Breakfast First: An Empower Podcast

Empower is at SXSW! While our team has been spread across Austin hitting up all the tech, talks and tacos, everyone had a chance to visit Facebook's Austin HQ for a day of sessions. Check out our top insights and learnings from the day at FB and follow our IG @Empoweragency for all our SXSW updates!

Empower's Andrea Book and Evan Dulaney sit down with author, speaker and fellow podcaster ('The Accidental Creative' & 'The Daily Creative') Todd Henry to chat creativity, leadership, and his latest book "Herding Tigers."

Andrea and Evan pick Todd's brain on unlocking creative potential, his day-to-day routine, and what makes an effective leader.

For more on Todd, visit: www.ToddHenry.com

Empower's Andrea Book and Evan Dulaney are joined by the former SVP and Head of Communications at Dell, Stella Low. Stella dishes how she best delivered difficult messages for one of the world's largest corporations. She also shares why companies should talk about the good they're doing in the world and the best ways they can share their altruism without sounding immodest.

Empower's bright, creative and outspoken voices discuss the biggest night in advertising. From the ads to the game, the evening captivated few, so this episode breaks down the bright spots from the game, analyzes the flops and missed opportunities and posits what was missing from our industry's hallowed night. The podcast puts together a super cut of two separate roundtable discussions, which include Empower's SVP of Agency Strategy, SVP of Creative Media and Chief Creative Officer among others. Oh, and we also chat about Maroon 5....

Empower's Andrea Book and Evan Dulaney introduce a new item to the Breakfast First menu: Hot Take Hotcakes. In the first installment of the mini-episode series, the two share their thoughts on Gillette's polarizing new ad: "We Believe: The Best Men Can Get."

Empower's Andrea Book and Evan Dulaney are joined by Empower President Rob FitzGerald to recap the year that was in advertising and agencies. Then, the gang predicts the trends and shifts that'll hit the industry in 2019 and posit why brands that take a stand can thrive in the New Year. In Rob's second appearance on the show, he becomes the pioneer member of the "Breakfast First" two-timers club.

Empower's Andrea Book and Evan Dulaney are joined by talented public speaker and touring violinist of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra Roddy Chong. Roddy recounts some of his best stories - including his serendipitous audition for Shania Twain - and how his experiences and love of performance led him to become a professional public speaker. He also strings together how his process and approach can apply to brands, marketers and everyday life. At the end, Evan geeks out with Roddy about the time he reached out to play with the Dave Matthews Band.

Empower's Andrea Book and Evan Dulaney are joined by PR whiz and creator of the PR and Bad Pitch blogs, Kevin Dugan. Kevin covers his illustrious PR and agency career, the origins of the Bad Pitch Blog and his dream (and nightmare) PR clients. Then, he chats his switch to the "other" side, a.k.a. the client side, as he is now a Senior Global Communications Executive at Apex Supply Chain Technologies.

Empower's Andrea Book and Evan Dulaney are joined by Jim Fisher, the founder and CEO of Roadtrippers. Over a breakfast of beermosas, Jim shares the Roadtrippers start-up story, the near shutdown of the company, and the resilience and determination of the start-up mentality. Then, the group chats about the map ahead for Roadtrippers and Jim's odd collections.

For more on Roadtrippers, check out https://roadtrippers.com/

It's Halloween! In this special episode of Breakfast First, co-ghosts Evan Boo-laney and Andrea "Spooky Booky" listen in on scary stories from our own friends at Empower. Subscribe, rate, and hear all the haunts.