Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
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: This is the Brands, Beats, and Bytes podcast. Y'all know what it is. Brand Nerds, back at you with another one. And guess what? Our podcast has been listened to in over 50 countries. LT, I cannot believe that we have had our Brand Nerds all over the world in 50 countries, but yes, Brand Nerds, 50 countries, and today, LT we've got someone in a house that understands not only how to build brands, not only how to scope out where brands should be in the marketplace, but also someone that has an entertainment and media bent and has also had some entrepreneurial things that, shall I say, lead in brand nerds are on the glow up LT. Who do we have in the building today?
LT: Oh, D, we've got, uh, Brooke Janousek in the house today. Welcome, Brooke.
Brooke Janousek: Hi. Thank you so much.
LT: Well, we're, we're really thrilled to have you. So Brooke is part of, uh, the education of our Brand Nerds. We like to tell them who's in our building. So we're gonna go through your intro here. So D, we have ourselves a true Husker in the building. Brooke attended University of Nebraska earning her undergrad degree in journalism and advertising, and a Master's of Arts and marketing. So in grad school, Brooke's first marketing job is a grad assistant for University of Nebraska Athletics. And dare I say, that was a better time for Nebraska then Brooke, right?
DC: Ooh, ooh, ooh. That's cold, Larry. That's cold.
LT: Hey.
Brooke Janousek: But it's true.
LT: It's, it's true. And, you know, like, but, but at least, you know, uh, there have been better days and there'll probably be better. At least they're part of the Big 10, which is certainly a part of the haves, not the have-nots. Like our friends at Stanford, which is, uh, which are looking for a home. Um, but anyway, as we, as we go forward, after graduating, Brooke joins integrated marketing agency Bailey Lauerman, working on prominent accounts such as Disney, highlighted by leading strategic direction for a Disney affordability TV spot, which get this D doubled bookings for Walt Disney World from '06-'07. And in her first years there, she earns three promotions. So Brookes got a great start in her career. She,
DC: oh, Larry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Just make sure I heard that. Did you say doubled? Doubled.
LT: Doubled, doubled. Brooke Will, we'd love to hear more about that later.
DC: Alright, so just 1, 1, 1 more thing, Larry. I'm sorry to interrupt the flow. Yeah. I'm really, really sorry to interrupt, interrupt, interrupt the flow, Larry. Oh good. So, uh, so Brand Nerds, let's all send a tweet, an X or something to Bob Iger and say, would you like some of this now? Bobby, would you like some double? Okay. Alright, go, go. Go ahead Larry.
LT: Okay, so Brooke then goes to work for a couple of different marketing agencies in an increased role working on accounts such as, Sonic. Then going back to her alma mater, University of Nebraska, as senior Director of Alumni Relations. In this role, Brooke leads development and execution of marketing strategies and tactics supporting 60 domestic and international alumni chapters encompassing 175,000 plus alumni. That's a lot of alumni. Where she helps grow membership and increase scholarship funds for the university. So after her really excellent success at our alma mater, Brooke then joins Pheno Blue that, did I pronounce that right? Brooke
Brooke Janousek: Phenom. Blue Phenom.
LT: Phenom Blue. Thank you for, uh, correcting me there. Phenom Blue, uh, digital marketing agency providing strategic planning, business consulting, web and media development for global clients, where she reports to the CEO and is a force in helping lead and build business development.
So after this success, Brooke makes a move to the client side where she joins Support Works Inc. As Senior Director of Marketing Creative. Support Works inc. Is a leading manufacturer and distributor of home repair products and a national franchiser with three major brands, Foundation Support Works, Hello Garage and Solution View.
In her position, she leads all elements of marketing strategy and creative with highlights, including developing and launching a national brand for the garage renovation franchise called Hello Garage. And ultimately leading development and execution of marketing strategies resulted in increased revenues and measurable R O I for the entire entity. After six successful years, Brooke gets an opportunity to join Liberty Tax, where she helps solidify them and build their brand in the ultra uber competitive world of tax preparers. So now Brooke embarks upon something that we think is really interesting, which DC alluded to. She starts The Grow CMO, which is a fractional leadership solution for effective marketing growth, she starts in 2022 after two decades as an expert in the marketing industry as a fractional CMO, Brooke partners with clients to execute strategies to increase revenue, profitability, and customer loyalty, such as a rideleash.com, a leash, pet transportation service.
In closing, Brooke's dynamic leadership, follows her outside of the office and in every realm of her life. Brooke feels most fulfilled when she's sharing her expertise with others and connecting with everyone's energy. Her deep desire is to support others, and this is the bedrock of Brooke's relationships.
Whether she's traveling, taking a CrossFit or yoga class, or simply taking her dog Kipp for a walk, she cherishes the connection she makes along the way. Recently, check this out, Brooke has set off on an adventure she's named Brooke on the Grow, chronicling her move out west and her year of intentionally living life, joyously and joyfully, I should say.
She hopes her stories paired with those she meets, encourages everyone to actualize their full potential by betting on themselves. So welcome to Brands, Beats and Bytes, brooke Janousek.
Oh my gosh.
Brooke Janousek: Thank you. You're making me blush. I've never had anyone read that that much about me, and it's just like I'm beaming. I just, it's, it's pretty cool to reflect back on your, your career like that.
DC: Flowers, flowers, Brooke.
Brooke Janousek: Thank you. I'll take them. Thank you.
LT: You earned them.
Brooke Janousek: And, uh, thank you.
DC: It's, it's interesting that you, you, you mentioned that having it read back, uh, we've created resumes in our careers, sometimes bios, but very rarely do we hear anyone actually read it. And, and frankly, Brooke and brand nerves, you all, you all know this brand Nerves. Larry does an amazing job of giving our guests their flowers. And as, as Larry likes to say, it's all you, Brooke. It's all you. He's just, he's just telling the, telling the people that this is, uh, this is Brooke. So, uh, in your experience, Brooke, um, what, what I'm, what I'm really finding interesting are two things.
The first is this bifurcation of agency and client side. It just, it gives a well-roundedness, I believe, to folks that are, um, endeavoring in the, in the business space. And we've had a few guests that have both, not that many, but we've had a few that that add both. But the second one is this, wherever you are, whether you were at Disney or whether you were at your alma mater, or whether you were at any other place in your career journey, agency side or client side, what is consistent is the growth that that's wherever you go, there has been growth. And there's something that we learned a long time ago, Brooke. And then I'm gonna get to a question in our get comfy section where, uh, it's an, it's a standard interview question. Well, it used to be standard. I don't know if it's it's standard now. I haven't been interviewed in a long, long time, where they say, Brooke, what would have happened if you weren't there or what would not have happened if you were not there. So they, you take you out of any of these roles, what would've gone down, what would've been missing? Mm-hmm. And so it is clear that if they took you, Brooke, out of these different roles that you've been through, that that Larry is, uh, eloquently walked us through that some of this stuff wouldn't have happened. So kudos to you. I now get to the get comfy section. Alright. So
Brooke Janousek: Thank you.
DC: You're welcome. So Brand Nerds, one never knows what they may find as a connection point just before you start to roll the tape. And just before we started to roll the tape for this podcast, uh, Jeff mentioned that Brooke likes wine. Okay. That Brooke. Brooke. Brooke likes wine. So do I. So my question is going to be directly to this sentence here that says, Brooke on the Grow. So this is the adventure that you're on now. Chronicling her move out west and her year of intentionality, intentionally rather, living life joyfully. So I find wine as a part of the joy of my life. Growing wine has to do with growth. Mm-hmm. How, um, how Brooke has wine been a part of your journey out west and maybe, and maybe before.
Brooke Janousek: Mm-hmm. That's a great question. I, and I, no one has asked me that before, so, so I appreciate that this whole journey started, um, earlier this year and I thought, because I work for myself, I can work anywhere in the world, where would I wanna go? And having a dog as, as you mentioned in the intro, I didn't want to go overseas with him. He's a larger dog. And so I thought, okay, let's explore the United States. The United States is gorgeous.
LT: Hey, what kind of dog is Kipp before you?
Brooke Janousek: He's a border Aussie Border Collie. Oh, nice. Australian shepherd. Yeah. Lots of energy. And so I decided that I was gonna travel up the coast of California and there is something so beautiful, especially when you get to the Central coast and then Northern California, um, with the landscape. And I have been to Napa before, I've been to Sonoma. I've even been to wine country up in Oregon. So I've kind of got this, this great purview of, of that. And then earlier this year I was in France, so I got to try, um, champagne in the champagne region. Mm-hmm. But what I love is the stories behind the wine making. Mm-hmm. So every, every vineyard you go to, there is a story of how it got started or who they inherited the land from, and then all the different types of, um, grapes they grow and how they use their own method to create the wine. And then what I love especially then is the marketing of it. So how are they going to market? How are they talking about it? What's their label design look like? All of that really goes into the story. And as you know, branding is a lot of storytelling and making you feel something. And so I always, man, I get sucked into buying all these wine clubs because I just feel so much like I'm so compelled by the stories they tell. And the wine tastes great too.
DC: Wow. I, I, I would say I resemble that comment. Um-huh Brooke. And so, because you mentioned wines and the stories and I, and story as marketing, you did mention the name of a winery just before we, uh, went on. So what, so shout them out and tell the Brand Nerds what you like about them.
Brooke Janousek: Oh my gosh, yes. So this, uh, I'm in Paso Robles, California right now, so central coast of California. And the winery I visited last weekend is called Herman Stories. Herman Story Wine, and they are just a little boutique winery, and it's not going to be the, oh, we go and we have this big picnic and we're overlooking the vineyards. And I have a perfectly curated cheeseboard. This is, I walk in and I'm instantly greeted, um, warmly welcomed in, and I notice right away their marketing and their branding. Mm-hmm. And so the names of the wines, um, the one that I love and the, the, not only for the name, but the taste of the wine is called Late Bloomer. And what they've done is they take actual photos from members of their wine club from when they were in maybe 8, 9, 10. You know, we know that's an awkward stage for all of us, right? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Braces for me, the big, uh, bangs and the Sally Jesse Raphael glasses. So they take those photos.
LT: They're picturing that, Brooke?
Brooke Janousek: Yeah. Yes. I'll show you my late bloomer photo sometime. But they, um, make those into the label. And then as I was enjoying the wine, they also had next to me, the glow up. So they basically had, um, how our late bloomers have aged. So they showed the 10 people that are featured on the wine labels for this release and then said, here's where they are. Here's their wine photo. And then here is where they are now. So they're telling the story.
DC: Wow. Wow.
Brooke Janousek: Which was so great. And it's funny, you know, tell me you're a marketer without telling me you're a marketer, but I said to the gal, pouring the wine, I said, who's the creative director? Who, who writes the copy? And she's like, the what? And I said, the, you know, who's, who's making?
LT: And she had no idea what that means.
Brooke Janousek: Yeah, right. And I said, okay, who wrote the copy for the wine descriptions? One of the descriptions said, it's not a private school fundraiser until someone gets punched in the face. That's, that's one of the Oh, that's, oh, that's classic. That's classic.
And then they said, you know, the, the flavor of the fruit punches you in the face. I mean, it was just, it's brilliant. And here I am talking about 'em. I'm telling this story of my experience there. And I joined the wine club, not only for the wine, but because of the stories they told, how they made me feel while I was there. It's just extraordinary.
LT: You know what? I'm so glad Brooke brought that up, D.
I am too.
We love shouting out great marketing like that. Love it. They deserve because that's all conscious and strategic and they, and, and executing it with a plum. So I love that you quote it.
Brooke Janousek: Yes, a hundred percent. And also, if we go a like one layer deeper, think about the level of trust that, that winemaker the founder has mm-hmm. In his creative team, that he's allowing them to bring a vision to life and how, like they weave that story through every piece. Even their business cards said for sales, something else, and drunk dials, I mean, just the tongue in cheek Wow. Piece of their marketing. And so, you know, the founder has given them a lot of liberties as well, and there's a lot of trust there.
DC: Okay. Um, Brand Nerds, uh, check out, uh, Herman Story Winery. Yes. Uh, for the founder and the people that are responsible for that brand and business. Herman story, uh, Winery. You all need to send Brooks something. And to be clear, Brand Nerds, Brook does not work. For, uh, uh, uh, Herman Story Winery. She does not consult with them.
This was just a true organic consumer experience that she has. And note this Brand Nerds. Oftentimes when we hear the phrase earned media, and for those of you all who cannot see me, I'm gonna say in like full air quotes, earned media, we think of it. Thank you very much, Brooke. Thank you. We think of this in the digital sphere, so how do we get a earned, earned media in the digital sphere? And it is very important. This is an example of an emotionally based connection, which Brooke talked to that has earned the media. And what we're going to do, Jeff, Hailey and Jade, we're gonna tag, uh, Herman Story Winery in this thing. And then if you would please allow us to, Brooke. Usually when we post pictures to promote the show. Hailey uh, handles the promotion. We go with a typical corporate pic. Mm-hmm. In this case, we want to go with the corporate pic and the late bloomer pic. We want them. Yeah, we want both. So this is gonna be the first time where we have two photos of the person who's blessed us and the Brand Nerds.
So if you would do that, Brooke. Thank you. Thank you.
Brooke Janousek: Okay. I can make that happen.
DC: Cool. Cool. All right. With that, uh, Larry, anything else before we go to the read of our sponsor?
LT: I just wanna say that that's what great kickoff, Brooke. Thank you for sharing that, that that is a great kickoff. We appreciate that.
Okay, now, Brand Nerds back here to talk with you about Specificity and Brand Nerds. We know many of you are immersed in digital marketing or simply involved in it. Either way, if you want to optimize your digital marketing to maximize results, we have the solution for you in 2021. An interesting thing happened that forever changed the landscape of digital marketing. Apple's iOS update was structured to provide users the opportunity to opt out of ads, with more than 90% of users opting out, Android quickly followed suit, and this situation created complete upheaval for the entire digital marketing infrastructure with engagement rates following precipitously. Now you know why you may be a 24 year old single dude playing your favorite game app on your phone, and all of a sudden you're being hit with an in-game ad for Pampers. That's serious money down the drain. Here's where Specificity comes in to save the day. Specificity does not track or know user's personal data such as name, social, social security number, et cetera. Specificity uses device ID numbers similar to a VIN number on a car. So they track what users are doing without knowing their personally identifiable information. Working in harmony with a post-privacy update. Now with Specificity, both the consumer and the advertiser are happy since consumers see digital ads that are relevant for them and advertisers serve ads to people that are receptive to the message. So let's give a real life example. If Jeff sold brand Lunchables wanted to use Specificity, they can serve ads to only parents. Not just any parent. They can dial into serving ads to only working parents of children six to 12. Additionally, if they wanted to, they could also not serve ads to any parents who are vegetarians or vegans, consumers who are not exactly prone to buy Lunchables. Bottom line is this would enable Lunchables to be incredibly efficient in serving their message only to those who would be most receptive and doing in a way that completely respects said consumer's privacy, since they do not know or learn any personal information about these people, so the bottom line is in 2023, we believe no one else out there can deliver better digital marketing results than Specificity. We have introduced Specificity to many clients, and everyone is super happy since each client has been more successful with their digital marketing efforts than they were before. For information on specificity, please visit their website. At specificityinc.com. Again, specificityinc.com. That's S P E C I F I C I T Y I N C.com. Their website is also in the show notes. If you wanna approve your digital market results, go check them out.
DC: Thank you, Larry. All right, Brooke, we're moving to five questions. Five, I hit you with one, then Larry goes back and forth until we arrive at five. Okay. I am really looking forward to the answer to this question. So I'm, I'm starting first, and here's the reason why I'm looking forward to it is because I've already seen something in this Herman Stories Winery that is making me very curious about what your answer would be. So here is the question, Brooke, what was the first branding experience you had? In your life or in your career where it just blew your mind. You were like, wow, I am so into this brand, or this experience or this thing. I cannot get enough of it. If I go another day, week, month, it's terrible. As Charles Barkley would say, terrible, I've gotta have this thing. And here's why I think this is gonna be a really interesting question, because as you talk, I mean answer as you talked about Herman Story, um, uh, Winery, you had a twinkle in Uriah as you were discussing it. So like a first love and branding. What was that for you?
Brooke Janousek: Oh my gosh. Well, I hope with that buildup, this is not an anti-climatic answer, but, uh, but I'm gonna say Nestle Tollhouse. Mm. And here's why. As a young girl, I would say, I'm bored and I don't have anything to do. And instead of my mom saying, oh, go sit in front of the tv, she would say, why don't you make some cookies? And the reason why I loved this is because it gave me responsibility. Hmm. It gave me, um, something to do that challenged my mind. So I, you know, at a very young age, I was reading directions. I was following the directions. And let's be honest, baking is science. It's different than cooking. Cooking. I can just throw stuff in a pan and oh, you know that that works out. But if you mess up on any of the measurements in baking, now your cookies or your cake or whatever is gonna be flat and chewy, right? So I loved that. But then more than anything, I loved the sense of pride that I felt after I made them. My dad would come home from work and he would have a cookie, and he would tell me, good job. So it just was this, it created this environment where I learned responsibility. Afterwards, I had to, you know, clean up my mess 'cause I would make a mess, let's be honest. Right. But it was just, it was just really fun for me and it's just a nostalgia feeling for me. Like, I still can go buy that chocolate chip package. And I love that the recipe's on the back, I mean, that's smart marketing on their part right there. But, um, it just, it makes me feel like it takes me back to that, that place my childhood kitchen.
DC: Nice. Go ahead Larry.
LT: No, you go first.
DC: Okay. Alright. So a couple things. Um, I can really relate to this, Brooke. Okay. I can really relate to this. Uh, one is, I want, I wanna shout out your, uh, your mother. Is she still with us?
Brooke Janousek: She is, yes.
DC: Okay, what's her name?
Brooke Janousek: Patty.
DC: Patty. Okay. So I want to shout out Patty, uh, for this reason. When you went to your mother and you talked with her, she didn't go say, Brooke, go watch something.
Mm-hmm. She did not say that. Right? She said, go make something. In this case, she said Make, make a cookie. So I want, I want a shout out for that. The second one is, uh, is your father, is he still with us?
Brooke Janousek: He is.
DC: What's his name?
Brooke Janousek: Greg.
DC: Greg. Okay.
LT: Patty and Greg. And Greg.
DC: So shout out Greg. So with Greg, uh, what was happening is you, you made something, you got a chance to learn how to do this, and then there was an emotional connection that you were making to your father.
When he said, good job. My little Brooke. Good job. My little Brooke. Now here's my connection to it. Larry and Brooke. I used to bake when I was a kid. I used to bake cakes. Hmm. And Brooke, you are right. Uh, there were a couple times where I got the bakin' soda mixed up with the bakin' powder. And this thing, it tasted like an Excedrin.
Okay. It was an Excedrin cake. Right. Uh, but so anyway, I, I was a, uh, I, I was a baker as well, and, uh, there was something for me as a kid, Brooke, in baking that was cathartic. It, it, it was where I could be in my own world. Yep. My own world. Yep. And I could try different things now. I would follow the recipe, but sometimes I would kind of try and experiment. What I did not recognize at that age was those very moments of being cocooned in my own world, baking, allow me to, as an adult, cocoon myself when I'm making things. So I can really relate to this answer.
Brooke Janousek: Yep. And I, I love the, the making piece that's harnessing creativity right there. Mm-hmm. And I'm, mm-hmm.
LT: I have a very creative mind. And so I think that started from a young age, from reading and making things. You're mm-hmm. You're absolutely right. Mm-hmm.
Yeah. You, you know what's great about the story, Brooke? It's so, it says so much about your, your Patty and Greg and also about you for actually, 'cause some kids would say, ah, I, you know, they wouldn't, they wouldn't do it, right? Mm-hmm. The fact that you did and then you, uh, delved into it and get, and really have all these amazing positive associations. We talk about this a lot, Brooke, and I'm sure you, you know, I know just from your, your story, uh, with late bloomer, you're gonna totally be with us on this. The best brands ladder up. Ah, so, so Nestle's Tollhouse, they, like you say, very logical features. They got the, the recipes on the back. It's not about the recipes on the back. It's about the smell of the cookies. Mm-hmm. Your dad, the cookies. Mm-hmm. That's what remember you. So when you go to the shelf now and you see Nestle's Tollhouse, whether you buy it or not, that's what your associations are. It's the feelings that you have of family, of connection to your parents, your childhood, nostalgia, all that by just some goofy chocolate chips. Think about it. Yeah. Just that's all. They're chocolate chips. Mm-hmm. And so the best brands really enable us to feel.
DC: Absolutely.
LT: And that's what that, and that's what you've, that's what you've talked about. Um, and sometimes we talk that about this a lot. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt. Let's say Nestle's Tollhouse really gets that and, and, and does it. But we always talk about consumers position brands. So even if they didn't do that, you've taken the logical and brought into the feeling and emotion of it. Right. And so, So Brand Nerds out there, like the most standard, like the, the most, the thing that you would think has no emotion to it actually does. And the best marketers figure out how to get their consumers in B two C and in B two B customers how to take them up the ladder so they feel the things that, that Brooke felt, felt, and still feels.
Mm-hmm. And will always about Mr. Nestle Tollhouse
Right.
DC: Great insight, Larry. That's a great insight. All right. Uh, shall we go to this next question, Larry?
LT: Let's do it. So Brooke, who had had or is having the most influence on your career?
Brooke Janousek: I would say right now I have had, I have learned something from everyone that I've worked with. Mm-hmm. But right now, the person that's having the most influence on my career, his name is Ian Salvage, and he is a Hoffman process. Teacher and coach. So for those of you that don't know what the Hoffman process is, it is something that I did, uh, in late 21. You go on a retreat for a week, either in California or Connecticut, you turn in your phone, your laptop, you don't have access to tv, newspaper, radio, and for an entire week you work on you. And so you're understanding why do I do the things that I do? Who did I learn that from? I either adopted it, adapted to it, or rebelled against it. So with Patty and Greg, I saw them do something that I took on outright or I was like, oh, I'll never do that. Um, or did
LT: You say those three things again, Brooke?
Brooke Janousek: Yeah, absolutely. So whomever raised us, grandparents, aunts, uncles, um, it's you adapt, adopt, or rebel. So you either adapt their behavior, you adapt to it in some fashion, you adopt it outright, or you rebel against it. Hmm. So I learned so much about myself during that, that process. And then Ian has continued to work with me. And so as I'm on this entrepreneurial journey and things upset me, or a client doesn't align, you know, I, we're not seeing eye to eye on something, I'll talk with him and he'll say, okay, what is this? You know, hearkening back to, is this something that you learned outright from, you know, observing your parents? Or is this a pattern that we need to kind of break down and, and help you work through? But, um, and I don't want it to sound woowoo because it's not, it's just Yeah. Yeah. Yep.
DC: Mm-hmm.
LT: It, it doesn't sound that way, by the way. Yeah. At all.
DC: Mm-hmm.
Brooke Janousek: Yeah. He's just had a profound impact on me from a personal standpoint, which then Right. You know, rightfully slow. So, has rolled into my, my professional life as well.
