

On Brand with Nick Westergaard
Nick Westergaard
The On Brand podcast helps you tell stronger stories and build better brands. Each week host Nick Westergaard, author of Brand Now and Get Scrappy, interviews marketing and communication thought leaders or those working for innovative brands like Adobe, Ben & Jerry’s, HBO, Mastercard, Maker’s Mark, the Minnesota Vikings, Salesforce, and Whole Foods. For show notes and more, please visit http://onbrandpodcast.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 13, 2023 • 29min
How Music Grows Brands with Rebecca Jolly
Rebecca Jolly is co-author of the new book How Music Grows Brands. As a consultant she focuses on innovative brand solutions across the music and entertainment industries to drive growth and connect with audiences. She discussed how brands need to approach music differently this week on the On Brand podcast.About Rebecca JollyRebecca Jolly is a global business consultant focused on innovative brand solutions across the music, publishing, and entertainment industries, utilizing the power of music to drive growth, connect with audiences, and as a vehicle for change and impact. She's worked for and with music entities including Beatport, Spotify, SFX Entertainment, Mixmag, and MassiveMusic in New York, London, and Amsterdam. Her brand work extends into some of the biggest global consumer brands including Microsoft, Budweiser, Samsung, Diageo, and New Balance.Rebecca's work has been featured in Billboard, Entrepreneur, and Music Week. Rebecca speaks regularly on industry panels, including Cannes Lions, SXSW, and ADE, and has also been featured as a guest lecturer at NYU.Episode HighlightsBrands and music should go together but … Yeah. As Rebecca began, “Music doesn’t fall as early as it should in brand strategy.” That’s why she’s set out to change how we think about this.Two great On Brand guests = one great book. Rebecca teamed up with our previous On Brand guest Joe Beliotti (known for his music work at Coca-Cola) in authoring the new book, How Music Grows Brands. “We wanted to create a field guide to address this issue and help brands.”“Music consumption has changed over the last 30 years,” Rebecca noted. “Gen Z consumes music in a very different way. But music is a big passion point. If you can get this right it will pay off in dividends.”What brand has made Rebecca smile recently? Though Rebecca hates being put on the spot, she delivered with a smile-worthy UK brand—Minor Figures oat milk. Her most-consistent smiles from the brand come from their hilarious social media that includes everything from ducks in costume to ASMR.To learn more, go to howmusicbuildsbrands.com.As We Wrap …
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Rate and review the show—If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to head over to Apple Podcasts and click the 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review to help others find the show.
Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.
On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network.
Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 6, 2023 • 33min
Crafting Your Brand Voice with Ann Handley
Ann Handley is the Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs and the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Everybody Writes. Recently, she embarked on a “down-to-the-studs” second edition of the book—revised, expanded, and 10% funnier. We talk about all of this—including why she didn’t want to promise more than 10% funny—this week on the On Brand podcast.About Ann HandleyAnn Handley is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author who speaks worldwide about how businesses can escape marketing mediocrity to ignite tangible results. IBM named her one of the seven people shaping modern marketing. Ann is a digital marketing pioneer and the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, the leading marketing training company with more than 600,000 subscribers.She is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content, and co-author of Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business. Her books have been translated into 19 languages, including Turkish, Korean, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese.A LinkedIn Influencer, she has more than 420,000 followers on Twitter and is consistently named one of the more influential marketers on social media. She has contributed commentary and bylines to Entrepreneur magazine, IBM’s Think Marketing, Inc. magazine, Mashable, Huffington Post, American Express, NPR, and the Wall Street Journal.Ann lives in Boston, where she is Mom to creatures two- and four-legged. She is an E.B. White Superfan, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel enthusiast, and a novice tap dancer. She escapes it all by retreating to her tiny-house office, which houses her vintage typewriter collection.Episode Highlights“Mediocrity has always been there,” Ann began as I asked about her focus on helping marketers escape a world of content mediocrity. However, she was quick to note that she never wants to make people feel bad—especially about their writing.What someone really means when they say ‘I’m terrible at writing.’ We have a lot of baggage with writing. “When someone says ‘I’m terrible at writing what they usually mean is ‘I’m terrible at grammar.’” But that’s just one piece of writing. And anyone can write. Or, perhaps a better way to say it is, everybody writes …“A fun romp through writing.” Recently, the second edition of Ann’s bestseller Everybody Writes came out. New revised, and 10% funnier. Why just 10%? She explained that she didn’t want to overpromise on the funny.The sunroom of brand voice. This ambitious undertaking had her taking the book “down to the studs” and rebuilding and in some cases removing sections. She also expanded the concept of brand voice into its own section. Think your brand isn’t cool enough for brand voice? Check out the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (a favorite of Ann’s).What brand has made Ann smile recently? “Cunk on Earth,” a hilarious new series on Netflix starring Diane Morgan. “It made me laugh out loud and I don’t do that a lot.”To learn more, check out her website and connect with her on LinkedIn.As We Wrap …
Listen and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon/Audible, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeart, YouTube, and RSS.
