The Marketing Companion

Mark Schaefer and Keith Jennings dive into one of the most complicated questions in the business world ... What business are you in? Deceptively simple, Devilishly complicated, this question has been an obsession for the greatest minds in marketing for decades. And this is a question that is more relevant than ever.    Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising.   For more of Mark’s insights every week, subcribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking.   Keith Jennings is an executive and writer who equips professionals to serve with values, generosity, and social impact.He serves as vice president of community impact with Jackson Healthcare. Connect with him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithjennings/. 

Mark Schaefer and Paule Roetzer of the Marketing AI Institute get out of the trenches for a moment and look at big questions facing marketers as AI barrels forward.   Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising.   For more of Mark’s insights every week, subcribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking.

Most brands depend on social listening platforms to gauge brand sentiment, consumer feedback and competitor activities. But what happens in a world where most customers don't want to be seen and heard? Sara Wilson is working on this problem and in this new episode, we explore new ideas about community, conversations and the critical aspects of consumer insight in an AI World.    Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising.   For more of Mark’s insights every week, subcribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking.

Mark Schaefer and Mathew Sweezy look at the foundational and enduring role of humans to create impact, loyalty, and relationships even as they are preoccupied with AI. Mark and Mathew explore the importance of events, communities, networking and loyalty. They also talk about the next big AI "unlock" for humans, the last human competitive advantage against AI, outcome-based content marketing, and Web3 farming.    Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising.   For more of Mark’s insights every week, subcribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking   Mathew Sweezey is the Co-Founder of Salesforces Web3 Studio where he helped Salesforce and their top customers transition into Web3. Mathew an independent consultant, a best selling author, and avid adventurer. 

In this special bonus episode of The Marketing Companion, Mark Schaefer and Daniel Nestle review some of the key learnings and highlights from The Uprising marketing retreat. The event featured acclaimed thought leaders on AI, content marketing, word of mouth, branding, and more. The intimate setting and group conversations created many a-ha moments.    You can learn more about the Uprising retreat here. 

Mark Schaefer reveals his content anxiety – is he missing something by sticking with the same content formats for more than a decade? Jay Acunzo describes his strategy of starting and stopping shows and why it makes sense ... or not.  Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising. For more of Mark’s insights every week, subcribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking. Jay Acunzo is an author, speaker, and host of the podcast Unthinkable -- the show about marketers who trusted their intuition, not the best practices, and all the unconventional, refreshing things they did to build their brands and leave their legacies. Learn more and find a Starter Pack of episodes at https://jayacunzo.com/unthinkable-podcast

Amanda Russell has a front and center seat in one of the biggest controversies in the history of sports. Millions of young athletes are losing their health, and in some cases their lives, to radical training programs. In this new episode, we look at the marketing of disruptive ideas in a fascinating discussion. Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising. For more of Mark’s insights every week, subcribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking. Amanda Russell is the founder of the Global Center for Influence (C4In), launching (2023) at the University of Texas at Austin with a mission to help brands & people learn how to position themselves and their companies for success, bridging the gap between academia and practice. Amanda's mission is to enhance how we do 'higher education.  Former Olympic-level athlete, Founder-to-sale Entrepreneur and Marketing Consultant who still loves the brain gymnastics of helping people and companies become more influential among their desired audience. Professor, Author "The Influencer Code", Speaker, Board Member and Director of C4In

Too many companies are claiming to be beacons of social good and then not delivering. The result is a backlash against purpose-filled marketing, especially with young people. Mark Schaefer and Keith Jennings explore the current state of marketing and its role in our businesses and lives. Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising. For more of Mark’s insights every week, subcribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking. Keith Jennings is an executive and writer who equips professionals to serve with values, generosity, and social impact.He serves as vice president of community impact with Jackson Healthcare. Connect with him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithjennings/. 

The world of Ai overwhelming. How do grab ahold of something in this hurricane of daily developments and actually start something for your business? Mark Schaefer and Paul Roetzer cut through the overwhelm to offer practical steps. There is bonus content on this show that explores AGI, impact on marketing careers, and more. 

Marketing to Gen Z requires drops, collabs and customization as table stakes, nostalgic IP as a ticket to ubiquity, participatory game mechanics driving virality, content and commerce finally tying the knot, and billionaire influencers, to name a few. Mark Schaefer and Sara Wilson explore how the most successful brands navigate major shifts reshaping Gen Z lives, such as the rise of AI, digital campfire platforms and the collapse of traditional media channels. These brands all know how to garner the most valuable commodity in the world: attention. Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising. For more of Mark’s insights every week, subcribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking. Sara Wilson is a journalist-turned-social-marketer (former Facebook & Instagram) who works with brands, publications, and platforms like YouTube, Nike, Bumble, the New York Times and many others find, engage and grow obsessive communities across digital channels through her consultancy SW Projects. Sara also writes frequently on the subject of digital marketing trends; she coined the term "digital campfires" in the Harvard Business Review to describe the types of spaces where young audiences are gathering online today, and often speaks and leads workshops on this and other topics related to social innovation, web3, and Gen Z consumption trends to companies around the world such as Microsoft and McKinsey.

Brand loyalty has been in decline for years. But Mathew Sweezy is heading up new technological innovations to build loyalty through experiences and games native to the digital lifestyle. Catch a glimpse of the future of innovation with Mat and Mark Schaefer. Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising. For more of Mark’s insights every week, subcribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking. Mathew Sweezey is the Co-Founder of Salesforces Web3 Studio where he helped Salesforce and their top customers transition into Web3. Mathew an independent consultant, a best selling author, and avid adventurer. 

We all make mistakes but rarely talk about them. That changes today as Jay Acunzo and Mark Schaefer reveal their biggest flops, miscues, and embarrassments. A lot of lessons, a lot of fun ... you won't want to miss it! Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising. For more of Mark’s insights every week, subcribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking. Jay Acunzo is an author, speaker, and host of the podcast Unthinkable -- the show about marketers who trusted their intuition, not the best practices, and all the unconventional, refreshing things they did to build their brands and leave their legacies. Learn more and find a Starter Pack of episodes at https://jayacunzo.com/unthinkable-podcast

If it seems like Shein and Temu have taken over the world overnight, you would not be wrong. These leading retail brands came out of nowhere by seemingly breaking all the rules of marketing. Mark Schaefer and Amanda Russell break down the biggest revolution in retail since Amazon!  Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising. For more of Mark’s insights every week, subcribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking. Amanda Russell is the founder of the Global Center for Influence (C4In), launching (2023) at the University of Texas at Austin with a mission to help brands & people learn how to position themselves and their companies for success, bridging the gap between academia and practice. Amanda's mission is to enhance how we do 'higher education.  Former Olympic-level athlete, Founder-to-sale Entrepreneur and Marketing Consultant who still loves the brain gymnastics of helping people and companies become more influential among their desired audience. Professor, Author "The Influencer Code", Speaker, Board Member and Director of C4In

Mark Schaefer and Paul Roetzer dissect several evolving AI-related developments, including the emerging emotional bond between children and AI bots, a humanoid fine artist, how AI is transforming education, and more.

Mark Schaefer brings LinkedIn expert Richard Bliss onto the show. Richard covers basic LinkedIn strategy, the role of AI and bots, collaborative content, emerging role of video and more. This episode contains bonus Q&A content about LinkedIn newsletters, streaming video, and LinkedIn for newbies.   Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising.   For more of Mark’s insights every week, subcribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking.

Marketing visionary Dana Malstaff built one of the most successful communities on the planet. With 80,000 members, it was a revenue engine and an inspiration to her enthusiastic followers. Here why Dana decided to start over. This will be one of the most moving and inspiring stories of leadership and courage you'll hear. 

Every keynote speaker and content creator knows the value of that signature story – a tale that drives home a point with passion, insight, and a little drama. But how do you come up with these stories, and how do you craft them to serve you well in your marketing?   Mark Schaefer and Jay Acunzo explore this topic in this new episode. You'll learn how each identifies, nurtures, and delivers their best stories. And you'll get to hear two of their favorite tales.    Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising.   For more of Mark’s insights every week, subscribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking.   Jay Acunzo consults experts and entrepreneurs to differentiate their messages and content. He hosts the podcast How Stories Happen, where guests dissect signature stories piece by piece, and runs the Creator Kitchen, where experts learn to become stronger storytellers. Learn more at jayacunzo.com

Ed Sheeran launched a new hot sauce in cooperation with Heinz. It makes so much sense. Ed doesn't have to harvest the tomatoes and make anything! Why aren't more bands launching products with influencers?   While celebrity endorsements have been around for ages, giving stars a stake in an actual product has been rarer. Meanwhile, influencers are launching their own products – with or without the brands. Why don't brands get ahead of this? Mark Schaefer and Amanda Russell discuss this trend on the new episode of The Marketing Companion.   Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising.   For more of Mark’s insights every week, subcribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking.   Amanda Russell is a marketing leader, entrepreneur, and scholar. By age 32, she built and sold two successful businesses: an online fitness subscription community for women and a digital marketing and production company. She served as Chief Marketing Officer at a NYC-based portfolio fund and developed the world’s first accredited MBA & EMBA Influencer Marketing programs at Northwestern University. She also founded the Global Center for Influence at the University of Texas. Amanda has taught at renowned institutions such as Bocconi University, London Business School, Harvard, Wharton, HEC Paris, NYU, and the University of Stockholm. Her book, "The Influencer Code," explores influence, consumer behavior, and the future of marketing. Amanda advises major companies, including Lamborghini, Cedars-Sinai, Lionsgate, and Silk-FAW.

Mark Schaefer and Keith Jennings explore the role of social objects in marketing. They are everywhere; they drive word-of-mouth marketing, and this is one of the least-explored ideas in the arsenal. Learn how to use social objects for your own business and why this idea is indispensable in the AI Era.   Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker, and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN," “Belonging to the Brand,” and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising.   For more of Mark’s insights every week, subcribe to his award-winning blog. Mark also offers classes in personal branding and professional speaking.   Keith Jennings is an executive and writer who equips professionals to serve with values, generosity, and social impact. He serves as vice president of community impact with Jackson Healthcare. Connect with him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithjennings/.   

AI is suffering from low adoption, lousy press, fear of job loss, and frankly a confused public. Is it time for AI to embark on some marketing of its own? That's just one of the subjects Mark Schaefer and Paul Roetzer discuss in this new episode of The Marketing Companion. Mark and Paul also cover the future of the AI copyright problem, the new "robber barons" breaking the law to make AI come alive, regulation, new marketing applications, and much more.