Brand Enabled: The Human Stories Behind Branding

What happens when you need to rebrand thousands of physical products across global markets? For companies like Logitech and ResMed, changing a logo isn't just about updating a website - it's about retooling manufacturing lines, redesigning packaging for millions of units, and navigating complex regulatory requirements.

Join brand leaders Paige Lutter from Logitech and John Barger from ResMed as they share their experiences leading brand strategy for physical product companies. Learn how Logitech solved their global naming challenges with the "Logi" mark, how ResMed approaches branding medical devices, and why both companies treat AI as a utility rather than a branded feature.

Key insights include:

• Managing brand architecture across hardware, software, and digital touchpoints
• Strategies for implementing brand changes across global product lines
• The critical role of executive support in brand transformation
• Building authentic customer connections through physical brand touchpoints
• Balancing innovation with brand consistency in regulated industries

Whether you're working with physical products or digital experiences, this conversation offers valuable lessons on brand strategy, change management, and the power of patience in building lasting brand value.

What happens when companies chase metrics instead of meaning? Former Nike marketing leader Lisel Welden shares powerful insights from her decade-long journey shaping iconic brands like Nike, Lyft, and Stitch Fix.

Drawing from her experience leading Nike's first unified Black History Month campaign across all business units, Welden reveals how authentic leadership and cross-functional collaboration can drive both business results and social impact. She breaks down why Nike's recent shift toward becoming a "tech company" created unexpected challenges, and shares practical wisdom on balancing data with human insight.

Key takeaways:

• Understanding what truly drives your business
• The difference between being data-supported versus data-driven, and why blindly following metrics can lead organizations astray
• How to build diverse, high-performing teams by matching people's natural strengths to their roles
• Creating success for others as the foundation for meaningful cross-functional collaboration

Whether you're a marketing leader looking to drive brand growth or a manager aiming to build stronger teams, this conversation offers practical frameworks for leading with purpose while delivering results.

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How does a tech company turn a simple sound into one of the world's most recognizable audio marks - second only to a baby crying? Former Intel Global Brand Director Merlin Kister reveals the strategic thinking behind Intel's most iconic brand elements during his nearly two-decade tenure.

From simplifying product naming with the Core i3/i5/i7 system to creating Intel Gamer Days - an experiential event that expanded globally - Kister shares practical insights on aligning brand decisions with business objectives. He unpacks how Intel maintained its brand leadership even as competitors emerged, through initiatives like the Intel Inside program and strategic partnerships with PC manufacturers.

Key topics covered:

• How Intel simplified its product architecture to help consumers make better purchasing decisions
• The business strategy behind the famous Intel sonic brand and Intel Inside program
• Creating meaningful brand experiences through partnerships with the Olympics, NFL and gaming community
• Building trust with technical audiences while maintaining broad consumer appeal
• Balancing short-term sales goals with long-term brand equity

Kister provides a masterclass in connecting brand initiatives to revenue and profitability while never losing sight of the end user experience.

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What if you could completely reinvent higher education from the ground up? While most universities still follow a centuries-old model of lectures and tests, Minerva Project has created a radical new approach to learning that's challenging the status quo of higher education.

Ayo Seligman, VP of Strategy and Design at Minerva Project, shares how this innovative organization built both a university and a technology platform that's transforming how students learn. From removing tenure track positions to creating a global rotation across seven cities, Minerva threw out the traditional playbook to focus on skills-based learning and practical application.

Learn how Minerva positioned itself as a luxury education brand while disrupting entrenched Ivy League institutions, why their approach to learning through "deliberate spaced practice" could revolutionize corporate training, and how they designed their brand identity to reflect perfect imperfection. For brand leaders interested in driving transformation and innovation, Minerva's story offers valuable insights on building a challenger brand in a traditional industry.

Key topics:

• How Minerva rebuilt education using first principles thinking
• Creating a global learning experience across seven world cities
• Positioning an education startup against 200-year-old institutions
• Using learning science to transform how organizations train and develop talent
• Building a brand that appeals to unconventional thinkers
• The intersection of technology, education, and brand strategy

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How do you build brand credibility in an engineering-driven company where logos on napkins seem more important than strategic narrative? 

After 15 years at NetApp, Emily Miller has mastered the delicate balance between education and execution in the B2B tech space. From transitioning from agency consultant to in-house brand leader, Emily shares practical approaches to portfolio narrative development, securing executive buy-in, and surviving multiple CMO changes while maintaining brand consistency. 

Learn why starting with product stories before tackling corporate narrative creates stronger foundations, and discover how Emily's "think big, start small, move fast" philosophy transformed NetApp's approach to brand building. 

Whether you're struggling with the "brand police" reputation or trying to convince engineers of the value of emotional storytelling, Emily's high school analogies and football metaphors offer practical frameworks for brand professionals at any level.

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In this second part of our conversation with Monica Skipper, former VP of Brand at FedEx, we delve deeper into the intricacies of global brand management. Monica shares more of her invaluable insights, including:

• The evolution of FedEx's brand architecture and the challenges of integrating acquisitions
• Strategies for brand enablement and moving away from the "brand police" mentality
• The critical role of data in shaping brand strategies and decision-making
• Balancing global brand consistency with local market needs across 220 countries
• The importance of leadership support in driving major brand initiatives

Monica also offers her perspective on the value of having both client-side and agency experience in brand management. She provides practical advice for navigating complex organizational structures and building influential relationships across departments.

This episode offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at brand management within a Fortune 500 company, providing valuable lessons for brand professionals at all levels.

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Take a peek into the world of global brand management with Monica Skipper, who spent 20 years at FedEx in various brand leadership roles⁠⁠. Monica shares her wealth of experience and offers valuable insights on:

• The evolution of brand management at FedEx, from a logo-centric approach to a comprehensive business strategy⁠
• Challenges and successes in maintaining brand consistency across a large, global organization⁠
• The importance of data-driven brand strategies and how FedEx leveraged customer insights⁠
• Navigating complex brand architecture decisions, including the integration of acquisitions⁠
• The role of leadership support in successful brand initiatives⁠
• Balancing global brand consistency with local market needs⁠
• The transition from brand policing to brand enablement⁠

⁠​

This episode provides a rare glimpse into the inner workings of brand management at one of the world's most recognizable companies.

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Building a brand in a B2B environment requires patience, strategy, and sometimes an entirely different playbook. Brand Enabled kicks off its third season with co-hosts Gabriel Cohen and Holly Osborne diving into the realities of corporate brand leadership.

Holly brings her wealth of experience from Google's Brand Lab, Landor, and most recently as Global Brand Leader at Ciena, where she transformed a niche tech company's brand presence to compete with industry giants. She shares candid insights about the transition from agency to client-side, including the political landscape navigation and the humbling moments of working in a technical B2B environment.

The conversation sets up Season 3's focus on honest, behind-the-scenes discussions with corporate brand leaders, starting with upcoming guest Monica Skipper, VP of Brand at FedEx. Expect raw conversations about brand building in an era of AI transformation, changing agency models, and the ongoing tension between brand storytelling and performance marketing.

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In this episode, Norman Guadagno, the CMO of Mimecast, discusses the intersection of marketing, leadership, and team dynamics with Gabe Cohen. Norman emphasizes the critical role of marketing in capturing attention and fostering resonance with customers, emphasizing the pivotal moment of engagement that opens doors to new opportunities. He also dives into the significance of pattern recognition in leadership, explaining how this skill can elevate individuals into more strategic roles by identifying cross-industry patterns. Don't miss this compelling discussion about marketing strategy, profound leadership insights, and the evolving landscape of brand management within the competitive cybersecurity sector. Tune in!

At some point, businesses have to make a pivot, be that through mergers and acquisitions or rebranding. Crucial to this is the ability of a branding professional to get the people aligned and march in the same direction. Engelina Jaspers found this to be true. With a 30-year experience as a corporate executive leading company-wide transformation, Engelina has seen what it takes to make pivots successful. In this episode, she joins Greg Silverman to share with us the wisdom she earned from an incredible background in the world of marketing and brand. From working with Kodak to being at the scene during the major merger of HP and Compaq, Engelina recounts the lessons she learned. She then gives an inside view of the rebranding of Flextronics to Flex, sharing the role she played, the challenges in the process, and the factors that contributed to their success. Tune in now to gain valuable insights from Engelina's wealth of experience as she unveils the essential elements that drive successful business pivots.