Driving Brand Growth

“How do you build your brand? You need to show the public that even though it's a bear market, you still have signs of life,” explains Jason Yanowitz, co-founder of BlockWorks. In today’s episode of the Driving Brand Growth Podcast, Jason joins host Trevor Dudeck to talk about how to build a brand in today’s bear market. 

During a bear market, only the best of the best brands and products will succeed. Jason explains that it is a great opportunity to capture market share, keep hiring, and keep moving forward while other companies take a step back. In order to keep building your brand when the market is down, you have to show signs of life. It’s important to keep shipping products, making launch announcements, appearing on podcasts, and posting to social media, rather than taking a step back and trying to wait for the bull market to return. 

Tune into today’s episode of Driving Brand Growth Podcast for a conversation with host Trevor Dudeck and special guest Jason Yanowitz to learn more about how to get ahead and build your brand in a bear market. Learn more about navigating crypto when the market is down and the best products to start using during this bear market, so that you are more prepared when crypto picks back up. 

Quotes

🍋 “The core thesis of Blockworks is that crypto will become one of the largest asset classes in the entire world, right? And as that happens, the number of investors who come into the industry will grow exponentially and will grow by orders of magnitude. And those investors are going to demand a much higher level of information.” (5:19-5:35 | Jason)

🍋 “Trying to write content for the non crypto folks to get them into crypto, that's not the way that tech adoption happens. Adoption only happens when you can basically convince someone that your product is better than what they're currently using.” (20:01-20:17 | Jason)

🍋 “I think one of the best things to do in a bear market is use these products. Things slow down, use the products because you're curious about them. And you'll see it's an amazing user experience using something like Uniswap, or Ave, or compound for the first time. It’s really just an eye opening experience.” (25:43-26:13 | Jason)

🍋 “One thing that's important to remember in bear markets is that this isn't just siloed to crypto, all markets are down a lot. And the reason I only mentioned prices and bear markets a lot is it does impact building. And in bull markets, the talent floods into the industry. But in bear markets, people tend to leave the industry.” (28:58-29:16 | Jason) 

🍋 “How do you build your brand? You need to show the public that even though it's a bear market, you still have signs of life. Ship your products, make your announcements, like it’s the bull market. Get on the podcast, post that medium piece, post that Twitter thread. Just ship things and make announcements and push your marketing like it's a bull market, because people are looking for signs of life in a downturn.” (30:38-31:11 | Jason)

Links

https://blockworks.co/

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“Growth and building community is as critical as it always has been, but even more so is engagement and creating content that is really hitting the audience that you're after,” explains Aaron Kaufman, Director of Social Media of 2K Core Games & Corporate Channels. In today’s episode of the Driving Brand Growth Podcast, Aaron joins host Trevor Dudeck to talk about how to produce content that holds people’s attention long enough for them to stop scrolling. 

The human attention span has changed over the recent years as media has become more readily available at our fingertips. If a brand wants to capture someone’s attention, they have about six seconds to do so before that person scrolls past that content to the next. Creating engaging content and understanding what platform to use to reach your desired audience is more important than ever. Aaron shares some of his tips for creating thumb-stopping content which are to increase content and engagement on the platform where your desired audience spends their time, to follow your gut when certain marketing campaigns catch your attention, and to keep your eye on the brands that inspire you. 

Tune into today’s episode of Driving Brand Growth Podcast for a conversation with host Trevor Dudeck and special guest Aaron Kaufman to learn more about producing engaging content that will inspire your audience to stop scrolling and pay attention to your messaging. 

Quotes

🍋 “The human truth was that we as humans, our attention span, looking at one thing, you’ve got six seconds to capture us, whether it's a YouTube video, or you're scrolling TikTok or Twitter.” (5:27-5:40 | Aaron)

🍋 “Watch time now is probably the single most important metric on YouTube that really helps define the algorithm. And that's the same for TikTok.” (7:46-7:55 | Aaron)

🍋 “Growth and building community is as critical as it always has been. But even more so is engagement and creating content that is really hitting the audience that you're after.” (8:30-8:40 | Aaron)

🍋 “What I'm trying to really get better at right now as a social marketer is understanding the channel, the audience, and the content that's going to work on that channel.” (21:43-21:52 | Aaron)

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

What do Elizabeth Harmon (the Queen’s Gambit), brain surgeons, NBA players, and eSports pros all have in common? You'll have to watch this episode to find out.

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Anton Borkel, Principal Marketing Creative Director on League of Legends and Wild Rift for Riot Games.

