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On Brand with Nick Westergaard

On Brand with Nick Westergaard

By: Nick Westergaard
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On Brand helps you tell stronger stories and build better brands. Each week, host Nick Westergaard, author of Get Scrappy and Brand Now, interviews marketing and communication thought leaders and innovators from brands like Ben & Jerry’s, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Meta, Crayola, Beats by Dre, Southwest Airlines, Reddit, Spotify, and MailChimp. Watch the full, in-depth conversations and get actionable insights to help you and your brand stand out in a crowded, distracted world. For show notes and more, please visit http://onbrandpodcast.com.2014 Economics Management Management & Leadership Marketing Marketing & Sales
Episodes
  • The Invisible Engine Behind Every Brand Decision

    The Invisible Engine Behind Every Brand Decision
    Jun 29 2026
    We like to think our buying decisions are completely rational and deliberate. The truth is that most consumer behavior is driven by subconscious perception and invisible mindstates that leaders completely miss. When we design brand strategies for the logical mind, we miss the actual human experience. Our next guest spent years inside PepsiCo unlocking how consumers really think. Now he is helping brands blend behavioral science with artificial intelligence to fundamentally change how we communicate. What You’ll Learn in This Episode Why all brand decisions start emotionally before the rational mind attempts to justify the consequence How to elevate traditional consumer research by mapping functional goals to higher aspirational identity The critical difference between efficiency artificial intelligence and effectiveness technology in modern brand strategy Why customer segmentations fail when they evaluate static attitudes instead of dynamic situational mindstates How iconic organizations earn creative liberty by helping their audience achieve their very best day Episode Chapters (00:00) Intro (01:31) The Reality of Thirty-Five Thousand Daily Decisions (03:47) Moving From Squishy Emotional Marketing to Goal Theory (06:42) The Car GPS Analogy for Consumer Behavior (08:41) Defining the Temporary Mindstate Overlay (12:01) The Complexity of Shifting Consumer Roles (15:57) Lessons Learned From the True North Campaign Failure (19:11) Priming and the Five Guys Friday Night Phenomenon (21:36) Balancing Efficiency Versus Effectiveness in Artificial Intelligence (25:16) The Spotify Disco Ball Logo Tension (27:58) Show Wrap Up and Connect Points About Will Leach Will Leach is a behavioral scientist, marketing strategist, and the founder of Mindstate Group. A former PepsiCo executive, he has spent decades helping organizations understand how subconscious perception shapes customer decisions. Will specializes in the intersection of behavioral science, branding, and artificial intelligence, teaching brands how to look past traditional demographics to uncover the hidden motivations of their audience. He is also the author of Marketing to Mindstates, a definitive guide exploring the psychological reasons behind why customers choose what they choose. What Brand Has Made Will Smile Recently? A brand that has made Will smile recently is Spotify. He observed the massive marketplace tension and public opinion surrounding their recent temporary icon shift to a disco ball. Will noted that brands are stored in minds as emotional predictions rather than visual assets, and he smiled because Spotify has earned the creative liberty to experiment after twenty years of helping users reach their music aspirations. Resources & Links Connect with Will on LinkedIn. Check out the Mindstate Group website. Listen & Support the Show Watch or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon/Audible, TuneIn, and iHeart. Rate and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to help others find the show. Share this episode — email a friend or colleague this episode. Sign up for my free Story Strategies newsletter for branding and storytelling tips. On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    32 mins
  • Capturing Coachella Lightning in a Bottle

    Capturing Coachella Lightning in a Bottle
    Jun 22 2026
    When Addison Rae headlined Coachella this year and the crowd lost it to “Fame Is a Gun,” the cultural momentum felt instant. But the social infrastructure behind that track was built months in advance, one creator at a time, by Griffin Haddrill and his team at LV8. By moving past the standard 48-hour launch spike and focusing on an always-on creator strategy, they drove over 80 million views and a staggering 9% engagement rate. What You’ll Learn in This Episode How to move past the standard 48-hour launch spike and build true cultural momentum What a deep, hyper-specific audience mapping approach looks like compared to standard demographic targeting How to build and organize a massive global framework of editors for real-time clipping strategies Why organic marketing and performance marketing must live in separate, equal buckets to scale effectively The real data behind human-led vs. AI-driven creative performance and how it impacts consumer retention Episode Chapters (00:00) Intro (04:00) Moving Beyond the 48-Hour Launch Spike (05:29) The Power of Depth in Audience Targeting (07:22) Setting a 9% Engagement Rate Standard (08:31) Capturing Lightning in a Bottle with Speed to Market (09:59) The Underbelly of Social Strategy: Clipping and Global Editors (11:39) Splitting the Buckets: Organic Brand Building vs. Performance Marketing (14:12) The Hidden Impact of AI on Consumer Attention and Retention (18:48) Human-Led Creative vs. AI Performance Data (21:48) The Brand That Made Griffin Smile (22:30) Outro About Griffin Haddrill Griffin Haddrill is the founder of LV8, a Gen Z-founded and led digital-first agency based out of Las Vegas. LV8 specializes in creator-led strategies that drive massive digital culture momentum for music labels and global legacy brands alike. Known for pushing past traditional marketing frameworks, Griffin and his team have orchestrated high-profile lifecycle campaigns for artists like Addison Rae and major entertainment partnerships with Columbia Records. What Brand Has Made Griffin Smile Recently? e.l.f. Cosmetics recently put a massive smile on Griffin’s face with their unexpected Liquid Death collaboration. He loved how two highly unique, disruptive brands came together to create something incredibly fun, cool, and beautifully chaotic for their shared communities. Resources & Links Connect with Griffin on LinkedIn. Check out the LV8 website. Listen & Support the Show Watch or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon/Audible, TuneIn, and iHeart. Rate and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to help others find the show. Share this episode — email a friend or colleague this episode. Sign up for my free Story Strategies newsletter for branding and storytelling tips. On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    31 mins
  • Creating a Workplace System That Delivers Joy

    Creating a Workplace System That Delivers Joy
    Jun 15 2026
    The perk trap is costing organizations thousands while leaving teams burned out. Yolanda Fraction, author of the book Joyful Workplaces, joins us to share how leaders can move past surface-level culture and design systems that deliver both joy and results. What You’ll Learn in This Episode Why multi-billion dollar corporate perks like unlimited PTO and cold brew fail to fix the root causes of team burnout The critical operational shift from viewing talent development as a cost center to treating it as a core business driver What it means to lead as a steward of people rather than a controller, and how that impacts daily management decisions How to utilize tactical self-leadership tools like the Johari Window and 360-degree feedback to expose your own leadership blind spots Why corporate culture is never a kickoff project and how to accurately diagnose your workplace using the culture iceberg Episode Chapters (00:00) Intro (00:33) The Reality of the Perk Trap (03:15) Designing Systems for Joy and Performance (05:48) Shifting From Controller to Steward of People (08:53) The True Human Cost of Broken Systems (13:51) Using Self Leadership to Drive Team Clarity (19:01) Uncovering Blind Spots and Reflective Leadership (21:20) Diagnosing Culture Beyond the Surface (25:31) A Brand That Makes Yolanda Smile (27:38) Where to Connect with Yolanda Fraction About Yolanda Fraction Yolanda Fraction, M.Ed., is an organizational development consultant, leadership advisor, and corporate trainer with more than two decades of experience helping executives build healthier, high performing workplaces. Currently pursuing her PhD in industrial organizational psychology, Yolanda holds a graduate degree in adult and organizational learning, bringing a deeply practical and human centered approach to talent management across corporate, nonprofit, academic, and government sectors. She is the author of Joyful Workplaces: How People and Systems Create Energy, Resilience, and Results, and she hosts the Teamwork Sandbox podcast, where she explores the direct ways leaders influence and shape modern organizational culture. What Brand Has Made Yolanda Smile Recently? Yolanda shared a powerful story about Marriott that perfectly illustrated care beyond measure. While managing a hectic work travel schedule and undergoing IVF treatments, she arrived well before check-in at a Marriott property needing a safe place to store her temperature-sensitive medications. Instead of sticking strictly to standard front desk policy, an empathetic employee stepped up, securely stored the medication in a staff refrigerator, and personally ensured it safely reached her room later. For Yolanda, this moment of going above and beyond proved that a culture of genuine care is truly embedded within the Marriott brand. Resources & Links Connect with Yolanda on LinkedIn. Learn more about Yolanda Fraction and her work at her website. Listen & Support the Show Watch or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon/Audible, TuneIn, and iHeart. Rate and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to help others find the show. Share this episode — email a friend or colleague this episode. Sign up for my free Story Strategies newsletter for branding and storytelling tips. On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    32 mins
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