On Brand with Nick Westergaard

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City – Jay and I discussed new data on Facebook video length from Q2. Best practices usually remind us to keep videos short and sweet but that may not be the best advice. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week's show.Beyond the Sound Bite What Video Ad Length Is Best on Facebook? (eMarketer). Registration is now open for Social Brand Forum 2016 featuring Jay Baer, Joe Pulizzi, Gini Dietrich, Andy Crestodina, Kristen Craft, Melanie Deziel, Carlos Gil, Mike Smith, more. KXIC listeners save by using promo code KXIC. Register now and save! Remember, the Social Sound Bite is just the appetizer! On Monday morning we'll serve up a fresh new episode of the On Brand Podcast.Last but not least … Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes 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, see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we have something a little different for our podcast listeners. Recently, I was asked to do a reading of my new book, Get Scrappy: Smarter Digital Marketing for Businesses Big and Small at Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City. Prairie Lights is something of a literary institution — both in the region and beyond. I was delighted to read from my book and answer a few questions. I thought I'd share the audio from the event as a special live episode. Next week, we'll be back with a full-length brand builder interview. In the meantime, enjoy this week's special episode.About Nick WestergaardLook at this! I'm a guest on my own podcast! If you don't already know ... Nick Westergaard is Chief Brand Strategist at Brand Driven Digital, where he helps build better brands at organizations of all sizes — from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies to the President’s Jobs Council. He’s also the author o fGet Scrappy: Smarter Digital Marketing for Businesses Big and Small. An in-demand speaker at conferences throughout the world, he also teaches branding and marketing at the University of Iowa and hosts the popular On Brand podcast. Nick lives with his family in Coralville, Iowa.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. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes 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. Remember – On Brand is brought to you by my new book — Get Scrappy: Smarter Digital Marketing for Businesses Big and Small. Order now at Amazon and check out GetScrappyBook.com for special offers and extras. And finally a reminder that On Brand is brought to you by the Social Brand Forum. This premier digital marketing experience takes place September 22-23 in beautiful Iowa City, Iowa. Learn from experts like Jay Baer, Joe Pulizzi, and Gini Dietrtich in the heart of the heartland. Listeners of the show get the best rate when they register using promo code ONBRAND at socialbrandforum.com. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The new normal is that there is no normal.” Geoffrey Colon opened this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast with these daunting words. Colon, a self-described data punk, DJ, podcaster, and author, serves as a communications designer and Microsoft. He also just released a new book on this very topic Disruptive Marketing. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the podcast. About Geoffrey ColonGeoffrey Colon works at the intersection of marketing, tech, and popular culture. Data punk, DJ, podcaster, and author, Geoffrey is a communications designer at Microsoft, where he markets search advertising products for Bing. He has written for The Futurist, Advertising Age, and Fast Company, and been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Billboard Magazine, The Guardian andThe Los Angeles Times. He has also appeared on NPR and Cheddar TV.Colon has written his first book Disruptive Marketing: What Growth Hackers, Data Punks, and Other Hybrid Thinkers Can Teach Us About Navigating the New Normal (AMACOM) out now on Kindle, Audio and Hardcover.Prior to joining Microsoft in 2013, Geoffrey was vice president of digital strategy at Ogilvy & Mather, digital community supervisor at 360i, and social media strategist at Bond Strategy and Influence in New York City. Colon has done work for and with several of the most influential brands including Spotify, Netflix, American Express, IBM, The Economist, USA Network, WWE, History Channel and Red Bull. He also has worked with several high profile music artists including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, The White Stripes, and Moby. He is a graduate of Lehigh University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.Geoffrey is host of the weekly marketing podcast for eccentric minds Disruptive FM, producer and host of video blog series The Disruptive Marketer and regularly writes on LinkedIn, Medium, DisruptiveMarketer.net and the Microsoft Search Advertising blog. He is an avid speaker on the global marketing conference circuit.Episode HighlightsForget the technology. After scaring us about the new normal and the constant disruptions marketers today face, Colon reminded us not to start with the technology. It’s easy to get distracted by these bright, shiny things.Segmenting or stereotyping? “Sometimes we focus too much on demographics. On millennials and baby boomers. Instead of on interests and roles. Both B2B and B2C marketers can do this.”Why engagement matters. At times, digital engagement can be a buzzword in marketing. However, Colon cautions us not to under-estimate simple engagement. “This can be entry-level predictive analysis. They want to hear from you. What really motivates your audience?”What business brands can learn from celebrity brands. Colon has worked with many artists and musicians. Due to the disruptions around us, both business brands and celebrity brands have to constantly adapt to stay ahead. Celebrities are small, scrappy, and fearless. This makes them open to trying new things, experimenting, and even failing. You’ve still learned something — even from a failure.What brand has made Geoffrey smile recently? “Aerie. They’re now creating digital ads that use real women instead of models. As a father with daughters that really makes me smile.”To learn more, go to his website geoffreycolon.net. You can also connect with him on Twitterand LinkedIn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“It’s brand or be branded.” That’s the ultimatum that Deb Gabor presented this week on the On Brand podcast. The founder and CEO of Sol Marketing and author of the new bestselling book Branding Is Sex explained that if you aren’t talking to your customers, finding out what’s important to them, and making that a part of your brand story, you run the risk of being branded by them. She discussed all of this on the On Brand podcast.About Deb GaborDeb Gabor is the founder and CEO of Sol Marketing. Deb Gabor was born to brand. Deb is a brand dominatrix and investor pitch whisperer with legendarily bad travel karma. In her capacity as Sol’s strategic and spiritual leader, Deb has led research engagements and brand strategy development for organizations ranging from international household names like Dell, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft and NBC Universal, to digital winners like Allrecipes, Cheezburger and Rentpath, to well-loved Austin icons like Austin Ventures, KUT/KUTX, ZACH Theatre, HomeAway, RetailMeNot, The University of Texas at Austin and St. Edward’s University. Deb is author of the bestselling book, Branding is Sex. Get Your Customer Laid and Sell the Hell Out of Anything.Before starting Sol Marketing in 2003, Deb was Senior Vice President at Citigate Cunningham, a strategic communication firm serving technology digital media and financial brands around the world. Prior to that, Deb was the managing director of brand research and strategy at IntelliQuest. Before crossing the chasm to agency work, Deb worked in house as a brand manager and marketing manager at several high tech companies in the Chicago area. Deb is a proud member of the Austin chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organization and serves on the board as Learning Chair. Additionally, she has served on the board of directors of the Jewish Community Association of Austin and Austin Children’s Theatre, and on the ZACH Theater board’s marketing committee.Episode HighlightsSo what does it mean to be ‘born to brand.’ “The legendary basketball coach John Wooden said that he was ‘born to coach.’ He ‘couldn’t not coach.’ That’s how he sees the world. Brands are how I see the world. They exist in the hearts and minds of our customers.”Deb’s definition of a brand? “It’s the sum total of all relationships, connections, and emotions around a person or organization.”The Deb Gabor Mini MBA in Branding. “It comes down to three questions — (1) What does using your brand or your product allow the customer to say about themselves? (2) What single thing do you do better than anyone else? (3) How do you make your customer the hero of your story? Brands that do this — that make people feel — will win today.”Brand storytelling vs. the story of your brand. Deb reminded us that while brand storytelling — an extension of content marketing — is very big right now, it’s not the same thing as telling the story of your brand. “The story of your brand is one that your customer is the hero of.” Deb shared how Zappos does this masterfully.Beware of the ‘-ers’ and ‘-ity.’ These word extensions can be dangerous as they focus less on emotions and more on attributes that can ultimately be copied. Smaller, faster, lighter. You have to be more than this as a brand.What brand has made Deb smile recently? As someone with “legendarily bad travel karma,” Deb notes that her recent experiences with Jet Blue have made her smile recently.To learn more about Deb, check out Sol Marketing, Branding Is Sex (the book’s website), andfollow Deb on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City – Jay and I discussed the latest news out of Twitter. And it's not super great. With a recently downgraded market share of the US social networking space, Twitter is flailing — adding features, seeing what works, and trying to stop the bleeding. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week's show.Beyond the Sound Bite Twitter's Share of US Social Network Users Is Dropping (eMarketer). Twitter to open up Moments feature to all users (eConsultancy). Registration is now open for Social Brand Forum 2016 featuring Jay Baer, Joe Pulizzi, Gini Dietrich, Andy Crestodina, Kristen Craft, Melanie Deziel, Carlos Gil, Mike Smith, more. KXIC listeners save by using promo code KXIC. Register now and save! Remember, the Social Sound Bite is just the appetizer! On Monday morning we'll serve up a fresh new episode of the On Brand Podcast.Last but not least … Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes 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, see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Don’t be afraid to to embrace your brand ambassadors. Make them a part of your marketing.” Schwinn Bicycles is a historic brand that’s part of the lives of generations. As Associate Marketing Manager, it’s part of Samantha Hersil’s job to communicate this history while finding new stories from customers, advocates, and their own innovations. We discussed all of this on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Samantha HersilSamantha Hersil is the Associate Marketing Manager for Schwinn Bicycles and is a 2013 University of Wisconsin alumni. When not immersed in the digital world of marketing and communication for Schwinn Bicycles she can be found, volunteering, practicing yoga, riding bikes, running around her neighborhood, or knee deep in one of her many hobbies.Last year Samantha completed her first marathon and biked her first half century. An avid adventure seeker she currently is planning her next backpacking adventure with her boyfriend Chris. Samantha is highly involved in Girls on the Run and believes you can always make time to better your health and give back to your local community.Episode HighlightsScrappy marketing at Schwinn. I began the show by sharing my favorite story about Samantha Hersil. While refining the ideas that would become my book Get Scrappy, Samantha was instrumental in helping me define the term. It’s not just about your business size because, as she says, “We could all use a few people and a few dollars more.”“Communication is a key to a brand team.” A big part of Samantha’s job is communicating Schwinn’s message both internally to other team members and externally to their brand ambassadors. “We have about 24 brand ambassadors total. They are people that speak to every discipline, age, gender. Schwinn is really about bikes for everyone.” Message strategy is also key. “We’re like the auto industry. We’re always planning one year while executing another.”Stories matter. “We went to Winnebago’s event in Iowa. Our customers are similar — similar lifestyles — they’re people seeking adventures. We talked to real people and collected stories — emotional stories of people saving up for their bikes. These stories are important as they end up on our blog and in our marketing.”Living the brand. As you can tell from the adventures outlined in Samantha’s bio and her community involvement, it’s very important for her and other employees to live the brand. In fact, there’s an hour-long lunch break where many employees ride together and teach each other. There are road bikes, mountain trails, and gentle rides. In addition to living the brand, this is also great for company culture as it creates a cross-pollination of teams throughout the organization. “I don’t get to interact with people in accounting every day.”What brand has made Samantha smile recently? “With watching the Olympics I’d have to say the Apple iPhone ad with Maya Angelou. It’s so inspiring. It really speaks to what I do as a brand marketer.”To learn more about Samantha, you can connect with her on LinkedIn or the various Schwinn social media channels which you can find on their website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City – Jay and I discussed an interesting development. Just as Facebook continues to offer their own robust advertising solutions, they’ve taken a big step to block the ad-blocking apps that many love. Let’s take a closer look. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show.Beyond the Sound Bite Facebook Disarms Ad-Blockers, Works to Improve Ad Relevance with New Options (Social Media Today). We also took a moment to remember local broadcasting legend Dottie Ray, who passed away earlier this week (Press-Citizen). Registration is now open for Social Brand Forum 2016 featuring Jay Baer, Joe Pulizzi, Gini Dietrich, Andy Crestodina, Kristen Craft, Melanie Deziel, Carlos Gil, Mike Smith, more. KXIC listeners save by using promo code KXIC. Register now and save! Remember, the Social Sound Bite is just the appetizer! On Monday morning we’ll serve up a fresh new episode of the On Brand Podcast.Last but not least … Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes 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, see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“It’s almost cliche to say but the Internet is challenging. There’s so much noise. Why do weed another blog or another channel?” While digital media has provided more opportunities for building brands online, it’s also created a level of noise that’s hard to break through. Aaron Orendorff helps college students, speaking audiences, and marketing clients do just that. We discussed all of this on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Aaron OrendorffAaron Orendorff is a regular contributor at Entrepreneur, Lifehacker, Huffington Post, Fast Company, Business Insider, Content Marketing Institute, Copyblogger, Unbounce, and more. When he’s not terrifying college students in the public speaking classroom, he’s busy “Saving the World from Bad Content” at iconiContent.com. Grab his Ultimate Content Creation Checklist or follow him on Twitter.Episode HighlightsHow heaven and hell play a roll in your marketing. “We’re all looking to be saved from hell and delivered to heaven.” Aaron reminded us that this classic structure along with these dramatic stakes can help us connect with our audience on an emotional level.Your story shouldn’t have your brand at the center of it. We have to make our audience an actor in the story. “It’s not just ME! ME! ME! in focus. We have to get into our customers’ shoes. What are they struggling with?”More content isn’t always better. Aaron and I spoke at great length (irony alert!) on the fact that too often we think that to get better at content creation we need to create more of it. “Everyone loves skyscraper (blog) posts but you can just be a retread of what others are already doing.”Where do you start with an Ultimate Content Creation Checklist? “I make people start with thinking a lot about who they serve. What stories do you tell internally today? And who do you admire? Which brands do you connect with viscerally?” You can download Aaron’s FREE content checklist here.What brand has made Aaron smile recently? “I’m a borderline cult member to anything Tim Ferris does. The thing is, he isn’t the one talking about how great he is everywhere.”To learn more about Aaron, you can follow him on Twitter and check out theiconiConent website. He also just wrote a piece examining the Trump vs. Clinton campaigns.Check it out now.As We Wrap …Before we go, I want to flip the microphone around to our community … Recently Marie Gabrielle gave us a shoutout from the Philippines for our episode featuring Erica McGillivray from Moz. Thanks for listening Marie!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. Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes 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. Remember – On Brand is brought to you by my new book — Get Scrappy: Smarter Digital Marketing for Businesses Big and Small. Order now at Amazon and check out GetScrappyBook.com for special offers and extras. And finally a reminder that On Brand is brought to you by the Social Brand Forum. This premier digital marketing experience takes place September 22-23 in beautiful Iowa City, Iowa. Learn from experts like Jay Baer, Joe Pulizzi, and Gini Dietrtich in the heart of the heartland. Listeners of the show get the best rate when they register using promo code ONBRAND at socialbrandforum.com. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“In marketing we’re trying to get people to do something. We need to understand why we do what we do. What motivates us?” Building on a career at Coca-Cola and brand consulting, Daryl Weber has devoted himself to connecting the dots of human behavior and branding. He’s the author of the new book Brand Seduction: How Neuroscience Can Help Marketers Build Memorable Brands. We discussed the book and the science behind it on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.About Daryl WeberDaryl Weber is a branding consultant whose work has influenced many of the best brands in the world, including Coca-Cola, Nike, Johnnie Walker, Gatorade, Old Spice, and many more. He is the author of Brand Seduction: How Neuroscience Can Help Marketers Build Memorable Brandswhich explores the unconscious side of brands in a way that’s inspiring for creative marketers. Previously, Daryl was Global Director of Creative Strategy at The Coca-Cola Company, where he oversaw brand strategy for many of the company’s global billion-dollar brands.Prior to that, he was a Director of Strategy at Redscout – a boutique brand and innovation consultancy where he advised Fortune 500 companies on new product innovation and brand positioning. Weber has a BA in psychology from Columbia University and resides in Atlanta with his wife, Jennifer, and son, Avi. You can follow him on Twitter @BrandedCortex.Episode HighlightsWhat’s the connection between psychology and marketing? As a psychology major myself, I couldn’t wait to ask Daryl this. “The two are linked I think more than people think.” But where does a marketer start to connect these dots? You have to think about brands differently. That starts with your definition …“Brands are a collection of associations,” Daryl offered a new grounding for our definition of branding. “Not just a logo or icon. Your brand is not an endpoint. It’s a starting point. A vision, a process.”What’s an example of a brand that’s great at understanding their customers’ thinking? “Warby Parker. There’s an in-depth case study in the book. They wanted to telegraph how cool they were so they put together a strategy for doing that. They created a mood board for their brand personality. They knew that they needed to be a lifestyle or fashion brand first.”“Your first step is to look inside yourself as a company.” Daryl noted that brands need to ask, “Why you’re here? Then look outside at the what I call the ‘3 Cs’ — consumers, competitive context, and culture (what’s going on more broadly). Marketers are starting to understand that humans aren’t rational. We have to embrace the messiness that comes with that.”What’s one thing Daryl would tell marketers to do differently today? “It’s not about what you say. They (your audience) won’t remember the content of exactly what you said. But they’ll remember how you said it.”What brand has made Daryl smile recently? “I’m a musician so I love Fender. I don’t even need a new bass but I still find myself looking.”To learn more about Daryl, you can follow him on Twitter and check out his website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“A bad marketer is one who does things based on their gut.” As the co-founder of Orbit Media, an author, and host of Content Jam in Chicago, Andy Crestodina helps marketers quantify those gut impulses with actionable data and strategies. Andy is also a speaker at Social Brand Forum 2016 in Iowa City this September, where he’ll be talking about Google Analytics Fundamentals: How to Measure What Matters For Your Business. We discussed all of this on this week’s On Brand podcast. About Andy CrestodinaAndy Crestodina is a co-founder of Orbit Media, an award winning, 35-person web design company in Chicago. Over the past 15 years, Andy has provided web strategy and marketing advice to more than 1000 businesses. Andy has written hundreds of articles on topics including search optimization, social media, Analytics and content strategy. He is also the author ofContent Chemistry: The Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing.Episode HighlightsYou have to practice data-driven empathy. Andy is one of the most actionable speakers I’ve seen. His talks are loaded with practical, tactical insights. He even shared one on the podcast. “If you put a search box on your site that’s great. It’s helpful. But it also provides an opportunity for listening.” Andy offered a step-by-step hack for creating a Google Analytics report based on search queries your users run. “This allows you to practice data-driven empathy. You can create more content around these searches.”Don’t let your marketing get taken over by hippos. “A bad marketer is one who does things based on their gut. If you’re not applying data then you’re just going by HIPO — Highest Paid Opinion.”Why live events make potent content. Andy and I both host live learning events (Content Jamand Social Brand Forum). “In person content blows people away. Live events rule the day.” He also quoted our mutual acquaintance Blair Enns who says that, “The only differentiator creative firms have is their expertise.” Live events allow you to put this asset front and center. More from Blair.One more actionable marketing tip from Andy? “If you do something, if someone says something nice about you online, add that evidence to your website. Not just a testimonials page because no one reads those. Make every page your testimonials page. Use embedded tweets. We have to condition ourselves to put that stuff in the good file.”What brand has made Andy smile recently? “The daily Quora emails. They make me smile every day.”To learn more about Andy, you can follow him on Twitter and check out Orbit Media andContent Jam! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices