OnBrand: Recent Episodes
OnBrand with Sarah Grace McCandless
OnBrand features a closer look at brands through the lens of the consumer, focusing on their desire for true connection with companies across all stages of the journey. Join host Sarah Grace McCandless for interviews and insights on which brands are getting it right and how other organizations can learn from these examples to strengthen, grow, and rise with authenticity.
"Brands that are doing social really well today are the ones that have mastered the art of listening really broadly — at scale — and listening beyond just what’s sort of ‘on-trend,’ or ‘trending,’ or kind of what the dumpster-fire-of-the-day is on social media and hear behind that the cultural trends that are driving attention and interest. And then, really understanding how the brand connects with it.”
– Ryan Turner, Global Marketing Leader: Formerly Starbucks & Amazon; Startup CMO
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she speaks with Ryan Turner, a global marketing leader whose extensive experience includes building Starbucks’ world-class social media operation. Learn more about what it means to truly listen to customers, what it takes to instill customer-centricity in the heart of brand and understanding the art of connecting through social media.
While the internet and social media have made it faster and easier to communicate with more customers than ever before, quality always beats quantity — modern consumers crave sincerity and true connection.
That’s why it’s vital that brands begin by listening carefully to their customers and thinking critically about their responses before they speak. As Ryan explains:
“I think what separates the good from the great is not just understanding how to show up and say, ‘pancakes on fleek’ — as IHOP did in like 2009 to much acclaim — but understanding what’s true about a brand or about a product or service that’s highly relevant to the core truths about the customer. And being able to connect those dots is the true art of listening. It’s hard to do.”
Furthermore, becoming a truly customer-centric brand also means transparency. This includes clearly defining the organization’s values and mission, but also backing this with actions to prove it’s not just all talk when it comes to important social issues.
"Over the last few years, we’ve seen that consumers really care about what the companies they make purchases from stand for and what their practices are and what their impact is,” Ryan says. “And the idea of ‘voting your dollars’ has become more real over time for consumers, and so it’s never been more important for companies to communicate their values, what they stand for and how they’re practicing on social issues they want to connect with.”
Beyond his previous leadership positions for massive brands Starbucks and Amazon, Ryan also spent a decade working at digital agencies including WPP and Publicis. Most recently, he’s been serving as the Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Product for the tech startup Jove.
His breadth of experience provides Ryan with a unique understanding of what it means to listen to and connect with customers in an online space as well as merging data and creativity to help brands reach new audiences in unique ways.
Join us and discover why keeping customers at the center of each decision, statement and action taken as a brand can help build more lasting connections in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Ryan Turner
“As we have evolved the experience, [we] really looked at it as a dual experience. What happens to Mom and Dad when they walk in the door, and what happens to the child? And [we] create a holistic 360 experience in which everybody that walks through the door is feeling spoken to, seen, heard, and wowed.”
–Amy Leclerc, Co-owner of Sit Still Kids
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she speaks with Amy Leclerc about the power of consistency and personalization in branding and franchising and how customer experience makes a memorable impact on consumers of all ages.
After a successful career in advertising, Amy Leclerc brought her entrepreneurial spirit to Portland, where she oversaw franchising and business development for barre3, a boutique fitness brand that now has nearly 200 locations. She has since found that same potential for growth in another up-and-coming brand: Sit Still Kids salons.
An innovative alternative to the traditional kids’ salon, Sit Still delivers a personalized, high-quality experience based on children’s (and parents’) preferences and needs. With two corporate locations and one franchise, as well as 12 more territories in the works, Amy and her team are focused on bringing a fresh take on children’s haircuts — and customer experience — to kids and parents everywhere.
When it comes to franchising, Amy explains: “There’s really something to be said about brands ... that there is an aspect of homegrown, so they feel like they’re part of the community. It’s striking that balance of brand consistency with allowing some of the personality of any given market to be expressed within those walls.”
Join us to hear more from Amy about her journey to entrepreneurial success and how Sit Still is redrafting industry blueprints to “wow” their customers in the latest episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Sit Still Kids
Website
Amy Leclerc
“When we saw this VOD revolution taking place, it was kind of like a lightbulb went off. And we said, ‘Here it is. Now we can do this. We can bring people the programming that they’re passionate about.’ And that’s kind of really what the genesis of our whole company has been for the last 10+ years.”
– Greg Diefenbach, Managing Director at MagellanTV
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she sits down with Greg Diefenbach, managing director of MagellanTV, to discuss how creating personalized experiences for customers through curated — and meaningful — content can boost connection with the brand. They also discuss how the streaming industry is rapidly growing and changing, how MagellanTV delivers on their brand promise of “Television Worth Watching,” and much more!
With all the amazing platforms, streaming services, and apps to choose from, hunting down your next on-demand series or film can sometimes feel daunting. That’s why innovative streaming services like MagellanTV, with a dedicated focus on documentary programming, have tuned in to the power of curation to help consumers connect more seamlessly with the content they love.
By getting to know their customers through both quantitative and qualitative data, coupled with their own distinct editorial POV and lens, MagellanTV has created a unique platform that goes well beyond just a viewing experience.
“Really, what people want is curation. You don’t want to go wading through thousands of hours, or tens of thousands of hours, to find something that you want to watch — you want help in making sure that the time you spend is well spent. And that’s why the editorial aspect of VOD channel creation is so important,” Greg says.
“You really have to know and have a feel for what that audience is going to want so that they’ll stay with you, feel like they’re continuing to be excited about it, feel like they’re continuing to grow, and really build a community around that experience.”
In 2010, Greg co-founded Alliant Content, which operates MagellanTV, and he has worked in television and media for multiple decades beginning with National Geographic Television. During his impressive career, Greg has been nominated for three Emmy Awards, winning the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Historical Programming – Long Form.
Join us and find out how building customized, personalized experiences for consumers through meaningful content can help build connection, community, and greater engagement in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
MagellanTV
Website (Featured)
Greg Diefenbach
“I could turn that repeat business into loyal business. How do I do that? I have to create some kind of a connection. The way that’s done is through something emotional. … If somebody says, ‘I love doing business with them,’ well, love is an emotional word, and ‘like’ is not quite as emotional.” -Shep Hyken, Chief Amazement Officer at Shepard Presentations
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she speaks with acclaimed customer service and experience expert Shep Hyken, about the difference between “like” and “love” when it comes to brand relationships and how to create lasting connections that ensure repeat customers and encourage them to become long-term brand advocates.
Shep Hyken believes that “customer service is not a department; it’s a philosophy.” For Shep, that philosophy has fueled countless speaking engagements and seven books (and counting!) on CX-centered topics. His latest efforts are focused on how to design and deliver customer experiences that get customers to connect with your brand — and return.
Shep explains: “I believe when you create experiences where customers are willing to share their friends’ names and phone numbers, their colleagues’ names and phone numbers, or just talk about in casual conversation with others, that’s when you know you’ve created that connection. You’ve gone beyond loyalty and into advocacy.”
A renowned customer experience expert for more than 30 years, Shep is a leading voice in CX. His latest book, I’ll Be Back, will be released on September 21 and is available for pre-order (with an instant ebook download) here.
Join us to hear more from Shep about his latest CX research and how brands can develop emotional connections that move customer experiences from “like” to “love” in the latest episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Pre-order I’ll Be Back
IllBeBackBook.com
Shep Hyken’s Social Profiles
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shephyken/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hyken
Website: https://hyken.com/
“How are we giving them value? The time they’re spending with your brand, how do you make it worthwhile for them? Those are the kinds of things we try to put at the forefront as we start to have conversations around Gen Z.”
Chris Erb, Founder & CEO of Tripleclix
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she speaks with Chris Erb, chief executive officer and founder of Tripleclix, about how the gaming industry has grown and evolved and why all brands aiming to connect with Gen Z need a value-driven gaming strategy to foster more authentic engagement and build lasting relationships.
Now bigger than the global film industry, the global music industry, and the North American sports industry combined, the video game scene is surging in popularity, with Gen Z driving the trend.
Chris founded Tripleclix in 2014 to help video game brands navigate the massive space and to establish the difference between marketing to gamers and adding real value to their gaming experience. Tripleclix’s goal is to create a more engaged brand community — and to fuel more strategic and compelling consumer brand/gaming partnerships.
Chris says: “For us, and the brands we’ve talked to, it’s really about consumer first … and that’s an easy thing to say — it’s a really hard thing to do. It’s less about the revenue side of it and more about the relationship side. How are we doing things that can really build strong relationships with this audience and not try and monetize them at every step? What are the things that we’re really doing? So, digging into the kind of passions of the audience, and the best ways to connect with the audience, I think is really important.”
As the former executive vice president of Brand Marketing for Legendary Entertainment and the vice president of Marketing for EA Sports, Chris has been at the forefront of innovation in the entertainment and gaming space for nearly 25 years.
Join us to hear more from Chris about how the gaming industry is setting the bar for connecting with your audience and why any brand hoping to build relationships with Gen Z needs a gaming strategy, in the latest episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Chris Erb
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophererb/
Tripleclix
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tripleclix/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tripleclix
Website: https://www.tripleclix.com/
“That’s the biggest thing I would say. Just start. Really do it from inside of you. So really believe it, and feel it, and put everything that you have into it, and not be afraid of that. That’s the place of vulnerability I feel like people don’t like to go to, putting yourself out there. But the thought of ‘what if?’ is just so far greater than if you actually go for it.”
Shaina Zaidi, Co-founder & CEO of TuMe Beverage Company
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she speaks with Shaina Zaidi, CEO and co-founder of TuMe Beverage Company, about how she drew from her family heritage, along with her experiences as a professional athlete, to build a thriving health and wellness brand that’s redefining the world of sports drinks.
After returning to the U.S. from playing professional basketball overseas, Shaina dealt with aches and pains and wanted to find a more holistic approach to healing. Thinking back to her childhood, she remembered her grandmother, who created natural remedies using turmeric. From there, an idea — and a family-based business — was born, and Shaina set out to create a line of turmeric-infused waters that could replace typical sports drinks and make the health benefits of turmeric more accessible to all.
Shaina’s drive and passion are at the forefront of the TuMe Beverage Company, which is rooted in family, fueled by science, and infused with the resilient spirit of being an athlete. For Shaina, the keys to success were remaining vulnerable — and taking leaps of faith.
Shaina explains: “Know that you’re going to fail at certain aspects. I feel like that was a big learning curve for me. And just being an athlete in that competitive mindset, it was something where I didn’t like failure. At the same time, I thankfully had become used to it. I mean, you’re going to lose a game, right? So there’s certain things you’re going to lose. And there’s certain things that you can know that you’ll persevere through. You’ll find a way. You’ll get back to practice. You’ll do it again.”
From athlete to entrepreneur, Shaina founded TuMe in 2015 and has steadily grown her team and operations over the past six years.
Join us to discover more about Shaina’s story and the power of perseverance in building a brand in the latest episode of OnBrand!
TuMe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tumewater
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tumewater/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tu-me-beverage-company/about/
Website: https://drinktume.com/
Shaina Zaidi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shainazaidi/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zshaina/
“A brand is more than just the products it sells, more than just the price it sells it for … A brand is an experience. And if you think about your brand as a total experience, then you’re going to build much greater loyalty and actually build a much stronger business as a result.”
“Your values are what people say about you when you’re not in the room. Those are your values; because, unsolicited, it’s how they feel about you, how you make them feel, how you add value — those are your values. They say the same about brands. A brand is what a customer says about you when you’re not in the room — how they describe you … how you live your life is how people remember you.”
– Jim Joseph, President of McCann Health NA, Author, Blogger, Professor, & Dad
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she speaks with Jim Joseph, a global leader in the marketing and communications industry, seasoned author, esteemed professor, and current president of McCann Health North America. Through their conversation, you’ll learn more about how consumers have come to expect transparent, value-focused behavior from the brands they love, what it means to market to customers in a more conscious way, and the best ways for brands to get out there and speak up for the causes they care about. Don’t miss it!
Customers want to know brands share their values, but empty words and gestures are just that — empty. And even though paying lip service toward an important social issue or cause might look good in a press release or on the company website, customers aren’t fooled by anything less than honest, transparent communication from companies that’s backed up by real, concrete actions.
That’s why it’s so important not only to know what you stand for as a brand, but also when to speak up and show customers — and the world — that you’re ready to put your money where your mouth is. Step one is listening to your customers for direction, as Jim describes further:
“That is probably the most frequently asked question that we get from clients: ‘Should I speak up? When do I speak up? How do I speak up?’ … And the answer, while incredibly complicated (in practice), is very simple,” Jim explains. “Let your customers be your guide: if there’s an issue that’s intrinsically important to them that’s relevant to your business, then you have to, at a minimum, be very much aware of that and alter your behavior as a result. But I would say, speak up about it. Contribute back. Add value to their lives by doing something about it. Make it easier for them to contribute if they want to contribute.”
Starting his career with Johnson & Johnson, Jim has gone on to work with some of the largest and most influential brands in the world prior to his current role as president of McCann Health North America. Already an accomplished author of six books on everything from business to parenthood, his latest, The Conscious Marketer: Inspiring a Deeper and More Conscious Brand Experience, further explores how the marketing industry will need to evolve in order to meet the needs of today’s value-conscious consumers.
Join us for this episode of OnBrand and discover how getting active on important societal issues, causes, or values can help brands build deeper connections with customers while contributing to a more equitable world!
Episode Resources
Jim Joseph (Twitter)
Jim Joseph
“You have to empower every single team. You have to empower them to know that their jobs matter, that they matter as people, that their insight and experience and wisdom matters for the entire company to glean from that. Customers and consumers rely on that wisdom and experience to give them thoughtful answers and responses.”
- Sarah Hatter, Founder of CoSupport & ElevateCX
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she speaks with Sarah Hatter, founder of CoSupport and ElevateCX about how to effectively build, coach, and train your customer experience (CX) teams — and how to support your employees as the landscape of CX evolves.
We know that CX is critical for brands, though great customer experience comes from support teams who are equipped with the support they need from their managers — and the companies they work for. By adopting a people-first mentality, companies can create best-in-class CX teams that serve as both the voice of the customer, as they collect valuable insights during support interactions, and the voice of the brand.
From pivoting language in company communications to bridging the departmental gaps between marketing, sales, and support, Sarah Hatter offers practical advice and wisdom to CX leaders through her consulting services. In an age when many managers feel disconnected from their teams due to working remotely and the continued impacts of COVID-19, she advises her clients to think beyond the processes of recruiting and training to focus on creating a culture where employees feel valued.
“I’m big into what people sometimes refer to as soft skills, which I think is really underselling it quite a bit because soft skills are very hard to master. It’s very hard to master empathy. It’s very hard to master patience, to be a good listener, to understand different personality types and how they give and receive support. When you’re managing people, that is your job, to learn how to manage all types of people,” Sarah says.
A leading voice for customer experience, Sarah has consulted for CX teams since 2011 and is the author of The Customer Support Handbook: How to Create the Ultimate Customer Experience for Your Brand, which has sold more than 30,000 copies since its publication in 2014.
Join us to discover the difference and impact that empowerment-centered CX teams can make, in the latest episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Sarah Hatter’s LinkedIn
Sarah Hatter’s Twitter
ElevateCX Website
“It’s not that easy to ‘think differently,’ because unconsciously, we are filtering the world through what we expect to see and what we have seen in the past. So, much of my work is trying to get people to change that mindset.”
