CultivatED Marketer

In the 51st episode of CultivatED Marketer – your go-to marketing professional development podcast – hosts Brent Bowen, Julie Masson, and Matt Tidwell are joined by Shea Sullivan, the CEO and founder of Comms at Work. Drawing on decades of experience in internal communications, safety culture, and organizational change, Sullivan shares why effective communication is all about influencing behavior. While much of the conversation focuses on her experience in frontline and workplace communications, the lessons extend far beyond safety. Offering valuable insights for marketers, communicators, and anyone responsible for building trust, and leading change within an organization.

Organizations often assume communication is successful once a message has been delivered. An email goes out. A meeting is held. A policy is posted. From a communications perspective, the work appears complete.

Shea Sullivan argues that’s where the real work begins.

Communication is measured by whether people understand it, remember it, and ultimately change their behavior because of it. That distinction is especially important in industries where safety and operational excellence depend on thousands of small decisions employees make every day.

Communicators must earn attention before they can ever hope to influence behavior. The goal isn’t simply to tell people something. It’s to help them understand why it matters.

Whether she’s working with a construction company or manufacturer, Sullivan believes communicators have to spend time where the work actually happens.

It’s difficult to influence behavior from behind a desk. The most effective communicators understand the environment they’re communicating into, allowing them to craft messages that fit naturally into employees’ routines instead of becoming just another piece of information to ignore.

The principle applies well beyond safety communications. Great marketing starts the same way: by understanding your audience before asking for their attention.

Although much of Sullivan’s career has focused on safety communications, the conversation revealed a lesson that extends beyond the job site.

Successful safety programs aren’t built solely on policies, procedures, or compliance. They’re built on understanding why people make the decisions they do and creating communication that encourages better choices before mistakes happen.

Instead of simply reminding people about rules, communicators become partners in shaping workplace culture. Every message becomes an opportunity to reinforce habits and build trust.

Whether you’re encouraging employees to adopt a new process or asking customers to embrace a new product, the challenge is remarkably similar: people rarely change because they’re told to.

Too often, communication teams are brought into projects after the important decisions have already been made. Leadership develops the strategy, finalizes the plan, and then asks communicators to announce it.

When communicators are included early, they help identify blind spots, anticipate employee concerns, and shape how change will be received.

Communication is no longer just a tactical support function. It’s becoming a strategic discipline that helps organizations build trust, strengthen culture, and successfully navigate change.

Towards the end of the conversation Sullivan focused on what got her to where she is now.

She credits much of her career development to professional organizations like the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and encouraged young professionals to actively participate in industry communities rather than waiting for opportunities to come to them.

Networking, volunteering, and continually learning have opened doors throughout her career that a résumé alone never could. Sullivan reminds us that careers are still built through conversations, curiosity, and the willingness to invest time in relationships with others who share your profession.

The conversation closed with a reminder that even in an increasingly data-driven and AI-powered world, communication remains deeply human.

Sullivan emphasized that data is invaluable for identifying trends and measuring success, but numbers alone rarely inspire action. The communicator’s job is to interpret those insights and transform them into stories people understand, remember, and care about.

As organizations continue adopting new technologies, that human perspective becomes even more valuable. AI can help communicators work faster, but empathy, curiosity, and storytelling remain the qualities that create lasting influence.Top of Form

03:40 — What Makes Great Internal Communication

07:12 — From Broadcast Journalism to Communications

10:35 — Learning to Speak Your Audience’s Language

15:45 — Compliance vs. Influence

18:22 — Infinite Content, Finite Attention

20:18 — The Most Trusted Voice in the Workplace

21:18 — Go Where Their Eyes, Ears, and Feet Are

24:40 — Building a Strong Safety Culture Through Communication

27:43 — Why Communication Belongs at the Strategy Table

32:18 — Networking Is an Investment in Your Career

36:11 — Lead with “Why”

37:02 — Turning Data Into Human Stories

39:05 — Advice for the Next Generation of Communicators

In the 50th episode of CultivatED Marketer – your go-to marketing professional development podcast – hosts Brent Bowen and Julie Masson are joined by Colleen Powell, the Strategic Communications Bureau Chief for the Iowa Department of Public Safety. Colleen Powell shares an extraordinary career journey that took her from more than two decades behind a radio microphone to leading communications for one of Iowa’s most visible public service organizations. While her career path is certainly unique, the lessons she learned apply to marketers, communicators, nonprofit leaders, and public relations professionals in every industry.

Career changes often look dramatic from the outside, but they’re usually built on years of preparation. That was certainly true for Colleen.

After spending 22 years co-hosting a successful morning radio show, she recognized that the media landscape was changing. Streaming services and digital platforms were transforming how audiences consumed content, and she realized the radio industry wasn’t likely to provide the long-term stability it once had. Rather than waiting until she was forced to make a change, she began preparing for one.

She enrolled in courses focused on digital marketing and strategic communications while she was still working full-time in broadcasting. When the opportunity finally came to leave radio, she wasn’t starting over. She was building on decades of experience in audience engagement, interviewing, storytelling, and relationship building.

