Sweat Equity

Alex and Brian sit down with Matt Halfhill, the founder & CEO of Nice Kicks to get into the weeds of the sneaker industry, and Matt's journey growing Nice Kicks from a niche sneaker blog into sneaker industry powerhouse. In this conversation you’ll hear about the evolution of the blog, shoe industry disruption, and which brands to watch in 2024. As always, appreciate you all listening, and don't forget to leave us a review and submit your questions for Alex and Brian at the email address below. See you next week.SPONSORED BY:Marketing Examined - Make smarter marketing moves with Alex's playbooks, in your inbox, 3 times a week. Subscribe below: http://bit.ly/marketingexaminedsub--------------------WANT FREE GAME? Or just have a question for Brian & Alex?Submit your questions here: www.marketingexamined.com/podcastOR email us at podcast@marketingexamined.com--------------------WATCH THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE:For full video versions, and short highlights of every episode, head tohttps://www.youtube.com/@marketingexamined?sub_confirmation=1NEWSLETTER:For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed atwww.marketingexamined.com--------------------Follow Alex & Brian on Twitter and IGwww.twitter.com/@alexgarcia_atxwww.twitter.com/@brian_blum1CHAPTERS:00:00:00 - Introduction00:02:08 - The Origins of Nice Kicks00:05:09 - Going from online to opening a physical location.00:09:24 - Deciding to close the Nice Kicks retail store.00:10:46 - From web-first to social first: Inside Nice Kicks' revenue.00:16:43 - The Death of the Signature Shoe.00:22:59 - Namesake Marketing has completely changed.00:27:16 - What do brands need to do to succeed in the shoe business in 2024. 00:31:54 - How are the biggest shoes being disrupted?00:34:53 - Matt's Thoughts on the Tom Brady & NoBull Merger00:38:53 - How Media companies can survive in the attention economy.00:42:01 - The biggest brands to watch in shoes in 2024.00:45:54 - The history of Sneaker Drops.00:49:53 - Are good ads dead? How advertising has changed since the Jordan Era.00:54:27 - Huge viral potential with Out-of-Home Ads00:58:28 - Will High Rocks take over Crossfit?

In this episode Alex and Brian sit down with Jordan Rogers, the former Marketing & Brand Director at Nike, who shares his journey from battling addiction to landing his dream role at Nike.Jordan offers an insider look at Nike's branding strategies, collaborations with renowned athletes like Odell Beckham Jr, and breaks down the complicated world of sports marketing, NIL, and college sports.This is a must listen for anyone looking to build a world class brand, influencer partnerships, or trying to land their dream job with brands like Nike.As always, appreciate you all listening, and don't forget to leave us a review and submit your questions for Alex and Brian at the email address below. See you next week.--------------------WANT FREE GAME? Or just have a question for Brian & Alex?Submit your questions here: www.marketingexamined.com/podcastOR email us at podcast@marketingexamined.com--------------------WATCH THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE:For full video versions, and short highlights of every episode, head tohttps://www.youtube.com/@marketingexamined?sub_confirmation=1NEWSLETTER:For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed atwww.marketingexamined.com--------------------Follow Alex & Brian on Twitter and IGwww.twitter.com/@alexgarcia_atxwww.twitter.com/@brian_blum1CHAPTERS:00:00:00 - Introduction and Jordan's Obsession with Nike.00:05:59 - Creating alignment between your brand and their representatives.00:11:30 - Should brands ONLY focus on ROI?00:13:07 - What are the key components of a strong brand?00:16:21 - Using Ads to build your brand identity.00:18:48 - The importance of community on Social Media.00:22:42 - Could Nike ever become a social-first company?00:27:15 - The Death of the Signature Athlete, and Why are Brands Obsessed with NY and LA?00:34:41 - Jordan synced up OBJ and Cristiano Ronaldo at Paris Fashion Week00:40:25 - The frail nature of an athlete's career00:43:34 - NIL Collectives, and why Young Athletes need to know about them.00:46:44 - How Jordan and Alex got started by bartering.00:54:24 - The Death of the NCAA & the future of College Sports.00:58:37 - Jordan on Johnny Manziel's Pro Day.01:02:32 - Jordan's Playbook for Up-and-Coming Recruits01:07:31 - Jordan's message to top high school recruits.01:10:43 - How do you get a Job at Nike?

Learn how Truff Sauce went from an Instagram page to an eight-figure company, the secret sauce behind their success, and how to strategically market taboo products. Discover insights on competitor analysis, founder-focused companies, and the importance of creating viral content.

