Best Story Wins

In today’s episode, Joe Chernov, CMO at Pendo.io, shares his expert perspective on the ways B2B marketing has changed, the myths that marketers still cling to, and the ways he and his team are marketing “through” people—not “to” people. By cultivating his team’s strengths and infusing the Pendo brand story with strong emotion, he and his team are turning Pendo into a market winner. Join us as we discuss:How to leverage KPIs to make your customers feel above averageThe role of biases and emotional connections in purchasing decisions.Shifting focus from top-of-funnel to post-opportunity engagement.

Storytelling can be approached from various perspectives, and sometimes, exploring the less conventional ones can lead to the creation of a remarkable brand story.Embracing an ethos-driven approach to storytelling is what today’s guest, Joshua Ariza, Founder and Owner of Chomp Brand, has done to tackle the complexities of building his own illustration label. Through the intersection of art and fun, Joshua shares insights into the benefits of having an expansive interpretation of the illustration marketplace, as well as the challenges that an economy in flux holds for the design industry.Join us as we discuss:Honing the right set of skills to illustrate and sell your artTaking calculated risks while balancing budgets for long-term success in the creative industryShifting towards an integrated approach that combines illustration and artificial intelligence.

Every brand needs a compelling story—even ones as established as Amazon Web Services.Now it’s up to Cymone Wilder, Senior Art Director at Amazon Web Services, to rebuild the brand of an long-standing division that’s lacked a design focus for years. In this episode, Cymone shares lessons she’s learned from working at a company as big as AWS, such as dealing with tension that results from authenticity, initiating change at a large organization, and connecting with end users.Join us as discuss:Ambitious plans to shape the company's cultureThe need to fake confidence (and why it doesn’t last)Being scrappy and doing good work with what’s available

In this episode, we have the pleasure of chatting with Joel Beukelman, Product Designer at Royal.io. Join us for a cutting-edge conversation in which Joel discusses what it’s like to build a marketplace at the intersection of cryptocurrency, music streaming, and Web3. With the goal of disrupting traditional, outdated practices in the music industry, Joel and his colleagues are designing solutions and tools that are aimed at empowering artists to connect with fans and monetize their music. Join us as we discuss:How technology can solve issues of unauthorized use of creative contentWhat collaboration requires: curiosity, flexibility, risk-taking, and a willingness to learnWhy humility and adaptability are critical in the startup world and crypto market

In this episode, we’re delighted to welcome in Justin Rands, Director of Brand Design at Oyster. Tune in to hear us chat about how he and his team make Oyster stand out as a brand, the importance of experimentation, the future of AI in content creation, and more. Justin also shares insights from his career journey, including the challenges of running a 700-person team and the riskiest moves he’s made at Oyster.Join us as we discuss:How the best brand stories find the human elementWhy it’s so difficult to make creative that stops you in your tracksThe communication mistakes that are so costly for brands

In this episode, we are joined by Mike Constantiner, Co-Founder and Head of Brand and Community at Freestyle, the first brand in the market to manufacture tree-free baby diapers. As we delve into the process of ideation, consolidation, and maintenance of the company, Mike emphasizes the importance of building a narrative where the community—in this case, parents—hold the guiding voice that steers the brand's decisions to resonate with a wider audience and that can lead to the creation of a lifestyle brand. Additionally, Mike provides insights into the challenges, errors, and learnings that this process has imparted to him and his company, while also delving into their philosophy of "make cool shit" to maintain long-term relevance in the market.Join us as we discuss:Remaining competitive with limited time, talent and capitalThe power of continuously making cool stuff, and finding the right team to do itHow crafting and building a great brand story can change the game for your company

Today’s special guest is Ross Yoshida, Senior Director of Graphic Design for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In this episode, we dive into how a blend of authenticity, confidence, and “hot sauce” has created one of the world’s most iconic sports brands. Tune in to hear Yoshida’s perspective on how winning brands elevate the fan experience, how the Dodgers’ creative team approaches each year’s visual campaign, where he gets his inspiration from, and more. Just us as we discuss:Challenging perspectives if your industry is stuck in the pastThe fight to show that creative departments can be revenue generatorsHow visual branding deepens your connection with your audience

In this episode, we speak with Jonah Freedman, Content & Growth Marketing Leader at Salesforce. Tune in to hear Jonah share his journalistic approach to content marketing, where he finds inspiration, how he juggles different stakeholders, as well as his thoughts on the future of AI. Join us as we discuss:The key to both storytelling and content creationHow finding creative inspiration everywhere is powerfulWhy AI has the potential to revolutionize content creation

Today’s special guest is Ethan Kanat, Senior Principal of Creative Strategy at Zendesk. In this episode, we dive into the biggest changes in tech and business in recent years, including the increasing importance of incorporating a strong narrative company-wide. As organizations are built with many individuals, human stories remain more important than ever. We cover how to use those stories as a foundation to build frictionless customer and employee experiences.Join us as we discuss:Zendesk’s perspective on remote work (and the role tech plays)The importance of constantly telling your story, and how to incorporate a strong narrative throughoutHow to build inspiration for great culture and good material, and whether AI can play a role

Today’s special guest is David Garvin, Creative Director at Happy Money. On this episode, we chat about how Happy Money infuses psychology into their branding and marketing, David’s philosophies on great storytelling, and how brands get it wrong. We also discuss future applications for AI in marketing, including how people’s desire for authenticity will continue to challenge the world of AI.Join us as we discuss:What the evolution of brand design for Happy Money looked likeHow to handle a new CMO coming in with potential changes to the brandWhen regulations will be put in place to address the ethical considerations of AI in the creative industry