Welcome to season two of How Brands Are Built
Season two of How Brands Are Built focuses on brand positioning. The first two episodes are available now:
- The season premier features Marty Neumeier, bestselling author of branding books like The Brand Gap and Zag. Marty just released a “business thriller,” Scramble, about agile strategy and design thinking.
- For episode two, I interviewed Laura Ries, business partner and daughter of Al Ries, who, along with Jack Trout, wrote the 1981 book that introduced the positioning concept to the marketing world (Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind).
The story of why I created a podcast about how brands are built starts with a simple question: “How do you come up with brand names?” The straightforward nature of the question caught me off guard. It wasn’t about why brands matter or what makes a strong brand—just a crystal clear, no-nonsense, “How do you actually do what you do?”
Answering that question became the goal of season one: I spoke with experienced namers at the top of their game and asked similarly practical questions. The result is 10 episodes of in-the-weeds, namer-to-namer shoptalk and a list of recommendations for improving your naming process.
I’ve made a few changes for season two. Aside from broadening the topic from naming to brand positioning, I’m mixing up the interviewees. While I’m still fully committed to getting an “in the trenches” view of brand building from consultants who get their hands dirty with day-to-day client work, speaking with authors and experts (like Neumeier and Ries) adds some context and perspective—like a glue that holds the other episodes together.
I already see some fascinating themes emerging from this season’s conversations. At the end of the season, I’ll pull together what I’ve learned into a blog post, article, or e-book like I did last season in Business Insider. But don’t wait for that—if you’re interested in a mix of thought leadership and practical advice on brand positioning, I hope you’ll tune in now. You can listen and subscribe via the links below, or wherever you get podcasts. I hope you like what you hear.
Where to find How Brands Are Built: