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Interesting people, insightful points of view and incredible stories on what’s popping and not popping in marketing, tech, and culture you can use to win immediately. Brands, Beats and Bytes boldly stands at the intersection of brand, tech and culture. DC and Larry are fascinated with stories and people behind some of the best marketing in the business. No matter how dope your product, if your marketing sucks your company may suck too. #dontsuck
DC: [00:00:00] Brand Nerds. Brand Nerds. Brand Nerds. What's happening? We are back at you Brands, Beats and Bytes podcast.
Larry, we've done so many of these now just it seemed like we just started, but it's been like a long time now. A long, long time.
LT: You know, but it's, I think part of that's 'cause we just have so much fun with it, D, right? Oh yeah. We just love doing it.
DC: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely brother. Brand Nerds, you all know I like things in three, so I'm give you three on this one.
Our next guest. Number one, our mission. The reason why Larry, Jeff and I launched Brands Beats and Bytes is we said we want to build better marketers so that they can build better marketing. This was our way to give back. We also wanted to help people who were in [00:01:00] their careers that they're not necessarily CMOs yet, maybe not even interested in being a cmo, but just wanna up their game.
But they wanna compress the timeline between where they are now and wherever they want to get to. And we wanted Larry, Brands Beats and Bytes, to serve as a resource and tool for them to compress the timeline. That's number one. Number two, I don't remember where I was reading this, uh, Larry and Brand Nerds, but it was about human resources.
Like how do you find people and folks will talk about interviewing process and hiring firms and recruiters. The real way you find good people is through other good people.
LT: Yep.
DC: And our good friend. Ed, I call him Brother Ed. You'll, you'll talk more about this, uh, later, Larry helped us find this next guest.
Good people know good people. And [00:02:00] finally, brand nerds. Y'all know I'm from Detroit. The d What up though? I'm from Detroit. And when you're from Detroit, you grow up with a love of automobiles, scars. Scars. And Larry, this next guest knows a thing or two about the automobiles, and I cannot wait to hear more about this.
Lt, can you tell the peoples who we have in the building today?
LT: I'm thrilled to do it, DC. We have Kristen Fischback in the building today. Welcome, welcome, Kristen.
Kristen Fischbeck: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
LT: Well, we're thrilled to have you, Kristen, and, and DC as usual, did a fantastic job. And, uh, given a little preface for having you on the show today.
So Brand Nerds, before we get into Kristen's great background, hopefully this does not embarrass her, but I'm still [00:03:00] gonna go there. D, as you mentioned, our great friend Ed Collins, I'm, yes, I'm going there. Our great friend Ed Collins called me one day and said, I know someone you absolutely, positively, have to have on your podcast.
She's a young person who has managed to advance herself very quickly, and she's a rockstar. You've gotta have her on. So with that recommendation from our guy Ed, from Brother Ed, as, uh, as DC and I both call him, we have made this happen. So let's get into Kristen's background. Kristen went to Cal State Fullerton and in 2018 she earns her degree in communications.
She's now. Currently in 2026, the Managing Partner of Feltman Agency, a boutique automotive advertising firm, that's what DC was alluding to, based in Irvine, California. Her meteoric rise to become managing partner is truly super cool after she gradu after graduation. After graduation. Her first job is at the Feltman Agency where she, [00:04:00] like every new hire starts as an account coordinator in seven years, she quickly advances through every, every level of the organization, account executive, senior account executive director of accounts, then vice president. Before stepping into our current leadership role as Managing Partner. As Managing Partner, Kristen leads marketing strategy for a portfolio of automotive dealerships representing brands such as BMW, rolls Royce, motorcar, land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Toyota, just to name a few.
Kristen and the team at Feltman focus on helping dealerships grow through data-driven digital marketing, brand strategy, curated events and experiential campaigns designed to elevate the automotive customer experience. Kristen is also a frequent guest speaker on marketing, entrepreneurship, and leadership, sharing her insights with students at Chapman University, and her alma mater, Cal State Fullerton. Outside of work, Kristen enjoys spending time with her [00:05:00] husband, Jake, and their golden retriever puppy, Remy, who's all of 90 pounds, by the way. Welcome to Brands, Beats, and Bytes, Kristen Fischback.
Kristen Fischbeck: Wow. Thank you guys for having me. That makes me sound way more impressive than I actually am, but thank you.
LT: You did it, Kristen.
DC: All you.
LT: Yep.
DC: All you. Larry does a great job of that with Ether each of our guests. Alright, Kristen.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: Our next section is Get Comfy where we ask a question of our guest to get 'em sort of in the flow before we get into our next segment.
Kristen Fischbeck: Awesome.
DC: All right. As I listen to Larry go through your experience, so here you are, you're coming out of undergrad.
You go to a firm and you stay there.
Kristen Fischbeck: Yes.
DC: Now, now, Kristen, for folks in your generation
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: This is not common, right? In your generation, many [00:06:00] will come outta school, go into whatever firm that they're interested in. If, if not being entrepreneurs, many, many become entrepreneurs, they'll stay there. I dunno.
Couple years maybe. Then they bounce, they go somewhere else, get a. Title, elevation, salary, elevation, another two years. Then they bounce. Mm-hmm. And they, and they play this game. And by the way, I'm not defaming the game. Like, uh, you can't, not at all. You can't hate to play. I hate the game. All right. So, so Im, I'm, I'm, I'm not hating it all.
You stay mm-hmm. And you move up and up and up and up and up. Mm-hmm. And where you are now managing a partner, when you started as a newbie, right. So for the brand, you heard me talk about our mission upfront for the Brand Nerds out there listening who are earlier in their career mm-hmm. Help them understand from your perspective, [00:07:00] this is the way you might make moves.
Kristen Fischbeck: Right.
DC: To elevate within a company, the same company, rather than bouncing around. And what do you, what do you, what should you not do if you are looking to make that move?
Kristen Fischbeck: Yeah, great question. DC So originally I did kind of think along the lines of, okay, this is a smaller agency. Maybe I think I wanna be at a big agency, but I'm gonna use my opportunity at this smaller agency to get some experience in the industry.
And then I'll stay there just as you said, one or two years, get some experience and try to pivot to a larger agency. Mm-hmm. Because I thought, you know, bigger agency, more opportunity, bigger budgets, especially in automotive. Mm-hmm. We know, um, the national brands, Toyota, um, Honda, all of those companies spend a ton on national advertising.
DC: Mm-hmm.
Kristen Fischbeck: That was kind of my thought. But I did get my foot in the door at this small agency, and probably after six months to a year, I realized that there [00:08:00] would be good opportunity for me to move up those rungs on the ladder because it's a smaller ladder, obviously being with a small agency
DC: mm-hmm.
Kristen Fischbeck: Than a big company that has a lot of red tape.
Probably a lot of internal promotions where it would be harder for me to make those steps. Mm-hmm. And probably take longer at each step up the ladder. Um, so that was kind of my thought process, um mm-hmm. But as I said, as I recognized that there would be great opportunity within this agency. I started to take a look at the people ahead of me that were in the positions that I wanted, and I would almost mimic their behavior.
So I would start learning the stuff that they were doing in their day-to-day. I would listen how they talk to clients and engage with clients on the phone. I would pick up the skills that they knew how to do, such as like maybe it was product like production editing or video editing or stuff like that.
Even though it wasn't required of me in my current role, I was picking up extra stuff along the way when I had time. I would even do some of it outside, like [00:09:00] typical office hours so that I could, could become, um, skilled in the ways that those people were in the positions that they had, the roles that I wanted.
Um, so that's kind of what I. Structured my time with when I was at that account coordinator role, as I said, okay, I know next I want to be an account executive, so let me act as an account executive now and learn how to do everything that they're doing so that it's a very easy transition when that day comes.
LT: Ooh, D This is deep.
DC: Go ahead, Larry. I know you got some thoughts, brother.
LT: No, you go. First,
DC: Kristen, um, sometime ago I developed a list of 10 things
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: That I looked towards in guiding my career.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: And it took me a while to figure out these 10 things. Sure. I've lived by those since that time. I'm gonna give you a couple of them on [00:10:00] the list because they correlate to what you said.
One of the things on this list is. Think in steps of two act in steps of one, think two, act one.
LT: Mm-hmm.
DC: What that, what that means, Kristen and Brand Nerds. What that meant for me was I never took an opportunity that was one step out unless I understood how that would set up the next step. It didn't mean that it always went the way that I thought.
Kristen Fischbeck: Sure. But
DC: I was not going to take the first step if I couldn't figure out the next one after that. After that, before taking the first step. I didn't care, Kristen, how much money was on the table power. None of that mattered to me. I had to string these things along and that to me, became operating my career.
Like chess. Mm-hmm. Not like checkers. The second, another thing on this list of 10 was. Do the job you [00:11:00] want before you get the job. Yes, exactly. This is exactly what you said. Mm-hmm. Before you get the job to make it easy for others to uh, to see oh yeah, they can do that job. Kristen can do that job. That dude can do that job.
'cause they're already doing a job. And then the third of on, on this list of 10, um, is, um, become a subject matter expert in SME. Mm-hmm. To pull towards me the opportunities I want so I don't have to go chase them.
Kristen Fischbeck: Right.
DC: And, uh, I did some of the same things that you have done and are doing, and I've never heard anyone articulate it until now.
Right now.
Kristen Fischbeck: Right. I think it's almost, um, kind of a subconscious thing that I was doing at the beginning. Mm-hmm. And then when I saw payoff for the first time, I really leaned into it and I told my friends who were also at other entry level [00:12:00] positions at the time. Mm-hmm. I go, this is what I'm doing. We'll see if it works.
If you want to try it too at your company that's obviously structured different or maybe even a completely different industry, let's kind of compare notes and see how it works for us. So then I kind of really started like being intentional, very intentional about it. After the first time I saw it kind of pay off.
LT: This is so good. D, I got a follow up. Que, I'm so glad you, you threw, uh, you posited the ones that you've lived by, which I've watched you do for many years. Uh, so Kristen, you just mentioned something in that story that you started to share it with friends. So I have two part question. One is, um, when did it become conscious to you?
So you, you said it was sort of unconscious, you sort of, and was there, was there a light bulb moment where Oh, that it became conscious to you? That's part one. Mm-hmm. And then part two, uh, as you've shared it with your friends, what's some of the feedback? Is it working for them?
Hmm.
Kristen Fischbeck: So the first part, a light bulb moment was actually, so I had been with the agency for one year [00:13:00] before, uh, the pandemic started.
And so during the pandemic, um, the agency had to furlough some of our staff members and it really gave me the opportunity to step up to the plate because I was entry level and I had maybe a lower salary than other people at the agency had I did not get furloughed right. But at that time, that's when I really got to prove my worth and prove all of the skills that I had picked up, um, as an account coordinator, mimicking account executives, I got to put those to use during the pandemic, and then that's right when I got promoted to account executive. So that was kind of the light bulb moment where I thought, okay, this thing that I was doing paid off, it worked.
LT: Mm-hmm. And that's when you real, I'm sorry to interrupt. That's when you realized you were, you didn't even realize before that you were sort of doing that unconsciously and it became conscious. That's amazing. Very cool.
Kristen Fischbeck: That's exactly when that, um, turned because not only did it help me keep my job and not get furloughed, but then I got the promotion that I was looking for.
LT: Right. Right.
Kristen Fischbeck: So that was the light bulb moment where that became conscious for me. Right. And then, yes, my friends also, um, shared that [00:14:00] it worked in their industries at their companies as well. Um, I think some of the friends that were with larger companies, um, our company's boutique, so we had about 10 full-time employees at the time.
Right. Um, larger companies that seemed a little harder for them to make those, um, moves up the rungs of the ladder as I discussed before, because I think, um, there's kind of more people in line for those promotions above them. Uh, but the friends that are all similar sized companies, it did, they did share that. It worked for them as well.
LT: Love this.
Kristen Fischbeck: Yeah.
LT: That's great stuff. That's that's really great stuff. D, anything to add?
DC: I don't have anything to add that, that's dope.
LT: What a great way to start. Oh, Kristen, you started amazing. Oh, good. I'm glad. D you wanna, should we go to the five questions?
DC: Let's do it. Five questions, Kristen.
So Larry and I go back and forth until we arrive at five. I am up first. Take yourself back.
Kristen Fischbeck: Okay.
DC: You had a [00:15:00] branding experience, engage with a brand, and Kristen, you just could not get enough of it. You, you, this was like your thing. This was your thing. You fell in love with this brand or brand experience.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: What was that for you? Like a first love.
Kristen Fischbeck: Yeah. So one brand that really stood out to me when I started paying attention to advertising was Audi. Um, I've always grew up loving cars. My dad likes cars. So Audi ads really started sticking out to me. Um, I remember watching a Super Bowl commercial they did in 2017, and it was titled Daughter.
Um, and this ad showed a father and with his young daughter on a go-kart track, and he's talking to the viewer and he's wondering if his daughter will grow up in a world where she's valued, um, at the same value as men.
DC: Mm-hmm.
Kristen Fischbeck: And at the end of the commercial, Audi made a statement about, um, their commitment to equal pay for equal work.
DC: Mm-hmm.
Kristen Fischbeck: [00:16:00] And I just thought it was powerful because. It was more branding. They weren't necessarily talking about the features and technology of their newest car or, you know, horsepowers or whatever like that. Mm-hmm. Uh, they were telling a story about opportunity and confidence and the reason it stuck with me, um, as someone who ended up building a career in the automotive industry, which is historically male dominated, um, it just reminded me that if you're confident and willing to put in the work, you belong in any room.
And then I followed Audi after that, just all the branding campaigns that they did. Um, they're really, um, I think powerful in the message that they send. And it's not always just those hard sell kind of car, um, ads that a lot of other, uh, manufacturers and OEMs do.
LT: Od I know you're loving this. I am as well. So brand nerd, one of the things. Hopefully you're discerning from Kristen is that she's a deep thinker [00:17:00] and here's somebody who's dealing with a lot of automotive brands. And by the way, these are some of the most blue chip and brands and, and, uh, they all have their own brand efficacy.
So she's talking about Audi, which Kristen, if I'm not mistaken, do you guys represent Audi right now?
Kristen Fischbeck: So funny. So we do not have any Audi clients right now, but one day. Yeah,
LT: yeah. Which is, which is, which is funny. But again, the point is that you're really, um, you know, taken by, um, by the brands, uh, in automotive and, and DC and I love talking to automotive brands.
As he said. He is somebody from Detroit. I'm from New York. I don't have the same, um, it's not in my DNA, but I do love me some car brands and, and I think that car in today, in 2026, if you don't. Have a brand, and again, we're not using that word. Some people use that synonymously with marketing. We do not.
Brand and marketing are [00:18:00] completely different things.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
LT: When you have a brand that people are emotionally connected to, that's what you're gonna have to hang your hat on. If you don't continue to build the brand, you, those brands that were once emotionally connecting are gone. They're literally gone need, I say the Pontiacs of the world.
Right. Right. And, and so what, what's really cool to me is that you pick, you, you pulled out that ad and I remember that ad and it was, it was, it was very emotional and it was very much targeted toward elevating what Audi is about as a brand. Right.
Kristen Fischbeck: Right.
LT: Mm-hmm.
Not a car as a brand. So I love how the way your mind thinks, and, and, and again, uh, we were joking branders before the show is getting ready.
We, we all have. We all have had or had dogs and we're, we're, and Kristen made a joke that we're, we're all of the same people. And now, EE even more ways brand. You're a brand, you're all of the same people. [00:19:00] Right? That's, you guys are people.
Kristen Fischbeck: Yep. Absolutely.
LT: D,, I know you have some thoughts.
DC: Yeah. Brand nerds.
You know this, uh, Kristen, you don't know this. I'm a girl dad.
Kristen Fischbeck: Uhhuh awesome.
DC: I have, I have three daughters. Three daughters, and that is the total of my children. Three. And because I grew up as a car lover, and I am still afflicted to this day, uh, all of my daughters have some element of that. All of them.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: You mentioned Audi when I lived in Irvine, because they, they, we lived in Irvine for a bit and then we moved to, uh, uh, Calabasas, uh, after Irvine. But when we were in Irvine, um, I bought. A, uh, an Audi S8. This is in 2007. This is going back, way back V 10 motor, um, Lambo [00:20:00] Gerardo motor.
Kristen Fischbeck: Right.
DC: And, um, I used to have my babies in this car.
Okay. It, and they loved this car. Mm-hmm. And, uh, when they think about cars to this day, and I've had others, uh, over my lifetime, there is no car that they think about that is a, that is a car brand that, uh, is too masculine for me. It, they have emotional connections to cars. Just like you had an emotional connection to that Audi ad.
This, this, this makes me, uh, giddy. Mm-hmm. The other thing, Brand Nerds. I just wanna go back to something you said, uh, Kristen and brand nerds, I want you to remember this. All of you brand nerds is that if you put in the work, you belong in any room. Yes. That's strong. Yeah. That's, that's strong.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.[00:21:00]
DC: Absolutely.
Larry, next question. Got anything else?
LT: Nope. Next question. Let's do it. So, Kristen, who has had or is having the most influence on your career?
Kristen Fischbeck: So I think the person who's had the most influence on my career is Craig Feltman. He's the founder and of Feltman agency, and now he's my partner. Um, he really taught me the automotive industry from the inside out.
Um, he's also been a mentor to me and pushed me beyond what I thought I was capable of. So that's a very, um, important person who's had an influence on my career. And most of what he taught me was the importance of like long-term relationships and reputation within our industry. Um, automotive retail is a relationship business.
And great agencies are not only built on successful campaigns, but they're built on trust. And because of those lessons, um, we've had some of our clients for over 20 years because they really trust us. It's a true [00:22:00] partnership. They know we're gonna do what we think is best for them, and they trust us to represent them on their behalf and everything like that.
Um, so he's really instilled that in me. And then also my parents have had a big impact on my career because they taught me strong work ethic. And going back to what DC echoed, I think my parents really taught me that, um, if you are willing to put in the work, every opportunity that you're looking for will follow.
So that's a strong lesson. Shout out to Walt and Dana, my parents. 'cause they're the best. Yeah.
LT: Oh, I love, I'm sorry, what was your mom's name?
Kristen Fischbeck: Walt and Dana.
LT: Oh, Walt and Dana. Love Walt and Dana. We, we love your daughter on our show. Walt and Dana.
Kristen Fischbeck: Thank you. They'll be watching.
LT: Awesome, awesome. Oh, so D,, I love the two prongs of this, right?
Like relationships and, you know, in this age of everybody staring at their [00:23:00] phones, right? Mm-hmm. And in the age of feeling disconnected, everyone wants to be seen and heard. And that's so critical. And if you don't establish those relationships and the, you can't have trust without a relationship, right?
And I, I, I dare I say I'm in, I mean, that's really. What Craig is saying, that we've gotta have trust in our agency. And we do that by having relationships. And I love, I love that. That's the, and then your parents, uh, Walt and Dana, you know, again, you gotta put the elbow grease in. There's no substitute for that.
Um, you know, Kristen's achieved a whole lot at a young age because she's worked her ass off. She's, and, and people need to understand, there's no substitute for that. You need to be the first one in the la the first one to work, the last one to leave. [00:24:00] Uh, even in, in this day and age of working at home, you know that you're, you're doing what you need to do to make sure that everybody understands that you're always prepared.
And that's really the key is to always be prepared. So I love those.
Kristen Fischbeck: Absolutely.
DC: All right. Uh, Brand Nerds. Hmm. Kristen said that Craig, pushed her beyond things that she thought she was capable of. And Kristen, when I look at business and I try to find something in it that maybe isn't so obvious to others,
Kristen Fischbeck: Hmm,
DC: I will look for things that are pure, not in business, to draw a correlation.
Kristen Fischbeck: Sure.
DC: I'm gonna do that now. So when I, when I'm, when I'm training in the gym, I'm very aware that [00:25:00] if I am, I don't know, let's say I'm training biceps. When I'm in pain training my biceps, I know that the muscle is tearing and that pain is eventually going to result in the muscle rebuilding itself, repairing and becoming stronger.
The body is pure. It's, it's not gonna be motivated by why, what I'm trying to trick it into doing, it's like you break down this muscle, the purity of the body says we're gonna repair it so that you can grow, but there is some discomfort in it.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: Your career has grown.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: At, at felt, uh, feltons.
Where did Craig push you, where you were uncomfortable?
LT: Great question.
Kristen Fischbeck: Great question. Um, I would say the first, um, avenue that I was [00:26:00] kind of pushed out of my comfort zone, um, was speaking, um, and actually leading client meetings and not just one-on-one client meetings or one-on two. These were like big client meetings at the beginning where I kind of realized, hey, this public speaking is a little bit uncomfortable.
DC: Mm-hmm.
Kristen Fischbeck: And I'm like, why is this uncomfortable for me? What can I do to make this not so uncomfortable? And I started, um, looking for other opportunities outside of work to your point where I could do some sort of public speaking because then, um, however much I learned and grew in that department outside of work, I knew it would translate into work.
LT: Mm-hmm.
Kristen Fischbeck: So I would sometimes lead, uh, meetings where I'm talking to like 15 people at a dealership about their marketing, about our plans for the month, stuff like that, which was very scary at the beginning. And it's gradually become more comfortable over time. Um, those other avenues where I started practicing outside of [00:27:00] work were the speakings I've done at like Cal State Fullerton's Comm Week that I've done every year.
DC: Mm-hmm.
Kristen Fischbeck: Since I graduated. Speaking with students and giving them advice has helped me work on my public speaking skills. Mm-hmm. And that kind of all came to a head. In September of 2024, um, as vice president of the agency, Craig had tasked me with, um, coming up with some growth ideas on how to get a couple more clients within the agency.
And one of my ideas was to speak at, um, a conference called the Dealer 20 Group. So that's an industry conference for about 20 to 40 general managers of the same OEM, the same brand. So all Lexus dealers is the one that we went to. Mm-hmm. Which was in Scottsdale. So rather than putting together kind of a sales pitch for this conference, I put together a presentation deck where I said, here are the top three things you should be doing for advertising at your car dealership.
I wanted it to be informative. I didn't [00:28:00] want it to come across, like I said, as sales pitch, uh, because I wanted them to be able to leave the conference that day with some skills. So. This, uh, public speaking opportunity was very nerve wracking because I was speaking to all general managers. So there was probably no one in the room under the age of 50, I would say.
And then I was the only woman in the room. Mm. It was very intimidating. Uh, but I knew that I had put the work in with my other public speaking opportunities to work my way up to something bigger like this. Mm-hmm. Um, so the, uh, presentation went excellent and then sure enough we ended up getting four new clients just from that one speaking engagement.
LT: Wow.
Kristen Fischbeck: So we got really good at return on our investment there. But yeah, it was definitely that public speaking and meetings that, uh, kind of pushed me out of my comfort zone at the beginning. And then I said, okay, this is something I do not want to be, um, having, you know, caused me stress and everything.
Why don't I work on this and get a little bit better at it?
LT: Wow. [00:29:00] Love that story. D, you have a follow up?
DC: I do not.
LT: I have a quick one before we go to the next, um, before we go to the next question. So Kristen
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
LT: Is public speaking now still one of those things where you go, uh, or do you now, now that you've got the reps, do you, um, feel maybe comfortable but still don't love it, or, or you pass the point where now you're like, man, I this is great.
Where are you in that? In, in, uh, in the scope of that?
Kristen Fischbeck: I think because I've put the reps in, I actually really enjoy the challenge that public SPR speaking brings now. Yep. Um, so of course you do still get those butterflies right before, but as long as you've prepared and you're confident in what you're speaking about, it actually becomes a very fun challenge, in my opinion. So I enjoy it.
LT: That's great. I love that.
Kristen Fischbeck: Yeah.
DC: Ready for me to hit the next question? Uh, Larry. All right. You've had many successes in your career, Kristen, this next [00:30:00] question. Has to do with none of them. Absolutely zero of your successes.
Kristen Fischbeck: Okay.
DC: Larry's already taken care of that. We now want to know your biggest F up. And this one, Kristen. By F up we mean you.
It's on you, your thinking, your, you believe one thing. It went a different way. Now, sometimes, uh, Kristen will get answers like, well, you know, my manager, my boss will be like, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, brethren, we don't want to hear about the boss situation. The market change. We don't wanna hear about when hear about your F up, and most importantly, what you learned from it.
Kristen Fischbeck: Yeah. This is not a job interview, so I'm not gonna hold back.
DC: Exactly this this is, this is definitely not a job interview, this is a conversation.
Kristen Fischbeck: Right. So one mistake I made early in my career, um, I had just become an account executive and I over promised to a client without [00:31:00] understanding the full scope of the project.
Mm-hmm. It was a, yeah, it was a big, uh, television shoot and spot that I thought our team would be able to produce with little actual production at the dealership.
DC: Mm-hmm.
Kristen Fischbeck: And. Like I said, I didn't understand the full scope and timeline and the workload that it would take internally. And so we ended up really scrambling to make it happen and even had to go back to the client and say, hey, this is gonna cost more than I initially thought, which was hard for them to stomach at the time.
Um, so that taught an important lesson about, um, I would rather, I would say set the right expectations and then over deliver rather than, um, you know, great client services and always saying yes right away and having the answer right away to the, uh, question that they're asking. I need all the information to gather and then like I said, now I'm a bit better at managing their expectations and then overdelivering by either giving them things in a shorter time window than I thought, or maybe even coming in cheaper on [00:32:00] production, stuff like that.
Mm-hmm. So that was a big mistake at the beginning and that lesson really stuck with me.
LT: This is a really good one, D.
DC: Go ahead Larry.
LT: So, Brand Nerds. And so I have a question for you, Kristen, before I get, so you're, you just got to be account executive, right? And you know, we talked earlier about, and get comfy about how you mimic the way account executives were working before you got there.
So now you're, you're now account executive and you just wanna deliver to that client like they've never been delivered to before, right? Or do I have
Kristen Fischbeck: exactly
LT: the context? Mm-hmm. And, and they,
Kristen Fischbeck: I was trying to impress them for sure.
LT: Bingo. Mm-hmm. And then, and then you, then you do the over promise thing and um, okay.
So how pissed off was the client, you know, when you went back to them and asked for more money. How bad was that?
Kristen Fischbeck: You know, on a scale of one to 10, I would say they were like a seven pissed off at me.
LT: Okay.
Kristen Fischbeck: Because no one wants to hear [00:33:00] that they...
LT: nope.
Kristen Fischbeck: Are gonna have to spend more money than they originally told they were gonna have to spend.
LT: Nope. Yep. Nope. They, they do not. So did they, 'cause we've been. DC and I have been personally in situations we've heard, uh, other similar kind of stories on this show. Mm-hmm. Did they make you pay for it or were did they, did they reluctantly write the check? How did that work out?
Kristen Fischbeck: They, they reluctantly, uh, wrote the check.
So we have had instances within the agency. I can think of a handful of times where we did eat the cost 'cause it is our mistake. So that is something we do. But on this um, particular instance, they did, um, they were fine to spend the extra money. It was just that kind of feedback of, Hey, we were told one thing, this was our expectation, and now you're changing what you said.
So again, that was a really big lesson that I learned.
LT: So that could have been a lot worse. They said
Kristen Fischbeck: could've been a lot worse. Yes.
LT: Amen.
Kristen Fischbeck: Could've taken to my paycheck potentially.
LT: Exactly. Could've been a whole [00:34:00] lot worse. Yeah.
Kristen Fischbeck: Expensive mistake.
LT: Yeah. So, no, that, this, this is great stuff. Do you have any follow up?
DC: I do. Kristen, are you familiar with the, uh, classic vintage comic, uh, show called Scooby-Doo?
Kristen Fischbeck: Yes, of course.
DC: Okay. All right. So Scooby-Doo. Mm-hmm. So, uh, uh, Scooby-Doo Brand Nerds. Uh, Scooby-Doo doesn't say much 'cause Scooby-Doo is a Great Dane. Speaking of dog people that we discussed before we got on cam, uh, on camera here, Scooby do doesn't say much.
He just groans and makes like Mudd sounds
LT: and laughs a lot.
DC: He does laugh. He laughs a lot. He laughs a lot. But there is, there, there, there is something that Scooby Doo says where everybody needs to pay attention, and that is when something goes pear shaped. Scooby-Doo says Ruh Row. Okay, then you know there's a problem.
Okay? If, if you're not quite paying attention to what's happening in the show, when you hear [00:35:00] rut row, you need to pay attention 'cause something's about to go down
Kristen Fischbeck: Right
DC: with this client. In this situation, what was your Scoobydo "Ruh-roh!"
Kristen Fischbeck: Yeah.
DC: Moment?
Kristen Fischbeck: So I think I got back to the office after the client meeting and I shared with someone who I believe was like a senior account executive at the time.
So she had been with the agency probably five or more years. Mm-hmm. Um, longer than I had. And I could tell right by her, um, like body language and face, face expressions, right. When I said what I had told the client that I did something wrong, that was my "Ruh-roh!" moment. Mm. Um, I knew instantly the second I told her, and then sure enough I would confirm with like Craig and a couple other people on our team that what I had told the client just wasn't gonna cut it.
So that was my "Ruh-roh!" moment, right when I got back to the office and saw the look on their faces.
DC: Now, did, did you think you were gonna survive that? In the moment?
Kristen Fischbeck: It felt pretty awful in the moment, [00:36:00] I'll be honest, because I knew I was gonna be the one to go back to the client and said, I made a mistake. And what I told you wasn't exactly accurate.
