rate to actual marketing opportunities. The "Devices Make Experiences," campaign is now in its third year. To hear the rest of this interview click below or catch us on itunes or stitcher. [Lead Image via Creative Commons by Chipmunk Raccoon2 ]   BFT Productions clean 20:24 Brand Fast-Trackers #212 – The Age of the Entrepreneur http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/06/26/brand-fast-trackers-212-the-age-of-the-entrepreneur/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/06/26/brand-fast-trackers-212-the-age-of-the-entrepreneur/#comments Wed, 26 Jun 2013 13:51:10 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=4300

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy, Industry Trends, Marketing Start-ups, Starting a Business

Employees, Entrepreneurs & Intrapreneurs One of the key tenets of this podcast is entrepreneurship or how do I go from being an employee to an entrepreneur? We have certainly have had many entrepreneurs on this show, and have also recognized the growing trend of intrapreneurship. Today speaking with today’s guest made perfect sense. Julie Cottineau has [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/06/26/brand-fast-trackers-212-the-age-of-the-entrepreneur/feed/ 1 Employees, Entrepreneurs & Intrapreneurs One of the key tenets of this podcast is entrepreneurship or how do I go from being an employee to an entrepreneur? We have certainly have had many entrepreneurs on this show, Employees, Entrepreneurs & Intrapreneurs One of the key tenets of this podcast is entrepreneurship or how do I go from being an employee to an entrepreneur? We have certainly have had many entrepreneurs on this show, and have also recognized the growing trend of intrapreneurship. Today speaking with today's guest made perfect sense. Julie Cottineau has a long history in the agency world at Grey and Interbrand and spent almost 5 years as the VP of Brands for Virgin. I don't know about you, but when I think about famous entrepreneurs, Richard Branson certainly comes to mind. Now Julie oversees her own brand consultancy and uses lateral, out-of-category thinking to help agencies and entrepreneurs innovate through BrandTwist and BrandSchool. Lessons from Richard One of the must ask questions for someone who has worked with Richard Branson is what did they learn, so we asked Julie what her key takeaways were from her time at Virgin. I found this particularly fascinating because Virgin plays in so many different buckets and succeeds. How do you translate the Virgin brand across categories successfully in everything from mobile to credit card to airplanes? In asking Julie what lessons she took with her, she shared four key nuggets: A Clear Core Promise Julie shares the biggest thing she learned is that the reason why Virgin can go into so many different categories is that they have a really clear core promise, which is about shaking things up and delivering a good promise to the consumer. Your Brand is the Product/Experience Your offering must deliver what it promises to do. This is key and comes before the messaging. Embrace Failure Failure is embraced at Virgin as a learning opportunity. Only through failure can you go on to succeed the next time. Know your Brand Framework Virgin is involved in multiple industries and verticals so knowing the brand tenets was key. If you can't stay true to who you are as a brand when expanding into new opportunities, you will likely fail. Your brand should not be a document; it should be a living tool. The Age of the Entrepreneur The conversation with Julie covered a lot of territory, but one trend she pointed out is that it is the age of the entrepreneur. It has become easier and easier for inspiring entrepreneurs (and intrapreneurs) to launch their businesses quickly as easily. There has never been a time where there were so many resources at our disposal. So the next time you have a big idea, run with it. You never know what may happen. To this end, I stumbled across this fun little infographic and thought it was help some of you to make the leap. Tune into the full podcast below or check us out on iTunes or Stitcher. Getting Over Fear On The Way To Becoming an Entrepreneur infographic by annavital.   [Lead image via WickedStart] [Branson image via Creative Commons by Gulltaggen BFT Productions clean 22:04 Brand Fast-Trackers #211 – The Stories of Brand Equity http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/06/20/brand-fast-trackers-211-the-stories-of-brand-equity/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/06/20/brand-fast-trackers-211-the-stories-of-brand-equity/#comments Thu, 20 Jun 2013 13:25:46 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=4272

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy

Send to Kindle  For today’s episode we return to Shopper marketing series with Chris Brace and discuss brand equity. The first thing that came to my mind when thinking about brand equity were things like Harris Interactive’s Brand Health Tracking and a few examples of the reputations of certain brands plummeting after poorly-handled PR crises. I also [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/06/20/brand-fast-trackers-211-the-stories-of-brand-equity/feed/ 0   - For today's episode we return to Shopper marketing series with Chris Brace and discuss brand equity. The first thing that came to my mind when thinking about brand equity were things like Harris Interactive's Brand Health Tracking and a few exampl...   For today's episode we return to Shopper marketing series with Chris Brace and discuss brand equity. The first thing that came to my mind when thinking about brand equity were things like Harris Interactive's Brand Health Tracking and a few examples of the reputations of certain brands plummeting after poorly-handled PR crises. I also think of specific measures that give you overall brand health ranking. For Chris, however, brand equity is defined quite differently. He agrees there are a set of assets linked to the brand and brand symbol that add value, but it goes way beyond those. It's really about the story. The Stories of Brand Equity For Chris, your brand equity is actually the stories that consumers have about your brand based on the experiences they have had with your brand. That's a mouthful, but it makes a lot of sense. The word storytelling gets tossed around a lot in the marketing space. And that's when it really hit me and Chris's words made sense: Storytelling is all about making memories. So how can you brand make memories for your consumers much like I was making with my older daughter in the image above? I might be idealistic, but it can be done. What's Missing? So given that true brand equity comes from storytelling, what are brands missing or how can they approach storytelling? Chris offers this key tip: "Create communications that trigger memories that the shopper already has about the brand and that also allows them to create new memories. You build brand equity when these communications/experiences go into long-term memory." Who is Getting it Right? A brand that immediately comes to mind for me is NYDJ. I must have read about how fantastic their jeans were in some beauty magazine. So I started researching them and discovered their stories. I went and tried on my first pair and I felt thin and beautiful and you better believe I spent the $100 those suckers cost. And now, a few years later, they are my go-to jeans. I know they fit me, and I will feel beautiful in them. You may say, 'Kat, I don't buy that,' which I get, but if you were able to get a consumer to associate your brand with feeling confident and beautiful like NYDJ has for me, wouldn't you do it? Not buying it? Okay, what about Southwest? I recently saw Brooks Thomas present at a Ragan PR Conference about how Southwest uses storytelling. The thing that made his presentation unique was that he didn't speak at all. He used music and videos of these Southwest stories to tell the story. I guess that made it very meta. I wish I had the audio, but check out his presentation. I think you will get the idea. For more of Chris's insights on building brand equity through storytelling, tune into the full podcast below. Or check us out on iTunes or Stitcher. BFT Productions clean 32:03 Brand Fast-Trackers #210 – Picture Your Business Strategy http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/06/12/brand-fast-trackers-210-picture-your-business-strategy/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/06/12/brand-fast-trackers-210-picture-your-business-strategy/#comments Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:19:53 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=4260

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy

Picture Your Business Strategy In mid-April I attended the Ad Age Digital Conference and at some point found myself sitting next to a woman who was drawing the conference. We’ve all seen those fantastic business-doodles that represent the “big idea” or the most salient points of a presentation. But seeing one of these [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/06/12/brand-fast-trackers-210-picture-your-business-strategy/feed/ 0 Picture Your Business Strategy In mid-April I attended the Ad Age Digital Conference and at some point found myself sitting next to a woman who was drawing the conference. We've all seen those fantastic business-doodles that represent the "big idea" o... Picture Your Business Strategy In mid-April I attended the Ad Age Digital Conference and at some point found myself sitting next to a woman who was drawing the conference. We've all seen those fantastic business-doodles that represent the "big idea" or the most salient points of a presentation. But seeing one of these unfold in person is another matter altogether. I was enthralled to see one of these drawings in progress and especially impressed because the artist was drawing solely with her iPad. This got me thinking about how one goes about drawing in this way and I was lucky to come across a fantastic book about this very topic. Today we are joined by Chris Chopak, the author of Picture Your Business Strategy: Transform Decisions with the Power of Visuals. Chris's company Alchemy helps companies of all varieties use visual/drawing techniques to both tell their stories and solidify their strategies. So what do you do if you can't draw. I know this is a fear of mine. During the interview, Brian mentions he has the same fear. As Chris puts it though, it's not about the drawing, it's actually about the critical listening skills. She says, "If you can draw a circle, triangle and an arrow, you can do this." Drawing Goofy This led Brian to share an anecdote that really resonated with me. He recently spent a bit of time with a Disney animator. (I promise this all relates.) At first, you think how magical animated characters are and how complicated they must be to draw and make lifelike, but the animator pointed out to Brian if you can draw a circle, a square and a few others things, you can draw Goofy.  I don't know about you, but this sounds an awful lot like what Chris is talking about. So I took the point to heart and came up with the image you see here. Now if I can draw something someone can at least recognize as Goofy, all of us can put Chris' advice to work and draw for our respective businesses. Listen Without the Intent to Respond I can't tell you how many times this has been drilled into my head by our esteemed host, but Brian is right. When you really focus on what someone is saying, you can identify needs in a way you won't be able to if you are instantly trying to interject your opinion. The bottom line is that 83% of us are visual learners. Why is this so critical? By the time we are 27, our neural pathways are very well established. Our brain like consistency and repetition. We like patterns. There are only 3 mediums that engaged both sides of our brain and the left and right sides are firing neurons across the hemispheres -- Art, Music, and Mathematics. Imagine the possibilities that drawing can lead to when you embrace it during a more logical, left-brained strategy session. I'm excited already. To hear the rest of the interview tune in below or check us out on iTunes or Stitcher.    BFT Productions clean 27:45 Brand Fast-Trackers #209 – The Holy Marketing Grail: ROI http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/06/05/209-holy-marketing-grail-roi/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/06/05/209-holy-marketing-grail-roi/#comments Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:45:47 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=4228

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy

What is the Holy Marketing Grail? ROI, ROI, ROI Okay, brand marketers, ROI is the holy grail, so where have you assigned your best copywriters and content generators to achieve that ROI? If I had to guess, I would say it’s still in your TV/Broadcast advertising. Despite how TV is changing with an [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/06/05/209-holy-marketing-grail-roi/feed/ 0 What is the Holy Marketing Grail? ROI, ROI, ROI Okay, brand marketers, ROI is the holy grail, so where have you assigned your best copywriters and content generators to achieve that ROI? If I had to guess, What is the Holy Marketing Grail? ROI, ROI, ROI Okay, brand marketers, ROI is the holy grail, so where have you assigned your best copywriters and content generators to achieve that ROI? If I had to guess, I would say it's still in your TV/Broadcast advertising. Despite how TV is changing with an evolving on-demand culture, conventional wisdom tells us broadcast still works, so this marketing focus/spend is still the right way, right? RIGHT? Well, maybe not, shares today's guest. Meet Email Marketing's Rebel Extraordinaire DJ Waldow joins us today to discuss this very issue. DJ is the co-author of The Rebel's Guide to Email Marketing: Grow Your List, Break the Rules, and Win (along with past BFT guest Jason Falls). He is known through the digital/social marketing space as the email guy. If you get a unique email, you tag DJ on FB or Twitter and say, 'Hey DJ, have you seen this?" The point is, he knows his stuff when it comes to email.  'Email, how boring,' you may scoff, but as DJ shares during the interview, there is a $40 return from every dollar spent on email marketing. Let me say that again, the Return on Investment for Email Marketing is $40 for every $1 spent. Is the same true for that $4-5 Million you spent on that one Super Bowl TV spot? For DJ, email is a missed opportunity for a lot of brands. Yes, they're sending emails, but they are not optimized for consumption by different devices, nor are they designed to always provoke a response (SALES). As he puts it: Email is your best return on investment, so you should have the best team on it, the best writers, the best designers, etc dedicated to your email marketing efforts.  3 Key Tips on How to Amp Your Email Marketing Beyond putting your best people on your email marketing, DJ offers these 3 tips to see the holy marketing grail - true ROI - come to fruition. Leverage Social. Give your consumers an incentive to share the email or connect with you on social networks. Email is inherently social. And it works both ways. Make sure you are on Facebook etc and giving people a reason to subscribe to your email list.   Be more human. Your emails should not be overtly salesy and read 'blah blah blah buy my stuff.' That just doesn't resonate. You must capture people's attention and you can do that through being more human in your approach and assigning your best people to your email initiatives.  Test, test and test some more. Email gives you an opportunity at immediate feedback, so don't waste it. What is your average open rate? Are you testing subject lines? Images?  Tune into the full podcast below for this and many more tips on making your email efforts work even better for your brand. BFT Productions clean 22:20 Brand Fast-Trackers #208 – Content Disruption http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/31/brand-fast-trackers-208-content-disruption/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/31/brand-fast-trackers-208-content-disruption/#comments Fri, 31 May 2013 12:36:17 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=4218

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy

The Perfect Storm We last spoke with Edelman‘s Steve Rubel way back in 2010. Today he’s back on the show and in a fairly new role at Edelman as their Chief Content Officer. Content, content, content. We’re hearing it everywhere, but what does it mean and especially, what does it mean for you as [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/31/brand-fast-trackers-208-content-disruption/feed/ 0 The Perfect Storm We last spoke with Edelman's Steve Rubel way back in 2010. Today he's back on the show and in a fairly new role at Edelman as their Chief Content Officer. Content, content, content. We're hearing it everywhere, The Perfect Storm We last spoke with Edelman's Steve Rubel way back in 2010. Today he's back on the show and in a fairly new role at Edelman as their Chief Content Officer. Content, content, content. We're hearing it everywhere, but what does it mean and especially, what does it mean for you as a brand marketer for your brand? For Steve, there is something fundamentally profound going on – a perfect storm similar to social media storm that happened between 2004-2006. Steve believes that in many ways this is even more disruptive and impacting the media environment over everything else. Content Disruption So what is this content disruption? Steve sees 3 key trends happening simultaneously. There is more and more content available on mobile devices, both tablets and smart phones. It is scaling at the like of which we have never seen before. Banner ads were never extremely effective. I've read stats around .2%. Not great by any stretch of the imagination, but when you apply that to the entirety of the web, there are significant sales dollars there. The move into mobile content completely erodes efficacy of banner ads. Major changes are happening in the media business. Steve points to a large inventory of content, but only a limited demand for it. Consumers have less and less time and attention to consume content (your brand's advertising). What we are left with is a tremendous amount of inventory that is not being monetized. Enter demand-sized platforms that are traded like any other commodity. Overall CPM cost is being driven down. The pressure this puts on media companies leaves them with limited options. Subscriptions models are hard to do. We have seen many paywall and premium content strategies fail. Media companies must offset these loses. Simultaneously there is a willingness and appetite by brands to tell their story their own way. Their success in social they now feel they have the confidence and infrastructure to do that. Enter Native Advertising. This is a reinvention of the advertorial or product placement for the web. Owned media is intersecting with paid media to allow brands to have significant real estate on some of the largest media platforms in the world.  More about Native Advertising I came across the infographic from last year as I was writing this post. It gives a good overview of native advertising, so wanted to reshare it here. For the rest of Steve's interview, scroll down below for the audio. The show is also available via iTunes and Stitcher Radio. Have a great weekend!   [Illustration by Hallie Bateman] BFT Productions clean 16:57 Brand Fast-Trackers #207 – So Delicious http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/28/brand-fast-trackers-207-so-delicious/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/28/brand-fast-trackers-207-so-delicious/#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 13:47:49 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=4203

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

For those of you that follow me on my other social accounts (Hey, connect why dontcha? Twitter, FB, LinkedIn), you know I am at minimal, very health conscious. I’m gluten free, mostly dairy free (cheese, must have it), and sugar free when I am really on my game. That being said, it was [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/28/brand-fast-trackers-207-so-delicious/feed/ 0 For those of you that follow me on my other social accounts (Hey, connect why dontcha? Twitter, FB, LinkedIn), you know I am at minimal, very health conscious. I'm gluten free, mostly dairy free (cheese, must have it), For those of you that follow me on my other social accounts (Hey, connect why dontcha? Twitter, FB, LinkedIn), you know I am at minimal, very health conscious. I'm gluten free, mostly dairy free (cheese, must have it), and sugar free when I am really on my game. That being said, it was a special thrill to have Mike Murray, VP of Marketing for So Delicious® Dairy Free on the show. Mike is a classically trained marketer who spent the bulk of his career at General Mills. And this at a time when both digital and social media marketing gained their footholds and fundamentally changed brand management. Mike is now overseeing the fast-growing So Delicious® and helping the brand bring joy to dairy free lives. For Mike, growth comes from 3 key marketing philosophies: Understanding, evaluating and leveraging trends. This really resonated with me, as Mike talked about the macro trend of health and wellness and the micro trends of dairy free and veganism. It makes sense that a brand focused on dairy free products has a lot to draw from here, but the lessons apply to all brands. Pay attention to what consumers are thinking about or paying attention to and finding a niche to serve them becomes easier. Using Hyper-Targeted Marketing. This thought ties back the podcast we did with Erika Napoletano. Figure out who your customers AREN'T, then focus on your customer. Mike puts it like this: "The correct way to grow [a brand] is to be more exclusionary with your target consumer. It seems counter-intuitive but it is not. The more exclusive you are, the better you can understand and meet the needs of that consumer. The outer circle growth takes care of itself. The reason it works is the increased empathy will yield stronger, more relevant consumer insights." Mission-based Brand Identity. We've talked a lot about this through various shows, whether    we were speaking to UNICEF's Caryl Stern or Method Home's Eric Ryan or Seventh Generation's Joey Bergstein. One part of me thinks this won't apply to every brand, and another part of me asks 'why not'? Find a mission that makes sense with your brand identity, integrate it, make it resonate for your customers. Be authentic, but also take advantage of it. Brand and agency marketers alike, i really think there is a lot to glean from Mike and this interview. Tune into the full episode below. And hey, if you haven't yet read our new eBook - Career Advice from 5 of the World's Best Marketers compiled from the brilliant guests of this very podcast, click below.    BFT Productions clean 29:52 Brand Fast-Trackers #206 – Mitch Joel’s Ctrl+Alt+Delete (Podcast) http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/20/206-mitch-joel-s-ctrl-alt-delete/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/20/206-mitch-joel-s-ctrl-alt-delete/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 12:24:05 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=4142

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy

Mitch Joel’s Ctrl+Alt+Delete On Friday, I posted my book review of Mitch Joel‘s new book, Ctrl+Alt+Delete: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends on It. Today, I’m pleased to share the podcast discussion we had with Mitch about the book. As I discussed in the book review, for me, the greatest part [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/20/206-mitch-joel-s-ctrl-alt-delete/feed/ 0 Mitch Joel's Ctrl+Alt+Delete - On Friday, I posted my book review of Mitch Joel's new book, Ctrl+Alt+Delete: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends on It. Today, I'm pleased to share the podcast discussion we had with Mitch about ... Mitch Joel's Ctrl+Alt+Delete On Friday, I posted my book review of Mitch Joel's new book, Ctrl+Alt+Delete: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends on It. Today, I'm pleased to share the podcast discussion we had with Mitch about the book. As I discussed in the book review, for me, the greatest part of the book is that Mitch takes it further than a lot of other business books I have read. Part 1 discusses NOT the trends to look out for, but the 5 fundamental movements that have ALREADY happened and what your brand needs to do to survive. So much of the book and the discussion really hit me, but for as much as we talk about the fragmented media world, it is amazing what a truly relevant ad can do. "If you put something truly relevant in front of me, it will make an impression and I will act on it." --Mitch Joel Want your mind-blowing fact of the day? Mitch shared that Google advertising revenue is greater than all print media advertising globally.  Surviving and Thriving as a Modern Employee or Entrepreneur For part 2 of the book, Mitch shares lessons for individuals. The 5 movements he discussed have irrovacably changed business, but they've also changed how we as individuals need to operate. What do you need to do to survive as a modern employee? Mitch recommends operating with a digital first posture, making a concerted effort to build you own (personal) brand by investing in yourself and operating as if you were in a start-up.So what does operating in a digital first posture really mean? Here are Mitch's Key Lessons Be Human - People by from people, not companies. Be a Digital Native - Don't be afraid of new technologies. Embrace them. Be the first to try them. Take care to remember social ranking. Sites like Klout, Kred and PeerIndex are here to stay. Be Humble. Concede with grace when something you are trying online is not working. Embrace the simple. Don't over complicate. Tune into the full episode below and hey, buy Mitch's book. It will become your new business bible. Oh, and if you don't already read Mitch's blog or listen to his podcast, do that too. You will be smarter for it. :-) [Lead image by the fantastic Tom Fishbourne] BFT Productions clean 22:37 Brand Fast-Trackers #205 – Big Data & Beyond http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/15/brand-fast-trackers-205-big-data-beyond/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/15/brand-fast-trackers-205-big-data-beyond/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 13:43:51 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=4107

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy

Send to Kindle(A quick note – in delving into Brand Fast-Trackers archives, we actually have about 30 more episodes that were done before I joined the show as producer in 2010. To reflect this, I am slowing updating the show numbering. So today’s episode is actually #205. Please be patient as we get his all [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/15/brand-fast-trackers-205-big-data-beyond/feed/ 0 (A quick note - in delving into Brand Fast-Trackers archives, we actually have about 30 more episodes that were done before I joined the show as producer in 2010. To reflect this, I am slowing updating the show numbering. (A quick note - in delving into Brand Fast-Trackers archives, we actually have about 30 more episodes that were done before I joined the show as producer in 2010. To reflect this, I am slowing updating the show numbering. So today's episode is actually #205. Please be patient as we get his all updated. Thanks! - Kat) So What Is Big Data Exactly?     Today we were lucky to speak with SiliconANGLE's Senior Managing Editor Kristen Nicole. When it comes to technology trends for marketers, Kristen has her finger on the pulse of what is happening. We've been hearing about talking about big data for the last year or so, but what does it really mean and is it being leveraged appropriately? This ties into the show we did with Webtrend's Martin Doettling, but really delves into how and where big data is unfolding for brands. For Kristen, a lot of big data started in the IT Sector and now we are seeing that transition to marketing. This makes sense considering the marketing/technology mashup with the 'marketers spending more on IT than IT' trend that is happening. All hail the CMTO! 3 Biggest 'Big Data' Trends Use of data for brands will become a competitive advantage Predictive Analytics. There will be a big shift towards services and P.A. is a huge piece of that. Privacy concerns will continue to be at the forefront and brands need to be aware and accommodate for those concerns. To hear more from Kristen tune into the full interview below. I think you will feel smarter for it. I know I did! :-) [Lead image via D3eksha.com; big data infographic via AIS]   BFT Productions clean 18:50 Brand Fast-Trackers #204 – The Zestful Brand Refresh http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/08/brand-fast-trackers-173-the-zestful-brand-refresh/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/08/brand-fast-trackers-173-the-zestful-brand-refresh/#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 12:41:57 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3917

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy, Marketing Start-ups, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

There are certain iconic brands from my 80′s childhood that just stick in my mind. If I asked you to sing the jingle for DoubleMint or Big Red gum, could you? What about Zest? Do you still remember the packaging of V05 Hot Oil? Zestfully Clean . . . A Brand Refresh Today, [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/08/brand-fast-trackers-173-the-zestful-brand-refresh/feed/ 0 There are certain iconic brands from my 80's childhood that just stick in my mind. If I asked you to sing the jingle for DoubleMint or Big Red gum, could you? What about Zest? Do you still remember the packaging of V05 Hot Oil? Zestfully Clean . . . There are certain iconic brands from my 80's childhood that just stick in my mind. If I asked you to sing the jingle for DoubleMint or Big Red gum, could you? What about Zest? Do you still remember the packaging of V05 Hot Oil? Zestfully Clean . . . A Brand Refresh Today, we are privileged to speak with a classically trained marketer (General Mills, Unilever) who brings iconic brands back to popularity. Nina Riley is the Vice President of Marketing for High Ridge Brands, including Zest, Coast, White Rain, V05 and Rave. Here on Brand Fast-Trackers, we've spoken with big brand marketers and niche brand marketers, we've spoken with venture capitalists/lawyers/developers, but I can't think of a show where we've talked about how to refresh a brand.  High Ridge is owned by private equity firm Brynwood Partners. They specialize in buying iconic brands that have been neglected under bigger brand portfolios for years and flipping them. They've done this with Balance Bar, Sun Country Food and others. As a marketer, what prepares you to thrive in a lean, private-equity owned brand? For Nina, her experience founding her own company is key to this lean culture, but more than that, successful brand refreshes requires three core principles: You must have an inherent curiousity You have to know where a brand comes from and what its heritage is You have to know to whom that heritage/brand stance will appeal For High Ridge, their brands appeal mostly to the value consumers, so that goes into all of their initiatives. Nina recommends to not be afraid of really delving into the brand heritage. With V05, she was able to discover that the "5" actually stood for five essential oils in the formula. Turns out that v05 was using most of these before they became key ingredients in other popular hair products. Overall, this was a really insightful discussion and one I think you will enjoy: [Lead Image via High Ridge Brands] BFT Productions clean 24:00 Brand Fast-Trackers #203 – Social Listening http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/02/brand-fast-trackers-172-social-listening/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/02/brand-fast-trackers-172-social-listening/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 14:22:16 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3908

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy, Industry Trends, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

Say What? Social Listening Consumers are having conversations every day; about the brands they are engaging with, the products they love, their interests, their ideas and their lifestyle. But how are we as marketers engaging in these conversations with them? Making our presence known and responding relevantly? Today we connected with Zena Weist, VP of [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/05/02/brand-fast-trackers-172-social-listening/feed/ 0 Say What? Social Listening Consumers are having conversations every day; about the brands they are engaging with, the products they love, their interests, their ideas and their lifestyle. But how are we as marketers engaging in these conversations wit... Say What? Social Listening Consumers are having conversations every day; about the brands they are engaging with, the products they love, their interests, their ideas and their lifestyle. But how are we as marketers engaging in these conversations with them? Making our presence known and responding relevantly? Today we connected with Zena Weist, VP of Strategy for Expion, who had a lot of great insights about how we should be engaging with consumers every day. Zena’s key strategy is a simple concept we all have been taught since our elementary years and is perhaps one of the most effective tactics all marketers should be utilizing. Stop and listen. When we were discussing with Zena the most frequent “misses” brands have related to social, Zena eloquently explained: “You have to listen first. You have two ears and one mouth for a reason. They (brands) need to listen to the conversations that are going on. Not only about the brand, but by the people they are targeting. What conversations are going on and how can the brand become a part of those conversations in a very relevant and meaningful way? How can they organically weave themselves in? They only way to do this is to really listen to the conversations that are going on. They have to identify advocates and listen to the advocates. This is a time commitment. It boils down to customer relationship management.” Zena ended this thought with a key take a way, “Social Media is more than broadcasting the brand. It is to stimulate conversation.” That insight truly made me stop to think, how are we engaging in conversations? How are our brands relevant to consumers beyond the product itself? Are we telling consumers about our brand, or are we talking about it? For more incredible insights from Zena on how to reach your consumers please tune into the podcast below: [Lead Image Via ICUC Moderation] BFT Productions clean 22:48 Brand Fast-Trackers #202 – Personal Branding http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/04/24/brand-fast-trackers-171-personal-branding/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/04/24/brand-fast-trackers-171-personal-branding/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:12:44 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3900

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy

Every day we as marketers are working to represent a specific brand or company.  We are creating brand awareness, attracting new consumers, provoking interest, and telling stories.  But what about our individual brands? We all have personal branding, so what are we doing to proactively market ourselves? We were joined by Erik Deckers [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/04/24/brand-fast-trackers-171-personal-branding/feed/ 0 Every day we as marketers are working to represent a specific brand or company.  We are creating brand awareness, attracting new consumers, provoking interest, and telling stories.  But what about our individual brands? We all have personal branding, Every day we as marketers are working to represent a specific brand or company.  We are creating brand awareness, attracting new consumers, provoking interest, and telling stories.  But what about our individual brands? We all have personal branding, so what are we doing to proactively market ourselves? We were joined by Erik Deckers today, expert pro-blogger, author, social media guru and key-note speaker who eloquently and quite matter of factly shared what everyone NEEDS to do to successfully brand yourself and become  the go-to expert in your field. You must start a blog. The blog will be the hub of your entire personal brand. Be active on Twitter Be active on Facebook to consistently engage and reach new consumers. Be active on Google+ Connect with people who are associated with your industry, even if just a little bit. Start sharing information with EVERYONE. Immediately. The key insight here to me is that this is all very practical advice; clear direction that everyone can begin to follow today. Erik continues to explain that if you continue to work these tools consistently and for an extended period of time “people will assume you know more than anybody else because you are talking about it the most.” For more key insights on social media, blogging and the future of reaching consumers tune in below. [Lead Image via business learning solutions] BFT Productions clean 15:49 Brand Fast-Trackers #201 – Venture Development http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/04/17/170_venture_development/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/04/17/170_venture_development/#comments Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:19:14 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3895

Categories: Marketing Start-ups, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion, Starting a Business

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In a lot of ways, today’s podcast completes the venture capital trifecta. In episode #137 with Dave Knox, we spoke about his work with the Cincinnati-based start-up accelerator The Brandery and why budding entrepreneurs have to act on their ideas. In episode #143 with Ed Zimmerman, a venture lawyer, we spoke about how he helps start-ups [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/04/17/170_venture_development/feed/ 0 DeveloperTown,Frank Dale,venture development In a lot of ways, today's podcast completes the venture capital trifecta. In episode #137 with Dave Knox, we spoke about his work with the Cincinnati-based start-up accelerator The Brandery and why budding entrepreneurs have to act on their ideas. In a lot of ways, today's podcast completes the venture capital trifecta. In episode #137 with Dave Knox, we spoke about his work with the Cincinnati-based start-up accelerator The Brandery and why budding entrepreneurs have to act on their ideas. In episode #143 with Ed Zimmerman, a venture lawyer, we spoke about how he helps start-ups to raise the necessary funding to get their great ideas off the ground. Today, we speak with Frank Dale, the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at DeveloperTown, a venture development firm. I had never really thought about VC firms vs. venture development firms, but Frank explained the different positioning of the two and how venture development firms are more hands on operationally. For those of us who have thought of starting our own business Frank's advice was surprisingly simple. Much like Dave Knox sharing that one has to act on the idea, Frank asks two simple questions: What have you done to validate that the problem you are trying to solve exists? What is your strategy for connecting the new product with the right consumer demographic on a large scale? Simple, succinct advice. To hear more of Frank's interview on thinking innovatively, finding gaps in the marketing and identifying the new needs of consumers. Listen below, on iTunes, or Stitcher. [Lead Image via OnStartups.com]   BFT Productions clean 21:53 Brand Fast-Trackers #200 – The Power of Unpopular http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/04/10/brand-fast-trackers-169-the-power-of-unpopular/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/04/10/brand-fast-trackers-169-the-power-of-unpopular/#comments Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:12:12 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3885

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy

Send to Kindle The Power of Unpopular Today’s show really resonated with me. We were lucky to be joined by Erika Napoletano, author of The Power of Unpopular. So what is exactly the power of unpopular? When we spoke recently with Peter Shankman talking how critical it is that businesses are nice, that struck me too and [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/04/10/brand-fast-trackers-169-the-power-of-unpopular/feed/ 2  The Power of Unpopular - Today's show really resonated with me. We were lucky to be joined by Erika Napoletano, author of The Power of Unpopular. So what is exactly the power of unpopular? When we spoke recently with Peter Shankman talking how critic...  The Power of Unpopular Today's show really resonated with me. We were lucky to be joined by Erika Napoletano, author of The Power of Unpopular. So what is exactly the power of unpopular? When we spoke recently with Peter Shankman talking how critical it is that businesses are nice, that struck me too and I wondered if we were talking about opposing viewpoints here. In listening to Erika, I came to realize these two are really talking about very similar things or at minimum approaching the same problem from two complementary angles. What I really love about Erika's approach is that marketers tend to be people-pleasers, (Yes, I am talking to you.), but you can't please everyone. When you try to please or appeal to the masses, you end up appealing to no one. "Are you more worried about how many people you have or more worried about having an audience that loves you, spends money and time with you and is enthusiastic about sharing who you are with everyone they know who they think might like the same things they do?" -Erika Napoletano Erika advises that brands start with who they don't want to be as a brand. Do you really want to be like your competitor? Maybe, but maybe not. Once you do this, says Erika, "your competitive landscape shifts and becomes a whole lot smaller." Two companies this makes me think about (and 2 past podcast guests coincidentally!) is Method and Seventh Generation. Neither of them were trying to be like their giant competitors. Method strives to be environmentally friendly with a great design aesthetic and Seventh Generation appeals to a very specific customer, who is also very environmentally-friendly. To hear more on the power of unpopular, listening below. And hey, check out Erika's Tedx talk on this very topic. You will love it. Connect with Kat on Google +, LinkedIn or Twitter. [Lead Image via macksfield.wordpress.com] BFT Productions clean 18:31 Brand Fast-Trackers #199 – Born to Blog http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/04/03/brand-fast-trackers-168-born-to-blog/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/04/03/brand-fast-trackers-168-born-to-blog/#comments Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:58:34 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3811

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy

Born to Blog We talk a lot about inbound and content marketing here on this blog. Of course the center of an inbound strategy often revolves around a blog. Many of us read popular blogs every day from Mashable to Gini Dietrich’s Spin Sucks to HuffPo to Mark Schaefer’s {Grow} blog. The question [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/04/03/brand-fast-trackers-168-born-to-blog/feed/ 1 Born to Blog We talk a lot about inbound and content marketing here on this blog. Of course the center of an inbound strategy often revolves around a blog. Many of us read popular blogs every day from Mashable to Gini Dietrich's Spin Sucks to HuffPo ... Born to Blog We talk a lot about inbound and content marketing here on this blog. Of course the center of an inbound strategy often revolves around a blog. Many of us read popular blogs every day from Mashable to Gini Dietrich's Spin Sucks to HuffPo to Mark Schaefer's {Grow} blog. The question of course then becomes how do you build your own online presence? And how do you build it to the point to see both business and personal growth? Today, we reconnect with previous Brand Fast-Tracker Mark Schaefer and talk about his new book Born to Blog (cowritten with Pushing Social's Stanford Smith). One of my favorite things about the book is how simply it is laid out. It's an easy read, and even easier to follow and take action for your own blog. For readers of The Tao of Twitter: Changing Your Life and Business 140 Characters at a Time, the feel and format of the book will be really familiar to you.  I know I took a lot of the advice to heart in terms of this very blog and our new corporate BC CONNECT blog. Mark's advice is simple and yet powerful. The Human Part of Blogging People often get caught up on the technology or A-plugin verses B-plugin, but as Mark so eloquently shared during the show, this is actually a small piece of a blog when summarizing the book: "The real success to blogging is not technology. So many people focus on gadgets and widgets and WordPress themes and do we do Tumblr vs. WordPress?  The technology at the end of the day you can make it do whatever you want, but it's reaching down inside and finding your voice and having the courage to publish. That's the human balance, that's the human part of blogging that we wanted to explore." Mark goes on to share that every person has their own expertise, wisdom and stories to tell. Maybe that is your perspective as a marketer or as a parent or as a foodie. For Mark, the key to success is finding your own voice and hitting Publish. For me that really resonated. I know I get a bit of the butterflies each time I click that button. Am I providing good content and being helpful? Is my commentary on the show and issues at hand insightful? And of course, can readers hear my voice in my writing? I hope the answer is yes! What are the first steps? Mark suggests one simple exercise to start. Write out first 25 or 30 headlines that you think you want to write. As he puts it the first five are easy, but it gets much harder by #20, #25, #30. The key in this exercise is to not only potentially layout your first 30 posts, but you may find a theme or voice unfolding in front of you. That theme may change over time, but it will be one that will help unify posts as you write. When looking at the list of big blogs I shared above, you may feel intimidated or overwhelmed. It's hard to imagine you are potentially competing with a blog with 100k or millions of viewers. Instead, says Mark, commit to finding the right reader. By doing this, Mark shares that "instead of me finding audience, my audience found me." Pretty powerful. Mark offers so many other great tips in both this interview and the book itself. If you have a growing blog, or want to begin blogging, I can't encourage you enough the read Born to Blog: Building Your Blog for Personal and Business Success One Post at a Time. Tune in below to here more of Mark's insights from this interview! Connect with Kat on Google +, LinkedIn or Twitter. [lead image via HubSpot] BFT Productions clean 31:18 Brand Fast-Trackers #198 – Marketing and Mathematics http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/03/26/brand-fast-trackers-167-marketing-and-mathematics/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/03/26/brand-fast-trackers-167-marketing-and-mathematics/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:43:30 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3793

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy

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Priceless I first reached out to Alfrédo Gangotena shortly after he took over as Global CMO of  MasterCard in 2010 when I read his Ad Age interview with Beth Snyder Bulik. At the time, he told me he would love to do the podcast at a later date. To be honest, I largely [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/03/26/brand-fast-trackers-167-marketing-and-mathematics/feed/ 0 Alfredo Gangotena,MasterCard,Priceless Priceless I first reached out to Alfrédo Gangotena shortly after he took over as Global CMO of  MasterCard in 2010 when I read his Ad Age interview with Beth Snyder Bulik. At the time, he told me he would love to do the podcast at a later date. Priceless I first reached out to Alfrédo Gangotena shortly after he took over as Global CMO of  MasterCard in 2010 when I read his Ad Age interview with Beth Snyder Bulik. At the time, he told me he would love to do the podcast at a later date. To be honest, I largely forgot about it until recently. We all know the MasterCard Priceless campaign, but I read recently that it is now 16 years old, spans 112 countries, and 53 languages. Think about that for a moment, can you think of another marketing campaign that is used and resonates globally in this way? Needless to say, I realized we had to get Alfrédo on the show! I reached back out and am so delighted he was able to join us. Marketing and Mathematics So how does one become a Global CMO of a company as large as MasterCard? Alfrédo shares that he started his career in finance at P&G. He says that his move to the creative came because he kept pushing his marketing counterparts to show ROI. What struck me as I was listening was just how many of our past Brand Fast-Trackers guests either came from finance (Esurance's John Swigart comes to mind) or are extremely numbers focused (like when Gini Dietrich shared "ROI, ROI, ROI" in her second podcast with us). Alfrédo refers to this as his M&M, not the candy, but marketing and mathematics. He says: "At the end of the day, any decision you make at the end of the day has to have a return. It has to create business and you cannot just be satisfying yourself with a very creative campaign that doesn't really push the needle." Tweet This  Alfrédo's Marketing Absolutes Given his expansive career, I was really interested in hearing what Alfrédo considers to be his marketing absolutes. He offered up two, both of which seem simple and yet so profound. Have a complete open mind and open eyes. As he puts it, try to understand before being understood. "If you are in a marketing function and you pretend you know it all, you know you're going to fail." Tweet This Make a picture out of what you see. In other words connect the dots after you have listened. "Very few people are able to understand data or understand consumer reactions and make any sense out of it." Tweet This Media Fragmentation We've spoken about media fragmentation on this blog and podcast quite a bit in the last year. THe ability for brands to reach their key audience is one fell swoop has changed. When veteran marketer and Haas Business School professor Bill Pearce was on the show, he shared "you could reach 85% of the U.S. by running one commercial on Sunday night on the then three major networks." Obviously this is no longer the case. So we asked Alfrédo his thoughts on how marketers should handle it. His advice resonated with me so strongly: Ignore fragmentation. "If people are locked into the details of how  you communicate channel by channel, you're missing the point. The real point is what's your message and how big is your message." If you have the right message, it will translate across mediums. "So if they have a very strong message and it resonates superbly well with the consumer, it will work well in television. It's going to work wonderfully in radio. It's going to be able to express it in print, in outdoor and how about in digital and how about the reaction of people through social media." The continuous theme for the show was how MasterCard has continued to evolve their priceless campaign from an original insight to something new such as their Priceless Cities initiative. I can see this particular initiative unfolding in exciting directions. Alfrédo shared much more than I could possibly cover in this blog post, so I encourage you to take a listen to the full interview below. I think you will enjoy it.   Connect with Kat on Google +, LinkedIn or Twitter. BFT Productions clean 30:19 Brand Fast-Trackers #197 – Brand Managers Are Universal Soldiers http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/03/20/brand-fast-trackers-166-brand-managers-universal-soldiers/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/03/20/brand-fast-trackers-166-brand-managers-universal-soldiers/#comments Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:21:03 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3767

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy, Industry Trends, Podcast Discussion

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As readers of this blog know, I have a particularly fondness for purposeful brands, that is, brands who are sustainable and socially responsible. This can come from many things from how they source their ingredients/materials to how they treat their employees and customers to causes they authentically align themselves and beyond. Think Patagonia and [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/03/20/brand-fast-trackers-166-brand-managers-universal-soldiers/feed/ 1 Brand Fast Trackers,Joey Bergstein,Kat Krieger,Responsibility,Seventh Generation,sustainability As readers of this blog know, I have a particularly fondness for purposeful brands, that is, brands who are sustainable and socially responsible. This can come from many things from how they source their ingredients/materials to how they treat their em... As readers of this blog know, I have a particularly fondness for purposeful brands, that is, brands who are sustainable and socially responsible. This can come from many things from how they source their ingredients/materials to how they treat their employees and customers to causes they authentically align themselves and beyond. Think Patagonia and their Don't Buy Their Jacket campaign and their Common Threads Initiative. Was it a completely altruistic initiative? No. At the end of the day they want the sales, but it how they go about it that counts. I recently learned about another example of which you may not be aware. Nokia. Nokia has been in the top 5 on Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics for the last four years. But well beyond that, they developed a real-time text initiative for third-world farmers that allows them to check market prices. The idea is that each morning, a farmer can easily ping this network to know what prices his particular crop is selling for in nearby markets, so he can price his supply accordingly. All of this takes place via the tech-simple SMS message. Why is Nokia doing this? In the words of a Nokia exec I recently heard speak at Social Media Week, they do it because it is the right thing to do. Very powerful stuff. So today, when I had the chance to speak with Joey Bergstein, CMO of Seventh Generation, I was particularly excited. I hope you forgive my nervousness on the audio as I was filling in for Brian. Our conversation was about much more than just purpose of course. Like many of our previous guests, Joey started his career at Procter & Gamble and grew is various roles in Canada, Europe and the U.S. across multiple brands. For Joey, his time at P&G taught him how to build and manage a brand. Obviously key skills for any marketers. When I asked him how he thought the role of brand manager had changed (and I am thinking back to our conversation with Dave Knox of The Brandery and also a former P&Ger), Joey shared: The role of Brand Managers haven't changed per se, but the tools have changed. Successful brands managers are universal soldiers. We also spoke about how in this consumer-driven world that shoppers are essentially looking for everything. That is, they want value for their dollar, but they also want to find a brand that resonates with their lifestyle. This insight becomes particularly important for niche brands like Seventh Generation. I asked Joey what his strategy was for competing with larger, household brands with large budgets. His answer surprised me. They don't really compete with those brands. Why? Seventh Generation appeals to a specific kind of customer. It seems to be in many ways, that makes a marketer's job easier. There is no breaking through the clutter when the customer is seeking you out. Lastly, I had to ask Joey about Rance Crain's recent Ad Age piece Is the Era of Purpose-Driven Ads (Finally) Over? Joey's answer was simple. If the brand attaches itself to a cause as a selling gimmick, consumers will suss that out and it will fail. If it is a genuine initiative to do business differently, the story and the opportunity changes significantly. To hear more of Joey's insights, tune in below. Connect with Kat on Google +, LinkedIn or Twitter. [Lead Image via Tagxedo] BFT Productions clean 13:25 Brand Fast-Trackers #196 – SEO’s Long-term Game http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/03/13/brand-fast-trackers-165-seos-long-term-game/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/03/13/brand-fast-trackers-165-seos-long-term-game/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 19:05:29 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3744

Categories: Brand Marketing Strategy, Content Marketing, Podcast Discussion

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We spoken here before about content marketing and most recently about using your content to make more lovable marketing. It seems that content goes hand in hand with SEO or search engine optimization. As I think about SEO, I think there are two big misnomers or things that are misunderstood about SEO by [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/03/13/brand-fast-trackers-165-seos-long-term-game/feed/ 3 AdWords,Andrew Dumont,content marketing,SEO,SEOMoz We spoken here before about content marketing and most recently about using your content to make more lovable marketing. It seems that content goes hand in hand with SEO or search engine optimization. As I think about SEO, We spoken here before about content marketing and most recently about using your content to make more lovable marketing. It seems that content goes hand in hand with SEO or search engine optimization. As I think about SEO, I think there are two big misnomers or things that are misunderstood about SEO by marketers. SEO is the same thing as digital ad buys via Adwords and other platforms SEO is getting higher search rankings via shady tactics Today we wanted to clear up any confusion, so we brought Andrew Dumont of SEOMoz on the show. Andrew helped to clarify a lot of the above. The days of black hat SEO are over. The key to high rankings is essentially high-quality content. What surprises me is how few brands are actively engaged in real SEO. We are basically looking at the 80/20* rule, but it is working against us. Markerters are essentially spending the bulk of their digital ad spend (and time) on platforms like AdWords, and yet that effort is only reaching 20% of consumers. Said another way, 80% of searchers prefer the organic content over the paid, promoted ones. So why aren't more brands engaging deeply with SEO in this way? For Andrew it boils down to this: It's hard. It takes work and it takes time. ROI is harder to calculate. Marketers are often pinned to a marketing mix model or ROI calculator. Do things the way they have always done them. The risk of course is that sometimes sticking with what has worked in the past no longer means you are playing the long-term game. And that is the game we all want to win.  Which will you do? Connect with Kat on Google +, LinkedIn or Twitter. [Lead Image by HubSpot] *Not exact figures BFT Productions clean 19:14 Brand Fast-Trackers #195 – Innovation Comes from Practice http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/03/05/brand-fast-trackers-164-innovation-comes-from-practice/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/03/05/brand-fast-trackers-164-innovation-comes-from-practice/#comments Tue, 05 Mar 2013 15:56:36 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3725

Categories: Creativity, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

Tags: , , , , ,

Send to Kindle  Contrary to the cartoon above, you don’t always have to face the maze of destruction when bringing an innovative idea to market. Today we speak with global innovation & trends expert Debra Kaye. Debra is an author of the brand new book Red Thread Thinking. We have covered innovation in the past before with [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/03/05/brand-fast-trackers-164-innovation-comes-from-practice/feed/ 0 Brand Fast Trackers,creativity,Debra Kaye,innovation,Insights,Red Thread Thinking   - Contrary to the cartoon above, you don't always have to face the maze of destruction when bringing an innovative idea to market. - Today we speak with global innovation & trends expert Debra Kaye.   Contrary to the cartoon above, you don't always have to face the maze of destruction when bringing an innovative idea to market. Today we speak with global innovation & trends expert Debra Kaye. Debra is an author of the brand new book Red Thread Thinking. We have covered innovation in the past before with both Mark Sebell and Bryan Mattimore. Mark's episode focused more on how large brands can innovate from the C-Suite and what that process looks like. Bryan focused on the brainstorming process itself. What I really like about Debra's perspective is the tie to profit. Let's be honest, ideas are great. Innovation is better. BUT unless you can take it to market and make a profit out of it, it is just another idea. And in the immortal words of Dave Knox, "The problem is, people have ideas and aren't taking action." Applying this to Debra's book, it is fundamental to tie new ideas to profitability. Debra puts it simply: "I think what holds us back is fear and doubt; that's what actually holds us back a lot in life in everything. Right? And innovation's really all about connections. [. . .] You don't really need to have any creativity. You just need to do a really good gap analysis of what's missing. Any company today that really looks at their marketplace and looks at gaps and looks at consumer needs can be great innovators. That's what innovation's really all about." One of the key things that Debra touched on is separating creativity from innovation Once you realize that it comes down to analytics and seeing an opportunity, the pressure of being creative goes away. Take a listen to the episode below and hear more from Debra about this and her nuggets on insights. Enjoy! Connect with Kat on Google +, LinkedIn or Twitter. [Lead Image by The Marketoonist | Tom Fishburne] BFT Productions clean 23:19 Brand Fast-Trackers #194 – Lovable Marketing http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/02/27/brand-fast-trackers-163-lovable-marketing/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/02/27/brand-fast-trackers-163-lovable-marketing/#comments Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:08:54 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3633

Categories: Content Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

What is Lovable Marketing? Today we speak with HubSpot CMO Mike Volpe. Now I have been a big fab of content and inbound marketing for quite some time, and in full disclosure am a HubSpot user myself. I reached out to Mike because I don’t think the Inbound story is one that is [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/02/27/brand-fast-trackers-163-lovable-marketing/feed/ 9 Brand Fast Trackers,brian f. martin,content marketing,Context,Hubspot,Inbound Marketing,Kat Krieger,Lovable Marketing,Mike Vople,Permission What is Lovable Marketing? Today we speak with HubSpot CMO Mike Volpe. Now I have been a big fab of content and inbound marketing for quite some time, and in full disclosure am a HubSpot user myself. I reached out to Mike because I don't think the Inb... What is Lovable Marketing? Today we speak with HubSpot CMO Mike Volpe. Now I have been a big fab of content and inbound marketing for quite some time, and in full disclosure am a HubSpot user myself. I reached out to Mike because I don't think the Inbound story is one that is really told -- or understood -- by many large brands. As Mike puts it, "Major brands looks to past P&L's and make adjustments," which makes it hard for new marketing philosophies make their way into the proverbial "Marketing Plan" slide deck. At the heart of inbound marketing is really permission. Seth Godin wrote his groundbreaking book Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers in 1999. Yet 13 years later, we've made little progress away from interruptive advertising. We live in an opt-in world with spam filters, do not call lists, DVRs for fast-forwarding through ads, and yet as Mike shares, "most brands have not adapted their marketing to this next gen of consumers." My favorite statement that Mike shared was about not relying on interrupting the consumer to get your message across: "Don't interrupt the thing they want to consume, be the thing they want to consume."  The power of that statement really hits me in the gut as a marketer. This plays in perfectly the what RedBull did with Stratos. They created an experience consumers wanted to watch and participate in. Of course, this also plays into the idea of context. Brands can blog or create "experiences," but it is really about the context. Geoff Livingson had a post on this very thing yesterday when he wrote, "[c]ontext is the only way to gain permission from busy, wary stakeholders. Without relevance, there is nothing." All of this leads to marketing that earns respect from your customers and garners their permission, which in turn can transform your marketing into something Mike calls "a little more lovable".  What a great concept in today's jaded world - Lovable Marketing! Tune into the full episode below or catch us on iTunes. No time to sync? We're on Stitcher too! Connect with Kat on Google +, LinkedIn or Twitter. [Lead Image via Tom Fishbourne | The Marketoonist] BFT Productions clean 20:21 Brand Fast-Trackers #193 – Gordon Gekko is Dead http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/02/20/brand-fast-trackers-162-gordon-gekko-is-dead/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/02/20/brand-fast-trackers-162-gordon-gekko-is-dead/#comments Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:09:03 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3620

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Creativity, General Discussion, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

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Today’s guest is Peter Shankman, perhaps most well-known for founding HARO (Help a Reporter Out), which he then sold to Vocus. Peter has a new book coming out in April called Nice Companies Finish First: Why Cutthroat Management Is Over–and Collaboration Is In.  In a lot of ways, the theme of Peter’s book is [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/02/20/brand-fast-trackers-162-gordon-gekko-is-dead/feed/ 8 Brand Fast Trackers,brian f. martin,Geek Factory,HARO,Kat Krieger,Peter Shankman,Vocus Today's guest is Peter Shankman, perhaps most well-known for founding HARO (Help a Reporter Out), which he then sold to Vocus. Peter has a new book coming out in April called Nice Companies Finish First: Why Cutthroat Management Is Over--and Collaborat... Today's guest is Peter Shankman, perhaps most well-known for founding HARO (Help a Reporter Out), which he then sold to Vocus. Peter has a new book coming out in April called Nice Companies Finish First: Why Cutthroat Management Is Over--and Collaboration Is In.  In a lot of ways, the theme of Peter's book is something we have discussed many times on this show. The episode we did with Havas Global CEO David Jones comes to mind when we discussed his book, Who Cares Wins. This was also echoed when we spoke with Edelman's Carol Cone. The era of Gordon Gekko is over. Peter's key takeaway? People, your customers, want to do business with nice companies, and that translates to how companies treat the environment and how they treat their employees. Customers are taking a stand and will support nice companies over less responsible ones. The last numbers on this I read were in the Edelman Good Purpose study and almost 80% of customers will choose the more responsible or cause-focused brand over one that is not that way. The best part is that these companies are discovering that 'being nice' and 'being responsible' grows their bottom line. Seems like a win-win to me. Of course, according to Shankman, there's one more bonus to this behavior. He shares: "Companies, screw up, they screw up all the time. It's not a question of if your company will screw up, it's a matter of when. So what you want is to have a good attitude and to be a good company with good stewardship and good management that takes responsibility for your actions all the time so that when you do screw up, your customers do come back to you and they are not running away in fear. They say, 'you know what? everyone screws up and we are willing to give them another chance' as opposed to the company who is go, go, go, kill, kill, kill. The one time they do screw up, they don't really have that bag of saving grace." Peter goes on to share many more specific tips to brands and brand manager with recent real world examples. He also offers his thoughts on entrepreneurship and reveals the thing that drove him to start his own business. Tune in below, on iTunes or check us out on Stitcher. Connect with Kat on Google +, LinkedIn or Twitter. [Lead Image via The Inquisitor] BFT Productions clean 18:19 Brand Fast-Trackers #192 – Branding an Ingredient http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/02/13/brand-fast-trackers-161-branding-an-ingredient/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/02/13/brand-fast-trackers-161-branding-an-ingredient/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:58:20 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3588

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Commerce, Creativity, General Discussion, Industry Trends, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

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Woohoo the theme is now live!! I am beyond thrilled and hope you will stand by a wee bit longer as we perfect any kinks. And of course, as always, I’d love to hear your suggestions. Branding an Ingredient On to today’s podcast….we are returning to our series with Chris Brace  (See Episodes 140, 141, 144, 147, 149, 155, [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/02/13/brand-fast-trackers-161-branding-an-ingredient/feed/ 1 brand,Brand Fast Trackers,brian f. martin,Chris Brace,consumer,Geoff Livingston,Gini Dietrich,Kat Krieger,podcast,shopper insights,Shopper Intelligence,Shopper Marketing Woohoo the theme is now live!! I am beyond thrilled and hope you will stand by a wee bit longer as we perfect any kinks. :-) And of course, as always, I'd love to hear your suggestions. Branding an Ingredient On to today's podcast.... Woohoo the theme is now live!! I am beyond thrilled and hope you will stand by a wee bit longer as we perfect any kinks. :-) And of course, as always, I'd love to hear your suggestions. Branding an Ingredient On to today's podcast....we are returning to our series with Chris Brace  (See Episodes 140, 141, 144, 147, 149, 155, 159), and despite the numerous episodes we have done with him, something new clicked for me and made me pull out my copy of Gini Dietrich and Geoff Livingston's fantastic Marketing in the Round. We spoken a lot about consumers and shoppers and we have spoken about integrated marketing, but what I never quite hit on was that marketers must put the needs of these two together. As Chris put it: "What is happening in most companies is that you have a brand team that goes off into a room and builds the consumer plan, you've got a shopper team that goes off in a completely different room that goes off and builds the shopper plan and rarely do they ever come together to make sure that they are actually really, effectively and seamlessly communicating with their consumer and shopper offering the same experience though-out the entire brand...that's what true integrated planning really accomplishes." So I think this essentially put a whole new spoke in Gini's wheel, but the principles of Marketing in the Round stays true. Get out of the silo and talk to each other!!! It is best not only for the company, but for the consumer! So take a listen below and make it happen. Connect with Kat on Google +, LinkedIn or Twitter. [Lead image via Ruth E Hendricks; Silo image via Brand Rants]   BFT Productions clean 13:55 Brand Fast-Trackers #191 – Marketing is a Joke http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/02/05/brand-fast-trackers-160-marketing-is-a-joke/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/02/05/brand-fast-trackers-160-marketing-is-a-joke/#comments Tue, 05 Feb 2013 13:21:26 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3580

Categories: Advertising, Creativity, General Discussion, Industry Trends, Marketing Start-ups, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion, Starting a Business

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Today guest Joseph Jaffe discusses why marketing is perceived as a joke and how an innovative partnership of Madison Avenue & Mountain View may help solve this.

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/02/05/brand-fast-trackers-160-marketing-is-a-joke/feed/ 0 Brand Fast Trackers,brian f. martin,Evol8tion,IT,Joseph Jaffe,Kat Krieger,Madison and Mountain View,Madison Avenue,marketing,product,Silicon Valley,Start-ups for Brands Today guest Joseph Jaffe discusses why marketing is perceived as a joke and how an innovative partnership of Madison Avenue & Mountain View may help solve this. Today guest Joseph Jaffe discusses why marketing is perceived as a joke and how an innovative partnership of Madison Avenue & Mountain View may help solve this. BFT Productions clean 30:53 Brand Fast-Trackers #190 – The Shopper Journey http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/29/brand-fast-trackers-159-the-shopper-journey/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/29/brand-fast-trackers-159-the-shopper-journey/#comments Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:32:26 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3559

Categories: Advertising, Commerce, E-Commerce, General Discussion, Industry Trends, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

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Send to Kindle  Today, we return to our shopper marketing series with Chris Brace. (See Episodes 140, 141, 144, 147, 149, 155) Marketing is traditionally viewed as transactional. It is all about guiding the shopper to the transaction, the purchase. When P&G introduced their path-to-purchase model (above), it was revolutionary. It is also very linear [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/29/brand-fast-trackers-159-the-shopper-journey/feed/ 1 brand,Brand Fast Trackers,brian f. martin,Chris Brace,consumer,Kat Krieger,marketing,Path to Purchase,PTP,Shopper Journey,Shopper Marketing   - Today, we return to our shopper marketing series with Chris Brace. (See Episodes 140, 141, 144, 147, 149, 155) Marketing is traditionally viewed as transactional. It is all about guiding the shopper to the transaction, the purchase.   Today, we return to our shopper marketing series with Chris Brace. (See Episodes 140, 141, 144, 147, 149, 155) Marketing is traditionally viewed as transactional. It is all about guiding the shopper to the transaction, the purchase. When P&G introduced their path-to-purchase model (above), it was revolutionary. It is also very linear or transaction-based. But as Chris shares, the idea of the path-to-purchase is being redefined. We have certainly discussed just how critical it is to understand the journey your shopper takes when buying your product. Their path is certainly not linear. What would happen if we refined how we look at marketing? What would happen if we made it about the relationship we form with consumers? Chris challenges marketers to stop building brand plans where the consumer and shopper aspects are siloed. Marketing then, is about building relationships that we can then leverage to sell products and services. The path becomes the shopper journey and looks more like this. If marketers embrace this model, the result is more selling, says Brace. "We need to be better at building this relationship."  Until marketers really understand and embrace the shopper journey - the non-linear journey your shopper takes, digitally and non-digitally, that drives them to buy from your brand whether they are in-home, in-transit or in-store, we are missing sales. Connect with Kat on Google +, LinkedIn or Twitter. BFT Productions clean 20:12 Brand Fast-Trackers #189 – Idea Storming http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/23/brand-fast-trackers-158-idea-storming/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/23/brand-fast-trackers-158-idea-storming/#comments Wed, 23 Jan 2013 13:32:46 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3513

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Creativity, Marketing Strategy

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Send to Kindle  In today’s episode we speak with Bryan Mattimore, founder of innovation consultancy The Growth Engine and author of Idea Stormers: How to Lead and Inspire Creative Breakthroughs.  Say the word ‘brainstorm’ to a colleague and you just might get an eye roll as a response. Brainstorming has gotten a bad rap. Bryan shares [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/23/brand-fast-trackers-158-idea-storming/feed/ 1 Bryan Mattimore,consumer,creativity,customer,Ekaterina Walter,Idea Stormers,Ideation,innovation,product   - In today's episode we speak with Bryan Mattimore, founder of innovation consultancy The Growth Engine and author of Idea Stormers: How to Lead and Inspire Creative Breakthroughs.  Say the word 'brainstorm' to a colleague and you just might get an ...   In today's episode we speak with Bryan Mattimore, founder of innovation consultancy The Growth Engine and author of Idea Stormers: How to Lead and Inspire Creative Breakthroughs.  Say the word 'brainstorm' to a colleague and you just might get an eye roll as a response. Brainstorming has gotten a bad rap. Bryan shares that brainstorms are poorly designed most of the time, both in who gets included and how ideas are generated. They can result in plenty of ideas, but ideas themselves are not innovative. It is what you do with the ideas that becomes innovative. As Bryan puts it: "There are dozens if not hundreds of creative challenges that lie in the way when bringing a product to market, so it is easy to give up." Bryan specializes in helping companies tackle the ideation to innovation barrier and bring exciting products to market. So brainstorming becomes idea storming. I think whether you are an entrepreneur or in the words of Ekaterina Walter, an intrapreneur; whethere you are on the brand team or the agency team; whether you work at a small business or a large business, there are nuggets here to help bring new ideas both to life and to market. Tune in below to here more. Connect with Kat on Google +. [Lead Image via pensketches.blogspot.com] BFT Productions clean 22:07 Brand Fast-Trackers #188 – Think Like Zuck http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/16/brand-fast-trackers-157-think-like-zuck/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/16/brand-fast-trackers-157-think-like-zuck/#comments Wed, 16 Jan 2013 13:15:34 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3516

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Content Marketing, Creativity, General Discussion, Industry Trends, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

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Send to Kindle  I am beyond thrilled that we were joined by Ekaterina Walter on the podcast yesterday. Given Facebook’s announcement of their new graph search, I sped this through the editing process to get this to you today instead of next week. Ekaterina does offer her take on the announcement during the interview. The [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/16/brand-fast-trackers-157-think-like-zuck/feed/ 0 Brand Fast Trackers,brian f. martin,Ekaterina Walter,facebook,Facebook Graph Search,Graph Search,Intel,Intel Social Media Center of Excellence,Kat Krieger,Mark Zuckerberg,movement,podcast   - I am beyond thrilled that we were joined by Ekaterina Walter on the podcast yesterday. Given Facebook's announcement of their new graph search, I sped this through the editing process to get this to you today instead of next week.   I am beyond thrilled that we were joined by Ekaterina Walter on the podcast yesterday. Given Facebook's announcement of their new graph search, I sped this through the editing process to get this to you today instead of next week. Ekaterina does offer her take on the announcement during the interview. The transcript will be added later.  Ekaterina is a true social innovator, both in the role at Intel and in the marketing world as a whole. She was a driving force around Intel's pioneering Social Media Center for Excellence and the author of the new book Think Like Zuck: The Five Business Secrets of Facebook's Improbably Brilliant CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Last year when we spoke with Edelman's David Armano, he mentioned a word neither Brian nor I had really heard of - the Intrapreneur. In Ekaterina book's the principles she describe apply to both the traditional definition we all know as the entrepreneur like Zuck or for that matter, like our host Brian Martin, but also to employees in big and small companies alike doing really innovative and groundbreaking work - the intrapreneur, much like David Armano and Ekaterina. Ekaterina uses Zuckerberg as the largest example of bringing these principles to life, and yet, as I heard her speak I was struck by how she embodied these principles in her own career. Intel was way ahead of the game in the social media space, but the the early making of the center for excellence was formed by a committee (I use this term in the best way). Ekaterina had the insight to see where things were going and volunteered for the committee and became an integral part of not only Intel's social perspective, but one that also generated a model for all businesses to follow industry-wide. So what are the 5 key Secrets to Think Like Zuck? Passion -- Keep your energy and commitment fully charged at all times by pursuing something you believe in. This reminds me of a quote from Seth Godin's Poke the Box - "Have the guts and the heart and the passion to ship." It seems easy to say, but I think true passion for work is a rare commodity and if you have it, you need to let it propel you forward. Purpose -- Don't just create a great product; drive a meaningful movement. We've spoken a lot about purpose over the last several years, particularly when we spoke with Jim Stengel & Erin Mulligan Nelson. I revisited this right before the New Year. It is really never something that can get said or acted on enough. People -- Build powerful teams that can help you execute your vision Even the most brilliant entrepreneur can't do it alone; it takes a dedicated passionate team to make it happen. Product -- Create a product that is innovative, that breaks all the rules and that changes everything. My mind immediately goes to Apple and Steve Jobs on this one. It also reminds me of maybe the best quote we have ever gotten from a guest here at Brand Fast-Trackers - "Make sure your product don't suck." --Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia Partnerships -- Build powerful partnershipswith people who fuel imagination and energize execution Ekaterina offers these and many more nuggets. Take a listen below or download from iTunes. And check out what Ekaterina has to say about Facebook's new graph search feature. Speaking of, what was your take on it? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to chat. Connect with Kat on Google +. [Lead image via Gizmodo] Sound Cloud Audio BFT Productions clean 25:12 Brand Fast-Trackers #187 – Loyalty Wins http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/09/brand-fast-trackers-156-loyalty-wins/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/09/brand-fast-trackers-156-loyalty-wins/#comments Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:37:34 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3480

