Being the underdog might feel like a disadvantage or your greatest marketing edge.

That’s the brilliance of Steph Curry’s story. He redefined basketball not by being the tallest or strongest, but by mastering the three-pointer, staying relentlessly consistent, and building an empire as the face of an underdog brand. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons from Steph Curry with special guest Brian Gilman, Chief Marketing Officer at ThetaRay.

Together, we dig into what B2B marketers can learn from embracing the underdog role, cutting through noise with consistency, and focusing on doing one thing better than anyone else to create real brand gravity.

About our guest, Brian Gilman

Brian Gilam is the CMO at ThetaRay. He is a visionary Chief Executive with a proven track record in spearheading strategic B2B sales/marketing initiatives and driving robust growth. Brian excels in leading companies through critical transitions, including exit events and funding rounds, while managing large-scale projects and multi-million-dollar budgets. He is an expert in crafting high-ROI programs, fostering C-Level engagements, and negotiating impactful partnerships.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Steph Curry:

• Play the underdog role. Steph could’ve gone with Nike or Adidas like every other superstar, but he signed with Under Armour, the underdog, and turned it into a cultural force. Brian says, “His role as an underdog… It’s endearing to be able to play the role of underdog as well as he does, and I think that’s why people resonate with him as well as they do.” For marketers, especially at scale-ups, that lesson is powerful: people root for challengers who feel accessible and relatable. Positioning your brand as the scrappy player in the game can create emotional connection far beyond features and price.
• Focus on consistency over noise. Steph’s greatness comes from showing up every day and blocking out distractions. Brian says, “He controls what he can control.” In marketing, the same discipline applies. Instead of chasing every channel or campaign, concentrate on the actions that matter most. Steph doesn’t let the highs get too high or the lows too low, he just executes. That consistency of effort is what makes him durable and dominant. For B2B, that means resisting the urge to “do it all” and instead building steady momentum with tactics that reliably drive results.
• Do one thing better than anyone else. Steph didn’t try to be everything, he mastered the three-pointer until it broke the NBA. Brian explains, “For me, it’s always do one thing really, really well. Forget about the marketing machine, you need that one thing, and then build the next thing.” Just as Curry’s deep shooting created “gravity” that opened the floor for teammates, one marketing strength executed brilliantly can lift all your other channels. Don’t spread yourself thin, find your version of the 30-foot three-pointer and own it.

Quotes

“I think that in today’s market, successful marketers are gonna throw out the book on convention. I’ve never seen such a highly competitive environment… and unless you’re thinking about speed, cutting out the number of touch points, and getting to that face-to-face interaction as fast as humanly possible, you’re never gonna get business anymore.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Brian Gilman, Chief Marketing Officer at ThetaRay

[01:03] Why Steph Curry?

[04:28] The Role of CMO of Thetaray

[06:23] Who is Steph Curry?

[26:58] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Steph Curry

[39:13] Brian's Marketing Strategy

[42:20] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn

Learn more about ThetaRay

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

It’s not easy to make people rethink their assumptions. If you want to shift perception, you need to challenge expectations, gently, cleverly, and sometimes with a perfectly executed deepfake.

That’s the brilliance of Orange’s Women’s Soccer Ad, a mind-bending celebration of women’s soccer disguised as a highlight reel of men’s soccer. And in this episode, we’re decoding its genius with the help of Angie Westbrock, CEO of Standard AI.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from surprising your audience, staying true to both your brand and your customer, and not allowing biases to affect your content.

About our guest, Angie Westbrock

Angie Westbock’s mission is to build high-performance, diverse teams that transform challenges into opportunities. With a solid background as COO and now CEO, she thrives on aligning our company's strengths to create impactful solutions, all while cultivating a culture that celebrates diversity and encourages groundbreaking ideas.

Angie is currently serving as the CEO at Standard AI, a startup using AI and computer vision technology to help retailers and brands optimize operations and bottom lines through real-time insights into shoppers’ in-store experiences. With a non-traditional background beginning in CPG and then moving into tech, her experience spans from stealth start-ups to IPO to Fortune 500 companies. Leveraging this expertise in commercialization strategy and growth, Angie is able to guide organizations through every phase of development.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Orange’s Women’s Soccer Ad:

• Surprise your audience. Great marketing can earn attention through clever misdirection, then deliver a powerful payoff. The Orange ad didn’t just say women’s sports deserve respect,  it showed it by tricking viewers into watching with existing bias, then rewiring their perception. Angie explains, “Had they not executed the deepfake as well as they did, you would’ve noticed it from the beginning, and it would’ve just validated any of the biases that were already there.” The same applies to B2B: stop announcing your message, design it to unfold in a way that surprises and engages.
• Technology isn’t the story; the outcome is. Orange used advanced deepfake technology, but they never made that the headline. The ad wasn’t about AI, it was about bias, identity, and respect. The technology was the tool, not the message. “We always try to  tie it to the customer's use cases and ROI versus just about the tech,” says Angie. This is a trap many B2B companies fall into. You’re proud of your tech stack, your infrastructure, your proprietary model, and rightly so. But your buyer doesn’t care. They care about what your product helps them become. Sell the before and after, not the engine.
• Don’t let your biases affect your content. Too many B2B marketers create content for the people who already agree with them, existing customers, internal stakeholders, or the "safe" ICP. But powerful messaging challenges assumptions. Orange didn’t make an ad to celebrate women’s soccer for people who already love it, they made an ad to get skeptics to pause and rethink. Angie says, “It wasn’t just to the women to honor them and to empower them. It was actually to the men also, to say, you need to revisit your thinking here.” In B2B, you’re often selling change: a new workflow, a new tool, a new way of doing things. That means your messaging needs to meet people where they are, not where you wish they were.

Quote

“ We get so caught up in what we want to say that we don't take into consideration the very specific viewpoints of the customer that you're selling to and making sure that it's going to land with them in a way that aligns with how they're thinking.

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Angie Westbrock, Chief Executive Officer at Standard AI

[01:00] Why Orange’s Women’s Soccer Ad 

[01:50] What Standard AI Actually Does

[05:33] Why Physical Retail Is Still Underrated

[11:38] Designed for Rewatching and Social

[13:51] Real Tech, Real Players, Real Impact

[14:55] Messaging That Reaches the People Who Need to Hear It

[21:59] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Why Orange’s Women’s Soccer Ad 

[34:38] Not a Cheap Trick — A Trusted Brand Moment

[38:13] It All Starts With a Single Shift in Mindset

[40:00] What Marketers Want From In-Store Strategy

[47:41] Standard AI’s Brand Strategy and Differentiation

[52:40] Final Thoughts: Break Through the Noise

Links

Connect with Angie on LinkedIn

Learn more about Standard AI

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Copy and paste content doesn’t build a connection. If you want your brand to resonate, you need to go deeper, more human, more emotional, more real.

That’s executed perfectly by The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic story that became a global phenomenon not because of monsters, but because of its heart. In this episode, we’re taking a closer look with the help of our special guest, Ashley Emery, CMO at VelocityEHS.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from emotional storytelling, breaking traditional formats, and building real resonance with your audience (even in the most unexpected places).

About our guest, Ashley Emery

Ashley excels in driving growth and innovation in B2B technology organizations, both at the global enterprise and high-growth start-up scale. She holds an Executive MBA and specializes in demand generation and revenue-focused marketing strategies. Ashley has a proven track record of building and leading high-performing marketing teams, having served as Head of Global Campaigns for the Database and Analytics category at AWS, VP of Marketing at Emburse, and most recently, the SVP of Demand Generation at Employ, the parent company of JazzHR, Jobvite, and Lever.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From The Last of Us:

• Story comes before product. In B2B, it’s easy to get stuck in the habit of leading with features, capabilities, or technical specs. But as The Last of Us demonstrates, what draws people in is a story they care about, not a list of innovations. Your product may be powerful, but unless your audience understands how it impacts their world or identity, it won’t matter. Center the narrative on the customer’s journey, pain, and outcome, your product plays a supporting role in that transformation. This shift can completely reframe how you approach content, ads, and even your brand voice. Ashley advises, “Lead with a human-centric storytelling. Don’t sell features… the product is the enabler, it’s not the hero.”
• Your audience might not be who you think. “Even if you think you understand your audience, you may not,” said Ashley, who was surprised herself, as she was so drawn to the series. Just as The Last of Us broke out of its presumed “gamer” audience, B2B brands often have unexpected buyers, champions, or influencers they’re missing. Assumptions based on firmographics or industry stereotypes can be limiting. VelocityEHS found that their safety-focused customers were actually risk-tolerant thrill-seekers outside of work, which changed how they positioned messaging. This is a call to continuously validate personas, run qualitative interviews, and listen for nuance. Your best buyers may not look like your ICP on paper.
• The medium shapes the message. It’s not enough to have a great story, you have to tailor it to the channel and format. A 60-minute podcast moment doesn’t automatically become a good TikTok. Just like a video game plot doesn’t translate directly into a TV script, B2B content has to be rewritten for the medium it's living in. That means writing social hooks, designing natively for mobile, and assuming low context. Ian reminds us that, “-if you take an idea that Ashley says in minute 50 of a podcast and drop it onto LinkedIn, and the person has no context at all who this person is or what they do, then the actual insight itself isn’t as interesting or valuable.” Meet your audience where they are, mentally, emotionally, and contextually, or risk wasting great content on the wrong canvas.

Quotes

“Often in marketing, we get scared of emotion. We try to stay very neutral in our language. We don’t want to be provocative, we don’t want to be bold, and I think we as humans crave that. The show is a perfect example. The boldness, the emotional connection, and the conflict of the characters was really valuable. There’s so much raw emotion and connection in the stories that could be told, and not being afraid to tell an uncomfortable story… is powerful.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Ashley Emery, CMO at VelocityEHS.

[00:56] Why The Last of Us?

[01:42] The Role of CMO at VelocityEHS

[02:48] Breaking Down The Last of Us

[26:47] B2B Marketing Lessons from The Last of Us

[27:36] Human-Centric Storytelling in Marketing

[35:16 Understanding Your Audience

[38:43] Building an Ecosystem of Content

[40:20] The Importance of Star Power

[42:14] Embracing Emotional Tension in Marketing

[46:11] Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Links

Connect with Ashley on LinkedIn

Learn more about VelocityEHS

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

When it comes to marketing, the boldest ideas often come from imagining a future no one else can see, then making it real.

That’s exactly what Stanley Kubrick achieved with 2001: A Space Odyssey, a film that married meticulous research with visionary storytelling to create the most realistic depiction of space the world had ever seen. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons behind it with special guest Josh Golden, CMO at Quad.

Together, we dive into how marketers can embrace risk, iterate through failure, compete on imagination rather than resources, and create experiences—both digital and physical—that deliver the elusive “wow” factor. All while staying relevant, resonant, and ready to invent the future.

About our guest, Josh Golden

As Chief Marketing Officer at Quad, Josh Golden is architecting the evolution of Quad as a marketing experience company. He leads a highly collaborative team that works with marketers around the world to clear the path for a frictionless solution to easily communicate with their optimal audience.

Quad’s clients are the lifeblood of its operations, driving the company’s evolution and influencing its every action. Josh is helping the company combine Quad’s history as a manufacturer and commercial printer with this marketer-obsessed philosophy to best support client growth and eliminate the interference that otherwise causes them to lose time, money, and customers.

Since assuming his role, Josh has defined the Quad brand narrative, developed the company’s “marketing experience” framing, implemented a new Quad design system and initiated brand and product marketing campaigns for key verticals.

With more than three decades of experience in marketing, branding, media, and content, Josh is one of the most prolific connectors in the marketing industry. Prior to joining Quad in 2021, Josh was President and Publisher of Ad Age where he spurred transformative growth for the venerable, 90-year trade publication and media brand. His passion for driving evolution was also on display as Vice President, Global Digital Marketing, at Xerox; Group Director of Digital Marketing at NBC Universal; Chief Digital Officer at Grey Group; Managing Director, Digital at Havas; and head of the first digital division at Young & Rubicam.

A self-proclaimed “professional groupie,” Josh avidly follows and cheers people who pursue their passions. He likes playing a little semi-aggressive tennis and makes a killer “cheater” banana bread. He lives in Westchester, NY with his wife and two teenage children.

Josh received his MBA from New York University and his B.S. in communications from Ithaca College.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From 2001: A Space Odyssey:

• Embrace the process, not just the end product. Kubrick went through a massive number of iterations before landing on the film we know and love today. Josh says, “There is not one singular moment; it’s a series of failures.” In marketing, abandoned ideas aren’t wasted. They’re the iterations that lead to something great. Like Kubrick, be willing to test, discard, and refine until you find the version that truly resonates. The process is the work.
• AI can execute, but humans inspire. Hal, the AI in 2001, could run the ship, but couldn’t imagine a better way forward. Josh says, “ Humans have the capacity to do the wow factor.” AI can give you the exact steps to execute a campaign, but it can’t create the unexpected spark that makes it unforgettable. Your job as a marketer is to deliver that human insight and surprise that AI can’t replicate.
• Inspiration doesn’t have to start from scratch.2001 began as a loose adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s short story The Sentinel, but evolved far beyond it. Josh reflects, “You’re ultimately gonna go rewrite it in your own way.” In marketing, you can take inspiration from existing ideas, but the magic comes from reshaping them into something uniquely yours.

Quote

“There’s moments that we all have as marketers where real ideas happen, and I celebrate those…but in truth…There is not one singular moment. It’s a series of failures…That inspiration is evident in the film, and it's evident that in the actual process of trying and failing and trying and failing and trying and failing, and then getting to a point where you're like, wow, this is actually kind of okay.’”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Josh Golden, CMO at Quad

[01:27] The Role of CMO at Quad

[02:54] Overview of 2001: A Space Odyssey

[21:45] B2B Marketing Lessons from 2001: A Space Odyssey

[25:28] The AI Character and Its Implications

[26:42] AI vs. Human Creativity

[43:21] Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Links

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn

Learn more about Quad

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

When small-market teams face off against deep-pocketed competitors, winning means rewriting the rules of the game. 

That’s exactly what happened in Moneyball, where the Oakland A’s turned to unconventional metrics and overlooked talent to outsmart the league’s biggest spenders. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons behind it with special guest Scott Greenwald, CMO at Linedata.

Together, we dive into how B2B marketers can rethink the metrics that matter, compete asymmetrically against larger rivals, align teams around bold strategies, and tell stories that stick, all while staying credible, prepared, and ready to adapt.

About our guest, Scott Greenwald

At Linedata, Scott’s tenure as Chief Marketing Officer has been marked by the successful leadership of a dynamic, multi-lingual team and the creation of transformative digital marketing strategies. Our efforts have resulted in a staggering 600% year-over-year increase in web traffic, contributing significantly to a 20% generation of the sales pipeline.

Scott’s role extends to overseeing the marketing budget and launching a new CRM and Marketing Automation tool, which has streamlined Linedata’s pipeline review process and accelerated the sales cycle. With a focus on driving market visibility and thought leadership, Scott’s strategic campaigns across key global markets have empowered Linedata to cement its presence in the competitive financial services industry.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Moneyball:

• Focus on the outcomes that matter.  In Moneyball, the point wasn’t to sign the flashiest “five-tool” players; it was to score runs. The same is true in marketing. Scott says, “In the end, it’s how many of the MQLs turn into opportunities or new business? And that’s what we focus on.” Metrics that look good in a report mean nothing if they don’t turn into real pipeline and closed deals. In B2B, your scoreboard isn’t impressions or clicks, it’s revenue.
• Credibility over volume in content. AI makes it easy to crank out more content than ever before, but more isn’t always better. “If we suddenly increased our, our, our output fivefold, we, we would lose that credibility,” Scott says. His team uses AI to adapt and reformat high-quality core pieces, not flood the market with fluff. Your audience notices when your content is consistent, credible, and worth their time—and they notice just as fast when it’s not.
• Compete asymmetrically. The A’s couldn’t outspend the Yankees or Red Sox, so they had to outthink them. That meant challenging every “sacred cow” in baseball and finding value others overlooked. Scott explains, “You can’t come in here and say, I’m going to transform this marketing organization into what I had before… you have to assess the talent pool [and] review the best way of spending the marketing budgets you have.” In marketing, the same rule applies: when you can’t match your competitors’ budget, you win by rewriting the playbook.

Quote

“It is our responsibility as storytellers of not just giving the business what they want, but also giving the audience what they need to hear.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Scott Greenwal, CMO at Linedata

[01:04] Why Moneyball?

[06:45] Behind the Scenes of Moneyball

[10:00] B2B Marketing Lessons from Moneyball

[31:51] The Importance of Storytelling

[37:18] The Role of Communication in Change Management

[41:02] The Evolution of Marketing Automation

[45:30] Balancing Content Quality and Quantity

[47:00 Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Links

Connect with Scott on LinkedIn

Learn more about Linedata

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

In a world full of polished content, authenticity is what truly cuts through.

That’s the secret behind Armchair Expert, the wildly popular podcast from Dax Shepard that mixes candid conversation with crowd-sourced chaos. In this episode, we unpack the marketing insights behind it with special guest Derek Weeks, Chief Marketing Officer at Katalon.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from building real connections, inviting community participation, and letting go of perfection to create content people genuinely trust and engage with.

About our guest, Derek Weeks

Derek Weeks is the Chief Marketing Officer at Katalon. He is a driven, results-oriented CMO with a proven ability to achieve multiple successful exits, build and execute bold go-to-market strategies for each stage of business growth, and demonstrate solid returns on marketing investments. Accomplished at building high-performing teams, driving quality marketing-sourced pipeline, developing massive communities, and collaborating with sales teams to meet business targets.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From the Armchair Expert Podcast:

• Vulnerability builds trust and attention. Derek Weeks emphasizes that Armchair Expert’s standout quality is its authentic vulnerability, which creates a powerful emotional connection with listeners. He explains, “It’s really about being human… It builds an emotional connection with your brand.” Derek draws a parallel to B2B marketing, highlighting that it’s crucial to showcase real people behind the brand to forge trust.
• Mix long-form and short-form content strategically. Armchair Expert masterfully balances 90-minute conversations with short, snackable segments like Armchair Anonymous. Derek believes this dual-format approach is essential for B2B marketing: “That kind of mix of long and short is something that you have to play into as a marketer and realize your audience expects different things at different times.” He stresses that marketers must go deep when it matters, but also repurpose content aggressively to cater to varied audience behaviors, especially across platforms like TikTok.
• Empower community-generated content. Derek praises Armchair Expert for its use of community-driven content through Armchair Anonymous, where listeners share personal stories weekly. He says, “They really don’t have to spend time creating content at all… believe in your community and the value that they create.” B2B marketers should harness their user-generated content to scale content creation far beyond the limits of a marketing budget.

Quotes

“ You have to think about what draws people to the next.  What did you do in that moment that got people to say, ‘This is worth following or paying attention to or coming back again?’  Figure out what's going to make people come back, not what makes people appear the first time.  The first time is kind of an easy win. The second time, or third time, or 10th time is the hard part.”

Time Stamps

[00:55]  Meet Derek Weeks, CMO at Katalon

[01:23]  Why Armchair Expert?

[03:01] Vulnerability and Trust in B2B

[08:58]  Don’t Build Campaigns, Build Conversations

[13:37] The Long-Form to Short-Form Pipeline

[19:05] Unfair Mindshare

[21:47] What Armchair Expert Gets Right

[24:01] Practical Ways to Bring Personality into B2B

[27:38] Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Links

Connect with Derek on LinkedIn

Learn more about Katalon

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Turning into your parents might be your worst fear, or your biggest marketing opportunity.

That’s the brilliance of Progressive’s Dr. Rick campaign. It’s hilarious, deeply relatable, and sneakily strategic. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons behind it with special guest Keri McGhee, Chief Marketing Officer at Attentive.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from character-driven storytelling, embracing creative risk, and using humor and relatability to create campaigns that people actually want to talk about.

About our guest, Keri McGhee

Keri McGhee is the CMO at Attentive, the AI marketing platform for leading brands. She leads strategic global marketing to further build the Attentive brand, overseeing product marketing, revenue marketing, events, partner marketing, communications and content, and brand creative. Keri's past experiences include leading marketing at various start-ups and as a senior director at Zillow, where she led the B2B marketing team of 60+ people, responsible for strengthening partner loyalty and experience for 60,000+ real estate partners. She got her start in tech at Expedia, leading both consumer and corporate travel marketing teams.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Progressive’s Dr. Rick Campaign:

• Take creative risks. Keri’s central message is clear: great brand moments come from taking chances. “We take ourselves way too seriously in B2B.  So I think my advice is to step outside of the comfort zone of what the CFO, and the COO, and the CEO say yes to. And do the work to get the customer validation to pitch in some new idea..” B2B marketers often play it safe, focusing on product features, ROI charts, or thought leadership. But real differentiation happens when you create something unexpected, emotional, or funny. The Dr. Rick campaign could’ve flopped. Instead, it became a cultural reference point.
• Make your audience feel seen. The best ads are mirrors, not megaphones. Progressive tapped into a deep, relatable insecurity, “Am I becoming my parents?” Keri shares, “It's incredibly memorable, which I think is the most important thing in marketing right now.” For B2B, this could mean identifying moments of self-doubt, imposter syndrome, or job-related stress and playfully reflecting those back to the buyer.
• Build a fictional persona. A single viral hit is fleeting. A character-driven series builds long-term brand equity. Dr. Rick works because he’s a consistent, evolving character. He became a franchise. Most B2B brands invest in one-off videos or campaigns. But serialization keeps audiences coming back, like a show you binge-watch. Keri states, “  I can't think of any B2B that actually has been able to do that…Most of the true B2B play companies are not investing in brand in that way.”

Quotes

“What we find with B2B buyers is they make decisions as people, not as the companies for which they're spending money for. We undervalue that a lot in B2B marketing…And the reality is, the things that are impossible to measure are where we are starting to place bigger bets because it's the only way to drive differentiation.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Keri McGhee, Chief Marketing Officer at Katalon

[01:06] Why Dr. Rick?

[02:45] The Psychology of Being Seen

[04:02] Who Is Dr. Rick?

[11:26] Branding in a Commoditized Industry

[13:59] Flow vs. Dr. Rick: A Franchise Strategy

[15:26] Why B2B Doesn’t Do This

[22:14] Parents vs. Homeowners

[26:35] Keri’s Top B2B Takeaway

[28:30] Creating Content Around Insecurity

[31:20] Why Brands Don’t Take Risks

[40:56] Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Links

Connect with Keri on LinkedIn

Learn more about Attentive

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

When AI feels like old news, the most remarkable storytellers don’t just talk about it, they show you something you’ve never seen before.

That’s exactly what happens in Shell Game, the mind-bending podcast where journalist Evan Ratliff clones his voice and lets it interact with the world without anyone knowing it’s not really him. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons behind it with special guest Kelly Starman, Chief Marketing Officer at MasterControl.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from leading with curiosity, making space for creative risk, and crafting weird, emotional stories that people can’t help but talk about.

About our guest, Kelly Starman

Kelly Starman is a results-focused marketing executive with two decades of driving growth and leading high-performing teams. She has a strong track record in leading large-scale organizational change. Expertise in developing and implementing global go-to-market strategies in the healthcare and technology sectors, including positioning, branding & advertising, digital marketing, demand gen, and marketing automation. 

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Shell Game:

• Embrace the weird. Evan Ratliff’s podcast stands out because it dares to be different. In B2B, weird isn’t a liability—it’s an asset. “So much of B2B marketing is just boring,” Kelly says. “I love the idea of being weird… tapping into that and being memorable makes for great marketing.” If your content doesn’t break the pattern, it won’t break through.
• Lead with curiosity. Shell Game works because it starts with a single, captivating question: what happens when you clone your own voice and let it speak for you? For Kelly, that spirit of experimentation is essential in modern marketing. “I have not had more fun in my career than I've had in the past six months,” she says. “It has been incredible to really step back and think about what is possible with all this new technology.” Curiosity isn’t just a mindset, it’s a strategy for discovering what’s next before your competitors do.
• Curate, don’t just create. In a world of AI overload, audiences don’t want more content, they want better content. That’s where curation comes in. “I think there's just so much out there that I find myself really turning to like individuals that I trust,” Kelly says. As marketers, “How do you add value for your customers… where do you go for that curated content to stay as current as you can?” Being a trusted curator builds loyalty in a noisy market.

Quote

“So much of B2B marketing is just boring... I love the idea of being weird. I usually say like, I want this to be really bold. I want this to be really breakthrough and attention-grabbing."

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Kelly Starman, Chief Marketing Officer at MasterControl

[01:07] Why Shell Game?

[02:53] The Role of CMO at MasterControl

[04:33] What is Shell Game?

[12:39] Breaking Down the Content in Shell Game

[24:57] B2B Marketing Lessons from Shell Game

[28:20] Super Accelerated Learning Techniques

[41:28] Mastercontrol's Marketing Strategy

[44:38] Measuring ROI Strategically

[47:56] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn

Learn more about MasterControl

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

When your audience thinks they already know your story, the boldest brands flip the script and earn their attention in the process. 

That’s exactly what happens in Wicked, the smash-hit film adaptation that reimagines one of pop culture’s most iconic villains. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons behind it with special guest Allison MacLeod, Chief Marketing Officer & GM of US Education at Flywire.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from reframing brand narratives, building fan-level community, and executing with bold, high-stakes detail that actually gets noticed.

About our guest, Allison Macleod

Allison Macleod currently serves as Chief Marketing Officer & Head of US Education at Flywire (Nasdaq: FLYW), a global payments enablement & software company. At Flywire, Allison leads global marketing and revenue operations, & US Education sales, relationship management & pre-sales. She played a key role in guiding Flywire to a successful IPO in May 2021.

Allison brings nearly 20 years of experience with a background spanning marketing and revenue-focused roles. Prior to Flywire, she spent seven years at Rapid7 (Nasdaq: RPD), where she played a pivotal role in building and scaling demand generation, business development, and analytics. Before that, she held various digital and field-based positions at Forrester, including launching the marketing function in EMEA.

Outside of work, Allison sits on the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council and serves as a strategic advisor to early-stage companies through F-Prime & Underscore VC.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Wicked:

• Reframe what they think they know. Wicked works because it flips a legacy story on its head. The same power lies in brand repositioning. “How do you really reframe what people think they know about you and your brand,” Allison says. Whether it’s entering new markets or expanding product lines, your biggest unlock might come from telling your old story in a completely new way.
• Community is your flywheel. Wicked isn’t just a show, it’s a movement. Audiences don’t just watch it, they live it. That level of advocacy isn’t accidental. “How do you really cultivate that community, whether that's your clients, the advocacy, and make people… feel that deep passion for what you do,” Allison asks. In B2B, fandom might look like retention, referrals, or customer-led storytelling, but it starts with emotional connection.
• Be bold and unforgettable. Every production choice in Wicked is a masterclass in attention to detail. From the live vocals to the stunts, they took creative risks that resonated. “How do you be bold and unforgettable,” Allison says. The safest move in saturated categories? Standing out.

Quote

“I think that's sort of the lesson and the beauty in this, taking something that everyone already thought they knew, and they thought they knew the story… and completely reframing it. And I think that’s where you just think of us as businesses, us as consumers… there’s so much clutter. So the brands that stick out and do things differently, and even if it is trying the same channel but in a different way, there’s so much power in that."

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Allison MacLeod, Chief Marketing Officer & GM of US Education at Flywire

[01:05] Why Wicked?

[02:29] The Role of CMO at Flywire

[04:00] Breaking Down of Wicked

[09:22] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Wicked

[21:54] The Appeal of Villains and Taking Risks

[23:37] The Power of Visual Design in Branding

[24:54] Marketing Strategies for Global Brands

[29:26] Flywire's Unique Differentiation Approach

[40:03] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Allison on LinkedIn

Learn more about Flywire

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

When timeless advertising principles meet today’s AI-saturated landscape, something surprising happens: the old rules still work.

Especially when we’re talking about the father of advertising himself, David Ogilvy. In this episode, we dive into his iconic book, Ogilvy on Advertising, with special guest Eric Williamson, CMO at CallMiner.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from Ogilvy’s approach: why specificity beats slogans, how research powers emotional storytelling, and why writing for humans is the real differentiator.

About our guest, Eric Williamson

As CallMiner’s Chief Marketing Officer, Eric oversees all global marketing functions from brand and events to demand generation. Eric’s marketing team works very closely with channel and sales to drive pipeline and CallMiner’s explosive growth. Eric has over 20 years of experience in both technology and consumer products marketing from both the vendor and agency side. Before joining CallMiner, Eric was VP Brand & Digital Marketing at Acquia — an open DXP platform built around Drupal — where he led brand, creative services, webops, editorial, and demand generation. 

Prior to Acquia, Eric was on the agency side of marketing working as SVP Digital & Social at MullenLowe, and before that as VP Digital Strategy at The Martin Agency. During his career Eric has worked with a variety of B2C and B2B brands including Google, Microsoft, Intel, GEICO, Walmart, P&G, Pizza Hut, Acura, Royal Caribbean, and Hyatt. He earned his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University, and an MBA from The University of Texas at Dallas.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Ogilvy on Advertising:

• Start with the line, not the logo. Great B2B brands don’t start with visuals, they start with voice. The sharpest creative begins on the page, not the mood board. “Copy first, research first, copy second, then worry about the visuals,” Eric says. In other words: write the line that earns attention before you pick the font.
• Write for humans. Most B2B copy dies in a sea of jargon. What buyers actually want is to feel seen. “It’s really easy to fall into a place for a technology company to talk about your tech, talk about your features… and there’s nothing emotional about that,” Eric says. The fix is to start by writing for humans. Emotion isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s your edge.
• Don’t guess, ask. You don’t need personas when you have real people. The best insights come from your customers, not your whiteboard. Eric says, “Just go talk to them…Why do they keep staying with you? What sort of thing that they worry about at night does this help solve for them?” The answers aren’t in your funnel. They’re in the field.

Quote

“ Write for humans because, ultimately, that's who you're selling to, that's who you're trying to influence. It’s really understanding their emotions. What are their fears, what are their desires? Even in the B2B world, it's easy to forget that.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Eric Williamson, Chief Marketing Officer at CallMiner

[00:58] Why Ogilvy On Advertising?

[02:49] The Role of CMO at CallMiner

[03:38] Origins of Ogilvy On Advertising

[06:56] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Ogilvy on Advertising

[21:29] Ogilvy's Predictions

[37:23] CallMiner's Marketing Strategies

[41:57] AI as a Solution

[44:20] Advice for Marketing Leaders

[45:38] Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Links

Connect with Eric on LinkedIn

Learn more about CallMiner

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.