Fifty years later, kids who've seen all three versions of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory keep coming back to the 1971 film, not because it has better effects, but because it was built on something the others weren't. In this episode, we break down what that something is with the help of our special guest Kevin Rippon, Head of Marketing at Juniper Square.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from taking a distinct position, leading with credibility over spectacle, and structuring content that gets to the point fast.

About our guest, Kevin Rippon

A respected and resilient marketing leader, Kevin has held positions in product marketing, growth, digital, brand, creative, and experiential at different career stops with companies ranging from asset management to fashion to vertical SaaS. Kevin currently oversees Marketing at Juniper Square.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory:

• Know your positioning and take a stand. Gene Wilder's very first scene as Willy Wonka, the cane, the limp, the unexpected somersault, wasn't an accident. It was a declaration. Kevin draws the parallel directly: "The marketing parallel is knowing your positioning or taking a position that's distinct and different." In B2B, most brands try to appeal to everyone and end up resonating with no one. The ones that win commit to a clear, unmistakable point of view, and don't apologize for it.
• Start with a credible message, then dial up the spectacle. The original Oompa Loompas were real actors. The CGI version in the remake looked slicker yet felt fake. Kevin sees the same trap in B2B content: "Start with a credible message and then work your way up from there in terms of spectacle." Great content isn't about how produced it looks. It's about whether the audience believes it. Credibility is the foundation; everything else is amplification.
• Don't needlessly preface, let content run downhill. Willy Wonka gets to the point fast. A few lines from Grandpa Joe and you're already inside the factory. Kevin has made this a governing principle at Juniper Square: "A principle that we actually have at Juniper Square that we set is don't needlessly preface or over preface things. I firmly believe in content like running downhill." Too much B2B content spends the first half justifying why the reader should care. The best content starts in the middle of the thing they already care about and never looks back.

Quote

"Do you have something to say about a particular topic? How can you establish the credibility around it? And then how do you sound different from everyone else, even in your language choices?"

Time Stamps

[01:41] Meet Kevin Rippon, Head of Marketing at Juniper Square

[01:57] Why Willy Wonka?

[03:58] The Role of Head of Marketing at Juniper Square

[07:42] Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory: The Story Behind the Story

[13:12] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

[43:39] Willy Wonka as Branded Content

[48:46] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn 

Learn more about Juniper Square

About Remarkable! Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com.

In today's episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is "Solomon" by FALAK.

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the real lesson from The Devil Wears Prada. What looks like a simple workplace story is really about judgment, brand influence, and how standards shape decisions for years. In this episode, we break down the marketing lessons behind the film with the help of our special guest Ritu Kapoor, Fractional CMO & Ex-CMO at Observe.AI.

Together, we explore what B2B leaders can learn about the power of taste, the long arc of brand influence, and knowing when to break the right rules.

About our guest, Ritu Kapoor

Ritu Kapoor is a Fractional CMO and Ex-CMO at Observe.AI. In her previous role at Observe.AI, she led brand, product marketing, and go-to-market strategy for AI agents transforming customer service. At Observe.AI, she was building a modern GTM engine for the AI-first enterprise, driving a repeatable demand-generation motion, launching next-generation agentic AI products, and leading a comprehensive corporate rebrand that reflected the company’s expanded mission and rapid customer adoption.

Previously, Ritu served as Chief Marketing Officer at Productboard, the product management platform used by teams around the world to build customer-informed products. She led global marketing functions that helped product and engineering teams better align around customer needs and business outcomes.

Across her career, Ritu has driven both organic and inorganic growth; shaped product roadmaps and narratives; built scalable global marketing and customer success functions across EMEA, APAC, and the U.S.; and created operational efficiencies that accelerated sales velocity, improved deal sizes, and enabled faster enterprise launches.

She is proud to have built and led high-performing global teams and successfully launched more than 30 enterprise products and platforms, including ten first-generation offerings, four acquisitions, and five new software categories.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From The Devil Wears Prada:

• Taste is the real moat. In The Devil Wears Prada, Miranda’s authority didn’t solely come from her position at Runway. As Ritu explains, “Her influence isn't from authority. Her influence is from judgment.” The same applies in B2B marketing. The best marketers aren’t just executing playbooks, they’re deciding what’s worth attention and what isn’t. In a world where AI can generate endless content, the real advantage is taste: knowing what’s actually good, what’s differentiated, and what deserves investment.
• Brand influence starts long before the buying moment. The famous blue sweater scene captures a core truth about marketing: decisions are shaped long before someone thinks they’re making them. Ritu frames it directly for B2B: “You can't influence somebody when they're just about to buy. The influence starts years later.” By the time a buyer enters the market, their mental shortlist already exists. That’s why brand work (content, storytelling, and consistent presence) creates leverage long before the sales cycle begins.
• Break one rule and commit fully. Great marketing rarely comes from following every best practice. As Ritu puts it, “The magic really is to know which rule to break.” The key is conviction. The brands that stand out aren’t optimizing for average outcomes; they’re willing to take a focused leap.

Quote

“ We've spent so much time creating hype that nobody trusts vendors anymore… We don't lead with honesty, and we've lost the biggest thing, which is buyer trust…  Pick one thing that builds the trust. You have to find that one anchor of trust, and you have to completely go to it.”

Time Stamps

[01:15] Meet Ritu Kapoor, Fractional CMO & Ex-CMO at Observe.AI

[01:57] Why The Devil Wears Prada?

[11:23] How to Pitch Your Vision

[21:19] The Story Behind The Devil Wears Prada

[28:37] B2B Marketing Takeaways from The Devil Wears Prada

[48:38] 2026 Content Strategy Tips

[50:28] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Ritu on LinkedIn

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s what makes the Barbie movie such a powerful case study. What could’ve been a simple movie launch turned into a full-blown cultural takeover. In this episode, we break down the marketing strategy behind it with the help of our special guest Rekha Srivatsan, SVP & CMO at Tableau.

Together, we explore what B2B leaders can learn from having a sharp point of view, building campaigns designed for participation, and letting brand impact and demand generation work side by side.

About our guest, Rekha Srivatsan

Proven product marketer with experience working in both large and small (but thinking "big"​) organizations. Winner's mentality, entrepreneurial spirit, and team player. Technical and creative skill set to execute with precision. Ability to conceptualize and execute in and outbound marketing programs and assets that directly impact the organization. 

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Barbie:

• Have a point of view and don’t apologize for it. Most B2B brands try to hedge. They sand down their sharp edges. They aim for consensus. Barbie did the opposite. As Rekha puts it: “Barbie did not try to please everyone.” That clarity is what made the campaign magnetic. In B2B, differentiation rarely comes from features. If your brand sounds like it was written by committee, it won’t move anyone. The brands that win take a stand, speak clearly, and accept that not everyone is the audience.
• Design for participation, not just promotion. Barbie didn’t just run ads. It became a movement. Rekha explains, “The Barbie audience, they aren't passive. Because they showed up really, really well. They showed up, dressed up, they posted.” That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you create something people want to join. In B2B, this means building campaigns your customers can step into. If your marketing is something people consume and forget, you’ve capped your impact. If it’s something they participate in, you’ve built a flywheel.
• Brand and demand are not opposites. Too many B2B teams treat brand and demand differently. Barbie proves that’s wrong. Rekha says it directly: “The brand and demand aren't opposites… This is such an emotional, playful storytelling that they had, and they created such a huge commercial impact because of that. To me, the best kind of marketing is when you do both.” The takeaway for B2B is simple: emotional storytelling is leverage. When you build a brand people feel something about, demand follows faster and scales further.

Quote

“Barbie didn't just break through; it actually took over the conversation and made it so intentional and thoughtful.  And candidly, it was such a reminder for all of us in marketing about how our job is so important and how it can also be very, very fun when creativity and courage come together.”

Time Stamps

[01:15] Meet Rekha Srivatsan, SVP & CMO at Tableau

[02:14] Why Barbie? 

[03:25] The Role of CMO at Tableau

[05:36] Barbie & the $150M Breadcrumb Campaign Explained

[10:27] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Barbie

[43:13] Tips for Your 2026 Marketing Strategy

[44:33] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Rekha on LinkedIn

Learn more about Tableau

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s why Steve Jobs and Conrad Hilton are such compelling leaders to learn from. Behind Apple and Hilton is a disciplined approach to customer experience, brand consistency, and raising expectations instead of reacting to them. In this episode, we unpack the B2B marketing lessons behind two of the world’s most iconic brands with the help of our special guest Sharon Oddy, VP of Marketing & Communications at TNS.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from anchoring their positioning in customer experience, building trust through consistency, and delivering value buyers didn’t even realize they were missing.

About our guest, Sharon Oddy

Sharon Oddy is the VP of Marketing & Communications at TNS. She’s a marketing professional who understands the power of storytelling, the importance of a consistent narrative and the art of using it to inspire action. Sharon is an effective and talented communicator who makes the extraordinarily complex, comprehensible. She’s a versatile and decisive leader skilled at building high-performing teams and activating cross-functional collaboration to drive strategic growth, customer retention and acquisition globally.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Steve Jobs + Conrad Hilton:

• Customer obsession is the only real differentiator. Jobs and Hilton didn’t win because they had better marketing. They won because they cared more about the customer experience than anyone else. Sharon nails the mindset: “They listened and they observed in a way that put them in the shoe of the customer.” Jobs makes it the rule: “You've gotta start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology.” The B2B takeaway is clear: if your marketing starts with what you want to sell instead of what your customer needs to feel, you’re already behind. The brands that win build from the buyer backward.
• Trust is built in the details. Hilton’s last words weren’t about expansion or revenue. They were: “Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub.” Jobs obsessed over design even when customers would never see it. Why? Because as Sharon puts it: “It's always about putting the customer first.” In B2B, this means your credibility lives in execution; consistent messaging, polished touchpoints, and an experience that feels dependable. Don’t let the small things create big doubt.
• The best marketers redefine demand. Customers can’t always tell you what they want, but great companies can see what they struggle with. Sharon explains, “Jobs was really good at looking at people and saying, what are they struggling with and how do I make that experience better? Because when I do and they taste it, they're never going back.” That’s the B2B lesson: don’t just market what exists, create the expectation for something better. The strongest marketing doesn’t follow the category. It changes what the category believes is possible.

Quote

“  If you keep looking backwards and trying to copy instead of lead. That's [an] area of demise. You can't look back and be like, “What does everybody else do? What does everybody else think?” You just have to have confidence that you understand your audience. You understand where the puck is moving, and you're going to keep going forward.”

Time Stamps

[01:20] Meet Sharon Oddy, VP of Marketing & Communications at TNS

[01:27] Why Steve Jobs & Conrad Hilton?

[04:00] The Role of VP of Marketing & Communications at TNS

[06:25] Deep Dive: Steve Jobs and Conrad Hilton's Obsession with Details

[11:19] B2B Marketing Lessons from Jobs and Hilton

[47:45] Sharon's Marketing Strategy

[51:24] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Sharon on LinkedIn

Learn more about TNS

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s why Snoop Dogg is such a powerful case study. Behind his music, reinventions, and cultural ubiquity is a masterclass in relevance. In this episode, we break down Snoop’s B2B marketing lessons with the help of our special guest Shay Thieberg, CMO & Co-Founder at MAIA Digital.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from leading with authenticity, owning a clear niche, and building trust through consistent presence instead of chasing short-term attention.

About our guest, Shay Thieberg

Shay Thieberg is the CMO & Co-Founder at MAIA Digital. Specializing in LinkedIn marketing, Shay holds a Masters degree in Social Psychology & Decision-Making. Shay is among 30 Global LinkedIn Certified Experts and Faculty members at Reichmann University where he teaches “B2B Marketing for Tech”.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Snoop Dogg:

• Authenticity scales better than polish. Snoop Dogg’s enduring relevance comes from never pretending to be someone he’s not. Shay points out that when Snoop came to LinkedIn, he didn’t dilute his identity to fit the platform. Instead, he expanded the platform by being himself. As Shay explains, “He could have come to LinkedIn, put up the suit and tie, be a super LinkedIn-ish persona…  he was able, two years ago, to start making a shift and bringing and showcasing to other people with uniquenesses that they can stay cool, they can stay themself.” The B2B lesson is clear: credibility isn’t earned by sounding professional. It’s earned by sounding real. Brands that over-polish lose signal. The ones that feel human get remembered.
• Be known for one thing before you try to be known for everything. Snoop’s brand works because it’s anchored. No matter how many industries he touches, there’s a core idea people immediately associate with him. Shay translates this directly into B2B positioning: “You want to be well known for this exact thing that you do uniquely from other people.” The strongest B2B brands don’t chase every opportunity, they reinforce a single, unmistakable identity until the market does the work for them.
• Visibility is about presence. One of Snoop’s most underrated strengths is that he never fully disappears. He doesn’t overwhelm audiences, but he consistently shows up across moments, mediums, and decades. Shay say, “It’s not about motivation, it’s about staying constant.” For B2B marketers, the takeaway is uncomfortable but liberating: you don’t need viral hits to stay relevant. You need continuity. In markets where buyers forget fast, staying present is the strategy.

Quote

“ Smoking, that's his thing. Now maybe some people will think it's a bad thing, which is fine, but I'm looking at it from a B2B perspective… That's his thing. So he is well known about this one and then he utilizes it for its own good… So you want to be well known for this exact thing that you do uniquely from other people.”

Time Stamps

[01:20] Meet Shay Thieberg, CMO & Co-Founder at MAIA Digital

[01:30] Why Snoop Dogg?

[02:26] Founding MAIA Digital

[06:07] Who is Snoop Dogg?

[16:46] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Snoop Dogg

[23:31] Optimal LinkedIn Strategy for 2026

[25:28] Thought Leadership and Trust

[26:23] Challenges with LinkedIn Video Content

[30:33] Creating Effective LinkedIn Videos

[33:00] How to Optimize Your Content on LinkedIn

[40:32] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Shay on LinkedIn

Learn more about MAIA Digital

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s why Mad Men still hits. Beneath the suits, pitches, and personal drama, it’s a masterclass in what actually moves people. In this episode, we break down its B2B marketing takeaways with the help of our special guest  Fahad Muhammad, Former VP of Marketing at TealBook.

Together, we explore why fundamentals matter more than tactics, why emotion drives demand, and how originality is the only real advantage left in modern B2B marketing.

About our guest, Fahad Muhammad

Fahad is a revenue-centric and data-driven marketing leader with 17 years of experience in strategic marketing at severalSaaS/Tech companies ranging from start-ups, SMBs to enterprise organizations. Specializing in demand creation and generation, he takes a data driven approach to identify unique growth opportunities in order to drive revenue and foster meaningful connections with customers. 

He is a diehard college football fan (Sun Devil for life!) and attends ASU's homecoming game each fall. An avid reader, he loves to read with a cup of his favorite coffee in hand.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Mad Men:

• Anchor on positioning before you touch tactics. Fahad’s biggest takeaway from Mad Men is that modern B2B often skips the hard thinking and jumps straight to execution. The show strips marketing back to its core, and the lesson is uncomfortable in its simplicity. As he puts it, “This discipline is around three core things. It's about positioning, it's about having a very compelling piece of creative… and then the last piece is really understanding who your audience is.” The danger for B2B teams is mistaking activity for strategy. If positioning is fuzzy, no amount of optimization will save it. Get the foundation right first, or everything else is just noise.
• Emotion is the real differentiator. Fahad makes it clear that cutting through the noise is about resonance. He says, “Something that does speak to us, no matter what medium [it’s in], is always going to cut through the noise.” Mad Men works because it understands human psychology hasn’t changed, even if the channels have. For B2B marketers, the lesson is simple: logic might justify the purchase, but emotion earns attention. If your message doesn’t connect at a human level, it won’t survive the noise long enough to matter.
• Originality beats borrowed playbooks. Fahad warns that one of the fastest ways for B2B brands to disappear is by copying what already worked for someone else. Mad Men celebrates originality because it shows how differentiation is built through conviction, not consensus. As Fahad puts it, “They're not taking the shortcut route of copy pasting or referencing creative… they are elevating themselves and going through their own version of creative.” In a world where everyone has access to the same tools, the only sustainable advantage is saying something true in a way only you can. That’s what people remember.

Quote

“  Everybody has the same access to the tools now. They can do the same thing. And the playing field is more level than ever. So how do you now cut through the noise? It still goes back to the core elements of: How strong is your positioning? How strong is your creative? Are you really thinking [that] this is going to cut through the noise and is it going to move people?”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Fahad Muhammad, Former VP of Marketing at TealBook

[01:37] Why Mad Men?

[04:28] Role of VP of Marketing at TealBook

[05:20] Behind-the-Scenes of Mad Men

[09:21] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Mad Men

[32:08] The Role of AI in Marketing

[42:43] How to Connect Content to Your Marketing Strategy

[45:44] Advice for First-Time VPs of Marketing

[47:19] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Fahad on LinkedIn

Learn more about TealBook

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the lesson of Dune, the sci-fi epic once considered unfilmable and now one of the most successful franchises of the decade. In this episode, we break down its marketing lessons with the help of our special guest Madhav Bhandari, Head of Marketing at Storylane.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from world-building, pattern interruptions, and betting on emerging talent.

About our guest, Madhav Bhandari

Madhav Bhandari is the Head of Marketing at Storylane. He’s a a B2B marketer with 12+ years of experience helping startups grow from scrappy beginnings ($2M+ ARR) to category leadership ($20M+ ARR and beyond). Madhav built lean, high-performing marketing engines across both PLG / sales-led companies. His strength and philosophy is doing marketing that stands out. I focus on work that drives action and ties directly to pipeline.

Madhav has helped many scale-ups grow beyond $10M ARR, either as a full-time leader or a hands-on advisor. I love taking on this challenge.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Dune:

• Show the product, don’t narrate it. Madhav’s first lesson from Dune is about restraint. The film works because it removes exposition and lets the audience experience the world firsthand. He draws a direct parallel to B2B marketing, saying, “ You've seen the B2B website homepages that are just full of jargon.  And I think now is the time to actually show the product.” Too many B2B teams rely on jargon, stock imagery, and abstract claims, forcing buyers to imagine value. The takeaway is simple: remove the guesswork. Interactive demos, real visuals, and tangible experiences outperform explanations every time. If buyers have to imagine what your product does, you’ve already added friction.
• Go where the work is unpopular but important. In Dune, the most valuable resource in the universe lives in the most unremarkable place. Madhav says, “ Unpopular but important projects, that’s where the largest customer growth lies.” In marketing, that means resisting the pull of flashy homepage redesigns and brand exercises when the real leverage sits deeper, product pages, conversion paths, and messy parts of the funnel no one wants to own. If everyone wants to work on it, it’s probably already optimized. The real upside lives where attention is scarce.
• Bet on emerging voices, not just famous ones. Dune didn’t rely on a single A-list star to succeed, and Madhav has seen the same dynamic play out in B2B. His experience is clear: “ anytime I've gone with… a very popular influencer… that I interviewed, those episodes the way I thought they would perform, didn't really perform that well. Bu what’s funny is that the people that are relatively unpopular but have done incredible work are the episodes that did fantastic.” Big names feel safe, but they’re expensive and often underdeliver. Audiences respond more to sharp thinking and real experience than borrowed fame. In B2B, the fastest way to build trust is to help your audience discover someone worth listening to, before everyone else does.

Quote

“ Today, in our world, sameness is risky… The worst that could happen … is it's gonna perform the same as if you would've not done that, and the best case scenario is it’s just gonna do insanely well.” 

Time Stamps

[01:03] Meet Madhav Bhandari, Head of Marketing at Storylane

01:08 Why Dune?

01:51 Role of Head of Marketing at Storylane

02:37 Breaking Down Dune

10:53 B2B Marketing Takeaways from Dune

25:18 Influencer Campaign Strategies

28:28 The Power of Brand Awareness

31:12 Storylane's Marketing Strategy

35:08 Creative Marketing Examples

38:37 Content Strategy and Founder Branding

45:25 Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Madhav on LinkedIn

Learn more about Storylane

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the lesson of MrBeast, the YouTube creator who turned data-driven storytelling into one of the most powerful media brands in the world. In this episode, we explore his marketing playbook with the help of our special guest Rodrigo Fontes, VP of Marketing at QuillBot.

Together, we break down what B2B marketers can learn from engineering audience retention, building repeatable content formats, and investing just a little more effort to create work people can’t look away from.

About our guest, Rodrigo Fontes

Rodrigo Fonte is the VP of Marketing at QuillBot. He is a strategic marketing leader with over 15 years of experience building and scaling brands across both B2C and B2B markets. Rodrigo is currently driving growth in Generative AI and consumer tech at QuillBot (Learneo). He’s also leading the global marketing organization behind one of the world’s most widely used AI writing assistants, overseeing Brand, Media, Influencers, Social, SEO, ASO, Content, Product Marketing, and International Expansion.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From MrBeast:

• Obsess over audience retention, not just reach. MrBeast doesn’t just aim for views, he studies exactly where attention drops and rebuilds content accordingly. Rodrigo says, “His data-driven customer obsession on every detail to make things work, I think that’s such an amazing thing for us marketers today to think [about].” B2B teams should move beyond impressions and focus on where prospects lose interest and why. Analyze content the same way you analyze funnels. Retention is the real signal of relevance.
• Show people something they’ve never seen before. Originality is MrBeast’s core advantage. He doesn’t just execute well, he starts with ideas audiences haven’t encountered. Rodrigo reminds us, “The fight for attention is brutal today.” If your content looks like your competitors’, it’s already invisible. Massive budgets aren’t required to execute original ideas, as MrBeast proved in his early viral videos. Novelty is a priceless strategic asset.
• Use culture as a creative multiplier. MrBeast often revamps formats by tapping into existing cultural moments (e.g., Squid Game, Willy Wonka). Rodrigo points out, “He can really revamp a format if he adds culture to [it].” B2B strategy doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel. Tie your ideas to what your audience already cares about instead of forcing attention from scratch.

Quote

“ Go deeper on what really, already has the attention of your target audience, instead of starting from scratch. What are they paying attention to already?”

Time Stamps

[01:03] Meet Rodrigo Fontes, VP of Marketing at QuillBot

[02:13] Why MrBeast?

[09:07] Why His Content Works

[16:58] The Power of Effort and Originality

[22:05] Repeatable Formats and Serialized Content

[29:20] Lessons from Branded Content and Influencers

[42:45] QuillBot’s Content Strategy

[47:56] Advice for Marketing Leaders

[51:12] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Rodrigo on LinkedIn

Learn more about QuillBot

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the lesson of Summer House, Bravo’s long-running hit that turns everyday interactions into year-round engagement. In this episode, we break down its marketing lessons with the help of our special guest Kelly Cheng, Chief Marketing Officer at Goldcast.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from playing the long game with their audience, making marketing more human by building in public, and creating a steady stream of content that keeps you top of mind long after the season ends.

About our guest, Kelly Cheng

Kelly Cheng is a seasoned marketing executive with over a decade of experience driving growth and leading successful marketing strategies for high-performing technology companies. As the Chief Marketing Officer at Goldcast, she is responsible for spearheading the company's global marketing initiatives, including brand development, demand generation, and digital marketing.

Prior to her current role, Kelly served as the VP of Marketing at Goldcast, where she played a pivotal role in the company's successful rebrand and the implementation of a data-driven marketing approach. Before joining Goldcast, she held marketing leadership positions at Wistia and Dynatrace, where she demonstrated her expertise in growth marketing, media optimization, and digital acquisition strategies. Kelly's diverse background also includes experience in media planning and digital marketing at PagerDuty and Havas Media Group.

Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Boston University, where she graduated cum laude and was recognized for her academic excellence.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Summer House:

• Build long-term relationships with your audience. Reality TV wins through continuity. Keeping familiar faces and building trust season after season. Kelly explains, “The continuity piece is really important. Throughout the nine seasons, there's a lot of OGs that have been around since season one, and you really, really build that rapport with the audience, and people are super invested in what you do next.” In B2B, the same applies. Consistency and ongoing storytelling help audiences feel emotionally connected, not just informed. Your series or campaign shouldn’t end when engagement dips. It should evolve, deepen, and reward loyalty.
• Build in public. Kelly draws a parallel between following a cast across nine seasons and showing your brand’s journey transparently. “You’re following on for nine years, learning about their development over time... It’s kind of like building in public…I could just put up a show and say watch me learn about AI in marketing and watch me win and watch me fail.” B2B marketers can use this approach to humanize their brand: sharing learnings, experiments, and even missteps. The more your audience sees your process, the more invested they become in your success.
• Capture year-round mindshare through consistent content. Bravo doesn’t just rely on one show. They have built an ecosystem that keeps fans engaged across formats and seasons. Kelly notes, “They’re just really, really good at turning out content that people want to consume to keep them top of mind… There’s an extra 10 months that you have to make sure that you have got air cover so people don’t forget about you.” The lesson: don’t go dark between campaigns. Extend your reach with follow-up content, micro-clips, events, and spin-offs. Sustained storytelling turns fleeting interest into durable brand awareness.

Quote

“I think there’s a lot of learning in making B2B marketing a bit more human and drawing those learnings from reality TV about building in public. Because at the end of the day, you’re selling software to help an individual that will ultimately help an organization.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Kelly Cheng, Chief Marketing Officer at Goldcast

[01:08] Why Summer House?

[07:13] What is Summer House?

[17:37] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Summer House

[36:43] Goldcast's Approach to Marketing

[42:28] Goldcasts' Upcoming Agent Launches

[43:29] Advice for CMOs

[44:25] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn

Learn more about Goldcast

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the lesson of Oura Ring’s ‘Give Us a Finger,’ a campaign that nailed cultural timing, sharp copy, and product-specific boldness without losing its soul. In this episode, we explore its B2B marketing takeaways with the help of our special guest Sylvia LePoidevin, CMO & Creator of The Zero to One Marketer.

Together, we break down what B2B marketers can learn from making your copy the multiplier, leading with tension, and turning cultural insight into measurable demand.

About our guest, Sylvia LePoidevin

Sylvia LePoidevin is a B2B SaaS marketing leader who has gone from the first marketing hire to CMO at two companies now valued over $2 billion combined. 

Most recently, Sylvia was the CMO at Kandji. She joined as employee #4 and helped scale the company from pre-seed to an $850M valuation with global offices across the US, London, Sydney, and Tokyo. A former early hire at DataFox (acquired by Oracle’s AI group) and FloQast (now valued at $1.6B), Sylvia has spent her career building go-to-market engines from zero, often without playbooks, resources, or precedent. 

Her passion is helping founders and scaling teams build with the buyer first, using messaging, content, and community as multipliers for growth. Raised in remote Africa before moving to the US alone at 17, Sylvia credits her resilience and outsider perspective as her greatest assets in navigating zero-to-one challenges in both life and business.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Oura Ring’s ‘Give Us the Finger’ Campaign:

• Make your copy the multiplier, not the footnote. Sylvia’s first lesson from ‘Give Us a Finger; is that the words are the performance channel. She says, “You think so much about the budget and the metrics, but if you put half as much of that effort into just like what the freaking copy is saying, that can change the unit economics of your whole campaign more than anything.” Oura didn’t win because they spent more, they won because the headline is sticky, visual, and instantly understandable. In B2B, it should be the same. Before you tune targeting or add spend, pressure-test the message. One sharp line that people repeat will outperform five “optimized” versions nobody remembers.
• Lead with tension. What makes this campaign work, in Sylvia’s eyes, is that it taps a real, shared feeling in the market. She grounds it in one clear idea: “The whole concept of ‘Give Us the Finger’ is sort of an act of defiance against aging.” That’s why it resonates beyond the cult fans. It’s selling an attitude, not a tracker. For B2B marketers, the move is to find the tension your buyers already live in and build the campaign around that. When the audience feels seen first, the product lands as the natural weapon.
• Keep the wrinkles in your writing. Sylvia loves this campaign because it doesn’t feel sanded down into safe brand mush. Her takeaway is blunt: “ AI takes the wrinkles out of your writing… People are now looking for the wrinkles because it shows that it's real.” Oura’s creative has an edge, personality, and a little defiance, which is exactly why it sticks. In B2B, where everything tends to sound committee-approved, the fastest way to disappear is to over-smooth. Let your voice have texture. Keep the sharp edges that make your brand human. That’s what people notice, trust, and remember.

Quote

“ 95% of your buyer is not in market at any moment, only 5% is. And it's very lucrative and tempting to pour all of your resources into that 5% and try to capture the existing demand. But eventually it's going to cap out. And to really achieve that hockey stick, long-term growth, you need to invest in the 95%.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Sylvia LePoidevin, CMO & Creator of The Zero to One Marketer

[01:26] Why Oura Ring’s “Give Us the Finger” Campaign?

[04:32] Sylvia’s Career Journey in Content Marketing

[05:47] Inside the Strategy Behind Oura Ring’s ‘Give Us the Finger’ 

[10:52] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Oura Ring’s ‘Give Us the Finger’ Campaign

[26:48] A Content Marketing Playbook for First-Time CMOs

[31:47] Modern Marketing Strategies That Actually Work

[40:26] The Hidden Power of Internal Influencers

[43:55] AI in Content Creation: What to Use, What to Avoid

[49:29] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Sylvia on LinkedIn

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

They explore Emily’s concept of the “gen marketer”,  and why traditional silos and specialist-heavy teams struggle in today’s high-velocity environment.

Key Takeaways

• Marketing teams need more generalists who can connect strategy, creativity, and distribution.
• Speed to execution matters more than perfect alignment across functions.
• Big marketing wins come from coordinated campaigns, not isolated tactics.
• AI increases the value of orchestration and taste, not specialization alone.
• Marketing leaders should think in portfolios of bets, not incremental activities.

Quote

“Every big initiative needs to have a chance to really win — not just deliver incremental results.”

Episode Timestamps

(03:51) What the “Gen Marketer” role actually means

(10:04) Why speed matters more than perfect alignment

(16:42) Escaping random acts of marketing with big bets

(24:58) How CMOs should think like producers or VCs

(31:37) When founder-led marketing works (and when it doesn’t)

Sponsor

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Links

Connect with Ian on LinkedIn

Connect with Emily Kramer on LinkedIn

Dear Marketers Podcast 

MKT1 Unboxing

Learn more about MKT1

Learn more about Caspian Studios

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the unexpected lesson of KPop Demon Hunters, a movie that uses K-pop stardom, rivalry, and emotional honesty to show what makes an audience stay loyal. In this episode, we break down his marketing lessons with the help of our special guest Ray Lin, Fractional Head of Marketing.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from pacing for quality, standing for something bigger than the rivalry, and making vulnerability a trust engine that drives demand.

About our guest, Ray Lin

Ray Lin is a mission-driven marketing leader who turns messy funnels into clean revenue. Over 13+ years across SaaS, marketplaces, and wellness tech, he’s built demand gen and ABM machines that actually align with sales—and he’s unapologetically pro-AI when it lifts both creativity and efficiency.

A Bay Area native and former sports writer turned “accidental but strategic marketer,” Ray believes great marketing is H2H—human to human—before it’s ever B2B. He’s led and rolled up his sleeves across demand gen, digital, ABM, field, performance, growth, content, product marketing, and lifecycle CRM, with 8+ years inside B2B2C marketplaces like Grubhub, Wellhub and SeatGeek.

If your pipeline’s leaky, your teams are siloed, or “content” isn’t moving deals, Ray’s the marketing leader who fixes the system, centers the customer, and gets momentum back on the scoreboard.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From KPop Demon Hunters:

• Work smarter, not harder. KPop Demon Hunters shows that momentum dies when you confuse output with impact. Ray pulls a direct B2B parallel: “one of the lessons that come from Golden is working smarter, not harder… [Marketers] a lot think that extra 10 attempts at ad creative or 10 extra emails that you queue up in your CRM are gonna make all the difference. When in reality, it’s about quality, not quantity.” For B2B, this movie is your warning label: speed without intention burns out the team and blurs the story. Make fewer bets, make them sharper, and give your work room to land.
• Compete with conviction, not contempt. The movie’s diss track, Takedown, is a trap: when your identity becomes anti-them, you shrink your own story. Ray says it plainly: “Don’t let competitive obsession poison your well.” The point isn’t to never compete, it’s how you compete. If your positioning is mostly about your rival, you’ve already let them write your narrative. Lead with what you stand for, and you won’t need a villain to feel heroic.
• Let vulnerability be your differentiator. The movie’s emotional turn lands because the heroes stop performing perfection and start telling the truth. That’s the B2B move too: honesty travels farther than polish. Ray says, “ The power of vulnerability and transparency… can really skyrocket a B2B brand.” In B2B, authenticity isn’t a vibe, it’s a trust engine. Build a brand worth believing in.

Quote

“Always be ready. You don't know what's gonna be a hit and what's not going to. And when it does happen, know how to capitalize on it. And the multiple prongs, the octopus of this behemoth that is KPop Demon Hunters, I think, is that it has all these tentacles… [and] is what makes it so powerful. You can't plan for the success of one tentacle without thinking at least about the others.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Ray Lin, Fractional Head of Marketing

[02:15] Why KPop Demon Hunters?

[05:10] Role of a Fractional Head of Marketing

[06:20] Behind the Scenes of KPop Demon Hunters

[16:00] B2B Marketing Lessons from KPop Demon Hunters

[27:00] High Concept Storytelling in Media

[40:57] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Ray on LinkedIn

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The three-Michelin-star chef behind some of the world’s most iconic dishes built his reputation on turning accidents, constraints, and tradition itself into something entirely new. In this episode, we break down his marketing lessons with the help of our special guest Abel Grünfeld, VP of Marketing at Riverside.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from transforming mistakes into memorable stories, using constraints to spark better ideas, and leading with calm adaptability when things inevitably go off script.

About our guest, Abel Grünfeld

Abel Grunfeld is Riverside’s VP of marketing and first employee. He is a growth strategy expert, specializing in scaling our digital presence and building an efficient marketing pipeline. 

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Massimo Bottura:

• Turn mistakes into magnetic storytelling. Massimo Bottura’s most iconic dish was born from a dropped lemon tart, which is proof that imperfections can become brand-defining moments. Abel explains, “ [It’s] very inspiring to take this high stress environment… and transform it into something that actually is unique, much more creative, much more powerful in terms of storytelling.” In B2B, the same principle applies. When a campaign breaks, a launch misfires, or a plan goes sideways, don’t hide it. Shape it into a story. Audiences connect most with brands that reveal the creative, human process behind the work. Your “oops” moment might become your most memorable asset.
• Use constraints to fuel creativity. In high-pressure kitchens, limitations create innovation, not less of it. Abel notes, “Your constraints are your advantage… By being very intentional and aware of what your constraints and disadvantages are, you can be really focused on how to use these to actually create some sort of playing field where you can be more successful.” B2B teams often don’t have unlimited budgets, bandwidth, or time. That’s not a disadvantage, that’s focus. Constraints sharpen your narrative, strengthen your positioning, and force bold creative choices. The boundaries become the catalyst.
• Plan for surprises and lead through them. Massimo Bottura thrives by embracing unpredictability, treating chaos as a space for invention. Abel shares, “You always plan, but you cannot always control the outcomes… you need to plan to be surprised… and  to figure out how you make the most out of any situation.” For B2B marketers, this is the mindset shift. Markets shift. Teams change. Campaigns don’t go as expected. The brands that win are the ones that stay calm, adapt quickly, and turn the unexpected into momentum. Build flexibility into your strategy so you can transform disruption into differentiation.

Quote

“Real creativity, very often, it's a coincidence of different factors.  There's an unintentionality behind creation that when you plan everything out, you'll never come to that result. When you allow space for exploration, for playfulness, for doing things that you never planned… sometimes they're better than what you actually can envision and visualize yourself.” 

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Abel Grünfeld, VP of Marketing at Riverside 

[00:52] Why Massimo Bottura?

[01:59 The Role of VP of Marketing at Riverside

[03:02] Behind the Scenes of Massimo Bottura: The Italian Culinary Genius

[14:58] Marketing Lessons from Massimo Bottura

[26:19] Where are B2B Companies at with Video?

[32:07] The Importance of Video Content

[41:34] Content Strategy at Riverside

[44:47] Simplifying Video Production

[47:07] Consolidating Video Creation Tools

[49:07] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Abel on LinkedIn

Learn more about Riverside

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the lesson from Jean-Christophe Pitié, Chief Marketing and Chief Partner Officer at Contentsquare, who’s spent the last five years bringing new life to a centuries-old home outside Paris. In this episode, we break down the marketing lessons hidden in his restoration journey.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from blending heritage with innovation, finding creativity in constraints, and designing connected experiences where every touchpoint matters.

About our guest, Jean-Christophe Pitié

With 20+ years of experience in international marketing and partner engagement, Jean-Christophe is committed to supporting companies of all sizes in their digital transformation. Passionate about technology and retail, he spent two decades at Microsoft, where he had the opportunity to contribute to the cloud transformation and to launch Microsoft 365 as well as leading Microsoft Stores. Today, as Chief Marketing and Partnerships Officer at Contentsquare, Jean-Christophe’s main mission is to drive customer demand in markets around the world, continue to grow our rich partner ecosystem, and bring holistic customer experience insights to more teams worldwide.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From the restoration of a French farmhouse:

• Honor your legacy while modernizing for today. Great brands, like great houses, balance tradition and innovation. Jean-Christophe explains, “I had architects who came initially, and they wanted to put glass everywhere, tear down some big stone walls, and I’m like, guys, this house has had oak beams for 250 years. I’m not gonna tear them down. I’m gonna keep them.” In B2B, the same logic applies. Your legacy, your history, and your customer trust are part of your brand’s foundation. Don’t tear them down for the sake of what’s trendy. Blend your legacy with fresh, modern layers such as new tech, new storytelling, and new energy, without losing what made your brand distinct. That balance between the old and the new is what gives it lasting beauty and credibility.
• Constraints fuel creativity. Jean-Christophe says, “Sometimes the best projects come when… you have a constraint… either a location constraint or timing or budget, you get very creative to work around the constraints.” His farmhouse’s three-foot-thick stone walls forced him to rethink how to add modern features, and that challenge sparked originality. In B2B, the same holds true. Limited budget? Shrinking timelines? Regulatory hurdles? These are the sparks for inventive ideas. Don’t let your constraints kill creativity; let them focus it.
• Every touchpoint shapes the experience. When restoring a house, you have to look at the whole picture; every room, material, and detail needs to connect. Jean-Christophe shared, “It’s a bit like your marketing strategy. You need to connect across channels… every touchpoint matters.” Just like a home’s design must flow seamlessly from one room to the next, so should your brand experience, across your website, content, product, and sales. Inconsistent moments break trust. When every touchpoint feels connected and intentional, you turn friction into flow, and customers into believers.

Quote

“History is part of who we are, human beings… It’s beautiful… It's like a brand. When you think about brand, you want something that's unique, differentiated, [and] people can relate to, which is so beautiful.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Jean-Christophe Pitié, Chief Marketing and Chief Partner Officer at Contentsquare

[01:04] Jean-Christophe’s French Farmhouse Restoration Project

[04:38] Balancing Tradition and Innovation in Restoration Projects

[13:56] Creative Solutions and Constraints in Restoration

[21:30] Importance of Legacy

[26:51] B2B Marketing Lessons from Restoring a French Farmhouse

[38:30] Innovations at Content Square

[43:33] Advice for CMOs on Investing in Brand

[45:45] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Jean-Christophe on LinkedIn

Learn more about Contentsquare

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the lesson of Andor, the Star Wars series that turned subtle storytelling into a strategy for lasting relevance. In this episode, we explore its B2B marketing takeaways with the help of our special guest Rachel Sterling, CMO of Identity Digital. 

Together, we break down what B2B marketers can learn from spotting product fatigue early, tailoring stories for evolving audiences, and creating content that sparks conversation, not just clicks.

About our guest, Rachel Sterling

Rachel Sterling serves as Chief Marketing Officer where she is focused on expanding Identity Digital’s impact on driving awareness and adoption of our top level domain portfolio. Prior to joining Identity Digital, Rachel held senior leadership positions at Proximie, Instagram, Twitter, and Google where she developed impactful strategies around product, integrated, content, and event marketing.

Rachel also possesses a creative background, spending the first eight years of her career working in TV production and post-production. Rachel lives in Belmont, CA with her husband and two children.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Andor:

• Recognize when the story has run its course. Just like Disney realized Luke Skywalker’s arc had reached its limits, Rachel ties that lesson to brand fatigue. Audiences, like customers, eventually want something new. As she puts it: “Their main characters had been exhausted… you have to consistently monitor for user sentiment.” Andor worked because it didn’t cling to nostalgia; it built from a blank slate. In B2B, that means knowing when your message or product line has hit its ceiling and having the courage to reinvent before your audience tunes out.
• Segment for meaning, not just demographics. Disney didn’t make Andor for everyone. It made it for the fans who grew up with A New Hope. Rachel explains: “By exploring more mature themes, you're building content specifically for the core audience that had been there since the very beginning.” The same rule applies in B2B. As your audience evolves, so should your tone, themes, and depth. Mature buyers crave nuance; new ones need accessibility. Build the right story for the right segment, and you’ll meet each generation where they are, not where they were.
• Make content that talks back. Rachel points out that Andor isn’t a passive show. It demands engagement long after the credits roll. As she says: “Content no longer exists in a passive experience… The sign of a good show is when you can engage in conversation beyond just a simple, ‘that was good.’” In B2B, the same holds true. The best content doesn’t just get attention; it gets people talking, sharing, and connecting around a shared idea. Don’t settle for applause, aim for conversation that keeps your brand in motion.

Quote

“Just because you feel affinity for the product does not mean that people will continue to share that affinity. I definitely think that marketers, from seeing the decision that Disney made to Greenlight Andor, can take away the message [to] understand when you have product fatigue.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Rachel Sterling, Chief Marketing Officer at Identity Digital

[01:51] Why Andor?

[03:36] The Role of CMO at Identity Digital

[04:45] What is Andor?

[22:32] B2B Marketing Lessons from Andor

[42:14] Identity Digital's Brand and Content Strategy

[45:52] Advice for First-Time CMOs

[48:27] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn

Learn more about Identity Digital

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the lesson of Dr. Peter Attia, the longevity expert who reshaped how millions think about health. In this episode, we explore his B2B marketing parallels with the help of our special guest Ashley Sturm, VP of Marketing at Opengear.

Together, we uncover what B2B marketers can learn from building strong systems behind every campaign, committing to a long-term content strategy, and meeting audiences where they are with multichannel storytelling.

About our guest, Ashley Sturm

Ashley Sturm is VP of Marketing at Opengear. Ashley is a marketing and strategy leader with more than 15 years of experience developing strategic marketing initiatives to increase brand affinity, shape the customer experience, and grow market share. 

Before joining Opengear, she served as the Vice President of Marketing at Nautilus Data Technologies. Prior to that, she served as the Senior Director of Marketing Brand and Content for NTT Global Data Centers Americas, spearheading marketing efforts to open two out of six data center campuses.

Ashley has led global marketing through the startup of Vertiv’s Global Data Center Solutions business unit, where she developed the unit’s foundational messaging and established global and regional marketing teams. Ashley’s career experience includes extensive work with the US Navy through the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness as well as broadcast journalism. A graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Ashley specializes in journalism and converged media.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Dr. Peter Attia:

• Focus on strength in the unseen work. Just like Dr. Attia emphasizes strength in the eccentric phase of movement (the part no one sees), Ashley connects that to B2B marketing fundamentals. Campaigns fail when the foundation is weak. As she puts it: “[It’s] not just the big flashy campaigns or the launches, it’s about the control, the discipline, and the structure behind them.” By investing in process, frameworks, and messaging systems, brands build resilience and long-term performance. The lesson: don’t obsess over launch day, obsess over what holds it all together.
• Commit to the slow burn strategy. Dr. Attia didn’t explode overnight. He showed up for years through podcasts, long-form content, and thought leadership before publishing his book, Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity. Ashley calls out the power of consistency over time, saying: “He committed to the slow burn… we’re in this for the long haul.” In B2B, that translates to sticking with a point of view, consistently educating your market, and building credibility brick by brick. Thought leadership is earned, not launched, and trust compounds for brands that stay the course.
• Meet people on their terms. Dr. Attia doesn’t rely on one channel or format. He scales his ideas across podcasts, books, YouTube tutorials, social clips, and deep science blogs. Ashley ties that directly to B2B content strategy: “Where are they gonna be? How do they wanna consume it? Let’s make sure we’ve morphed the content to fit that medium.” Your buyers consume differently at different moments. Repurpose one core message into channel-native formats to reach them everywhere they are, not where you wish they were.

Quote

“Strength is built in the parts we sometimes overlook — the details, the structure, the lowering motion — that’s where you build resilience. Whether in health or in business.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Ashley Sturm, VP of Marketing at Opengear

[01:12] Why Dr. Peter Attia?

[04:02] Role of VP of Marketing at Opengear

[05:03] Deep Dive into Dr. Peter Attia’s Work

[11:23] B2B Marketing Lessons from Dr. Peter Attia

[39:48] Building Authentic Content Strategies

[45:57] Advice for Marketing Leaders

[48:35] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Ashley on LinkedIn

Learn more about Opengear

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the lesson of the flywheel, a framework that transforms scattered marketing efforts into a self-sustaining system of growth. In this episode, we explore how to turn that theory into reality with Nataly Kelly, Chief Marketing Officer at Zappi.

Together, we unpack what B2B marketers can learn from building circular strategies that connect brand to demand, removing friction where it matters most, and compounding small wins into unstoppable momentum.

About our guest, Nataly Kelly

Nataly Kelly is CMO at Zappi. She has over 20 years of experience leading remote and global teams, and previously served 7 years as VP at HubSpot. She is a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review, a published author of four books, keynote speaker on marketing, growth, and international expansion, and an award-winning leader. She has been named among the Top 50 CMOs on LinkedIn, as Marketing Executive of the Year, in the 40 under 40, and one of the Top 25 Content Marketers in Enterprise Software, as well as among the Women Worth Watching.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From the Flywheel:

• Marketing is a flywheel, not a funnel. Marketers love funnels because they’re measurable, but Nataly reminds us that the best marketing is circular, not linear. She says, “So often we have thought of marketing as like a linear funnel. But the flywheel’s really where you turn the funnel on the side and then connect the top to the bottom.” In her model, brand, demand, land, and expand all feed each other in an ongoing loop. Marketing shouldn’t be about one campaign that ends. It’s about creating continuous energy that connects awareness to advocacy.
• Friction kills momentum. Velocity doesn’t come from spending more, it comes from removing what slows you down. Nataly explains, “A general rule of thumb I’ve always used is the closer you get to someone’s wallet, the more important it is to remove friction…. Every touchpoint is a chance to delight a customer.” In B2B marketing, the same rule applies: every confusing process, clunky message, or slow response is a brake on your flywheel. Smooth the path, and speed will follow.
• Small improvements compound into unstoppable growth. Marketers often look for a big splash, but Nataly says momentum comes from micro progress. Nataly asks, “What are the small things we can do to create uplift today and momentum today?... And those things add up.” Each small optimization—an improved touchpoint, a clearer message, a faster follow-up—removes friction and accelerates the flywheel. Consistency, not chaos, creates compounding power.

Quote

“Your brand voice is really how you decide to communicate with your customer. And that is not just what we typically consider marketing communications. It touches every part of the customer experience.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Nataly Kelly, Chief Marketing Officer at Zappi

[01:09] Why Flywheels?

[05:16] Role of Chief Marketing Officer at Zappi

[07:30] What are Flywheels?

[20:52] Understanding Market Dynamics and Customer Segmentation

[22:11] Building and Maintaining a Flywheel Strategy

[26:11] Content Marketing Success Stories

[33:51] Leveraging LinkedIn for Effective Content Distribution

[39:22] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Nataly on LinkedIn

Learn more about Zappi

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the lesson of Squid Game, the global phenomenon where only the strongest contestants made it through each round. In this episode, we explore its marketing parallels with the help of our special guest Scott Leatherman, Chief Marketing Officer at Aviatrix.

Together, we uncover what B2B marketers can learn from gamifying campaigns to pull audiences in, running multiple “Squid Games” to see which campaigns win, and staying relentlessly curious by listening to what customers really say.

About our guest, Scott Leatherman

Scott Leatherman is an award-winning full-stack marketing and operations executive with 25+ years of leadership and business management experience. Scott is currently the Chief Marketing Officer at Aviatrix. Prior to joining Aviatrix, he was the CMO at Veritone, an AI platform company. Scott served as COO at SAP Labs US for 5 years. Scott was a Global Vice President of Marketing and was a founding member of the SAP HANA go-to-market team that disrupted the database market and built a billion-dollar business in less than three years. Also during Scott’s tenure at SAP he was part of the Strategic Account Sales Team and created new channel programs to reduce shelfware and support new solution adoption. Prior to SAP, Scott held senior marketing and business development roles at several startups.

Scott was recognized by the Silicon Valley Business Journal for his lifelong commitment to helping his local community with the 2018 Individual Community Champion Award. Both at work and in his personal life, Scott is focused on helping communities reduce food insecurities, supporting underserved children, funding cancer research and Native American educational programs.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Squid Game:

• Gamify campaigns to move your audience. Marketing works best when it pulls people in emotionally, just like Squid Game. Scott explains, “Anytime you want to move an audience together, gamifying it so that they have an emotional pull on the winner is gonna make you successful.” By creating campaigns that feel participatory, competitive, or playful, brands can inspire curiosity and investment from their audience. It’s not just messaging—it’s making people feel like they have a stake in the outcome.
• Run “Squid Games” for your campaigns. Rather than guessing which message will resonate, Scott’s team tested multiple campaign “games” at once. “We invested over 500 engagements…we had 74 one-on-one engagements…to narrow it down to what we have as eight campaigns in the Squid Games.” Each campaign has a top, middle, and bottom funnel component, and their performance is tracked side by side. Scott explains, “The gamification of Squid Games is working in our B2B marketing approach…we rolled it out to the company as Squid Games…and it’s been really fun to have engineers across the world leaning in on what they think is gonna move the audience fastest.” The lesson: treat campaigns like contestants. Test widely, kill off the weak performers quickly, and double down on what wins.
• Stay curious and listen to your audience. One of Scott’s biggest lessons is that marketers often assume they know what works—but data and customer feedback may prove otherwise. He notes, “It really comes back to just what are your customers saying about you? And what are your prospects saying about you?…That listening exercise, while it sounds remedial and 101, it gets lost on a lot of us ‘cause we’re all running so fast.” Just like in Squid Game, survival depends on paying close attention and adapting quickly. In B2B marketing, curiosity and active listening turn campaigns into insights, and insights into growth.

Quote

“The gamification of Squid Games is working in our B2B marketing approach…we rolled it out to the company as Squid Games…and it’s been really fun to have engineers across the world leaning in on what they think is gonna move the audience fastest.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Scott Leatherman, Chief Marketing Officer at Aviatrix

[01:32] Why Squid Game?

[03:08] Behind-the-Scenes of Squid Game

[14:18] AI in Marketing

[17:33] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Squid Game

[42:39] AI Integration and Brand Evolution

[46:46] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Scott on LinkedIn

Learn more about Aviatrix

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s why in this episode, we’re taking lessons from their playbook with the help of our special guest Avery Akkineni, Chief Marketing Officer of VaynerX.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from building credibility into daily routines, using gamification and surprise to drive engagement, and picking the right moments to move fast while staying relevant.

About our guest, Avery Akkineni

A pioneer in digital marketing and emerging tech, Avery Akkineni spearheads brand strategy, content, events, and communications as Chief Marketing Officer at VaynerX.

In seven years at Vayner, Avery has catalyzed exponential growth by launching new companies and leading international expansion. She built VaynerMedia APAC from the ground up to over 150 employees in two years, opened key Asia Pacific markets like Singapore, Bangkok, Sydney, and Tokyo. During her tenure, VaynerMedia APAC was awarded Marketing Interactive's Agency of the Year. 

In 2021, Avery founded Vayner3, an innovation consultancy focused on emerging technologies like AI and Web3. Under her leadership, Vayner3 achieved significant industry acclaim; she was named an Ad Age Web3 Trailblazer, and an AI Thought Leader by Business Insider. Her proven ability to identify and leverage leading-edge channels to drive growth for Vayner and her brand partners has landed Avery advisory roles including Salesforce’s AI Council, Meta’s Creative Council, TikTok's #ForYouCollective, Tracer's Advisory Board, and with a weekly marketers podcast on CoinDesk (GenC).

Based in Miami, FL overseeing VaynerX's local office, Avery continues to push boundaries in marketing. She is a sought-after speaker on modern marketing and digital innovation, who empowers teams and companies to embrace new opportunities. She also serves on the Board of Peace Players, an organization using the power of sport to build peaceful and thriving communities.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From The New York Times:

• Build credibility into daily routines. The New York Times succeeds because it has become a trusted part of people’s everyday habits. For B2B brands, the lesson is to earn that same consistent place in your audience’s workflow. As Avery explains:
  “To me, the credibility of The New York Times is why I want to check there first and understand their point of view. What are the big stories of today.” When buyers trust your perspective enough to seek it daily, your brand moves from optional to indispensable.
• Use gamification and surprise to drive engagement. NYT didn’t just sell news—it made puzzles, games, and even cooking content part of its brand fabric. That levity created stickiness. Avery puts it this way: “The New York Times integration with their incredible games has really helped drive up that frequency… I play with my friends, everybody shares their scores… and I think that really drives up that frequency and user adoption and makes The New York Times even more relevant.” In B2B, “serious” brands can still add fun, surprise, or delight to deepen connection and engagement.
• Pick your moments and move fast. The Times doesn’t try to beat TikTok on breaking news—it chooses credibility as its edge, while still responding with speed when it matters. Avery notes:
  “You don’t need to have a thought on everything. You have a thought on certain things—what matters for you and, as a brand, what matters for your consumers. Either we’re part of the conversation or we’re not.” For B2B, that means defining the moments where your voice is essential, and showing up quickly with relevance and confidence.

Quote

“ You don’t need to have a thought on everything. You have a thought on certain things—what matters for you and as a brand, what matters for your consumers. Either we’re part of the conversation or we’re not.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Avery Akkineni, Chief Marketing Officer of VaynerX

01:05 Why The New York Times?

01:53 The Role of CMO at VaynerX

02:42 Gary Vaynerchuk's Influencer

09:51 Behind-the-Scenes of NYT

25:58 B2B Marketing Lessons from NYT

38:35 Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Avery on LinkedIn

Learn more about VaynerX

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s why in this episode, we’re taking lessons from Penn State’s legacy with the help of our special guest Jill Ransome, SVP of Marketing and Communications at Unite Us.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from building a brand people rally behind, leaning into differentiation, and playing the long game with consistency to drive lasting impact.

About our guest, Jill Ransome

Jill Ransome is a seasoned marketing executive with over 20 years of experience leading brand, communications, and growth strategies for technology and software companies. Currently SVP of Marketing at Unite Us, Jill previously served as Chief Marketing Officer at Jitterbit, where she led global brand transformation and demand generation efforts. She’s spent much of her career in high-growth environments, bringing a passion for storytelling, strategic execution, and building scalable marketing engines. Jill holds a B.S. in Global Marketing from Pennsylvania State University and lives in Fairfield, Connecticut.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Penn State Football:

• Build a brand people rally behind. Penn State thrives on pride, emotion, and community, and Jill says B2B brands need the same. “Build a brand that your fans, your followers, your constituents really believe in and rally behind. What Penn State does really well is it’s consistent. It’s emotional and it’s human.” Even in B2B, you need advocates who feel connected enough to share, refer, and champion your story.
• Lean into differentiation. Just as Penn State owns its “Linebacker U” reputation, companies must find what sets them apart. “From a marketing strategy perspective, you always need to be… thinking about what is your differentiation in the market that’s going to set your brand apart.” In crowded B2B categories, leaning into your unique story is what attracts the right buyers.
• Play the long game with consistency. Penn State football hasn’t changed its brand for decades, and that repetition builds equity. Jill points out: “They have been the same navy, blue and white design for decades upon decades… it comes back to brand… You don’t see success overnight. It’s something that’s built over time with consistency.” Marketing results don’t happen instantly; they come from committing to your identity and showing up over time.

Quote

“ I think good marketers are great storytellers, but you can't be a great storyteller unless you're a good listener. You have to listen and learn from your buyers. You have to listen and learn from your frontline. You have to listen and learn from the world around you.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Jill Ransome, SVP of Marketing and Communications at Unite Us

[01:53] Why Penn State Football?

[02:50] Role of SVP of Marketing at Unite Us

[03:53] Penn State Football: Tradition and Identity

[19:08]  B2B Marketing Lessons from Penn State Football

[26:39] Brand and Marketing Strategies at Unite Us

[29:47] Effective Content and Campaigns

[36:24] Advice for CMOs

[38:02] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Jill on LinkedIn

Learn more about Unite Us

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the lesson of Picasso’s Guernica, a chaotic painting that, when viewed as a whole, tells a timeless story. In this episode, we explore its marketing lessons with the help of our special guest Jerome Stewart, Chief Marketing Officer at Conviva.

Together, we uncover what B2B marketers can learn from building campaigns with a unifying story, turning complexity into an advantage, and creating content designed to resonate long after launch.

About our guest, Jerome Stewart

Jerome Stewart is the Chief Marketing Officer at Conviva. He is a dynamic and people-driven marketing executive with a proven track record of building high-performing teams, elevating brand visibility, and driving revenue growth in early-stage and industry-leading technology companies. Jerome is an experienced global leader with six years of international business experience outside the USA, as well as an accomplished Amazon bestselling author.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Guernica:

• Campaigns need a unifying story. Guernica shows how fragmented, chaotic elements can form one powerful story. Jerome says, “Each one of those [individual pictures] stands out, but when you take a step back and you look at it in its entirety. Indeed, there is a cohesive story.” Marketing works the same way; every asset matters, but true impact comes when the pieces connect into a bigger, memorable narrative.
• Complexity can be an advantage. At first glance, Guernica looks disorganized and overwhelming. However, his chaotic canvas still communicates a clear message. Jerome points out, “Maybe some people look at a more modern artistic style… and you can say, ‘Hey, this just looks really messy.’ But as I say, dig in a little bit deeper and you see there's a very rich story.” In marketing, don’t be afraid of layered stories. Campaigns that invite discovery can spark deeper connection and longer attention.
• Strive for timeless content. Picasso’s painting still sparks reflection nearly a century later. Jerome connects this to marketing: “We’re trying to tell stories and we’re trying to come up with stories that stand out and that maybe stand the test of time. That will resonate into the future.” Campaigns should be built with staying power, not just to make noise at launch but to linger and influence long after.

Quote

“A bar  to hold ourselves against is did we tell a story? Was it clear? And something else that Picasso did brilliantly well, he took something as complex as war, and he didn’t simplify it in any way. He did something cohesive. [We have to]  challenge ourselves to do the best that we possibly can to tell those stories.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Jerome Stewart, Chief Marketing Officer at Conviva

[01:34] Why Guernica?

[06:57] Visiting Guernica and Its Impact

[14:58] Role as CMO at Conviva

[16:45] Understanding Guernica

[28:08] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Guernica

[35:31] Marketing Insights and Strategies

[42:27] Advice for CMOs

[44:53] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Jerome on LinkedIn

Learn more about Conviva

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the journey of The Gilded Age, the HBO drama that overcame early skepticism to become a hit. In this episode, we dig into its marketing parallels with the help of our special guest Laura Goldberg, Chief Marketing Officer at Auctane.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from practicing patience, locking in product-market fit, and doubling down when momentum builds to gain lasting growth.

About our guest, Laura Goldberg

Laura Goldberg is the Chief Marketing Officer at Auctane. She is a seasoned, operations-driven go-to-market executive with a proven track record of propelling software companies to new heights, particularly serving small and medium sized businesses (SMBs), a vital segment for Auctane. Goldberg excels in crafting data-driven marketing strategies that resonate with customer needs, and her expertise will be key in advancing Auctane's mission to deliver exceptional shipping and mailing experiences to businesses worldwide.

Previously, Laura was the CMO at Constant Contact, a digital marketing platform trusted by millions of small businesses and nonprofits. She has also held marketing leadership positions at Kabbage, an American Express Company, and LegalZoom, where she played key roles in driving customer growth, revenue expansion, and EBITDA improvements, leading to successful exits for both companies.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From The Gilded Age:

• Patience is essential. The Gilded Age wasn’t an overnight success—it built momentum slowly, and Laura sees the same in B2B marketing. “You got to have patience. You got to see it more than once. It has to build. You may not be a… hot [thing] out of the gate. But… it’s going to build. Nobody makes a decision… with The Gilded Age, it’s a solid hour and you got to pay attention. Like you have to make a commitment to it and it takes time.” Marketing results rarely happen instantly. Success comes from committing, nurturing, and allowing campaigns to grow into traction over time.
• Product-market fit is non-negotiable. The show’s elaborate sets and costumes bought it some time, but what kept audiences hooked was stronger storytelling in later seasons. Laura draws a clear B2B parallel: “You may have some stumbles outta the gate… You got to deliver the goods. The product market fit, if you will, has to be there eventually. It doesn’t have to be perfect right out of the gate, but it has to get to perfect pretty quickly.” In other words: creative campaigns and strong distribution will only get you so far—if the product doesn’t ultimately deliver, marketing can’t save it
• Lean in when you gain traction. Once The Gilded Age started buzzing online, the promotion amplified everywhere. Laura says the same is true for B2B: “Once you get traction, lean in. When I tell you that my socials, everything I see is talking about this show… I see Mr. Russell in his flower suit all over the internet. By the way, I think it’s an interview from two years ago that I keep seeing. So recycle all that stuff. But once you feel that traction gripping, lean in, repeat, be on everything. Repost, retweet… you have to lean in when you’re doing well and really get that momentum.” Marketers should maximize momentum, recycle strong content, and make sure their presence is unavoidable when the audience is paying attention.

Quote

“ Customer, customer, customer. I feel like too many times it’s really easy to talk about why your product’s great and what it does… but you really have to frame it in the, what are you doing for me and me being the customer. How am I making things faster, cheaper, better for your end customer with what we’re doing, and making sure that you’re not just yelling features and functionality at people.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Laura Goldberg, Chief Marketing Officer at Auctane

[01:14] Why The Gilded Age?

[02:57] The Role of CMO at Auctane

[09:50] What is The Gilded Age?

[26:28] The Craft of Period Pieces

[29:19] B2B Marketing Lessons from The Gilded Age

[31:43] Laura's Marketing Strategy as a CMO

[37:25] Winning Across Channels

[49:35] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn

Learn more about Auctane

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s why we’re turning to Clue, the 1985 murder mystery comedy with three different endings. Despite bombing at the box office, it grew into a beloved cult classic. In this episode, we break down its lessons with the help of special guest Christine Royston, Chief Marketing Officer at Wrike.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from building strategy before execution, balancing brand and demand, and embracing word-of-mouth to turn audiences into passionate advocates.

About our guest, Christine Royston

Christine Royston is a visionary global marketing executive with a proven track record of scaling iconic technology brands, architecting go-to-market transformation, and driving category leadership in the enterprise SaaS space. As Chief Marketing Officer at Wrike, Christine leads the company’s worldwide marketing strategy, fueling enterprise growth, brand acceleration, and customer-centric innovation at scale.

With more than 20 years of experience across global B2B markets, Christine has built and led high-performing teams at some of the world’s most recognized technology companies—including Salesforce, Dropbox, and Imperva—where she helped pioneer marketing strategies during moments of hypergrowth and IPO. She most recently served as Global Head of B2B Marketing at Udemy and as Vice President of Marketing at Bitly, where she was instrumental in repositioning both brands for business adoption and long-term growth.

Christine’s executive leadership spans Sales-Led and Product-Led Growth (PLG) models, across direct sales, freemium, and self-service go-to-market motions. Her ability to unify global teams, expand into new international markets, and launch cross-functional marketing engines has positioned her as a sought-after leader in growth-stage transformation and scaled enterprise performance.

An expert in enterprise marketing strategy, customer lifecycle innovation, and multi-channel demand generation, Christine has driven business results across cloud computing, cybersecurity, financial services, and manufacturing verticals. She is also known for her passion for mentoring future marketing leaders and building diverse, inclusive, and impact-driven teams.

Christine holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an International MBA in Global Marketing from the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. She brings a global lens to every challenge, with leadership experience spanning the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Clue:

• Strategy matters more than star power. Even the best team can’t save a weak story. Clue had an all-star cast, but without a clear throughline, it flopped at the box office. Christine draws a parallel to marketing: “Even if you have the best team in the world, without a great strategy, you’re not gonna win. You’ve got to have a really fantastic strategy and a really great team to back it up, so that you can kind of play on everybody’s strengths, but you’re all pointed in the right direction.” Don’t confuse talent or resources with strategy. Success comes from aligning everyone around a clear, shared story.
• Balance is everything. Clue was billed as both a mystery and a comedy, but leaned heavily into the silliness, confusing audiences who expected a tighter whodunit. Christine sees the same trap in B2B: “The movie was… touted as a mystery and a comedy, but it was definitely way more on the comedy side. And so thinking about that balance… and making sure that you’re really being clear with your intent of messaging, your intent of the brand.” Great marketing requires a balance between brand, demand, clarity, and creativity. Overweighting one side leaves your audience uncertain about what you really stand for.
• Word of mouth is your secret weapon. Despite its failure in theaters, Clue became a cult classic through community and conversation. For Christine, that’s a marketing playbook: “The fact that it did become this cult classic highlights the importance of word of mouth. How do you make sure you’re getting in front of people who will be interested in your product, or interested in your movie, and making sure that you’re leveraging communities [and] social as a way to get in front of people who maybe aren’t going to go to the box office.” Buzz builds longevity. Beyond paid campaigns, you need advocates, communities, and conversations that keep your brand alive long after launch.

Quote

“ How do you differentiate yourself and do something a little different. Bring some humor into what is normally a pretty straight-laced B2B technology type of industry. I think people like a little fun in their day-to-day.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Christine Royston, Chief Marketing Officer at Wrike

[01:01] Why Clue?

[01:24] The Role of CMO at Wrike

[03:05] The Origins of Clue, The Movie

[14:04] B2B Marketing Lessons from Clue

[28:10] Balancing Brand vs. Demand

[29:50] Wrike's Brand and Content Strategy

[33:21] AI's Role in Modern Marketing

[35:11] Wrike's Survey on AI's Impact

[40:20] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Christine on LinkedIn

Learn more about Wrike

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s what we can learn from Hacks, a show about a legendary comedian reinventing herself with the help of a Gen Z writer. In this episode, we’re breaking down its lessons with the help of special guest Jamie Bell, Chief Marketing Officer at Workshop.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from creating a “writer’s room” for fresh ideas, testing content like comedians test their sets, and embracing generational differences as a source of connection rather than division.

About our guest, Jamie Bell

Jamie Bell is the CMO at Workshop. She is a marketing leader with a passion for building brands in underestimated industries and demand engines that keep sales teams busy (in a good way!). 

Over the past 12+ years, Jamie has been lucky enough to work in several early- and growth-stage companies in SaaS, e-commerce, retail, and media.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Hacks:

• Create a “writer’s room” for marketers. Great campaigns don’t just come from formal briefs—they need a space for messy, creative riffing. Jamie explains, “We didn’t have a writer’s room, at least at Workshop, and so when I came back from maternity leave, we added a meeting. We called it the pitch deck… it’s just like an open forum for people to do like five-minute pitches, and we just creatively layer on, and it’s been a blast.” The lesson? Carve out judgment-free time for brainstorming, where small sparks can snowball into big campaigns.
• Test your material before scaling. Like comedians who try new jokes on the road, marketers should pilot ideas before investing heavily. Jamie notes, “She does road shows, before to test the set list. So we do some things in like our Happy Monday Club newsletter, where before we’ll like super invest in a piece of content, we’ll just see if it does better than the other content in that newsletter, and see what the reception of that is before we blow it up a bit.” The takeaway: use small, low-risk formats to gauge response, then double down on what resonates.
• Bridge generational divides head-on. Hacks thrives on the clash between an aging comedy legend and a Gen Z writer, two perspectives that seem at odds, but create brilliance together. Jamie ties this directly to marketing: “There’s so much about marketing and internal communications that I feel is around generational differences… and I think the idea that you take that relationship, you’re unapologetic about it and you just talk about it head on… I think it’s really great too.” In B2B marketing, don’t shy away from generational dynamics; embrace them as a rich source of storytelling and connection.

Quote

“ Employees are your best brand ambassadors, and you need to spend some effort rolling out things internally. Having employees connected to the mission, the vision, the values.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Jamie Bell, Chief Marketing Officer at Workshop

[01:33] Why Hacks?

[02:07] The Role of CMO at Workshop

[03:07] What is the Happy Monday Club?

[04:45] The Concept and Creation of Hacks

[20:16] Marketing Lessons from Hacks

[41:38] Importance of Community and Events

[44:03] Workshops' Content Strategy

[45:04] Advice for a first-time CMO

[48:38] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Jamie on LinkedIn

Learn more about Workshop

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the beauty of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a movie about erasing your memories. In this episode, we’re breaking down its lessons with the help of special guest Noha Rizk, Chief Marketing Officer at Incorta. 

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from putting human emotion at the center of their work, trusting intuition alongside data, and embracing mistakes as the path to growth.

About our guest, Noha Rizk

Noha Rizk is the Chief Marketing Officer at Incorta. With deep expertise in Marketing, brand management, integrated channel management, product leadership, P&L accountability, and change management, across various industries and launching and leading partnerships, marketing and product in over 50 countries, Noha brings extensive experience and insights into how to execute for brand loyalty, growth and sustainable share of the market. 

Prior to Incorta, Noha led marketing for Meta AI, launching Llama, and leading other open source projects like PyTorch. She pioneered online banking for Amex and Citi, online booking and revenue optimisations and integrated channel strategies in the hotel industry with Starwood and Marriott, led partnerships and loyalty in emerging markets, launched NGO and Gov projects with US state department, launched and spun off two of her own successful businesses and helped organise PayPals enterprise, Platforms and Developer product offerings and streamline their GTM strategies.

Noha loves to solve big problems and create groundbreaking products and services that inspire customers and business partners. She focuses on delivering insights and metrics driven outcomes, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and coming up with innovative solutions. She especially enjoys building and developing strong, resilient, and nimble teams that can adapt to changing market needs and customer expectations.

Noha is an avid reader, developing painter and pianist, proud mother and animal lover with a passion for helping the private sector thrive in emerging markets.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:

• Lead with human emotion. Great marketing isn’t about features, it’s about people. Even in B2B, you’re dealing with human psyches, behaviors, and emotions—not faceless corporations. Noha explains, “Even as B2B marketers… you’re dealing with individuals. You’re dealing with the human psyche, you’re dealing with the buying behavior… ultimately that is the objective. The objective is to maintain a relationship with your customers.” The lesson? Build messaging that connects on a human level first, because behind every buying decision is a person making sense of their own emotions.
• Balance data with intuition. Metrics matter, but numbers can’t capture everything. Noha argues that some of the best insights come from being present, listening, and noticing what the data can’t show. “Some things can’t be measured…A big chunk of marketing has to be intuitive. It’s not always purely scientific.” Just as the film’s dreamlike narrative reminds us memory isn’t linear or logical, B2B marketers need to leave room for creativity, serendipity, and gut instinct, because not everything that counts can be counted.
• Embrace mistakes as part of growth. Trying to erase failures is as dangerous in marketing as it is in memory. Noha points out, “You can’t just erase away the pain… you won’t learn if you don’t make mistakes. A lot of marketers have to be super buttoned up, their campaigns have to work… there isn’t a lot of opportunity for marketers these days to be allowed to make mistakes.” But the best brands learn from experiments that don’t go as planned. Failure isn’t wasted, it’s the raw material for innovation, resilience, and better campaigns down the road.

Quote

“ As marketers…we explore the human psyche pretty much day in, day out, even if it's not explicitly said. But that's essentially what we do.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Noha Rizk, Chief Marketing Officer at Incorta

[1:26] Why Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?

[5:51] Role of CMO at Incorta

[9:07] Breaking Down Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

[22:11] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

[43:56] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Noha on LinkedIn

Learn more about Incorta

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the genius of Friends, a cultural phenomenon built on chemistry, community, and conversations that felt timeless. In this episode, we’re decoding its lessons with the help of our special guest Lisa Cole, Chief Marketing Officer at 2X.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from embracing constant pivots, building your own Central Perk with your community, and why team chemistry often matters more than individual expertise.

About our guest, Lisa Cole

Lisa Cole is currently CMO at 2X. She's a strategic marketing leader with over 24 years of experience driving transformative growth for B2B technology and professional services. As a former CMO at Huron, FARO, and Cellebrite, she has earned industry recognition for enhancing brand positioning, optimizing demand generation, and leveraging AI to accelerate go-to-market strategies. Through her earned accolades from Sirius Decisions, Forrester, and CMO Alliance and her book The Revenue RAMP, she guides B2B leaders in achieving more with less using her proven frameworks. 

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Friends:

• Pivot, pivot, pivot. In marketing, staying still isn’t an option. New channels, new buyer behaviors, and now AI advancements mean marketers are in a constant state of change. Lisa explains, “Pivot is certainly one, especially now that, it seems like every week there’s a new advancement… marketing as a whole is pivot. We’re constantly in a period of time in between pivots is compressing.” The same way Ross couldn’t move that couch without shouting “Pivot!” every marketer today needs to be ready to shift strategy, adjust direction, and keep moving forward.
• Create your Central Perk. Every brand needs a place where buyers feel safe, connected, and part of something bigger than a transaction. For the Friends cast, it was Central Perk, a space where they could gather, vent, and support each other without judgment. Lisa says, “You have to create a place… where your target audience, your buyers feel safe to get together and meet and engage as a community… if you care about Central Perk for your buyers, then they’ll care about you too.” In B2B, that means investing in communities and experiences where customers can be candid, connect with peers, and build trust—with your brand quietly in the background.
• Build team chemistry. The Friends cast worked because the chemistry was real—something greater than the sum of its parts. Marketing teams are no different. Lisa says, “Sometimes it’s the chemistry that matters more than the expertise. It's not necessarily that I brought together six experts.  It's the way that they work together, sometimes is the real magic.” Great marketing doesn’t just come from the smartest experts; it comes from teams (in-house, partners, or both) who click, collaborate, and push each other toward a shared mission.

Quote

“  I'm not necessarily saying to marketers that this cast needs to be a large in-house marketing team. I'm just simply saying that the people that are in the day-to-day business of executing marketing for your organization, that there is a chemistry between them and that they are working together in a unified way.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Lisa Cole, CMO at 2X

[01:09] Why Friends?

[01:52] The Role of CMO at 2X

[03:34] The Creation of Friends

[07:54] The Chemistry and Dynamics of Friends

[21:59] Marketing Takeaways from Friends

[32:17] The Humble Leader

[37:36] Introducing Brand Gravity

[48:11] 2X’s Content Strategy

[49:46] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn

Learn more about 2X

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s exactly what GoDaddy did with the “Act Like You Know” campaign, a Super Bowl ad that became a cultural moment because of its boldness. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons behind it with the help of our special guest Sydney Sloan, Chief Marketing Officer at G2.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from emotional storytelling, influencer culture, and why building brand in the age of AI requires creativity, boldness, and a willingness to have a little fun.

About our guest, Sydney Sloan

Sydney Sloan is a visionary marketing leader with a track record of driving growth and innovation in the tech industry. As CMO of G2, the world’s largest and most trusted software marketplace, Sydney is at the forefront of shaping the company's strategic direction. Sydney previously held CMO roles at compliance automation software company Drata, sales tech leader Salesloft, and cloud content management visionary Alfresco.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From GoDaddy’s “Act Like You Know” Campaign:

• Take bold swings. Safe marketing doesn’t get noticed. To capture attention, B2B brands have to be willing to step outside the comfort zone and take real creative risks. As Sydney shared, “Take a big swing. Go do something outside of your comfort zone.” Boldness is the difference between blending in and breaking through.
• Your brand is the moat. With paid tactics getting harder, brand is the lasting advantage. It’s not about clicks or keywords anymore. It’s about the emotional connection people feel. As Sydney says, “Brand is right. It’s the emotional connection that you actually build between a brand, which is not a person… and the audience.” In the age of AI, trust and resonance are the true differentiators.
• Influencers aren’t just for B2C. Big-budget companies might hire celebrities, but every B2B brand can find ways to put people at the center of their story. It’s about connection, not just reach. Sydney explained, “You can still use influencers, you can still have people connecting to people and doing it in creative ways.” In B2B, credibility often comes best through people, not platforms.

Quote

“We gotta go back and invest in brand. And what does that mean, and how do I do it? It’s not the old playbook. That thing is gone. Display, out the windows. Google search, out the window. We are all at the starting line together. And whoever's the most creative and figures out this new era we’re in has an unfair advantage.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Sydney Sloan, CMO at G2

[01:17] Why GoDaddy's “Act Like You Know” Campaign

[03:55] The Role of Influencers in B2B Marketing

[11:39] The Role of CMO at G2

[13:19] Understanding GoDaddy's “Act Like You Know” Campaign

[19:32] B2B Marketing Lessons from GoDaddy's “Act Like You Know” Campaign

[33:29] The Power of Creative Marketing

[37:50] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Sydney on LinkedIn

Learn more about G2

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the brilliance of Steph Curry’s story. He redefined basketball not by being the tallest or strongest, but by mastering the three-pointer, staying relentlessly consistent, and building an empire as the face of an underdog brand. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons from Steph Curry with the help of our special guest Brian Gilman, Chief Marketing Officer at ThetaRay.

Together, we dig into what B2B marketers can learn from embracing the underdog role, cutting through noise with consistency, and focusing on doing one thing better than anyone else to create real brand gravity.

