Un-Branding with Scott Stratten


June 22, 2015

scott stratten

Scott Stratten has been called the Henry Rollins of marketing. Recently, this analogy came to life at Copyblogger’s Authority Rainmaker event where Scott had the honor of preceding Rollins onstage. We talked about all of this and what so many businesses are still missing on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast — which Scott immediately renamed “Un Brand” for just one episode. Enjoy!

Enjoy This Episode Now

About Scott Stratten

Scott Stratten is the President of Un-Marketing. He is an expert in Viral, Social, and Authentic Marketing which he calls Un-Marketing. Formerly a music industry marketer, national sales training manager, and a Professor at the Sheridan College School of Business, he ran his “UnAgency” for a nearly a decade before solely focusing on speaking at events for companies like PepsiCo, Adobe, Red Cross, Hard Rock Cafe, Cirque du Soleil, Saks Fifth Avenue, Deloitte and Fidelity Investments when they need help guiding their way through the viral/social media and relationship marketing landscape.

He now has over 175,000 people follow his daily rantings on Twitter and was named one of the top 5 social media influencers in the world on Forbes.com. He has written four best-selling business books, the newest being UnSelling: The New Customer Experience which was just named “Sales Book of the Year” by 1-800 CEOREAD.

Episode Highlights

From his best-selling book UnMarketing to his top-rated UnPodcast, Scott has created an amazing UnBrand. What’s his advice? “Listen to people you don’t always hear from. You have to get outside your circle. We’re so insulated today.” When Stratten speaks at events, organizers frequently ask him to include examples from their industry. His response? “Do you really want me to?” Why limit yourself to what’s been done already.

“I can’t be off-brand because the brand is me.” Scott’s personal brand clarity comes from the fact that there’s no daylight who he is and who his brand is. “I’ve always been clear on my own morals.” Whether it’s talking about “stolen content” on social media or being black and white in his beliefs about scheduled posts, Scott has sever been afraid to offend.

Stratten on “thought branding.” While Stratten’s unique look is a big part of his personal brand he also cautions, “Your brand isn’t what you wear. It’s thought branding. What you say and do.” To be clear, Scott isn’t advocating for controversy for the sake of controversy. But rather by creating bold, fearless content we can create stronger brands.

A big part of Scott’s message both in books, podcasts, and on stage are some of the bigger blunders that business continue to make (“We want your train wrecks” he joked). What are so many brands still missing? “Businesses are missing so much because there is so much.” It used to be that marketers created marketing, sales sold, customer service served customers, etc. Now we’ve shifted from a one-to-one model to one-to-many. Businesses don’t realize that the masses are watching. Always.

As Scott is a former educator, I had to ask about higher ed. “The foundations (of marketing, accounting, management, etc) haven’t changed. How it’s applied is different and college is all about studying application.”

What brand has made Scott smile lately? Scott and Allison, his co-host in podcasting and life, recently bought a house. He had a realtor experience that was second to none. And it involves donuts. You’ll have to listen to get the whole story.

To learn more about Scott and all things “UN,” go to unmarketing.com.

Like Something? Got a Question?

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Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!

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is a strategist, speaker, educator, and author of Brand Now: How to Stand Out in a Crowded, Distracted World and Get Scrappy: Smarter Digital Marketing for Businesses Big and Small. He is the Chief Brand Strategist at Brand Driven Digital, an educator at the University of Iowa, and host of the On Brand podcast. More about Nick.