On Brand with Nick Westergaard

“I joke that I’m good at impressions — you have to do voices.” Why would a marketer need to be good at doing impressions? As founder of Cobblestone Creative Co, Kate Boyd uses this skill to help mirror the voices of the solopreneurs she serves as she creates marketing and sales systems. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Kate BoydKate Boyd is the founder of Cobblestone Creative Co. and a conversion marketing strategist who builds high converting marketing systems that help solopreneurs attract, nurture, and convert more clients they love without burning out. After leaving the world of non-profit marketing, she has built 3 profitable online businesses and created marketing and sales systems that convert up to 5 times the normal rates.Episode HighlightsWhat makes solopreneurs so different? Beyond the simple fact that there’s only one person in the business, there’s a lot that’s different. “There are all kinds of entrepreneurs but we’ve seen a growth of micro-businesses and they are really bootstrapping it. They don’t want to become a massive organization.”How do you scale marketing based on the voice of a founder? “Voice and responsibility can be hard (for entrepreneurs) to surrender. You have to find the right balance. I watch videos and listen to podcasts.” This helps Kate identify an entrepreneur’s unique voice and integrate it into scalable marketing systems.What’s one thing most marketers today are missing? Email! (You know I’m a big fan.) “You have to have a home base. Your email list is so important as platforms and algorithms continue to change.”What brand has made Kate smile recently? “I have to go with Starbucks because they just brought back the Pumpkin Spice Latte.” PSL, FTW!To learn more, connect with Kate on LinkedIn and check out cobblestonecreativeco.com.As We Wrap …Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Maria Antonia Paez Duque gave us a shout for our episode featuring Cathy Hackl. Thanks for listening, Maria!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, 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

“A story lets you address problems in a very human way.” While traditional business books, textbooks, and case studies help us learn key concepts, they often miss what’s going on behind the scenes. The story arc or narrative. This week, author, designer, and brand advisor Marty Neumeier returned to the On Brand podcast (listen to his first episode here) to discuss his latest book Scramble — a business thriller about agile strategy!About Marty NeumeierMarty Neumeier is an author, designer, and brand adviser whose mission is to bring the principles and processes of design to business. His series of “whiteboard” books includes Zag, named one of the “top hundred business books of all time,” and The Designful Company, a bestselling guide to nonstop innovation. An online presentation of his first book, The Brand Gap, has been viewed more than 22 million times since 2003. A sequel, The Brand Flip, lays out a new process for building brands in the age of social media and customer dominance. His most recent book, Scramble, is a “business thriller” about how to build a brand quickly using “agile strategy.”In 1996, Neumeier founded Critique magazine, the first journal about design thinking. He has worked closely with innovative companies such as Apple, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, HP, Adobe, Google, and Microsoft to help advance their brands and cultures.Today he serves as Director of Transformation for Liquid Agency in Silicon Valley, and travels extensively as a workshop leader and speaker on the topics of design, brand, and innovation. He and his wife divide their time between California and southwest France.Episode HighlightsA business thriller about agile strategy? “Well, ‘thriller’ might be a bit much,” admits Marty. “Nobody dies and nobody shoots anyone! Scramble is the story of a CEO who used to be an architect so he’s a designer. He faces a headwind and agile strategy comes to the rescue.”So, what is the story arc of agile strategy? “Agile has been made into an orthodoxy by some — I’m not one of them. It’s about making prototypes, working fast, and elaborating later.”Watch your Ps and Qs. Marty’s latest work is all about multiplying the Qs of strategy with the Ps of design thinking — problemizing, pinballing, probing, prototyping, and proofing. “If you follow this path, you’re going to come out with something very different.”Designing vs deciding. “Design is the way forward. We have to redefine designing. If you’re changing a situation into a better one, if you’re planning a change — it’s design.”What brand has made Marty smile recently? Marty is a huge fan of the MINI brand. So much so that he actually went out and bought a MINI after singing its praises so often.To learn more, go to martyneumeier.com/scramble for special extras just for listeners of the On Brand podcast.As We Wrap …Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Pia Silva gave us a shout on Twitter for our episode that featured — her! Thanks for joining us and for listening, Pia!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, 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

