Soul & Science

New Balance is not only “the shoe brand of choice for film stars, athletes and supermodels,” according to Urban Journal, it’s the brand for “the biggest, hype-inducing names on the street right now.” As CMO of the hotly resurgent brand, which was born in 1906, Chris Davis applies a risk/innovation model which puts 50% of the marketing budget into proven, demand-creation tactics, 30% into calculated risks (NFTs, for example) and 20...

Growing up, Ricky Engelberg loved both computers and playing baseball. While your basic 1990s high schooler would say the two sit on opposite sides of the cafeteria, it was the perfect mix for Nike, where Engelberg worked for almost 20 years after college. There at the dawn of the internet era, Engelberg helped Nike create digital products for athletes and sneakerheads alike, including Nike Plus Running, nurturing passionate commun...

We’ve had a blast talking to some of the marketing world’s most brilliant minds here on Soul & Science. Instead of a new episode this week, we’ve compiled some of our favorite Soul & Science insights from the first half of this season.

Thank you to all of the insightful guests for sharing your knowledge with us. We have a lot more exciting interviews coming up. Listen to Soul & Science, and fast forward your marketing m...

Is success as seemingly simple as putting one foot in front of the other? Sam Parr, founder of The Hustle, one of the fastest-growing media companies, focusing on millennials, tech and culture, fueled his rise by curiosity, action and googling. Segueing from helping “American Pickers” Mike Wolfe set up a Nashville store to running a hot dog stand to feed the fans, Sam googled how to start an internet business and then did. He moved...

Bonin Bough’s first flare of marketing genius came at the age of 12, when the executive who would later set the pace for big brands entering online and social channels, launched a magazine in the NYC Public Schools. In college, the physics major built websites for brands, and one millennium-era internet party later, he joked, the vodka fountain and shrimp boat steered him into a marketing career. Bonin built internet practices at t...

My guest on the pod this week, Josh Taekman is the Founder & CEO of the functional wellness brand, EBOOST. Inspired by hip-hop, Josh’s career started in the mailroom at Bad Boy Entertainment where he learned that you “eat what you kill” and hustled to start his own agency. Eventually, he saw a space for a functional wellness product that spoke to the pop culture audience. EBOOST, was born as a wellness supplement that supports ...

My guest on the pod this week, Jeff Jenkins, is CMO of Carter’s. He has one of those serendipitous career journeys that started when he was a 16-year-old tennis player coming home from a trip to Europe obsessed with this band, Ace of Base. As a young actor in New York, appearing on “Star Trek '' and in soap operas, he tempted in between at MTV and this sync with popular culture led to a stellar career at Taco Bell, where he...

Water with a hint of flavor but not of sugar was the simple but genius concept behind Hint Water. Founder Kara Goldin joins the pod today to tell us about a 17-year entrepreneur’s journey that has had her staring down category captains at retail, telling DTC brand stories and making the correlation between larger bottle openings and sales. Her acumen has brought accolades from Fortune–she’s both a Most Powerful Entrepreneur and Mos...

As a former senior executive at Starbucks, Aimee Johnson knows a thing or two about customer experience. While waiting in line was part of the community experience for some, the Starbucks’ app was also a critical timesaver for others. Aimee had to convince leaders at the democratized brand that tech could also have heart. In her most recent role as CMO of the Zillow Group, Aimee juggled how to build an online brand that showcased t...

GE CMO Linda Boff joins the pod this week to tell us about achieving success through reinvention. Through her career, including 18 years at GE, Linda has continually revitalized both career and company through practicing a restart mindset, knowing the difference between being recognized and being relevant and tapping into the innovation and marketing chops of Thomas Edison. Linda has one of the biggest jobs in marketing, overseeing...

World 50 CEO David Wilkie joins the pod this week to share insights on his exclusive company, discuss the power of peer networks, and how alignment of purpose, trust, curiosity, and diversity of thought promote growth. 

As CEO of World 50, David is responsible for the strategic direction, growth and development of the company. David joined the company 17 years ago, and has been CEO of World 50 for the last 11 years.

Founded in 2004...

LendingTree Chief Marketing & Customer Experience Officer Shiv Singh joins Jason this week to discuss how he's harnessing the power of trust in our post-trust world.

Shiv joined LendingTree in January 2022 from The Expedia Group, where he served as SVP and General Manager for the world-class travel brand, charged with driving brand loyalty and long-term customer value amid the coronavirus pandemic. Previously, Singh worked ...

Comic Relief CEO Alison Moore joins Jason this week to discuss how she moved from a profession to a purpose, how she effectively markets a mission, and how Comic Relief is using entertainment to make positive change in the world.

Alison Moore is a media and tech industry veteran who is bridging the worlds of entertainment, social change, storytelling, and fundraising to break the cycles that perpetuate intergenerational poverty. Al...

eos CMO Soyoung Kang joins Jason this week to discuss how taking calculated risks can increase ROI. 

Soyoung Kang is the Chief Marketing Officer at eos Products, the iconic beauty brand that has sold nearly a billion lip balms worldwide. Since joining eos as CMO, Soyoung has completed a total reboot of the brand identity, from resetting creative and strategic vision, to dramatically expanding the category footprint and product pipe...

Indeed CMO Jessica Jensen comes on the pod to discuss the future of work, the importance of change and adaptation, and how Indeed is reframing "the great resignation" as "The Great Realization."

As the Chief Marketing Officer at Indeed, Jessica Jensen is responsible for Brand, Communication, Product, Acquisition, and Experience Marketing globally. Jessica has led high-performance teams at the world's leading tec...

Foot Locker Global CMO Jed Berger joins Jason on the pod to discuss how omni retail is future-proofing Foot Locker.

Jed Berger currently serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for the Foot Locker family of brands in North America. During his nine-year tenure at Foot Locker, Jed also served as Vice President of Marketing for Foot Locker. Prior to joining Foot Locker, Jed’s professional experience has deep roots in youth culture. Afte...

OkCupid Global CMO Melissa Hobley joins us for our very first episode to help answer the question: Does moral capital lead to business capital?

As a leading expert on brand-building, Melissa Hobley has a reputation for marrying powerful brand marketing with data-driven digital advertising, in bold and breakthrough ways that jumpstart brands and create measurable value. Melissa is currently the Global Chief Marketing Officer at OkCu...

Does marketing live in the heart, or in the head? Should you trust your instinct, or your integers? If the answer is both, should you lead with one more than the other? As an independent creative agency, Mekanism has been asking these questions of ourselves and our clients for over 10 years. Join co-founder and CEO of award-winning creative agency Mekanism, Jason Harris, on his quest to answer these questions with the world’s leadi...