

The Marketing Companion
Mark Schaefer
The world’s most entertaining marketing podcast! Mark Schaefer and a rotation of brilliant guest hosts provide new marketing insights and timely advice that help you navigate the future of digital business, The Marketing Companion is always fun, always interesting, and always on-target with ideas that will turn up your marketing intellect to an “11.”
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 8, 2023 • 40min
The luxury brand enigma
In this unique episode. Amanda Russell and Mark Schaefer offer an exclusive look at the extraordinary marketing challenges in the field of marketing. In a world where taste, scarcity, and exclusivity rule, the foundations of mass marketing are meaningless. How do luxury brands connect in a personal way that builds community? There are important lessons here for any marketer! Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN" and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising. Amanda Russell is the founder of the Global Center for Influence (C4In), launching (2023) at the University of Texas at Austin with a mission to help brands & people learn how to position themselves and their companies for success, bridging the gap between academia and practice. Amanda's mission is to enhance how we do 'higher education. Former Olympic-level athlete, Founder-to-sale Entrepreneur and Marketing Consultant who still loves the brain gymnastics of helping people and companies become more influential among their desired audience. Professor, Author "The Influencer Code", Speaker, Board Member and Director of C4In

Apr 24, 2023 • 38min
What the “Whole Self” Movement Means to Marketers
Should we bring our "whole self" to the marketing profession? A powerful sociological trend is changing norms and expectations of our customers and employees. What are the advantages and disadvantages of vulnerability and self-disclosure? Mark Schaefer and Keith Jennings weigh in! Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker and the author of 10 books including "Belonging to the Brand" and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising. Keith Jennings is an executive and writer who equips professionals to serve with values, generosity, and social impact.He serves as vice president of community impact with Jackson Healthcare. Connect with him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithjennings/.

Apr 10, 2023 • 36min
The new and now of social media marketing
Mark Schaefer and social media marketing expert Denis Yu dive into the most important trends including the true value of the blue check mark, the most powerful platforms right now, the future of TikTok, and the truth behind Facebook's foray into the metaverse. You'll also hear some hair-raising stories about information and privacy! Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker and the author of 10 books including "Marketing Rebellion" and "Belonging to the Brand." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising. Dennis Yu is on a mission to create a million jobs by training up international workers to serve American companies. Former search engine engineer who has spent a billion dollars on ads. Best-selling author and speaker.

Mar 27, 2023 • 40min
AI and cultural impact
AI is everywhere and seemingly everything these days in the world of marketing. But now that we're getting through the magic trick phase of AI we're beginning to observe the powerful impact it could have on culture, community, and careers. Let's begin the discussion today, a discussion that is just starting in our world today.

Mar 13, 2023 • 34min
Cracking the Gen Z Code
Sara Wilson has been studying Gen Z with a detective-like intensity and her new research report gives us a guide for connecting with them. We talk about their hideouts, their curious aesthetic, the role of "faux-stalgia," the importance of the absurd, and much more. Your head will spin with new insights and ideas in this conversation with Mark Schaefer. Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN" and "Marketing Rebellion," and “Belonging to the Brand.” His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising. Sara Wilson is a journalist-turned-social-marketer (former Facebook & Instagram) who works with brands, publications, and platforms like YouTube, Nike, Bumble, the New York Times and many others find, engage and grow obsessive communities across digital channels through her consultancy SW Projects. Sara also writes frequently on the subject of digital marketing trends; she coined the term "digital campfires" in the Harvard Business Review to describe the types of spaces where young audiences are gathering online today, and often speaks and leads workshops on this and other topics related to social innovation, web3, and Gen Z consumption trends to companies around the world such as Microsoft and McKinsey.

Feb 27, 2023 • 34min
Creativity and the true threat of AI
Mark Schaefer and Jay Acunzo take a deep dive into the utility and threat of AI platforms like ChatGPT. They explore the very nature of creativity and Jay explains the three foundational ideas and why AI falls short on two of them. Mark presents a dystopian future view of creativity, a scenario he says is probable in five to 10 years. Ultimately Mark and Jay agree that personal connection through content will determine success or failure. Mark describes three different types of content and why AI will dominate at least one of those categories. Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," "Marketing Rebellion," and “Belonging to the Brand.” His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising. Jay Acunzo is an author, speaker, and host of the podcast Unthinkable -- the show about marketers who trusted their intuition, not the best practices, and all the unconventional, refreshing things they did to build their brands and leave their legacies. Learn more and find a Starter Pack of episodes at https://jayacunzo.com/unthinkable-podcast

Feb 13, 2023 • 38min
Nonprofit marketing insights
Mark Schaefer and nonprofit marketing authority Keith Jennings unwrap new ideas in nonprofit marketing, including a new way to segment audiences, why a focus on "product" enables better nonprofit marketing, and why nonprofits should consider community-based marketing.

Jan 30, 2023 • 41min
My biggest accomplishment
In this show, Mark Schaefer and two friends, Samantha Stone and Chad Parizman, weave a story of his greatest professional accomplishment -- ten years in the making. It's not a book, it's not a famous speech. This is the story of 30 people who took a risk together. Samantha Stone is the founder and CEO of The Marketing Advisory Network. She is a teacher, consultant, marketing strategist, researcher, and the author of Unleash Possible. Chad Parizman has been a digital marketing strategist for HGTV and Pfizer and currently leads brands into an effective social audio strategy through his company Ader Communications.

Jan 16, 2023 • 54min
Marketing that heals!
In this unique episode, Mark Schaefer talks about how viewing "community" through the lens of brand marketing is not a strategy that works, it is marketing that heals. In fact, community might be the greatest overlooked marketing opportunity in the history of marketing opportunities. The legendary Douglas Burdette serves as a special co-host for this episode. This episode includes a free chapter of Mark's new book "Belonging to the Brand." Douglas Burdette is the founder of Artillery Marketing and the host of the well-known Marketing Book podcast. Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," "Marketing Rebellion" and "Belonging to the Brand." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising.

Jan 2, 2023 • 33min
The Tom Peters interview
Tom Peters was named as one of the top 10 business minds of this century and he just published an extraordinary new book. In this interview, he covers some surprising topics with typical boldness: His surprising take on "quiet quitting." "You don't have to like your employees, but you have to love them." Why great speakers act out of a sense of desperation about their message Why "business is community, period." Your job as a leader is to "hire well and promote." Why he is perpetually pissed off Why we need to hire "the quiet ones." Tom is best-known for his book "In Search of Excellence" and his new book is "The Compact Guide to Excellence."