Damn Good Brands

The world of brand and agency marketing is constantly changing. The best way to keep up? Listen in as Paul Dyer, Nick Taylor and other members of Lippe Taylor sit down with marketers, makers, brand executives, agency veterans, technologists, friends and key voices of innovation in the marketing ecosystem. Each week brings relevant discussions and bite-sized insights on the topics driving shifts in marketing, advertising, social media, influencer marketing, technology and consumer buying behavior. Episodes also offer an insider view into the processes and best practices of entrepreneurs & marketing superstars.

Trust is a Core Competency with SC JOHNSON CCO, Alan VanderMolen [Episode 42] 10/14/2021

Trust is a Core Competency with SC JOHNSON CCO, Alan VanderMolen [Episode 42] After a 30-year agency career that included notable stints with Edelman and WE Communications, Alan VanderMolen was named Chief Communications Officer at CPG giant SC Johnson last year. Alan oversees both internal and external communications at SC Johnson, reporting to CEO Fisk Johnson. In this wide-ranging conversation with Lippe Taylor CEO Paul Dyer, Alan delves into the importance of trust, keys to revolutionizing sustainability practice, the importance of internal comms, advice for aspiring leaders, and what it was like joining SC Johnson at the height of the pandemic. Below are some key takeaways from this conversation with Alan. Trust is a must. Alan is often quoted as saying, “Trust is evolving into a core competency for business.” From his perspective, today’s brands need to treat the notion of trust with as much reverence and focus as they would typical communications pillars like reputation and promotion. Don’t try to change the past. Alan states that “Trust is the expression of how stakeholders believe you're going to behave in the future” and emphasizes how reputation is a rear-view mirror and the sum of perceptions about past performances. From this angle, Alan finds it to be fruitless to try and change past perceptions via reputation management; focusing on the trust you build in the future is a much more fruitful endeavor. Define sustainability in terms your customers understand. SC Johnson takes sustainability very seriously at both macro and micro levels. Alan believes the key to sustainable change happens at the community level, which is why it's incumbent on brands to communicate sustainability practices effectively in terms customers can relate to. Phrases like “carbon neutral” and “zero emissions” mean a great deal to corporations, but to most people, they’re jargon. SC Johnson leads with concepts like “a waste-free world” and showcases what this means on a community level with initiatives at sporting events so they can remain relevant and relatable to local communities. These are the keys to lasting change as opposed to one-off CSR initiatives. /episode/index/show/lippetaylor/id/20805275

Mondelēz CCO, Russ Dyer on Oreo’s Real-Time Content Engine, Inventing Your Own ESG Best Practices, and the Importance of Having a Hunger for Networking [Episode 41] 07/22/2021

Mondelēz CCO, Russ Dyer on Oreo’s Real-Time Content Engine, Inventing Your Own ESG Best Practices, and the Importance of Having a Hunger for Networking [Episode 41] Russell Dyer is the VP & Chief of Communications and Government Affairs at Mondelēz International. At Mondelēz, Russ is responsible for overseeing all external and internal communications as well as government affairs for Mondelēz International, a Fortune 150 and the global leader in snacking. Russ joined Mondelēz in 2015 as Vice President, Global Communications. In that role, he was responsible for all strategic communications plans, overseeing the worldwide external and internal communication activities. Prior to joining Mondelēz, Russ spent 2 years at Kraft, and before that, Russ was agency-side with a 6.5-year stint at Weber Shandwick. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Russ Dyer. Speed and playfulness are the names of the game. As a brand, Oreo has just about nixed the extensive content approval processes in favor of quick brand responses in real-time, which is what this digital age demands when it comes to brand relevance. Perhaps the most notable example of this was Oreo's Dunk in the Dark campaign, which has a place in the annals of marketing history. The idea itself was extremely simple, but the fact that they were the first brand to respond during this moment in culture catapulted them to the top of the conversation, making this one piece of content a best practice for years to come. As such, Oreo has built a social media content engine based on quick responses and engaging with conversations of the day in real-time and in ways that are authentic to the brand. ESG is an open playing field; invent your own best practices. Mondelēz launched the first of its kind traceability program with the Triscuit brand, whereby consumers are able to see the exact path to production the crackers take; this includes everything from where their ingredients are sourced from to their exact manufacturing processes. As more and more consumers and stakeholders become interested in transparency, finding new ways of disclosing this information is going to become more and more important. Rather than studying how other brands were handling this element of ESG, Mondelēz decided to invent their own, and I'm sure other brands will begin to do similar things. ESG is still an evolving field, so rather than wait for a best practice to emulate, do what Mondelēz did and create your own pilot programs and test & learns to chart the path yourself. The squeaky wheel gets the opportunities. Russ delivered a killer piece of career advice, which was to make sure you are constantly exposing yourself to new people, new knowledge, and new ways of thinking and learning. Throughout the course of a career in marketing, it's rare to have a manager who will give you the kind of mentorship and education that will really enable you to flourish towards executive leadership; these are things you're going to have to find for yourself. Russ specified that it takes a HUNGER for new knowledge and relationships to move upward, so get out there, start taking people out for lunches, coffees, or just casual conversations, if only to expose yourself to new ways of thinking and working. It all pays off eventually. Speed and playfulness are the names of the game. As a brand, Oreo has just about nixed the extensive content approval processes in favor of quick brand responses in real-time, which is what this digital age demands when it comes to brand relevance. Perhaps the most notable example of this was Oreo's Dunk in the Dark campaign, which has a place in the annals of marketing history. The idea itself was extremely simple, but the fact that they were the first brand to respond during this moment in culture catapulted them to the top of the conversation, making this one piece of content a best practice for years to come. As such, Oreo has built a social media content engine based on quick responses and engaging with conversations of the day in real-time and in ways that are authentic to the brand. ESG is an open playing field; invent your own best practices. Mondelēz launched the first of its kind traceability program with the Triscuit brand, whereby consumers are able to see the exact path to production the crackers take; this includes everything from where their ingredients are sourced from to their exact manufacturing processes. As more and more consumers and stakeholders become interested in transparency, finding new ways of disclosing this information is going to become more and more important. Rather than studying how other brands were handling this element of ESG, Mondelēz decided to invent their own, and I'm sure other brands will begin to do similar things. ESG is still an evolving field, so rather than wait for a best practice to emulate, do what Mondelēz did and create your own pilot programs and test & learns to chart the path yourself. The squeaky wheel gets the opportunities. Russ delivered a killer piece of career advice, which was to make sure you are constantly exposing yourself to new people, new knowledge, and new ways of thinking and learning. Throughout the course of a career in marketing, it's rare to have a manager who will give you the kind of mentorship and education that will really enable you to flourish towards executive leadership; these are things you're going to have to find for yourself. Russ specified that it takes a HUNGER for new knowledge and relationships to move upward, so get out there, start taking people out for lunches, coffees, or just casual conversations, if only to expose yourself to new ways of thinking and working. It all pays off eventually. /episode/index/show/lippetaylor/id/19886435

Galderma VP & GM, June Risser [Episode 40] 07/15/2021

Galderma VP & GM, June Risser [Episode 40] June Lee Risser is Vice President and General Manager for the U.S. Galderma Consumer Care business. A strategic business leader with a passion for building great brands, June is responsible for leading the U.S. commercial organization for the Galderma portfolio of consumer-available brands, including Cetaphil® Gentle Skin Care products, celebrating 70 years of healthy skin in 2017 and Differin® Gel,  first FDA-approved, prescription-strength retinoid acne treatment available over the counter since 2017. June joined Galderma in April 2016 as Vice President of Marketing for the Consumer business. In that role, she redefined the strategy and streamlined the structure of the marketing team to drive stronger growth on the priority brands of Cetaphil and Differin. Prior to joining Galderma, June spent 12 years with Reckitt Benckiser in roles of increasing responsibility.  During her tenure there, she led key consumer brands such as Lysol and Clearasil to new heights.  As Global Innovation Director for the Personal Care Category based in the U.K., she led strategic planning and innovation for Clearasil. Before that, June was a Managing Director in a brand strategy consulting firm in NYC, Vivaldi Partners, advising clients on marketing and growth strategies. June holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree from the JFK School of Government at Harvard University. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with June: Boots on the ground = real commitment. Camp Wonder is the annual event for children suffering from skin disorders that Cetaphil sponsors and is particularly proud of. Instead of just dropshipping products, June and her team attend the event on a regular basis. By being there, their commitment is illustrated, and furthermore, the experience invigorates her and her team because they get to experience the good that the brand does first hand, which is an incredible boost to morale and, therefore, performance. Having a mission is critical for a brand, but make sure your teammates can witness the mission in action up close and personal. Maintain relevance by returning to your brand's core purpose. In this day and age, there are endless amounts of upstarts that are disrupting many businesses, CPG & beauty in particular. To safeguard against this disruption, June recommends staying entirely in touch with what your brand's purpose was on day one instead of constantly reevaluating who you are, thereby confusing consumers. Third-party endorsements can help tremendously, not just doctors but influencer experts as well. Marketing, however, is a constant struggle and requires pivoting and reevaluating your strategies and tactics regularly but make sure you keep your core principles top of mind throughout the journey. Look for courage and integrity in new hires. When asked what she looks for when hiring new candidates, June, without question, stated courage and integrity. She went on to say that sales and marketing skills can be taught, but what cannot be taught are these two qualities that can tremendously enable an employee to have a consistently positive impact on the company's culture and bottom line, particularly during tough times like COVID-19. Find a way to seek these qualities out in your prospective employees in the interview process. This could be through stories of triumph over adversity or stories of courage. Integrity and courage can trump skills and experience in the long term. /episode/index/show/lippetaylor/id/19804436

