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November 30, 2023 15 mins

In this special bonus episode we introduce friends of the podcast Marisa Thalberg and Steven Wolfe Pereira and their amazing podcast Brand New. The co-hosts, award-winning c-suite executives and close friends, keep it real as they tackle the most important and timely topics in marketing, media, tech, culture, careers, and more, particularly through the lens of brands, and the people powering them.

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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello, and welcome to season two of the Future Legends
of Advertising podcast on iHeart, featuring the hottest up and
coming stars in advertising as well as the biggest legends
in the game.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
In this series, we explore the future of the advertising
industry through never before heard conversations between those who created
it and those who are shaping its future.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
We're your hosts, Hailey Romer and Ross Martin.

Speaker 3 (00:29):
Now let's meet the legends.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
All right, everybody, welcome to this very special episode of
the Future Legends of Advertising podcast. You know, I wanted
to bring two of my favorite marketers onto the podcast.
They were not available, so I did get Marissa Thalberg
and Steven Wolf. They are obviously icons friends of the

(01:04):
American Advertising Federation. They are also my second favorite podcast hosts.
They do the second best podcast in advertising. I would
like to welcome you both to the podcast. Marissa and Stephen,
it's a bonus podcast episode. I got to say, I'm
a huge fan of your podcast, so that's why I
wanted to have you on our podcast. And for those

(01:26):
who have not listened till I can't imagine anybody hasn't,
it's called brand new. You just wrapped up season one
how are you guys feeling about your podcast?

Speaker 4 (01:36):
Well?

Speaker 5 (01:36):
As the second most popular podcast in marketing after yours,
I feel like we still have worked to do them, Marissa.
We got to get to number one, right, that's the
goal we got, Dethrone Ross.

Speaker 2 (01:46):
For those who haven't ever experienced the beauty of your podcast,
can you please talk about what it is and how
it goes?

Speaker 4 (01:52):
Sure?

Speaker 6 (01:53):
So, Look, there are a bunch of podcasts, clearly some
in this industry better than others. And as we thought
about creating our own humble submission to the Annals of
Marketing Podcasts Hall of Fame, say Hall of Fame, we
just thought that there isn't a lot of real, let's
call it coffee conversation from two C level practitioners who

(02:18):
are operators, who are in brands or in businesses. And
as you said, Steven and I have had a long
standing friendship, and I think what makes for our chemistry
is that there's a lot that we share, including genuine
passion for people, genuine passion for our craft, genuine passion
for this industry. But we also have these really different
perspectives from the different experiences that we've had and the

(02:42):
different places that our hearts take us in terms of
where we champion personally as well as professionally, and so
being able to bring those both personal and professional perspectives
to really help anyone who's rising in the industry, anyone
who's in the industry deeply and wants to just die
into conversation, and frankly, even people are outside of the

(03:02):
industry and just find the stuff really interesting.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Well, I find you guys both to be very good
hosts of your podcast, not because not because either of
you are talented individually, but because special DA.

Speaker 4 (03:18):
Honestly, is this like crank Yankors? Is this like an
episode of Boss?

Speaker 6 (03:22):
I feel like it's a roast?

Speaker 2 (03:24):
No, because because what I like about what you guys do.
And Haley and I, as as co hosts of our podcasts,
have struggled with this is you don't always agree with
each other like you actually sometimes really are on opposite
sides of an issue. You try to find common ground.
But I appreciate the genuine, like real conversations that you

(03:44):
guys get into.

Speaker 4 (03:46):
Do you feel that way, I think that's really the benefit.

Speaker 5 (03:48):
And look, we really debated this because you know, Mercey
and I've been friends for a long time, and it's like, again,
does the world really need another podcast? It was less
about that, I think was more like, how do you
actually have real conversation where you could really provide that lens?
And you know how it is in any type of
company and any type of marriage and any type of friendship,

(04:11):
you're not going to agree all the time. And I
think the best relationships are the ones where you could
be really honest. So I feel that when Marissa says
something and I'm like, you know, I just don't agree
with that because I've either had a very different experience,
you know, maybe more entrepreneurial, or worked in tech or
in different industries, or I just haven't had the experiences
that she's had. I'm going to provide my own unique
worldview and that's obviously colored from all the different industries

(04:35):
or you know, maybe you know, being Latino and growing
up differently or just whatever it is. But I feel
like we owe it to each other to always keep
each other, you know, just kind of held accountable to
our true perspective, that authentic perspective. And I feel like
people have really embraced that because you know, there's just
like so much bis out there. People are always like
trying to hawk something in some of these podcasts, and

(04:57):
we really aren't trying to sell a service a product,
like we just want to help people kind of be
the best versions of themselves and unlock their potential.

