Brandjam Podcast

Scott jams with Fiona Bateman, Head of Brand marketing at Menulog and overseer of the massive brand repositioning that put Menulog back on the home food delivery menu for Australians. She talks strategy and research and the valuable role a brand ambassador like Snoop Dogg plays in reaching the right audiences, as well as media choices and partnerships. They explore competing with global big guns, launching the new brand right in the middle of COVID, and managing the customer experience when you don’t own the food providers or the delivery fleet. Fiona discusses Menulog’s place within the global Just Eat empire and the valuable learnings she still applies today, from her time working for a startup where bravery was king and nothing was off the table brand-wise.

Scott jams with Steffen Daleng, the Chief Marketing Officer of Booktopia about selling books and selling anything online. They discuss competing with big international players, and winning, and the vital importance of constant communication with the customer. Steffen shares how Booktopia is contributing to the industry and literacy, on building and keeping trust and staying focused on doing what you do really well. Their mutual love of the Lego brand makes a showing as does the rise of gaming as a rival to movies and streaming, and the value of disrupting yourself to stay salient, grow and innovate while staying firmly focused in your lane.

Scott jams with George Zdanowicz, the CEO of Enhance Research and the President of the Australian Data and Insights Association, about the role of market research in the life and success of a brand and the ways it informs the building of connection through meeting the wants and needs, known or yet to be known, of their target market. They delve into the behaviour change realm, looking at not for profit and preventative health brands as well as the ways commercial brands influence behaviour. And they tap into brand promise, building empathy with an audience, and some brilliant GenX childhood favourite brands and jingles from the 70s and 80s. They also explore the path to working in market research and the research you can do yourself.

Scott jams with Lucas Patchett, CEO and co-founder of Orange Sky, the incredible not for profit brand powered by generosity, trust and everyday volunteers. Originally Orange Sky Laundry, the organisation runs a fleet of vans and provides showers, laundry and conversation to people who most need it. Lucas shares about the origins as well as the organic growth of their brand, the key aspects that build and maintain trust and ownership, and the multiple strands of their internal brand across supporters, staff and volunteers. They discuss Lucas throwing in an engineering/commerce degree to create a social purpose business brand (i.e. not for the money), it’s life beyond Australian shores and its global potential. And Billabong and Patagonia get a discussion too.

In this episode Scott jams with Sunny Bonnell, the award-winning CEO and co-founder of Motto, one of the top leadership and branding consultancies in the US and author of the ground-breaking business/career book, Rare Breed: A Guide to Success for the Defiant, Dangerous, and Different. It began as a book on brand and after a rework and a publishing bidding war is now becoming a powerful movement, being adopted by little businesses like Microsoft. Sunny also talks about breakdancing, parachute pants and the role of the Nike brand, Princess Diana’s unique brand and the Dallas Cowboys, Goorin Bros. hats and how leaders miss the mark when they don’t take the time to understand the power and importance of brand. It’s an amazing book and an inspiring chat from one of Brooklyn’s brand luminaries.

In this episode Scott jams with Graeme Yardy, the Domestic Market Manager for Meat & Livestock Australia. He’s responsible for the sales and marketing efforts for 11 billion dollars worth of Australian beef and lamb in Australia alone. They talk about the big lamb ad, the role lamb plays culturally in Australian life and the differences between marketing beef and lamb. Graeme talks about the sometimes weighty burden of supporting the nation’s red meat producers, farmers in a time when farming is harder than ever, with brand awareness, marketing and sales. They also explore iconic Australian surf brands, Graeme’s time at Wrigley and Mars, and going beyond selling ‘boxes of product’ to being a business or organisation with true purpose.

In this episode Scott jams with Mim Haysom, Executive General Manager, Brand & Marketing for the Suncorp Group, about the family of insurance brands they own, including AAMI, AAPIA and Shannons, and the way each has its niche in the Australian market. She reflects on her time in agency land, owning the officially ‘most recognised jingle’ in Australia, creative effectiveness and the secret to brand salience and keeping old brands fresh. She shares her approach to customer research, the importance of being agile and responding to cultural moments, and literally getting to know your customer face to face to stay current and customer focused. It all rounds out with a look back at some classic and memorable campaigns from the 70s and 80s where both host and guest show their age.

In this episode Scott jams with Jaynee Dykes, Sr. Brand Manager, SPAM Brand, Hormel Foods, about branded food and the 84 year old SPAM brand and its incredible trajectory across different international markets. They discuss that Monty Python sketch and the Broadway show that followed, where the name came from, who invented it and the SPAM museum that shares the story. They discuss customer research and tastes, dispel some myths and explore the fact that this incredible brand of tinned meat just keeps on yielding personal stories from people everywhere who know it as the brand that brings families together. And yes, they ham it up along the way.

We jam with Vanessa Morrish, Head of Brand and Creative for Who Gives a Crap, the online toilet paper company donating millions of dollars to build toilets for those who don’t have them. Find out what it's like to build a brand from the ground up, the unique aspects of a ‘for purpose’ brand, subscription models and in-house creative. We muse on the earworm power of jingles, sustainability and just how important a brand like this is to the people who work within it. We reflect on the toilet paper hoarding craze, authenticity and ethics, and the role of toilet humour in helping solve serious issues like poverty. And yes, there is a naughty word used in this episode, but don’t let it put you off—it’s for a very good cause.

In this episode Scott jams with two software marketers from different ends of the spectrum—Louise Flynn, who specialises in startups, and Deb Manning, head of global campaigns for Autodesk, on the role brand plays in software. They explore the shift from software in a box to software as a service (SaaS), how holistic brand experience impacts on software adoption and retention, and discuss the wider technology companies and their platforms, and the all important aspect of building trust and customer-focused experience. They reflect on the relatively short amount of time since software began, the value of looking back as well as forward, and making promises you can keep, and then keeping on keeping them.