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Content Marketing, Creativity, Industry Trends, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

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Send to Kindle When respected marketers like Scott Monty, Eric Ryan and Porter Gale – all former guests of this very podcast – agree on something, I pay attention. In this case, they all raved about Rob Fuggetta’s recent book on Brand Advocates. The word-of-mouth / brand advocacy concept has been around for ages, but [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/09/brand-fast-trackers-156-loyalty-wins/feed/ 0 brand,Brand Advocates,Brand Fast Trackers,brand loyalty,brands,brian f. martin,customer loyalty,Kat Krieger,product,Rob Fuggetta,Zuberance When respected marketers like Scott Monty, Eric Ryan and Porter Gale - all former guests of this very podcast - agree on something, I pay attention. In this case, they all raved about Rob Fuggetta's recent book on Brand Advocates. When respected marketers like Scott Monty, Eric Ryan and Porter Gale - all former guests of this very podcast - agree on something, I pay attention. In this case, they all raved about Rob Fuggetta's recent book on Brand Advocates. The word-of-mouth / brand advocacy concept has been around for ages, but Rob delves into how brands can really leverage their best fans and turn them into a marketing army. Ford has a great example of this actually. In their web portal, they build their community and take customer-told stories and turn them into amazing marketing content. This is a practical episode for any marketer looking to find and leverage your customers. We speak often of the ever-tightening marketing budget and we speak equally often of how fragmented the media world has become. One can't just spray and pray with a large TV buy for example (though traditional media remains an important part of the marketing mix). Taking all of that into consideration, leveraging brand advocates becomes particularly appealing. It's a cost-effective tactic, and one that can be measured. Win/Win. Take a listen below and check out Rob's book. Let me know what you think. I'd love to hear. ** New Brand Fast-Trackers feature **  We will now include a full transcript wherever possible for our podcast posts. I hope you find it relevant and useful. -KK [Lead Image by Tom Fishbourne] Complete transcript is below: Episode 156 Brian: Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of Brand Fast Trackers. I'm your host, Brian Martin. When CMO's were recently asked, thinking about all the challenges that they have, what would they consider to be one of their greatest challenges, one of their greatest opportunities? More than two-thirds of them said the same thing, and it was all around the idea of trying to better leverage brand advocates, word of mouth. How do they take consumers who are buying, consumers who are not yet buying and how do they rally them into a marketing force? How can they better do that? We wanted to get some insight as to that because I found that answer fascinating, so we turned to Rob Fuggetta. Rob is the founder and CEO of Zuberance. He's also the author of Brand Advocates: Turning Enthusiastic Customers into a Powerful Marketing Force. Rob, thanks so much for joining us today. Rob:   Hi, Brian. My pleasure to be here with you today. Brian: You know, I found the new book to be fascinating and the title is Brand Advocates: Turning Enthusiastic Customers into a Powerful Marketing Force. Before we begin, what is a "brand advocate"? It seems as though it's a . . . You know, when I was a brand manager many years ago, it wasn't a term that we used but I'm seeing that term more and more frequently today. What is a brand advocate? Rob:   Well a brand advocate is a person who recommends a company, brand, product or service without being paid or given incentives. That last part of the definition, Brian, is really important. Brand advocates will go out of their way to evangelize and recommend brands, products, services, companies and you don't have to pay them. When you start paying people to recommend or refer or write reviews, you're really not talking about a true advocate for a brand. That's more like maybe an affiliate marketer or some sort of paid referral program but that doesn't meet our definition of what a brand advocate is if you have to pay them or give them swag in exchange for the recommendations. Brian: I'm wondering though, not to go off topic though, it seems as though there are a number of bloggers out there that are taking either money or advertising on their site or rather extensive swag, as you call it, not just product samples, some pretty extensive product. Is that different? I guess that would be considered different then, yes? Rob:   Oh, definitely, yeah. Well first of all, there's a big difference between professional bloggers, media, celebrity endorsers, BFT Productions clean Brand Fast-Trackers #186 – Shooting in the Dark http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/02/brand-fast-trackers-155-shooting-in-the-dark/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/02/brand-fast-trackers-155-shooting-in-the-dark/#comments Wed, 02 Jan 2013 12:59:34 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3459

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Commerce, Creativity, General Discussion, Industry Trends, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

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Good morning and happy 2013! I hope you all had lovely holidays and are having a fantastic start to the New Year. As I’ve mentioned recently, we’re expanding Brand Fast-Trackers this year. I’m really excited to start offering more relevant, helpful content beyond the podcasts. So stay tuned! Today, we are returning to our [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2013/01/02/brand-fast-trackers-155-shooting-in-the-dark/feed/ 2 brand,Brand Fast Trackers,brand management,brian f. martin,Chris Brace,consumer,consumers,Emotional marketing,How the brain works,Lead Image,marketing,Marketing Strategy Good morning and happy 2013! I hope you all had lovely holidays and are having a fantastic start to the New Year. As I've mentioned recently, we're expanding Brand Fast-Trackers this year. I'm really excited to start offering more relevant, Good morning and happy 2013! I hope you all had lovely holidays and are having a fantastic start to the New Year. As I've mentioned recently, we're expanding Brand Fast-Trackers this year. I'm really excited to start offering more relevant, helpful con... BFT Productions clean 16:55 Brand Fast-Trackers #184 – The Consumer is in Charge http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/12/05/brand-fast-trackers-153-the-consumer-is-in-charge/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/12/05/brand-fast-trackers-153-the-consumer-is-in-charge/#comments Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:21:15 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3398

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Commerce, Content Marketing, E-Commerce, General Discussion, Marketing Strategy, Mobile Marketing, Podcast Discussion

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Send to Kindle  We’ve all heard the term ‘big data’ tossed about quite a bit in the last year. But what does big data really mean and how can marketers take advantage of it? Today. we speak with a true authority in the space, Martin Doettling, CMO of Webtrends. In the past, we have spoken [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/12/05/brand-fast-trackers-153-the-consumer-is-in-charge/feed/ 1 Big data,Brand Fast Trackers,brian f. martin,Commerce,consumer-driven marketing,Kat Krieger,Martin Doettling,Mobile Marketing,podcast,Webtrends   - We've all heard the term 'big data' tossed about quite a bit in the last year. But what does big data really mean and how can marketers take advantage of it? Today. we speak with a true authority in the space, Martin Doettling, CMO of Webtrends.   We've all heard the term 'big data' tossed about quite a bit in the last year. But what does big data really mean and how can marketers take advantage of it? Today. we speak with a true authority in the space, Martin Doettling, CMO of Webtrends. In the past, we have spoken about how a marketer could spend the bulk of the budget on a major TV buy and reach most of the target audience, but in today's ever-more fragmenting world such a thing is impossible. Moreover, the CREATIVE used to lead the charge on how a campaign unfolded and how that spend was divided across mediums. So how can a brand marketer connect with the audience and ultimately deliver REVENUE? Martin shares this nugget: "The consumer is driving the charge. You can't rely on creative and national campaigns alone anymore. Creative is still important, but the case can be made where data that provides actionable insights drives the creative." Think about that sentence again - data provides actionable insights. So what does that really mean? CPG companies, for example, have always had a ton of data at their disposals, zip codes and certain demographics like age groups. This type of data, while important, is not enough to provide real, actionable insights. According to Martin, companies who used this data were basically just "spraying and praying," an expression which I love and which I think applies to more marketing than any of us care to admit. So now brands are able to turn to companies like Webtrends (Keep in mind, I'm not advocating one solution over the other. There are many players in this field.) who can dig into the data, both offline and online and turn it into compelling content for the consumer. How and where does your consumer interact with you? How do they like to experience your brand? So take this data and apply it. Martin gives an example of a high end luxury goods company that brought an online, showcasing video experience into one of their flagship stores, so when a customer picks up an item (in-store!) the video screen shifts to that product and its particular features of craftsmanship. Wow - very powerful. In my mind, the most important thing that Martin touches on is that the Consumer is in Charge, so brands need to not only recognize that, but finds ways to take advantage of it. Let's be honest, if a consumer can't find something they are looking for, they will move on. How many times have you hopped to a new website because you weren't happy with the results? And how long did you stay on the first website? 10 seconds? 5 seconds? The answer is probably less. In a year where we saw Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales up 30% and more online transactions than ever in history (!), marketers have to looking at data to help them drive marketing treatments and get the most bang on their buck. Martin also makes a few predictions of what is coming next that I will leave to the audio. Tune in below, grab it off of iTunes (Hey, and leave us a review while you are there!), or subscribe to us on Stitcher (no syncing required!). [Lead Image from Tom Fishburne - The Marketoonist] BFT Productions clean 25:53 Brand Fast-Trackers #183 – Content is King & Queen http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/11/28/brand-fast-trackers-152-content-is-king-queen/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/11/28/brand-fast-trackers-152-content-is-king-queen/#comments Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:19:17 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3389

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Branded Content, Branded Entertainment, Content Marketing, Creativity, General Discussion, Marketing Start-ups, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion, Starting a Business

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Today’s episode is with Rob Barnett, CEO/Founder of My Damn Channel. Rob had a long career in TV and radio when he founded My Damn Channel in 2007. Think back, in 2007, YouTube had been purchased by Google already, but it was nowhere near the behemoth it has become. Rob and his team took the bet [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/11/28/brand-fast-trackers-152-content-is-king-queen/feed/ 0 Brand Fast Trackers,brian f. martin,Entrepreneurship,Kat Krieger,My Damn Channel,online video,premium content,Rob Barnett,TV,Video Today's episode is with Rob Barnett, CEO/Founder of My Damn Channel. Rob had a long career in TV and radio when he founded My Damn Channel in 2007. Think back, in 2007, YouTube had been purchased by Google already, Today's episode is with Rob Barnett, CEO/Founder of My Damn Channel. Rob had a long career in TV and radio when he founded My Damn Channel in 2007. Think back, in 2007, YouTube had been purchased by Google already, but it was nowhere near the behemoth it has become. Rob and his team took the bet that as online video continued to unfold, YouTube would mostly serve as a popular video aggregator, but that both consumers and most importantly, advertisers would need a place to go for premium, original content. My Damn Channel is just that place. As Rob puts it: "For us, the approach has always been the quality, the selection . . . so on the internet it is important to steal some of the playbook of traditional media. They have always put the best in front of the most." This plays into the 'content is king' sentiment, but according to Rob it's more than that. "Content is King and Queen," he says. My Damn Channel takes the most popular talent online and creates (ideally) enough traction to inspire advertisers to join in, support it, and then help them create branded entertainment of their own. To me it seems Rob has found the perfect formula for bridging the gap between the safe traditional TV you-know-what-you-are-going-to-get model and the online quality-can-be-questionable video model. My Damn Channel works with brands like Adobe, Southern Comfort, Subway, Fiat and most recently did a successful campaign with 711 to help their star Grace Helbig of Daily Grace decide whether or not she should move from NY to LA. The 7Election campaign (obviously timed along with the recent presidential election) generated 42,000 votes in the first day alone. As a consumer, if you have not heard of My Damn Channel, go check them out to see Grace and celebs like Adam Carolla, Jimmy Kimmel and Coolio (yes, you read that right - Coolio!). As a brand/advertiser who has perhaps avoided supporting online video, they are absolutely worth checking out. Tune into the full audio below, or find us on iTunes or Stitcher. BFT Productions clean 23:36 Brand Fast-Trackers #182 – Mobile is Not a Channel http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/11/21/brand-fast-trackers-151-mobile-is-not-a-channel/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/11/21/brand-fast-trackers-151-mobile-is-not-a-channel/#comments Wed, 21 Nov 2012 12:47:54 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3372