Speaker 6 (05:06):
I don't think it's so much about whether we agree
or disagree, although that comes up. I think it's when
you have a genuine conversation with people and you prompt
each other to think differently and challenge each other's So
for me, that's more like where it gets juicy and interesting,
and we don't for better or for worse, we don't
really rehearse it. I mean, it is just we figure

(05:28):
out what we want to talk about, who we want
to bring on. So if we have a guest, it's
not because this episode is an interview. It's always because
we want to talk about what's pressing right now across
not just marketing but media and technology and entertainment and advertising.
And when when we get into it, it's kind of
interesting what happens. And you've been genuinely ros so supportive

(05:51):
and we know that you wouldn't give us false flattery,
as evidenced by this podcast episode so far. But it's
like it's It's funny because we wind up we are
just naturally authentic people and that's who we are, so
that's not an act. But the conversation becomes so genuinely
bouncing off of each other and I think prompting each

(06:13):
other through ideas.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
You two cover so many topics in season one, and
I guess I would ask each of you the same
question here, which would be, what's the one the one
that was like really the most fiery, that kind of
got you like and you just you could talk about
it a lot more.

Speaker 5 (06:29):
I thought the one where we actually had the CEO
of Semaphore, I thought that one was really meaty to me,
just because I just love Justin as as an entrepreneur,
as a CEO, but really he has such a unique worldview,
and I you know, studied international relations and economic development

(06:50):
and undergrad and you know he's kind of, you know,
worked at all these you know, esteemed journalistic, iconic places.
I just wanted to kind of go deep into how
he thinks about the way the world of viewing news.
Building a brand new media company from scratch. I could
have just talked to him all day long, and I think,
you know, just we have to be careful to our

(07:11):
listeners and not kind of go off in all these tangents.

Speaker 4 (07:13):
But I could have just talked to him forever.

Speaker 6 (07:15):
The one that I felt most nervous about afterwards is
probably the one that I would then cite as being
most interesting, because I when we talked about what it
means for companies and brands in terms of promises they've
made to their employees about returning to work, and that
whole thing. I mean that was putting a brand new lens,

(07:38):
if you will, on a topic, and you know, trying
to stay certainly very responsible with our own corporate perspectives
and toggling, genuinely toggling in a way that I don't
think everyone can understand what it is to understand that
responsibility to do what's right for your company when you're
in the c suite. But also feeling like genuine frustration

(07:59):
for fellow employees, people who were directly promised something and
then that promise was renegged, because I feel like as marketers,
that's one of the most important stewarding responsibilities we have
is to not flagrantly promise things that then you go
back on, because it's all when we say trust that

(08:19):
that's real and trust extends to your employees, not just
your consumers. So that one riled something for me.

Speaker 4 (08:25):
I guess well it.

Speaker 2 (08:26):
Did for everyone and me too. I remember that that episode.
I don't think it's finished. I don't think we're done
with that conversation at all.

Speaker 6 (08:31):
Yeah, we're not.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
Since you guys for your podcast brand new on iHeartMedia,
it's a super as you say, inside honest look at
our industry. And my next question for you is this,
and I'm asking you to be just as honest as
you are on your own podcast. If you could snap
your fingers and change one thing about our industry, what

(08:54):
would it be?

Speaker 5 (08:55):
The great question? I really would wish every single marketer
to not have fear. I think that marketers are constantly
operating from a place of fear. Fear of losing their job,
fear of failing, fear of you know, kind of stepping
on a landmine, a cultural landmine. I think there's a

(09:18):
lot of fear in the industry. And you know, there
are a lot of challenges in the industry moving forward
because of technology and AI and all the things that
we know about. But I feel like a lot of
folks are operating out of fear, and I wish they
would be able to kind of turn it into this
incredible courage and boldness and braveness in the role. And

(09:39):
you know, almost like I don't care what people are
gonna think. I don't care what you know, the C
suite's gonna think. I'm gonna do the right thing for
the customer. I'm the champion of the customer, and I'm
going to drive creativity.

