On Brand with Nick Westergaard

“I’ve been completely obsessed with this—not only how do we prove the ROI of these specific experiential programs but how do we do it at scale.” Jonathan Yaffe was one of the first marketing hires at Red Bull following the brand’s entry into the U.S. market. His first task? Quantifying their experiential marketing efforts. Today he does this for numerous brands through his company AnyRoad. We disc...

“There was a big group of people who were able to fare very well during this time and it was those who took action.” As CEO of Consulting Success, Michael Zipursky has worked with hundreds of clients across industries on overcoming the chaos and uncertainty this past year has presented. We discussed how brands can plan, pivot, and take action this week on the On Brand podcast. About Michael Zipurs...

“If you look at designing a brand logo in a visual form, there’s an infinite amount of material. With sonic branding, you have no choice but to create your own playbook. You need to understand the impact that sound has on people’s emotions.” Sonic branding was one of the many marketing and media disruptions I discussed this week with Raja Rajamannar, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for Ma...

“Marketing's most fundamental role is understanding markets and consumers better than anyone else around. This past year has allowed us to pause and realign.” Engelina Jaspers has built her career around inflection points in periods of change. The author of the book Marketing Flexology, Engelina stopped by the On Brand podcast this week to share how we can all future proof both our marketing and o...

“When you used to think about branding, you’d be thinking about advertising. Now it’s about building trust.” This week on the On Brand podcast, I welcomed back Aimee Irwin from Experian Marketing Services. Since we last spoke way back in 2019, the world has been dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic. As a result, consumer behavior has changed in ways marketers need to know about....

“Agile marketing is all about speed, transparency, and iteration.” In the face of a global pandemic, brand builders and marketers have relied increasingly on eCommerce partners like Amazon. This can make it challenging to build seamless experiences and brand trust. That's where Scrum50 comes in. I talked to Director of Product Strategy Brian Gioia about all of this and more on this week's episode...

“As branders, the word soup is absolutely unbelievable.” Words matter. And if you like words as much as Katie Burkhart and I both do, you’ll love this week’s episode. We discuss defining, refining, and developing your brand’s purpose, mission, vision, and more. What do all of these labels mean and how can they help you and your brand? Listen to Katie and learn. Enjoy This Episode Now Download Epis...

“Every day we spend with our fellow human beings, we can contribute to making their life a little bit better—making them a little bit smarter, a little bit more thoughtful, and so on—or not.” It’s rare that a single guest has appeared three times on the On Brand podcast. However, when Tom Peters calls and wants to talk about empathy and extreme humanism in the middle of one of the most challenging...

“There’s been a big change in how businesses went to market.” Through a storied career that has taken her from Netscape to Salesforce to Oracle, Bonnie Crater gave use some important context in how brand building for B2B tech brands has evolved in the valley and beyond. She also stressed the ongoing importance of experimentation and optimization. We discussed all of this and more this week on the...

“I’m constantly coaching my team on how we market the marketing.” As CMO of FreshBooks, Paul Cowan has a lot on his plate—even marketing the marketing! However, this is important as it helps everyone internally find the brand’s “true north.” We discussed all of this and more this week on the On Brand podcast. About Paul Cowan Paul Cowan is the CMO at FreshBooks, leading its global marketing team....

"I've always considered public relations to be influencer marketing—you're trying to find a third party to borrow some trust from." When it comes to trust, there's no one I trust more on the subject of digital marketing strategy than Jason Falls. As an agency marketer, podcast host, and author of three books including his latest—Winfluence—I couldn't wait to talk with him on this week's episode of...

“I think you could have gotten away with mediocre branding before platforms like Amazon and Facebook came along.” However, today, the bar is set incredibly high. The modern consumer is savvy and expects exceptional branding from any company entering the market. That’s why we need to apply the latest in brain science and consumer behavior to our branding and marketing. Matt Johnson and Prince Ghuma...

