Bring the Real

This week's episode explores experience within the nail salon industry. Guest Annie Stancliffe joins us to talk High Five Nails, her new nail salon concept that challenges industry standards through a mobile and pop-up based business model. 

We talk with guest Mitch Daugherty who founded Built Oregon, which connects, amplifies, and accelerates Oregon's consumer product companies and ecosystem. Mitch shares some examples of how emerging & locally focused brands are leveraging experience as a key brand building tool. 

http://www.builtoregon.com 

Part of our Trends series, IDLer Bryan Humphreys talks seeding kits as the medium of the moment in brand marketing. A well placed seeding kit harnesses the power of social media to create a sense of exclusivity and excite a set of target consumers via an influencer who has an authentic, credible connection to a brand.

A viral "unboxing" post by an influencer has the power to seed a product story to a massive yet targeted group of consumers, often at a lower price tag and with higher impact than traditional forms of marketing or advertising. 

This week, we drop a line into a candid conversation between IDLers over beers at our favorite local PDX watering hole, The Big Legrowlski. You'll get a rough cut of chatter as we riff on PR stunts like IHOP's recent temporary name change to IHOB and the trend of social media personalities and celebrities as brand ambassadors. 

References: 

IHOb:http://fortune.com/2018/06/11/ihop-ihob-name-meaning/

Fyre Festival: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/06/fyre-festival-billy-mcfarland-millennial-marketing-fiasco 

Thomas Middleditch of Silicon Valley + Verizon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3zptG2nVmM 

In this episode, we are joined by special guest Liz Valentine, CEO & co-founder of Swift, a powerhouse creative agency in Portland, OR. We ask Liz what it means to be a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry, and how that has played out both in her own career and as a business owner. Liz shares the story behind her company, and we talk digital brand marketing in an increasingly social era.

Featured Links:

http://www.swift.co

https://www.instagram.com/swiftcollective

https://www.designweekportland.com/events/ftw-for-the-women

This week, our guest of honor is none other than host Bryan Laing. We're turning the tables on the man behind the mic and gaining insight into his background, passion as a winemaker, and lessons learned in business. There's plenty of juicy brand marketing talk with ad hoc hosts Alex Vera and Pete Beck, and a good dose of tangents on chocolate, sports, and of course, wine.

Guest Anne Marie Stephen from the Retail Innovation Lounge joins us in a conversation rooted in retail technology. We cover the trends and hot topics like AR & VR, talk about how luxury retail has changed, and how brands and retailers can integrate seamless technology into their consumer experiences. Most importantly, we discuss the rapidly shifting industry and how brands have to adapt when it comes to the old measurements of data and ROI.

Consumers feel empowered on their own time, where they have the best experience. Thus, they reward brands for accessibility & quality. This means telling a rich story digitally, layering it atop dynamic physical moments. Both are platforms to better understand the consumer & interests. Upping their physical game means flexibility, change, & immersion – aka digital solutions.

This week in our Trends series, we dissect one of today's biggest trends in brand marketing – influencer marketing. Joined by branding, PR & fashion influencer expert Alexandra Basch, we discuss the world of social influencers of fashion in the hub of it all - LA. We cover topics like how brands identify the right influencers, the best friend effect, the cost of influencer marketing, sponsored vs. organic content, and what's behind the emerging phenomenon of micro-influencers.  

Podcasting from the IDL house in Austin, host Bryan Laing is joined by IDLers Bryan Humphreys, David Rocco, Scott Girard and Clark Johnson as they talk highlights and trends in experiential brand marketing at SXSW 2018.