Brand New

What happens when you’re a top media executive and you choose to leave the corporate world to start a food company… with no prior food experience?  What happens when you set out to build a brand based on passion and purpose, not playbooks?
If you’re Gail Becker, you turn cauliflower into Caulipower: the brand that invented a whole new category in an industry that can be a little … crusty. In this episode, Marisa and Steven talk to Gail about what she learned from a life in corporate America - and what she actually had to unlearn - to get past a LOT of “no’s” to unlock that first “yes” as a later-in-life female entrepreneur. Give this a taste!

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We’re in the month that celebrates women… which always begs the question: why do we need a month? There’s no one better to talk that topic than Shelley Zalis, founder of The Female Quotient and a trailblazer in advocating for equity. At the heart of Steven and Marisa’s conversation with Shelley: the clear case for why women leadership in business is simply good for business. From reframing “diversity” to unpacking Marisa’s least favorite research finding ever to the perpetuation of bias in AI, this is one, that we hope is really of interest to everyone. 

Our favorite quote: “Stop fixing women. Fix the system.” Start by tuning in!

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 If it feels like a year has already happened in two months, for those in the world of business and brands, keeping a finger on the pulse of how consumers are feeling is as critical now as ever. Joining Marisa and Steven on this episode is the CEO of the famed Harris Poll, John Gerzema. In this current climate, will Americans “keep calm and carry on… shopping?” How can business leaders and particularly marketers make a tighter connection with price-stressed consumers? What matters more: facts or feelings? And… is there still cause for optimism? This is one for which you are going to want to take notes!



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Marisa and Steven are back! With big (brand) new professional chapters underway, the co-hosts catch up on their respective journeys over the past few weeks: Marisa in the midst of a big corporate merger and Steven back as an entrepreneur in the dynamic AI landscape. With those developments as a backdrop, get caught up with them on what professionals - including boards - should be doing now about AI, and why the role of brands, and human creativity in building them, has never been more important. 

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Marisa and Steven close out 2024 with the inimitable Dr. Marcus Collins, award-winning marketer, cultural translator, and bestselling author of “For The Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be.” If you agree with Marcus’ thesis that “culture is the operating system of humanity,” what does that mean for how brands connect into culture - the right ways? Who does it well, and who is just “sucking the tailpipe?” Stay tuned for reflections on the year in an episode that will inspire you to think differently in the year ahead.

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Back in 2009, famed author Michael Lewis wrote a profile of basketball player Shane Battier in which he dubbed him “the no stats all star.” What would make someone a no stats all star? An individual whose game play puts the team above himself (how rare is that)? It just took some deeper analytics to realize that how the TEAM performed (Sven even how the competition underperformed) came down to this one unassumingly shrewd variable. In this conversation with Marisa and Steven, Shane shares how those instincts from the court have translated into really meaningful lessons in leadership for all of us. Wondering if the only route to big leadership is big ego? This episode is for you.

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Businesses that learn forward know that - after a big campaign, whether a big success or big failure - it’s wise to conduct a post-mortem to understand what happened and their implications. In that spirit, and just a few days after a resounding presidential win for Donald Trump, Marisa and Steven offer their view of 5 major learnings for all marketers and brands that we can draw from this election outcome. No (well, almost no) political pontificating - just a smart, objective take that should incite everyone to think a little differently.

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Marisa and Steven continue their recurring series on building understanding between the Marketers and the Money, when they sit down with private equity leader and former CEO Joshua Schultz to tackle this burning question: do finance leaders truly understand the value of marketing?  Together they get real about the tension between short-term financial performance and long-term brand building, and volley on marketing as an essential investment vs. just another cost to be managed. It’s the kind of conversation that needs to happen more in boardrooms around the country - and one you won’t want to miss.

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In the course of just one week, Marisa and Steven each announced major career news. For Marisa, it was the return to serving as the brand and marketing chief for a big American retailer (but doing it her way, which she wrote about on LinkedIn in a piece called “Try it On”). For Steven, it is also   about doing it his own way by launching a new company (Alpha & Co) to help brands, boards, and business leaders navigate the complexities of growth in the AI era. With true candor, insight and humor these two executives share what was behind these decisions, and what everyone might consider from them in their own career choices.

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One of the recurring questions on “Brand New” has been to what extent should everyone think of themselves as a “brand.“ When it comes to celebrities, it’s not a question; they know they are brands. On this episode, Marisa and Steven talk with renowned interior designer, lifestyle expert and star of Netflix’s “Queer Eye” about his journey of creating a brand first as an entrepreneur, and then experiencing its transformation through the fame of a hit TV show.Bobby’s life story is interesting in and of itself (how many people do you know who started out in he Amish Bible Belt, lived out of their car as a teenager and managed to work their way up the ranks of home decor retail). But this conversation will go beyond to give you a rare, thoughtful view of how to think about helming a brand, when that brand is… you.

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