– Nigel Barlow, Business Innovation Speaker & Trustee of the David Lynch Foundation UK
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, host Sarah Grace McCandless sits down with Nigel Barlow, a business innovation speaker, transcendental meditation (TM) teacher, and trustee of the David Lynch Foundation UK, to discuss how wellness practices like TM can help people unlock creativity, why it’s important to think differently, and how this can lead to true innovation to better meet the needs of the world around us. Don’t miss it!
Have you ever wondered why you have your best ideas in the shower?
Often, when we let our minds be free to imagine and wander, creativity strikes much harder than it did staring at a blank page. That’s why practices like TM are so valuable both in business and in our day-to-day lives.
“I think the interesting thing with meditation is, you’re using a technology of consciousness, but it’s an inner technology — not the same technology that makes your computer work — and connection,” Nigel says. “They key to really being creative is to turn your perceptions inside-out. See the world from the market, from the consumer, from the potential consumer, from someone else’s perspective. Usually we see black on white, here’s white on black. The other way around. The point is, it changes our perception. But it’s not easy.”
Despite the difficulty, taking the time to transcend well-worn thought processes and start rewiring yourself toward creative thinking can make it much easier to start unlocking fresh ideas. Thinking through problems from all angles can help reveal new strategies to augment everything from the products you create to the experiences you design for customers. All it takes is time, patience, and a willingness to try.
“We all have the capacity to think in terms of possibility — to think more creatively — and to bring it to our personal and professional lives,” Nigel says.
Originally an Oxford-educated barrister, Nigel’s unique ability to inspire others and explain the science of thinking differently have led to his involvement with major brands like Hewlett-Packard, Louis Vuitton, Microsoft, Nestlé, and Apple Education. He is also the author of three books, including Rethink: How to Think Differently, Rock Your Presentation: A New Guide to Speaking With Passion, and Batteries Included!.
Join us to learn how centering ourselves through wellness practices can help us create, innovate, lead, and inspire in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Nigel Barlow (Twitter)
Nigel Barlow (Website)
"I think the digital care team was clearly one of our most valued assets … (knowing we always had a consistent) ability to stay connected through the social and messaging channels."
– Karen Gillis, Director of U.S. Customer Service at Abbott’s Diabetes Care business
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she speaks with Karen Gillis, Director of U.S. Customer Service at Abbott’s Diabetes Care business. Through their in-depth conversation, you’ll learn more about evolving customer care in the digital space, why it’s critical to collaborate across marketing, sales, and service to create a more customer-centric culture, how listening can inform interactions to feel like a one-on-one connection, and much more!
No two customers are alike. Each comes with their own story and expectations. That’s why creating digital customer experiences (CX) that feel tailored to the needs of a diverse customer base can seem daunting. Where should companies even begin?
According to Karen, anywhere, as long as they get started and stay motivated. As a CX leader in a regulated industry with teams responsible for solving problems for both consumers and providers, Karen understands better than most that even the longest and most complicated journeys begin with a single step.
"I would say that the hardest part is really just getting started,” Karen explains. “Once you get started and you can kind of convince your team that they can do it, you build the capabilities slowly. We learned as we went — the hardest part was getting started. And just taking the risk — taking the leap of ‘we can do this in a regulated industry’ … that was a very important leap.”
Listening to customers is also key to successful digital CX and the overall business. As Karen notes, “There are little mini stories and a lot of feedback coming into the customer service center that can be really utilized as you develop new innovations or new services to support that customer (experience).”
Karen began her career in a clinical laboratory setting as a Medical Technologist in microbiology. Eventually gravitating toward point-of-care and near-bedside glucose testing, she’s utilized her wealth of practical, medical, and CX knowledge on the forefront of diabetes care ever since.
Join us and discover how successfully prioritizing, building, and executing digital customer care can revolutionize the way brands form connections!
Episode Resources
Abbott
Abbott Diabetes Care (Twitter)
“You’ve got to be able to hand-on-heart believe in what you’re doing. It’s going to drive your whole team; it’s going to drive business results; it’s going to drive what we would consider impact. We’re always looking at ‘How can we create more impact in the world given our set of resources — our set of talents,’ and ‘How can we set light to your set of talents and your set of resources?’”
– Emma Barry, Global Fitness Authority, and Co-founder & Chief Creative Soul at Good Soul Hunting
Welcome to OnBrand! In this health-and-wellness-inspired episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she speaks with Emma Barry, a global fitness authority and co-founder and chief creative soul at Good Soul Hunting. Over the course of their conversation, you’ll learn how to infuse passion and purpose into everything you do as a brand, what’s next for the fit tech and lifestyle industries, and about Emma’s new book, Building a Badass Boutique: Your 10-Touch Journey to Designing a Fitness Studio That Rocks. Don’t miss it!
Whether it’s crunch time at the office — or leg day at the gym — achieving big, important things means giving it your all. You can’t just phone it in and expect results. You have to stay motivated, passionate, and be 100% committed if you want to succeed.
That’s why it’s so vital to consider your overall purpose, goal, or mission as a brand holistically and allow it to inform everything you do. Not only will it act as a north star and help you stay driven to push through the roadblocks and hurdles ahead, your mission as a brand, and your commitment to it, will also help strengthen the connections you build with customers, as Emma explains:
“You’ve got to have a purpose bigger than yourself to get yourself out of bed on those days that you’d rather not — and let’s face it, we’ve had quite a few of those over the last year. So, it’s got to be that relentless drive that pushes everyone forward and unites a team that’s often disparate now. … Purpose is great for that; it’s the driving force of the business. Also, for customers … if you don’t have a purpose, they’re not a fan. They’re not going to buy, and they’re certainly not going to give blood, sweat, and tears.”
A fitness and lifestyle guru, Emma has spent the majority of her career at the forefront of the health and wellness world, as a founding member of Les Mills International and later as a director for the lifestyle brand Equinox. Today, she works with her company, Good Soul Hunting, to connect passionate people with purpose-driven health and wellness companies to scale up operations and drive collaborative growth.
Learn more about how and why the fitness, health, and wellness industry’s holistic approach to connection — mind, body, and soul — drives purpose, serving as a shining example for others as well, in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Emma Barry (Twitter)
Good Soul Hunting (LinkedIn)
Good Soul Hunting (Twitter)
Good Soul Hunting (Website)
Building a Badass Boutique (Masterclass)
“What this data and analysis really provides is context around the conversation. … People are not shy when it comes to social media, and they let their opinions be known quite freely. So when they do that, we sort of try and put that all together, accumulate it, and really pull the insights out of it so we know what consumers would expect from a company and from their products, their services, and et cetera.”
– Kellan Terry, Director of Communications at Brandwatch
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, host Sarah Grace McCandless speaks with Kellan Terry, director of Communications at Brandwatch, a powerful research platform that provides vital digital consumer intelligence ranging from brand perceptions across marketing, sales, and service, to industry insights and the impact of events like COVID-19.
Social media makes it easier than ever to share opinions, connect with others, or make your voice heard. And for brands, the free, democratized data most of us post daily represents a treasure trove of insights for companies savvy enough to prioritize research and analysis.
But more often than not, even with publicly available information flowing freely, brands frequently ignore the abundance of opinion data in cyberspace. Important conversations are happening at every stage of the customer journey, but many organizations are not taking part in them, or even aware where most are taking place. That’s why innovative tools like Brandwatch are so revolutionary when it comes to uncovering insights to form connections, understanding your brand, and exceeding the expectations of your customers.
“Where Brandwatch really excels is defining conversations — making sure that the data you want to look at and you are analyzing is as relevant to you and your use case as possible. And then we have … tens of thousands of ways to slice and dice this data once you have the conversation that you’re looking at,” Kellan explains. “There is certainly a difference between data points and insights, and I believe that Brandwatch and our consumer research platform really expedite the entire process of taking data, pulling out data points, and revealing the insights within them.”
With a background in social media communications, content creation, and analysis, Kellan brings a wealth of knowledge to Brandwatch. His experience includes successfully leading in-depth social and public relations analyses around events such as the Rio Olympics, two Super Bowls, and the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Join us and learn more about how social intelligence can shed light on CX, including brand perceptions in global conversation and opportunities to create personalized, meaningful, and memorable experiences.
Episode Resources
Brandwatch (LinkedIn)
Brandwatch (Twitter)
“Today, if you want to compete and win, your experience is what’s going to differentiate you — that’s what’s going to stand out.”
– Latané Conant, Chief Market Officer at 6sense Insights Inc.
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, host Sarah Grace McCandless speaks with Latané Conant, chief market officer at 6sense Insights Inc., to talk about the importance of relevance in B2B marketing and sales, why delivering data-driven, personalized experiences matters, and her new book, No Forms. No Spam. No Cold Calls.
Knowledge is power in the fast-paced, metric-driven world of business-to-business (B2B) marketing and sales, but all too often, companies still take the tone-deaf, scattershot approach to networking and creating business connections instead of spending the time to research what’s out there, taking aim, and shooting for the accounts or relationships that will ultimately produce the most value. Every account, leader, and buying team is different — and they all have specific needs or metrics they’re looking to meet.
That’s where companies like 6sense shine. By taking a much more thoughtful, data-driven approach, their account engagement platform helps the B2B market deliver targeted experiences to buying teams that are timely, personalized, and, above all, relevant.
“We’re not just selling software, we’re selling change, and our market and our industry — it’s ready. But it’s scary. Change is hard. And this is a completely different approach,” Latané explains. “I told my team, I said, ‘hey, let’s apply customer experience to martech (marketing technology), and let’s challenge ourselves to create a process that generates results — and really good results — but doesn’t use forms, spam, or cold calls. … I really believe we’re igniting a change that’s very necessary.”
Bringing her extensive history and B2B experience as a leader in marketing strategy to 6sense, Latané continues to empower companies with effective technology capable of delivering experiences that are not only relevant, but engaging and backed by research and insights.
Join us as we learn more about the value of data, insights, relevance when it comes to connecting during the buying stage and much more in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Talking Sense (Latané’s podcast)
Latané Conant (Twitter)
6sense (LinkedIn)
6sense (Twitter)
“People want to be engaged — they want to be excited — they see problems all around and they want to be part of the solution and to make things happen. … We all get so busy and caught up in our day-to-day lives, things we need to do, and outcomes that we’re going for, that we sometimes lose that sense of community — but it’s actually our community that carries us forward. It gives us our sense of identity, our purpose, and our place in the world.”
– Kriti Kapoor, Worldwide Director of Intelligent Automation Community & Digital Championship at HP
Welcome to OnBrand! In this digital transformation–themed episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she speaks with Kriti Kapoor, the worldwide director of Intelligent Automation Community & Digital Championship at HP. Through their conversation, you’ll learn more about what it means to strengthen community connections digitally, the power of technology to augment human capability, the value of networking and maintaining a strong support system, and much more!
Digital transformation, including robotic process automation (RPA) and intelligent automation (IA), may represent the next great leap when it comes to creating community and connecting virtually with the brands we care about. Communication has never been easier, more workforces are using digital collaboration tools than ever before, and artificial intelligence (AI) can now help us manage our resources quickly, efficiently, and mistake-free. The seamless brand experience of the future is being built here and now, and whatever comes next may be just as radical and revolutionary as what we’re seeing today, as Kriti explains:
“The future of work as we know it is changing extremely rapidly. (For instance), knowledge work. Factories, as we know, have gone through the industrial revolution — we’re now in a fourth industrial revolution, which is actually the automation era, or automation age — and so, what we’re seeing is that knowledge work as we know it … it’s getting impacted, it’s getting influenced, it’s getting determined and shaped by automation. You’re going to see more and more of that happening in the workplace.
“My role is about bringing a group of learners, users, superusers, experts, adopters, and industries together to have a dialogue and conversation about where the future of work is going, how we bring our communities together, and how I actually end up creating a community within HP, as well, of practitioners, champions, and advocates,” she says.
Formerly a leader for prominent tech brands such as Compaq, Dell, HP, Microsoft, and UiPath, Kriti recently returned to HP to accelerate and champion digital transformation for the organization, with a focus on cognitive and citizen-led automation.
Join us and learn more about how digital transformation efforts are revolutionizing the way we work, connect, and build community in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Kriti Kapoor (Twitter)
HP (LinkedIn)
HP (Twitter)
“My business fuels my passion and my passion fuels my business.”
– Jala Smith-Huys, Founder & Chief Blanket Boss of Seek & Swoon
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, host Sarah Grace McCandless sits down with Jala Smith-Huys, founder and chief blanket boss of Seek & Swoon, to discuss what established companies can learn from emerging brands, how story can be the missing link when it comes to creating connection, and the value of building and growing your brand with passion as your roadmap.
After a two-month overseas sabbatical with her family, Jala felt ready to make a change. Inspired by her trip, Jala wanted her next business venture to capture that same excitement, purpose, and passion she felt during her adventures abroad.
“I’ve always been intrigued by starting businesses — you know? Creating something from scratch … I wanted to do something new and different, I just wasn’t quite sure what it was,” Jala recalls. “I sat down, literally, and made a list of all of the things that I really was passionate about, all of the things I enjoyed, all of the things that I thought I was good at, and I tried to kind of create something from this list."
Motivated by her own passions instead of a perfectly formed business plan or a clear path toward profit, Jala knew that following her purpose might not make the best business sense on paper; but in the end, if she was passionate enough about what she did, she’d always be able to find a way:
“Even though I knew nothing about textiles, I knew nothing about the industry, I knew nothing about home décor … I started doing some research into designing and creating knit blankets, and I became more and more intrigued by this idea.”
What Jala may have initially lacked in industry know-how, she more than made up for in dedication, drive, and, above all else, the passion to persevere as a brand. She wanted to tell her own unique story through her blanket business, focusing on innovative design, environmental sustainability, and exceptionally well-crafted home goods. “One of the things that I knew I needed to incorporate into this business, if I was going to make it happen, was some sort of story. And it needed to be a story that Iconnected to, but also a story that consumers could connect to as well. And so, I decided that I was going to design these throws inspired by places that I had traveled,” Jala explains. “That’s kind of how Seek & Swoon came to be.”
Now the blanket boss of her own burgeoning comfort empire, Jala recently retired her successful freelance social media consultancy firm to focus her efforts 100% on Seek & Swoon.
Today, you can find Seek & Swoon throws online at seekandswoon.com, as well as through over 80 retailers and boutiques worldwide. Seek & Swoon focuses on sustainability as well as quality, so all blankets are made of a recycled cotton-poly blend and manufactured in the United States in partnership with a family-owned and -operated knitting mill. Additionally, a portion of the proceeds from every Hope Throw sold goes to Breast Cancer Action and OCRA, two organizations that support breast and ovarian cancer research and cures.
Join us and find out how pursuing passion can lead to building an inspiring brand with a unique, memorable story that truly connects with customers in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Jala Smith-Huys (Twitter)
Seek & Swoon Twitter
Seek & Swoon Instagram
“We spend so much time worrying about our SEO — how are you optimizing for trust? Before you post that thing, before you send out that email, how are you optimizing for trust?”
“First of all, trust you can’t buy. I can’t just go out and spend X amount of dollars and end up with trust. … You can’t buy it, so how do we do this? How do we teach people, or cultivate trust, on purpose through our communications? That is something that is worth so much more time than any marketer is giving it right now.”
– KiKi L’Italien CEO & Host of Association Chat
In this episode of OnBrand, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she speaks with KiKi L’Italien, CEO and host of Association Chat, about what the for-profit world can learn from associations and nonprofits, how community can be a haven when we need it most, and how companies can inject trust into the way they operate.
When it comes to enabling trust, community, and connection, brands in the for-profit arena can learn a lot from nonprofits. The associations, charities, and nonprofit organizations we engage with constantly communicate their purpose beyond dollars and cents — that’s why we trust them. So if you want to inspire similar trust, create a community of like-minded individuals around a common goal, and demonstrate your higher purpose as a brand, you have to show them you’re in it for the right reasons.
“The reason that associations are able to oftentimes have that (trust) when other types of organizations don’t is because there’s this underlying understanding that they’re not just there for the transaction — they’re not just here for the bottom-line or to make a buck — they’re there because of a purpose, a mission, and to support their membership,” KiKi says.
The host of the hit podcast Association Chat, KiKi has cultivated a massive community of listeners since founding the show in 2009. Today, she offers community consulting services through her company Amplified Growth, where she trains businesses to lead and grow communities through trust.
Join us and find out how communicating your purpose as a brand can help you begin earning the trust of your customers as you work to build community in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
KiKi L’Italien (Twitter)
KiKi’s Website
“I like to demystify story and let people know this is not the purview of artists — this is not just for people who consider themselves to be writers, it’s for everybody. And basically, if you have a message that you’re trying to communicate — which pretty much everybody does — story is really just the delivery system for that message. It’s just a way of packaging it.” – David Nadelberg, Creator and Expert Storyteller
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, host Sarah Grace McCandless sits down with David Nadelberg, creator of Mortified, a celebration of stories revealed through strange and extraordinary “teen angst artifacts” that were never meant to be shared in public. The project, now worldwide, has been hailed as a “cultural phenomenon” by Newsweek and has been featured in This American Life, Entertainment Weekly, Time, The Today Show, and more.
Sharing from his own expertise, David discusses the DNA of storytelling, how brands can start mining and telling their stories, and the value of both honesty and transparency as we seek to create meaningful relationships with consumers.
If the hero of a story got everything right, and never ran into any problems, it’d be a pretty short story — and completely unrelatable. At the end of the day, it’s often the vulnerabilities of a character or story that end up illustrating strength, which helps us connect and identify. This can also prove true when it comes to telling a brand’s story and connecting with customers.
“I think there’s a place for vulnerability in all parts of our society, and I think it’s a weakness of our society that we believe weakness is weakness.” David explains. “If you’re talking about a relationship, whether it’s a human relationship, or whether it’s a company to its customers, or whatever, trust— you can’t have a relationship without trust, you can’t communicate without trust. It is the bedrock. So, that’s the unspoken agreement, and you know, being vulnerable is a great way to do that.”
Having created the hit project Mortified in 2002, David has since expanded his unique on-stage show into multiple television and film productions, a podcast with more than 200 episodes, hilarious books, and even a new game. Today, he works to teach individuals and organizations alike about the power of storytelling as a means to communicate, all while continuing to work on Mortified Live, which now operates in 20 cities worldwide.
Join us and learn more about why it’s important to include trust, transparency, and vulnerability in the DNA of brand story in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Mortified Podcast Ooh You’re In Trouble Podcast
I Can’t Believe I Did That (Amazon)
"You don’t need to prove your self-worth to anyone ... if you believe in an idea, be empowered to put yourself as a priority.”
– Natasha Case, Co-founder and CEO of Coolhaus
In 2009, when Natasha Case was in her mid-20s working as an architect for Walt Disney Imagineering, she realized her passion for design went well beyond physical structures. Combining this with her love for creating delicious dairy and non-dairy desserts led to the idea that would become a women-led, women-run ice cream empire.
But it didn’t happen overnight. To figure out initially if her idea had any metaphorical wheels, Natasha would first have to get creative and find some literal ones:
“We bought a postal van with no engine that was masquerading as an ice cream truck and a AAA platinum membership that came with a 200-mile tow, and we towed the truck to Coachella. That’s how we launched the company — that’s how I became an ice cream lady.”
From the start, Natasha knew that the brand was never going to be just about ice cream — every sandwich and pint flavor was a chance to tell her own story, shed light on important issues, and create a unique brand experience.
“I met the other co-founder, my now-wife, Freya Estreller, who had more of a business background, and together we saw that there was an opportunity to make better ice cream, but also to make a brand that we felt represented us. As women, as gay women, for Freya as a woman of color, as millennials — we just didn’t feel that there was this authentic, ‘creator-to-customer’ element happening on the shelves, so we decided, ‘Hey, why not us?’”
Since its humble beginnings at Coachella, Coolhaus has grown tenfold, including food trucks in multiple cities and distribution with more than 7,500 retailers across the country. Natasha’s impressive list of achievements also includes accolades from Zagat and Forbes, being named UCLA’s LGBTQ+ Alum of the Year, as well as serving as a guest judge on Food Network’s Chopped and King of Cones.
More recently, Coolhaus has partnered with other purpose-led brands and initiatives, including Allegro Coffee, which is produced in East Africa by women dedicated to creating positive change and economic equality in the region, and Black Girl Ventures, an organization dedicated to creating access to capital for Black and Brown women entrepreneurs.
“I would say that the biggest thing from the social mission standpoint is how can we use Coolhaus as a platform, as leaders, to empower the next generation of women and girls from diverse backgrounds to also create their entrepreneurial business dreams? That’s something that we know and that’s what we’ve built, so how can we pass that on?”
Join us and learn more about what it truly means to let purpose inform brand development, product innovation, and connection with customers on this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Coolhaus (LinkedIn)
Coolhaus (Twitter)
Coolhaus (website)
Black Girl Ventures (Mentioned)
People crave meaningful engagement and connection with companies now more than ever. Without customers, there IS no business. And it’s not about whether things are going right or wrong, it’s about the entire relationship – the convergence of marketing, sales, and service – and the expectation for organizations to show up with true purpose so customers feel seen, heard, valued, and understood.
Join SYKES VP of Customer Engagement and Brand Advocacy Sarah Grace McCandless for OnBrand, featuring conversations with innovative leaders and industry experts on how to successfully embrace this opportunity to strengthen, grow, and rise with authenticity.
Season one includes interviews with leadership from Hertz, Slack, Harman/JBL, Alaska Airlines, AARP, and more, plus discussions with industry thought leaders on what brands like Netflix, Uber, etsy, airBnB, care/of, and Target are doing to get it right.
Catch OnBrand season one now and a new season coming March 2021!
“The thing that we’ve got to take a step back and remember is: Without customers, we don’t have a business. You can’t look at the customer as the problem, or as an annoyance. The customer is why we’re in business. If you’re not in business for your customer, you probably should be doing something else.”
– Dan Gingiss, Customer Experience Speaker & Coach
Welcome to part two of our unique two-part episode of OnBrand! In this episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she returns with Dan Gingiss, an insightful author, experienced speaker, business coach, and innovator in the customer experiences (CX) space. This time around, they’re building on their previous discussion by breaking down the anatomy of a positive brand experience, why word-of-mouth or more organic marketing can make or break your brand, the value of personalization in an experience, and much more!
Everyone knows that the proper response to “thank you” is “you’re welcome,” but all too often, brands leave their customers hanging when they approach for a virtual high-five on social media. Those brands have gone the extra mile, and even created a fan, but now they’ve moved on — and left their happy customers with a hand in the air.
Why do brands do it? Limited resources combined with misaligned priorities can be common root causes. Often, they’re also more concerned with losing customers than keeping them — but when brands ignore their fans, they also miss out on strengthening relationships that translate into long-term business and powerful word-of-mouth marketing opportunities.
“One of the things that happens when you create remarkable experiences consistently is you get more positive chatter on social media — you get more people talking about how much they love you — and it’s such a missed opportunity when you ignore that,” Dan says, highlighting the often-overlooked responsibility of brands to respond to customers giving them kudos.
“When we create positive experiences and people talk about us, they’re actually doing the marketing for us. And as a marketer, I remember the holy grail is word-of-mouth marketing — that’s exactly what this is.”
An incredible keynote speaker, author, and CX coach, Dan has a worked for more than two decades helping to create and refine next-level experiences for multiple major brands. He currently hosts both the Experience This! Show podcast as well as The Experience Maker™ Show, which airs live at noon EST each Thursday. In addition to speaking and teaching, Dan is also the author of the book Winning at Social Customer Care: How Top Brands Create Engaging Experiences on Social Media. His latest work, The Experience Maker: How to Create Remarkable Experiences That Customers Can’t Wait to Share, will be published mid-2021.
Join us and discover why it’s important for marketing and customer service to work hand-in-hand to respond to your customers and be there for them during every stage of their experience in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Dan Gingiss Twitter
Dan Gingiss Website
Experience This! (Dan’s Podcast)
The Experience Maker™ Show
Winning at Social Customer Care: How Top Brands Create Experiences on Social Media (Amazon Store Page)
“We have to focus on our customers. And the mistake that so many companies have been making is they pour all this money into marketing and sales and they forget about the customers that are actually keeping the lights on.”
– Dan Gingiss, Customer Experience Speaker & Coach
Welcome to part one of a special two-part episode of OnBrand! In this episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she speaks with Dan Gingiss, a prolific speaker, author, coach, and expert at honing customer experiences (CX) for progressive brands. Through their fascinating conversation, you’ll find out more about the cutting-edge world of CX today, how progressive brands are focusing on their customers through digital channels to create powerful connections, and what might be around the corner post-pandemic.
Everyone likes to feel heard — especially your customers. But if you don’t understand their needs, don’t respond to them, or put out tone-deaf messaging, customers can feel like you don’t care about them or their business. That’s why it’s so important to get social media engagement right in the ever-evolving future of brand marketing.
Unlike other channels, social media gives brands the opportunity to have a two-way, asynchronous conversation with their customers — to listen, learn, and provide the kind of personalized service that can turn an ordinary transaction into a lasting relationship. And for the brands themselves, social media presents an incredible opportunity to get to know and serve customers better.
“I will tell you, as the ‘customer experience guy,’ when I have a question or complaint or something that I want to talk to a brand about, the first thing I do is go to Twitter DMs. I go to direct message — I’m not trying to embarrass anybody publicly — and what I find is, I get the best, fastest service through that channel,” Dan explains. “It’s got all of these advantages of chat — it’s got all my history. I can go to Hyatt on Twitter, and you know, I gave them my loyalty number 17 chats ago, and they still have it, so they don’t have to ask for it again; which is amazing. It just makes the whole experience a whole lot easier.”
The author of Winning at Social Customer Care: How Top Brand Create Engaging Experiences on Social Media, Dan possesses a unique understanding of what it takes for businesses to form connections through digital channels. In addition to writing, Dan currently hosts both the Experience This! Showpodcast as well as TheExperience Maker™ Show, which airs live at noon EST Thursdays. His latest book, The Experience Maker: How to Create Remarkable Experiences That Customers Can’t Wait to Share, will be published mid-2021.
Join us and find out how getting to know your customers and communicating with them on a more personal level can help you form lasting connections in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Dan Gingiss LinkedIn
Dan Gingiss Twitter
Dan Gingiss Website
Experience This! (Dan’s Podcast)
The Experience Maker™ Show
Winning at Social Customer Care: How Top Brands Create Experiences on Social Media (Amazon Store Page)
“I don’t just work for a company, I work for a company that cares. I work for a company that really cares about not just about the Neighborhoods that we manage, but the neighborhoods beyond our Neighborhoods.”
– Oscar Ayala, Senior Director of Learning & Development at Prometheus Apartments
“’Good living for the greater good’ really reflects our give-back to the community. … We provide good living, and we provide greater good for our Neighbors, but we also do that for everyone else that’s out there.”
– Savannah Van Voorhis, Senior Manager of Brand Experience & Neighbor Insights at Prometheus Apartments
In this special “guest duo” episode of OnBrand, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she speaks with Oscar Ayala, senior director of Learning and Development, and Savannah Van Voorhis, senior manager of Brand Experience and Neighbor Insights at Prometheus Apartments. During the course of their panel-style discussion, you’ll learn more about what it really means to foster community engagement, why it’s crucial to be purpose-driven as a brand, and much more!
When it comes to creating connections with customers that truly feel like home, Prometheus Apartments is an incredible example of what’s possible when you truly care about the people you serve. They’ve taken their brand purpose and transformed it into an entire philosophy; one that values community connections, meeting needs, and where helping others isn’t just an afterthought — it’s a way of life. In fact, they’ve even altered their lexicon to use words like “Neighbors” and “Prometheans” instead of less personal words like “tenants” or “employees.” But they didn’t get there by just talking about it, or by hosting a few events. Prometheus found unique success allowing the purpose of their brand to inform their actions and shine through everything they do.
“When we say ‘good living for the greater good,’ we believe it. It is in our core. It’s in our culture; not by design, not check a box, not because a boardroom director decided we needed to pursue this path to keep up with the competition — it’s in our history. Our founders believed in giving back with time in any way you could, right from the beginning back 56 years ago. And those same values ring true today. That give-back piece — that ‘good living for the greater good’ — has been with us since the beginning.” Savannah says.
“We’re not doctors, we’re not firefighters getting cats out of trees, but we provide home. It’s a really important thing that we’re doing here, especially during the pandemic and prior even to that.” Oscar explains, highlighting the importance of staying connected and engaged even during quarantine. “They come home, they open the door, and they feel like they’re part of a community, and that’s what we really strive to have our Prometheans understand; that it’s a big responsibility. It’s not just like, ‘okay, I’m going to help someone lease an apartment — no, you’re a part of someone’s story.”
Now having been in business for more than half a century as a family-owned company, Prometheus Apartments continues to serve their Neighbors through their bases in Portland, Seattle, and the San Francisco Bay area. In addition to their commitment to helping others and caring for their Neighborhoods, Prometheus channels approximately 30% of their yearly cash flow back into the communities they serve.
Join us and learn how living out your brand purpose can make all the difference when it comes to building community and creating connections in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Oscar Ayala LinkedIn
Savannah Van Voorhis LinkedIn
Prometheus Apartments Website
Prometheus Apartments LinkedIn
“Our expectations of how we connect with each other outside of work has completely changed, and I think that there’s an expectation now that people want that same sort of seamless, fun, and easy way of doing things that they have in their personal lives — they want that at work.”
– Julie Liegl, Chief Marketing Officer, Slack
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, host Sarah Grace McCandless speaks with Julie Liegl, the chief marketing officer for Slack, about how they designed a more human way to work, the value in doing so to drive brand advocacy, and how the products and services you offer can help tell your story as a brand. Also discussed: How to foster positive team engagement even while working at home, why it’s important for brands to contribute to a more equitable world, and much more!
People love to connect. It’s just a part of being human. And every aspect of your business — from the way you communicate and market to the customer experience (CX) for products and services you offer — represents an opportunity to create meaningful connections. But people don’t want to form relationships with brand names or logos alone. Now more than ever, we gravitate toward brands with true heart.
“Slack is all about communication and connection, so that’s very much core to who we are, but I also think that we have a personality. That is part of the reason that our users — and our lovely brand advocates — kind of go beyond using us as a piece of business technology to that true love,” Julie says. “Slack is really human as a brand, and as a product, and those two have to be connected. Your brand and product can’t be disconnected. The experience of working with Slack is a more human way to work.”
Julie has extensive history as a technology leader for progressive brands, including key marketing roles with Salesforce for more than a decade. Now, as the CMO of Slack, she uses her strategic knowledge and ability to help Slack tell its story and connect with users in new ways.
Join us and discover how letting the unique personality of your brand shine through can help foster the connection you make with your customers in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
Julie Liegl (LinkedIn)
Julie Liegl (Twitter)
Slack (LinkedIn)
Slack (Twitter)
Slack Status (Twitter)
“How many times do guests have a one-on-one experience with a large brand? It’s very rare, so we take this as our opportunity to allow those one-on-one connections to be formed, and we believe this is what will create loyalty over the long run.”
– Michael Roy, Social Care Program Manager at Alaska Airlines
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, host Sarah Grace McCandless sits down with Michael Roy, the Social Care program manager for Alaska Airlines, to learn more about how progressive brands are building real, tangible value for their customers and creating powerful, lasting engagement through social media. Don’t miss their talk on the role of data in social media customer experiences (CX), how Alaska’s commitment to safety has informed their behavior and marketing during the pandemic, their creative SAFETY dance video, and much more!
Simply posting content in today's social media–driven world is a one-way approach to a two-way medium. When unique, individual customers reach out to a brand, they expect a tailor-made response that considers not only their needs, but also their desires and the challenges they face. And it’s not enough to just solve problems — you have to be there for your customers during the good, bad, or ugly.
But that’s what’s so great about social media — it brings us all together. For brands, prioritizing social engagement is not only an impactful way to connect with customers, it’s an equally important channel for them to see and reach out to you.
Michael explains: “We can push a lot of messages out to our guests, but the way we communicate with our other guests — the way guests can see that Alaska Airlines is there on social media to assist, help, have fun — that creates a marketing opportunity in-and-of itself. And it happens organically.”
“I think it’s that genuine, loving care that people see, and that they can really enjoy — and that’s what I love about our mission at Alaska Airlines on social: It’s about real people having real conversations. We’re here to inform, educate, and have fun on social—and we create fans along the way. I think back over the years — we’ve even had some of our social agents asked out to prom — it’s amazing. It’s simply amazing the power of social to take our big giant world we live in and make it a bit smaller,” Michael says.
Now the Social Care program manager for Alaska Airlines, Michael Roy has plenty of experience creating positive relationships between customers and the brands, products, and services they love. Formerly owner of an award-winning restaurant prior to his successful foray into enterprise, he brings his insightful blend of hospitality and careful attentiveness to the business world in a host of incredibly innovative ways.
Join us and find out how connecting with your customers at every stage of the journey can contribute to real, lasting relationships and brand advocacy in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
SYKES
Jobs.SYKES.com
SYKES Quarterly
Michael Roy (LinkedIn)
Michael Roy (Twitter)
Alaska Airlines Website
Alaska Airlines LinkedIn
Alaska Airlines Twitter
SAFETY Dance (YouTube)
“(Stories are) how we understand the world and our experience — and how we learn in a lot of ways — I think we can all agree that there’s vast opportunity to learn more, better, and in different ways.”
– Melissa Grego, CEO of Hollywood Radio & Television Society
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, host Sarah Grace McCandless speaks with Melissa Grego, the CEO of Hollywood Radio and Television Society (HRTS), on how the entertainment industry has led by example in creating impactful connections through storytelling. Through this insightful discussion, you’ll learn about how brands actively shape their stories, what it means to be responsive versus reactive in an ever-changing world, and much more!
The story of how your company mobilizes, strategizes, or even communicates with customers influences and shapes the way consumers think about your brand. Are you doing everything in your power to develop, understand, and communicate your brand’s story effectively? Or are you letting others do it for you? There’s a big difference.
An important step in the process of nurturing and communicating your own story as a brand, according to Melissa, is learning to act quickly and decisively in the face of change. “Responsiveness is one of the hallmarks of television, in particular. … I think the sense of responsibility and the sense of responsiveness that you can see in television is something that anybody and every company can take a page from. I think people respond to that,” Melissa explains.
Melissa highlights the ability of the entertainment industry to quickly and actively pivot to the needs of their viewers, continuing to connect fans with new and exciting stories. “One of the recipes for success is being responsive and being relevant and timely. Sometimes when we’re reactive, and we’re just doing things because we think we’re supposed to, it becomes pandering and it’s not authentic — it doesn’t connect.”
Formerly a television business journalist, Melissa possesses a unique understanding of what it takes to connect through storytelling. Now, as the CEO of HRTS, she showcases her impressive narrative and leadership abilities through the incredible programming and networking initiatives her company continues to build.
Join us and learn more about how further examining and developing the story of your brand can revolutionize the way you build relationships with customers in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
SYKES
Jobs.SYKES.com
SYKES Quarterly
HRTS.org (Hollywood Radio & TV Society)
HRTS LinkedIn
HRTS Twitter
Melissa Grego (Linkedin)
Melissa Grego (Twitter)
Melissa Grego’s Website
"One day, I’m a purchaser — I just want to buy my thing — the next day, I could be looking at things, worried about, ‘should I be spending this money, because I might lose my job’ — I’m a different person every five minutes. Behavioral data allows you to acknowledge that fact in your marketing.” – Reggie Wideman, Director of Strategy & Execution for Lytics
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she sits down with Reggie Wideman, director of strategy and execution for Lytics, for a fascinating conversation about how brands can leverage listening and data to revolutionize customer relationships. They also discuss why you can’t depend on demographic data alone to model customer behavior, the value of considering the changing needs of your customers over time, and many of the new, innovative ways brands like Netflix, Uber, and Peloton are already putting their data to work. Don’t miss it!
Customer data can be a great tool to help you understand them better, but you should be sure to never judge a book by its cover. For example, it’s easy to put your customers in boxes — or buckets — based on what you think you might know from demographic data, but if you aren’t digging deep into behavioral patterns, you could be missing out on a lot.
“From a behavioral perspective, I would say that there aren’t really buckets of consumers, more like buckets of opportunity,” Reggie says. “If we’re thinking about what we’re going to do with behavioral data, we’re using the signals from their behavior to define the real-time opportunity we should be exposing to them.”
Formerly senior principal business architect for Salesforce, Reggie Wideman is an expert when it comes to crafting, planning, and studying the types of customer experiences that truly delight customers. In his current role, he manages a unique customer data platform (CDP) with a focus on crafting actionable strategies for next-level customer experiences (CX).
Join us and learn more about all the unique ways companies can leverage data and listen to customers to get a full, 360-degree view in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
SYKES
Jobs.SYKES.com
SYKES Quarterly
Lytics
Lytics (Linkedin)
Lytics (Twitter)
Reggie Wideman (LinkedIn)
Reggie Wideman (Twitter)
“You cannot resist what is authentic. You cannot resist what is purposeful. And as a customer, you want that — you want a piece of that in your life to give you a little bit of that feeling. And that is a new kind of marketing.”
– Mory Fontanez, Founder & CEO of 822 Group
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, host Sarah Grace McCandless speaks with Mory Fontanez, founder and CEO of 822 Group, about her method of guiding leaders toward a higher purpose, and how fostering strong, unified alignment leads to brands creating more meaningful connections with customers.
What is your purpose as a leader? Have you ever stopped to think about it? Your purpose is your guiding light — a true north that will always show you the way home no matter how much the world changes. And when leaders act on their purpose, the results are always more meaningful — even at the customer-level — than any simple ad or sales pitch alone.
But if you haven’t settled on a purpose yet, don’t worry! We have Mory here to help. She’s a purpose-driven professional who specializes in transforming leaders and organizations toward true alignment from the ground up. Following your purpose means much more than just changing up your marketing.
“What I have become allergic to is seeing brands talk about purpose through marketing or PR. That’s not purpose. Purpose is not a marketing campaign. It’s about understanding, at a cellular level, leadership, workforce, and then customer — what is our purpose? — and then living that.” Mory explains. “People can feel it.”
With her company, 822 Group, Mory has worked with a variety of clients in numerous industries, assisting leaders in their efforts to find their higher purpose and reconsider their companywide goals, values, and impact. In addition to leading the company, she also offers training courses on both LinkedIn Learning and on 822group.com.
Join us and find out more about the power of purpose in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
SYKES
Jobs.SYKES.com
SYKES Quarterly
Mory Fontanez LinkedIn
Mory Fontanez LinkedIn Learning Profile
822 Group LinkedIn
822 Group Website
“We want to have an authentic communication with these fans. We have been these fans. We are these fans. For me, it’s about growing up and not seeing my face represented in what media was and having this opportunity to help change that is so big and so important. We’re really excited about that.”
– Jann Jones, Manager of Brand Development & Publishing Operations for Legendary Comics
In this episode, host Sarah Grace McCandless speaks with Jann Jones, the manager of Brand Development and Publishing Operations at Legendary Comics. With Jann, we’re talking all things brand advocacy, the shift toward digital, and what’s likely ahead for brands looking to expand their reach in 2021.
Customers and fans have a lot in common, but one thing that’s the same across the board is the desire for connection, and to be heard. Case in point: the comic book industry. Comics have moved beyond the newsstand, and readers today are consuming digital content in brand new ways. But by listening to consumers, and giving them stories they can really connect with, brands like Legendary Comics are turning their customers into true fans and building sustainable engagement through word of mouth.
“I think it’s talking to your fans and the people who support you — seeing what they want, or if they’re unhappy, why they’re unhappy.” Jann explains. “We’re not going to be able to fix everything and make everyone happy, but also sometimes it’s just listening.”
Prior to her work with Legendary, Jann worked with a variety of major companies, including Disney, DC Comics, Target, and 3M. Now, she works to usher in the next stage of graphic novels by highlighting and supporting previously marginalized voices and stories in comics.
Join us and learn how you can supercharge your outreach efforts in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
SYKES
Jobs.SYKES.com
SYKES Quarterly
Legendary Comics Website
Legendary Comics Twitter
“Empty engagement is just engagement for engagement’s sake. And unfortunately, we have come to associate engagement with attention, and they are not the same thing. At least not when we’re building community. Just because you have someone’s eyeballs doesn’t mean you are meaningfully engaging them.”
– Carrie Melissa Jones, Author and Community Strategist
Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, host Sarah Grace McCandless explores what it means to create communities around brands through meaningful customer engagement with Carrie Melissa Jones, a community strategist and co-author of the book Building Brand Communities: How Organizations Succeed by Creating Belonging.
Creating vibrant brand communities starts with engagement, but it’s not just about attracting eyeballs or meeting your marketing metrics — that’s “empty engagement” according to Carrie. To her, the key is making your engagement meaningful.
Carrie explains many of the ways that companies fall flat in their efforts to build community due to shallow gestures or empty promises. “So, what is meaningful engagement?” Carrie ponders briefly before answering. “Any way that we can bring people together to (1), knit relationships between members, and then (2), connect more deeply to the purpose of the entire organization or the entire community,” she says. “So, if it doesn’t serve one of those two purposes — people, or purpose — then what we’re doing is most likely creating this empty engagement, which, again, steals people’s attention but doesn’t necessarily add value to their lives.”
In addition to studying consumers and the complex online communities they create, Carrie founded the Gather Community Consulting firm and formerly served as a founding partner and chief operating officer for CMX Media. A graduate of UCLA, Carrie was named one of the three experts to follow in community management in 2016 by Salesforce.
Join us and learn what it takes begin promoting meaningful engagement and building communities around your brand in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
SYKES
Jobs.SYKES.com
SYKES Quarterly
Carrie Melissa Jones (LinkedIn)
Carrie Melissa Jones (Twitter)
Carrie Melissa Jones (Instagram)
Carrie Melissa Jones (Website)
Carrie Melissa Jones (Book Website)
“Customers are engaging with us — it would be a huge missed opportunity not to be listening actively, looking for trends, mining the data, and proactively getting that information back to the respective teams so that we can improve across the board.”
– Brian Wolfe, Vice President of Global Customer Service, JBL
In this episode, host Sarah Grace McCandless talks with Brian Wolfe, vice president of Global Customer Service for JBL, about why listening to consumers is critical for delivering their brand promise of world-class audio – and customer – experiences.
Learn more about what informs and inspires the JBL customer experience (CX) strategy, including how the pandemic fast-tracked the need to evolve from a business-to-business focus to inclusive of a more business-to-consumer lens, particularly with the massive spike in direct ecommerce.
An expert in all things CX, Brian has also been particularly focused in the past several years on further growing JBL digital brand engagement, including through the launch of a new support center as well as increasing social engagement for customer service support. As he notes, “I think it’s more about options and letting folks choose what channel is their preferred channel, how they want to interact with you, when they want to interact with you.”
Join us as Brian shares key considerations for providing JBL customers with CX on the same world-class level as the audio products they buy.
Episode Resources
SYKES
Jobs.SYKES.com
SYKES Quarterly
JBL Website
JBL Support Section
Harman
Harman Twitter
JBL Audio Twitter
“That’s what all brands really should strive for – just heart. Heart, heart, heart. I think people know when you’re there just to sell them something versus really offering them something that makes a difference in their lives.” – Viviana Pagán-Muñiz, Senior Advisor, Help Network, AARP
Welcome to a special #GivingTuesday edition of OnBrand! Tied to the spirit behind this movement, host Sarah Grace McCandless speaks with Viviana Pagán-Muñiz, senior advisor at AARP, on how the organization creates meaningful, connected experiences. Viviana shares how the AARP consumer commitment of “wise friend and fierce defender” is at the heart of everything they do. This includes informing her strategic approach and leadership behind the launch of a revolutionary new digital help center, a resource that has also helped to dispel some myths about the organization — yes, the 50+ community and members are online!
With mounting pandemic pressure on businesses to mobilize and digitize, many brands that may have previously relied on in-person customer relationships are now scrambling to bring their CX online. Find out why listening to your customers and understanding their needs is a critical first step to create an authentic, successful strategy that can help your organization excel — even at a distance.
Join us and learn more about in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
SYKES
Jobs.SYKES.com Viviana Pagán-Muñiz LinkedIn
AARP LinkedIn
AARP Website
AARP Twitter
AARP Facebook
AARP Instagram
GivingTuesday
“We don’t know what the first half — or much less, the second half — of 2021 is going to look like, but focusing on, ‘how can I create an experience for the consumer that might not be walking in my store’ and really investing in that and committing to what your brand represents there is going to pay dividends whether COVID continues to have us quarantined in Q3–Q4 of 2021 or not.” – Sean Ryan, vice president of Digital Strategy, The Informed Engagement Network, and former digital lead for Target and JCPenney
The holiday shopping season is here, but what that means in 2020 is certainly a different story. In this episode of OnBrand, host Sarah Grace McCandless discusses the current retail landscape leading into the holiday season with Sean Ryan, an award-winning brand strategist whose expertise leading social and digital teams includes Fortune 500 retailers Target and JCPenney.
With the massive surge toward e-commerce further fueled by the pandemic, retail is under pressure to reinvent rapidly. Learn more about how this is affecting the criteria for delivering superior customer experience (CX), why listening to customer brand perceptions is now more critical than ever, and how a holistic digital approach can benefit retailers of all sizes during COVID and beyond.
Episode Resources
SYKES
Jobs.SYKES.com
Sean Ryan’s LinkedIn
The IE Network
“Showing up for our customers in a way that makes a difference is really what Hertz is about. We think now more than ever customers are really looking for brands they can trust.” – Laura Smith
Welcome to the premiere of OnBrand! In this episode, host Sarah Grace McCandless speaks with Laura Smith, executive vice president of Global Marketing and Customer Experience at Hertz. Learn more about how the brand continues to innovate and connect, including how they’ve responded during the pandemic, why it’s important to consider the wants and needs of your customers now more than ever, and much more.
Join us to find out how taking the time to consider your customers can help create outstanding experiences and drive real value in this episode of OnBrand!
Episode Resources
SYKES
Jobs.SYKES.com
Laura Smith’s LinkedIn
OnBrand features a closer look at brands through the lens of the consumer, focusing on their desire for true connection with companies across all stages of the journey. Join host Sarah Grace McCandless for interviews and insights on which brands are getting it right and how other organizations can learn from these examples to strengthen, grow, and rise with authenticity.