Cult Brand Secrets

Scott O'Neil is a thought leader, and a first time author who had recently released his new book, “Be Where Your Feet Are”. His book is refreshingly candid and vulnerable, and very timely given all the things we learned during the pandemic about how emotional intelligence is trumping mental intelligence, especially in regards to what people want most in their leaders. Scott provides a vivid reminder of how short and unpredictable life is, so we need to be super intentional about how we spend our time and who we spend it with. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

Benevity started in 2008 as a micro-donation platform to help different company’s employees donate to causes they believe in, and possibly enjoy a company match of some sort; but Benevity really hit their stride in 2013 when Nike chose them as their enterprise CSR solution. With that iconic client and case study under their belt; Benevity went on to win hundreds of new clients, go global with European operations, and hire over 1000 employees. Sona Khosla, Benevity’s Chief Impact Officer, shares personal stories about her life, and reminds us that our careers and our companies should be about so much more than the pursuit of profit. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

What drives culture? We think it’s when a moment becomes a movement. Traditionally, a select few have defined culture. But not anymore. Enter TikTok. A platform that empowers everyone to become a creator, where anyone can contribute their voice and be heard. Where content becomes joyful collaboration and a moment inspires a movement. In this episode of Cult Brand Secrets: Khartoon Wiess, TikTok’s Global Head of Agency & Accounts shares insight into how and why TikTok has become the fastest-growing social media platform on the internet. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

Brian Whipple’s leadership skills, and communication skills, and business acumen, are off the charts. His company, Accenture Interactive, produces customer experiences for the world’s biggest and best brands. He showcases an admirable ability to come up with big, bold ideas, and also to expertly execute and bring those ideas to life in compelling ways. Brian reminds us that all business is personal, and our human interactions matter as much as our intelligence, or our creative ideas, our grit, or our work ethic. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

NOBULL was founded in 2014, and they are already extremely successful. They are punching well above their weight, and a big reason for that is what CMO Todd Meleney will share about how culture fuels growth and how they don’t accept that growth or success creates culture. NOBULL's brand and marketing strategy masterfully employs multiple cult brand principles, and they have fully embraced an insurgent mentality that is so vital when taking on incumbents as capable as Nike, Adidas and Under Armor. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

The Kraken were not honored because of their performance on the ice. In many ways we are really honoring the city of Seattle because of how well that town rallied to qualify for a NHL franchise; how well they created a brand, an arena, and a team that has perfected the playbook for how to launch a new club in a new location. We’ve seen a lot of examples of how these haven’t always gone well. But the Kraken's entry into Seattle is best in class. Todd Humphey is such a great ambassador for their brand. He’s their SVP of Digital Innovation and Fan Experience. True cult brand leaders worry less about buying impressions and worry more about making impressions. Todd embodies that sentiment perfectly. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

Call of Duty is more than a great game, it's also a genre. It’s a pioneer for e-sports. It’s a movement in mobile gaming. It’s pushing so many boundaries, and redefining what it even means to be a game. The best players in the space are now considered athletes, and entertainers, and celebrities, not just gamers. Johanna Ferris is the GM of Call of Duty at Activision. Her presentation from the 2022 Gathering is so engaging. So immersive. So interactive. So action packed. She refuses to settle for safe or the status quo, and reminds us we are truly fortunate to be able to work in a free country, to pursue our professional dreams, and to be paid to do work that we love. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

Chobani is a remarkable company. They started in 2005 and by 2010 were over a $1Billion in sales and the #1 seller of greek yogurt in North America. Their success bred a bunch of copycats, but this company continues to evolve and grow and lead by example of what a purpose driven, culture-first company can accomplish. Chief Marketing and Category Officer Meredith Madden shares Chobani’s evolution from being a yogurt company to becoming a food company; and describes the fine line between being entrepreneurial and exploring new opportunities; and being too aggressive, diluting vital resources, and failing because you tried to do too much too soon. It’s tricky, but Chobani threads that needle brilliantly. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

DoorDash’s noble brand purpose is providing access and empowering local communities. This company is so much more than a delivery business. They are diving head first into social issues, and leading by example that neutrality is no longer a safe haven for brands. Brands need demonstrable points of view on a variety of topics and issues affecting their products, services, employees, customers and communities. Our front line workers like nurses and doctors got a lot of credit - rightfully so - during the pandemic, but delivery drivers and DoorDash did so much to keep people fed, and the economy on course. The DoorDash leadership team had to make tough choices and big bets over the past 24 months when the pandemic and varying regulations kept fluctuating, and Kofi Amoo-Gottfried's grace under pressure was instrumental in helping so many millions of families, business owners and drivers enjoy a meal and earn some money. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

Herschel has primarily been a manufacturer and wholesaler selling through other retail outlets in over 40 countries, but in 2018 they opened their first store in Vancouver and have become a formidable retailer themselves. They now have locations in Hong Kong and Dubai and Paris and Slate magazine described the brand as "a global phenomenon, glimpsed wherever hipsters dare to tread.” Co-founder Lyndon Cormack’s remarks should give every aspiring entrepreneur hope. While he and his brother had some relevant experience, they mostly had a dream and an unwavering ability to overcome obstacles and lack of information to eventually create a massive success story in under a decade. Theirs is a story of hope, and stick-to-it-ness and a reminder that most successful people aren’t born, they are made through daily decisions and courage and determination. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

In this episode, Morgan Flatley; Global Chief Marketing Officer at McDonalds, is joined by Alyssa Beutifkofer; who is the CMO of McDonalds Canada. Their presentation was Q&A style, and anyone listening who wants to improve how they can connect with customers and employees would do well to follow their advice and to mirror their character. It’s probably best to consume this episode as a four course meal that takes place over 40 minutes. Course #1 is personal and gives us a glimpse at the women behind the brand. Both Morgan and Alyssa are working moms and thriving despite pandemics and the daily pressures of growing a cult brand. Course #2 sheds light into how McDonalds navigated Covid 19 and learned to make adjustments that allowed them to keep stores open, employees employed, and the world fed. Course #3 dives into details about one of their most successful campaigns of all time called Famous Orders. This was a gutsy call that spiked McDonalds relevance and reenergized the brand in meaningful ways. And Course #4 is advice. Morgan and Alyssa were kind enough to end their remarks with some practical tips for other marketers and brand builders who are keen to try and mimic a fraction of McDonald’s success. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

The NFL is the most popular sports league in America. The Super Bowl is among the biggest club sporting events in the world, with the individual games occupying all 5 of Nielsen's all-time most watched Top 5 US television broadcasts. The NFL is also the wealthiest professional sports league by revenue. Dealing with such a massive brand with such broad reach is crazy hard and Tim Ellis has to cater to die hard fans who want everything to stay the same, and attract new audiences who want some things to change. Needless to say, Tim is more than qualified to provide a Master Class on marketing. Ad Age ranked the NFL as #1 on their 2021 Marketers of the Year list. In this episode, Tim shares the framework he uses to ensure professional football continues to thrive on and off the field. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

You don't become the King of Beers without first being a masterful marketer. Kyle Norrington is the current Chief Commercial Officer at Anheuser-Busch, was the former President of LaBatt Breweries of Canada, which makes and distributes Budweiser, and was also the previous VP Global Brands for Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois. Needless to say this guy knows a thing or two about about the beer business. If you are dealing with a global brand, or are hoping to grow their company by tapping into pop culture and becoming culturally significant, Budweiser is perhaps the best example on the planet. Sit back, and relax, but be prepared to take lots of notes about how to foster community and create irrational love for your products, and your brand. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

Big Brothers Big Sisters exists to "create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth". It is one of the oldest and largest youth mentoring organizations in the United States, working with tens of thousands of volunteers and numerous local chapters. Artis Stevens is a dynamic leader and speaker who has devoted his life to worthy causes. Listen to Artis’ story and challenge yourself to find 2-3 things that he’s doing that would make your company or charity better. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

You will be hard pressed to find a more diverse and long-standing company than Kawasaki. This international mega brand joins a very short list of remarkable companies that have excelled for over a century. Kawasaki is a true lifestyle brand. They don’t just sell power sports, they sell all the fun and emotion and community comes with thrill seeking. They refuse to rest on their laurels and they have demonstrated their commitment to product innovations and customer experiences that live up to their core audiences high expectations. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

MJ DePalma currently serves as the Director of Inclusive Marketing and Marketing Excellence at Microsoft. There she is pioneering Inclusive Marketing strategies within product and service development, as well as customer and employee experiences and multicultural advertising. She published the “Marketing with Purpose Course”, and a Playbook, to enable anyone, no matter what role you have in a company, to build more trusted customer experiences. She is a global speaker and guest lecturer redefining innovation to empower everyone to design our best collective future. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

Tamir Bar-Haim explains Amazon’s mission to be the most customer obsessed company in the world. While most outsiders focus on their low prices, or their operational excellence, or perhaps their enviable relationship with Wall Street investors as the biggest contributors to their greatness, but in reality it’s Amazon’s unnatural commitment to meeting exceptionally high customer expectations that makes this company exceptional. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

Land Rover is in a league of its own. Their impact on culture, and the way they cater to a legion of loyal followers, is worthy of emulation. In this episode, Wolfgang Hoffmann explains how they’ve accomplished what they have. Wolfgang speaks to all aspects of the product, their accessories, their dealer network, and their marketing. Each must live up to their mission of making the most of our world, and do so in a super refined and luxurious way. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

Ryan specializes in Courage. He understands how hard it is for people to live with courage, not just in their jobs, but in their lives. His talk provides us with invaluable advice on why and how we can overcome our fears and anxieties, and as leaders, he helps us have more empathy for the concerns and challenges people are wrestling with. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com

Rory Sutherland does not run a cult brand, nor does he even work for one. But he has worked with numerous cult brands, and it was our distinct honor to have him join us from the UK and present some of his latest research findings at The Gathering in Spring 2021. Rory is the vice chairman of the Ogilvy & Mather group of advertising companies. He has written several books, including Alchemy: The Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense. Rory’s presentation is a must listen for any marketer. His examples about the relative perception of price could help reduce the rampant discounting that’s going on, and better appreciating business asymmetry will help marketers more successfully exchange ideas and influence how their organizations solve problems. Learn more at CultBrandSecrets.com