Rate and review the show—If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to head over to Apple Podcasts and click the 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review to help others find the show.
Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.
On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network.
Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 27, 2023 • 31min
Mastering Brand Storytelling with Mark Carpenter
Mark Carpenter is a serial storyteller and co-author of the best-selling book Master Storytelling. Mark shared how you can be more intentional as you tell stories in your work building brands, inspiring teams, and leading in both work and life. Master storytelling by listening to Mark this week on the On Brand podcast.About Mark CarpenterMark Carpenter is a serial storyteller. Even as a child, he loved to tell stories (mainly to get attention). He leveraged that ability into a career in marketing communications and public relations, then as a college professor and corporate facilitator.Now, he teaches people how to more intentionally tell stories that teach, lead, sell, and inspire to accomplish business and personal goals. He is the co-author of the best-selling book Master Storytelling: How to Turn Your Experiences Into Stories that Teach, Lead, and Inspire and co-creator of the Master Storytelling Workshop.Leveraging a 20-year career in corporate communication, 10 years working as an adjunct professor of communication, and 15 years facilitating training, Mark couples a lively, engaging style with purposeful, impactful learning.When he’s not training, speaking, coaching, or creating new content, Mark is likely hiking or snowshoeing in the mountains near his home in Utah, playing the piano, bragging about his grandchildren, or writing children's books.Episode Highlights“Building a brand isn’t like putting money in a slot machine,” Mark joked. Like storytelling, it requires intentionality. “You have to look for the experiences.”How can you find stories? Mark advises us to, “Look for anything that creates an emotional reaction.” Stories are built around emotion and help produce emotion as they’re shared over and over again. As brands, we need to encourage our people to look for these moments of customer emotion around the brand.“Sharing experiences requires vulnerability,” Mark noted. It takes a lot as a brand and as a leader to stand up and say, “This is who we are.”Leading with story. “You’ll be seen as a stronger leader if you connect through story,” Mark shared. “You need to connect the information to your people. Make it real for them. That’s the job of a leader.”What brand has made Mark smile recently? Mark came prepared for this question! He shared another brand that made him smile earlier in the interview, Second Chance Academy. However, his big smile came from his hometown favorite, Kizik shoes, which Mark wears everywhere.To learn more, go to master-storytelling.com or connect with Mark on LinkedIn.As We Wrap …
Listen and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon/Audible, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeart, YouTube, and RSS.
Rate and review the show—If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to head over to Apple Podcasts and click the 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review to help others find the show.
Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.
On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network.
Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 20, 2023 • 32min
Simple Brand Positioning with Ulli Appelbaum
Ulli Appelbaum has held senior strategy and account planning roles at some of the largest advertising agencies in the world, working with brands like Wrigley, Hallmark, Nestle, and Chrysler along the way. His latest book is The Brand Positioning Workbook, which we discussed this week on the On Brand podcast.About Ulli AppelbaumBorn in Germany, raised in Africa and Belgium, and now living in the US, Ulli Appelbaum has held senior strategy and account planning roles at some of the largest advertising agencies in the world including BBDO Germany and Chicago, Leo Burnett Budapest, Frankfurt & Chicago, Fallon Worldwide in Minneapolis, and SapientNitro in Chicago, L.A., and Minneapolis. His insights and strategies have helped brands such as Wrigley, Nestle Purina, Harley Davidson, Hallmark, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Chrysler, and many more.In 2014, he launched First The Trousers Then The Shoes Inc. a brand research and strategy consultancy based here in Minneapolis working for clients including Siemens, Outlaw Energy Drinks, Post Consumer Brands, Angel’s Envy/Bacardi, Flexera, Anchore, Double Good, Verve Credit Union and a few more.Ulli is the author of The Brand Positioning Workbook: A Simple How-To Guide To More Compelling Brand Positionings, Faster, the best-selling Positioning Development Method Cards, Aha!, The Ultimate Insight Generation Toolkit, and 26 Popular Children Games from Around The World, a set of game cards created to help promote cultural understanding and tolerance among children through play.Episode HighlightsThe strategy on the shelf. After a quick laugh up front, Ulli and I opened the show with a conversation about strategy. Often, when digging deeper with clients, Ulli found an old strategy “on the shelf” that no one was really using.How can you make strategy more actionable? This, like many things, comes to better understanding your customer. Ulli shared a recent client experience that reinforced the need for better insights and research.A workbook for the work of brand positioning. When Ulli embarked on his latest book, he found no shortage of existing books on positioning. However, as a seasoned brand builder, Ulli knows that positioning is a lot of work. That’s why he set out to create not an encyclopedia of brand positioning but rather a simple workbook for setting this critical process in motion—The Brand Positioning Workbook.What brand has made Ulli smile recently? Ulli shared the latest work from McDonald's UK, where the brand has made the bold move of not showing the restaurants or food but rather their iconic (golden) arches as eyebrows.To learn more, connect with him on LinkedIn or check out his website for First The Trousers Then The Shoes. As We Wrap …
Listen and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon/Audible, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeart, YouTube, and RSS.
