On Brand with Nick Westergaard
The On Brand podcast helps you tell stronger stories and build better brands. Each week host Nick Westergaard, author of Brand Now and Get Scrappy, interviews marketing and communication thought leaders or those working for innovative brands like Adobe, Ben & Jerry’s, HBO, Mastercard, Maker’s Mark, the Minnesota Vikings, Salesforce, and Whole Foods. For show notes and more, please visit http://onbrandpodcast.com.
1
The Power of Polarization with Tom Suharto
Tom Suharto leads global strategy at Forsman & Bodenfors where his clients include Volvo, Crocs, Baileys, and H&M.
26 min
2
Inspiring Positive Change with Lesley Bielby
Lesley Bielby literally wrote the book on agency account planning—Super Strategist.
30 min
3
The Mayo Clinic Approach to Leadership
Dr. Richard Winters is an emergency physician and director of leadership development at the Mayo Clinic.
27 min
4
The Power of Language in DEI with Beth Livingston
Beth A. Livingston is a professor, consultant, author, and speaker focused on human resources, gender & diversity, and the management of work & family—all in the service of the employee experience.
29 min
5
Building Creative Teams with Patrick Holly
Patrick Holly has worked for agencies like R/GA and brands like Apple, Uber, and Harley Davidson, where he served as brand director.
30 min
6
The Art of Explanation with Lee LeFever
Lee LeFever is the co-founder of Common Craft and the author of The Art of Explanation
25 min
7
Positioning-Based Strategy with Todd Irwin
Todd Irwin is the Chief Strategy Officer and Founder of Fazer.
32 min
8
How to Sell Yourself with Cindy McGovern
Cindy McGovern is the founder of Orange Leaf Consulting and author of the new book Sell Yourself.
28 min
9
Purpose-Driven Branding with David Aaker
Branding expert and author David Aaker returns for his third appearance on the On Brand podcast.
32 min
10
Crafting Your 3-Word Message with Michelle Mazur
Michelle Mazur is a messaging expert who helps brands of all shapes and sizes craft their own unique and powerful messages.
31 min
11
Leading Through Strategic Narrative with Guilla...
Guillaume Wiatr is the author of Strategic Narrative and the Principal/Founder of MetaHelm, a strategy consulting firm specializing in helping business leaders craft their strategic narrative.
33 min
12
Point of Sale and Packaging with Siena Dexter
As Director of Strategy at Smashbrand, Siena Dexter helps both online and offline brands refine their point-of-sale positioning and packaging.
29 min
13
The Future of Brand Experience with Brett Hyman
Brett Hyman is the president, CEO, and founder of NVE Experience Agency.
33 min
14
Immersive Brand Experiences with Gina Michnowicz
Gina is CEO/Chief Creative Officer of The Craftsman Agency, where she focuses on creating magical experiences and immersive stories for brands like Disney and Microsoft.
27 min
15
Planning for Brand Growth with Bobby Gillespie
Bobby G is a brand growth consultant, author of the forthcoming book Build Your Brand like you Give a Sh*t, and the founder/principal at Propr Design, a Baltimore-based B2B brand growth agency.
27 min
16
Optimize for Interesting with Dorie Clark
Dorie Clark has been named one of the Top 50 business thinkers in the world by Thinkers50
31 min
17
Frictionless Customer Experience with Bill Price
Bill Price was Amazon’s first Vice President of Global Customer Service and is the founder and president of Driva Solutions.
29 min
18
Leadership and Culture with Sunny Bonnell
Sunny Bonnell is co-author of the best-selling business book Rare Breed and Co-Founder of C-suite branding consultancy Motto.
33 min
19
Digital-First Direct Mail with Jacob Ross
Jacob Ross is CEO of PebblePost, a pioneer in the practice of programmatic direct mail.
30 min
20
Daniel Pink on the Power of Regret for Marketers
Daniel H. Pink is the author of the New York Times bestsellers A Whole New Mind, Drive, To Sell Is Human, When, and his latest The Power of Regret.
29 min
21
Writing for Humans and Robots with Maddy Osman
Maddy Osman is the founder of the Blogsmith, an SEO content writing agency for B2B technology brands.
26 min
22
Public Relations Today with Robert Dilenschneider
Robert L. Dilenschneider has been called “Dean of American Public Relations Executives.” As founder of The Dilenschneider Group, he provides strategic advice and counsel to Fortune 500 companies and leading organizations globally.
30 min
23
Creating Videos People Want to Watch with Zacha...
