https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/best-story-wins--5795187
Tune in to hear expert insights, hard-won lessons, and key strategies to take your own marketing efforts to the next level.]]>enMarketingColumn Fivehttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/0b53643a1bb457235ec3f42ffdbb92a4.jpghttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/best-story-wins--5795187Wed, 19 Aug 2026 16:59:36 +0000Column FiveColumn Fivepodcast@columnfivemedia.comWelcome to “Best Story Wins,” a podcast for marketing and branding professionals looking to unlock their growth potential. Hosted by Column Five—a B2B marketing agency that specializes in brand and content marketing for SaaS companies—each episode...
Tune in to hear expert insights, hard-won lessons, and key strategies to take your own marketing efforts to the next level.]]>falsebe384645-997d-5273-b949-9f55976013c5episodichttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/publishing-more-is-making-you-less-credible-with-ben-hasskamp--74325784You've published four posts a week for a year, and your buyers still can't tell anyone what your company believes. Somewhere in all that output there should be one sentence you could be wrong about. There isn't.Ben Hasskamp spent years running thought leadership inside a company where the executive bench included some of the sharpest people in security and watched most of what shipped turn into product brochures wearing a byline. His argument: thought leadership is a point of view you could be wrong about, and everything else is volume cosplaying as authority. He gets specific about the formats that fake it best, including the one your team is probably scoping right now.We also cover:

• Why every "State of the Industry" report reaches the same conclusion — and the tell that gives it away
• The exact reason polished SEO writing now reads as noise to the models people actually search with
• How Ben cut executive review cycles from 14 days to 3 by feeding AI everything an exec had ever said on record and what happened when one of them insisted he'd never say that
• The film-school question that works on a CISO as well as it works on a protagonist

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74325784Thu, 20 Aug 2026 10:00:04 +0000Column FiveYou've published four posts a week for a year, and your buyers still can't tell anyone what your company believes. Somewhere in all that output there should be one sentence you could be wrong about. There...You've published four posts a week for a year, and your buyers still can't tell anyone what your company believes. Somewhere in all that output there should be one sentence you could be wrong about. There isn't.Ben Hasskamp spent years running thought leadership inside a company where the executive bench included some of the sharpest people in security and watched most of what shipped turn into product brochures wearing a byline. His argument: thought leadership is a point of view you could be wrong about, and everything else is volume cosplaying as authority. He gets specific about the formats that fake it best, including the one your team is probably scoping right now.We also cover:

• Why every "State of the Industry" report reaches the same conclusion — and the tell that gives it away
• The exact reason polished SEO writing now reads as noise to the models people actually search with
• How Ben cut executive review cycles from 14 days to 3 by feeding AI everything an exec had ever said on record and what happened when one of them insisted he'd never say that
• The film-school question that works on a CISO as well as it works on a protagonist

]]>3929falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/taste-beats-trends-with-nick-sickleton--73504818Everyone with a prompt window now calls themselves a creative, and the feed shows it: the same look, the same motion, the same instantly forgettable output on repeat. The teams still cutting through aren't generating more than everyone else. They're the ones who figured out what a machine can't fake.
Nick Sickleton has directed creative across software, consumer tech, and even defense, an industry where the people paying for the product never actually see it. His argument for this moment is blunt: AI isn't here to replace your taste, it's here to expose whether you have any. The winning brands build the picture frame before they ever touch the picture, and the creatives who lean hardest into trends are the first ones getting cut.We also cover:

• Why AI-generated design already has a visible "tell," and the one discipline that still can't be automated away
• The "picture frame vs. the picture" rule that keeps Apple, Netflix, and Airbnb cohesive no matter how wild the artwork gets
• What directing creative in defense (where the buyer is never the user) quietly teaches you about every consumer brand
• The counterintuitive reason junior creatives who chase AI trends are getting cut, while the ones forced to explain why are accelerating their careers by five years

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73504818Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:00:03 +0000Column FiveEveryone with a prompt window now calls themselves a creative, and the feed shows it: the same look, the same motion, the same instantly forgettable output on repeat. The teams still cutting through aren't generating more than everyone else. They're...Everyone with a prompt window now calls themselves a creative, and the feed shows it: the same look, the same motion, the same instantly forgettable output on repeat. The teams still cutting through aren't generating more than everyone else. They're the ones who figured out what a machine can't fake.
Nick Sickleton has directed creative across software, consumer tech, and even defense, an industry where the people paying for the product never actually see it. His argument for this moment is blunt: AI isn't here to replace your taste, it's here to expose whether you have any. The winning brands build the picture frame before they ever touch the picture, and the creatives who lean hardest into trends are the first ones getting cut.We also cover:

• Why AI-generated design already has a visible "tell," and the one discipline that still can't be automated away
• The "picture frame vs. the picture" rule that keeps Apple, Netflix, and Airbnb cohesive no matter how wild the artwork gets
• What directing creative in defense (where the buyer is never the user) quietly teaches you about every consumer brand
• The counterintuitive reason junior creatives who chase AI trends are getting cut, while the ones forced to explain why are accelerating their careers by five years

]]>2630falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/why-content-systems-are-the-future-with-ross-crooks-of-column-five--73131333Everyone on your team can suddenly make content. That's not the win it sounds like, it's how a brand starts dissolving, one "good enough" post at a time.
Ross Crooks, co-founder of Column Five, has a fix that flips the whole production model: stop treating your brand team as the last line of defense and start treating the brand itself as the first input every tool reads. He argues the old system (brief, create, brand-team-approves, ship) is exactly what buckles under AI's volume, and that the brands pulling ahead aren't the ones making the most content. They're the ones encoding something their guidelines deck never captured.We also cover:

• Why moving your brand team from the end of the process to the beginning is the actual unlock
• The difference between "correct" content and "good" content and why AI only produces the first
• Taste and intelligence: the two things your brand guidelines never had, and how to encode them
• "Brand drift": how fine-looking content slowly pulls you off what made you distinct

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73131333Thu, 23 Jul 2026 19:15:26 +0000Column FiveEveryone on your team can suddenly make content. That's not the win it sounds like, it's how a brand starts dissolving, one "good enough" post at a time. Ross Crooks, co-founder of Column Five, has a fix that flips the whole production model: stop...Everyone on your team can suddenly make content. That's not the win it sounds like, it's how a brand starts dissolving, one "good enough" post at a time.
Ross Crooks, co-founder of Column Five, has a fix that flips the whole production model: stop treating your brand team as the last line of defense and start treating the brand itself as the first input every tool reads. He argues the old system (brief, create, brand-team-approves, ship) is exactly what buckles under AI's volume, and that the brands pulling ahead aren't the ones making the most content. They're the ones encoding something their guidelines deck never captured.We also cover:

• Why moving your brand team from the end of the process to the beginning is the actual unlock
• The difference between "correct" content and "good" content and why AI only produces the first
• Taste and intelligence: the two things your brand guidelines never had, and how to encode them
• "Brand drift": how fine-looking content slowly pulls you off what made you distinct

]]>1972falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-small-team-advantage-turning-size-into-a-superpower-with-maria-irie-of-chili-piper--72870683
Maria Irie runs brand at Chili Piper with a team of two — and she's spent the last year rebuilding her entire job around AI without losing what makes the brand feel human. She's mid-migration from Webflow to Claude, she's turned herself into a systems-builder instead of a one-pager machine, and she's got a theory about why the scrappiest, least "scalable" parts of marketing — the Ibiza offsites, the events, the stuff that doesn't show up in a report — are exactly what AI can't touch. This isn't a "prompt better" conversation. It's what happens when a whole discipline gets rewritten mid-career.

We also cover:

• Why Maria cut her Figma time from 90% to 30% — and what she's building instead
• The "too many windows" problem: what it actually costs your brain to run five AI tools at once
• Why a two-person brand team deliberately protects the stuff that doesn't scale — and bets the whole brand on it

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/72870683Thu, 09 Jul 2026 10:00:02 +0000Column FiveEvery designer you know is quietly panicking about the same thing: their Figma hours dropped from 90% of the week to 30%, and nobody told them what to do with the other 60%. Is that a crisis or a promotion? https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariadiz/ runs...
Maria Irie runs brand at Chili Piper with a team of two — and she's spent the last year rebuilding her entire job around AI without losing what makes the brand feel human. She's mid-migration from Webflow to Claude, she's turned herself into a systems-builder instead of a one-pager machine, and she's got a theory about why the scrappiest, least "scalable" parts of marketing — the Ibiza offsites, the events, the stuff that doesn't show up in a report — are exactly what AI can't touch. This isn't a "prompt better" conversation. It's what happens when a whole discipline gets rewritten mid-career.

We also cover:

• Why Maria cut her Figma time from 90% to 30% — and what she's building instead
• The "too many windows" problem: what it actually costs your brain to run five AI tools at once
• Why a two-person brand team deliberately protects the stuff that doesn't scale — and bets the whole brand on it

]]>1975falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/beige-is-what-happens-when-nobody-s-brave-enough-to-be-wrong-with-sonja-silveira-of-cisco--72778075Every AI tool you use was built to keep you happy, not to make you right. That's a problem when "happy" is also the fastest route to content nobody remembers.Sonja Silveira has run content teams at Meta, athenahealth, and now Cisco, and she's done with the idea that AI is either a job-killer or a magic answer box. Her real argument: these tools are optimized for engagement, not accuracy, which means the marketers using them need more suspicion, not less. She also names the thing most B2B brands won't say out loud — they all sound the same now, AI just sped up the slide into sameness, and the fix has nothing to do with the tools.We also cover:

• Why treating AI like "an answer machine" is the fastest way to lose your edge — and what to check before you trust a single stat it gives you
• The real reason beigefication isn't new, why it's "safe," and why safe is exactly what's killing your content
• Why almost every B2B brand that tries to become a media company hits the same wall — and what Cisco's Story Lab is doing differently

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/72778075Thu, 02 Jul 2026 09:45:02 +0000Column FiveEvery AI tool you use was built to keep you happy, not to make you right. That's a problem when "happy" is also the fastest route to content nobody remembers.https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonjajacob/ has run content teams at Meta, athenahealth, and now...Every AI tool you use was built to keep you happy, not to make you right. That's a problem when "happy" is also the fastest route to content nobody remembers.Sonja Silveira has run content teams at Meta, athenahealth, and now Cisco, and she's done with the idea that AI is either a job-killer or a magic answer box. Her real argument: these tools are optimized for engagement, not accuracy, which means the marketers using them need more suspicion, not less. She also names the thing most B2B brands won't say out loud — they all sound the same now, AI just sped up the slide into sameness, and the fix has nothing to do with the tools.We also cover:

• Why treating AI like "an answer machine" is the fastest way to lose your edge — and what to check before you trust a single stat it gives you
• The real reason beigefication isn't new, why it's "safe," and why safe is exactly what's killing your content
• Why almost every B2B brand that tries to become a media company hits the same wall — and what Cisco's Story Lab is doing differently

]]>2889falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/ai-made-brand-the-only-thing-left-that-matters-with-adam-morgan-of-twilio--72671857Twilio used to read like a company built for developers and nobody else. Then it found one word that made every audience feel like they belonged to the same tribe.Adam Morgan, VP of Brand and Creative at Twilio, spent three months finding that word  "builder" and watched it turn a stalled rebrand into what he calls lightning in a bottle. He explains why most companies chase logos and color palettes before they've earned the right to, and why brand resurgence isn't a reaction to AI fear — it's AI's actual byproduct. When everyone can generate a slick landing page for free, the thing AI can't fake becomes the whole game.We also cover:

• Why Adam built Twilio's entire rebrand around a single emotional truth he found at Hearst Castle — not a brand workshop
• The real reason AI is making brand storytelling more valuable, not less, and why "AI-resistant content" is the new differentiator
• Why locking creatives into rigid brand guidelines backfires, and what a "systems approach" looks like instead

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/72671857Thu, 25 Jun 2026 10:00:04 +0000Column FiveTwilio used to read like a company built for developers and nobody else. Then it found one word that made every audience feel like they belonged to the same tribe.https://www.linkedin.com/in/admo3/, VP of Brand and Creative at https://www.twilio.com,...Twilio used to read like a company built for developers and nobody else. Then it found one word that made every audience feel like they belonged to the same tribe.Adam Morgan, VP of Brand and Creative at Twilio, spent three months finding that word  "builder" and watched it turn a stalled rebrand into what he calls lightning in a bottle. He explains why most companies chase logos and color palettes before they've earned the right to, and why brand resurgence isn't a reaction to AI fear — it's AI's actual byproduct. When everyone can generate a slick landing page for free, the thing AI can't fake becomes the whole game.We also cover:

• Why Adam built Twilio's entire rebrand around a single emotional truth he found at Hearst Castle — not a brand workshop
• The real reason AI is making brand storytelling more valuable, not less, and why "AI-resistant content" is the new differentiator
• Why locking creatives into rigid brand guidelines backfires, and what a "systems approach" looks like instead

]]>2929falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/taste-is-the-only-thing-ai-can-t-generate-yet-with-matt-scribner-of-atlassian--72563657
Matt Scribner is a growth designer at Atlassian — a company whose brand touches tens of thousands of visitors a week — and he's been inside the AI-enabled design workflow longer than most. His take isn't a sales pitch for the tools or a doomsday headline about job loss. It's something more useful: an honest account of where AI actually helps, where it quietly fails, and why the designers who thrive won't be the ones who prompt the best.

We also cover:

• AI can get you to 60% — but if you couldn't get past 60% without it, you're not getting past it with it either
• We're heading toward a "singularity of design" where everything starts looking the same, and the only antidote is taste you built before the tools existed
• The Arts and Crafts movement followed the Industrial Revolution for a reason — and the same correction is coming for brand

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/72563657Thu, 18 Jun 2026 10:00:02 +0000Column FiveEvery brand team is being handed AI tools and told to do more with less. What they're not being told is that without taste and a real idea, the output is just sophisticated noise at scale. https://www.linkedin.com/in/scribnermatt/ is a growth...
Matt Scribner is a growth designer at Atlassian — a company whose brand touches tens of thousands of visitors a week — and he's been inside the AI-enabled design workflow longer than most. His take isn't a sales pitch for the tools or a doomsday headline about job loss. It's something more useful: an honest account of where AI actually helps, where it quietly fails, and why the designers who thrive won't be the ones who prompt the best.

We also cover:

• AI can get you to 60% — but if you couldn't get past 60% without it, you're not getting past it with it either
• We're heading toward a "singularity of design" where everything starts looking the same, and the only antidote is taste you built before the tools existed
• The Arts and Crafts movement followed the Industrial Revolution for a reason — and the same correction is coming for brand

]]>2296falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/stop-measuring-brand-like-a-performance-channel-with-bill-kenney-from-focus-lab--72462171
Bill built Focus Lab into one of B2B's sharpest branding shops by owning a single vertical back when everyone warned him that niching down would scare off clients. He makes the case that brand ROI behaves like going to the gym — you don't step on the scale the morning after — and that the real opportunity for agencies isn't using AI to ship work faster, it's handing clients the tooling to run their own brand without you in the room. He also says the quiet part out loud about why a weekend in an AI tool will never replace what actually happens inside a 16-week rebrand: the second-guessing, the cold feet, the "can we sit on this another week."

We also cover:

• The Apple test for why feature parity just turned product differentiation into a branding problem, not an engineering one
• Why he shut down his own sub-agency after realizing clients "don't give a shit" how big or small your other clients are
• The one belief he died on for years — that a brand has to launch in a single perfect moment — and why he now thinks a slow, slightly messy rollout works fine
• The first-meeting question he asks every CEO that quietly decides whether the whole project survives

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/72462171Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:00:03 +0000Column FiveEvery quarter, someone asks you to prove the rebrand paid for itself in dollars. Bill Kenney's answer after 16 years: you're measuring the wrong thing, and the spreadsheet was never going to save you anyway. Bill built Focus Lab into one of B2B's...
Bill built Focus Lab into one of B2B's sharpest branding shops by owning a single vertical back when everyone warned him that niching down would scare off clients. He makes the case that brand ROI behaves like going to the gym — you don't step on the scale the morning after — and that the real opportunity for agencies isn't using AI to ship work faster, it's handing clients the tooling to run their own brand without you in the room. He also says the quiet part out loud about why a weekend in an AI tool will never replace what actually happens inside a 16-week rebrand: the second-guessing, the cold feet, the "can we sit on this another week."

We also cover:

• The Apple test for why feature parity just turned product differentiation into a branding problem, not an engineering one
• Why he shut down his own sub-agency after realizing clients "don't give a shit" how big or small your other clients are
• The one belief he died on for years — that a brand has to launch in a single perfect moment — and why he now thinks a slow, slightly messy rollout works fine
• The first-meeting question he asks every CEO that quietly decides whether the whole project survives

]]>2970false130fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/why-nobody-trusts-a-brand-they-just-met-with-amit-singh--72347453
Amit Singh has spent three decades building brands at Adobe, American Express, Starbucks, and Nintendo — long enough to watch "dot-com" go from billboard flex to embarrassing relic, and he's convinced AI is headed the exact same way. His argument: the companies sprinting to rebrand as AI companies are mortgaging years of earned trust, while the question that actually decides whether you survive — why should you exist? — goes unanswered in most boardrooms. He maps where AI earns its seat at the table, where it quietly wrecks your creative without anyone noticing, and why the people declaring storytelling dead are reading the wrong scoreboard.

We also cover:

• A Meta study found AI-generated copy matches or beats humans on sub-$100 products — and consistently *loses* on anything pricier, where emotion does the selling. Most teams are pointing it at exactly the wrong work.
• Nintendo doesn't make video games. It makes smiles. Why your reason to exist is the North Star you build against — and the one thing you'll never put in an ad.
• 88% of marketers have adopted AI. Adoption was never trust — and Amit thinks the gap between the two is where the real risk is hiding.
• Long-form is quietly back: why a five-minute Adidas film outperforms your six-second TikTok precisely *because* attention has never been scarcer.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/72347453Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:11:17 +0000Column FiveYou're being outshouted. The average person now absorbs 5,000+ messages a day and reaches for their phone 205 times — and the industry's big answer was to staple "AI-powered" onto the homepage and call it a repositioning. That's not building a brand....
Amit Singh has spent three decades building brands at Adobe, American Express, Starbucks, and Nintendo — long enough to watch "dot-com" go from billboard flex to embarrassing relic, and he's convinced AI is headed the exact same way. His argument: the companies sprinting to rebrand as AI companies are mortgaging years of earned trust, while the question that actually decides whether you survive — why should you exist? — goes unanswered in most boardrooms. He maps where AI earns its seat at the table, where it quietly wrecks your creative without anyone noticing, and why the people declaring storytelling dead are reading the wrong scoreboard.

We also cover:

• A Meta study found AI-generated copy matches or beats humans on sub-$100 products — and consistently *loses* on anything pricier, where emotion does the selling. Most teams are pointing it at exactly the wrong work.
• Nintendo doesn't make video games. It makes smiles. Why your reason to exist is the North Star you build against — and the one thing you'll never put in an ad.
• 88% of marketers have adopted AI. Adoption was never trust — and Amit thinks the gap between the two is where the real risk is hiding.
• Long-form is quietly back: why a five-minute Adidas film outperforms your six-second TikTok precisely *because* attention has never been scarcer.

]]>2228false127fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-irreducible-part-taste-judgment-and-the-stories-machines-can-t-tell-with-julianne-devincenzo-dan-reid-from-optimizely--72167707
In this episode, Josh and Ross are joined by Julianne DeVincenzo, Head of Content Strategy, and Dan Reid, Creative Director — both at Optimizely — two people deep inside one of the most interesting rebrands happening in B2B right now. They make the case that the real threat of AI isn't job replacement — it's the slow erosion of judgment, taste, and the willingness to make someone uncomfortable. Julianne and Dan talk about how they're rebuilding Optimizely's content engine from the ground up, why they're turning their own marketers into subject matter experts and journalists, and where they're drawing the line between what AI can own and what stays irreducibly human.

We also cover:
•       Why the volume-as-strategy era is producing content that 'passes through people like water through a screen' — and how Optimizely is deliberately building against that.
•       How Dan is working directly with engineers to teach their own AI to honor brand — including the surprisingly simple feedback that blew a senior engineer's mind.
•       What happens when you empower employees to use AI and wake up to find your unreleased brand assets have already been fed into someone's personal workflow.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/72167707Thu, 28 May 2026 10:00:02 +0000Column FiveMost marketing teams are drowning in output and starving for meaning. The more they feed the machine, the more the machine becomes the creative director — and somewhere in the noise, the person on the other end of the content stopped mattering. In...
In this episode, Josh and Ross are joined by Julianne DeVincenzo, Head of Content Strategy, and Dan Reid, Creative Director — both at Optimizely — two people deep inside one of the most interesting rebrands happening in B2B right now. They make the case that the real threat of AI isn't job replacement — it's the slow erosion of judgment, taste, and the willingness to make someone uncomfortable. Julianne and Dan talk about how they're rebuilding Optimizely's content engine from the ground up, why they're turning their own marketers into subject matter experts and journalists, and where they're drawing the line between what AI can own and what stays irreducibly human.

We also cover:
•       Why the volume-as-strategy era is producing content that 'passes through people like water through a screen' — and how Optimizely is deliberately building against that.
•       How Dan is working directly with engineers to teach their own AI to honor brand — including the surprisingly simple feedback that blew a senior engineer's mind.
•       What happens when you empower employees to use AI and wake up to find your unreleased brand assets have already been fed into someone's personal workflow.]]>2617false126fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/clarity-wins-why-taste-can-t-be-prompted-with-mathew-barnes-of-ibm--72082495
Mat Barnes has been building brands for 30 years, survived two back-to-back acquisitions, and now leads brand at IBM. He has opinions about all of it.In this episode, Josh and Ross sit down with Mathew Barnes — brand leader at HashiCorp, now IBM after two consecutive acquisitions — to pull apart what actually makes brand work at scale. Mat makes the case that AI will expose every creative who doesn't know what good looks like, and that clarity isn't a buzzword: it's the only thing that's ever made any brand matter.

We also cover:
•Why AI will 'expose the hell out of you' if you don't already know what great looks like — and what taste actually is when you can't fake it
•The one question every brand and creative team skips that causes every siloed, inconsistent campaign — and how Matt's team asks it before anything gets made
•What it actually feels like to lead brand inside a 100-year-old institution — and what IBM's design sophistication taught a startup veteran who thought he'd seen everything]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/72082495Thu, 21 May 2026 10:00:03 +0000Column FiveEvery week, another round of tech layoffs gets explained away with the same two words: artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, the people making those calls have never once asked whether the cuts make strategic sense — or whether they're just making a...
Mat Barnes has been building brands for 30 years, survived two back-to-back acquisitions, and now leads brand at IBM. He has opinions about all of it.In this episode, Josh and Ross sit down with Mathew Barnes — brand leader at HashiCorp, now IBM after two consecutive acquisitions — to pull apart what actually makes brand work at scale. Mat makes the case that AI will expose every creative who doesn't know what good looks like, and that clarity isn't a buzzword: it's the only thing that's ever made any brand matter.

We also cover:
•Why AI will 'expose the hell out of you' if you don't already know what great looks like — and what taste actually is when you can't fake it
•The one question every brand and creative team skips that causes every siloed, inconsistent campaign — and how Matt's team asks it before anything gets made
•What it actually feels like to lead brand inside a 100-year-old institution — and what IBM's design sophistication taught a startup veteran who thought he'd seen everything]]>2856falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-death-of-the-keyword-and-what-comes-next-with-hadassah-pegado-dalisay-of-outreach--72007291•Why mining your own sales transcripts is the most underrated content research method in B2B — and how Outreach does it at scale every quarter
•The difference between signal-driven and keyword-driven content strategy, and why the companies chasing volume right now are building a liability, not an asset
•How to make the case inside your org that AI visibility isn't a marketing metric — it's a pipeline metric]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/72007291Thu, 14 May 2026 15:42:52 +0000Column FiveYour SEO traffic is up. Your pipeline is flat. Something broke, and it's not your team — it's the entire model most B2B marketers were trained on. The buyers who used to find you on Google are now getting their shortlists from ChatGPT, and if you're...•Why mining your own sales transcripts is the most underrated content research method in B2B — and how Outreach does it at scale every quarter
•The difference between signal-driven and keyword-driven content strategy, and why the companies chasing volume right now are building a liability, not an asset
•How to make the case inside your org that AI visibility isn't a marketing metric — it's a pipeline metric]]>1796falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/in-the-ai-age-taste-is-the-last-moat-with-avi-ashkenazi-of-deel--71889200
In this episode, Avi Ashkenazi — Senior Product Design Director at Deel, where 97 product designers work without a physical office, operate directly with the CEO, and are expected to unblock themselves — breaks down what actually separates designers who thrive in high-velocity environments from those who flame out. He makes the case that taste, devotion, and the willingness to stay opinionated are what AI can't automate, and explains why "vibe coding" will always hit a wall the moment a client asks for something exact.

We also cover:

• Why Deel built a "Delight" team — and what it tells you about the ROI of caring about the emotional texture of your product, not just its functionality
• The agentic design system Deel is actively building, where interfaces construct themselves on demand and no two users ever see the same page
• How to run a 120-person distributed design org with no office and quarterly themes that actually move everyone in the same direction

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/71889200Thu, 07 May 2026 10:00:03 +0000Column FiveWhile B2B companies debate whether to "embrace AI," one of the fastest-growing HR platforms in the world is already asking its designers to ship production code, run their own research, and rethink what a UI is in the first place. In this episode,...
In this episode, Avi Ashkenazi — Senior Product Design Director at Deel, where 97 product designers work without a physical office, operate directly with the CEO, and are expected to unblock themselves — breaks down what actually separates designers who thrive in high-velocity environments from those who flame out. He makes the case that taste, devotion, and the willingness to stay opinionated are what AI can't automate, and explains why "vibe coding" will always hit a wall the moment a client asks for something exact.

We also cover:

• Why Deel built a "Delight" team — and what it tells you about the ROI of caring about the emotional texture of your product, not just its functionality
• The agentic design system Deel is actively building, where interfaces construct themselves on demand and no two users ever see the same page
• How to run a 120-person distributed design org with no office and quarterly themes that actually move everyone in the same direction

]]>2959false122fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-secret-to-building-products-people-fall-in-love-with-with-jon-howell-of-ramp--71731380
Also in this episode: • Why the "we'll polish it next cycle" myth is quietly degrading your product — and what to do before the engineer ships and moves on • How AI is making brand design more efficient and more generic at the same time, and the discipline required to use it without losing your point of view • The interpersonal moves that actually break down silos between brand and product teams — before you ever show up]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/71731380Thu, 30 Apr 2026 10:00:04 +0000Column FiveMost brand teams talk about blurring the line between brand and product. Jon Howell has spent a decade actually doing it — at Twitch, Lyft, Robinhood, Dropbox, and now Ramp. There's a reason that line keeps surviving: most companies aren't set up to...
Also in this episode: • Why the "we'll polish it next cycle" myth is quietly degrading your product — and what to do before the engineer ships and moves on • How AI is making brand design more efficient and more generic at the same time, and the discipline required to use it without losing your point of view • The interpersonal moves that actually break down silos between brand and product teams — before you ever show up]]>2728falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-force-multiplier-most-b2b-brands-are-ignoring-with-ryan-hammill-of-servicenow--71556352
Ryan Hammill, Creative Director at ServiceNow has built campaigns that ran post-Super Bowl and earned 99th-percentile creative effectiveness scores — not by chasing flash, but by getting ruthlessly clear on what a human being actually feels when they choose enterprise software. He makes the case that cutting the B2B bullshit isn't an aesthetic choice: it's a revenue strategy. From Idris Elba to Notorious B.I.G. to the moment Taylor Swift's kiss cut to his AWS spot, Ryan explains how humanizing invisible technology at scale actually works.

Bullet Points

• Why the Fernando Machado 6-to-1 multiplier argument should change how every CMO thinks about creative risk — and why most don't let it
• How ServiceNow's character-driven campaign structure borrows more from The Office than from enterprise SaaS playbooks
• The brand-vs-demand false binary: what Airbnb's ad spend restructure teaches B2B companies about search efficiency and brand gravity

Timestamps:
0:42 Introduction & Ryan's Background
1:31 From Agency to Tech: The Career Journey
5:50 ServiceNow's Bold Brand Identity
8:53 B2B Storytelling: Cutting Through the Jargon
18:24 Risk-Taking and the Two-Way Door Mentality
21:10 The AWS NFL Campaign: A Case Study
26:14 AI, Buzzwords & Authentic Messaging
31:39 Brand Building vs. Demand Generation
38:19 The Emotional Intelligence of B2B Buyers
41:18 Proudest Work & What's Next]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/71556352Thu, 23 Apr 2026 10:00:02 +0000Column FiveB2B marketing keeps asking why it can't earn the same attention as consumer brands — then keeps writing copy that reads like a product spec sheet. The problem isn't the category. It's that most enterprise marketers confuse explanation with...
Ryan Hammill, Creative Director at ServiceNow has built campaigns that ran post-Super Bowl and earned 99th-percentile creative effectiveness scores — not by chasing flash, but by getting ruthlessly clear on what a human being actually feels when they choose enterprise software. He makes the case that cutting the B2B bullshit isn't an aesthetic choice: it's a revenue strategy. From Idris Elba to Notorious B.I.G. to the moment Taylor Swift's kiss cut to his AWS spot, Ryan explains how humanizing invisible technology at scale actually works.

Bullet Points

• Why the Fernando Machado 6-to-1 multiplier argument should change how every CMO thinks about creative risk — and why most don't let it
• How ServiceNow's character-driven campaign structure borrows more from The Office than from enterprise SaaS playbooks
• The brand-vs-demand false binary: what Airbnb's ad spend restructure teaches B2B companies about search efficiency and brand gravity

Timestamps:
0:42 Introduction & Ryan's Background
1:31 From Agency to Tech: The Career Journey
5:50 ServiceNow's Bold Brand Identity
8:53 B2B Storytelling: Cutting Through the Jargon
18:24 Risk-Taking and the Two-Way Door Mentality
21:10 The AWS NFL Campaign: A Case Study
26:14 AI, Buzzwords & Authentic Messaging
31:39 Brand Building vs. Demand Generation
38:19 The Emotional Intelligence of B2B Buyers
41:18 Proudest Work & What's Next]]>2764false123fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/stop-catching-up-start-doing-something-with-asher-rumack-of-c5--71341441
In this episode, we sit down with Asher Rumack — Column Five's VP of Creative Strategy — who has spent the last year dismantling the idea that AI is a shortcut and rebuilding it as a craft. Asher makes the case that creative, strategy, and marketing have never been three different jobs, and that the agencies still pretending otherwise are going to feel it. He also breaks down why AI search is the most underpriced channel in B2B right now — and why most brands are showing up in it completely wrong.

We also cover:

• Why 'catching up with AI' is a trap — and the mindset shift that actually makes the tools useful
• The specific reason your LLM search presence is probably lying to your buyers right now (and the low-effort fix)
• Why the wild idea in the pitch deck is about to become the default — and what that means for how agencies price creative risk

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/71341441Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:00:02 +0000Column FiveMost B2B marketing teams are sprinting to adopt AI and landing in exactly the same place they started — more content, same forgettable results. The problem isn't the tools. It's that nobody stopped to ask what actually needed to change before reaching...
In this episode, we sit down with Asher Rumack — Column Five's VP of Creative Strategy — who has spent the last year dismantling the idea that AI is a shortcut and rebuilding it as a craft. Asher makes the case that creative, strategy, and marketing have never been three different jobs, and that the agencies still pretending otherwise are going to feel it. He also breaks down why AI search is the most underpriced channel in B2B right now — and why most brands are showing up in it completely wrong.

We also cover:

• Why 'catching up with AI' is a trap — and the mindset shift that actually makes the tools useful
• The specific reason your LLM search presence is probably lying to your buyers right now (and the low-effort fix)
• Why the wild idea in the pitch deck is about to become the default — and what that means for how agencies price creative risk

]]>2944false122fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-ai-shortcut-that-backfires-every-time-with-jason-lankow-from-c5--71181660
In this episode, Column Five co-founder Jason Lankow breaks down the uncomfortable truth most B2B teams are avoiding: AI isn’t a content problem—it’s a brand system problem. While everyone else obsesses over speed and scale, Jason makes the case for something far less sexy (but far more critical): governance at the moment of creation. We dig into what it really takes to build a “brand operating system”—one that doesn’t just sit in a dusty PDF but actually shows up inside the tools your team is using every day. From eliminating brand drift across AI-generated content to making your messaging machine-readable (yes, really), this episode is a wake-up call for anyone still treating AI like a shortcut instead of infrastructure.

We also explore:

• Why “just use AI” is the most dangerous mandate in B2B right now
• The real reason your brand is becoming invisible in AI search (AEO)
• How to scale content without turning it into generic sludge
• Why taste—not tools—is your last unfair advantage

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/71181660Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:00:03 +0000Column FiveEveryone’s pumping out content at scale—but it all sounds like it came from the same intern with a chatbot. So here’s the real question: if AI is doing the writing, who’s actually steering the story? In this episode, Column Five co-founder Jason...
In this episode, Column Five co-founder Jason Lankow breaks down the uncomfortable truth most B2B teams are avoiding: AI isn’t a content problem—it’s a brand system problem. While everyone else obsesses over speed and scale, Jason makes the case for something far less sexy (but far more critical): governance at the moment of creation. We dig into what it really takes to build a “brand operating system”—one that doesn’t just sit in a dusty PDF but actually shows up inside the tools your team is using every day. From eliminating brand drift across AI-generated content to making your messaging machine-readable (yes, really), this episode is a wake-up call for anyone still treating AI like a shortcut instead of infrastructure.

We also explore:

• Why “just use AI” is the most dangerous mandate in B2B right now
• The real reason your brand is becoming invisible in AI search (AEO)
• How to scale content without turning it into generic sludge
• Why taste—not tools—is your last unfair advantage

]]>3433falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/most-ai-advice-is-completely-wrong-with-julien-palliere-from-column-five--71041505Everyone’s obsessed with speed—but no one’s talking about the real problem: mediocre work at scale. So what’s actually happening here… is AI making you better, or just faster at being average?

In this episode, Josh sits down with Julien Palliere, Business Development Lead at Column Five to unpack how we cut through the hype and get real about how AI is changing B2B—from strategy and content to client trust and sales. Josh and Julien break down why “what AI says about your brand” is the new SEO, how smart teams are winning before the first call, and where most companies are getting it completely wrong.

No fluff. Just what works—and what quietly kills your credibility.

We also explore:

• Why “what AI says about you” is the new SEO
• The hidden risk of over-automating your workflows
• AI etiquette—and why most teams are getting it wrong
• How AI is reshaping trust in B2B sales and marketing
• Why small, scrappy teams are about to outcompete everyone

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/71041505Thu, 02 Apr 2026 10:00:03 +0000Column FiveAI isn’t replacing your team. It’s exposing how replaceable your thinking is. Everyone’s obsessed with speed—but no one’s talking about the real problem: mediocre work at scale. So what’s actually happening here… is AI making you better, or just...Everyone’s obsessed with speed—but no one’s talking about the real problem: mediocre work at scale. So what’s actually happening here… is AI making you better, or just faster at being average?

In this episode, Josh sits down with Julien Palliere, Business Development Lead at Column Five to unpack how we cut through the hype and get real about how AI is changing B2B—from strategy and content to client trust and sales. Josh and Julien break down why “what AI says about your brand” is the new SEO, how smart teams are winning before the first call, and where most companies are getting it completely wrong.

No fluff. Just what works—and what quietly kills your credibility.

We also explore:

• Why “what AI says about you” is the new SEO
• The hidden risk of over-automating your workflows
• AI etiquette—and why most teams are getting it wrong
• How AI is reshaping trust in B2B sales and marketing
• Why small, scrappy teams are about to outcompete everyone

]]>2444falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-content-mistake-killing-your-growth-with-jacqui-morgan--70870082
In this episode, Jacqui Morgan, breaks down why most content gets ignored and what it really takes to earn attention, build trust, and drive results. We get into why social is a business driver (not a support channel), why chasing the algorithm is a losing game, and how to shift from “posting to exist” to creating content people actually want. From B2B influencers to employee advocacy, this is a no-BS playbook for making social work. If your feed feels like a ghost town, this episode will tell you why and how to fix it.

We also explore:

• Why “likes” are a vanity metric—and what actually signals real impact
• The death of the follower and the rise of interest-based algorithms
• How to turn employees into brand advocates (without forcing cringe posts)
• Why most CEOs fail at personal branding—and how to not be one of them
• The shift from mass reach to small, high-value communities that actually convert.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/70870082Thu, 26 Mar 2026 10:00:04 +0000Column FiveIn a world flooded with AI-generated noise, most B2B brands are still treating social like a billboard—when it’s actually the front page of their brand. In this episode, Jacqui Morgan, breaks down why most content gets ignored and what it really...
In this episode, Jacqui Morgan, breaks down why most content gets ignored and what it really takes to earn attention, build trust, and drive results. We get into why social is a business driver (not a support channel), why chasing the algorithm is a losing game, and how to shift from “posting to exist” to creating content people actually want. From B2B influencers to employee advocacy, this is a no-BS playbook for making social work. If your feed feels like a ghost town, this episode will tell you why and how to fix it.

We also explore:

• Why “likes” are a vanity metric—and what actually signals real impact
• The death of the follower and the rise of interest-based algorithms
• How to turn employees into brand advocates (without forcing cringe posts)
• Why most CEOs fail at personal branding—and how to not be one of them
• The shift from mass reach to small, high-value communities that actually convert.

]]>2714false119fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/ai-just-changed-content-marketing-forever-with-lexi-croisdale-from-varonis--70696162
In this episode, Lexi Croisdale Director of Global Content Marketing at Varonis breaks down what happens when search stops being clicks and starts being answers. We talk about why the old SEO playbook is getting cooked by AI discovery (AEO/“AI search”), and how B2B teams need to shift from “more content” to more credibility—the kind that gets quoted, sourced, and repeated by LLMs.

We also explore:

• Why “being the right answer” beats “being #1” in an AI-first world
• How to write so LLMs understand your context (and stop mislabeling you)
• The new content stack: search + video + social distribution as one system
• Employee advocacy as the new influencer marketing B2B didn’t see coming

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/70696162Thu, 19 Mar 2026 10:00:02 +0000Column FiveGoogle used to be your gatekeeper. Now an AI can summarize your entire category… and forget your brand exists. In this episode, Lexi Croisdale Director of Global Content Marketing at Varonis breaks down what happens when search stops being clicks and...
In this episode, Lexi Croisdale Director of Global Content Marketing at Varonis breaks down what happens when search stops being clicks and starts being answers. We talk about why the old SEO playbook is getting cooked by AI discovery (AEO/“AI search”), and how B2B teams need to shift from “more content” to more credibility—the kind that gets quoted, sourced, and repeated by LLMs.

We also explore:

• Why “being the right answer” beats “being #1” in an AI-first world
• How to write so LLMs understand your context (and stop mislabeling you)
• The new content stack: search + video + social distribution as one system
• Employee advocacy as the new influencer marketing B2B didn’t see coming

]]>2596falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-ai-is-forcing-cmos-to-adapt-and-evolve-with-julien-sauvage-from-cordial--70599245
In this episode, Julien Sauvage CMO at Cordial delivers the reality check B2B teams don’t want—but need: the AI wave isn’t just changing how software gets built, it’s changing where money goes. And if you’re still running marketing like it’s an infinite-seat-count world, you’re basically trying to win Formula 1 with a tricycle.

AI spend is ballooning, everything else is fighting for scraps, and the CMO job is mutating from campaign conductor to capital allocator. We get into what it takes to stay relevant when “more pipeline” isn’t enough, how to prove brand impact with actual data (yes, he built a custom GPT for it), and why “do more with less” is a trap—unless you’re willing to do less, but better. 

We also explore: 

• Why AI gets you to “V1”… and the real work starts after
• The new CMO mandate: get closer to product, budgets, and workflows—or get ignored
• How to use AI for competitive intel + VoC mining without pretending it’s magic
• AI search visibility: why it’s Greenfield chaos, and how to measure without chasing ghosts
• POV that cuts through: pick a villain, or sound like everyone else

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/70599245Thu, 12 Mar 2026 10:00:02 +0000Column FiveIf your product isn’t in the protected AI budget line, you’re about to become an “optional tool” with a UI. In this episode, Julien Sauvage CMO at Cordial delivers the reality check B2B teams don’t want—but need: the AI wave isn’t just changing how...
In this episode, Julien Sauvage CMO at Cordial delivers the reality check B2B teams don’t want—but need: the AI wave isn’t just changing how software gets built, it’s changing where money goes. And if you’re still running marketing like it’s an infinite-seat-count world, you’re basically trying to win Formula 1 with a tricycle.

AI spend is ballooning, everything else is fighting for scraps, and the CMO job is mutating from campaign conductor to capital allocator. We get into what it takes to stay relevant when “more pipeline” isn’t enough, how to prove brand impact with actual data (yes, he built a custom GPT for it), and why “do more with less” is a trap—unless you’re willing to do less, but better. 

We also explore: 

• Why AI gets you to “V1”… and the real work starts after
• The new CMO mandate: get closer to product, budgets, and workflows—or get ignored
• How to use AI for competitive intel + VoC mining without pretending it’s magic
• AI search visibility: why it’s Greenfield chaos, and how to measure without chasing ghosts
• POV that cuts through: pick a villain, or sound like everyone else

]]>2118false117fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-sea-of-sameness-is-your-opportunity-with-devin-bramhall--70406992
In this episode, Devin Bramhall, Fractional Chief Growth Officer delivers the uncomfortable truth most teams avoid: B2B companies don’t fail because marketing “needs to do more.” They fail because the funding model doesn’t fit the moment… and the math doesn’t math. And when budgets tighten, the classic response (more content, more tools, more “motions”) isn’t leadership — it’s denial with a weekly standup.

We unpack the real shift happening in modern go-to-market: the collapse of “marketing” as a fixed set of activities. The teams that win aren’t chasing the next SEO hack — they’re thinking from first principles: What are our assets? What are our constraints? What’s the fastest experiment that proves signal? Then repeat until growth shows up.

We also explore:

• Why VC-era expectations are still sabotaging “profitable growth” teams.
• The case for killing funnels, playbooks, and “marketing work” in favor of growth loops.
• Why community + IRL + bespoke experiences are the real post-SEO advantage.
• How to get executive buy-in without drowning leaders in tactics.
• Why the “creator-consultant” era is rising — and what it means for modern teams.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/70406992Thu, 05 Mar 2026 11:00:03 +0000Column FiveIf your B2B “strategy” is still a funnel diagram and a stack of specialists, you’re not building growth — you’re maintaining a bureaucracy with a logo. In this episode, http://linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall, Fractional Chief Growth Officer delivers...
In this episode, Devin Bramhall, Fractional Chief Growth Officer delivers the uncomfortable truth most teams avoid: B2B companies don’t fail because marketing “needs to do more.” They fail because the funding model doesn’t fit the moment… and the math doesn’t math. And when budgets tighten, the classic response (more content, more tools, more “motions”) isn’t leadership — it’s denial with a weekly standup.

We unpack the real shift happening in modern go-to-market: the collapse of “marketing” as a fixed set of activities. The teams that win aren’t chasing the next SEO hack — they’re thinking from first principles: What are our assets? What are our constraints? What’s the fastest experiment that proves signal? Then repeat until growth shows up.

We also explore:

• Why VC-era expectations are still sabotaging “profitable growth” teams.
• The case for killing funnels, playbooks, and “marketing work” in favor of growth loops.
• Why community + IRL + bespoke experiences are the real post-SEO advantage.
• How to get executive buy-in without drowning leaders in tactics.
• Why the “creator-consultant” era is rising — and what it means for modern teams.

]]>3262false116fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-funnel-is-dead-and-your-team-hasn-t-noticed-with-matt-hemsley-from-asana--70266674
In this episode, Matt Hemsley, Marketing Operations Team Lead at Asana delivers the unsexy truth: the funnel isn’t “broken”—it’s been replaced. He breaks down what happens when AI becomes the new front door, web traffic gets weird, and attribution starts lying to your leadership team with a straight face.

We get into the real power shift happening inside modern B2B orgs: marketing ops moving from order-taker to architect, building guardrails and self-serve systems that let teams ship faster without turning the brand into a global game of telephone. Matt also calls out the silent killer of high-growth marketing: data overload that creates analysis paralysis—and how the best teams balance measurement with judgment.

We also explore:

• Why ungating content isn’t a “nice-to-have”—it’s survival in an AI-first buyer journey.
• The self-serve model that removes bottlenecks and protects brand consistency.
• Why attribution oversimplifies enterprise buying (and how it misleads execs).
• The difference between automating “work about work” vs automating decisions you’ll regret.
• Why retention is still the most ignored growth lever in B2B.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/70266674Thu, 26 Feb 2026 11:00:02 +0000Column FiveIf your content marketing strategy still depends on gated PDFs and vanity metrics, you’re basically shouting into a void and calling it demand gen. In this episode, http://linkedin.com/in/matt-hemsley, Marketing Operations Team Lead at...
In this episode, Matt Hemsley, Marketing Operations Team Lead at Asana delivers the unsexy truth: the funnel isn’t “broken”—it’s been replaced. He breaks down what happens when AI becomes the new front door, web traffic gets weird, and attribution starts lying to your leadership team with a straight face.

We get into the real power shift happening inside modern B2B orgs: marketing ops moving from order-taker to architect, building guardrails and self-serve systems that let teams ship faster without turning the brand into a global game of telephone. Matt also calls out the silent killer of high-growth marketing: data overload that creates analysis paralysis—and how the best teams balance measurement with judgment.

We also explore:

• Why ungating content isn’t a “nice-to-have”—it’s survival in an AI-first buyer journey.
• The self-serve model that removes bottlenecks and protects brand consistency.
• Why attribution oversimplifies enterprise buying (and how it misleads execs).
• The difference between automating “work about work” vs automating decisions you’ll regret.
• Why retention is still the most ignored growth lever in B2B.

]]>2683falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-real-reason-your-pov-isn-t-landing-with-amanda-verdino-from-forma--70109932Search isn’t broken—it’s been replaced. Buyers are skipping funnels, ignoring gated PDFs and asking AI to decide who’s credible before they ever talk to sales. If your content still assumes attention is linear, you’re not behind—you’re irrelevant.In this episode, Amanda Verdino, Director of Content Marketing at Forma dismantles the comfortable lies B2B marketers tell themselves about storytelling. We talk about why differentiation without defensible substance collapses under AI scrutiny, how first-party data becomes your only real narrative advantage, and why most “thought leadership” is just recycled opinion dressed up as confidence. Amanda shares how Forma keeps humanity and joy alive inside HR tech, what actually earns trust in AI-mediated discovery, and why restraint—not volume—is the new power move.We also dig into:

• Why louder messaging accelerates brand decay instead of stopping it
• How original research outperforms hot takes in AI-driven buyer journeys
• The mistake teams make when they treat clicks as commitment
• Why LinkedIn credibility now matters beyond LinkedIn itself
• The uncomfortable shift marketers must make from persuasion to diagnosis
  
  

This episode is for B2B teams still polishing templates while the buyer rewrites the rules—and for the ones ready to build stories that survive contact with AI.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/70109932Thu, 19 Feb 2026 11:00:03 +0000Column FiveSearch isn’t broken—it’s been replaced. Buyers are skipping funnels, ignoring gated PDFs and asking AI to decide who’s credible before they ever talk to sales. If your content still assumes attention is linear, you’re not behind—you’re irrelevant.In...Search isn’t broken—it’s been replaced. Buyers are skipping funnels, ignoring gated PDFs and asking AI to decide who’s credible before they ever talk to sales. If your content still assumes attention is linear, you’re not behind—you’re irrelevant.In this episode, Amanda Verdino, Director of Content Marketing at Forma dismantles the comfortable lies B2B marketers tell themselves about storytelling. We talk about why differentiation without defensible substance collapses under AI scrutiny, how first-party data becomes your only real narrative advantage, and why most “thought leadership” is just recycled opinion dressed up as confidence. Amanda shares how Forma keeps humanity and joy alive inside HR tech, what actually earns trust in AI-mediated discovery, and why restraint—not volume—is the new power move.We also dig into:

• Why louder messaging accelerates brand decay instead of stopping it
• How original research outperforms hot takes in AI-driven buyer journeys
• The mistake teams make when they treat clicks as commitment
• Why LinkedIn credibility now matters beyond LinkedIn itself
• The uncomfortable shift marketers must make from persuasion to diagnosis
  
  

This episode is for B2B teams still polishing templates while the buyer rewrites the rules—and for the ones ready to build stories that survive contact with AI.]]>2786falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-loop-marketing-is-the-answer-to-the-death-of-inbound-with-kyle-denhoff--69960911
In this episode, Kyle Denhoff, Sr Director of Marketing at HubSpot, pulls the curtain back on what happens after the inbound era. We get brutally honest about why channel-first thinking is dead, how HubSpot rebuilt itself as a media company inside a SaaS giant, and why “always-on” isn’t a buzzword—it’s survival. Kyle also breaks down how AI is actually being used behind the scenes (no, not to replace marketers), and why taste, editorial judgment, and distribution matter more than ever in a world flooded with machine-made content.

We also explore:

• Why “more content” is the fastest way to lose relevance
• How audience-first strategy replaces blogs, funnels, and campaign calendars
• The real way HubSpot uses AI to drive conversion—without killing the brand
• Why creators and practitioners now beat brands in buyer trust
• The uncomfortable truth: nobody has the playbook, and pretending you do is the risk

This is a reality check for B2B teams still clinging to templates while the ground shifts under them.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/69960911Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:05:02 +0000Column FiveSearch is decaying, attention is fragmented and AI is rewriting the rules faster than most teams can update their decks. If you’re still planning content like it’s 2019, you’re already invisible. In this episode, http://linkedin.com/in/kyledenhoff,...
In this episode, Kyle Denhoff, Sr Director of Marketing at HubSpot, pulls the curtain back on what happens after the inbound era. We get brutally honest about why channel-first thinking is dead, how HubSpot rebuilt itself as a media company inside a SaaS giant, and why “always-on” isn’t a buzzword—it’s survival. Kyle also breaks down how AI is actually being used behind the scenes (no, not to replace marketers), and why taste, editorial judgment, and distribution matter more than ever in a world flooded with machine-made content.

We also explore:

• Why “more content” is the fastest way to lose relevance
• How audience-first strategy replaces blogs, funnels, and campaign calendars
• The real way HubSpot uses AI to drive conversion—without killing the brand
• Why creators and practitioners now beat brands in buyer trust
• The uncomfortable truth: nobody has the playbook, and pretending you do is the risk

This is a reality check for B2B teams still clinging to templates while the ground shifts under them.]]>2599false113fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-only-content-that-cuts-through-with-jillian-hoefer-head-of-content-at-userevidence--69759228AI proof isn’t “building trust.” It’s getting ignored—or worse, backfiring—because it’s generic, gated, and wildly irrelevant. In a world of risk-averse buying committees and AI-driven discovery, your “best case study” might be your biggest liability.In this episode, Jillian Hoefer (Head of Content at UserEvidence) delivers the reality check B2B teams keep dodging: buyers don’t need more claims—they need credible, searchable, situation-matched evidence that makes choosing you feel safe. Jillian breaks down why the classic “one giant ROI story for everyone” approach erodes trust, how AI search punishes gated proof, and why the winners in 2026 will treat customer evidence like a living system—not a dusty PDF trophy. If your strategy is “big stat → blast it everywhere,” this one’s going to sting (in a helpful way).We also explore:

• The trust-killer nobody tracks: irrelevant proof that makes buyers think you don’t get them
• Why evidence belongs at the top of the funnel, not just the “deal’s stalling” panic button
• The “no one gets fired for buying Salesforce” problem—and how proof reduces career-risk
• The content moat play: original research + human thought leadership in an age of AI slop

How to repurpose one report into a year of credibility (without turning into a content farm)
]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/69759228Thu, 05 Feb 2026 11:00:02 +0000Column FiveAI proof isn’t “building trust.” It’s getting ignored—or worse, backfiring—because it’s generic, gated, and wildly irrelevant. In a world of risk-averse buying committees and AI-driven discovery, your “best case study” might be your biggest...AI proof isn’t “building trust.” It’s getting ignored—or worse, backfiring—because it’s generic, gated, and wildly irrelevant. In a world of risk-averse buying committees and AI-driven discovery, your “best case study” might be your biggest liability.In this episode, Jillian Hoefer (Head of Content at UserEvidence) delivers the reality check B2B teams keep dodging: buyers don’t need more claims—they need credible, searchable, situation-matched evidence that makes choosing you feel safe. Jillian breaks down why the classic “one giant ROI story for everyone” approach erodes trust, how AI search punishes gated proof, and why the winners in 2026 will treat customer evidence like a living system—not a dusty PDF trophy. If your strategy is “big stat → blast it everywhere,” this one’s going to sting (in a helpful way).We also explore:

• The trust-killer nobody tracks: irrelevant proof that makes buyers think you don’t get them
• Why evidence belongs at the top of the funnel, not just the “deal’s stalling” panic button
• The “no one gets fired for buying Salesforce” problem—and how proof reduces career-risk
• The content moat play: original research + human thought leadership in an age of AI slop

How to repurpose one report into a year of credibility (without turning into a content farm)
]]>2958falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-build-a-winning-brand-in-the-era-of-ai-search-with-kevin-white-head-of-marketing-at-scrunch--69644919
In this episode, Kevin White (Head of Marketing at Scrunch) delivers a much-needed reality check on AI Search: there are no true “experts” yet, the platforms are a black box, and anyone selling guaranteed hacks is basically selling essential oils for your funnel. 

We also explore:

• The one metric that matters first: “brand presence” (aka: do explaining you?)
• Why AEO vs GEO is just acronym cosplay
• The long-tail play that converts 6–10x because the bot did the research for your buyer

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/69644919Thu, 29 Jan 2026 11:00:10 +0000Column FiveYour brand content isn’t “showing up.” It’s getting summarized, re-ranked, and sometimes straight-up misrepresented by AI—and your pipeline won’t tell you why. In a world where buyers ask ChatGPT first, the homepage isn’t your front door anymore. The...
In this episode, Kevin White (Head of Marketing at Scrunch) delivers a much-needed reality check on AI Search: there are no true “experts” yet, the platforms are a black box, and anyone selling guaranteed hacks is basically selling essential oils for your funnel. 

We also explore:

• The one metric that matters first: “brand presence” (aka: do explaining you?)
• Why AEO vs GEO is just acronym cosplay
• The long-tail play that converts 6–10x because the bot did the research for your buyer

]]>2654false111fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/ai-content-volume-won-t-save-you-with-jessica-rosenberg-head-of-brand-at-airops--69521077
In this episode, Jessica Rosenberg (Head of Brand at AirOps) delivers the reality check B2B teams keep dodging: AI doesn’t make marketing magically faster—it makes mediocre faster. Jessica unpacks why AI search raises the stakes on quality, how “AI-first” brands build movements (not feature piles), and why the new moat isn’t content volume—it’s taste, narrative, and systems that actually improve over time. If your strategy is “prompt → post → pray,” this one’s going to sting (in a helpful way).

We also explore:

• The brand-building cheat code in 2026: education that changes behavior, not sales enablement in a trench coat
• The two-pizza team advantage: how a tiny crew shipped a six-week rebrand with speed and sanity

What a real AI workflow looks like (hint: it’s not a prompt with a fancy name)
And much more.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/69521077Thu, 22 Jan 2026 11:00:08 +0000Column FiveYour brand content isn’t “scaling.” It’s getting cloned into beige mush by AI—and your buyers can smell it. In a world where everyone can publish 10x more, “more” doesn’t win. Better wins. In this episode, http://linkedin.com/in/jessicarosenb (Head...
In this episode, Jessica Rosenberg (Head of Brand at AirOps) delivers the reality check B2B teams keep dodging: AI doesn’t make marketing magically faster—it makes mediocre faster. Jessica unpacks why AI search raises the stakes on quality, how “AI-first” brands build movements (not feature piles), and why the new moat isn’t content volume—it’s taste, narrative, and systems that actually improve over time. If your strategy is “prompt → post → pray,” this one’s going to sting (in a helpful way).

We also explore:

• The brand-building cheat code in 2026: education that changes behavior, not sales enablement in a trench coat
• The two-pizza team advantage: how a tiny crew shipped a six-week rebrand with speed and sanity

What a real AI workflow looks like (hint: it’s not a prompt with a fancy name)
And much more.]]>2693false107fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/ai-visibility-is-the-only-way-to-win-with-artem-kubatkin-of-attune--69309866
In this episode, Artem Kubatkin of Attune lays out the uncomfortable new reality: AI assistants are becoming the first stop in the buyer journey—and they don’t “browse.” They decide. Artem breaks down what it really takes to show up inside high-intent AI conversations (and why most brands are accidentally training the models to ignore them).

We also explore:

• The 3 pillars of AI visibility: coverage, structure, authority—and how they map to modern content strategy
• Why AI answers are non-deterministic (and why measuring “one prompt” is fake confidence)
• How “first paragraph” becomes the new “first page” in a voice-first world
• The underrated power move: fixing brand misalignment across directories and third-party sources
• Why YouTube and timecodes may be the most practical AEO play hiding in plain sight
• And much more. 

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/69309866Thu, 15 Jan 2026 11:00:07 +0000Column FiveYour SEO traffic isn’t “dipping.” It’s getting mugged in broad daylight by AI Overviews and answer engine output. In this episode, Artem Kubatkin of Attune lays out the uncomfortable new reality: AI assistants are becoming the first stop in the buyer...
In this episode, Artem Kubatkin of Attune lays out the uncomfortable new reality: AI assistants are becoming the first stop in the buyer journey—and they don’t “browse.” They decide. Artem breaks down what it really takes to show up inside high-intent AI conversations (and why most brands are accidentally training the models to ignore them).

