Brand Collective

This week’s featured guest is Patrick O'Rourke, senior brand manager at Hasbro. 

A lifelong fan of gaming, toys and collectibles, Patrick seemed destined to join the Hasbro team from an early age. But this hero’s journey was a bit more complicated than that. From graphic design to social media to Dungeons & Dragons to brand managing, Patrick has built a career on finding the fun in whatever he does. In this episode, Patrick shares his expert insight on how to effectively market to diverse target audiences. He also teaches us why positive word of mouth should be a priority in every business and how to magically get more of it. You won’t want to miss this Critical Hit!

Guest Bio:

After studying graphic design and creative advertising in school, Patrick began taking on social media at various startups. Meanwhile, the native Chicagoan pursued his love of comedy and D&D through a gaming podcast that eventually led to his own production company. It was at this point that he attracted the attention of gaming industry giant Hasbro and joined the team. Today, when Patrick isn’t building welcoming communities for Hasbro’s customers he can be found hosting Kickstarters for nostalgic board games or playing guitar and singing sad lyrics to his favorite pop punk songs. 

Key Takeaways:

• We learn that a brand is not what you say, it’s what you do.  
• Patrick shares his insight into building worlds for customers that are welcoming and magical. 
• We discuss following what you’re most passionate about and creating what you wish you could see in the world. 
• Want to propel word of mouth marketing? Patrick shares his strategy.
• We explore what it means to be a marketer in today’s digital world.

Our latest guest, Sara Pion, is currently head of marketing strategy at Dandy. Business major turned bot builder turned marketer, Sara’s many hats have earned her a wealth of rich and unique experiences. After learning from growth marketing legends at Drift, Sara has since built a career around her “nerd-level” love of marketing — don’t even get her started on A/B testing! In this episode, Sara shares her expert insight into how to build communities that actually build community. She also teaches us about customer retention and finding your people in a practical yet authentic way. Get ready to take notes! 

Guest Bio:

Before recently joining Dandy as head of marketing strategy, Sara Pion led marketing teams at brands like VoiceFlow, Drift, Alice and more. She was even part of an experimental marketing team at Drift. She’s spent her career fine-tuning the way companies serve their customer base through innovative strategies and a customer-forward mindset. When she’s not leading the industry in community growth and support, she’s either admiring the oxford comma, boxing or co-hosting her professional growth and development podcast “Self Control & Cheese.” 

Key Takeaways:

• We learn why it’s best to cater to your top 10% of customers rather than the other 90%. 
• Sara shares her insightful definition of communities and how we can best serve them. 
• We discuss best practices for fostering conversations among your top fans. 
• Want to integrate your in-person events with your digital communities? Sara tells us exactly how. 
• We explore why not every company needs to have a community and whether or not creating one is right for yours. 

Our special guest Alanah Joseph, head of creative partnerships at HubSpot, leads the brand’s new podcast network, which scaled from 5 to 25 shows within the last year. As a lover of storytelling and former journalist, Alanah’s goal has always been to develop a creator-first platform that fully supports talent. In this episode, Alanah shares her perspective on supercharging podcast success through established systems and processes that make it easier for creators to do what they do best: create. She teaches us what she’s learned from being both a creator herself as well as managing creative teams. 

Key Takeaways:

• We learn that to quickly scale content we need to prioritize growth and establish processes that will amplify creative output early on. 
• Alanah shares her pro tips on how to build quality relationships with creatives by centralizing their goals and values. 
• We discuss what it means to truly support creators. 
• Want to make a great podcast? Alanah shares what the most successful shows on her network all have in common. 
• We explore what it’s like to actually be a creator. 

About the guest:

Alanah Joseph is the head of creative partnerships at HubSpot, where she focuses on building systems and processes that fully support podcast creators at all stages of their journeys. Before HubSpot, Alanah was a journalist for NBC Universal and developed a passion for learning about business. Outside of work, Alanah enjoys brunching with her community and all things content creation. She’s also the creator of the Ambitious Black Woman YouTube channel. 

In this week’s episode, we’re pleased to introduce Campfire Labs’ senior project manager, Morgan Smith. Morgan enlightens us with her secret sauce to powerful storytelling and inspiring action from your audience. Hint: It’s emotional. With a background in journalism and a lust for traveling, Morgan’s career has flourished by crafting stories all while giving back to the community. In our conversation, she sheds some light around prioritizing truth and value in her journalistic approach to brand marketing. Listen in to hear how storytelling has been a core foundational element to her success and how it can help you to become a better brand advocate.

