It’s episode number 38, and definitely one of my favorite interviews we’ve done, and I don’t say that often.
We have Brandon Rhoten on the show, who get ready for this title, is the VP, Advertising, Social Media, Media, and Digital Marketing for Wendy’s. It’s a mouthful, and I don’t know how he does it, but everything you see with a Wendy’s logo on it, is the work of Brandon and his team.
This episode is all about how Wendy's went from middle of the pack, to a front runner with one of the strongest brands in the industry. Of course, we discuss the insane amount of publicity they've received from Carter's quest to 18 million Retweets - and more importantly, how to create a culture where partners and employees can do work that gets those kinds of results.
Brandon has a history of transforming brands, and since joining the company in 2011, he’s done the same for Wendy’s in an industry that’s notorious for commoditizing it’s products.
To give you a little more context, since Brandon joined Wendy’s, their stock price has increased nearly 200%, not to mention the 15 consecutive quarters of positive same-store sales they’ve had – which is unreal in that industry.
In this episode, you’ll learn
Yes, this is a food marketing podcast, and yes, we talk about food marketing, but the a lot of the advice in this episode is universal to building a great brand in any industry. So grab a pen a paper, and get ready to jot down some notes, because Brandon is about to lay down some knowledge on you.
On the show today, we have Katie Washburn, Manager of Marketing Partnerships for Suja Juice. Katie has been with Suja since they were just local San Deigo brand selling a few hundred bottles per week, to where they are now bottling 800k bottles per week.
Today’s episode is all about influencer marketing. We’ll be diving into how Suja’s launched their midnight tonic last October with an influencer campaign that was so successful, it crashed their website and they sold out of the product in just three days.
On the episode, Katie discusses
Why a follower count isn’t the only thing you should look at when selecting influencers
How to build an influencer program that’s sustainable for the long term
What platforms you should focus on for the most effective influencer marketing…
And of course, what made the launch of their midnight tonic so ridiculously successful. If you’ve had influencer marketing on your radar or you’re thinking it’s time to up your game, you are in for a treat.
The Leader Phrase Book - Patrick Alain
On the show today, we have Lacie Mackey, co-founder and COO of Caveman Coffee. If you’re not already familiar with the story behind Caveman, then you’re in for a treat.
Lacie is a professional stunt trainer and crossfit athlete with a business background in guerilla marketing. Her co-founders Keith Jardine and Tait Fletcher are both professional MMA fighters who combined have either acted in or did stunts for Breaking Bad, Maze Runner, Jurrassic World and a lot more stuff you’ve probably seen or heard of.
We’re talking with Lacie today about how she and her cofounders stumbled upon their successful business idea, and then leveraged their skills to grow their business through social media, podcasting, and just being themselves.
On the episode, you’ll learn:
And plenty more.
Caveman Coffee is doing a lot of things right, tapping marketing channels most companies haven’t even thought about yet, and it’s paying big off for them in a big way. You’ll learn a lot from Lacie in this episode, not just about how to approach business, but managing the lifestyle as a marketer and entrepreneur.
On the show today, we’re talking with Billie Jo Waara, who is the CMO of a brand doing some really interesting things in a sector that’s flooded with competitors with deep pockets. We’re talking about Taco Johns.
Here’s a fun little fact about Taco John’s. They actually invented and own the trademark for the term Taco Tuesday. See, you already learned something new and the interview hasn’t even started yet.
Billie Jo spent the first part of her career in advertising before joining Taco Johns as their CMO, so she has a lot of great stories and insights we talk about in the interview.
In today’s episode, you’ll learn:
And a ton more.
Billie Jo's Book Recommendations: