On Brand with Nick Westergaard

“There’s a shift that’s taking place that’s requiring a response. Now people are saying—action.” Ashley Shuler is a business strategist who helps busy solopreneurs operate their businesses efficiently and effectively. Recently, she replied to one of my ICYMI email newsletters on how brands need to do better on race. We discussed this along with productivity and missed brand touchpoints, this week on the On Brand podcast.About Ashley ShulerAshley Shuler doesn't believe in quick fixes and seeks to create the transformative solutions for busy solopreneurs so they can operate more efficiently in their business. Her superpower is the ability to take big picture ideas and create business systems and recipes so entrepreneurs can generate leads, increase productivity, and enhance their client experience. Ashley is the Chief Strategist of Shuler Strategies Group where she offers two signature services: the client engagement experience and online virtual summit intensive. The Client Engagement Experience intensive is a system that bridges the gap between the discovery call, client onboarding, and client offboarding processes. The Online Virtual Summit intensive provides entrepreneurs an opportunity to build authority in their industry, generate leads, and create brand awareness for their products and services.Originally from Northern Virginia, Ashley holds a BA in Government from The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and graduated from George Mason University, School of Public Policy. She is a certified Project Manager and volunteers in her local community.Episode HighlightsIn the face of COVID-19, solopreneurs are busier than they’ve ever been. What do we do now? Ashley advises people to start with a routine and schedule. “Time is one of your most precious assets—we can’t get it back.”Recently, Ashley emailed me … As a brand myself, I made brands needing to do more on race the focus of my email newsletter. Ashley took the time to reply and we began a conversation on this challenging moment and how businesses need to at least start the difficult work of navigating it. “It won’t all look the same,” Ashley noted. “There’s a shift that’s taking place that’s requiring a response. Now people are saying action.”What should you do in the next five minutes? As Tom Peters said on this podast, excellence is the best short-term strategy. I asked Ashley what you should do in the five minutes after this show … “Think big. Taking imperfect action is where the magic happens.” Amen.What brand has made Ashley smile recently? Ashley came prepared with not one but two brands. First, she pointed to Michelle Obama and the unique brand she’s built around “women’s empowerment” that runs through her book, talks, tour, and Netflix documentary. Ashley’s second smile was the “Share the Mic” event where successful white women shared their platforms, giving voice to women of color.To learn more, connect with Ashley on Instagram.As We Wrap …Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.On Brand is sponsored by my book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“When it comes to HBO it’s really about quality, distinction, and uniqueness. And looking for stories that haven’t been told before.” As Senior Vice President at Warner Media, Jason Mulderig is responsible for everything related to the HBO brand—from advertising to promotion—including the new HBO Max streaming service. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Jason MulderigJason Mulderig is SVP, Brand Marketing for WarnerMedia Entertainment & Direct-to-Consumer, responsible for the branding, positioning, advertising, prosocial, and promotional efforts for the HBO Max brand, as well as the HBO brand and streaming platforms, HBO GO and HBO NOW.Mulderig joined HBO in 1999 as a marketing assistant in the Affiliate Marketing group. In 2011, he added product marketing to his responsibilities with the launch of HBO’s first streaming app, HBO GO, and in 2013, he was promoted to VP, assuming responsibility for the HBO master brand strategy and advertising for all brand communications, including the HBO linear channel and digital products. In 2015, Mulderig oversaw the brand positioning, brand development, and advertising campaigns for HBO NOW. He currently oversees the national college ambassador program and promotion of HBO’s licensed theatrical movies and in 2020, he also took over leadership of HBO’s brand social media profiles and HBO.com.Episode HighlightsThe challenges of positioning streaming services. In the struggle to stand out among the various streaming networks, Jason framed the challenge as it relates to brand positioning: “What is the right amount of content? It’s the boutique vs. superstore question.”Launching a brand in the midst of a pandemic. Additionally, COVID-19 presented another set of challenges in the launch of HBO Max, a campaign that was initially built around the NCAA playoffs. “We looked for how we could get to a critical mass—gathering up the long tail of users anywhere we could with high-impact placements online.”What about Gone with the Wind? Another challenge still was Gone with the Wind. Specifically, how the 1939 film’s romanticized depiction of slavery in the Confederate South is viewed in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. Jason talked about how they pulled the movie from HBO Max and “added additional context” to the conversation about the film.What should you do in the next five minutes? As Tom Peters said on this podast, excellence is the best short-term strategy. I asked Jason what you should do in the five minutes after this show: “Continually go back and look at your messaging, what your purpose is, and what you’re putting out. Advertising can be so expensive. Are you hitting your audience?”What brand has made Jason smile recently? “I’d have to say Spotify.” Jason walked us through how Spotify now owns every aspect of his audio listenership. I couldn’t agree more. (Remember, you can subscribe to On Brand on Spotify too.)To learn more, go to HBOMax.com.As We Wrap …Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.On Brand is sponsored by my book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Rebranding itself signals change.” Change is something that Jim Heininger focuses on extensively in his work as the leader of not one but two agencies. Dixon|James focuses on communication and change management while Rebranding Experts focuses on the comprehensive art and strategic science of rebranding. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Jim HeiningerJim Heininger is a Growth Communicator, Change Activist, and Rebranding Evangelist. He has spent 30 years in the marketing communications industry building and protecting some of the best-known brands including McDonald’s, Anheuser-Busch, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Wendy’s, and Molson Coors. Based in Chicago, he leads two agencies: Dixon|James Communications, a communications and change management firm, and Rebranding Experts, a team which focuses solely on the rebranding of companies and organizations. A firm believer that rebranding is an enterprise-wide strategic growth accelerator, he regularly shares first-hand insights on when to consider a rebranding strategy and how and when to rebrand successfully. Episode HighlightsRebranding is a heavy lift. “Rebranding goes from the top to the bottom, inside and out.” Many struggle with employee alignment during this, which is why Jim notes that you should plan on 18 months for a rebranding project with another 12 months after the announcement for adoption.Not everything is ‘rebranding.’ Jim notes that rebranding is used by many as a generic way to describe an identity change. He then walked us through three key applications that Rebranding Experts focuses on. Refresh — updating the look and feel of a brand; modernizing. Reposition — positioning the brand with a new audience as Old Spice did a few years ago. Rebrand — a comprehensive revision of everything including a brand’s purpose. At the end of the day, to know which strategy to pursue, it’s all about answering one question: what problem are you trying to solve?Textbook examples of good and not-so-good rebranding. As a teacher, I had to ask Jim for his favorite good and bad examples. On the good side, he cited Arther Anderson’s rebranding as Accenture, noting that it happened at a key time when the brand needed to lose the baggage of the existing company identity. On the not-so-good side, Jim pointed to Weight Watchers rebranding as WW. “I’m not a big fan of acronyms. They don’t have a lot of meaning.” I couldn’t agree more!What brand has made Jim smile recently? “During the pandemic, the brands that make me smile are really individual personal brands like Brené Brown and Oprah. They understand the human condition and what it means during this challenging time.”To learn more, go to the Rebranding Experts website.As We Wrap …Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.On Brand is sponsored by my book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“As African Americans, we’ve given up our narrative. It takes away our humanity. We have human stories just like everyone else—it’s just that our brand isn’t being written by us.” Faith McKinney is an author, media strategist, and longtime listener of the On Brand podcast. This week she joined me as a guest for a discussion on building your personal brand, taking control of the African American narrative, and the need for authenticity. Enjoy!About Faith McKinneyFaith McKinney is the author of Schmingling-The Art of Being Well-Connected Through Blatant Self-Promotion. She has been mentioned in The Wall Street Journal, Ebony, The Washington Post, and many other publications. Please contact her at www.faithmckinney.com or faith@faithmckinney.com.Episode HighlightsSchmoozing + Mingling = Schmingling! I had to start my interview by asking Faith what her book Schmingling was all about. When she explained this mashup it makes a ton of sense. “You have to move out of your comfort zone” if you want to be seen, as Faith says.The African American narrative and brand. “As African Americans, we’ve given up our narrative. When we don’t have our own stories and our own narrative, it takes away our humanity. And we’re all lumped together in media stories and we’re only seeing negativity. We have human stories just like everyone else—it’s just that our brand isn’t being written by us.”Taking control of the brand narrative. “Historically, not being assertive with your brand, as far as African Americans go, I believe is a survival technique in itself.” Faith talked about why people need to be as big and blatant as they can in building their personal brand.What should you do in the next five minutes? As Tom Peters says, excellence is the best short-term strategy. I asked Faith what you should do in the five minutes after this show: “Reflect on how you want to be treated and how you treat others.”What brand has made Faith smile recently? “Well, it just happened today,” Faith laughed, noting, “Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben were laid to rest!” We discussed why this move was both huge and needed. “We’ve been asking for that for years.”To learn more, go to her website, faithmckinney.com and check out her book Schmingling on Amazon.As We Wrap …Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.On Brand is sponsored by my book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Enough is enough. It’s the responsibility of companies to stand up.” Following the murder of George Floyd, the nation has seen a critical shift in the growth and power of the Black Lives Matter movement through protest and action. But what should leaders and companies do? This week on the On Brand podcast, Media Frenzy Global Partner and COO Katie Kern returns to discuss how brands can start having tough conversations about race.About Katie KernAn innate storyteller and strategic creative, Katie Kern has navigated her career with two passions at the helm: building bold brands and pouring into tomorrow’s creative leaders through mentorship. As Partner and COO of Media Frenzy Global, Katie extends her 15-year industry expertise and business knowledge in the agency to drive business growth and advocate a ‘Go There’ company culture.Episode Highlights“Black lives matter. As leaders and companies, we have a platform, and a duty to our Black employees, clients, and industry professionals to speak up,” says Katie. “We can't be afraid of offending our customers and associating their brands with sensitive subjects. By aligning our corporate values with what customers care about, I hope to build a sense of loyalty and a deeper sense of personal connection. It’s about coming together for what is right and what will move us in a positive progressive direction. Change is happening and the time is now.”How can brands start taking action on race? We talked a lot about brands' responses to Black Lives Matter mostly being limited to posting a black square with a thoughtful paragraph of text and a few hashtags. What else can they do? Where can we start? Katie provided a helpful list of questions for companies wanting to look inward and start the difficult work. Company culture—What does your company culture actually speak to? Ask your Black employees what they think and how they feel. Human resource policies—Do your HR policies sanction against microaggressions? Do you have diversity guidelines and policies within the company? Black employees at every level—What are your numbers for hiring Black people throughout all levels of your organization? Black leadership—What’s the makeup of your board and executive leadership? Mentoring Black leadership—Are you doing all that you can to see that Black people get promoted to executive and decision-making positions? Having tough and constant conversations—How will you sustain this momentum moving forward? This is not easy work. These are not easy conversations. You have to keep talking internally and doing the required work. Hopefully, your brand can find an onramp from these suggestions. At the very least, it’s a start. And it’s a start you can make today.“The challenge here is to sustain the current sentiment,” notes Katie of the need for continued, sustained action. “We have to think about it every single day.”What should you do in the next five minutes? As recent guest Tom Peters says, excellence is the best short-term strategy. What can we do in the next five minutes as brands to impact race? Katie says: “Reach out to the Black people you know. READ. Read history books. Read the history of Black people. This isn’t a time to be afraid and silent.”What brand has made Katie smile recently? After deciding that this is an odd time to smile about brands, Katie reframed this by noting that, “A lot of brands have made me sit up and pay attention. We’re looking at brands and how they respond through a different lens.”To learn more, follow Katie on LinkedIn and Twitter and check out the Media Frenzy Global website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The person is a product themselves—regardless of what they’re selling.” As one of the youngest executives in the history of Sony Music Entertainment, Laura Bull worked to transform people into powerful platforms. Now she consults and teaches these lessons, which are also featured in her new book From Individual to Empire. We discussed all of this and more, this week on the On Brand podcast.About Laura BullLaura Bull spent ten years with Sony Music Entertainment becoming one of the company's youngest executives at the age of twenty-eight. There she spearheaded artist development and marketing for global brands including Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley. Laura is now a consultant, speaker, and adjunct professor teaching disciplines in marketing and music business. She is an expert who specializes in marketing and transforming people into viable brands by offering insurmountable knowledge to teach others what it takes to become a powerful “influencer.” She currently resides in Dallas with her husband and daughter. Episode HighlightsWhy do so many misunderstand personal branding? “I think it’s the Don Draper version of marketing with a personal brand as a celebrity endorser.” Laura walked us through the history of influencer marketing from this stage to the modern media landscape where celebrities profit from many different sources including their platform.Where does influencer marketing fit in? “It’s sort of the wild, wild west—there are no real metrics,” Laura cautions. “That’s why I always encourage people to look at how someone’s business is doing. Not just the internet metrics.”“A lot of people confuse purpose and passion,” notes Laura. “Passion is what you like to do.” We discussed how personal brands should establish a brand statement (like a company’s mission statement) using the framework from Laura’s book.“The psychology of influence is centered around shared values.” While stressing that personal brands should strive for authenticity, Laura frames this squarely around finding shared values with your people—your audience.What brand has made Laura smile recently? “I have to go with John Krasinski and Some Good News!” Laura noted that this web series consistently brings a smile—and occasionally—an “ugly cry” to her face. I wrote about this show and other celebrity content lessons recently on my blog.To learn more about Laura, check out her book From Individual to Empire and follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.As We Wrap …Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.On Brand is sponsored by my book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Marketing is becoming more mathematical. You have to start reading the signals of what your customers are telling you.” Ominsend Co-Founder and CEO Rytis Lauris is on a mission to help small- and medium-sized eCommerce businesses understand just that. We discussed this mission and the state of omnichannel marketing this week on the On Brand podcast.About Rytis LaurisRytis Lauris is the co-founder and CEO of Omnisend, the powerful marketing automation platform that’s focused on moving eCommerce marketers beyond the generic email marketing tools. With a mind seemingly crafted for business and an eye to the future, Rytis has gained notoriety within the eCommerce community for his insights on omnichannel and the future of eCommerce. He believes that rich customer data and an omnichannel approach empowers eCommerce businesses to generate more sales by sending highly personalized messages via various channels, including email, SMS, Facebook ads, Google retargeting and others. Omnisend is a bootstrapped business and successful without any additional investments, and has become a top-rated app in the Shopify App store and has been listed in the G2’s selection of the Top 50 Products for Marketers 2019 and the Top 100 Software Companies in EMEA.As a successful entrepreneur who has spent more than 10 years building and bootstrapping startups and being in the eCommerce field, Rytis discovered eCommerce marketers have very specific needs around automation. Since 2014, Rytis has made it his mission to use Omnisend to help and empower small and medium-sized eCommerce merchants. Episode HighlightsThe impact of COVID-19 on omnichannel marketing. “There will be no lines between commerce—retail vs. eCommerce,” Rytis notes, due to the disruption of COVID-19.What’s Rytis’s definition of omnichannel marketing? Definitions matter. That’s why Rytis’s focuses on customer-centricity. “It’s about customers choosing what’s best for them—they’re preferred channel for brands to communicate with them on.”What channel is gaining traction with consumers in the omnichannel mix? Rytis noted that while email marketing still packs a powerful punch, SMS has been picking up in recent years. However, it stumbled going out of the gate with “blasts and no way to unsubscribe.”How can you track what your customers want more of? “In the past, it was focus groups. Now it’s analytics—what pages they’re looking at. The math is everywhere. You have to start reading the signals of what your customers are telling you.”What brand has made Rytis smile recently? Like many of us during the quarantine, Rytis has spent some time putting together puzzles. That’s why the brand that made him smile was Jiggy Puzzles. “Beautiful puzzles with a nice story about the startup’s founder.”To learn more, go to omnisend.com or connect with Rytis on LinkedIn and Twitter.As We Wrap …Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.On Brand is sponsored by my book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two years ago I was fortunate enough to interview one of my business heroes—management legend and author Tom Peters. This was a once-in-a-lifetime podcast event. Or so I thought. A couple of weeks ago, Tom reached out again wanting to talk about the unique challenges of leadership and work in these troubling times. I couldn't wait to catch up with Tom and to share our conversation with you. Enjoy!About Tom PetersTom Peters is co-author of In Search of Excellence—the book that changed the way the world does business and often tagged as the best business book ever. Seventeen books and thirty-five years later, Tom is still at the forefront of the “management guru industry” he single-handedly invented. What’s new? A lot. As CNN said, “While most business gurus milk the same mantra for all it’s worth, the one-man brand called Tom Peters is still reinventing himself.” His most recent effort is The Excellence Dividend: Meeting the Tech Tide with Work That Wows and Jobs That Last (Vintage, 2018). Tom’s bedrock belief: “Execution is strategy—it’s all about the people and the doing, not the talking and the theory.” In November 2017, Tom received the Thinkers50 Lifetime Achievement Award.Episode HighlightsExcellence in leadership now. “The way that leaders behave relative to the people that work with them throughout this crisis—let's call it the last two months and the next 2–3 months—what they do and the way in which they do it will be the landmark of their adult career.” Tom opened our conversation with this call for caring and compassionate leadership. Advice for grads and MBAs today. At the Tippie College of Business where I teach, we talk a lot about what's changing today for our students at all levels. That's why I asked Tom how undergrads should plan for a career in this new world of work and how MBAs should build employee engagement and connection. He had three tips: (1) “We don't know yet. Don't believe that you can read two articles in the Harvard Business Review and Fast Company and have a formula. (2) Experiment. (3) Calm down.”What should you do with your next five minutes? “Excellence is the ultimate short-term strategy.” While most think of excellence as something big that happens slowly over time, Tom is quick to note that it's really about the next five minutes. As such, I asked Tom what we should do with our next five minutes in the midst of COVID-19: “Ask people how they're doing. Ask them how they feel. Ask about their families.”What brand has made Tom smile recently? Tom shared his love for his Subaru Outback including a story about getting caught speeding in it on Martha's Vineyard!To learn more about Tom, check out tompeters.com. As he noted during the show, all of his written and speech material covering the last 15+ years is available here for free. You can also find the two new manifestos we discussed during the episode as well.Can't get enough of me interviewing Tom Peters? Check out Tom's first appearance on the On Brand podcast from May 2018.Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Agile marketing is about focus, quality, and planning. We have an ultimate destination. We’re just more flexible about the path we take to get there.” A certified agile leader and practitioner, the focus of Andrea Fryrear’s work is helping marketers find greater focus in their work. We discussed process, planning, and why agile marketing is more important than ever on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Andrea FryrearAn early convert to the ways of Agile marketing, Andrea Fryrear knows that Agile teams do better work in less time with less stress, and she loves nothing more than seeing a team evolve from chaos to high performance.Agile marketing represents a huge shift in how marketers have historically managed their work—and, like any change, this shift isn’t easy. Through education, training, and coaching, Andrea and her team at AgileSherpas work to make this shift easier, guiding marketers along the path towards greater agility while always on the lookout for new and better routes. In June 2020, Andrea will be hosting the first-ever Marketing Agility Summit to provide a hands-on experience to energize marketers to take their agility to the next level.In addition to being a Certified Professional in Agile Coaching (ICP-ACC), a Certified Agile Leader (CAL-1), a Certified Scrum@Scale Practitioner, and an ICAgile Authorized Instructor, Andrea is trained as a Scrum Master and Product Owner. She shares her findings (and failures) regularly as an international speaker on all things Agile marketing. Andrea is a content marketer by trade and functions best when she’s writing regularly. Her most recent book, Death of a Marketer, chronicles marketing’s troubled past and charts a course to a more agile future for the profession. When she’s not on a plane or at a keyboard, Andrea spends as much time as possible outdoors in her Colorado home training for triathlons and playing volleyball.Episode HighlightsThe biggest myth of agile marketing … “One of the biggest myths is that there’s no planning in agile,” says Andrea. “You have to have a destination but you’re flexible in the path to get there.” She went on to note that agile isn’t about being sloppy and cutting corners. It’s about focus, quality, and, of course, being on brand.Where do you start with agile marketing? “You have to ruthlessly prioritize,” says Andrea. “You can’t have two number ones.” Start with your backlog of everything that you could be doing. From there, focus on your to-dos, what’s in progress, and what’s done.Has COVID-19 changed the need for agile marketing? “I keep saying to my business partner, we don’t have to make the case for agile marketing ever again,” quips Andrea. That said, marketers need to be more effective—with shorter feedback loops—than ever before given current circumstances.What brand has made Andrea smile recently? “Miro,” Andrea notes. “They’re helping those transitioning to full-time virtual training in a way that’s clever and fun.”To learn more about Andrea, check out Andrea’s website and agilesherpas.com.Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“People are smart about how they can avoid advertising at all costs. You have to present them with a story they want to hear and use the brand in support of that story.” Lee Tone of Alkemy X has spent his career navigating the blurred lines of advertising and entertainment, finding ways to talk about brands without directly talking about brands. This has never been easy but it's even harder today. We discussed all of this on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Lee ToneCreative Director Lee Tone leads entertainment company Alkemy X’s branded content division. Concepting and creating strategically grounded nontraditional work, Lee works with brands to develop content platforms spanning episodic, short- and long-form films, experiential, and interactive. He has a 10-year career as a creative director and copywriter in the agency world, with extensive experience in brand storytelling that blurs the lines between entertainment and advertising. Lee has done global campaign work for clients like Samsung, Google, IKEA, Outback Steakhouse, JBL, AB InBev, and Microsoft.Notable career highlights include his work for Samsung including ReFrame This Space, a home decorating show hosted by design influencer Emily Henderson. He also shook up traditional outdoor advertising for Outback Steakhouse, causing a commotion (and frantic 911 calls) with flaming billboards to promote the brand’s wood-fired grill offerings.Episode HighlightsGood strategy always answers a question. “Advertising has always been about how much you can talk about the brand—make the logo 10% bigger. But those rules don’t apply,” says Lee. “People are on to us. Advertising, you can smell a mile away. People are smart about how they can avoid advertising at all costs. You have to present them with a story they want to hear and use the brand in support of that story.”How has COVID-19 changed brand storytelling? Lee notes that you have to ask yourself a couple of questions first in connecting with your audience under these unusual circumstances: Is it appropriate? Can we produce it? (This is harder than ever with people sheltering at home.) Who's your target audience and why do they need what you're selling? Now more than ever, you have to focus on “talking about the brand without talking about the brand.”Graduation is just around the corner. What advice does Lee have for creatives entering this decidedly different world of work? “I wanted to make cool things,” Lee recalls. “But I always thought, 'they'll never do that.' But a lot of times they did.” That's why Lee advises young creatives to keep those bold ideas at the back of the deck as he did with Outback Steakhouse. You never know when someone feels like swinging for the fences.What brand has made Lee smile recently? “I love the State Farm ads on the Michael Jordan documentary,” Lee notes. “They're smart, clever, and topical.”To learn more about Lee, check out the Alkemy X website.As We Wrap …Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.On Brand is sponsored by my book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices