86 - Brand and Culture

Growing your business is hard and this is especially true if you’re a small organization.  Wouldn’t it be great to learn from a seasoned marketer with a track record of growing revenue and profits while strengthening teams and building brands? Well, this is your chance. From the fundamentals to lessons you can only learn from over 30 years of experience, this episode is full of invaluable advice. Todd shares his insights on what brands need to have in place to better position themselves for growth avoid growing pains and not lose their magic, what makes them special, in the process.  

In 2020, many brands pulled back their advertising and marketing. To ensure they could continue to connect and be helpful to their audiences, many significantly increased their social media efforts. In today’s episode, I’m talking with Miruna Dragomir, Head of Marketing for Planable. Miruna takes us behind the scenes to show us how some of the social media teams that grew the most in 2020 are structured, how they organize their work, and the most effective strategies they use.  

If you’re starting your career, your consultancy, or small business, and want to position and differentiate yourself in the marketplace, elevate your credibility, and grow your influence, your personal brand is key. In this episode, we go through the steps you need to take to establish the brand you want to have. From the questions, you need to ask yourself before you start, to the two "must-have" platforms you need to be at. 

There are increasing expectations from consumers and investors alike for brands to demonstrate their genuine commitment towards a more sustainable future. But what does it mean to be a sustainable business and how can brands become more sustainable while ensuring financial viability?   In today’s episode, I speak with Chad Park, VP of Sustainability and Citizenship at The Co-operators, Founding Director of the Energy Futures Lab, and founding member of The Natural Step Canada team. Chad has been recognized for his leadership and accomplishments in working with dozens of leading businesses and municipalities to help them integrate sustainability into their business strategy, operations, and organizational culture. He shares great advice and examples on how brands of any size or industry can apply.  

This episode is the second part of my interview with Oliver Šimko. Gamification can be highly effective in a variety of areas, from attracting customers, increasing sales, building loyalty, creating healthier habits, increasing productivity, achieving better learning outcomes, etc. Given its effectiveness and the potential to start fairly easily and inexpensively, gamification can be a very helpful tool for organizations of all sizes and budgets. In this two-part series, I speak with Oliver Šimko, the founder of Luducrafts, a gamification design studio. Oliver and his team have built gamification solutions to help change how people learn, build new habits, and stronger corporate cultures.  Luducrafts has worked with companies such as Microsoft and Jaguar as well as other groups around the world.

Gamification has become a bit of a buzzword in the last few years, but it’s not just a gimmick. Gamification uses game design principles, behavioural science, and design thinking to create better products, services, and companies.   When done right, it can lead to engaging and effective solutions in a multitude of areas, from addressing social issues to the adoption of healthy habits to driving engagement, motivating staff, increasing productivity, or improve learning. In this two-part series, I speak with Oliver Šimko, the founder of Luducrafts, a gamification design studio. Oliver and his team have built gamification solutions to help change how people learn, build new habits, and stronger corporate cultures.  Luducrafts has worked with companies such as Microsoft and Jaguar as well as other groups around the world.

We like to think we’re rational beings and we mistakenly believe that we can persuade or create the action we want by creating awareness of an issue or presenting facts and rational arguments alone. But as our own experience shows us logic, data, or rational arguments alone don’t cut it. If it did, we would all eat healthy, have active lifestyles, and not be glued to our phones.  What has proven to be a powerful tool to move us into action is storytelling. But how can you use stories for your organization and what makes a good story?  

Entrepreneurs, small business owners, and non-profits have very limited time and resources. How should they use the little time and resources they have to compete with wealthier and more established brands?

When you’re a small team culture is easier to manage but as you grow and hire more people, it becomes harder to preserve. It can easily grow and morph into something else. How do you create the right culture and maintain it as your organization grows? In this episode, I share six key principles that successful brands have applied to do just that.

2020 was quite the year and as much as we’re all looking forward to putting it behind us, what are some learnings and insights we can take away from this crazy year that could be helpful in the future?  2020 impacted brands around the globe. While many brands and industries suffered significantly, with some not surviving, others experienced record-breaking growth.  What factors lead some brands to succeed and others to struggle? What are some consumer trends we need to pay attention to and be part of? And what are some opportunities worth exploring?