On Brand with Nick Westergaard

On this week’s Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jerry and I discussed what’s most important for customers when it comes to your brand experience. Top Gun themed hint: your customers have a need for speed. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show.   Beyond the Sound Bite People’s Most I...

“We create experiences that touch the heart.” In our increasingly digital world, it may surprise some to learn that creating engaging physical experiences for brands is still a priority for marketing leaders. Christian Lachel is an architect of these experiences through his work at BRC Imagination Arts creating “homes” for brands like Ford and Jameson. We explored all of this and more on this week...

“As marketing leaders, we have to give up control.” As CEO of Marketing Insider Group, author Michael Brenner knows a thing or two about marketing and leadership. With a career ranging from startups to SAP and Nielsen, Brenner helps organizations understand how they can build a better brand by answering the tough questions on strategy and leadership. We discussed all of this and more on this week’...

“You have to be able to let go.” As brand builders, we’re used to being in control of our brands. But that’s something we have to get over today. Our brands are owned not by us — but by our community. Nicole Ertas knows this. That’s why she helps companies like Wrigley, Johnson & Johnson, and General Mills become what she calls “Free Range Brands.” This is also the focus of her new book. We spoke...

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jerry and I discussed the latest on how marketers are using social media. While many rate it as effective, most marketers aren't confident in their ROI measurement. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week's show. Beyond the Sound Bite Social Me...

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jerry and I discussed several new and emerging trends from Kleiner Perkins' Mary Meeker in her annual report of Internet Trends. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week's show. Beyond the Sound Bite Check out the full report — Internet Trends 2...

"It takes time to cultivate relationships." Mack Collier has been cultivating relationships for a long time. The social media strategist, speaker, and author has been blogging for 12 years and has hosted the Twitter chat #Blogchat since March 2009. He's also the author of the book, Think Like a Rockstar: How to Create Social Media and Marketing Strategies That Turn Customers Into Fans. We discusse...

On this week’s Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jerry and I discussed some new data that disproves a popular theory — specifically that Facebook is dying. In short, not so much. It’s alive and well and where most of us are getting are news. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show.   B...

On this week’s Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jerry and I discussed some new data from Sprout Social on what behaviors customers like most from the brands they follow on social media. Hint: Think twice before getting snarky. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show.   Beyond the Soun...

"Brand identity helps doctors see the patient behind the condition.” Vince Parry has spent his career at the forefront of the healthcare branding industry. He has launched some of the most iconic healthcare brands, such as Lipitor, Botox, and Prozac. He has also been instrumental in transforming the way society is educated about illness and the possible options for relief. We discussed all of this...

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jerry and I discussed some new data on Snapchat's users following the growth Instagram has experienced since copying Snapchat adding a stories feature of their own. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week's show. Beyond the Sound Bite Snapchat...

“There’s often some confusion and conflict around personal branding.” It’s true. For whatever reason, some people and companies have trouble with this concept. But in the interconnected digital age, personal interaction and influence matters more and more for brands. Barry Feldman’s new book, The Road to Recognition, provides a handy reference guide for those building new personal brands as well a...

“Research shows that our psychology is very similar in situations where we’re struggling with branding and marketing challenges and when we’ve crash-landed on a mountain.” Today’s marketplace is chaotic. Jonathan David Lewis, partner at McKee Wallwork + Company, calls this new normal we find ourselves in “the wild.” This is the focus of his new book, Brand vs. Wild: Building Resilient Brands for H...

On this week’s Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jerry and I discussed the latest social media usage statistics. Specifically the fact that Instagram now has 700 million monthly active users — more than doubling over the past two years. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show. Beyond t...

“Our brand values are up on the wall but there’s more to it. We have a very specific way of talking.” In addition to being a part of Nationwide’s Member Experience Team, Seth Sparks has a lot of the same non-branding interests as I do. In addition to talking branding, we managed to work in The West Wing, Doctor Who, and Star Trek on this week’s lively episode of the On Brand podcast. About Seth Sp...

“For us, marketing meant polishing the apple. Not chasing people, letting them find you.” Over the past 59 years, quite a few people have found Maker’s Mark. The distinctive bourbon has grown from being the hobby of founder Bill Samuels, Sr. His son, Bill Samuels, Jr., led much of that growth. From their wax-dipped bottles to their brand ambassador program, Maker’s has built a brand as unique as t...

“Branding is thousands of tiny punches that add up.” And few deliver as many meaningful little punches as Bark & Co, the powerhouse brand dedicated to bringing joy to dog parents everywhere through innovative products and services like BarkBox. The company and its people love what they do and who they do it for. And it shows. This week, Bark’s Editor in Chief Stacie Grissom joined me for a chat on...

“The only policy you need is ‘don’t be a jerk!'” While this may seem like surprising legal advice, it shouldn’t be considering the source. In addition to being a lawyer, marketing professional, and podcaster, Kerry O’Shea Gorgone is one of the nicest (read: not jerky!) people both online and off. We discussed the legal implications of new forms of media, copyright, podcasting, and more on this wee...

“Too often today we over-survey our customers.” As Amazon’s first Worldwide VP of Customer Service, Bill Price is a legend in the field of customer service. As an author and advisor, he continues to drive home the fact that service is one of the most critical brand touchpoints. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. About Bill Price Bill Price is a Partne...

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jerry and I discussed the latest social media insights from the 2017 Infinite Dial study from Edison Research (I also explained why this is one of my favorite data sources). Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week's show. Beyond the Sound Bite...

“If you want to be authentic as a brand, you have to be able to make a mistake.” As social media manager for Cision, Bruce Kennedy is on the front lines of the brand's online conversations. Last week, he was in the front row for our live podcast onstage at SXSW, where we talked about how brands need to be more authentic than ever to stand out today. I couldn't wait to continue this conversation wi...

This week, we have a special LIVE episode of the On Brand podcast — on stage from SXSW Interactive. Recorded last Saturday, March 11 in Austin, this episode featured a timely discussion of a big question that many brand builders are struggling with in these divisive times — should your brand take a stand socially and politically? Joining me were guests Duff Stewart of GSD&M and Heather Whaling of...

“A brand is a relationship between a customer and an organization.” Don E. Schultz has spent his storied career navigating, teaching, and writing about that very complex relationship. He’s a Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University’s Medill School, President of Agora, Inc, and author of over twenty-eight books on marketing. He’s also this week’s guest on the On B...

“A brand is a set of promises. If you break that, you hurt the brand.” With a storied career in advertising including his current gig as co-founder and creative director of the Velocity Partners agency, Doug Kessler has spent his career helping brands create and communicate promises to their communities. This week, Doug stopped by the On Brand podcast for a chat about content, creative, and strate...

On this week’s Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City — Jay and I discussed Facebook’s newest feature for businesses — job listings! That’s right, when Facebook polled businesses they found that finding the right people was the top need. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show. Beyond the Sou...