Brand Shorthand
Mark Vandegrift and Lorraine Kessler discuss advertising, public relations, sales, positioning, branding, and more in this podcast designed for those who want to do a deep dive into the world of marketing. Mark and Lorraine discuss the psychology of what makes great brands. They break down the details of the good moves and some really bad moves by brands big and small. It's like a play-by-play of what went right, or what went wrong. If you're in the world of marketing, learn tips and tricks that will help you develop a new brand, from finding and focusing on a position, dramatizing that position in the marketplace, and distributing through the wide, wide world of media. With a combined 80 years of marketing experience, both Mark and Lorraine provide insights on campaigns they've led or seen others lead. All gloves are off when it comes to their take on great strategic marketing moves and those that might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but later flopped. No matter what part of marketing interests you, there'll be something for everyone as we cover positioning strategy, branding, creative dramatization, media selection, sales techniques, analytics, and less discussed parts of the spectrum such as distribution and growth strategies. You can be a strategist, a copywriter, an art director, a web developer, a digital marketing specialist, a sales person, an SEO specialist, and pretty much anything else in the advertising world and you'll find something on the Brand Shorthand podcast that interests you.
Episodes
As diehard positionists, Mark and Lorraine will argue until they are blue in the face that positioning still matters, especially in this day and age. However, sometimes positioning takes a back seat to bad CEO moves, Wall Street greed, and other P/L mishaps. Join the positioning gurus as they review one of the greatest brand maneuvers and how it has all fallen apart. In this part 1, we will discuss the rise of Wendy’s, with t...
What makes an idea big? Nike’s Just Do It, the Aflac duck, Dos Equis with the most interesting man in the world. When done right, the combination of a brand’s position, the emotional trigger, and the delivery work together to make up the big idea. Tune in to this week’s episode of the Brand Shorthand podcast to learn what makes a big idea successful, the process for determining your brand’s big idea, and com...
California’s wine industry is in trouble as values drop and the market becomes crowded! Tune in to this week’s episode of the Brand Shorthand podcast as Mark and Lorraine dive into a recent article from the New York Post detailing the suffering wine industry. Learn the challenges these sellers face, how they should adapt, and whether the wine industry can bounce back.
Join Mark and Lorraine for 30-ish as they discuss all...
This week on the Brand Shorthand podcast, Mark is joined by the agency’s media and digital marketing managers, Alyssa Laubacher and Lauren Leroux, to discuss marketing strategies for AEO, SEO, and GEO. Tune in to learn more about what these terms mean, how search has evolved, how to incorporate AEO, SEO, and GEO strategies to improve search visibility, and common mistakes to avoid when implementing these strategies.
Join...
This week on the Brand Shorthand podcast, Mark Vandegrift is joined by the agency’s director of public relations, Jim Cyphert. Tune in to learn the importance of balancing your creative content with SEO and AI search.
Join Mark and Jim for 30-ish as they discuss all things marketing, advertising, and of course … positioning.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway! Join Mark and Lorraine on this week’s episode of the Brand Shorthand podcast as they discuss some of the advertising for this worldwide sporting event. From LEGO and Lay’s to Adidas and Valvoline, tune in as the positioning duo breaks down these ads and determines whether they scored a goal or received a red card.
Join Mark and Lorraine for 30-ish as they discuss all things mark...
Tune in to this week’s episode of the Brand Shorthand podcast to learn all about leveraging your CRM Platform. Mark is joined by Carson Brown, the agency’s very own primary CRM technician and advisor. Learn how a CRM platform can help your business be more efficient, how you can use the data within a CRM platform to make decisions or provide insights, and what tools and capabilities are available within a CRM that help ...
Do unhinged marketing strategies work? From Dunkin’s Dirty Soda to Dr. Squatch’s skits, tune into this week’s episode of the Brand Shorthand podcast to learn if this humorous marketing approach is effective, who the target audience is, and if it’s beneficial in long-term brand building.
Join Mark and Lorraine for 30-ish as they discuss all things marketing, advertising, and of course … positionin...
Coke vs. Pepsi and McDonald’s vs. Burger King. These big brand rivalries are nothing new to the marketing world. This week on the Brand Shorthand podcast, Mark and Lorraine dive into some recent brand battles in 2026, the strategy behind going against a rival, and tips and tricks for businesses to play to win against their competition.