We covered a lot of ground, including how passionate gamers are and how valuable it is to put yourself in their shoes when developing creative and marketing content. It's rare to find an industry where your audience wants to express themselves through forms of competition, cosplay, fanart, and high engagement on content. Their goal is always to reward that passion with creative product experiences.

Tapping into that passion from the players has become a North Star for their team.

In this episode, Anton shares what it’s like keeping up with demand in a high-growth industry and being pushed into hyper-mode by a global pandemic. He also discussed how putting yourself in the player’s seat, gives you an entirely different appreciation for the game.

In this episode, you’ll also hear us talk about:

🍋 How Riot’s relationship with the players drives their success.

🍋 The key to creating marketing that enhances the game - and never feels like marketing.

🍋 Staying connected with your team and your audience when in-person isn’t an option.

🍋 What Elizabeth Harmon (the Queen’s Gambit), brain surgeons, NBA players, and eSports pros all have in common - besides incredible stamina.

🍋 The responsibility that goes with creating a brand your fans feel ownership of.

At the end of the day, Anton brings all that together with a goal of creating experiences and events that surprise and delight players while staying true to the core DNA of the games.

If you’re looking to play your best game, I guarantee there’s something in this episode for you.

Whether you’re a gamer or not.

If you enjoy the episode be sure to like & subscribe! And if you’re looking for more of our kick-ass content, check it out below.

🍋 Trevor Dudeck's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevordudeck/

🍋 Lemonade's LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lemonadetheagency/

🍋 Lemonade's Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/lemonadecreates/

🍋 Lemonade's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lemonadecreates

🍋 Lemonade's Twitter account: https://twitter.com/lemonadecreates

What happens when your brand isn't just about sales and revenue?

What if you made decisions based on a strong belief system and an aspiration for a healthier life for the consumer?

Kara Goldin, Founder and CEO of Hint, Inc. (Where my hint water fans at?), strongly believes in this approach.

That's why she aims to help her consumers make healthier choices.

In this episode of Driving Brand Growth, Kara proves that anything is possible with a lot of curiosity and a bit of courage.

Her career started at Time magazine and CNN. She then went on to become the youngest VP of America Online.

After having 3 children, Kara started to pay more attention to her family’s health. She became interested in the ingredients of the products they were consuming. Kara suddenly realized that not everything is as it seems.

If you want an insider’s perspective into the food and beverage industry, join us for this episode, it's a great one!

We cover:

🍋 Why we’d all fail a vocabulary exam when answering: “Is Vitamin Water healthy for you”?

🍋 A condition that 40 - 45% of the population have due to unhealthy habits.

🍋 The food brands leading retail space wars to get their products in front of audiences. Do we actually have a choice when shopping?

🍋 How to get your third-party data back from Amazon? And how to overcome your doubters!

And for more on what it means to be an entrepreneur in the ever-changing landscape, grab a bottle of Hint and tune in to the latest episode!

If you want to find out more about Kara's journey, check out her book: “Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters”.

❗ http://www.drinkhint.com/LemonadePod

Can’t get enough of Driving Brand Growth? Check out the rest of our social media channels:

🍋 Trevor Dudeck's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevordudeck/

🍋 Lemonade's LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lemonadetheagency/

🍋 Lemonade's Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/lemonadecreates/

🍋 Lemonade's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lemonadecreates

🍋 Lemonade's Twitter account: https://twitter.com/lemonadecreates

Wax on. Wax off.

The featured company on this week’s episode of Driving Brand Growth has thrived during the worst economic setback in decades. They’re the first business in their segment to reach the Inc. 5000. They have 120 locations. They’re… a car wash?

That’s right! In this episode of Driving Brand Growth, we’ll be cleansing ourselves of previous notions of consumer engagement, and polishing up on the importance of purpose with Travis Kimball, Partner and Chief Experience Officer of Quick Quack Car Wash.

Join us as we take a deep dive into their 17-year journey to success, from their early start to their ambitious current plan of opening up a new location each week of the year in 2021.

Other topics will include:

🍋 The ROI of customer experience;

🍋 Why you have to be intentional about culture;

🍋 How creativity drives innovation and efficiency;

🍋 The unexpected payoffs of investing in brand presence;

🍋 What it means to create the “Chick-fil-A” effect in your business.

If you think your business isn’t “sexy” enough to shine this bright, this episode is for you. Tune in to learn how to use culture, small steps, and a little creativity to buck the norms in your industry.

If you enjoy the episode be sure to like & subscribe! And make sure to follow our other channels for more:

🍋 Trevor Dudeck's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevordudeck/

🍋 Lemonade's LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lemonadetheagency/

🍋 Lemonade's Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/lemonadecreates/

🍋 Lemonade's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lemonadecreates

🍋 Lemonade's Twitter account: https://twitter.com/lemonadecreates

Attention is the currency of marketing.

And while video dominates as the most-effective medium…

Only 20% even listen to the audio.

How much attention are they giving you - actually?

This week, we talk to Quentin Moreau-Defarges, Head of Strategy for Gameloft North America whose mission is creating brand assets that capture an audience’s attention - for real - by immersing them in interactive and playable experiences.

In his 10 years at Gameloft, Quentin has worked his way up from project manager, to help create their in-house creative agency, where they work to bring the power of gamification to businesses across the spectrum: from small brands to the Fortune 500.

In this episode, we talk about:

🍋 The key to creating a high-ROI gamification strategy;

🍋 Why healthcare, pharma, and other traditional industries are investing heavily in gamification;

🍋 The transition to cross-platform games and what that means for brands;

🍋 How Covid has accelerated the demand for interactive experiences;

🍋 The cost factor: and why gamification is no longer out of reach for smaller brands.

If you thought you were too big, too small, or too traditional to gamify your brand, you won’t want to miss this episode!

If you enjoy the episode be sure to like & subscribe! And if you’re looking for more of our kick-ass content, check it out below.

🍋 Trevor Dudeck's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevordudeck/

🍋 Lemonade's LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lemonadetheagency/

🍋 Lemonade's Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/lemonadecreates/

🍋 Lemonade's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lemonadecreates

🍋 Lemonade's Twitter account: https://twitter.com/lemonadecreates

An Independent Data Survey found that 2020 has seen the rise of video games. The industry has become bigger than the global movie and sports ones combined.

And as expected, everyone wants a piece of the pie. But most aren’t aware of the pitfalls within this multi-billion dollar industry.

In our latest episode, Jay Powell and I discussed how important the business side of video games can be.

Jay is the founder of the Powell Group, a small, video game consulting firm. He supports indie to bigger developers, works with publishers, conferences, and tech companies. 

Jay’s objective is to help as many people as possible share great games with the rest of the world. He does that by:

👉🏻 educating developers on the business of video games;

👉🏻 running the longest digital conference series in the video game industry;

👉🏻 his fantastic online Discord community of over 2300 industry professionals.

In our discussion you’ll learn about:

🍋 the uncharted concept (for many) of discoverability. As a video games developer, you should be doing marketing. And building communities around your game. From day one!

🍋 the reality of how small the multi-billion dollar gaming industry is. You learn early on that you don’t screw people over because it’ll bite you back.

🍋 what it takes to run a digital event and how to drive audience engagement.

🍋 the success behind streaming services, such as Netflix and HBO. How to make people care about your content.

🍋 how something Jay had been doing since he was five-years-old turned changed his future. From earning “extra beer money” to ending up doing what he loves.

Hope you enjoy the episode! If you want to find out more exclusive content:

🍋 Trevor Dudeck's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevordudeck/

🍋 Lemonade's LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lemonadetheagency/

🍋 Lemonade's Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/lemonadecreates/

🍋 Lemonade's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lemonadecreates

🍋 Lemonade's Twitter account: https://twitter.com/lemonadecreates

In 2019 Peerfit received an investment of $18M to expand its wellness offerings. 

But what was it about their platform that caught so much attention?

Peerfit’s a network service that partners with employers to offer employees a wellness program benefit. It connects workers to local fitness experiences and wellness services. 

The hook? By investing in the wellness of your employees, you’re investing in the health of your business. 

In this episode, Trevor chats to Maria Juan, a diehard creative, and Peerfit’s Veep of Marketing. They talk about the benefits of using a program like Peerfit and deep dive into strategy. 

The nature of Peerfit’s B2B services means their sales team relies on leads that target the C-level employees. They work from the top down. 

But that doesn’t mean their marketing team has to do the same.  

In fact, Maria’s team does the opposite. Their marketers target employees and work from the bottom up. 

How?

By pushing out as much content as possible on a variety of platforms. 

She relies on content to reach those using the service. She engages with them, creating evangelists that will champion the brand from the ground up. 

She says that by investing in content, you teach people about your organization. This creates opportunities to generate leads and drive sales.