Zachary Slingsby is a writer, short film creator, and founder of Human Factor Media, an award-winning branded storytelling company
32 min
24
The Power of Specificity with Greg Monaco
Greg Monaco is a brand and story coach who strategizes with authors, entrepreneurs, executives, and artists to build compelling brands
30 min
25
Being an Inclusion-First Brand with Lauren Tucker
Dr. Lauren Tucker is the founder and CEO of Do What Matters, an inclusion management consultancy designed to help marketing services agencies turn inclusion, equity, and diversity intent into impact.
37 min
26
Building a Sonic Identity System with Joe Belli...
Music industry veteran Joe Belliotti is an expert in sonic branding.
27 min
27
Connecting Personal Brands to Corporate Brands ...
Scott Bartnick is an internationally renowned eCommerce and media expert and co-founder of OtterPR.
25 min
28
The Market Disruptor's Dilemma with Olivia Mariani
As VP of Marketing at Curbio, Olivia Mariani leads is responsible for everything from brand to demand for the “fix first, pay later” PropTech leader.
32 min
29
Rethinking Brand Innovation with Carla Johnson
Carla Johnson is one of the world’s leading innovation architects and the author of the new book RE:Think Innovation.
32 min
30
Immersive Content Experiences with Jamie Gier
Jamie Gier is CMO of Ceros, helping top brands like NBC Universal, United Airlines, and United Healthcare create immersive content experiences.
28 min
31
Lessons from Political Brands with Zee Cohen-Sa...
Zee Cohen-Sanchez is the founder and executive director of Sole Strategies, a woman and minority-owned organization built by a team of political experts who specialize in strengthening grassroots campaigns at the community level.
28 min
32
Finding the Right Marketing Team with Rob Simone
Rob Simone is Partner and President of Summer Friday, a boutique agency sitting at the intersection of ideas and execution.
29 min
33
B2B Podcasting Best Practices with Prarthana Sibal
Prarthana Sibal is Head of Client Services at Pikkal & Co, a B2B podcast agency.
26 min
34
Apolo Ohno on Pivoting and Purpose
Reinvention is at the core of Apolo Anton Ohno. He acquired and honed this skill over a decade of Olympic speed skating competition, during which he became the most decorated US Winter Olympian of all time.
28 min
35
Buying Out of the Ad Industry Boys' Club (Teaser)
Enjoy this shortened excerpt from the first episode of Own It—a new podcast from Christy Hiler of Cornett
13 min
36
400th Episode + Eric Yaverbaum on Authenticity
This week's interview marks 400 episodes of the On Brand podcast! First up, a special announcement from me. Then I'm joined by Eric Yaverbaum who literally wrote the book on public relations with Public Relations for Dummies.
32 min
37
Passion Brands vs. Rational Brands with Mathew ...
As Chairman and Co-Founder of EVINS Communication, Mathew Evins has built his career in service of iconic brands
27 min
38
Keeping Your Brand Relevant with Jac Phillips
Jac Phillips has worked across a variety of industries including technology, banking, payments, and retail. Her most recent gig was leading partnerships at Visa.
26 min
39
Brand Naming Best Practices with Rob Meyerson
Rob Meyerson is a brand naming expert and author of the new book Brand Naming.
31 min
40
Building a Values-Based Brand with Aidan Fitzpa...
As founder of both Camo and Reincubate, Aidan Fitzpatrick has a history of building values-based brands.
25 min
41
Sponsorship Strategy with Ken Ungar
Ken Ungar is the president of CHARGE, a national sponsorship consulting firm.
26 min
42
Creating World-Changing Brands with Radhika Dutt
A startup marketing veteran, Radhika Dutt is the author of the new book Radical Product Thinking.
31 min
43
What Customer Loyalty Looks Like in 2022
As President of Brand Keys, Robert Passikoff has pioneered work in loyalty inlcuding creating the Customer Loyalty Engagement Index,
31 min
44
The Soulful Art of Persuasion with Jason Harris
As Co-Founder & CEO of creative agency Mekanism, Jason Harris knows a thing or two about building brands.
29 min
45
Brand Empathy & Experience with Jesse Purewal
As Global Head of Brand at Qualtrics, Jesse Purewal is a leader in brand experience.
30 min
46
Telling Magnetic Brand Stories with Gabrielle D...
Gabrielle Dolan’s work spans from personal leadership communication to organizational communication.
29 min
47
Building Your Personal Brand in the New Year wi...
Coach and consultant Lydia Pierre joins us for an exploration of personal branding to kick off the new year.
