On Brand with Nick Westergaard
On Brand helps you tell stronger stories and build better brands. Each week, host Nick Westergaard, author of Brand Now and Get Scrappy, interviews marketing and communication thought leaders and innovators from brands like Ben & Jerry’s, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Meta, Crayola, Beats by Dre, Southwest Airlines, Reddit, Spotify, and MailChimp. Watch the full, in-depth conversations and get actionable insights to help you and your brand stand out in a crowded, distracted world. For show notes and more, please visit http://onbrandpodcast.com.
Episodes
December 8, 2025 • 29 mins
What if you could test your business strategy in days instead of months? That’s what Kate O’Keeffe, CEO and Co‑Founder of Heatseeker, makes possible. From building the first AI‑powered platform for market experimentation to helping companies validate strategy, positioning, and buyer demand at lightning speed, Kate’s career is all about turning bold ideas into measurable results. Former BCG Partner and Silicon Valley innovator, she’...
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December 1, 2025 • 31 mins
Impact isn’t a vibe — it’s measurable. This week I’m joined by Neil Callanan, LooseGrip founder and creator of the GRASP Impact Framework, to unpack how storytelling can stand up to scrutiny and move both culture and the bottom line.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
How the GRASP Impact Framework helps brands get a real grasp on the effectiveness of their stories
Why consumptive metrics like time spent with content matte...
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November 24, 2025 • 32 mins
The secret to great creative work isn’t just the idea — it’s knowing how to get there. Toby Wilkinson, co-founder of Ask Us For Ideas, has spent the last decade helping brands navigate the messy world of agencies, briefs, and creative partnerships to make the process smoother, smarter, and more successful.
What You'll Learn
Why choosing the right agency is just as important as the creative work itself
How to align your te...
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November 17, 2025 • 33 mins
What does the producer of Wedding Crashers, Serendipity, and Van Wilder know about building brands? Turns out—a lot. This week on On Brand, Andrew Panay shares how Hollywood storytelling principles shape not just hit movies but also unforgettable brand stories for companies like T-Mobile, Microsoft, and Anheuser-Busch.
What You'll Learn
Why originality—not imitation—is still the most powerful creative strategy
How Hollywo...
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November 10, 2025 • 36 mins
What does it take to build one of the world’s top-rated social media management platforms—without a single dollar of outside funding? This week on On Brand, Emeric Ernoult, founder and CEO of Agorapulse, shares how he bootstrapped the company to over $20 million in revenue, pioneered ROI-tracking tools for social, and carved out a powerful niche in a crowded market. We talk scaling smart, making social media actually measurable, an...
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November 3, 2025 • 32 mins
How do the most visible leaders stay trusted and relevant in a noisy world? Danielle Sabrina has spent her career helping them do exactly that. As founder of Society22 PR, one of Inc. 5000’s fastest-growing firms, Danielle has guided CEOs, athletes, and celebrities in building credibility that scales. Named Female Entrepreneur of the Year and one of CIO’s Top 20 Female Entrepreneurs to Follow, she joins me to unpack how smart brand...
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October 27, 2025 • 30 mins
How do brands really live in our minds? According to Ulli Applebaum, it’s all about associations — the complex web of meanings and emotions that define how people see your brand. This week on On Brand, the international strategy veteran and author of The Science of Brand Associations shares how we can use science, not guesswork, to build brands that stick.
What You'll Learn
Why brand associations are the “operating system” t...
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October 13, 2025 • 30 mins
Geoff Cook’s career took off the night he met MoMA’s CMO—and helped create the iconic MoMA QNS brand. Since then, he’s shaped brands from MILK and NeueHouse to Times Talks, JFK Terminal 4, and the Prince Estate. Partner at Base, mentor at TechStars, and global culture expert, Geoff shares how bold branding can leave a lasting cultural impact.
What You'll Learn in This Episode
- How a single encounter can launch a career and def...
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October 9, 2025 • 40 mins
In this special bonus episode of On Brand: Taylor’s Version, now that The Life of a Showgirl is out in the world, we’re asking: what does this new era tell us about Taylor Swift? To explore, I’m joined by Joanna Weiss, editor of Harvard Magazine, journalist, and co-author of Taylor Swift: Album by Album, a deep dive into every era. Together, we’ll unpack how Showgirl fits into Taylor’s evolution and what this chapter reveals about ...
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October 6, 2025 • 31 mins
What makes a brand unforgettable instead of overlooked? Tom Miner knows. As Head of Global Social Media at Crocs, he helped drive one of today’s biggest brand turnarounds. Now author of Social First Brands, Tom shares how embracing productive tension, making personality your secret weapon, and riding trends that matter can turn comments into real community.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
Why Crocs’ turnaround shows the po...
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October 2, 2025 • 35 mins
In this episode of On Brand: Taylor’s Version, we’re joined by Ann Handley — Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, and one of IBM’s ‘7 people shaping modern marketing.’ Ann brings not just her marketer’s eye but also her mom’s heart to the Swiftiverse. We’ll explore how Taylor’s storytelling fuels parasocial relationships, why The Eras Tour transformed casual fans into rabid ones, and what...
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September 29, 2025 • 33 mins
Few business thinkers have shaped customer experience and marketing as profoundly as Jay Baer. A 7th-generation entrepreneur, best-selling author, and creator of six multi-million-dollar companies, he’s helped more than 700 brands, from Nike to the United Nations, grow and connect with customers in ways that matter. Now, he’s challenging everything marketers think they know about “owned” digital land, AI, and the future of content ...
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September 25, 2025 • 48 mins
In this episode of On Brand Taylor's Version, we're joined by Stephanie Burt, poet, critic, and professor of English at Harvard University. Stephanie made headlines when she created and taught one of the very first college courses on Taylor Swift at Harvard, Taylor Swift and her world. We discuss what it means to study Taylor seriously at Harvard, why her storytelling resonates so widely, and what we can all learn from her profound...
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September 22, 2025 • 32 mins
What do Hot Wheels, Disney, Burton, and WWE have in common? They’ve all had Mark Michaylira driving their brand forward. With two decades of creative leadership behind some of the world’s most beloved names, Mark knows how to make work that’s not just bold and joyful but rooted in culture—and powerful enough to move business.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- How to build authentic brands by starting with humanity and understand...
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September 18, 2025 • 43 mins
In this episode of On Brand: Taylor’s Version, we’re joined by Emily Campion — Henry B. Tippie Fellow and Associate Professor at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business. Emily’s research explores how organizations hire and develop talent. But today, she’s here to talk about something decidedly more human: Taylor Swift’s relentless work ethic, authentic leadership, grit in the face of setbacks, and her ability to balance...
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September 15, 2025 • 32 mins
Few platforms have changed culture as quickly—or as globally—as TikTok. Khartoon Weiss, VP and GM of North America and Global Business Solutions, is at the center of it, helping brands and businesses connect with audiences in ways that are creative, authentic, and impactful. From scaling Spotify to leading top agencies, she’s built a career on turning bold ideas into cultural movements—and now she’s shaping the future of TikTok.
...
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September 11, 2025 • 43 mins
In our first episode of On Brand: Taylor’s Version, we’re joined by Sinéad O’Sullivan — aerospace engineer turned business strategist, former head of Strategy at Harvard Business School, professor, and co-founder of a global investment fund. She’s advised everyone from NASA to prime ministers … and she also happens to be in the top 0.01% of Taylor Swift fans worldwide. Her new book, Good Ideas and Power Moves: Business Lessons from...
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September 8, 2025 • 39 mins
What makes an idea—or a person—truly remarkable? Guy Kawasaki has spent decades evangelizing some of the world’s most influential brands—from Apple to Canva—and helping ideas spread in ways that stick. In his new book, Wiser Guy, he shares the lessons, stories, and wisdom he’s gathered along the way, showing how to think remarkable, lead with purpose, and make an impact that lasts.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- Why Wiser ...
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September 4, 2025 • 2 mins
On Brand: Taylor’s Version is a 4-episode mini-series exploring Taylor Swift’s brand brilliance — from storytelling and community to cultural hitmaking and reinvention. Guests include bestselling authors, top CMOs, and academic experts who break down what businesses and leaders can learn from the world’s ultimate hitmaker. New bonus episodes drop every Thursday through October 2nd, leading up to the release of The Life of a Showgir...
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September 1, 2025 • 29 mins
What makes a brand experience unforgettable? Laura Parkinson, Global Head of Brand Experience at LinkedIn, has created standout experiences at Apple, Google, and now LinkedIn. She leads the team behind the company’s most influential moments—online and in person—and knows how to turn bold ideas into connections that inspire and stick.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
Why the most iconic brands focus on making people feel somet...
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