Trevor and Maria cover:

🍋 What makes a good marketer

🍋 Their favorite platforms & knowing how to use them 

🍋 What content is working right now

🍋 Owning content vs earning content, and  

🍋 Integrating digital into your platform

The market shift and pivot to digital have had a big impact on the fitness industry and the self-care trend.

How can you make sure you’re taking advantage of this shift with your marketing tactics? Listen to the episode to find out. 

If you enjoy the episode be sure to like & subscribe! And if you’re looking for more of our kick-ass content, check it out below.  

🍋 Trevor Dudeck's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevordudeck/

🍋 Lemonade's LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lemonadetheagency/

🍋 Lemonade's Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/lemonadecreates/

🍋 Lemonade's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lemonadecreates

🍋 Lemonade's Twitter account: https://twitter.com/lemonadecreates

Startups and small businesses can’t always afford a CMO, and it’s up to founders and CEOs to fill in the gaps.

But what does that cost the company? Can a young business afford distracted leadership? Can you put a value on outsourcing the right expertise?

Roshni Wijayasinha knew finance wasn’t for her. She tried sales, but in the end, excelled in marketing. She leveraged her creative skills and made an impact at large tech giants, Sony and Microsoft. Later, she took on several leadership roles but gave up her CMO position at Foxquilt to found her own agency.

Today at Prosh Marketing, Roshni’s aim is to apply the lessons she’s learned throughout her career. She offers services to startups and SMBs using a fractional CMO model.

Trevor & Roshni talk about flexibility and cross-functionality in marketing.

They draw on the pandemic to demonstrate how businesses can use changes in consumer behavior as opportunities to re-address their value propositions and pivot into new spaces.

🍋 How can you connect with the consumer in an authentic way?

🍋 How can you give the consumer the attention they are looking for?

Roshni’s fractional CMO model offers startups and SMBs full marketing services but at a fraction of the cost of an in-house team.

But how do you know it’s time to outsource? Roshni first:

🍋 Evaluates a team’s structure and core values, and then

🍋 Evaluates what skills will be needed to execute a strategy.

Our guest tells us that leveraging experts in your community means faster, better results. But only if they’re able to incorporate your company’s values into their work.

Learn how re-evaluating your marketing strategy can push your business in the right direction.

Just hit play.

And if you still can’t get enough of our content, click one of the links for more:

🍋 Trevor Dudeck's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevordudeck/

🍋 Lemonade's LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lemonadetheagency/

🍋 Lemonade's Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/lemonadecreates/

🍋 Lemonade's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lemonadecreates

🍋 Lemonade's Twitter account: https://twitter.com/lemonadecreates

Imagine a future where software could actually think for itself. Imagine analyzing millions of customer reviews, online opinions, and pieces of unstructured data. 

How would software like this impact marketing strategy?  

Meet Alon Ghelber:

🍋 B2B Marketing Consultant 

🍋 Forbes Business Council Official Member 

🍋 CMO of Revuze Computer Software

Revuze’s cloud-based B2B services generate insights into consumer experiences. Brands can take these insights and adjust their marketing campaigns to accommodate consumer feedback. 

Haven’t marketers always used feedback though? The difference?

Their AI thinks for itself and operates in real-time, analyzing trends as they happen. 

Alon takes us through the past year at Revuze, where he and his team have had to pivot 3 times. Servicing professionals who are themselves, higher-ups in marketing, can be challenging. But by remaining agile, they’ve been able to develop a feel for their customers' needs. 

In Alon’s words, ‘the customer knows all of it, we can only listen.’ 

Alon demonstrates the gap between what consumers think about products, and what marketers think consumers think about products.

How do you make a single feature adjustment to a coffee machine that puts you ahead of the big guys in an Amazon search? What perfume scents are trending right now and why?

Trevor and Alon get into the differences between brand marketing and feature marketing.

Which creates more focus for your marketing strategy?

Which strategy speaks more to the consumer experience?

Which strategy is going to resonate more with the consumer?

As the market is shifting, brands need to seize opportunities. The market will recover, and when it does, it will flourish. So what trends can we expect to hang around after this virus disappears? 

If you want to hear more about how providing data can sustain your company’s inbound marketing, don’t skip this episode. 

And if you still can’t get enough of our content, click one of the links for more:

🍋 Trevor Dudeck's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevordudeck/

🍋 Lemonade's LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lemonadetheagency/

🍋 Lemonade's Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/lemonadecreates/

🍋 Lemonade's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lemonadecreates

🍋 Lemonade's Twitter account: https://twitter.com/lemonadecreates