Champagne Strategy

Brain Hurt Scale = 2/10. Learn all the hot topics, struggles and opportunities in the current environment from the perspective of two fractional CMO's. After shooting the breeze about coffee (Skip to 4mins in to miss the coffee talk intro) Gregory Kennedy and John sit down to talk about what they're both seeing on the ground right now. With significant declines in the yields and measurement of various digital media over the years, they discuss different ways to move forward and embrace a revised approach to the marketing function. What's the difference between West and East coast business culture? Why is the crazy valuations in the recent tech boom not even comparable to what happened back in the late 90s? Why is revenue growth and positive economics so important now? How have digital channels changed over the years? Gregory has worked in senior marketing roles at tech companies like InMobi, TapSense, NextRoll, Sojern and Noteable. Embrace the future. Leave the shackles behind. This is an easy listen. That won't leave you in a bind.

This podcast explores the concept of branding and how it works. It discusses brand association and the importance of leaving a lasting impression. The correlation between awareness and sales is examined, along with the challenges of ensuring product availability and ease of purchase. The effectiveness of advertising in generating sales is also discussed, particularly for smaller brands.

The podcast explores the scientific side of advertising and how it works in a practical setting. It discusses the concept of branding, the changing media landscape, and the different components of a brand. The importance of reach in advertising is explored, including challenges in estimating reach and the impact of fake profiles and bots. The effectiveness of advertising campaigns is analyzed, including executives' tolerance for ineffective advertising and different approaches to evaluating campaign success.

This podcast discusses the concept of brand campaigns, including the rise of double duty campaigns and the factors that lead marketers astray. It also explores the vagueness and controversy surrounding brand campaigns and the relationship between brand campaigns and sales initiatives.

We'll spend thousands of dollars a month on ads yet routinely underinvest in the quality of the creative. Even the biggest agencies do it. They cheapen out on the quality of the audio track. But great music can make or break a movie or TV series. It can also be the difference between advertising and promotions that your audience either remembers or doesn't remember. Raj has recently taken this to the next level. Investing his own money into the production of an entire rap album. I haven't met too many companies who have done that before. Even more interesting is that this album talks about a sector which most would find very boring indeed - B2B SaaS! I this hair-brained creativity gone wild or is there method to the madness. This is something we just had to get the scoop on. It doesn't' matter if you like music, rap or Raj's tracks or not. You'll learn about a few mediums all rolled into one. It starts with audio aka sonic branding, then goes onto how to craft better webinars, then a sales pitch in the context of startups seeking funding, and finishes with events. But don't worry, there's strategy throughout as we discuss how he inserts audio into branded content for maximum gain. And by listening to the full episode, you'll start to understand how all of these things link together - after all - this is one of the hallmarks of good strategy - a coherent set of actions. And yes, you'll also learn how to pitch your startup to investors using his trademarked Que Pasa method. You'll learn how to take your events to the next level. And some of the secrets behind creative production if you wish. But, the more important learning here is exactly how Raj uses this music he's produced to drive value and achieve business goals. And that story is a very interesting one. One that no one else has discussed with him - until now. Want to be GOAT to Market? Yes I do I do I do

You know all those famous authors and people on social media with posts that are wildly successful? You may be surprised to learn, it's probably not them. Most don't even manage their own accounts. But, who's work then are we really reading? Who's DM's are we really slipping into? Today we're going to delve into the murky world of ghostwriting. And it reminds me of that famous scene from Fight Club - because.... It appears, the first rule of ghostwriting is that you don't talk about ghostwriting. And while, today's guest is very tight-lipped about the people he manages, we do get him to spill some beans and expose some of the dark secrets within the industry. And this is all very Wizard of Oz From a hip-hop group who imploded after their ghost-music-writer secret was revealed on stage, to the downfall of a famous business personality who ironically, ran a ghostwriting firm. You'll learn about juniper trees, gin, tonic and why we still treat newborn babies in a particular way. You'll learn why chasing vanity metrics with content and social media is a futile exercise, The difference between high and low-quality content, and much, much, more. The perfect episode for executives and senior leaders as well as anyone in the content industry, social media folk, marketing strategists and of course those running a business. Skip to around the 6 min mark if you want to miss the gin sipping and genesis story and I'll see you on the other side.

Matt Watkinson, author of a book on probabilistic thinking, systems, and determinism, discusses embracing uncertainty in business, the challenges and opportunities it presents, being data-driven in decision-making, misleading concepts in business, and the importance of focusing on timeless aspects rather than following trends.

Brain Hurt Level = 2/10. "Great interview...I've often thought someone needed to interview you, put all of that red-pill business and marketing chat into one cohesive conversation. Your definition of marketing should actually be a front-slide of every conversation I have now." Note: This episode best serves the interests of executives, founders, owners and senior management. But, there's takeaways for everyone, especially if you're leading a team or interested in escaping the adland bubble. We can use terms every day and assume everyone knows what they mean. But, answering the most basic questions are sometimes the most difficult. What is marketing? What is brand? Do you need to have a culture built on values like sustainability, equality and saving the world? Meqa Smith, an employer branding expert and executive recruiter interviews John and both discuss how their disciplines intersect. Together they explore how companies misinterpret the marketing function and brand. Which often leads to erroneous hiring plus unfair expectations being placed on people hired for certain roles. Along the way basic terms are defined. Political realities are highlighted and growth constraints discussed. Reposted with permission fom Meqa's recent foray into starting her own series of interviews on modern hiring and employer branding for companies in Australia at https://unforgettable.agency

Brain Hurt level = 5/10. Note: this episode is best for those interested in marketing or growth within the SaaS tech sector. Especially if you work in marketing, growth or as a senior marketing leader or founder. And even more so if that's B2B or Martech. But... With that said, it's rare to find someone who has worked in design, engineering development, product, strategy and marketing. Even rarer again to find someone who's personally managed teams in each of those as well. Shay Howe is the CMO of a marketing tech company called Active Campaign. Each day he's able to see-saw between strategy and tactical execution together with his team of 30. But, he says leading marketing is his most difficult and complex role yet. Hear from the horse's mouth about the current challenges affecting all tech company's marketing and growth departments. The threat and opportunity posed by AI. The rapid proliferation and complexity within the marketing tech industry. Bridging the brand versus performance marketing challenge. Modern measurement. Team management. And the future of the marketing tech stack including a practical critique of the buzzwords and acronyms which can plague sound decision-making. Ready to get your tech on? Want to know what it's actually like to be a CMO inside a tech company? Find out by pressing play.

Baiba’s career is varied to say the least. Starting with a bachelor of visual arts at university where she was dissuaded from pursuing a career in this field, to later attempts at breaking the small glass ceiling of male advertising strategists in her native Latvia. After some account management experience at both Ogilvy and Grey group she landed a strategist role at an agency in the Czech Republic, later working at Kantar Millward Brown. During COVID she started a community dedicated to serving fellow strategists around the world - pushing the profession forward. Now she works mostly freelance in between guest lectures at Miami Ad School and a mix of other pursuits from her new base in Berlin. You couldn’t get someone closer to the front line in the advertising agency world who also has a healthy cross functional chunk of experience.   Sometimes referred to as The Mark Pollard of Europe. She specializes in brand strategy and creative strategy.  In this episode you’re going to get a good grounding in the history of strategists, formerly known as account planners. You'll learn where the role came from. Why it is needed. What the role looks like today (for better or for worse). Why you need access to one when working with an agency and all of the good, the bad and the ugly within the modern world of advertising.   But what also leaks out are some very interesting comments about the modern state of the client agency relationship. The problems on both sides and how we can solve them together aligned in the pursuit of better work. You'll learn how to brief better. How to tell an experienced planner from a junior one (or influencer cult follower). You'll learn which strategy frameworks you can use and which ones are overrated. You'll also learn why insights are not essential for good strategy - and much more. As usual, many common myths will be debunked and if you don’t learn something new, you haven’t been listening.  So what are you waiting for?