“When we stumbled into this, we didn’t know anything about branding. We just knew it was important.” ‘Stumbled into it’ is putting it mildly. As the CEO of StoreBound and creator of the Dash brand of kitchen tools, Evan Dash has built a big brand with a lot of heart. Literally. We discussed all of this and more this week on the On Brand About Evan Dash Evan Dash is the Founder and CEO of StoreBoun...

“First, amplify what you’re doing really well and consider new channels. Second, if things aren’t going well you’ll need new channels!” This was Steve Pockross’s answer to my question about how marketers can know when new channels make sense to add. As CEO at Verblio, helping marketers focus their content marketing is the focus of his work. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode...

“I start with the transformation and work backward. What happens when the customer experiences your brand?” Allie Martin has a holistic approach to brand building that she’s refined over the last decade. Through her work, she helps brands find “fame and fortune” and entrepreneurs get a little “selfish” with self-care. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast...

“Planning is the most important part of everything we do.” And Benjamin Shapiro does a lot of things. He’s producer and host of the top-rated MarTech Podcast as well as the Voices of Search Podcast. Managing two daily shows and running a consulting business takes a lot of planning—especially this year. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Benjamin...

“The best marketers never lose sight of their customers.” As a brand builder with years of agency leadership experience, Peter Wilken has seen it all. From global brands to bootstrap basics, we discussed it all on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Peter Wilken Allie Hembree Martin is a veteran brand and communication strategist with 10+ years of experience and owns Fame and Fortun...

“There’s the story and there’s the story behind the story …” And Joseph Jaffe certainly has both to share as he has managed to rebrand himself during a global pandemic through his innovative web series CoronaTV. And he’s quick to add that, “You can too!” We discussed branding in the midst of a pandemic, streaming, and more this week on the On Brand podcast. About Joseph Jaffe Joseph Jaffe is an au...

After a brief holiday hiatus, the On Brand podcast is back for 2021! And we're kicking things off with an exciting new topic and guest. As we've discussed in various episodes through the years, leadership is critical in the development of standout brands. Already a challenging pursuit, leadership got a whole lot harder this past year. This week on the show, I was joined by David Burkus, author of...

“What we're finding in nonprofit marketing today is that it's really about helping people see the impact they're having.” As co-owner of Puzzle Pieces Marketing, Angel Mason Broadus has built her career at the intersection of social impact and social good. However, she was quick to note that this takes a lot of work—often accomplished in what she calls “small bites.” We discussed all of this and m...

“The people that can parse out what to do—that can figure out the best media mix are going to win in this game because there’s just too much.” Peter Levitan has spent his career leading advertising, marketing, and PR agencies worldwide. A lifelong believer in the art and science of building brands, he spends his time these days advising agencies on business development. We discussed all of this an...

Using AI to simplify logo design? How would that even work? Richard Lau is a serial entrepreneur who's launched several helpful businesses that he's eventually exited. His latest venture, Logo.com, answers this very question. We discussed logo design, AI, and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Richard Lau Richard Lau has generated millions of dollars in revenue in the inter...

“Empathy is something that every human has but our empathy muscle has atrophied.” This week on the On Brand podcast, we talked about a timely, relevant topic—empathy. Now more than ever, people want empathy from brands. Yet, collectively, we’ve never been less empathetic. How do we fix this and how can we use these tools to better connect with our customers? Rob Volpe of insight strategy firm Igni...

My guest this week is … me, Nick Westergaard! Specifically, I’m sharing a recent interview I did with Joseph Jaffe for his innovative web series CoronaTV. I’m calling this our Thanksgiving Special because to me this was a very special conversation. We talked about some of my favorite things like branding and Star Trek and the communication secrets of the U.S. presidents. It was a lot of fun. I hop...

“People put a lot of value in brands. When you are at home or are limited (because of the pandemic) you tend to go with the first one you think of. But there are brands that have to think differently, especially brands in retail.” Jeff Lotman has an iconic career both as a brand strategist at his firm Global Icons and as a retailer as the owner of Fred Segal. He’s also the author of the book Invis...