Key Takeaways:

• Learn how Morgan’s unorthodox approach to her career led to a string of good fortune.
• Morgan shares the secret sauce to storytelling and the key to making brands human.
• We learn how creating brand-agnostic content can go a long way.
• Discover how educating your audience rather than selling to them can have a big impact.
• Morgan shares the perks of working for TEDxMileHigh and the experience she’s gotten from it.

Guest Bio:

Morgan Smith is a senior project manager at Campfire Labs, a content marketing agency delivering high-quality stories rooted in journalistic practices to B2B and SaaS brands. Combining her background in journalism and her passion for everything organizational in nature, she moved away from her freelance career to help build Campfire’s editorial operations department. Morgan calls Denver home, where she also works for TEDxMileHigh to enhance the attendee experience and curate experiential exhibits for in-person events. Outside of work, you’ll find Morgan gardening, traveling and enjoying the little things.

Our latest guest, Anna Griffin, is arguably the definition of #GirlBoss. The former CMO of Smartsheet (our parent company) and current CMO of Intercom joins us to chat about all things brand engagement. In this enlightening conversation, we dive into what Anna believes is the true definition of a brand and we learn the secret to standing out by creating meaningful experiences. Anna shares the many phases of her accomplished career and provides insightful perspective on succeeding as a woman in business. She’s a seasoned vet and has worked with many of the world’s greatest brands (a few of which are named in her bio). Trust us, this is a conversation you do not want to miss.  

Guest Bio:

Anna Griffin is the CMO of Intercom. Prior to her current role, she led up marketing at Smartsheet, Brandfolder’s parent company. Anna describes herself as someone drawn to innovation engines and visionary companies that challenge the status quo. She’s spent her career working to develop positioning and brand strategies for emerging challenger brands and established corporate evolutions, including Apple, Nortel, Sony, Land’s End, Bank of America, Toys-R-Us, Saturn, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Her specialty is in B2B2C business models where proper brand recognition drives sales preference and growth. Anna has received two Golden Effies, Best B2B Campaigns of the year 4x over, Edgar R. Murrow Award for Digital Media, named Advertising Women of New York’s Game Changer, and Moves Magazine Power Woman 2018.

Key Takeaways:

• We learn about the future of brand engagement and the standards we should all be holding ourselves to as the digital world evolves. 
• What defines a brand? Anna shares her insight on what makes or breaks a brand.
• We discuss the power of manifestation and Anna’s belief that when you manifest a story for yourself, it will find you. 
• Anna shares her perspective on the value that women bring to business.

This week we’re grateful to be chatting with Reya Sehgal, manager of creative insights at Getty Images. Reya works as a bridge between creative content creation and consumers to ensure that the images we’re seeing on a daily basis align with what’s going on in broader society. In this episode, we learn about the evolution of the creative insights role and how Reya’s work is arguably more important today than ever before. Reya’s deep knowledge of today’s society and culture paired with her love of art makes for an incredibly insightful conversation. If you’re looking to become more invested in your organization’s DEI initiatives, this episode will arm you with the tools and conversations to do so! 

Guest Bio:

Reya Sehgal is a manager of creative insights at Getty Images. Reya brings her 10+ years of experience in the cultural sector to her role today at Getty Images, where she works to leverage data and research into actionable insights for marketers and brands. She classifies herself as an interdisciplinary curator, writer, performer, researcher, and strategist — who brings a critical perspective to cultural insights, experimental pedagogy, and multimedia storytelling. Reya’s work is grounded in two major tenets: imagination and justice. 

Key Takeaways:

• What are some small steps we all can take to make a difference in our organization? Reya shares some easy ways to get involved in DEI initiatives. 
• Reya shares how her role is making a significant difference in a world where we consume up to 20,000 ads and images a day. 
• We discuss how being informed has the power to make you less scared of getting it wrong and more empowered to get it right. 
• We learn about some helpful resources Getty Images has available, including this report. 

This week we’re joined by the brother of our fabulous host, Mackenzie Koss. Zach Koss, a managing art director at Shutterfly, shares how his creativity has evolved over the years - from designing gig posters for his friends in college to a full fledged creative leadership role - and how he’s managed to navigate unforeseen circumstances in each new stage. In this episode, we chat about the best ways to handle creative criticism and what leading a creative team looks like in a remote-first world. Zach’s breadth of experience paired with his perspective of “being open to where the ride can take you,” makes for a refreshing take on the creative world that we all can learn from.

Guest Bio:

Zach Koss is a managing art director at Shutterfly, the brand we all know and love for photography and personalized print products. With a Master of Fine Arts and a background in both illustration and graphic design, Zach is incredibly passionate about the creative world. After working client side for multiple Minneapolis-based software companies, Zach spent some time freelancing before joining Shutterfly where today he leads a team of creatives. Outside of work, Zach loves skateboarding and spending time with his two daughters. 

Key Takeaways:

• How do you lead a creative team in a remote first world? Zach shares some of the ways he’s learned to be a stronger mentor during a strange time. 
• Zach shares what skateboarding taught him about life and art.
• We discuss a recent Adidas campaign and get Zach’s perspective on brands pushing the barriers of what is and isn’t socially acceptable in advertising today. 
• We learn about some exciting new projects in the works at Shutterfly.  

In this episode, we’re fortunate enough to sit down with Adam Vicarel, founder and creative director at Vicarel Studios. Adam shares his refreshing perspective on blending his interests both inside and outside of work and gives us insight into how he lives his life by a concept called “hybrid professionalism”. He also dives into what he believes are the differences between fine art and strategic design - and how he has blended the two to create Vicarel Studios. Adam has a wealth of knowledge on a range of topics from hand lettering to world travel and firmly believes in the idea of “jumping before you’re ready.” Listen in to hear what that means for him and how that helped him along his journey.

Guest Bio:

Adam Vicarel is the founder and creative director at Vicarel Studios, a hybrid creative studio focused on the artful implementation of strategic design. Specializing in hand-drawn branding, lettering and typography, his work is used to develop uniquely approachable branding, packaging, marketing campaigns, and murals. Adam’s approach to creative problem solving and unwavering passion for treading the line between art and design has enabled him to craft provocative brands and artful experiences for partners such as NBC, lululemon, Twitter, and New Belgium Brewing.

Key Takeaways:

• What is hybrid professionalism? Adam shares the concept that has changed the way he approaches his work life.
• Adam shares how traveling the world has impacted the way in which he approaches art.
• We discuss the importance of being a ‘sponge’ and never underestimating what the world and life experiences can teach you.
• We learn how powerful it can be to lean into jumping before you’re ready. 

From email notifications and social networks to household chores and current events, the world moves faster than ever, and our attention is pulled in dozens of directions each day. Staying focused and in the moment is a major struggle that can impact our relationships with our colleagues, our customers, our loved ones, and even ourselves. In this episode, Lucy Hitz, Director of Content at Ally.io (now part of Microsoft), shares her advice on how marketers can stay “radically present” each day, whether navigating a company acquisition (Lucy’s been through two!), understanding ever-evolving buyer personas, or balancing a career with a new baby.

Guest Bio:

Lucy Hitz is Director of Content at Ally.io, an OKR software that helps businesses turn goals into results. In October 2021, Ally was acquired by Microsoft, marking the second major acquisition in Lucy’s career (so far!). Previously, Lucy was Head of Marketing Communications at Simply Measured, which was acquired by Sprout Social. When she’s not building industry-leading content strategies, Lucy is busy doing yoga or spending quality time with her new baby.

Key Takeaways (up to 5): 

• How can you truly understand and reach your marketing personas? Lucy reminds us that personas are people, and the best way to connect with them is by taking the time to lead with empathy. 
• We explore ways to ensure your content resonates with and stays true to your audience.
• We discuss how setting objectives and key results (OKRs) can help you be more present in both your personal and professional life.
• Lucy shares her experience going through two major acquisitions, one by Sprout Social and another by Microsoft, and how they taught her to be “radically present.”

At Brandfolder, we’re major advocates for having creative outlets outside of work. Our latest guest, Brian Bosche, principal product manager of Smartsheet and TikTok aficionado is a prime example of that. Brian first became curious about TikTok during his long commutes to work, and it became a full fledged hobby when he started gaining a following for his photography tutorials. In this episode, Brian shares his perspective on the creator landscape and how it’s helping brands become more human. He gives us a behind the scenes look at how he gained his TikTok following, his perspective on how brands can take advantage of a creator’s approach, and the importance of having a voice. 

Guest Bio

Brian Bosche is a principal product manager at Smartsheet, who focuses on making sure Smartsheet messages resonate with the marketing and creative audience. In his previous life, Brian co-founded Slope, a creative agency turned software company that made it easy for marketing and creative teams to manage their work. Outside of work, Brian enjoys all things photography and content creation. He’s also the host of the creativeBTS podcast. 

Key Takeaways:

• How has the rise of influencer marketing impacted brands? Brian shares how his role in the marketing world has been impacted by the shifting social landscape.
• We learn the tools and tactics that Brian uses to create his most successful TikTok content.
• We discuss how B2B brands can take advantage of an authentic creator approach.
• Brian shares his thoughts on TikTok's most notable creators.