“Content is expanding — it’s shifting. It used to be 2D and flat.” Now we have VR, AR, MR, and XR. What’s a marketer to do? Luckily, we can get this entire world demystified for us by extended reality expert and futurist Cathy Hackl on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Cathy HacklCathy Hackl is the lead Futurist at You Are Here Immersive Labs, one of the Southeast's most prominent XR labs. Hackl is an Emmy-nominated communicator turned augmented reality & virtual reality global speaker, producer and author. She is also a Partner at Mixed Reality Ventures. Prior to joining You Are Here, she worked as an HTC VIVE VR Evangelist during the launch of their latest headset, the VIVE Pro, and during the company’s partnership with Warner Brothers’ blockbuster, Ready Player One. She's the co-author of Marketing New Realities: An Introduction to VR & AR Marketing, Branding & Communications.Hackl has been featured in media outlets like Mic, CNN, Silicon Beat, Entrepreneur, CMO.com, Forbes, VentureBeat and Mashable. She is a global advisor for the VR AR Association and a leading voice in the VR AR marketing and enterprise space. Before working in AR and VR, Hackl worked as a journalist for CNN, Discovery Communications, and ABC News.Episode HighlightsLet’s start with a glossary of terms. Virtual reality, or VR, is fully immersive and creates new worlds through tools like the Oculus headset. Augmented reality, or AR, adds to your world. Mixed reality, or MR, is when VR and AR collide and you interact with digital elements in the real world. And, finally, Extended reality, or XR, is the melding of all of this.When VR/AR meets utility. Cathy shared a story about a recent project with Porsche where AR was used to create a custom build of a car without setting foot in a dealership. And guess what? Customers who built cars using tools like this are even more likely to buy cars. This is being called vCommerce.What can we do to be ready for what’s next with VR/AR/MR/ER? Cathy gave us a few places to start. “First, start playing around with the free tools like Snapchat’s Lens Studio. My book is also a good primer. Finally, keep an eye on what Apple’s doing."What brand has made Allen smile recently? Casper Pillows! Cathy loved a recent social media interaction after purchasing a pillow at Target.To learn more, go to cathyhackl.com and connect with her on LinkedIn and follow her on Twitter.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, 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

“Brands that endure have long-term ambitions. They make a durable difference.” When it comes to celebrating your brand’s legacy, age is relative. In some industries it’s a benefit while others are looking for the latest, greatest thing. But your legacy is bigger than what you’ve left behind. Business journalist Lucas Conley shared the five pillars that make up a brand’s legacy on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Lucas ConleyA journalist with an eye for stories that change how we see the world, Conley began his career at The Atlantic Monthly and has written for The Boston Globe, Fast Company, ESPN: The Magazine, SPIN, and The Wall Street Journal Magazine, among others. Lucas has been invited to speak about his work on The Colbert Report, ABC World News, CNN’s BookTV, NPR, and at South by Southwest.Lucas’s books explore the human dimension of business. Author of Obsessive Branding Disorder (one of Strategy + Business’s best books of 2008) and coauthor of The Method Method (listed as a “top ten” marketing book in 2011 by Advertising Age), his third book, Legacy in the Making, coauthored with award-winning strategist Mark Miller, was published in March 2018.Lucas holds a BA in creative writing from the University of Arizona and JD from the University of New Mexico School of Law. A writer with The Legacy Lab, he lives in Los Angeles, California. When not writing, he lights out for North America’s most remote and spectacular wildlands.Episode Highlights What is Obsessive Branding Disorder? This idea came up years ago when Lucas was reviewing books for Fast Company. Let’s just say several of the books were branding books. This led Lucas to a big question — are they just trying to dress up the business? Or is their something bigger driving branding today?“Age is relative.” Lucas went on to share that in some businesses like automotive, you want that established legacy. In other industries like the hotel business, millennials want the hot new thing.The 5 Pillars of Legacy. Lucas shared the five pillars covered in his latest book, Legacy in the Making: Take Leadership Personally Behave Your Beliefs Let Outsiders In Invent Your Own Game Never Stop Making Legacy What brand has made Lucas smile recently? “I love keeping up with the brands in the book — like the Bluebird Cafe.” Lucas shared the story of this Nashville destination venue for aspiring artists and singer/songwriters.To learn more, go to For more information, visit the website, Facebook, and Twitter for The Legacy Lab.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, 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

