On Brand with Nick Westergaard

"Brand identity helps doctors see the patient behind the condition.” Vince Parry has spent his career at the forefront of the healthcare branding industry. He has launched some of the most iconic healthcare brands, such as Lipitor, Botox, and Prozac. He has also been instrumental in transforming the way society is educated about illness and the possible options for relief. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Vince ParryVince Parry, a 30-year veteran of the health and wellness communications industry is the founder of the Parry Branding Group. Throughout his distinguished career, Vince has worked on many of the most well-known corporate, franchise, service, and product brands. He was previously the Chief Branding Officer at inVentiv Health, the Founder and President of Y Brand, the Founder and President of GSW NY and the Chief Creative Officer at Sudler & Hennessy.Vince has appeared on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and BBC radio, has been featured in Medical Marketing and Media, PharmaVoice, Pharmaceutical Executive, and MedAdNews, and guest lectures at the Rutgers Pharmaceutical MBA program on healthcare branding. He’s also the author of Identity Crisis: Health Care Branding's Hidden Problems and Proven Strategies to Solve Them.Episode HighlightsWhy is healthcare branding so different? “The big difference between consumer branding and healthcare branding is that consumer branding is a celebration of self. The new iPhone reinforces your identity. With healthcare branding, it restores your identity. It restores what an illness has taken away. It’s a protection.”Healthcare branding and storytelling. “Illness is a great drama.” That’s because it comes with an antagonist. Something else that you’re fighting against. “Take overactive bladder vs. incontinence. Overactive bladder personifies the illness.”“You can’t walk into a store and buy Lipitor.” We talked extensively about the challenge pharmaceutical marketing presents as the end-user can’t buy the product. But they can ask the physician. Vince stressed that you still need to educate the doctors on the drugs and illnesses as they don’t like being uninformed.What can other businesses learn from healthcare branding and marketing? You have to learn about your customers and asking questions is the best way to do that. “But you can’t ask direct questions like ‘How do you feel about this?’” Consumers today are informed about market research and can inadvertently skew their responses. That’s why you need to approach them in an indirect manner.What brand has made Vince smile recently? “If it’s a real smile I’d say the New York Yankees — because they’re my team, my brand.” Then Vince pointed us to more of a “shaking my head” smile at pharmaceutical brand Movantik, for their creation of the concept of opioid-induced constipation. “You mean … constipation?!?!” joked Vince.To learn more, go to parrybranding.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jerry and I discussed some new data on Snapchat's users following the growth Instagram has experienced since copying Snapchat adding a stories feature of their own. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week's show.Beyond the Sound Bite Snapchat users stay loyal, but Instagram could block its growth (TechCrunch). Remember, the Social Sound Bite is just the appetizer! On Monday morning we'll serve up a fresh new episode of the On Brand Podcast. Register now and SAVE for Social Brand Forum 2017 — September 14, 2017, at the Iowa Memorial Union. Learn more.  Last but not least … Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, 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, see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“There’s often some confusion and conflict around personal branding.” It’s true. For whatever reason, some people and companies have trouble with this concept. But in the interconnected digital age, personal interaction and influence matters more and more for brands. Barry Feldman’s new book, The Road to Recognition, provides a handy reference guide for those building new personal brands as well as seasoned personal brands. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Barry FeldmanBarry Feldman is a copywriter, content marketing strategist, digital marketing consultant, blogger, speaker, and podcaster. Barry is a voice of authority in personal branding, SEO, content marketing, copywriting, and social media marketing.He works with companies big and small all over the globe to plan and create content that matters, guiding clients in their efforts to drive more traffic, leads and sales via their digital marketing efforts. Barry’s “the marketer’s marketer,” providing creative direction to many of the world’s top martech brands, marketing service providers and digital media agencies.Barry publishes regularly on The Point at Feldman Creative and contributes to many of the world’s leading digital marketing publications.Episode Highlights“It can be scary to set your people free,” Barry noted while talking about concerns over personal branding. However, it’s a natural progression. Many had concerns about turning employees loose on social media. In both cases, the reward to the brand can be greater than the risk.It all started with an infographic. As Barry shared, the idea for The Road to Recognition started with an infographic he and co-author Seth Price developed on personal branding (below). However, they organized it in a unique way …The A to Z guide … Both the infographic and the book are organized alphabetically with a table of contents that leads with A is for Authenticity, B is for Blog, C is for Content and so on. Beyond being a handy organizational tool, this also makes the book easy to reference on the go. Need help with video for your personal brand? There’s a chapter on that. Need help with email? They’ve got that too.Who are some of Barry’s favorite personal brands? He mentioned Ann Handley, Michael Brenner, Brian Dean from Backlinko, and Andy Crestodina. I threw in Neil deGrasse Tyson as a favorite of mine for good measure.What brand has made Barry smile recently? Barry pointed us to Dollar Shave Club for their hard copy “Bathroom Minutes” newsletters that they send out with their shipments each month. He also smiles at Amazon for delivering exceptional customer service in spite of the size and scope of the company.To learn more, go to the Feldman Creative site or theroadtorecognition.com.As We Wrap …Before we go, I want to flip the microphone around to our community …Recently, Sean Carpenter gave us a shout on Twitter for our episode featuring Maker’s Mark Chairmen Emeritus Bill Samuels, Jr. 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. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, 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. Remember – On Brand is brought to you by my new book — Get Scrappy: Smarter Digital Marketing for Businesses Big and Small. Order now at Amazon and check out GetScrappyBook.com for special offers and extras. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Research shows that our psychology is very similar in situations where we’re struggling with branding and marketing challenges and when we’ve crash-landed on a mountain.” Today’s marketplace is chaotic. Jonathan David Lewis, partner at McKee Wallwork + Company, calls this new normal we find ourselves in “the wild.” This is the focus of his new book, Brand vs. Wild: Building Resilient Brands for Harsh Business Environments. We chatted about survival, leadership, and how your brand can avoid walking in circles on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Jonathan David LewisThe author of Brand vs. Wild: Building Resilient Brands for Harsh Business Environments, Jonathan David Lewis is an engaging and authoritative speaker on shaping a brand that can survive—and thrive—in today’s tough, uncertain world.As partner and strategy director at McKee Wallwork + Company, Jonathan led his firm to be recognized by industry purveyor Advertising Age as a national leader in branding and marketing, winning the Southwest Small Agency of the Year, national B2B Campaign of the Year, and national Best Places to Work awards.A branding and business strategist, Jonathan honed his skills during the lean years of the Great Recession, helping brands navigate today’s unforgiving new business paradigms. Jonathan’s opinions are highly sought by numerous business and marketing publications, including Forbes, Digiday, and Advertising Age, where he explores the factors that lead to stalled growth and the principles proven to help companies navigate the ambiguities and dangers of the brand wilderness.Episode HighlightsWhat happens when we find ourselves and our businesses in this chaotic wild? “We’re overwhelmed. There are seven factors that affect business growth. Three are external — the economy, aggressive competition, and industry disruption. The other four are internal factors.” These can be especially damaging for brands today.“The wild turns brands wild.” We get erratic and inconsistent. “What used to work — things like size — are a vulnerability today. And when you’re lost, you lose your confidence and increase your fear.”What do most of us do when we’re lost in the wild? Lewis pointed us to the research of Dr. John Leach, one of the world’s leading experts on survival psychology, noting the 10-80-10 theory. This states that in survival situations, 10% are prepared, 80% are paralyzed, and 10% panic. “Fight, flight, and freeze. You see this in brands too — especially recently with United and Pepsi.”So, what do you do when you discover that you’re lost as a brand? “STOP. It’s the hardest thing to do. It’s an acronym survivalists use — Stop, Think, Observe, Plan. Take the time to orient yourself. That’s how you avoid walking in circles.”What brand has made Jonathan smile recently? “I’d have to say Carls Jr.” Lewis cited their abandonment of their previous sex-focused strategy. Go Daddy has done something similar as well, trading the axiom of “sex sells” for telling better stories about small business websites.To learn more, go to jonathandavidlewis.com and you can check out the book on Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jerry and I discussed the latest social media usage statistics. Specifically the fact that Instagram now has 700 million monthly active users — more than doubling over the past two years. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show.Beyond the Sound Bite Instagram Now Has 700 Million Monthly Users (Adweek). Remember, the Social Sound Bite is just the appetizer! On Monday morning we’ll serve up a fresh new episode of the On Brand Podcast. Last but not least … Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, 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, see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Our brand values are up on the wall but there’s more to it. We have a very specific way of talking.” In addition to being a part of Nationwide’s Member Experience Team, Seth Sparks has a lot of the same non-branding interests as I do. In addition to talking branding, we managed to work in The West Wing, Doctor Who, and Star Trek on this week’s lively episode of the On Brand podcast.About Seth SparksSeth Sparks is a blogger, vlogger, podcaster, and aspiring author. Professionally, he’s the head of media and technology for the Member Experience Network, a private community for strategic partners of Nationwide, as well as a partnership marketing manager for national member-based organizations.Episode HighlightsHow does Nationwide share their brand culture internally? Beyond the standard style guide, Nationwide has what Seth calls, “A particular way of talking. Bullet points instead of paragraphs. Visuals instead of words. Speak simply.” While this could sound like clarity in communications the outcome creates a consistent brand across all touchpoints.Doctor Who + Branding? Yep, we went there. When you have a couple bona fide nerds on the podcast conversation can take a turn to the Whovian. We discussed how the Doctor regenerates/rebrands every few years but he’s still the Doctor. “They have their Why statement down.”So what does Seth do? I work in a small department at a giant company. His team works to develop affinity offers for member organizations. They do this by developing affinity of their own.The Member Experience Network. With so many nonprofit organizations as partners, Nationwide developed a partner network to create value for their members by teaching them about fundraising and direct mail through hosted trainings and live events. “It’s an opportunity to take something we know and do something for our members.What brand has made Seth smile recently? While an Arby’s gyro commercial made him laugh, Seth invited us to check out the Nerd Writer YouTube channel.To learn more, follow Seth on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“For us, marketing meant polishing the apple. Not chasing people, letting them find you.” Over the past 59 years, quite a few people have found Maker’s Mark. The distinctive bourbon has grown from being the hobby of founder Bill Samuels, Sr. His son, Bill Samuels, Jr., led much of that growth. From their wax-dipped bottles to their brand ambassador program, Maker’s has built a brand as unique as their spirits. I couldn’t wait to discuss all of this and more with Bill on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Bill Samuels, Jr.Growing up on Distiller’s Row in Bardstown, Kentucky – son of Maker’s Mark Founder Bill Samuels, Sr. and godson of Jim Beam – Bill Samuels, Jr. has been an eyewitness to many milestones in bourbon history and has made history himself. As the current Chairman Emeritus of Maker’s Mark, Bill ran his family’s company for 35 years as President and CEO. Under his watchful eye, he followed his father’s stern but simple piece of advice for him: “don’t screw up the whisky,” which is the advice he passed on to his son Rob Samuels, Maker’s current COO.Before passing on the torch in 2011, Bill left quite a legacy which included the introduction of Maker’s first new expression, Maker’s 46, the brand’s beloved Ambassador program, and more. Bill’s current role is perfectly suited for the very first Maker’s Mark Ambassador: travel around the world, introduce Maker’s Mark and Maker’s 46 to folks and share a story or two about all of the incredible history he’s been an eyewitness to.Episode HighlightsCommercializing a hobby sounds daunting. But that’s exactly what Bill Samuels, Jr. was charged with doing. His mandate was simple — “never compromise on the spirit.” Bill Samuels, Jr. had to carefully exploit this hobby.“We hired an agency not to do advertising.” What Bill and their agency partners did instead was building on the “discovery” process. “We didn’t want to sell something that people didn’t want to buy. It had to be something you heard about from a friend.”What about those distinct dipped bottles? “Mom was a chemist and started playing around with wax.” As a patent attorney, Bill Samuels, Jr. patented the process, cementing the red wax drippings as a key brand touchpoint.And the ambassador program? “That was the mother of necessity. All of our customers previously had been in Kentucky. All of a sudden a credible source praised our product — The Wall Street Journal. That was the moment we became a national brand. Everything we did with customers was personal — 1:1.” The ambassador program helped them identify and embrace those fans who “raised their hands.”Another benefit to ambassadors … “It’s not a story you want to tell but every once in awhile you screw up.” Like when Maker’s thought the only way to answer demand was by reducing the proof the spirit. They communicated this to their ambassadors first and were met with immediate resistance. “It took Coke nine months to see what they did (with New Coke). We knew in two days.” They took immediate steps to reverse their decision, restoring the spirit to the delight of their fans. “We like to have fun with it, too.” That’s why Maker’s sends out gifts to ambassadors at the holidays.What brand has made Bill smile recently? Bill reminded us about the story of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, a collaborative effort between competitive distilleries that’s been a big hit with tourism in the state. “Don’t try to do it all in one day,” cautioned Bill.To learn more about Bill and Maker’s Mark, check out the Maker’s Mark website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Branding is thousands of tiny punches that add up.” And few deliver as many meaningful little punches as Bark & Co, the powerhouse brand dedicated to bringing joy to dog parents everywhere through innovative products and services like BarkBox. The company and its people love what they do and who they do it for. And it shows. This week, Bark’s Editor in Chief Stacie Grissom joined me for a chat on the On Brand podcast about all of this and much more.About Stacie GrissomStacie Grissom is the head of content at BARK, the company building a next-generation brand for dogs and dog people. Stacie leads the team behind the BARK’s interactive, humor-driven content strategy and is a co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Dogs and Their People. She lives in NYC with her rescue mutt, Pimm.Episode HighlightsWhat’s the difference between a dog owner and a dog parent? And, does it matter? It does to Bark & Co. “A dog owner is someone who looks at their dog as property. Not as a part of the family. A dog parent throws parties and cares about the gifts they get their dog.” It’s this seemingly small distinction that Bark has built its brand around.“We’re obsessed with dogs.” So how does Bark understand their audience? Do they develop complex personas rich with quantitative and qualitative demography? Not so much. “We only hire people who get dogs. Not everyone here has a dog but we all value dogs.”‘Hump Day’ is a little different at Bark. When your business is dogs, ‘hump day’ takes on a new meaning. Looking for way to celebrate the middle of the week with their fans on social media, Bark leaned into the innuendo. Would this offend some? Sure. But again, they know their customers.“If it makes us giggle we go ahead and post it.” This mix of culture, audience, and content, also informs their brand’s distinct voice, usually bringing a smile to their customers’ face.What brand has made Stacie smile recently? Stacie pointed us to the hip swimming trunks brand, Shinesty. “They’re super bro-ey. The way they about their products shows that they really know their audience.”To learn more about Stacie, connect with her on LinkedIn or check out her content at BarkPost. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The only policy you need is ‘don’t be a jerk!'” While this may seem like surprising legal advice, it shouldn’t be considering the source. In addition to being a lawyer, marketing professional, and podcaster, Kerry O’Shea Gorgone is one of the nicest (read: not jerky!) people both online and off. We discussed the legal implications of new forms of media, copyright, podcasting, and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Kerry O’Shea GorgoneKerry O’Shea Gorgone, JD, MBA, is a lawyer, podcaster, speaker, and writer. By day, she designs training programs for marketing professionals in her role as Director of Product Strategy, Training, at MarketingProfs. By night (and on weekends) Kerry writes for some of the most authoritative sites in the marketing and PR industry, including Mark Schaefer’s {grow} blog, Social Media Explorer, Entrepreneur, Spin Sucks, and MackCollier.com, and also contributes to Huffington Post.Kerry hosts the MarketingProfs weekly interview series, Marketing Smarts, named by Fast Company as one of the best business podcasts on the internet and one of “19 Podcasts Worth More Than an MBA” by Inc. The show features industry stars and authors like Chris Brogan, Ann Handley and Gary Vaynerchuk, as well as business personalities like Jon Taffer of ‘Bar Rescue’ and actress Jane Seymour. She’s also interviewed c-suite executives from organizations like IBM, National Geographic, Dell and the Baltimore Ravens. Learn more about her at KerryGorgone.com.Episode HighlightsLegal 101 — what’s the difference between a copyright and a trademark? “A copyright protects your bigger works — books, blogs. Trademarking is for smaller things — logos and phrases.” At the end of the day, Kerry warns that you have to decide to what extent you’re going to pursue small infringements.So, what should you protect as a brand? “Your employees’ privacy. Like Crackerbarrell saw this week when they fired ‘Brad’s wife.'” You should also protect your copyright — both what you share from others and what they share of yours.Can Snapchat sue Facebook? This week, as Facebook launched stories, a very Snapchat-like feature, students in my marketing class (which Kerry spoke to via Skype) asked if Facebook could be sued by Snapchat for copying the stories features. “You can’t copyright an idea. It has to be expressed. At this point, stories are so pervasive.”Podcasting tips? As you can see from her bio, Kerry is one of the most popular marketing podcast hosts. What tips can she share for businesses wanting to get started with this growing form of media? “Start with conversation research and listen. Figure out what your audience is into and see if you can be a part of that.”What brand has made Kerry smile recently? Kerry pointed us to the outdoor brand Orvis. She recently had Orvis’ Simon Perkins on the Marketing Smarts podcast. She loved the engaging conversation and the real-life brand touchpoints she received afterward that made her smile.To learn more about Kerry, follow her on Twitter and check out her blog and the Marketing Smarts podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Too often today we over-survey our customers.” As Amazon’s first Worldwide VP of Customer Service, Bill Price is a legend in the field of customer service. As an author and advisor, he continues to drive home the fact that service is one of the most critical brand touchpoints. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Bill PriceBill Price is a Partner with Big Data player Antuit leading its global customer experience and customer service advanced analytics program and is President of Driva Solutions that has worked with over 150 clients to forge the balance between cost controls and greater customer loyalty.Bill co-founded the 9-country LimeBridge Global Alliance; chairs the 41-company Global Operations Council; has taught at the University of Washington and Stanford MBA programs; and is the lead author of The Best Service is No Service: Liberating Your Customers From Customer Service, Keep Them Happy, and Control Costs (Wiley 2008) and Your Customer Rules! Delivering the Me2B Experiences That Today’s Customers Demand (Wiley 2015).Bill served as Amazon.com’s first Worldwide VP of Customer Service and before that held senior positions at MCI, ACP, and McKinsey. He was named “Call Center Pioneer” in 1997 in its inaugural year. Bill graduated from Dartmouth (BA) and Stanford (MBA), and lives in Bellevue, WA.Episode HighlightsWhat’s this Amazon alum been up to recently? “Lately I’ve been focusing on the fact that we over-survey customers today. We keep sending out surveys and yet the survey response rate is declining. A lot of companies just fill in the blanks.”“Connecting the dots makes me excited about big data.” We need to supplement the survey with other actions along the customer journey. “We can have a data feed that starts to calculate a score as you’re going.” From there you can test out coupons and other incentives.Qualitative vs. quantitative insights. In writing Your Customer Rules!, Bill interviewed several service leaders like Nordstrom. “We learned that they valued statements like ‘You make it easy for me’ and ‘You recognize me.’ They don’t always know what they mean but they know they like them. They also know to look out for ‘failure statements.'” These are the opposites — ‘you don’t make it easy for me’ and ‘you don’t recognize me.’All companies are full of stories. While external-focused marketing stories can help communicate who you are, Bill noted that internal stories represent “tribal knowledge. Good brands collect stories. They don’t curate — they even share bad stories.” Stories help communicate what you value and what you want to avoid as a brand.What brand has made Bill smile recently? “I like to smile but don’t always get to do it!” One recent smile-worthy experience came during Bill’s most recent visit to his Tesla service center. A rep stepped forward and remembered him by name. “She remembered me — that’s one of the the three drivers in my book.” More importantly, she remembered that Bill liked to run. Little things can make a big difference.To learn more about Bill, connect with him on LinkedIn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices