Brand Lab Series™ Podcast: Recent Episodes
Brian Walker
A podcast featuring executives from the world's largest, fastest-growing, and most innovative companies, including Deloitte, IBM, Accenture, Simple Mills, RXBAR, Bosch, The Pat Tillman Foundation, PIMCO, and more.
Hosted by 3x Inc. 5000 Founder and AE Marketing Group CEO, Brian Walker. In this podcast, you'll hear practical advice and insight on technology, customer experience, co-creation, marketing, leadership, and more to inspire and help you grow. In 2018, The Brand Lab Series™ was named the Top Business and Technology Podcast by the Academy of Interactive Arts at the 24th Annual Communicator Awards.
AE Marketing Group is a leading brand and co-creation company. Brian and his team have been featured by Ad Age, Forbes, Branding Magazine, The American Marketing Association, Modern Healthcare, CNBC, and more. Hear all podcast episodes at BrandLabSeries.com.
The coronavirus has changed everything. In the fifth in a series of special Brand Lab Series™ episodes, we talk about the implications of reopening the economy with Bob Moesta. Bob is the President and CEO of ReWired Group, an adjunct lecturer at Kellogg, a guest lecturer at Harvard and MIT, and a research fellow at the Christensen Institute.
In this episode with Bob, you’ll learn about…
- Prototyping for the Future
- Becoming Comfortable with New Processes
- Pent Up Demand
- E-learning Innovation
- The Need for Community
- Making Tradeoffs
"If you think of coronavirus as a step backward, we as humans will always find a way forward."
The coronavirus has changed everything. In the fourth in a series of special Brand Lab Series™ episodes, we talk about how to rethink Sales and Marketing with Erin Kelly. Erin is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Network Health, a Wisconsin-based health insurance company.
In this episode with Erin, you’ll learn about…
- Pivoting Sales in Our New "Virtual Reality"
- Maintaining Corporate Culture While Working Remote
- Fostering an Environment of Innovation
- Giving Back to Local Small Businesses
- The Secrets of Good Storytelling
"It is about fostering an environment of creativity where everyone is encouraged to put their thinking caps on and throw ideas out there.”
The coronavirus has changed everything. In the third in a series of special Brand Lab Series™ episodes, we talk about how to rethink physical and mental health with Allison English. Allison is a yoga instructor and Founder of Yoga By Allison. She teaches regularly at Equinox in Chicago and leads yoga retreats worldwide. In this episode with Allison, you’ll learn about… * Handling Anxiety in the Face of Uncertainty * Implementing Meditation into your Life * The Proliferation of Online Fitness Options * Uncertainty as a Soil for Dreams * Finding Opportunities for an Extraordinary Pivot * Creating and Honoring Boundaries
"I think uncertainty is a wonderful soil for dreams."
The coronavirus has changed everything. In the second in a series of special Brand Lab Series™ episodes, we talk about how to rethink business planning with Rob Pasquesi. Rob is the President and CEO of Pasquesi Partners, a cloud-based tax and business strategy firm. His team advises startups, entrepreneurs, and businesses. Prior to starting his own firm in 2015, Rob was at Deloitte and Grant Thornton working with some of the world's top companies. In this episode with Rob, you’ll learn about… * Pivoting Your Business Thinking * Identifying Unmet Customer Needs * Using Speed as an Advantage * Communicating in Real-Time with Your Customers * What the CARES Act Means for Small Business * Business Planning During the Coronavirus * Outlook for Small Business and More Stimulus
"Small businesses are pivoting in the face of change and still providing a value-add to their customers and prospects. And when things turn around, which they eventually will, those customers and prospects will never forget that."
If you have questions for Brian or Rob, send us an email (info@aemarketinggroup.com) or use the hashtag #AskBrianAndRob on Twitter.
Bob Moesta is the President and CEO of ReWired Group, an adjunct lecturer at Kellogg, a guest lecturer at Harvard and MIT, and a research fellow at the Christensen Institute.
In this episode with Bob, you’ll learn about…
- Finding New Struggling Moments
- Making the Most of this Anomaly
- The Importance of Time
- Intent vs. Perception
- Iterating to Learn
“It is about putting on a pair of lenses to find the good that come out of this and figuring out what you can do today to get there faster.”
In this episode with USA Basketball Foundation Executive Director, Killian Anderson, you’ll learn about…
- Maximizing a Lean Team
- Handling Brand Crisis
- The Correlation Between Athletics and Lifelong Success
- Youth Development and Outreach
- Finding and Reaching New Audiences
- The 2020 Tokyo Olympics
"If we are focused on building champions in life and in communities, we are going to win a medal on the way by, but what we’re really going to have is people that make significant contributions to the world."
In this episode with Engineer and Entrepreneur, Bob Moesta you’ll learn about…
- Flaws in Sales Training and Education
- What Causes People to Buy
- How Employees Hire and Fire Companies
- Breaking Away from a Feature-Function Focus
- Why Time is More Valuable Than Money
"Consumers don't care about features and benefits, they care about outcomes."
In this episode with CultureIQ Vice President of Marketing, Sheridan Orr, you'll learn about...
- Culture as a Competitive Advantage
- Making Human Decisions from Data
- Keeping Marketing Fun
- The Convergence of Culture and Brand
- Buyer Segments and Personas
"Can you not only withstand being disrupted but can you become the disruptor?"
In this episode with Schneps Media Publisher, Victoria Schneps, you'll learn about...
- Having a Voice in the Community
- How to Create Attention-Grabbing Content
- Providing a Consistent Brand Experience
- Staying Ahead of Industry Disruption and Change
- Tackling Mistrust in Media Today
"The power of our success is staying true to our neighborhoods and reporting the local news."
FCB is one of the largest global advertising agency networks in the world. FCB Chicago boasts a massive portfolio with clients including Michelob Ultra, GLAD, Milk Bone, Fiat, Maserati, Jack Daniel's, and more.
The people at FCB describe themselves as the industry’s largest startup – the oldest and newest advertising agency in Chicago. Founded in 1873 as Lord & Thomas and reintroduced as Foote, Cone and Belding, they strive to create big transformative ideas that drive change.
This year, FCB can now boast a new president - Kelly Graves.
After 17 years as an account person, Kelly became the first Chief Marketing Office of FCB Chicago, a role she personally helped design. In 2019, she was promoted to President of FCB.
In this Greatest Hits episode, you'll learn about...
- How Kelly's previous role as CMO was designed and how the role of an agency CMO differs from that of a brand CMO
- How the agency landscape is becoming more and more competitive and how agencies of all sizes are breaking through the noise
- The evolution of agencies and the roles within agencies
- How to recruit top talent and what traits Kelly personally looks for in her team members
- How agencies are leveraging technology to bring creative to life
You can read the full transcript of the episode here.
In this episode with Chevron Corporate Brand Advertising Executive, Andrea Donatucci, you'll learn about...
- The Evolution of Digital and Tech in Marketing
- The Pace of Change and Operating in Ambiguity
- How Augmented Reality Creates Unique Brand Experiences
- Cultivating Productive Agency/Client Relationships
"With VR and AR, the technology works really well when you have a story that involves taking your audience to a place that they could not get to themselves.”
In this episode with Merrick Pet Care's VP of Marketing, Barbara Liss, you'll learn about...
- Marketing in an Emotional Category
- E-commerce vs. Brick and Mortar
- Health and Wellness Trends
- Brand Loyalty and Delivering on Marketing Promises
- Authenticity in Leadership
"It isn’t rocket science, it’s just, ‘I love my dog. I am the caregiver. I want to make sure I’m giving them what’s best.’ And that’s where we’re making sure that we continue to innovate and deliver on what our pet parents expect.”
In this episode with Signify's Head of Co-creation and People Insight, Maarten Pieters, you'll learn about...
- The Complete Co-creation Journey
- The Value of Inclusivity in Design
- The Potential Dangers of Growth
- Co-Creation in B2B vs. B2C Industries
- Smart Lighting and IOT
"If we focus on creating true value for our customers, they will connect with us and our organization will flourish.”
Bob Moesta is an entrepreneur at heart and engineer by trade. As one of the principal architects of the Jobs to be Done theory, along with Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen, Bob applies the innovation framework to everyday business challenges.
Over his career, Bob has developed and launched over 3,000 products. In 2019, he co-authored his latest book Choosing College on how to make better decisions about learning.
In this Greatest Hits episode, you'll learn...
- Why marketers and engineers don’t speak the same language and how to translate for product management
- How people don’t buy products or services, they hire them to do a job. You need to understand why to unlock innovation
- How crossFit and other means of exercise are fulfilling the job to be done of the church and what this means for social good
- Why causation always trumps correlation in understanding purchasing decisions
- How the right interrogation tactic can lead to a moment of truth that improves your sales
- How Bob Moesta's internship in Japan led to an invention that helps you every time you fill up your gas tank
- Why knowing what you don’t know can be a gift
This episode with Bob Moesta was the most downloaded in Brand Lab Series™ history. You can read the full transcript of the episode here.
In this episode you'll learn about...
- Lags in the Construction Industry
- Design as a Product
- The Labor Shortage
- Technology and Construction
- Potential Industry Disruption
"Most of the industry is run by fear and intimidation because that’s the way we’ve always done it. It’s really a culture of work harder not smarter.”
In this episode you'll learn about...
- The Agency Life vs. the Brand Life
- The Secret to Climbing the Corporate Ladder
- Misperceptions of the CMO Role
- Aligning Sales and Marketing
- Managing Diverse Personalities and Roles
- Women in Leadership
- Evolved Selling
"A key word for me is being uncomfortable. Uncomfortable is my default setting. I know that if I’m not uncomfortable, then I’m not learning.”
In this episode you'll learn about...
- The Definition of Cybersecurity
- Cybersecurity as a People Problem vs. Technology Problem
- The Security Risks of AI
- Improving Cybersecurity
- Marketing and Cybersecurity
- Growth vs. Scale
"Technology is only as good as the ability for people to use it correctly in order to protect them and their data."
In this episode you'll learn about...
- Commercial IOT vs. Consumer IOT
- Smart Homes and Appliances
- Commercial Security and Facial Recognition
- Protecting What Matters Most
- Machine Learning and Cognitive Computing
- The Dance Between Technology and Outcomes
- Product Management Best Practices
"What we're helping to protect is not just what matters, but what matters most.”
In this episode you'll hear about...
- Ownership and Enforcing IP
- The Importance of IP in a Digital Age
- Quasi-IP
- Patent Trolls
- How Blockchain will Change Patents
- Creating Digital Properties
- IP and China
“I deal with really smart, creative people, who are at the forefront of their industry, and I’m dealing with an area of law that is extremely important to the United States.”
Today's consumers are digitally empowered, which changes how brands interact with consumers. Although financial services is a highly regulated industry, consumers have come to expect a seamless technological experience. Ainslie Simmonds, Vice President and Head of Digital at Pimco, explains the evolution of digital consumerism, and how that is seen in financial services.
"There are a lot of resources and a lot of really intelligent people that can help shape this new world and I think it’s a commitment to doing it and then it’s following through until every last consumer understands what to do with their money.”
The health insurance industry as a whole has always lagged behind in terms of customer experience. Jane Hayes, who has spent her entire career at Health Alliance, recently moved into the Chief Experience Officer role. In this episode, Jane explains how she has improved customer experience in an industry with not only historically low customer satisfaction ratings, but also a great deal of regulations.
"Anytime that we get to interact personally with customers, is a great opportunity to learn from them.”
We live in a digital era. Consumers are technologically empowered and they demand interactions tailored to their digital savviness. Jonathan Copulsky, Professor at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and Medill School of Journalism, and former Deloitte CMO, understands that chatbots are the future of customer experience. Jonathan talks digital transformation, Martech, voice, and more on the Brand Lab Series™ podcast.
"All the things that I do, I learned from watching, observing, and sitting at the knee of others, so I think that’s important to pass on.”
If you are pitching your products or services with powerpoint presentations, you are not speaking to the modern buyer. Sales enablement equips sellers with the tools, content, and information necessary to effectively sell to today's buyers. Rita Patel Jackson, VP of Product Marketing at Showpad, has spent her career chasing the next big thing in technology. Her resume is full of big brand names including IBM, Motorola, and GE Healthcare. In this Brand Lab Series™ podcast episode, Rita discusses women in technology, product management, the B2B vs. B2C market, and aligning sales with marketing.
"What sales enablement allows you to do is more than content management, it’s more than learning and development, I think we use those terms and think that they’re really sales enablement, but sales enablement is so much more than that.”
Marketing, specifically social media marketing, can be very difficult in regulated industries such as healthcare or financial services. These industries have a lot of rules around messaging that can easily stymie creative thinking. Shannon Paul, VP of Brand Content and Social Media at Fifth Third Bank, has broken through the noise and learned how to stay social in financial services. In this episode, Shannon shares her secrets to staying personal and timely on social, she explains what makes a good social media follow, and how to create content that will resonate with your audience.
"There’s definitely some additional considerations we have working in a regulated industry. We have to know where the guard rails are and sometimes the guard rails move."
SOPHIE EVANOFF, PRESIDENT, VANILLE PATISSERIE ON THE BRAND LAB SERIES™ EP 74 * The Business Behind Baking * Growing a Luxury Brand * The Vanille Way * Unique Locations * Sophie’s Secret Ingredient
Sophie Evanoff is the President of Vanille Patisserie, a bakery specializing in authentic French pastries, desserts, and cake. Sophie discovered her love for pastries at a young age and knew she knew she wanted a career in the pastry arts. However, it wasn't just about the pastries, it was about the business. She has built a luxury brand from customer experience and employee engagement, to three unique retail locations. Today, the bakery is known for its premiere quality, taste, and dedication to the craft.
“We’re not just a bakery, we’re not just selling you a cookie - it's about the experience and enjoying the pastry and enjoying our team members, and really feeling like you’re special."
LATANE CONANT, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, 6SENSE ON THE BRAND LAB SERIES™ EP 73 * An A-typical Career Start * ABM’s Impact on Brands * The Global CMO Role * Finding The Best Talent * The MarTech Landscape * The Customer Experience Ecosystem
6Sense is a B2B predictive intelligence engine for marketing and sales. They accelerate sales by finding buyers at every stage of the funnel.
While sales, accounting, and consulting are not your typical CMO background, Latane Conant is not your typical CMO. She thrives on variety, challenges, and working with wicked smart people. Creating winning go-to-market strategies, effectively driving change internally and externally, incubating innovation, rocking a sales pitch, relentlessly watching the numbers, and motivating a global team is her perfect “typical day at the office.”
“What the market needs is thought leadership around ABM. And I think we are going to see a lot more focus and engagement from the sales side when we think about ABM in the future and at 6Sense.”
KILLJAN ANDERSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE PAT TILLMAN FOUNDATION ON THE BRAND LAB SERIES™ EP 72 * Living and Sharing Pat's Legacy * The Tillman Scholars * Staying Lean and Agile * Maintaining a Diverse Fundraising Portfolio * Nike and Colin Kaepernick * The Importance of Storytelling
Pat Tillman was a professional American football player in the NFL who gave up his athletic career to enlist in the US Army following the September 11th attacks. He served several tours of combat before being killed in Afghanistan.
Killjan Anderson is the Executive Director of the Pat Tillman Foundation. The organization honors Pat's legacy by supporting active-duty service members, veterans, and their spouses with academic scholarships, a national network, and professional development opportunities.
“Working for an organization that is out to celebrate someone's legacy is serious business. It puts a lot of pressure on the staff, and we welcome that pressure, but it is a lot to live up to.”
RAJESH KARMANI, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, FARMER'S FRIDGE ON THE BRAND LAB SERIES™ EP 71 * Changing the Status Quo * Smart Fridge Design * Customer Experience and Data * OpsTech * Employee Advocacy * Marketing to New Audiences
Farmer's Fridge is a venture-backed start-up on a mission to make fresh food available 24/7 through a growing network of 110+ smart, self-serve fridges.
Rajesh Karmani is the CTO of Farmer's Fridge. He oversees all technology projects including fridge IoT software, mobile and web applications, as well as the back-end and data infrastructure. He has a vision to deliver a personalized fresh food experience to customers.
“Imagine in those early days, you are someone going into a food court or food hall in downtown Chicago and you decide to leave all those options to get your lunch from a vending machine. That did not happen. But, we changed the status quo."
KELLY GRAVES, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, FCB CHICAGO ON THE BRAND LAB SERIES™ EP 70 * Agency CMO vs. Brand CMO * Today's Competitive Agency Landscape * How Agencies Have Evolved * Recruiting Top Talent * Leveraging Technology
FCB is one of the largest global advertising agency networks in the world. FCB Chicago boasts a massive portfolio with clients including Michelob Ultra, GLAD, Milk Bone, Fiat, Maserati, Jack Daniel's, and more.
After 17 years as an account person, Kelly Graves became the first Chief Marketing Office of FCB Chicago, a role she personally helped design. Kelly is our first agency CMO on the Brand Lab Series™. Listen as she discusses the differences between a brand CMO and an agency CMO, as well as the status of the advertising world today.
“Right now, I probably do 47 different things that vary in terms of seniority to lowest guy on the totem pole and I'm not afraid to roll up my sleeves and do all of that."
Cheryl Moe Capgemini's Head of Marketing for Manufacturing, Automotive, and Life Sciences on the Brand Lab Series™ Ep 68 * Marketing with a Capital M * The American Marketing Association * Rebranding * Finding Inspiration * Marketing to Children * Work-Life Balance
Cheryl Moe is Capgemini's Head of Marketing for Manufacturing, Automotive, and Life Sciences. At Capgemini, they believe that the value of technology comes from and through people. The company creates and delivers tech solutions to fit customer needs and drive results.
Cheryl discusses how she propelled her career forward in Chicago, where she finds her inspiration, and her core values surrounding family.
"When you have the opportunity to meet somebody in person, that’s a huge advantage because when you are face to face you find out that you have these connection points and you just don’t know where it can lead you. Sometimes you’re a connection away from your next opportunity."