Dialsmith Podcast

This episode is the result of an experiment between Engagious and the Insights Association. For the first time we set up our gear on the show floor and interviewed speakers, attendees, and exhibitors at the Corporate Researchers Conference.

Well, if I do say so myself, that was a great idea! With so many fascinating and accomplished people at the show, we had no shortage of stimulating conversations.

In this first of three Great Takes from CRC episodes, we share highlights of market research predictions from Lisa Wright of Canadian Viewpoint, Fred Gaudios of Zeldis Research, and Bob Lederer of RFL Communications.

Thanks to our friends at the Insights Association for partnering with us on this episode. If you liked this one, I also recommend that you check out our conversation with Kristin Luck (another collaboration we did with the Insights Association) where we discuss storytelling, growth hacking, customer engagement, and much more.

If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you. Until next time, #BeEngagious.

It’s not every day that you get to chat with the NASA project manager on a mission to Mars, but today is that day! Tom Hoffman is the project manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA’s InSight Mission to Mars. InSight will be landing on November 26th, 2018, and it’s primary mission is to do a “check-up” on the health of Mars for the very first time.

In this conversation Tom and I discuss:

@2:17   The three main instruments being used on this mission to conduct Mars’ health check.

@5:12   How a complex and global project like this gets managed and executed so effectively.

@9:31   The incredible technologies and nearly unfathomable accomplishments planned for this mission and others.

@12:52   How to keep people (the audience) engaged when what’s going on is generally (and literally : ) over everyone’s heads.

This episode was done in partnership with the Insights Association and the Audible Insights podcast. You can explore the Audible Insights Podcast at http://insightsassociation.org/audible-insights or by searching Audible Insights on iTunes and Google Play.

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Elizabeth Merrick May from Nest where we discuss global research, how to craft effective messaging on a personalized level, and much more.

If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.

When it comes to engaging audiences, the direct marketing industry has it down. And one of the foremost experts in direct marketing is our guest Rick Petry. Over the course of his career, Rick has helped clients, such as Bowflex and Char-Broil, realize more than a billion dollars in combined sales and he has some great insights to share with us.

In this episode Rick and I discuss:

@4:00   The importance of stories in direct marketing and sales

@7:00   How consumers can become part of a brand’s story

@16:30   Scarcity mentality, desire for a bargain, and other levers you can pull to drive sales…

@21:00   Creative ways to use direct marketing to sell all kinds of products

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Carla Johnson where we discuss the convergence of storytelling and customer experience among many other things.

If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.

 

 

Hot on the heels of our Harris III conversation, we have another great chat with master storyteller Carla Johnson. What makes Carla unique is her focus on shifting people from being recipients of a story to actually having an experience related to the story. We explore how that can be done, the benefits to consumers, and which brands are already starting to embrace that technique.

In this conversation we discuss:

@4:30    The difference between two-dimensional storytelling and three-dimensional customer experience.

@11:05    How storytelling can drive change within an organization.

@16:50    What is Brand Attachment Disorder and how to avoid it?!

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Harris III where we discuss the importance of “wow over how,” and how he uses his skills as a master illusionist to craft amazing stories and engage audiences.

If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.

 

 

I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Brian Kurtz, a long-time friend and colleague of my business partner Rich Thau, through his Titans Mastermind events. Always dedicated to bringing amazing value to his audience, I knew Brian would do the same for listeners of this podcast and he did not disappoint!

Brian has been a serial direct marketer for over 35 years and never met a medium he didn’t like. And, while he’s had much success, he also admits that trying to sell subscriptions and books on the back of ATM receipts and under yogurt lids “seemed like a good idea at the time…!”

Through sharing his successes and challenges, here are some things you’ll learn from this conversation with Brian:

@ 9:00 – What did Brian learn about engaging audiences from growing a media company from $4M to $160M?

@ 19:30 – How to retain customers and ensure you are creating lifetime value

@ 31:30 – Key takeaways, based on decades of experience, on creating contagious and engaging content

@ 36:10 – Lessons on how to create messages, content, and products that stand out from the crowd

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Jamie Mustard where we discuss how to use singular big ideas to make messages, brands, and products stand out.

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.

 

 

Alright, friends…this is an fun one! How often do you get to hear stories and advice on engaging an audience from a master illusionist, keynote speaker, storyteller, creative consultant, and live event curator?

Harris III (the third) has traveled the world learning how to entertain, inform, and inspire, and in this conversation he shares a ton of that experience with us. No one will leave this podcast without something tangible to immediately apply to their work and even personal life.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn from this conversation with Harris:

@ 10:05  How Harris learned that true kindness is real magic

@ 24:35  What Harris has learned about engaging large audiences

@ 28:35  How to use changing people’s attitude and mindset in order to change their actions

@ 35:35  How can you use misdirection and focus together to engage an audience

@ 41:05  The importance of wow over how

 

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Jamie Mustard where we discuss how to use singular big ideas to make messages, brands, and products stand out.

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.

When it comes to storytelling in market research and content creation, one of the best in the business is Kristin Luck. With over 20 years of experience as a marketing measurement and growth hacking expert, Kristin’s consulting practice, Luck Collective, focuses on nontraditional growth strategies. She’s a serial entrepreneur and a globetrotting keynote speaker on marketing, branding, storytelling, startups, and innovation. Kristin is also the founder of Women in Research, a global nonprofit that facilitates education, entrepreneurship, and other career development for women in the market research industry.

Our conversation focuses on the hot topic of storytelling in market research, both in marketing to consumers and in market research reporting. We also touch on brands that are doing a stand-out job of engaging consumers and we explore the state of women, and diversity overall, in market research.

In this conversation we discuss:

@ 03:00 Ways to use storytelling in market research reporting

@ 06:20 The importance of not only what to put into a story, but also what to leave out

@ 10:10 What growth hacking can teach us about framing, and making use, of data

@ 12:55 The impact stories have to influence behavior

@ 14:10 Examples of B2B brands that effectively engage with customers through story and narrative

@ 16:45 The importance of video for business-related storytelling

@ 20:20 Women in Research and the current state of diversity in the market research industry (and business overall)

Thanks, again, to Kristin Luck and my co-host for this episode, Paul Kirch.

You can explore the Audible Insights Podcast at http://insightsassociation.org/audible-insights and by searching Audible Insights on iTunes and Google Play.

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with JoAnn Schinderle where we discuss using humor to craft engaging stories and engage with your audience.

If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.

No podcast covering the topics of storytelling and market research would be complete without a discussion with Ray Poynter. Between creating NewMR, authoring The Handbook of Online and Social Media Research, serving as Director of Vision Critical’s knowledge sharing center, and as Managing Director of The Future Place, Ray is always at the forefront of how to tell stories with data.

Whether or not you work in research, Ray’s 40+ year career has something to teach everyone. I know I learned a lot!

In this episode we talk about:

3:00    Using market research to illuminate the story and make the results more actionable.

8:00    How the technique of découpé can be used to find the story in data.

11:00  How humor can play a role in delivering complex information.

13:30  What do brands, marketers, and advertisers need to keep in mind regarding today’s social movements such as #MeToo and others.

17:30  What is the best use of infographics and what makes for the best visual aids.

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Elizabeth Merrick-May where we discuss how to get into the head of customers and undercover “Moments of Truth.”

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.

When thinking about a well-rounded group of guests for this podcast, talking with a successful improv and stand-up comedian made perfect sense. After all, if they can’t quickly engage an audience they’re sunk! Having been named Portland’s Funniest Person and starting her own successful comedy showcase, I really wanted to talk with JoAnn Schinderle and thankfully she said yes.

In this conversation, JoAnn and I talk about:

@7:25  How to engage an audience and get them on your side right out of the gate, or get them back if you start to lose them

@13:45  How to engage an audience in written, video, and audio form when they’re not right in front of you

@15:50  How to use storytelling principles when crafting content

@24:00  How to use humor to engage with an audience on topics that aren’t funny

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Harris III where, among many other things, we discuss changing people’s attitudes and mindset in order to change their actions.

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious

On this podcast, we’ve had the good fortune of talking with many experts in their field. In the case of Erika Isler, we got to talk with someone who spans many fields. Erika is a reporter, editor, teacher, and personal development coach who uses horses (equine facilitated wellness) to help her clients navigate all kinds of issues. I was fascinated to learn how people’s interaction with horses (not their riding of them) can be used to uncover and solve a variety of challenges. Erika also enlightens us on what her varied career has taught her about the most effective ways to engage an audience and we dig into what my closet says about me. So, yeah, we cover a lot!

In this episode we talk about:

3:15      What is Equus coaching and how can it be helpful in uncovering and solving many of life’s challenges?

12:50    What role does intention play in effective messaging and communications?

15:50    When does thinking it over give way to over-thinking?

18:35    What can we learn about what’s important to people by simply observing the day-to-day choices they make related to everything from their clothing, homes, furniture, accessories, etc. (and what does my closet say about me!)?

24:50    How looking for things that are incongruent can be a window into what people are really thinking and feeling.

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Ryan Serhant, star of reality television’s Million Dollar Listing New York and Sell It Like Serhant. Ryan and I discuss his secrets on engaging audiences of all shapes and sizes, the power of persistence, and more.

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.