Rate and review the show—If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to head over to Apple Podcasts and click the 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review to help others find the show.
Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.
On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network.
Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 13, 2023 • 31min
Finding Your Brand's Sub-Culture with Rebecca Coleman
Rebecca Coleman is the President of The Narrative Group and leads US operations for We Are Social. Her work is defined by the innovative approach of earned-led thinking, which has been used by brands including Mcdonald's, Harmless Harvest, and Universal Pictures. We discussed all of this and more this week on the On Brand podcast.About Rebecca ColemanRebecca Coleman holds over 20 years of experience in building great relationships with clients and even better campaigns for their brands. Currently, she is President at The Narrative Group, an award-winning creative agency that specializes in earned-led brand experiences for some of today’s biggest brands including McDonald’s, Harmless Harvest, and Universal Pictures. Previously, Rebecca founded Something Massive, a strategy-led advertising agency and production company with clients like Plum Organics, Oikos, and KIND.Episode HighlightsNews about The Narrative Group. As we began the interview, Rebecca shared that her company, The Narrative Group, just merged with We Are Social—the world’s largest social media agency. “A bit part of what got their attention was our work on Minions …”Making Minions cool again. When client Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures came up with the strategy to make minions cool again, they worked with The Narrative Group to help take on the challenge.“Culture has decentralized today,” Rebecca explained, noting the importance for brands of focusing on sub-cultures of their audiences and customers. “You not only have to show up in the right places—you have to be connected with their interests in places like TikTok.”What brand has made Rebecca smile recently? “Liquid Death! They made water from cans—which is better for the environment than bottles—look badass.” This was a very on-brand smile as it’s all about knowing their subcultures.To learn more, check out the websites for The Narrative Group and We Are Social and connect with Rebecca on LinkedIn.As We Wrap …
Listen and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon/Audible, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeart, YouTube, and RSS.
Rate and review the show—If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to head over to Apple Podcasts and click the 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review to help others find the show.
Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.
On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network.
Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 6, 2023 • 28min
Building Your Brand Through Events with Mark Kilens
Mark Kilens is Chief Marketing Officer of Airmeet, a virtual and hybrid event platform. While it’s been a challenging couple of years, events of all kinds—virtual, hybrid, and live—are critical components of the content marketing landscape. Mark and I discussed all of this and more, this week on the On Brand podcast.About Mark KilensAs Chief Marketing Officer of virtual and hybrid event platform, Airmeet, Mark Kilens leads a global team of marketing professionals who are working to advance the event-led growth movement across the B2B events category. Kilens has 15 years of marketing leadership experience. His main goal is to help global businesses engage and grow their customer base through event-led growth practices. This consists of using immersive and integrated events across the entire customer journey to create a highly personalized digital experience.Prior to joining Airmeet, he served as VP of Content and Community at Drift, and oversaw Drift Insider, a community of 50,000+ members. He also previously held the title of VP of Marketing at HubSpot and went on to build HubSpot Academy from the ground up, which led the company to surpass $600 Million USD in revenue.Episode Highlights“We need to expand our definition of events,” Mark began. “Events include webinars and online events as well.” Mark went on to talk about how podcasts are events as well.Chicken or egg? In talking about the interrelationship between content and events, Mark posed a classic chicken-and-egg question: what should come first—the content or the event? Mark made a case for both. “It really depends on what you’re doing with your event.”“If there’s one thing to do differently in your events …” I love this type of statement from a guest. Mark suggests that we need to spend as much time planning the event as we do producing and promoting it. This adds up to time well spent as you dig deeper on what your event is and who it’s for.What brand has made Mark smile recently? “Patagonia—I just love the brand and the product,” Mark noted. “Plus they’re picking a side and that’s important in branding today.”To learn more, you can connect with Mark on LinkedIn and Twitter.As We Wrap …
Listen and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon/Audible, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeart, YouTube, and RSS.
Rate and review the show—If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to head over to Apple Podcasts and click the 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review to help others find the show.
Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.
On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network.
Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 30, 2023 • 28min
B2B Brand Building with Linda Fanaras
Linda Fanaras is CEO/Strategist of Millenium Agency, where she helps B2B brands develop integrated campaigns that get results with her innovative approach of transforming market research into powerful campaigns. This isn’t always easy—especially when it comes to B2B. We discussed all of this and more this week on the On Brand podcast.About Linda FanarasLinda A. Fanaras, CEO/Strategist of Millennium Agency, is an award-winning executive marketer with exceptional leadership and communication skills, relationship-building expertise, and a proven track record in executing strategic marketing campaigns that improve marketing ROI and CLV.Linda is highly experienced in brand analysis and structure, positioning and messaging that engages, the development of integrated digital marketing campaigns, and the formulation of creative concepts for B2B manufacturing and software technology. Focused on motivational and positive inclusive leadership skills, she drives marketing teams to achieve exceptional results.Episode HighlightsWhat do B2B brands need to do differently in branding and marketing today? I thought I’d start with a softball! However, Linda knocked it out of the park. “B2B brands need to remember to focus on the end user. And that’s often a business rather than a specific consumer demographic.”“From there, focus on getting your language and story down.” Linda stresses that marketers need to continue to test this through ongoing surveys and focus groups.How can marketers stay sane in the new year? Marketers have to be organized and strategic.” And creative to boot! That’s not always an easy combo. That’s why Linda notes that it’s important for marketing leaders to understand their team and what motivates them.What brand has made Linda smile recently? “Lazy One—creators of stylish PJs, robes, and slippers.” I love learning about new brands. Especially ones that can help me get comfortable as I think about all of the challenges marketers face today!To learn more, go to mill.agency and connect with Linda on LinkedIn.As We Wrap …
Listen and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon/Audible, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeart, YouTube, and RSS.
Rate and review the show—If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to head over to Apple Podcasts and click the 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review to help others find the show.
Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.
On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network.
Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 23, 2023 • 31min
Recession Survival for Brands with John O'Melia
John O’Melia serves as Chief Customer Officer at Contentsquare. His Customer Success team works to ensure that brands of all shapes and sizes are able to understand what’s happening with their brands online and, more importantly, why. We discussed all of this during our conversation on the On Brand podcast.About John O'MeliaJohn O'Melia was previously the CEO of Seal Software, which was acquired by DocuSign in 2020. He has also held senior leadership positions in Customer Success and Sales at EMC. Earlier in his career, he was a partner at Coopers & Lybrand/PwC where he oversaw global projects in multiple industries. Over the course of his career, he has always sought to truly understand customers’ needs and aspirations associated with their investment in technology and to ensure they realize the maximum possible return.John joined Contentsquare in early 2021 as Chief Customer Officer. His Customer Success team works to ensure all customers harness the full power of Contentsquare’s technology to drive significant business value.Episode HighlightsMaking the digital world more human. When I asked John for Contentsquare’s elevator pitch that’s how he answered—helping customers make the digital world more human by understanding “what’s happening and why it’s happening.”What can companies do today to make their brand recession-proof? “There are two things,” John notes. First, you have to be truly data-driven.” He went on to cite a stat that only 7% of companies are data-driven.The second thing is a little harder. “You have to fit on customer experience,” John explained. “You have to look beyond just checking the box. Is your brand really known for this?”What brand has made John smile recently? John shared a story that made him (and me!) smile with a brand in a … “unique” industry: Lovehoney.To learn more, check out the Contentsquare website and connect with John on LinkedIn.As We Wrap …
Listen and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon/Audible, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeart, YouTube, and RSS.
Rate and review the show—If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to head over to Apple Podcasts and click the 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review to help others find the show.
Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.
On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network.
Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 16, 2023 • 32min
Developing Your Brand Soundtrack with Tom Höglund
Tom Höglund is one of the founding team members at Epidemic Sound, which helps connect brands with the music they need to tell their stories. But when it comes to music rights, complexity lurks around every corner. He shared this story and more this week on the On Brand podcast.About Tom HöglundTom Höglund is one of the founding team members at Epidemic Sound and has been responsible for several different functions at the company as it has scaled, reaching a $1.4B valuation in 2021. Tom developed Epidemic Sound’s innovative digital rights model, which paves the way for creators — everyone from YouTubers to small businesses to the world’s largest brands—to use restriction-free music to take their content to the next level. Tom is also an early-stage investor in companies primarily geared towards creator monetization and B2C and B2B SaaS solutions.Episode Highlights“The future of content creation will be fragmented,” Tom said of video’s prevalence in both branded content and creator content. “We want to provide world-class music to anyone brave enough to tell their story.”“Complexity ensued …” I had to point out this moment in Tom’s story, as music rights and usage is a complex topic for anyone who’s not a trademark attorney. Epidemic Sound wanted to develop something as simple to use as an ATM.“Video without sound is like food without taste.” Tom shared this powerful quote from one of his co-founders, which drives home just how important sound is to the content we create.What brand has made Tom smile recently? “It’s an obvious brand for a non-obvious reason—Twitter!” Tom went on to talk about the story playing out at Twitter under Elon Musk. From sinks to firings, neither of us was sure what the genre of this smile-worthy moment is.To learn more, check out the Epidemic Sound website and connect with Tom on LinkedIn.As We Wrap …
Listen and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon/Audible, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeart, YouTube, and RSS.
Rate and review the show—If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to head over to Apple Podcasts and click the 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review to help others find the show.
Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.
On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network.
Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 9, 2023 • 32min
Founding Hedley & Bennett with Ellen Marie Bennett
Ellen Marie Bennett is the founder and chief brand officer of Hedley & Bennett. If you’re a foodie, you’ve seen Hedley & Bennett aprons on some of the world’s best chefs. I saw one on Stanley Tucci and knew if I was going to be a serious home cook, I had to have one. Ellen shares how she created this brand 10 years ago—at the age of 24—this week on the On Brand podcast.About Ellen Marie BennettAs a 24-year-old line cook, Ellen Marie Bennett couldn't stand the kitchen staff’s poorly designed, cheaply made aprons. So when her head chef announced he was ordering a new batch, she blurted out, “Chef, I have an apron company”—even though she had no company, no business plan—just a glimmer of a design idea and a business license. Through hustle and a willingness to leap into the unknown, time and time again, she built that first order into a multi-million-dollar company called Hedley & Bennett, making aprons and kitchen gear worn by many of the world’s best chefs and home cooks everywhere. Episode Highlights“Your listeners have to be thinking, ‘A whole interview about aprons?!’” Ellen jokingly suggested. “This has nothing to do with aprons. This could be aprons or protein powder or whatever your product is.”“I wanted to be the Nike of the culinary world.” Mission accomplished. And that’s no small mission! Ellen talked about wanting to create a connection with her customers and community like Nike has with theirs. That feeling when someone puts something on feels that they can do anything.Chasing perfection vs. learning. Ellen notes that it's dangerous to wait for perfection to launch a new product, stressing the importance of “embracing the long and winding road.”Learning from customers. “Everything we added to our products we learned from chefs,” Ellen explained that focus groups aren’t everything. “There’s no one way to build a brand.”How do you know when to expand the brand? Recently, Hedley & Bennett has expanded into knives, thermometers, and towels. But how did they know when to expand? “We learned that we’re not just an apron brand. We’re a culinary brand,” Ellen explained. “And one of our brand pillars is that it needs to be pro-grade.” It has to be chef-quality.What brand has made Ellen smile recently? Ellen was moved to smiles and tears by a recent trip to Mexico to deliver holiday gifts to children through the foundation This Is About Humanity. Ellen shared more about the good work they do and how they get a majority of the money they raise into the hands of people who need it most.To learn more, go to the Hedley and Bennett website and follow the brand on TikTok. You can also follow Ellen and follow the adventures of her family and her pet pig (!) on Instagram.As We Wrap …
Listen and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon/Audible, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeart, YouTube, and RSS.
Rate and review the show—If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to head over to Apple Podcasts and click the 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review to help others find the show.
Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.
On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network.
Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices