Remarkable Content with Ian Faison

Join Elizabeth Strickert, Director of Content Marketing at A-LIGN, as she shares her insights on content creation inspired by TikTok star Alix Earle. Discover how consistency trumps virality in building a lasting brand, the importance of authenticity in influencer culture, and innovative B2B marketing strategies. Elizabeth highlights the power of storytelling in nurturing audience connections and emphasizes the necessity of adapting content across platforms. With engaging anecdotes, they explore balancing growth while staying connected to your core audience.

Scared marketing doesn’t stand out. Bold stories do. And no one knows that better than the team behind Animal, a new documentary that challenges everything you think you know about meat, health, and what drives people to change.In this episode, we’re pulling lessons from the film’s launch with the help of our special guest, Kevin Carter, Producer at H20 Studios.Together, we explore what B2B marketers can steal from the big screen on how to activate communities, take smart creative risks, and stop playing it safe when the goal is to stand out.About our guest, Kevin CarterKevin Carter is an experienced marketing and production executive with a track record of driving significant revenue and audience growth. Currently a Producer at H20 Studios in Los Angeles, he oversees productions, strategically optimizing budgets to achieve substantial savings while delivering high-impact content reaching millions of viewers. Previously, in Global Marketing Strategy at Lionsgate, Kevin spearheaded marketing campaigns for over 117 film and television releases, generating upwards of $100 million in revenue.What B2B Companies Can Learn From Kevin’s documentary, Animal:Build evangelists, not just audiences. A film doesn’t go viral because it’s seen. It goes viral because people can’t stop talking about it. That’s how Kevin sees it. He says, “The best way is when you really create an army of people that just talk about your film without you doing anything.” For B2B marketers, that means stop chasing impressions and start sparking conversations. If your product solves a real problem, give your users the language, the emotion, and the why. They won’t just use it, they’ll share it.Give your team space to strike out. You can’t hit home runs if you’re too scared to swing. Kevin urges leaders to embrace failure in the name of breakthrough: “You have to allow your executives to have three strikeouts before a win… try some crazy things that might cause some virality.” In B2B, too many marketers are stuck playing defense. But virality, innovation, and true brand momentum come from cultures that reward experimentation, not just execution. If you want word of mouth, you have to make room for risk.Challenge the spreadsheet. When executives default to templates, creativity gets sidelined. Kevin puts it bluntly: “Do I use this templated spend calculator… or do I take a chance and try something new to break through all the noise?” Most choose safety and the result is scared content that no one talks about. In B2B, the same trap shows up in recycled campaigns and rinse-repeat strategies. But breakthrough growth doesn’t come from playing it safe. It comes from marketers brave enough to break the mold. Because what limits risk often limits reach.Quotes*“The best way is when you really create an army of people that just talk about your film without you doing anything. Every one person that you market to that loves it and then tells three other people. There’s so much value to that. And then you expand that out to thousands of people, and they’re all sharing with other people. That is the winning formula, really.”*“You finally get that EVP role… you’re just loving life, and then you have two options. Do I use this templated spend calculator that we use on films, that’s probably solid… limits our downside risk? Or do I take a chance and try something new and fresh, and try to break through all the noise out there, but the downside risk is a bit higher? Most of the time, they pick the latter... I think you get stuck in. Just making scared content all the time versus making like the best content.”*“For Animal, there’s been no templated spend at all, we are just doing a totally bespoke campaign. If we do another film after this, it won’t be the same either. You have to look at each project and ask, what are our strengths? What are our weaknesses?... And then lean into your strengths and hopefully that carries you to the promised land.”Time Stamps[00:55] Meet Kevin Carter, Producer at H20 Studios[01:00] Breaking Down Kevin's Documentary, Animal[07:52] Marketing Strategies For Film and TV[14:51] Challenges and Risks in Movie Marketing[21:25] Rethinking Your Target Audience[27:14] Innovative Marketing Techniques For Film and TV[33:40] Creating the Documentary, Animal[35:26] Marketing Animal[40:02 Final Thoughts & TakeawaysLinksConnect with Kevin on LinkedInCheck out AnimalAbout Remarkable!Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Cool features don’t make a story. Emotional stakes do. And no one knew that better than Knight Rider, a show where a talking car and a lone hero made 80s TV unforgettable.In this episode, we’re pulling lessons from that retro icon with the help of our special guest, Ashley Sasnett, Senior Director of Content Strategy at EquifaxTogether, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from classic archetypes, character-driven branding, and the power of giving your product a little personality (or maybe even a voice of its own).About our guest, Ashley SasnettAshley Sasnett is the Senior Director of Content Strategy at Equifax. She is an award-winning, dynamic, and energetic digital marketing strategist with an extensive background in content, social media, mobile, campaign design and execution, and audience development. Ashley is a data-driven leader who embraces social listening and digital analytics to glean insights to solve business problems.Ashley is a marketer who humanizes Brands with social media, digital content, and influencers, creating connections with clients and prospects.What B2B Companies Can Learn From Knight Rider:Storytelling makes the features matter. Knight Rider didn’t win fans because KITT had voice activation or turbo boost. It won fans because those features served a bigger story. A story about a hero resurrected to right wrongs with his talking car by his side. Ashley urges marketers to take the same approach. Don't just list functionality. Show how it fits into a compelling narrative. Ashley says, “That’s a story. And so I think for me, when I'm thinking about how do you create marketing that really sticks with people is... you need to really pull 'em away from like brochureware.” When tech serves emotion, people remember it. So build the story before you build the spec sheet.Embrace the buddy system. At its heart, Knight Rider was a buddy story—man and machine. That relationship brought emotional grounding to an otherwise tech-heavy premise. Ashley points out how powerful that dynamic is in marketing, too. Even the most advanced products need a human emotion. Ashley explains, “You gotta give him a friend… give them a buddy to keep their humanity, keep them connected so they can go out and be the hero they're supposed to be.” Your product might be brilliant. But it’s the companion—the story, the use case, the customer—that brings it to life.Make it iconic, not just informative. KITT wasn’t just a car. It had a voice, a silhouette, and a sound you could recognize anywhere. It was branding genius and completely unforgettable. Ashley sees this as a blueprint for marketers: features don’t stick unless they’re wrapped in a sensory identity people can latch onto. Ashley says, “When the car is driving up…that sound is like Darth Vader’s voice. Everyone knows that sound. It’s so ownable to the show.” Don’t just inform. Design your marketing to be remembered. Own your marketing.Quotes*“When I'm thinking about how do you create marketing that really sticks with people is it's, yeah, you gotta give 'em the AI and the voice of recognition and the bulletproof and the hot car thing. You gotta give them features and functionality, but you need to really pull them away from like brochureware, right? Don't take a product sheet and turn it into a webpage. We're so past that. Because a lot of the time, people are going through and checking boxes for that stuff, but they're not getting the use case, the value prop, the differentiation that's wrapped around those features and functionality. And when you do have something that's different, doubling down on that, so you can stand out, you're gonna do that in storytelling, and you always have these big story arcs.”*“ Market your marketing. The challenge that you've got is throughout your organization, people are seeing your marketing, but they're seeing it more as users. They're seeing the end product, they're not always understanding the strategies behind it. And I love a good dashboard. I love a good metric, I love a good deck, but you don't wanna turn them into crutches. You need to have that elevator pitch…And I think marketers, internally, we get so caught up in the bits and bobs and the how it's made, and we like to geek out on that stuff. We forget that really everybody just needs three or four bullet points… I think that's where it's funny 'cause we don't do for ourselves as we should do for our company or for our customers. Which is market your marketing, make sure people are understanding why you're doing what you're doing and how.”*“Stories are  pretty basic…Things were cranking along, and then you hit a stormy patch, and now things are better because you use this product. The stories  that you unearth in there is how they've used that product, but you've got that big story arc that kind of pulls it all together….  What is the conflict? Who's the protagonist? And then what does that or resolution look like? And when you're able to do that, you're gonna have a fuller, clearer picture for the audience to really glom onto. Because unless you're in the room with them telling that story, you've gotta let your digital content do a lot of work.”Time Stamps[00:55] Meet Ashley Sasnett, Sr. Director, Content Strategy at Equifax[01:15] Why Knight Rider?[03:13] The Role of Sr. Director of Content Strategy at Equifax[05:21] Origins of Knight Rider[10:37] B2B Marketing Lessons from Knight Rider[37:42] Equifax's Content Strategy[41:26] Creating Memorable Content[43:15] Great Current Marketing Campaigns[47:37] Final Thoughts and TakeawaysLinksConnect with Ashley on LinkedInLearn more about EquifaxAbout Remarkable!Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Rational thinking might drive economics, but emotional behavior drives decisions. And no one understands that better than Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational, a book that’s reshaped our assumptions about how people make decisions.In this episode, we’re unpacking key lessons from Dan Ariely’s work with the help of our special guest, Leslie Alore, SVP of Marketing at Flexera.Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from setting the right expectations, why fewer choices close more deals, and how the power of “free” and fear of loss can drive serious retention.About our guest, Leslie AloreAs the SVP of Marketing, Leslie Alore leads Flexera’s marketing strategy with an aim to create great experiences and outcomes for our customers.Her passion for people and technology—combined with more than 15 years of marketing leadership in the tech space—has established her as a successful, results-driven executive who enables teams to do their best work.Prior to joining Flexera, Leslie served as the Global SVP of Lifecycle Marketing at Ivanti. Before that, she held various marketing, operations and GTM strategy roles at Iron Mountain. Leslie is an active speaker and mentor in the GTM community, and has been recognized among “Top Women in Marketing” by Ragan Communications and “Women of the Channel” by CRN.Leslie holds a BBA in Management, and an MBA with a concentration in Strategic Leadership from Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration.What B2B Companies Can Learn From Predictably Irrational:Set expectations to shape reality. Great marketing doesn’t just reflect value, it creates the conditions for it. Leslie highlights how expectations shape reality. When buyers believe something is good, they interpret every detail through that lens. This isn’t about manipulation, it’s about clarity and consistency. Leslie says, “The effect of expectations… believing beforehand something is good, therefore it will be or the reverse.” So stop hoping your audience connects the dots. Tell them what to expect, then deliver on it. Perception isn’t a bonus, it’s the foundation.Shrink your options to speed the decision. Too many options stall progress. The paradox of choice tells us more isn’t better, it’s paralyzing. Leslie urges marketers to curate the path forward: “You actually want to give people fewer options and take control of the options that they see.” Don’t just join the shortlist, define it. When you narrow the frame, you speed up the decision for your customers. Turn “free” into staying power with loss aversion. There’s magic in “free,” but the real power lies in what people fear losing. Once someone uses your product, whether it’s a freemium tool or an ungated resource, they’ve invested. Now there’s skin in the game. Leslie puts it simply, “People will overvalue something that's free and ignore kind of the trade-off costs associated. And loss is psychologically painful. We don't want to lose that, which we already have.” Whether you offer software, content, or services, create early wins. Then make the cost of leaving feel higher than the cost of staying.Quotes*“ There's many organizations that lean into that power of positivity…What's very interesting is that consumer brands do this a lot very, very well. B2B organizations tend to do almost the opposite. They tend to lean more into FUD. And that's a harder road to tread.”*“ If you’re an organization that is selling software, the software is designed to provide a business outcome. It's designed to solve a business problem. Instead of focusing on, here's the business problem. Doesn't that suck for you? You can say, ‘here's the solution.*“You have the power, you can feel confident about your ability to achieve X, Y, Z because you've solved this problem.’ It's saying the same thing, but orienting it in a positive way and being very, very, very consistent in that message. Beat that drum over and over and over again.”*“ Narrow down the competitive options for them. Your sales process will move faster. You will be able to take better control of the narrative if you say, ‘this is us and these are the two other vendors that look like us. And here's why we are different and better, and here's what you can expect from these guys.’ And that doesn't mean saying negative things about them.  It's just highlighting your strengths and your virtues.”*“People are willing to accept trade-offs for something that is perceived to be free…This is the exact reason that PLG, product-led growth, is so powerful. Because if you can get people in the door with some sort of freemium offering, people will actually work harder to do the legwork to get a free product to work and interact with it, than they might be willing to put in for something that they have to go pay for. And then once they have it and they've put in the work, they don't wanna lose it.”Time Stamps[00:55] Meet Leslie Alore, SVP of Marketing at Flexera[00:56] Why Predictably Irrational?[02:20] The Role of SVP of Marketing at Flexera[02:47] Understanding Predictably Irrational[09:56] B2B Marketing Lessons from Predictably Irrational[37:49] Cognitive Dissonance in Buying Behavior[42:17] Emotional Marketing in B2B[46:18] Final Thoughts and TakeawaysLinksConnect with Leslie on LinkedInLearn more about FlexeraAbout Remarkable!Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Charlie Ungashick, CMO of Vimeo with over 20 years in tech marketing, discusses the raw and immersive nature of the series 'Adolescence.' He highlights the power of taking creative risks in B2B marketing, mirroring the show's audacious storytelling. Charlie emphasizes the significance of authenticity and emotional connection in digital content. They explore how Vimeo's innovative platform and AI tools enhance creators' storytelling capabilities, while also addressing modern challenges in navigating youth communications and societal narratives.

Since 2014, Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic newsletter has landed in inboxes every single morning, offering ancient wisdom in bite-size, highly clickable form.It’s also a masterclass in content marketing. In this episode, we’re unpacking what B2B marketers can learn from The Daily Stoic with the help of Amanda Dyson, VP, Head of Marketing at FourKites.Together, we explore how to break the marketing mold, why the most impactful content is also the most practical, and how anchoring your message in core values makes it stick. Stoicism isn’t just a philosophy; if done right, it’s a blueprint for modern marketing.About our guest, Amanda DysonWith 20 years B2B software and SaaS marketing expertise, Amanda specializes in go-to-market strategy; consultative marketing; change and people management; lead generation; account based marketing; partner co-marketing; integrated digital marketing; email marketing; live and virtual events; corporate branding and storytelling; account segmentation and targeting; project and budget management, and strategic advisement.Amanda has run regional and global teams. She has a passion for people and results and a proven track record of success delivering on KPIs and OKRs. She has held successively responsible, cross-functional leadership positions in sales and marketing, including alliances, partnership marketing, ABM, demand generation, field marketing, solutions marketing, events, communications, and corporate marketing for global Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software companies.A California girl at heart, Amanda happily resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with her family of five. When she’s not growing people or pipeline at leading tech companies, she enjoys spending time with her family in the mountains or at the beach, running daily, and practicing mindfulness. Amanda has an MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University with a focus in Marketing, Finance and Supply Chain, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics with a Minor in Professional Writing from the University of California, Santa Barbara.What B2B Companies Can Learn From Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic Newsletter:Break the marketing mold. Stoicism may be ancient, but Ryan Holiday has made it feel new and modern. Amanda sees that reinvention as a creative north star. She says, “Let’s do something wild. Some of my favorite marketing campaigns have just been weird stuff. It breaks the mold and it gets something done.” Ryan Holiday didn’t market stoicism by copying academic textbooks, he made it approachable and surprising. B2B marketers should do the same. Surprise earns attention. A little weirdness, done with purpose, goes a long way.Make it usable, not just insightful. Ryan Holiday’s greatest trick isn’t sounding smart, it’s making stoicism actionable. Amanda says,  “He does things in such a bite-size, practical way that you can hold onto it.” That’s exactly how B2B content should work. Don’t just publish thought leadership that nods at trends. Give your audience tools they can actually apply. Teach them something they’ll remember at 4 PM on a chaotic Tuesday. If it doesn’t help them do their job better, it’s just noise.Anchor your content in core values. The Daily Stoic isn’t random. It’s rooted in four core tenets: courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom. Amanda draws the parallel for marketers: “It’s all fostered and rooted in these core values or the stoic virtues, which you could look at your brand pillars in the same kind of light.” B2B content should be more than campaign-deep. When your content reflects your company’s true values, it resonates longer and travels farther. Think less about filling the calendar, and more about reinforcing what you stand for. Quotes*“ I really challenge my teams to get back to storytelling. You gotta break out of the box, so let's do something wild. Some of my favorite marketing campaigns I've ever done have just been weird stuff: bobbleheads, robots on the beach. Random things that are not B2B software, but it breaks the mold and it gets something done. I think Ryan's done that with his marketing of stoicism. He's broken the mold, right? He reinvigorated this ancient philosophy, and so that's definitely a lesson I think we can learn from him too on content.”*“ So we are all about how do we take one thing and reuse it in different ways. I think if we look at Ryan and his newsletter, I kind of mentioned his repetition. I don't think he sends the exact same newsletter, you know, multiple times. But there's certainly similar messages where you can go back in your archives and dig those things up again and present it in a different way. Content is huge. It drives, internally and externally, all of our activities. But you gotta be really smart about how you do it and how you use it, 'cause you're competing with so much noise. It can definitely be challenging to again break that mold.”*“ Something that makes him a tremendous marketer is that he really believes in what he's selling us, right? He's created this brand that is a lifestyle. Stoicism is a philosophy, so there's a lot of high value attached to it and how you live your life.”Time Stamps[0:55] Meet Amanda Dyson, VP, Head of Marketing at FourKites[00:58] Why Ryan Holiday's The Daily Stoic Newsletter[03:04] The Role of VP, Head of Marketing at Four Kites[04:18] Origins of Ryan Holiday's The Daily Stoic[09:27] Understanding Tucker Max[13:12] Stoicism 101: Old Ideas for Modern Chaos[20:23] Building a Daily Ritual[22:21] Strategies for Writing Like a Pro[25:35] Inspiration as a Driver for Your Content[35:55] Creating Marketing Tactics That Actually Matter[39:00] FourKites' Content Strategy[40:31] What's Working for Amanda Now?[44:15] Measuring ROI at Four Kites[49:49] Advice for Marketing Leaders[51:27] Final Thoughts and TakeawaysLinksConnect with Amanda on LinkedInLearn more about FourKitesAbout Remarkable!Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hrishi Kulkarni, Director of Customer Advocacy at dbt Labs, dives into the art of storytelling in marketing. With over 16 years of experience, he discusses how B2B brands can learn from Christian Dior's transformative approach in 'The New Look'. He emphasizes the importance of empathy and personal narratives in customer engagement. The conversation covers the power of reimagining branding and innovating through collaboration, advocating for authenticity as a cornerstone of effective marketing.

Escaping the underworld may not sound like a marketing strategy until you look at how Hades turned it into a blueprint for success.Developed by indie studio Supergiant Games, Hades isn’t just a video game, it’s a critically acclaimed masterpiece thanks to its iterative development, rich storytelling, and a fanbase that helped shape the game in real time. In this episode, we dive into the lessons marketers can learn from this roguelike phenomenon with special guest Zoe Hawkins, Director, Content Marketing & Integrated Campaign Strategy at Sumo Logic.Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from fearless experimentation, community co-creation, and crafting content your audience can’t help but share.About our guest, Zoe HawkinsZoe Hawkins is a former video game and tech journalist turned content marketer. She has over a decade of professional experience turning technical understanding into fluent communication. Working with a range of B2B tech companies, Zoe has helped create value across marketing and strategy. She also serves as co-lead for Sumo Logic’s sustainability-focused ERG, the Planeteers. When not working, Zoe is usually absorbed in speculative fiction – video games, books, or streaming media. She’s a mom to two cats and a grade-school-aged daughter, living with her husband in perpetually sunny Arizona.What B2B Companies Can Learn From Hades:Experimentation is the only way forward. In Hades, dying isn’t a setback; it’s part of the process. Zoe says, “You keep experimenting and you're gonna fail. And that's okay... Each time you learn and you grow and you do it better.” For marketers, it’s a reminder that campaigns don’t need to be perfect out of the gate. Failure isn’t fatal. Failure is how you find what works.Build content with your community, not just for them. Supergiant launched Hades in early access, inviting players to shape the game as it evolved. Zoe explains, “They give feedback. It's almost like a co-design, co-development process with your fans.” B2B marketers can do the same by involving their audience early, whether through feedback loops, pilots, or beta content. Let your audience help build what they want. It not only strengthens relationships, but it also keeps them excited about what’s coming next.Create content that people want to share. Hades isn’t just a game people play, it’s one they rave about. Zoe asks, “How do you make it that people are actually happy to use your product and excited to use it… not just customer loyalty, but advocacy? They wanna tell other people, ‘you will not believe how cool this thing is’.” That’s exactly what Hades achieves through intentional design, standout storytelling, and undeniable personality. Marketers should aim for the same. Treat your content the way Hades treats gameplay, and your audience won’t just consume it, they’ll spread it.Quotes*“ You keep experimenting, and you're gonna fail. And that's okay. If I think about it, you come into a new team or you come into a new product launch or you come into a new organization, whatever it might be. And you think you know how to play the game, you think you know what it takes to succeed, to beat the boss, whatever that is. And you do the run according to the way that you've done it, maybe in other roles or other companies, and you die, you fail. It doesn't necessarily go a hundred percent to plan, and that's okay. And then you get to restart with a new weapon, a new strategy, a new approach, whatever that might be, and pull it back together. Bring it back in to say, ‘okay, let's, let's try it again. Let's run it again and see if we're successful this time.’ And that just feels so liberating and then each time you learn and you grow and you do it better.”*“ I love the idea that they only make one game at a time, that they're so focused, and it comes through in the work. It's so polished, it's so well made, and clearly made with love, that transfers to me. And I think if we tie it back to that B2B marketing, I think about working in tech, working in SaaS, how do you give that moment of delight where it's not just like, ‘oh my gosh, your company saved me this amount of money or whatever, or this tool is worthwhile for me.’ But how do you make it that people are actually happy to use your product and excited to use it, or have that sense of not just customer loyalty, but advocacy. They wanna tell other people, ‘you will not believe how cool this thing is.’”*“ One of my favorite kinds of content to make is case studies because we get to make our customer shine and tell their story… I know our story backwards and forward. What's your story? Why are you winning with this? Why are you succeeding with this? And being able to tell something cool that they figured out, a way they're using our product that we didn't even think about that's interesting or cool.”*“ Not being afraid to experiment, not being afraid to fail, I think, is such an important marketing lesson, because you're gonna have some risks that are gonna be great, and you're gonna take some risks that are gonna just completely flop. And that's okay. That's how we learn. That's how we try new things.”Time Stamps[0:55] Meet Zoe Hawkins, Director, Content Marketing & Integrated Campaign Strategy at Sumo Logic[02:20] Why Hades?[03:08] The Role of Director of Content Marketing and Integrated Campaigns at Sumo Logic[03:54] Origins of Hades[15:29] B2B Marketing Lessons from Hades[44:32] Importance of Humor in Branding and Content Strategy[49:47] Versatility of Video Content[54:11] Final Thoughts and TakeawaysLinksConnect with Zoe on LinkedInLearn more about Sumo LogicAbout Remarkable!Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Join Robert McCauley, Sr. Director of Content Marketing at Upwork, with over 20 years in the field, as he shares insights on the revival of vinyl through Record Store Day. He emphasizes how marketers can sell experiences instead of products, highlighting the importance of exclusivity. The emotional connection people have with vinyl illustrates effective community engagement. Robert also delves into the significance of nostalgia in marketing and how it can forge deeper relationships with audiences in today's digital landscape.

A man crashes through walls. A woman joins him. Together, they run straight into the sky. No dialogue. Just music, motion, and a pair of Levi’s jeans.This is Odyssey, the Levi’s ad that changed how we think about brand storytelling. In this episode, we're unpacking its marketing lessons with our special guest, Paula Vivas, Head of US Marketing at Freepik.Together, we explore why storytelling is the most powerful strategy, how boldness builds lasting brand identity, and why emotional resonance is your greatest competitive edge.Because the best marketing doesn’t just show a product, it makes you feel something real.About our guest, Paula VivasPaula Vivas is the Head of US Marketing at Freepik. She has over 15 years of experience in visual design, online marketing, and social media marketing, with a passion for creating and promoting engaging and innovative content.Paula is also the co-founder of Charis, a platform that celebrates AI‑empowered creativity. With that, they launched the Charis Awards, a global competition that showcases the best AI-generated images and their creators.Paula’s experience spans across Product Marketing, Content Marketing, Events, Ads and Growth Marketing in the Tech industry.What B2B Companies Can Learn From Levi's Odyssey ad:Story is the strategy. The Levi's Odyssey ad didn’t just sell jeans, it sold a feeling of liberation. Paula recalls watching it and thinking, “I want to be able to give a meaning to a brand.” The brilliance wasn’t in the product, but in the story it told, breaking through walls, both literally and metaphorically. In marketing, stories aren't a “nice to have”; they’re the whole point. When you anchor your brand in a powerful narrative, you move from transactional to transformational.Break through with brand identity. In the Levi's Odyssey ad, two people sprint through wall after wall, finally launching into the sky, all while wearing Levi's jeans. To Paula, it wasn’t just an ad; it was a masterclass in brand symbolism. No voiceover. No product breakdown. Just raw, kinetic metaphor for freedom and durability. In B2B, the lesson holds: skip the specs and aim for the soul. The brands that break through aren’t the loudest, they’re the ones that hit instinct before intellect.Emotion is the ultimate differentiator. What makes the Levi's Odyssey ad timeless wasn’t just its visuals; it was how it made Paula feel. In an era of AI-generated everything, emotion is your moat. Tools can replicate images, but not meaning. The best marketing doesn’t just look good, it makes you feel something. Give your audience that, and they’ll remember everything.Quotes*“ Let's make great content. Let’s forget about Will Smith eating spaghetti. Let’s forget about doing another Star Wars. Star Wars is going to be there, and of course, that’s going to go viral because it’s Star Wars. Let’s create beautiful content for you to watch, and sit down and say, ‘This is what a creative mind can do. This is what we can do with AI.’ Let's make something original. Let's create a path that's different.”*“ I don't think AI is going to take out anything. I think it needs to be humane. We need to be behind it. We need to be the person at the wheel. LLMs are created by us, so we have to be there, right? Our creative part is always gonna be there.”*“ If you give me a cookbook, that doesn't make me a chef. [AI] is not gonna take anybody away. It is just gonna make everyone better and faster and explode those creative parts of themselves.”Time Stamps[0:55] Meet Paula Vivas, Head of US Marketing at Freepik[02:32] Why Levi's Odyssey Ad?[03:09] Levi's Odyssey Ad Origin[08:01] Why Great Storytelling is Your Differentiator[15:17] What is Upscale Conf?[18:47] Freepik's SEO Strategy[21:58] How Freepik Simplifies Prompt Engineering[24:17] Behind the Scenes of Upscale Conf[27:22] What’s Next for Upscale Conf[31:05] Freepik's Content and Brand Strategy[34:01] Breaking Down Freepik's Music Collection[37:11] Final Thoughts and TakeawaysLinksConnect with Paula on LinkedInLearn more about FreepikAbout Remarkable!Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.