Alex and Brian sit down to talk through where affiliate marketing goes as legacy media publications lose traffic, Peacock's brilliant $110 million move to become #1 in the app store, and how they'd grow Keep It Classic Vintage. Stay tuned til the end to hear about their favorite tools to grow a DTC brand right now.As always, appreciate you all listening, and don't forget to leave us a review and submit your questions for Alex and Brian at the email address below. See you next week.--------------------WANT FREE GAME? Or just have a question for Brian & Alex?Submit your questions here: www.marketingexamined.com/podcastOR email us at podcast@marketingexamined.com--------------------WATCH THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE:For full video versions, and short highlights of every episode, head tohttps://www.youtube.com/@marketingexamined?sub_confirmation=1NEWSLETTER:For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed atwww.marketingexamined.com--------------------Follow Alex & Brian on Twitter and IGwww.twitter.com/@alexgarcia_atxwww.twitter.com/@brian_blum1CHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro02:53 - Show Rundown05:12 - The Death of Legacy Media10:14 - Why NOW is the time to invest in your own content.16:31 - The Story of the Stanley Tumbler22:38 - Peacock's playoff gamble, and why it worked so well.27:25 - How can Peacock keep those subscribers?35:09 - Free Game: Keep it Classic Vintage51:41 - Shoutout our most dedicated podcast listener.

Learn how to grow your Instagram following to 10k with insights on short-form content. Discover Athletic Brewing's success in the non-alcoholic beverage market and the rise of mocktails. Dive into the power of personal storytelling in branding and the challenges of direct-to-consumer products. Plus, get tips on creating engaging content on Instagram and building a dedicated audience.

Luxury brand expert Oren John discusses the secrets of building luxury brands, including differentiating luxury from high-end products, creating urgency through brand collaborations, and fast-tracking to a higher price point. The podcast delves into the strategies used by luxury brands, the importance of personalized customer experiences, and expanding perspectives in design and branding.

In this episode of Sweat Equity, Alex and Brian break down how a company is getting a 19x ROI by sending DIRECT MAILERS, and what you can learn from their marketing strategy. They also talk about Nintendo, and how their differentiation strategy that started with the Wii made them the most valuable video game company on the planet. Finally, they spit some Free Game for a fan of the pod Jake, and his brand DateNightKitchen. They go in depth on how they'd turn his growing audience into into an 8-figure brand, and what other up-and-coming influencers can do to leverage their platforms. You're not going to want to miss this one. As always, appreciate you all listening, and don't forget to leave us a review and submit your questions for Alex and Brian at the email address below. See you next week.--------------------WANT FREE GAME? Or just have a question for Brian & Alex?Submit your questions here: www.marketingexamined.com/podcastOR email us at podcast@marketingexamined.com--------------------WATCH THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE:For full video versions, and short highlights of every episode, head tohttps://www.youtube.com/@marketingexamined?sub_confirmation=1NEWSLETTER:For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed atwww.marketingexamined.com--------------------Follow Alex & Brian on Twitter and IGwww.twitter.com/@alexgarcia_atxwww.twitter.com/@brian_blum1

Alex and Brian have a jam packed episode breaking down how GTA engineered the biggest launch of all-time with a leak, Red Lobster proving that an offer can be TOO good, and OLIPOP ditching paid ads to grow to $200m per year. Stick around til the end for a brainstorming session around "Moonshot Marketing" that any marketer can use.As always, appreciate you all listening, and don't forget to leave us a review and submit your questions for Alex and Brian at the email address below. See you next week.--------------------WANT FREE GAME? Or just have a question for Brian & Alex?Submit your questions here: www.marketingexamined.com/podcastOR email us at podcast@marketingexamined.com--------------------WATCH THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE:For full video versions, and short highlights of every episode, head tohttps://www.youtube.com/@marketingexamined?sub_confirmation=1NEWSLETTER:For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed atwww.marketingexamined.com--------------------Follow Alex & Brian on Twitter and IGwww.twitter.com/@alexgarcia_atxwww.twitter.com/@brian_blum1CHAPTERS00:00 - Intro05:44 - Did Rockstar manufacture the GTA 6 Leak?25:04 - Red Lobster's Free Shrimp Fiasco & Deals that are TOO good.41:19 - OLIPOP's $200m Influencer Marketing Playbook54:55 - Moonshot Marketing, and why you should consider doing it

Episode 7: Alex and Brian talk about the "land and expand" strategy that has taken Rogue Fitness from $0 - $100m per year, what we can learn from Lego's legendary transformation into a media company, and how to pull off the perfect Black Friday for any ecommerce brand.As always, appreciate you all listening, and don't forget to leave us a review and submit your questions for Alex and Brian at the email address below. See you next week.--------------------WANT FREE GAME? Or just have a question for Brian & Alex?Submit your questions here: www.marketingexamined.com/podcastOR email us at podcast@marketingexamined.com--------------------WATCH THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE:For full video versions, and short highlights of every episode, head tohttps://www.youtube.com/@marketingexamined?sub_confirmation=1NEWSLETTER:For growth playbooks, deep dives, and marketing case studies, get subscribed atwww.marketingexamined.com--------------------Follow Alex & Brian on Twitter and IGwww.twitter.com/@alexgarcia_atxwww.twitter.com/@brian_blum1

Oren John, a content creator and former executive, shares his formula for creating viral content. The podcast explores topics such as navigating social media platforms in the CBD cannabis industry, creating viral videos with a strategic script, transitioning to Instagram as the main platform, finding a niche market and optimizing SEO, the outreach process in building a DTC brand, and building a niche lifestyle brand.