On Brand with Nick Westergaard

“Our brand means many things to many people.” As we cheer from the sidelines and the comfort of our couch on game day, it can be easy to loose sight of the fact that great American sports teams like the Minnesota Vikings are some of our most prominent brands. One thing these mega-brands can’t loose sight of is their fans. “Fans first and foremost,” said Vikings CMO Steve LaCroix during our recent chat. If you’re a Vikings fan, a brand builder, or both, you won’t want to miss this week’s episode. Ready? BREAK!About Steve LaCroixNow in his 15th season with the Minnesota Vikings, Steve LaCroix serves as the team’s Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer. LaCroix oversees all aspects of Vikings-generated revenues. He also leads the team’s radio and television programming, websites, digital and social media initiatives, merchandise and e-commerce operations, community and special events, marketing partnerships, advertising, branding, promotions, graphic design, fan relations and game day activities. He also played a significant role in the recent stadium transition team.LaCroix has led a variety of additional new initiatives, including the team’s introduction of an enhanced Norseman logo and new uniforms in 2013, the second uniform change under LaCroix’s leadership. The club has also brought radio and television broadcast rights in-house and started year-round weekly television and radio programming. The Vikings have had multiple full re-designs of vikings.com and opened Vikings Locker Room official retail stores across the Twin Cities. Fans have been treated to the introduction of Viktor the Viking, the official team mascot, and the Skol Line drum line. Under LaCroix, the Vikings sellout streak reached 144 games at Mall of America Field.A fellow alum of the University of Iowa and board member for the Marketing Institute here on campus, I was excited to welcome Steve to the On Brand podcast.As We Wrap …Before we go, I want to flip the microphone around to our community … With two Iowa Hawkeyes on the podcast this week, we had to give a shout to the (then) undefeated Hawks who are now Rose Bowl bound! Go Hawks!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.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, I’ll see you on the Internet! 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 – Jay and I discussed some new data on social media sharing that Twitter will want to take note of. After discontinuing support for tweet counts on their share button last month, Shareaholic reports that sharing via Twitter is down 11%. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show.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

“Figure out what you’re doing right and do more of it.” This deceptively simple advice should come as a cautionary tale to brands of all shapes and sizes. As a best-selling author and leader of one of the Southwest’s top agencies, Steve McKee spends all of this time help stalled, stuck, and stale brands. I couldn’t wait to chat with him about all of this on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Steve McKeeSteve McKee is the president of McKee Wallwork + Company, Advertising Age’s 2015 Southwest Small Agency of the Year. He is the author of When Growth Stalls: How it Happens, Why You’re Stuck and What To Do About It, an award-winning business book now published in four languages, and Power Branding: Leveraging the Success of the World’s Best Brands.MWC specializes in revitalizing stalled, stuck and stale brands across the U.S. A marketing strategist for nearly thirty years, Steve has held executive positions at notable international agencies including NW Ayer, Della Femina, and a division of McCann-Erickson Worldwide. He is also the co-founder of a successful Bay Area tech startup, a company that is redefining an entire industry as a result of insightful research into its “rationally irrational” consumers.Steve was a popular Businessweek.com columnist for more than a decade and has been published or quoted in The New York Times, USA Today, Forbes.com, Investor’s Business Daily, and The Los Angeles Times, among others. A popular speaker at corporate and association events, he has appeared on CNBC, ESPN2, CNNfn, Bloomberg, and network television affiliates across America.As We Wrap …Before we go, I want to flip the microphone around to our community … Angie Greinergave us a shout on Twitter about our recent episode on design featuring Aaron Draplin. 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.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, I’ll see you on the Internet! 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 – Jay and I discussed a new feature that’s finally on it’s way to Instagram. A constant struggle for community managers keeping their brand’s Instagram presence up to date is the current inability to easily toggle in and out of accounts. Sounds like this feature is on the way at last. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show.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. This week we’ll be talking to Steve McKee, author of Power Branding.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

“If a picture paints a thousand words, then a video packs an even bigger punch. Being able to show versus telling is powerful.” As people consume more and more content online, video is one of the most useful tools for brands. When does video make sense and how can you use it to build a better brand online? As Director of Business Development at Wistia, Kristen Craft spends a lot of her time talking about branding with video. This week, she did so as my guest on the On Brand podcast.About Kristen CraftKristen is a big fan of technology, education, and business. As the Director of Business Development at Wistia, she enjoys helping people use video more effectively. She loves working with Wistia’s partner community, building connections with other companies that care about video marketing. Kristen holds advanced degrees in business and education from MIT and Harvard. In her spare time, she brews and drinks different varieties of beer.As We Wrap …Before we go, I want to flip the microphone around to our community … The Marketing Huddlegave us a shout on Twitter about our recent episode on what great brands do featuring Denise Lee Yohn. 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.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, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Every order sold is a story waiting to be told. Everyone has a story to tell.” You won’t meet a bigger advocate for story and its ability to move people than Bobby Lehew. As Chief Branding Officer at ROBYN, he employs story every day in redefining this growing business. While story is an exciting topic for marketers, it’s also misunderstood. I couldn’t wait to unpack story — why it matters and how we can use it more — with Bobby on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Bobby LehewBobby Lehew is the Chief Branding Officer at ROBYN, a branded products fulfillment company that creates and distributes promotional products, corporate apparel, and printed materials through e-commerce company stores. Robyn’s achievements include being recognized three years in a row by Inc. magazine as one of the 5,000 fastest growing private companies in the US, numerous industry awards, an Addy, and being featured twice in the $20 billion promotional industry as one of the top fifty “Best Places to Work.” Bobby is a national speaker on topics related to B2B marketing and, as an ardent bibliophile, loves a world where business marketing and storytelling make story-selling magic.As We Wrap …Before we go, I want to flip the microphone around to our community … Erika Krukowski gave us a shout on Twitter about our recent episode focused on brand personality and purpose featuring Nathan Sinsabaugh. 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.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, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Nothing is ever, ever going to challenge a good, solid, legible, readable, scalable, beautiful, crafted mark. It’s got the right DNA.” As one of the leading designers working today, Aaron Draplin has a thing or two to say about brands. This past week, Draplin was in Iowa City on his fall tour “Tall Tales from a Large Man,” which he presented at the University of Iowa. I was fortunate enough to be able to chat with him after his workshop and before his evening lecture about identity and the new dynamics at play today. About Aaron DraplinHailing from the mighty Pacific Northwest (but a Midwesterner at heart), Aaron Draplin is one of the most unique and outspoken designers working today. The Draplin Design Co. proudly rolls up its sleeves on print, identity, web development (or not web — if you listen to the first thing out of his mouth during the interview), illustration and Gocco muscle projects. They make stuff for Field Notes, Esquire, Nike, Wired, Timberline, Ford Motor Company, Woolrich and even the Obama Administration, among many others.The DDC motto is simple: “Work hard. Do good work. For good people.”As We Wrap …Before we go, I want to flip the microphone around to our community … This week I have to thank Bradley Dicharry at the University of Iowa’s School of Art and Art History for making this week’s interview possible. Fun fact: Brad’s a longtime collaborator who’s helped us visualize our own brand at Brand Driven Digital.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.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, I’ll see you on the Internet! 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 – Jay and I discussed some some new data on how we use social networks. In their most recent quarterly summary of the latest trends in social networking, GlobalWebIndex notes that we’re spending more time on social media — on average 1.77 hours per day! Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show.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. This week we’ll be talking to Aaron Draplin of Draplin Design Co.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

“Most brands don’t risk enough — there’s too much jargon and too little personality.” As a designer, brand builder, and agency president, Nathan Sinsabaugh has spent his career bringing design thinking and innovation to applications outside of a traditional design context. Along the way, he’s worked to infuse B2B brands with more personality and purpose. I couldn’t wait to discuss all of this with Nathan on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Nathan SinsabaughAs President of Studio Science—an Indianapolis based design and innovation consultancy—Nathan leads an amazing team of designers, developers, writers, and strategists that are helping enterprise-focused tech-companies design and build the new generation of digital business products and services.Central to Studio Science’s work are the beliefs that true insights only come from a genuine understanding of people, and that purposefully crafted brands have the power to unite teams, transform cultures, and produce truly meaningful outcomes.As We Wrap …Before we go, I want to flip the microphone around to our community …Speaking of agencies … Drew McLellan of the Agency Management Institute just launched a great podcast — Build a Better Agency. His first guests include Scott Monty, Jason Falls, and Peter Levitan. In addition to being an upcoming guest, I’ve also listened every episode and learned something each time. Check it out here!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.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, I’ll see you on the Internet! 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 – Jay and I discussed some some new data on Facebook use. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, most of us are lurking more and posting original content less. While this may not seem like a big deal it could lead to a less engaging social experience which could threaten Facebook’s emerging ad network. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show.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. This week we’ll be talking to Nathan Sinsabaugh.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