On Brand with Nick Westergaard

“Marketing doesn’t always have one right answer.” As both a branding expert and instructor at NYU Stern School of Business, Allen Adamson knows how the world of branding has changed and what’s important for students and brand builders alike to understand. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Allen AdamsonAllen Adamson is a noted industry expert in all disciplines of branding. He is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Metaforce.co, NYU Stern School of Business Adjunct Professor of Marketing, and the author of BrandSimple, BrandDigital, The Edge: 50 Tips from Brands That Lead, and his latest Shift Ahead. Prior to Metaforce, Allen was Chairman, North America of Landor Associates, a global branding firm.Episode HighlightsPart of marketing success is stepping back and looking. Today, too often we’re focused on what’s happening right now. As a result, we miss the opportunity for marketing innovation. As Allen notes, “People were standing on the street yelling for a ride forever. It took awhile to see that there was an opportunity there for brands like Uber and Lyft.”What’s changed most about branding today? “In the good old days, there were a couple of choices. Now when you watch people are viewing everywhere.”“We have too much information and not the right type.” Allen shared experiences from his time at Unilever and Pepsi, and how they focused disproportionately on Colgate and Coke. This reminded Allen of a lesson from tennis, you want to “hit the ball to where the other person is not.”How do you know when it’s time for your brand to make a shift? “If you wait for your customers to tell you where to go next you’re probably too late.”What brand has made Allen smile recently? Netflix — “The have taken over our content in such a clever way.”To learn more, go to metaforce.co and check out Allen’s new book at ShiftAheadBook.com.As We Wrap …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 sponsored by my new book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Experience design is the suite of emotions that you deliver over time.” This clear and concise answer came from this week’s guest on the On Brand podcast, Karin Soukup. As Brand Experience Director at Collins San Francisco, she spends her time answering this question with clients and helping them develop innovative solutions. We discussed all of this and more this week on the show.About Karin SoukupKarin is an award-winning creative lead and design educator with over 15 years of multi-platform experience focusing on strategic product innovation, experience design, branding and systems-thinking for work across the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Her contributions have been recognized by Graphis, Type Directors Club, Eye Magazine, Communication Arts, AIGA, the Society of Publication Designers, Brand New, The Center for Plain Language, and The Emmys.Episode Highlights“Experience design is the orchestration of feelings.” As this episode is focused on design, we spent a lot of time talking about intention-setting.How do you go about designing feelings? “You have to start with the customer journey.” This follows Karin’s own career as part of the team at IDEO, where they focused on human-centered design. You have to “get embedded in someone’s life. Specifically this means shop alongs, following people through their day, the magnets on their refrigerators.” Everything!What about the naysayers? “Often they can be converted if you make them a part of it. You have to ask yourself, how people can get skin into the game?”What brand has made Karin smile recently? “Can I say more than one?” Karin shared some recent smiles that came as the result of Sun-Maid Raisins and The New York Times’s march push.To learn more, go to wearecollins.com and follow her on Instagram.As We Wrap …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 sponsored by my book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Brand and culture are two weird words that are getting put together more and more.” This week on the On Brand podcast, we explore these two words—brand and culture—and how to activate them in the creation of meaningful brand experiences with Dennis Hahn, chief strategy officer at Liquid.About Dennis HahnAs chief strategy officer at Liquid, Dennis Hahn is responsible for the methodologies that Liquid uses to address the strategic challenges of our clients. Dennis leads teams of strategists across all of Liquid’s offices, providing expertise, mentoring and consulting on a wide range of significant strategic branding initiatives for clients that include John Deere, HP, Microsoft, Motorola, Nasdaq, PayPal and Walmart.Prior to joining Liquid, Dennis spent 10 years as the president and chief strategy officer of ID Branding, a multi-disciplinary agency that grows meaningful brands for consumers and employees. It was here that he worked closely with cultural anthropologists to pioneer methods that help organizations enculturate their brands with their employees and customers. Working with the leadership teams of companies like Microsoft, Intel, Symantec, SAIF and Mercy, Dennis has provided his expertise to create alignment and commitment to organization-wide brand culture programs.Dennis holds a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from Portland State University. He was also an adjunct professor at PSU for eight years, where he taught strategy through the university’s Professional Development Center. Dennis has spoken at numerous conferences about branding and strategy and has written on the subject of brand culture.Episode HighlightsThe epicenter of branding and culture. “Today the new power trio in brand culture is the CMO, the CHRO, and the CEO.” Together this group needs to lead the creation of a culture platform that aligns with the brand platform.