LEVI’S Global Brand President, Jen Sey [Episode 39] 05/07/2021

LEVI’S Global Brand President, Jen Sey [Episode 39] Jen Sey is the global brand president at Levi Strauss & Co., where she is responsible for marketing, design, merchandising, and brand experience. Jen has been with Levi Strauss & Co. for more than 20 years, holding a variety of leadership positions within the Marketing, Strategy, and Ecommerce teams. In 2013, Jen became the global chief marketing officer for the Levi’s brand and in 2018 was appointed senior vice president and chief marketing officer, overseeing marketing for the company’s portfolio of brands. Jen has been named one of AdAge’s "Top 40 Marketers Under 40" one of Brand Innovators' "Top 50 Women in Marketing," Billboard Magazine’s "Top 25 Most Powerful People in Music and Fashion," receiver of the CMO Social Responsibility Award and she was featured on Forbes CMO Next List: 50 Chief Marketers Who Are Redefining the CMO role. As a child, Jen led an intense life of dedication, challenge, and competition. She won the U.S. National Gymnastics Championship title in 1986, less than one year after having suffered a devastating injury at the 1985 World Championships. As a result, the U.S. Olympic Committee named her Gymnastics’ Athlete of the Year. Jen retired after eight years on the national team and went on to study at Stanford University. In 2008, Jen released a memoir, “Chalked Up,” a New York Times E-Book Best Seller detailing her triumphs and struggles within the world of competitive gymnastics. Jen's book led to her producing a Netflix documentary on the investigation and ultimate conviction of Larry Nassar and the decades-long abusive culture of USA Gymnastics. This was a pretty wide-ranging conversation and Jen really over delivered on the leadership advice here, focusing a lot on how climbing the corporate ladder is not always a recipe for success in corporate America, as well as details on how Levi's weathered the storm of COVID-19 and keys to establishing an authentic company culture. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Jen. Focus on expansion over upward progression. This is a great piece of career advice. In addition to her executive position at a Fortune 500 brand, Jen is a former elite athlete, published author, and successful documentary producer. She has had accomplishments in many disparate arenas, and each experience seems to have compounded to develop her professionally in ways that serve just about everything she does. This may run counter to the 'Jack of all trades' debate, but Jen makes it work beautifully. When Jen found herself overly focused on climbing the corporate ladder, she frequently felt stuck. What Jen found to be a much more effective and enjoyable strategy for her career progression was to focus on experiences and projects that would expand her skill sets and knowledge base. Doing so made her a much more well-rounded professional with the ability to pivot, adapt, and learn new skills, all of which served her tremendously as a leader. Bring a unified version of yourself to everything you do. When publishing her first book, Jen's initial instinct was to be silent about it out of concern it could make her seem less dedicated to her corporate work. As her book's popularity blew up and she began doing a robust amount of media interviews, ultimately, she could no longer hide it. What ended up happening when people found out though, was the opposite of what she had feared; her new accomplishment was extremely impressive to many people and made her more synonymous with being outspoken, creative, and downright more interesting, all of which ultimately helped her career. So if you're accomplishing a lot with your side hustles, don't hide them because they may just help boost your corporate persona. Creating an environment for true selves is the key to authenticity, and it starts at the top. Leaders who are forthright about their own feelings give others permission to do the same. This has never been more important than now, where a lot of managers and executives are relinquishing the notion of a flawless and unfeeling leader as an outdated archetype. Instead, today's leaders are feeling free to be honest and vulnerable around their staff, which gives those who report to them the license to do the same. This level of transparency is what truly allows corporate atmospheres to blossom into authentic communities. /episode/index/show/lippetaylor/id/19009259

GODIVA CMO, John Galloway on Bringing Sweetness to 2020 [Episode 38] 04/29/2021

GODIVA CMO, John Galloway on Bringing Sweetness to 2020 [Episode 38] John Galloway is chief marketing and innovation officer for Godiva Chocolatier, the 95-year-old Belgian maker of premium chocolate. He joined the company in 2018 after nearly 30 years in marketing, including substantial stints at Pepsi and Hard Rock. John came to Godiva from a position as CEO of Beautiful Day, where he worked for three years to roll out the lifestyle brand startup. Before that he was with Hard Rock for eight years, handling advertising, public relations, loyalty, and social media for 208 hotels, casinos, cafés, and music venues in 75 countries. At PepsiCo, he began with the Mountain Dew brand and worked in sports marketing, integration of new acquisitions, and other areas, concluding as vice president of marketing for Gatorade. Before that, he worked for agencies including TracyLocke and Burson Marsteller. John has a bachelor of arts in marketing from Manhattan College and attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with John Galloway. Get your guard-rails in place to disaster-proof your brand. The past year was extremely challenging for most brands, but the brands who weathered the storm the best were the ones who had the strongest sense of who they are. The best way to respond to tragedy is with authenticity, which can only come from a brand that knows its identity, mission, purpose, and overall reason for being. Having a handle on this enables you to not only act fast in real-time, but it enables your team to do so as well. If your company has a universal understanding of your brand's identity, you can move faster and further in a crisis by giving more autonomy to your employees. This was a key to John’s ability to weather the storm of 2020 by hanging true to Godiva's north star of “opening people’s eyes to a more wonderful world.” Stick to your cause. This is an interesting, albeit controversial topic. Godiva is a very cause-oriented organization, but John recommends picking a cause and sticking to it, investing in it, and focusing on it. In a world where there's a lot of bandwagon CSR, people can spot greenwashing, or any kind of washing, a mile away. Sticking to one cause not only prevents you from watering down your company's footprint in a specific charity or cause, but it's the kind of dedication that affects real change, all while showing your customers that you're the real deal. Show your face! This is a simple one but potentially powerful. In our ZOOM-driven world, it's easy to turn the camera off and listen in on meetings, as ZOOM fatigue is a real thing. However, John claims that keeping the cameras on creates more energy, fosters community, and makes the meetings more productive. Today, a key element of retaining your staff is ensuring that they feel like they are part of a community, and having everyone see everyone else helps do that. Also, studies show that when people go through the motions of looking and dressing their best to prepare to be on camera, they're naturally more optimistic and productive, which we all could use more of. /episode/index/show/lippetaylor/id/18903626

Origin Stories: SWAG.com CEO Jeremy Parker on the Startup Hustle and Lessons Learned from Jessie Itzler & David Goggins [Episode 37] 04/22/2021

Origin Stories: SWAG.com CEO Jeremy Parker on the Startup Hustle and Lessons Learned from Jessie Itzler & David Goggins [Episode 37] Jeremy Parker is the Co-founder and CEO of , the eCommerce platform for purchasing promotional materials that people actually want to keep. When you think of the promotional products industry, you might think of cheaply made items you pickup conferences only to eventually throw away. Or, god forbid you've ever had to order promotional products yourself and are aware of the nightmare of dealing with shipping inquiries, quality issues, and all manner of inconvenience synonymous with that industry. Swag.com's mission is to take the pain out of ordering customized promotional material with a focus on high quality, frictionless ordering, and seamless distribution. launched in 2016 and has since become the fastest-growing company in the promotional product space. Inc. magazine recently included the company on its list of fastest-growing companies in the country. Swag.com’s thousands of customers include corporate giants like Facebook, Google, Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, and TikTok. In this conversation, Jeremy discusses the founding of Swag.com, what he learned from pivotal mentors, and how he was able to observe and utilize Uber's inventory-free model to great success. Observe the Uber model of curation organization and obliterating friction. The foundation of was born out of the constant frustration most people have when ordering branded items for their companies or clients. Something as simple as branded t-shirts or water bottles can be a nightmarish process consisting of hours of research, waiting around for samples to arrive, comparing price quotes, etc. And even then, quality is never guaranteed. Instead of starting their own custom branding company from scratch, yielded the Uber model of brokering, whereby they found and vetted a series of high-quality and trusted custom merchandise providers and created a network of them that they would dispatch orders to through their e-commerce platform. This allowed them to move fast and operate on a large scale, all with a very lean company structure. Pound the pavement. When he was just starting out with Swag.com, Jeremy landed an enormous client right out of the gate, Facebook. How did he get Facebook? It wasn't from months of cold calling and emailing and asking for a meeting; no, he showed up at their office. By inserting his own foot in the door, decision-makers met with him and ultimately signed on to be his client. This caused a social proof domino effect because once he announced that he had a titan like Facebook as a client, WeWork and Netflix jumped on board next and the snowball for was very much set in motion. Clearly, showing up at someone's office without an appointment doesn't always work, and you're likely to be turned away but, if you do it enough times, who knows, you may be surprised at who will take an impromptu meeting with you and what it can lead to. Surround yourself with greatness. In his earlier years, Jeremy worked very closely with Jessie Itzler, serial entrepreneur, social media personality,self-development guru, and husband to Spanx founder Sara Blakely. Jeremy's time with Jessie was incredibly formidable for his work ethic, entrepreneurial sensibility, intelligence, and overall hustle. If that wasn't enough, Jeremy got to spend a great deal of time with David Goggins; ex-Navy SEAL, motivational speaker, and downright badass in every sense of the word. The combination of these two mentors imbued Jeremy with innate entrepreneurial intelligence and a rock-solid discipline that he carried into Swag.com to the tune of great success. The saying goes that you become the sum total of the five people you spend the most amount of time with, so choose wisely. If you're around great, prosperous, and inspirational people, you're more than likely to turn out the same way. /episode/index/show/lippetaylor/id/18815522

