In the late ’90s, I read “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding” by the daughter-father duo, Laura Ries and Al Ries. It was the first and most formative book I read on branding. Soon after, my title changed to Brand Manager — a…

In the late ’90s, I read “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding” by the daughter-father duo, Laura Ries and Al Ries. It was the first and most formative book I read on branding. Soon after, my title changed to Brand Manager — a…
I’ve seen too many storytelling and production teams arrive on set with a list of questions developed back at the office with little to no engagement with subjects, conversations with those who know and/or work with the subjects, or advance…
“Who are our sherpas?” This question is the one that sticks with me even six years later, and probably will for eternity. In 2019, I had the opportunity to go through the same weeklong Harvard Graduate School of Education summer…
While being recruited to a company years ago, a leader there said, “We want to be pioneers and innovators.” A couple months into the job, that same leader responded to my strategic recommendations with, “Show me 5-7 other companies in…
Source: Spin Sucks The pandemic created many challenges for some brands and content creators that rely solely or mostly on third parties for their storytelling and production work. This, despite the absolute necessity for organizations to invest in strong owned…
I think everyone should spend time waiting tables. And not at one of those restaurants where the waiters and waitresses show up and ask, “Do you know what you want to drink?” and “Are you ready to order?” And not…
I will never forget when everything changed for our team. When I first started building our multimedia marketing and storytelling team, and we were planning our annual alumni leadership conferences, I came up with the themes and ideas for how…
Houston branding expert Robin Tooms recently shared this Fast Company article on LinkedIn and I found it rich with great advice on how to better deliver and accept feedback on creative work. The article is great for teams looking to hone…
Somehow I missed this 2014 Fast Company article about how Finland’s most well known icon, a crowned lion brandishing a sword, was co-opted by an extreme right-wing white nationalist group, despite me being both a Fast Company subscriber, and a…
“We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in & be what people are interested in.” – Craig Davis, chief creative officer, J. Walter Thompson Worldwide Marketing history is paved with one-way interruptive experiences – also known as outbound marketing:…