“You said the A word.” When Dennis mentioned authenticity, I asked how we can better tackle this buzzword. “The ‘90s was really the golden era of modern branding with the Nike ads … In the 2000s the internet exposed what brands were doing.” Today brands have to walk the talk.What’s swarming? Once I heard the name of Liquid’s signature brand development process I had to know more. “If design thinking and Lean Startup had a baby it would be our process. We get a bunch of minds together to swarm the problem.” This leads to divergent thinking and innovative solutions.What brand has made Dennis smile recently? “I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Alaskan Airlines. I don’t know about you but I never smile when I get on airplanes but I’ve loved seeing this brand evolve.”To learn more, go to the Liquid agency website, connect with Dennis on LinkedIn, and, for extra fun, check out his mixology website vivalacocktail.com.As We Wrap …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 sponsored by my new book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Everyone has an important role to play in the big vision.” This week on the On Brand podcast, I was joined by Stephanie Nivinskus, CEO of SizzleForce Marketing. We talked about the impact of effective copywriting, creating brands with heart, leadership and culture, and more.About Stephanie NivinskusStephanie Nivinskus is CEO of SizzleForce Marketing, a strategic copywriting agency. Since 1995, Stephanie has developed brand-building campaigns that have been used by Fortune 500 companies, including Starbucks, Quicksilver, and The National Football League, along with hundreds of small, privately owned companies. She also is the creator of SizzleForce Marketing Academy, a digital training platform for small business owners who want to learn how to master their own marketing. She has written for Forbes and Entrepreneur magazines and is the author of the Internataional #1 Bestseller, Absolutely Unforgettable: The Entrepreneur's Guide To Creating A Heart-Centered Brand And Standing Out In A Noisy World.Episode Highlights“We live in a very plastic world. We’ve lost the heart connection.” While Stephanie admits that there’s a time and a place for atomization, it’s resulting in falling out of touch with our connections and customers. She shared a story about how T-Mobile’s customer service delighted her by flipping the script.How can you create brand with heart? “Start by identifying why the company is here. What is the story behind the startup.” From here, Stephanie reminds us you have to share it.Building brands with heart starts internally. “Call a company-wide meeting” and tell the company’s story. Explain why you’re here. “Help them understand that the job they do isn’t just a job."What brand has made Stephanie smile recently? As the mother of teenage boys, Stephanie is a big fan of the Poo~Pourri brand. I reminded her of our interview with Poo~Pourri founder and CEO Suzy Batiz on the On Brand podcast.To learn more, go to sizzleforce.com.As We Wrap …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 sponsored by my new book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“If your brand was to go away tomorrow, would anyone miss it?” Awkward silence. That’s because, for the most part, very few brands today are truly indispensable. Mitch Duckler is out to change that. The author of the new book The Indispensable Brand and founder of Full Surge was my guest this week on the On Brand podcast.About Mitch DucklerMitch Duckler is author of The Indispensable Brand, and a founder and managing partner of FullSurge, a brand and marketing strategy consultancy based in Chicago, Illinois. He has more than 25 years of brand management and management consulting experience, at Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company, Vivaldi Partners Group, and Prophet, where he co-led the brand strategy practice area. His client base includes Fortune 500 companies and numerous world-class brands, such as Boeing, Deloitte, and General Electric. Mitch is a faculty member of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) School of Marketing.Episode HighlightsThe trouble with brand strategy. It has to work at both the 1,000-foot level and the 10-foot level. Mitch shared some of his favorite tactics for bridging this brand-activation gap across the three phases of experience — pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase.Who is a truly indispensable brand? I had to ask. “Starbucks is a brand that’s indispensable even though you can get coffee elsewhere.”What can you do to make your brand indispensable? Start with the “journalist questions” — what, how, why, and who. Mitch recommends using these lenses to identify what’s truly unique about your business and your brand.What brand has made Mitch smile recently? Peloton! Mitch shared how the brand took something as pedestrian (pun intended) as stationary biking and turned it into a social movement.To learn more, go to fullsurge.com and connect with Mitch on Twitter and LinkedIn.As We Wrap …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 sponsored by my new book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Leading with the who is something people want to jump right past.” No, my guest this week wasn’t talking about the band The Who. We were talking about why it’s so important to start with the customer—the who—in mind. This seems easy enough and yet … I discussed being a generalist, naming, and customer-journey mapping with Nancie McDonnell Ruder, fonder of Noetic Consultants, this week on the On Brand podcast.About Nancie McDonnell RuderNancie McDonnell Ruder’s 25-year career began at the Leo Burnett Company where she worked in account management and strategy for Procter & Gamble, Eli Lilly, The Gap, Lexmark Computers and Hoerchst Marion Rousseau. In 2002, Nancie founded Noetic Consultants with the goal of becoming an effective extension of her clients’ teams. The word “noetic” is related to one’s intellect and thinking. Nancie chose this name for the company because it reflects her team’s commitment to helping clients strategically think through their challenges so that, together, they can take the actions necessary to get to the best possible outcomes.Noetic’s clients have included Samsung, PepsiCo, Nike, Marriott, Mayo Clinic and Discovery, Inc. She is also the author of Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill: How Senior Marketers Scale the Heights Through Art and Science, and the creator of the Noetic Art & Science Assessment ™.Nancie is actively involved in many industry, education and community endeavors: 2018 Enterprising Women Champion: an international award for female entrepreneurs whose fast-growth companies also invest in significant community efforts Speaker at the 2016 and 2017 4A’s Strat Fest Adjunct professor at Georgetown University (my undergraduate alma mater) teaching Marketing Strategy Member of DC Chapter of the Women’s Presidents Organization Advisory Board member of Accelerent, a business development consortium designed to serve the business community and Enterprising Women Organization Episode HighlightsWhat does Jack and Jill have to do with marketing? Nancie used this classic storytelling framework to tell stories on how marketers succeed today. She also used it to address the common misconception “jack of all trades, master of none.”“Today it’s important to be a generalist.” This runs counter intuitive as many—especially in the agency world—are told to specialize. That doesn’t matter as much as being a good leader and, as Nancie notes, deciding “who you assemble on your team.”What are the biggest things most marketers and marketing students miss? As an educator at Georgetown and ANA workshop leader, I couldn’t wait to ask Nancie this. “Starting with the customer in mind.” How can we do better at this? “I’m a big believer in the Who, What, How Framework. We also do a lot of customer journey experience mapping."What brand has made Nancie smile recently? Nancie pointed us to Casper Mattresses. They have a “make-you-smile voice” that reinforces our “love affair with sleep."To learn more, follow Nancie on LinkedIn and Twitter and check out her marketing book Jack and Jill Went Up a Hill on Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Culture internally seems like one of the most intuitive things to support. It’s a no brainer. And yet …” We miss it. Often. Thankfully there’s a new book to help us keep the connection between brand and culture top of mind — Cultivating a Creative Culture. The author Justin Dauer is my guest on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Justin DauerJustin Dauer is the author of Cultivating a Creative Culture. The belief behind his book is simple: a happy and well-supported employee is a fueled, charged, inspired creator. Quality of work is elevated, quality of life is strengthened, and the organization’s brand becomes organically championed by the very people it supports. Justin graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. With Josef Müller-Brockmann and user advocacy claiming equal parts of his creative heart, he’s crafted digital experiences for clients like Sony, Chase, SRAM, IBM, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Through bloodshot tunnel vision, he’s drawn from those career experiences across agency side, client side, design studio, and pure tech to foster healthy, dynamic, supportive creative cultures.Episode Highlights“Brand and culture are synonymous.” As Justin said, “Some of the best ideas come from people at all levels. Not just the product or marketing team.” This also send a strong message to the rest of the team that “everyone’s ideas are valued.”“Some brands put a muzzle on their people.” And when they do, they miss out on the enormous potential that can be leverage when employees organically champion the brand.Who does a great job of this? Justin shared some of his favorite examples including Clear Left, Shopify, and Hubspot.What brand has made Justin smile recently? A self-proclaimed denim elitist, Justin shared the Japanese denim brand Iron Heart for the powerful experiences he’s had as a customer.To learn more, connect with Justin on Twitter and Instagram, check out his website, and his new book Cultivating a Creative Culture.As We Wrap …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 sponsored by my new book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“People tend to see strategy and design as two separate things.” As the founder and CEO of Sylvain Labs, Alain Sylvain sits at the intersection of strategy and design. We discussed this including several examples of design thinking at work on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Alain SylvainAlain Sylvain is the founder and CEO of Sylvain Labs, a strategy and design consultancy that helps companies seize the reality and potential of their business, products and brands. Clients include, Google, American Express, Airbnb, Spotify, Blackrock, Samsung, Pepsico, AB InBev, Jet, IKEA, GM, Sonos, the NBA, and others. Founded in 2010, the company is headquartered in NYC, with offices in Amsterdam and Richmond, VA, and a Certified B-Corporation.In addition to Sylvain Labs, Alain is a partner and investor in several ventures, including Master + Dynamic, a design-driven, premium audio brand, So Choice Softworks, a mobile gaming company, Lilo, an açai bowl company, and PetMio, a smart pet food startup. In addition, he has served as executive producer on short documentaries, including Some Kind of Quest and Instafame.He has been featured in various news outlets and is a current board member of Plus Pool and the VCU Brandcenter.Episode HighlightsThe trouble with strategy and design. “People tend to see strategy and design as two separate things — maybe we’re part of the problem because we list them together!” Alain laughed. Design means many things. It can be “at the Adobe level” (graphic design) but it also means design thinking.With a plethora of definitions, what does design thinking actually mean? “It’s really more of a statement about what it’s not. It’s not graphic design. It’s about channeling the end user as you think and design.” We also talked about how business can corrupt words and phrases like design thinking and story.Where does Alain see design thinking at work? "Look at any major category — in mattresses you have Casper, in eyewear you have Warby Parker, in insurance there’s Oscar. Design is at the core of all of these.”What brand has made Alain smile recently? “There’s something magical going on at Spotify. It’s a brand — despite their best attempts! But is has utility in my life.”To learn more, go to the Sylvain Labs website.As We Wrap …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 sponsored by my new book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Building a brand is everyone's job and it’s challenging. It can feel like moving a mammoth.” As the Founder and Managing Consultant at Wavelength Marketing, Darren Coleman helps brands throughout the world like Johnson & Johnson and Pepsi build standout brand experiences. We discussed how to tame this beast and more this week on the On Brand podcast.About Darren ColemanDarren Coleman has over 20 years brand marketing experience spanning Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia and Japan. He counts Johnson & Johnson, BUPA, Maybank, Orange, Saudi Telecom Company, Ooredoo and PepsiCo are amongst the brands he has helped. Darren is frequently invited to deliver keynote talks at international conferences, moderate panel discussions and roundtables, sit on expert panel boards and comment on brand-related issues in national and international media.He holds an MA in marketing (University of Nottingham) and PhD in B2B services brand marketing (University of Birmingham, UK. He’s the Founder and Managing Consultant at Wavelength Marketing. Wavelength specialises in helping services brands retain relevance through experiences they build. Darren has published Building brand Experiences: A Practical Guide to Retaining brand Relevance, with Kogan Page for global distribution and his book will be translated into Korean in 2020.Episode HighlightsBrand experience vs. customer experience. Some of my favorite episodes of the On Brand podcast have explored the definitions we use as brand builders. Darren kicked off the show by noting that we use these two terms — brand experience and customer experience — interchangeably when they’re actually two very different things.“Customer experience is what it says. It’s what the customer experiences.” Brand experience is about your context, your brand, and how you bring it to life.“Brand building, for the most part, is a slow play.” Darren pointed out that many today are looking for quick results, even with branding. “An ROI perspective is problematic for brands."Who are some of Darren’s favorite examples? Virgin Atlantic (“Their CMO is passionate about the brand”) and Singapore Airlines.Building brand experience is everyone’s job. And HR doesn’t always know that. “Getting everyone on board is challenging. It can feel like moving a mammoth.”What brand has made Darren smile recently? Virgin Trains! Darren recently had a bad travel experience that they managed to recover. This too is part of developing a compelling brand experience.To learn more, connect with Darren on LinkedIn and check out the Wavelength Marketing website.As We Wrap …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 sponsored by my new book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“One of the thing’s that’s hardest to do is continue to grow.” As Vice President of Marketing and Growth at Hubspot, Kieran Flanagan has helped the inbound marketing giant do just that. He's responsible for managing all of HubSpot's global demand, acquisition of new users, monetization of freemium funnels, and leading the global marketing team. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Kieran FlanaganKieran Flanagan is the VP of Marketing & Growth at HubSpot, and has helped add millions in additional traffic, users, and revenue to their bottom line. He's responsible for managing all of HubSpot's global demand, acquisition of new users, monetizing freemium funnels, and leading the global marketing team. Previously, Kieran served as Marketing Manager at Marketo and Salesforce, and launched the first inbound marketing campaign ever for Salesforce, which accomplished 70% of their annual traffic in just three weeks. Kieran is also an author, speaker, startup advisor, and hosts The Growth TL;DR Podcast every week.Kieran’s expertise is in generating additional traffic and improving conversion rates across multiple digital channels. He has a track record of helping brands 7x their organic traffic in under six months, and running experiments that double revenue and add millions of dollars in additional ARR.Kieran’s years of innovation and leadership in marketing has made him one of the industry’s most sought after speakers. He has traveled the world sharing his strategies for growth and content at over 50 marketing conferences (and counting). As the host of The Growth TL;DR podcast, Kieran and his guests share the growth secrets behind some of the fastest growing companies on the planet.Episode HighlightsHubspot’s Hearts-and-Minds Strategy. “Customers have never had this much choice — especially when it comes to software. Mind Content is for search.” It helps customers by “teaching them how to be better marketers. Heart Content is key because, “in a crowded market with competition, it’s important that brands have a point of view."Quality vs. quantity. It’s a conversation marketers love to have. However, as Kieran notes, it’s really not an“either or” situation. It’s “both and.” It can be a quantity game, “if the quantity is right for you — if the return is good."What brand has made Kieran smile recently? Burger King! “I don’t buy their products but I love their marketing,” Kieran said, noting their innovative approach to both talking about their competition and leveraging local search and AI.To learn more, go to hubspot.com.As We Wrap …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 sponsored by my new book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices