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We Built This Brand explores the origins, evolution, and impact of brands through conversations with entrepreneurs, CEOs, and marketing experts. Hosted by Chris Hill, the podcast offers insights into brand development, storytelling, and strategies for growth. Each episode provides actionable takeaways, highlighting challenges, lessons learned, and diverse career paths. With a focus on authenticity and reputation, it’s a valuable resource for anyone passionate about branding and business.
Jonathan: Part of how we get there is having good core leadership that's like, "I'm not the one making all the decisions, and I have to be okay with, you know, maybe some missteps or somebody doing something that I would have done it differently." And what I've found in that is that oftentimes they're doing it better than I would have done it.
Chris: Welcome to We Built This Brand, where we pull back the curtain on the people, the ideas, and the sometimes challenging process of building something that matters. Today, I'm joined by Jonathan Hally, a good friend of mine and the founder of Big Slate Media. Now, Jonathan started this business more than a decade ago and has built it into one of the region's top video production companies, working with the likes of Red Bull, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Dude Wipes, and Raising Cane's all along the way.
If you're into media production, I think you'll really enjoy this chat with Jonathan. So without further ado, let's get into it
All right. Well, welcome to We Built This Brand. Um, Jonathan, it's great to have you with me.
Jonathan: Man, thanks for having me. Yeah. It's so cool to hang out.
Chris: Yeah, yeah. It's so exciting to, like, we, we were just talking earlier this week, and you were like, "Hey, when am I gonna be on?"
Jonathan: You were like, "How about tomorrow?" I was like, "Yeah, let's do it."
Yeah. No, it's amazing. Yeah. I've been, I've been so... I've been waiting in the wings just quietly, like-
Chris: Mm-hmm ...
Jonathan: maybe one day I'll get the honor, maybe one day. Oh. And then here it is.
Chris: Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, I've, I've wanted to do this for some time. Yeah. So it's exciting that we're getting the chance to sit down and talk today.
I would say you're a few years ahead of me in terms of owning a business by yourself and all that, and it's cool to see what you've done with Big Slate Media. So before we dive into Big Slate, let's- let's kind of start back at the beginning. How did you get to Big Slate Media? How did all this start?
Jonathan: So the path to Big Slate really, uh, I'll start, like, high school.
We have a mutual friend, Steven Johnson, who, uh, you know, I kind of spent a lot of time working with as- as a high school student. And then, uh, we did a tech startup together. Um, and then I dropped out of college to do that. And then, uh, I... As things go, that it didn't work out, tech startup in your early 20s.
And then I moved to Chattanooga for a bit, came back. Uh, one of the guys that was involved in that tech startup, Jeremy Bergman, was running a company called 245 Tech, which is a- Mm ... a web development company. Um, and I was- started there as kind of a project manager, web developer, and then eventually went into sales there.
Had a great time. And, uh, then while I was there, I bought a drone one day. I spent my whole paycheck on a drone, and was like, "This is... I just wanna do this. Like, this- it's- y- it's like video games. Like, you can go anywhere." And this was 2015, so, like- Drones weren't really a thing yet. Um, and I had a couple of, like, viral videos.
I took some risk and flew it in the snowstorm. Uh, and then, yeah, that's kinda, I was like, "Man, I could do this." And so originally partnered with, uh, Jeremy and his business partner, Scott, um, to start Big Slate, and then shortly thereafter, Bottom Out. So that's kinda the, that's kinda the, the down and dirty path to get here.
So a little unconventional, um, but yeah.
Chris: Oh, I think everybody's got a creative path that gets them from... Especially if you are creative, like, you spend some time in other fields before you're able to finally be like, "All right, I'm gonna launch into the thing I'm really passionate about," or find a way to make it pay so that you can do it.
I met you, I remember, I mean, I've known you since you were little. Um- Sounds like such an old man thing to say. Like, for being s- for being as far advanced in business as you are, I'm, I'm, I'm older. And so it's just like, it's cool, and it's always just funny to me. Like, um, I remember sharing, if you're okay with me sharing this- Yeah, sure
I remember sitting you, uh, out at the pool as a lifeguard- Yeah ... when you were a kid, 'cause you were being, like, you were breaking the rules or something. But- That sounds
Jonathan: right. Yeah. That sounds right. Yeah. And
Chris: it wasn't-
Jonathan: Disruptor from a young age.
Chris: Yeah, yeah. Disruptor from a... That's a great way to put it. Yes, I love that positioning.
It was a lot of fun. Um, and then meeting, of course, kinda paths reconnecting at 245- Mm ... 'cause we were doing some similar stuff, and I was in the marketing side, you were doing web development. We had a project together. I'll never forget that pizza night. Um- But, um,
Jonathan: yeah. Those were some good times. Like, that, it was like the Wild West of, like- development and, uh, anyway, we just had a great time.
It was, yeah, it was awesome. It was a
Chris: lot of fun.
Jonathan: It
Chris: was a lot of fun. L- good adventure there, and then seeing you kinda get to, um, launching Big Slate and all that was its own adventure, and really cool to see you kinda branch out and get to grow the way you have. So-
Jonathan: Yeah ...
Chris: it's been fun.
Jonathan: Appreciate that.
Yeah, yeah. It's been
Chris: fun.
Jonathan: It's, I mean, I'll say the same thing. Like, it's, you are the quintessential example of somebody who has found something they're very passionate about and turned that into a brand, then turned that into a, a successful business. So it's, it's cool. I've, we're in the same building, so I get to see some of it every now and then.
Chris: Yeah.
Jonathan: And it's cool to, like, yeah, be, yeah, be adjacent to your story at the same time, so. Well,
Chris: thank you. Yeah. Thank you. It's awesome. It's a cool place to be, and it, it's fun that we've had this time together to, to be able to, like, share space together, kinda work in proximity to each o- to each other. It's been, it's been really fun.
So yeah, it's exciting. So you started Big Slate. O- once you got to the point where you were, um, launching the company on your own, building it for yourself, you were free of the 245 Tech relationship, what was that like getting started in that?
Jonathan: The first word that comes to mind is scary. Um, and granted, I was, I don't know, like 24, 20- I can't...
Yeah, somewhere around there, 24, 23. And I, I didn't have a lot to lose, but it still felt scary. Mm-hmm. Um, and especially, like, that jump off of, like, hiring the first person and realizing that, like, oh, it's not just my mortgage that's on the line here. Now it's that person's as well. That's, like, yeah, it was a scary moment, but also incredibly liberating.
From the time being a kid running around the pool breaking the rules to, to, you know, now, uh, I've always been... Not, I've, I've not had issues with authority. My parents may say different, but I've not had issues with authority as much as, like, I've just, I've, I've had visions and ideas, and I've, and I think that unlock, uh, to take d- you know, the scary part also was opportunity, right?
That I, I could affect change, and that, that feeling was, like, really cool to kind of unlock.
Chris: I was actually told before I started Humble Pod that I was a bad soldier.
Jonathan: That means you make a great entrepreneur. Yeah.
Chris: That's exactly what it means. Um, do you know Austin Church?
Jonathan: Yeah,
Chris: yeah. He's the one who told me that.
Jonathan: Okay.
Chris: Yeah. Yeah. And, and that was, that was a moment of re- revelation for me. So I, I... It's okay if you had a problem with authority or something- Yeah, yeah ... 'cause that, I like, I identify with that- Yeah ... closely.
Jonathan: Yeah. It, I, I think every entrepreneur has some hardheadedness to it, uh, uh, to them that it makes them have a higher tolerance for risk, 'cause you're like, "It's, it's m- uh, this is my idea," Yeah
"so it's, you know, it's gonna be, it's on me."
Chris: And yeah, and, and hiring somebody for the first time, man. That's, you realize I'm not just, I don't have one family anymore, I have two.
Jonathan: Mm-hmm.
Chris: At least.
Jonathan: Yeah.
Chris: And then you're providing for all those people. Yeah. It becomes a different animal.
Jonathan: Yeah. A
Chris: different level of responsibility, different level of mindset, so yeah, that is a big challenge.
You mentioned going viral. Was that really what kind of, like, propelled the business forward? Or what was it for you that you think really helped Big Slate grow in those early years?
Jonathan: Two things. Um, I do think that did help. Real quick story on that was there was a big snowstorm that came to town, and I took my drone and, uh, put it up in the snowstorm, filmed the, you know, kind of all around Knoxville, but especially the, the stadium.
Uh, posted online, and didn't think anything of it, and then it just, it was on... It was everywhere. Uh, and so that, like, because of that, I became kind of the drone guy in town. Uh, and so then, you know, people started calling, you know, for that reason. And then I think the other kind of catalyst for growth was the Knoxville Chamber.
They don't pay me to say this, but it, genuinely, I built the early stages of this company on the events and the connections and the networking and all that kind of stuff that they would do, and I did a lot of free work. Um, not necessarily even for them, but just in general. That, you know, built relationships, and business is all about relationships.
So those are the two kind of things that- Yeah, the viral video helped to some extent, but then, you know, the, the j- networking and just being everywhere all the time, uh, was, was, yeah, essential. What's nice now is that they're an organization that is, like, supporting economic development more. And so at the stage that Big Slate's at now, it's like, actually, that is what I need.
I need larger corporations to come in here- Right ... you know, so that we can have more local work. So, um, all's worked out, but it's, it's, uh, there's, there's a need there.
Chris: Yeah. Yeah. Um, the smaller business side of me is like, "Yeah, I, I understand your qualms."
Jonathan: Yeah. Yeah. Well, and, and d- I, I, we don't have to get too far into this, but, like, the, the Knoxville Entrepreneurship Center has really stepped up to kind of- Right
fill a lot of those- Mm-hmm ... those gaps of networking and support. So.
Chris: Yeah, yeah.
Jonathan: It's, yeah. The ecosystem's changed, which is, I think, a good thing.
Chris: Yeah. I think so. And I mean, that, that was, I think, to a degree, kind of how we, we recon- not reconnected. Mm-hmm. It sounds like we hadn't talked to each other in ages.
Well, it's not entirely-
Jonathan: Yeah ...
Chris: untrue.
Jonathan: Yeah. I mean, you went, you went to college, then I kind of went to college, and then- Yeah ... yeah.
Chris: Yeah, yeah. But, but all that, that kind of is where we, um, you know, got things moving again. But so then you grew from there. You, you had the economic development. What would you say was the real first moment of, like, validation in the business for you, where you were like, maybe it's after you hired an employee or something like that.
But there's always that, um, that fear, undone, uncertainty that comes with, you know, starting a business. And then getting into it, you kind of get worried. Uh, is this gonna pay the bills? Like, when was that moment where you realized, "Okay, this is moving forward. This is something real"?
Jonathan: I maybe have an u- unconventional answer to this 'cause there's not...
Like, I still, I think, probably every day- Mm ... to some extent, still go, "Is this viable? Is this the right thing?" And that's not, like, I'm not downplaying the success and all of that, but I think it's, it sh- it speaks to, like, my mindset of entrepreneurship, that it, like, it is constant evolution. It's constant iteration, and that means change constant, which means no consistency, which means no safety.
Mm-hmm. Um, and I, I think I've found, like, at every level, whether, you know, we have, what, 32 employees now. From the first one to now, the hiring decision is still as equally as, like, ooh, is this, should we do this? Do we feel confident that- Right ... we're gonna be able to, you know, sustain? So the validation is that people keep showing up here- Mm-hmm
every day to work, uh, that we keep getting work, uh, from clients that are, you know, they'll come in and work with us one time. They'll keep coming back. That's super validating. Yeah. Uh, there's not, like, a moment where I was like, "Okay, I have a business." It's, it's kind of this constant worry that maybe I don't that's, that is helping propel growth, and, like, there's an unhealthy, you know- Yeah
aspect of that that you can l- let, like, I could let myself get to, but it's, instead of that, it's motivating.
Chris: I feel that.
Jonathan: Yeah, yeah. I think everybody does. Like, I, I think that's, that, like- Mm-hmm ... you're building a brand. Like, you're taking risk, and, like, that, there, there is a level of discomfort in that, that if you wait for the moment to be like, "Okay, I'm good now"- It will never come
Chris: No.
And you, you've gotta kinda be comfortable living in that place of like existential fear and dread.
Jonathan: Yeah. Yeah. I would say opportunity
and growth, but sure.
Chris: Yeah, this is the more cynical aspect of it. Yeah. Yeah, much better spin on it.
Jonathan: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Chris: But yeah, man, that's, that is, um, that's a great place to be.
And I mean, it's, it's, it's always a challenge. But in growing the business, you've built a big brand. I mean, Big Slate Media is well-known in Knoxville. Everybody knows who you are. Um, and how did you, like from a brand perspective, how did you come up with the name Big Slate?
Jonathan: Originally, when I, actually when I did the drone video that went viral, we were called Depth of Field Productions.
And, uh, it went viral, and somebody sued us- Oh ... and was like, "Hey, uh, that's my name already, and you can't use it." Oh. So that's w- I was like, "Okay. Well, I gotta change something. Uh, so what's a production term? Uh, oh, a slate. That's kind of cool. It has like a rock meaning. Let's throw an adjective in front of that.
Big. Sure. All right. Great." That was it. I wish there was some, this, this big evolution, you know, uh, heartfelt intentionality. But it was, yeah, it was a little bit of desperation, uh, to, you know, adjust after a lawsuit. And I'm friends with the person who, who, uh, you know, sent the cease and desist now. Oh, wow.
And we, we joke about it, and I, I have thanked him. Now he, he is like, "You're welcome," like I, "that I did that-" Mm-hmm ... "so that you had to change the name."
Chris: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, it, it helps because, like Big Slate, I mean, Depth of Field, like that probably is a common name, probably why he sues people for it, I would imagine.
Jonathan: Sure, yeah.
Chris: Um, it's just one of those things.
Jonathan: I think it was, he was like on set, and people were like, "Did you do this drone video?" And he was like, "No." Oh,
Chris: wow.
Jonathan: So it was, yeah,
Chris: it permeated. Yeah, 'cause it, it made national news. I mean, that's- Oh, yeah, yeah ... a thing we haven't talked about.
Jonathan: Yeah.
Chris: Like, it was a
Jonathan: big thing.
It was, yeah, and Lester Holt showed it- That's right ... on the NBC Nightly News. I remember being like, "
Chris: Holy cow."
Jonathan: It was on Mashable and NCAA. Like, yeah, it went, went all over.
Chris: That
Jonathan: was back
Chris: in the day, before 2016, I believe. Was that before, pre-2016?
Jonathan: That was, yeah, pr- it probably was 2016.
Chris: Oh, yeah.
Jonathan: Somewhere around that.
Chris: It was still when we had slow news days.
Jonathan: Yeah. True.
Chris: Not, not to say anything about the quality
Jonathan: of the video. Yeah, what are you saying? It was a great video. It was a great
Chris: video. But it, you know, you put something like that on the national news at the end because there's nothing else to cover in the news.
They're like, "What, what, like light thing can we put in the news to make everybody happy?" Yeah. I don't feel like that happens much anymore.
Jonathan: It was, well, the funny thing is that it was painted as doom and gloom, 'cause it was like the South is getting pummeled with snow. That's right. Look at the, look at the stadium.
Oh, yeah. Either way, it was
Chris: cool. Yeah. It was cool. Yeah. So okay, so, so you just had the name to be the name.
Jonathan: Yeah.
Chris: But it's become more than that. It's become a brand to people. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's become something people recognize. What have you seen in that growth? Like, have, have you seen like the brand be influential in any way?
Jonathan: Yeah, I think, um, I think now, you know, we, we took kind of a play for our local market here, and we're like, "We're just gonna like say yes to every opportunity that we have," right? Whether, and money be damned, you know, in that decision, in, to some extent. Um, and, and I mean that from like a philanthropic standpoint or from a, "Hey, we'll do this and trade sponsorship," or, you know, that kind of thing.
And so I think that helps like- People just be aware of like, "Oh, Big Slate, okay, I've heard of you." And I, I think that helps. But now, like I've, I've seen the evolution of it become, you know, we're a production company and an agency. Um, and so now the m- the name could mean, uh, we have a big slate of services.
You know? Like, there's, there's multiple things that we're offering, and kind of still tie into that production side of things, and, and big being a part of that. So our, our big focus has always been, um, on like vertical integration and, and, you know, adjacent kind of business units all operating under one, one roof.
Chris: Mm-hmm.
Jonathan: And so the name, we've kind of grown into the name, into the brand naturally. Um, and I always say there's, I've never had this like big like mustache twisting plan of this is how we're gonna grow and, and, you know, uh, you know, become who we are today or where we're going, but it's just been a response to the market, a response to demand.
Uh, is this something that we are good at? Could we be good at? Do we need to be good at? And then we kind of slide it in, and it's, if it fits within that kind of vertical integration, that's ha- has made sense and plays in, I think, to the brand of Big Slate.
Chris: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. As you have grown, you've had, I mean, you're at 32 employees now.
That's a lot of employees to manage. Yeah. How, how has that changed you as a person and a leader?
Jonathan: Oh, man. Ev- every day, and so much. My, like, leadership team, part of how we get there is having good core leadership that's like I'm not the one making all the decisions. And so my leadership team has been amazing at handling, you know, whether it's HR stuff or system process stuff, client issues, like all of that.
That's changed me from the standpoint of I'm not in control. And I have to be okay with, you know, maybe some missteps or somebody doing something that I would've done it differently. And what I've found in that is that oftentimes they're doing it better than I would have done it, and I would've probably had an unhealthy response to that situation.
But because they're committed to the brand and they're their own person, they're... And I trust them, they're gonna make their own decision and, and it's oftentimes a really good one. Um, so that's been a hu- that's been a change for me. I think a lot of entrepreneurs and, and s- startup folks early on wanna, like, hold everything, and it is...
I still catch myself doing that. And part of that growth for me has been leadership coaching. I've invested in that, uh, you know, somebody to help me kind of sort through my feelings, um as a business owner. That's fair. Which is totally underrated, by the way. Like, therapy is, like, very accepted now. Like, business therapy is a thing.
Mm-hmm.
And, and I think that's, you know, having all of, all the folks has, has changed, changed me a lot and, and pushed me to be a better person in a lot of ways. Um, and kinda going back to, like, you know, I think you have a probably similar experience of, like, a lot of who we are, who-- I'll speak for myself.
Who I am as a, as a boss is a symptom of bosses that I've had in the past, and whether I am gonna accept or reject their responses to situations. Um, and so I'm trying to be now the kind of boss that's hopefully somebody is experiencing my decision-making and, and leadership and going, "I wanna be like that."
Um, and so that puts, you know, pressure and expectation to You know, do the right thing in a lot of cases. That may be counterproductive to what, you know, a business analyst would say to do, um, but it's the right thing to do. So that's a long-winded answer, but that's- That's a good
Chris: one.
Jonathan: Yeah. Those
Chris: are deep questions- Yeah
so it's okay
Jonathan: if it's long. Yeah, yeah. Okay,
Chris: cool. That was good. I totally understand that, and for me, a lot of my experience has been, you know, what bad bosses have I had, and what do I... Not that all my bosses have been bad, but a lot of it has been very similar of like, what do I wanna take, what do I wanna not take, um, from those people.
And, and a lot of times it's like, "Okay, I don't wanna be like this person, so I'm never gonna do these things." Mm-hmm. And then sometimes getting deep into situations and being like, "I get why they did that now. Dang it."
Jonathan: Yeah. Yeah.
Chris: Yeah. You know?
Jonathan: Dude, totally. Totally. Yeah. That, there's been so many s- circumstances I'm like, "I would never do it that way."
Mm-hmm. And then I do it the wrong- the, the other way, and I'm like, "Oh, that, yeah. That makes a ton of sense."
Chris: Yeah. I get why they were a jerk. They-
Jonathan: Right ...
Chris: had to make that decision, and that was a tough one. But yeah, that's, that's definitely, definitely challenging, and, and I agree with you on coaching too. Like, um, you know, it's something I probably need, but you know, having seen it from the outside and actually worked with a couple of our clients that, um, either are in that space, adjacent to that space, like, you, you gain trauma from working in businesses just the same way you get it from just everyday life and friends and family and wherever else.
Yeah. So yeah. It's all
Jonathan: people.
Chris: And hurt people hurt people, so- That's
Jonathan: it.
Chris: Yep ... it's really good to be in a place where you're thinking that through and being cognizant of it and trying to be better about it.
Jonathan: Yeah, it's... I, I think it's essential to, to growth. If you have a lot of turnover or you have employees that are just not, like, connected, you're not gonna get...
Especially in a creative space, like, you're not gonna get the best work, you know, out of, out of that people. Not that that's what it's all about, but, like- Mm ... they're not gonna be fulfilled, and they're not gonna stay, or the work's gonna suffer, the relationships suffer.
Chris: Yeah.
Jonathan: Yeah.
Chris: Yeah. Takes a while to get there.
Awesome. So as, as you've grown, um, where, where is Big Slate at today? Like, what are some things that you're working on that you can talk about, or things that you're excited about for the company? Want to launch a podcast without the hassle? HumblePod makes podcasting easy. From concept to launch, we'll help you create a professional, engaging show.
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Jonathan: Knoxville has been and will continue to be, I hope, like our home and a plethora of work and opportunity for brands that we can work with that are wanting to be bold, you know, and make content that doesn't suck, uh, as our tagline indicates. We've been able to be fortunate in getting, uh, you know, some work outside of market.
So the, a couple of cool brands that we're working right, right now would be, uh, Mike's Hard Lemonade, White Claw, and Mountain Dew. And we are traveling across the country with them, shooting a lot of their activations, um, and creating social content with them. We do that in partnership with an agency- Mm
um, that kind of facilitated that. Um, and that's, for us, the, the short form content division, um, has been a game changer, um, for us, to be able to, uh, you know ... Again, like I was saying earlier, like we're, we see market demand, and we see can we help it? And that's one that's like everybody needs short form content.
How can we streamline that process? And we've got a, I think, a really great system and super talented team to do that. Those are some cool, like to throw some brands out there. Uh, hope you're impressed. Mm-hmm. Oh, very. But, uh, another really cool thing is, is, uh, uh, sound and music. Um, we brought on Will- William Wright late last year, um, that's allowed us the ability to do, like, sonic branding.
Um, so like the Netflix ba-dump sound before it plays, like create that sound, that process of creating that sound. William kind of brought that to the table, and then we're also creating, you know, original music for everything that we're putting out, which is amazing. He's wicked fast, and you know, that being 50% of the experience, you understand this as a sound person.
Like, that is, to be able to craft that is, like, a total creative unlock- Yeah ... for us. And so we just wrapped up Regal's, uh, Regal Entertainment's, uh, sonic branding. Um, so that, a sound we made, a sound that Will made is playing before every movie in every country- or every theater across the country.
Chris: Is it out?
I, I've, I've- It's out ... heard it about a billion times-
Jonathan: Oh, it's out ...
Chris: when, when we're setting up a
Jonathan: studio. Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, it's out. Okay. They, they've, they've released it, I think last week was when it started- Oh, nice ... hitting theaters. So yeah. Nice. If you go to a movie, if you go to a movie now and you hear the sound, that's, yeah.
Chris: That's right, yeah. Check out Regal- Yeah ... Regal Cinemas.
Jonathan: Yeah, yeah.
Chris: You'll, you'll
Jonathan: hear some- Go see a movie ...
Chris: sonic branding.
Jonathan: You ... It's good for you.
Chris: It is. It is. You've done a lot with Big Sleep, but as you've grown I wouldn't say you've gotten bored, but you've decided to branch out and do other things.
Jonathan: Yeah.
Chris: You're not just running Big Slate now.
Jonathan: Yeah.
Chris: Um, you're, you're making lots of slide decks. Are you a professional slide deck maker? I'm
Jonathan: a slide deck maker these days.
Chris: Um- No, but seriously, what, what are you doing now? Tell me about that.
Jonathan: Yeah, so I think at this point, you know, as the executive producer and owner is my title, like, I'm, I am in charge of vision casting for the team, right?
Where are we going? What are we, what are we doing? Some of these decisions that, you know, I just talked about. I think the other part is, is business development. Like, it's the saying of, like, nobody sells like the owner, I think is, is true and has merit. And for, I, I'm so fortunate that I freaking love it.
Like, I love sitting down with somebody, big brand, little brand, and, like, hearing what do they need to do? What do they need to achieve? And then bringing that back to the team to ideate how do we get there, um, whether that be social content or video or, you know, whatever. So that's a lot of my day-to-day is that, and then I've, I've got a, a couple other irons in the fire, uh, in terms of, of companies that I'm trying to, to start and get off the ground, and, and so that's, that's been exciting and a, a cool, a cool thing as well.
You can't ... I, I don't feel like I'm done with Big Slate at all, but I'm carving out time to, you know, diversify, I guess, maybe a little bit, um, and, and meet a different need, so.
Chris: The big one right now that I keep hearing about is B-Roll Bank. Yeah. What is that?
Jonathan: So B-Roll Bank is a, uh, digital asset management software.
Big slate goes out, we shoot a 30-second commercial. We're gonna come back with more than 30 seconds worth of footage, right? That footage is gonna sit on our server and waste away. If it didn't make the final cut, it's gone. We recognize that, like, storage costs are growing. We're keeping it 'cause we have to.
What if we found a way for our clients to log into our physical server, search their specific library of content using custom keywords, and then be able to download and access that? Maybe they use it for PR or a social kit or, uh, social media, whatever. Um, and so that was kinda how it started, and then, uh, we've, we've been expanding since then to really the software itself, uh, has a fully private and brand customizable AI model.
So a lot of AI tagging for media would go like blue shirt, red car, you know, whatever. Right. That's not actually useful when searching, right? Like, so the University of Tennessee wants to be able to search by Smokey the Dog, not mascot. So our model learns a brand specific visual language, um, and it's fully on-prem, so nothing is going off to train Anthropic or any of the other folks in town.
Like you can give it a CAD drawing and know that it's proprietary data and that be, you know, safe within this confine. So now it's a tool that's built for, uh, production companies, agencies, uh, and, and brands with, you know, large media libraries, um, that have, you know, 100 terabytes plus that they're trying to figure out what to do with.
Um, it can be less, but that's, you know, generally at that point it makes sense. So, um, we've got our first enterprise client, uh, we're installing them this summer, uh, and then we've got our first national distributor to resell that software. So, um, it's really, B-Roll Bank is is really designed to be a, a infrastructure layer on top of existing storage for kinda any of those categories, a brand agency or production company.
A
Chris: lot of what we do is in tech, so-
Jonathan: Yeah, yeah ...
Chris: what you're saying right now feels like every podcast that, that we did. But it's, but it's so cool. Sorry, we nerd it
Jonathan: out there for a
Chris: minute. No, yeah, no, but I, I love it, and I think, I think people who watch this, we, we have a lot of agencies that we interview for the podcast.
Yeah. Got a, a lot of people in a- in the agency world that watch. Yeah. So, it's, it's great to know. Well, it's,
Jonathan: it's one of those things that it's like you don't get it until you get it. Yeah. And, like, anybody that's in an agency especially is going, "How do I squeeze the value out of this content?" Yeah. Like, "I paid a lot to get it created."
Right. "How do I maximize it?" And whether that's a brand or, you know, an agency, and, like, that's, that's the point of it, is, is to be able to do that. So it's, yeah. Hopefully it relates, because it's like- I think very relatable ... you, you get it or you don't.
Chris: Yeah.
Jonathan: Um, so.
Chris: Yeah. 'Cause I mean, at the end of the day, like, we're working with right now a larger client, and they have a lot of footage that they're trying to send us, and even that process is like, "Well, I need this," or, "Can you send me this?"
And then they gotta go back to their marketing team, and their marketing team has to get back to us, and it's a whole thing, and did we film that, did we not? Like, I could see how B-Roll would be very beneficial for something- Yeah ... like what they're doing. As B- B-Roll Bank, I should say.
Jonathan: Yeah, yeah,
Chris: yeah. But yeah.
Yeah.
Jonathan: It's, what's funny is that when I went to register the company itself- Mm-hmm ... I tried to register it as B-Roll Bank LLC. Mm-hmm. And it wouldn't let me, 'cause a bank. Oh.
Chris: So, so what's
Jonathan: the, the legal name then? So it's, it's actually called B-Roll LLC is, like, the, the actual name. Oh, nice. But the brand is B-Roll Bank.
Chris: Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. DBA- Yeah ...
Jonathan: or
Chris: something
Jonathan: like that. Yeah, it's a fun brand, brand, uh, decision. It's like, oh, yeah, I can't actually name it a bank.
Chris: Yeah. So you're, I mean, you're doing a lot, and you, I know there's some other stuff probably on, on the back burner that you're also trying to work on too. So just everything combined, that's a lot, man.
Jonathan: It is, man. It's, I mean, really those two are, like, my, you know, primary worlds right now, and it's so much fun. And that's, like, going, it's vertically integrated, right? Like, we're a production company, and we have a digital asset management software, so it's, it's in the same wheelhouse. Um, and that's, it, it's been a lot of fun.
I'm very tired, though. I don't know if you can see the bags under my eyes, but. A
Chris: little bit. A little bit. Should have had the makeup artist over
Jonathan: here. Yeah, I know, yeah. I was expecting AGMU here, but that's fine. There's nothing they could do. There's nothing they could do.
Chris: I'm sure they could help a little bit, but.
Yeah. As, as we think big picture, like, what is top of mind for you right now?
Jonathan: In terms of the industry? Yeah, in terms of the industry. And brand, brands in general? Yeah. I mean, probably everybody that you've had on in the last year probably is gonna say AI- Mm-hmm ... to, as their answer to this, and I, I'm, I'm no exception.
I, I think it's, it, I know that may not be interesting, but it is, it is the reality. Yeah. It's the answer. Um, and, and I think there's a lot of Contentiousness, you know, around what is it, how do we use it, all of that, fear, all that. And I, I think there's so much good with the bad. Mm-hmm. Um, but it's, it's reshaping everything.
Um, and, and I think for a brand especially, uh, and building a brand, it's making building a brand so much easier to a certain extent that I, I think that's exciting. Yeah. Like that, that can be.
Chris: Yeah, it can be really useful. We're actually in the process of building something that by the time this episode, episode number 69, comes out, it's probably gonna already be announced, it'll be public and everything.
But, um, we've used AI to the point where AI, we, we decided on a name as a working title name, and then I baked it so far into my AI that when we decided that was a terrible name and we're gonna go a different direction, I had to argue with AI. It was fighting to keep my brand direction- ... and pushing back on me at every step.
It was the funniest thing. But yeah, it's, it's, it's a good thing. That's really
Jonathan: cool- Yeah ... 'cause usually AI is like, "Yeah, whatever you need. I'm sorry I messed up," you know? Oh,
Chris: the minute I corrected it and told it why, it was like- Yeah ... "Oh, well, I guess you're right." Yeah. So take that as- Yeah, yeah ... as far as you want, but it was, it was really snippy at me.
It was, it was kind of funny, it was like, "Are you sure?" What? That's not what we said. You said to avoid those things- ... and not do that. Why are you doing that now? That'll be its own conversation at a different time. But I, I say that to say, like, AI is definitely helpful. Um, the challenge is the sameness of it or the, um, kind of like the uncanny valley effect with people doing Photoshop work.
You can always kind of tell it's Photoshop, not always if it's really good, but, um, the same thing's happening with AI where people are kind of getting to the point of, like, you see a movie, "Oh, it's CGI." Now it's just assumed it's AI. Like, you know, there is that push and pull of, like, I think industry leadership and people on the creative side see the value in it, but the consumer is so against it.
Mm. It's this really weird dynamic.
Jonathan: Yeah, I, I would totally agree. I think, I think it is the perfect brainstorm buddy, it is the perfect organizer, consolidator, efficiency builder. On the brand side, to your point, like, consumers in general, nah. Mm. You know, they're not, they're not about it. There's been several brands like Coke and, and I think Oreo that have, like, fired their agencies and are going, "Hey, we're, you know, we're gonna just use AI."
And, and interestingly, they're the only ones that I've seen they put out an ad and, like, the sentiment has been positive- Yeah ... about it, and I was like, "Crap." You know? That's not good. Yeah. But by and large, everybody's against it, and I-- you're, on the flip side of that, you're seeing brands like Apple that are doing a new logo launch or something like that, and alongside of that they're releasing a BTS behind-the-scenes video of- Another social proof
here's, here's how we made it. Yeah. Um, and I think we're gonna see a lot of that, um, of, of like, "Hey, here's the storyboards, here's the, you know, all the stuff behind the scenes," um, that is now part of the deliverable package of building the brand.
Chris: Yeah. Th- there's a big kinda like push and pull where in some ways, like the polish matters a lot, but in other ways you see content creators and things like that actually pushing against it and trying to be more raw, trying to be more open, um, things like that.
So it's a, it's a balance.
Jonathan: Have you started adding typos to your emails yet?
Chris: I tell Claude to do it for me.
Jonathan: Dude. There's been, there's ... So like several, like, clients is like, wow, they're really n- like, they really are sending like very c- they're usually like very short, incomplete thoughts or something like that via email, and now it's like a whole sentence and you're like, "Whoa, this is really well-written."
And immediately, you know it's AI. Here's a-
Chris: The, the em dashes is what always gives it
Jonathan: away for me Well, the ... Yeah, the em dash is the telltale. What's, what's an interesting consideration that we're trying to juggle right now is, like in this age of AI, we don't know what the client agrees with. If they send an email or they send a brief or something, and it's clearly chat, you know, generated of some, some extent, like there's no way to like fact-check to be like, "Did you actually agree with what this was saying?"
Mm-hmm. "Or are you just spitting it out?" Yeah. And like, "Did you read it before?" It's like, "This person said it. Okay, they agree with it." But now-
Chris: There's definitely a part of it where it feels like you, you have to pay attention to what's actually going out. Mm-hmm. Um, I'm actually developing some AI sales tools for myself right now, because I'm one person, identifying businesses in the podcast market are hard, and I'm, I'm looking at it from a perspective of like, I at least wanna kick it off with my input before it goes out and starts using automation, because otherwise it's pretty much just an automated tool once it gets started.
But it helps me identify like things in the market I would never be able to calculate on my own, like podcasts that are going from a consistent posting to an inconsistent posting, meaning they're struggling, they may need help. Stuff like that. So it's, it's a challenge. Um, but yeah, I'm, I'm always of the opinion of like, it can be really helpful, especially if you have an ADHD brain-
um, like I do, and being able to just drop in, like I'll do a brain dump on a Monday morning, and AI now takes it, you know, creates tasks out of it, and puts it into my task list, which I don't check until the next Monday. But I have at least thought through my business, and I get things done. And most of the time I go back to check the list, and it's done.
Mm-hmm. I did my thing.
Jonathan: Mm-hmm.
Chris: Um, and I do check it through the week, to be clear.
Jonathan: But- I was like, you're, I haven't said a word and you're telling on yourself here,
Chris: so No, I feel like being self-deprecating a little bit. Yeah, yeah . But, um, but no, seriously, it's, it's, it's got some super helpful things. But yeah, there is always that balance of like, is this real?
Did you check it? And I think the people that are really successful with using AI as a tool are the people that are willing to take that extra level of skepticism with it.
Jonathan: Craft it to, into their own- Mm-hmm ... version. Uh, that's where like the brainstorm buddy- Right ... you know, thing is like- Yeah ... yeah, get me 80% of the way there- Yeah
and then let me, let me finish it.
Chris: Yeah. Well, as we move on, the last question I always ask people is what brand do you admire the most right now, or brands?
Jonathan: I think Airbnb is doing some cool stuff right now. Really? Um, their, their ads are very simple, and I think that there is strength in simplicity right now.
Um, there's a lot of noise. You've seen, uh, you know, uh, I think Calm, uh, did an ad during the most recent Super Bowl. Mm. It was like instead of an ad, it was just, like, their logo on screen and like, "Hey, everybody, take a deep breath." And it's just this moment of pause, and I think that is, I just, I admire that.
It's bold, and it's, uh, it's, it's powerful and, and stands out, I think. So Airbnb is doing a lot of the similar, you know, kind of stuff, just very simple, clean, heartfelt, you know, kind of ads. And I, I, you know, to tie in the AI conversation That is where I think the swing is, is authenticity, uh, sincerity, uh, you know, realism, and connection.
Yeah. Um, so I admire those brands right now. That's great. Yeah.
Chris: That's awesome.
Jonathan: Yeah.
Chris: Okay.
Jonathan: How about you?
Chris: Oh, man. Oh, gosh.
Jonathan: What do you admire right now?
Chris: I've been waiting for someone to ask me. Um, it's been a few episodes. I would say my mind immediately goes to Orvis. I don't know why. I'm, I'm big- Cool ... into fly fishing right now.
Yeah,
Jonathan: nice.
Chris: Um, so I see a lot of their marketing, I see a lot of their branding. Um, Orvis and Patagonia are two that I would say, like, outdoor brands that I just absolutely love. You know, they make you wanna trust their product, and feel like, "Okay, I know I'm buying something of quality when I come here." Um, Orvis specifically, I would say there's a local tie-in where, like, you've got a local fly shop you go to, and the people that work there have always been great to me.
They've given me good discounts when they can, above and beyond what they should. Um, so- That's awesome ... I, I really appreciated that when I bought my waders. Um, but shout, shout out to the Knoxville Orvis Fly Shop. Y'all are awesome. But it's just one of those things of, like, you just see how they're doing that, and it just- Yeah
it just means, it means a lot, so,
Jonathan: um. Yeah, there's a l- a lot of authenticity to those brands. Yeah. Yeah,
Chris: yeah.
Jonathan: And story. Mm-hmm. Like, that there's a lot of strength in, in tying brand messaging to the feeling that the audience, that you want the audience to have about the brand. Instead of, like, cramming it down their throat, "Feel happy."
Yeah. Like, tell them a happy story, and they'll feel happy.
Chris: Yeah. Well, thank you, Jonathan, for coming on. Um, where can people get in touch with you if they wanna connect? And if there's anything you need to promote or say, like, now's the time.
Jonathan: Uh, yeah, I mean, LinkedIn's always a good spot to find me. Um, and, and BigSlateMedia.com, uh, is, is, you know, our website.
So yeah, happy to connect with anybody. Uh, if there's any questions or inspiration, uh, or you just wanna commiserate some.
Chris: Absolutely. Well, Jonathan, thank you for coming on the show.
Jonathan: Thanks for having me, man.
Chris: Thanks for checking out this episode of We Built This Brand. Don't forget to like, follow, and subscribe on your player of choice.
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