27 min
48
The Naughty and Nice Brands of 2021 with Matt W...
This week we have a special holiday episode of the On Brand podcast with the “Naughty and Nice Brands of 2021.”
29 min
49
Unplugging for the Holidays with Ginni Saraswati
Ginni Saraswati is the owner and founder of Ginni Media and the Podcast Accelerator.
26 min
50
How Marketers Should Plan for AI with Raj Venka...
Raj Venkatesan is co-author of the new book The AI Marketing Canvas and a professor of marketing at the University of Virginia.
28 min
51
The Metaverse for Brands (Plus, On Brand Joins ...
Jason Falls of the Marketing Podcast Network joins Nick for a conversation on everything from influence marketing to the metaverse.
31 min
52
What to Do If Your Brand Sucks with Ernie Harker
“If you start off on the wrong foot and your brand isn't in line with the attitudes or personality of the brand, there's confusion.” Or, to put it bluntly, your brand sucks. That's the title of strategist Ernie Harker's new book. We discuss how to...
26 min
53
Measuring Brand Dominance with Jonathan Tuttle
“Good things take time to build.” In his work as Founding Director of the digital marketing agency Revenue Ascend, Jonathan Tuttle helps brands of all shapes and sizes build good things. How do you know if something in marketing is good?...
23 min
54
Building a Social-First Brand with David Brickley
“People want to interact with people—not brands.” David Brickley has been helping brands interact with their people through his agency STN Digital and his two podcasts Business of Social and Entrepreneur Wrap. This week he joined me as a guest...
25 min
55
The Art of Visual Storytelling with Dan Roam
“We are profoundly visual creatures. We respond to what we see more than anything else.” Dan Roam has spent his career helping people master the art of visual communication and storytelling. His books from Back of the Napkin to his latest, The...
32 min
56
Choosing Your Customer with Jonathan Byrnes
“In the old days, branding was a very broad thing. Today it's picking your spot.” Jonathan Byrnes knows a thing or two about building a profitable brand for the long haul. He's a Senior Lecturer at MIT, founding partner of Profit Isle, and the...
29 min
57
Qualitative Research in Branding with Duane Varan
“A lot of the assumptions we make are bad assumptions.” When it comes to making assumptions, sometimes we marketers can't help ourselves. To avoid this, we need to ensure that we have a good mix of both quantitive and qualitative research. Dr....
24 min
58
How Native Ads Build Better Brands with Dan Gre...
“If you can design triggers into the thing someone’s already doing, you make advertising even more impactful.” Expanding the definition of advertising to include more human-centric and respectful ideas has been at the heart of Dan Greenberg’s...
32 min
59
What the Pandemic Means for Brands with Emmanue...
“The pandemic has forced brands to change the way they communicate and the way they operate.” As a research professor, author, and VP at Ipsos, Emmanuel Probst spends a lot of time studying, teaching, and writing about consumer behavior. His...
28 min
60
Why Conflict Is Critical in Storytelling with N...
“Storytelling is in the air for business but why is that? Why is it so important?” These questions and more were at the very heart of my interview with Norman Bell, author of The Story Powered Speaker, this week on the On Brand podcast! About...
28 min
61
Branding Through Science and Story with Jenna A...
“Consumers seek authenticity and they’re getting better at weeding out the greenwashing the brands that don’t have the people, story, and heritage behind them.” As the Vice President of Innovation at green cleaning brand ECOS, Jenna Arkin’s...
25 min
62
Building an Influential Brand with Kyle Hjelmeseth
“Influencers take the power out of the hands of those who used to tell us what we should like and not like. You've divested power to those bold enough to go online and share their stories.” From the College of Influence to his Normalize Equality...
28 min
63
Measuring Experiential Marketing with Jonathan ...
“I’ve been completely obsessed with this—not only how do we prove the ROI of these specific experiential programs but how do we do it at scale.” Jonathan Yaffe was one of the first marketing hires at Red Bull following the brand’s entry into...
27 min
64
How Brands Can Overcome Chaos with Michael Zipu...
“There was a big group of people who were able to fare very well during this time and it was those who took action.” As CEO of Consulting Success, Michael Zipursky has worked with hundreds of clients across industries on overcoming the chaos and...
29 min
65
Sonic Branding with Mastercard's Raja Rajamannar
“If you look at designing a brand logo in a visual form, there’s an infinite amount of material. With sonic branding, you have no choice but to create your own playbook. You need to understand the impact that sound has on people’s emotions.”...
35 min
66
Future-Proof Your Marketing with Engelina Jaspers
“Marketing's most fundamental role is understanding markets and consumers better than anyone else around. This past year has allowed us to pause and realign.” Engelina Jaspers has built her career around inflection points in periods of change. The...
28 min
67
Using Smart Data to Fill Brand Gaps with Aimee ...
“When you used to think about branding, you’d be thinking about advertising. Now it’s about building trust.” This week on the On Brand podcast, I welcomed back Aimee Irwin from Experian Marketing Services. Since we last spoke way back in 2019,...
24 min
68
Agile Marketing in Changing Times with Brian Gioia
“Agile marketing is all about speed, transparency, and iteration.” In the face of a global pandemic, brand builders and marketers have relied increasingly on eCommerce partners like Amazon. This can make it challenging to build seamless...
25 min
69
How to Build a Purpose-Driven Brand with Katie ...
“As branders, the word soup is absolutely unbelievable.” Words matter. And if you like words as much as Katie Burkhart and I both do, you’ll love this week’s episode. We discuss defining, refining, and developing your brand’s purpose,...
32 min
70
Tom Peters on Practicing Extreme Humanism
“Every day we spend with our fellow human beings, we can contribute to making their life a little bit better—making them a little bit smarter, a little bit more thoughtful, and so on—or not.” It’s rare that a single guest has appeared three...
42 min
71
Optimizing Your Marketing Mix with Bonnie Crater
“There’s been a big change in how businesses went to market.” Through a storied career that has taken her from Netscape to Salesforce to Oracle, Bonnie Crater gave use some important context in how brand building for B2B tech brands has evolved...
27 min
72
Customer-Focused Branding with FreshBooks’s Pau...
“I’m constantly coaching my team on how we market the marketing.” As CMO of FreshBooks, Paul Cowan has a lot on his plate—even marketing the marketing! However, this is important as it helps everyone internally find the brand’s “true...
32 min
73
Influencer Marketing vs. Influence Marketing wi...
"I've always considered public relations to be influencer marketing—you're trying to find a third party to borrow some trust from." When it comes to trust, there's no one I trust more on the subject of digital marketing strategy than Jason Falls. As...
30 min
74
Neuromarketing with Matt Johnson & Prince Ghuman
“I think you could have gotten away with mediocre branding before platforms like Amazon and Facebook came along.” However, today, the bar is set incredibly high. The modern consumer is savvy and expects exceptional branding from any company...
32 min
75
Winning Hearts Through Branding with Evan Dash
“When we stumbled into this, we didn’t know anything about branding. We just knew it was important.” ‘Stumbled into it’ is putting it mildly. As the CEO of StoreBound and creator of the Dash brand of kitchen tools, Evan Dash has built a big...
32 min
76
Focus Your Content Marketing with Steve Pockross
“First, amplify what you’re doing really well and consider new channels. Second, if things aren’t going well you’ll need new channels!” This was Steve Pockross’s answer to my question about how marketers can know when new channels make...
27 min
77
Transformation-Focused Branding with Allie Martin
“I start with the transformation and work backward. What happens when the customer experiences your brand?” Allie Martin has a holistic approach to brand building that she’s refined over the last decade. Through her work, she helps brands find...
31 min
78
Positioning and Planning for Growth with Benjam...
“Planning is the most important part of everything we do.” And Benjamin Shapiro does a lot of things. He’s producer and host of the top-rated MarTech Podcast as well as the Voices of Search Podcast. Managing two daily shows and running a...
34 min
79
Brand Strategy Is Defined by Choices with Peter...
“The best marketers never lose sight of their customers.” As a brand builder with years of agency leadership experience, Peter Wilken has seen it all. From global brands to bootstrap basics, we discussed it all on this week’s episode of the On...
30 min
80
Brand Reinvention During a Pandemic with Joseph...
“There’s the story and there’s the story behind the story …” And Joseph Jaffe certainly has both to share as he has managed to rebrand himself during a global pandemic through his innovative web series CoronaTV. And he’s quick to...
37 min
81
How Leaders Create Culture Virtually with David...
After a brief holiday hiatus, the On Brand podcast is back for 2021! And we're kicking things off with an exciting new topic and guest. As we've discussed in various episodes through the years, leadership is critical in the development of standout...
31 min
82
Social Impact in Small Bites with Angel Mason B...
“What we're finding in nonprofit marketing today is that it's really about helping people see the impact they're having.” As co-owner of Puzzle Pieces Marketing, Angel Mason Broadus has built her career at the intersection of social impact and...
28 min
83
How to Build an Unignorable Brand with Peter Le...
“The people that can parse out what to do—that can figure out the best media mix are going to win in this game because there’s just too much.” Peter Levitan has spent his career leading advertising, marketing, and PR agencies worldwide. A...
28 min
84
Using AI to Simplify Logo Design with Richard Lau
Using AI to simplify logo design? How would that even work? Richard Lau is a serial entrepreneur who's launched several helpful businesses that he's eventually exited. His latest venture, Logo.com, answers this very question. We discussed logo design,...
30 min
85
Marketing with Empathy and Gratitude with Rob V...
“Empathy is something that every human has but our empathy muscle has atrophied.” This week on the On Brand podcast, we talked about a timely, relevant topic—empathy. Now more than ever, people want empathy from brands. Yet, collectively,...
31 min
86
The On Brand Thanksgiving Special with Joseph J...
My guest this week is … me, Nick Westergaard! Specifically, I’m sharing a recent interview I did with Joseph Jaffe for his innovative web series CoronaTV. I’m calling this our Thanksgiving Special because to me this was a...
59 min
87
Why Licensing Is Invisible Marketing with Jeff ...
“People put a lot of value in brands. When you are at home or are limited (because of the pandemic) you tend to go with the first one you think of. But there are brands that have to think differently, especially brands in retail.” Jeff Lotman has...
27 min
88
Unlocking the Power of Video Storytelling with ...
“I don’t think enough thought goes into how to translate brand style guides into visual videos.” As the founder and CEO of Tectonic Video with a background in brand strategy, Doug Scott helps nonprofit brands worldwide unlock the power of video...
29 min
89
Turning CPG Branding Upside Down with Michael K...
“The marketplace has changed so much—there are so many brands on the retail shelf—the packaging is all there is. We turn the traditional brand development world upside down.” As a partner and leader of the research team at brand strategy firm...
27 min
90
Developing a Strong Brand Name with Brad Flowers
“We have to put aside our personal preference and put in the time to figure out what really works for what the client needs.” This is a challenge for marketers on a variety of topics but is especially critical to the vital task of naming. Luckily,...
29 min
91
Building Brands That Create Social Impact with ...
“All companies and all brands should be working toward being the best version of themselves that they can be across all lenses of their impact on the world.” Eric Ressler knows a thing or two about brands making at impact. That’s the focus of...
32 min
92
Designing a Meaningful Brand Experience with Da...
“You always have to look inside to really understand. Because all design at the end of the day falls flat if it doesn’t connect with customers—if it doesn’t understand the market that you’re in, if it doesn’t understand the problem that...
36 min
93
Hunting for Killer Branding with Ryan Hogan
“When you talk about brand you immediately go to marketing. But brand is how something from a company makes you feel. That transcends marketing.” Ryan Hogan would know. As a serial entrepreneur who’s built several brands, he now helps...
29 min
94
Adapting to Industry Shifts with David Bates
“We can shake our fist at it or we can ride the wave. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a scenario where someone’s shaken their fist at what’s developing and won. It doesn’t solve anything.” David Bates has built a career doing creative work...
26 min
95
Finding Your Brand Personality with Margie Agin
“You can start with a catchy tagline but you can’t stop there.” Margie Agin helps B2B technology companies discover what makes them unique and find the words to say it. She is the founder and chief strategist of Centerboard Marketing, a DC-based...
31 min
96
Content Creation vs. Content Production with Br...
“The key is not to create unique content for all of these different places. The key is to create one really good, deep piece of content that’s going to work for your brand.” Brad Smith is the founder and CEO of Codeless, a content production...
29 min
97
Embracing Brand Vulnerability with Margaret Rogers
“This is the moment that people will remember for a much longer time—the brands and how they react and how they help to create a mutually beneficial relationship is something that people will remember for the long term.” As a strategist,...
27 min
98
Ramping Your Brand with James Richardson
“Until you have decent consumer intelligence and some competitive market information from the cash register, you don’t have the basis for what I would call a tight strategic plan.” With extensive experience in the consumer packaged goods...
29 min
99
The Golden Rule of Branding with Emily Soccorsy...
“The old world of branding is falling away and it’s being replaced by intrinsic branding—this idea that if you get your inner world right, then how you show up in the outer world will be sincere, authentic, and interesting.” Emily Soccorsy and...
27 min
100
Why Context Is the Future of Marketing with Mat...
“When new technology comes out, we use it in the old ways that we know. With the internet, it was free publication. So we made websites. We didn’t see this as a way of connecting better.” Better connections—meeting someone at their moment of...
28 min