Some brands just seem to ‘get’ people. They connect in all the right ways and have loyal, avid followers.
When we look at what they have in common, they dive deeper than others to understand people at new, multi-dimensional levels, and they act on what they discover. Above all we see four characteristics:
They seek deeper understanding and connection with people
They identify new problems to be solved and refuse to be limited by ‘what is’
They make courageous decisions and aren’t afraid to ride them out
They embody a ‘yes, and…’ mentality instead of ‘yes, but…’
(Former) Head of Global Brand
Marketing, Consumer Apps, Google
SVP, Global Insights and Analytics
Kids2 (Baby Einstein)
Brandon Larson
Head of Brand Strategy
Microsoft
Nick Graham
Global Head Insights & Analytics
Mondelēz
Lauren Wang
CEO & Founder
The Flex Co.
Todd Kaplan
CMO
Pepsi
Craig Dubitsky
Chief Innovation Strategist
Colgate-Palmolive,
Lesson One: Be Gutsy
Once you’re able to locate what your audience needs at a deeper level, I think the gutsiness comes naturally. Once you connect to that deep need and you feel it the way they feel it, you can’t help but move towards them.
Brandon Larson
Head of Brand Strategy
Microsoft
Lesson Two: Understand The Whole Person
The whole idea of a consumer and a shopper is just so archaic because, news flash, people don’t just consume and shop. They are fully rounded human beings that do lots of things.
Nick Graham
Global Head Insights & Analytics
Mondelēz
Lesson Three: Break The Norms
The first step in business is to understand the landscape in which we’re working. Once you understand that reality, [you should] understand the rules of that reality better than anyone and decide which of those rules you want to follow and which of those rules you want to break.
Lauren Wang
CEO & Founder
The Flex Co.
Lesson Four: Walk A Mile
I don’t know how you can be a marketer and not be empathetic. That is literally our job, to better understand what’s going on in our consumers’ heads, hearts, lives, and feelings. We need to be empathetic so we can provide good services that help address where they are failing, what they need, and how to connect all those dots.
Todd Kaplan
CMO
Pepsi
Lesson Five: Find The Gap
If you can figure out something people are going to like or hopefully love before they know about it, there’s incredible power that comes with that. How do we do that? It’s really about appreciating the gaps in people’s lives.
Craig Dubitsky
Chief Innovation Strategist
Colgate-Palmolive,
Powered by RedCircle
Ready to share your wisdom? The Gutsiest Brands podcast offers an opportunity for leaders to share their own brand and leadership experiences and stories with an audience of senior executives and c-suite leaders. This podcast is a way of demonstrating our passion for brands who share our beliefs that being gutsy and human-centric has benefits for consumers, employees, and businesses. Sharing your story helps more brands deliver refreshingly human experiences.
Join us for an episode in just three simple steps!
We’ll schedule an intro call to discuss interview format and key talking points
We’ll share a discussion guide for you to review
We’ll record the interview and edit for publication
Are you ready to share your wisdom?