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Commerce, Creativity, E-Commerce, General Discussion, Industry Trends, Marketing Strategy, Mobile Marketing, Podcast Discussion

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Mobile Marketing To QR or Not to QR QR codes…maybe you love them, maybe you hate them, but chance are you are not ambivalent. QR codes may not be the end all, be all mobile engagement tool it’s been promised to be, but the question is not what you gain by using them, it [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/11/21/brand-fast-trackers-151-mobile-is-not-a-channel/feed/ 0 Brand Fast Trackers,brand loyalty,brian f. martin,John Lim,Kat Krieger,Life in Mobile,Mobile Marketing,podcast,QR codes,Sherry Orel,Tom fishburne Mobile Marketing To QR or Not to QR - QR codes...maybe you love them, maybe you hate them, but chance are you are not ambivalent. QR codes may not be the end all, be all mobile engagement tool it's been promised to be, Mobile Marketing To QR or Not to QR QR codes...maybe you love them, maybe you hate them, but chance are you are not ambivalent. QR codes may not be the end all, be all mobile engagement tool it's been promised to be, but the question is not what you gain by using them, it is what you stand to lose by not using them. Today's guest is a mobile industry veteran.  John Lim is the CEO/Founder of Life in Mobile and believes fervently in the monetization of mobile for brands. As John points out, many brands sell via retailers, so how their products are displayed or sold are very dependent upon the retailer. What is a customer wants to know more about a product and the store salesperson does not know or is misinformed. At minimum, QR codes provide a great place for brands to interact directly with their consumers - everything from cereal to cosmetics to electronics. As John says, they come at almost a zero cost factor (you are already creating the packaging), so when it comes to QR, marketers have to think of the ROI of you NOT having them. "2 or 5% of 10MM is still better than a 100% of 0%." This brings me back to Tom Fishburne's hilarious, yet true cartoon at the top of this post. Brand loyalty is illusive at best and consumers may have favored (vs. favorite) brands, but they will sacrifice you in a minute if the cost or THE EXPERIENCE is not to their liking. QR codes may offer a point of redemption, BUT as my CEO discussed this summer, you had better send them to an optimized experience. Is this the year of mobile? We've talked a lot about mobile marketing this year, and we have heard from respected marketers like Mitch Joel, Jay Baer, and Diane Kegley about just how critical mobile marketing has become, but I've never quite heard it from this perspective: "It’s not about mobile per se as a channel. Do you mean mobile advertising or the mobile app world? [...] For brands there is never a year of mobile – it could be the year your mobile consumer makes or breaks your brand. It should never exist within a brand organization." -- John Lim, CEO/Founder, Life in Mobile Think about that statement - This could be the year that your consumer MAKES or BREAKS your brand BECAUSE of MOBILE. Very powerful, and proving that mobile needs to be integrated into every single thing you do, every campaign, every interaction, every single consumer touch point. Brands who don't do this are losing out. Recent Google stats show that 45% of all consumers use smart phones for in-store product research, 39% checked other online retailers while in store, and most startling is that 53% of walk-outs (when shoppers leave without making a purchase) were influenced by smart phone usage. Tune into the audio below for more on mobile, I think you will enjoy John's ROI-focused perspective. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday with friends and family. Happy Thanksgiving from Brand Fast-Trackers.  [Lead image by the fantastic Marketoonist - Tom Fishburne] BFT Productions clean 23:22 Brand Fast-Trackers #181 – It’s All Commerce Now http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/11/14/brand-fast-trackers-150-its-all-commerce-now/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/11/14/brand-fast-trackers-150-its-all-commerce-now/#comments Wed, 14 Nov 2012 12:02:09 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3351

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Commerce, Content Marketing, Creativity, E-Commerce, General Discussion, Industry Trends, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

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Send to Kindle “It’s all commerce now because consumers don’t recognize channels anymore … we are all just connected ” Forget the ‘e’ in eCommerce says today’s guest Diane Kegley, CMO of RichRelevance. To me, this is right on. Consumers want to be able to connect with a brand/retailer seamlessly whether they are in-store, or on their desktops, tablets or [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/11/14/brand-fast-trackers-150-its-all-commerce-now/feed/ 1 Brand Fast Trackers,brian f. martin,Chris Brace,Commerce,Diane Kegley,E-Commerce,eCommerce,Kat Krieger,Mitch Joel,Mobile Marketing,mobile shopping,personalization "It's all commerce now because consumers don't recognize channels anymore ... we are all just connected " Forget the 'e' in eCommerce says today's guest Diane Kegley, CMO of RichRelevance. To me, this is right on. "It's all commerce now because consumers don't recognize channels anymore ... we are all just connected " Forget the 'e' in eCommerce says today's guest Diane Kegley, CMO of RichRelevance. To me, this is right on. Consumers want to be able to connect with a brand/retailer seamlessly whether they are in-store, or on their desktops, tablets or mobile. And this is certainly true for me personally as a consumer.  Today's show also ties into the shopper marketing series we have been doing. (See Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). RichRelevance helps retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Sears and Marks & Spencer interact with the customers in a smarter way online. (You may remember RichRelevance from a recent study and accompanying infographic that made its rounds on the interwebs that confirmed that nearly 86% of shoppers click-through from Facebook, but that Pinterest drives larger orders - nearly double the $$$ of other social channels.) Diane gives this great example in the show: Creating the Emotional Connection If I'm searching for a flat screen television online. When I hit Walmart.com, I will be presented with a custom landing page featuring only flat panel televisions. As a move through the site and say add a TV to my cart, I will be prompted to perhaps add to my purchase with relevant peripherals or accessories. In Diane's words, "It's almost like there is a really good sales person standing next to you." In other words, it creates the key thing that Omar Johnson spoke about in a recent show - an emotional experience. And the challenge, according to Diane is: How do brands get to the point where they have this kind of emotional connection when their consumers? In today's fickle market, brand marketers have to think back to what it takes to win loyalty. Brands are finally realizing all of the big data they already own and trying to leverage it. This is the future of shopping. A seamless experience for the consumer. Brands need to think like a tech company and turn everything into marketable insight in real time. This is what Amazon, Google and Apple are already great at - personalization. And that is a win for all - as long as it's done right. Personalization vs. Privacy Which brings me to the flip side of this personalization -- a concern for privacy. Consumers want brands/retailers to read their mind, but only when they want them to read their minds. It reminds me of a few posts by Mitch Joel (mind crush), but particularly a March 2012 post about the Do Not Track Button. He writes: "Odds are that you want personalization, but you also want to maintain your privacy. Let's face it, we tell things to a search engine that we don't even tell our spouses or families. You're kidding yourself if you think this information (positive, negative or neutral) is not being tracked and stored. Then again, who wants unrelated advertising flashing and bleeping across our screens? In the world of tracking, I'd much prefer that the Web is capturing everything I'm doing to deliver more relevant content to me, I just want to be rest assured that this information can't be tracked back to me as an individual, right? If all you have is my habits but none of my personal information, please track away. But, if you're combining my usage with who I am, personally... then shame on you (unless you have my explicit and implicit permission)." There are so many more insights in this episode, but I don't want to spoil it all for you! Tune into the full episode below or pop over to iTunes.  No time to sync? Check out Stitcher.com.   BFT Productions clean 26:30 Brand Fast-Trackers #180 – How the Shopper Shops http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/11/07/brand-fast-trackers-149-how-the-shopper-shops/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/11/07/brand-fast-trackers-149-how-the-shopper-shops/#comments Wed, 07 Nov 2012 13:39:57 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3344

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Content Marketing, Creativity, General Discussion, Industry Trends, Marketing Strategy

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Send to Kindle In this episode of Brand Fast-Trackers, we return to our shopper marketing series with Chris Brace. In the previous episodes, we have explored initial concepts of shopper marketing, delved into the differences between the consumer and shopper mindsets, discussed how brands can use shopper insights to their advantage, and how brands are diverse as CPG, automotive and financial [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/11/07/brand-fast-trackers-149-how-the-shopper-shops/feed/ 2 brand,Brand Fast Trackers,Brand Manager,brian f. martin,Chris Brace,consumer,CPG,marketing,podcast,shopper insights,Shopper Intelligence,Shopper Journey In this episode of Brand Fast-Trackers, we return to our shopper marketing series with Chris Brace. In the previous episodes, we have explored initial concepts of shopper marketing, delved into the differences between the consumer and shopper mindsets, In this episode of Brand Fast-Trackers, we return to our shopper marketing series with Chris Brace. In the previous episodes, we have explored initial concepts of shopper marketing, delved into the differences between the consumer and shopper mindsets, discussed how brands can use shopper insights to their advantage, and how brands are diverse as CPG, automotive and financial services can all leverage shopper marketing. Today, we felt it was important to take a step back and really dig into the three key principles to shopper marketing. As a brand manager, I think these principles may lead to a light bulb going off and will hopefully be a catalyst for changing how you think about marketing your brand beyond the tactics of price and promotion. Chris Brace's Key 3: How can I grow my brand while meeting my needs, the retailers' needs and the consumer's needs?  Brands always want to grow their business, so they will always be developing programs to do that, but they also need help the retailer meet their category objectives. It's no longer "this is what I am going to do with my brand to grow my business," it is asking the retailer how you are a brand manager can them them achieve a category growth outcome by using your brand.  The retailer will always be more interested in their own self-serving benefit. More on the consumer's needs in #3. How does the shopper actually shop my category? This moves the role of category management from a purely numbers-based approach to an insights-based approach. Sales numbers can tell you many things, but they will never give you the intelligence on what your consumer is actually doing/thinking when they are shopping for your product. Using shopper marketing will allow both the retailer and the brand to start benefiting. How do I need to speak to my consumer based on whether or not they are in the role of a consumer or a shopper? The shopper is the 3rd player in the first principle. Shopper language is different from consumer language. Sometimes your shopper and consumer are two different people. The kid may be the consumer - "I want xx product" and mom is the shopper actually in-store buying it for them. Sometimes they are the same person, but the key thing to remember is that the same principle applies. You have two different mindsets coming together to make one purchase decision. My 4 year old has a lovey - a little blanket shaped like a sheep. His/Her name is Bah Bah (because sometimes he/she likes to switch genders, but that's a whole other story!).  Over the past few weeks she has wanted nothing more than a baby lamb for her Bah Bah. Now me, as the shopper, I've been looking everywhere for the right one. It has to look similar to meet her needs, but I'm not going to spend a large amount of money for some little toy she will likely lose in the coming months. The key insight is that marketers and retailers need to speak differently to me as the purchaser, while leveraging the relationship with her, the consumer. The most startling part of today's episode? When Brian asked Chris for some really good examples of brands/retailers getting it right, he did not have any examples to share. Brands and retailers traditionally rely on price promotion to sell their products. So the challenge becomes, how do we as marketers ween ourselves of promotions and leveraging the consumer/emotional relationship to achieve the same or better outcomes? I hope you will stay tuned for future episodes with Chris to find out how. [Lead Image via Copernicus Marketing] BFT Productions clean 18:55 Brand Fast-Trackers #179 – The (Underutilized) Power of Sound http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/10/31/brand-fast-trackers-148-the-underutilized-power-of-sound/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/10/31/brand-fast-trackers-148-the-underutilized-power-of-sound/#comments Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:32:38 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3333

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Branded Content, Branded Entertainment, Content Marketing, Creativity, General Discussion, Industry Trends, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

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The Power of Sound Do you remember what song was playing when you shared your first kiss? Or the first time you met your partner? Sound is an incredibly powerful sense. When is the last time a song came on the radio or Spotify, and immediately you were taken back to a junior [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/10/31/brand-fast-trackers-148-the-underutilized-power-of-sound/feed/ 0 brand,Brand Fast Trackers,Branded Content,brian f. martin,content marketing,leveraging sound,mark Dewings,podcast,Soundcloud The Power of Sound Do you remember what song was playing when you shared your first kiss? Or the first time you met your partner? Sound is an incredibly powerful sense. When is the last time a song came on the radio or Spotify, The Power of Sound Do you remember what song was playing when you shared your first kiss? Or the first time you met your partner? Sound is an incredibly powerful sense. When is the last time a song came on the radio or Spotify, and immediately you were taken back to a junior high or high school dance? Knowing this, I reached out to SoundCloud, an incredibly fast-growing niche sound-based network with over 20MM users. If the name isn't immediately familiar all you need to do is scroll to the end of this post to see the 'soundcloud' of today's episode! Soundcloud allows users to upload any type of sound (music, podcasts, speeches, poetry, ambient sound) from any device to the soundcloud network. The cool part is that these soundclouds freely integrate with any social network, so users can post them to Facebook, Twitter, dare I say MySpace(?) and of course into blogs like this one. As I touched on in the intro, sound is incredibly powerful. In Brian's conversation with Mark Dewings, head of Brand & Marketing Communications, they discuss how can brands use sound to connect with consumers and make their products resonate on a really intimate level. Another thing that really fascinates me is how brands attract their talent. SoundCloud has launched a really cool advertising campaign that solely focuses on their company culture, in a bid to recruit talent, but it also tells their brand story to users of the platform and beyond. As Mark shares the ultimate reason someone joins a company is the culture, so being able to tell that story is key. [Lead image via Wikipedia] BFT Productions clean 17:02 Brand Fast-Trackers #178 – Any Company that Sells Anything to Anybody http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/10/24/brand-fast-trackers-147-any-company-that-sells-anything-to-anybody/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/10/24/brand-fast-trackers-147-any-company-that-sells-anything-to-anybody/#comments Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:28:12 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3325