“Brands today are more dynamic than ever before. We need to keep the idea of brand from being esoteric." And we need better tools for managing and measuring brand impact across platforms. That’s exactly what Luke Beatty does as CEO at Brandfolder. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Luke BeattyPrior to joining Brandfolder as CEO, Luke Beatty served as the President of Media Brands at Verizon and as a Managing Director at TechStars in Boulder. In 2004, Luke founded Associated Content, which was sold to Yahoo in 2010. He holds a Master’s from Harvard University and an undergraduate degree from Connecticut College. Along with riding a bicycle every day, Luke is a youth lacrosse coach and fly fishes around the world.Episode HighlightsBrand’s today are more dynamic. Luke kicked off the show with something he talks about a lot — why brands today are more dynamic than ever before. There are three drivers of dynamic brands ...1) Alignment. “Brands want to define their own adjacency.” This requires a deep understanding of meaning. You can’t just switch the brand's colors. You have to know what’s behind a big move like this.2) New products. It’s harder than ever to capture attention and launch new products. However, brand can be a powerful tool. “Look at IHOP/IHOB.” IHOP has gained attention through this conversation about changing their iconic brand name. Whether or not they change their name for good, we’re all talking about IHOP — and about their expanded burger menu.3) Revenue. Simply put, money is a driver. Creating new instances of the brand means more money. This is why sports brands introduce throwback uniforms — to sell more uniforms.Beyond creative. “Most (brand) tools today are about creating creative.” That’s why Luke and the Brandfolder team focus on analytics in addition to asset management. “We provide library metrics for your brand.” Luke went on to detail the three layers of measurement and insights.What brand has made Allen smile recently? “Patagonia!” Luke shared why he believes Patagonia is the quintessential dynamic brand.To learn more, go to brandfolder.com or you can email Luke. You can also follow Luke on Twitter. WARNING: There will be tweets about fishing and bikes, in addition to brand talk.As We Wrap …Before we go, I want to flip the microphone around to our community …Julia Carcamo gave me a shout on Twitter about my new book. Thanks, Julia!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, 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

“Brands aren’t logos or static concepts. They’re value systems.” Mario Natarelli has branded everything. From Fortune 500 companies to entire countries. Regardless of how different the individual clients may be, the frameworks remain the same. Author and brand strategist Natarelli was kind enough to share them with us on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Mario NatarelliMario Natarelli is a trusted advisor to executives and their companies looking to leverage their most important asset — their brand. By first being able to uniquely understand a brand’s true challenges and untapped potential, then through deliberate and extensive analysis, he has helped major Fortune 500 companies and even entire countries tangibly transform, align their cultures and deliver unprecedented growth and value.Trained as an architect early in his career, Mario uses these fundamentals to balance the art and science of brand building. He understands that a brand’s essence and their cultures emanate from their strategic core outwards. Over the past 17 years he has led teams across three continents, working for clients of varying size and industry focus, mostly in the areas of technology, real estate, travel, sports, and hospitality. Along the way he has developed a proprietary set of frameworks, processes and tools that deliver proven results.Episode HighlightsArchitecture and branding. From building buildings to brand building, Mario’s background in architecture taught him about the art and science of branding. “It’s society forming.”“Brands aren’t logos or static concepts. They’re value systems.” So how do you do that? Mario shared the three pillars of his brand-building framework — essence (the foundation of who you are), story (how you communicate this), and experience (how you control this across all touchpoints. “They’re all interdependent. It’s like a Russian stacking doll.”“Great brands start with great culture.” Being a fan of tough questions, I asked Mario if brand can help guide culture or is that too controlling? “That’s the question, isn’t it?” It all comes down to balance. “It’s not something you switch on. It’s something you build slowly over time.”Branding country. Branding a place is hard enough when it’s a city, region, or state. But what about an entire country? Mario shared his experiences working to brand Dubai. It’s extra challenging as countries aren’t homogeneous. The brand has to work for everyone. This makes it a big test of one of the hardest requirements for all brands — building something that’s flexible enough to be used by everyone but still cohesive enough to stand for something big.What brand has made Mario smile recently? “Netflix for a couple reasons. They are the ultimate brand for (1) indulgence, (2) ritual, and (3) enhancement.” An insightful answer to a very basic question!To learn more, follow Mario on Twitter, check out the Emblem website, and learn more about their book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Everything is an ad.” At times it seems as though our industry is in the midst of an existential crisis. Who are we? What do we really do? Are branding, marketing, and advertising still the best descriptors? Kevin Kelly, President and Founder of BigBuzz Marketing Group, helped us get to the bottom of these big questions on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Kevin KellyKevin Kelly is President and Founder of Bigbuzz Marketing Group, having launched the firm in his Long Island garage in 1995. Today, he oversees the agency’s client relationships, develops and innovates its suite of services, and provides the creative vision for long-term growth from the firm’s office in Manhattan. Bigbuzz Marketing Group is a full-service advertising agency based in New York City’s garment district with clients such as Honeywell, Garanimals, Leviton, Icon Parking, and other major brands.With over 20 years of experience working on multi-faceted advertising campaigns, Mr. Kelly’s most recent digital advertising projects include designing a digital strategy for NYC’s largest parking brand, Icon Parking; and incorporating the geolocation app Waze into their mobile offering. The campaign resulted in navigating customers directly into Icon’s garages, who were not necessarily budget-conscious using coupons, they just wanted the convenience and were willing to pay full price. This, paired with other innovative advertising strategies, helped improve the client’s visibility. Mr. Kelly also worked on the launch of Honeywell’s new smart home security system, creating an advertising campaign combining digital and traditional advertising. He also developed an app strategy for Leviton smart-home light products, benefitting both customers and resellers.Episode HighlightsThe existential crisis of our industry. Advertising is having an identity crisis. Does this word still apply? “We’re always asking ourselves this — who are we? Who do we want to be? Who do our clients need us to be?”“Everything’s an ad.” Kevin shared a story about how their agency’s creative director gathered everyone together for a profound announcement. “Everything’s an ad.” The agency had been taking a“slapdash approach to social media” but the CD reminded them that even social updates were ads. “Look at the pieces — a headline, an image, some copy — sometimes some longer copy. It’s a friggin’ ad, people!”“We can really be accountable with the dollars.” Kevin recounted their integrated campaigns for Icon Parking and Honeywell. Specifically, he noted how they can be accountable for how the ad dollars have been spent. This analytic insight is one of the biggest ways the industry — really the work of advertising agencies — has changed over the past decade.What brand has made Kevin smile recently? Tesla! Kevin shared a story that saw this powerful brand sync perfectly with a family life moment.To learn more, go to bigbuzz.com. You can also email Kevin at kevin@bigbuzz.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The only exciting thing celebrity has is the privilege of platform.” To build something from this privilege, you need to understand your personal brand. Show business and personal branding are two topics Phil Pallen is uniquely qualified to talk about. And that’s exactly what we did on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. Enjoy!About Phil PallenPhil Pallen is a brand and social media strategist and regular contributor for international media outlets, including CNN, Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, the Toronto Star, and the Daily Mail, Phil breaks down the business of branding and social media into tangible steps that anyone can do. Phil has since spoken at major conferences like Finland’s Arctic15, Japan’s iMedia Brand Summit, and HubSpot’s InBound Conference in Boston.Episode Highlights“You totally have a brand, babe.” That’s Phil’s reply when confronted with what he hears all too often from would-be personal brands — “I don’t even have a brand.” Wrong! You have a brand. But you may not be able to see it. The first part is content and the second part is personality. You can’t have one without the other. Especially, the second part. “Your personality is your secret sauce.”The three steps of personal branding. First, you have to position. Then you have to build something. Then, and only then, can you promote. Trying to promote before positioning and building is like trying to sell a house without understanding the features.How do you know if you’ve built a strong personal brand? “You have control over that first impression.” If the first thing people find when they search for you online is strong and a touch point you control, you’re on your way!Your personal brand is the best business tool for managing who you are and what you stand for. “If you can’t answer what your (personal) brand is, there’s one question that everyone can answer. If you won the lottery, what would you do tomorrow?”What brand has made Phil smile recently? Casper Mattresses provided Phil with a perfect hangover cure. Wait — what? You’ll have to listen to the podcast to get the story on this one.To learn more, go to Phil’s business site, his speaking site, and check out his podcast — The Brand Therapy Podcast.As We Wrap …Before we go, I want to flip the microphone around to our community …Conrad Chua gave us a shout on Twitter for our recent episode featuring Andy Cunningham. Thanks for listening!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, 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