Speaker 6 (09:48):
Wow, I love that answer. So here's what I'll do.
I'll compliment that answer and say I love that. And
what I would like to snap my fingers is have
the rest of the C suite for it's whatever, not
instill so much fear, because there's a genuine support and
trust and faith in the power of what great marketers

(10:11):
and marketing can do to propel business, and that it's
not in this constant short termism which so many businesses
have because of quarterly earnings or other investor expectations and
the pressure in a way that data has created that
everything's immediately measurable, and just getting back to genuinely a

(10:32):
belief that there is art and science in it, and
that there is art in commerce. And I don't mean
to be trite when I say it. I think that's
what our business is about. And I think consumers are
smart and when we delight them in ways they know
they're being marketed to. But when they know they're being
marketed to and they delight to it, good stuff happens.
So I just want to feel like the part that

(10:54):
we all love is not only empowering to us, but
in power by the people that hire us.

Speaker 2 (11:02):
Right on, you guys, best answers. Yeah, for sure, let's
close with this. There's a lot of people who listen
to our podcast who are younger, coming up really with
good reason, look up to the two of you and
would really want to hear this answer from both of you,
which is what is the one thing you want the
next generation of marketers to know?

Speaker 6 (11:25):
You know, I didn't study marketing when I went to
college because I went to a great but liberal arts college.
And I remember thinking, then, you know, I think that's
going to be okay, because I have a feeling the
nature of this is going to keep changing, and so
probably the fact that I was taught how to think
and analyze and communicate and write and those are probably

(11:47):
going to be the most important skills. And boy, I
think that's in some ways more important than ever. There's
going to be some serious vocational needs that we're going
to have in this industry. I mean real, really understanding
of how to apply AI and data science and TECHNOLO.
I mean, we know those were fast growing areas, but
I know that we don't know what our field's going

(12:07):
to look like in a few years, and so for
the next generation. Maybe it ties to Steven's answer is
be open and be fearless enough, and but also be
humble and adaptable. That you're going to be entering a
world that's as fast and dynamic and ever changing as
the world at large is, and if you embrace that,

(12:28):
you're going to be able to grow with it. You're
going to do really well.

Speaker 5 (12:32):
I echoed that, but I think I would answered a
little bit differently Ross in terms of being a little
bit more provocative.

Speaker 4 (12:37):
I actually don't think it's about marketing.

Speaker 5 (12:39):
I think marketers need to get out of the marketing
echo chamber, and I would say learn about business right.
I mean, I think you are successful Ross because you
understand business right. You were doing marketing, you were doing
creative things, but then you like creating your own company
and then you merge it with another company. And I

(13:00):
think it is a disservice that if you are not
understanding how you truly operate a business and understand all
the functions, starting with finance, right, like, you are not
going to have any credibility once you rise up through
the ranks and get into the C suite, you will
reach a ceiling. If you don't understand what a P

(13:21):
and L is, if you don't understand what a balance
sheet is, if you don't understand what you do directly
ties to the rest of the business, then you're really
not going to be successful because marketing is in this
you know kind of silo, the standalone thing. It has
to serve the business.

Speaker 6 (13:37):
Yeah, but you know what, you can learn those things too,
And I think you know, the beautiful alchemy of our
world is that people should have different talents and skill sets.
So it's okay that we should have some of the
artists and the creators and the brilliant finance people and
just be open to learning about what each other does.

Speaker 5 (13:56):
There is nothing wrong with being an artist. Again, my
co founder went to prat right, but she is now
the CEO of my startup right, and so she is
both the art and business and the science.

Speaker 4 (14:08):
So I again, I think you need both. It's an
an merse.

Speaker 2 (14:12):
I'm sitting here listening to you and I forgot that
this was my podcast, and I thought I thought I
was like watching your podcast.

Speaker 4 (14:19):
So I love that.

Speaker 2 (14:20):
Thank you, Thank you both for joining us. Hailey Romer
says Hi and on behalf of the AF and iHeart.
I want to remind everyone if you want a really
good podcast that's actually real, real, that's this podcast brand New.
It's on iHeart, and wherever you listen to podcasts, it's
their podcast. It's called brand New. Marissa Steven, you're two

(14:41):
of the very very best, very very best, and I
appreciate you both so much. Thanks for joining us today,
and I said mine, I appreciate.

Speaker 6 (14:47):
It, thanks for having us.

Speaker 2 (14:52):
Well that does it for this episode of the Future
Legends of Advertising podcast on iHeart, I'm Ross Martin.

Speaker 1 (14:59):
And I'm Hailey Romer, and thank you for listening. We'll
be back with another episode before you know it. And
for more information on the American Advertising Federation, go to
AAF dot org.
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