LT: Woo. This is deep D. Brooke.
DC: Oh, now, oh, we're getting existential here. We're getting existential. Uh, okay. So, uh, Brooke, this adapt, adopt, and, uh, and rebel mm-hmm. That framework, how were you able to go through your own process to determine how to recognize where you were doing these things.
Brooke Janousek: Mm-hmm. So there without giving too much away, because I don't want to, um, give away the secrets if somebody's planning on going to the Hoffman process. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But there's a pretty intensive paperwork that you go through at the beginning that asks you all these questions. Like, um, do you self-deprecate? Um, do you use vindictiveness as a, as a way to
DC: Ah, got it.
Brooke Janousek: Um, they start asking you those things. Um, like negative self-talk is something, or imposter syndrome is another word for it.
DC: Yep. Yep.
Brooke Janousek: Mm-hmm. I have, um, a lot of negative self-talk, as I'm sure many people listening to this podcast do as well. Yep. You, you pick that up from somewhere. Yeah. You don't just, um, you're not just born with these patterns. You have adopted them somewhere. Mm-hmm. And so even just the, sorry mom, I don't wanna call you out, but even just the, as a little girl, you know, hearing your mom say, oh, I don't like my hair today. That is something that then you, oh, I, I should, you know, you start looking at yourself and saying, oh, I don't like my hair either, because that's just what you're seeing. And so there's, that's just, you kind of start to trace back to where you picked up these things and then when you become aware of 'em, you know how to address them. So it probably took, I mean, it's a seven day process, so the first two days are very intensive in identifying, we call it awareness hell. Like all of a sudden you're just like, oh my God, I do this because of my dad. And oh my God, this happened when I was six years old and I can't believe I'm still hanging onto it.
It's just, it's crazy. Yep.
DC: Yeah, this is, this is pre, this is heavy. It's because
Brooke Janousek: I'm so sorry.
DC: No. Oh, no. Sorry. No apology needed. I'm, I'm glad I'm, I'm glad you went here. Yeah. Larry, did you have anything else on this one? Because I do have one more question, but go ahead. If you do
LT: go. No, go.
DC: Okay. All right. So what year did you do this, Brooke?
Brooke Janousek: I did it in, uh, 2000, uh, 21. I was supposed to do it in 2020. Yeah. Obviously that got canceled. Yeah, so I did it in February of 21.
DC: Got it. Okay. Alright. Years ago. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. So we're, we're now, you know, two and a half years since that time. What has, going through this process at the moment, you did it in your seven days and your subsequent journey, what impact has that had on your work life?
LT: Great question.
Brooke Janousek: Yeah. It, and I'm not saying this lightly, it has been life changing for me. It. Wow is so impactful.
LT: It sounds like Brooke, it sounds like it.
Yes. I'm
Brooke Janousek: such a proponent of this process because I know how to set boundaries now. I was working crazy hours in corporate, and now that I run my own business, I'm able to say, no, Fridays are my day where I can either work on my business, or if I want to go to a winery in Paso, I can. Mm-hmm. And so it's given me, you know, I saw that I had trouble setting boundaries because I want, I want to be liked by everybody. And so for me, I thought by saying no to this meeting or by, um, not saying no to this meeting, I'm all of a sudden not gonna be liked by this client. So I would say yes. And then all of a sudden now I'm in, you know, back-to-back meetings for 10 hours, which is not productive for anybody.
Mm-hmm. So it has allowed me to set better boundaries. It has allowed me to identify the values of the clients that I want to work with. So if they don't align with my values, we're not gonna work together. Yep. And that's not, you know, that's not a slight to them and what their values are. It's just we have to be in alignment for this to be a great relationship. And it's also helped me shape, you know, brand building is all about what are our brand values? What is our voice? What is our tone? How are we gonna communicate those values to our potential audience? And we have to be crystal clear on what those are. And so now I feel like I know really how to dive in and, and help people articulate their values. So that's also been helpful for me.
DC: Woohoo. Brand Nerds. I hope you are typing notes, clipping audio, writing something down or re-listening. Yeah, or re-listening. You're not gonna get this kind of stuff from folks very often because, uh, typically, uh, it is, it is challenging for us, Brooke, uh, as a human species to be vulnerable. Yeah. And you have, you have allowed us of to peer into an area that could be vulnerable, which you have now come out of it with as a strength. So I just say salute. Salute.
Brooke Janousek: Thank you. Thank you very much.
LT: That's great stuff, Brooke. Really? Uh, um, you already got me thinking I'm gonna be thinking about this after the podcast, honestly. That's really wonderful. D, you want go to the next question?
DC: I do, Larry. Thank you. Alright, Brooke. The, the person, the executive who doubles businesses and such, you have to have a lot of Ws in order to do that kind of thing.
For this question, I want to know absolutely nothing about any of those Ws Brooke. I want to know about your biggest F up, the big one. The, it's like, oh my goodness, how did I get myself into this? And importantly, what you learn from it.
Brooke Janousek: All right, so now I'm gonna ask you to get comfy 'cause I've got a story here.
DC: Let's do it.
Brooke Janousek: Wait, so, so this one's a little bit more lighthearted. We're gonna change the tone here a bit, but, uh, I'll take you back to my early twenties and my first job at the advertising agency, Bailey Lauerman. So I was hired as a project manager for new business. And then quickly worked my way up through the organization, um, became an account executive, and the client that I was in charge of is a major financial institution in the Midwest. So this is in Omaha, Nebraska, and their partnership with the University of Nebraska Lincoln Athletics. So I have the, I have the background in athletics, so they loved that I had that insight, and so that's why I got put on the account.
LT: Brooke, I I'm sorry to interrupt you. I wanna do this for the brand nurse, for those who don't, and I've never been to Nebraska Uhhuh, but I'm a big sports fan, so I want paint the picture even more is, if I'm not mistaken, on football Saturdays. Um, the stadium is what, what is it? I, I remember It's the, it's the, it's the third largest in, in, in Nebraska on game days, right?
Brooke Janousek: Yes, that is correct. 'cause the stadium holds 90 some thousand, so everyone descends upon it. Even during our worst seasons, we're still holding a sellout streak, um, which says something about our fan base. Mm-hmm. But yes, you're correct. It's their largest city in the state of Texas.
LT: That's why I wanted, because it's so huge. It's, there's, there's huge connection to, to Nebraska athletics, so I just wanted to make sure the Brand Nerds understand that.
Brooke Janousek: Yes, thank you. And, um, so, uh, First National Bank decided to sponsor, um, Husker Athletics. There was a great, you know, sponsorship deal. So they had signage in all the stadiums and, and part of the deal was with, um, a couple of the sports. They got to do an activation, so they got to be a sponsor of a game and then give away something or do a, I don't know, an in-game promotion. So the weekend is Mother's Day weekend in May. And the Husker baseball team at the time, very, very good. They were on their way, um, potentially to the College World Series, also hosted in Omaha, Nebraska, and, and they were playing at the time, we were still in the Big 12, they were playing Baylor. So it was a really big weekend. There was gonna be, you know, tens of thousands of families at this event. And one of the things that we decided to do was we were gonna do a giveaway. So we needed, I think, 10,000 items for this weekend. And we were talking about how giveaways should be for the fans, something usable, something of value. We don't wanna just give away a pen with our logo on it. Like what is it that is something that they can actually use? So we said, well, it's gonna be May, it's gonna be sunny, there is no like sun cover at all in the stadium, so let's hand out sunscreen to everybody that walks into the, the stadium. Mm-hmm. So client loves the idea, we're all on board. We thought, oh, this is, this is gonna be great. And so the, uh, copywriter goes to, to work on what is gonna say, what we're gonna write on the, um, sunscreen packets. And we go back and forth. And as we've all experienced, either on the agency side or the client side, the client wanted to change the creative. So I forget what the original line was, but the line that ended up being approved was "Protect your skin. Like we protect your assets." Seems harmless. Right? And that was, you know, the client, uh, made that modification, which is fine.
That's their right.
DC: Oh, I don't wanna get, I don't like it. I don't like it.
Brooke Janousek: Oh my gosh, this is so great. Okay, so the week of the, so everything is great. Everyone approves it. Yeah. The week of the game arrives, I get to work and my desk, I walk in, you know, seven 30 in the morning, my desk is covered in condoms. And I, I was like, what is happening here? And I'm looking around and I was like, who is, I mean, literally there was probably like 500 condoms on my desk. Okay. And they were green. And it, I saw right away, I saw this word protect and I was like, oh, dear God. Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no. And I look at it and I pick it up, "Protect your skin. Like we protect your assets." It is the sunscreen packets and these square foil packets. And I, I mean, there is no mistaking what they look like.
So I was like, I dunno what's worse. But the word protect was on there. And so, and then the material, I mean, it was just, and so I. I kind of just like, you know, my heart's beating pretty fast. And so I take it into my boss's office and I said, did you know I got the samples or I got the, the, um, sunscreen today? And I throw it on his desk and he goes, what the hell's this? And I said, that's the sunscreen. And he goes, it looks like a condom. And I said, I know
DC: You don't say.
Brooke Janousek: Don't say. And he goes, well, we can't hand these out. And I was like, yes, I know this. And then he said, well, how did this happen? And he goes, you saw a proof, right? And I said, yes, I saw a proof, but what I didn't see, I didn't get samples. Like I should have gotten a sample. Mm-hmm. So I, like, in my mind, it was gonna be more rectangular in shape, um, not this square. Um, so that was my first lesson learned early on is, okay, not only do you see and approve a proof, but you get a sample of it. Mm. The biggest lesson and the biggest takeaway for me was, okay, now I'm gonna have to call the client and tell them what happened. Yeah. And we're gonna have to pay for this. But I'm not, I can't just call them and say, hey, we screwed up. I had to call them and say, we screwed up, but here is what we're going to do to fix it.
LT: That's right.
DC: Mm-hmm.
Brooke Janousek: So, and that has been a lesson that I've taken throughout my whole career, is you don't call without either some one, at least one solution, or at least saying, we have some ideas. Just give me, you know, a couple hours and I'll run them past you. So that was a, a huge moment in my career. And our solution was, yes, we're not gonna hand these out obviously, Mother's Day weekend. That's a family event, but why don't we donate them to 'cause May, as I found out May or June is skin cancer awareness month. So I said, why don't we donate these to the dermatology clinics in South O where there is a population that is really gonna need them and maybe doesn't have the affordability to go buy some of this. So we got some good, um, feel good PR out of that from the donation, but I at least presented the solution when I called. So the client was happy that there was a solution. She wasn't happy that we were gonna trash, you know? Right. This, but um, and the baseball weekend, you know, was just announcements over the pa. There wasn't anything handed out, but funny and mortifying at the same time.
LT: Well, we love these stories because we all have them. Right. And we all have 'em. And what I think is most interesting. Is you even at, at an early part in your career went to owning it and solutioning it. Mm-hmm. That's what I think is really cool about the story.
DC: Mm-hmm.
Brooke Janousek: You have to, and I, I just want that to be, no matter the age, like that is just something that you, you need to do. And there's gonna, I mean, there's a ton more examples of that, but yeah, you have to own it. The client is gonna be way more forgiving and honestly, because we presented those solutions, she was willing to split the cost of it because she goes, well, I was the one that said we should use the word protect. So, I mean, we got a good laugh out of it, but, um, so that was also good. I think if I just would've called and said, I've got bad news, it would've gone another way.
LT: No question. It would've gone another way. D and I have been on the other side of those calls. Yeah. And the, the first question is, okay, so what's your fix?
Brooke Janousek: Exactly.
LT: Uh, you know, no, you, it's great that you own it, but you also have to at least have a solution.
Brooke Janousek: Exactly.
DC: I'll quickly say this first, Brand Nerds, which you heard from Brooke, is an example of getting lemons and turning it into lemonades.
LT: Yep.
DC: Throughout your career, you're gonna get lots and lots of lemons. Mm-hmm. And, uh, the, the key is how do you, how do you make that lemon into a lemonade? The second is, uh, there's a similar story at a really, really big company, uh, that is a global brand in the beverage space, and the color of their can is red. And they have, uh, they, they do some of the biggest summer promotions on the globe. Similarly with regard to getting a sample. Uh, I wasn't a part of this, but I saw it unfold. There was a promotion that was called Red Disc as in a disc summer on the top of the can. That's the, that is what it was called. I don't know what happened, but somehow the "s" got swapped out for a "c" Oh no. And that was ugly. That was ugly. Alright. With that, Larry, shall we go to the next question please? Maybe there should have been a co a co-promotion. I was just gonna say, gonna say that I had a co-promotion with that.
LT: Yeah. Oh man. That's funny. There's a lot of, and, and by the way, and, and D, I'm glad you know the point is, even at places like the most savvy marketers, oh yeah, this stuff happens.
DC: This happens. Yes, this happens.
Brooke Janousek: We're human.
LT: That's, that's right. Okay, Brooke, so next question regarding technology and marketing, can you tell us where you think marketers should lean in or best leverage tech? Or you can talk about areas that you think they, they should be leery.
Brooke Janousek: Yeah, I think from my personal experience where I have leaned in and where I have seen the greatest success is things that enable scalability. Mm-hmm. Uh, and but not replacing what you do. So, and I know this is the big debate right now with Ai. Um, I am the first to admit, yes, I use ChatGPT for things, but I don't rely on it to come up with strategy. Mm-hmm. I use it to say, Hey, here's an email I just wrote. Give me five compelling subject lines and then I'll pick one. Um, ah, So I had to give it the content. I had to, you know, I've, I've already thought of this is how I'm gonna talk to my audience, and this is why I am saying what I need to say. I just want kind of a cool, catchy subject line. So I think in that regard, that's enabling me to scale, um, a little bit. Or, um, making things a little bit easier for me.
Like CRMs, Canva, all of that has allowed me as a business owner to scale and replicate things that I would've had to sub out or, um, hire, you know, a full-time person for. So I think there's a lot there. And then also just from a data standpoint, marketers, the art and science of marketing, the, the science piece can really come into play and be to your advantage when you start leveraging tech the right ways.
DC: Hmm.
LT: Good stuff. That's good stuff. Yeah. No, I, I think, uh, I think both those, those are two different examples, but they're really good. Mm-hmm. Uh, Brand Nerds, uh, keep your ears to those. D, you wanna add anything to this?
DC: Yeah, just one thing. Glad I'm, uh, uh, Brooke, I'm really glad you brought up, uh, chat, uh, G P T. Yeah, me too. And the reason why I'm glad you brought it up is because, uh, when new technologies, uh, enter the scenes, what we start to think about as business people, and particularly marketers, is how do we use it? What we don't, uh, ask ourselves is how do we not use it? Mm-hmm. We don't do that. We're all just trying to figure out how to use it.
And what you just gave was a wonderful example. You'll pop an email, uh, in there that you have crafted, give me five different options for a subject line. Boom. That's how you use it. Mm-hmm. The way you are not using it is to develop strategy. Correct. Strategy. Now, this is not to say that ChatGPT or Ai is utterly incapable of developing strategy.
It's just that at this stage of the game, the, the level of human thought required to do sound strategy, that thing can't do, that can't do. So just Brand Nerds have in mind as you are engaging with this, these new forms of tech. In this case, Brooke brought up the, uh, uh, ChatGPT, is that what can it do for me, best particularly, I like Brooke, where you said, how does it allow me to scale?
Right? You, you don't need to rack your brain about subject lines, right? You drop 'em in there and it comes out so scale, but then what do you not do? That's my takeaway from, uh, what you said, Brooke.
Brooke Janousek: Right. And to the strategy piece. Strategy is rooted in insights. That's right. How will that, how will that know the consumer insights to create a sound strategy? It won't, so it's, it's nice for some things, but it's definitely not gonna replace others.
LT: Hmm. Well said. Yes. Well said. Shall we go to the next question?
DC: Final question, Brooke. Thank you. Larry. What are you most proud of?
Brooke Janousek: That's a, that's a big one. Um, I'm gonna give a, I'm most proud of from a professional standpoint and then a personal standpoint as well. Um, professionally, when I was at Support Works Inc in, uh, Omaha, Nebraska, we launched a franchisor brand from scratch, and we launched it in 2020. So not only did we have the pressure of the, the pandemic on ours shoulders. But just anytime you launch a brand, it's mm-hmm did we do enough research? Did we, is our strategy on, on point? But I am so proud of what the team did to bring that to life, um, to, to be part of something where we come up with the name, the logo, the colors, the brand purpose, define all of that, um, was just like one of the highlights of my career.
And then how do you take it to market so that, I mean, I got to see it from beginning to end and in something that I hadn't done before, which was franchising. So getting involved in the franchise disclosure document, which is a huge legal thing that you have to do. Writing the ops manual. I had oversight of how do we train our franchisees in marketing?
So that was such a. Just a pinnacle of my career, to be honest. I, I don't know that, um, anything can top that right now. Um, and then personally, I will say just doing this digital nomad journey and mm-hmm. Going out on my own, being independent, going to wineries by myself, that unlocked a whole new level of independence.
I've been to a movie by myself. I've been to a restaurant and sat at the bar at myself, but I went and did something this last month where I've gone to wineries that traditionally you go as a couple or you're on a girl's trip or something like that, or a couple's trip. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And I'm sitting there by myself and I'm like, you know what?
This is just fine. I'm having a great time. I'm enjoying something that I enjoy, and if nobody's here with me, who cares? I'm still doing it. And that took a lot of bravery and confidence. Mm-hmm. That I don't know I would've had two years ago, to be honest. Mm.
LT: Positive spin, right? Because you go, oh, I'm good. Not only am I good, I'm great. That confidence gives you more confidence, right?
Brooke Janousek: Yes, a hundred percent, yes.
DC: All right. So Brand Nerds. I'm not sure how this is gonna land, but I'm gonna keep it a stack with you all. So, Brooke, you go into this winery by yourself. I think that is super dope. Thank you. I wanna share a brief story of when I was single, I was sitting in some restaurant, uh, it may have been Bar Margo at Four Seasons. Could have been, um, could have been Marcel. This is a really nice French inspired steakhouse here in Atlanta. So I don't know where I was, but I was in someplace nice and I was really, really enjoying myself and I was by myself. So, uh, uh, some, some woman comes over, says something, and I'm, I'm I, I, Hey, how you doing there? I didn't know who she was. We're just making conversation, and she was like, so like you, you, I had all of this stuff in front of me looking like the last supper. And she says, uh, she says, wow, y'all. It's like, uh, uh, do you, you got a date? No. And she says, she says, uh, you're doing all of this by yourself. And I said this to her, so, Brand Nerds, gimme some grace. Now, I probably had a couple of, couple of, uh, glasses of wine at this time, Brooke. I said, I am a hell of a date. I like dating me. Okay. So I'm good. Okay.
Brooke Janousek: That's right.
DC: Yeah. So that, that's what I was on. I was on that, Brooke. Yeah. So I understand. I understand. Yes.
LT: But D, what's great about that story is like that's where we got to get to brand nerds, all of us, right? Yeah. Where the, what you're really saying is, I'm great with meat. Like it's, it is not boastful. It's like I'm totally cool here, eating dinner by myself, and I'm enjoying myself.
DC: I, I, I was having a great time and, and frankly at that point, okay, okay, now Brand Nerds, you got, you gotta give your brother give, give me some grace. Now pray for me. At that point in my life, I was like, I know what's gonna happen at this table. I'm gonna have a ball. This is gonna be a riot. I don't know what would happen at this table. If there was someone with me that I'd met a week ago that might not go so well. So, you know what? You ain't here. I'm here.
LT: That's right. That's right.
DC: Okay. Alright.
Brooke Janousek: That's right.
LT: Hey, Brooke, I just, I I just wanna go back to, you know, you talked about, uh, you know, the brand from scratch. Was that, was that Hello Garage? Was that the
Brooke Janousek: Yes.
LT: Okay. So I just wanted to shout that out. Um mm-hmm. Because I think that's important and, and those of us Brand Nerds, those of you who have been involved with, uh, the infancy of a brand and then actually seeing it, uh, get into the marketplace and see traction. I've been fortunate enough to do that myself, and it's the coolest feeling. It really is. Like, you know, uh, there's, uh, there's such satisfaction, you know, when you, when you get, when you're lucky to get on a brand and make something happen like DC did with Sprite, but Sprite was, you know, something that was already incredibly well known.
Mm-hmm. DC just took it to another level. But starting a brand from sc, you know, being involved in starting a brand from scratch and watching it grow, you do feel like a parent. Um, and, and it's something that you, uh, you will forever feel, uh, no matter where you move on to in your marketing career. That's something that will always have, uh, you know, some a, a great part of your heart, soul, and mind as you embark on anything that you do. And Brooke, for me, that was Powerade. I got to launch it for Coke. And so I still remember I had this, one of this funny things, I, I'm soon after we launched, I was in LA for I think focus groups or something, and it was like month one or two that the Bri, you know, that we were in national launch and I remember I was on the Strand again, Brooke, you can, I was on the Strand somewhere in like Hermosa, you know, in that area. Mm-hmm. And there were a couple of, there was three or four people walking and they were drinking Powerade, you know? Ah, yeah. And it was ah, yeah, time I saw like, you know, nobody gave it to them. Nobody, you know, it was like, wow, that's really cool. Yeah. So I, I still remember that, that's my goal.
Brooke Janousek: Yeah. And I still go and check the website and I see, oh, you know, if they're launching a, a new product. But it's nice to see too, the, the tone and the voice still being carried throughout. You just mm-hmm. You, you do, you feel like a parent and it's like, oh. They're growing up growing. Mm-hmm.
LT: Brooke. And we won't get caught. We're gonna move. But that, when you see them go left, like I've seen with Powerade. Ooh. That gets, ask these guys. That gets you. That, that sends you, yeah. Um, but that's a whole other thing. But you're, you're a hundred percent right. Um, so D we ready to move to the next section?
DC: Let's do it.
LT: Okay. Uh, so we are, we're coming off the five questions. Those were awesome. So now, uh, now Brooke, we are into What's popping? What's popping? Brooke? What's popping D?
DC: What's poppin'?!
LT: All right, Brooke, 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. And Brooke, I think you have something.
Brooke Janousek: I do.
LT: Yeah. Tell us. Oh, I do, please.
DC: Let's hear it.
Brooke Janousek: Okay. So, so I'm gonna tee this up. Um, hopefully I tee it up in a way that I'm gonna try and make you guess what I'm talking about. So today it is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Okay. It has inspired an economy, um, in itself and the products that it has inspired has generated 802 million in revenue for companies, um, between 2019 and 2020. Um, it has its own Twitter or X handle Starbucks. Yes, but what, what part of Starbucks?
LT: Frapaccino
Brooke Janousek: No, no. It's, it has inspired Oreos. That has inspired an entire movement.
DC: Oh, pumpkin spice.
Brooke Janousek: Pumpkin. Yes, pumpkin. The pumpkin spice latte. Pumpkin latte. Pumpkin spice.
DC: Yes, pumpkin spice. Okay. Okay. Alright. Okay. Alright. When you said, when you talked about the, oh, okay. Keep going. Alright. Got it?
Brooke Janousek: Yep. Yes. So first of all, I am, I just saw today, so Starbucks just released them today. This is a week ahead of schedule of, or excuse me, a week ahead of what they did last year, but it's 20 years old. But the fact that it has spawned all these other products, I mean, you have pumpkin spice Oreos, for goodness sake. I mean, so if you go to walmart.com and you search pumpkin spice products, there's a thousand products.
DC: Wow. A thousand, yes.
Brooke Janousek: Yes. So it could, and not just in food, but it could be like a t-shirt that says I love PSL, but mm-hmm. So what my thing is, is how, how incredible is it that something like this has inspired, like one of the headlines of the, um, news articles today was the Pu pumpkin Spice Economy is back, like, it has stimulated and produced all these other products in the hundreds of millions of dollars. So I just think that's pretty remarkable for something that I personally don't consume, I don't care for. So I'm in the, you know, the 7% that don't like pumpkin spice, but the fact that all these other products, I don't know, on the Coke machines, can you put, um, pumpkin spice flavor? I know you can do vanilla and stuff like that.
DC: I don't know.
LT: I don't think so, but,
Brooke Janousek: Oh, that would not be good. I hope they don't do that. I hope they don't do that.
DC: Yeah. I don't know.
Brooke Janousek: But just talk about branding. It's like now a flavor has become, A product in itself and a, I don't, I don't even know how to categorize it now.
LT: This is a good one, D. This is a good one.
DC: This is a good, you, you go, Larry, you go.
LT: So, I, I think what's interesting about it is, again, going back to some of what we were talking about earlier, uh, you know, Starbucks, they're, they're always trying to innovate, right? Mm-hmm. Come out with something new, while most people just show up probably and get what they normally get.
But there, there's a, there's a level of energy that they want to connote. And this is me having to educated guess, right? That they always want to be on the cusp of things and then certain things stick. Mm-hmm. And again, personally, I'm not a big fan of pumpkin and just like you said, Brooke, but there's a really interesting, uh, There's a real, there's something really interesting there that it's 20 years old.
I just, uh, as you mentioned it, I, I see all the, there was a CNN story about it, right? Yes. Um, and, and so, so it's really interesting for me, for the things that stick versus the things that sort of go by the wayside. And I, I, and I, I'm, that's my, where my curiosity goes. Like, I just wonder why this, this is one of those that not only has it stuck, but to your point, it is actually, uh, uh, catapulted into a new, a whole new category of all kinds of things.
Brooke Janousek: Mm-hmm. Well, and I think some of it, it. My hypothesis of why it stuck is it's signifying something. It's signifying a change of season. So when you put the pumpkin spice out in the market, it's like, oh, we're moving from summer to fall now. And some people, ah, yeah, some people love fall and they wanna be cozy and, and just like they, I mean, they've ca, you know, capitalized on their red cups. I love it when the Red cups show up in Starbucks. Yes. Because I'm like, Ooh, the holidays are here. So I think, yeah, yeah, yeah. It could be the insight that it's, you know, a, a season that people love. I, I don't know, but I, I doubt that that was their intention, to be honest. I think they were probably like in their little flavor lab making this up and said, oh, let's try it. I know they released it to a hundred stores before they went nationwide, and it went gangbusters, so they did some test marketing.
LT: Ooh. So I, I just want to hit one this, and then I'm gonna give it to you. D, what? Just one quick comment. It goes back to what we were talking about before. Functional flavor, to your point, they probably test marketed it, but mm-hmm.
Who knows how much functional flavor, but where you were, see this is where Brooke is a great marketer, Brand Nerds has gotta listen to where she immediately laddered up to, oh, it's the feeling of fall. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And then not only is the feeling of fall, it's the feeling of Halloween because it's pumpkin. Mm-hmm. So all the feelings that we have, most people have very nostalgic, good feeling about Halloween. So by just having this, this pumpkin related item as just what seems like as a flavor pumpkin spice, it then can really catch some people in the most, what we would say, emotionally connecting things of Halloween and family and fun and nostalgia by just this one goofy pumpkin spice flavor.
Brooke Janousek: Mm-hmm.
DC: I don't think we've ever had a, what's popping like this before, Larry? Nope. This, this one is, this one is super unique and for two reasons. I think. So Brand Nerds, technically the way line extensions work. 'cause Starbucks, uh, pumpkin spice latte is a line extension. So this is the way it works. The brand, the, the brand Starbucks is like a tree and any line extension is like a branch coming off the tree.
LT: Yep.
DC: And you can only line extend as far as the strength of the brand. The base of that tree. If you try to line extend too far with a weak brand as a base, the tree will fall over. Therefore, your brand and your business will fall over. But if you have a very strong tree, you can line extend off of it far and wide. So let's just analyze what's happening here. We have the base brand called Starbucks. Then we have one line extension called latte. Then we have another line extension off latte called Spice. Uh uh uh uh uh, pumpkin Spice.
Spice Spice. Okay, what's that again? Pumpkin Spice. Yeah. Thank you Larry. Pumpkin Spice Latte. So it's all the way out here and it's still standing. So what that, what that speaks to Brooke and, and, and Larry and Brand Nerds is the strength of the Starbucks brand that enabled it to do that. Second point, we had Abe Smith on here. He's head of International of Zoom, Brooke, he was a great guest of ours.
Brooke Janousek: I loved that episode, by the way. Loved it.
DC: Oh, did you? Yeah. He, he is, we, we, one of our favorites, like Abe was really breaking it down. And so at the opening I did a little tease and I mentioned some brands, Kleenex, Jet Ski, Uber, and these are all brands that have become synonymous with categories.
Yes. And so what I'm not familiar with, and there's a lot I'm not familiar with, is I am unfamiliar with a line extension that had a pumpkin spice latte that has become a brand in and of itself. Right. This is just like, like, like, wow. Yeah. Wow. So those are my two takeaways.
Brooke Janousek: Those are great takeaways. Um, and the, to you, I loved the. It was just a nice, uh, refresher for me online extension, so I love the way you explain that. But yes, they have a Twitter or X following of 83,000 followers just for a pumpkin spice latte account. So you're right. They've built up this, this incredible brand, and it's inspired so many other things, and I, I just love it or not love it or hate it. It's, uh, it's working and they're, they're doing all they can to capitalize it. I think this the week that they launch is their highest week of sales the entire year, because everybody's like, I've been waiting for the whole year for this. Kind of like when the McRib goes back. Oh, yeah, I remember. Right, right.
DC: Yes. Yeah. By, by the way, by the way, Brooke, that was not a rib, just for the record. Okay. Yeah.
LT: You know what, Brooke just introduced something really interesting. Mm-hmm. This is why this is such a great conversation. It's now a lot of. There'd be CFOs out there. The CFO of Starbucks would probably say, well, damn, this pumpkin spice latte is doing great. Why don't we have it all the time?
DC: Yeah. Oh, that's good, Larry.
Brooke Janousek: That's good.
LT: Right?
DC: That's good, Larry. That's good. Yes.
LT: As we as marketers, some marketers would say, yeah, oh yeah, we should do that. No, I know I'm gonna speak for myself, but I see Brooke shaking her head, and I know Dee, this is why if you keep it the way Starbucks is, you, the anticipation you want as a marketer, you always want people for wanting more.
This is brilliant on Starbucks part that they're continuing it to make it a seasonal item, in my opinion. Mm-hmm.
Brooke Janousek: I agree a hundred percent.
DC: What a hell of a point, Larry. I'll, I'll, I'll say this as it relates to that. Sure. Um, similarly, Chick-fil-A, they're not open on Sundays. Right. And there are folks that say, why are they not open on Sundays?
They can make more money on Sundays. When, when, uh, when my kids were younger, Brooke and, uh, and Larry, there would be some days where I would leave the house thinking I was going to get them some Chick-Fil-A on a Sunday, and I would roll up and go, damn. And what, what it, what it made me want to do is go more often during the week because I couldn't get it on Sunday. This is your point, Larry. Some CFO, uh, it, it, as long as Howard Schultz is is alive, and I hope he lives a very long time that CEO and Chairman of the Board for, uh, for Starbucks, it will be a limited run, but when he passes, there may be some CFO that goes, Hey, we need to, we, we need to figure this out. But I do think it's interesting that Brooke did drop a little jew-el related to this. She said it's a week early. Interesting. So, so we gotta be, we gotta make sure that like next year we gotta watch this. Is it going to drop in July? In July?
Brooke Janousek: Oh, I hope not. Lemme have my summer. You're infiltrating my summer with your pumpkin business.
DC: Yes. Yes.
LT: Back to school is now in June. That's when I used to get outta school.
Brooke Janousek: Like, right, right. Oh, wow.
LT: Man. D has Brooke been amazing or what
DC: Are we at the end already?
LT: The end. We're at the end.
DC: Oh, wow. Okay. Brooke, this has been so much
LT: fun. We, we, we so appreciate you. Uh, you've been amazing. I've, I mean, Brooke dropped so many jewels, but I'm gonna, I'm gonna try and keep it to five here.
So here's my five. Mm-hmm. And Brooke said this like, like in almost in the first few lines of, of, of speaking. She said branding is storytelling and making you feel something. Does that synopsize what we do right?
DC: When we were at our best?
LT: Yes. That's exactly right. So Brand Nerds. Remember that. That's number one. Number two, like Brooke organically did with her late bloomer wine example, when you're living your life as a marketer, Brooke is, she's so curious and she's conscious. So notice the examples out there. Good and bad around you. There's so much to learn from when you're just living your life, right? So that's number two, three. Uh, it'd be great for you to take measure of, I'm gonna say this, Brooke, if I have this right, of Ian Salvage and the Hoffman Process, and understand your connection to who brought you up and the three parts of how you have been shaped. By adopt, adapt, and rebel. And it probably, if you're really into it, you should really look into what, into doing what Brooke did. So that's number three. Uh, four, if people you work for in any capacity, whether you're, whether you're actually in a, in a, uh, nine to five job, that's a W two or if you're in an agency situation and they don't align with your values and how you work, you shouldn't be working with them. That's a big one, guys. Um, guys and, and girls out there. And then the fifth one last one, like Brooks sunscreen story, you mess up. Own it and solution it. Those are my five.
DC: Mm.
Brooke Janousek: Love it.
DC: Mm. Those are really good. Larry.
LT: That's Brooke. Brooke. Brooke, Brooke dropped so much great stuff to you.
Brooke Janousek: Oh my gosh. She did. Again, you're making me blush.
You're making me blush. This is, that's great.
DC: I mean, Brooke. I'm trying to put it all together because there's, there's so much here Yep. To work with. But if you've heard any of our podcasts, and it sounds like you've at least heard Abe's that the, the thing I try to do, Brooke, is have an understanding of the human being before us. Mm-hmm. Uh, uh, I, I have a belief that everyone on the planet is here for a specific reason, and if they don't do their thing, we don't get it. We don't benefit from it in the world. You mentioned your, uh, your story with your, uh, with your father, and you gave him a cookie that you made, and. He smiled and, and said, oh, thank you very much.
And said, good job. Um, I say to my daughters, Brooke, I have three daughters. One of them, uh, Hailey is on the podcast here, uh, on this record heading our marketing. That was Hailey oh, with, with the, she's about, by the way, brand nerve. She, she popped on here. You all, you all see it with like a Afro puff situation going on. But I digress. But what I say to my girls, Brooke, is your gifts are not for you. They're for others. And you gave your cookie to your father. 'cause that was a gift for him, although you made it. Here is what I have now, um, discovered about you. Let's go back to your wonderful flowers that Larry read when you were at the Walt Disney Company. You doubled bookings. Doubled them. At the University of Nebraska, you are working with 175,000 plus alumni where you grew membership and you increase scholarship funds. So scholarship funds going to kids who themselves then find their, uh, find an ability to grow their academic careers and then grow their ability to do, um, the work they want to do in the world.
You are at Hello gr, uh, Garage and so, and, and solution view. You increased revenues and measurable ROI Then you start Grow CMO Grow. CMO. Yeah. And, and now you are on the Brooke on the Grow, which is chronicling your moves out west. Mm-hmm. All right, so that's, that was in the flowers bit. Now as we started to get into our chat during the podcast, Even before we started to hit the record button, you started telling us this story about this winery that you went to called Herman Story Winery.
And so you really got into this thing. And wines grow at vineyards and they, they become great wines based on their root systems. A good wine is only as good as a good vine. So you started talking about that. Then you gave us the story about Nestle Tollhouse cookies. This was the first branding experience that you love.
And you talked about your mother, Patty and your father Greg. If I'm not mistaken, I haven't seen a package of a Tollhouse cookie in a long time, but I believe the iconography was elves in a tree house. I think that was it. Yes. Okay. That's ke, that's Keebler. That's Keebler. Oh, that's Keebler. Okay. I'm thinking.
Okay. Oh, no, but you're close. We'll go with it. Let's, let's, let's, let's get rid of that one. Let's get rid 'cause that, 'cause I have more. Okay. This, this, uh, experience that you've had where you were, you say seven days, I give up my phone and I, I learn, uh, I learn about things and the three areas of adapt, adopt, rebel. This has allowed you to grow as a person. And then when we started talking about brands and you said, you know what? Brands are like kids. When you go back and see them, you're like, and they're all growing up. They're growing up. And then we talked about Starbucks. This was your, what's popping Starbucks, this wonderful line extension.
And again, I'm not making this up, uh, Brooke or brand nerds. I have talked about this example of a tree with line extensions for years. This is not something that's new. Right? Okay. Everything about you is about growth personally and professionally, Brooke. So my summation of what I think you are about the, the gift that you are giving to the world through your work and through your professional, through your, your personal journeys is that you are a lover and creator.
Interesting and insightful marketing, a lover and creator of interesting and insightful marketing. This is what allows you to tell the stories that you tell, and I believe this is what has you compelled to be attracted to stories that are about growth. A root system. You are you, you are a, a root system.
Brooke Janousek: I love this so much and I have been struggling with my value proposition. It's crazy. I'm a marketer and then now I have to come up with my own unique selling proposition. And
LT: It's hard.
Brooke Janousek: It is so hard. And what you just said, lover and creator of interesting and insightful marketing, you just met me and that is like me to a T. So thank you. You have a gift for seeing that in others. Thank you.
DC: Thank you. Thanks Brooke. Thank you.
LT: Brooke, man, this has been so much fun. Before we, uh, exit, uh, do you have any thoughts that you'd like to share with the Brand Nerds and us before we depart?
Brooke Janousek: No, just that it's been an honor, uh, to be on this podcast with y'all and if anybody wants to connect with me, I am very active on LinkedIn, so you can find me at LinkedIn.
Uh, search Brooke Janousek. And because Grow is a huge part of my brand, I have a little seedling icon or, uh, nice emoji next to my name so you'll know that that's me, so right. Brooke, Janis sec. LinkedIn. Thank you everyone.
LT: Brooke, that's knowing your brand, Brand Nerds, knowing your brand. That's awesome.
That's a great way to, uh, to uh, segue to the end here. So thanks for listening to Brands, Beats, and Bytes the executive producers of Jeff Shirley, Darryl "DC" Cobbin, and Larry Taman, Hailey Cobbin, and Jade Tate. And Tom Dioro. That is him. And if you are listening to us via podcast, it would be great if you can please rate and review us.
Additionally, if you do like the show, please subscribe and share. We hope you enjoyed this podcast and we look forward to next time where we will have more insightful and enlightening talk about marketing.