We also explore:

• The 3 pillars of AI visibility: coverage, structure, authority—and how they map to modern content strategy
• Why AI answers are non-deterministic (and why measuring “one prompt” is fake confidence)
• How “first paragraph” becomes the new “first page” in a voice-first world
• The underrated power move: fixing brand misalignment across directories and third-party sources
• Why YouTube and timecodes may be the most practical AEO play hiding in plain sight
• And much more. 

]]>2584false109fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/taste-as-a-secret-weapon-with-jeff-stark-of-suki-ai--69342127
In this episode, Jeff Stark, Head of Creative at Suki AI, gets brutally honest about what AI can’t do: develop taste, earn trust, or build a point of view. He shares how Suki—an AI healthcare company—thinks about ambient clinical intelligence and why their creative approach starts with real clinicians, real stories, and craft that doesn’t feel like it came out of a content vending machine. 

We also get into:

• Rebrands as high-stakes bets: the real variable isn’t color—it’s courage.
• Art vs. design: why “beautiful but useless” is the most expensive mistake in B2B.
• Jazz-room leadership: running creative teams like improv, not assembly lines.
• AI as assist, not author: a “bookend” model that keeps humans in the creative core.
• Living an integrated life and how one’s faith and beliefs should show up in every aspect of their lives. 
• And much more. 

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/69342127Thu, 08 Jan 2026 11:00:08 +0000Column FiveYour brand isn’t losing to “faster” AI teams. It’s losing to the ones protecting their humanity. As generative tools flood feeds with beige, lookalike creative, the real threat isn’t robots—it’s your team quietly lowering the bar. Are you using AI to...
In this episode, Jeff Stark, Head of Creative at Suki AI, gets brutally honest about what AI can’t do: develop taste, earn trust, or build a point of view. He shares how Suki—an AI healthcare company—thinks about ambient clinical intelligence and why their creative approach starts with real clinicians, real stories, and craft that doesn’t feel like it came out of a content vending machine. 

We also get into:

• Rebrands as high-stakes bets: the real variable isn’t color—it’s courage.
• Art vs. design: why “beautiful but useless” is the most expensive mistake in B2B.
• Jazz-room leadership: running creative teams like improv, not assembly lines.
• AI as assist, not author: a “bookend” model that keeps humans in the creative core.
• Living an integrated life and how one’s faith and beliefs should show up in every aspect of their lives. 
• And much more. 

]]>2804falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-increase-brand-roi-through-scale-speed-and-quality-with-dan-schwer-of-rippling--69243829In a world where AI can generate passable B2B content in seconds, bland isn’t safe. It’s fatal.

In this episode, Dan Schwer of Rippling breaks down what brand actually looks like inside a 6.000-person SaaS company with a creative team of 15. We go straight at the uncomfortable stuff: why “brand vs. demand” is a lazy (and expensive) debate, how a brand refresh becomes a business lever (not a design hobby), and what it takes to keep quality high when the org is moving at startup speed and the pipeline still wants receipts.

If you’re still treating brand as the “pretty layer” on top of performance, this one’s going to sting — in a useful way.

We also cover:

• Brand ROI without the fantasy math: Measuring impact through speed, scale, and craft.
• The “brand vs. demand” trap: Why the fight is fake — and what actually drives pipeline.
• Video as the new moat: Product launches, customer stories, and earning attention in B2B.
• AI won’t fix bad taste: Where AI helps, where it slows you down, and why judgment still wins.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/69243829Fri, 02 Jan 2026 10:00:17 +0000Column FiveYour brand isn’t losing to competitors, it’s getting flattened by “good enough.” In a world where AI can generate passable B2B content in seconds, bland isn’t safe. It’s fatal. In this episode, http://linkedin.com/in/danschwer of...In a world where AI can generate passable B2B content in seconds, bland isn’t safe. It’s fatal.

In this episode, Dan Schwer of Rippling breaks down what brand actually looks like inside a 6.000-person SaaS company with a creative team of 15. We go straight at the uncomfortable stuff: why “brand vs. demand” is a lazy (and expensive) debate, how a brand refresh becomes a business lever (not a design hobby), and what it takes to keep quality high when the org is moving at startup speed and the pipeline still wants receipts.

If you’re still treating brand as the “pretty layer” on top of performance, this one’s going to sting — in a useful way.

We also cover:

• Brand ROI without the fantasy math: Measuring impact through speed, scale, and craft.
• The “brand vs. demand” trap: Why the fight is fake — and what actually drives pipeline.
• Video as the new moat: Product launches, customer stories, and earning attention in B2B.
• AI won’t fix bad taste: Where AI helps, where it slows you down, and why judgment still wins.

]]>3417false105fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-bold-bet-smart-cmos-are-making-in-2026-with-sylvia-lepoidevin--69103000
If LLMs can write what you ship in 10 seconds, why would a buyer choose you?This week, Sylvia LePoidevin delivers the reality check B2B marketers have been dodging: content volume is a commodity, brand is the moat. We dig into how AI-native teams actually work (tastemakers and operators), why “helpful” guides are table stakes, and how human stories, conviction, and point of view become the only defensible edge in a world where production is free.

 We also get into:

• Content brands > corporate blogs: Building something people follow, not just something you publish.
• Helpful is dead: Why every piece needs a person, a story, and a spine—or it’s AI fodder.
• Anchors and distribution: Human-made “anchor” content, AI-powered repurposing, zero soul lost.
• Manifestos, not messaging decks: Founder-fueled conviction as the real brand operating system.
• Brand as last moat: Community, ecosystem marketing, and taste as the next-gen B2B unfair advantage.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/69103000Thu, 18 Dec 2025 11:00:09 +0000Column FiveYour brand isn’t losing to competitors, it’s drowning in “helpful” content no one remembers. In an AI-everywhere world, bland is broken and volume is just a faster way to disappear. If LLMs can write what you ship in 10 seconds, why would a buyer...
If LLMs can write what you ship in 10 seconds, why would a buyer choose you?This week, Sylvia LePoidevin delivers the reality check B2B marketers have been dodging: content volume is a commodity, brand is the moat. We dig into how AI-native teams actually work (tastemakers and operators), why “helpful” guides are table stakes, and how human stories, conviction, and point of view become the only defensible edge in a world where production is free.

 We also get into:

• Content brands > corporate blogs: Building something people follow, not just something you publish.
• Helpful is dead: Why every piece needs a person, a story, and a spine—or it’s AI fodder.
• Anchors and distribution: Human-made “anchor” content, AI-powered repurposing, zero soul lost.
• Manifestos, not messaging decks: Founder-fueled conviction as the real brand operating system.
• Brand as last moat: Community, ecosystem marketing, and taste as the next-gen B2B unfair advantage.

]]>2407falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/seo-aeo-and-the-return-of-good-marketing-with-jenna-hannon-of-hatter--68627219
This week, Jenna Hannon, Founder & CEO of Hatter, drops a State of the Union that B2B marketers need to hear: SEO isn’t dead, AEO (AI Engine Optimization) is here and lazy tactics are DOA. We unpack why LLMs reward actual marketing (crisp messaging, specific content, real PR) and punish AI-slop; how to merge SEO, AEO, and content into one motion instead of siloed teams; and why product marketing is the new growth core powering every channel.

We also get into:

• SEO → AEO: Same inputs, new outputs and the extra layers that matter now.
• Quality > quantity: Why “programmatic, no-human” content craters (and how Google/LLMs sniff it out).
• Metrics that matter: Beyond traffic to AI visibility, context, and link-back citations that convert.
• Org design for 2026: Product marketing as the engine; experts in the loop; PR that teaches LLMs.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/68627219Thu, 11 Dec 2025 10:00:22 +0000Column FiveYour brand isn’t losing to competitors, it’s getting ghosted by the algorithm. As AI eats search, the “spray and pray” content playbook turns invisible. Are you training the models…or training your team to burn cash? This...
This week, Jenna Hannon, Founder & CEO of Hatter, drops a State of the Union that B2B marketers need to hear: SEO isn’t dead, AEO (AI Engine Optimization) is here and lazy tactics are DOA. We unpack why LLMs reward actual marketing (crisp messaging, specific content, real PR) and punish AI-slop; how to merge SEO, AEO, and content into one motion instead of siloed teams; and why product marketing is the new growth core powering every channel.

We also get into:

• SEO → AEO: Same inputs, new outputs and the extra layers that matter now.
• Quality > quantity: Why “programmatic, no-human” content craters (and how Google/LLMs sniff it out).
• Metrics that matter: Beyond traffic to AI visibility, context, and link-back citations that convert.
• Org design for 2026: Product marketing as the engine; experts in the loop; PR that teaches LLMs.

]]>3036false105fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/ditching-best-practices-how-courageous-brands-get-remembered-with-udi-ledergor-of-gong--68626283
In this episode, Udi Ledergor, Chief Evangelist at Gong and author of Courageous Marketing, torches the safe playbook and helps us build a braver one: a sharp, differentiated POV that slices through “sea of sameness” B2B. We get brutally practical on how to stop shipping beige content, why the CEO (not marketing) owns the brand, and how psychological safety unlocks the kind of creative risks that actually move pipeline. 

We also cover:

• Why “best practices” guarantee mediocrity and how to replace them with courageous bets.
• How to punch above your weight at tentpole events without buying the $500K booth.
• The 3-part brand promise test (and how most orgs break it in customer support).
• How to interview your CEO and Sales for risk tolerance before you take the job.
• Using AI to kill drudgery, not taste so your POV stays unmistakably human.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/68626283Thu, 04 Dec 2025 10:00:19 +0000Column FiveYour funnel isn’t broken, but your nerve is. “Best practices” are just average practices with better PR. If every headline, homepage, and hot take sounds the same… what’s the one bold move that makes you unforgettable? In this...
In this episode, Udi Ledergor, Chief Evangelist at Gong and author of Courageous Marketing, torches the safe playbook and helps us build a braver one: a sharp, differentiated POV that slices through “sea of sameness” B2B. We get brutally practical on how to stop shipping beige content, why the CEO (not marketing) owns the brand, and how psychological safety unlocks the kind of creative risks that actually move pipeline. 

We also cover:

• Why “best practices” guarantee mediocrity and how to replace them with courageous bets.
• How to punch above your weight at tentpole events without buying the $500K booth.
• The 3-part brand promise test (and how most orgs break it in customer support).
• How to interview your CEO and Sales for risk tolerance before you take the job.
• Using AI to kill drudgery, not taste so your POV stays unmistakably human.

]]>3144false104fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/tomato-sauce-and-the-stories-behind-what-we-buy-with-andrew-lee-of-microsoft--68639846
In this episode, we sit down with Andrew Lee, Partner Marketing Leader at Microsoft, to torch the illusion that more content equals more impact. Together, we unpack why “brand vs. performance” is a fake fight, why taste is the last unfair advantage, and how to build owned distribution that survives algorithm mood swings. Your CMO will either thank you or feel attacked.

We also cover:

• Annual planning as a power move: kill random acts of marketing.
  Turning founder POV into a scalable channel (without turning them into a dancing bear).
• How to benchmark “taste” (with simple, brutal quality bars your team can actually use).
• Converting narrative into numbers: story→search→sales enablement→SQLs.
• The “No Rented Moats” playbook: email + podcast + events > social roulette.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/68639846Thu, 20 Nov 2025 10:00:23 +0000Column FiveMarketing is drowning in AI sludge, vanity dashboards, and “spray and pray” content. Your brand is getting lost, not because your product is weak, but because your taste is. In this episode, we sit down with Andrew Lee, Partner Marketing Leader at...
In this episode, we sit down with Andrew Lee, Partner Marketing Leader at Microsoft, to torch the illusion that more content equals more impact. Together, we unpack why “brand vs. performance” is a fake fight, why taste is the last unfair advantage, and how to build owned distribution that survives algorithm mood swings. Your CMO will either thank you or feel attacked.

We also cover:

• Annual planning as a power move: kill random acts of marketing.
  Turning founder POV into a scalable channel (without turning them into a dancing bear).
• How to benchmark “taste” (with simple, brutal quality bars your team can actually use).
• Converting narrative into numbers: story→search→sales enablement→SQLs.
• The “No Rented Moats” playbook: email + podcast + events > social roulette.

]]>3801false103fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-feeling-of-knowing-brand-in-the-age-of-llms-with-ari-yablok-of-island--68545584
This week we rip into the hottest B2B reality: AI Engine Optimization (AEO) meets human-only brand. Ari Yablok, head of brand at Island, shows how to beat sameness by sending clear “this is new” signals, building experiential brands that people feel (not just read), and using unreasonable hospitality to make products and events feel theirs, not “yours.”

We also cover:

• AEO is the new SEO: how to show up inside LLM answers and make people prefer you before they ever ask a bot.
• Signals over slogans: designing booths, visuals, and copy that telegraph “category shift” without a single bullet point.
• Unreasonable hospitality in B2B: turning product nuance and in-person moments into retention (and reputation) machines.
• The “feeling of knowing”: why brand confidence shortens deals—even when buyers can’t explain why.
• Human as the counter-trend: embracing curated flaws and analog touchpoints to stand out as AI perfects the average.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/68545584Thu, 13 Nov 2025 10:00:18 +0000Column FiveLLMs are already “deciding” your brand for buyers. Are you shaping that story or letting the machine write it? If your marketing still sounds like everybody else’s, congratulations: you’ve trained the models to ignore you. This week we rip into the...
This week we rip into the hottest B2B reality: AI Engine Optimization (AEO) meets human-only brand. Ari Yablok, head of brand at Island, shows how to beat sameness by sending clear “this is new” signals, building experiential brands that people feel (not just read), and using unreasonable hospitality to make products and events feel theirs, not “yours.”

We also cover:

• AEO is the new SEO: how to show up inside LLM answers and make people prefer you before they ever ask a bot.
• Signals over slogans: designing booths, visuals, and copy that telegraph “category shift” without a single bullet point.
• Unreasonable hospitality in B2B: turning product nuance and in-person moments into retention (and reputation) machines.
• The “feeling of knowing”: why brand confidence shortens deals—even when buyers can’t explain why.
• Human as the counter-trend: embracing curated flaws and analog touchpoints to stand out as AI perfects the average.

]]>3041false99fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/everything-s-changing-how-smart-cmos-stay-ahead-with-drew-neisser-of-cmo-huddles--68413663
What if the path forward isn’t “more content, faster”, but a hard reset on power, process and what we even call “brand”?

In this episode, Drew Neisser, Founder of CMO Huddles, drops a reality check on B2B: CMOs are operating in Antarctica—hostile, short-term, and PE-pressured and it’s still the most exciting moment in marketing. We get blunt about the “do more with less” lie, why “brand” is a budget-killing word (start saying “reputation”), and how AI should first nuke your workflows and org chart before you let it ghostwrite your strategy.). This is the insider’s guide to surviving the freeze and shipping work that closes.

We also cover:

• CMO power plays: why owning Partnerships/Rev levers earns a real seat at the table.
• Short-termism judo: aligning with CFOs on “metrics that matter” and fixing attribution theater.
• What actually converts now: late-stage, face-to-face moments (small dinners > giant trade shows).
• Direct mail’s comeback: high-impact, targeted sends that unblock stalled deals.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/68413663Thu, 06 Nov 2025 11:00:10 +0000Column FiveBudgets are shrinking, patience is thinner and the CMO seat is a revolving door. Keep playing the old playbook and you’re next. What if the path forward isn’t “more content, faster”, but a hard reset on power, process and what we even call “brand”?...
What if the path forward isn’t “more content, faster”, but a hard reset on power, process and what we even call “brand”?

In this episode, Drew Neisser, Founder of CMO Huddles, drops a reality check on B2B: CMOs are operating in Antarctica—hostile, short-term, and PE-pressured and it’s still the most exciting moment in marketing. We get blunt about the “do more with less” lie, why “brand” is a budget-killing word (start saying “reputation”), and how AI should first nuke your workflows and org chart before you let it ghostwrite your strategy.). This is the insider’s guide to surviving the freeze and shipping work that closes.

We also cover:

• CMO power plays: why owning Partnerships/Rev levers earns a real seat at the table.
• Short-termism judo: aligning with CFOs on “metrics that matter” and fixing attribution theater.
• What actually converts now: late-stage, face-to-face moments (small dinners > giant trade shows).
• Direct mail’s comeback: high-impact, targeted sends that unblock stalled deals.

]]>3211false101fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/story-is-the-moat-how-to-build-one-at-scale-with-julien-palliere-of-column-five--68338225
In this episode, Julien Palliere, AI Strategist at Column Five joins Jason and Josh to deliver a necessary reality check.

We unpack why “just add AI” is a lazy brief, how AEO is quietly disintermediating brands, and why volume is the enemy of results. The verdict: bad marketing makes you generic, not AI. 

We also cover:

• The Wedge System: Turning a sharp POV into a repeatable AI-powered content engine.
• Personalization That Actually Personalizes: Using CRM, 6sense, and LinkedIn signals to change copy by persona in real time.
• Where AI Belongs (and Doesn’t): Map the workflow, target structured/repeatable steps, avoid breaking fragile creative processes.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/68338225Thu, 30 Oct 2025 10:00:07 +0000Column FiveEveryone’s racing to “do more with less,” then wondering why everything sounds the same. Budgets shrink, headcount drops, and the AI mandate lands like a memo from Mount Olympus: use it, ship faster, cut costs. Here’s the plot twist: AI isn’t your...
In this episode, Julien Palliere, AI Strategist at Column Five joins Jason and Josh to deliver a necessary reality check.

We unpack why “just add AI” is a lazy brief, how AEO is quietly disintermediating brands, and why volume is the enemy of results. The verdict: bad marketing makes you generic, not AI. 

We also cover:

• The Wedge System: Turning a sharp POV into a repeatable AI-powered content engine.
• Personalization That Actually Personalizes: Using CRM, 6sense, and LinkedIn signals to change copy by persona in real time.
• Where AI Belongs (and Doesn’t): Map the workflow, target structured/repeatable steps, avoid breaking fragile creative processes.

]]>2630falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/building-a-growth-engine-that-converts-with-nicole-gates-of-varonis--68244166
In this episode, Nicole Gates, VP Growth Marketing at Varonis tears up the playbook B2B keeps clinging to. She shows how a “process person” builds a launch machine that actually ships, why tiering by customer impact (not internal hype) changes everything, and how moving SDRs under marketing with real SLAs turns MQL theater into pipeline. We dig into the noisy AI arms race (robots fighting robots), shifting budget from paid-to-play to earned trust via thought leadership, and using AI where it improves outcomes (routing, enrichment, speed-to-lead), not where it creates slop.

We also cover:

• How to tier your launches by what matters to customers, not your org chart.
• Why the best growth marketers think more like editors than analysts.
• What happens when you replace data obsession with decision confidence.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/68244166Thu, 23 Oct 2025 10:00:08 +0000Column FiveMarketers are hooked on attribution perfection. Meanwhile, your buyers are ghosting and your “AI-powered” campaigns sound like everyone else’s. What if the edge isn’t more dashboards but it’s better judgment? In this episode,...
In this episode, Nicole Gates, VP Growth Marketing at Varonis tears up the playbook B2B keeps clinging to. She shows how a “process person” builds a launch machine that actually ships, why tiering by customer impact (not internal hype) changes everything, and how moving SDRs under marketing with real SLAs turns MQL theater into pipeline. We dig into the noisy AI arms race (robots fighting robots), shifting budget from paid-to-play to earned trust via thought leadership, and using AI where it improves outcomes (routing, enrichment, speed-to-lead), not where it creates slop.

We also cover:

• How to tier your launches by what matters to customers, not your org chart.
• Why the best growth marketers think more like editors than analysts.
• What happens when you replace data obsession with decision confidence.

]]>2902false99fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-missing-ingredient-to-your-b2b-strategy-with-jess-ellis-from-attentive--68089671
In this episode, we sit down with Jess Ellis, Head of Brand, Content, Creative & Comms at Attentive, to talk about what it really takes to build a brand that drives pipeline in a crowded B2B market. Jess gets candid about bringing a hypergrowth org back to its foundation-mission, values, and a point of view people can actually feel. We dig into consent-based personalization that respects customers, why brand and demand aren’t enemies, and how to use AI as a speed-up.

We Also Explore

• Why slapping “AI” on your homepage isn’t a strategy
• How to make personalization feel human, not creepy
• Brand vs. demand is a fake fight (and how to prove it)
• The metric that earns budget: brand health with teeth

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/68089671Thu, 16 Oct 2025 10:00:08 +0000Column FiveWhen everyone’s chasing quick wins, it’s easy to forget the one lever that compounds everything: brand clarity. But cramming “agentic AI” into your homepage won’t save you, it just makes you sound like the chorus. In this episode, we sit down with...
In this episode, we sit down with Jess Ellis, Head of Brand, Content, Creative & Comms at Attentive, to talk about what it really takes to build a brand that drives pipeline in a crowded B2B market. Jess gets candid about bringing a hypergrowth org back to its foundation-mission, values, and a point of view people can actually feel. We dig into consent-based personalization that respects customers, why brand and demand aren’t enemies, and how to use AI as a speed-up.

We Also Explore

• Why slapping “AI” on your homepage isn’t a strategy
• How to make personalization feel human, not creepy
• Brand vs. demand is a fake fight (and how to prove it)
• The metric that earns budget: brand health with teeth

]]>1496false98fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-truth-about-category-creation-and-why-most-get-it-wrong-with-adam-greco-of-hightouch--67984923
In this episode, Adam Greco, Product Evangelist at Hightouch argues for a simpler model: composable CDP. Instead of locking yourself into a monolithic suite, you keep data where it already lives and activate it directly. That means days instead of quarters to get value, and less money wasted on campaigns that annoy customers instead of delighting them. Adam pulls from decades in analytics to show how organizations can finally stop tripping over their own tech, build trust between data and marketing, and focus on the few initiatives that really move the needle.

The question: are you doing more, but achieving less?

We also explore:

• Why annual planning done right can be a superpower, not a slog.
• How to kill the “brand vs. performance” tug-of-war with shared goals.
• The messy reality of category creation and how not to get steamrolled.
• Why short-form video is quietly replacing SEO as the new credibility engine.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/67984923Thu, 09 Oct 2025 10:00:07 +0000Column FiveIf your marketing feels harder than it should, you’re not imagining it. So what’s the smarter way forward? In this episode, http://linkedin.com/in/adamgreco, Product Evangelist athttp://www.hightouch.com argues for a simpler model: composable CDP....
In this episode, Adam Greco, Product Evangelist at Hightouch argues for a simpler model: composable CDP. Instead of locking yourself into a monolithic suite, you keep data where it already lives and activate it directly. That means days instead of quarters to get value, and less money wasted on campaigns that annoy customers instead of delighting them. Adam pulls from decades in analytics to show how organizations can finally stop tripping over their own tech, build trust between data and marketing, and focus on the few initiatives that really move the needle.

The question: are you doing more, but achieving less?

We also explore:

• Why annual planning done right can be a superpower, not a slog.
• How to kill the “brand vs. performance” tug-of-war with shared goals.
• The messy reality of category creation and how not to get steamrolled.
• Why short-form video is quietly replacing SEO as the new credibility engine.

]]>2595false97fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/community-as-a-growth-engine-with-sandy-mangat-of-pocus--67893173
On this episode, Jason and Josh talk with Sandy Mangat, Head of Marketing at Pocus, about what it really takes to make people care. Sandy has worked in product, growth, and brand teams, so she’s here to share the lessons you won’t find in a playbook. From building a community people actually want to be part of, to cutting through the AI hype without sounding like a bot, this conversation is all about marketing that feels alive.

Here’s what we dig into:

• Why so many startups crash when product, growth, and brand don’t align.
• The real secret to category creation (spoiler: it’s not just slapping “2.0” on a slide).
• How to turn a community from “nice idea” into a genuine growth engine.
• The fine line between brand personality and just being unclear.
• Sandy’s one-line marketing philosophy: everything is easier when you’re famous.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/67893173Thu, 02 Oct 2025 10:00:07 +0000Column FiveEveryone’s talking about AI, but let’s be honest, most B2B brands still sound like copy-paste corporate speak. The scary part? While you’re stuck writing “safe” content, your competitors are out there building cult followings. On this episode, Jason...
On this episode, Jason and Josh talk with Sandy Mangat, Head of Marketing at Pocus, about what it really takes to make people care. Sandy has worked in product, growth, and brand teams, so she’s here to share the lessons you won’t find in a playbook. From building a community people actually want to be part of, to cutting through the AI hype without sounding like a bot, this conversation is all about marketing that feels alive.

Here’s what we dig into:

• Why so many startups crash when product, growth, and brand don’t align.
• The real secret to category creation (spoiler: it’s not just slapping “2.0” on a slide).
• How to turn a community from “nice idea” into a genuine growth engine.
• The fine line between brand personality and just being unclear.
• Sandy’s one-line marketing philosophy: everything is easier when you’re famous.

]]>2856false96fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/from-abm-to-contact-based-marketing-and-building-a-new-category-with-jess-cook-of-vector--67854006
In this episode, Jess Cook, Head of Marketing at Vector, shares how she’s tackling that balance in real time. Jess talks through practical ways to get more value from every piece you create, without burning out your team. She explains why “minimum viable content” can help you move faster, how repurposing can multiply your reach, and why even unexpected moments (like a CEO going rogue on LinkedIn) can become brand building opportunities.

We also cover:

• How to establish authority in a new category.
• Why repurposing can be your most effective growth strategy.
• The benefits of testing fast instead of chasing perfection.
• How to turn unpredictable moments into authentic brand stories.
• The evolving relationship between brand and demand.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/67854006Thu, 25 Sep 2025 10:00:07 +0000Column FiveMarketers are under constant pressure to prove impact. Often with smaller teams and tighter budgets. The challenge? Balancing brand building with demand generation while keeping content fresh and effective. In this episode,...
In this episode, Jess Cook, Head of Marketing at Vector, shares how she’s tackling that balance in real time. Jess talks through practical ways to get more value from every piece you create, without burning out your team. She explains why “minimum viable content” can help you move faster, how repurposing can multiply your reach, and why even unexpected moments (like a CEO going rogue on LinkedIn) can become brand building opportunities.

We also cover:

• How to establish authority in a new category.
• Why repurposing can be your most effective growth strategy.
• The benefits of testing fast instead of chasing perfection.
• How to turn unpredictable moments into authentic brand stories.
• The evolving relationship between brand and demand.

]]>2985falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-brave-work-actually-gets-approved-with-andrew-chen-of-hive--67718483
In this episode, Andrew Chen, Head of Brand Design at Hive, makes a simple case: tools help, but taste wins. He talks about how skating and the hardcore scene taught him to make things people actually want, why trust (not slide decks) gets bold ideas approved, and how the next wave favors curators who know what to keep and what to cut. Andrew’s path is a reminder that great work isn’t about pedigree; it’s about context, craft, and caring enough to sweat the details.

We also get into:

• How building trust gets buy-in faster than any moodboard.
• Using “yes, and” to turn rigid briefs into better ideas.
• Why juniors shouldn’t wait for permission to pitch the risky thing.
• How food (seriously) can sharpen your storytelling instincts.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/67718483Thu, 18 Sep 2025 10:00:08 +0000Column FiveWhen AI can spin up a logo in seconds and templates are everywhere, it’s fair to wonder: why hire a designer at all? Because people don’t connect with “good enough.” They connect with taste, the kind that feels intentional, lived-in, and real. In...
In this episode, Andrew Chen, Head of Brand Design at Hive, makes a simple case: tools help, but taste wins. He talks about how skating and the hardcore scene taught him to make things people actually want, why trust (not slide decks) gets bold ideas approved, and how the next wave favors curators who know what to keep and what to cut. Andrew’s path is a reminder that great work isn’t about pedigree; it’s about context, craft, and caring enough to sweat the details.

We also get into:

• How building trust gets buy-in faster than any moodboard.
• Using “yes, and” to turn rigid briefs into better ideas.
• Why juniors shouldn’t wait for permission to pitch the risky thing.
• How food (seriously) can sharpen your storytelling instincts.

]]>2755false94fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-build-brands-that-break-the-rules-and-win-with-scott-smith-of-intercom--67688635
This week, we sit down with Scott Smith, VP of Brand at Intercom and the creative mind behind Fin, their new AI agent. Scott speaks about how they built a brand that breaks the rules—ditching rigid style guides for something more like a magazine: expressive, evolving, and full of soul. We talk about what it takes to launch a new brand inside a legacy company, how “boring” billboards became their secret weapon, and why AI isn’t here to steal creative jobs—it’s here to level up the whole game.