About our guest, Brian Gilman

Brian Gilam is the CMO at ThetaRay. He is a visionary Chief Executive with a proven track record in spearheading strategic B2B sales/marketing initiatives and driving robust growth. Brian excels in leading companies through critical transitions, including exit events and funding rounds, while managing large-scale projects and multi-million-dollar budgets. He is an expert in crafting high-ROI programs, fostering C-Level engagements, and negotiating impactful partnerships.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Steph Curry:

• Play the underdog role. Steph could’ve gone with Nike or Adidas like every other superstar, but he signed with Under Armour, the underdog, and turned it into a cultural force. Brian says, “His role as an underdog… It’s endearing to be able to play the role of underdog as well as he does, and I think that’s why people resonate with him as well as they do.” For marketers, especially at scale-ups, that lesson is powerful: people root for challengers who feel accessible and relatable. Positioning your brand as the scrappy player in the game can create emotional connection far beyond features and price.
• Focus on consistency over noise. Steph’s greatness comes from showing up every day and blocking out distractions. Brian says, “He controls what he can control.” In marketing, the same discipline applies. Instead of chasing every channel or campaign, concentrate on the actions that matter most. Steph doesn’t let the highs get too high or the lows too low, he just executes. That consistency of effort is what makes him durable and dominant. For B2B, that means resisting the urge to “do it all” and instead building steady momentum with tactics that reliably drive results.
• Do one thing better than anyone else. Steph didn’t try to be everything, he mastered the three-pointer until it broke the NBA. Brian explains, “For me, it’s always do one thing really, really well. Forget about the marketing machine, you need that one thing, and then build the next thing.” Just as Curry’s deep shooting created “gravity” that opened the floor for teammates, one marketing strength executed brilliantly can lift all your other channels. Don’t spread yourself thin, find your version of the 30-foot three-pointer and own it.

Quotes

“I think that in today’s market, successful marketers are gonna throw out the book on convention. I’ve never seen such a highly competitive environment… and unless you’re thinking about speed, cutting out the number of touch points, and getting to that face-to-face interaction as fast as humanly possible, you’re never gonna get business anymore.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Brian Gilman, Chief Marketing Officer at ThetaRay

[01:03] Why Steph Curry?

[04:28] The Role of CMO of Thetaray

[06:23] Who is Steph Curry?

[26:58] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Steph Curry

[39:13] Brian's Marketing Strategy

[42:20] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn

Learn more about ThetaRay

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the brilliance of Orange’s Women’s Soccer Ad, a mind-bending celebration of women’s soccer disguised as a highlight reel of men’s soccer. And in this episode, we’re decoding its genius with the help of our special guest Angie Westbrock, CEO of Standard AI.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from surprising your audience, staying true to both your brand and your customer, and not allowing biases to affect your content.

About our guest, Angie Westbrock

Angie Westbock’s mission is to build high-performance, diverse teams that transform challenges into opportunities. With a solid background as COO and now CEO, she thrives on aligning our company's strengths to create impactful solutions, all while cultivating a culture that celebrates diversity and encourages groundbreaking ideas.

Angie is currently serving as the CEO at Standard AI, a startup using AI and computer vision technology to help retailers and brands optimize operations and bottom lines through real-time insights into shoppers’ in-store experiences. With a non-traditional background beginning in CPG and then moving into tech, her experience spans from stealth start-ups to IPO to Fortune 500 companies. Leveraging this expertise in commercialization strategy and growth, Angie is able to guide organizations through every phase of development.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Orange’s Women’s Soccer Ad:

• Surprise your audience. Great marketing can earn attention through clever misdirection, then deliver a powerful payoff. The Orange ad didn’t just say women’s sports deserve respect,  it showed it by tricking viewers into watching with existing bias, then rewiring their perception. Angie explains, “Had they not executed the deepfake as well as they did, you would’ve noticed it from the beginning, and it would’ve just validated any of the biases that were already there.” The same applies to B2B: stop announcing your message, design it to unfold in a way that surprises and engages.
• Technology isn’t the story; the outcome is. Orange used advanced deepfake technology, but they never made that the headline. The ad wasn’t about AI, it was about bias, identity, and respect. The technology was the tool, not the message. “We always try to  tie it to the customer's use cases and ROI versus just about the tech,” says Angie. This is a trap many B2B companies fall into. You’re proud of your tech stack, your infrastructure, your proprietary model, and rightly so. But your buyer doesn’t care. They care about what your product helps them become. Sell the before and after, not the engine.
• Don’t let your biases affect your content. Too many B2B marketers create content for the people who already agree with them, existing customers, internal stakeholders, or the "safe" ICP. But powerful messaging challenges assumptions. Orange didn’t make an ad to celebrate women’s soccer for people who already love it, they made an ad to get skeptics to pause and rethink. Angie says, “It wasn’t just to the women to honor them and to empower them. It was actually to the men also, to say, you need to revisit your thinking here.” In B2B, you’re often selling change: a new workflow, a new tool, a new way of doing things. That means your messaging needs to meet people where they are, not where you wish they were.

Quote

“ We get so caught up in what we want to say that we don't take into consideration the very specific viewpoints of the customer that you're selling to and making sure that it's going to land with them in a way that aligns with how they're thinking.

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Angie Westbrock, Chief Executive Officer at Standard AI

[01:00] Why Orange’s Women’s Soccer Ad 

[01:50] What Standard AI Actually Does

[05:33] Why Physical Retail Is Still Underrated

[11:38] Designed for Rewatching and Social

[13:51] Real Tech, Real Players, Real Impact

[14:55] Messaging That Reaches the People Who Need to Hear It

[21:59] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Why Orange’s Women’s Soccer Ad 

[34:38] Not a Cheap Trick — A Trusted Brand Moment

[38:13] It All Starts With a Single Shift in Mindset

[40:00] What Marketers Want From In-Store Strategy

[47:41] Standard AI’s Brand Strategy and Differentiation

[52:40] Final Thoughts: Break Through the Noise

Links

Connect with Angie on LinkedIn

Learn more about Standard AI

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s executed perfectly by The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic story that became a global phenomenon not because of monsters, but because of its heart. In this episode, we’re taking a closer look with the help of our special guest, Ashley Emery, CMO at VelocityEHS.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from emotional storytelling, breaking traditional formats, and building real resonance with your audience (even in the most unexpected places).

About our guest, Ashley Emery

Ashley excels in driving growth and innovation in B2B technology organizations, both at the global enterprise and high-growth start-up scale. She holds an Executive MBA and specializes in demand generation and revenue-focused marketing strategies. Ashley has a proven track record of building and leading high-performing marketing teams, having served as Head of Global Campaigns for the Database and Analytics category at AWS, VP of Marketing at Emburse, and most recently, the SVP of Demand Generation at Employ, the parent company of JazzHR, Jobvite, and Lever.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From The Last of Us:

• Story comes before product. In B2B, it’s easy to get stuck in the habit of leading with features, capabilities, or technical specs. But as The Last of Us demonstrates, what draws people in is a story they care about, not a list of innovations. Your product may be powerful, but unless your audience understands how it impacts their world or identity, it won’t matter. Center the narrative on the customer’s journey, pain, and outcome, your product plays a supporting role in that transformation. This shift can completely reframe how you approach content, ads, and even your brand voice. Ashley advises, “Lead with a human-centric storytelling. Don’t sell features… the product is the enabler, it’s not the hero.”
• Your audience might not be who you think. “Even if you think you understand your audience, you may not,” said Ashley, who was surprised herself, as she was so drawn to the series. Just as The Last of Us broke out of its presumed “gamer” audience, B2B brands often have unexpected buyers, champions, or influencers they’re missing. Assumptions based on firmographics or industry stereotypes can be limiting. VelocityEHS found that their safety-focused customers were actually risk-tolerant thrill-seekers outside of work, which changed how they positioned messaging. This is a call to continuously validate personas, run qualitative interviews, and listen for nuance. Your best buyers may not look like your ICP on paper.
• The medium shapes the message. It’s not enough to have a great story, you have to tailor it to the channel and format. A 60-minute podcast moment doesn’t automatically become a good TikTok. Just like a video game plot doesn’t translate directly into a TV script, B2B content has to be rewritten for the medium it's living in. That means writing social hooks, designing natively for mobile, and assuming low context. Ian reminds us that, “-if you take an idea that Ashley says in minute 50 of a podcast and drop it onto LinkedIn, and the person has no context at all who this person is or what they do, then the actual insight itself isn’t as interesting or valuable.” Meet your audience where they are, mentally, emotionally, and contextually, or risk wasting great content on the wrong canvas.

Quotes

“Often in marketing, we get scared of emotion. We try to stay very neutral in our language. We don’t want to be provocative, we don’t want to be bold, and I think we as humans crave that. The show is a perfect example. The boldness, the emotional connection, and the conflict of the characters was really valuable. There’s so much raw emotion and connection in the stories that could be told, and not being afraid to tell an uncomfortable story… is powerful.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Ashley Emery, CMO at VelocityEHS.

[00:56] Why The Last of Us?

[01:42] The Role of CMO at VelocityEHS

[02:48] Breaking Down The Last of Us

[26:47] B2B Marketing Lessons from The Last of Us

[27:36] Human-Centric Storytelling in Marketing

[35:16 Understanding Your Audience

[38:43] Building an Ecosystem of Content

[40:20] The Importance of Star Power

[42:14] Embracing Emotional Tension in Marketing

[46:11] Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Links

Connect with Ashley on LinkedIn

Learn more about VelocityEHS

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s exactly what Stanley Kubrick achieved with 2001: A Space Odyssey, a film that married meticulous research with visionary storytelling to create the most realistic depiction of space the world had ever seen. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons behind it with the help of our special guest Josh Golden, CMO at Quad.

Together, we dive into how marketers can embrace risk, iterate through failure, compete on imagination rather than resources, and create experiences—both digital and physical—that deliver the elusive “wow” factor. All while staying relevant, resonant, and ready to invent the future.

About our guest, Josh Golden

As Chief Marketing Officer at Quad, Josh Golden is architecting the evolution of Quad as a marketing experience company. He leads a highly collaborative team that works with marketers around the world to clear the path for a frictionless solution to easily communicate with their optimal audience.

Quad’s clients are the lifeblood of its operations, driving the company’s evolution and influencing its every action. Josh is helping the company combine Quad’s history as a manufacturer and commercial printer with this marketer-obsessed philosophy to best support client growth and eliminate the interference that otherwise causes them to lose time, money, and customers.

Since assuming his role, Josh has defined the Quad brand narrative, developed the company’s “marketing experience” framing, implemented a new Quad design system and initiated brand and product marketing campaigns for key verticals.

With more than three decades of experience in marketing, branding, media, and content, Josh is one of the most prolific connectors in the marketing industry. Prior to joining Quad in 2021, Josh was President and Publisher of Ad Age where he spurred transformative growth for the venerable, 90-year trade publication and media brand. His passion for driving evolution was also on display as Vice President, Global Digital Marketing, at Xerox; Group Director of Digital Marketing at NBC Universal; Chief Digital Officer at Grey Group; Managing Director, Digital at Havas; and head of the first digital division at Young & Rubicam.

A self-proclaimed “professional groupie,” Josh avidly follows and cheers people who pursue their passions. He likes playing a little semi-aggressive tennis and makes a killer “cheater” banana bread. He lives in Westchester, NY with his wife and two teenage children.

Josh received his MBA from New York University and his B.S. in communications from Ithaca College.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From 2001: A Space Odyssey:

• Embrace the process, not just the end product. Kubrick went through a massive number of iterations before landing on the film we know and love today. Josh says, “There is not one singular moment; it’s a series of failures.” In marketing, abandoned ideas aren’t wasted. They’re the iterations that lead to something great. Like Kubrick, be willing to test, discard, and refine until you find the version that truly resonates. The process is the work.
• AI can execute, but humans inspire. Hal, the AI in 2001, could run the ship, but couldn’t imagine a better way forward. Josh says, “ Humans have the capacity to do the wow factor.” AI can give you the exact steps to execute a campaign, but it can’t create the unexpected spark that makes it unforgettable. Your job as a marketer is to deliver that human insight and surprise that AI can’t replicate.
• Inspiration doesn’t have to start from scratch.2001 began as a loose adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s short story The Sentinel, but evolved far beyond it. Josh reflects, “You’re ultimately gonna go rewrite it in your own way.” In marketing, you can take inspiration from existing ideas, but the magic comes from reshaping them into something uniquely yours.

Quote

“There’s moments that we all have as marketers where real ideas happen, and I celebrate those…but in truth…There is not one singular moment. It’s a series of failures…That inspiration is evident in the film, and it's evident that in the actual process of trying and failing and trying and failing and trying and failing, and then getting to a point where you're like, wow, this is actually kind of okay.’”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Josh Golden, CMO at Quad

[01:27] The Role of CMO at Quad

[02:54] Overview of 2001: A Space Odyssey

[21:45] B2B Marketing Lessons from 2001: A Space Odyssey

[25:28] The AI Character and Its Implications

[26:42] AI vs. Human Creativity

[43:21] Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Links

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn

Learn more about Quad

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s exactly what happened in Moneyball, where the Oakland A’s turned to unconventional metrics and overlooked talent to outsmart the league’s biggest spenders. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons behind it with the help of our special guest Scott Greenwald, CMO at Linedata.

Together, we dive into how B2B marketers can rethink the metrics that matter, compete asymmetrically against larger rivals, align teams around bold strategies, and tell stories that stick, all while staying credible, prepared, and ready to adapt.

About our guest, Scott Greenwald

At Linedata, Scott’s tenure as Chief Marketing Officer has been marked by the successful leadership of a dynamic, multi-lingual team and the creation of transformative digital marketing strategies. Our efforts have resulted in a staggering 600% year-over-year increase in web traffic, contributing significantly to a 20% generation of the sales pipeline.

Scott’s role extends to overseeing the marketing budget and launching a new CRM and Marketing Automation tool, which has streamlined Linedata’s pipeline review process and accelerated the sales cycle. With a focus on driving market visibility and thought leadership, Scott’s strategic campaigns across key global markets have empowered Linedata to cement its presence in the competitive financial services industry.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Moneyball:

• Focus on the outcomes that matter.  In Moneyball, the point wasn’t to sign the flashiest “five-tool” players; it was to score runs. The same is true in marketing. Scott says, “In the end, it’s how many of the MQLs turn into opportunities or new business? And that’s what we focus on.” Metrics that look good in a report mean nothing if they don’t turn into real pipeline and closed deals. In B2B, your scoreboard isn’t impressions or clicks, it’s revenue.
• Credibility over volume in content. AI makes it easy to crank out more content than ever before, but more isn’t always better. “If we suddenly increased our, our, our output fivefold, we, we would lose that credibility,” Scott says. His team uses AI to adapt and reformat high-quality core pieces, not flood the market with fluff. Your audience notices when your content is consistent, credible, and worth their time—and they notice just as fast when it’s not.
• Compete asymmetrically. The A’s couldn’t outspend the Yankees or Red Sox, so they had to outthink them. That meant challenging every “sacred cow” in baseball and finding value others overlooked. Scott explains, “You can’t come in here and say, I’m going to transform this marketing organization into what I had before… you have to assess the talent pool [and] review the best way of spending the marketing budgets you have.” In marketing, the same rule applies: when you can’t match your competitors’ budget, you win by rewriting the playbook.

Quote

“It is our responsibility as storytellers of not just giving the business what they want, but also giving the audience what they need to hear.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Scott Greenwal, CMO at Linedata

[01:04] Why Moneyball?

[06:45] Behind the Scenes of Moneyball

[10:00] B2B Marketing Lessons from Moneyball

[31:51] The Importance of Storytelling

[37:18] The Role of Communication in Change Management

[41:02] The Evolution of Marketing Automation

[45:30] Balancing Content Quality and Quantity

[47:00 Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Links

Connect with Scott on LinkedIn

Learn more about Linedata

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the secret behind Armchair Expert, the wildly popular podcast from Dax Shepard that mixes candid conversation with crowd-sourced chaos. In this episode, we unpack the marketing insights behind it with the help of our special guest Derek Weeks, Chief Marketing Officer at Katalon.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from building real connections, inviting community participation, and letting go of perfection to create content people genuinely trust and engage with.

About our guest, Derek Weeks

Derek Weeks is the Chief Marketing Officer at Katalon. He is a driven, results-oriented CMO with a proven ability to achieve multiple successful exits, build and execute bold go-to-market strategies for each stage of business growth, and demonstrate solid returns on marketing investments. Accomplished at building high-performing teams, driving quality marketing-sourced pipeline, developing massive communities, and collaborating with sales teams to meet business targets.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From the Armchair Expert Podcast:

• Vulnerability builds trust and attention. Derek Weeks emphasizes that Armchair Expert’s standout quality is its authentic vulnerability, which creates a powerful emotional connection with listeners. He explains, “It’s really about being human… It builds an emotional connection with your brand.” Derek draws a parallel to B2B marketing, highlighting that it’s crucial to showcase real people behind the brand to forge trust.
• Mix long-form and short-form content strategically. Armchair Expert masterfully balances 90-minute conversations with short, snackable segments like Armchair Anonymous. Derek believes this dual-format approach is essential for B2B marketing: “That kind of mix of long and short is something that you have to play into as a marketer and realize your audience expects different things at different times.” He stresses that marketers must go deep when it matters, but also repurpose content aggressively to cater to varied audience behaviors, especially across platforms like TikTok.
• Empower community-generated content. Derek praises Armchair Expert for its use of community-driven content through Armchair Anonymous, where listeners share personal stories weekly. He says, “They really don’t have to spend time creating content at all… believe in your community and the value that they create.” B2B marketers should harness their user-generated content to scale content creation far beyond the limits of a marketing budget.

Quotes

“ You have to think about what draws people to the next.  What did you do in that moment that got people to say, ‘This is worth following or paying attention to or coming back again?’  Figure out what's going to make people come back, not what makes people appear the first time.  The first time is kind of an easy win. The second time, or third time, or 10th time is the hard part.”

Time Stamps

[00:55]  Meet Derek Weeks, CMO at Katalon

[01:23]  Why Armchair Expert?

[03:01] Vulnerability and Trust in B2B

[08:58]  Don’t Build Campaigns, Build Conversations

[13:37] The Long-Form to Short-Form Pipeline

[19:05] Unfair Mindshare

[21:47] What Armchair Expert Gets Right

[24:01] Practical Ways to Bring Personality into B2B

[27:38] Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Links

Connect with Derek on LinkedIn

Learn more about Katalon

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the brilliance of Progressive’s Dr. Rick campaign. It’s hilarious, deeply relatable, and sneakily strategic. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons behind it with the help of our special guest Keri McGhee, Chief Marketing Officer at Attentive.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from character-driven storytelling, embracing creative risk, and using humor and relatability to create campaigns that people actually want to talk about.

About our guest, Keri McGhee

Keri McGhee is the CMO at Attentive, the AI marketing platform for leading brands. She leads strategic global marketing to further build the Attentive brand, overseeing product marketing, revenue marketing, events, partner marketing, communications and content, and brand creative. Keri's past experiences include leading marketing at various start-ups and as a senior director at Zillow, where she led the B2B marketing team of 60+ people, responsible for strengthening partner loyalty and experience for 60,000+ real estate partners. She got her start in tech at Expedia, leading both consumer and corporate travel marketing teams.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Progressive’s Dr. Rick Campaign:

• Take creative risks. Keri’s central message is clear: great brand moments come from taking chances. “We take ourselves way too seriously in B2B.  So I think my advice is to step outside of the comfort zone of what the CFO, and the COO, and the CEO say yes to. And do the work to get the customer validation to pitch in some new idea..” B2B marketers often play it safe, focusing on product features, ROI charts, or thought leadership. But real differentiation happens when you create something unexpected, emotional, or funny. The Dr. Rick campaign could’ve flopped. Instead, it became a cultural reference point.
• Make your audience feel seen. The best ads are mirrors, not megaphones. Progressive tapped into a deep, relatable insecurity, “Am I becoming my parents?” Keri shares, “It's incredibly memorable, which I think is the most important thing in marketing right now.” For B2B, this could mean identifying moments of self-doubt, imposter syndrome, or job-related stress and playfully reflecting those back to the buyer.
• Build a fictional persona. A single viral hit is fleeting. A character-driven series builds long-term brand equity. Dr. Rick works because he’s a consistent, evolving character. He became a franchise. Most B2B brands invest in one-off videos or campaigns. But serialization keeps audiences coming back, like a show you binge-watch. Keri states, “  I can't think of any B2B that actually has been able to do that…Most of the true B2B play companies are not investing in brand in that way.”

Quotes

“What we find with B2B buyers is they make decisions as people, not as the companies for which they're spending money for. We undervalue that a lot in B2B marketing…And the reality is, the things that are impossible to measure are where we are starting to place bigger bets because it's the only way to drive differentiation.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Keri McGhee, Chief Marketing Officer at Katalon

[01:06] Why Dr. Rick?

[02:45] The Psychology of Being Seen

[04:02] Who Is Dr. Rick?

[11:26] Branding in a Commoditized Industry

[13:59] Flow vs. Dr. Rick: A Franchise Strategy

[15:26] Why B2B Doesn’t Do This

[22:14] Parents vs. Homeowners

[26:35] Keri’s Top B2B Takeaway

[28:30] Creating Content Around Insecurity

[31:20] Why Brands Don’t Take Risks

[40:56] Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Links

Connect with Keri on LinkedIn

Learn more about Attentive

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s exactly what happens in Shell Game, the mind-bending podcast where journalist Evan Ratliff clones his voice and lets it interact with the world without anyone knowing it’s not really him. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons behind it with the help of our special guest Kelly Starman, Chief Marketing Officer at MasterControl.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from leading with curiosity, making space for creative risk, and crafting weird, emotional stories that people can’t help but talk about.

About our guest, Kelly Starman

Kelly Starman is a results-focused marketing executive with two decades of driving growth and leading high-performing teams. She has a strong track record in leading large-scale organizational change. Expertise in developing and implementing global go-to-market strategies in the healthcare and technology sectors, including positioning, branding & advertising, digital marketing, demand gen, and marketing automation. 

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Shell Game:

• Embrace the weird. Evan Ratliff’s podcast stands out because it dares to be different. In B2B, weird isn’t a liability—it’s an asset. “So much of B2B marketing is just boring,” Kelly says. “I love the idea of being weird… tapping into that and being memorable makes for great marketing.” If your content doesn’t break the pattern, it won’t break through.
• Lead with curiosity. Shell Game works because it starts with a single, captivating question: what happens when you clone your own voice and let it speak for you? For Kelly, that spirit of experimentation is essential in modern marketing. “I have not had more fun in my career than I've had in the past six months,” she says. “It has been incredible to really step back and think about what is possible with all this new technology.” Curiosity isn’t just a mindset, it’s a strategy for discovering what’s next before your competitors do.
• Curate, don’t just create. In a world of AI overload, audiences don’t want more content, they want better content. That’s where curation comes in. “I think there's just so much out there that I find myself really turning to like individuals that I trust,” Kelly says. As marketers, “How do you add value for your customers… where do you go for that curated content to stay as current as you can?” Being a trusted curator builds loyalty in a noisy market.

Quote

“So much of B2B marketing is just boring... I love the idea of being weird. I usually say like, I want this to be really bold. I want this to be really breakthrough and attention-grabbing."

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Kelly Starman, Chief Marketing Officer at MasterControl

[01:07] Why Shell Game?

[02:53] The Role of CMO at MasterControl

[04:33] What is Shell Game?

[12:39] Breaking Down the Content in Shell Game

[24:57] B2B Marketing Lessons from Shell Game

[28:20] Super Accelerated Learning Techniques

[41:28] Mastercontrol's Marketing Strategy

[44:38] Measuring ROI Strategically

[47:56] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn

Learn more about MasterControl

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s exactly what happens in Wicked, the smash-hit film adaptation that reimagines one of pop culture’s most iconic villains. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons behind it with the help of our special guest Allison MacLeod, Chief Marketing Officer & GM of US Education at Flywire.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from reframing brand narratives, building fan-level community, and executing with bold, high-stakes detail that actually gets noticed.

About our guest, Allison Macleod

Allison Macleod currently serves as Chief Marketing Officer & Head of US Education at Flywire (Nasdaq: FLYW), a global payments enablement & software company. At Flywire, Allison leads global marketing and revenue operations, & US Education sales, relationship management & pre-sales. She played a key role in guiding Flywire to a successful IPO in May 2021.

Allison brings nearly 20 years of experience with a background spanning marketing and revenue-focused roles. Prior to Flywire, she spent seven years at Rapid7 (Nasdaq: RPD), where she played a pivotal role in building and scaling demand generation, business development, and analytics. Before that, she held various digital and field-based positions at Forrester, including launching the marketing function in EMEA.

Outside of work, Allison sits on the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council and serves as a strategic advisor to early-stage companies through F-Prime & Underscore VC.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Wicked:

• Reframe what they think they know. Wicked works because it flips a legacy story on its head. The same power lies in brand repositioning. “How do you really reframe what people think they know about you and your brand,” Allison says. Whether it’s entering new markets or expanding product lines, your biggest unlock might come from telling your old story in a completely new way.
• Community is your flywheel. Wicked isn’t just a show, it’s a movement. Audiences don’t just watch it, they live it. That level of advocacy isn’t accidental. “How do you really cultivate that community, whether that's your clients, the advocacy, and make people… feel that deep passion for what you do,” Allison asks. In B2B, fandom might look like retention, referrals, or customer-led storytelling, but it starts with emotional connection.
• Be bold and unforgettable. Every production choice in Wicked is a masterclass in attention to detail. From the live vocals to the stunts, they took creative risks that resonated. “How do you be bold and unforgettable,” Allison says. The safest move in saturated categories? Standing out.

Quote

“I think that's sort of the lesson and the beauty in this, taking something that everyone already thought they knew, and they thought they knew the story… and completely reframing it. And I think that’s where you just think of us as businesses, us as consumers… there’s so much clutter. So the brands that stick out and do things differently, and even if it is trying the same channel but in a different way, there’s so much power in that."

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Allison MacLeod, Chief Marketing Officer & GM of US Education at Flywire

[01:05] Why Wicked?

[02:29] The Role of CMO at Flywire

[04:00] Breaking Down of Wicked

[09:22] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Wicked

[21:54] The Appeal of Villains and Taking Risks

[23:37] The Power of Visual Design in Branding

[24:54] Marketing Strategies for Global Brands

[29:26] Flywire's Unique Differentiation Approach

[40:03] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Allison on LinkedIn

Learn more about Flywire

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Especially when we’re talking about the father of advertising himself, David Ogilvy. In this episode, we dive into his iconic book, Ogilvy on Advertising, with the help of our special guest Eric Williamson, CMO at CallMiner.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from Ogilvy’s approach: why specificity beats slogans, how research powers emotional storytelling, and why writing for humans is the real differentiator.

About our guest, Eric Williamson

As CallMiner’s Chief Marketing Officer, Eric oversees all global marketing functions from brand and events to demand generation. Eric’s marketing team works very closely with channel and sales to drive pipeline and CallMiner’s explosive growth. Eric has over 20 years of experience in both technology and consumer products marketing from both the vendor and agency side. Before joining CallMiner, Eric was VP Brand & Digital Marketing at Acquia — an open DXP platform built around Drupal — where he led brand, creative services, webops, editorial, and demand generation. 

Prior to Acquia, Eric was on the agency side of marketing working as SVP Digital & Social at MullenLowe, and before that as VP Digital Strategy at The Martin Agency. During his career Eric has worked with a variety of B2C and B2B brands including Google, Microsoft, Intel, GEICO, Walmart, P&G, Pizza Hut, Acura, Royal Caribbean, and Hyatt. He earned his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University, and an MBA from The University of Texas at Dallas.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Ogilvy on Advertising:

• Start with the line, not the logo. Great B2B brands don’t start with visuals, they start with voice. The sharpest creative begins on the page, not the mood board. “Copy first, research first, copy second, then worry about the visuals,” Eric says. In other words: write the line that earns attention before you pick the font.
• Write for humans. Most B2B copy dies in a sea of jargon. What buyers actually want is to feel seen. “It’s really easy to fall into a place for a technology company to talk about your tech, talk about your features… and there’s nothing emotional about that,” Eric says. The fix is to start by writing for humans. Emotion isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s your edge.
• Don’t guess, ask. You don’t need personas when you have real people. The best insights come from your customers, not your whiteboard. Eric says, “Just go talk to them…Why do they keep staying with you? What sort of thing that they worry about at night does this help solve for them?” The answers aren’t in your funnel. They’re in the field.

Quote

“ Write for humans because, ultimately, that's who you're selling to, that's who you're trying to influence. It’s really understanding their emotions. What are their fears, what are their desires? Even in the B2B world, it's easy to forget that.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Eric Williamson, Chief Marketing Officer at CallMiner

[00:58] Why Ogilvy On Advertising?

[02:49] The Role of CMO at CallMiner

[03:38] Origins of Ogilvy On Advertising

[06:56] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Ogilvy on Advertising

[21:29] Ogilvy's Predictions

[37:23] CallMiner's Marketing Strategies

[41:57] AI as a Solution

[44:20] Advice for Marketing Leaders

[45:38] Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Links

Connect with Eric on LinkedIn

Learn more about CallMiner

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s exactly what happens in Silo, the hit Apple TV+ show, where attention to detail creates a gripping, lived-in universe. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons behind it with the help of our special guest Karen Budell, Chief Strategy & Partnerships Officer at Totango.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from crafting immersive brand worlds, creating standout brand visuals, and building trust through curiosity and community.

About our guest, Karen Budell

Karen Budell is the Chief Strategy & Partnerships Officer at Totango, the industry-leading customer revenue suite that turns AI-powered intelligence into customer-led growth. She previously served as the company’s CMO, leading the marketing team responsible for brand and content, events, growth marketing, product marketing, and sales enablement. Budell is an active member of various CMO and GTM executive communities, including Pavilion, and serves on the G2 Executive Advisory Board. Budell previously held marketing leadership roles at SurveyMonkey, as Vice President, Brand Marketing, and Google.

During her four years with Google, Budell led a team responsible for narratives and brand building for YouTube Ads and was instrumental in launching Google Marketing Platform. Having found success working with businesses of all sizes, both private and public, Budell's 20-plus year career in brand building and leadership has been fueled by her roots in journalism and a passion for storytelling through integrated, content-fueled campaigns.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Silo:

• Craft your world, don’t just explain it. Silo hits because it’s immersive. Every dusty set and muted tone pulls you deeper into its reality. That kind of worldbuilding isn’t just for TV. “You need to create a unique world for your company, for your customers,” Karen says. In a sea of same-sounding content, your world is your edge and your responsibility.
• Curiosity is your competitive advantage. In Silo, curiosity is dangerous, but it’s also how characters discover the truth. The same holds for marketers. “That is one of the most important traits of a good marketer… curiosity,” Karen says. It’s not about having all the answers; it’s about asking better questions and letting that inquiry shape your strategy.
• Emotion is in the details. Silo doesn’t rely on big exposition; it builds feeling through design. You don’t need to be told life underground is bleak. You feel it. “You feel claustrophobic as a viewer sitting at home watching this,” Karen says. “You feel like you’re underground with them and yearning for a glimpse of what’s outside.” In B2B, your content should do the same, evoke emotion through setting, tone, and texture, not just copy.

Quote

"We are in a great period of unlearning and relearning. I think that’s what’s exciting to me. Being curious. That’s your superpower these days.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Karen Budell, Chief Strategy & Partnerships Officer at Totango

[01:35] Why Silo?

[03:17] Understanding Silo

[07:51] B2B Marketing Lessons from Silo

[22:34] The Power of Asking Questions

[30:12] YouTube Strategy for B2B Brands

[33:50] The Rise of Video Content

[37:43] Totango’s Brand & Content Strategies 

[39:12] Events and Experiences in Marketing

[41:26] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Karen on LinkedIn

Learn more about Totango

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s how the heroes in Spidey and His Amazing Friends, the hit animated Marvel kids' show, defeat the villains. In this episode, we unpack marketing lessons from Spidey’s universe with the help of our special guest Emily Ferdinando, CMO at Bugcrowd.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from nailing ABM execution, building content grounded in community feedback, and turning shared goals into real, coordinated action.

About our guest, Emily Ferdinando

Emily Ferdinando is a go-to-market leader with a focus on pipeline and revenue growth. She brings 15 years of GTM leadership experience, specializing in optimizing operational processes and data-driven strategy. With a background in sales and operations, Emily brings a unique approach to Marketing focused on down-funnel impact and top-line growth. Emily joins Bugcrowd from Veracode where she most recently led the Growth Marketing organization. Her background includes leadership roles across the GTM engine, including Global Business Development, GTM Enablement, and Operational Strategy. While there, she led the team through multiple events and two successful exits. Emily lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two young children. She enjoys the outdoors and stretching her creative muscles through painting, fiction writing and guitar.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Spidey and His Amazing Friends:

• Alignment over silos. In one episode, Spidey, Ghosty, and Miles all chase Rhino with their own plans, each using their powers, none working together. The mission falls apart. “We can say we have the same goal all day, but if we’re not aligned on how we get there… that’s what it’s gonna look like,” Emily says. In marketing and in superhero teams, the difference between success and disaster isn’t talent, it’s coordination.
• One-size-fits-all content fits no one. Spidey’s world works because it’s made for everyone. Each with different powers, personalities, backgrounds, and their own story. That same inclusive mindset should guide your content. “Many people did not fit squarely into one piece,” Emily says. “If we ran our strategy that way, they were missing exposure to a lot of content that was really relevant to them.” Real impact comes from serving the overlaps, not the edges.
• Simple stories stick. Spidey and His Amazing Friends makes complex ideas—like teamwork, trust, and problem-solving—land through bright colors and clear stakes. For marketers, that’s the goal too. “Making internal assumptions without pressure testing with the people who are going to be receiving the output of your team, it's a huge miss,” Emily says. Whether you’re leading kids or customers, never assume they’re on board. Ask, listen, and build with them.

Quote

“Spidey and His Amazing Friends, they really teach you what actual in practice, collaboration is supposed to look like and not look like. And it's really as simple as…you step back. We all know what we're supposed to do. It's just really hard in practice sometimes, and sometimes you can learn from the kids' shows. You just step back and go, we know what to do, we just need to do it.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Emily Ferdinando, CMO at Bugcrowd

[01:00] Why Spidey and His Amazing Friends?

[02:20] The Role of a CMO at Bugcrowd

[03:00] Origins of Spidey and His Amazing Friends

[19:38] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Spidey and His Amazing Friends

[29:21] Bugcrowd's ABM Launch

[33:30] Repackaging Content for Better Engagement

[40:13] Bugcrowd's Content Strategy and Community Engagement

[47:20] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Emily on LinkedIn

Learn more about Bugcrowd

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s how the Rebel Alliance defeats the Galactic Empire, and it’s how great B2B marketing teams win in the real world. In this episode, we unpack marketing lessons from the Star Wars saga with the help of our special guest Eric Herzog, CMO at Infinidat.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from thinking like a startup, aligning cross-functional teams, and building content strategies that deliver across every touchpoint.

About our guest, Eric Herzog

Eric Herzog is the Chief Marketing Officer at Infinidat. Prior to joining Infinidat, Herzog was CMO and VP of Global Storage Channels at IBM Storage Solutions. His executive leadership experience also includes: CMO and Senior VP of Alliances for all-flash storage provider Violin Memory, and Senior Vice President of Product Management and Product Marketing for EMC’s Enterprise & Mid-range Systems Division.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Star Wars:

• Business is a team sport. Great marketing doesn’t happen in silos. Whether you’re a startup or a global enterprise, success depends on alignment across every function. Eric says, “In marketing, having all kinds of people running around with different functions is wrong. They all need to work together in what I call a completely vertically integrated marketing.” Your message, your content, your sales strategy. it all has to move as one.
• Message discipline wins hearts and minds. When you can’t outspend the competition, out-message them. A clear, consistent story can be your greatest weapon. “You need to win the hearts of the minds of your customers, and your prospects, and your channel, and your sales team,” Eric says. If your message isn’t aligned, neither is your market.
• Think like a startup (no matter your size). Speed, focus, and adaptability aren’t just startup traits; they’re must-haves for any marketing team. Eric explains, “ The most successful big companies in overall functions, as well as in their marketing function, try to act like a startup.” Whether you’re leading a lean team or navigating a Fortune 500 org, it’s that startup mindset that helps you outmaneuver slower, more bureaucratic competitors.

Quote

“Business is a team sport, and a subteam of marketing as part of the business is a team sport too. If you don’t work as a team, the empire will crush you. You need to be like the Rebel Alliance and all work together.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Eric Herzog, CMO at Infinidat

[01:08] Why Star Wars?

[01:54] Role of CMO at Infinidat

[03:03] Origins of Star Wars

[08:52] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Star Wars

[30:04] Infinidat's Content Strategy

[33:39] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Eric on LinkedIn

Learn more about Infinidat

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the magic of the “Assume That I Can” campaign, where simplicity meets significance, and storytelling sparks real cultural shift. In this episode, we unpack the power of that message with the help of our special guest, Mike Barton, VP of Corporate Communications and Content Marketing at AudioEye.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from building accessible experiences, confronting audience assumptions, and crafting stories that create real connection.

About our guest, Mike Barton

Mike is a marketing and communications leader dedicated to making the internet more accessible for all. As Vice President of Corporate Communication & Content Marketing at AudioEye, Mike leads marketing strategy, driving awareness and demand through blogs, social media, PR, video, and digital storytelling. Previously, at Adobe, he shaped content and executive messaging across Experience Cloud, Creative Cloud enterprise, and Document Cloud. With deep expertise in customer engagement and industry-specific storytelling, Mike excels at aligning business objectives with audience needs—crafting compelling narratives that resonate with C-suite leaders, end users, and decision-makers across industries.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From “Assume That I Can” campaign:

• Start with the barrier, not the message. Before you talk about your product, talk about what’s standing in the way. The best campaigns don’t lead with features; they lead with mindset shifts. “If your audience already believed what you want them to believe, they'd be acting on it,” Mike explains. “What's the belief barrier that we need to identify and then either bring it down or address it?” Identify the roadblock first. Then your message has somewhere to go.
• Simplicity scales. Forget the fluff. The most effective campaigns are clear, precise, and emotionally resonant. Mike says, “The best ideas don't need paragraphs, they just need precision.” That’s what made the “Assume That I Can” campaign so powerful: four words packed with meaning. Make your message easy to share and impossible to forget.
• Build stories people can see themselves in. If your marketing is talking at people, you’ve already lost them. Great content invites the audience into the story. Mike explains, “Connection and empathy really manifest when the person you're talking to sees themself in the story.” Whether it’s about accessibility or enterprise software, lead with humanity. That’s what makes people care.

Quote

*“ Data informs, but emotion transforms. And it's not that these are two mutually exclusive delivery mechanisms…it's really bringing data and emotion together. And as we saw in the “Assume That I Can” campaign, it was through the voice of somebody who had Down Syndrome. So we're constantly bringing in blind people or deaf people, or people who have mobility issues and letting them tell their story.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Mike Barton, VP, Corporate Communication & Content Marketing at AudioEye

[01:13] Why the 'Assume That I Can' Campaign?

[03:04] Mike's Role at Audio Eye

[07:23] Breaking Down the 'Assume That I Can' Campaign

[11:33] How to Make Your Content Accessible

[15:13] B2B Marketing Takeaways from the Campaign

[29:44] Addressing Belief Barriers in Marketing

[31:58] Connecting Through Empathy and Storytelling

[33:09] Marketing Strategy at Audio Eye

[35:09] The Importance of Accessibility in Digital Experiences

[36:02] Combining Data and Emotion for Impact

[46:00] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Mike on LinkedIn

Learn more about AudioEye

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the magic of Jim Henson, where artistry meets innovation, and characters become cultural icons. In this episode, we tap into that enduring creative power with the help of our special guest, Adam Kranitz, Chief Marketing Officer at Resilio.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from narrative consistency, egoless collaboration, and why it’s time to stop making “content” and start telling stories that actually matter.

About our guest, Adam Kranitz

Adam leads the marketing organization at Resilio, responsible for demand marketing, brand, and corporate communications. He is an experienced technology marketing leader with expertise in building and leading global marketing teams and strategies that grow revenue, increase product adoption, and build mindshare with competitive differentiation.

Adam has led vision, strategy, and execution for all facets of B2B technology marketing, aligned with sales teams, for publicly traded technology firms, including Avid (NASDAQ: AVID) and Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX), and SaaS start-ups, including CloudCheckr (acquired by NetApp) and LucidLink.

Adam’s customer-centric marketing approach has recently produced industry leadership recognition for his companies with a G2 Leader Report for Cloud File Storage and category leader in Cloud Management Wave report by Forrester Research.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Jim Henson Idea Man:

• Entertainment first, selling second. Jim Henson’s early commercials didn’t start with a coffee can—they started with chaos, characters, and charm. Adam puts it plainly: “Do we wanna beat people over the head with the technical benefits of the product, or do we wanna entertain and educate our prospects?” The goal isn’t to pitch—it's to engage. Use storytelling to earn attention before you explain the value.
• Narrative consistency pays off. Kermit hasn’t changed. Neither should your core brand story. “If we haven't landed our message and are consistently delivering it over time, through multiple channels… what have you created?” Adam asks. Like the Muppets, your brand needs to adapt across formats but stay true to character. A consistent voice builds trust—and keeps you top of mind.
• Let your experts do the talking. Your audience doesn’t want to hear from the brand. They want to hear from the people behind it. “Nobody wants to see an AI talking head avatar… You've got smart people in your organization, it's your job as marketers to coach them up.” For Resilio, spotlighting their CTO, CPO, and CEO on LinkedIn unlocked real results. Empower your experts. That’s who your buyers want to meet.

Quote

*“The best part of my job is when I get to get on a platform like this and do a video interview with one of our customers… and then they kind of unprompted will talk about how much they love Resilio… That magic moment where it clicked for them—that is just magic.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Adam Kranitz, Chief Marketing Officer at Resilio

[00:56] Why Jim Henson Idea Man?

[04:01] The Role of CMO at Resilio

[05:31] Origins of Jim Henson Idea Man Documentary

[13:07] The Creative Genius of Jim Henson

[25:14] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Jim Henson

[38:37] The Power of Serialized Content

[42:49] The Importance of Video in Modern Marketing

[52:59] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Adam on LinkedIn

Learn more about Resilio

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we’re unpacking what made this retail campaign a breakout success with the help of our special guest David Hooker, Director of Brand at Printful and Printify.

Together, they explore what B2B marketers can learn from embracing scrappy creativity, building brand affinity over awareness, and trusting that great content doesn’t need to sell a product—it just needs to make people care.

About our guest, David Hooker

David Hooker is the Director of Brand at Printify and Printful. He’s an experienced Creative Director and Brand Manager. Built the Prezi Evangelism and Creative Services teams. Seasoned speaker, including TED-X Talk (see below). David built the Brand and PR function at TravelPerk, securing coverage in Wired, TechCrunch, Sky News, Al Jazeera, Financial Times, Business Insider, Handelsblatt, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and the BBC. 

He’s currently helping empower entrepreneurs at Printify and Printful. 

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Currys’ Gen Z ads:

• You don’t need a big budget to make standout content. Some of the most impactful marketing doesn’t come from a fancy studio—it comes from a phone camera, an employee, and a smart idea. David says, “You don't have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to make really good, great content that works.” Don’t wait for budget approvals. Focus on originality and execution.
• B2B still means you’re selling to people. Behind every buying committee is a group of humans—ones who laugh, scroll, and crave connection just like everyone else. David says, “You are B2B, but that B is a population of people… you can create great quality content that brightens up people’s day, that generates awareness and an affinity for your brand.” Lead with humanity, not just logic.
• Ignore the naysayers—go make something people love. Not every campaign needs to hit every KPI to be worth doing. Sometimes the boldest ideas face the most resistance—and deliver the most impact. David says, “I'm sure there was someone in the meeting room… who went, ‘How are they gonna know where our stores are?’ But the naysayer was wrong. If you make really great quality content that people connect with, enjoy—it’s going to do good things for your marketing.” Make the thing. Publish the thing. Let the audience prove it out.

Quote

*“ You don't have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to make really great content that works. Investing in the content and the quality of the content always pays off… Your B2B, but that B is a population of people, right? You've got an ecosystem of decision makers, but they're all human beings at least for the moment…You can create great quality content that brightens up people's day, that generates awareness and an affinity for your brand, without spending a lot if you focus on the content itself.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet David Hooker, Director of Brand at Printify and Printful

[01:08] Why Currys' Gen Z ads?

[02:35] The Origin Story of Printful and Printify

[09:32] The Power of Merch

[13:38] The Demand for Personalization

[24:11] Understanding the Currys’ Gen Z Ad Campaign

[33:11] B2B Marketing Lessons from the Gen Z Currys' Ads

[40:41] Authenticity in Advertising

[52:21] Advice for Brand Leaders

[54:26] Importance of Visual Literacy

Links

Connect with David on LinkedIn

Learn more about Printify

Learn more about Printful

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this special milestone episode, co-hosts Ian Faison, CEO of Caspian Studios, and Meredith Gooderham, Head of Production at Caspian, reflect on the lessons, mistakes, surprises, and joys of building Remarkable over the last few years. From behind-the-scenes pivots to favorite creative risks, this candid conversation offers a meta-view into what makes B2B content stand out—and what happens when you treat your show like the most important product your marketing team will ever build.

Whether you’re a longtime listener or just tuning in, this episode is packed with real talk, marketing takeaways, and a few inside stories about what it takes to create content that connects.

What We’ve Learned From Creating 149 Episodes: 

• Original ideas are harder—but worth it. Great content almost always starts with one person pushing an idea through resistance. From Murder in HR to documentary-style storytelling, the best creative work came from taking risks and backing a vision—despite obstacles or skepticism.
• Passion beats polish. The most compelling episodes are when guests bring personal enthusiasm for a topic—whether it’s fishing, Formula 1, or reality TV. That energy translates into richer insights, better marketing takeaways, and more authentic conversations.
• B2B content doesn’t have to look like B2B. Audiences crave genres they already love—like comedy, true crime, or documentary. When B2B brands stop copying each other and start tapping into broader content formats, they unlock massive creative potential.

Quotes

“ I would do this show if nobody listened because it's so valuable for me to talk to other brilliant marketing people about what inspires them, because it inspires so much of my own creativity.”

“ It takes conviction to be able to sell a big idea, and big swings make big hits. And that happens over and over and over again.”

“ Playing it safe is not safe.”

“ It's so cool to find out what people are excited about outside of work, but also to combine that with their expertise and see what lessons they can draw from it. And how they're using their personal life in their professional life and vice versa has been super cool.”

Time Stamps

[01:10] Reflecting on 149 Episodes

[02:44] Lessons From Creating Great Content

[08:29] Partnering for Success

[10:55] Taking Risks in Marketing

[14:53] Takeaways from 149 Episodes

[35:57] Mistakes and Lessons Learned

[46:30] Guest Booking Insights

[48:24] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Ian on LinkedIn

Connect with Meredith on LinkedIn

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the appeal of F1 sponsorships, where precision meets pageantry, and brand integration is as strategic as the race itself. In this episode, we tap into that high-speed energy with the help of our special guest, Ondar Tarlow, marketing consultant for action sports. 

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from global sponsorships, smart storytelling, and knowing when to go all in—and when to walk away.

About our guest, Ondar Tarlow

Ondar Tarlow has over 20 years of experience in marketing and branding. He’s known for engaging audiences through data-driven insights and witty, creative storytelling to achieve results. He has been leveraging AI to boost campaign performance results by 5x with propensity models and cutting production time by 75% using Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Adobe Firefly, all while upholding IP standards.

As Chief Marketing Officer at Kinecta Federal Credit Union and Pacific Premier Bank, he spearheaded award-winning campaigns that resulted in over $1.7 billion in product volume and tens of thousands of new customers. These successes earned him industry recognition, including Diamond Awards for brand awareness and a Top 100 Marketer award.

Currently, Ondar serves as a marketing consultant for motorsports, financial, and lifestyle brands, partnering with organizations like Fast Lane Drive. His passion for motorsports, including attending 11 Formula 1 races worldwide, inspires his focus on high-performance teamwork and precision. Ondar’s sponsorship expertise - demonstrated through collaborations with the LA Chargers, LA Galaxy, Anaheim Ducks, Luft 10 (Porsche), and BeachLife Music Festival - highlights his ability to connect brands with their ideal target audiences. 

Ondar holds a BA in Psychology from California State University, Northridge, and has earned digital marketing certifications from UCLA and trained with the American Red Cross in Crisis Communications and Media Relations. Ondar is also dedicated to community development, serving on the board of Junior Achievement, which provides youth with financial education and career readiness tools.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From F1 Sponsorships:

• Don’t just show up—integrate. It’s not enough to slap your logo on something and call it a day. True brand partnerships go deeper. “Really any company that can afford it, can get a logo. But when you're doing a true brand integration like Oracle has done with Red Bull, that's really where things can pay off.” The ROI comes from relevance, not just visibility. Think about how your product can become part of the story.
• No plan, no payoff. As Ondar puts it: “Plan, plan. plan. And then data, data, and data.” B2B marketers must tie sponsorships to broader company strategy from the very beginning. That means aligning with your CEO and CFO, knowing what problem you're trying to solve, and figuring out how to measure impact—before you sign the dotted line.
• Go niche to go big. F1’s PacSun collaboration proves you don’t have to outspend Rolex to make an impact. You just need the right story. “They really thought about it... and what they've been able to create is an interest in F1 from this demographic.” By focusing on Gen Alpha and teenage girls, PacSun built a new fanbase and drove fashion sales—without buying trackside banners. In B2B, the same principle applies: niche audiences, well-served, can generate outsized returns.

Quotes

*“You have to test. There's going to be periods of time where you're gonna do something new, and you can't be afraid to fail…When you're finding out something that's working, then you need to double down and you need to take the risks. You need to take those risks and move forward with them. Things that aren't working, don't marry yourself to them. Figure out what you need to tweak and then continue to test. Marketing is not an exact science.”

*“ Plan, plan, plan, and then data, data, and data. So first off, the plan is you have to make sure you're aware of what the strategy is of the company that you're with. And if you're a CMO, you're obviously responsible for the marketing strategy, and you should have a seat at the table as part of developing the strategy as far as the company, in a whole. So that's first off, and then understanding exactly what the challenge is, and then how are you going to be able to come up with a solution based on the decisions that you're making based on brand integration. And then from there is what data can you capture and how can you utilize that data so that you can drive metrics and those reporting metrics to show exactly what the benefit is of the partnership is that you're involved with.”

*“ Brands can really leverage [figuring] out what the storyline is. To get the human aspect to it. And I think that that is a great opportunity for brands to look at is that if they're gonna invest in a driver or they're gonna invest in a team is what personalities are making up that team there.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Ondar Tarlow, marketing consultant for action sports. 

[01:07] Why F1 Sponsorships?

[02:59] Ondar's Background

[04:50] The Rise of F1 in the US

[06:34] Understanding F1 Sponsorships

[11:28] ROI on F1 Sponsorships

[15:03] Drive to Survive: Impact on F1

[18:08] Anatomy of an F1 Sponsorship Deal

[24:47] The High Stakes of F1 Sponsorships

[28:25] The Appeal of F1 Events

[29:32] Strategic Brand Integration in F1 Sponsorships

[36:34] The Importance of Planning and Data in Sponsorships

[40:53] Leveraging F1 Storylines for Brand Success

[45:06] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Ondar on LinkedIn

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Buena Vista Social Club is one of them. It isn’t just a musical—it’s a masterclass in resonance, memory, and experience.

In this episode, we’re pulling B2B marketing lessons from that spirit of storytelling with the help of Dan Lowden, Chief Marketing Officer at Blackbird.AI.

Together, we explore why content should come first, how honesty builds brand resilience, and what it takes to create live experiences your audience will talk about for years.

About our guest, Dan Lowden

Dan is the CMO at Blackbird.AI and leads the company’s strategic marketing efforts, including demand generation and brand leadership. He has over 20 years of strategic experience at the executive level. He has served as CMO at cybersecurity firm HUMAN Security (acquired by Goldman Sachs), named one of the TIME100 Most Influential Companies of 2023. Lowden also served as the CMO at Digital Shadows (acquired by Reliaquest) and, before that, CMO at Invincea (acquired by Sophos) and VP of Marketing at vArmour (acquired by Night Dragon). He has held marketing leadership positions at Wayport (acquired by AT&T), IBM ThinkPad (acquired by Lenovo), NEC Technologies, and Sharp Electronics. Lowden holds an MBA in International Business from Rutgers Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Science from Rider University.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Buena Vista Social Club:

• Content is the foundation—not an afterthought. Even in cybersecurity, content is king. Dan says, “My first hire was a content person. You can have the best ABM strategy or tools, but if you don’t have really valuable content, you’re not going to get anywhere.” His advice? Lead with education, not asks. Thoughtful reports, relevant use cases, and engaging narratives will earn your audience’s attention—and their trust.
• Honesty builds brand resilience. When it comes to trust, marketing can’t cut corners. Especially in high-stakes industries like cybersecurity. Dan says, “There’s been a lot of overstatement of things by marketers and salespeople. That’s when marketing takes a ding.” Instead, he urges CMOs to stay grounded: deliver real value, communicate with clarity, and show your audience you’re in it for the long haul.
• Live experiences create a lasting impact. If you want your brand to be unforgettable, you need to create moments that move people. “People still come up to us today and say that band and that experience 10-plus years ago—they remember. There’s not been anything like that,” Dan says, reflecting on a live concert his team produced. Whether it’s a concert, a rooftop dinner, or a one-of-a-kind conference, remarkable experiences turn into word-of-mouth—and brand love that lingers.

Quotes

*“To me, in marketing—B2B or B2C—it’s about creating a relationship, trust, even friendship, a community with your audience.”

*"If you treat your customers well, if you serve them well, if you’re honest with them… then you have a chance of being very successful as a company.”

*“Music is really, really important, really powerful… as a marketer, especially in cybersecurity where there’s 5,000 cybersecurity companies, you have to do something different. You have to stand out.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Dan Lowden, CMO at Blackbird.AI

[03:42] The Magic of Live Theater

[06:21] The Role of a CMO in Cybersecurity

[10:23] Understanding Narrative Attacks

[14:29] The Evolution of Narrative Intelligence

[22:36] The Story Behind Buena Vista Social Club

[28:31] The Power of Live Music in Marketing

[30:33] Creating Remarkable Experiences

[39:21] The Importance of Content in Marketing

[45:05] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Dan on LinkedIn

Learn more about Blackbird.AI

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we’re pulling marketing lessons from Robert Redford’s directorial debut with the help of our special guest Ruth Zive, CMO of Voices.

Together, they explore what B2B marketers can learn from telling emotionally resonant stories, leading with creative conviction, and knowing when to step out of the spotlight to let the work speak for itself.

About our guest, Ruth Zive

Ruth Zive is the Chief Marketing Officer at Voices. Ruth is a skilled and metrics-driven marketing strategist who believes in evidence-based revenue growth through the coordination and alignment of marketing and sales processes. She has worked for two decades serving B2B clients in the technology, financial services, and nonprofit industries.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Ordinary People:

• Conviction is part of the job. Strong marketing doesn’t come from consensus—it comes from clarity. Ruth says, “Marketing can sometimes devolve into a bit of a crowdsourced exercise. Everybody wants to edit your content or weigh in on the messaging… but we are the experts in marketing and we should make decisions accordingly.” Have conviction in your vision—and own the creative calls that matter.
• Tell the story of your customer’s pain, not just the product. Emotional resonance starts with understanding your buyer’s struggle. Ruth says, “The most resonant stories as a B2B marketer are the ones that start with the pain of the person that you're trying to touch. Ultimately, what you're doing is showcasing how you're going to get the prospect to the other side of that pain.” Lead with empathy, not just features.
• Stretch your team—and your story. Growth comes from pushing beyond the expected. Ruth says, “You never want your marketing to be a rinse and repeat proposition. You always want it to be a little bit provocative and unexpected.” Like casting Mary Tyler Moore in a dramatic role, bold choices unlock surprising results—creatively and commercially.

Quotes

*“Know your superpower. I talk about this a lot with my marketing colleagues. Robert Redford was the George Clooney of the day. He had very successful movies, he was a fantastic actor, but he was also a heartthrob. And that might have been a distraction in this story. I think that Robert Redford probably had some good self-awareness in that regard, and some of it might have been that he wanted to test his other skills and stretch into new domains for sure, but it might have been a distraction for him to have been the guy on the screen.”

*“You don't need the biggest budget to have the biggest impact. [Robert Redford]  didn't have to hire the biggest star, and yet, look at how the movie performed.”

*“I think at the end of the day, the folks behind the brand, even in B2B marketing, creating the assets, writing the story, they are humans, and the folks that we are selling to are ultimately humans. And it is our job as the B2B marketers to make those people on the other side of the transaction feel something. That's what we are trying to do is get them to feel something. And there are a lot of different ways we can do that, but I believe wholeheartedly that it starts with the story. The story speaks to their pain. The story showcases how we are going to make that pain go away. It's a simple formula. But I think that if you lead with features and functions, then you've lost the plot.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Voices CMO Ruth Zive

[01:30] About 'Ordinary People' the Movie

[04:26] What We Learn From Robert Redford's Directorial Debut

[08:21] Analyzing Characters and Themes

[13:50] Marketing Lessons from the Movie

[25:18] Casting Choices and Their Impact

[26:51] Marketing Lessons from Unconventional Casting

[29:15] Donald Sutherland's Unique Perspective

[32:08] Authenticity in Marketing and Storytelling

[38:43] The Future of Voice in Branding

[44:30] Content Strategy and Vision Videos

[47:40] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Ruth on LinkedIn

Learn more about Voices

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we’re pulling marketing lessons from TikTok’s creative chaos with the help of Rhonda Hughes, award-winning B2B marketing leader.

Together, they explore what B2B marketers can learn from leading with authenticity, embracing low-fi experimentation, and having the courage to make something truly original.

About our guest, Rhonda Hughes

Rhonda Hughes is a storyteller and connector of people and ideas with 18 years of experience helping brands engage their customers and audiences. She believes in creating value, not noise, and she has a knack for inspiring teams to push boundaries with fresh, fun, relevant content, campaigns, and programs. 

Rhonda’s team's work has earned recognition from Mashable, Business Insider, Hubspot, Sprout Social, KISSmetrics, Content Marketing Institute, and snagged her a spot on North Bay's 40 under 40 “Ones to Watch” list, noted among the “Top 50 Women in Content”, and awarded for "Best B2B Campaign on TikTok."

What B2B Companies Can Learn From TikTok Creators:

• Fun is a strategy—not a distraction. Brands win when they lean into playfulness—not just performance. “The brands that, to me, the companies that feel like they win are the ones that are really always putting their audience in the center and trying to figure out a way to be useful and be human and be playful,” Rhonda says. This kind of joyful creativity builds connection—and makes your brand memorable.
• Imperfect content is often the most relatable. Audiences don’t crave polish—they crave authenticity. “The most engaging content isn't the most polished… you can tell that this was just a creative idea and somebody with their camera and they're rallying the folks internally around how they bring the story to life,” Rhonda says. “And that's part of what makes it so relatable and likable.” Let your audience in on the process, not just the finished product.
• Iterate like a creator. TikTok’s best creators don’t get stuck in strategy mode—they test, tweak, and try again. That mindset is essential for B2B marketers too. “TikTok creators are constantly iterating… they've gotta test formats and hooks and trends and sounds, and they have to move fast and be playful with this,” Rhonda says. The takeaway? Strategy doesn’t mean overthinking. It means being in motion.

Quotes

*“You just never know what's gonna work. So you kind of have to be okay with trying and missing and trying again.”

*“You want to build content that's gonna resonate with your audience and also be something they want to share.”

*“If you’re not enjoying what you’re making, your audience probably isn’t either.”

*“It’s not about going viral—it’s about showing up over and over again.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Rhonda Hughes, Award-Winning Marketer

[03:37] The Power of Authenticity on TikTok

[06:00] Engaging Content Strategies

[10:34] Spotlight on Successful TikTok Campaigns

[16:16] Creative Marketing Examples

[27:28] The Power of Authenticity in Social Media

[29:37] The Bravery of Unique Marketing Strategies

[30:33] TSA's Unexpected Social Media Success

[32:39] The Importance of Fun and Experimentation in Marketing

[42:03] Creating Value, Not Noise

[43:37] The Utility of Content and Audience Engagement

[50:03] Final Thoughts and Advice for Marketing Leaders

Links

Connect with Rhonda on LinkedIn

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, 4-Time CMO Manish Gupta joins Caspian CEO Ian Faison to deconstruct the show Silicon Valley and extract lessons on marketing, storytelling, team dynamics, and startup chaos. 

Together, they explore how to translate complex technology to engage your audience, prioritizing content in your marketing, and including human moments to build brand trust.

About our guest, Manish Gupta

Manish Gupta is a 4x CMO, having led marketing at companies like LaunchDarkly, Sonar and Redis. Manish brings deep experience scaling B2B technology businesses across public and private markets, including acquisitions and strategic transitions.

His leadership spans category-defining companies such as Redis, Sonar, Liaison, Oracle, and Apple, where he has successfully driven both product-led and sales-led growth. With domain expertise in software infrastructure, AI, SaaS, cloud, and communications, Manish is known for navigating complex business models and delivering sustainable growth.

He has also served as an advisor, board member, and investor in early-stage startups. Manish holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Engineering from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Santa Clara University.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Silicon Valley:

• Tech needs a translator. Technology is hard to understand—even for your audience. “Translating really complex technologies into simple-to-deliver messaging is an art form,” Manish says. “Great technology needs a great story, right? The narrative is so important, and how you deliver the narrative and how you package it is key to the success.”
• Content is the engine. Not the garnish. Manish makes it clear: “The whole marketing engine should be built around content.” That means investing in formats your audience truly wants—like hands-on guides and short-form videos—and making sure every asset is tailored to a specific persona and stage in the journey.
• Human moments build brand trust. Whether it’s the "Not Hotdog" app or the team playing their bizarre “Always Blue” game, Silicon Valley nails the emotional truth of startup life. That same humanity should be visible in your marketing. 

Quotes

*“ We as marketing leaders have to be very mindful that not everything and everybody in every marketing organization can evolve and move at an exponentially improved pace just because you have the tools. Yes, it has to move on that trajectory, but there has to be a level of reality put into the expectation. Otherwise there's gonna be burnout.”

*”I think particularly in the B2B tech space, you've got almost a bifurcation of folks that use the technology but don't have any budget ownership, versus people that have the decision-making authority and the budget ownership but aren't necessarily very close to the technology. And I think marketing has to deal with that two-pronged approach in everything that it does and the channels that get activated. The messaging that has to align with the audience is certainly the content that has to be created, and that can be complicated. Balancing that is a nuanced execution for marketing teams.”

*”A CMO should run the entire marketing engine around content. And this is not to invoke the old adage of ‘Content is king,’ but, you know, what are you at the end of the day? Delivering or communicating to your target audience, whether it's an existing customer or a prospect you're trying to win over. It is content and how you package that content, how you position it, what story and narrative is wrapped around the technology to deliver is really, at the end of the day, what matters.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Manish Gupta, 4-Time CMO

[01:05] Why Silicon Valley?

[08:22] What is Silicon Valley?

[16:01] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Silicon Valley

[24:02] Balancing Predictability and Innovation

[28:10] Targeting Practitioners vs. Decision Makers

[30:26] Creating How-To Content

[33:18] Importance of Content

[39:33] Measuring ROI Around a Series of Content

[42:13] Advice for CMOs on Content Strategy

[43:25] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Manish on LinkedIn

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we’re pulling marketing lessons from Alix’s rise with the help of Elizabeth Strickert, Director of Content Marketing at A-LIGN.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from staying consistent, growing with (not past) your audience, and making content that’s actually fun to create.

About our guest, Elizabeth Strickert

Elizabeth Strickert is Director of Content Marketing at tech-enabled cybersecurity and compliance company A-LIGN. There, Elizabeth is leading content, thought leadership, comms & customer marketing.She has overhauled their SEO program, resulting in top 10 ranking for high-difficulty, high-volume keywords. She also led the creation of an annual benchmark report, reaching 3 million+ impressions. She leverages internal thought leaders for social media, videos, webinars, speaking opps and written content. She previously served as Director of Communications & Content at Ekos and Marketing Communications Manager at Passport.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Alix Earle:

• Consistency builds credibility. Viral moments come and go, but Alix Earle’s staying power lies in her relentless consistency. No shortcuts, just commitment. It’s a reminder that content success isn’t just about innovation; it’s about endurance. Elizabeth says, “Alix, not only did she get rewarded from doing that, she was on TikTok for a long time before she really got big. But even since making it, she's still posting multiple times a day. She is just there doing it, grinding. All the time.” In B2B, the same rule applies: keep posting, keep showing up.
• Honor your origin story. Growth doesn’t mean forgetting who got you there. Alix still makes the content that first drew her audience in, while smartly layering in new formats. In B2B, you must evolve, but stay grounded. Elizabeth reminds us, “You gotta remember who got you here. You gotta remember your core customer base. You gotta remember the people who you know are…the ones that pay the bills.” Make sure to have a balance, especially as you scale.
• Find the fun and show it. Audiences can feel when you’re enjoying what you’re creating. It’s what makes content magnetic. Alix’s success didn’t just come from consistency, it came from joy. She leaned into the formats that were fun for her, and her audience leaned in too. Elizabeth puts it plainly: “When someone is excited about the things they're making, it automatically makes them more interesting. And we just have to lean on that.” In B2B, it’s easy to default to polished, sanitized messaging. But the real key is letting your content creators tap into what actually excites them. If your team thinks it’s boring, your audience will too.

Quotes

“ We think, B2B, it needs to be polished, it needs to be sanitized. But the story is the interesting part. That's where someone can relate to it. That's where somebody can get hooked in. That's why you care. And I think a lot of times we forget about that.”

“We want B2B content to be polished. Sanitized. But the story — that’s the interesting part. That’s what people actually relate to. We forget that too often. The story is why people care.”

“ I think it’s good to be a consumer. As a marketer, you're putting content out in the world, you need to consume it. But…you don’t need to be going to a B2B workshop. You can watch TikTok. You can watch people like Alix Earle and other folks and get inspiration from what their doing. You can look at what YouTubers are doing. Everything people are doing is a marketing decisions and there’s things you can take away from that.”

“Influencers start off because they thought, ‘Oh, it’d be kind of fun to make a video.’ That’s the initial nugget.  And as marketers who, for a living, have chosen to create content and do marketing. We also need to think, ‘Hey, it'd be a little fun to make a video.’ That’s where the start of it has to come from.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Elizabeth Strickert, Director of Content Marketing at A-LIGN

[01:03] Why Alix Earle?

[01:56] The Role of Director of Content Marketing at A-LIGN

[02:29] The Rise of Alix Earl

[13:41] Relatability and Authenticity in Influencer Marketing

[21:07] The Power of Parasocial Influence

[29:02] B2B Marketing Takeaways From Alix Earle

[45:59] A-LIGN’s Content Strategy

[47:32] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Elizabeth on LinkedIn

Learn more about A-LIGN

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we’re pulling lessons from the film’s launch with the help of our special guest, Kevin Carter, Producer at H20 Studios.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can steal from the big screen on how to activate communities, take smart creative risks, and stop playing it safe when the goal is to stand out.

About our guest, Kevin Carter

Kevin Carter is an experienced marketing and production executive with a track record of driving significant revenue and audience growth. Currently a Producer at H20 Studios in Los Angeles, he oversees productions, strategically optimizing budgets to achieve substantial savings while delivering high-impact content reaching millions of viewers. Previously, in Global Marketing Strategy at Lionsgate, Kevin spearheaded marketing campaigns for over 117 film and television releases, generating upwards of $100 million in revenue.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Kevin’s documentary, Animal:

• Build evangelists, not just audiences. A film doesn’t go viral because it’s seen. It goes viral because people can’t stop talking about it. That’s how Kevin sees it. He says, “The best way is when you really create an army of people that just talk about your film without you doing anything.” For B2B marketers, that means stop chasing impressions and start sparking conversations. If your product solves a real problem, give your users the language, the emotion, and the why. They won’t just use it, they’ll share it.
• Give your team space to strike out. You can’t hit home runs if you’re too scared to swing. Kevin urges leaders to embrace failure in the name of breakthrough: “You have to allow your executives to have three strikeouts before a win… try some crazy things that might cause some virality.” In B2B, too many marketers are stuck playing defense. But virality, innovation, and true brand momentum come from cultures that reward experimentation, not just execution. If you want word of mouth, you have to make room for risk.
• Challenge the spreadsheet. When executives default to templates, creativity gets sidelined. Kevin puts it bluntly: “Do I use this templated spend calculator… or do I take a chance and try something new to break through all the noise?” Most choose safety and the result is scared content that no one talks about. In B2B, the same trap shows up in recycled campaigns and rinse-repeat strategies. But breakthrough growth doesn’t come from playing it safe. It comes from marketers brave enough to break the mold. Because what limits risk often limits reach.

Quotes

*“The best way is when you really create an army of people that just talk about your film without you doing anything. Every one person that you market to that loves it and then tells three other people. There’s so much value to that. And then you expand that out to thousands of people, and they’re all sharing with other people. That is the winning formula, really.”

*“You finally get that EVP role… you’re just loving life, and then you have two options. Do I use this templated spend calculator that we use on films, that’s probably solid… limits our downside risk? Or do I take a chance and try something new and fresh, and try to break through all the noise out there, but the downside risk is a bit higher? Most of the time, they pick the latter... I think you get stuck in. Just making scared content all the time versus making like the best content.”

*“For Animal, there’s been no templated spend at all, we are just doing a totally bespoke campaign. If we do another film after this, it won’t be the same either. You have to look at each project and ask, what are our strengths? What are our weaknesses?... And then lean into your strengths and hopefully that carries you to the promised land.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Kevin Carter, Producer at H20 Studios

[01:00] Breaking Down Kevin's Documentary, Animal

[07:52] Marketing Strategies For Film and TV

[14:51] Challenges and Risks in Movie Marketing

[21:25] Rethinking Your Target Audience

[27:14] Innovative Marketing Techniques For Film and TV

[33:40] Creating the Documentary, Animal

[35:26] Marketing Animal

[40:02 Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Links

Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn

Check out Animal

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we’re pulling lessons from that retro icon with the help of our special guest, Ashley Sasnett, Senior Director of Content Strategy at Equifax

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from classic archetypes, character-driven branding, and the power of giving your product a little personality (or maybe even a voice of its own).

About our guest, Ashley Sasnett

Ashley Sasnett is the Senior Director of Content Strategy at Equifax. She is an award-winning, dynamic, and energetic digital marketing strategist with an extensive background in content, social media, mobile, campaign design and execution, and audience development. Ashley is a data-driven leader who embraces social listening and digital analytics to glean insights to solve business problems.

Ashley is a marketer who humanizes Brands with social media, digital content, and influencers, creating connections with clients and prospects.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Knight Rider:

• Storytelling makes the features matter. Knight Rider didn’t win fans because KITT had voice activation or turbo boost. It won fans because those features served a bigger story. A story about a hero resurrected to right wrongs with his talking car by his side. Ashley urges marketers to take the same approach. Don't just list functionality. Show how it fits into a compelling narrative. Ashley says, “That’s a story. And so I think for me, when I'm thinking about how do you create marketing that really sticks with people is... you need to really pull 'em away from like brochureware.” When tech serves emotion, people remember it. So build the story before you build the spec sheet.
• Embrace the buddy system. At its heart, Knight Rider was a buddy story—man and machine. That relationship brought emotional grounding to an otherwise tech-heavy premise. Ashley points out how powerful that dynamic is in marketing, too. Even the most advanced products need a human emotion. Ashley explains, “You gotta give him a friend… give them a buddy to keep their humanity, keep them connected so they can go out and be the hero they're supposed to be.” Your product might be brilliant. But it’s the companion—the story, the use case, the customer—that brings it to life.
• Make it iconic, not just informative. KITT wasn’t just a car. It had a voice, a silhouette, and a sound you could recognize anywhere. It was branding genius and completely unforgettable. Ashley sees this as a blueprint for marketers: features don’t stick unless they’re wrapped in a sensory identity people can latch onto. Ashley says, “When the car is driving up…that sound is like Darth Vader’s voice. Everyone knows that sound. It’s so ownable to the show.” Don’t just inform. Design your marketing to be remembered. Own your marketing.

Quotes

*“When I'm thinking about how do you create marketing that really sticks with people is it's, yeah, you gotta give 'em the AI and the voice of recognition and the bulletproof and the hot car thing. You gotta give them features and functionality, but you need to really pull them away from like brochureware, right? Don't take a product sheet and turn it into a webpage. We're so past that. Because a lot of the time, people are going through and checking boxes for that stuff, but they're not getting the use case, the value prop, the differentiation that's wrapped around those features and functionality. And when you do have something that's different, doubling down on that, so you can stand out, you're gonna do that in storytelling, and you always have these big story arcs.”

*“ Market your marketing. The challenge that you've got is throughout your organization, people are seeing your marketing, but they're seeing it more as users. They're seeing the end product, they're not always understanding the strategies behind it. And I love a good dashboard. I love a good metric, I love a good deck, but you don't wanna turn them into crutches. You need to have that elevator pitch…And I think marketers, internally, we get so caught up in the bits and bobs and the how it's made, and we like to geek out on that stuff. We forget that really everybody just needs three or four bullet points… I think that's where it's funny 'cause we don't do for ourselves as we should do for our company or for our customers. Which is market your marketing, make sure people are understanding why you're doing what you're doing and how.”

*“Stories are  pretty basic…Things were cranking along, and then you hit a stormy patch, and now things are better because you use this product. The stories  that you unearth in there is how they've used that product, but you've got that big story arc that kind of pulls it all together….  What is the conflict? Who's the protagonist? And then what does that or resolution look like? And when you're able to do that, you're gonna have a fuller, clearer picture for the audience to really glom onto. Because unless you're in the room with them telling that story, you've gotta let your digital content do a lot of work.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Ashley Sasnett, Sr. Director, Content Strategy at Equifax

[01:15] Why Knight Rider?

[03:13] The Role of Sr. Director of Content Strategy at Equifax

[05:21] Origins of Knight Rider

[10:37] B2B Marketing Lessons from Knight Rider

[37:42] Equifax's Content Strategy

[41:26] Creating Memorable Content

[43:15] Great Current Marketing Campaigns

[47:37] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Ashley on LinkedIn

Learn more about Equifax

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we’re unpacking key lessons from Dan Ariely’s work with the help of our special guest, Leslie Alore, SVP of Marketing at Flexera.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from setting the right expectations, why fewer choices close more deals, and how the power of “free” and fear of loss can drive serious retention.

About our guest, Leslie Alore

As the SVP of Marketing, Leslie Alore leads Flexera’s marketing strategy with an aim to create great experiences and outcomes for our customers.

Her passion for people and technology—combined with more than 15 years of marketing leadership in the tech space—has established her as a successful, results-driven executive who enables teams to do their best work.

Prior to joining Flexera, Leslie served as the Global SVP of Lifecycle Marketing at Ivanti. Before that, she held various marketing, operations and GTM strategy roles at Iron Mountain. Leslie is an active speaker and mentor in the GTM community, and has been recognized among “Top Women in Marketing” by Ragan Communications and “Women of the Channel” by CRN.

Leslie holds a BBA in Management, and an MBA with a concentration in Strategic Leadership from Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Predictably Irrational:

• Set expectations to shape reality. Great marketing doesn’t just reflect value, it creates the conditions for it. Leslie highlights how expectations shape reality. When buyers believe something is good, they interpret every detail through that lens. This isn’t about manipulation, it’s about clarity and consistency. Leslie says, “The effect of expectations… believing beforehand something is good, therefore it will be or the reverse.” So stop hoping your audience connects the dots. Tell them what to expect, then deliver on it. Perception isn’t a bonus, it’s the foundation.
• Shrink your options to speed the decision. Too many options stall progress. The paradox of choice tells us more isn’t better, it’s paralyzing. Leslie urges marketers to curate the path forward: “You actually want to give people fewer options and take control of the options that they see.” Don’t just join the shortlist, define it. When you narrow the frame, you speed up the decision for your customers. 
• Turn “free” into staying power with loss aversion. There’s magic in “free,” but the real power lies in what people fear losing. Once someone uses your product, whether it’s a freemium tool or an ungated resource, they’ve invested. Now there’s skin in the game. Leslie puts it simply, “People will overvalue something that's free and ignore kind of the trade-off costs associated. And loss is psychologically painful. We don't want to lose that, which we already have.” Whether you offer software, content, or services, create early wins. Then make the cost of leaving feel higher than the cost of staying.

Quotes

*“ There's many organizations that lean into that power of positivity…What's very interesting is that consumer brands do this a lot very, very well. B2B organizations tend to do almost the opposite. They tend to lean more into FUD. And that's a harder road to tread.”

*“ If you’re an organization that is selling software, the software is designed to provide a business outcome. It's designed to solve a business problem. Instead of focusing on, here's the business problem. Doesn't that suck for you? You can say, ‘here's the solution.

*“You have the power, you can feel confident about your ability to achieve X, Y, Z because you've solved this problem.’ It's saying the same thing, but orienting it in a positive way and being very, very, very consistent in that message. Beat that drum over and over and over again.”

*“ Narrow down the competitive options for them. Your sales process will move faster. You will be able to take better control of the narrative if you say, ‘this is us and these are the two other vendors that look like us. And here's why we are different and better, and here's what you can expect from these guys.’ And that doesn't mean saying negative things about them.  It's just highlighting your strengths and your virtues.”

*“People are willing to accept trade-offs for something that is perceived to be free…This is the exact reason that PLG, product-led growth, is so powerful. Because if you can get people in the door with some sort of freemium offering, people will actually work harder to do the legwork to get a free product to work and interact with it, than they might be willing to put in for something that they have to go pay for. And then once they have it and they've put in the work, they don't wanna lose it.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Leslie Alore, SVP of Marketing at Flexera

[00:56] Why Predictably Irrational?

[02:20] The Role of SVP of Marketing at Flexera

[02:47] Understanding Predictably Irrational

[09:56] B2B Marketing Lessons from Predictably Irrational

[37:49] Cognitive Dissonance in Buying Behavior

[42:17] Emotional Marketing in B2B

[46:18] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Leslie on LinkedIn

Learn more about Flexera

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we’re pulling lessons from that intensity with the help of our guest, Charlie Ungashick, CMO of Vimeo.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from embracing creative risk, connecting across generations, and resisting the urge to over-polish. Because sometimes, the most powerful stories are the ones that feel the most human.

About our guest, Charlie Ungashick

Charlie Ungashick joined Vimeo as CMO in 2024. He has over 20 years of experience leading marketing teams in tech companies. Before Vimeo, he was CMO and Head of Product at Applause, a leader in crowdsourced software testing. Charlie also advised Gem, a talent engagement platform, and held product, sales engineering, and IT roles at AIG, Novell, and SilverStream Software early in his career. He holds a bachelor's degree from Fordham University and a diploma in economics from the Université de Paris-Sorbonne.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Adolescence:

• Take risks that stretch you. In Adolescence, everything was a bet. A single-take format. A debut teenage actor. Emotionally loaded material. It had no business working—and yet it did. Charlie sees the same dynamic in great marketing. He explains, “Some of the best projects that we’ve all worked on are probably like that—they’re risky and audacious.” In B2B, we often play it too safe. Big ideas get trimmed down before they even leave the doc. But safe rarely stands out. Sometimes, the smartest move is to back the idea that feels slightly unmakeable—and then go make it.
• Follow the signals across generations. Charlie and his daughters both watched Adolescence—but saw it through totally different lenses. That contrast sparked something powerful. Charlie says, “Adolescence was interesting because it had something for lots of different generations... it created that human element.” The best B2B content doesn’t just target—it connects. Know where your audience is, how they consume, and what matters to them emotionally. Not every story has to hit everyone the same way. But the best ones open up space for conversation across the gap.
• Lead with authenticity, not polish. Adolescence wasn’t glossy. It was real. That’s what made it stick. Charlie challenges marketers to do the same: “We should all be comfortable in our B2B marketing by providing the same emotional authenticity that we find on TikTok and Netflix and Instagram.” B2B doesn’t have to mean buttoned-up. Lo-fi can hit harder than high-budget. People buy from people, not buildings. The more human your marketing feels, the more likely it is to land.

Quotes

*“ Some of the things that I've been the most proud of are things that were super out of the box, almost unachievable when you sort of bring the idea to your team. Not all of them are achievable. Not all of them are inspiring, but some of the best ones happen. And so I typically love being visionary when it comes to doing big things that require big sort of game-changing execution. And when I looked at Adolescence, the combination of all the things that we talked about certainly has those elements.”

*“ As a marketer, I always continuously look at demographics and psychographics and figure out how to elicit brain chemistry to ensure that people who I'm targeting are the ones that I want to connect with. I think the Adolescence was interesting because it had something for lots of different generations. And in fact, my daughters probably looked at it very differently than I did. And then when we compared notes in our conversations, it created that human element that we talked about earlier.”

*“ B2B marketers, they don't buy from a b, they don't buy from a building, they buy from human beings. And I think our storytelling in our marketing can be much more authentic when we're thinking about the consumerization of the types of things that we do. So shorter form, more authentic, maybe even lo-fi. There's a time and a place for those kinds of things, and I think it can propel our results.”

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Charlie Ungashick, CMO at Vimeo

[01:06] Why Adolescence?

[03:19] The Role of CMO at Vimeo

[06:20] AI and the Future of Video Creation at Vimeo

[09:24] Origins of Adolescence

[18:50] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Adolescence

[47:36] Vimoe's Brand Strategy

[49:59] Creating Authentic Content

[53:13] Innovative Uses of AI in Video

[54:20] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Charlie on LinkedIn

Learn more about Vimeo

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s also a masterclass in content marketing. In this episode, we’re unpacking what B2B marketers can learn from The Daily Stoic with the help of Amanda Dyson, VP, Head of Marketing at FourKites.

Together, we explore how to break the marketing mold, why the most impactful content is also the most practical, and how anchoring your message in core values makes it stick. Stoicism isn’t just a philosophy; if done right, it’s a blueprint for modern marketing.

About our guest, Amanda Dyson

With 20 years B2B software and SaaS marketing expertise, Amanda specializes in go-to-market strategy; consultative marketing; change and people management; lead generation; account based marketing; partner co-marketing; integrated digital marketing; email marketing; live and virtual events; corporate branding and storytelling; account segmentation and targeting; project and budget management, and strategic advisement.

Amanda has run regional and global teams. She has a passion for people and results and a proven track record of success delivering on KPIs and OKRs. She has held successively responsible, cross-functional leadership positions in sales and marketing, including alliances, partnership marketing, ABM, demand generation, field marketing, solutions marketing, events, communications, and corporate marketing for global Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software companies.

A California girl at heart, Amanda happily resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with her family of five. When she’s not growing people or pipeline at leading tech companies, she enjoys spending time with her family in the mountains or at the beach, running daily, and practicing mindfulness. Amanda has an MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University with a focus in Marketing, Finance and Supply Chain, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics with a Minor in Professional Writing from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic Newsletter:

• Break the marketing mold. Stoicism may be ancient, but Ryan Holiday has made it feel new and modern. Amanda sees that reinvention as a creative north star. She says, “Let’s do something wild. Some of my favorite marketing campaigns have just been weird stuff. It breaks the mold and it gets something done.” Ryan Holiday didn’t market stoicism by copying academic textbooks, he made it approachable and surprising. B2B marketers should do the same. Surprise earns attention. A little weirdness, done with purpose, goes a long way.
• Make it usable, not just insightful. Ryan Holiday’s greatest trick isn’t sounding smart, it’s making stoicism actionable. Amanda says,  “He does things in such a bite-size, practical way that you can hold onto it.” That’s exactly how B2B content should work. Don’t just publish thought leadership that nods at trends. Give your audience tools they can actually apply. Teach them something they’ll remember at 4 PM on a chaotic Tuesday. If it doesn’t help them do their job better, it’s just noise.
• Anchor your content in core values. The Daily Stoic isn’t random. It’s rooted in four core tenets: courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom. Amanda draws the parallel for marketers: “It’s all fostered and rooted in these core values or the stoic virtues, which you could look at your brand pillars in the same kind of light.” B2B content should be more than campaign-deep. When your content reflects your company’s true values, it resonates longer and travels farther. Think less about filling the calendar, and more about reinforcing what you stand for. 

Quotes

*“ I really challenge my teams to get back to storytelling. You gotta break out of the box, so let's do something wild. Some of my favorite marketing campaigns I've ever done have just been weird stuff: bobbleheads, robots on the beach. Random things that are not B2B software, but it breaks the mold and it gets something done. I think Ryan's done that with his marketing of stoicism. He's broken the mold, right? He reinvigorated this ancient philosophy, and so that's definitely a lesson I think we can learn from him too on content.”

*“ So we are all about how do we take one thing and reuse it in different ways. I think if we look at Ryan and his newsletter, I kind of mentioned his repetition. I don't think he sends the exact same newsletter, you know, multiple times. But there's certainly similar messages where you can go back in your archives and dig those things up again and present it in a different way. Content is huge. It drives, internally and externally, all of our activities. But you gotta be really smart about how you do it and how you use it, 'cause you're competing with so much noise. It can definitely be challenging to again break that mold.”

*“ Something that makes him a tremendous marketer is that he really believes in what he's selling us, right? He's created this brand that is a lifestyle. Stoicism is a philosophy, so there's a lot of high value attached to it and how you live your life.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Amanda Dyson, VP, Head of Marketing at FourKites

[00:58] Why Ryan Holiday's The Daily Stoic Newsletter

[03:04] The Role of VP, Head of Marketing at Four Kites

[04:18] Origins of Ryan Holiday's The Daily Stoic

[09:27] Understanding Tucker Max

[13:12] Stoicism 101: Old Ideas for Modern Chaos

[20:23] Building a Daily Ritual

[22:21] Strategies for Writing Like a Pro

[25:35] Inspiration as a Driver for Your Content

[35:55] Creating Marketing Tactics That Actually Matter

[39:00] FourKites' Content Strategy

[40:31] What's Working for Amanda Now?

[44:15] Measuring ROI at Four Kites

[49:49] Advice for Marketing Leaders

[51:27] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn

Learn more about FourKites

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the real lesson behind The New Look, a drama that follows Christian Dior as he rebuilds a whole new vision of fashion. In this episode, we’re taking inspiration from that spirit of transformation with the help of our special guest, Hrishi Kulkarni, Director of Customer Advocacy & Executive Programs at dbt Labs.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from narrative-driven branding, thoughtful reinvention, and the power of showing up with both creativity and compassion.

About our guest, Hrishi Kulkarni

Hrishi Kulkarni leads customer advocacy and executive programs at dbt Labs. Previously, Hrishi served as Head of Customer Marketing & Executive Programs at New Relic. He has also worked at Salesforce in Customer Engagement and Marketing and QStream in Customer Success and Professional Services. Hrishi brings with him over 16 years of experience in customer engagement. He is also an equality champion, SF LGBT Center board member and founder of LGBTQ+ ERGs in India and Asia.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From The New Look:

• Storytelling is your superpower. In The New Look, Christian Dior tells stories through his fashion. His work is infused with personal meaning, from tributes to his sister to inspiration from his mother. Hrishi says, “Marketing is all about storytelling. I joined marketing because I love storytelling… it emotionally connects your product and your services to your audience.” In B2B, storytelling isn’t fluff, it’s how you make people care. It’s how you stand out. Don’t just tell your audience what your product does, tell them why it matters.
• Innovation only works when it’s authentic. Dior’s most memorable move wasn’t a massive runway spectacle; it was an intimate, unexpected fashion show that broke every rule. Hrishi explains, “He’s not going to have a huge fashion show… He’s going to create it in a very small space, a very personalized experience. Which never before any designer had done.” That decision wasn’t flashy for the sake of it. It was deeply intentional. For B2B marketers, it’s a reminder that innovation doesn’t mean gimmicks. It means staying true to your values and finding fresh, genuine ways to express them.
• Repetition kills good content. Dior didn’t copy what worked, he created what was next. Hrishi says, “As a customer marketer… we have to be creative in identifying and securing the right stories and then finding innovative ways to amplify those stories. If you keep amplifying different stories also in similar ways, at some point it is going to fall flat.” B2B marketers often default to the same formats: another case study, another quote, another video. But to keep your audience engaged, you have to rethink how you tell your stories, not just what stories you tell.

Quotes

*“ I love storytelling. It's because, if you think about it, storytelling truly impacts people's hearts and minds. It emotionally connects your product and your services to your audience. And that's exactly what Dior has done with his fashion. Like the perfume story you shared earlier, right? It's inspired by his sister. Like a lot of his design of his costumes, of his art, his all comes inspired from his mother. So he truly shows us how storytelling can drive the fashion industry. He started his fashion through the art of storytelling. Also thinking outside the box. If you saw the show, he's constantly innovating. He's constantly thinking outside the box. And as a customer marketer, you have to be constantly creative in identifying and securing the right stories and then finding innovative ways to amplify those stories. If you keep amplifying different stories also in similar ways, at some point it is going to fall flat. So it's always “how can I be innovative with these stories?” And then of course thought leadership, right? It's storytelling or thinking outside the box, being creative to showcase the thought leadership of your customers, their brand.”

*“ In terms of B2B, customers love to hear how other customers are doing, how they're using your platform. .And I always say that what makes a kickass story is it has to be data driven and there has to be some human element to it. And now that's your recipe of a powerful story. ”

*“ In a B2B world, we create all these customer stories, but what's our end goal? Our end goal is how are my sales teams, my how are my account executives going to leverage this story with other prospects, with other customers. So truly thinking that buyer journey, how are your different stories going to influence every stage in that buyer journey?”

*“ Being authentic is so important in marketing. That is something we learned from The New Look. Be authentic in what you do. The passion comes across genuinely. It comes across easily. It's very evident. Be innovative. Don't be afraid to take risks.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Hrishi Kulkarni, Customer Advocacy & Executive Programs Lead at dbt Labs

[01:10] Why The New Look?

[04:19] Customer Advocacy & Executive Programs at dbt Labs

[06:54] Origins of The New Look

[11:54] B2B Marketing Takeaways from The New Look

[24:57] Building a Strong Content Strategy

[27:53] Measuring ROI in Customer Marketing

[32:08] dbt Labs Executive Sponsorship Program

[34:12] Advice for Marketing Leaders

Links

Connect with Hrishi on LinkedIn

Learn more about dbt Labs

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Developed by indie studio Supergiant Games, Hades isn’t just a video game, it’s a critically acclaimed masterpiece thanks to its iterative development, rich storytelling, and a fanbase that helped shape the game in real time. In this episode, we dive into the lessons marketers can learn from this roguelike phenomenon with special guest Zoe Hawkins, Director, Content Marketing & Integrated Campaign Strategy at Sumo Logic.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from fearless experimentation, community co-creation, and crafting content your audience can’t help but share.

About our guest, Zoe Hawkins

Zoe Hawkins is a former video game and tech journalist turned content marketer. She has over a decade of professional experience turning technical understanding into fluent communication. Working with a range of B2B tech companies, Zoe has helped create value across marketing and strategy. She also serves as co-lead for Sumo Logic’s sustainability-focused ERG, the Planeteers. When not working, Zoe is usually absorbed in speculative fiction – video games, books, or streaming media. She’s a mom to two cats and a grade-school-aged daughter, living with her husband in perpetually sunny Arizona.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Hades:

• Experimentation is the only way forward. In Hades, dying isn’t a setback; it’s part of the process. Zoe says, “You keep experimenting and you're gonna fail. And that's okay... Each time you learn and you grow and you do it better.” For marketers, it’s a reminder that campaigns don’t need to be perfect out of the gate. Failure isn’t fatal. Failure is how you find what works.
• Build content with your community, not just for them. Supergiant launched Hades in early access, inviting players to shape the game as it evolved. Zoe explains, “They give feedback. It's almost like a co-design, co-development process with your fans.” B2B marketers can do the same by involving their audience early, whether through feedback loops, pilots, or beta content. Let your audience help build what they want. It not only strengthens relationships, but it also keeps them excited about what’s coming next.
• Create content that people want to share. Hades isn’t just a game people play, it’s one they rave about. Zoe asks, “How do you make it that people are actually happy to use your product and excited to use it… not just customer loyalty, but advocacy? They wanna tell other people, ‘you will not believe how cool this thing is’.” That’s exactly what Hades achieves through intentional design, standout storytelling, and undeniable personality. Marketers should aim for the same. Treat your content the way Hades treats gameplay, and your audience won’t just consume it, they’ll spread it.

Quotes

*“ You keep experimenting, and you're gonna fail. And that's okay. If I think about it, you come into a new team or you come into a new product launch or you come into a new organization, whatever it might be. And you think you know how to play the game, you think you know what it takes to succeed, to beat the boss, whatever that is. And you do the run according to the way that you've done it, maybe in other roles or other companies, and you die, you fail. It doesn't necessarily go a hundred percent to plan, and that's okay. And then you get to restart with a new weapon, a new strategy, a new approach, whatever that might be, and pull it back together. Bring it back in to say, ‘okay, let's, let's try it again. Let's run it again and see if we're successful this time.’ And that just feels so liberating and then each time you learn and you grow and you do it better.”

*“ I love the idea that they only make one game at a time, that they're so focused, and it comes through in the work. It's so polished, it's so well made, and clearly made with love, that transfers to me. And I think if we tie it back to that B2B marketing, I think about working in tech, working in SaaS, how do you give that moment of delight where it's not just like, ‘oh my gosh, your company saved me this amount of money or whatever, or this tool is worthwhile for me.’ But how do you make it that people are actually happy to use your product and excited to use it, or have that sense of not just customer loyalty, but advocacy. They wanna tell other people, ‘you will not believe how cool this thing is.’”

*“ One of my favorite kinds of content to make is case studies because we get to make our customer shine and tell their story… I know our story backwards and forward. What's your story? Why are you winning with this? Why are you succeeding with this? And being able to tell something cool that they figured out, a way they're using our product that we didn't even think about that's interesting or cool.”

*“ Not being afraid to experiment, not being afraid to fail, I think, is such an important marketing lesson, because you're gonna have some risks that are gonna be great, and you're gonna take some risks that are gonna just completely flop. And that's okay. That's how we learn. That's how we try new things.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Zoe Hawkins, Director, Content Marketing & Integrated Campaign Strategy at Sumo Logic

[02:20] Why Hades?

[03:08] The Role of Director of Content Marketing and Integrated Campaigns at Sumo Logic

[03:54] Origins of Hades

[15:29] B2B Marketing Lessons from Hades

[44:32] Importance of Humor in Branding and Content Strategy

[49:47] Versatility of Video Content

[54:11] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Zoe on LinkedIn

Learn more about Sumo Logic

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Launched with Metallica at a San Francisco record shop in 2008, it became a global celebration of indie music culture and a blueprint for building real human connections. In this episode, we drop the needle on what marketers can learn from vinyl’s resurgence with special guest Robert McCauley, Sr. Director of Content Marketing at Upwork.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from community-driven events, the power of exclusivity, and how to build content strategies that truly resonate.

About our guest, Robert McCauley

Robert has 20+ years of experience in content marketing, editorial, and communications. At Upwork, he leads a team of more than two dozen amazing content marketers, customer marketers, and multimedia professionals. (In fact, you can find out more about how awesome they are by checking out this link: https://bit.ly/3PGXNcD.) Robert lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and their high-octane fourth-grader. Ask him about his vinyl collection if you’re looking to waste an hour or two.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Record Store Day:

• Sell the experience, not just the product. Exclusivity and differentiation aren’t just nice-to-haves; they’re why people line up on Record Store Day. As Robert puts it, “Part of the reason that someone is gonna pay $40 for something that they could, in theory, get for free is because the artists and record labels have done a nice job of selling the exclusivity and the differentiation. And, frankly, understanding their audience.” In B2B marketing, it’s a reminder that when you make your audience feel like they’re getting something rare and tailored, they’ll lean in.
• Community turns customers into believers. Record Store Day isn’t really about what you buy, it’s about who you’re with. Robert says, “This is where the power of community really comes in. It feels like a celebration of music. It feels like a celebration of vinyl... it feels like an event, a way to connect with people that are passionate about something like you are.” That emotional connection is the secret ingredient. For marketers, if your audience feels seen and connected, your brand becomes more than a service. It becomes a shared story.
• Go analog to cut through the noise. In a world of constant digital overload, physical media feels almost radical. Robert explains, “Analog physical media can really make an impact. We're all flooded with digital stuff all day, every day... the thing that cuts through that are physical things because they're so far, few and far between nowadays.” For marketers, this is a cue to think tactile because sometimes, the most unforgettable touchpoint isn’t a notification, it’s something your audience can actually hold.

Quotes

*“ When done right and in a very strategic way, analog physical media can really make an impact, right? We're all flooded with digital stuff all day, every day. There's the whole joke of you going from kind of your midsize screen to your small screen, to your big screen over the course of the day. And the thing that cuts through that are physical things because they're sort of so far few and far between nowadays.”

*“ Record Store Day at the end of the day is really an awesome in-person event. And in-person events, I think, in general, can be really effective for marketers. And again, when they're well thought out and done well. One of the great things about this is that, again, it's about community. It's about doing something that people appreciate and like. It's about feeling very kind of personalized to the things that they're passionate about. And, I think again, it just reinforces the fact that there are great ways of connecting with your customers much more directly and, of course, physically than over email or something. And they have a much stronger impact when you are face to face with someone and they remember your name, or you have a conversation, or you enjoy the coffee, or the excitement in the atmosphere that the event brought you. So I think it's the way that these are run are a good example of how in-person events can and should be run and can really make a difference to marketing efforts.”

“  We always, as content marketers and B2B marketers, I think, worry that we have one opportunity to kind of hook our audience. If we don't do it now, if we don't get everything we need, this is gonna pass us by. There's this trust of, ‘Hey, I am confident that over time I'm gonna show you the value of my content in this case, my music, and I'm gonna get hooked.’ And that will be rewarded down the line. It's definitely a long-term play, but it is very counter to, I think, a lot of our instincts of squeeze as much as we can as quickly as we can.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Robert McCauley, Sr. Director, Content Marketing at Upwork

[01:26] Why Record Store Day?

[03:21] Origins of Record Store Day

[10:26] The Draw of Vinyl

[16:51] Robert's First Record Store Day

[20:15] Value of Physical Music in a Digital Age

[28:58] B2B Marketing Lessons from Record Store Day

[47:43] Upwork's Content Strategy

[51:41] Upwork's Recent Content Creation

[55:21] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Robert on LinkedIn

Learn more about Upwork

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This is Odyssey, the Levi’s ad that changed how we think about brand storytelling. In this episode, we're unpacking its marketing lessons with our special guest, Paula Vivas, Head of US Marketing at Freepik.

Together, we explore why storytelling is the most powerful strategy, how boldness builds lasting brand identity, and why emotional resonance is your greatest competitive edge.

Because the best marketing doesn’t just show a product, it makes you feel something real.

About our guest, Paula Vivas

Paula Vivas is the Head of US Marketing at Freepik. She has over 15 years of experience in visual design, online marketing, and social media marketing, with a passion for creating and promoting engaging and innovative content.

Paula is also the co-founder of Charis, a platform that celebrates AI‑empowered creativity. With that, they launched the Charis Awards, a global competition that showcases the best AI-generated images and their creators.

Paula’s experience spans across Product Marketing, Content Marketing, Events, Ads and Growth Marketing in the Tech industry.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Levi's Odyssey ad:

• Story is the strategy. The Levi's Odyssey ad didn’t just sell jeans, it sold a feeling of liberation. Paula recalls watching it and thinking, “I want to be able to give a meaning to a brand.” The brilliance wasn’t in the product, but in the story it told, breaking through walls, both literally and metaphorically. In marketing, stories aren't a “nice to have”; they’re the whole point. When you anchor your brand in a powerful narrative, you move from transactional to transformational.
• Break through with brand identity. In the Levi's Odyssey ad, two people sprint through wall after wall, finally launching into the sky, all while wearing Levi's jeans. To Paula, it wasn’t just an ad; it was a masterclass in brand symbolism. No voiceover. No product breakdown. Just raw, kinetic metaphor for freedom and durability. In B2B, the lesson holds: skip the specs and aim for the soul. The brands that break through aren’t the loudest, they’re the ones that hit instinct before intellect.
• Emotion is the ultimate differentiator. What makes the Levi's Odyssey ad timeless wasn’t just its visuals; it was how it made Paula feel. In an era of AI-generated everything, emotion is your moat. Tools can replicate images, but not meaning. The best marketing doesn’t just look good, it makes you feel something. Give your audience that, and they’ll remember everything.

Quotes

*“ Let's make great content. Let’s forget about Will Smith eating spaghetti. Let’s forget about doing another Star Wars. Star Wars is going to be there, and of course, that’s going to go viral because it’s Star Wars. Let’s create beautiful content for you to watch, and sit down and say, ‘This is what a creative mind can do. This is what we can do with AI.’ Let's make something original. Let's create a path that's different.”

*“ I don't think AI is going to take out anything. I think it needs to be humane. We need to be behind it. We need to be the person at the wheel. LLMs are created by us, so we have to be there, right? Our creative part is always gonna be there.”

*“ If you give me a cookbook, that doesn't make me a chef. [AI] is not gonna take anybody away. It is just gonna make everyone better and faster and explode those creative parts of themselves.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Paula Vivas, Head of US Marketing at Freepik

[02:32] Why Levi's Odyssey Ad?

[03:09] Levi's Odyssey Ad Origin

[08:01] Why Great Storytelling is Your Differentiator

[15:17] What is Upscale Conf?

[18:47] Freepik's SEO Strategy

[21:58] How Freepik Simplifies Prompt Engineering

[24:17] Behind the Scenes of Upscale Conf

[27:22] What’s Next for Upscale Conf

[31:05] Freepik's Content and Brand Strategy

[34:01] Breaking Down Freepik's Music Collection

[37:11] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Paula on LinkedIn

Learn more about Freepik

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the strategy behind Settlers of Catan, a board game built on resource trading, calculated risks, and thinking three steps ahead. In this episode, we’re drawing inspiration from its gameplay with our special guest, Jen Grant, Chief Marketing Officer at Dialpad.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from staying focused on their own path, anticipating competitor reactions, and building a diversified strategy that drives long-term growth. 

Because in both Settlers of Catan and marketing, the real power play is thinking beyond your next move.

About our guest, Jen Grant

Before joining Dialpad as Chief Marketing Officer in October 2024, Jen served on the Dialpad Board of Directors, held C-level positions at Cube and Appify, led Looker’s marketing, drove the rebrand of Elastic, and grew Box to an industry-leading enterprise content company. Jen holds an MBA from Wharton, a BA from Princeton, and has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Princeton Technology leaders.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Settlers of Catan:

• Play your own game. In Catan, constantly reacting to what others are doing can leave you scrambling. The same applies in B2B marketing. Jen encourages a more grounded approach: “You do much better, sort of very quietly focusing on your own growth.” Instead of chasing competitors or mimicking market leaders, build a strategy that aligns with your own long-term vision. Because sustainable growth isn’t won through noise, but through quiet, deliberate moves.
• Always be forecasting. Winning at Catan means thinking ahead, not just about your next move, but the ones after that. Jen says,  “I actually really love the strategy part of it. Thinking about, okay, we're about to launch a particular feature. What's that gonna make the competition do?” In a competitive landscape, it’s not enough to plan for what you control; you also need to anticipate how others will react. Great marketers operate like strategic game players.
• Don’t bet on just one road to victory. Catan punishes one-dimensional players. You can’t win by hoarding sheep alone, you need balance. Jen explains, “It is never one thing…It's all of the things at the same time, executed perfectly well.” Diversification isn’t just about spreading risk; it’s about orchestrating a full-spectrum effort that compounds over time. The most impactful marketing isn’t siloed, it’s symphonic.

Quotes

*“The thing about Catan, and other board games, this might come into play too, but you could potentially spend all of your time trying to crush the other players…And when you play a game a lot, you're like, oh, I'm gonna try this strategy this time, see what happens. And one of the things that I've definitely never seen work is if you focus all your energy on messing with other people. You do much better sort of very quietly, focusing on your own growth.”

*“ I actually think the reason I like the game so much is the game theory of thinking ahead, 2, 3, 4 steps ahead. And so you're thinking how am I gonna achieve my goals, but what are they gonna do when I do, whatever it is, buy this road. I love that part of the game. I love thinking out ahead, okay, if we do this, then what are they gonna do? And for marketing, I think we often get caught up in the fun, creative part of marketing. But I actually really love the strategy part of it, of thinking about, okay, we're about to launch a particular feature. What's that gonna make the competition do? Are they gonna freak out? Are we kind of catching up to them? And maybe we shouldn't be so loud about it 'cause we should have had this before. All of the different implications of what you do in a market and then how the competition actually responds.”

*“ So the thing about Catan at the very beginning of the game is that there are numbers on every square. And so you get to choose two places to put your little settlement, and there are three numbers for each of those settlements. So right there, you have six numbers, and the numbers are on resources. And what's really important, and many people don't think about this, is you wanna have all of the resources available to you on numbers that get rolled frequently, but you can't be on only two numbers. And it kind of speaks to diversifying tactics. So that to me goes right to marketing. Oftentimes, we'll get CEOs or CFOs, probably more likely. Just find that one thing that works really well and put all your budget into the one thing, and you're like, it is never one thing. Never, never, never is it one thing. It's all of the things at the same time executed perfectly well.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Jen Grant, Chief Marketing Officer at Dialpad

[02:10] Why Settlers of Catan

[03:08] The Role of CMO at Dialpad

[04:52] Dialpad's Evolution

[09:19] Dialpad's Super Bowl Ad

[10:40] Origins of Settlers of Catan

[16:23] B2B Marketing Lessons from Settlers of Catan

[49:47] How Jen is Investing in Brand and Content

[56:25] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Jen on LinkedIn

Learn more about Dialpad

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we’re taking lessons from 90s indie rock with special guest Scott Rayburn, CMO of DataArt. 

Together, we talk about how brands can market with meaning, stay relevant in the digital age, and create content that hits like your favorite song.

About our guest, Scott Rayburn

Scott Rayburn is the Chief Marketing Officer at DataArt. He’s experienced in leading cross-functional, high-performing content, GTM/sales, comms, operations, and creative teams, and skilled in content strategy, sales enablement, demand generation, SEO, product marketing, website strategy, branding, partner marketing, and providing creative direction.

Scott has been with DataArt since 2023. Prior to his current role, he served as Director of GTM & Content at global technology services company Wizeline. He has also led product marketing at companies like The Risk Management Association and Proscia.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From 90s Indie Rock:

• Lead with authenticity.
Great marketing doesn’t have to be glossy, it just has to be real. The best indie rock bands of the '90s didn’t rely on flashy production or major label backing to build loyal followings. They embraced raw sound, DIY, and intimate venues, and that resonated deeply with fans. Scott draws a parallel to modern marketing: “People can see through BS… you actually generally will get better results from the kind of authentic stuff.”
• Think in lifetimes, not just campaigns.
The strongest brands create lasting emotional connections, much like your favorite bands. “These bands that started in the eighties are still filling up 5,000-person theaters today,” Scott explains. Why? Because their fans feel a deep, emotional connection. For marketers, this means nurturing your audience beyond the funnel. Build a brand people want to grow old with, not just click on once.
• Stay active on every channel.
Indie rock bands don’t just put out an album and disappear. Scott says, “Even if they're not making new songs, they need these channels to stay relevant, to sell tickets, to sell merch. It's all kinds of tied to marketing. And this is a tie between the authenticity and customer lifetime value. It's really activating that in a digital age.” Marketers need to do the same. A strong multi-channel strategy ensures your message reaches people where they are, whether that’s a blog, a webinar, an event, or a TikTok feed. Being present across platforms consistently helps brands stay top of mind, accessible, and adaptable to change.

Quotes

*“ This authenticity that we were talking about with these bands, people can see through BS. Whether it's like an Instagram reel or a LinkedIn ad, or an email campaign. It can still work. Your marketing can still work if it's completely polished. But I think, and I see from some results that come from a company work that DataArt is doing. You actually generally will get better results from the kind of authentic stuff. And this is kind of where you see brand maybe driving more revenue than demand generation, but who can actually count the dollars from brand? Well, not me, but maybe someone can let me know. So those conversations are happening.”

*“ These bands that started in the eighties are still filling up 5,000-person theaters today… There's this multi-channel approach, which is a huge part of marketing and content marketing. You notice they're all on Spotify. They all have websites, they all have social media. Even if they're not making new songs, they need these channels to stay relevant, to sell tickets, to sell merch, e-commerce. It's all kind of tied to marketing. And this is a tie between the authenticity and customer lifetime value. It's really activating that in a digital age.

*“ The number one thing I've noticed in content marketing is the huge need to transition from the faceless 1000-word blog post to something that's more interactive. The quote with somebody's face on your social media post is gonna perform five times better than the faceless five AI trends.”

*“ You can't do everything yourself. Build a good team around you. Be T-shaped 'cause you're not gonna be a marketing leader if you're not T-shaped…And try to create some way that you can stay focused on your strengths, and then lean on others who have strengths of their own. Have this kind of holistically built type of leadership team.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Scott Rayburn, CMO at DataArt

[02:02] Why 90s Indie Rock?

[03:53] What is Record Store Day?

[04:55] The Role of CMO at Data Art

[06:38] Origins of 90s Indie Rock

[10:50] The Indie Rock Movement and Its Impact

[20:30] Building Community Through Music

[31:11] B2B Marketing Takeaways from 90s Indie Rock

[38:39] How You Can Be More Authentic in Your Marketing

[46:55] Advice for marketing leaders

[47:29] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Scott on LinkedIn

Learn more about DataArt

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we’re diving into the world of Martha and the power of documentaries with our special guest, Amy Holtzman, Chief Marketing Officer at CHEQ. Together, we’re exploring what B2B marketers can learn from bringing documentary-style storytelling into their marketing and the legacy Martha Stewart built. We’re talking about how to build an authentic brand, own your unique style, and stay top of mind for decades.

Because let’s be real: who wouldn’t want their brand to have Martha Stewart-level resilience?

About our guest, Amy Holtzman

Amy Holtzman is Chief Marketing Officer at CHEQ. Amy brings 20 years of marketing experience to CHEQ, including tenure as CMO and head of marketing at Spring Health, AlphaSense, and Splash. She is also a founding member of Chief, a private network that connects and supports female leaders, and co-founder of NYC-based Women in Revenue Marketing.  

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Martha:

• Resilience builds a legacy.
Martha Stewart’s documentary doesn’t shy away from the tough moments, and that’s part of what makes her story so powerful. In business, as in life, setbacks are inevitable. Amy Holtzman puts it simply: “You gotta show up the next day… roll with the punches and figure out how you get through it.” Resilience and conviction aren’t just admirable traits,  they’re essential for building a brand that lasts for decades.
• Own your style.
Martha’s perfectionism is part of her brand. She’s unapologetically herself, and it’s helped her stand out for decades. Amy encourages marketers to take a page from that approach. She explains, “ Martha's an unapologetic perfectionist… Martha owns it, and it's what made her successful. And I think you have to not necessarily own Martha's style, but you have to own your own style.” In B2B marketing, embracing your quirks and leaning into what makes you different is more powerful than playing it safe.
• Build trust through authenticity.
Martha’s documentary reminds us that connection comes from honesty. Her brand works because it’s consistent and deeply personal. Amy says the same holds true in marketing, “As humans, we crave connection…I  think people shy away from it and B2B a lot of times because they're worried… I think that's what we want. And we can also kind of sniff bulls*** a mile away.” Don’t hide behind jargon or trends. The more human your brand feels, the more trust you’ll build.

Quotes

*“  You're gonna get knocked down…But you gotta show up the next day. You have to kind of do it all in stride. If you wanna make it right and make a name for yourself and for your business, you have to just like roll with the punches and figure out how you get through it.”

*“ You gotta own what makes you special and unique, right? Martha's an unapologetic perfectionist. She insists on things being her way. A lot of times like women can get negative feedback about that and Martha owns it, and it's what made her successful. And I think you have to not necessarily own Martha's style, but you have to own your own style. It's hard to change. You can adapt in certain situations, but you're not gonna change who you are. And I do think you've gotta own it. You gotta own your own unique style. And sometimes that's not what everybody loves, but it's also what makes you and also your brand special and unique.”

*“ I feel like as humans we crave connection and look for commonalities, right? And I think people shy away from it, and B2B a lot of times, because they're worried. What if somebody doesn't like that thing or doesn't have the same values that I have? We need to think about what those things are that we share, but also, there's room to be ourselves and be authentic, like Martha, a bit more too. Because, as humans, I think that's what we want, right? And we can also kind of sniff bullsh** a mile away, right? When somebody's not who they say they are. So I think there's room for a bit more.”

*“ I know we're probably all sick of like everything AI, but I actually think it's incredibly important to stay really up to speed and think about it beyond productivity.”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Amy Holtzman, Chief Marketing Officer at CHEQ

[02:07] Why Martha, the Martha Stewart Documentary

[02:40] The Role of CMO at CHEQ

[05:09] Breaking Down Martha

[14:22] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Martha

[19:57] The Importance of Authentic Storytelling

[25:27] Why You Should Be Documenting Brand Moments

[32:36] CHEQ's Marketing Strategy

[36:14] The Power in Reinventing and Not Replicating

[42:22] The Future of AI in Marketing

Links

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn

Learn more about CHEQ

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s the magic of Taskmaster, a competition show where thinking sideways often beats playing it straight. And in this episode, we’re taking a page from its playbook with the help of our special guest, Vanessa Hope Schneider, Head of Brand at Descript.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from chaos, creativity, and knowing when to follow the rules (and when to completely ignore them).

About our guest, Vanessa Hope Schneider

Vanessa Hope Schneider is Head of Brand at Descript. There, she leads brand, content, product marketing and community. Her focus is growing the community of creators and communicators using Descript to make videos and podcasts. She’s working to drive engagement and success through feature announcements and community education, and is developing campaigns that illustrate Descript’s perspective on creative work, and the role AI should have in it.

Vanessa has previously served as Director of Host Community at Airbnb, Head of Marketing at Clara Labs, and VP of Marketing at One Medical.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Taskmaster:

• Think laterally. Lateral thinking is about solving problems creatively rather than relying on the most direct or traditional approach. Vanessa encourages marketers to lean into that mindset: “Sometimes your goal is most efficiently achieved by just doing the best practice... but other times you need to break out in your approach.” In B2B marketing, that might mean reimagining how you run events, pitch your product, or tell a story. It’s not about copying what others are doing, but finding the unexpected angle. Like in Taskmaster, the real wins often come from knowing when to be efficient and direct, and when to be bold, playful, or completely off-script.
• Know when you're the picture and when you're the frame. Sometimes your brand should be the star of the show. Other times, you should be supporting someone else’s spotlight moment. Vanessa explains, “It doesn’t always have to be your brand. It shouldn't always be your brand. Sometimes it's the voices of your customers. It's their success stories.” In the same way, Taskmaster contestants might earn points by hyping up the host, marketers should recognize when to uplift others for the bigger win.
• Develop your signature style. In Taskmaster, contestants approach identical tasks in wildly different ways, and that's the fun of it. Over time, you start to recognize their unique flair. The same is true for brands. Vanessa says, “It is valuable and compelling to find your style and stick to it, and then approach each new challenge from that perspective.” A strong, consistent style becomes part of your brand identity and how your audience remembers you.

Quotes

*“ One of the keys to success on Taskmaster and when making content is committing to the bit. If you're self-conscious, if you're mugging for the camera, if you're trying to do too many things at once, if you're distracted, the audience isn't gonna go there with you. Your readership isn't gonna go there with you, your customers aren't gonna go there with you. You have to summon the will, the courage, the focus to go all in, and that's when exciting things are gonna happen. And you might be able to find different types of creativity because you're blocking all that other distraction out.”

*” B2B marketers should enjoy lateral thinking. So, sometimes your goal is most efficiently achieved by just doing the best practice, doing it well, and task faster. That would be reading the task and just doing what the task tells you to do. But other times, you need to break out in your approach. You need to be more iconoclastic or more unexpected. You're not gonna win Taskmaster or marketing if you're only doing one or the other. You have to know when to be literal and direct and when to think in new directions. Sometimes you're gonna get the most points if you just speed run the task, but other times you're gonna get points for creativity.”

*“ There are instances when you are, as a contestant on Taskmaster, absolutely the star of the show, and you wanna be boisterous and you wanna be attention-grabbing. And of course, we as marketers all can think of instances where we wanna do that with our brand, but in other instances. You kind of wanna be a supporting character. So in Taskmaster, sometimes the best thing to do is make it about Greg because he's a taskmaster and he is very ego-driven…And so the analog for marketers would be. Who are you uplifting in your work? It doesn't always have to be your brand. It shouldn't always be your brand. Sometimes it's the voices of your customers. It's their success stories, so find opportunities to do both.”

*“ Your style is your brand…It is valuable and compelling to find your style and stick to it, and then approach each new challenge from that perspective.”

*“ The challenge of making content about content is knowing when should I be specific and speak directly to those priority audiences and their priority use cases? And when should I pop up a level and speak in a more generalized way about capabilities and benefits, and trust that the audience will know how that applies to the specific thing they're trying to make?”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Vanessa Hope Schneider, Head of Brand at Descript

[03:38] Why Taskmaster?

[04:47] The Role of Head of Brand at Descript

[07:09] Empowering Creatives With Descript's Tools

[08:15] Descript's Company-Wide Film Fests

[09:21] The Origins of Taskmaster

[16:43] Understanding Taskmaster's Production Value

[21:37] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Taskmaster

[32:31] Importance of Investing in Content

[41:31] Importance of Video in Modern Marketing

[48:27] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Vanessa on LinkedIn

Learn more about Descript

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

And it’s the ‘why’ that is the most important. 

In this episode, we’re taking this lesson and more from Simon Sinek with the help of our special guest, Guru Sundar.

Together, we talk about finding your ‘why’, looking for inspiration in unexpected places, and timing your content so it feels fresh. 

About our guest, Guru Sundar

Guru Sundar is VP of Marketing at Abridge, a leader in generative AI for healthcare. Guru has been with the company since September 2023. He previously served as VP of Marketing at Looking Glass Factory and Butterfly Network. Guru holds a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University and an MSc in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Simon Sinek:

• Find your ‘why’. Figure out the reason your work is important and use that in your content. Guru says, ”Every company should have a ‘why’ that's rooted in a large problem. And it may be broken into a subset of problems that you tackle over time, but like really focus on that ‘why.’”
• Look for inspiration in unusual places. Inspiration for your content can come from unexpected places. Guru says, ”Drawing inspiration from outside is culturally ingrained in how we do what we do at Abridge, because if you look at who's next to you, you're not going to innovate. But if you look way far out and break down like, ‘Oh, that brand or that person is having similar challenges, but they're making t-shirts, but I can draw some inspiration from them,’ or like ‘That person over there is making music, or they're making some form of art that no one's ever seen before.’”
• Time your delivery so content stays fresh. Finesse is everything when delivering content to your audience. Guru says, ”No one likes fatigue. And so you have to keep fatigue, freshness, innovation in mind as you're generating these pieces of content. You could have like four or five different content streams. And people need to hear things multiple times, but they don't need to hear it seven times in a row. A lot of the content is developing the right things for your audience that are innately interesting. If you just ask someone, ‘Hey, is this interesting? Is this useful?’ They say yes. But then serving it at the right frequency, at the right time, in the right form factor and package, is what I think differentiates okay marketers from incredible marketers.”

Quotes

*”Drawing inspiration from outside is culturally ingrained in how we do what we do at Abridge, because if you look at who's next to you, you're not going to innovate. But if you look way far out and break down like, ‘Oh, that brand or that person is having similar challenges, but they're making t-shirts, but I can draw some inspiration from them,’ or like ‘That person over there is making music, or they're making some form of art that no one's ever seen before.’”

*”Every company should have a ‘why’ that's rooted in a large problem. And it may be broken into a subset of problems that you tackle over time, but like really focus on that ‘why.’”

*”You can break marketing down into two mainstreams. It's like  amazing content that resonates with your audience, you know, your buyer, your end user, and then you have to serve it on all the right channels with the right frequency, usage, et cetera, like cut it up the right way. But content is everything. So it's like, what is it that's going to inspire your buyers? What is it that's going to inspire your end users? And it's keeping it provocative.”

*”No one likes fatigue. And so you have to keep fatigue, freshness, innovation in mind as you're generating these pieces of content. You could have like four or five different content streams. And people need to hear things multiple times, but they don't need to hear it seven times in a row. A lot of the content is developing the right things for your audience that are innately interesting. If you just ask someone, ‘Hey, is this interesting? Is this useful?’ They say yes. But then serving it at the right frequency, at the right time, in the right form factor and package, is what I think differentiates okay marketers from incredible marketers.”

*”If I was to give advice to others, like, really understand your personas, and make sure you know what they need and do it in the most authentic way. If you don't believe in the content, don't serve the content.  And I think a lot of people in marketing just check the box. ‘We need to do emails. We need to do ads. We need to do a white paper,’ but like, why are you doing it? And then assess like, ‘Did this work? Did this not work?’ And use that as impetus to drive the next thing. But you have to really believe in your content. And I think a lot of people are very tactical and that's where I think it falls flat.“

*”The way we operate at Abridge is like you almost have this mentality that this is the last time you're ever gonna create a piece of content. So make it last, make it meaningful.  At some point, you gotta pull back and appreciate everything you've done. Take stock of it. But in the moment, like, don't look back. Don't look too far forward. Focus on today and crush it. And when you think about content that way, it's like, ‘I'm going to really focus on this piece of content. I don't really care what we've done in the past. I don't care what we're going to do in the future. I want to make this count.’”

Time Stamps

[0:55] Meet Guru Sundar, VP of Marketing at Abridge

[1:53] Guru Sundar's Journey into Marketing

[4:31] The Role and Vision at Abridge

[7:35] The Importance of Brand and Inspiration

[16:37] Simon Sinek's Golden Circle

[19:29] Personal Mission and Healthcare Innovation

[23:25] The Impact of Transparency in Healthcare

[25:20] AI and Deeper Understanding in Healthcare

[25:46] The Importance of Patient History

[27:53] Marketing and Storytelling in Healthcare

[31:41] Challenges in B2B Healthcare Marketing

[33:09] Clinician and Patient-Centric Solutions

[43:12] The Role of Content in Marketing

[50:34] Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Links

Connect with Guru on LinkedIn

Learn more about Simon Sinek and “Starting with Why”

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith Gooderham, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

So we thought we’d bring in the founders of a brand new tool for making rich, interactive 3D content using AI.

We’re talking with Co-Founders Charles Migos and Bharat Vasan.

And together, we talk about how to make the most out of AI tools, including mocking up ideas, iterating quickly and taking risks.

About our guests, Charles Migos and Bharat Vasan

Charles Migos is Co-Founder & CEO at Intangible. He has over 30 years of experience in the tech industry, specializing in UX and product design. He has previously worked for Microsoft and Apple. Prior to Intangible, Charles served as VP of Product Design at Unity Technologies, where he established a core design practice, principles and philosophy. He also founded a centralized design organization and drove double-digit NPS, CSAT, engagement KPIs and revenue improvement across their portfolio with product design efforts.

Bharat Vasan is an experienced investor, executive and board member with 15+ years of leadership in technology. He has a strong track record as a founder and operator in multiple sectors:

• Connected Sensors & Devices

• Consumer Software and Media

• Healthcare, Fitness & Wellness

• IoT Sensors / Smart Home

Bharat is currently a founder of Intangible.ai, which uses AI to build the world's simplest 3D storytelling tool for creators in games, film, web and XR.

Prior to Intangible, Bharat was an investment partner at The Production Board, a $450M venture capital fund, where he built on his experience as an angel investor with a deep network of founders. He helped invest in and create value at businesses ranging from foundry/seed, all the way to growth/IPO. As COO for fund, he also helped the firm fundraise and navigate market cycles in 3 of the most volatile years in venture capital.

Bharat also has a strong track record as a P&L operator for growth and early-stage companies, having led his businesses through multiple rounds of financing and acquisitions. Bharat has raised over $500m for his companies, with multiple exits (founded BASIS Science, acq. by Intel; President August Home, acq. by Assa Abloy; CEO of PAX Labs, achieved unicorn status).

Bharat is an active public speaker and Board member for venture-backed startups, and nonprofits.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From Intangible.ai:

• Mock up ideas. You can make effective prototypes of a content idea with AI. It lets you get your idea across without having to invest a lot of time or money in a first draft. Charles says, “A storyboard is probably the most important artifact in the process after the script itself. Why? Because it is very low fidelity, but there is very high bandwidth in what it communicates. So like, I as the cinematographer, the director, the set designer, the costume designer, the visual effects supervisor, whomever, looks at A 2D sketch and understands exactly what it means for them creatively. So that idea that you can work from very low or coarse levels of detail, but get to very high levels of detail over time in the way that the process requires is super important. And is as enabling for those film creators or game creators as it will be for these other use cases we hope to activate around live event and architecture, urban design, live event productions and theater and all of that good stuff.”
• Iterate quickly. Something not quite right with the first version? Iterate quickly using AI. It can even give you multiple drafts or versions of the same idea. Bharat says, ” If you're trying to do a Pixar movie or a documentary, or you're trying to make an interactive game, that's the stuff that feels harder. And it feels like AI can simplify some of that. I can give you a first draft, I can give you a second draft, and I can do it in real time.” 
• Take risks. Because you’re not having to spend too much time or money mocking up your ideas with AI, it allows you to take some risks. Get really wild and see how far your ideas can take you. Bharat says, ”One thing that's happened to businesses because budgets have gotten so big, everyone's super risk averse, so you get more lookalike content. And one reason you don't see great content on channels like we used to, or the box offices, because, you know, when your budget is that large, you can't afford to take a lot of creative risks.  So one reason we started the company where we are is if we can make that beginning process easy, if it's easier for Netflix to review more pitches, if it's easier for them to get a better scent, maybe they start taking more diverse bets.”

Quotes

*” When we found ourselves in this moment around generative AI, I knew that the time had come. Like we could apply generative AI in a way that was designed for creatives to do their best work ever. And I'm an ardent believer that creativity is a team sport.” - Charles Migos

*” There's a lot of anxiety about, is AI gonna take over jobs? What is it gonna do to the creative industry? I see it slightly differently. I see it as a way to revert back to the original joy.” - Bharat Vasan

*” Those people who feel somewhat threatened by the technological advance, we want to re-weaponize them so that they have more tools and skills that they can employ in different ways to ensure that bright, creative minds are in charge of the content that we enjoy as lovers of the space and consumers of that content.” - Charles Migos

*” If you're trying to do a Pixar movie or a documentary, or you're trying to make an interactive game, that's the stuff that feels harder. And it feels like AI can simplify some of that. I can give you a first draft, I can give you a second draft, and I can do it in real time. But the agency that people feel when they're able to do that in real time is really, really powerful. And they share that with other people, other people give them feedback. At least when I build stuff, that gives me energy. I made something as a kid, you know, with my little Lego bricks. I shared it with my friends. They go, ‘That's really cool.’ They want to build it with me. That's the fun part about being in this business.” - Bharat Vasan

*”Now that AI has come along, we feel like that's the last unconquered thing. You can set up a 3D set, you can figure out how to film it before you spend a dollar on production. And then people know what it looks like, feels like, when you're pitching that to a client, to a movie studio, they get a sense of what that's like as well. And so everyone gets more confidence on the creative project before going into production. And one of the things that's broken about the business is everyone has to place that bet in millions and millions of dollars without knowing what's going to come out of it at the end of the day. And often it might not even be a storyboard, it might just be a script or a blurb. And then you're just hoping and praying that someone's going to do something good with it.” - Bharat Vasan

*”A storyboard is probably the most important artifact in the process after the script itself. Why? Because it is very low fidelity, but there is very high bandwidth in what it communicates. So like, I as the cinematographer, the director, the set designer, the costume designer, the visual effects supervisor, whomever, looks at A 2D sketch and understands exactly what it means for them creatively. So that idea that you can work from very low or coarse levels of detail, but get to very high levels of detail over time in the way that the process requires is super important. And is as enabling for those film creators or game creators as it will be for these other use cases we hope to activate around live event and architecture, urban design, live event productions and theater and all of that good stuff.” - Charles Migos

*”One thing that's happened to businesses because budgets have gotten so big, everyone's super risk averse, so you get more lookalike content. And one reason you don't see great content on channels like we used to, or the box offices, because, you know, when your budget is that large, you can't afford to take a lot of creative risks.  So one reason we started the company where we are is if we can make that beginning process easy, if it's easier for Netflix to review more pitches, if it's easier for them to get a better scent, maybe they start taking more diverse bets.” - Bharat Vasan

Time Stamps

[00:55] Meet Intangible.ai Co-founders Charles Migos and Bharat Vasan

[01:34] Charles' Early Inspirations

[03:26] Bharat’s Journey and Inspirations

[04:26] Founding Intangible AI

[04:30] The Vision Behind Intangible AI

[05:59] Challenges in the Creative Industry

[09:38] The Role of AI in Creativity

[20:42] User Experience and Design Thinking

[26:01] The Complexity and Fear of AI in Creativity

[27:53] Supporting Creative Intent with AI

[29:06] Generative AI and the Future of Content Creation

[30:33] Revolutionizing B2B Marketing with AI

[36:07] The Role of Taste in Creative AI Tools

[42:14] Simplifying the Creative Process

[46:44] Empowering Original Ideas and Risk-Taking

[51:19] Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks

Links

Connect with Bharat and Charles on LinkedIn

Learn more about Intangible.ai

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith Gooderham, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.