On Brand with Nick Westergaard

Bridging the Brand Activation Gap with Mitch Duckler


Listen Later

“If your brand was to go away tomorrow, would anyone miss it?” Awkward silence. That’s because, for the most part, very few brands today are truly indispensable. Mitch Duckler is out to change that. The author of the new book The Indispensable Brand and founder of Full Surge was my guest this week on the On Brand podcast.

About Mitch Duckler

Mitch Duckler is author of The Indispensable Brand, and a founder and managing partner of FullSurge, a brand and marketing strategy consultancy based in Chicago, Illinois. He has more than 25 years of brand management and management consulting experience, at Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company, Vivaldi Partners Group, and Prophet, where he co-led the brand strategy practice area. His client base includes Fortune 500 companies and numerous world-class brands, such as Boeing, Deloitte, and General Electric. Mitch is a faculty member of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) School of Marketing.

Episode Highlights

The trouble with brand strategy. It has to work at both the 1,000-foot level and the 10-foot level. Mitch shared some of his favorite tactics for bridging this brand-activation gap across the three phases of experience — pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase.

Who is a truly indispensable brand? I had to ask. “Starbucks is a brand that’s indispensable even though you can get coffee elsewhere.”

What can you do to make your brand indispensable? Start with the “journalist questions” — what, how, why, and who. Mitch recommends using these lenses to identify what’s truly unique about your business and your brand.

What brand has made Mitch smile recently? Peloton! Mitch shared how the brand took something as pedestrian (pun intended) as stationary biking and turned it into a social movement.

To learn more, go to fullsurge.com and connect with Mitch on Twitter and LinkedIn.

As We Wrap …

Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.

On Brand is sponsored by my new book Brand NowDiscover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more.

  • Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via Apple PodcastsStitcher, Google PlayTuneIn, and RSS.
  • Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to Apple Podcasts and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast.
  • OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out.

    Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    On Brand with Nick WestergaardBy Nick Westergaard

    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8

    4.8

    94 ratings


    More shows like On Brand with Nick Westergaard

    View all
    HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

    HBR IdeaCast

    1,865 Listeners

    The Smart Passive Income Online Business and Blogging Podcast by Pat Flynn

    The Smart Passive Income Online Business and Blogging Podcast

    3,454 Listeners

    Social Media Marketing Podcast by Michael Stelzner, Social Media Examiner

    Social Media Marketing Podcast

    1,443 Listeners

    Why That Worked  – Presented by StoryBrand.ai by StoryBrand.ai

    Why That Worked – Presented by StoryBrand.ai

    1,927 Listeners

    Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips by Eric Siu and Neil Patel

    Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips

    1,259 Listeners

    How I Built This with Guy Raz by Guy Raz | Wondery

    How I Built This with Guy Raz

    30,243 Listeners

    Masters of Scale by WaitWhat

    Masters of Scale

    3,992 Listeners

    The Peter Attia Drive by Peter Attia, MD

    The Peter Attia Drive

    8,005 Listeners

    The CMO Podcast by vYve & Jim Stengel

    The CMO Podcast

    345 Listeners

    Uncensored CMO by Jon Evans

    Uncensored CMO

    36 Listeners

    The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway by Vox Media Podcast Network

    The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

    5,430 Listeners

    Huberman Lab by Scicomm Media

    Huberman Lab

    28,598 Listeners

    The AI Daily Brief (Formerly The AI Breakdown): Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis by Nathaniel Whittemore

    The AI Daily Brief (Formerly The AI Breakdown): Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

    509 Listeners

    The Next Wave - AI and The Future of Technology by Hubspot Media

    The Next Wave - AI and The Future of Technology

    61 Listeners

    AI Explored by Michael Stelzner, Social Media Examiner—AI marketing

    AI Explored

    83 Listeners