Origin Stories: Jordan Silbert & Q Mixers [Episode 35] 04/08/2021

BAYER US SVP of Corporate Affairs, Ray Kerins, on Crisis Comms and the Role of Communications in the Covid Economy [Episode 34] 03/18/2021

Mentor by J&J President, Diane Gomez Thinnes [Episode 33] 02/26/2021

Best Buy CCO, Matt Furman on Storytelling Over Data & Championing Truth in the DEI Discussion [Episode 32] 02/04/2021

VISA CCO, Paul Cohen, on Experiential Communications and the Importance of Overcommunicating to Employees During Covid [Episode 31] 01/26/2021

BENTLEY MOTORS CCO & CMO on DEI and Holding Safe Events During COVID [Episode 30] 01/14/2021

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE CCO, Chris Chiames, on Weathering a Brand Through the Rough Waters of COVID-19 [Episode 29] 12/17/2020

Luminaries Circle: LEVI’s CCO, Kelly McGinnis & Maureen Lippe on Executive Female Leadership [Episode 28] 12/10/2020

Social & Communications Trends with MUCK RACK & SHORTY AWARDS CEO, Greg Galant [Episode 27] 11/19/2020

KAO President, Karen Frank on Launching Brands During Covid & Balancing Intuition and Data [Episode 26] 11/05/2020

Serving Up Your Brand’s Recipe for Lasting Change With YUM! BRANDS CCO, Jerilan Greene [Episode 25] 10/29/2020

MASTERCARD CMO, Raja Rajamannar on Serving vs. Selling [Episode 24] 10/13/2020

MASTERCARD CMO, Raja Rajamannar on Serving vs. Selling [Episode 24] Raja Rajamannar is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of Mastercard and the President of its Healthcare division. In the past, Raja has held management positions at multiple Fortune 500 companies, including Unilever, Citigroup, Anthem, and, most recently, Mastercard, where he’s been for the past 7 years. Raja has been named as one of the Top 5 World's Most Influential CMOs by Forbes, is a member of the Campaign Power 100, one of Business Insider’s 25 Most Innovative CMOs in the World, a Top Branding Power Player by Billboard, a member of The CMO Club, and of course one of PRovoke Media’s Influence 100. Recently, Raja has been an incredible thought leader on the obligation that brands have to do the right thing during Covid - he’s specifically been quoted most notably for saying, “now is not the time to sell, but to serve.” In this conversation, Raja delves further into this concept and also discusses the evolution of Mastercard’s Priceless campaign, the magic of comms-led creative, and the fascinating world of sonic branding. Below are key takeaways from this conversation with Mastercard CMO Raja Rajamannar and Lippe Taylor CEO, Paul Dyer. Hire a Chief Risk Officer for your marketing cabinet. Of the many brands that faced downturns during covid, Mastercard was one of the few who was able to thrive, and Raja attributes this to the work of his Chief Risk Manager. This position was created only a few years ago, and while originally created to monitor risks in security, brand reputation, and finance, its framework enabled Mastercard to immediately jump into action in the face of the crisis because they had a team ready to craft solutions. When crises arise, most companies assume an ‘all hands on deck’ position and loop in key management to arrive at solutions. As effective as it may sometimes be, this approach collectively disrupts business as usual by pooling the collective brainpower AWAY from the day to day work and responsibilities of some of your most crucial people, which can destabilize a company. Establishing and nourishing a risk- management position and team function is critical for creating a culture of safety and stability. Use Comms as a Force Multiplier. Raja is very enthusiastic when discussing the structure of his marketing team, specifically how thoroughly integrated communications is throughout the entire marketing function. This level of integration has been such a breakthrough that Raja refers to it as a force multiplier, whereby the comms function and marketing function greatly increase each other’s efficacy by quantum leaps when they’re working in tandem as opposed to separately. This integration has allowed for a free-flowing supply of well-rounded ideas that have serious media legs. When Mastercard's comms team discovered that many transgender people faced painful suspicion among checkout tellers when using cards that had their outdated names on them, they not only solved this problem but executed a highly successful campaign that documented the struggle with a happy ending. The campaign was fully integrated between comms & advertising, which enabled it to be both creatively compelling and culturally relevant. Use creative risks to learn more about your customers. With the Fan Wave concept, Raja & his team wanted to find a way to create an engaging virtual event that sports fans could participate in, so they came up with the idea of the largest ‘fan wave’ in history, whereby consumers all over the world would record themselves performing a wave (when groups of sports fans rhythmically recreate an oceanic wave by standing up and sitting down in synchronicity). The problem was, the marketing leaders didn’t know if their adult customers would participate. They ran it anyway, and in the end, the program was a smashing success; over half a million people participated with over 1 billion video views, and a world record was set. As crucial as it is to turn to data and analytics to inform creative concepts, sometimes you simply have to test ideas on the market directly to see what works - ultimately, this allows you to uncover new insights about your customers that the data may not have shown you. In the case of Mastercard, they discovered that the majority of their customer base were kids at heart. Raise your DQ (Decency Quotient). Raja believes that IQ & EQ are important for success, but an ingredient that is often missing in many corporate cultures is DQ, your Decency Quotient. Raja elaborates on how there are many paths to success, but the most meaningful and sustainable paths are paved with ethically sound decisions and conduct. Raja further stipulates that being a good human being should be a precursor to being a good marketer, as values of empathy and humanity are critical for effectively reaching & benefitting your target consumers. With this concept in mind, Raja has been very outspoken about how this time period is not the time for brands to sell, but to serve. During uncertain times when consumers are nervous, it is easy to exploit their fear for short term gain, but this approach ruins loyalty. Serving customers during difficult times in favor of short-term gains not only strengthens brand loyalty and profitability in the long term, but it’s the right thing for brands to do. ----- Produced by /episode/index/show/lippetaylor/id/16310807

Catherine Blades, CCO of AFLAC [Episode 23] 09/03/2020

Catherine Blades, CCO of AFLAC [Episode 23] Catherine Blades is the SVP, Chief ESG, and Communications Officer of Aflac, a company she’s been at for over 6 years. Catherine is a PR News Hall of Famer, Forbes' inaugural inductee in the Women in Communications Hall of Fame, a two-time Cannes Lion winner, a 2017 inductee into the PR Week Hall of Femme as well as the first American to win the Relations 4 the Future Medal at Davos. Catherine has also been named to the Latino Leaders’ Latina 100 (2020), a Children’s’ Miracle Network CHANGEMAKER (2020), the inaugural PR Week Most Purposeful CCO (2019), a Top 25 Power Woman by NY Moves magazine, four-time Top Woman in PR winner, was named to the Forbes Communications Council, as a contributing writer and serves as a member of the Fortune Most Powerful Women Community. In the interview, we get into Catherine’s perspective on purpose-driven companies, what an ESG communication entails, and an incredible new incarnation of the Aflac duck that brought hope and care to victims of childhood cancer through innovation. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation between Lippe Taylor CEO Paul Dyer Aflac CCO, Catherine Blades. To hear the entire conversation, check it out on the Damn Good Brands Podcast below. Never waste a crisis. In the midst of the pandemic, Aflac took tremendous strides to keep their entire shareholder base whole including setting up a no-interest loan program for their sales force which mostly worked on commissions. Aflac also gave very generously (to the tune of $11 Million) followed by a multitude of donations to minority-related causes that added up to 50% of the company’s total donations for the year. From a communications standpoint, crises enable companies to reveal who they really are, don’t let them go to waste. Embrace your holistic view. Catherine made a very interesting observation on how Communications professionals are the only members of a company, outside of a president or CEO, who have to take the perspective of all shareholders into account when making decisions. Customers, investors, employees, shareholders, et al. are all perspectives you must consider as a comms executive, which speaks to the larger responsibility of Communications leadership and the holistic & macro perspectives it requires. Purpose and Profit Can Go Hand in Hand. Catherine spoke about how Aflac’s commitment to being a company dedicated to a purpose beyond shareholder value was pushed back on by some investors. Catherine then went on to explain how being purposeful, in addition to being the right thing, is profitable because, in this day and age, people want to purchase from companies that are contributing to the greater good of society. This echoes a larger truth about how giving back is no longer a ‘nice to have’ for brands but is entirely table stakes in today’s economy. /episode/index/show/lippetaylor/id/15857111

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CCO, & SVP Linda Rutherford [Episode 22] 08/21/2020

ORIGIN STORIES: Dave Phinney, ORIN SWIFT Founder, Rockstar of Wine [Episode 21] 07/23/2020

Spotify’s Head of Communications, Dustee Jenkins [Episode 20] 07/16/2020

Spotify’s Head of Communications, Dustee Jenkins [Episode 20] Dustee Jenkins is the Head Of Global Communications and Public Relations at Spotify. Dustee joined Spotify in late 2017 from Target, where she spent seven years, culminating in the role of Chief Communications Officer. In addition to being part of PRovoke Media’s Influence 100, Dustee has been Recognized by Mashable as one of 10 Pioneering Women Changing the Field of Communications, and was listed on PR Week’s Global Power Book and also highlighted by Ad Age for 40 Under 40 in Marketing, and PR Week’s 40 Under 40 in Public Relations. In this conversation, Dustee and Lippe Taylor CEO, Paul Dyer, discuss internal and external communications in the era of COVID, new and exciting advancements at Spotify, as well as the virtues of being press shy. Before we begin, here are three key takeaways from this conversation with Spotify’s Dustee Jenkins. Be press shy (or at least ‘press selective’). Daniel Ek, Spotify’s CEO, is notorious for being ‘press shy,’ but upon closer inspection, it’s clear that Daniel is simply highly selective about what he talks to the press about, which is extremely strategic. As a result, people pay more attention to his announcements because they’re usually exciting and meaningful. The practice of forgoing 'press for press sake' also gives Daniel more focus and energy to spend on internal communications (see next bullet). Double-down on internal communications. Spotify has always been very focused on internal communications and transparency, two qualities that have become significantly more important in today’s very uncertain times. Spotify takes transparency so seriously that they have even coordinated a way for any of their staff to ask their CEO Daniel anything they want, and to do so anonymously using an app called Slido, which allows a Reddit-like function to upvote and downvote questions. Use your mission to move mountains. Before becoming the behemoth audio platform that it is today, Spotify had to start off by individually going to all the major record labels to convince them to license their artists on the Spotify platform. That is an incredibly herculean task, especially considering that many of those labels considered Spotify to compete with record sales at the time. Daniel accomplished this primarily by explaining his mission against piracy with enough passion and purpose, and the rest is Spotify history. This story is indicative of how the communications function goes above and beyond press, and how the right mission can enable your company to transcend extremely daunting, even seemingly impossible tasks. So work on that mission statement, you never know where it can ultimately take your company. ----- Produced by /episode/index/show/lippetaylor/id/15193787

AbbVie's Head of Communications, Javier Boix on Effective Storytelling in Healthcare Communications [Episode 19] 07/09/2020

Conagra CCO, Jon Harris on Heritage Brands and Comms in the Age of Covid [Episode 18] 07/01/2020

Origin Stories: Joel Clark, KODIAK CAKES, CEO - from Shark Tank to Fastest Growing Pancake Mix [Episode 17] 06/26/2020