And that was just awful feeling in my stomach and the pit of my stomach because I was so new as an AE and I wanted to impress that client. Cool. So it was a pretty scary feeling. I did feel like that might be the end of me right there. Yes.
DC: Larry, before I give this over to you for the next question, I want to big up Craig for a moment.
'cause culturally, if Craig would've shown you the door and he could have
Kristen Fischbeck: Yes, he could have.
DC: What that would've communicated inside of the firm is, Hey, you make a mistake around here, particularly a big one.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: A client facing mistake, you are outta here.
Kristen Fischbeck: Right.
DC: You are not a managing partner in that firm. And dare I say, it's a very different place culturally, had he done that.
Kristen Fischbeck: Correct.
DC: There's something in [00:37:00] him that allowed you the space to fail.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: And then recover. I, I say to my daughters, I have many sayings to my daughters, but when they've done something, I will say, it's not about the mistake. And then I go silent and they complete the sentence. They say it's about the recovery.
This is what I teach my girls.
Kristen Fischbeck: I agree with that statement a hundred percent. And I think Craig lives by that mantra as well, because he's always given us, everybody at the agency, the space to fail.
DC: Mm-hmm.
Kristen Fischbeck: Um, not repeatedly. Obviously if it was a repeated thing, it would be an issue, but, um,
DC: yeah,
Kristen Fischbeck: we never were reprimanded in a way where we were allowed to take risks for that reason.
Mm-hmm. Um, so it really created a good environment to work in. For sure.
DC: Craig, we see you, brother.
LT: Yes.
DC: See you. Alright, Larry, next question.
LT: All right, next question. So, Kristen, when it comes to, um, technology, [00:38:00] the confluence of technology and marketing, and boy, it's, it's bigger than ever, right? Can you tell us where you think marketers should lean in or best leverage tech?
Or you could take us to an area or areas that they should be leery or simply avoid.
Kristen Fischbeck: Okay. Yeah. So I think in the automotive industry, um, dealerships, advertising has been influenced a lot, uh, by technology. Just because even 10 years ago it was mostly all about traditional media and advertising, like television, radio, print ads.
And today we're much more like a data driven ecosystem, a digital ecosystem. So we could track everything now, like website, behavior, ad performance, search intent. We can even track after we serve an ad in someone's home on their television maybe. And then they take their phone and they walk into one of our car dealerships.
We're able to track them that they walked into a car dealership. So that kind of tech just wasn't around 10 years. Um, and because of [00:39:00] that, there's a lot less guessing of what marketing is working and what marketing isn't. And we also no longer have to guess. Where our customers are spending their time, what media they're watching.
We have all of that data. So that's kind of an area where I would lean into is use all that data that you have at your, um, your hands, uh, your fingertips, use it to your advantage in your marketing. And then another area where I would lean in that's, you know, very, uh, popular, a little bit maybe contentious right now is AI.
Um, so AI really started playing a big role within our agency and things like, uh, creative production, um, even ad uh, optimization and then consumer insights. Uh, we use, um, an AI generated voiceover software called FireBay Studios from Ed Collins.
LT: Oh, Collins.
Kristen Fischbeck: Yes.
DC: There we
Kristen Fischbeck: go. Yes. That's how Ed and I, um, were introduced to each other as we started using his software.
LT: Before you go on, I just, we have to give a shout out to Ed.
Kristen Fischbeck: Yes.
DC: [00:40:00] Yeah.
LT: And, and, and again, you know, DC and I, he, he brought it to our attention, like literally from the beginning and. What he's able to do brand nerds with different languages. Um, accents, inflections. It's incredible. Right, Kristen? I mean,
Kristen Fischbeck: yes, I could.
Yeah. So his software, you could type in any script that you have for any ad you're running for one of your clients. You have no less than I would think, 30 to 40 different voices to choose from. Um, you could change the emphasis on words. It's really cool. There's accents, uh, like, uh, LT mentioned and it's also cut our production times and our production costs in half for the agency.
Wow. So it's been a huge tool because before we used to have to send out a script for a voice actor to perform. It would take a few days for them to get it back to us. Sometimes you would go back to them with changes, which would take a couple more days. It's also very expensive. Um, so those two savings have really [00:41:00] been just huge for our agency.
Uh, we even cloned one of our general manager's voices. So that we can Oh wow. Yeah, we could quickly create ads using his voice and obviously that, uh, his voice software is only available to our agency. 'cause that would be odd if he heard his voice out there in the world saying stuff, you know.
LT: So, Kristen, question on that.
This is very interesting. So does he say, I'm Jack Smith from er, from Irvine, BMW with, with the AI? Like, do you use it that way or do you just use his voice for, uh, to make sure that you have the consistency of narration?
Kristen Fischbeck: Uh, so we use it for consistency of narration, but yes, we do have him introduce himself.
So this client specifically is in the Bakersfield market. Okay. And he's very well known within the Bakersfield community. He does a lot of like nonprofit work and stuff like that.
LT: Oh,
Kristen Fischbeck: cool.
Um, so people know him well, which is why we kind of wanted that consistency across their ads using his voice. That's so yeah.
That's, that's awesome that we've been able to do [00:42:00] that with partnering with Firebay Studios. And then, you know, at the end of the day, I think technology. Has made marketing more measurable, of course, but I still think the fundamentals haven't changed. You still need great creative and strong brand positioning, and then a deep understanding of human behavior in order to get those really impactful ads for your clients.
LT: Oh, here, here. What you thinking, D?
DC: I don't have anything to add. Well, actually, I guess, I guess I do. Uh, Brand Nerds. You know, in our field, you get better when you are able to adapt marketing and messages quickly. And in the area of performance marketing, you all know the a, b, sometimes c, d, testing to find out which of the four is working better and how do you [00:43:00] optimize quickly.
And the way that we used to do this is we would launch a campaign, let's say some radio ads, and then we'd wait to maybe track to see if there was some code associated with the radio ad. And if a customer comes and says, Hey, I heard I want to tell you about code, you know, let's call it like purple. Then you go, oh, they were, they must have heard the purple ad.
And therefore now with, with, with what Ed and his company are doing, and you're hearing this from Kristen, is that that can happen. She gets 30 to 40 different voice options to choose from. And with a press of a button, boom, they're off. They're off. So my, my takeaway from this is, man, is it, is it it nice to have those options?
[00:44:00] I believe it also puts more pressure on the marketing folks to then separate the data from the insights. Yeah. Because there's so much information available.
Kristen Fischbeck: Absolutely.
DC: Yep. Great stuff.
LT: Right. Let's go to question five. Right.
DC: Last one, Kristen,
Kristen Fischbeck: Awesome.
DC: You, you can go anywhere you want to go with this question. What are you most proud of?
Kristen Fischbeck: Okay. Um, I think what I'm most proud of is just a journey that I've had at the agency, and as you mentioned at the beginning, sticking with one agency for seven years now has been something that I'm definitely proud of.
Um, again, I started as an account coordinator and now I'm managing partner and I've gotten to work with really cool brands. All of the automotive brands that we've mentioned today, I'm so, um, happy that I get to work with. And also just everything I've done has led to some really unique experiences, which are all part of my journey.
Um, I've gotten to do some [00:45:00] crazy stuff that I could never dream of doing, like hosting a photo shoot for some marketing material that was in, uh, a private jet hanger at John Wayne Airport or driving Rolls-Royces around Orange County. Um, that's just a crazy experience. Or attending Monterey Car Week every year with my clients.
Really fun stuff that I've, I've gotten to have some cool stories come from and everything. Um, it really just makes me realize how special the industry is. So I'm proud of that journey. And then I'm also proud of the life that I've built outside of work. Um, I'm married to a great man, his name is Jake, um, who's been incredibly supportive of my career and entrepreneurial path.
So having that support system makes a huge difference, um, and has really just made me proud of both my personal and professional life.
LT: I'm loving this. I I got a silly follow up question for you, so
Kristen Fischbeck: Sure.
LT: A little context and, and then I'm gonna ask you the question. So I had some friends, I've, over the years, done a lot of work with [00:46:00] Nike and a friend of mine at Nike.
Um, as most Brand Nerds know, they're based in Portland and so is Adidas. Mm-hmm. And it goes way back. Um, there was a guy named Rob Stresser, uh, who was the, um, the VP of marketing in, in the air Jordan days. And, uh, he and Phil Knight had a, had a real dust up and he ended up being president of Adidas America.
So he knew, moved Adidas to Portland. So there were, so there was, uh, people who, families working at both companies. So this friend of mine who worked at Nike, his wife worked at Adidas. And so whenever they would leave the house, they would look at one another and say, brand check, because Uhhuh, because you live in Portland, you're gonna run into colleagues of both of yours, right?
Mm-hmm. So, so, um, so I ask you, Kristen, because you represent all these brands, you obviously you can't have, like they have, it's, it's, you know, clothing and sneakers. You can't have a lot of different cars. [00:47:00] What do you do if you're going to your Land Rover client and I don't know what kind of car you drive and you pull up in a different brand?
How does that work?
Kristen Fischbeck: Yes, good question. So I drive an Audi right now back to the Audi Italian. You go? Yeah. That's my favorite car brand, personally.
LT: Well, that goes to the listen that, I love that because that goes your answer to question one. Yes.
Kristen Fischbeck: Awesome. Absolutely. So I drive an Audi right now. I have gotten a couple comments when I pull up to my BMW dealership.
Oh sure. And they say, Hey, what are we gonna do to get you out of this car? Ah, yeah. And that's why I also said it's funny that we don't have, um, an Audi client right now because all of my clients offer, they're like, I'll get you a good deal on one of our cars. Come on. Just, you know, let me get you out of that car.
And I'm paying full price for my Audi, I don't have any connections at Audi. Yes. So that just goes to show you how much I love that brand. But yes,
LT: I, well I'm sorry to interrupt you, but if you do, if you let your BMW client win when you pull up to Rent Land Rover, he's gonna be pissed off. So at least now
Kristen Fischbeck: Exactly.
LT: You, [00:48:00] you can be genuine and say, Hey, this is the car I've always had.
Kristen Fischbeck: I have to be neutral in some regards. So that's how I kind of lean into it, is I can't have one client's car, the other clients will get upset. So I just say, okay, I have no client's car, I don't have any Audi dealerships that I'm driving Audi.
So everyone can That's funny. Can be happy that way.
LT: That's really funny. D, any, any, any follow up?
DC: I do. As someone who's lived in Irvine.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: I can tell you, Larry, that uh, all of these brands that Kristen has mentioned, including the Rolls Royce, you can see all of them at a place called The Spectrum at the Valley, at the Spectrum.
They roll right up in there and for the Rolls Royces and the Range Rovers more that speed. There's a subdivision. It was there when I was there. I know if it was still there. And not Kristin. It's called Shady Canyon Sha. Yes, it's still there. Yes. Oh, shady Ca Larry, [00:49:00] we are talking about beautiful homes and you, you can see, you can see the Rolls snaking through there.
Now I, I, I finally say this on the, on the car front, because I grew up in Detroit where people. Would do all manner of things to their cars. Right. When MTV came out many, many years ago with Pimp My Ride, I'm like, I, I've seen that done.
Kristen Fischbeck: Yeah.
DC: Many, many moons ago. But there was a time in Irvine, you know, thi this is, this is in the, in the early two thousands, 2004, 2005.
Somewhere around an era. Where Hummers were like a thing in Irvine, they were a thing. And some of the Hummers driven by soccer moms now would have spinners. This is in Irvine, California. I'm like, you got to be, you've got to be kidding me. So Irvine low [00:50:00] key is really a big like car thing, right? They, they like their cars in Irvine.
Kristen Fischbeck: They sure do. Yeah. We actually, going back to Shady Canyon, so our Rolls-Royce, uh, motorcar dealership is in Irvine and we're right down the street from the Shady Canyon neighborhood. And every, I think once a year they'll do kind of like a car show, but it's out on the grass at the golf course in Shady Canyon.
Oh yeah. So we'll sponsor it and we'll go park our Rolls Royces there, because a lot of the people who live in that neighborhood are our clientele. Mm-hmm. So it works that it's a good, uh, you know, branding position to be featured at that event. 'cause yeah, the wealth in that neighborhood is just insane.
DC: Shady Canyon, people.
Kristen Fischbeck: Canyon.
LT: Shoutout to shady Canyon.
Kristen Fischbeck: Yep.
LT: All right, D, when, uh, God, this show's going fast. Kristen, you're, you are just so outstanding. Oh,
Kristen Fischbeck: thank you.
LT: You're welcome. We are going to our next segment, and that is called What's Popping? What's popping, D?
DC: What's [00:51:00] popping?
LT: So, Kristen, this is our chance to shout out, shout Down, or Simply Air something happening in and around marketing today that we think is good fodder for discussion.
So I've got one for us today, Brand Nerds. So I read an article in media post the other day, which I, I am an avid reader of because it, it really, uh, has the latest and greatest as it relates to all different marketing. And by the way, you can really see through, um, which is the articles that are, uh, that really are delving into what's going on on a topic or the ones that are basically.
Uh, the PR of, of what the company has put out. Mm-hmm. Um, so they put something out really interesting the other day, and I'm gonna read just part of this to you guys. Okay. Um, and so the headline is with quote, smell like your X Suave taps, gen Zs thrifting fans. Okay. So I'm gonna read you a [00:52:00] couple paragraphs.
Chances are good that most Gen Z women probably have an ex's hoodie cluttering up their lives. And Suave is using the insight to launch a purely social quote, smell like your exfoliating body wash campaign. The company hopes the new, uh, I'm sorry, I just missed the part of it. The company hopes the new work will be the intergenerational push it needs.
Introducing the value based brand to a new group of consumers. Ones who think thrift store jokes are funny. Love scoring $5 Duke product and want some tread fragrances including strawberry, citrus, et cetera. Rachel Beam, Schwab's CMO tells CPG Insider what the brand hopes to accomplish. And I'm gonna read you, there's two questions and then I'm gonna have, um.
I, I'm gonna get into you. So the first question was, why these social only shift for Suave and who is the new product line and campaign aimed at? So, Rachel said Suave is a household name and has high awareness amongst all age cohorts, but our brand health data shows that a younger [00:53:00] generation doesn't have the same top of mind awareness and love for Suave as generations past.
They didn't see us in their social fees, which is the main way they interact with brands. We just weren't part of their conversations. We see this as an opportunity in the right time to both reintroduce the product at a moment when Gen Z is super enthusiastic about dupe culture and finding quality products for $5 in the right kind of messaging.
Okay. So I'm gonna skip ahead to
DC: mm-hmm.
LT: The crux of what I want to discuss with both of you. Mm-hmm. Okay. Um, so then they, then the last question is this, how big a role will this new product play in your lineup? And this is Rachel Beam saying We've been owned by Yellowwood Partners, a private equity firm since being carved out of Unilever in 2023.
In the last two and a half years, we've got all new people approaches and innovation pipelines. It's been a renaissance for the brand, and this is absolutely one of our top bets for the year. Body wash is a top two category for us. We know we have a product that consumers [00:54:00] absolutely love and young people are interested in, and we know that this campaign idea resonated really well with our testing.
Now it's time to watch sales data and media metrics, and so far we've been pleased with influencer responses. We're seeing a 40% posting rate to what we've seeded much higher than we expected. Influencers love the fragrances and the $5 price points and are having fun with the tie into people's exes.
Okay, so here's the question for both of you.
DC: Mm-hmm.
LT: How many brands are languishing with larger companies and with just a little attention and investment? Can be resonant brands today and tomorrow. What do you guys think about that? And I, by the way, I think of car brands past too. That's why I thought this would be good conversation for us.
What do you guys think,
DC: Kristen?
Kristen Fischbeck: So it sounds like Suave is trying to kind of pivot to reach the younger demographic is what I'm hearing. So by doing that campaign, trying to target Gen Z, I think they're really trying to adapt [00:55:00] or die. It seems like to the younger generation, they're saying, you know, with that generation, there's not as much brand awareness top of mind.
I definitely used their shampoos and stuff when I was younger, but as an adult I have not used their um, products in a while. So. I think it's a good idea to try out to connect with the younger generation, and I do think there's a lot of, um, kind of, um, just pop culture around Xs right now that they're hinting on, which I think is good for like a pop culture tie in.
DC: Yep.
Kristen Fischbeck: I know, um, target has dropped like a line of sweatshirts that say is about people's exes and stuff like that for both men and women. So I think what Suave is trying to do by trying to tie in the younger generation is a smart move on their end. And then they, it also sounds like they're putting the correct price points on those products by not making them super high end.
But what they're saying basically is you're getting high-end quality products for a lower price. So all of those things connected are what [00:56:00] seems like it would be a great campaign and I'm curious to see if they, um, have some good results to share from that.
LT: D, before you talk, I just wanna say one quick thing.
It's a value brand that always has been Kristen, right? So that's what they hung their hat on. And my larger question, I think it's great what they're doing. My larger question is, I think this brand sitting in the closet that just are sitting in the closet, you know, metaphorically, right? And
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
LT: So I appreciate that they have real insight of today and they're, they're doing stuff and dare I say, it will be interesting to track, but I'd be surprised if this does not, uh, reach some, some level of success and perhaps really large success just because they're actually doing something that's of today with insights of today and making it relevant for today's consumers.
So again, that's, I've talked too much. I can't wait to hear what D has to say.
Kristen Fischbeck: Okay.
DC: I don't know yet. I need to ask some clarifying questions. [00:57:00] Is the smell like your ex-foliating body wash? Is that consumer facing?
LT: Yes,
DC: that's consumer facing. Okay. I believe that in our craft, some things stay the same no matter the era.
A clearly articulated problem that you're solving, they've articulated that. A clearly articulated, reachable, but maybe stretch objective. I can see where they are here. Business objective. The third is a strategy. So what strategy are they wanting to go about seizing on this business objective or solving the problem?
The strategy is coming through here, and then finally the execution, and [00:58:00] you've now told me that this execution in part. Consumer facing is smell like your exfoliating body wash.
LT: And by the way, they put the foliated part in parentheses.
DC: I'm seeing
LT: that they kept the ex, you know, and, and so yeah,
DC: I'm seeing that. I'm with them on the problem. I'm with them on the objective. I'm with them on the strategy. The execution, I think is shit. And I'm going to explain why. Um,
it's too cute. I'm not so sure that anyone in the demo that they are looking at wants to smell like their ex. I'm, I'm, I'm not so sure I got three daughters. I don't want to hear any of my daughters talking about a, a hoodie. And I'm now, I'm a father now. And I can't imagine them going, [00:59:00] oh yeah, my ex. I miss him so much.
I, oh, I'm smelling him. I, I want smell like my ex. I think that's too cute. So, so that's why I think it, shit, the other thing is that, to your point, Kristen mm-hmm. There is a lot in social media about exes. Mm-hmm. But it's snarky. It's, it's not like, like raising up the ex. Correct. It's taking down the ex, Like, right.
Can you believe how dumb this X was? It's really snarky. Right? This is why people say of, of, uh, ig, uh, and as well as X Twitter, it is undefeated because it, it can take you down quickly. Right. So I believe that they, they could have done a better job executionally by focusing on the ex part of it. But instead of taking something that they think people want, which is [01:00:00] to smell like their ex, which I don't think is true, they take the ex down.
LT: Yeah. See, and and I wasn't clear with you guys, I wasn't here to, to judge this. I'm saying I just think there's huge opportunity for other swabs that are in the closet of brands at, at places like Unilever, P&G. And I agree with that. Yes. Pontiac, like, you know, old car brands that with the, the, the insect, with all the things that you just said, Dee to, to reintroduce, you know, are old boss at Coke.
Uh, Kristen used to say, Sergio Zeman, you've gotta reintroduce your brand to a new consumer every day. Yeah. And so, so I like that. You know, Dee, I think you, you're probably right. My point here is that. We'll see whether they're, whether they're successful and they'll, they'll pivot or not. My point is that I love at least the effort and we'll see what happens.
And I think that there's opportunity for other brands to be [01:01:00] reintroduced in a way that's really relevant for today. That's where I'm going with
Kristen Fischbeck: it. I think they realized they needed to pivot, so that's what they're trying to do. And I agree. I think the effort is there. Maybe the execution is a little bit poor, but they're at least trying to pivot so that they don't die and end up in a shampoo graveyard somewhere.
LT: There you go. That's right, that's right. Excellent conversation.
DC: Excellent.
LT: Alright, we are at the show close. Kristin. God, this has been so great. I've had just a multitude of learnings. I'm gonna call it down to seven, so. Mm-hmm. I'll start with number one. Uh, so Brand Nerds. Like Kristen did early on first, unconsciously.
Then consciously, carefully observe the people above you that you respect and you see are really good at their job. And then figure out how, what they're doing and how you can then make it your own. That's my [01:02:00] little twist on what Kristen said. That's number one. And DC said this in, follow up to this conversation that, uh, about this subject, uh, do the job you want before you get the job.
That's number two. Mm-hmm. That's beautiful. Number three, DC said this. Also think in two steps. Act in one, think in two steps. Act in one. Meaning always take a step if you're gonna take a step that you know will help you in the following step.
DC: Mm-hmm.
LT: That's number three. Number four, like Kristen has done with public speaking.
What are your weaknesses that you can work on that will help elevate your game and ultimately your career? Number five, great client service. And dare I say, serving your boss. Also. This, that's also a form of client service, starts with under promising and overdelivering and Brand Nerds, you should err on saying, let me get back to you, rather than make a [01:03:00] commitment that you can't hold.
That's number five. Number six, when you are a leader, make sure you create a culture, whereas, okay, to fail as long as you, as you've learned from it, just like Mr. Feltman has done at the Feltman Agency. And the last one, number seven, always be thinking about how you can be better in your job. And sometimes tech can be the way to help you get better, like Kristen has done with Firebay Studios.
Uh, at Collins, shout out again and more. Those are my seven.
Kristen Fischbeck: Awesome. I think that wrapped it up beautifully.
DC: Nicely done, Larry. Nicely done as always. Kristen, this has been an interesting journey for me on this podcast, and at this part of the show, I make a valiant attempt to articulate to the human before me, [01:04:00] based on the conversation, what is it that I believe, and it's just my opinion.
Mm-hmm. My humble opinion, this person is offering that only they can offer of the 8 billion people in the world in the way that they can do it.
LT: Mm-hmm.
DC: And, uh, some, Kristen, it'll come to me at the very end. It's like a canvas being painted and at the end based on the answers to the questions, oh, okay.
This is what I, I'm seeing others. It'll come in the middle. Yours. Kristen started taking shape very early.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm.
DC: And I'm gonna walk through that now.
Kristen Fischbeck: Okay.
DC: In the get comfy section, when we were asking you about your career and you, you stayed at one place. One one agency, you're still there now.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: And on a seven year journey, you answered by saying, this is how you elevated.
[01:05:00] You kinda looked around at others and said, I think I'm gonna mimic that in your own way. I'm gonna mimic that.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: I'm also going to actually be more conscious. This is after you had your epiphany moment. Larry described it as a light bulb moment when COVID hits and you get not only. You, you, you get away from being furloughed, you're spared if you will, you get a promotion.
LT: Mm-hmm.
DC: And this is where you go, oh, being here at a smaller agency, less bureaucracy. I can move up smaller ladder, but, but I can move up that ladder. You, you, so you recognize that after being in the mix for a bit. And then when we got to the question on five questions about your first branding experience, you talked about Audi.
LT: Mm-hmm.
DC: And you're an Audi driver now. And the BMW folks, they cannot get you into [01:06:00] a BMW. You're gonna be in an Audi for a little while longer.
Kristen Fischbeck: Yeah, not yet. And,
DC: and, and you said that, uh, like in, in this space, automotive space. And it, it was true when you said it, it was true. When you experienced it, it was true a hundred years ago.
And that is the automotive space is is male dominated. It is, it is male dominated. And then you said if you put in the work, you belong in any room. Like,
Kristen Fischbeck: Hmm.
DC: Then when we got to the question of who's having the most influence in your career, you talked about your mom and dad, Wal and Dana, but you also talked about Craig
Kristen Fischbeck: Uhhuh
DC: and I asked you a follow up question about, you said he, he kind of pushes you, pushed you into places beyond what you thought you were capable of.
I asked you about uncomfortable places, and then you brought up leading big client meetings, speaking publicly, and then what you do, because this, you're, you're a little nervous about this. You go seek [01:07:00] out ways to learn how to be more comfortable public speaking, and then that prepared you for the moments when you had to lead big client meetings.
Kristen Fischbeck: Right.
DC: So much so that. When you get to an opportunity to go in a room full of GMs when you are the youngest, by likely some decades mm-hmm. And you're the only woman in the room, you decide, I'm not going in pitching, I'm going to create a presentation, public speaking mm-hmm. That provides these GM's tools so they can level up their marketing game.
LT: That was brilliant by the way.
DC: Brilliant. This is this, this is, this is as our UK and brethren, uh, UK brethren and sister would say. Brilliant. This is, this is good, Kristen. [01:08:00]
Kristen Fischbeck: Thank you.
DC: And then it all, you're welcome. And then it all kinda came together for me when you answered the question about your biggest F up.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: Were you over promise to a client. And you over promise, specifically in the area of production. Mm-hmm. Production. You said we could do something for this client regarding production, and then you go back to the office after you sold it in client's really happy and then you talked to a senior person five years, they're longer than you.
And they're like, "Ruh-roh!" so you know you got a problem.
Kristen Fischbeck: Right.
DC: And then you, you own it. Craig gives you the space to fail. You own it, you go back, you apologize. The client writes the check. Mm-hmm. But you did make the mistake in the area of production and you didn't know how that was gonna work for your career.
Right. I find it uncanny [01:09:00] that that's the area where you had your biggest F-Up and it's now connected to your answer to the question of technology where in the area of production now with Firebay Studio and Brother Ed, you are now working with a tool that cuts the cost of production in half. With more options.
So you had an F up in production budget and here you are, I don't know how many years later. You have now found yourself working with production in a way that is far better and at scale than before.
Kristen Fischbeck: Right.
DC: I thought, well, I'll be there.
Kristen Fischbeck: Yeah. I didn't even put that connection together, so that's pretty amazing.
LT: That's crazy with this. He's incredible with this.
Kristen Fischbeck: That's really cool DC
DC: Thank you.
Kristen Fischbeck: Awesome.
DC: So now I'm gonna go back to TV shows 'cause I mentioned Scooby Do.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: I'm go Old School and then more New School. Kristen, there was one of my favorite [01:10:00] shows growing up and Brand Nerds was Kung Fu.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: It featured a star, David Carradine Rest.
Rest in Power. Rest in Power. Occasionally they would show you David Carradine as a young person, and he is learning to become a kung fu master. And what his teacher does in, in a few of these episodes is he holds his hand open in front of a young car, young David Carradine, who's training, and he has a pebble in it.
And then he, he wants David Carradine to grab the pebble.
Kristen Fischbeck: Mm-hmm.
DC: And when David Carradine young David David Carradine raises his hand to grab the pebble, the kung fu master closes his hand. And for most of the show, when the kung fu master opens his hand, the pebble is still in his hand. But at some point, David Carradine gets that pebble.
Kristen Fischbeck: Right.
DC: Same deal. He open the master, [01:11:00] opens his hand, he's like, oh, you got it? That is his, his signal like it's time to leave now. You've learned modern day example, Star Wars, my nephew Larry and Sherry's son. His name is Jake.
LT: Jake, like your husband.
DC: Yeah. Yeah. Love Star Wars. Love Star Wars. And in Star Wars, the equivalent of a young David Carradine are the Jedi.
They're
Kristen Fischbeck: right,
DC: the Jedi. They are trained by Yoda. Yoda is the one that has these Jedi go from these young lings into like Jedi Knights. You have had your Yoda with Craig, and you have had your Yodas with Walt and Dana, which sums up for me what you do and what you are. Kristen, you are a [01:12:00] Jedi Knight of the marketing game.
Because that's how you go about doing your thing.
Kristen Fischbeck: That's a really cool way to put it. Thank you.
DC: Yeah.
LT: Very cool.
DC: Welcome.
LT: Great stuff D. So Kristen, before we sign off, is there anything from this conversation that you've learned that you would like to share with the brand nerds?
Kristen Fischbeck: Yes. Um, I think from this conversation I've just learned that when you kind of put all of your thoughts together on your journey of what you've accomplished so far, it kind of helps you, um, really put a nice bow on your journey and experience.
And talking to you guys has helped me reflect and also, um, kind of inspired me to think about everything that I have dealt with in a different light than maybe I was before. Not everything is just so, oh, about work and I got this done and the work week went by. I like how you guys kind of package everything up and compare it to other lessons and, um.
I [01:13:00] just think it's really powerful. The, the branding opportunities that we have with the brands that we work with and the marketing work we get to do. It's a really special industry no matter who you're working with. So I wanted to thank you guys for, for this podcast. I had a great time.
LT: Great. We did as well.
That's a mic drop. Uh, we, we've really enjoyed having you on the show. So Brand Nerds, thanks so much for listening to Brands, Beats and Bytes, the executive producers of Brands, Beats and Bytes are Jeff Shirley, Darryl "DC" Cobbin, Larry Taman, Jade Tate, and Tom Dioro.
DC: The pod father.
LT: That is he. And if you do like us podcast, please subscribe and share.
And for those on Apple podcast if you are so inclined, we love those excellent reviews. We hope you enjoyed this podcast and we look forward to next time where we will have more insightful and enlightening talk about marketing.