Moving from morning radio into government communications might sound like an enormous leap, but the core responsibilities aren’t as different as they first appear. In both careers, success depends on understanding your audience, asking thoughtful questions, listening carefully, simplifying complex information, and telling stories that people actually care about.

Technology will continue to evolve, but organizations will always need professionals who know how to build relationships, establish credibility, and communicate with empathy. Colleen’s career demonstrates that while industries may change, those foundational abilities continue to create opportunities.

Colleen acknowledges something every communications professional has experienced: by the time a curriculum is developed and taught, the industry has already evolved.

Artificial intelligence changes almost monthly. Social media algorithms shift constantly. New platforms emerge while others disappear. Formal education provides an essential foundation, but it can no longer be viewed as the finish line.

Instead, continual learning has become part of the job description. Today’s most successful communicators recognize that professional development isn’t something you complete. It’s something you practice throughout your career.

That mindset helped Colleen transition into an entirely new field, and it’s the same mindset that will help communicators remain valuable no matter how much the industry changes.

When people think about communications departments, they often assume their primary responsibility is protecting an organization’s reputation. Colleen offered a different perspective.

Her team’s job isn’t simply to protect the agency’s image—it’s to protect public trust. Every press release, media interview, social media post, and public statement is evaluated through the lens of credibility. Their goal isn’t to be first with information or to control the narrative. Their responsibility is to ensure that when information is released, it is accurate, verified, and communicated responsibly.

In an era where organizations often feel pressured to respond immediately, that’s a valuable lesson. While most marketers don’t operate in life-or-death situations, every organization benefits when it values credibility over immediacy.

The conversation closed with a deceptively simple question: What is one word every communicator should lead with? Colleen’s answer was immediate.

Why.

The question encourages marketers to think strategically before acting tactically, ensuring every message supports a larger objective rather than simply filling another spot on the content calendar.

In many ways, that single word captures the entire conversation. Technology will continue to change, industries will continue to evolve, and communication channels will come and go. But organizations that consistently communicate with clarity, empathy, and purpose will continue to earn something far more valuable than attention—they’ll earn trust.

01:41 Why Trust Matters

08:15 From Radio to DPS

11:12 Roadside Chat Signs

14:00 The Communication Skills That Translate Across Every Industry

18:00 Career Pivot Advice: Growth Starts with Being Uncomfortable

21:15 Protecting Trust vs. Protecting Your Reputation

25:33 Transparency Through Restraint

26:58 Accuracy Over Assumptions

28:18 Balancing Curiosity And Risk

29:06 True Crime Request Surge

35:15 Managing 20+ Social Media Channels with a Three-Person Team

39:24 How Small Communications Teams Stay Effective

42:00 The One Word Every Communicator Should Lead With

In the 49th episode of CultivatED Marketer – your go-to marketing professional development podcast – hosts Brent Bowen, Matt Tidwell, PhD, and Julie Masson are joined by Samantha Scantlebury, Senior Director of Brand Strategy at Signal Theory. Drawing from her early experiences in the field, Sam emphasizes that at its core, human decision-making is driven emotionally and rationally justified. Her perspective challenges marketers to look beyond technology and focus on something much more enduring: humanity.

One of the most powerful observations from the conversation was surprisingly simple: Humans make decisions emotionally and justify them rationally. Whether someone is purchasing a consumer product, selecting a business partner, or evaluating a software platform, emotional drivers are still at work beneath the surface. Scantlebury referenced the behavioral science principles popularized by Daniel Kahneman, noting that our intuitive, emotional thinking often precedes our rational analysis.

This insight applies just as much in B2B marketing as it does in B2C. Even when selling highly technical products, buyers are ultimately seeking confidence, security, pride, ease, and optimism. Product features may justify the decision, but emotions often initiate it.

To better understand what people are truly seeking from brands, Signal Theory developed a framework built around three emotional outcomes: comfort, joy, and meaning. The model draws inspiration from Abraham Maslow and his hierarchy of needs. According to Scantlebury, while Maslow focused on human needs, comfort, joy, and meaning represent the emotional wants that accompany those needs.

The framework isn’t simply philosophical. Signal Theory’s research uncovered meaningful correlations between these emotional dimensions and business outcomes. Brands scoring highly on comfort tended to see stronger repurchase intent. Brands associated with joy generated more word-of-mouth activity. Brands delivering meaning tended to inspire greater brand advocacy.

Consumers are experiencing more targeted advertising than ever before, yet many still feel misunderstood by brands. Despite seeing dozens of advertisements daily, only a small percentage of consumers feel brands genuinely understand them or reflect their lifestyles.

At the same time, consumers consistently report wanting stronger relationships with the brands they buy from.This creates what marketers might call a personalization paradox: We know more about consumers than ever, but consumers feel less understood.

