Dig In

This week, Meagan got chatting to Ruth Fittock, the Marketing Director at Simply Roasted Crisps. Ruth joined Simply Roasted after a decade in crisps/chips marketing at the likes of Pop Chips...so she’s got a whole host of knowledge to share about how to do marketing well within the ‘better for you’ category. Tune in to this episode to learn:How Simply Roasted hopes to capture market share in the ‘better for you’ categoryHow to build a messaging hierarchy for on-pack claims in a category like crisps/chipsHow marketing in this category has changed over the last 10 yearsSome valuable marketing lessons Ruth carried over from her time at Pop Chips to her role at Simply RoastedWhat’s happening in this category right now that means it’s an interesting place to be as a marketerSimply Roasted is currently available in the UK. If you’d like to grab yourself a bag (or several) use the code Ruth’s team have set up for us - DIG30 - at checkout https://simplyroastedcrisps.co.uk/

In his role as Head of Canada Research at Cushman & Wakefield, Adam Jacobs explores trends in commercial real estate by leveraging research. That is to say that he knows * a lot * about the economy and how things might change and shift in the next little while.Tune in to this episode to get details about:- How downtown vacancy rates, warehouse development, and migration away from cities affect the real estate industry- What Adam expects to see when things go back to “normal”- What Adam has to say about big picture stuff like the Canadian economy and the impact of inflation on the real estate market, labour market, unemployment rates, and innovation in Canada

Adam Faulkner is a pretty interesting guy; whether it’s his background as a creative at agencies, his biketrip from London to Tokyo, or the seemingly endless catalogue of music references he can speak to at the drop of a hat. This week, we brought him onto Dig In to talk about his company, CreativeAF, and the power of sonic branding. CreativeAF builds music videos for brands of all shapes and sizes, like Amnesty International and Sipsmith’s Gin. On this episode, he chats to Meagan about:- Why sound so important to him- How CreativeAF handles sound different than other production companies- Why sonic branding is a bit of an afterthought, and why it shouldn’t be anymore- How to structure the campaign development process in a way that prioritizes sound and music- Which brands are doing a great job with sonic branding (and why)Tune in to learn about how Adam created this thiriving business at the outset of the pandemic and why it’s making [sound] waves.

Hilton Barbour, seasoned marketer and perhaps the most eloquent guy we’ve ever spoken to, is back for our first episode of Dig In in 2022. This 30-minute episode is a transparent and honest look at what positive corporate culture should mean for today’s workforce. Tune in to hear Hilton and Ian discuss:- How to show genuine empathy to employees in our new working reality- How to turn what used to be implicit to your organization (because we were all together) into explicit decisions and actions- Why it’s important to recognize that workplace culture means something different for introverts versus extroverts- Why a lot of positive company culture comes down to trust, and how you can build that trust remotely- The importance of aligning business strategy to your company culture- How the rhetoric that leadership uses around remote working breaks employee trust- The silver lining of Covid’s impact on businesses- The importance of purpose and vision when it comes to building positive company cultures

Ajit Ghuman is the author of bestselling book, Price to Scale, and currently leads Product Marketing at Narvar. We brought him on to pick his brain on how technology companies should approach building their SaaS pricing. It's a fascinating episode. Tune in to learn:Who should be involved in crafting SaaS pricingHow to assess which pricing strategy makes sense for your businessHow and when product marketing and sales should be involved in pricing strategyWhy the GBB (Good, Better, Best) model for SaaS pricing doesn't always workThe approach that Ajit takes to researching which features matter within which pricing packagesHow the cost implications of usage-based pricing means experimentation is crucialWhy you should be charging for trial plans

We chatted to Sam this week about his current business and his experience as an entrepreneur. Tune in to learn:how goodmorning.com is fixing the "suboptimal" experience of mattress shoppinghow Sam's team creates customer personas based on their specific jobs to be donewhat it was like to be in the DTC mattress game in 2017 - where 2 competitors were entering the industry each week ('Peak mattress')Why goodmorning.com offers 7 brands as opposed to one so that they can serve "every bedroom, body, and budget"the impact of the pandemic on consumer durables' share of wallet, and how goodmorning.com is adaptingthe 'swarming of the puck' analogy for business: how to approach management strategies at different company sizes

We invited one of our briliant clients Eric Chue, Director of Research & Industry Insights at Interac, onto the podcast this week to learn about it all. We chat changes in shopper behaviour, how to merge transactional and human insights, and ultimately how to succeed in an industry that's so heavily impacted by adjacent industries.Tune in to learn:Tactics that Eric's team uses to add a human dimension to transactional dataWhat a payments diary is and how it gives his team a leg upThe importance of employing caution and rigour when merging different types of dataThe blurred lines between retail, technology, and payments industries (and how Eric thinks payments can facilitate innovation)Why payments has become less of a discrete action and more of an embedded part of our day-to-day experiencesWhat Amazon Go might mean for the future of shopping and payments

This episode of Dig In is a beauty. Anie Rouleau's founder's story is particularly compelling because she knew what her mission was before she knew how she'd make it happen. Fast forward 10 years and she's built one of the fastest growing businesses in the country, as recognized by the Globe & Mail's Report on Business.Tune in to learn:the good and the bad of being single-minded about the business' missionwhy Anie doesn't take note of how global CPG brands are innovatingabout the ripple effect of fostering an organic, grassroots community on Instagramwhy her team didn't rely on paid endorsements from influencers on socialthe challenge of getting investment as a mission-driven business just a few years agowhat having B-Corp status means for Anie and the team

In this week's Founder's Spotlight, Ian sat down with Mark Baltazar, the Co-Founder of Peak MultiFamily Investments. Mark has had an interesting career, spending the last couple decades as a brand researcher before flexing his entrepreneurial muscles as a Co-Founder of a residential business.Mark will speak to the opportunity he couldn't pass up in real estate, how his background in research and brand strategy has helped him build his brand, the surprisingly limited impact of Covid-19 on his business, and more.

Adam is a President and CEO, board member, best-selling author, and Forbes Business Council member. Through his experience executing a buy-and-build strategy, he has bought and sold more than 100 companies ranging in size from $1M to $1B. Not to mention his private equity cult classics - both of which are #1 Amazon Best Sellers.In this week's episode of Dig In, Ian sits down with Adam to demystify common stories around private equity, connecting these myths to the insights industry at large. Tune in to learn:Why private equity is not a win for investors and a losing battle for entrepreneurs/business ownersThe good, the bad, and the ugly of private equityIn Adam's words, "the different flavors of ice cream" in private equityThe sustainable growth rates that attract private equity partners to a businessThe signals a CEO should look for when joining a particular industry or companyThe value private equity brings (beyond $!) to a growing businessThe differences and similarities behind strategic and financial private equity