October 22, 2025 • 33 mins
🎙️ Marketing Trends 2026: Local SEO, Influencers, and AI Personalization | Brand of Brothers
Welcome to another episode of Brand of Brothers with Doug Berger and Johnny Diggz — where strategy meets storytelling and the business of branding gets real. In this conversation, we’re diving deep into the marketing trends shaping 2026, from hyperlocal SEO and influencer authenticity to AI-powered personalization and community-driven campaigns.
🔥 In this episode:
• Why “near me” searches and hyperlocal SEO are driving small business visibility
• The power of consistent directory listings and Google My Business optimization
• How authentic user reviews impact discoverability and trust
• Snackable video: why short-form content is still king in 2026
• Influencer marketing done right (and what “hyperlocal” really means)
• The rise of AI personalization and dynamic CRM targeting
• How streaming ads and podcast sponsorships are reshaping paid media
• Out-of-home’s comeback: from vehicle wraps to digital billboards
• Community-first marketing, pop-up experiences, and brand collabs that connect
• Why authenticity, inclusion, and channel-specific storytelling matter more than ever
💡 Whether you’re a small business owner, marketing pro, or brand strategist, this episode will give you actionable insights to future-proof your marketing plan and connect with audiences in more meaningful ways.
🎧 Listen now to learn how to:
• Improve your local search presence with practical SEO steps
• Create short-form content that engages, not just sells
• Use influencers and AI responsibly to stay authentic
• Build community-driven campaigns that make your brand unforgettable
Presented by Remixed, the full-service branding agency that helps companies craft, launch, and grow brands that convert.
🎶 Music by PRO
📍 Find us at BrandShowLive.com
📱 Follow us: @BrandShowLive on all socials
👍 Like, share, and subscribe for more creative insights every week
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Doug Berger (00:00):
Welcome to the latest installment of Brand of
(00:01):
Brothers.
I'm Doug.
Johnny Diggz (00:02):
And I'm Johnny.
Today we're talking aboutmarketing trends.
Doug Berger (00:05):
All right, let's get to it.
Johnny Diggz (00:16):
So today, Doug, we're gonna be talking a little
bit about, uh, trends, uh,marketing trends that you've
been seeing and we've beenseeing in, uh.
In our area, and I guess itreally applies to worldwide,
right?
Doug Berger (00:30):
It, it's a, it's a generally, um, a universal kind
of a thing that, that we'rediving into.
Um, but you know, we, we, wecertainly have, have been
looking at, uh, at the, thecentral Florida DMA or the
designated market area.
Um.
And so, uh, there, there are alot of really interesting things
(00:51):
that are happening in the locallandscape, but there are, are,
are several trends that, that wesee that are rather ubiquitous.
Johnny Diggz (00:59):
So as we go forward, um, I'd always like,
like to keep us touching back tolike actionable stuff.
Um.
What are you seeing?
If, like, like there's a, ifyou, if you had a small bit,
like you do have a smallbusiness, if you, hey, if you
have a small, you're a mediumsized business, not an
enterprise level business.
(01:20):
Um, what, what?
What steps, what could someonedo to improve their visibility
today?
Wow.
Um, and, you know, what's,what's something that they
Doug Berger (01:34):
could do?
So first off, let me, uh, let meaddress the, the small business
thing.
We are absolutely an S corp.
Um, so we are legally a, a smallbusiness.
Um, and, uh.
As it relates to things thatpeople can do today that are in
line with these trends,
Johnny Diggz (01:53):
like if there's one, one thing,
Doug Berger (01:55):
oh my gosh.
Well, where to begin, right?
So I guess at the top of thelist is, is local, SEO.
So local SEO is it?
It's not so much.
That it is not something thathasn't been done.
It's just becoming a moresignificant trend that people
are focused on the near me idea.
(02:15):
The hyperlocal
Johnny Diggz (02:16):
search results.
Doug Berger (02:17):
Exactly.
The hyper search, local organicsearch results.
I gotcha.
We'll, we'll get into thesponsored search results in just
a little bit.
That's your SEM side of things,right?
Your search engine marketing.
Right.
But what we're focused on issearch engine optimization.
Johnny Diggz (02:32):
So you're talking about if you're a, a boot beauty
salon and you, and someone says,I wanna get my haircut, who's
close to me that does that,does, uh, haircut, men's
haircuts?
Doug Berger (02:43):
Right.
That would be, I mean, if you'regoing to a beauty salon for that
Sure.
Sure.
But yes.
So you might type in hairstylistnear me, uh, men's haircut near
me.
Sure.
Right.
Um, and, and frankly, if youtype in men's haircut, generally
local search is going to be atthe top.
It's like the anyhow default,right?
(03:04):
It, but it depends on whether ornot you let it know where you
are.
Right.
And by it, I mean Google orBing.
Okay.
Um, and so how do we make thesearch engine?
Yeah.
So the, the most important part.
Is to make sure that you can befound.
So, uh, Google, for example, hasa utility called Google Search
Console.
So the very first thing that Iwould recommend a small business
(03:27):
owner do right now, if theyhaven't already or they're not
working with someone who's,who's already helping them, they
should go type in, in Google,Google Search console.
And then they should create anaccount and make sure that their
domain name is crawlable.
Johnny Diggz (03:46):
Right?
Right.
And so that you just type inyour, your business's, uh,
Google address or your, yourdomain name, and it will give
you.
What people are searching for toget to your
Doug Berger (03:59):
site, right?
And, and, and then there,there's another component to
that.
And of course, don't just dothis for Google.
You should do this for Bing.
And frankly, any directory thatis relevant for your company.
Yep.
It, yes, any, anywhere andeverywhere Really it you and,
and making sure the more thebetter really.
The more the better.
(04:20):
And consistency is key.
So whatever information you'reputting on Yelp.
It needs to be identical to theinformation that you're putting
on Facebook, or at leastcomplimentary, right?
So, uh, if, if you're describingyour, uh, your hair salon as a,
a, a hair salon that caters tomen, you should make sure that
(04:43):
that messaging is consistentfrom one to another.
Does it need to be verbatim?
No.
But should it be consistent?
Absolutely.
In fact, if it's a little bitdifferent from one to the the
next, that's favorable as far asGoogle is concerned.
And speaking of Google, not onlyis there the search console, and
the same is true for Bing.
Bing has a developer, uh, uh,platform as well, but I.
(05:07):
There's also the Google MyBusiness, right?
And so it's super important thatyou have your GMB profile set up
and do the same thing for Bing.
And just like any other, uh,directory search for that, um.
That's really one of the, thekey emerging trends is a focus
on hyperlocal.
And so with that hyperlocal alsocomes a, an examination of
(05:32):
social media and social mediahabits.
Did you want to talk anymoreabout search and conversation?
I just, I, I, I had a,
Johnny Diggz (05:37):
uh, we, and you were talking about social media.
Where does like.
User reviews and stuff.
'cause I know that that's ahuge, like how many stars you
have is, is, is really tied intothis.
Doug Berger (05:50):
Yeah.
So reviews definitely help.
Um, when they're positivereviews, right.
Uh, and they need to be relevantreviews and ideally contain
keyword search terms.
That, that people would inputlooking for whatever service it
is that you provide.
Right?
Right.
So it's
Johnny Diggz (06:07):
valuable if somebody writes a review that
says, I got my men haircut, mymen's haircut.
Yes, exactly.
You're right.
Doug Berger (06:13):
I, I mean, it's all well and good if they're like,
oh, Tony is an amazinghairstylist, but that's not
necessarily going to help Tony,uh, be found.
Right.
Um, but, uh, there, there are anumber of components to these,
uh, these reviews, right?
So.
Uh, more isn't necessarilybetter, um, but more stars is
(06:35):
better.
Uh, obviously you want as manyfive star reviews as possible.
It's actually not a terriblething to get a four star review.
Um, it it, it helps, helpsbalance
Johnny Diggz (06:45):
it out
Doug Berger (06:46):
a
Johnny Diggz (06:46):
little
Doug Berger (06:46):
bit, I think,
Johnny Diggz (06:46):
or makes it seem more authentic.
It,
Doug Berger (06:48):
yeah, it feels a little bit more.
Authentic in that regard, butsometimes you just can't help it
and everybody just loves you andyou just get a five star review
Johnny Diggz (06:55):
like remix has.
Right?
That is true.
Remix
Doug Berger (06:58):
has all five star reviews on just about every
single platform.
And, and, and the beauty of ofthese reviews isn't in the
quantity, it's in the quality.
And quality is assessed based onhow old is your oldest review?
How old is your newest review?
How long?
Yeah.
Well, they also
Johnny Diggz (07:17):
get like, uh.
Sort of, it talks to how longyou've been in business, which
is also something that helpsyour, your search engine Optum
your results, right?
Doug Berger (07:26):
Well, yeah.
How old is your domain name?
Yeah.
Um, it you, it had more clout.
In the past, it doesn't have asmuch now.
Mm-hmm.
Really, backlinks are, are whereit's at.
Um, but rather than getting inthe weeds on Sure.
On backlinks and SERP scores andall that stuff.
Um, so a actionable thing, uh,is the, the SEO console.
(07:49):
Mm-hmm.
Uh, the search engine consoles,uh,
Johnny Diggz (07:51):
consistency across social media profiles.
Right.
Okay.
Doug Berger (07:54):
And, and, and when it comes to social media, a
another emerging trend are, arethe short form videos or
snackable videos as some peoplerefer to.
You're talking
Johnny Diggz (08:03):
about like reels, TikTok.
Uh, Yahoo.
YouTube does, uh, YouTubeshorts, right?
YouTube shorts.
Yeah.
So
Doug Berger (08:09):
yes.
Talking about that kind ofthing.
Um, and, and, and the types ofcontent that people are, are
interested in.
Right.
So, uh, people love the, thebehind the scenes types of
footage.
Um, they, they love the makingof types of footage.
So if you're a cafe, showsomeone, uh, pouring a
cappuccino, right?
(08:29):
Right.
And doing the, the coffee art.
Um, and if you are in a salon.
Right.
People love to see that timelapse footage where someone,
there's a, a quick shot of the,the, uh, the, the draping going
over them, whatever that'scalled.
Yeah.
Um, but I was gonna say apron, Idon't know what it's called.
Um, and smock.
(08:50):
Sure.
Johnny Diggz (08:51):
I just like to say that word.
It's a terrible word, but I loveit.
I did see a funny video where,where, uh, it was, and it went
viral.
It was a, it was a hairstylistthat was that.
A guy sat down, he puts one on,and then he puts another one on,
and before the guy notices, he'sput like 20 of them on.
Doug Berger (09:11):
That's hilarious.
I, I saw a, a, another one thatwhere, uh, it was all these
different styles and my, mypersonal favorite was where they
had took.
Uh, they take a, a baby doll,remove its head and sew the baby
doll to the front of the, the,the smock.
And so it looks like you've gotthis giant head and a, a tiny,
(09:32):
uh, baby doll body.
Um, and, and, and that's the wayto, to garner attention.
It's clever.
Yeah.
Like do do something that'sunexpected but also
simultaneously.
Non-controversial.
Sure.
Right.
Something that, that people canfind entertaining, and that is
the type of sales promotion thatyou're looking for, is being
(09:53):
authentic and and engaging withyour audience.
Right.
Go where they are and show themthe content that they want
without being.
Overly salesy because whenpeople are watching short form
video mm-hmm.
They're not interested in beingsold to necessarily, except for
when you get to influencermarketing.
Johnny Diggz (10:14):
All right.
Yeah.
Well, now, so tell me,influencer marketing, as I
understand it, is when someoneis being paid, or for whatever
reason, they want to promote aspecific thing.
And so right on TikTok.
And TikTok when you know thatyou see that they're like
selling something specific,like, and, and so it'll say
(10:35):
sponsored, you know, butthere's, that's one type of
influencer marketing, right?
Then there's, there's otherswhere it's not so in your face,
right?
So
Doug Berger (10:44):
what you'll see are, are a couple different
types of influencer marketing.
Um, the one that I, I feel isgoing to be.
The, the biggest trend goinginto 2026 is niche based,
hyper-local influencermarketing.
So this is where.
(11:04):
A, uh, a local car dealership,for example, hires someone that
drives around their car, right?
They're, they're borrowing a, a,a Lexus or whatever.
And, uh, and talking about howamazing it is, and maybe it's
not a Lexus, maybe it's adifferent brand, Subaru
Forester, uh, or, or perhaps aRivian.
I don't know.
Um, but, but the, the long andshort of it.
(11:28):
Is that, uh, we're, we're seeinga, a trend moving toward, uh,
like, uh, food bloggers, uh,theme park, vloggers, um, even
com college campus creators,where they're coming across as
authentically themselves, whichis, is critical here, right?
(11:50):
So we wanna make sure that theperson that is.
Acting in this influencer modeis someone who believes in the
product or service, but not onlythat, that they reflect the
audience that you are trying toreceive, right?
So if your target audience areare middle aged men, then you
(12:12):
micro influencer needs to be amiddle-aged man.
Conversely, if your audience issomeone who is a Gen Alpha
female, then your influencershould be a gen alpha, uh,
influencer.
And of course, these influencersare becoming increasingly
available and not just becauseof influencer platforms where
(12:34):
you can hire them, but also,dare I say,
Johnny Diggz (12:39):
ai.
So let's talk about AI becausethat sort of goes.
To me, you just, you know, youspent, you, you just were
talking about authenticity andAI seems like the opposite of
that.
Doug Berger (12:53):
It is to an extent because what we're seeing, let
me really quickly talk about a,the, the influencer side of
things and, and the actionablecomponents of, of, uh, of also
the short form video.
Mm-hmm.
So.
Uh, when it comes to a, a smallbusiness, would I recommend that
they engage immediately with aninfluencer?
(13:14):
I, I, I hazard to say Yes.
Um, I, I, I often would say,let's come up with a strategy
that makes sense.
Um, ideally.
That influencer would be someonewho's already embedded with the
company and not someone that'shired, uh, that is an actor.
Right.
(13:34):
However, there are influencersthat it, and we're talking not
necessarily about hyperlocal,right?
Hyperlocal, they're only gonnahave a.
A couple thousand followers.
So we're not talking about thesemillions of followers, Mr.
Beast type influencers.
Right, right.
Um, we're, we're talking aboutpeople who, uh, this is their,
(13:58):
their livelihood, butsimultaneously come across as
real.
Johnny Diggz (14:02):
Well, typically they're gonna be also
enthusiasts in, or you wouldhope that they're enthusiasts in
whatever, whatever topic, ifthey're theme park enthusiasts
that these are.
People who like going to themeparks already.
And so therefore have someinsights per perhaps to share.
Doug Berger (14:19):
And, and, and to that end, there are ways, there
are platforms these people makethemselves available on so they
can be hired through.
That means.
Um, so it from an actionableperspective, it, like I said,
this is a trend.
I'm not sure that I wouldrecommend a small business
weighed into this without.
(14:39):
Uh, having done their duediligence first, the AI side of
things is a, a little bit.
Scary.
Um, in, in that authenticitycomponent, uh, it can get out of
hand really quickly.
So do I recommend AIinfluencers?
It really depends on the productand service that you're selling.
(15:02):
And the, the core component ofAI that I believe is going to be
really significant in the comingyear, which is AI
personalization.
Johnny Diggz (15:11):
How does that work?
Doug Berger (15:13):
So AI personalization, um, is going to
have.
All the key data points abouteach audience member.
So who are, who are you, right?
So how old are you?
What are your demographics,right?
What's your gender?
Um, and then, uh, what do you dofor a living?
(15:34):
What's your, your income,psychographics, what are you
interested in?
Um, and, and then buyer intent,right?
What are you actively searchingfor service wise, uh, product
wise that.
I can sell you.
And then that information getsfed into platforms, whether it's
(15:55):
a dynamic CRM or it is a, uh, anemail, SMS uh, a, a AI enabled
platform.
Johnny Diggz (16:04):
They, um, they seem to be getting better and
better at, uh, targeting.
You personally?
Um, I'm seeing it mostly in likeemail campaigns where they, my
name is in there sometimes,some, you know, where I work or
what I do, what my job
Doug Berger (16:21):
title.
Absolutely.
You know, that kind of stuff.
Yeah.
And, and, and the crazy thing isyou can respond to these emails
and it uses natural language toreply, so you don't even realize
that you are interfacing withai.
It feels natural.
It feels like you're workingwith an actual person, doesn't
(16:42):
when it's done well and donecorrectly.
Absolutely.
Um, and, and so all of thosethings kind of then, um,
transition us into the paidrealm.
Right?
So obviously.
Influencers cost money.
AI enabled stuff, costs money.
But when we're talking aboutactual paid media, we end up
(17:04):
looking at things like streamingads.
Streaming ads are, are, aregoing to grow significantly over
the next year.
Um, when you
Johnny Diggz (17:15):
talk about streaming ads, you're talking
about, uh, ads that show on, on,on Hulu and, and Netflix.
Is that.
Doug Berger (17:24):
So, yes.
So who, Hulu is a, a greatexample.
Um, it we're talking about cordcutters, right?
So you have CTV connected tv,that's what are
Johnny Diggz (17:33):
people who aren't cord cutters anymore?
I, I think
Doug Berger (17:36):
there are lots of people who are, are definitely
still cable subscribers.
Okay.
Um, according to Nielsen, we'reeven seeing, you know, young
viewers, uh, that are stillcable viewers.
Okay.
Um, but when it comes to, tostreaming.
Yeah, we're talking about notjust Hulu, um, it, that, that's
(17:57):
one particular app within a, a,uh, a platform.
It can also be Apple tv, thefull box itself.
Right.
So that's where you have yourOTT type of advertising, Roku, I
guess.
Yeah, exactly.
So they're,
Johnny Diggz (18:10):
they're advertising directly to the box,
not necessarily to the channel.
Doug Berger (18:14):
Even then, we're still advertising directly to
the box because we know.
The individual that's on, on thereceiving end, we, we know that
they came and visited ourwebsite.
And so because we know that theyvisited our website, we have all
of their, their data, we canconnect that data to the other
(18:37):
side, um, whi, which could beremarketing or retargeting
depending on how you look at it.
But basically we know that youcame to lexus.com.
You were searching for Lexus nxand now I can go ahead and while
you are in the middle ofwatching, uh, whatever late
night show that, that you'restreaming in the middle of the
(18:57):
afternoon, I, I can feed you a,uh, a Lexus commercial about
that car
Johnny Diggz (19:02):
so that by, by design two people that live
right next to each other thatare watching the same program
could get delivered different.
Marketing messages
Doug Berger (19:16):
100%.
Okay.
Because these are, but thatdoesn't
Johnny Diggz (19:18):
happen in broadcast, right?
Yeah.
Because, well, this is an
Doug Berger (19:21):
simulcast, right?
Right.
We're we're talking aboutsomething that is happening.
I, I hit pause, right?
We're in the middle of a show.
I hit pause to go to thebathroom or to go get a snack.
You continue watching the show,we're gonna be paused at
different times and there aredifferent interstitials that are
gonna come up, right?
So you might see a 32nd spot,um, because you would let the,
(19:41):
the, the.
The commercial play, or youmight see a pause screen that is
tailored just to you.
Johnny Diggz (19:49):
Um, in addition to that, I, uh.
I am seeing, you know, thepodcasts are a podcast like this
one.
Yes.
Yes.
Well, ours is not sponsored, butmany of them are.
I mean, oh, well, well, sorry.
Ours is sponsored by remixed,the branding agency.
The branding, um,
Doug Berger (20:07):
yeah.
Podcast.
Uh, and, and audio.
Uh, digital audio advertising.
So it's not just limited topodcasts.
Right.
You can also a advertise onSpotify.
Um, and, but, uh, oh, that's
Johnny Diggz (20:21):
right.
'cause I, I, I spend so much, Ispend a lot of money avoiding,
um, even iHeart
Doug Berger (20:26):
media, right?
Johnny Diggz (20:27):
Yeah.
But I, I, I, I pay the extra,like to not see ads as much as
possible.
Sure.
And so I.
Tend to forget that the, thevast majority of people who are
not paying the extra to, they'rehearing ads on Spotify.
Yes.
And I, and I don't hear them.
So, so
Doug Berger (20:43):
yeah, it, so you can pay for ads to, to be on
Spotify, on Pandora, a anywhere,uh, iHeart Media, uh, streams
their, their content.
Um, and that's
Johnny Diggz (20:53):
not, that's different than the sponsoring
the podcast and getting.
A a, a live read inside thepodcast.
Right.
Doug Berger (21:01):
But what we are definitely seeing in the podcast
realm is again, back to thiswhole hyperlocal component where
people are finding hyperlocalpodcasts that speak directly to
their audience.
So it might be, uh, you have atire shine spray, for example,
and there's a local car talk,uh, podcast.
(21:24):
Are you going to reach millionsof people like you would on a
mainstream podcast?
No.
Right?
But are you gonna reach thethousand people that tune into
that one particular podcast thatparticular week?
Right?
Um, in order to promote the saleat the local, uh, auto parts
store.
Absolutely.
Johnny Diggz (21:44):
And you're gonna get, um, in, in, in some of
them, you're gonna find that thepodcast host is going to talk
about using the product, right?
So that, that's kind of whatsome of those are going for.
Doug Berger (21:58):
And at that point, you're kind of blending the
lines between a podcast and aninfluencer.
You're right, you're right.
And, and, and the beauty is youcan repurpose.
That content based on yourcontract, of course.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and, and, and be able toutilize it elsewhere.
Um, and, and speaking of, ofelsewhere we have out of home.
(22:18):
So out of home is making atremendous resurgence.
And it's not just printedbillboards, right?
It's not just printed postershowings or bus shelters.
It, we're seeing vehicle wraps,uh, as a, a big piece.
And, uh, the, the bigger.
Trend that I am looking.
(22:39):
At, at coming our way are thesedigital billboards?
The digital there is, there arethese digital billboard
platforms that you can buy, um,a, a local digital billboard at
very specific locations and payfor however frequent and the
times of day that you want atthe locations that you want.
(23:02):
For the same value, same cost, Ishould say, as a display ad
using, uh, the Google DisplayNetwork or something like
AdRoll.
Johnny Diggz (23:11):
So you could, you could specifically target
afternoon drive people or.
Uh, people near, uh, a hospitalor something like that.
Doug Berger (23:21):
Yeah.
What whatever matches where youraudience might be at that
particular time.
And, and, and speaking of beingwhere your audience might be,
uh, the, the next big set oftrends that I am looking at are
community oriented marketing.
(23:41):
And so it's, it's not justcommunity, it's content.
Right?
So it's, it's, it's interlockingthose two pieces.
Does
Johnny Diggz (23:48):
this mean like sponsorships or events?
It is.
Okay.
It's all of it.
Right.
Okay.
Doug Berger (23:53):
So, um, it's, it's having your own event.
As a marketing vehicle orsponsoring an event as a
marketing vehicle.
And of course, there are majorbenefits to sponsoring an event
because all of a sudden you'redoing brand partnerships and,
uh, and collabs, right?
Um, but with these events andexperiences, it, it, it ranges
(24:13):
from pop-ups.
Where people can have a, uh, aninteraction with you as if you
are a, a full fledged store, butof course, you're only doing it
for a month or a, a vacantstorefront.
Um, there's some really amazingthings that we're seeing in that
regard, like, uh, usingaugmented reality where someone
holds up a smartphone, uh, scansthe QR code.
(24:37):
And the next thing you know,there's an animated character or
they're interacting with avirtual product in the space
Johnny Diggz (24:43):
that's, um, so you're not, when you say
augmented reality, I, Iimmediately think of like
glasses, like Google glasses andall that stuff you're talking,
but
Doug Berger (24:52):
that's more virtual reality.
Okay.
I mean, yeah, there are likethe, there are like the new meta
glasses that have Sure.
Ar.
But no, we're talking, we'renot,
Johnny Diggz (25:00):
yeah, there's not really a marketing opportunity
there yet.
Doug Berger (25:04):
So, you know how QR codes about 20, 25 years ago
were pretty cool, but prettyuseless,
Johnny Diggz (25:11):
right?
'cause you had to install anextra app or whatever to make it
work.
Doug Berger (25:14):
We're kind of there with ar we're okay.
We're, I, I actually prefer theterm xr.
Um.
Because it's not really justlimited to the idea of virtual
reality.
Um, but it's also not limited toar so it it's experience.
Right.
Um, and, and so it, it'sexperiential reality.
(25:34):
Um, where, where you can havesimulated or digital media
overlaying, uh, what's beyondthe camera lens.
Johnny Diggz (25:41):
So in the community building aspects, uh.
You are talking what, likenewsletters or are these Yeah,
like how do you, how do you.
You know, I have a little bit ofbackground in developer
community building, um, and justa little Yeah, sure.
Just a little.
But, but, um, but that was avery specific, you know, uh,
(26:02):
curating developer communitiesis, is a pretty small niche,
right?
Um, but versus building, uh, acommunity around like a hospital
or, uh, you know, some sort of,uh.
Uh, a local brand.
A a, yeah.
Art center or something likethat.
Doug Berger (26:17):
So on the email, uh, digital newsletter side, um,
we are seeing a growing trend ofHTML formatted emails, but not
like the cold emails where wewere talking about with the, the
AI where it can send naturallanguage emails.
Those are usually plain textemails.
(26:37):
That's for your top of funnel.
Uh, audience.
Mm-hmm.
These are people that theyhaven't engaged with the brand
yet and we're trying tointroduce them to the brand.
Lemme
Johnny Diggz (26:45):
do a quick plug.
We did a, uh, another podcastcalled Fun With Funnels.
So if you fun with funnels.
Yes.
If you wanna understand howfunnels work, uh, go check that
one out.
Doug Berger (26:54):
So, um, so when it comes to, uh, email newsletters,
what we're talking is more midfunnel.
Uh, people who have alreadygotten some degree of
familiarity with the brand, um,and especially bottom of funnel,
right?
People who have alreadyconverted.
They've not only engaged withthe brand, but they've either
purchased the product orservice.
(27:14):
Um, and so they're anopportunity to be a repeat
customer.
Johnny Diggz (27:19):
The, um, you mentioned brand partnerships.
Um.
What are some examples of, of,of how, how you can partner your
brand with another brand to, toadvantage?
Doug Berger (27:32):
Well, I mean, on, on the most grassroots level,
you've got bands that go performat a brewery, for example, and
so all of a sudden the brewery.
Is promoting the band, and theband is promoting the brewery.
And so there's this mutualcollaboration here where, you
know, the, the brewery isbringing in a new audience for
(27:54):
the band, and the band isbringing in a new, uh, consumer
for the brewery.
That would be one grassrootslevel.
Um, it, it can grow out fromthere.
Um, it, it, it could be, uh,where it's a fashion house that,
uh, coordinates with a, uh, um,a, a small cafe, right?
(28:16):
And so all of a sudden there'sa, a local niche.
Uh, maybe it's an, uh, an urban,um, uh, t-shirt, graphic tees
company and, and that theycoordinate with, um, I don't
know, a, uh, a, a a coffee shop.
And so they start making reallycool swag for the coffee shop
(28:38):
and that that creates, that,that bit of collab.
Johnny Diggz (28:41):
And I guess it, it also helps build community,
right?
So it 100, 100%.
Yeah.
And, and, and, uh, I guess outof that all, you kind of start
to see how all of these thingsstart to work together, right?
As a, as cohesive sort of brandawareness campaigns.
Doug Berger (28:59):
Yeah.
And that all comes down to whatthe consumer expectations are.
Right.
And so the consumer expectationsare probably easy to break down
into a, a handful of, uh, uh,of, of silos.
So the first one is.
And we keep talking about thisauthenticity and trust, right?
Don't deviate from your brand'svoice.
(29:20):
Don't deviate from who you areas a company and as a person.
And it's
Johnny Diggz (29:25):
easy to do that with.
Through some of these thingswe're talking about, uh, the
wrong influencer can deviate.
Can, can actually hurt you.
It can.
Or using an AI tool in a, in thewrong way can also cause harm to
your brand.
Doug Berger (29:40):
Yeah.
And that kind of takes us toinclusion and representation,
right?
So if your influencer is a37-year-old woman and your
target audience are college agedkids, right?
That's gonna be dissonant,right?
So what people like to see are.
(30:00):
Individuals that reflectthemselves.
Right?
So if I was to look at somethingthat had a, a small child
marketing to me, I'm not thattarget audience, right?
A small child doesn't reallyhold much clout with me when it
comes to purchasing a jacket.
Johnny Diggz (30:19):
That's true.
Um, do you have any finalthoughts on, uh, on where, uh,
any other trends that you'reseeing or.
To sum up what, what we've got,uh, what, what 2026 has, has got
in store for us.
Doug Berger (30:34):
So I believe that 2026 we're going to see a
significant shift towardauthenticity, storytelling, and
technology integration.
So I, I'm looking forward to alot of experiential augmented
reality type stuff.
(30:54):
I'm, I am looking forward to alot of AI driven optimization.
I think that that's gonna be areally big part along with, uh,
first party data.
Um, but.
You know, I also believe thatthere's a lot of media
fragmentation for us to bemindful of, and so I think
trend-wise, we're not gonna seepeople syndicating the same
(31:15):
content across all social mediachannels.
I believe that we're gonna startseeing very specific targeted
messaging that matches thechannel as opposed to messaging
that just matches the brand.
You
Johnny Diggz (31:29):
know, it's interesting that you say that
because even amongst theplatforms, they have different.
User bases, right.
So, um, for example, Meta's, uh,Facebook has tends to shift to
an older demographic, um,because these are the primarily
Gen X people who adoptedFacebook as sort of their first
(31:50):
platform, their first socialsocial media platform.
So they're on it, but you'realso seeing the, the millennials
and the Gen Zs and, and they'renot on Facebook.
And so I can see.
Why that would be valuable?
Because you might want adifferent message going to a
Facebook post.
Yeah.
Versus a, versus a TikTok.
Well,
Doug Berger (32:10):
and, and, and not only that, the technologies are
different, right.
You, if you put a link onFacebook algorithmically, it's
gonna mess with you.
So you need to put that link inyour comments.
But Instagram, on the otherhand, you can't even put an, you
can't even put a link.
You can't even put a link.
Right, right.
The only time you can put a linkis if it's a sponsored post.
(32:30):
So.
If you put a link in anInstagram post, it might send
the wrong message.
Johnny Diggz (32:38):
It.
I don't think it's gonna sendthe wrong message, but it could.
It could.
It could.
Doug Berger (32:42):
It, it just se, it just tells people that you are
putting out content that'ssyndicated and not necessarily
targeted.
It is
Johnny Diggz (32:50):
not
Doug Berger (32:50):
targeted to
Johnny Diggz (32:50):
them.
And that's comes back to theauthenticity and the non-AI
nature, the non-automatedthings.
'cause people, I think peopleare getting more savvy.
About this stuff and the realiOh, yeah.
And so, and even
Doug Berger (33:03):
with AI generated content.
Sure, sure.
Johnny Diggz (33:05):
Yeah.
I, you, it's, it's like, uh, itobviously, it still fools some
people, but um,
Doug Berger (33:12):
and some people enjoy it, so it's not even about
right in, in authenticity, it'sjust, it's entertaining.
Right.
Johnny Diggz (33:19):
Yes.
So anyway, I think that's a goodplace to wrap it up and, uh,
until we have our, our next, uh,our next podcast, uh, with
Branda Brothers.
Doug Berger (33:29):
Sounds great.
I.
Thank you for tuning in to Brand of Brothers.
Big thank you to our presentingsponsor, Remixed, the branding
agency, along with productionassistance from Johnny Diggz,
Simon Jacobsohn, and me, DougBerger.
We can't forget music by PRO.
Speaking of not forgetting,remember to do that like and
subscribe thing and find us atBrandShowLive.
com and follow us on the socialsat BrandShowLive.
Welcome to the latest installment of Brand of
(00:01):
Brothers.
I'm Doug.
Johnny Diggz (00:02):
And I'm Johnny.
Today we're talking aboutmarketing trends.
Doug Berger (00:05):
All right, let's get to it.
Johnny Diggz (00:16):
So today, Doug, we're gonna be talking a little
bit about, uh, trends, uh,marketing trends that you've
been seeing and we've beenseeing in, uh.
In our area, and I guess itreally applies to worldwide,
right?
Doug Berger (00:30):
It, it's a, it's a generally, um, a universal kind
of a thing that, that we'rediving into.
Um, but you know, we, we, wecertainly have, have been
looking at, uh, at the, thecentral Florida DMA or the
designated market area.
Um.
And so, uh, there, there are alot of really interesting things
(00:51):
that are happening in the locallandscape, but there are, are,
are several trends that, that wesee that are rather ubiquitous.
Johnny Diggz (00:59):
So as we go forward, um, I'd always like,
like to keep us touching back tolike actionable stuff.
Um.
What are you seeing?
If, like, like there's a, ifyou, if you had a small bit,
like you do have a smallbusiness, if you, hey, if you
have a small, you're a mediumsized business, not an
enterprise level business.
(01:20):
Um, what, what?
What steps, what could someonedo to improve their visibility
today?
Wow.
Um, and, you know, what's,what's something that they
Doug Berger (01:34):
could do?
So first off, let me, uh, let meaddress the, the small business
thing.
We are absolutely an S corp.
Um, so we are legally a, a smallbusiness.
Um, and, uh.
As it relates to things thatpeople can do today that are in
line with these trends,
Johnny Diggz (01:53):
like if there's one, one thing,
Doug Berger (01:55):
oh my gosh.
Well, where to begin, right?
So I guess at the top of thelist is, is local, SEO.
So local SEO is it?
It's not so much.
That it is not something thathasn't been done.
It's just becoming a moresignificant trend that people
are focused on the near me idea.
(02:15):
The hyperlocal
Johnny Diggz (02:16):
search results.
Doug Berger (02:17):
Exactly.
The hyper search, local organicsearch results.
I gotcha.
We'll, we'll get into thesponsored search results in just
a little bit.
That's your SEM side of things,right?
Your search engine marketing.
Right.
But what we're focused on issearch engine optimization.
Johnny Diggz (02:32):
So you're talking about if you're a, a boot beauty
salon and you, and someone says,I wanna get my haircut, who's
close to me that does that,does, uh, haircut, men's
haircuts?
Doug Berger (02:43):
Right.
That would be, I mean, if you'regoing to a beauty salon for that
Sure.
Sure.
But yes.
So you might type in hairstylistnear me, uh, men's haircut near
me.
Sure.
Right.
Um, and, and frankly, if youtype in men's haircut, generally
local search is going to be atthe top.
It's like the anyhow default,right?
(03:04):
It, but it depends on whether ornot you let it know where you
are.
Right.
And by it, I mean Google orBing.
Okay.
Um, and so how do we make thesearch engine?
Yeah.
So the, the most important part.
Is to make sure that you can befound.
So, uh, Google, for example, hasa utility called Google Search
Console.
So the very first thing that Iwould recommend a small business
(03:27):
owner do right now, if theyhaven't already or they're not
working with someone who's,who's already helping them, they
should go type in, in Google,Google Search console.
And then they should create anaccount and make sure that their
domain name is crawlable.
Johnny Diggz (03:46):
Right?
Right.
And so that you just type inyour, your business's, uh,
Google address or your, yourdomain name, and it will give
you.
What people are searching for toget to your
Doug Berger (03:59):
site, right?
And, and, and then there,there's another component to
that.
And of course, don't just dothis for Google.
You should do this for Bing.
And frankly, any directory thatis relevant for your company.
Yep.
It, yes, any, anywhere andeverywhere Really it you and,
and making sure the more thebetter really.
The more the better.
(04:20):
And consistency is key.
So whatever information you'reputting on Yelp.
It needs to be identical to theinformation that you're putting
on Facebook, or at leastcomplimentary, right?
So, uh, if, if you're describingyour, uh, your hair salon as a,
a, a hair salon that caters tomen, you should make sure that
(04:43):
that messaging is consistentfrom one to another.
Does it need to be verbatim?
No.
But should it be consistent?
Absolutely.
In fact, if it's a little bitdifferent from one to the the
next, that's favorable as far asGoogle is concerned.
And speaking of Google, not onlyis there the search console, and
the same is true for Bing.
Bing has a developer, uh, uh,platform as well, but I.
(05:07):
There's also the Google MyBusiness, right?
And so it's super important thatyou have your GMB profile set up
and do the same thing for Bing.
And just like any other, uh,directory search for that, um.
That's really one of the, thekey emerging trends is a focus
on hyperlocal.
And so with that hyperlocal alsocomes a, an examination of
(05:32):
social media and social mediahabits.
Did you want to talk anymoreabout search and conversation?
I just, I, I, I had a,
Johnny Diggz (05:37):
uh, we, and you were talking about social media.
Where does like.
User reviews and stuff.
'cause I know that that's ahuge, like how many stars you
have is, is, is really tied intothis.
Doug Berger (05:50):
Yeah.
So reviews definitely help.
Um, when they're positivereviews, right.
Uh, and they need to be relevantreviews and ideally contain
keyword search terms.
That, that people would inputlooking for whatever service it
is that you provide.
Right?
Right.
So it's
Johnny Diggz (06:07):
valuable if somebody writes a review that
says, I got my men haircut, mymen's haircut.
Yes, exactly.
You're right.
Doug Berger (06:13):
I, I mean, it's all well and good if they're like,
oh, Tony is an amazinghairstylist, but that's not
necessarily going to help Tony,uh, be found.
Right.
Um, but, uh, there, there are anumber of components to these,
uh, these reviews, right?
So.
Uh, more isn't necessarilybetter, um, but more stars is
(06:35):
better.
Uh, obviously you want as manyfive star reviews as possible.
It's actually not a terriblething to get a four star review.
Um, it it, it helps, helpsbalance
Johnny Diggz (06:45):
it out
Doug Berger (06:46):
a
Johnny Diggz (06:46):
little
Doug Berger (06:46):
bit, I think,
Johnny Diggz (06:46):
or makes it seem more authentic.
It,
Doug Berger (06:48):
yeah, it feels a little bit more.
Authentic in that regard, butsometimes you just can't help it
and everybody just loves you andyou just get a five star review
Johnny Diggz (06:55):
like remix has.
Right?
That is true.
Remix
Doug Berger (06:58):
has all five star reviews on just about every
single platform.
And, and, and the beauty of ofthese reviews isn't in the
quantity, it's in the quality.
And quality is assessed based onhow old is your oldest review?
How old is your newest review?
How long?
Yeah.
Well, they also
Johnny Diggz (07:17):
get like, uh.
Sort of, it talks to how longyou've been in business, which
is also something that helpsyour, your search engine Optum
your results, right?
Doug Berger (07:26):
Well, yeah.
How old is your domain name?
Yeah.
Um, it you, it had more clout.
In the past, it doesn't have asmuch now.
Mm-hmm.
Really, backlinks are, are whereit's at.
Um, but rather than getting inthe weeds on Sure.
On backlinks and SERP scores andall that stuff.
Um, so a actionable thing, uh,is the, the SEO console.
(07:49):
Mm-hmm.
Uh, the search engine consoles,uh,
Johnny Diggz (07:51):
consistency across social media profiles.
Right.
Okay.
Doug Berger (07:54):
And, and, and when it comes to social media, a
another emerging trend are, arethe short form videos or
snackable videos as some peoplerefer to.
You're talking
Johnny Diggz (08:03):
about like reels, TikTok.
Uh, Yahoo.
YouTube does, uh, YouTubeshorts, right?
YouTube shorts.
Yeah.
So
Doug Berger (08:09):
yes.
Talking about that kind ofthing.
Um, and, and, and the types ofcontent that people are, are
interested in.
Right.
So, uh, people love the, thebehind the scenes types of
footage.
Um, they, they love the makingof types of footage.
So if you're a cafe, showsomeone, uh, pouring a
cappuccino, right?
(08:29):
Right.
And doing the, the coffee art.
Um, and if you are in a salon.
Right.
People love to see that timelapse footage where someone,
there's a, a quick shot of the,the, uh, the, the draping going
over them, whatever that'scalled.
Yeah.
Um, but I was gonna say apron, Idon't know what it's called.
Um, and smock.
(08:50):
Sure.
Johnny Diggz (08:51):
I just like to say that word.
It's a terrible word, but I loveit.
I did see a funny video where,where, uh, it was, and it went
viral.
It was a, it was a hairstylistthat was that.
A guy sat down, he puts one on,and then he puts another one on,
and before the guy notices, he'sput like 20 of them on.
Doug Berger (09:11):
That's hilarious.
I, I saw a, a, another one thatwhere, uh, it was all these
different styles and my, mypersonal favorite was where they
had took.
Uh, they take a, a baby doll,remove its head and sew the baby
doll to the front of the, the,the smock.
And so it looks like you've gotthis giant head and a, a tiny,
(09:32):
uh, baby doll body.
Um, and, and, and that's the wayto, to garner attention.
It's clever.
Yeah.
Like do do something that'sunexpected but also
simultaneously.
Non-controversial.
Sure.
Right.
Something that, that people canfind entertaining, and that is
the type of sales promotion thatyou're looking for, is being
(09:53):
authentic and and engaging withyour audience.
Right.
Go where they are and show themthe content that they want
without being.
Overly salesy because whenpeople are watching short form
video mm-hmm.
They're not interested in beingsold to necessarily, except for
when you get to influencermarketing.
Johnny Diggz (10:14):
All right.
Yeah.
Well, now, so tell me,influencer marketing, as I
understand it, is when someoneis being paid, or for whatever
reason, they want to promote aspecific thing.
And so right on TikTok.
And TikTok when you know thatyou see that they're like
selling something specific,like, and, and so it'll say
(10:35):
sponsored, you know, butthere's, that's one type of
influencer marketing, right?
Then there's, there's otherswhere it's not so in your face,
right?
So
Doug Berger (10:44):
what you'll see are, are a couple different
types of influencer marketing.
Um, the one that I, I feel isgoing to be.
The, the biggest trend goinginto 2026 is niche based,
hyper-local influencermarketing.
So this is where.
(11:04):
A, uh, a local car dealership,for example, hires someone that
drives around their car, right?
They're, they're borrowing a, a,a Lexus or whatever.
And, uh, and talking about howamazing it is, and maybe it's
not a Lexus, maybe it's adifferent brand, Subaru
Forester, uh, or, or perhaps aRivian.
I don't know.
Um, but, but the, the long andshort of it.
(11:28):
Is that, uh, we're, we're seeinga, a trend moving toward, uh,
like, uh, food bloggers, uh,theme park, vloggers, um, even
com college campus creators,where they're coming across as
authentically themselves, whichis, is critical here, right?
(11:50):
So we wanna make sure that theperson that is.
Acting in this influencer modeis someone who believes in the
product or service, but not onlythat, that they reflect the
audience that you are trying toreceive, right?
So if your target audience areare middle aged men, then you
(12:12):
micro influencer needs to be amiddle-aged man.
Conversely, if your audience issomeone who is a Gen Alpha
female, then your influencershould be a gen alpha, uh,
influencer.
And of course, these influencersare becoming increasingly
available and not just becauseof influencer platforms where
(12:34):
you can hire them, but also,dare I say,
Johnny Diggz (12:39):
ai.
So let's talk about AI becausethat sort of goes.
To me, you just, you know, youspent, you, you just were
talking about authenticity andAI seems like the opposite of
that.
Doug Berger (12:53):
It is to an extent because what we're seeing, let
me really quickly talk about a,the, the influencer side of
things and, and the actionablecomponents of, of, uh, of also
the short form video.
Mm-hmm.
So.
Uh, when it comes to a, a smallbusiness, would I recommend that
they engage immediately with aninfluencer?
(13:14):
I, I, I hazard to say Yes.
Um, I, I, I often would say,let's come up with a strategy
that makes sense.
Um, ideally.
That influencer would be someonewho's already embedded with the
company and not someone that'shired, uh, that is an actor.
Right.
(13:34):
However, there are influencersthat it, and we're talking not
necessarily about hyperlocal,right?
Hyperlocal, they're only gonnahave a.
A couple thousand followers.
So we're not talking about thesemillions of followers, Mr.
Beast type influencers.
Right, right.
Um, we're, we're talking aboutpeople who, uh, this is their,
(13:58):
their livelihood, butsimultaneously come across as
real.
Johnny Diggz (14:02):
Well, typically they're gonna be also
enthusiasts in, or you wouldhope that they're enthusiasts in
whatever, whatever topic, ifthey're theme park enthusiasts
that these are.
People who like going to themeparks already.
And so therefore have someinsights per perhaps to share.
Doug Berger (14:19):
And, and, and to that end, there are ways, there
are platforms these people makethemselves available on so they
can be hired through.
That means.
Um, so it from an actionableperspective, it, like I said,
this is a trend.
I'm not sure that I wouldrecommend a small business
weighed into this without.
(14:39):
Uh, having done their duediligence first, the AI side of
things is a, a little bit.
Scary.
Um, in, in that authenticitycomponent, uh, it can get out of
hand really quickly.
So do I recommend AIinfluencers?
It really depends on the productand service that you're selling.
(15:02):
And the, the core component ofAI that I believe is going to be
really significant in the comingyear, which is AI
personalization.
Johnny Diggz (15:11):
How does that work?
Doug Berger (15:13):
So AI personalization, um, is going to
have.
All the key data points abouteach audience member.
So who are, who are you, right?
So how old are you?
What are your demographics,right?
What's your gender?
Um, and then, uh, what do you dofor a living?
(15:34):
What's your, your income,psychographics, what are you
interested in?
Um, and, and then buyer intent,right?
What are you actively searchingfor service wise, uh, product
wise that.
I can sell you.
And then that information getsfed into platforms, whether it's
(15:55):
a dynamic CRM or it is a, uh, anemail, SMS uh, a, a AI enabled
platform.
Johnny Diggz (16:04):
They, um, they seem to be getting better and
better at, uh, targeting.
You personally?
Um, I'm seeing it mostly in likeemail campaigns where they, my
name is in there sometimes,some, you know, where I work or
what I do, what my job
Doug Berger (16:21):
title.
Absolutely.
You know, that kind of stuff.
Yeah.
And, and, and the crazy thing isyou can respond to these emails
and it uses natural language toreply, so you don't even realize
that you are interfacing withai.
It feels natural.
It feels like you're workingwith an actual person, doesn't
(16:42):
when it's done well and donecorrectly.
Absolutely.
Um, and, and so all of thosethings kind of then, um,
transition us into the paidrealm.
Right?
So obviously.
Influencers cost money.
AI enabled stuff, costs money.
But when we're talking aboutactual paid media, we end up
(17:04):
looking at things like streamingads.
Streaming ads are, are, aregoing to grow significantly over
the next year.
Um, when you
Johnny Diggz (17:15):
talk about streaming ads, you're talking
about, uh, ads that show on, on,on Hulu and, and Netflix.
Is that.
Doug Berger (17:24):
So, yes.
So who, Hulu is a, a greatexample.
Um, it we're talking about cordcutters, right?
So you have CTV connected tv,that's what are
Johnny Diggz (17:33):
people who aren't cord cutters anymore?
I, I think
Doug Berger (17:36):
there are lots of people who are, are definitely
still cable subscribers.
Okay.
Um, according to Nielsen, we'reeven seeing, you know, young
viewers, uh, that are stillcable viewers.
Okay.
Um, but when it comes to, tostreaming.
Yeah, we're talking about notjust Hulu, um, it, that, that's
(17:57):
one particular app within a, a,uh, a platform.
It can also be Apple tv, thefull box itself.
Right.
So that's where you have yourOTT type of advertising, Roku, I
guess.
Yeah, exactly.
So they're,
Johnny Diggz (18:10):
they're advertising directly to the box,
not necessarily to the channel.
Doug Berger (18:14):
Even then, we're still advertising directly to
the box because we know.
The individual that's on, on thereceiving end, we, we know that
they came and visited ourwebsite.
And so because we know that theyvisited our website, we have all
of their, their data, we canconnect that data to the other
(18:37):
side, um, whi, which could beremarketing or retargeting
depending on how you look at it.
But basically we know that youcame to lexus.com.
You were searching for Lexus nxand now I can go ahead and while
you are in the middle ofwatching, uh, whatever late
night show that, that you'restreaming in the middle of the
(18:57):
afternoon, I, I can feed you a,uh, a Lexus commercial about
that car
Johnny Diggz (19:02):
so that by, by design two people that live
right next to each other thatare watching the same program
could get delivered different.
Marketing messages
Doug Berger (19:16):
100%.
Okay.
Because these are, but thatdoesn't
Johnny Diggz (19:18):
happen in broadcast, right?
Yeah.
Because, well, this is an
Doug Berger (19:21):
simulcast, right?
Right.
We're we're talking aboutsomething that is happening.
I, I hit pause, right?
We're in the middle of a show.
I hit pause to go to thebathroom or to go get a snack.
You continue watching the show,we're gonna be paused at
different times and there aredifferent interstitials that are
gonna come up, right?
So you might see a 32nd spot,um, because you would let the,
(19:41):
the, the.
The commercial play, or youmight see a pause screen that is
tailored just to you.
Johnny Diggz (19:49):
Um, in addition to that, I, uh.
I am seeing, you know, thepodcasts are a podcast like this
one.
Yes.
Yes.
Well, ours is not sponsored, butmany of them are.
I mean, oh, well, well, sorry.
Ours is sponsored by remixed,the branding agency.
The branding, um,
Doug Berger (20:07):
yeah.
Podcast.
Uh, and, and audio.
Uh, digital audio advertising.
So it's not just limited topodcasts.
Right.
You can also a advertise onSpotify.
Um, and, but, uh, oh, that's
Johnny Diggz (20:21):
right.
'cause I, I, I spend so much, Ispend a lot of money avoiding,
um, even iHeart
Doug Berger (20:26):
media, right?
Johnny Diggz (20:27):
Yeah.
But I, I, I, I pay the extra,like to not see ads as much as
possible.
Sure.
And so I.
Tend to forget that the, thevast majority of people who are
not paying the extra to, they'rehearing ads on Spotify.
Yes.
And I, and I don't hear them.
So, so
Doug Berger (20:43):
yeah, it, so you can pay for ads to, to be on
Spotify, on Pandora, a anywhere,uh, iHeart Media, uh, streams
their, their content.
Um, and that's
Johnny Diggz (20:53):
not, that's different than the sponsoring
the podcast and getting.
A a, a live read inside thepodcast.
Right.
Doug Berger (21:01):
But what we are definitely seeing in the podcast
realm is again, back to thiswhole hyperlocal component where
people are finding hyperlocalpodcasts that speak directly to
their audience.
So it might be, uh, you have atire shine spray, for example,
and there's a local car talk,uh, podcast.
(21:24):
Are you going to reach millionsof people like you would on a
mainstream podcast?
No.
Right?
But are you gonna reach thethousand people that tune into
that one particular podcast thatparticular week?
Right?
Um, in order to promote the saleat the local, uh, auto parts
store.
Absolutely.
Johnny Diggz (21:44):
And you're gonna get, um, in, in, in some of
them, you're gonna find that thepodcast host is going to talk
about using the product, right?
So that, that's kind of whatsome of those are going for.
Doug Berger (21:58):
And at that point, you're kind of blending the
lines between a podcast and aninfluencer.
You're right, you're right.
And, and, and the beauty is youcan repurpose.
That content based on yourcontract, of course.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and, and, and be able toutilize it elsewhere.
Um, and, and speaking of, ofelsewhere we have out of home.
(22:18):
So out of home is making atremendous resurgence.
And it's not just printedbillboards, right?
It's not just printed postershowings or bus shelters.
It, we're seeing vehicle wraps,uh, as a, a big piece.
And, uh, the, the bigger.
Trend that I am looking.
(22:39):
At, at coming our way are thesedigital billboards?
The digital there is, there arethese digital billboard
platforms that you can buy, um,a, a local digital billboard at
very specific locations and payfor however frequent and the
times of day that you want atthe locations that you want.
(23:02):
For the same value, same cost, Ishould say, as a display ad
using, uh, the Google DisplayNetwork or something like
AdRoll.
Johnny Diggz (23:11):
So you could, you could specifically target
afternoon drive people or.
Uh, people near, uh, a hospitalor something like that.
Doug Berger (23:21):
Yeah.
What whatever matches where youraudience might be at that
particular time.
And, and, and speaking of beingwhere your audience might be,
uh, the, the next big set oftrends that I am looking at are
community oriented marketing.
(23:41):
And so it's, it's not justcommunity, it's content.
Right?
So it's, it's, it's interlockingthose two pieces.
Does
Johnny Diggz (23:48):
this mean like sponsorships or events?
It is.
Okay.
It's all of it.
Right.
Okay.
Doug Berger (23:53):
So, um, it's, it's having your own event.
As a marketing vehicle orsponsoring an event as a
marketing vehicle.
And of course, there are majorbenefits to sponsoring an event
because all of a sudden you'redoing brand partnerships and,
uh, and collabs, right?
Um, but with these events andexperiences, it, it, it ranges
(24:13):
from pop-ups.
Where people can have a, uh, aninteraction with you as if you
are a, a full fledged store, butof course, you're only doing it
for a month or a, a vacantstorefront.
Um, there's some really amazingthings that we're seeing in that
regard, like, uh, usingaugmented reality where someone
holds up a smartphone, uh, scansthe QR code.
(24:37):
And the next thing you know,there's an animated character or
they're interacting with avirtual product in the space
Johnny Diggz (24:43):
that's, um, so you're not, when you say
augmented reality, I, Iimmediately think of like
glasses, like Google glasses andall that stuff you're talking,
but
Doug Berger (24:52):
that's more virtual reality.
Okay.
I mean, yeah, there are likethe, there are like the new meta
glasses that have Sure.
Ar.
But no, we're talking, we'renot,
Johnny Diggz (25:00):
yeah, there's not really a marketing opportunity
there yet.
Doug Berger (25:04):
So, you know how QR codes about 20, 25 years ago
were pretty cool, but prettyuseless,
Johnny Diggz (25:11):
right?
'cause you had to install anextra app or whatever to make it
work.
Doug Berger (25:14):
We're kind of there with ar we're okay.
We're, I, I actually prefer theterm xr.
Um.
Because it's not really justlimited to the idea of virtual
reality.
Um, but it's also not limited toar so it it's experience.
Right.
Um, and, and so it, it'sexperiential reality.
(25:34):
Um, where, where you can havesimulated or digital media
overlaying, uh, what's beyondthe camera lens.
Johnny Diggz (25:41):
So in the community building aspects, uh.
You are talking what, likenewsletters or are these Yeah,
like how do you, how do you.
You know, I have a little bit ofbackground in developer
community building, um, and justa little Yeah, sure.
Just a little.
But, but, um, but that was avery specific, you know, uh,
(26:02):
curating developer communitiesis, is a pretty small niche,
right?
Um, but versus building, uh, acommunity around like a hospital
or, uh, you know, some sort of,uh.
Uh, a local brand.
A a, yeah.
Art center or something likethat.
Doug Berger (26:17):
So on the email, uh, digital newsletter side, um,
we are seeing a growing trend ofHTML formatted emails, but not
like the cold emails where wewere talking about with the, the
AI where it can send naturallanguage emails.
Those are usually plain textemails.
(26:37):
That's for your top of funnel.
Uh, audience.
Mm-hmm.
These are people that theyhaven't engaged with the brand
yet and we're trying tointroduce them to the brand.
Lemme
Johnny Diggz (26:45):
do a quick plug.
We did a, uh, another podcastcalled Fun With Funnels.
So if you fun with funnels.
Yes.
If you wanna understand howfunnels work, uh, go check that
one out.
Doug Berger (26:54):
So, um, so when it comes to, uh, email newsletters,
what we're talking is more midfunnel.
Uh, people who have alreadygotten some degree of
familiarity with the brand, um,and especially bottom of funnel,
right?
People who have alreadyconverted.
They've not only engaged withthe brand, but they've either
purchased the product orservice.
(27:14):
Um, and so they're anopportunity to be a repeat
customer.
Johnny Diggz (27:19):
The, um, you mentioned brand partnerships.
Um.
What are some examples of, of,of how, how you can partner your
brand with another brand to, toadvantage?
Doug Berger (27:32):
Well, I mean, on, on the most grassroots level,
you've got bands that go performat a brewery, for example, and
so all of a sudden the brewery.
Is promoting the band, and theband is promoting the brewery.
And so there's this mutualcollaboration here where, you
know, the, the brewery isbringing in a new audience for
(27:54):
the band, and the band isbringing in a new, uh, consumer
for the brewery.
That would be one grassrootslevel.
Um, it, it can grow out fromthere.
Um, it, it, it could be, uh,where it's a fashion house that,
uh, coordinates with a, uh, um,a, a small cafe, right?
(28:16):
And so all of a sudden there'sa, a local niche.
Uh, maybe it's an, uh, an urban,um, uh, t-shirt, graphic tees
company and, and that theycoordinate with, um, I don't
know, a, uh, a, a a coffee shop.
And so they start making reallycool swag for the coffee shop
(28:38):
and that that creates, that,that bit of collab.
Johnny Diggz (28:41):
And I guess it, it also helps build community,
right?
So it 100, 100%.
Yeah.
And, and, and, uh, I guess outof that all, you kind of start
to see how all of these thingsstart to work together, right?
As a, as cohesive sort of brandawareness campaigns.
Doug Berger (28:59):
Yeah.
And that all comes down to whatthe consumer expectations are.
Right.
And so the consumer expectationsare probably easy to break down
into a, a handful of, uh, uh,of, of silos.
So the first one is.
And we keep talking about thisauthenticity and trust, right?
Don't deviate from your brand'svoice.
(29:20):
Don't deviate from who you areas a company and as a person.
And it's
Johnny Diggz (29:25):
easy to do that with.
Through some of these thingswe're talking about, uh, the
wrong influencer can deviate.
Can, can actually hurt you.
It can.
Or using an AI tool in a, in thewrong way can also cause harm to
your brand.
Doug Berger (29:40):
Yeah.
And that kind of takes us toinclusion and representation,
right?
So if your influencer is a37-year-old woman and your
target audience are college agedkids, right?
That's gonna be dissonant,right?
So what people like to see are.
(30:00):
Individuals that reflectthemselves.
Right?
So if I was to look at somethingthat had a, a small child
marketing to me, I'm not thattarget audience, right?
A small child doesn't reallyhold much clout with me when it
comes to purchasing a jacket.
Johnny Diggz (30:19):
That's true.
Um, do you have any finalthoughts on, uh, on where, uh,
any other trends that you'reseeing or.
To sum up what, what we've got,uh, what, what 2026 has, has got
in store for us.
Doug Berger (30:34):
So I believe that 2026 we're going to see a
significant shift towardauthenticity, storytelling, and
technology integration.
So I, I'm looking forward to alot of experiential augmented
reality type stuff.
(30:54):
I'm, I am looking forward to alot of AI driven optimization.
I think that that's gonna be areally big part along with, uh,
first party data.
Um, but.
You know, I also believe thatthere's a lot of media
fragmentation for us to bemindful of, and so I think
trend-wise, we're not gonna seepeople syndicating the same
(31:15):
content across all social mediachannels.
I believe that we're gonna startseeing very specific targeted
messaging that matches thechannel as opposed to messaging
that just matches the brand.
You
Johnny Diggz (31:29):
know, it's interesting that you say that
because even amongst theplatforms, they have different.
User bases, right.
So, um, for example, Meta's, uh,Facebook has tends to shift to
an older demographic, um,because these are the primarily
Gen X people who adoptedFacebook as sort of their first
(31:50):
platform, their first socialsocial media platform.
So they're on it, but you'realso seeing the, the millennials
and the Gen Zs and, and they'renot on Facebook.
And so I can see.
Why that would be valuable?
Because you might want adifferent message going to a
Facebook post.
Yeah.
Versus a, versus a TikTok.
Well,
Doug Berger (32:10):
and, and, and not only that, the technologies are
different, right.
You, if you put a link onFacebook algorithmically, it's
gonna mess with you.
So you need to put that link inyour comments.
But Instagram, on the otherhand, you can't even put an, you
can't even put a link.
You can't even put a link.
Right, right.
The only time you can put a linkis if it's a sponsored post.
(32:30):
So.
If you put a link in anInstagram post, it might send
the wrong message.
Johnny Diggz (32:38):
It.
I don't think it's gonna sendthe wrong message, but it could.
It could.
It could.
Doug Berger (32:42):
It, it just se, it just tells people that you are
putting out content that'ssyndicated and not necessarily
targeted.
It is
Johnny Diggz (32:50):
not
Doug Berger (32:50):
targeted to
Johnny Diggz (32:50):
them.
And that's comes back to theauthenticity and the non-AI
nature, the non-automatedthings.
'cause people, I think peopleare getting more savvy.
About this stuff and the realiOh, yeah.
And so, and even
Doug Berger (33:03):
with AI generated content.
Sure, sure.
Johnny Diggz (33:05):
Yeah.
I, you, it's, it's like, uh, itobviously, it still fools some
people, but um,
Doug Berger (33:12):
and some people enjoy it, so it's not even about
right in, in authenticity, it'sjust, it's entertaining.
Right.
Johnny Diggz (33:19):
Yes.
So anyway, I think that's a goodplace to wrap it up and, uh,
until we have our, our next, uh,our next podcast, uh, with
Branda Brothers.
Doug Berger (33:29):
Sounds great.
I.
Thank you for tuning in to Brand of Brothers.
Big thank you to our presentingsponsor, Remixed, the branding
agency, along with productionassistance from Johnny Diggz,
Simon Jacobsohn, and me, DougBerger.
We can't forget music by PRO.
Speaking of not forgetting,remember to do that like and
subscribe thing and find us atBrandShowLive.
com and follow us on the socialsat BrandShowLive.
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