Every company has a brand, but very few have built one intentionally or with differentiation. We use the word "brand" interchangeably with "company," when in reality most companies have never done the work required to intentionally shape what their brand stands for.

In this episode, I sit down with Marc Peruzzi, Creative Director at Cache Seven, to unpack one of the most misunderstood ideas in outdoor marketing: the difference between a company and a brand.

Marc shares why so many outdoor companies lose relevance when they chase "brand building" instead of grounding themselves in real people, real places, and real stories. We talk about authenticity, storytelling, influencer marketing, and why honesty consistently outperforms hype in the outdoor industry.

This conversation is a reminder that brand is not something you manufacture. It is something that emerges when a company knows who it is and who it serves.

This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating content strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion.

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Slack Community | Tired of brainstorming with ChatGPT? Join us!

Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show?

Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years.

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Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

Does the outdoor industry overindex on brand? Alex Maier, President of OnWater, joins the show to challenge one of the outdoor industry's biggest assumptions: that brand marketing alone drives growth. Drawing from his experience in SaaS and outdoor, Alex breaks down why product marketing is the missing link for many brands, how listening to customers actually fuels innovation, and what outdoor companies can learn from software when it comes to adoption, retention, and trust.

We unpack the difference between brand and product marketing, why emotion still matters in utility-driven storytelling, and how ignoring customer pain points leads to "zombie brands."

This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating content strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion.

Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below:

Slack Community | Tired of brainstorming with ChatGPT? Join us!

Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show?

Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years.

LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers.

Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple.

Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

2025, almost broke Port Side as a company. But we've grown, grown some more and have rebuilt the business from the ground up. In this episode, Cole shares a raw behind the scenes look at year and the role that the podcast has played in allowing us to come back stronger.

Thank you for supporting us!

This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating content strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion.

Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below:

Slack Community | Tired of brainstorming with ChatGPT? Join us!

Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show?

Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years.

LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers.

Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple.

Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

Daniel Groh, Chief Brand Officer at SATISFY, breaks down how the brand builds an emotion-first running world that turns casual observers into true fans. He explains why Satisfy treats people as guests, not customers, and how speaking to "people who run" opens the door to more honest, human storytelling. Daniel shares how they use emotional athlete content, localized community runs, and shock-and-awe moments at events like UTMB and Cocodona to create loyalty in a world where loyalty is fragile. He also unpacks their 80/20 creative approach, content "drips and drops," and why the moment a brand gets lazy, whether in product, content, or experiences, its audience will drop them.

This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating content strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion.

Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below:

Slack Community | Tired of brainstorming with ChatGPT? Join us!

Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show?

Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years.

LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers.

Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple.

Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

Shelby Rossi, global brand manager for goggles and helmets at Oakley, digs into what happens when brand and marketing plug into the product development process from day one. Using WTR ICON, Oakley's new surf helmet, as a case study, Shelby explains how a cross-functional "task force" of R&D, UX, product, sports marketing, and brand broke down silos, validated a real consumer problem, and reshaped how Oakley brings innovation to market.

This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating content strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion.

Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below:

Slack Community | Tired of brainstorming with ChatGPT? Join us!

Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show?

Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years.

LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers.

Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple.

Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

In this episode, Cole sits down with Chris Whitten, Senior Production Manager at Red Bull, to unpack what separates irreplaceable creatives from the rest. Chris shares lessons from his journey through agency and brand-side production, spanning roles at Saatchi & Saatchi and now Red Bull, and offers candid advice for photographers, filmmakers, and producers who want to build long-term client relationships.

The episode explores how mindset impacts success, why outreach is a creative act, and how to stay top-of-mind in an oversaturated industry. Chris shares practical frameworks for follow-up, positioning, and pitching that make hiring you a no-brainer rather than a gamble.

This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating content strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion.

Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below:

Slack Community | Tired of brainstorming with ChatGPT? Join us!

Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show?

Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years.

LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers.

Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple.

Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

In this solo episode, Cole Heilborn breaks down the differences between a strategist and a filmmaker. When content underperforms, brands often point to the creative execution, but more often than not, the real problem lies upstream in the strategy.

Cole explains the downsides of a passion-led industry, why filmmakers have had to accept responsibility for defining KPIs and audience understanding, how skipping strategy leads to wasted resources, and what questions brands should ask before a camera ever rolls.

This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating content strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion.

Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below:

Slack Community | Tired of brainstorming with ChatGPT? Join us!

Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show?

Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years.

LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers.

Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple.

Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

Some brands treat branded content and campaigns as separate things, one emotional or value-driven, and the other transactional. But what happens when they work together?

In this episode, Trent Marsh, Marketing Director at Riton Optics, joins me to unpack what he calls the marketer's trap, when teams invest in strategies they wouldn't engage with themselves.

Trent shares how to break that cycle by pairing campaigns and content to serve the same purpose, building trust, emotion, and results simultaneously. We discuss how data has given leadership "ammo to kill branding," why every channel deserves a role in your mix, and how omnichannel marketing makes small budgets feel bigger.

You'll also hear why brand coherence matters more than novelty, how to find and keep the right on-camera personality, and why every strong brand needs both campaigns that convert and content that connects.

This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating video strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion.

Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below:

Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show?

Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years.

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Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

Maren Hamilton, former Head of Social at The North Face and current Director of Global Brand and Community at popFly. We break down her core thesis: brand is social and social is brand. Maren shares why brands must stop treating social as a downstream channel, how to bring social thinking upstream into campaign planning and what it takes to build a social-first brand.

Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below:

Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show?

Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years.

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Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple.

Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

Cole shares a quick reminder about respecting your audience. Ask yourself: Does this provide value? If not, don't hit publish.

This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating video strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion.

Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below:

Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show?

Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years.

LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers.

Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple.

Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

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