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Content Marketing, Creativity, General Discussion, Industry Trends, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

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In this episode of Brand Fast-Trackers, we return to our shopper marketing series with Chris Brace. In the previous episodes, we have explored initial concepts of shopper marketing, delved into the differences between the consumer and shopper mindsets and discussed how brands can use shopper insights to their advantage. All of this seems [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/10/24/brand-fast-trackers-147-any-company-that-sells-anything-to-anybody/feed/ 4 Brand Fast Trackers,Brand Manager,brian f. martin,Chris Brace,CPG,podcast,shopper insights,Shopper Intelligence,Shopper Journey,Shopper Marketing In this episode of Brand Fast-Trackers, we return to our shopper marketing series with Chris Brace. In the previous episodes, we have explored initial concepts of shopper marketing, delved into the differences between the consumer and shopper mindsets ... In this episode of Brand Fast-Trackers, we return to our shopper marketing series with Chris Brace. In the previous episodes, we have explored initial concepts of shopper marketing, delved into the differences between the consumer and shopper mindsets and discussed how brands can use shopper insights to their advantage. All of this seems fine and good for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) world, but in this episode, Chris and Brian discuss the relevance of shopper marketing beyond that including the automotive and financial services categories. Think about that for a moment and then think about all the categories these kind of shopper insights could be applied to: Consumer Electronics Consumer durables (appliances) Lawn & Garden Households Goods Financial Services Automotive Chris puts it in startling simple terms: "Any company that sells anything to anyone can benefit from shopper marketing." Why you ask? Chris goes on to say: "Shopper marketing will help them more effectively sell their services, more effectively upsell their consumers to higher products and to deepen their relationship with their existing consumers." Please tell me what brand marketer wouldn't want that? Shopper marketing gives you the insights to know what your customers are searching for online and offline while they are in the midst of their decision making process. You can learn what information they are looking for and the role that information is playing in their decision. Think about buying a new car for instance. This is a major purchase and one that could take upwards of six months or a year for a consumer to settle on the kind of car they want to own. That is a huge window of time to get in front of your potential consumer and shopper marketing would make it possible to: Know when to speak to them, Know where to speak to them, Know how to speak to them, and most critically, Know what info to shepherd them along their journey to buy your brand Pretty powerful. Take a listen to the full interview below or hop on over to iTunes. On the go and no time to sync, check out Stitcher. BFT Productions clean 22:19 Brand Fast-Trackers #175 – Shopper Insights Are Key http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/10/03/brand-fast-trackers-144-shopper-insights-are-key/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/10/03/brand-fast-trackers-144-shopper-insights-are-key/#comments Wed, 03 Oct 2012 12:48:08 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3301

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, General Discussion, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

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In this episode of Brand Fast-Trackers, we return to our shopper marketing series with Chris Brace and discuss shopper insights and why they are critical to marketers. Chris shares why insights and generalizations are often confused and gives a simple reason for why companies struggle with insights: “If you can’t measure it, you [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/10/03/brand-fast-trackers-144-shopper-insights-are-key/feed/ 5 Brand Fast Trackers,Chris Brace,consumer insights,consumer marketing,CPG,podcast,shopper insights,Shopper Intelligence,Shopper Marketing In this episode of Brand Fast-Trackers, we return to our shopper marketing series with Chris Brace and discuss shopper insights and why they are critical to marketers. Chris shares why insights and generalizations are often confused and gives a simple ... In this episode of Brand Fast-Trackers, we return to our shopper marketing series with Chris Brace and discuss shopper insights and why they are critical to marketers. Chris shares why insights and generalizations are often confused and gives a simple reason for why companies struggle with insights: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” What struck me the most was what can happen when insights are embraced and utilized. The old marketing goal was to break through the clutter, but with insights, marketers are able to do the reverse and allow the consumer/shopper to break into your message. Simple, but so powerful. Chris goes on to further describe the differences between consumer insights and shopper insights. My key take away was how much a relatively simple concept can transform your marketing. This is a very rich episode, and one I will reference for some time to come. I look forward to continuing to share this series with you. To hear the rest of the interview, tune in below or hop on over to iTunes. BFT Productions clean 22:02 Brand Fast-Trackers #174 – The Truth Comes in Blows http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/09/26/brand-fast-trackers-143-the-truth-comes-in-blows/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/09/26/brand-fast-trackers-143-the-truth-comes-in-blows/#comments Wed, 26 Sep 2012 11:00:07 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3293

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Creativity, General Discussion, Industry Trends, Marketing Start-ups, Podcast Discussion, Starting a Business

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Send to Kindle Do you have an incredible idea? A unique concept you are genuinely passionate about? In this episode of Brand Fast-Trackers, we were given the opportunity to speak with Venture Lawyer, Ed Zimmerman, who has been called “one of the best venture capital lawyers in the country – period.” And he has the [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/09/26/brand-fast-trackers-143-the-truth-comes-in-blows/feed/ 1 Ed Zmmerman,entrepreneur,Entrepreneurship,Lowenstein Sandler,Start-Ups,Venture Capital,Venture Funding Do you have an incredible idea? A unique concept you are genuinely passionate about? In this episode of Brand Fast-Trackers, we were given the opportunity to speak with Venture Lawyer, Ed Zimmerman, who has been called "one of the best venture capital ... Do you have an incredible idea? A unique concept you are genuinely passionate about? In this episode of Brand Fast-Trackers, we were given the opportunity to speak with Venture Lawyer, Ed Zimmerman, who has been called "one of the best venture capital lawyers in the country – period." And he has the credentials to back it up -- he’s angel invested in more than 30 companies and invested as an limited partner (LP) in several highly successful venture funds. So what exactly does Ed do? - In a nut shell, he can be what stands between you and the funding you need to bring your idea to reality; he represents start-ups and growth companies in raising the necessary funding to get companies with great ideas off the ground. We asked Ed what he looks for at an early stage in determining “yes or no” to investing in an idea and he quickly replied: 1. Technology 2. Market 3. Management Ed quickly reiterated the importance of the last two, specifically when discussing management. “I need to see someone who has a vision and can articulate that vision and has a passion and enthusiasm that is infectious. Someone who is coachable, has people skills and when articulating the vision can get people to follow.” We spoke with Ed about companies who are truly at the beginning; start-ups that own nothing but an idea and need to get the ball rolling. Ed’s advice? “You really need to be able to network your way to these people, sending an email stating you found us online is not enough.” My key takeaway: tenacity is crucial. In order to get others to believe in your idea with the same vehemence as you, you must believe in it enough to make your passion infectious. To hear the rest of the interview, tune in below or hop on over to iTunes. [Lead Image via Quickspout.com] BFT Productions clean 28:00 Brand Fast-Trackers #173 – Always Execute http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/09/19/brand-fast-trackers-142-always-execute/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/09/19/brand-fast-trackers-142-always-execute/#comments Wed, 19 Sep 2012 13:51:47 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3288

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, Content Marketing, General Discussion, Marketing Start-ups, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion

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Creating genuine emotional connections. Inspiring consumers. Sincere passion for the product. These are key values, Omar Johnson, VP of Marketing for Beats by Dr. Dre, embraces. Before triumphantly producing year-over-year sales increasing +300% for Beats, Johnson created and led innovative marketing programs for global brands that include Nike, Coke, Kraft and Moet. Most recently at Nike, Johnson produced some of Nike’s most memorable TV commercials including “Rise,” [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/09/19/brand-fast-trackers-142-always-execute/feed/ 1 Advertising,Always Execute,aple,beats by dre,Brand Fast Trackers,branding,experiential,headphones,marketing,movement,Omar Johnson,skullcany Creating genuine emotional connections. Inspiring consumers. Sincere passion for the product. These are key values, Omar Johnson, VP of Marketing for Beats by Dr. Dre, embraces. Before triumphantly producing year-over-year sales increasing +300% for Be... Creating genuine emotional connections. Inspiring consumers. Sincere passion for the product. These are key values, Omar Johnson, VP of Marketing for Beats by Dr. Dre, embraces. Before triumphantly producing year-over-year sales increasing +300% for Beats, Johnson created and led innovative marketing programs for global brands that include Nike, Coke, Kraft and Moet. Most recently at Nike, Johnson produced some of Nike's most memorable TV commercials including "Rise," starring LeBron James and "All Together Now," featuring Kobe Bryant. What I find to be most impressive about Beats by Dr. Dre, is with no big advertising push, Beats has quickly and successfully emerged as a leading headphone brand in the few short years since its launch in 2008; creating stiff competition with householdheadphone names including Sony and Apple. When we asked Johnson what he has learned throughout his career, what the absolute “musts” are when marketing a brand or product, he adamantly reinforced the following points:• You MUST have a real insight and you must go deep. The insight is the ultimate start point because that is the foundation you build everything on.If you have the insight, you know it’s based on something real. You MUST have a big idea. A bold idea where you take a risk; not everyone is going to love it, but you have the idea and you take the risk. If you have the good insight, then you know your idea is based on something real. You MUST execute the idea. You can have a great insight and a great idea, but if you don’t execute, who cares. Additionally, Johnson reiterates that it is crucial to have an emotional connection to the product and to have an understanding of the personal impact the product can have for consumers, “It’s not just about how to make kids buy headphones. They want to feel what these artists are putting out for them. We want to give kids the emotion that the artist is feeling. It’s about that connection and feeling to studio sound. If you really want to get connected to the emotion of the artist, this is how you do it.” To hear the entire interview and more of Omar Johnson’s insights on how to connect with your consumer, tune in to the episode   BFT Productions clean 32:31 Brand Fast-Trackers #172 – What is Shopper Marketing? http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/09/13/brand-fast-trackers-141-what-is-shopper-marketing/ http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/09/13/brand-fast-trackers-141-what-is-shopper-marketing/#comments Thu, 13 Sep 2012 11:23:43 +0000 Bre Hiser http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/?p=3265

Categories: Advertising, Brand Marketing Strategy, General Discussion, Industry Trends, Marketing Strategy, Podcast Discussion, Starting a Business

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In yesterday’s post/episode, we introduce a new shopper marketing series we will be doing with Chris Brace, founder of Shopper Intelligence. We briefly addressed the basics of shopper marketing: Consumer Advertising tells consumers what to think; Shopper marketing tells them what to do.  In today’s episode, we delve more deeply into the definition of [...]

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]]> http://www.brandfasttrackers.com/2012/09/13/brand-fast-trackers-141-what-is-shopper-marketing/feed/ 6 Advertising,Brand Fast Trackers,branding,Chris Brace,marketing,media,podcast,shopper insights,Shopper Intelligence,Shopper Marketing In yesterday's post/episode, we introduce a new shopper marketing series we will be doing with Chris Brace, founder of Shopper Intelligence. We briefly addressed the basics of shopper marketing: - Consumer Advertising tells consumers what to think; In yesterday's post/episode, we introduce a new shopper marketing series we will be doing with Chris Brace, founder of Shopper Intelligence. We briefly addressed the basics of shopper marketing: Consumer Advertising tells consumers what to think; Shopper marketing tells them what to do.  In today's episode, we delve more deeply into the definition of shopper marketing and all of its aspects. The lightbulb went off for me when Chris talked about the differences in consumers' mindsets depending on what role they are playing at a given time. Honestly, I always considered myself a consumer and had never thought about the times I become a shopper and what that means for marketers. Consumer Mindset vs. Shopper Mindset The consumer mindset absorbs information that builds the perception. It’s the building of the emotional relationship with the brand.  The shopper mindset absorbs any information that is involved with how a person shops a particular category, brand, or product.  The shopper mindset is always influenced by the consumer mindset.  The consumer can shift into the shopper mindset anywhere and at anytime, not just in the store. To hear the rest of the interview, tune in below or hop on over to iTunes. No time to sync? Check us out on Stitcher, all of your podcasts will download automatically. Enter the code brandconnection for a chance to win.   BFT Productions clean 25:05