Origin Stories: Joel Clark, KODIAK CAKES, CEO - from Shark Tank to Fastest Growing Pancake Mix [Episode 17] Welcome to DAMN GOOD BRANDS Origin Stories! A new series dedicated to uncovering the entrepreneurial journeys behind some of today’s most successful brands straight from the founders themselves. Today we’re talking to Joel Clark, the co-founder and CEO of Kodiak Cakes. In addition to being a client, Kodiak Cakes is an all natural food company based in Utah that specializes in pancake mix. Their product also includes other healthy snacks like bars, oatmeal and more. The story behind Kodiak Cakes is very inspiring since the company struggled for over a decade before becoming a huge success. Kodiak Cakes started when Joel sold his family recipe pancake mix door to door in a little red wagon as a child. He basically kept on going until the brand became a success. There may be a little more to the story than that, so I’ll let Joel tell it. The story behind the brand is a long road of struggles that end in glory as the brand is the fastest-growing pancake mix brand in the US, growing 80% year-on-year and approaching $100 million in revenue. The critical moment for Kodiak Cakes was with the introduction of Power Cakes; a super healthy, super hearty pancake mix that included protein powder. Power Cakes really enabled the brand to break through in the market place and the story behind it’s inception is a real lesson in pivoting and product innovation, and even to a degree, a Blue Ocean Strategy. You may have seen Power Cakes on Shark Tank where, despite receiving offers, Joel walked away empty handed. The resulting coverage from the appearance, however, gave Kodiak Cakes a significant boost in sales, and today the brand is on the fast track to becoming a household name. We talked to Joel about the grueling path to success, major leadership lessons, and tips to boost your resilience in the face of the inevitable adversity that comes with entrepreneurship. All this and so much more on today’s episode of Damn Good Brands. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Joel Clark. Get experience selling door to door (or at least making cold calls). Joel began Kodiak Cakes by selling the recipe door to door as a child. This may seem like a cute story but it instilled in him some very important skills. A number of notable entrepreneurs & business leaders have a background in door to door sales including Paul Mitchell and Patrón founder, John Paul Dejoria, who used to sell encyclopedias. The nature of semi-confrontational sales tactics like selling door to door and cold calls forces you to master a number of skills that will tremendously serve you as an entrepreneur; it forces you to learn to build instant rapport, have a tight and compelling elevator pitch, and embrace discomfort. Perhaps most importantly, these sales tactics also instill a sense of resilience, as salesmen have to take a lot of rejection, as do entrepreneurs. Set goals. With something as daunting as launching a national brand, it’s very instinctual for most people to get overwhelmed by the largeness of the task and either give up or be driven to analysis paralysis. As Reverend Desmond Tutu said, 'the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time,' meaning that even the most daunting tasks in life can be accomplished gradually by taking one step at a time. As he was building Kodiak Cakes, Joel would set six month goals for himself and depending on whether he hit them, he’d decide whether or not to move forward with the business. Of course, he kept hitting them, and the incremental progress launched Kodiak Cakes into a very successful place. Focus on the little wins. During the many difficulties and dark nights of the soul that come with launching a successful brand, Joel would focus on the fan mail he’d receive from happy customers instead of his inbox of unread emails and bills - these seemingly little things had a major effect on his level of motivation and inspired him to push forward despite the difficulties. In the scheme of it all, little things like glowing customer reviews aren’t little at all because they can be tremendously motivating when the going gets tough. So try to focus on the good where you can get it because often your psychology needs it to push forward. Create your brand organically. Kodiak as a brand very naturally conveys a rustic and adventurous image of the outdoors, hiking, and even bears - all of which was what Joel and his family grew up with. The brand pillars of Kodiak are entirely authentic because they’re outgrowths of who Joel is and where he comes from. This instills a very strong sense of authenticity into his brand which is what a lot of consumers are very attracted to. Many products attempt to reverse engineer a compelling brand based on focus groups and market research - both of which are important but there’s an undeniable level of authenticity that occurs when a brand's identity is based on genuine elements of the founders identity and passion. Books mentioned: Built to Last by Jim Collins Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to subscribe and follow the show on Linkedin. /episode/index/show/lippetaylor/id/14936900

Capital One Public Relations Director Sukhi Sahni on Insight-Driven PR [Episode 16] 02/07/2020

Benton Crane on The Squatty Potty Unicorn and Engineering Virality with Humor [Episode 15] 01/30/2020

LG Electronics’ Head of Global Corporate Communications, Ken Hong [Episode 14] 12/19/2019

LG Electronics’ Head of Global Corporate Communications, Ken Hong [Episode 14] Welcome to Damn Good Brands. Today, as part of our Influence 100 series in partnership with The Holmes Report, we are speaking to Ken Hong, the Head of Global Corporate Communications at LG. Ken has been at LG for over ten years. Throughout the course of that time, he has witnessed and led the company through a number of technological and overall changes in the marketing landscape. Ken currently resides in Korea, but his position has taken him all over the world, giving him a very globalized perspective on consumer technology and the state of communications. We discuss Ken’s philosophy of leadership during comprehensive company evolution, and his overall thoughts on today’s state of communications. Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Ken Hong: Study psychology and political science or hire those who have. Ken is very vocal about the importance of lesser-mentioned disciplines that better enable communications professionals, specifically political science and psychology. Ken claims that his studies in both of these fields helped him tremendously as a communications leader since they gave him a fundamentally better understanding of humanity, culture, and therefore communications. Think global, stay local. Despite working in five international cities, Ken finds that experience in global comms is in low demand, whereas local expertise in any given market is much more valuable. Ken recommends that comms leaders have a baseline understanding of global communications but remain focused on their local markets, since global expertise is rarely important to local clients. Keep your challenger mindset. Part of Ken’s success comes down to his refusal to rest on his laurels even when LG achieves market leader status in certain categories. In Ken's view, there is no fundamental sense of “having arrived,” considering the speed of change. In an industry like electronics with its diverse array of products, it’s critical to always be cognizant of the brands that aren’t market leaders and keep pushing them forward to remain vigilant. ----- Produced by /episode/index/show/lippetaylor/id/12438797

Exciting Shifts in Social Media with CEO of Muck Rack and The Shorty Awards, Greg Galant [Episode 13] 10/01/2019

Taking Your Seat at the Table: Strategies for Reaching the C-Suite as a Woman [Episode 12] 09/20/2019

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