While Scantlebury and her team actively use AI tools, she emphasized that technology should create space for better human work—not replace it. AI can accelerate research, generate ideas, and improve efficiency. But the most impactful marketing still comes from empathy, curiosity, and a deep understanding of people.Consumers are increasingly signaling fatigue with overly manufactured experiences.

In a world where content can be generated instantly, authenticity becomes more valuable, not less. The brands that thrive won’t necessarily be those with the most advanced AI stack. They’ll be the ones that use technology while remaining unmistakably human.

Sales are declining. Customer loyalty is weakening. Brand awareness has plateaued. Marketing teams are often tasked with finding the right campaign, channel, or message to move those metrics in the right direction.

But Scantlebury argues that marketers should take a step back before jumping to solutions. Rather than asking only what’s happening to the business, brands should ask what’s happening to the people they’re trying to reach.

This question shifts the conversation from demographics and data points to human motivations. They encourage marketers to look beyond transactions and understand the emotional context surrounding a purchase decision.

When marketers begin with the human experience rather than the business objective, they uncover insights that technology alone can’t provide. Messaging becomes more empathetic. Strategy becomes more meaningful. And brands become better positioned to create the kinds of connections that drive long-term relationships.

Marketing often gets caught chasing the next platform, the next tool, or the next technological breakthrough. Yet the most important variable hasn’t changed, people still want to feel understood. They want confidence when things feel uncertain. They want connection when life feels fragmented. They want purpose when everything feels transactional. As Scantlebury summarized when asked for the one word every brand should strive for: Humanity.

And in a marketplace increasingly shaped by automation, that may become the greatest competitive advantage of all.

02:51 Why This Research Matters

07:19 Meet Samantha Scantlebury

08:43 Sam Origin Story

13:23 Behavioral Science in Practice

15:46 Emotion Drives Decisions

18:58 Tech vs Human Connection

21:53 Comfort Joy Meaning Framework

25:26 Research Findings and Stats

29:36 Selling Human Centric Marketing

33:47 AI Fatigue and Authenticity

37:04 Four Quick Questions

42:03 What Comes Next and Wrap Up

In the 48th episode of CultivatED Marketer – your go-to marketing professional development podcast – hosts Brent Bowen, Matt Tidwell, PhD, and Julie Masson are joined by D.J. Jordan, Senior Vice President at Pinkston, to explore challenges facing marketing and communications professionals today: protecting and strengthening organizational reputation in an increasingly complex world. Drawing on a career that spans political communications, national media, public affairs, corporate communications, and crisis management, DJ shares lessons learned from working with organizations navigating high-stakes situations, leadership transitions, and evolving stakeholder expectations.

DJ reflects on a pivotal moment early in his career when he realized that true career growth came not from simply producing content or managing media relations, but from helping organizations achieve broader business objectives through communication.

That shift – from doing the work to shaping the direction of the work – is one many communications professionals experience as they move into leadership roles.

For marketers the lesson is clear: strategic thinking separates good practitioners from trusted advisors. Understanding organizational goals, business drivers, stakeholder expectations, and financial realities allows communicators to contribute at a higher level and earn a seat at the decision-making table.

DJ describes reputation as one of the most valuable, and yet simultaneously fragile assets an organization possesses.

In an era where every customer, employee, and stakeholder has a platform, a company’s reputation can be strengthened or damaged in real time. Social media, artificial intelligence, and fragmented media environments have created unprecedented challenges for organizations attempting to build trust.

Rather than retreating from these challenges, DJ recommends that organizations double down on reputation-building efforts through:

According to DJ, reputation isn’t something you repair after a crisis. It’s something you build every day before a crisis ever occurs.

One of the most practical portions of the discussion centers on crisis communication planning.

Too often, organizations wait until they’re facing public scrutiny before considering how they’ll respond. DJ explains that the most effective crisis communication happens months—or even years—before a crisis emerges.

Effective preparation includes:

The investment may seem significant, but the financial and reputational costs of being unprepared are often far greater. As DJ notes, a well-managed crisis can sometimes be resolved before it ever becomes a public story.

Trust has become one of the defining challenges of modern communications.

Consumers are increasingly skeptical of institutions, media outlets, brands, and even the content they encounter online. AI-generated content and misinformation have further complicated the landscape.

Yet DJ sees opportunity within this challenge.

Organizations that consistently communicate with transparency, demonstrate accountability, and align actions with values can still earn trust. In fact, the current environment may create even greater opportunities for brands willing to invest in authentic relationships and meaningful engagement.

For communications leaders, trust isn’t built through a single campaign. It’s established through repeated actions that reinforce credibility over time.

DJ also offers valuable guidance for students and early-career professionals entering the field.

While many young communicators feel uncertainty about AI, economic pressures, and career stability, he encourages them to view today’s environment as an opportunity rather than a threat.

The professionals who will thrive are those who:

One characteristic stood out above all others: being a self-starter.

Technical skills can be taught, but professionals who consistently look for opportunities to add value quickly distinguish themselves from their peers.

As marketing and communications continue to evolve, the organizations that succeed will be those that connect business strategy, leadership, and reputation management into a unified approach.

DJ Jordan’s career demonstrates that effective communication is about much more than crafting messages. It’s about helping organizations navigate complexity, build trust, manage risk, and create meaningful relationships with stakeholders.

For communications professionals focused on marketing professional development, leadership development, strategic communications, reputation management, and crisis communications, this episode offers practical insights and timely advice for leading with confidence in an increasingly complex world.

05:32 Welcome to DJ Jordan

07:06 Early Media Sports Roots

11:01 CNN Capitol Hill Pivots

12:52 Becoming A Strategist

17:46 Reputation And Crisis Planning

25:10 Trust In The AI Era

31:01 Gen Z Skills And Hiring

34:21 Four Quick Questions

37:58 Final Advice And Wrap

In the 47th episode of CultivatED Marketer – your go-to marketing professional development podcast – hosts Brent Bowen, Matt Tidwell, PhD, and Julie Masson are joined by Justin Ricklefs, founder of Guild Collective, to get his insights on brand strategy, leadership communication, company culture, and building meaningful customer relationships through authentic storytelling. Justin shares how his time with the Kansas City Chiefs shaped his focus on relationships and story-driven growth, and explains Guild’s “brand heartbeat” framework built on clarity, connection (inside and outside the organization), and creativity that evokes emotion.

Justin introduces his “give a damn” philosophy, which serves as the foundation of Guild Collective’s approach to brand consulting, marketing strategy, and organizational growth. He emphasizes that successful businesses are built through compelling brand storytelling and authentic human connection rather than purely transactional sales tactics.

As Julie shares a memorable experience at a local Hy-Vee store, Justin highlights how exceptional customer experiences stem from cultures rooted in care, intentional leadership, and emotional connection. The conversation reinforces a critical truth for marketers and communicators alike: people remember how brands make them feel.

A major theme throughout the episode centers on the relationship between internal communications, company culture, and external brand perception. Justin explains that strong brands are built from the inside out, impacting everything from recruitment and onboarding to customer engagement and employee retention.

Sharing the story of a manufacturing company that improved employee morale through stronger leadership engagement and recognition, Justin demonstrates how simple human-centered practices can transform workplace culture. These lessons are particularly valuable for professionals focused on employee engagement, organizational communication, and leadership development.

Justin then explains in detail the “three vital signs” of a healthy brand heartbeat:

According to Justin, clarity in communication and leadership builds trust and alignment across teams. Connection fosters stronger relationships internally and externally, helping organizations create loyal employees and engaged customers. Creativity, meanwhile, is not simply about visual branding or aesthetics — it’s about evoking genuine human emotion through storytelling and shared experiences.

For marketers navigating today’s crowded digital landscape filled with SEO trends, AI-generated content, and evolving social media strategies, Justin argues that these human-centered principles remain timeless and essential.

As the conversation unfolds, Justin shares practical leadership advice that resonates strongly with professionals in marketing leadership, public relations, and strategic communications. He stresses the importance of clarity over niceness, encouraging leaders to communicate expectations honestly while fostering empathy and trust within teams.

One particularly impactful takeaway is the importance of asking better questions. Justin explains that leaders who create space for employee feedback and curiosity cultivate healthier, more innovative workplaces. For communications professionals managing teams, clients, or organizational messaging, this mindset can dramatically improve collaboration and performance.

Justin believes that brands that fail to prioritize human connection risk losing relevance. In a competitive marketplace dominated by automation, data analytics, and short-term marketing tactics, organizations that embrace authenticity, emotional intelligence, and customer care are more likely to stand out.

Justin argues that care and commerce can coexist — a philosophy that aligns with some of today’s most successful brands known for strong customer loyalty and memorable experiences.

For companies focused on brand development, customer retention, content marketing, and audience engagement, this conversation serves as a reminder that long-term growth begins with people, not just metrics.

For marketers, communicators, business leaders, and entrepreneurs looking to build stronger brands through authentic connection and meaningful storytelling – begin by prioritizing:

Companies can create brands that not only drive growth but also foster loyalty, trust, and long-term impact.

For listeners interested in exploring Justin Ricklefs’ ‘Give A Damn’ philosophy further, his book expands on these concepts and offers practical applications for today’s rapidly changing business landscape.

To find the ‘Hy-vee Heaven’ T-shirt – visit Raygun’s store here.

02:04 Storytelling and Brand Advocates

04:46 Show Intro and Justin Ricklef’s Bio

06:26 Julie Hy-Vee Story

13:33 Transactional to Relational Brands

14:24 Brand Heartbeat Vital Signs

18:08 Trust and Humanity in Marketing

21:18 Proving Value to the C-Suite

25:59 Culture Drives Brand Experience

27:52 Employee Culture Reality Check

29:35 Heartbeat Principles In Action

35:48 Fire Starter Keynote Metaphor

37:51 Why Leaders Need Clarity

40:09 Marketing Leaders As Culture Builders

44:22 Lead With Questions

46:20 Care First Brands Stay Relevant

In the 46th episode of CultivatED Marketer – your go-to marketing professional development podcast – hosts Brent Bowen and Julie Masson are joined by Lacey Graverson, Senior Manager of Brand and Strategic Communication at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Together they explore how to steward a major nonprofit brand through strategic alignment, clarity, and consistent messaging. Lacey shares her career path into PR and branding, highlights the value of discovery meetings to create shared direction, and explains how the foundation’s storytelling focuses on grantees, entrepreneurs, students, and community impact rather than the foundation itself. She discusses how brand stewardship requires organization-wide buy-in and message discipline, then details the Uncommon Leader Visionary Award.

One of the biggest themes throughout this episode is alignment. Lacey explains how successful organizations create clarity around mission, vision, and messaging so teams across departments can move toward a shared goal. From leadership strategy to brand management, she emphasizes the importance of message discipline and consistency – key skills for anyone focused on marketing career growth and communications leadership.

The discussion also explores how discovery meetings and strategic planning help organizations avoid “Groundhog Day” cycles of rework and unclear expectations. For professionals looking to grow in marketing, the episode provides valuable marketing tips and leadership advice on how strategic communication drives organizational success.

Lacey shares how storytelling at the Kauffman Foundation focuses not on the organization itself, but on the entrepreneurs, educators, nonprofits, and community leaders benefiting from its programs and funding. Through initiatives like 1 Million Cups, entrepreneurship programs, and educational partnerships, the foundation uses authentic storytelling to demonstrate impact and strengthen trust within the community.

For marketing professionals, the episode offers real-world insights into how strong storytelling, brand alignment, and strategic messaging can elevate both nonprofit organizations and mission-driven brands.

A major focus of the conversation is the Kauffman Foundation’s Uncommon Leader Visionary Award, which recognizes executive nonprofit leaders creating meaningful impact across Kansas City. The award includes:

Lacey explains how the initiative reflects the foundation’s commitment to leadership, legacy, and community impact while reinforcing the importance of visionary leadership within the nonprofit sector.

For marketers in nonprofit branding, and organizational strategy, this discussion highlights how strong leadership and clear communication can transform entire communities.

The group also discusses the realities of leading communications teams inside a mission-driven organization. Lacey discusses:

She also shares productivity habits, branding trends, and why authenticity remains the most important quality every strong brand should embody. She gives actionable lessons from a leader operating at the intersection of brand, strategy, and community impact.

Lacey also previews the relaunch of the Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship, a major research initiative examining entrepreneurship trends across the United States. Returning after a few years away, the reports and accompanying website will provide valuable data and insights for entrepreneurs, marketers, and business leaders alike.

Lacey offers a powerful look at how strategic communication, authentic storytelling, and organizational alignment drive long-term impact. Whether you work in nonprofit communications, brand strategy, leadership, or marketing, Lacey Graverson’s insights provide valuable guidance for building stronger organizations and more effective teams.

00:00 CultivatED Marketer Episode Preview

02:58 Why Alignment Matters

05:57 Meet Lacey Graverson

07:39 Lacey’s Origin Story

10:54 Vision and Discovery Meetings

14:30 Thriving Nonprofit Messaging

16:53 Storytelling Beyond the Foundation

20:36 Comms Team as Mini Agency

22:22 Brand Stewardship and Buy In

26:37 Uncommon Leader Visionary Award

31:47 Quickfire Questions

36:36 Nominate and New Data

In the 45th episode of CultivatED Marketer – your go-to marketing professional development podcast – host Brent Bowen explores how AI is reshaping careers and redefining the PESO model (Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned). He lays out how AI is mediating distribution, accelerating content velocity, and shifting measurement toward predictive performance.

AI is accelerating a major shift in how marketing professionals build their careers. Where specialization once dominated, today’s landscape rewards adaptable, cross-functional marketers. Much like cross-training in athletics, modern marketers must develop diverse skill sets while maintaining strategic focus.

This shift highlights the importance of continuous learning, adaptability, and expanding beyond traditional roles. Understanding AI is no longer optional – it’s a critical component of marketing career growth and long-term success.

AI is fundamentally transforming each pillar of the PESO model, creating new opportunities for marketers to lead and innovate.

AI is automating tactical execution across paid media, from keyword targeting to A/B testing. Automated bidding strategies are outperforming manual efforts, allowing marketers to shift their focus toward creative strategy and differentiation.

For marketers seeking marketing leadership insights, this evolution reinforces the need to move beyond execution and into strategic thinking.

Earned media is shifting from traditional SEO to AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). Success now depends on authority, structured content, and high-quality mentions rather than just backlinks.

This shift is critical for marketers focused on improving brand visibility in AI-driven search environments.

AI is redefining how content is discovered and consumed on social platforms. Marketers must balance structured, AI-friendly content with authentic, human engagement.

