By Jennifer Lawhead If you tuned into Joe Biden’s inauguration, it was impossible not to be talking about Amanda Gorman. In a nation that has been fractured by division and unrest, Amanda bravely rose to the occasion with poetic words that comforted, inspired and reminded us of our values as a country. With each beautifully…
Main Content
The Team
EMILY SOCCORSY
Co-Founder + Strategist
@emilyatlarge
JUSTIN FOSTER
Co-Founder + Strategist
@fosterthinking
JENNIFER LAWHEAD
Chief of Story
@jenlawhead
CAT WEISE
Chief of Staff
@catweise
Musings
Why You Sound Like Everyone Else
As the people in charge of our brands, we want to stand out. We want our voices to rise above the lesser operators, the people who give our industry a bad name. We want someone to hear our message and reach out to us with a hearty: “I want to work with you!” But…
Connecting the Dots from Mission to Brand
An Entrepreneurial Journey of Monetizing Your Mission A rare yet not impossible sequence of events: Seeing a need in the world that sparks a personal mission That mission inspires a product The production of that product turns into a business That business becomes a vehicle for not only serving the injustice but also for inviting…
Slow Down to Speed Up
As a director of marketing, you’ve become friends with timelines and time management, buddies with bandwidth. Even if the leadership team loves your ideas and encourages you to execute, they then repeatedly and persistently ask one question: “When?” When will it be done? When will the website launch? When will the new brand language be…
3 Mistakes You Could Be Making When Telling Stories
By Jennifer Lawhead Telling stories about your brand is easy. But practicing storytelling in a way that perks up the ears of those you want to reach, encourages dynamic dialogue and subtly reveals something important about your brand in the process? This skill, my friends, is difficult. “I’ve tried telling stories about my brand before,…
The Unstoppable Power of an Aligned CEO and CMO
In our work with mission-based leaders, there is one factor above all others that leads to successful brand differentiation. That factor doesn’t involve SEO or PPC. It’s not the best ad campaign. Nor even the best product. It is spiritual and strategic alignment between the CEO and the CMO. Particularly when the CEO has been…
‘I Thought I Could Do It On My Own’
By Jennifer Lawhead Branding was always something I didn’t feel like I needed help with,” our client Sonya Stattmann recalled. “But I started to realize there was misalignment with who I am and how I ran my business.” This realization dawned on Sonya about a year ago: as she continued to grow her business, she…
Planning for 2021 is foolish: Question instead
A plan is a method for achieving an end, so says Merriam-Webster. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that relying too heavily on the solidity of your plans is foolishness. Defining yourself by your adherence to a plan subject to the current volatility of our world can leave you feeling disappointed, jaded and…
Want to be a great marketing leader? Build a great team! An Interview with John Hardesty
On October 1 at 2p CT, we will be visiting with John Hardesty on our “Being Marketers” webcast. Here is a sneak preview of our discussion. Q: Who are you and what do you do? John Hardesty, Chief Brand Officer at VShred Q: What do you love about marketing? The ah-ha moment when a…