We also get into:
- Why great art direction matters more than ever in an AI-first world
- How Intercom reimagined branding as a living, breathing system
- Letting go of the “creative genius” myth and building with your team
- What it looks like when in-house creative teams run like agencies]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/67688635Thu, 11 Sep 2025 10:00:08 +0000Column FiveWhen everyone’s shouting that they’re “#1 in AI,” how do you actually stand out? Sometimes, the move isn’t a flashy campaign—it’s just saying what you mean, clearly and confidently. This week, we sit down with Scott Smith, VP of Brand at Intercom and...
This week, we sit down with Scott Smith, VP of Brand at Intercom and the creative mind behind Fin, their new AI agent. Scott speaks about how they built a brand that breaks the rules—ditching rigid style guides for something more like a magazine: expressive, evolving, and full of soul. We talk about what it takes to launch a new brand inside a legacy company, how “boring” billboards became their secret weapon, and why AI isn’t here to steal creative jobs—it’s here to level up the whole game.

We also get into:
- Why great art direction matters more than ever in an AI-first world
- How Intercom reimagined branding as a living, breathing system
- Letting go of the “creative genius” myth and building with your team
- What it looks like when in-house creative teams run like agencies]]>3219false93fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/building-brands-people-actually-care-about-with-steph-bowker-of-metaview--67624904
In this episode, we sit down with Steph Bowker, Head of Marketing at Metaview, to talk about what it really takes to stand out in today’s crowded B2B landscape. Steph shares her honest perspective on building brands that feel human, specific, and rooted in real value. We explore what makes people care, how to create a brand that feels lived-in and why thoughtful storytelling (inside and outside your company) might just be your strongest asset.

If you’re looking for practical ways to cut through the noise without losing your voice, you’ll want to hear this one.

We Also Explore:

• Why slapping “AI” on your homepage isn’t a strategy
• How to turn customers into your most powerful marketing channel
• What makes a real community (hint: it’s not just a Slack group)
• How smaller teams can punch way above their weight with sharp storytelling

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/67624904Thu, 04 Sep 2025 09:05:07 +0000Column FiveWith everyone talking about AI, it’s easy to feel like your brand has to shout just to be heard. But sounding like everyone else isn’t the answer, it’s a missed opportunity to connect in a meaningful way. In this episode, we sit down with...
In this episode, we sit down with Steph Bowker, Head of Marketing at Metaview, to talk about what it really takes to stand out in today’s crowded B2B landscape. Steph shares her honest perspective on building brands that feel human, specific, and rooted in real value. We explore what makes people care, how to create a brand that feels lived-in and why thoughtful storytelling (inside and outside your company) might just be your strongest asset.

If you’re looking for practical ways to cut through the noise without losing your voice, you’ll want to hear this one.

We Also Explore:

• Why slapping “AI” on your homepage isn’t a strategy
• How to turn customers into your most powerful marketing channel
• What makes a real community (hint: it’s not just a Slack group)
• How smaller teams can punch way above their weight with sharp storytelling

]]>2710false92fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-marketer-s-guide-to-modern-storytelling-with-roman-of-sifflet--67516855
With AI-generated posts flooding every channel and SEO playbooks changing by the week, B2B marketers are creating more content than ever—yet somehow, it’s hitting with less impact. So what actually sets a brand apart today? It might come down to something deceptively simple: better storytelling.

In this episode, Roman, Head of Marketing at Sifflet, shares his thoughtful take on why “90% of marketing is content”—and why we need to rethink how we approach it.

We also discuss:

• Why founder content is peaking—and what comes next
• The quiet return of PR, direct mail, and other "dead" tactics
• The one field in your contact form that tells you what your dashboard never will

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/67516855Thu, 28 Aug 2025 10:00:09 +0000Column FiveMaybe it’s not a content problem. Maybe it’s a clarity problem. With AI-generated posts flooding every channel and SEO playbooks changing by the week, B2B marketers are creating more content than ever—yet somehow, it’s hitting with less impact. So...
With AI-generated posts flooding every channel and SEO playbooks changing by the week, B2B marketers are creating more content than ever—yet somehow, it’s hitting with less impact. So what actually sets a brand apart today? It might come down to something deceptively simple: better storytelling.

In this episode, Roman, Head of Marketing at Sifflet, shares his thoughtful take on why “90% of marketing is content”—and why we need to rethink how we approach it.

We also discuss:

• Why founder content is peaking—and what comes next
• The quiet return of PR, direct mail, and other "dead" tactics
• The one field in your contact form that tells you what your dashboard never will

]]>2566false91fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-turn-marketing-into-entertainment-with-chris-cunningham-of-clickup--67436353
While most brands stick to safe, polished playbooks, Chris Cunningham is building ClickUp’s marketing like it’s a full-blown media company—and it’s working. In this episode, he takes us behind the scenes of how their small but mighty team racked up 200 million+ impressions by leaning into creativity, comedy, and community.

Chris, one of ClickUp’s original team members and now Head of Brand, shares the real (and often hilarious) story of how they went from startup scrappiness to building an in-house content engine that moves the needle. From hiring actors full-time, to turning their content meetings into writers’ rooms, to making rap albums that actually convert.

We talk about:

• The content framework that helps their team test and scale what really works
• Why they bet on humor at the top of the funnel—and what makes it land
• How they avoid burnout while making videos every week
• The limits of AI content (and why originality still matters most)
• What most B2B teams get wrong when they try to “act like media companies”

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/67436353Thu, 21 Aug 2025 10:00:08 +0000Column FiveEveryone’s chasing AI—but what if the real magic in B2B is a rap video, a meme, and two actors with a camera? While most brands stick to safe, polished playbooks, http://linkedin.com/in/chrisclickup is building http://clickup.com marketing like it’s...
While most brands stick to safe, polished playbooks, Chris Cunningham is building ClickUp’s marketing like it’s a full-blown media company—and it’s working. In this episode, he takes us behind the scenes of how their small but mighty team racked up 200 million+ impressions by leaning into creativity, comedy, and community.

Chris, one of ClickUp’s original team members and now Head of Brand, shares the real (and often hilarious) story of how they went from startup scrappiness to building an in-house content engine that moves the needle. From hiring actors full-time, to turning their content meetings into writers’ rooms, to making rap albums that actually convert.

We talk about:

• The content framework that helps their team test and scale what really works
• Why they bet on humor at the top of the funnel—and what makes it land
• How they avoid burnout while making videos every week
• The limits of AI content (and why originality still matters most)
• What most B2B teams get wrong when they try to “act like media companies”

]]>2605false90fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/bold-moves-that-build-real-brands-with-bill-macaitis-of-saas-cmo-pro--67343036
In this episode, we sit down with Bill Macaitis, founder at SaaS CMO Pro. Bill pulls back the curtain on what’s broken in B2B marketing and how to fix it. Spoiler: it’s not another lead-gen campaign or cranking out more content. It’s about building a brand people actually remember.If you’re tired of playing it safe, this one’s for you.

We Also Get Into:

• The secret behind customer marketing that actually drives growth
• How to create bold, consistent brand moments without becoming a robot
• Why most marketing teams lose trust—and how to win it back

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/67343036Thu, 14 Aug 2025 10:00:08 +0000Column FiveLet’s be real: most B2B brands are stuck on repeat. Same buzzwords, same bland websites, same tired playbooks. And in a sea of sameness, nobody stands out. So how do you make people actually care? In this episode, we sit down with...
In this episode, we sit down with Bill Macaitis, founder at SaaS CMO Pro. Bill pulls back the curtain on what’s broken in B2B marketing and how to fix it. Spoiler: it’s not another lead-gen campaign or cranking out more content. It’s about building a brand people actually remember.If you’re tired of playing it safe, this one’s for you.

We Also Get Into:

• The secret behind customer marketing that actually drives growth
• How to create bold, consistent brand moments without becoming a robot
• Why most marketing teams lose trust—and how to win it back

]]>3274false89fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/building-trust-in-a-noisy-world-with-kelly-phillips-of-faire--67257280
In this episode, Kelly Phillips—VP of Brand Marketing at Faire, and former brand leader at Airbnb, YouTube, and Google—shares what it really takes to build a brand that people trust and feel connected to.

We talk about what makes brand matter in the age of AI, how to build trust on both sides of a marketplace, and what it looks like when your brand actually helps people succeed—not just sells to them.

We also discuss:

• Why Faire wants to be a partner, not just a platform, for small retailers
• The “Fair Forecast” and the power of data-driven, non-boring trend reports
• Why early brand investment is no longer optional for AI-first companies

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/67257280Thu, 07 Aug 2025 10:00:08 +0000Column FiveWe’re creating more content than ever—but at what cost to meaning and connection? In this episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyelizabethphillips—VP of Brand Marketing at https://www.faire.com/careers, and former brand leader at Airbnb, YouTube,...
In this episode, Kelly Phillips—VP of Brand Marketing at Faire, and former brand leader at Airbnb, YouTube, and Google—shares what it really takes to build a brand that people trust and feel connected to.

We talk about what makes brand matter in the age of AI, how to build trust on both sides of a marketplace, and what it looks like when your brand actually helps people succeed—not just sells to them.

We also discuss:

• Why Faire wants to be a partner, not just a platform, for small retailers
• The “Fair Forecast” and the power of data-driven, non-boring trend reports
• Why early brand investment is no longer optional for AI-first companies

]]>1753false88fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/building-b2b-brands-with-authentictiy-with-kevin-branscum-of-typeform--67179001
B2B marketing is broken. Everyone’s selling the same tools with the same bland copy—and in the AI era, product parity is only getting worse. So how do you stand out when sameness is the default? You build a brand people actually feel something about. In this episode, Kevin Branscum, VP of Brand Marketing at Typeform, breaks down how to inject personality, culture, and staying power into your B2B brand.

We also discuss:

• Why most B2B brands sound like AI wrote them—and how to sound human again
• How to borrow from the playbooks of fashion and luxury to build worlds, not just marketing campaigns
• How to think beyond spreadsheets and bring real people—your customers and their customers—into the heart of your marketing
  
  

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/67179001Thu, 31 Jul 2025 10:00:07 +0000Column FiveIf your brand doesn’t spark a feeling, it’s already forgettable. In a world where every product looks the same, the only thing that truly sells is vibe. B2B marketing is broken. Everyone’s selling the same tools with the same bland copy—and in the AI...
B2B marketing is broken. Everyone’s selling the same tools with the same bland copy—and in the AI era, product parity is only getting worse. So how do you stand out when sameness is the default? You build a brand people actually feel something about. In this episode, Kevin Branscum, VP of Brand Marketing at Typeform, breaks down how to inject personality, culture, and staying power into your B2B brand.

We also discuss:

• Why most B2B brands sound like AI wrote them—and how to sound human again
• How to borrow from the playbooks of fashion and luxury to build worlds, not just marketing campaigns
• How to think beyond spreadsheets and bring real people—your customers and their customers—into the heart of your marketing
  
  

]]>3043false87fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-quiet-revolution-behind-b2b-brand-wins-with-deanna-adams-of-dropbox--67088803
In this episode, Deanna Adams, Senior Director of Integrated Campaign Marketing at Dropbox, reveals how to actually make your brand show up across the entire customer journey—not just in a 15-second pre-roll.

Deanna shares how her team re-engineered Dropbox’s content engine for agility, built emotional resonance through integrated campaigns, and created a structure that lets the brand promise echo from awareness to advocacy. It’s not theory—it’s game film from the frontlines of modern B2B marketing.

We also cover:

• Why the “brand vs. performance” debate is holding your team back
• How AI is shifting from shiny feature to workflow essential
• What a truly integrated customer journey looks like in practice
• How to structure agile teams that actually collaborate

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/67088803Thu, 24 Jul 2025 08:20:07 +0000Column FiveToo often, B2B brands chase clicks that don’t lead to real results. The fix? It’s not more ad spend—it’s aligning your systems and strategy. In this episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamsdb, Senior Director of Integrated Campaign Marketing at...
In this episode, Deanna Adams, Senior Director of Integrated Campaign Marketing at Dropbox, reveals how to actually make your brand show up across the entire customer journey—not just in a 15-second pre-roll.

Deanna shares how her team re-engineered Dropbox’s content engine for agility, built emotional resonance through integrated campaigns, and created a structure that lets the brand promise echo from awareness to advocacy. It’s not theory—it’s game film from the frontlines of modern B2B marketing.

We also cover:

• Why the “brand vs. performance” debate is holding your team back
• How AI is shifting from shiny feature to workflow essential
• What a truly integrated customer journey looks like in practice
• How to structure agile teams that actually collaborate

]]>2511false86fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-rebuild-a-legacy-brand-from-the-ground-up-with-carla-weis-of-docusign--66977873
Docusign made the signature famous. Now it’s on a mission to make agreements iconic—and that meant blowing up the brand as the world knew it.In this episode, Carla Weis, VP of Brand and Creative at Docusign, shares the bold, strategic, and fast-paced four-month overhaul behind one of the most successful B2B rebrands in recent years. We dive into how Carla’s team transformed the 22-year-old brand into a full-blown intelligent agreement platform—and why that required more than just a new logo.

We also discuss:

• The business risk of staying visually familiar when your product leaps forward
• Why B2B brand archetypes aren’t fluffy—they’re functional decision-making tools
• How “self-serve creative” and 600+ Canva users are scaling the brand with precision
• Why they embraced jargon, dropped the “everyman,” and leaned into the Sage-Ruler-Hero brand trio

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/66977873Thu, 17 Jul 2025 10:00:07 +0000Column FiveGreat brands don’t just evolve—they outgrow their origin stories. Docusign made the signature famous. Now it’s on a mission to make agreements iconic—and that meant blowing up the brand as the world knew it.In this episode,...
Docusign made the signature famous. Now it’s on a mission to make agreements iconic—and that meant blowing up the brand as the world knew it.In this episode, Carla Weis, VP of Brand and Creative at Docusign, shares the bold, strategic, and fast-paced four-month overhaul behind one of the most successful B2B rebrands in recent years. We dive into how Carla’s team transformed the 22-year-old brand into a full-blown intelligent agreement platform—and why that required more than just a new logo.

We also discuss:

• The business risk of staying visually familiar when your product leaps forward
• Why B2B brand archetypes aren’t fluffy—they’re functional decision-making tools
• How “self-serve creative” and 600+ Canva users are scaling the brand with precision
• Why they embraced jargon, dropped the “everyman,” and leaned into the Sage-Ruler-Hero brand trio

]]>2972false85fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-build-a-brand-with-bite-with-emily-anne-epstein-of-sigma--66897480
In this episode, we sit down with Emily Anne Epstein, the content lead behind Sigma’s rapid rise. Emily unpacks why every modern brand needs a POV that punches—and how to create a system where thought leadership isn’t just encouraged, but expected. She shares why content is the engine, not the accessory; how to weaponize data to justify bold creative bets; and what it really takes to stand out in a sea of same.

We also cover

• Why purity tests for AI content are a dead-end distraction
• How Sigma uses attribution data to justify every content decision
• Why you don’t need a Head of Brand to have a killer brand
• The real secret to scaling thought leadership
• How to inject “punk rock” into your B2B tone without losing credibility

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/66897480Thu, 10 Jul 2025 09:00:18 +0000Column FiveIf your brand feels more like a dusty whitepaper than a bold statement, you're doing it wrong. In this episode, we sit down with http://linkedin.com/in/emilyanneepstein, the content lead behind https://www.sigmacomputing.com rapid rise. Emily unpacks...
In this episode, we sit down with Emily Anne Epstein, the content lead behind Sigma’s rapid rise. Emily unpacks why every modern brand needs a POV that punches—and how to create a system where thought leadership isn’t just encouraged, but expected. She shares why content is the engine, not the accessory; how to weaponize data to justify bold creative bets; and what it really takes to stand out in a sea of same.

We also cover

• Why purity tests for AI content are a dead-end distraction
• How Sigma uses attribution data to justify every content decision
• Why you don’t need a Head of Brand to have a killer brand
• The real secret to scaling thought leadership
• How to inject “punk rock” into your B2B tone without losing credibility

]]>1466false84fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-unscalable-stuff-that-scales-with-ross-mayfield-of-zoom--66851807As AI reshapes how we work, connect, and build, the brands that will win aren’t the ones shouting the loudest—they’re the ones people actually believe.

In this episode, Ross Mayfield—Head of Product for Workplace AI at Zoom—joins us to talk about why the future of marketing isn’t just smarter tech, it’s deeper human connection. Ross has seen how product, brand, and culture intersect—and how AI is forcing us to rethink it all.If you're trying to stand out in a market where everything’s automated and nothing feels real—this one’s for you.

We discuss:

• Why your product experience is now your brand’s loudest voice
• The return of trust as the most powerful growth strategy
• How agentic AI is turning meetings into momentum
• What most startups get wrong about scale (and what to do instead)
• Why integration is becoming a commodity—and what that means for differentiation

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/66851807Thu, 03 Jul 2025 16:03:33 +0000Column FiveTech is moving fast. But trust? That’s still built the old-fashioned way. As AI reshapes how we work, connect, and build, the brands that will win aren’t the ones shouting the loudest—they’re the ones people actually believe. In this episode,...As AI reshapes how we work, connect, and build, the brands that will win aren’t the ones shouting the loudest—they’re the ones people actually believe.

In this episode, Ross Mayfield—Head of Product for Workplace AI at Zoom—joins us to talk about why the future of marketing isn’t just smarter tech, it’s deeper human connection. Ross has seen how product, brand, and culture intersect—and how AI is forcing us to rethink it all.If you're trying to stand out in a market where everything’s automated and nothing feels real—this one’s for you.

We discuss:

• Why your product experience is now your brand’s loudest voice
• The return of trust as the most powerful growth strategy
• How agentic AI is turning meetings into momentum
• What most startups get wrong about scale (and what to do instead)
• Why integration is becoming a commodity—and what that means for differentiation

]]>2349false83fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/why-trust-is-the-new-brand-currency-with-ethan-bloch-of-hiro--66748601Ethan Bloch is building an ambitious, AI-powered financial product from the ground up. 

In this episode, Ethan, Founder of Digit and now Hiro Finance, shares why he believes most financial tools are more cosmetic than useful, and how a truly helpful product can speak for itself—no referral codes needed. He breaks down how AI is unlocking more personalized financial support, why trust is the most valuable asset in fintech, and how strong branding often follows when you genuinely solve real problems.

We also cover:

• How building in the age of large language models reshapes teams, trust, and timelines
• Why putting product value first creates long-term brand strength
• The single survey question that reveals true product-market fit

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/66748601Thu, 26 Jun 2025 09:00:17 +0000Column FiveWhile many fintechs are focused on surface-level features, https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebloch/ is building an ambitious, AI-powered financial product from the ground up.  In this episode, Ethan, Founder of Digit and now https://hirofinance.com,...Ethan Bloch is building an ambitious, AI-powered financial product from the ground up. 

In this episode, Ethan, Founder of Digit and now Hiro Finance, shares why he believes most financial tools are more cosmetic than useful, and how a truly helpful product can speak for itself—no referral codes needed. He breaks down how AI is unlocking more personalized financial support, why trust is the most valuable asset in fintech, and how strong branding often follows when you genuinely solve real problems.

We also cover:

• How building in the age of large language models reshapes teams, trust, and timelines
• Why putting product value first creates long-term brand strength
• The single survey question that reveals true product-market fit

]]>2525false82fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/becoming-marketing-s-big-sister-with-trish-seidel-of-teal--66580268
In this episode, we’re joined by Trish Seidel, Marketing Director at Teal and the voice behind “Marketing’s Big Sister.” Trish brings a thoughtful, grounded perspective on what it means to build real brand connection in a noisy landscape. From her experience bridging U.S. and European startup cultures to her experiments with AI-powered content, Trish shares what’s working, what’s broken, and why marketers deserve better.

We also talk about:

• Teal’s unique approach to scaling content with AI agents (that still sound human)
• The cultural divide in startup marketing across continents
• Why ABM often misses the mark
• The emotional weight of proving your value in scrappy teams

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/66580268Thu, 19 Jun 2025 14:32:56 +0000Column FiveIt’s a tough time to be a marketer. Teams are lean, expectations are high, and AI is everywhere—but automation can only take you so far if your brand voice gets lost in the shuffle. So how do you keep your storytelling sharp and human in a world...
In this episode, we’re joined by Trish Seidel, Marketing Director at Teal and the voice behind “Marketing’s Big Sister.” Trish brings a thoughtful, grounded perspective on what it means to build real brand connection in a noisy landscape. From her experience bridging U.S. and European startup cultures to her experiments with AI-powered content, Trish shares what’s working, what’s broken, and why marketers deserve better.

We also talk about:

• Teal’s unique approach to scaling content with AI agents (that still sound human)
• The cultural divide in startup marketing across continents
• Why ABM often misses the mark
• The emotional weight of proving your value in scrappy teams

]]>2844false81fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-cult-of-rebranding-in-b2b-with-matt-maynard-of-asana--66225765
In this episode, Matt Maynard, Asana’s Head of Brand and Advertising, joins the show to challenge the dogmas of B2B brand strategy. From calling out the cult of rebrands to exposing the limits of loyalty and the illusion of celebrity endorsements, Matt lays out a new playbook rooted in evidence. He unpacks how real brand growth comes from building mental availability, not just big ideas, and why most marketers still mistake folklore for fact.

We dive into:

• Why most B2B brand teams are optimizing for creativity instead of outcomes
• The distinctiveness vs. differentiation smackdown (and why it matters more than ever)
• How AI is the ultimate sparring partner—not just a creative sidekick
• Why brand characters beat celebrities in the long game of memory
• How Asana is automating workflows to bring brand science into every touchpoint

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/66225765Thu, 12 Jun 2025 10:00:07 +0000Column FiveBrand teams are obsessed with differentiation, but what if distinctiveness is the real power move? And while you're chasing loyalty, your competitors are winning with reach. In this episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattmaynard/,...
In this episode, Matt Maynard, Asana’s Head of Brand and Advertising, joins the show to challenge the dogmas of B2B brand strategy. From calling out the cult of rebrands to exposing the limits of loyalty and the illusion of celebrity endorsements, Matt lays out a new playbook rooted in evidence. He unpacks how real brand growth comes from building mental availability, not just big ideas, and why most marketers still mistake folklore for fact.

We dive into:

• Why most B2B brand teams are optimizing for creativity instead of outcomes
• The distinctiveness vs. differentiation smackdown (and why it matters more than ever)
• How AI is the ultimate sparring partner—not just a creative sidekick
• Why brand characters beat celebrities in the long game of memory
• How Asana is automating workflows to bring brand science into every touchpoint

]]>2690false80fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/smarter-gtm-for-marketing-leaders-with-brandon-redlinger-of-the-forge--66315895
In this episode, Brandon Redlinger, fractional marketing leader and co-founder of The Forge community, shares what he's learned from years in the trenches of B2B marketing, from building ABM categories to launching his own curated community for marketing leaders. He talks about why brand matters more than ever, what makes community-building actually work, and how to avoid the common pitfalls that derail go-to-market efforts.

We also explore:

• Why category creation starts with clarity, not buzzwords
• The value of brand in speeding up pipeline and reducing CAC
• How community can elevate marketing leadership—not just audience engagement
• What early-stage companies must get right in their GTM motion
• How marketing leaders can vet roles and align with CEOs from day one

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/66315895Thu, 05 Jun 2025 09:00:15 +0000Column FiveMany go-to-market strategies sound good on paper but fall apart in practice. The issue isn’t the lack of talent, but rather the misalignment, timing, or wrong assumptions they’re founded on. In this episode,...
In this episode, Brandon Redlinger, fractional marketing leader and co-founder of The Forge community, shares what he's learned from years in the trenches of B2B marketing, from building ABM categories to launching his own curated community for marketing leaders. He talks about why brand matters more than ever, what makes community-building actually work, and how to avoid the common pitfalls that derail go-to-market efforts.

We also explore:

• Why category creation starts with clarity, not buzzwords
• The value of brand in speeding up pipeline and reducing CAC
• How community can elevate marketing leadership—not just audience engagement
• What early-stage companies must get right in their GTM motion
• How marketing leaders can vet roles and align with CEOs from day one

]]>2347false79fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/what-smart-brands-do-differently-with-harrison-iuliano-moving-you-to-bcc--66315794
In this episode, Harrison Iuliano, cofounder of Moving You to BCC, breaks down why the classic agency-client model is officially dead and what smart brands are doing to replace it. He shares how high-performing brands are creating modern marketing machines by blending fractional talent, curated creative partnerships, and brand-first thinking. 

We dive into:

• Why brand, not performance, is your most defensible asset
• How to structure your team for speed, quality, and creative output
• What most companies get wrong about agency selection
• Why great products don’t save bad brands—and vice versa

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/66315794Thu, 29 May 2025 09:00:15 +0000Column FiveThe old agency model is broken, and smart brands aren’t waiting around to fix it. Instead, they’re building lean, strategic ecosystems where storytelling, rather than scale, is the engine that propels growth. In this episode,...
In this episode, Harrison Iuliano, cofounder of Moving You to BCC, breaks down why the classic agency-client model is officially dead and what smart brands are doing to replace it. He shares how high-performing brands are creating modern marketing machines by blending fractional talent, curated creative partnerships, and brand-first thinking. 

We dive into:

• Why brand, not performance, is your most defensible asset
• How to structure your team for speed, quality, and creative output
• What most companies get wrong about agency selection
• Why great products don’t save bad brands—and vice versa

]]>2239false78fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-build-micro-communities-that-last-with-allison-stadd-of-shipt--66088159
In this episode, Allison Stadd of Shipt lays out why brands that lead with care, and not only convenience, are the ones winning now and leading the human-centric revolution in marketing. She breaks down how human connection is becoming the real growth engine, how collapsing old brand and performance silos is unlocking smarter strategies, and why micro-communities are the future of loyalty.

We also discuss:

• Why cultural activation is the new brand foundation.
• How customer anecdotes can turn into an untapped growth channel.
• Why every brand needs a drummer mindset to lead from the back and still own the stage.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/66088159Thu, 22 May 2025 09:00:12 +0000Column FiveThe brands that move first on human connection build an edge no algorithm can touch. The question is: Will you move fast enough to matter? In this episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonstadd/ of...
In this episode, Allison Stadd of Shipt lays out why brands that lead with care, and not only convenience, are the ones winning now and leading the human-centric revolution in marketing. She breaks down how human connection is becoming the real growth engine, how collapsing old brand and performance silos is unlocking smarter strategies, and why micro-communities are the future of loyalty.

We also discuss:

• Why cultural activation is the new brand foundation.
• How customer anecdotes can turn into an untapped growth channel.
• Why every brand needs a drummer mindset to lead from the back and still own the stage.

]]>2062false77fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/b2b-is-broken-here-s-how-to-fix-it-with-victoria-gamlen-cmo-of-boundary-analytics--66088106
In this episode, Victoria Gamlen, CMO of Boundary Analytics, unpacks the disconnect between brand investment and how we measure success. She explains why traditional attribution models fall short in B2B, how correlation and time lag analysis offer a clearer view of pipeline impact, and what marketing leaders need to rethink to align with how buyers make decisions today.

We also discuss:

• Why “brand vs. demand” is a false choice—and what to focus on instead
• How to use high-intent inbound as a bridge between brand activity and business outcomes
• What’s behind the recent shift in how leading companies approach brand marketing
• How to advocate for brand investment with data that resonates with the C-suite
• The biggest gaps in B2B marketing measurement—and how to fix them

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/66088106Thu, 15 May 2025 09:00:14 +0000Column FiveMost B2B marketers are stuck proving short-term wins. Not because it drives the best results, but because it’s the only story the numbers can tell. Could this be why long-term growth, brand equity, and strategic influence keep slipping through the...
In this episode, Victoria Gamlen, CMO of Boundary Analytics, unpacks the disconnect between brand investment and how we measure success. She explains why traditional attribution models fall short in B2B, how correlation and time lag analysis offer a clearer view of pipeline impact, and what marketing leaders need to rethink to align with how buyers make decisions today.

We also discuss:

• Why “brand vs. demand” is a false choice—and what to focus on instead
• How to use high-intent inbound as a bridge between brand activity and business outcomes
• What’s behind the recent shift in how leading companies approach brand marketing
• How to advocate for brand investment with data that resonates with the C-suite
• The biggest gaps in B2B marketing measurement—and how to fix them

]]>2400false76fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-cmo-comeback-story-with-michael-duda-of-bullish--65975206
In this episode of Best Story Wins, Michael Duda—partner at Bullish and former agency leader—shares how he’s blending creative and financial capital to back high-growth brands like Peloton, Warby Parker, and Harry’s. He explains why marketing should be treated as an investment, not a cost, and how content, brand, and business strategy can come together to build lasting value.

We also dive into:

• Why marketing lost power—and how to get it back.
• The ROI of early-stage storytelling and customer obsession.
• How B2B brands can move beyond sales-driven messaging.
• Why “safe” content often leads to invisible brands.
• Full-funnel strategies that withstand tough market conditions.
  
  

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/65975206Thu, 08 May 2025 09:00:12 +0000Column FiveMarketing leaders are under more pressure than ever, and many are stuck playing defense. With budgets tightening and short-term wins taking priority, how can CMOs reclaim their seat at the table and drive real business impact? In this episode of Best...
In this episode of Best Story Wins, Michael Duda—partner at Bullish and former agency leader—shares how he’s blending creative and financial capital to back high-growth brands like Peloton, Warby Parker, and Harry’s. He explains why marketing should be treated as an investment, not a cost, and how content, brand, and business strategy can come together to build lasting value.

We also dive into:

• Why marketing lost power—and how to get it back.
• The ROI of early-stage storytelling and customer obsession.
• How B2B brands can move beyond sales-driven messaging.
• Why “safe” content often leads to invisible brands.
• Full-funnel strategies that withstand tough market conditions.
  
  

]]>2514false75fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-infotrust-builds-brands-people-actually-believe-in-with-chase-howell-of-infotrust--65812454
In this episode, Chase Howell, VP of Marketing at InfoTrust, shares the formula of B2B marketing that builds trust, converts, and scales without losing its human touch. From launching bestselling books to ditching digital-only in favor of in-person events, Chase shares what it takes to make your brand unforgettable in a landscape obsessed with efficiency and drowning in AI-generated content.

We also discuss:

• Why most "free reports" get ghosted (and what to do instead).
• How to turn your internal experts into legit thought leaders.
• Why authenticity will be the new conversion rate in the AI era.
• How philanthropy and brand are merging into one powerful differentiator.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/65812454Thu, 01 May 2025 09:00:20 +0000Column FiveMarketers are pumping out more content than ever, yet consumers somehow trust it less than their own data. Impressions are meaningless if you’re not driving impact.  In this episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/chase-howell/, VP of Marketing at...
In this episode, Chase Howell, VP of Marketing at InfoTrust, shares the formula of B2B marketing that builds trust, converts, and scales without losing its human touch. From launching bestselling books to ditching digital-only in favor of in-person events, Chase shares what it takes to make your brand unforgettable in a landscape obsessed with efficiency and drowning in AI-generated content.

We also discuss:

• Why most "free reports" get ghosted (and what to do instead).
• How to turn your internal experts into legit thought leaders.
• Why authenticity will be the new conversion rate in the AI era.
• How philanthropy and brand are merging into one powerful differentiator.

]]>2241false74fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/startup-storytelling-in-the-ai-age-with-ben-parr-of-octane-ai--65664679
In this episode, we are joined by Ben Parr, co-founder of Octane AI and Theory Forge Ventures to talk about what separates good companies from great ones: story and speed. Drawing from past experiences building AI products (before LLMs existed), Ben shares insights on how startup founders should think about brand, content, competition, fundraising, and the marketing industry post-ChatGPT. 

We also dive into:

• How AI is transforming marketing (and which jobs are disappearing first).
• The difference between pitching VCs vs. customers.
• How Octane AI built a loyal customer community.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/65664679Thu, 24 Apr 2025 09:00:13 +0000Column FiveToday, anyone can build an AI product on a weekend. To stand out in the market, you must rely on your story.  In this episode, we are joined by https://www.linkedin.com/in/benparr/, co-founder of https://www.octaneai.com/ and Theory Forge Ventures to...
In this episode, we are joined by Ben Parr, co-founder of Octane AI and Theory Forge Ventures to talk about what separates good companies from great ones: story and speed. Drawing from past experiences building AI products (before LLMs existed), Ben shares insights on how startup founders should think about brand, content, competition, fundraising, and the marketing industry post-ChatGPT. 

We also dive into:

• How AI is transforming marketing (and which jobs are disappearing first).
• The difference between pitching VCs vs. customers.
• How Octane AI built a loyal customer community.

]]>3183false73fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/why-ai-can-t-replace-intuition-with-hiten-shah-of-dropbox--65598906
Hiten Shah, serial entrepreneur, investor, and now working on AI at Dropbox, joins Josh and Jason to discuss how smart marketers and builders are using AI as a thought partner rather than a content machine. Hiten also drops hard-earned wisdom on what marketing still gets wrong, why engineers still (and will likely always) lead the startup ecosystem , and the explanation of why “the best story wins” is more than just a nice phrase.

We discuss:

• Why getting the best from AI starts with better prompting and pre-prompting conversations. 
• Why the road to content quality often starts with content quantity. 
• Augmenting vs replacing human task management with AI.
• The biggest myths about AI-generated content, and why it’s dangerous for your brand.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/65598906Thu, 17 Apr 2025 09:00:12 +0000Column FiveToday, thinking about AI completely replacing humans is impossible. Why? Because it means replacing creativity, context, and more importantly, intuition.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/hnshah/, serial entrepreneur, investor, and now working on AI at...
Hiten Shah, serial entrepreneur, investor, and now working on AI at Dropbox, joins Josh and Jason to discuss how smart marketers and builders are using AI as a thought partner rather than a content machine. Hiten also drops hard-earned wisdom on what marketing still gets wrong, why engineers still (and will likely always) lead the startup ecosystem , and the explanation of why “the best story wins” is more than just a nice phrase.

We discuss:

• Why getting the best from AI starts with better prompting and pre-prompting conversations. 
• Why the road to content quality often starts with content quantity. 
• Augmenting vs replacing human task management with AI.
• The biggest myths about AI-generated content, and why it’s dangerous for your brand.

]]>3406false72fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/why-you-shouldn-t-publish-without-a-so-what-with-drew-evans-of-notion--65444414
Drew Evans, who leads B2B content strategy at Notion, joins the show to talk about why storytelling—not templates, tools, or tired SEO tactics— moves the needle in B2B marketing.

Drew makes a strong case for substance over spam by emphasizing the importance of a great writing comeback. He gets candid about what’s broken in B2B and what marketers need to prioritize instead.

We also explore:

• Why traditional blog content is dying and what’s replacing it.
• The role of community in shaping a brand’s content strategy.
• How to turn customer stories into compelling narratives (without sounding like a sales pitch).
• The untapped power of Notion as a storytelling tool.
• Why storytelling is making a comeback in B2B marketing—and why it’s the best way to stand out in an AI-driven world.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/65444414Thu, 10 Apr 2025 09:00:13 +0000Column FiveIf your content doesn’t have a ‘so what,’ you shouldn’t bother hitting publish.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/drevans18/, who leads B2B content strategy at https://www.notion.com/, joins the show to talk about why storytelling—not templates, tools, or...
Drew Evans, who leads B2B content strategy at Notion, joins the show to talk about why storytelling—not templates, tools, or tired SEO tactics— moves the needle in B2B marketing.

Drew makes a strong case for substance over spam by emphasizing the importance of a great writing comeback. He gets candid about what’s broken in B2B and what marketers need to prioritize instead.

We also explore:

• Why traditional blog content is dying and what’s replacing it.
• The role of community in shaping a brand’s content strategy.
• How to turn customer stories into compelling narratives (without sounding like a sales pitch).
• The untapped power of Notion as a storytelling tool.
• Why storytelling is making a comeback in B2B marketing—and why it’s the best way to stand out in an AI-driven world.

]]>2771false71fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/brand-boldness-and-the-bottom-line-with-gabe-larsen-of-kustomer--65321464
In this episode, we sit down with Gabe Larsen, CMO of Kustomer, to tear into what most B2B marketers are getting wrong, and why brand isn’t a “nice to have,” function but rather the differentiator. Gabe drops the kind of no-fluff, first-principles manifesto that B2B leaders need to hear right now: customer service starts at hello, not help.

We break down:

• Why “AI-powered” means nothing if your messaging isn't good enough.
• How to build a prolific, persistent drumbeat that earns attention.
• Why LinkedIn is the new B2B battleground (and most marketers are whispering).
• How digital workers, partnerships, and sharp storytelling are redefining GTM in real-time.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/65321464Thu, 03 Apr 2025 09:00:12 +0000Column FiveIf your brand only shows up when a customer has a problem, you’ve already lost the game. In this episode, we sit down with https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabelarsen/, CMO of https://www.kustomer.com/, to tear into what most B2B marketers are getting...
In this episode, we sit down with Gabe Larsen, CMO of Kustomer, to tear into what most B2B marketers are getting wrong, and why brand isn’t a “nice to have,” function but rather the differentiator. Gabe drops the kind of no-fluff, first-principles manifesto that B2B leaders need to hear right now: customer service starts at hello, not help.

We break down:

• Why “AI-powered” means nothing if your messaging isn't good enough.
• How to build a prolific, persistent drumbeat that earns attention.
• Why LinkedIn is the new B2B battleground (and most marketers are whispering).
• How digital workers, partnerships, and sharp storytelling are redefining GTM in real-time.

]]>2544false70fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-power-of-scrappy-creativity-with-megan-brunner-of-adobe--65139361
In this episode, Megan Brunner, B2B Content Strategist at Adobe, reveals how brands can level up their storytelling, infuse genuine creativity into their content, and move beyond traditional corporate imagery by applying the best from B2C content strategies. Megan's unique career path from action sports to working at some of the leading tech companies highlights why a willingness to be hands-on and scrappy combined with working a strategy is often the key to marketing success.

You'll learn:

• How Adobe is setting a new standard for engaging B2B content. 
• Why a lean, creative team can often outperform bigger, better-funded competitors.
• Practical ways AI is quietly transforming B2B marketing.
• And much more.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/65139361Thu, 27 Mar 2025 09:00:11 +0000Column FiveB2B marketing doesn't need to be predictable or stale. As people’s attention span is shrinking, shouldn’t B2B content be as vibrant and creative as consumer-focused storytelling? In this episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganbrunner/, B2B Content...
In this episode, Megan Brunner, B2B Content Strategist at Adobe, reveals how brands can level up their storytelling, infuse genuine creativity into their content, and move beyond traditional corporate imagery by applying the best from B2C content strategies. Megan's unique career path from action sports to working at some of the leading tech companies highlights why a willingness to be hands-on and scrappy combined with working a strategy is often the key to marketing success.

You'll learn:

• How Adobe is setting a new standard for engaging B2B content. 
• Why a lean, creative team can often outperform bigger, better-funded competitors.
• Practical ways AI is quietly transforming B2B marketing.
• And much more.

]]>2158false69fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-future-of-b2b-content-is-video-first-with-laura-wilkinson-of-vidyard--64980347With this in mind, marketers need to let go of outdated content tactics to embrace the future of B2B content, and some of the best ways to do this is through the smart use of video and leveraging original insights.

In our latest episode of Best Story Wins, we sat down with Laura Wilkinson, Director of Brand Marketing at Vidyard, to talk about how video is the not-so-secret weapon for cutting through the noise, and what it means to optimize for content quality over quantity. Laura shares why her team has moved away from the traditional blog, the power of AI avatars in sales, and how great storytelling is the key to building better customer relationships.

We also discuss:

• Why video-first brands are leaving traditional content in the dust.
• The marketing myths that need to die immediately.
• How to make your brand unforgettable (without annoying your audience).
• And much, much more. 

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/64980347Thu, 20 Mar 2025 06:00:08 +0000Column FiveIn today’s world, attention spans are shorter than ever.  With this in mind, marketers need to let go of outdated content tactics to embrace the future of B2B content, and some of the best ways to do this is through the smart use of video and...With this in mind, marketers need to let go of outdated content tactics to embrace the future of B2B content, and some of the best ways to do this is through the smart use of video and leveraging original insights.

In our latest episode of Best Story Wins, we sat down with Laura Wilkinson, Director of Brand Marketing at Vidyard, to talk about how video is the not-so-secret weapon for cutting through the noise, and what it means to optimize for content quality over quantity. Laura shares why her team has moved away from the traditional blog, the power of AI avatars in sales, and how great storytelling is the key to building better customer relationships.

We also discuss:

• Why video-first brands are leaving traditional content in the dust.
• The marketing myths that need to die immediately.
• How to make your brand unforgettable (without annoying your audience).
• And much, much more. 

]]>2403false68fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/why-brand-awareness-is-the-new-revenue-driver-with-jenny-thai-of-vanta--64843026
In this episode, we sit down with Jenny Thai, Head of Content at Vanta, to dig into how to build a winning brand through content. Drawing from her experience in crafting compelling brand narratives, leading content teams, and leveraging expert-driven content, Jenny unpacks how to create content that captures attention, resonates with people, and drives demand. 

We’re diving deep into:

• What it takes to evolve a content strategy to move up-market.
• Why brand awareness drives revenue.
• What’s legit in AI-generated content, what’s overblown, and how to use it without losing your brand’s soul.
• The rising power of expert-led content—and why if you’re not embracing it, you’re already behind.
• And much more. 

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/64843026Thu, 13 Mar 2025 06:00:07 +0000Column FiveMost B2B content today feels generic: AI-generated fluff, generic SEO blog posts, and bland corporate jargon no one reads. Meanwhile, the brands that stand out—the ones people want to engage with—are playing a different game. So what’s their secret?...
In this episode, we sit down with Jenny Thai, Head of Content at Vanta, to dig into how to build a winning brand through content. Drawing from her experience in crafting compelling brand narratives, leading content teams, and leveraging expert-driven content, Jenny unpacks how to create content that captures attention, resonates with people, and drives demand. 

We’re diving deep into:

• What it takes to evolve a content strategy to move up-market.
• Why brand awareness drives revenue.
• What’s legit in AI-generated content, what’s overblown, and how to use it without losing your brand’s soul.
• The rising power of expert-led content—and why if you’re not embracing it, you’re already behind.
• And much more. 

]]>2067false67fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-ai-is-redefining-b2b-marketing-forever-with-stewart-hillhouse-of-storyarb--64717006
In this episode, we sit down with Stewart Hillhouse, VP of Content at storyarb, to explore the evolving B2B marketing flywheel—where AI, creativity, and strategy must work together to keep brands growing. Stewart explains why the old approach to content marketing is dying and how today’s marketers need to think and work differently in this new AI-powered future.

We also discuss:

• The three high-value roles marketers should be focusing on in 2025.
• How to build AI-driven workflows without losing the human touch.
• Why brand trust beats attribution—and what that means for demand gen.
• The death of massive marketing teams and how to future-proof your career.
• And much more.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/64717006Thu, 06 Mar 2025 09:00:08 +0000Column FiveThe marketers who know how to wield AI as a force multiplier are already outpacing everyone else. Are you evolving fast enough to stay relevant? In this episode, we sit down with Stewart Hillhouse, VP of Content at storyarb, to explore the evolving...
In this episode, we sit down with Stewart Hillhouse, VP of Content at storyarb, to explore the evolving B2B marketing flywheel—where AI, creativity, and strategy must work together to keep brands growing. Stewart explains why the old approach to content marketing is dying and how today’s marketers need to think and work differently in this new AI-powered future.

We also discuss:

• The three high-value roles marketers should be focusing on in 2025.
• How to build AI-driven workflows without losing the human touch.
• Why brand trust beats attribution—and what that means for demand gen.
• The death of massive marketing teams and how to future-proof your career.
• And much more.

]]>2903false66fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-build-brands-that-actually-stand-out-with-ross-crooks-of-column-five--64590252
AI has made it easier for everyone to produce high-quality content, yet most brands get stuck in a cycle where they're creating good enough content but fail to stand out. What does it actually take to break through?

In this episode, we interviewed Ross Crooks of Column Five to explain why the past decade's content playbook is dead.

Ross shares why brands that aren't differentiated waste their time and resources, and why you should stop churning out content for content's sake and start creating with intent. 

We also explore:

• The biggest mistake brands make when trying to stand out (and how to fix it).
• How to inject real emotion in B2B content.
• The importance of using AI as a tool for leverage, not a crutch.
• How thoughtless scaling leads to generic, ineffective content.
• And much more. 

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/64590252Thu, 27 Feb 2025 06:00:07 +0000Column FiveEvery brand creates content, but only a few stand out.  AI has made it easier for everyone to produce high-quality content, yet most brands get stuck in a cycle where they're creating good enough content but fail to stand out. What does it actually...
AI has made it easier for everyone to produce high-quality content, yet most brands get stuck in a cycle where they're creating good enough content but fail to stand out. What does it actually take to break through?

In this episode, we interviewed Ross Crooks of Column Five to explain why the past decade's content playbook is dead.

Ross shares why brands that aren't differentiated waste their time and resources, and why you should stop churning out content for content's sake and start creating with intent. 

We also explore:

• The biggest mistake brands make when trying to stand out (and how to fix it).
• How to inject real emotion in B2B content.
• The importance of using AI as a tool for leverage, not a crutch.
• How thoughtless scaling leads to generic, ineffective content.
• And much more. 

]]>2542false65fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-mews-builds-emotion-into-every-brand-move-with-michael-fitzsimmons-of-mews--64453191
In this episode, we sat down with Michael Fitzsimmons, VP of Growth at Mews, who shared how forward-thinking brands reject generic tactics and double down on storytelling, bold positioning, and strategic risk-taking – all with a mind to never rest on one's laurels, but rather to keep setting the bar higher and higher when it comes to quality, connection, and well, growth. He shares how AI fits into the creative process without killing originality, why content needs more taste, and how modern brands must prioritize community-building to stay relevant.

We also discuss:

• Why most B2B brands fail at differentiation—and how to fix it.
• The importance of owning a category instead of competing in one.
• Why taste and human creativity are still some of marketing’s biggest competitive advantages.
• Where AI shouldn’t be used in content marketing
• And much more. 

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/64453191Thu, 20 Feb 2025 05:00:08 +0000Column FiveIt can be easy to lose sight of the need for deep emotional connections in a world where everyone seems obsessed with AI, automation, and bottom-funnel conversions. But being able to connect authentically with your customers is the lifeline of every...
In this episode, we sat down with Michael Fitzsimmons, VP of Growth at Mews, who shared how forward-thinking brands reject generic tactics and double down on storytelling, bold positioning, and strategic risk-taking – all with a mind to never rest on one's laurels, but rather to keep setting the bar higher and higher when it comes to quality, connection, and well, growth. He shares how AI fits into the creative process without killing originality, why content needs more taste, and how modern brands must prioritize community-building to stay relevant.

We also discuss:

• Why most B2B brands fail at differentiation—and how to fix it.
• The importance of owning a category instead of competing in one.
• Why taste and human creativity are still some of marketing’s biggest competitive advantages.
• Where AI shouldn’t be used in content marketing
• And much more. 

]]>2117false64fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-secret-to-un-ghosting-prospects-with-matt-hogan-of-hg-insights--64322719
In this episode, Matt Hogan, VP of Marketing at HG Insights, reveals why B2B buying behavior has radically changed, and how most companies struggle to keep up. He breaks down the rise of shadow buying, the increasing role of CFOs and CIOs in decision-making, and why your brand is being judged before you ever get on a call. 

We also discuss: 

• Why poor positioning is sabotaging your marketing efforts before they even begin.
• The new golden age of cold calling.
• Why generative AI is changing the content game—but most brands are using it wrong.
• How to leverage data to create magnetic, high-impact marketing.
• And much more.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/64322719Thu, 13 Feb 2025 05:00:07 +0000Column FiveThe biggest challenge in B2B marketing isn’t so much generating demand, but it’s keeping folks from ghosting you, even long before they enter your pipeline. In this episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthoganusc10/, VP of Marketing at...
In this episode, Matt Hogan, VP of Marketing at HG Insights, reveals why B2B buying behavior has radically changed, and how most companies struggle to keep up. He breaks down the rise of shadow buying, the increasing role of CFOs and CIOs in decision-making, and why your brand is being judged before you ever get on a call. 

We also discuss: 

• Why poor positioning is sabotaging your marketing efforts before they even begin.
• The new golden age of cold calling.
• Why generative AI is changing the content game—but most brands are using it wrong.
• How to leverage data to create magnetic, high-impact marketing.
• And much more.

]]>2802false63fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-stand-out-from-the-85-with-egan-montgomery-of-backstroke--64190147
The winning companies focus on staying in the 15% that represents an opportunity to truly differentiate, which is also what the company’s goals should be tied to.

In this episode, Egan Montgomery, Co-founder and VP of Marketing at Backstroke, reveals how his generative AI-powered platform is changing how email marketing works, boosting performance by 30% compared to human-written emails. Egan also shares why “doing things that don’t scale” is the future of marketing, and how tailored in-person experiences are becoming the best way to build trust with clients. 

We also dive into:

• Why the old B2B marketing models are crumbling and what’s replacing them.
• How personal branding is no longer optional for founders and executives.
• Why generative AI’s second wave will change how we work, sell, and connect.
• Building trust in a world saturated with noise and gimmicks.
• And much more. 

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/64190147Thu, 06 Feb 2025 05:00:07 +0000Column FiveAbout 85% of competing software companies are pretty much the same. The winning companies focus on staying in the 15% that represents an opportunity to truly differentiate, which is also what the company’s goals should be tied to. In this episode,...
The winning companies focus on staying in the 15% that represents an opportunity to truly differentiate, which is also what the company’s goals should be tied to.

In this episode, Egan Montgomery, Co-founder and VP of Marketing at Backstroke, reveals how his generative AI-powered platform is changing how email marketing works, boosting performance by 30% compared to human-written emails. Egan also shares why “doing things that don’t scale” is the future of marketing, and how tailored in-person experiences are becoming the best way to build trust with clients. 

We also dive into:

• Why the old B2B marketing models are crumbling and what’s replacing them.
• How personal branding is no longer optional for founders and executives.
• Why generative AI’s second wave will change how we work, sell, and connect.
• Building trust in a world saturated with noise and gimmicks.
• And much more. 

]]>2094false62fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-build-a-billion-dollar-brand-through-story-with-obaid-durrani-of-clay--64000417
In this episode, Obaid Durrani, of Clay, shares his vision for what this means and gives examples of how he's pushing boundaries and reimagining what b2b content can and should be, which is helping to drive Clay's rapid growth and recent ascension to unicorn status. 

We also explore:

• How to turn dry product features into captivating narratives.
• The formula behind Clay's viral Matrix-inspired campaign.
• What most brand leaders are still getting wrong about influencer marketing.
• Why building "conceptual content" is the future of B2B marketing.
• And much more. 

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/64000417Thu, 30 Jan 2025 05:00:08 +0000Column FiveYour biggest competitive advantage in B2B isn't your product; it's the story that people tell themselves about your company. Today's winning brands shape the story by balancing giving people the content they want while never resting on their laurels. ...
In this episode, Obaid Durrani, of Clay, shares his vision for what this means and gives examples of how he's pushing boundaries and reimagining what b2b content can and should be, which is helping to drive Clay's rapid growth and recent ascension to unicorn status. 

We also explore:

• How to turn dry product features into captivating narratives.
• The formula behind Clay's viral Matrix-inspired campaign.
• What most brand leaders are still getting wrong about influencer marketing.
• Why building "conceptual content" is the future of B2B marketing.
• And much more. 

]]>2914false61fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-cut-through-digital-noise-with-andrew-gori-of-autodesk--63782182
In this episode, Andrew Gori takes us behind the scenes of Autodesk’s human-centric content strategy, showing how his team connects with audiences in the construction industry. From his journey as an aspiring journalist to leading bold content strategies at Autodesk, Andrew shares how creativity and strategy come together to rise above the digital noise.

We also discuss: 

• AI's impact on content discoverability, the challenges of AI-driven search results, and ongoing strategy experiments.
• Adapting marketing strategies to become a top content destination and build a loyal audience of "1000 true fans."
• Autodesk's upcoming global research project revealing groundbreaking insights into the construction industry.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/63782182Thu, 23 Jan 2025 05:00:07 +0000Column FiveIt’s smart, it’s fun, and it might just change how you think about content. In today’s noisy digital world, Autodesk knows how to stand out: by telling stories that truly matter. In this episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/agori/ takes us behind the...
In this episode, Andrew Gori takes us behind the scenes of Autodesk’s human-centric content strategy, showing how his team connects with audiences in the construction industry. From his journey as an aspiring journalist to leading bold content strategies at Autodesk, Andrew shares how creativity and strategy come together to rise above the digital noise.

We also discuss: 

• AI's impact on content discoverability, the challenges of AI-driven search results, and ongoing strategy experiments.
• Adapting marketing strategies to become a top content destination and build a loyal audience of "1000 true fans."
• Autodesk's upcoming global research project revealing groundbreaking insights into the construction industry.

]]>2268false60fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-power-of-creative-restraint-with-nate-skinner-of-squarespace--63693587
In this episode, Nate Skinner, Head of Brand Creative Strategy at Squarespace, shares his insights on breaking free from the "always-on" trap. He explores how Squarespace integrates bold creativity with meaningful storytelling, why personal branding is changing the B2B industry, and how AI and curated design are paving the way for successful marketing. 

We also explore:

• The shift from quantity to quality in brand storytelling.
• Why Super Bowl ads are still the ultimate creative risk—and reward.
• How Squarespace is redefining social media strategy with creativity and focus.
• The role of AI in crafting high-impact campaigns.
• How personal branding intersects with corporate identity to drive trust.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/63693587Thu, 16 Jan 2025 05:00:07 +0000Column FiveThe more you post, the less your audience cares. With brands trapped in an endless cycle of content production, is the key to standing out doing less? In this episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanskinner/, Head of Brand Creative Strategy at...
In this episode, Nate Skinner, Head of Brand Creative Strategy at Squarespace, shares his insights on breaking free from the "always-on" trap. He explores how Squarespace integrates bold creativity with meaningful storytelling, why personal branding is changing the B2B industry, and how AI and curated design are paving the way for successful marketing. 

We also explore:

• The shift from quantity to quality in brand storytelling.
• Why Super Bowl ads are still the ultimate creative risk—and reward.
• How Squarespace is redefining social media strategy with creativity and focus.
• The role of AI in crafting high-impact campaigns.
• How personal branding intersects with corporate identity to drive trust.

]]>2318false59fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-future-of-b2b-is-bold-not-boring-with-kyle-lacy-of-jellyfish--63590249
In this episode, we are joined by Kyle Lacy, CMO of Jellyfish, as he shares actionable insights on how to pair creativity with strategic alignment to drive both brand resonance and measurable success. Kyle also explores the pitfalls of ROI-driven brainstorming and why bold bets like “Cards Against Engineering” create lasting impressions. Kyle also discusses the evolving role of B2B marketers, revealing how storytelling, good taste, and daring choices are critical to standing out in a crowded market.

We also discuss:
- Why creativity without risk is just noise—and how to take meaningful risks.
- How to balance demand generation with brand-building initiatives.
- Why traditional metrics need to be rethought to reduce stifled innovation.
- The role of storytelling in winning hearts, minds, and market share.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/63590249Thu, 09 Jan 2025 05:00:07 +0000Column FiveThe biggest mistake B2B marketers make today is prioritizing metrics over creativity. Brands that play it safe and shy away from bold risks are destined to fade into the background.  In this episode, we are joined by...
In this episode, we are joined by Kyle Lacy, CMO of Jellyfish, as he shares actionable insights on how to pair creativity with strategic alignment to drive both brand resonance and measurable success. Kyle also explores the pitfalls of ROI-driven brainstorming and why bold bets like “Cards Against Engineering” create lasting impressions. Kyle also discusses the evolving role of B2B marketers, revealing how storytelling, good taste, and daring choices are critical to standing out in a crowded market.

We also discuss:
- Why creativity without risk is just noise—and how to take meaningful risks.
- How to balance demand generation with brand-building initiatives.
- Why traditional metrics need to be rethought to reduce stifled innovation.
- The role of storytelling in winning hearts, minds, and market share.]]>2389false58fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/what-it-takes-to-lead-through-change-with-john-onoda-of-iq-360--63534119
In today’s episode of Best Story Wins, we’re going global—literally. Our guest, John Onoda of IQ 360, shares how the strongest brands aren’t just built in boardrooms but forged in the heat of crises and opportunities. With a career spanning iconic companies like Levi Strauss and General Motors, John taps into why communication, adaptability, and brand experience are more critical than ever in businesses.

We also explore IQ 360’s impactful work, from guiding Hawaii through the pandemic to supporting organizations in the aftermath of the Maui fires. Plus, John unpacks how today’s leaders can stay ahead by embracing influencer-driven narratives, workforce challenges, and the AI revolution.

Join us as we discuss:

• How to harness the power of influencers to amplify your brand’s story.
• Keeping your workforce inspired and aligned during turbulent times.
• Why AI and predictive analytics are the ultimate tools for staying ahead.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/63534119Thu, 02 Jan 2025 05:00:08 +0000Column FiveWhen the stakes are high, will your brand rise to the challenge—or collapse under the weight of public scrutiny? In today’s episode of Best Story Wins, we’re going global—literally. Our guest, https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-onoda-b79551/of...
In today’s episode of Best Story Wins, we’re going global—literally. Our guest, John Onoda of IQ 360, shares how the strongest brands aren’t just built in boardrooms but forged in the heat of crises and opportunities. With a career spanning iconic companies like Levi Strauss and General Motors, John taps into why communication, adaptability, and brand experience are more critical than ever in businesses.

We also explore IQ 360’s impactful work, from guiding Hawaii through the pandemic to supporting organizations in the aftermath of the Maui fires. Plus, John unpacks how today’s leaders can stay ahead by embracing influencer-driven narratives, workforce challenges, and the AI revolution.

Join us as we discuss:

• How to harness the power of influencers to amplify your brand’s story.
• Keeping your workforce inspired and aligned during turbulent times.
• Why AI and predictive analytics are the ultimate tools for staying ahead.

]]>2302false57fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-art-of-balancing-creativity-and-strategy-with-drue-stinnett-of-hubspot--63354451 Drue Stinnett, Senior Content Strategist at HubSpot! Drue walks us through her journey, from navigating the post-college job market to landing her dream role at HubSpot during some challenging times. She shares her approach to content strategy, the unique hurdles of B2B marketing, and how she strikes the perfect balance between quality and quantity in content creation.

We’ll also explore how Drue and her team are using data to take creative risks and launch innovative projects, all while proving that small, agile teams can make a huge impact in marketing.

Join us as we discuss:

• HubSpot’s ability to use data to drive content decisions, balancing quality and quantity.
• The guidance HubSpot offers to help users effectively implement technologies like AI.
• How small, resourceful marketing teams can achieve big impact with innovative strategies.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/63354451Thu, 19 Dec 2024 05:00:07 +0000Column FiveGreat content doesn’t just inform—it inspires, builds, and connects with an audience on a deeper level. In today’s episode, we’re excited to chat withhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/druestin/, Senior Content Strategist at https://www.hubspot.com/! Drue... Drue Stinnett, Senior Content Strategist at HubSpot! Drue walks us through her journey, from navigating the post-college job market to landing her dream role at HubSpot during some challenging times. She shares her approach to content strategy, the unique hurdles of B2B marketing, and how she strikes the perfect balance between quality and quantity in content creation.

We’ll also explore how Drue and her team are using data to take creative risks and launch innovative projects, all while proving that small, agile teams can make a huge impact in marketing.

Join us as we discuss:

• HubSpot’s ability to use data to drive content decisions, balancing quality and quantity.
• The guidance HubSpot offers to help users effectively implement technologies like AI.
• How small, resourceful marketing teams can achieve big impact with innovative strategies.

]]>1435false56fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/doing-less-but-better-with-lindsey-slaby-of-sunday-dinner--63240008
In this episode, Lindsey Slaby, Founder of Sunday Dinner, shares her bold vision for modern marketing. She dives into the value of building curated communities, like her exclusive 400-member Slack group that sparks collaboration and innovation among top-tier marketers and creatives. Lindsay also explores the strategies for integrating brand and performance efforts, leveraging AI for smarter content creation, and focusing on high-impact initiatives to help organizations achieve more by focusing on less.

We also explore:

• How annual planning can become your business’s ultimate power move.
• Breaking down the myth of "brand vs. performance" for seamless storytelling.
• Unlocking high-value opportunities with low and mid-funnel content optimization.
• Why taste is the modern marketer’s secret weapon.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/63240008Thu, 12 Dec 2024 05:00:07 +0000Column FiveWhen everything feels urgent, it’s easy to lose focus. With leaner teams, tighter budgets, and increasing pressure to prove value, many organizations are stuck in a cycle of doing more but achieving less. Could the solution lie in doing less, but...
In this episode, Lindsey Slaby, Founder of Sunday Dinner, shares her bold vision for modern marketing. She dives into the value of building curated communities, like her exclusive 400-member Slack group that sparks collaboration and innovation among top-tier marketers and creatives. Lindsay also explores the strategies for integrating brand and performance efforts, leveraging AI for smarter content creation, and focusing on high-impact initiatives to help organizations achieve more by focusing on less.

We also explore:

• How annual planning can become your business’s ultimate power move.
• Breaking down the myth of "brand vs. performance" for seamless storytelling.
• Unlocking high-value opportunities with low and mid-funnel content optimization.
• Why taste is the modern marketer’s secret weapon.

]]>2553false55fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/why-you-should-be-the-future-version-of-your-client-with-adam-robinson-of-rb2b--63142970Adam Robinson, CEO and Founder of RB2B, dives into why personal branding has become a crucial growth lever in B2B. With over 100K LinkedIn followers built around his edutainment approach, Adam shares the strategies and insights that helped him craft a compelling personal brand and grow his businesses.

We also discuss:

• Why the future of B2B marketing is personal, humanized, and authentic.
• How moving from full-time content creation can drastically impact your brand.
• The importance of being the “future version” of your ideal client to create content that drives business.
• Practical tactics for crafting engaging hooks and polarizing content that will boost your brand’s visibility and growth.
• And much more.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/63142970Thu, 05 Dec 2024 05:00:08 +0000Column FiveYour next big marketing move isn’t buried in your paid ads or latest campaign—it’s staring you down in the mirror.In this episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/retentionadam/, CEO and Founder of https://www.rb2b.com/ dives into why personal branding...Adam Robinson, CEO and Founder of RB2B, dives into why personal branding has become a crucial growth lever in B2B. With over 100K LinkedIn followers built around his edutainment approach, Adam shares the strategies and insights that helped him craft a compelling personal brand and grow his businesses.

We also discuss:

• Why the future of B2B marketing is personal, humanized, and authentic.
• How moving from full-time content creation can drastically impact your brand.
• The importance of being the “future version” of your ideal client to create content that drives business.
• Practical tactics for crafting engaging hooks and polarizing content that will boost your brand’s visibility and growth.
• And much more.

]]>2278false54fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-blend-ai-and-emotional-storytelling-with-dan-levy-of-liveperson--63014984
In this episode, we chat with Dan J. Levy, Senior Director of Product Marketing, Content, and Communications at LivePerson, to uncover the sophisticated mechanics behind brand storytelling in conversational AI.

Dan shares his expert approach to weaving compelling narratives that resonate deeply with audiences, ensuring messaging aligns seamlessly with customer values. He reveals why LinkedIn remains an unparalleled platform for fostering authentic connections in the B2B space and explains how to leverage emotional intelligence to drive decision-making in a complex market.

Join us as we discuss:

• How ChatGPT can turn one piece of content into multiple formats, simplifying complex products into effective go-to-market strategies.
• The power of brand storytelling: combining customer research and strategic storytelling to create a compelling, consistent narrative.
• AI and Human Connection in B2B marketing: how leveraging AI to understand emotional drivers boosts customer engagement and fosters lasting loyalty.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/63014984Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:00:07 +0000Column FiveGreat marketing is born at the intersection of art and science, where strategy effectively meets creativity. In this episode, we chat with https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjlevy/ Senior Director of Product Marketing, Content, and Communications at...
In this episode, we chat with Dan J. Levy, Senior Director of Product Marketing, Content, and Communications at LivePerson, to uncover the sophisticated mechanics behind brand storytelling in conversational AI.

Dan shares his expert approach to weaving compelling narratives that resonate deeply with audiences, ensuring messaging aligns seamlessly with customer values. He reveals why LinkedIn remains an unparalleled platform for fostering authentic connections in the B2B space and explains how to leverage emotional intelligence to drive decision-making in a complex market.

Join us as we discuss:

• How ChatGPT can turn one piece of content into multiple formats, simplifying complex products into effective go-to-market strategies.
• The power of brand storytelling: combining customer research and strategic storytelling to create a compelling, consistent narrative.
• AI and Human Connection in B2B marketing: how leveraging AI to understand emotional drivers boosts customer engagement and fosters lasting loyalty.

]]>2338false53fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-turn-community-into-competitive-edge-with-santi-pochat-of-linkedin--62787579
In today’s episode, Santi Pochat, LinkedIn’s VP of Brand Marketing, shares his perspective on investing in brand longevity and authentic storytelling to drive success even in tough times. Santi takes us through his journey—from Argentina’s vibrant advertising scene to leading brand initiatives at global giants like Google and Samsung. He also sheds light on how brands can thrive in a decentralized market and how LinkedIn is evolving into a dynamic hub for continuous career growth.

Join us as we discuss:

• Investing in brand consistency during downturns drives faster recovery and stronger positioning in upturns.
• Strong brand perception in B2B enhances client engagement, reduces churn, and improves sales efficiency.
• Decentralizing through employee advocacy and authentic content builds genuine connections with audiences.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/62787579Thu, 21 Nov 2024 08:00:07 +0000Column FiveLinkedIn has consistently proven it’s at the top of its game, no matter the economic climate. What’s the secret behind their success? In today’s episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sapochat/, https://premium.linkedin.com/VP of Brand Marketing,...
In today’s episode, Santi Pochat, LinkedIn’s VP of Brand Marketing, shares his perspective on investing in brand longevity and authentic storytelling to drive success even in tough times. Santi takes us through his journey—from Argentina’s vibrant advertising scene to leading brand initiatives at global giants like Google and Samsung. He also sheds light on how brands can thrive in a decentralized market and how LinkedIn is evolving into a dynamic hub for continuous career growth.

Join us as we discuss:

• Investing in brand consistency during downturns drives faster recovery and stronger positioning in upturns.
• Strong brand perception in B2B enhances client engagement, reduces churn, and improves sales efficiency.
• Decentralizing through employee advocacy and authentic content builds genuine connections with audiences.

]]>3248false52fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/turning-food-into-a-movement-with-elie-ayrouth-of-foodbeast--62667988
In this episode, Elie Ayrouth, the brains behind Foodbeast, dishes out a spread of insights, breaking down how Foodbeast reels in over 100 million people each month. He also gives us a sneak peek into his plans for expanding into consumer packaged goods and why live events are a game-changer for building a tight-knit community.

Join us as we discuss:

• The invaluable impact of in-person events, in building a unique, engaged community that online interactions simply can't replicate.
• How Foodbeast maintains agility and innovation without losing focus on what already works.
• Why authentic human storytelling is so important and how it can forge deeper connections with the audience, helping you stand out.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/62667988Thu, 14 Nov 2024 05:00:06 +0000Column FiveSocial media is flooded with short-lived food trends and recipes, but a few brands know how to keep their edge. In this episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/elie-ayrouth-77346522/, the brains behind https://www.foodbeast.com/, dishes out a spread of...
In this episode, Elie Ayrouth, the brains behind Foodbeast, dishes out a spread of insights, breaking down how Foodbeast reels in over 100 million people each month. He also gives us a sneak peek into his plans for expanding into consumer packaged goods and why live events are a game-changer for building a tight-knit community.

Join us as we discuss:

• The invaluable impact of in-person events, in building a unique, engaged community that online interactions simply can't replicate.
• How Foodbeast maintains agility and innovation without losing focus on what already works.
• Why authentic human storytelling is so important and how it can forge deeper connections with the audience, helping you stand out.

]]>2826false51fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/reinventing-creative-operations-with-tamara-austring-of-zapier--62626611
In this episode, we explore design operations with Tamara Austring, Senior Design Producer at Zapier's Brand Studio. As a leader in the design space, Tamara explores how adaptable, people-centered processes are the key to keeping creative teams nimble, efficient, and ready to innovate at every turn. She shares the high-stakes strategies behind continuous evaluation, the power of retrospectives, and why celebrating both wins and failures is essential for creative growth.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why static workflows are the enemy of innovation, and how to evolve them to stay competitive.
• The balance between leveraging AI for efficiency and maintaining the human intuition that makes your brand unforgettable.
• How creating a culture of trust, transparency, and challenge fuels creative teams to outperform—and what it means for the future of marketing.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/62626611Thu, 07 Nov 2024 05:00:02 +0000Column FiveRoutine processes can stifle innovation and allow competitors to pull ahead. How can companies stay agile to deliver fresh, impactful work? In this episode, we explore design operations with https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaraaustring, Senior Design...
In this episode, we explore design operations with Tamara Austring, Senior Design Producer at Zapier's Brand Studio. As a leader in the design space, Tamara explores how adaptable, people-centered processes are the key to keeping creative teams nimble, efficient, and ready to innovate at every turn. She shares the high-stakes strategies behind continuous evaluation, the power of retrospectives, and why celebrating both wins and failures is essential for creative growth.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why static workflows are the enemy of innovation, and how to evolve them to stay competitive.
• The balance between leveraging AI for efficiency and maintaining the human intuition that makes your brand unforgettable.
• How creating a culture of trust, transparency, and challenge fuels creative teams to outperform—and what it means for the future of marketing.

]]>2454false50fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/building-trust-through-tech-with-chris-ollier-of-bonterra--62545830
In this episode, we welcome Chris Ollier, Senior Director of Demand Generation at Bonterra, to tackle the challenges of brand and digital strategy in the nonprofit sector.

With a wealth of experience ranging from Fortune 100 companies like Verizon and the NFL to independent projects, Chris shares his journey through diverse roles in creative design and tech startups. He discusses Bonterra's mission to drive social good through innovative software solutions for nonprofits and explores the complexities of maintaining brand authenticity amidst corporate transitions.

We also cover:

• The significant impact of brand consistency on performance metrics like market share and brand valuation.
• How valuable AI is in enhancing creative processes and the necessity for expert guidance and validation.
• Bonterra's approach to brand building, focusing on straightforward design, genuine customer connections, and alignment with social good initiatives.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/62545830Thu, 31 Oct 2024 09:00:08 +0000Column FiveWhen your customers don’t speak tech, how do you help them choose wisely—and trust you along the way? In this episode, we welcome https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisollier/, Senior Director of Demand Generation at https://www.bonterratech.com/, to...
In this episode, we welcome Chris Ollier, Senior Director of Demand Generation at Bonterra, to tackle the challenges of brand and digital strategy in the nonprofit sector.

With a wealth of experience ranging from Fortune 100 companies like Verizon and the NFL to independent projects, Chris shares his journey through diverse roles in creative design and tech startups. He discusses Bonterra's mission to drive social good through innovative software solutions for nonprofits and explores the complexities of maintaining brand authenticity amidst corporate transitions.

We also cover:

• The significant impact of brand consistency on performance metrics like market share and brand valuation.
• How valuable AI is in enhancing creative processes and the necessity for expert guidance and validation.
• Bonterra's approach to brand building, focusing on straightforward design, genuine customer connections, and alignment with social good initiatives.

]]>3121false49fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-use-ai-to-power-every-transaction-with-stephanie-paturzo-swingle-of-instacart--62465007Stephanie Paturzo Swingle, B2B Marketing leader at Instacart. 

We uncover how she’s using innovative strategies—like AI-powered smart carts and dynamic co-marketing campaigns—to transform Instacart’s partnerships with CPG and retail brands, all in the name of (and informed by) the ambitious company vision of powering every grocery transaction.  We discuss the power of brand, the role of content marketing in brand-building, and what it’s like to have a multi-sided brand and marketplace like Instacart. And, we take a look into how Stephanie strikes the balance between creativity and practicality.

Join us as we discuss:

• How Instacart nurtures a healthy and inspiring creative environment where no idea is too outlandish. 
• What it takes to appeal to emotion in a B2B marketing capacity. 
• The crucial role storytelling plays in driving consumer engagement and boosting sales.
• And much more. 

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/62465007Thu, 24 Oct 2024 09:00:07 +0000Column FiveIn this episode we host https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniepaturzo/, B2B Marketing leader at https://instacart.careers/.  We uncover how she’s using innovative strategies—like AI-powered smart carts and dynamic co-marketing campaigns—to transform...Stephanie Paturzo Swingle, B2B Marketing leader at Instacart. 

We uncover how she’s using innovative strategies—like AI-powered smart carts and dynamic co-marketing campaigns—to transform Instacart’s partnerships with CPG and retail brands, all in the name of (and informed by) the ambitious company vision of powering every grocery transaction.  We discuss the power of brand, the role of content marketing in brand-building, and what it’s like to have a multi-sided brand and marketplace like Instacart. And, we take a look into how Stephanie strikes the balance between creativity and practicality.

Join us as we discuss:

• How Instacart nurtures a healthy and inspiring creative environment where no idea is too outlandish. 
• What it takes to appeal to emotion in a B2B marketing capacity. 
• The crucial role storytelling plays in driving consumer engagement and boosting sales.
• And much more. 

]]>2065false48fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/designing-seamless-brand-experiences-with-kira-klaas-of-later--62389279
In this episode, we’re thrilled to welcome Kira Klaas, VP of Corporate Marketing at Later, to share her expert insights on how to make those connections truly count. Kira walks us through her strategic approach to aligning content with audience interests, the pivotal role a full-time copywriter plays in creating cohesive messaging, and how embracing diverse perspectives can help leaders overcome personal biases.

Join us as we discuss:

• How to align your content with audience interests—authentic connections beat fleeting trends every time! 
• Kira’s concept of Brand Market Fit
• How to create seamless customer experiences at every touchpoint through design.

If you want to dive deeper: 

• Subscribe to Kira's Substack, On Brand for ongoing expert advice on building a compelling brand narrative.
• Explore her course, Brand for Growth-Stage Leaders, to learn how to elevate your brand strategy as your company scales.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/62389279Thu, 17 Oct 2024 09:00:08 +0000Column FiveGreat companies don’t just sell products—they leverage their brand to create connections that resonate.  In this episode, we’re thrilled to welcome https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstenklaas/, VP of Corporate Marketing at https://later.com/, to share...
In this episode, we’re thrilled to welcome Kira Klaas, VP of Corporate Marketing at Later, to share her expert insights on how to make those connections truly count. Kira walks us through her strategic approach to aligning content with audience interests, the pivotal role a full-time copywriter plays in creating cohesive messaging, and how embracing diverse perspectives can help leaders overcome personal biases.

Join us as we discuss:

• How to align your content with audience interests—authentic connections beat fleeting trends every time! 
• Kira’s concept of Brand Market Fit
• How to create seamless customer experiences at every touchpoint through design.

If you want to dive deeper: 

• Subscribe to Kira's Substack, On Brand for ongoing expert advice on building a compelling brand narrative.
• Explore her course, Brand for Growth-Stage Leaders, to learn how to elevate your brand strategy as your company scales.

]]>2577false47fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-align-sales-and-marketing-teams-with-travis-keith-of-j-p-morgan--62304249
For this episode of Best Story Wins, we’re joined by  Travis Keith, VP of Strategic Client Content at JP Morgan, to explore the essential balance between sales and marketing integration. Travis shares a fresh perspective on uniting sales and marketing through authentic, help-first strategies. 

Tune in to hear Travis’ insights on the evolving role of social media in shaping purchasing decisions and how aligning sales and marketing can foster a more cohesive approach, driving meaningful business results.

We also breakdown:

•  The importance of integrating marketing and sales to ensure teams have the right messaging and assets, bridging historical gaps.
• How regular leadership meetings align campaigns and foster teamwork, driving scalable content programs.
• Strategies for rethinking workflows and improving resource management to enhance efficiency for large sales teams.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/62304249Thu, 10 Oct 2024 09:00:08 +0000Column Five“Sales enablement is the bridge between marketing and closing deals." For this episode of Best Story Wins, we’re joined by ...
For this episode of Best Story Wins, we’re joined by  Travis Keith, VP of Strategic Client Content at JP Morgan, to explore the essential balance between sales and marketing integration. Travis shares a fresh perspective on uniting sales and marketing through authentic, help-first strategies. 

Tune in to hear Travis’ insights on the evolving role of social media in shaping purchasing decisions and how aligning sales and marketing can foster a more cohesive approach, driving meaningful business results.

We also breakdown:

•  The importance of integrating marketing and sales to ensure teams have the right messaging and assets, bridging historical gaps.
• How regular leadership meetings align campaigns and foster teamwork, driving scalable content programs.
• Strategies for rethinking workflows and improving resource management to enhance efficiency for large sales teams.

]]>2158false46fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-secret-to-staying-creative-in-fast-changing-times-with-alan-roll-of-airtable--62212301
In today’s episode, we’re joined by Alan Roll, Head of Brand Creative at Airtable. Alan’s journey from crafting narratives to leading innovation at Airtable is nothing short of inspiring. In a fast-paced market, he drives brand strategy through experiential content while leading a small but fiercely creative team. Alan reveals how Airtable has evolved in customer perception, gained a competitive edge in collaboration and operations, and shares real-world examples of its impact—along with how customer feedback continually shapes their messaging.We also discuss:

• How a lean, multifunctional team structure can drive collaboration and deliver impactful content 
• The AI benefits for productivity and accuracy, but the value of human creativity is irreplaceable
• How shifting to a holistic brand approach can create a cohesive brand experience

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/62212301Thu, 03 Oct 2024 15:27:11 +0000Column FiveThe world of content is constantly changing, and only the best marketers can adapt to these evolving trends.  In today’s episode, we’re joined by...
In today’s episode, we’re joined by Alan Roll, Head of Brand Creative at Airtable. Alan’s journey from crafting narratives to leading innovation at Airtable is nothing short of inspiring. In a fast-paced market, he drives brand strategy through experiential content while leading a small but fiercely creative team. Alan reveals how Airtable has evolved in customer perception, gained a competitive edge in collaboration and operations, and shares real-world examples of its impact—along with how customer feedback continually shapes their messaging.We also discuss:

• How a lean, multifunctional team structure can drive collaboration and deliver impactful content 
• The AI benefits for productivity and accuracy, but the value of human creativity is irreplaceable
• How shifting to a holistic brand approach can create a cohesive brand experience

]]>2490false45fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/from-ufc-to-b2b-saas-lessons-in-branding-with-radu-ranga-of-c1--62109334The differentiation of the brand and the owning of the brand comes by making sure everything is aligned.

In this episode, we are joined by Radu Ranga, Senior Director, Brand Creative at C1. He discusses how his creative journey—from agency life to his pivotal role in branding for UFC and C1—has shaped his approach to branding and marketing. Radu shares insights on how to align visual identity with core messaging, the importance of understanding the emotional and rational sides of brand decisions, and the risks that paid off in his career.

Listeners will learn: 

• How to align brand messaging across product, marketing, and sales teams
• Effective risk-taking in creative projects and how to mitigate failure
• Practical tips for bridging the gap between design and strategy in branding

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/62109334Thu, 26 Sep 2024 09:00:06 +0000Column FiveThe differentiation of the brand and the owning of the brand comes by making sure everything is aligned. In this episode, we are joined by...The differentiation of the brand and the owning of the brand comes by making sure everything is aligned.

In this episode, we are joined by Radu Ranga, Senior Director, Brand Creative at C1. He discusses how his creative journey—from agency life to his pivotal role in branding for UFC and C1—has shaped his approach to branding and marketing. Radu shares insights on how to align visual identity with core messaging, the importance of understanding the emotional and rational sides of brand decisions, and the risks that paid off in his career.

Listeners will learn: 

• How to align brand messaging across product, marketing, and sales teams
• Effective risk-taking in creative projects and how to mitigate failure
• Practical tips for bridging the gap between design and strategy in branding

]]>3050false44fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/what-makes-creativity-human-with-christopher-clarke-of-intuit--62013897at people, or with them?

In this episode, we dive deep into the mind of Christopher “Toph” Clarke, Executive Creative Director at Intuit, the brand behind TurboTax. From his journey in creative leadership to teaching the next generation of advertising talent at ONE School, Toph shares insights into how brands can stay relevant by connecting with real people.
We will explore how personal stories, cultural immersion, and the power of authenticity can transform a business—and a career.

Listeners will learn:

• How brands can go beyond traditional advertising by embedding themselves in local communities.
• Why teaching not only empowers others but also sharpens your own skills as a leader and creative professional.
• The impact of leveraging personal narratives in creating emotional connections with audiences.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/62013897Thu, 19 Sep 2024 09:00:08 +0000Column FiveIs your brand talking at people, or with them? In this episode, we dive deep into the mind of https://www.linkedin.com/in/redlocke/, Executive Creative Director at...at people, or with them?

In this episode, we dive deep into the mind of Christopher “Toph” Clarke, Executive Creative Director at Intuit, the brand behind TurboTax. From his journey in creative leadership to teaching the next generation of advertising talent at ONE School, Toph shares insights into how brands can stay relevant by connecting with real people.
We will explore how personal stories, cultural immersion, and the power of authenticity can transform a business—and a career.

Listeners will learn:

• How brands can go beyond traditional advertising by embedding themselves in local communities.
• Why teaching not only empowers others but also sharpens your own skills as a leader and creative professional.
• The impact of leveraging personal narratives in creating emotional connections with audiences.

]]>3423false43fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/redefining-what-it-means-to-be-rich-with-gretchen-leslie-of-iwt--61339465
In this episode we are joined by Gretchen Leslie, President at I Will Teach You To Be Rich, as she shares how she and her team are empowering people to become rich, whatever that means to each individual. Gretchen talks about her hands-on approach to brand storytelling, the challenges of SEO in a volatile market, and the evolution from meticulous content creation to streamlined success.

We also discuss: 

• How overcoming apathy by promoting confidence and joy instead of guilt and shame can lead to more successful brands.
• The importance of finding a balance between financial management and personal fulfillment to become truly rich.
• How developing brand and style guides enhances efficiency in content production.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/61339465Thu, 12 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +0000Column FiveWhat does being rich mean to you? Is it just hitting a number?  In this episode we are joined by https://www.linkedin.com/in/gretchen-leslie-5153192?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app, President...
In this episode we are joined by Gretchen Leslie, President at I Will Teach You To Be Rich, as she shares how she and her team are empowering people to become rich, whatever that means to each individual. Gretchen talks about her hands-on approach to brand storytelling, the challenges of SEO in a volatile market, and the evolution from meticulous content creation to streamlined success.

We also discuss: 

• How overcoming apathy by promoting confidence and joy instead of guilt and shame can lead to more successful brands.
• The importance of finding a balance between financial management and personal fulfillment to become truly rich.
• How developing brand and style guides enhances efficiency in content production.

]]>2888false42fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-fuse-data-and-empathy-to-win-with-dorian-stewart-of-federato--61254989
This week, we’re joined by Dorian Stewart, Director of Demand Generation at Federato, to discuss his philosophy on fusing empathy for the end user with smart data to create impactful content that not only communicates, but resonates.

We also discuss:

• How to balance maintaining a unified brand with the constant need for speed and experimentation.
• Emerging trends in influencer marketing and in-person experiences in the B2B space.
• Why focusing on customer stories and solutions is often more effective than discussing product features.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/61254989Thu, 05 Sep 2024 09:00:06 +0000Column FiveBranding isn’t about your appearance to your audience — it’s about the experience you cultivate for your audience. This week, we’re joined by...
This week, we’re joined by Dorian Stewart, Director of Demand Generation at Federato, to discuss his philosophy on fusing empathy for the end user with smart data to create impactful content that not only communicates, but resonates.

We also discuss:

• How to balance maintaining a unified brand with the constant need for speed and experimentation.
• Emerging trends in influencer marketing and in-person experiences in the B2B space.
• Why focusing on customer stories and solutions is often more effective than discussing product features.

]]>1814false41fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/humanizing-ai-in-b2b-marketing-with-joe-lazer-of-a-team--61179284Great innovations come from great teams working together, doing more than they could individually. 

And, to achieve this, companies first need to understand the problem they are trying to solve.

In this episode, we are joined by Joe Lazer, the fractional Head of Marketing at A.Team, a company revolutionizing how organizations build teams by leveraging AI. Joe shares insights into the tools developed at A.Team (Team Formation AI), the importance of brand storytelling in B2B marketing, and the emerging trend of internal evangelists as key drivers of brand and performance.

Listeners will learn:

• The critical role of brand storytelling in building meaningful connections with audiences, even in the face of increasing AI-driven content production.
• Why cultivating strong internal voices within a company can deliver outsized impacts on both brand recognition and sales.
• The future of B2B marketing, with a shift toward more personalized, creator-led engagement strategies.

Check out Joe’s book The Storytelling Edge: How to Transform Your Business, Stop Screaming into the Void, and Make People Love You, his newsletter on LinkedIn, and make sure to follow him for more B2B content. ]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/61179284Thu, 29 Aug 2024 09:00:06 +0000Column FiveGreat innovations come from great teams working together, doing more than they could individually.  And, to achieve this, companies first need to understand the problem they are trying to solve. In this episode, we are joined by...Great innovations come from great teams working together, doing more than they could individually. 

And, to achieve this, companies first need to understand the problem they are trying to solve.

In this episode, we are joined by Joe Lazer, the fractional Head of Marketing at A.Team, a company revolutionizing how organizations build teams by leveraging AI. Joe shares insights into the tools developed at A.Team (Team Formation AI), the importance of brand storytelling in B2B marketing, and the emerging trend of internal evangelists as key drivers of brand and performance.

Listeners will learn:

• The critical role of brand storytelling in building meaningful connections with audiences, even in the face of increasing AI-driven content production.
• Why cultivating strong internal voices within a company can deliver outsized impacts on both brand recognition and sales.
• The future of B2B marketing, with a shift toward more personalized, creator-led engagement strategies.

Check out Joe’s book The Storytelling Edge: How to Transform Your Business, Stop Screaming into the Void, and Make People Love You, his newsletter on LinkedIn, and make sure to follow him for more B2B content. ]]>2245false40fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-humanize-healthcare-design-with-ryan-romero-of-hoag--61040384
In this episode we are joined by Ryan Romero, Creative Director, Marketing & Product Design at Hoag Health System where he is trying to radically change how users interact with healthcare providers through innovative digital health products, to save lives and improve care. Ryan shares insightful stories about elevating Hoag's brand through authentic storytelling, innovative maternity campaigns, and the development of groundbreaking applications. 

