Brand Shorthand

This year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity provided some interesting takeaways regarding AI and Human Creativity. Join Mark and Lorraine as they discuss the importance of the human touch and why it’s still needed in the creative process. The positioning duo will also provide updates for the Krispy Kreme and McDonald’s partnership as well as Jaguar’s recent sales.    Join Ma...

Do you want to know which outdoor advertising works best for your brand? Join Mark and Lorraine this week as they discuss both traditional out-of-home advertising and digital out-of-home advertising. Learn how these two advertising efforts play in the public space and some of the benefits and limitations associated with each. The positioning duo also shares some insights on the recent “Share a Pep...

2025 has been dubbed the year of the independent advertising agency. Join Mark and Lorraine as they discuss the benefits independent agencies offer clients and why remaining independent matters in today’s marketing landscape. Tune in to learn where Innis Maggiore ranks among the growing number of agencies and how your agency can stand out from the crowd. Join Mark and Lorraine for 30-ish as they d...

A taco place that’s also a chicken place? Cordless outdoor equipment? Join Mark and Lorraine as they discuss their thoughts on Taco Bell and EGO, two brands who are in the spotlight for this week's episode. Learn what the positioning duo thinks about the return of Taco Bell's Crispy Chicken Nuggets and their newest commercial. Then, stay tuned in to learn more about the EGO brand and how...

Who doesn’t love a good “I told you so” moment? Tune in to this week's episode of the Brand Shorthand Podcast to hear what the positioning duo has to say about the bad brand moves from HBO Max and Krispy Kreme. Max announced that its name will be returning to the beloved HBO Max after a failed attempt at a rebrand, and Krispy Kreme announced it will be putting a pause on its partnership with...

This week on the Brand Shorthand podcast, Mark interviews Alicia Jordan, our Art and Video Director here at Innis Maggiore. Tune in to hear how Alicia and the agency’s creative department work to bring campaigns to life and to get a behind-the-scenes look into the work we do. Learn more about video production and the design process as Alicia dives deep into her role and some of the projects she&ap...

Advertisers today seem to be focusing too heavily on being efficient when they should be focusing on how to be effective. Join Mark and Lorraine to learn the effectiveness of long-term brand building as the positioning duo follows along with Andrew Tindall’s latest presentation, Effectiveness in an Age of Efficiency. Join Mark and Lorraine for 30-ish as they discuss all things marketing, advertisi...

Join Mark and Lorraine this week as they dive into a recent article from The Drum titled “9 Timeless Marketing Quotes That Will Always Keep You Effective.” The positioning duo will walk through each of the 9 quotes, providing their insights from a positionist standpoint.  Join Mark and Lorraine for 30-ish as they discuss all things marketing, advertising, and of course … positioning!

Celebrity marketing is nothing new to the advertising industry, in fact it's almost rare nowadays to see a commercial or ad without a famous face in it. This week, Mark and Lorriane discuss the over-saturation of celebrity marketing and how advertisers can navigate through this crowd with the right strategy in mind. Join the positioning duo as they explore the rights and wrongs of celebrity m...

This week, Mark and Lorraine discuss generational marketing and why it might be a bad track for marketers to take. Tune in to learn about the implications of advertising based on generalities, what happens when you target too broad of an audience, and how to effectively expand your core audience. The positioning duo also shares their thoughts on Liquid Death's most recent chaotic collaboratio...

AI is on the rise and Mark and Lorraine are here to discuss it all! Learn how AI is affecting the customer experience, how advertisers should be thinking about the growth of AI in businesses, and what the future with AI could look like. Join Mark and Lorraine this week to see how Meta, Amazon, and Netflix have incorporated AI into their customer experiences.  Join Mark and Lorraine for 30-ish as t...

Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff as Mark and Lorraine fly into recent news from Southwest Airlines. The brand that once owned the low-price position seems to be flying further and further away from its low-cost roots. The positioning duo also discusses long-form video advertising as they dive into the new Apple AirPods 4 ad. Join Mark and Lorraine for 30-ish as they discuss all things...

Programmatic advertising is changing the game for digital marketers! This week, Mark is joined by the media and digital marketing duo, Alyssa Laubacher and Lauren Moses, to discuss what programmatic advertising is, how it works, and why it can be a beneficial tool for marketers.  Join Mark, Alyssa, and Lauren for 30-ish as they discuss all things marketing, advertising, and of course … positioning...

This week, Mark and Lorraine discuss the importance of brand advertising and why it should be at the forefront of your advertising efforts in today’s world. Join the positioning duo as they dive deep into the advantages of brand advertising and explain why short-term advertising tactics alone aren’t enough to cut it.  Join Mark and Lorraine for 30-ish as they discuss all things marketing, advertis...

The battle of sodas just got a whole lot more interesting! We’ve seen Coca-Cola and Pepsi battling it out in the Cola Wars and now something similar is fizzing up in the new healthy soda market. Join Mark and Lorraine as they pop into the world of prebiotic sodas and discuss brands like Olipop, Poppi, and the newest player in the game, Coca-Cola’s Simply Pop.   Join Mark and Lorraine for 30-ish as...

More and more brands are exploring ways to add entertainment to their marketing approach. Mark and Lorraine share their thoughts on how brands like Chick-fil-A and Duolingo are testing out games, podcasts, apps, and even animated shows to entertain their audiences.  Join Mark and Lorraine for 30-ish as they discuss all things marketing, advertising, and of course … positioning!

What do McDonald’s, IHOP, and a grocery store chain in England have in common? Join Mark and Lorraine as they explore how these brands tapped into the Zeigarnik Effect and how this psychological phenomenon affected their advertising efforts. Mark and Lorraine kick off the episode with a quick Super Bowl recap and some recent Starbucks news! Spend 30ish with Mark and Lorraine as they talk all thing...

Join Mark and Scott Edwards as they continue their discussion of the 2025 Super Bowl spots. Discover what the positioning duo thinks as they dive deep into ad spots from Doritos, Pringles, Reese's and more. Mark and Scott continue to follow USA Today's Ad Meter as they highlight some of the ad winners and losers. Spend about 30 mins with Mark and Scott as they talk all things marketing,...

Join Mark and new guest, Scott Edwards, as they discuss the 2025 Super Bowl spots. Following USA Today’s Ad Meter, discover where this positioning duo agrees with the viewers on the effective ads, versus those that will likely go down as duds just like the Chiefs! Starting with Budweiser’s “First Delivery” ad, Mark and Scott provide details on why the ads were winners or losers.  Spend 30ish with...

Mark and Lorraine kick off season #3 with a review of all the major brand news that happened since they left off season #2. Jaguar, Volvo, Coke, and Walmart hit the news with moves of new ads, refreshed logos, and revisiting old brand positions. Learn what the positioning duo liked and disliked about these recent big brand activities. Spend 30ish with Mark and Lorraine as they discuss all things m...

Mark and Lorraine draw their second season of the Brand Shorthand Podcast to a close. Join them as they reminisce on this last season’s biggest hits, from SuperBowl ads to myriad guests, and how companies can best avoid those pesky boycotts. Spend 30ish with Mark and Lorraine as they talk all things marketing, advertising, and of course … positioning!

Between sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing, why do so many brands only appeal to the visual? Join Mark and Lorraine as they walk through a few jingles and audio logos. Then they discuss the topic of branding through smell, touch, and audio. From MasterCard’s “haptic logo” to smelling money through your phone, learn the different ways you can develop a brand that touches multiple senses! Spend...

Join Mark and Lorraine as they conclude their interview with Calvin Holston, the founder and CEO of Smeeple, an app designed to connect people to curated experts across a variety of specialties. In the second half of this interview, Calvin discusses Smeeple’s position among his competitors, as well as the effects his entrepreneurship has had on his faith and his family. Spend 25ish with Mark, Lorr...

Bringing the experts right to you! Join Mark and Lorraine as they interview Calvin Holston, the founder and CEO of Smeeple, an app designed to connect people to real authentic experts across a variety of subjects, from sports to HVAC to homesteaders. Learn how Calvin came from nuclear engineer to entrepreneur, the origins and meaning behind the name “Smeeple,” and how it works to curate and cultiv...

Whether it’s lateral CEO hiring from Chipotle, commoditizing the coffee experience at Starbucks, or boiling down branding to fit in with the crowd, it seems that a lot of big business brands are starting to feel the same. Join Mark and Lorraine as they navigate the seas of sameness flooding through modern advertising and discuss how differentiation and positioning can help you stand out in a clutt...