Soul & Science: Fast Forward Your Marketing Mind

How do you market a brand when everything is on fire?

This week on Soul & Science, Jason Harris sits down with Nick Tran, President and CMO at First Round — the joint venture between Diageo and Main Street Advisors for spirits brands Cîroc and Lobos 1707 — to talk about his reputation as a “fixer” for brands in crisis and the importance of unlearning everything we think we know about marketing as culture and technology evolve at breakneck speed. From putting out fires at Taco Bell and Samsung to skyrocketing TikTok and Hulu into broad cultural relevance, Nick is at his best when the stakes are high and the old playbook no longer applies.

Nick explains why today’s marketers need to rethink how brands earn attention, moving beyond traditional advertising to create experiences and communities people actively want to be part of. He shares how that philosophy is shaping his turnaround of Cîroc, how world-building can bring brands to life, and why creating real-life experiences is more important than ever in the post-COVID world. Plus, he tells the story of how Samsung narrowly avoided involvement with Fyre Fest and reveals his unconventional secret to solving the toughest problems: taking a nap.

Key Takeaways

✅ Sometimes you can learn more from a crisis than a classroom 

✅ A single great campaign isn’t enough; you need to build a brand world

✅ CMOs can’t rely on KPIs as a substitute for common sense

✅ Marketers must unlearn old approaches as the way people consume content evolves

✅ The more isolated people feel, the more valuable in-person experiences become

Memorable Moments

💡"You can’t buy your way to getting attention anymore." 

💡"A brand’s soul is created when someone first feels an emotional attachment to it." 

💡"If Fyre Fest goes well the first year, we’ll talk next year…" 

💡"The CMO’s job is more about influencing the other C-suite than actually marketing."

Brought to you by Mekanism.

What if consumers were always in the room when decisions get made?

This week on Soul & Science, Jason Harris talks with Joshua Nu’u-Steele, co-founder and CRO at Ideally, about why traditional market research has become too slow, too expensive, and too disconnected from the pace brands need to move at today. Having built his career at Booking.com and Parkable before co-founding Ideally in 2023, Joshua has been rethinking what makes businesses thrive— and now he's applying that curiosity to research.

Joshua explains how Ideally lets marketers test ideas with real consumers overnight instead of over six weeks, why synthetic audiences fall short for fast-growing organizations, and how speed lets brands push bold ideas past cautious retailers. He also shares his outlook on where research is headed next, and what it means to build a company where the consumer is always in the room.

Key Takeaways

✅ Speed lets brands test ideas early enough to still shape them

✅ Synthetic audiences fall short for fast-growing organizations

✅ Consumers can’t always tell you what they want, but they can tell you what they don’t

✅ Real-time research helps brands push bold ideas forward

✅ Research is shifting from a one-time study to an always-on conversation with consumers

💡 “Businesses don’t die by starvation; they die of indigestion.”

💡 “Consumers cannot tell you what they want.”

💡 "It's answers that arrive before a decision’s already being made."

💡 “The consumer just happens to be in the room with them.”

Brought to you by Mekanism.

Want to compete with the biggest brands? Stop playing by their rules.

This week on Soul & Science, Jason Harris sits down with Dave Dreyer, CMO at Bazooka Brands, to discuss balancing nostalgia with reinvention, tapping into fandom and culture, and finding creative ways to make an impact. Informed by his past roles on both the brand and agency side and his experience co-founding CPG company Starco Brands, Dave’s approach pairs big-brand creativity with an entrepreneur’s instinct for growth.

Dave shares the “pirate playbook” he’s using to bring Bazooka Brands into the cultural conversation: question the conventions of the category, find opportunities the biggest competitors might overlook, and use creativity to punch above your weight. He also explains the strategic thinking behind the company’s campaigns with Ring Pop and Bazooka Joe across fashion, sports, and reality TV, and why earning attention matters more than simply accumulating impressions.

Key Takeaways

✅ Disruption isn’t a formula; it’s a mentality

✅ Consistency turns moments of attention into repeat purchases

✅ You don’t need a massive budget to succeed

✅ Impact can’t always be measured by traditional marketing metrics

✅ Marketers should think of their audience as people, not just consumers

💡 “We need to move from candy culture to cultural candy.”

💡 “It’s more fun to be the pirate than the navy.”

💡 “I knew I had something when it was worth stealing and putting on eBay.”

💡 “Every category has a set of conventions. Our job is to disrupt them.”

Brought to you by Mekanism.

How well does your business really understand its customers?

This week on Soul & Science, Jason Harris talks to Amanda Teder, CMO at Generac, about how consumer needs should inform business decisions, why cross-functional collaboration matters, and how marketers can have a greater impact on growth. Across roles at Procter & Gamble, Michelin, and now Generac, Amanda has built her career around simplifying complex challenges, putting the consumer at the center, and understanding how every part of the business can work together.

Amanda explains how Generac balances advertising and customer experience across both industrial and residential markets, why marketing needs a voice in product decisions even when it doesn’t own them, and why brand and performance don’t have to be an either/or decision. They also discuss using AI across the four Ps, measuring marketing against revenue, and why the best strategies combine informed hypotheses with continuous testing.

Key Takeaways

✅ Advertising can only work as hard as the business allows

✅ Great marketing starts with solving real customer problems

✅ The four Ps work best when they work together

✅ Long purchase cycles require consistent nurturing

✅ AI can strengthen every part of the marketing mix

Memorable Moments

💡 “If the first three Ps aren’t optimized, advertising can only be so effective.

💡 “The product should solve a problem for the consumer.”

💡 “Let’s learn our way to a solution.”

💡 “I don't know where I'm going, but I know how to get there.”

💡 “You don’t have to choose between brand and performance.”

Brought to you by Mekanism.

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:

How do you turn a great product into a brand people love?

This week on Soul & Science, Jason Harris is joined by Lauren Sherman, Chief Creative & Marketing Officer at Ruggable, for a conversation about brand transformation, understanding your consumer, and the marketing challenge of taking a business to the next level. After helping build startups like TaskRabbit and leading digital and retail at Nike, Lauren now leads both marketing and product design at Ruggable, bringing creative, innovation, and consumer insights together under one vision.

Lauren shares how Ruggable is deepening brand connection by listening to its audience, why creativity should lead business transformation, and how product, design, and marketing can work together to better serve customers. They also discuss Ruggable’s latest product innovations, expanding their reach beyond Instagram, and the role AI should—and shouldn't—play in the creative process.

Key Takeaways

✅ Knowing your customer makes you able to serve them

✅ Product, design, and storytelling are all essential to building brand love

✅ Creativity should lead business transformation, not follow it

✅ Brand and performance marketing are strongest when they work together

✅ AI should accelerate execution, not replace human creativity

💡 “I don't think there's a more meaningful consumer to serve than moms.”

💡 “It's marketing and creative's responsibility to tell the story of where the brand is going.”

💡 "What got us here is not going to get us there."

💡 "Start with yes."

Brought to you by Mekanism.

How do you make the trip to Cannes worth it?

In the final Crashing Cannes minisode, Indie at Large co-founders Chuck McBride and Bill Oberlander turn the tables and interview co-hosts Jason and Lindsay Harris about the inspiration behind Soul & Science: Crashing Cannes, how Cannes has evolved beyond an awards show, and what gives them hope about the future of the industry.

Brought to you by Mekanism.

Why is now the moment for independent agencies?

In this Crashing Cannes minisode in collaboration with Indie at Large, Jason and Lindsay Harris talk to Chuck McBride (Founder & CCO at Cutwater) and Bill Oberlander (Co-Founder & Creative Chair at Oberland) about why they started Indie at Large, why more creatives are launching independent agencies, and how building community among indies can help them compete on a global stage.

Brought to you by Mekanism.

How can a client-agency relationship become a true creative partnership?

Live from Cannes Lions in collaboration with Indie at Large, Jason and Lindsay Harris sit down with Carlo Cavallone (VP & Head of Global Creative at LEGO Agency) and Nils-Petter Lövgren (Co-Founder & CCO at Chaos x Magic) about what makes client-agency partnerships successful, why fresh perspectives matter, and how independent agencies earn trust.

Brought to you by Mekanism.

Why is everyone going indie right now?

In this Crashing Cannes minisode in collaboration with Indie at Large, Jason and Lindsay Harris are joined by Matt Miller (President & CEO at AICP) and Kevin Swanepoel (Co-Founder & CEO at The One Club for Creativity) to discuss why independent agencies punch above their weight, how AI is reshaping creative work, and why agencies that embrace change will be the ones that thrive.

Brought to you by Mekanism.

Most brands that think they’re driving culture are really just borrowing from it.

In this Crashing Cannes minisode in collaboration with Indie at Large, Jason and Lindsay Harris talk to Kai Devereaux Lawson (co-founder & CEO at Valerie) and Dr. Charlene Thomas (SVP of Marketing at Def Jam Recordings) about the role of culture in modern marketing, how indies are able to move faster and better understand nuance, and what marketers can learn from the music industry about building cultural relevance.

Brought to you by Mekanism.