“We sell the communities as much as the homes that sit in them.” Buying real estate — buying a home — is the biggest purchase many of us make. Who we buy from is a big decision. This is magnified even further in the high-end real-estate market in New York. Matthew Leone, Chief Marketing Officer of Halstead, discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Matthew LeoneMatthew J. Leone brings a fresh marketing perspective and extensive knowledge of web technologies & techniques to Halstead serving as the firm’s Chief Marketing Officer. Matthew oversees the 28-member MarTech division and is responsible for the creative brand direction. He is passionate about staying on top of the latest trends & integrating innovative solutions into all forms of marketing and technology, working as one of the first firms to embrace such forms as video, social media, drones, 3D, VR, wearables, co-branded partnerships, and many other ground-breaking approaches.Mr. Leone also regularly appears as a panelist and speaker at Inman Connect as well as NAR Conferences, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World Conferences, NYSAR conventions, and Luxury Portfolio Summits speaking on concepts that will shape the future of real estate industry. He also serves and teaches at the Real Estate Board of New York’s continued education course series. He currently serves on the Technology Advisory Council for Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, regularly advising the global network on a variety of technology initiatives as well as the Inman News Content Advisory Board.In 2018, Matthew was the recipient of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World’s prestigious President’s Award, which formally acknowledged his significant contributions and service to the organization. He has been routinely interviewed & quoted in media outlets such as The Today Show, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, AdWeek, CNBC, NY1, NY Magazine, Real Deal and many more.Episode Highlights“Make sure the consumer doesn’t smell your commission breath.” When Matthew uttered this phrase, I may have snorted with laughter. “Especially in high-end real-estate, they expect the white-glove service.” An example of Halstead’s world-class experience? They frequently offer home tours led by Broadway dancers.Branding that builds on personal brands. When I interviewed Sean Blankenship of Coldwell Banker, he spoke of the challenge in building a strong central brand with independent agents on the front lines. “Independent contractors are their own business within a business. You have to build on that uniqueness,” Matthew shared. Halstead provides copywriters to help realtors find a signature tone for their writing. They also provide lifestyle photography resources showing agents in the community and at their favorite restaurants. “Real estate requires a lot of hand holding.”“We have to be ambassadors of the neighborhoods we represent.” It’s all about finding the bigger idea behind your business. Halstead focuses on more than just the house. They think about the community as a whole and how they can best represent that. “We sell the communities as much as the homes that sit in them.”Rebranding for everyone. In approaching a recent rebrand, Matthew knew that Halstead had to work for everyone, in all of the communities they serve. In looking for their greatest, over-arching strength, they arrived at culture. They built on this with their new tagline, “Move to what moves you.” This works both internally with agents and externally with customers. They also have a color palette with different colors for each community.What brand has made Matthew smile recently? Matthew smiles “when you see ads taking a different spin on things.” Matthew loved the joint Super Bowl ad effort from Doritos and Mountain Dew.To learn more, follow Halstead on Instagram and Twitter and check out the firm’s website. You can also follow Matthew on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Many have seen a TED talk about design thinking but they don’t know what’s next — what it looks like.” This week on the On Brand podcast we unpacked design thinking, magical experiences, Nordic design, and how to criticize creative work with Jon Kolko, author of Creative Clarity and Partner at Modernist Studio.About Jon KolkoJon Kolko is the author of Creative Clarity, Partner at Modernist Studio, and the Founder of Austin Center for Design. Previously the Vice President of Design at Blackboard, he has worked extensively with both startups and Fortune 500 companies. He has been a Professor of Interaction and Industrial Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design, and has taught at the University of Texas at Austin, the Center for Design Studies of Monterrey, Mexico, and Malmö University, Sweden.Episode HighlightsHow is teaching in the US different than teaching abroad? Jon has taught in some of my favorite places. But how is teaching Austin, Texas different from teaching in Malmo, Sweden? The work ethic is a little different to say the least. “Sweden is committed and motivated. They respect design and humanity ahead of business.”More on Nordic design. As a frequent visitor to Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, I am a huge fan of Nordic design. “They take it very seriously. They roll up their sleeves and work on something until it’s done.”How can your brand embrace design thinking? Jon shared his two core pillars. First, vision/narrative. Design thinkers have a knack for embracing the world as it could be and sharing that vision. Usually through storytelling. Second, criticism/iteration. We need to get better at talking about why something doesn’t work.How can we get better about talking about things that don’t work? “There are rules! First the person being critiqued shuts up. This lets everyone be heard. But they also get to filter. We also make sure the language is aimed at the work product.” As opposed to critiquing the person behind the work.What brand has made Jon smile recently? An experience buying a washer and dryer. That’s all I’ll say here. You have to listen for the smile.To learn more, go to jonkolko.com and moderniststudio.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, 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