Remarkable Content with Ian Faison

Can you sum up your marketing message in three words? (And would customers “get” it?)

Like, can you write it in plain language—just a few words that would make sense to your audience? Because if you - the B2B marketer - get it, your audience will too, right? Maybe not.

On this episode of Remarkable, we’re learning from the 90s classic movie Speed about keeping it simple. The movie can literally be summed up in three words: “Bomb on bus.” It’s a blissfully simple premise that rocked viewers, made Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock stars, and raked in $350 million dollars at the box office. 

And we’re bringing on board Director of Content Strategy at 6Sense, Chris Hutchins, to talk storytelling, using character tropes, and fictionalizing your B2B marketing. So grab your popcorn and buckle up for the wild ride that is this latest, greatest episode of Remarkable as we talk about Speed (“Not the drug, but the movie” - Ian Faison).

About the movie Speed

Speed is a 1994 action movie starring Keanu Reeves as young police officer Jack Traven who has to keep a bomb from exploding on a city bus by staying above 50 mph. It also stars Sandra Bullock as the female counterpoint, Annie, who ironically had had her drivers’ license revoked for speeding but steps in when the bus driver is shot. And of course the villain is played by Dennis Hopper as Howard Payne, the madman who rigged the bus with the bomb in the first place. Speed was written by Graham Yost and directed by Jan de Bont.

About our guest, Chris Hutchins

Chris is a versatile, deadline-driven content director, editor and writer with corporate go-to-market, creative agency and professional journalism experience. He uses nimble workflows to produce world-class content at scale. His agency work has engaged millions of consumers worldwide.

Chris is currently the Director of Content Strategy for 6sense, an ABM platform. He also provides consulting services for SMBs that need help with content strategy, content production, branding and messaging.

In addition, he helps craft award-winning immersive marketing narratives, screenplays and novels for companies such as 20th Century Fox, A&E, Cinemax, Discovery, FOX Broadcasting, Infiniti, Macmillan Publishers and Ubisoft. He has been profiled by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR’s Weekend Edition, ABC Radio and the BBC.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Speed: 

• Keep the story simple. Use simple, straightforward language to explain what your marketing message is. Drop the jargon and boil down your message. Chris says that your audience needs a simple story, especially in the beginning, “to get the hook and begin to get an understanding of our content or product.” He says you don’t want prospective customers opening your site to find the content to be far over their heads. Speed does this with its simple premise that anyone can understand, that grabs attention and conveys a sense of immediacy.
• Fictionalize your story. Add fictionalized elements to your B2B marketing to grab your audience's attention, invite their curiosity, and inspire them to share their experience on social media. Chris shared an example of an event that incorporated a sort of online scavenger hunt. He says, “You just need to color outside the lines just a little bit to make it memorable.” And that the effect can be dramatic, especially in the B2B world. We see fictionalized elements in Speed as well, like when the bus has to cross an unfinished overpass, effectively leaping over a 50-foot gap in the road. Viewers are invited to suspend their disbelief to continue following the storyline. That fictional element is an invitation to go deeper into the story, deeper into engagement.

Quotes

*”When I think about blissful storytelling, it’s uncomplicated. Here is a movie done 30 years ago that is just pure bliss because you don't have to have a deep knowledge of X, Y, and Z. You are just there for the ride.” - Chris Hutchins

*”As B2B content creators and marketers, we often assume our audience has the same kind of comprehensive knowledge about our product, when in fact, we are the ones who are drinking the Kool-Aid. They need the simple story - at least in the beginning - to get the hook, and to get an understanding and become delighted and dazzled by our solution. Make it as plain spoken as possible. And make sure that our readers who are coming to our site, likely for the first time, find something that isn't overwhelming or over their heads.” - Chris Hutchins

*”The B2B equivalent of a blissful story is simply told and invites curiosity. It gets you from the beginning of the story to the end. And then keeps you engaged to investigate more.” - Chris Hutchins

*”When you are starting to get sick of your messaging, that means that it's probably starting to sink in with your audience.” - Ian Faison

*“Don't try to be every single thing. Just try to focus and say, ‘This is exactly the utility that you're gonna get from this thing.’ It's not gonna be 50 other things. It's just gonna be this one.” - Ian Faison

“The first 30 minutes of the movie is not set on a bus. And the last 30 minutes of the movie is not set on a bus. But all we remember when we talk about speed is the stuff on the bus. So what do you want your audience to remember? What do you want them to remember feeling?” - Chris Hutchins

“There are ways to enhance your narrative with fictional elements or fictionalized elements. You just need to color outside the lines just a little bit to make it memorable for them. It’s wildly, wildly experimental stuff in the world of B2B. But the path of creating these experiences, while it's a non-trivial thing to accomplish, it's absolutely possible and the promotional upside can be really dramatic.” - Chris Hutchins

Time Stamps

[1:20] Get to know Chris Hutchins, Director of Content Strategy at 6Sense

[2:41] Tell me more about Speed

[7:43] What makes Speed Remarkable?

[12:23] How to keep your brand message simple

[16:08] Ask: What do you want your audience to remember feeling about your brand?

[19:39] What is 6Sense?

[22:40] How does Chris use his experience as a narrative writer in his marketing work at 6Sense, and what can we learn from it?

[28:53] Why don't we use fiction more in B2B?

[35:28] How could you apply fiction to a B2B event?

Links

Watch Speed

Connect with Chris Hutchins on LinkedIn

Learn more about 6Sense

Check out Chris’ work and writing

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both non-fiction 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), Dane Eckerle (Head of Development), Colin Stamps (Podcast Launch Manager), Anagha Das (B2B Content Marketing Manager), and Meredith O’Neil (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith O’Neil, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We’re willing to bet that you’re working on a new B2B campaign and require some new inspiration.

Because all B2B tech ads look and sound the same. They just melt into one shapeless, forgettable jumble of fingers typing and screens scrolling. But we see you plodding along in the B2B marketing marathon of sameness, and we’re throwing you some jet-boosted sneakers.

On this episode of Remarkable, we’re daring you to do the exact opposite of your competitors, to outsource the authenticity of your brand voice to your customers, and much, much more. And we’re doing that with the help of our special guest, Senior Director of Brand at Axonius, Kaite Rosa. 

Together, we’re exploring the iconic and visionary 2007 Nike ad campaign featuring pro runner Lauren Fleshman. We look at how the ad deviated from the “tasteful nude” status quo of female athletes in ads, dismantled the objectification of women in sports, and promoted inclusivity by leveraging Lauren’s voice. And how you too can subvert expectations, make a statement, and do it authentically. So lace up your new sneaks and get ready to redefine B2B ads on the latest episode of Remarkable.

About Nike’s “Objectify Me” Campaign

Nike’s “Objectify Me” campaign was a 2007 ad featuring pro runner Lauren Fleshman. It’s a 30-second black and white slow mo video of Lauren running toward the camera. And we hear Lauren’s voice. She says, “Look at me, study me, understand me. I’m not a small, pink version of a man. Don’t give me small, pink versions of a man’s running shoe. I’m Lauren Fleshman. I’m a runner, and I’m a woman.” Then it shows her running out of frame, and the Nike logo pops up on screen. It’s a really understated Nike ad that deviated FAR from its predecessors.

Lauren is a decorated distance runner. She won five NCAA championships at Stanford and two national championships as a professional athlete. She’s also a writer, having been featured in The New York Times and Runner’s World. Lauren is now Brand Strategy Advisor for fitness apparel company Oiselle, and Co-Founder of natural food company Picky Bars. Her book Good For a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man’s World came out in January 2023.

About our guest, Kaite Rosa

Kaite Rosa is Senior Director of Brand at Axonius, where she leads the team responsible for creating a $2.6 billion brand in less than five years. Cited as one of the fastest-growing cybersecurity brands in history, Axonius has been named one of the most valuable private cloud companies in the world by the Forbes Cloud 100, along with numerous industry accolades.

A life-long writer, she is passionate about using storytelling and creative concepts to define and build exceptional brand experiences. She has spent the bulk of her career at tech startups, and thrives on rapidly growing, fast-paced teams. Previously, she led brand and content at Payfactors, Virgin Pulse, and VentureFizz.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Nike’s “Objectify Me” Campaign: 

• Do the opposite of what’s expected. Look at what other companies in your space are doing in their campaigns and make a campaign based on the antithesis of that. Be the rebel in your industry. Subvert the expected. Kaite says so many brands feel like they have to join in on what’s popular or trending. She says, “There's a lot of, like, ‘Me too,’ right? Like, they're gonna copy it and try to make it their own, and look very similar. But what inspires me the most is looking at what your competitors are doing and doing the exact opposite.” It’s like how Lauren Fleshman was presented with a briefing inspired by Brandi Chastain’s “tasteful nude” ad, and advocated instead to be in her athletic gear and to write the ad copy herself. She turned the copy on its head, saying that if she was going to be objectified, it would be to design running gear specific to her physiology. And the campaign became iconic.
• Outsource authenticity to your customers. Make your customer’s voice your brand voice. Ian says marketers always want to control the narrative, but sometimes you need to let your customers take the wheel. Because he says that when you ask customers to talk about your brand in their own words, “They come up with something absolutely brilliant that you could never have written.” And how could that not be authentic? Nike was able to outsource the authenticity piece of Lauren’s ad because Lauren wrote the copy herself. For sure, there was a layer of brand approval, but the words are Lauren’s. So outsource the authenticity piece of your ad copy to customers, and it will resonate.

Quotes

*”Whether you're working in a bootstrapped company or publicly funded company. any budget can accommodate your customer voice.” - Kaite Rosa

*”If you're doing a high-level brand campaign, the approach shouldn't be, ‘Let's sell you all the features and benefits.’ It should be, ‘Let's get you in the store. Let's get you remembering who we are so that the next time you need those new sneakers or you need a B2B SaaS solution,  you remember the ad.’” - Kaite Rosa

*”What is memorable and where storytelling really comes alive is when you look at what's out there and say, ‘We're gonna do something that is disruptive, that is different. And I think that you can do that on any budget.” - Kaite Rosa

*“People latch on to the authenticity of brands. That's what drives you emotionally to a brand, is that it feels authentic. It resonates with you. And I think living and breathing your values in everything you do, if you're at a company with a culture that encourages that, that ties your values into everything you do, it comes naturally. Good marketing and good brands tap into those values.” - Kaite Rosa

Time Stamps

[1:37] Get to know Kaite Rosa, Senior Director of Brand at Axonius

[2:14] Tell me more about Nike’s “Objectify Me” campaign

[8:04] About athletic advertising before Lauren Fleshman’s campaign

[12:23] About the timelessness of the “Objectify Me” ad

[14:23] Why challenging the status quo is important

[23:27] How to ground your message in values

[24:53] What does Axonius do?

[25:42] What’s Axonius’ brand strategy?

[26:41] How does Kaite think about the ROI of content marketing?

[27:14] Learn more about Axonius’ “Controlling Complexity” campaign with gymnast Simone Biles

Links

See Nike’s Objectify Me ad with Lauren Fleshman

Connect with Kaite Rosa on LinkedIn

Learn more about Axonius

Check out the Axonius campaign with Simone Biles

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both non-fiction 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), Dane Eckerle (Head of Development), Colin Stamps (Podcast Launch Manager), Anagha Das (B2B Content Marketing Manager), and Meredith O’Neil (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith O’Neil, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Marketing is generally a one-way conversation. You tell your audience what to buy, period, end of story. But what if we could change that dynamic and actually give our audience some control over our campaigns?

You might argue that you already listen to the voice of the customer through surveys and testimonials. But have you ever really used their feedback to make a game-changing decision in your business? Well, today's the day we flip the script and let the audience take charge.

On this episode of Remarkable, we’re soaking up marketing lessons from the UK hit series Love Island. Because Love Island is a show that relies on its audience to make those critical decisions, audience members can literally decide whether an islander will stay or go. This might be why the show earned itself a dedicated following. Without that audience participation, it wouldn’t be the Love Island we know and…well, love. 

So tune in as we unpack the marketing gold that is Love Island. We'll show you how to hook your audience on your content by tapping into the power of their input. Get ready to learn how to make your customers an integral part of your decision-making process and create an unbreakable connection with them. It's time to let your audience take control and revolutionize your marketing approach.

About Love Island

Love Island is a reality tv/dating game show where beautiful single people are invited to stay in a tropical villa together in search of love. Drama unfolds when new islanders arrive, they’re given challenges, or contestants fail to match up and get kicked off the island. One couple will win a cash prize. ($100,000) They often also leave with sponsor and branding deals, and lots of new Instagram followers.

It was originally a popular series in the UK created by ITV Studios (2005 and 2006 was Celebrity Love Island, then returned in 2015) The U.S. started its own version in 2019. Now 22 versions of Love Island exist worldwide.

About our guest, Kailey Raymond

Kailey Raymond is Director of Enterprise Marketing at Segment. There, she is building a full-funnel Enterprise Marketing motion including ABM, thought leadership, upsell/cross-sell and outbound programs. Prior to Segment, Kailey started the Customer Marketing team at AlphaSense, built local communities and revenue at Hired in both Sales and Field Marketing roles and grew a global community of career transitioners and partners as the second employee of a STEM bootcamp.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Love Island: 

• Give your audience agency in your brand. Ask for their feedback and incorporate it into your marketing. By showing them you’re listening and taking action based on their feedback, you show that you care about them. It creates a mutually beneficial relationship and forms a connection. Love Island actually has its own app. And people watching can vote for their favorite couples, as well as decide on who stays on the island and who gets kicked off. So every viewer has some power over the fate of each islander, so much so that the show becomes quite addictive. Ian says, “Giving the audience agency is ridiculously powerful.” Get your audience involved in the decision making and they’ll be hooked on your marketing.
• Engage with your audience in real time. The goal is to respond and interact with your audience in as quick of a timeline as possible. So build the muscle of quick response times on your marketing team. And leverage AI to speed up that process. Being able to interact with your audience provides a personalized, human experience. On Love Island, producers are sourcing viewer tweets in real time and showing them on screen to add dimension to the show. So as a viewer, the chance that your tweet could be part of the show makes your participation all the more appealing.

Quotes

*”The show requires engagement, it requires the audience to participate, or it would destroy the fabric of the show. Like, I can make a difference in getting this person voted off. Giving the audience agency is ridiculously powerful.” - Ian Faison

*”The real-time audience interaction that they've embedded within the show allows you to feel like you're a part of their journey. It makes you want to watch. Every episode you have vested interest because you could be helpful getting somebody you don't like watching booted off the island or giving them the chance to win a hundred thousand pounds. So I think that they created this special sauce with being able to bring in multiple different channels with social, going along with video at the exact same time, and getting the audience interaction live.” - Kailey Raymond

*”You absolutely have to have an on-demand component. You have to have a live component to some of your stuff. But if you're not creating on-demand content that's easily streamable, accessible, multi-platform, you are missing out on a massive demographic.” - Ian Faison

Time Stamps

[1:28] Get to know Kailey Raymond, Global Executive Content Marketing Lead at VMware

[5:00] Tell me more about Love Island

[6:44] What’s the story behind how Love Island was made?

[10:27] How did Love Island rise above the noise of other reality dating shows?

[16:29] How can you leverage key storylines to create interest for your audience?

[18:56] What marketing lessons can we glean from Love Island?

[25:21] What does Love Island teach us about responding in real time?

[30:12] What we can learn from viewer statistics

[33:58] How does Love Island use partner marketing?

Links

Watch Love Island

Connect with Kailey on LinkedIn

Learn more about Segment

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both non-fiction 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), Dane Eckerle (Head of Development), Colin Stamps (Podcast Launch Manager), Anagha Das (B2B Content Marketing Manager), and Meredith O’Neil (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith O’Neil, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Remarkable team is hard at work on Season 3. And hold on tight because it’s gonna be a good one. This upcoming season, we’re taking B2B marketing lessons from the likes of Mad Men, Survivor, the 90s Keanu Reeves classic, Speed, and much, much more. And we’re doing it all with the help of new guests every episode! We’ll be speaking with marketers from companies like G2, ClickUp, ActiveCampaign and ZoomInfo. And through their expert lens, we’re giving you - the B2B marketer - tips, tricks and tools to use in your own campaigns. So keep an eye on your podcast platform of choice for brand new episodes of Remarkable coming your way very soon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Imagine your marketing team working on a project with clear guidelines. They know what their end goal is. Everyone’s executing their role, communicating seamlessly, and meeting deadlines. The result? Marketing perfection. This could be you, after you listen to this.

We’ve all experienced the frustration of working on a project where expectations and roles aren’t clear. Some people put in more effort than others, work is sloppy, deadlines are missed. There’s an imbalance that makes getting any work done nearly impossible.

But there’s a magic that happens when you foster a culture of communication, trust, and cohesion; working together as one. And through this culture, you can power amazing results.

On this episode of Remarkable, we’re getting in the groove with the help of Webby Honoree and Global Executive Content Marketing Lead at VMware, Yadin Porter de León. Together, we’re exploring how to foster internal cohesion for B2B marketing success and taking lessons from The Mandalorian. So you can take your marketing team by the hands and say, ‘This is the way.”

