Podcast: Play in new window | Download
“Great brands are built, not bought.” To many brands and agencies alike, this has been a big shift in recent years. It’s a shift that Jeff Rosenblum has been at the forefront of understanding and explaining. As the founding partner of Questus, he works with with clients to develop brands with purpose. He’s also the director of The Naked Brand, a documentary film exploring how brands are built today. I couldn’t wait to discuss all of this with Jeff on this week’s podcast.
Enjoy This Episode Now
About Jeff Rosenblum
Jeff Rosenblum is a pioneer, a disruptor, an innovator, and an admitted pain in the ass. He is widely regarded as one of the leading innovators in the field of digital marketing and has worked on teams that have helped revolutionize market research, publishing, sports broadcasting and interactive advertising.
Jeff recently completed a documentary about the future of the advertising industry, entitled The Naked Brand. It revealed the surprising story about the industry’s ability to create breakthrough brands by empowering consumers and improving lives.
As a Founding Partner of Questus, Jeff focuses on developing processes that break down the boundaries that exist between research, strategy and creative so that brands can create empowering immersive platforms. He has brought this multi-disciplinary philosophy to help the Questus team produce industry-changing results for leading brands such as Capital One, General Mills, The NFL and Suzuki Motorcycles.
As an industry thought leader, Jeff regularly contributes to Fast Company, Ad Age and iMediaConnection. He has been featured in Newsweek Magazine and Bloomberg TV and was recognized by iMedia as one of the 25 most innovative leaders in the industry. Jeff recently completed his first TEDx talk, entitled “Can Advertising Save The World?” and has guest lectured at NYU’s Stern School of Business as well as The London Business School.
Episode Highlights
“I came to branding through the side door.” After being on the forefront as the internet and online tools disrupted market research, Rosenblum found himself at the center of “the machine of paid media.” After a trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, he decided to start an agency.
“The saying that ‘the consumer owns the brand’ never made sense to me.” The brand owns the brand. We have to focus on “empowerment over interruptions.” While the term empowerment may be overused, we have to ask ourselves how our brand can be of use to our customers.
“The point of content is to improve peoples’ lives.” That’s exactly what Jeff and the Questus team worked to do by creating the documentary film The Naked Brand. This significant piece of content (wouldn’t you agree that a film is a bit bigger than an ebook?) not only changed viewers’ lives but it also helped the agency pivot as well.
The Machine and the Shiny Objects. In looking at where we are as brand builders and advertisers today, Jeff points out that we are stuck between these two forces, “The Machine — advertising, paid media — and the Shiny Objects of social media.” What we need to do instead is get past the shiny new things and revolutionize how we think about marketing strategy.
What brand has made Jeff smile recently? “The New York Times. They’ve been able to create experiences that brings their content to life. They’ve actually put me (the consumer) at the center of their new model.”
To learn more about Jeff, follow him on Twitter and check out the Questus website.
As We Wrap …
Before we go, I want to flip the microphone around to our listeners …
Recently our friend Eoin Byrne in Dublin gave us a shout on Twitter about our recent episode focused on employee engagement with Thom Wyatt. Thanks for listening Eoin!
Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.
Last but not least …
- Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS.
- Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast.
- OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out.
- And don’t forget that this podcast is brought to you by our Brand Driven Digital events series, learn more about the industry leading Social Brand Forum and our other trainings and workshops now.
- Save $100 by using promo code ONBRAND when you register for the Social Brand Forum.
Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!