This is creating new opportunities to align social media strategy with measurable business outcomes, redefining the role of a company’s typical social media team.

Owned media remains the foundation of brand consistency and discoverability. As AI fragments content distribution, marketers must ensure structured, consistent messaging across all channels.

AI is breaking down traditional marketing silos, creating a need for convergence across paid, earned, shared, and owned media. Marketers who understand how these systems connect and how AI influences them will be better positioned for leadership roles.

For listeners, the key takeaway is clear: success in modern marketing requires both structural awareness and adaptability. Understanding how AI impacts discoverability, content strategy, and audience engagement can directly influence marketing growth.

AI’s role in reshaping the PESO model and redefining marketing strategies ensures a promising future for adaptable professionals. Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or searching for marketing career advice for beginners just entering the field, the opportunity in front of you is significant. Embrace the chance to expand your skill set and lean into AI’s role in our evolving marketing landscape — this is what real marketing career growth looks like in practice.

To keep up with these changes, engage with ongoing discussions around AI, brand visibility, and the convergence occurring within marketing organizations. This marketing career advice podcast exists precisely for moments like this one — to help you make sense of seismic shifts and translate them into smarter, more intentional action in your own career.

In the 44th episode of CultivatED Marketer – your go-to marketing professional development podcast – hosts Brent Bowen, Julie Masson, and Matt Tidwell, PhD, are joined by Mary-Catherine Reinert, Founder of Fortissima, a firm specializing in multi-sensorial marketing for boutique hospitality and lifestyle brands. Packed with marketing career advice and marketing industry insights, this episode challenges conventional thinking of branding and delivers practical lessons from a marketing leader who built her career by breaking the rules.

Mary-Catherine Reinert, or “MC” as she’s known, didn’t enter marketing through the front door. She came, as she puts it, through the loading dock. Her career began in corrugated packaging design, evolved through luxury event creation, and ultimately led her to found Fortissima, where she helps boutique hospitality and lifestyle brands build deeper, more intentional connections with their audiences through a framework she calls sensorial marketing.

MC opens the conversation with a concept that most marketers have never considered: sensorial marketing, which she defines as the intentional design of a brand experience across all senses. While most brands live in the sense of sight, MC’s framework – which she’s expanded to seven senses – challenges marketers to think far beyond the visual. Her core question: “What does a brand feel like in your body?” For professionals focused on marketing skills development, this episode offers a genuinely fresh lens for thinking about audience connection.

Her process, built through Fortissima’s CereSenseTM methodology, asks brands to discover their “brand brain,” identifying and articulating their senses to create a full, embodied brand experience that translates across both physical and digital environments.

One of the most compelling elements of MC’s story is the marketing career path she blazed for herself. Her degree wasn’t in marketing. Her first industry was corrugated packaging. But she credits that grounding with giving her the discipline to deconstruct what works, study systems with integrity, and think strategically about the entire customer journey from shelf to doorstep. MC expounds marketing career advice for beginners who may feel like they’re on the “wrong” path, sharing how her own story is proof that diverse experience sharpens your edge.

From packaging, she moved into luxury event design – corporate galas, nonprofit fundraisers, weddings, conferences – where she observed firsthand how sensory environments create lasting emotional memory. That insight became the foundation for the strategic work she does today. Her trajectory is a masterclass in how to grow your marketing career by following curiosity across disciplines rather than staying in one lane.

MC draws on her talk “Personality Under Pressure” (a hit at the Kansas City IABC Business Communicator Summit) to explore how brands, and the marketers who steward them, lose their way when fear kicks in. Impulsive discounting, competitor copying, product bloat: MC names these traps clearly and offers a framework for resisting them.

Her core insight: “You can’t out-discount, but you can out-do you.” Diluting your brand identity to chase trends or mirror competitors doesn’t just erode your market position, it alienates your most loyal customers. She goes on to explain how to hold the line on brand conviction even when revenue pressure mounts – pivotal advice for marketers in leadership positions.

MC’s strategic process always begins inward. Rather than jumping to mood boards and messaging guidelines, she goes deep into what a founder truly believes about the world – what made them create the thing, where they refused to compromise, and the emotional outcome they’re trying to deliver. These root-level insights become the foundation for identity, campaigns, and operational standards.

She also tackles a challenge every marketer has faced: the breakdown between vision and operational follow-through. Brand strategy, she argues, too often stays locked inside a founder’s head or on a shelf in a beautifully bound notebook. When it isn’t embedded into team habits and SOPs, execution becomes mood-dependent. For marketing professionals who want to grow in marketing and lead more strategically, this practical marketing lesson bridges the strategy-to-execution gap.

For listeners wondering whether sensory branding is just beautiful theory, MC brings it back to earth with refreshing directness: “Vibes don’t pay my invoices.” Her CereSenseTM method is built to bridge the emotional and analytical sides of the marketing brain, tying each sensory touchpoint to measurable KPIs.

MC shares a real client example: by implementing 15 additional sensory touchpoints for a lifestyle brand’s conference experience, they saw a 30% year-over-year increase in upsell revenue. Her team measures outcomes like:

For anyone working on marketing tips around analytics and brand accountability, this section delivers applicable marketing insights for your brand.

With so much of modern marketing happening online, MC explores how sensory branding translates to digital environments. Her answer is nuanced and practical: your copy has a cadence and even a “scent.” Your brand photography communicates texture. Your social voice in the consideration phase should sound different from your voice in the loyalty phase. The goal, she says, is “frictionless immersion.”

When digital touchpoints are consistent and intentional, they trigger memories of physical senses — building loyalty, driving advocacy, and transforming both internal culture and external customer relationships. For the career-focused marketer, MC’s framing offers a genuinely new way to evaluate and audit digital brand experiences.

MC names two assumptions she challenges most often in her consulting work, and they’ll ring true for anyone who has spent time in a marketing leadership role:

Most brands can describe their functional differences, but few can articulate how their customer feels. MC inverts Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a provocation: stop building from safety and functionality up, and start from self-actualization down. Own who you are first, then work back to execution.

When organizations treat themselves as islands rather than ecosystems, blame flows to marketing by default. MC’s reframe: everyone works for marketing, not the other way around. Identity fragmentation is usually an inside job – and fixing it starts with deconstruction, not destruction.

For anyone thinking about transitioning into consulting marketing or building a practice as a brand strategist, this section offers a window into lessons from marketing leaders who’ve done the hard work of challenging clients constructively.

Throughout the conversation, MC models the very philosophy she teaches: authentic self-knowledge breeds confidence and unapologetic expression. Whether she’s describing her presentation style, often described as high-energy, humor-forward, memorable, or her conviction that marketing should be fun, her point is clear: professionals and brands that own who they are will always outperform those who imitate.

This is one of the reasons CultivatED Marketer continues to grow as a marketing career podcast and marketing leadership podcast — to help professionals learn directly from practitioners like MC who have turned unconventional paths into distinctive, impactful careers. Whether you’re searching for marketing mentorship, trying to understand how to become a marketing consultant, or simply looking for marketing career growth inspiration, you’ve found the right place.

00:00 Smell and branding icebreaker

01:37 Personal brand scents

04:49 Key takeaways from MC

10:14 Show intro and guest bio

11:49 What is sensorial marketing

14:39 MC career journey and events

19:18 Staying aligned under pressure

21:52 High energy speaking style

25:48 Authenticity and acronyms

26:53 Founder First Strategy

29:08 Nonprofit Storytelling

31:20 Vision to Operations

34:44 Brands That Nail It

37:18 Proving ROI With KPIs

42:15 Scaling Boutique Hotels

44:52 Breaking Founder Myths

50:12 Digital Sensory Cues

53:34 Final Takeaways

54:57 Where to Find MC

In the 43rd episode of CultivatED Marketer … your go-to marketing professional development podcast, hosts Brent Bowen and Julie Masson, are joined by Ashley Dennison, Founder and CEO of CommsConsultants.com to discuss practical marketing career advice for professionals considering a transition into consulting, along with insights into building a sustainable independent business. Hear real-world insights from industry leaders about navigating the communications and marketing industry. With more than two decades of experience in communications, Ashley has built a platform that connects independent consultants with leaders seeking reliable communication support.

Ashley’s path to creating Comms Consultants began with a desire for both personal and professional freedom. After experiencing layoffs during her career, she chose to take back control by starting her own business.

Her journey highlights a growing trend discussed throughout this podcast for marketing professionals: experienced communicators and marketers seeking new ways to shape their careers outside of traditional agency or corporate roles.

Through her work, Ashley now helps connect organizations with experienced consultants who bring expertise in areas such as:

Her story offers powerful marketing career advice and inspiration for professionals considering a similar path.

Ashley highlights resilience as one of the most important skills for success in consulting. Like many entrepreneurs and independent professionals, consultants must learn how to navigate rejection and uncertainty.

In this marketing leadership podcast episode, Ashley explains that building a financial cushion and maintaining persistence are critical for navigating the natural “feast and famine” cycles that often occur in consulting work.

These insights are especially valuable for marketers thinking about long-term career growth and leadership opportunities outside traditional employment structures.

For marketers considering independent consulting, Ashley recommends establishing clear timelines and financial benchmarks before making the transition. This strategy allows professionals to evaluate whether consulting is sustainable without immediately returning to traditional employment.

Julie also shares her personal experience transitioning into consulting and how setting clear expectations helped her successfully navigate the change.

For listeners of this marketing career advice podcast, the discussion provides practical steps for testing consulting while maintaining financial stability.

Ashley emphasizes that a strong personal brand is essential for consultants looking to attract opportunities and build credibility. Authentic communication, thought leadership, and consistent engagement – especially on LinkedIn – can significantly expand a consultant’s visibility and influence.

See Lynn Zimmerman’s authentic viral LinkedIn post here.

Her own experience growing a substantial LinkedIn audience demonstrates how professionals can use digital platforms to establish authority and attract clients. For seasoned or new marketers alike, this marketing professional development podcastprovides practical guidance on how personal branding can open new career opportunities.

Ashley also shares her perspective on the future of communications consulting, and consulting at large, noting the growing reliance on contract talent and the expansion of the gig economy. Many organizations are shifting away from traditional agency models and instead seeking specialized expertise from independent consultants.

As AI continues to reshape the communications and marketing industry, adaptable professionals who build strong networks and niche expertise will be increasingly valuable. This conversation reinforces why shows like CultivatED Marketer — a podcast for marketing professionals focused on leadership and career growth — are helping marketers prepare for the evolving future of the industry.

Ashley Dennison’s journey offers valuable lessons for anyone exploring independent consulting or considering new directions in their marketing career. Her perspective on resilience, personal branding, and industry trends provides practical guidance for professionals navigating an increasingly flexible and dynamic workforce.

Sharing her story, and others like it, are why CultivatED Marketer strives to continue growing as a marketing career podcast and marketing leadership podcast — to help marketers learn directly from experienced industry professionals.

For more resources and insights from Ashley, follow her on:

01:22 Meet Ashley Dennison

03:52 From Journalism to Comms

05:58 Going Solo After Layoffs

07:21 Why Build Comms Consultants

14:42 Resilience for Consistent Work

19:32 Taking the Leap Safely

24:01 Commit Full Time

28:11 Future Of Gig Work

31:54 AI And Talent Shifts

34:39 Personal Brand Matters

In the 42nd episode of CultivatED Marketer – your go-to professional development podcast for marketing and communications professionals – hosts Brent Bowen, Matt Tidwell, PhD, and Julie Masson, are joined by Mike Farag, CEO and Chief Strategy Officer at Fervor, an award-winning strategic marketing agency. Mike shares his journey from the corporate world to building a purpose-driven career, offering powerful insights into career development, professional growth, and aligning personal values with marketing communications across both for-profit and nonprofit sectors.

Mike’s path toward purpose-driven work began with a life-changing mission trip to Haiti in July 2008. There, he met a young orphan named Daniel whose joy and resilience reshaped Mike’s understanding of success and fulfillment. That moment ultimately led Mike to transition from his corporate role at Sprint into work centered on impact and meaning.

As Mike discussed his shift into nonprofit marketing, he highlighted the importance of adapting marketing communications strategies to connect with diverse audiences. Navigating this transition required intentional learning, empathy, and a commitment to continuous professional development – especially when moving between corporate and nonprofit environments. Despite the challenges, Mike found renewed purpose in helping organizations build brands that truly matter.

On building brand trust, Mike says he draws a lot of inspiration from Cory Sheer, emphasizing the difference between brand awareness and genuine brand trust, noting that trust is built through consistent, authentic internal communications and external communications. For nonprofits in particular, investing in thoughtful communication strategies is essential for building long-term relationships with donors, stakeholders, and communities.

Mike encouraged organizations to move beyond a scarcity mindset and view communication as a core function, rather than a luxury. This approach reinforces transparency, strengthens leadership credibility, and supports sustainable organizational growth.

Julie calls out a study done and how St. Jude is the most trusted nonprofit organization, and they achieved this by spending over $100M in marketing. Mike shared practical advice for leaders focused on professional development, starting with simple but powerful internal actions. Regular, authentic communication from leadership plays a critical role in shaping culture and alignment. As Mike put it, “Culture begets communication, and communication begets culture.”

Drawing from his book, Marketing with Fervor, Mike outlined a framework that helps organizations articulate purpose, clarify messaging, and build cohesive marketing strategies. These principles support both marketing professional development and healthier internal cultures – ensuring organizations grow from the inside out.

While some industries struggle with purpose-driven branding in polarized environments, as noted in the interview with Fred Cook and the Annenberg study, Mike believes purpose remains essential for nonprofits and mission-driven organizations. Purpose provides clarity, direction, and authenticity – key ingredients for meaningful career development and organizational impact.

Mike’s perspective reinforces the value of communication professional development rooted in integrity and consistency. By showing up as the same person in every setting, leaders can foster trust, strengthen culture, and build brands that resonate deeply with their audiences.

Mike Farag’s story is a compelling reminder that professional growth doesn’t have to come at the expense of personal values. By aligning purpose with marketing communications, leaders can create meaningful change while advancing their own career development.

03:07 The Importance of Nonprofit Communications

06:21 Mike Farag’s Journey from Corporate to Nonprofit

09:31 Challenges and Strategies in Nonprofit Marketing

17:49 Building Organizational Trust and Effective Marketing for Nonprofits

24:42 Overcoming Scarcity Mentality in Nonprofits

27:35 Google’s Secret Sauce and Nonprofit Challenges

29:42 Integrating Purpose and Career

33:11 Translating Purpose into Action

35:44 The Future of Cause Marketing

41:29 Building Organizational Trust with Internal Communications