Ep 17: Clicks 2 Bricks with Smashburger’s Vice President and Head of Marketing, Scott Johnson

Last year, one of Denver’s most popular burger joints seemed to be in its death throes, and a pandemic with inherent lockdown should have been the final nail. Instead, Smashburger has become one of the city’s major fast-casual outlets, and today’s guest Scott Johnson believes the pandemic only helped it thrive. As the Vice President and Head of Marketing, Scott was brought in to resurrect Smashburger, and turn it into the thriving business it is today. In this episode, you’ll hear about how he first implemented change by celebrating the outlet’s best traits. With a focus on brand strategy and short-term tactics, Scott began to put his resources into digital media. We talk about the virtues of paid media and shifting toward Google ranking using SEO and social media. Our conversation is seasoned with anecdotes about Scott’s previous stints at big-name companies like AT&T, Arby’s, and Boomin’ Brands as we hear about some of the lessons he learned. As a marketing mogul, he takes a high-level look at marketing and how it has changed over the last ten years. Scott comments on how the landscape has been shaped in such a way that smaller brands can compete with the big guys out there, and how economies of scale have drastically evolved. This was just a bite-sized chunk of our tasty conversation. For the whole thing, be sure to tune in!