About The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian is a Star Wars TV series that launched in 2019. It’s created and executive produced by Jon Favreau, who we know on Remarkable for also directing and executive producing Iron Man. Jon Favreau partnered with Lucas Film and Disney for the production of the series. It’s considered a space western and is the first live action TV series in the franchise. It stars Pedro Pascal as the main character, Din Djarin. And the show premiered on Disney+ on November 12, 2019. It’s now in its third season with a fourth in development.

The Mandalorian takes place after The Return of the Jedi and the fall of the Galactic Empire. Din Djarin is a lone bounty hunter who’s hired by Imperial Forces to go get the child Grogu aka Baby Yoda. Instead, Din Djarin ends up going on the run to protect Grogu and reunite Grogu with his kind.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From The Mandalorian: 

• Align across the C-suite about your strategic go-to-market strategy. Once leadership agrees on the strategy, messaging, channels, and target customers, they can direct the rest of the company. But Yadin says it’s not just about creating a doc or a presentation. It’s about building relationships, gaining trust, and getting buy-in from people. He says, “That agreement takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of alignment across so many different stakeholders and interests. And then once you have that, you have everyone who's bought into it able to move in the same direction.”
• Give your marketing team guardrails and the end goal, and then let them decide how they get to the finished product. You’ve got a brilliant team of marketers at your service, so trust their ingenuity. Give them the autonomy to use their creativity and problem solving skills to achieve the end result you’re looking for. Ian says, “The idea of ‘This is the way,’ this is our marketing strategy, allows people to be very creative within those left and right limits." And Yadin adds, "Don't tell them how to do it, but tell them what the vision and the outcome is and then see what amazing things they create.”

Quotes

*”The mantra of, ‘This is the way’ demonstrates the way in which multiple different people can follow the same path and produce great results, and create great value when they don't have to be born in the same area or be brought up in the same way.” - Yadin Porter de Léon

“That mantra applied to B2B marketing can be extremely powerful if you have messaging and branding consistency. Where you go to market in the same way across all of your geos, across all your departments, across all of your business units instead of having all these weird, crazy, fragmented things that may seem cool at the time, but not actually showing up in the market in a way that will actually tell a consistent story.” - Yadin Porter de Léon

“There are bad things too. Like, you can get stuck, lost in cookie pulling and retargeting and brand ads and all the things we've always done the same way. And so ‘This is the way’ means basically, you know, get on board, or else,” - Yadin Porter de Léon

*”Create a vision and then inspire those people who want to be creative to be creative, because now they have the guardrails. Don't tell them how to do it, but tell them what the vision and the outcome is and then see what amazing things they create.” - Yadin Porter de Léon

Time Stamps

[1:40] Get to know Yadin Porter de Léon, Global Executive Content Marketing Lead at VMware

[2:19] Tell me more about The Mandalorian

[8:52] What’s the story behind how The Mandalorian was made?

[12:11] What are the core truths behind the Mandalorian?

[14:58] How can “This is the way” be applied to B2B marketing?

[17:52] Learn more about OneVMware

[18:18] What role does leadership play in establishing internal alignment

[19:44] Tell me more about the podcast CIO Exchange 

[28:52] How to bring your brand to market in a way that will resonate with your audience

Links

Watch “The Mandalorian”

Connect with Yadin on LinkedIn

Learn more about VMware

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both non-fiction 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), Dane Eckerle (Head of Development), Colin Stamps (Podcast Launch Manager), Anagha Das (B2B Content Marketing Manager), and Meredith O’Neil (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith O’Neil, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you feel like you’re struggling to differentiate your company from a sea saturated with similar brands, this is the episode for you. 

You want to market your brand to make it pop, yet it can feel overwhelming trying to nail down a winning idea for your next campaign. That’s because out of 100 factors, you might have 99 in common with your competitors. But that one factor that your competitors don't have, THAT is the one you market. 

On this episode of Remarkable, we’re relaxing to the soft, soothing music of the Vrbo ad campaign, “Only Your People.” We’re chatting about how the campaign helped Vrbo, a brand that’s been around for nearly three decades, to grab audience attention as a major competitor to Airbnb. 

Vrbo repositioned itself through a single message: only your people will be at the rental. It’s responding to a pain point specific to Airbnb customers who don’t want to share a space with the host or other guests. And the campaign is getting talked about in marketing circles everywhere. So follow along as we talk about how you, too, can position your brand as a major name in your industry. 

About Corporate Bro

Vrbo is a vacation rental company similar to Airbnb. So homeowners list their properties directly on the Vrbo site; beach houses, mountain cabins, treehouses, villas, boats, and more.

It started in 1995 as an independent company acquired by HomeAway in 2006, and then again in 2015 by Expedia Group.

The name V-R-B-O is an acronym for Vacation Rentals by Owner.

VRBO is Airbnb's biggest competitor with over 2 million listings and vacation rentals in more than 190 countries. Their website sees over 15.9 million unique visitors per month, and listings are posted on the Expedia site, which sees 730 million unique visitors per month.

The big difference between Vrbo and Airbnb is that Vrbo only offers entire properties for rent. So renters have the whole place to themselves, whereas on Airbnb, renters have the option of house shares. This means they may be renting a room within a house and the owner is there at the same time. Because of this, Vrbo tends to attract larger, higher-end property rentals and cater to groups of people, whether whole families or friends, or simply folks with higher budgets.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Vrbo: 

• Study your buyers to find their pain points and create messaging for each of them. This shows your audience that you’re listening to them and that their opinions matter. And it helps build trust! An example of this is Wix, whose ad, “The Power of Wix Infrastructure,” reassures users their websites are backed by four data centers and tens of thousands of servers. In other words, there’s basically no way their site could go down. This is different from other hosting providers, where a site might run on one dedicated server, increasing the risk of the site crashing. They also have an ad called “Security’s On Us,” highlighting how they offer enterprise-grade security that’s fully managed for users. It has lots of bells and whistles to prevent hackers and bugs from gaining access to the site. So users won’t have to worry about either hackers or their site crashing, which may happen with other hosting sites.
• Identify what your differentiating feature is from your competitors and create a campaign around it. Run it as a single-feature ad on a key position. The simple, straight-forward messaging and clear benefit of your brand over others will resonate with your target audience. Ian says, “the point of positioning is to focus on the one thing that your competitor can't. A great positioning campaign like this allows there to be no wiggle room at all. You cannot get around this. If [customers] believe that this one feature is so important, then you're guaranteed to earn their business.” CRM Platform Monday.com ran a campaign that’s a great example of this. They have an ad that shows up in Google search results that says, “CRM Without the Frustration - No-Code CRM Software.” The ad acknowledges and validates a pain point of other CRM platforms - that they are hard to learn how to use - and offers a solution.

Quotes

*”Vrbo is just an overall, generally more predictable experience. You know what you're going to get. You don't know what you're going to get with Airbnb. And for some people, that is the delight of going to Airbnb, it’s like there is a little bit of serendipity there. Whereas for Vrbo, nope, you're not paying for serendipity.” - Ian Faison

*“It's really understanding the pain points as well. You really have to study the buyer’s thought process to understand the super common pain points.” - Colin Stamps

*”[Monday.com] took all the pain points and they were like, ‘Let's create messaging for each of these to stand out from the other search results that are currently showing up for our competitors.’” - Anagha Das

Time Stamps

[1:29] Tell me more about Vrbo

[3:51] About the "Only Your People" ad campaign

[6:33] How Vrbo differentiates itself from Airbnb with new ad campaign

[11:48] The importance of messaging to make your brand stand out from competitors

[14:42] How to identify customer pinpoints to market to

[15:00] How to choose a single feature to market

[21:54] B2B examples of single feature ads that recognize customer pain points

Links

Watch Vrbo Commercials

Learn more about Vrbo

Read April Dunford’s book on product positioning, Obviously Awesome

Check out Monday.com and their positioning against other CRMs

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both non-fiction 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), Dane Eckerle (Head of Development), Colin Stamps (Podcast Launch Manager), Anagha Das (B2B Content Marketing Manager), and Meredith O’Neil (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith O’Neil, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We don’t have to convince you, a B2B marketer, that S.A.D. (Sales Are Dope). You live, breathe, and dream in analytics, KPI’s, and conversion rates. You count impressions in your dreams instead of sheep. 

But you may actually be taking yourself too seriously. It’s time to have some fun with your work and use satire in your marketing.  

The irony, sarcasm, and parody of satire in your content, hits your target audience hard, and differentiates your content from the sea of corporate handshake stock photos and banality that B2B marketing materials usually consist of. 

On this episode of Remarkable, we’re binge-watching Corporate Bro videos on YouTube. Listen in as we show you why a portion of your marketing budget should be used to make world class edu-tainment content. 

We also cover how you can take a multi-channel, multi-format approach, and partner with a well-known content creator. So you can A.B.C. (Always Be Closing.)

About Corporate Bro

Corporate Bro is a sketch comedy character that satirizes corporate sales life. Ross Pomerantz is the mastermind behind the character. Ross is a content creator, corporate speaker and entrepreneur from Atlanta, Georgia. He writes, produces, and stars in the sketches. He started making 6-second videos on Vine in 2013 when he started his first tech sales job at Oracle. He has now performed for companies like Dropbox, Smartsheet and Salesforce. And his YouTube, which he started in 2016, has 25M subscribers. Ross holds an MBA from Stanford University, and his full-time day job is on the leadership team at Bravado (as of 2022).

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Corporate Bro: 

• Use a percentage of your marketing budget to make funny stuff. Comedy, edutainment, whatever you want to call it. Make something just to connect with your audience, and make them laugh. Because, Colin says, “You probably have some white papers, some webinars, et cetera, and that's fine. You should have all that. But there's also that angle of, ‘All right, let's put out some other content that's a little more entertaining and relatable and fun.’” Let’s face it - not many B2B companies are making their audience laugh. But there are cheeky ways to get your audience to crack a smile! The sales engagement company Sopro made a campaign called “We Love Our Clients.” The video shows a slew of clients making difficult requests, and ends with the phrase, “Sopro makes finding clients easy. You just have to deal with them.” This kind of satire creates impact and makes your brand stand out.
• Use a multi-channel, multi-format approach. Distribute content across multiple social media channels. Go where your audience is — whether that’s Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc. And do both short and long-form videos. A great example of a multi-channel, multi-format approach is how Scratch Pad created a podcast called Beyond Quota that they collaborate on with Corporate Bro, and share episodes both on podcast streaming platforms as well as on YouTube. So, no matter what platform your audience spends time on, they’ll see your content there. 
• Partner with a well-known content creator. No matter what industry you’re in, there’s a content creator for you. Find somebody whose messaging would resonate with your audience and create a campaign with them. Ian says, “There's a million examples of times where people just try to borrow a celebrity's audience and that doesn't work. It's not about that. It's about co-creating something with them that is unique and special.” A great example of content co-creation is when marketing automation company Klaviyo partnered with Eli Weiss, Senior Director of CX and Retention at Jones Road Beauty, on their Less Stalking, More Talking campaign. Weiss is not just a relevant and trusted name in e-commerce, but he also shares the same customer-first philosophy as Klaviyo, making him a perfect fit for the campaign. By working together, they’re leveraging both of their audiences, spreading brand awareness, building trust, and creating memorable content. It’s a win-win-win…win situation.

Quotes

*”What you can control as a marketer is [being] consistent and repeatable. That's what [Corporate Bro] has done for a decade and that is a pathway to winning.” - Ian Faison

*”What makes Corporate Bro so good is it connects with you in a way [that reminds you] not to take yourself too seriously when perhaps your job is on the line if you don't close this deal or if you don't have a good quarter.” - Colin Stamps

Time Stamps

[1:25] Tell me more about Corporate Bro

[3:02] Why are we covering Corporate Bro?

[6:09] What is satire? What's the psychology of satire?

[11:11] How do you run multi-channel, multi-format campaign? 

[13:38] What are examples of companies who have partnered with content creators?

[15:42] Why is it important for companies to make funny content?

Links

Watch Corporate Bro videos

Check out Corporate Bro’s website

Read about Corporate Bro in the press

Follow Ross Pomerantz aka Corporate Bro on Instagram

Connect with Corporate Bro on LinkedIn

Follow Corporate Bro on Twitter

Check out Beyond Quota podcast with Corporate Bro

Tune in to Sales Are Dope (S.A.D.)

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both non-fiction 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), Dane Eckerle (Head of Development), Colin Stamps (Podcast Launch Manager), Anagha Das (B2B Content Marketing Manager), and Meredith O’Neil (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith O’Neil, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You - yes you - as a B2B marketer are trained to be PERFECT. You’re a well-oiled machine hell bent on accuracy, precision, and aesthetics. 

Chances are you might not like what we have to say in this episode:  sometimes it pays to be imperfect. That’s right! We want you to embrace your mistakes.

Mistakes are part of the marketing process. Everybody makes them! It’s time to accept your mistakes and be transparent about them. Your audience will be attracted to your authenticity, and you’ll have an edge over legacy brands in the industry.

On this episode of Remarkable, we’re wallowing in the sarcasm, quick wit, and irreverence of the YouTube show You Suck at Cooking. We’re showing you how embracing mistakes will only level up your marketing skills, and how being real goes a long way at winning over your audience.

About You Suck at Cooking

You Suck at Cooking is a YouTube channel that satirizes classic cooking shows. Instead of being a picture-perfect set with the whole mise-en-place on a pristine kitchen set, the videos are clearly made by some dude in his own kitchen, for fun. He uses decidedly unprofessional terms — for example, he calls stirring “wangjangling,” and once mistakenly called his oven “onion.” He often burns whatever he’s making. But chef or not, the videos do have their own flair, including (but not limited to) original songs, stop motion animation, voicemails from his dad, special appearances of his dogs, and much, much more.

The videos are shot from overhead as a pair of disembodied hands make the food in an everyday kitchen and a narrator walks you through each step. In fact, we never see the creator’s face. He’s totally anonymous. He even released a book called You Suck at Cooking: THE ABSURDLY PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SUCKING SLIGHTLY LESS AT MAKING FOOD: A COOKBOOK. The author is listed as…You Suck at Cooking. But according to a thread on Reddit, his name might be Mel. Anyway, the channel was started in 2015, and now has over 3 million subscribers.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From You Suck at Cooking: 

• Accept that getting things wrong is part of the process. It’s part of the journey to getting better at marketing. You could even say that if it weren’t for the mistakes, you’d never improve. Ian says, “In the B2B world and the tech world, when you're trying to create content, you want to create, like ‘This is the best way to do something.’ But the truth is, you figured out the best way by making 5,000 mistakes.” It’s all about how you pivot, think on your feet, and adjust your workflow based on what the mistake taught you. A good example of this is when Sony fell victim to one of the largest data breaches in history back in 2011. The breach exposed 77 million PlayStation users’ information. In response, the CEO personally apologized. Sony offered victims of the breach identity theft insurance, as well as a free month of PlayStation Plus. The CEO reassured users that PlayStation was taking additional measures to protect personally identifiable information. In other words, the company acknowledged the mistake, offered compensation, and promised to do better.
• Position yourself as a disruptor in the industry. Set yourself apart from legacy or traditional brands in the industry, and do it through humor! Make fun of the differences between your company and competitors. For example, Swatch made Swiss-made watches accessible and relevant to younger consumers with their playful branding, that set them apart from legacy luxury Swiss watch brands like Hublot or OMEGA. Another example is life insurance company, Dead Happy. They invite customers to “Make a Deathwish,” or in other words, make a wish for what you want your payout to be spent on when you die. It could be anything from sending your ashes to the edge of space to paying for someone to take care of your pets. The dark humor sets them apart from conventional life insurance companies and earns them a following, especially with younger generations.

Quotes

*”In the B2B world and the tech world, when you're trying to create content, you want to create, like ‘This is the best way to do something.’ But the truth is, you figured out the best way by making 5,000 mistakes. Like, you either get it right or you or you learn. And I think that that part for B2B marketing makes it way more real if you understand the mistakes, and if you make the case study. And if it's just the good stuff and not the bad stuff, then it's not gonna feel as real.” - Ian Faison

*”It gives you an edge if you're the one who's saying what everyone else is thinking but doesn't have the guts to say. When it comes to B2B, we're all in the trenches together. So if we can level with each other and just be real, that's a better way to make relationships because you're trying to schmooze someone that’s in the business of schmoozing. It's like we can see through it. It just makes it feel more genuine” - Jaz Zepatos

Time Stamps

[1:15] Tell me more about You Suck at Cooking

[4:10] What makes YSAC remarkable?

[15:24] Why you should share anti-case studies

[17:50] How does this apply to B2B?

[21:00] What are some examples of irreverence or embracing mistakes in marketing?

Links

Watch You Suck at Cooking on YouTube

Visit YSAC Website

Get YSAC Book

Check out YSAC Instagram

Listen to original YSAC music on SoundCloud

Qualtrics and their irreverent film series

Life Insurance Company Dead Happy wants your Deathwish

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both non-fiction 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), Dane Eckerle (Head of Development), Colin Stamps (Podcast Launch Manager), Anagha Das (B2B Content Marketing Manager), and Meredith O’Neil (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith O’Neil, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

B2B ads can feel pretty soulless. But if you’re pulling your hair out and  struggling to connect emotionally with your audience, never fear. 

We have the key to build a deep emotional connection with your audience instantly. That key is NOSTALGIA. 

Take your audience on a trip down memory lane, and they’ll associate your company with something from the past that they already know and love. It’s a winning tactic that taps into feelings of familiarity, comfort, trust, and security. And on top of that, customers are more willing to pay for your product. 

On this episode of Remarkable, we’re talking with podcaster and comedian Jaz Zepatos aka Jaz Zapp. We cover how she connects with her millennial audience, why they’re all lactose intolerant, and going viral. Jaz is a content creator on Instagram and TikTok, and is the host of the Millennial Movie Club podcast. And with her help, we’re teaching you how to use nostalgia in your B2B marketing.

About Jaz Zapp

Jaz is a full-time podcast producer, creative director, and host of the Millennial Movie Club Podcast. A life-long storyteller and comedian with a flair for human connection and edutainment, Jaz enjoys making people laugh, networking with like-minded creatives, and trying to rollerblade without falling down.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Jaz Zapp:

• Define “nostalgia” for your target customer. Nostalgia is specific to different age groups. What’s nostalgic to  your parents will not necessarily be nostalgic to you. So, talk to your customers about what work was like for them 10 or 20 years ago, and create a marketing campaign using their stories. Whether it was handing out physical checks on payday or the vending machine selling out of everything but plain Fritos, there’s content there that’s ripe for the picking. Apple tapped into nostalgia targeting many generations of Sesame Street fans when they ran an ad with Cookie Monster using Siri. Apple was able to appeal to a few different demographics by bringing in a universal childhood favorite, Cookie Monster, and taking us back to the good old days. For Jaz, it started with a memory about crushing on the red Power Ranger and imagining he had fallen in love with her.

“I was like, look, maybe this is just very niche and weird to me. Or maybe there's somebody out there who also gets this. And nine times out of 10, there's a bunch of people that are like, ‘Oh my God, I thought I was just this weird.’ And suddenly you have this community. And it’s people that just want to be reminded of a simpler time. They feel seen and that they weren't so isolated in their experience growing up.” - Jaz Zepatos

• Get weird, get cringey, get real. The closer your ad can get to a nostalgic memory for your target audience, the better. That even includes all of the weird, cringey details. From getting the attention of work crushes, to in-office pranks, or stealing parking spots — sprinkle these personal details into your marketing. As Ian put it, there’s so much pressure as a professional marketer to be serious:

”I think part of the problem for marketers is that we feel like our job is to be a boring adult. If you're selling accounting software or whatever it is, you just feel like, ‘Well, I can't really do anything creative.’” 

Whereas Jaz found a niche audience of nostalgic millennials and cultivated a community there: 

”[I wanted to] just get more in touch with who I was. This was the kind of kid I was. And I like to harness that now because I don't wanna just be a boring adult. I wanna keep some of that with me.”

It’s easy for Jaz to take the lessons she’s learned on social media and apply it to B2B marketing:

”Behind that CRM platform, behind Salesforce, or behind whatever, is a bunch of people that also made their Barbies cheat on each other. I think it's remembering the humanity side of it, where it's like that's what you're appealing to, really. And then once you're in the door, then you can work together and get strategic on SEO and all that stuff. But at the end of the day, it means nothing if you're not striking a very human chord with somebody.”

Quotes

*”If you're playing to everybody, you're playing to nobody. Niching down is always a good idea.” - Jaz Zepatos

*”[I wanted to] just get more in touch with who I was. This was the kind of kid I was. And I like to harness that now because I don't wanna just be a boring adult. I wanna keep some of that with me.” - Jaz Zepatos

*”I think part of the problem for marketers is that we feel like our job is to be a boring adult. If you're selling accounting software or whatever it is, you just feel like, ‘Well, I can't really do anything creative.’” - Ian Faison

*”Behind that CRM platform, behind Salesforce, or behind whatever, is a bunch of people that also made their Barbies cheat on each other. I think it's remembering the humanity side of it, where it's like that's what you're appealing to, really. And then once you're in the door, then you can work together and get strategic on SEO and all that stuff. But at the end of the day, it means nothing if you're not striking a very human chord with somebody.” - Jaz Zepatos

*”The cringier you can get, the more accessible you become. The same thing if you're pitching your company or your product, you want people to feel comfortable with you. You don't wanna walk in like the jock down the hallway and make everybody feel self-conscious. You wanna level with people. And so like for you to be like, ‘Hey, I'm not that cool, but like none of us are that cool. Let's have a conversation,’ is a lot more welcoming.” - Jaz Zepatos

*”People just want to feel some sense of comfort and relatability, and feel like they're a part of something bigger. So I think finding those moments from history and pop culture, TV, or movies, and just figuring out what collectively a group of people were into, and then bringing that back 20 years later is such a smart move.” - Anagha Das

*”Nostalgia isn’t nostalgia for everyone. Like Jaz's content wouldn't be nostalgic for boomers. So you have to identify who your audience is and who you're going to market to.” - Meredith Gooderham 

*”Nostalgia allows you to transport the person instantly back to that feeling. Whether it's a vulnerable feeling, or fun or excitement, or any of those things. It can engender real emotions so quickly, and that's why it's so powerful. So if you're putting it into your marketing, it's a much faster, much deeper connection.” - Ian Faison

Time Stamps

[2:42] Tell me more about Jaz Zepatos aka Jaz Zapp

[3:11] How did Jaz tap into millennial nostalgia?

[8:03] Why marketers should embrace nostalgia as a powerful tool

[10:00] How can you use nostalgia to make your brand feel accessible?

[13:44] How do we apply nostalgia to B2B marketing?

[20:45] The emotional power of nostalgia and how you can use it in your marketing

[21:30] Examples of how nostalgia could be used in B2B marketing

Links

Check out Jaz on:

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

TikTok

Spotify

YouTube

The Millennial Movie Club Podcast

eBaum’s World article on “Plant Daddy”

See how Apple tapped into nostalgia with their Cookie Monster ad

Listen to Ep. 4 of Remarkable on Mean Girls and how it uses nostalgia to connect with viewers

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both non-fiction 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), Dane Eckerle (Head of Development), Colin Stamps (Podcast Launch Manager), Anagha Das (B2B Content Marketing Manager), and Meredith O’Neil (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith O’Neil, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Your marketing budget is limited. It might even be bare bones.  And, believe it or not, that could be a really good thing for you.

Here’s the thing about limitations: they inspire creativity. Limited resources force you to figure out how to take advantage of what you have in order to create the most impact. When you lean into those choices, you can create something stylistically unique and compelling – and become the stuff marketing legends (and Remarkable episodes) are made of.

On this episode of Remarkable, we’re taking lessons from one of the most iconic scenes in Monty Python and the Holy Grail: the coconut scene – aka the very first scene of the movie.

For those who haven’t seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the movie opens with the distant sound of a galloping horse heard through thick fog. But what emerges from the fog is not a horse. It’s King Arthur skipping around on foot. His squire Patsy is following him, rhythmically knocking a pair of coconut shells together to mimic a horse’s trot.

There’s a reason this knight is using coconuts to stand in for a horse: the film couldn’t afford real horses. Instead, they improvised one of the funniest scenes in film history. They grabbed a couple of coconuts and knocked them together to sound like the gallop of a horse. This absurd yet brilliant idea is just one of the many reasons Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a cult classic. Today, we’re going to show you how you can embrace your own limitations – and hopefully create a cult following of your own.

About Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1975 low budget British comedy that satirizes the legend of King Arthur. It stars the Monty Python comedy troupe in key roles: Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, John Cleese, Michael Palin, and Eric Idle. Carol Cleveland and Sandy Johnson also star in the film. Gilliam and Jones directed the movie, and Gilliam also did the animation and artwork.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Monty Python and the Holy Grail: 

• Acknowledge your limitations and brainstorm creative ways to work around them. Don’t dwell on your limitations. Embrace them! Think outside the box about how you can tell your story with what you have. Monty Python thought WAY outside the box with their coconut solution, but it worked – and according to co-director Terry Gilliam, it even helped set the stage for the film: "We would never have got through that movie with real horses,” he said. “It makes a wonderful leap, because with that opening shot you accept the kind of lunatic logic that's there." Caspian team member Dane Eckerle gives us another example from his work producing an independent film:

“We could only afford stunt coordinators on a certain amount of days, which meant that a lot of the action needed to get consolidated into those days. But we wanted the action that we did have to look really good, and we didn't want to have to stretch ourselves too thin trying to cram in 50 stunts in two days. So we decided to do 10 stunts really, really well in those two days. Then we leaned into the emotion of it. And so instead of showing the action, we captured the first part of the action. And the cameras slowly push into the character’s face, and you hear the carnage.” - Dane Eckerle, Producer, and Head of Development at Caspian

• Demonstrate self-awareness about your workaround. Emphasize your workaround to let your audience know that it was truly a choice, not some mistake or half-baked idea. They’ll feel like they’re in on your secret, and it can help create audience awareness as well. For the premiere of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the comedy group advertised that they would give out free coconuts to the first thousand people who bought tickets. The next morning, fans were lined up as early as 5:30 in the morning to get their hands on a coconut!

Quotes

*“I just feel like when you have the money, when you have all the resources - and this isn't to say that big movies or big commercials or big marketing campaigns are bad, but there's no limitations. There's no box that you're put in that breeds a new level of creativity or outside-the-box thinking. It's just, you do what you can or what's been done before, or what you can afford, which is anything. I think it robs a little bit of that DIY scrappy thinking. You lose a little bit of that inventiveness when you have it all. It's easier to stand out from the crowd if you're embracing your limitations.” - Dane Eckerle

*”’Do more with less’ is really interesting to me because it implies two things. Number one, that you need to do more. So, you need to push the boundaries of what you have done in the past. So if you had a million dollar budget and you achieved X results, now you need to surpass what you used to do. And then the second piece is that you have less to do it with, which means you have less physical dollars that you can invest.’ - Ian Faison

*”When you don't look at it realistically and just go, ‘Okay, this is what we got and this is how we're gonna have to work with it,’ When you fight the tide, it actually ends up looking bad. Like if you try and stretch something and make something that you really don't have any business making, everyone can feel it.” - Dane Eckerle

Time Stamps

[2:02] Why are we covering Monty Python and the Holy Grail?

[2:52] Tell me more about Monty Python and the Holy Grail

[4:02] Learn more about the making of the movie

[5:59] Where did the financing of Monty Python and the Holy Grail come from?

[8:20] Exactly how tight was the budget for this movie?

[9:28] Why did the troupe use coconuts for the horse sound effects?

[12:30] How do you manage being on a super tight budget?

[17:22] How does a tight budget affect creative decisions in videos or movies?

[21:25] How do you apply this to B2B marketing?

[28:23] How does NY-based clothing company Minted embrace their limitations?

[31:21] How does Bionic do more with less on their glassboard videos?

Links

Watch “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”

Check out Minted New York on TikTok

Take a look at Bionic’s glassboard videos

Follow Alex Willis and see the studio Caspian Studios helped him build for Leadership Surge

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both non-fiction 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), Dane Eckerle (Head of Development), Colin Stamps (Podcast Launch Manager), Anagha Das (B2B Content Marketing Manager), and Meredith O’Neil (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith O’Neil, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.