We also discuss:

• Building design teams and a culture of innovation in a hospital setting with no prior design philosophy.
• Strategies to attract a younger audience through compelling narratives and creative marketing.
• Ryan’s philosophy on clear, usefulness and elegance, balancing emotive and factual elements
• The move towards creating a unified design system for Hoag, integrating motion and building meaningful user experiences.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/61040384Thu, 22 Aug 2024 09:00:07 +0000Column FiveHealthcare has always been perceived as a very unauthentic sector in terms of brand and product. What are folks doing out there to change the landscape?  In this episode we are joined by...
In this episode we are joined by Ryan Romero, Creative Director, Marketing & Product Design at Hoag Health System where he is trying to radically change how users interact with healthcare providers through innovative digital health products, to save lives and improve care. Ryan shares insightful stories about elevating Hoag's brand through authentic storytelling, innovative maternity campaigns, and the development of groundbreaking applications. 

We also discuss:

• Building design teams and a culture of innovation in a hospital setting with no prior design philosophy.
• Strategies to attract a younger audience through compelling narratives and creative marketing.
• Ryan’s philosophy on clear, usefulness and elegance, balancing emotive and factual elements
• The move towards creating a unified design system for Hoag, integrating motion and building meaningful user experiences.

]]>2303false39fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-secret-behind-building-a-retro-futuristic-brand-with-aaron-zide-of-halcyon--61016071
Our guest today, Aaron Zide, Creative Director at Halcyon holds the answer to this question. 

In this episode, Aaron shares invaluable insights on the challenges and opportunities of maintaining a distinctive brand identity while remaining agile and creative. He explores how Halcyon projects a retrofuturistic and serene vibe and discusses the innovative marketing strategies that have helped the brand cut through the noise and retain customers' attention in the long run.

We also discuss:

• How to manage a global team while maintaining a unified brand tone and message.
• The need for open-minded adaptation and embracing new marketing channels.
• How to stay true to the brand’s unique identity while incorporating feedback and societal changes.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/61016071Thu, 15 Aug 2024 09:00:08 +0000Column FiveHow does a cybersecurity startup blend retrofuturistic vibes with innovative anti-ransomware strategies to stand out in a crowded market? Our guest today, https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronzide/, Creative Director at https://www.halcyon.ai/ holds the...
Our guest today, Aaron Zide, Creative Director at Halcyon holds the answer to this question. 

In this episode, Aaron shares invaluable insights on the challenges and opportunities of maintaining a distinctive brand identity while remaining agile and creative. He explores how Halcyon projects a retrofuturistic and serene vibe and discusses the innovative marketing strategies that have helped the brand cut through the noise and retain customers' attention in the long run.

We also discuss:

• How to manage a global team while maintaining a unified brand tone and message.
• The need for open-minded adaptation and embracing new marketing channels.
• How to stay true to the brand’s unique identity while incorporating feedback and societal changes.

]]>2274false38fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/leading-creative-teams-that-win-with-josie-jeffries-of-webflow--60928351
Understanding what your brand is to the core, and what it offers, enables you to craft a clear narrative and effectively market it.

In this episode, we are joined by Josie Jeffries, Sr. Director, Creative and Content at Webflow. Josie is a seasoned professional with an impressive career at leading teams in tech brands like X (formerly Twitter) and Slack, where she excelled in building brand awareness. She shares her insights on the importance of clarity and communication in marketing challenger brands and reveals strategies for managing change and persuading customers to switch to new platforms amidst fierce competition.

We also discuss:

• How to appeal to both the emotional and technical needs of stakeholders.
• The importance of balancing ambitious brand campaigns with conversion-oriented content.
• Strategies for prioritizing creative decisions based on their return on investment.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/60928351Thu, 08 Aug 2024 09:00:11 +0000Column FiveClarity is the cornerstone of brand success. Understanding what your brand is to the core, and what it offers, enables you to craft a clear narrative and effectively market it. In this episode, we are joined by...
Understanding what your brand is to the core, and what it offers, enables you to craft a clear narrative and effectively market it.

In this episode, we are joined by Josie Jeffries, Sr. Director, Creative and Content at Webflow. Josie is a seasoned professional with an impressive career at leading teams in tech brands like X (formerly Twitter) and Slack, where she excelled in building brand awareness. She shares her insights on the importance of clarity and communication in marketing challenger brands and reveals strategies for managing change and persuading customers to switch to new platforms amidst fierce competition.

We also discuss:

• How to appeal to both the emotional and technical needs of stakeholders.
• The importance of balancing ambitious brand campaigns with conversion-oriented content.
• Strategies for prioritizing creative decisions based on their return on investment.

]]>2697false36fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-human-side-of-ai-design-with-celene-osiecka-of-247-ai--60864560
In this episode, we are joined by Celene Osiecka, Senior Director of Conversation Design and Conversational AI at [24]7.ai, as she shares how her team focuses on enhancing customer experience, reducing risk, and navigating the challenges of the tech industry through a systemic use of conversational AI.

We also discuss: 

• The delicate balance between data-driven approaches and the subjective, artistic aspects of conversation design.
• How AI is transforming quality assurance, helping companies streamline training and reduce costs.
• The roles and collaboration involved in designing effective AI-driven conversations.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/60864560Thu, 01 Aug 2024 09:00:09 +0000Column FiveAI has been here for a long time — longer before the ChatGPT boom. And now that we’ve all seen it, it’s not going anywhere. In this episode, we are joined by...
In this episode, we are joined by Celene Osiecka, Senior Director of Conversation Design and Conversational AI at [24]7.ai, as she shares how her team focuses on enhancing customer experience, reducing risk, and navigating the challenges of the tech industry through a systemic use of conversational AI.

We also discuss: 

• The delicate balance between data-driven approaches and the subjective, artistic aspects of conversation design.
• How AI is transforming quality assurance, helping companies streamline training and reduce costs.
• The roles and collaboration involved in designing effective AI-driven conversations.

]]>2218false36fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/scaling-brand-communication-globally-with-gwen-lafage-of-sinch--60688479
To delve deeper into this question, we are joined by Gwen Lafage, VP of Marketing, Global Brand and Content at Sinch, who shares the intricate balance between a long-term vision and agile marketing, paving the way for continuous and successful brand growth.  Gwen also explains how Sinch is revolutionizing brand experiences and efficiency while underscoring the often-overlooked potential of rich communication messaging

We also discuss:

• The importance of maintaining consistency in brand messaging while allowing autonomy.
• Gwen’s insights into 6 C’s philosophy
• The significance of integrating AI innovations and maintaining strong, consistent brand messaging.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/60688479Thu, 25 Jul 2024 09:30:04 +0000Column FiveAs brands grow, communication channels tend to expand parallelly. What is the secret behind successful comapnies that can keep up and leverage with this growth?  To delve deeper into this question, we are joined by...
To delve deeper into this question, we are joined by Gwen Lafage, VP of Marketing, Global Brand and Content at Sinch, who shares the intricate balance between a long-term vision and agile marketing, paving the way for continuous and successful brand growth.  Gwen also explains how Sinch is revolutionizing brand experiences and efficiency while underscoring the often-overlooked potential of rich communication messaging

We also discuss:

• The importance of maintaining consistency in brand messaging while allowing autonomy.
• Gwen’s insights into 6 C’s philosophy
• The significance of integrating AI innovations and maintaining strong, consistent brand messaging.

]]>2269false35fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/humanizing-marketing-in-the-ai-era-with-alec-hanson-of-loandepot--60688453
This week we sit down with Alec Hanson, Chief Marketing Officer at loanDepot, as he takes us through the intricacies of mortgage marketing amidst fluctuating interest rates. Drawing on his extensive industry experience, Alec discusses effective strategies tailored for navigating high-rate environments and the importance of authenticity and storytelling in brand development. Staying on top of AI and innovative technologies to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market is key to success. Whether you're new to mortgage marketing or a seasoned professional, Alec's practical advice and forward-thinking perspectives offer valuable guidance for driving success in this dynamic industry.

Join us as we discuss:

• The importance of utilizing diverse digital channels such as Instagram, TikTok, and Google to effectively reach and engage with modern consumers.
• The critical need for marketers to adopt new technologies like AI and move away from outdated methods to remain competitive.
• The significance of building genuine human connections and maintaining transparent branding to foster trust and loyalty among consumers.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/60688453Thu, 18 Jul 2024 08:30:03 +0000Column FiveHow can embracing digital trends and authentic human connections redefine your marketing strategy in an AI-driven world? This week we sit down with https://www.linkedin.com/in/alec-hanson/ Chief Marketing Officer at https://www.loandepot.com/, as he...
This week we sit down with Alec Hanson, Chief Marketing Officer at loanDepot, as he takes us through the intricacies of mortgage marketing amidst fluctuating interest rates. Drawing on his extensive industry experience, Alec discusses effective strategies tailored for navigating high-rate environments and the importance of authenticity and storytelling in brand development. Staying on top of AI and innovative technologies to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market is key to success. Whether you're new to mortgage marketing or a seasoned professional, Alec's practical advice and forward-thinking perspectives offer valuable guidance for driving success in this dynamic industry.

Join us as we discuss:

• The importance of utilizing diverse digital channels such as Instagram, TikTok, and Google to effectively reach and engage with modern consumers.
• The critical need for marketers to adopt new technologies like AI and move away from outdated methods to remain competitive.
• The significance of building genuine human connections and maintaining transparent branding to foster trust and loyalty among consumers.

]]>2666false34fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-use-humor-as-a-design-superpower-with-soren-iverson-of-iverson--60516790
In this episode, we are joined by Soren Iverson, Product Designer at Iterate and creator of the innovative app Stompers. Known for his satirical product interfaces that captivate social media, Soren shares his journey of infusing humor into his work to escape the rigidity of deliverables in the design industry. He discusses the ups and downs of running his business, mastering sales and marketing, and maintaining a work-life balance while also touching on his creative process, emphasizing the importance of unique niches and technological advancements in design. 

We also discuss:

• The commodification of design due to advancements in technology and AI
• The challenges of setting client expectations and managing team dynamics.
• Why finding unique positioning or specialization in the design industry is key to succeed.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/60516790Thu, 11 Jul 2024 08:31:10 +0000Column FiveThe future of design isn’t just about function; it’s about fun.  In this episode, we are joined by https://www.linkedin.com/in/soreniverson/, Product Designer at https://iterate-uk.com/ and creator of the innovative app Stompers. Known for his...
In this episode, we are joined by Soren Iverson, Product Designer at Iterate and creator of the innovative app Stompers. Known for his satirical product interfaces that captivate social media, Soren shares his journey of infusing humor into his work to escape the rigidity of deliverables in the design industry. He discusses the ups and downs of running his business, mastering sales and marketing, and maintaining a work-life balance while also touching on his creative process, emphasizing the importance of unique niches and technological advancements in design. 

We also discuss:

• The commodification of design due to advancements in technology and AI
• The challenges of setting client expectations and managing team dynamics.
• Why finding unique positioning or specialization in the design industry is key to succeed.

]]>2488false33fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-keep-a-brand-alive-in-fast-growth-tech-with-bob-galmarini-of-databricks--60516962‘A brand is a living, breathing thing. A stale brand is a dead brand’

In this episode, we are joined by Bob Galmarini, Senior Director of Brand Design at Databricks, as he shares his journey leading a multidisciplinary team of one of the fastest-growing organizations in the tech space, and discusses how his team navigates the challenges of simplifying complex messaging for a technical audience. Bob also addresses the importance of telling brand stories that resonate with the buyers, no matter the complexity of the product or service, and emphasizes the areas where B2B brands can still learn from B2C. 

We also discuss: 

• Why integrating quantitative data with emotional storytelling is key—staying data-informed rather than data-driven
• How AI tools are being utilized to enhance creative workflows, focusing on efficiency, templatizing, and automation.
• The necessity of finding a balance between top-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel (BOFU) content to enhance brand awareness and engagement.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/60516962Thu, 04 Jul 2024 13:15:02 +0000Column Five‘A brand is a living, breathing thing. A stale brand is a dead brand’ In this episode, we are joined by https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-galmarini-4767141/, Senior Director of Brand Design at https://www.databricks.com/, as he shares his journey...‘A brand is a living, breathing thing. A stale brand is a dead brand’

In this episode, we are joined by Bob Galmarini, Senior Director of Brand Design at Databricks, as he shares his journey leading a multidisciplinary team of one of the fastest-growing organizations in the tech space, and discusses how his team navigates the challenges of simplifying complex messaging for a technical audience. Bob also addresses the importance of telling brand stories that resonate with the buyers, no matter the complexity of the product or service, and emphasizes the areas where B2B brands can still learn from B2C. 

We also discuss: 

• Why integrating quantitative data with emotional storytelling is key—staying data-informed rather than data-driven
• How AI tools are being utilized to enhance creative workflows, focusing on efficiency, templatizing, and automation.
• The necessity of finding a balance between top-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel (BOFU) content to enhance brand awareness and engagement.

]]>2158false32fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/building-a-movement-not-just-a-brand-with-ian-elliott-of-maap--60388798
In this episode, we are joined by Ian Elliott, the CMO of MAAP, a cutting-edge cycling apparel brand that's redefining the sport with a blend of performance and aesthetics. He delves deep into MAAP's unique approach to community building, the fine balance between brand campaigns and conversion marketing, and the nuances of maintaining authenticity while scaling in a competitive market.

We also discuss:

• The importance of building strong emotional connections through brand storytelling.
• The structure and strategy of MAAP's marketing team to achieve significant business impact.
• The slightly irreverent and no-nonsense spirit that differentiates MAAP in the market.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/60388798Thu, 27 Jun 2024 08:30:04 +0000Column FiveOnly 5% of the market is ready to buy, so how do you ensure your brand is at the top of people's minds when they purchase? In this episode, we are joined by https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianhelliott/, the CMO of http://maap.cc, a cutting-edge cycling...
In this episode, we are joined by Ian Elliott, the CMO of MAAP, a cutting-edge cycling apparel brand that's redefining the sport with a blend of performance and aesthetics. He delves deep into MAAP's unique approach to community building, the fine balance between brand campaigns and conversion marketing, and the nuances of maintaining authenticity while scaling in a competitive market.

We also discuss:

• The importance of building strong emotional connections through brand storytelling.
• The structure and strategy of MAAP's marketing team to achieve significant business impact.
• The slightly irreverent and no-nonsense spirit that differentiates MAAP in the market.

]]>2713false31fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/bringing-brand-back-to-b2b-with-jason-miller-of-tyk--60370795In this episode, we are joined by Jason Miller, Head of Brand Marketing Demand and Content at Tyk, as he takes us through his eye-opening journey from music into B2B marketing. Jason dives into his mission-driven approach to tackling tough problems, scaling up, and fine-tuning the technical side of B2B marketing. He also shares some non-traditional strategies and insights on brand identity, trust, and the unique hurdles of marketing to a tech-savvy audience.

We also discuss: 

• The relevance of risk-taking in marketing for groundbreaking impact
• Jason’s approach to measuring brand through metrics like direct traffic, referrals, and branded search traffic
• How to future-proof companies by focusing on customer value rather than solely serving sales
• The importance of balancing long-term planning with agile marketing adaptations

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/60370795Thu, 13 Jun 2024 09:30:03 +0000Column FiveB2B marketing is always changing, and today we're seeing brand make a major comeback. In this episode, we are joined by https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsnmiller/, Head of Brand Marketing Demand and Content at...In this episode, we are joined by Jason Miller, Head of Brand Marketing Demand and Content at Tyk, as he takes us through his eye-opening journey from music into B2B marketing. Jason dives into his mission-driven approach to tackling tough problems, scaling up, and fine-tuning the technical side of B2B marketing. He also shares some non-traditional strategies and insights on brand identity, trust, and the unique hurdles of marketing to a tech-savvy audience.

We also discuss: 

• The relevance of risk-taking in marketing for groundbreaking impact
• Jason’s approach to measuring brand through metrics like direct traffic, referrals, and branded search traffic
• How to future-proof companies by focusing on customer value rather than solely serving sales
• The importance of balancing long-term planning with agile marketing adaptations

]]>3017false30fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-one-father-built-a-3m-download-sleep-app-with-francisco-cornejo-of-storybook--60143381
In an effort to connect parents with their children, reduce anxiety, reinforce self-esteem, and improve sleep health, Francisco Cornejo, Co-Founder & CEO at StoryBook, joins hosts Josh Ritchie and Jason Lankow to talk about how the challenges of living overseas transformed into a promising app with over 3 million downloads since its launch. Francisco shares his unique perspective on brand growth and how he has navigated obstacles as a startup CEO.

We also discuss:

• How identifying pain points in day-to-day situations can lead to disruptive business ideas
• StoryBook’s insights into creating a delightful customer experience that retains users in the long term
• Francisco’s pillars for understanding growth and the importance of a smart, dedicated, and consistent team

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/60143381Thu, 30 May 2024 08:30:05 +0000Column FiveExhausted parents, demanding children, and the increase in screen time have created a cocktail of anxiety for everyone in the household before going to bed. In an effort to connect parents with their children, reduce anxiety, reinforce self-esteem,...
In an effort to connect parents with their children, reduce anxiety, reinforce self-esteem, and improve sleep health, Francisco Cornejo, Co-Founder & CEO at StoryBook, joins hosts Josh Ritchie and Jason Lankow to talk about how the challenges of living overseas transformed into a promising app with over 3 million downloads since its launch. Francisco shares his unique perspective on brand growth and how he has navigated obstacles as a startup CEO.

We also discuss:

• How identifying pain points in day-to-day situations can lead to disruptive business ideas
• StoryBook’s insights into creating a delightful customer experience that retains users in the long term
• Francisco’s pillars for understanding growth and the importance of a smart, dedicated, and consistent team

]]>2477false29fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/why-community-is-midjourney-s-real-superpower-with-erik-martin-of-midjourney--60040451
This week we are joined by Erik Martin, Head of Community at Midjourney, as he sheds light on the crucial role of online communities in building a brand narrative that fosters trust and integrates customer feedback into product development to create meaningful user experiences.. 

We also discuss:

• Erik’s extensive experience in building communities from Reddit to Midjourney
• Insights into how Midjourney operates to produce AI-generated images in a co-creative environment
• How community stories contribute to consolidating a brand's identity
• Why transparency and direct engagement with the community are crucial for growth and feedback
• The importance of understanding the process of community building at the smaller, human scale

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/60040451Thu, 16 May 2024 08:30:04 +0000Column FiveAs social and emotional beings, humans lean towards brands that foster community. So, how can you build one that deeply connects with your clients and catalyzes growth? This week we are joined by https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikmartin/, Head of...
This week we are joined by Erik Martin, Head of Community at Midjourney, as he sheds light on the crucial role of online communities in building a brand narrative that fosters trust and integrates customer feedback into product development to create meaningful user experiences.. 

We also discuss:

• Erik’s extensive experience in building communities from Reddit to Midjourney
• Insights into how Midjourney operates to produce AI-generated images in a co-creative environment
• How community stories contribute to consolidating a brand's identity
• Why transparency and direct engagement with the community are crucial for growth and feedback
• The importance of understanding the process of community building at the smaller, human scale

]]>3414false28fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-data-shapes-the-world-s-best-brands-with-bryan-saftler-of-databricks--59745659
In today’s episode, we are joined by Bryan Saftler, Global Head of Marketing for Communications, Media & Entertainment at Databricks, who explores the delicate balance between brand building and data-driven marketing. He shares why this fusion is pivotal and how it shapes top-of-the-funnel brand awareness and continuous brand enhancement for long-term success.

We also discuss: 

• The business impact of the democratization of insights across teams.
• How to incorporate nuances in messaging for the stages of the sales funnel.
• The evolution of social media platforms towards video content and its implications in building brands.
• And much more! 

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/59745659Thu, 02 May 2024 08:30:05 +0000Column FiveSustaining success in the competitive B2B landscape is no easy task. But what strategies truly secure a company's future? In today’s episode, we are joined by https://www.linkedin.com/in/saftler/, Global Head of Marketing for Communications, Media...
In today’s episode, we are joined by Bryan Saftler, Global Head of Marketing for Communications, Media & Entertainment at Databricks, who explores the delicate balance between brand building and data-driven marketing. He shares why this fusion is pivotal and how it shapes top-of-the-funnel brand awareness and continuous brand enhancement for long-term success.

We also discuss: 

• The business impact of the democratization of insights across teams.
• How to incorporate nuances in messaging for the stages of the sales funnel.
• The evolution of social media platforms towards video content and its implications in building brands.
• And much more! 

]]>3899false27fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-strategy-that-made-github-a-household-name-with-sam-oshin-of-github--59521424
In this episode, we are joined by Sam Oshin, Senior Director, Brand and Marketing Design at GitHub. He delves into GitHub's evolution from a version control tool to a dominant force in enterprise software development. Sam also explores how GitHub now harnesses AI technology to drive innovation and disruption across multiple industries, as well as the crucial role storytelling has played in this journey.

We also discuss:

• Finding the balance between personal values, family commitments, and professional advancement.
• The hurdles of crafting a message that resonates with both enterprise buyers and individual developers.
• The significance of brand authenticity and ongoing innovation in connecting with technical audiences.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/59521424Thu, 18 Apr 2024 08:30:05 +0000Column FiveMost Fortune 500 companies rely on GitHub for planning, building, and collaborating on software. But how did they cultivate a brand with such a worldwide transformational impact? In this episode, we are joined by...
In this episode, we are joined by Sam Oshin, Senior Director, Brand and Marketing Design at GitHub. He delves into GitHub's evolution from a version control tool to a dominant force in enterprise software development. Sam also explores how GitHub now harnesses AI technology to drive innovation and disruption across multiple industries, as well as the crucial role storytelling has played in this journey.

We also discuss:

• Finding the balance between personal values, family commitments, and professional advancement.
• The hurdles of crafting a message that resonates with both enterprise buyers and individual developers.
• The significance of brand authenticity and ongoing innovation in connecting with technical audiences.

]]>2847false26fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-win-in-a-crowded-market-category-with-jon-miller-of-martech-entrepreneur--59273601Jon Miller, (Prev: Co-Founder/CMO of Marketo, Cofounder/CEO of  Engagio, CMO of Demandbase), who shares his hard-won insights on all things marketing and MarTech. Jon has made a dynamic and innovative career out of identifying big opportunities in MarTech and has built some of the most iconic brands in the space. We talked at length about how B2B marketing and sales have changed and continue to evolve and how teams need to operate to win in today’s market, including leveraging the power of community, positioning, brand, and AI.

Join us as we discuss:

• Effective strategies for entering market categories filled with established players
• How companies can position themselves as trusted authorities in their industry
• Current challenges and opportunities for marketers 
• And much more. 

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/59273601Thu, 04 Apr 2024 09:00:02 +0000Column FiveThis week, we’re joined by https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmiller2/ (Prev: Co-Founder/CMO of https://business.adobe.com/products/marketo/adobe-marketo.html, Cofounder/CEO of  https://www.demandbase.com/, CMO of Demandbase), who shares his hard-won...Jon Miller, (Prev: Co-Founder/CMO of Marketo, Cofounder/CEO of  Engagio, CMO of Demandbase), who shares his hard-won insights on all things marketing and MarTech. Jon has made a dynamic and innovative career out of identifying big opportunities in MarTech and has built some of the most iconic brands in the space. We talked at length about how B2B marketing and sales have changed and continue to evolve and how teams need to operate to win in today’s market, including leveraging the power of community, positioning, brand, and AI.

Join us as we discuss:

• Effective strategies for entering market categories filled with established players
• How companies can position themselves as trusted authorities in their industry
• Current challenges and opportunities for marketers 
• And much more. 

]]>2330false25fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/disrupting-wellness-culture-with-melissa-rosenthal-of-insight-timer--58873263
In this episode, Melissa Rosenthal, CMO at Insight Timer, shares her non-traditional approach to marketing and brand growth, which has successfully propelled her to scale and redefine companies in both the media and tech spaces. Melissa also delves into the creation of a wellness app that goes beyond meditation, emphasizing a community-driven model for holistic well-being.

Join us as we discuss:

• The significance of cultivating a movement larger than your product
• The shift towards prioritizing retention over brand awareness
• The pitfalls of adhering to the growth-at-all-costs playbook

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/58873263Thu, 29 Feb 2024 12:00:02 +0000Column FiveDisruption isn't just a buzzword—it's the lifeline of growth and innovation in today's business landscape. In this episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissarosenthal5/, CMO at https://insighttimer.com/en-au, shares her non-traditional approach to...
In this episode, Melissa Rosenthal, CMO at Insight Timer, shares her non-traditional approach to marketing and brand growth, which has successfully propelled her to scale and redefine companies in both the media and tech spaces. Melissa also delves into the creation of a wellness app that goes beyond meditation, emphasizing a community-driven model for holistic well-being.

Join us as we discuss:

• The significance of cultivating a movement larger than your product
• The shift towards prioritizing retention over brand awareness
• The pitfalls of adhering to the growth-at-all-costs playbook

]]>2641false24fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-four-cs-philosophy-with-nick-levesque-of-asana--58689836Nick Levesque, Creative Director at Asana, who shares valuable tactics and approaches on going upmarket and migrating from an SMB image to an enterprise one. With extensive experience managing teams, Nick also emphasizes the importance of becoming a salesperson in the creative industry to effectively communicate and sell your vision and creative ideas.

Join us as we discuss:

• Nick’s four Cs brand philosophy
• How Distinctive Brand Assets can elevate your marketing strategy to the next level
• Expert tips for balancing passion projects with full-time jobs

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/58689836Thu, 15 Feb 2024 09:00:02 +0000Column FiveIn this episode, we are joined by https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholaslevesque/, Creative Director at https://asana.com/enterprise, who shares valuable tactics and approaches on going upmarket and migrating from an SMB image to an enterprise one. With...Nick Levesque, Creative Director at Asana, who shares valuable tactics and approaches on going upmarket and migrating from an SMB image to an enterprise one. With extensive experience managing teams, Nick also emphasizes the importance of becoming a salesperson in the creative industry to effectively communicate and sell your vision and creative ideas.

Join us as we discuss:

• Nick’s four Cs brand philosophy
• How Distinctive Brand Assets can elevate your marketing strategy to the next level
• Expert tips for balancing passion projects with full-time jobs

]]>2125false23fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-balance-speed-scale-and-design-with-charlie-waite-of-uber--58465101
In today’s episode, Charlie Waite, Director of Product design at Uber, delves into the challenges and rewards of designing a global product, navigating diverse user bases and global nuances, and providing the safest, most efficient experience in the market. He also underscores the relevance of balancing design, user experience, speed, and company growth.

Join us as we discuss:

• How good product design serves as a powerful differentiator for brands
• Uber's commitment to diversifying services for increased accessibility
• The importance of authenticity and honesty in leadership roles

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/58465101Thu, 01 Feb 2024 08:00:02 +0000Column FiveEvery day, Uber facilitates 27 million trips worldwide. How do they provide the best experience possible? In today’s episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-waite-79481712/, Director of Product design at http://www.uber.com, delves into the...
In today’s episode, Charlie Waite, Director of Product design at Uber, delves into the challenges and rewards of designing a global product, navigating diverse user bases and global nuances, and providing the safest, most efficient experience in the market. He also underscores the relevance of balancing design, user experience, speed, and company growth.

Join us as we discuss:

• How good product design serves as a powerful differentiator for brands
• Uber's commitment to diversifying services for increased accessibility
• The importance of authenticity and honesty in leadership roles

]]>2697false22fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-take-your-time-back-with-kaiwei-tang-of-light-phone--58345778
In this episode, Kaiwei Tang, the Co-Founder and CEO of Light, breaks this vicious circle and shares how the Light Phone —and the narrative behind it— is disrupting the relationship between humans, technology and data, as well as offering unique perspectives on marketing, growth, and success.

Join us as we discuss:

• The challenges and opportunities behind creating a product that goes against the status quo
• How word-of-mouth marketing and partnerships have allowed Light to sustain itself and maintain constant growth
• Why brand storytelling can reshape the technology landscape

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/58345778Thu, 18 Jan 2024 13:06:59 +0000Column FiveAttention is the most valuable and limited resource we have as humans, and most of it goes into the vicious circle of the attention economy. In this episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tangkaiwei/, the Co-Founder and CEO of...
In this episode, Kaiwei Tang, the Co-Founder and CEO of Light, breaks this vicious circle and shares how the Light Phone —and the narrative behind it— is disrupting the relationship between humans, technology and data, as well as offering unique perspectives on marketing, growth, and success.

Join us as we discuss:

• The challenges and opportunities behind creating a product that goes against the status quo
• How word-of-mouth marketing and partnerships have allowed Light to sustain itself and maintain constant growth
• Why brand storytelling can reshape the technology landscape

]]>2883false21fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-secret-to-scaling-without-losing-soul-with-kohl-crecelius-of-known-supply--58074693
In this episode, Kohl Crecelius, CEO and Co-Founder of Known Supply, explores in detail how B2B partnerships have allowed his brand to achieve stable and sustainable growth while staying true to their mission of increasing the world’s access to ethical fashion.

Join us as we discuss:

• Why a high level of production should come along with a high level of positive and sustainable impact
• How education can be an invaluable brand resource to connect with consumers
• The importance of language —which goes beyond words— when creating a great brand story

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/58074693Thu, 04 Jan 2024 09:00:03 +0000Column FiveGreat partnerships lead to thriving brands. In this episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/kohlgreyson/, CEO and Co-Founder of http://knownsupply.com, explores in detail how B2B partnerships have allowed his brand to achieve stable and sustainable...
In this episode, Kohl Crecelius, CEO and Co-Founder of Known Supply, explores in detail how B2B partnerships have allowed his brand to achieve stable and sustainable growth while staying true to their mission of increasing the world’s access to ethical fashion.

Join us as we discuss:

• Why a high level of production should come along with a high level of positive and sustainable impact
• How education can be an invaluable brand resource to connect with consumers
• The importance of language —which goes beyond words— when creating a great brand story

]]>2783false20fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-turn-purpose-into-profit-with-noah-elias--57978357
In this episode, we are joined by Noah Elias, Founder of Noah Fine Art, as he unravels how he has managed to fuse cleverness, creativity, and commerce to drive business success. Supported by strategic purpose and faith, Noah shares his extensive experience in the creative industry, highlighting the importance of building a transformational rather than transactional brand experience.

Join us as we discuss:

• Why honing structure and discipline can unlock your full potential as a creative
• How to diversify revenue streams by selling not only what you make but what you know
• How we should be using our energy to outshine AI through innovation instead of fearing it

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/57978357Thu, 14 Dec 2023 08:00:03 +0000Column FiveSetting your business up for success isn't just about the resources you have; it's also about cleverly using them to create. In this episode, we are joined by https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahfineart/, Founder of...
In this episode, we are joined by Noah Elias, Founder of Noah Fine Art, as he unravels how he has managed to fuse cleverness, creativity, and commerce to drive business success. Supported by strategic purpose and faith, Noah shares his extensive experience in the creative industry, highlighting the importance of building a transformational rather than transactional brand experience.

Join us as we discuss:

• Why honing structure and discipline can unlock your full potential as a creative
• How to diversify revenue streams by selling not only what you make but what you know
• How we should be using our energy to outshine AI through innovation instead of fearing it

]]>3044false19fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-win-hearts-in-a-metrics-driven-world-with-joe-chernov-of-pendo--57607131Joe Chernov, CMO at Pendo.io, shares his expert perspective on the ways B2B marketing has changed, the myths that marketers still cling to, and the ways he and his team are marketing “through” people—not “to” people. By cultivating his team’s strengths and infusing the Pendo brand story with strong emotion, he and his team are turning Pendo into a market winner.

Join us as we discuss:

• How to leverage KPIs to make your customers feel above average
• The role of biases and emotional connections in purchasing decisions.
• Shifting focus from top-of-funnel to post-opportunity engagement.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/57607131Thu, 30 Nov 2023 05:00:02 +0000Column FiveIn today’s episode, https://www.linkedin.com/in/jchernov/, CMO at https://www.pendo.io/, shares his expert perspective on the ways B2B marketing has changed, the myths that marketers still cling to, and the ways he and his team are marketing “through”...Joe Chernov, CMO at Pendo.io, shares his expert perspective on the ways B2B marketing has changed, the myths that marketers still cling to, and the ways he and his team are marketing “through” people—not “to” people. By cultivating his team’s strengths and infusing the Pendo brand story with strong emotion, he and his team are turning Pendo into a market winner.

Join us as we discuss:

• How to leverage KPIs to make your customers feel above average
• The role of biases and emotional connections in purchasing decisions.
• Shifting focus from top-of-funnel to post-opportunity engagement.

]]>2888false18fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/risk-reward-and-creativity-with-joshua-ariza-of-chomp--57050913
Embracing an ethos-driven approach to storytelling is what today’s guest, Joshua Ariza, Founder and Owner of Chomp Brand, has done to tackle the complexities of building his own illustration label. Through the intersection of art and fun, Joshua shares insights into the benefits of having an expansive interpretation of the illustration marketplace, as well as the challenges that an economy in flux holds for the design industry.

Join us as we discuss:

• Honing the right set of skills to illustrate and sell your art
• Taking calculated risks while balancing budgets for long-term success in the creative industry
• Shifting towards an integrated approach that combines illustration and artificial intelligence.

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/57050913Thu, 09 Nov 2023 07:00:03 +0000Column FiveStorytelling can be approached from various perspectives, and sometimes, exploring the less conventional ones can lead to the creation of a remarkable brand story. Embracing an ethos-driven approach to storytelling is what today’s guest,...
Embracing an ethos-driven approach to storytelling is what today’s guest, Joshua Ariza, Founder and Owner of Chomp Brand, has done to tackle the complexities of building his own illustration label. Through the intersection of art and fun, Joshua shares insights into the benefits of having an expansive interpretation of the illustration marketplace, as well as the challenges that an economy in flux holds for the design industry.

Join us as we discuss:

• Honing the right set of skills to illustrate and sell your art
• Taking calculated risks while balancing budgets for long-term success in the creative industry
• Shifting towards an integrated approach that combines illustration and artificial intelligence.

]]>3148false17fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/rebuilding-a-design-story-with-cymone-wilder-of-amazon--56645269
Now it’s up to Cymone Wilder, Senior Art Director at Amazon Web Services, to rebuild the brand of an long-standing division that’s lacked a design focus for years. In this episode, Cymone shares lessons she’s learned from working at a company as big as AWS, such as dealing with tension that results from authenticity, initiating change at a large organization, and connecting with end users.

Join us as discuss:

• Ambitious plans to shape the company's culture
• The need to fake confidence (and why it doesn’t last)
• Being scrappy and doing good work with what’s available

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/56645269Thu, 26 Oct 2023 07:00:02 +0000Column FiveEvery brand needs a compelling story—even ones as established as Amazon Web Services. Now it’s up to Cymone Wilder, Senior Art Director at Amazon Web Services, to rebuild the brand of an long-standing division that’s lacked a design focus for years....
Now it’s up to Cymone Wilder, Senior Art Director at Amazon Web Services, to rebuild the brand of an long-standing division that’s lacked a design focus for years. In this episode, Cymone shares lessons she’s learned from working at a company as big as AWS, such as dealing with tension that results from authenticity, initiating change at a large organization, and connecting with end users.

Join us as discuss:

• Ambitious plans to shape the company's culture
• The need to fake confidence (and why it doesn’t last)
• Being scrappy and doing good work with what’s available

]]>2765false16fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/inside-the-revolution-for-musicians-with-joel-beukelman-of-royal-io--56476132Joel Beukelman, Product Designer at Royal.io. Join us for a cutting-edge conversation in which Joel discusses what it’s like to build a marketplace at the intersection of cryptocurrency, music streaming, and Web3. With the goal of disrupting traditional, outdated practices in the music industry, Joel and his colleagues are designing solutions and tools that are aimed at empowering artists to connect with fans and monetize their music.

Join us as we discuss:

• How technology can solve issues of unauthorized use of creative content
• What collaboration requires: curiosity, flexibility, risk-taking, and a willingness to learn
• Why humility and adaptability are critical in the startup world and crypto market

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/56476132Thu, 12 Oct 2023 07:00:02 +0000Column FiveIn this episode, we have the pleasure of chatting with https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelbeukelman/, Product Designer at https://royal.io/. Join us for a cutting-edge conversation in which Joel discusses what it’s like to build a marketplace at the...Joel Beukelman, Product Designer at Royal.io. Join us for a cutting-edge conversation in which Joel discusses what it’s like to build a marketplace at the intersection of cryptocurrency, music streaming, and Web3. With the goal of disrupting traditional, outdated practices in the music industry, Joel and his colleagues are designing solutions and tools that are aimed at empowering artists to connect with fans and monetize their music.

Join us as we discuss:

• How technology can solve issues of unauthorized use of creative content
• What collaboration requires: curiosity, flexibility, risk-taking, and a willingness to learn
• Why humility and adaptability are critical in the startup world and crypto market

]]>3627false15fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-balance-creativity-and-consistency-with-justin-rands-of-oyster--56444375Justin Rands, Director of Brand Design at Oyster. Tune in to hear us chat about how he and his team make Oyster stand out as a brand, the importance of experimentation, the future of AI in content creation, and more. Justin also shares insights from his career journey, including the challenges of running a 700-person team and the riskiest moves he’s made at Oyster.

Join us as we discuss:

• How the best brand stories find the human element
• Why it’s so difficult to make creative that stops you in your tracks
• The communication mistakes that are so costly for brands

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/56444375Thu, 28 Sep 2023 08:00:03 +0000Column FiveIn this episode, we’re delighted to welcome in https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-rands-2b5bb88/, Director of Brand Design at https://www.oysterhr.com/. Tune in to hear us chat about how he and his team make Oyster stand out as a brand, the importance...Justin Rands, Director of Brand Design at Oyster. Tune in to hear us chat about how he and his team make Oyster stand out as a brand, the importance of experimentation, the future of AI in content creation, and more. Justin also shares insights from his career journey, including the challenges of running a 700-person team and the riskiest moves he’s made at Oyster.

Join us as we discuss:

• How the best brand stories find the human element
• Why it’s so difficult to make creative that stops you in your tracks
• The communication mistakes that are so costly for brands

]]>3291false14fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/turning-diapers-into-a-lifestyle-with-mike-constantiner-of-freestyle--56794703Mike Constantiner, Co-Founder and Head of Brand and Community at Freestyle, the first brand in the market to manufacture tree-free baby diapers. As we delve into the process of ideation, consolidation, and maintenance of the company, Mike emphasizes the importance of building a narrative where the community—in this case, parents—hold the guiding voice that steers the brand's decisions to resonate with a wider audience and that can lead to the creation of a lifestyle brand. Additionally, Mike provides insights into the challenges, errors, and learnings that this process has imparted to him and his company, while also delving into their philosophy of "make cool shit" to maintain long-term relevance in the market.

Join us as we discuss:

• Remaining competitive with limited time, talent and capital
• The power of continuously making cool stuff, and finding the right team to do it
• How crafting and building a great brand story can change the game for your company

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/56794703Thu, 14 Sep 2023 08:00:02 +0000Column FiveIn this episode, we are joined by https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeconstantiner/, Co-Founder and Head of Brand and Community at https://www.freestyle.world/, the first brand in the market to manufacture tree-free baby diapers. As we delve into the...Mike Constantiner, Co-Founder and Head of Brand and Community at Freestyle, the first brand in the market to manufacture tree-free baby diapers. As we delve into the process of ideation, consolidation, and maintenance of the company, Mike emphasizes the importance of building a narrative where the community—in this case, parents—hold the guiding voice that steers the brand's decisions to resonate with a wider audience and that can lead to the creation of a lifestyle brand. Additionally, Mike provides insights into the challenges, errors, and learnings that this process has imparted to him and his company, while also delving into their philosophy of "make cool shit" to maintain long-term relevance in the market.

Join us as we discuss:

• Remaining competitive with limited time, talent and capital
• The power of continuously making cool stuff, and finding the right team to do it
• How crafting and building a great brand story can change the game for your company

]]>3624false13fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-turn-fans-into-a-movement-with-ross-yoshida-of-los-angeles-dodgers--56018364Ross Yoshida, Senior Director of Graphic Design for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In this episode, we dive into how a blend of authenticity, confidence, and “hot sauce” has created one of the world’s most iconic sports brands. Tune in to hear Yoshida’s perspective on how winning brands elevate the fan experience, how the Dodgers’ creative team approaches each year’s visual campaign, where he gets his inspiration from, and more.

Just us as we discuss:

• Challenging perspectives if your industry is stuck in the past
• The fight to show that creative departments can be revenue generators
• How visual branding deepens your connection with your audience

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/56018364Thu, 31 Aug 2023 08:00:03 +0000Column FiveToday’s special guest is https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-yoshida-8793b641/, Senior Director of Graphic Design for the https://www.mlb.com/dodgers. In this episode, we dive into how a blend of authenticity, confidence, and “hot sauce” has created one...Ross Yoshida, Senior Director of Graphic Design for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In this episode, we dive into how a blend of authenticity, confidence, and “hot sauce” has created one of the world’s most iconic sports brands. Tune in to hear Yoshida’s perspective on how winning brands elevate the fan experience, how the Dodgers’ creative team approaches each year’s visual campaign, where he gets his inspiration from, and more.

Just us as we discuss:

• Challenging perspectives if your industry is stuck in the past
• The fight to show that creative departments can be revenue generators
• How visual branding deepens your connection with your audience

]]>2675false12fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-future-of-marketing-through-a-journalist-s-lens-with-jonah-freedman-of-salesforce--56017938Jonah Freedman, Content & Growth Marketing Leader at Salesforce. Tune in to hear Jonah share his journalistic approach to content marketing, where he finds inspiration, how he juggles different stakeholders, as well as his thoughts on the future of AI.

Join us as we discuss:

• The key to both storytelling and content creation
• How finding creative inspiration everywhere is powerful
• Why AI has the potential to revolutionize content creation

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/56017938Thu, 17 Aug 2023 08:00:02 +0000Column FiveIn this episode, we speak with https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonah-freedman/, Content & Growth Marketing Leader at https://www.salesforce.com/?ir=1. Tune in to hear Jonah share his journalistic approach to content marketing, where he finds...Jonah Freedman, Content & Growth Marketing Leader at Salesforce. Tune in to hear Jonah share his journalistic approach to content marketing, where he finds inspiration, how he juggles different stakeholders, as well as his thoughts on the future of AI.

Join us as we discuss:

• The key to both storytelling and content creation
• How finding creative inspiration everywhere is powerful
• Why AI has the potential to revolutionize content creation

]]>2716false11fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-secret-behind-creating-a-human-centered-brand-with-ethan-kanat-of-zendesk--56031164Ethan Kanat, Senior Principal of Creative Strategy at Zendesk. In this episode, we dive into the biggest changes in tech and business in recent years, including the increasing importance of incorporating a strong narrative company-wide. As organizations are built with many individuals, human stories remain more important than ever. We cover how to use those stories as a foundation to build frictionless customer and employee experiences.

Join us as we discuss:

• Zendesk’s perspective on remote work (and the role tech plays)
• The importance of constantly telling your story, and how to incorporate a strong narrative throughout
• How to build inspiration for great culture and good material, and whether AI can play a role

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/56031164Thu, 03 Aug 2023 08:00:02 +0000Column FiveToday’s special guest is https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethankanat/, Senior Principal of Creative Strategy at https://www.zendesk.com/?variant=419. In this episode, we dive into the biggest changes in tech and business in recent years, including the...Ethan Kanat, Senior Principal of Creative Strategy at Zendesk. In this episode, we dive into the biggest changes in tech and business in recent years, including the increasing importance of incorporating a strong narrative company-wide. As organizations are built with many individuals, human stories remain more important than ever. We cover how to use those stories as a foundation to build frictionless customer and employee experiences.

Join us as we discuss:

• Zendesk’s perspective on remote work (and the role tech plays)
• The importance of constantly telling your story, and how to incorporate a strong narrative throughout
• How to build inspiration for great culture and good material, and whether AI can play a role

]]>3033false10fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-bring-emotion-into-finance-with-david-garvin-of-happy-money--53872383David Garvin, Creative Director at Happy Money. On this episode, we chat about how Happy Money infuses psychology into their branding and marketing, David’s philosophies on great storytelling, and how brands get it wrong. We also discuss future applications for AI in marketing, including how people’s desire for authenticity will continue to challenge the world of AI.

Join us as we discuss:

• What the evolution of brand design for Happy Money looked like
• How to handle a new CMO coming in with potential changes to the brand
• When regulations will be put in place to address the ethical considerations of AI in the creative industry

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/53872383Thu, 20 Jul 2023 08:00:03 +0000Column FiveToday’s special guest is https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgarvin/, Creative Director at https://happymoney.com/?utm_source=linkedin-company-page. On this episode, we chat about how Happy Money infuses psychology into their branding and marketing,...David Garvin, Creative Director at Happy Money. On this episode, we chat about how Happy Money infuses psychology into their branding and marketing, David’s philosophies on great storytelling, and how brands get it wrong. We also discuss future applications for AI in marketing, including how people’s desire for authenticity will continue to challenge the world of AI.

Join us as we discuss:

• What the evolution of brand design for Happy Money looked like
• How to handle a new CMO coming in with potential changes to the brand
• When regulations will be put in place to address the ethical considerations of AI in the creative industry

]]>2947false9fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-cost-of-cutting-dei-with-jackie-wylie-of-textio--54648698Jackie Wylie, Chief Marketing Officer at Textio—a B2B SaaS company that makes workplaces more equitable, inclusive, and diverse by helping customers achieve measurable Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) outcomes. On a mission to eliminate bias with both hiring and retention efforts, Textio is set to disrupt the way companies attract and retain talent.

We chat with Jackie about systemic bias in companies, how her team approaches storytelling around their DEI tools, the consequences of brands not pursuing DEI once the economy rebounds, and why DEI is still among the first things to be cut from budgets.

Join us as we discuss:

• How language and rhetoric play a role in eliminating systemic bias
• Software as an automation tool to help address systemic DEI issues in the workplace
• Making the case for budget spend (even in today’s economy)

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/54648698Thu, 06 Jul 2023 08:00:03 +0000Column FiveToday we’re talking with https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackielogan/, Chief Marketing Officer at https://textio.com/—a B2B SaaS company that makes workplaces more equitable, inclusive, and diverse by helping customers achieve measurable Diversity,...Jackie Wylie, Chief Marketing Officer at Textio—a B2B SaaS company that makes workplaces more equitable, inclusive, and diverse by helping customers achieve measurable Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) outcomes. On a mission to eliminate bias with both hiring and retention efforts, Textio is set to disrupt the way companies attract and retain talent.

We chat with Jackie about systemic bias in companies, how her team approaches storytelling around their DEI tools, the consequences of brands not pursuing DEI once the economy rebounds, and why DEI is still among the first things to be cut from budgets.

Join us as we discuss:

• How language and rhetoric play a role in eliminating systemic bias
• Software as an automation tool to help address systemic DEI issues in the workplace
• Making the case for budget spend (even in today’s economy)

]]>3267false8fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/why-you-shoudl-use-ai-to-co-create-not-compete-with-zach-kitschke-of-canva--54075950Zach Kitschke, CMO at Canva—one of the most impressive and disruptive companies around. Their mission is to empower everyone in the world to design anything and publish anywhere, and they are successfully doing it one user at a time. But being at the forefront of design and tech comes with its own challenges, as the need to innovate requires plenty of creative brainpower.

We chat with Zach about the intersection of artificial intelligence and creativity, how AI can serve as a co-pilot for human designers (by enhancing their creative process rather than replacing them), and how Canva is bringing AI into the fold with functionalities like Magic Design and Magic Words. From photo editing to generating copy ideas and translating content into multiple languages, the integration of AI into the creative process offers exciting possibilities for innovation and expanded creative expression.

Join us as we discuss:

• The key features of Canva's AI-powered solutions
• Why AI collaboration is crucial for enhancing human creativity in design
• How Canva is addressing the challenges of maintaining brand integrity while creating content at scale

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/54075950Thu, 22 Jun 2023 08:00:02 +0000Column FiveToday we’re talking with https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachkitschke/, CMO at https://www.canva.com/en/—one of the most impressive and disruptive companies around. Their mission is to empower everyone in the world to design anything and publish anywhere,...Zach Kitschke, CMO at Canva—one of the most impressive and disruptive companies around. Their mission is to empower everyone in the world to design anything and publish anywhere, and they are successfully doing it one user at a time. But being at the forefront of design and tech comes with its own challenges, as the need to innovate requires plenty of creative brainpower.

We chat with Zach about the intersection of artificial intelligence and creativity, how AI can serve as a co-pilot for human designers (by enhancing their creative process rather than replacing them), and how Canva is bringing AI into the fold with functionalities like Magic Design and Magic Words. From photo editing to generating copy ideas and translating content into multiple languages, the integration of AI into the creative process offers exciting possibilities for innovation and expanded creative expression.

Join us as we discuss:

• The key features of Canva's AI-powered solutions
• Why AI collaboration is crucial for enhancing human creativity in design
• How Canva is addressing the challenges of maintaining brand integrity while creating content at scale

]]>2696false7fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-turn-empathy-into-impact-with-jascha-kaykas-wolff-of-lytics--53970704
Jascha Kaykas-Wolff, President at Lytics, delves into the key principles of career growth and leadership. By practicing empathy and understanding, leaders can reduce noise and tailor their messages to better connect with their audience, ultimately enhancing their own effectiveness and team engagement.

Tune in to discover how this powerful model can help you unlock your career potential, and bring your personal goals and professional growth together as you craft a compelling personal brand narrative. Join us as we discuss:

• What the Heart Tree Star is and how can it guide career development
• Why empathy is crucial in leadership positions for effective communication and collaboration
• How people can take stock of their passions and skills to align them with their career path

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/53970704Thu, 08 Jun 2023 08:00:02 +0000Column FiveAre you ready to unlock your career's full potential? What if you could also align your passions, strengths, and aspirations for success using something called the Heart Tree Star? https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaykas/, President at...
Jascha Kaykas-Wolff, President at Lytics, delves into the key principles of career growth and leadership. By practicing empathy and understanding, leaders can reduce noise and tailor their messages to better connect with their audience, ultimately enhancing their own effectiveness and team engagement.

Tune in to discover how this powerful model can help you unlock your career potential, and bring your personal goals and professional growth together as you craft a compelling personal brand narrative. Join us as we discuss:

• What the Heart Tree Star is and how can it guide career development
• Why empathy is crucial in leadership positions for effective communication and collaboration
• How people can take stock of their passions and skills to align them with their career path

]]>2666false6fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-greenlight-is-changing-youth-finance-with-devin-zimmerman-of-greenlight--53718137
But how many young adults come into these decisions armed with a robust financial education?

Not enough says our latest guest, Devin Zimmerman. As VP of Brand at Greenlight, he’s helping to change that and joins the show today to share how.

Join us as we discuss:

• How Greenlight is helping provide financial education for tweens and teens
• How to understand branding trends for youths
• How brands can find their own unique differentiators and why they must experiment to survive

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/53718137Thu, 25 May 2023 08:00:01 +0000Column FiveBy the time most people reach the age of 18, they’ve already had to make some huge financial decisions. But how many young adults come into these decisions armed with a robust financial education? Not enough says our latest guest,...
But how many young adults come into these decisions armed with a robust financial education?

Not enough says our latest guest, Devin Zimmerman. As VP of Brand at Greenlight, he’s helping to change that and joins the show today to share how.

Join us as we discuss:

• How Greenlight is helping provide financial education for tweens and teens
• How to understand branding trends for youths
• How brands can find their own unique differentiators and why they must experiment to survive

]]>2865false5fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/killing-the-marketing-cliche-with-drew-hoffman-of-sentinelone--53732897
In this episode, we’re speaking with Drew Hoffman, VP of Brand at SentinelOne, a cybersecurity company. Drew talks about the use of AI and how they’ve leveraged it to share their story in a new world.

Join us as we discuss:

• How to capture the right emotion in your brand storytelling
• How to leverage ai to build the brand
• How Drew moved beyond the stale tropes to tell a unique cybersecurity story
• Why cybersecurity tends to play it safe in its brand storytelling — and why that’s a mistake

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/53732897Thu, 11 May 2023 08:00:02 +0000Column FiveOne of the worst things you can do as a marketer is rely on outdated clichés. Unfortunately, it still happens all the time — so much so we all know the tropes. In this episode, we’re speaking with https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewmichaelhoffman/, VP...
In this episode, we’re speaking with Drew Hoffman, VP of Brand at SentinelOne, a cybersecurity company. Drew talks about the use of AI and how they’ve leveraged it to share their story in a new world.

Join us as we discuss:

• How to capture the right emotion in your brand storytelling
• How to leverage ai to build the brand
• How Drew moved beyond the stale tropes to tell a unique cybersecurity story
• Why cybersecurity tends to play it safe in its brand storytelling — and why that’s a mistake

]]>3407false4fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/making-tech-marketing-human-again-with-keith-messick-of-launch-darkly--53517279In this episode of Best Story Wins, we speak with master storyteller Keith Messick, CMO at LaunchDarkly, about how he combines his knack for storytelling with all the tools, tactics, and strategies in modern marketing to tailor the perfect message for his ICP.
We discuss:

• What B2B marketers can learn from B2C
• When to use emotion and logic in your B2B marketing
• How to stand out in your market

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/53517279Thu, 27 Apr 2023 08:00:02 +0000Column FiveThe tools B2B marketers rely on may be ever-evolving — whether that’s the channels they use, the data they collect or the technology they rely on — but the key to success in B2B is actually one overlooked element: Emotion. In this episode of Best...In this episode of Best Story Wins, we speak with master storyteller Keith Messick, CMO at LaunchDarkly, about how he combines his knack for storytelling with all the tools, tactics, and strategies in modern marketing to tailor the perfect message for his ICP.
We discuss:

• What B2B marketers can learn from B2C
• When to use emotion and logic in your B2B marketing
• How to stand out in your market

]]>3052false3fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-videoamp-builds-brands-that-actually-inspire-with-michelle-kim-of-videoamp--53517314On this episode of Best Story Wins, we speak with Michelle Kim, Vice President of Brand Design at VideoAmp. According to Michelle, the secret to cutting-edge culture is brand storytelling and company-wide alignment. From carefully tailoring the onboarding process to ensuring open avenues of honest communication, Michelle dives into what it takes to build an impactful brand story from the inside out.
Join us as we discuss:

• How to define your brand story and what storytelling really means
• Empowering your team to show up with purpose
• What volatile times mean for innovation prioritization

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/53517314Thu, 13 Apr 2023 08:00:02 +0000Column FiveThe creatives at VideoAmp are risk takers — game changers. They have a level of ambition and drive that can’t be bought or taught, and it’s driving innovation throughout the industry. On this episode of Best Story Wins, we speak with...On this episode of Best Story Wins, we speak with Michelle Kim, Vice President of Brand Design at VideoAmp. According to Michelle, the secret to cutting-edge culture is brand storytelling and company-wide alignment. From carefully tailoring the onboarding process to ensuring open avenues of honest communication, Michelle dives into what it takes to build an impactful brand story from the inside out.
Join us as we discuss:

• How to define your brand story and what storytelling really means
• Empowering your team to show up with purpose
• What volatile times mean for innovation prioritization

]]>2913false2fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-missing-skill-in-data-marketing-with-bryan-saftler-of-databricks--52826377Bryan Saftler, Director of Product Marketing - Communications, Media & Entertainment Industries at Databricks, is helping to build. Bryan touches on the storytelling that is most compelling, the power of empathy in marketing, and the challenge of shaping narratives that speak to people at different levels, from the highest-order story to the individual use case. The conversation also touches on the role of AI and how marketers need to find ways to add value that cannot be easily replaced by it.

Join us as we discuss:

• When it’s most important to gather feedback from early adopters to understand what is working and what isn't
• Why it’s important to bridge the connection between the C-level executive and the individual use case when communicating the value of a product or service
• How Databricks communicates the value of their platform to business decision makers and C-level executives

]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/52826377Thu, 30 Mar 2023 08:00:01 +0000Column FiveImagine taking three-decade-old technologies and making them work harder today, by combining the best of both data warehousing and data lake, making it easier to read and be more efficient. That’s the world that https://www.linkedin.com/in/saftler/,...Bryan Saftler, Director of Product Marketing - Communications, Media & Entertainment Industries at Databricks, is helping to build. Bryan touches on the storytelling that is most compelling, the power of empathy in marketing, and the challenge of shaping narratives that speak to people at different levels, from the highest-order story to the individual use case. The conversation also touches on the role of AI and how marketers need to find ways to add value that cannot be easily replaced by it.

Join us as we discuss:

• When it’s most important to gather feedback from early adopters to understand what is working and what isn't
• Why it’s important to bridge the connection between the C-level executive and the individual use case when communicating the value of a product or service
• How Databricks communicates the value of their platform to business decision makers and C-level executives

]]>3013false1fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/introducing-best-story-wins--53129010
On the show, we connect with brand and marketing experts who have been through the difficult journey of driving real business results. We’ll also give you tips for turning ideas into conversions with some of today’s fastest growing companies.

You can find us on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for “Best Story Wins,” and if you like what you hear, hit subscribe.

https://www.columnfivemedia.com/]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/53129010Wed, 08 Mar 2023 00:30:41 +0000Column FiveBuilding and marketing a brand doesn’t always come naturally. Sometimes, you need to take a step back and see the bigger picture before diving into the details. On the show, we connect with brand and marketing experts who have been through the...
On the show, we connect with brand and marketing experts who have been through the difficult journey of driving real business results. We’ll also give you tips for turning ideas into conversions with some of today’s fastest growing companies.

You can find us on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for “Best Story Wins,” and if you like what you hear, hit subscribe.

https://www.columnfivemedia.com/]]>41falsetrailer