Join Mark and Lorraine for 30-ish as they discuss all things marketing, advertising, and of ...
Campaign catch up and the beauty of a simplified position! Some of the popular campaigns that Mark and Lorraine discussed last season are continuing their efforts into 2026. Back for round two is Sydney Sweeney with American Eagle and Walter Goggins with Walmart’s “Who Knew” campaign! Another brand seeing huge success is Starbucks, thanks to CEO, Brian Niccol, who has successfully enforced his “Back to...
Tony Bell, Executive Director of Client Services and Media at Innis Maggiore, joins Mark for this week's episode of the Brand Shorthand Podcast to discuss the topic of go-to-market strategies. Tune in to learn how to develop an effective go-to-market strategy, the “bothism” approach, common go-to-market strategy mistakes, and how to dramatize your position.
Join Mark and Tony for 30-ish as they discuss all things m...
We’ve reached a milestone! 100 episodes — all about positioning. Spend 30ish with Mark and Lorraine as they remind us of the value of positioning, the meaning behind the name Brand Shorthand, some golf talk at The Masters and why they have such a “master” brand, and some recent good and bad moves of brands through the filter of timeless positioning principles.
This week on the Brand Shorthand podcast, Mark and Lorraine continue their discussion on true crime podcasts, a popular and growing category in the world of podcasting. Tune in for part two to learn about what makes these shows addictive, why the community is the magic bullet, the societal impact of these shows, and how marketing and true crime podcasts share basic positioning principles.
Join Mark and Lorraine for 30-ish as t...
A little green screen, a camera, and a microphone can put you on the podcast bus. True crime is a popular and growing category in the world of podcasting. How are these channels breaking through, to the point that they are scooping up viewers, and in a very real way, disrupting if not obsoleting traditional network viewing? Tune in to this week's episode of the Brand Shorthand podcast to learn all about true crime podcasting and ho...
Ring Doorbell, AI slop, and Frida Baby backlash. This week on the Brand Shorthand podcast, Mark is joined by special guest, Merce Brown, to talk about the recent chatter in the world of Public Relations. Be sure to tune in to hear how our public relations expert would deal with crisis communication and what her perspective is on these current news updates.
Join Mark and Merce for 30-ish as they discuss all things marketing, ad...
This week on the Brand Shorthand podcast, the positioning panelists join Mark to discuss the real winners and losers of last night’s Super Bowl. From Instacart and Lay’s potato chips to Budweiser and State Farm, the panelists review some of the Big Game commercials, highlighting which brands scored a touchdown and which ones may have fumbled.
Join Mark and the positioning panelists for 30-ish as they discuss all th...
A new year and another new season of the Brand Shorthand podcast! For the Season 4 kickoff episode, Mark and Lorraine welcome listeners back with a discussion on recent happenings in the world of marketing. Join the positioning duo as they discuss Coca-Cola’s holiday AI ad, Netflix acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, Wicked and Stranger Things brand collaborations, Dave’s Hot Chicken being named the brand of the year, and...
That’s a wrap on season 3 of the Brand Shorthand Podcast! Join Mark and Lorraine as they go back through some of the biggest brand moves and marketing trends seen throughout 2025. The positioning duo will touch on AI, storytelling with long-form video, the loss of high-profile CEOs, the ongoing battle of the healthy sodas, and of course, the importance of positioning.
Join Mark and Lorraine for 30-ish as they discuss all...
The digital accessibility expert, James Warnken, is back for this week's episode of the Brand Shorthand Podcast to continue the discussion on all things web accessibility. Join Mark and James to hear the reasons why businesses should care about digital accessibility, and the principles that can help guide you through making your digital content accessible.
Join Mark and James for 30-ish as they discuss all things marketi...
James Warnken, a digital accessibility expert, joins Mark on this week's episode of the Brand Shorthand podcast to dive into the world of accessibility. Tune in to hear about James's journey to becoming an expert in the field, the company he founded, and how he’s working to make the user experience both usable and accessible. This episode covers the full scope of digital accessibility and why it matters.
Join Mark and J...
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