Shows
Content BlocksHow to build a SaaS brand strategy that actually sticks (with the DRMG team)If your product is different, your messaging should be too. But most SaaS companies still sound the same.In this episode, Joe sits down with Dustin Robertson and Mike Geraci, partners at DRMG and architects behind standout SaaS brand strategies like Mosaic’s. They unpack the difference between category design and traditional positioning, explain why it’s critical to anchor your messaging in human outcomes, and walk through DRMG’s RISE framework—from research to go-to-market execution. Whether you're building from scratch or rethinking your narrative, this episode offers a practical look at how to make your brand ac...2025-05-0143 minContent BlocksSimple ways to approach positioning and messaging from a content seatI explore the critical overlap between content marketing and product marketing, focusing specifically on positioning and messaging. Discover a straightforward approach for content marketers to quickly build effective positioning and messaging frameworks, even when official documentation is lacking.Key Discussion Points:02:36 Building positioning and pessaging from ccratch04:10 Key questions for effective content positioning09:27 Understanding the Pain-Claim-Gain framework11:14 Applying messaging frameworks to all contentMemorable Quotes:"If you dive headfirst into content creation without nailing down your positioning and messaging, you might waste a lot of time and energy.""Everything you're doing when asking...2025-03-2116 min
The SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 52 - Building Brands that Stick: Lessons from the Rise and Sale of Backcountry.comThis episode of the SaaS Brand Strategy Show goes back in time for timeless truths. A discussion with Backcountry.com's employee #3 and first and former CMO on the rise and sale of outdoor retailer Backcountry.com, a company that deeply immersed itself in its target customer communities to drive growth.
Key takeaways include:
The importance of maintaining a sharp, differentiated brand identity even as a company scales, rather than chasing growth at all costs. Backcountry's laser focus on its core outdoor enthusiast customers was critical to its success.
Lessons in tying marketing initiatives...2024-09-1830 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp 51 - Category lessons from the Supreme, Luxottica, Meta dealsOn last week's Meta earnings call, Zuckerberg reported that demand for the Ray-Ban 'Smart Glasses' was “...still outpacing our ability to build them.”
Either demand is through the roof (not seeing it), or the capacity to produce them is still developing (likely).
Regardless, it appears optical-based assisted intelligence is here to stay in one form or several.
On Episode 51 of the SaaS Brand Strategy Show, Dustin and Mike dig into the recent acquisitions and investments in and around the emerging category, including:
Luxottica's acquisition of Supreme for $1.5 billion and Meta's investment in Luxo...2024-08-0720 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 50 - Why Category Strategy Scares the Sales TeamIn this episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, hosts Mike Geraci and Dustin Robertson are joined by Adam and Teymour from DashLX to discuss the challenges and successes of introducing a new category into the market, specifically focusing on the concept of "Lived Experience (LX)" data in the sales process.
Adam and Teymour share their journey from inception to successful sales, providing insights into when and where category strategy helps and where and when it can be an impediment:
- The challenges and benefits of defining and selling a new category, "...2024-07-2624 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowApple Delivers A Master Class In Category Design with Apple IntelligenceApple recently made some big waves in the AI space. We'll discuss their strategic positioning with "Apple Intelligence AI" and the introduction of a privacy-focused "Personal Intelligence System." We'll explain what this means for the future of AI and what it might tell us about Apple's vision for personal technology.
2024-06-2322 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowCan Ai Be Strategic? Do You Have a Small Language Model?Remember when machine learning was supposed to change how we did business?
Machine Learning within an organization never materialized except for the largest enterprises with the largest data sets.
Large Language Models (LLM) are delivering what machine learning never could.
Build a Small Language Model (SML) and be blown away at what you can do with very little data.
Shoutout to Kyle Coleman. As far as I know, he coined the term SML.
Episode 48 of the SaaS Brand Strategy Show dives into SML and how everyday AI tools can...2024-06-1321 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 47 - Hubspot Acquires Clearbit: Will Their Category Change?On this week's episode of the SaaS Brand Strategy Show, Ryan, Mike, and Dustin delve into HubSpot's recent acquisition of Clearbit. A move that is part of what's been a significant shift in HubSpot's strategy over recent years, from a focus on inbound marketing to a broader customer management approach. We explore how Clearbit's data enrichment tools can impact customer's CRM and marketing strategies, enhancing lead generation and customer insights—and how this purchase does and doesn't position Hubspot against Salesforce.
Join us as we analyze HubSpot's potential motivations behind the Clearbit acquisition and its impact on th...2023-12-1342 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 46 - Unpacking Humane's "AI Pin" Launch & New Tech Category LessonsOn this episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy show, we kick off a critical analysis of the world’s first “AI pin” introduced this month by Humane. Not just the pin itself, but the launch, and the combined praise and ire it’s drawn within the tech community. We’ll be discussing features, design, and the philosophy that drove its creation—but even more so whether or not that philosophy is showing up prominently enough in the messaging and positioning of the product for it to matter and make waves.
Join us as we unpack Human...2023-11-2843 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 45 - From B2C Psychology to B2B Category Design (with Eddie Yoon of Category Pirates)In this episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, Eddie Yoon, a renowned author, B2C and B2B marketing consultant, and category design expert, joins us to share his experience in consumer psychology and growth strategies. He highlights the importance of category creation for companies of all sizes, and why knowing your customer (and who your Super Consumers are) is key to selling and telling the right story.
Eddie has authored a variety of marketing books, and aided innovative companies like Keurig and iRobot and his wisdom is both wide and deep. With...2023-11-1048 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 44 - Klaviyo's Rise From Shopify App to Juggernaut IPOOn this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy show, we dive deep into the captivating story of Klaviyo's decade-long journey to transform the ecommerce landscape—culminating in what's expected to be a massive IPO next week. Today's episode unveils the intertwined relationship between Klaviyo and Shopify, shedding light on why Klaviyo has managed to stand out as the dominant platform for ecommerce email marketing.
We explore the resonating power of customer advocacy, the brand's unique value proposition (or lack thereof), and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead with its anticipated IPO. We de...2023-09-1449 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 43 - Building Up & Tearing Down Front's $200 Million Category StrategyStrap in, SaaS fans. On this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy show, we're taking a ride into the heart of Front’s category strategy around their Customer Operations Platform. We love finding interesting and well-executed category strategy in the wild, and Front has made waves with their's raising over $200 million in their pursuit of this category, and the narrative surrounding it.
Today, we dive headfirst into their website, dissect their product video, and give you our no-holds-barred take on what we think works and what could use a little polish. We're all ab...2023-08-0231 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 42 - Democratizing AI? Databricks' Billion-Dollar Bet on MosaicMLIn this episode, we dive deep into Databricks' recent acquisition of MosaicML, a staggering $1.3 billion transaction that aims to democratize AI and bring its services to, well... everyone? We'll explore their before and after messaging, the key elements of category strategy in play, and the role of AI in shaping today's software messaging landscape. We also delve into the challenges of positioning AI in an industry that's rapidly expanding and evolving, and worries over reverse differentiation.
Join us as we discuss the potential fracturing of AI models and what this could mean for the...2023-07-1938 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 41 - "Remote Work" is old and so are you. The implications and expectations inherent to an antiquated category term.When evolution occurs, previously accepted nomenclature can become obsolete. So it is with "Remote Work," that charming idea of a distributed office, freed from the constraints of traditional office bureaucracy and politics. But remote from what? With the majority of business meeting invites including a Zoom, or Hangout, or Teams link isn't everyone 'remote', even those in a traditional office space? More importantly, does the term create an us-versus-them dynamic that pits on-prem vs off- against each other?
Ep. 41 of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show tackles the disconnect created by the headless "Remote Work" category. With special...2023-05-2432 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 40 - "I Am Not A Fraction" (with Bridgio CEO Paul Jones)This is the first discussion about what we have termed "Headless categories", category names that have just appeared and been adopted without any really heavy strategic thought behind them. On this episode we discuss the "Fractional Leadership" category. Fractional CMOs, Fraction CIOs, etc...
Is Fractional the correct category name or is there a more appropriate term to capture the comprehensive value provided by top-shelf, um, fractional leaders. (it even feels wrong to say it).
Bridgio CEO Paul Jones brought us the headless idea and joins us to discuss the fractional conundrum. He is well-qualified, as...2023-05-1836 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 39 - The Cake Conundrum (with Mark Pollard from Sweathead)Mark Pollard runs Sweathead, a community to "help people build lives around their strategy instincts." He and his team do this through workshops/Masterclasses, training, the Sweathead podcast and newsletter, and the 17,000 member Sweathead Facebook community. He’s also run strategy teams at Big Spaceship, Edelman, and Leo Burnett. He was on the Account Planning Group (APG) committee in Australia 12 years ago. He’s spoken at Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, AIGA How Design, Google Firestarters, and more. He is author of Strategy is Your Words. He also once published Australasia’s first full-color hip hop magazine “Stealth”.
Today, M...2023-04-2646 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 38 - From The "Lived Experience" Category To A $2.5 Million Seed Round (with Adam Stepanovic, CEO of DashLX)The road to raising $2.5 million dollars is never smooth—but the views are often pretty legendary. On today's episode, we invite a friend, client, category creator, and founder—Adam Stepanovic—to talk about DashLX's journey to their most recent funding round, and how the role of category creation played a massive part in their ability to obtain clients and tell and sell their story to investors.
On this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we'll discuss with him the history of DashLX, from the inception of the business idea, to the road to their first custom...2023-02-1641 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 37 - Category Creators Braze & the Power of First-Mover AdvantageCategory design is in the news this week, so we're taking on the role of your friendly local reporter. A presentation on the SaaStr YouTube channel from Bill Magnuson, CEO and Cofounder of Braze, recently talked about the importance of category creation to the success of their business. With a matching blog post summarizing the presentation on SaaStr's blog, we wanted to see what we can learn from the piece and from Braze, as well as weigh in on opportunities for improvement, from a category design perspective.
So on this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy...2022-11-1726 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 36 - Overcome Common Category Objections and WinAs SaaS brand strategists and category creators, we're frequently exposed to the reasons why companies don't undertake a category strategy in their business. And there isn't just one objection we hear. There are many, and they're frequently connected. But here at DRMG, we're adamant about the value and importance of category design, and we're adamant that most people don't understand that half (or more) of their objections are unfounded.
So on this week's episode, we consolidate the commonly held reasons software businesses resist category creation. And we argue the other side of those objections and how to...2022-11-0428 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 35 - Where Do Community and Category Collide?The word community is thrown around a lot when it comes to SaaS companies. Sometimes it's mentioned as a trendy growth tool. Sometimes it's used synonymously with social media. Sometimes it's used to refer to a group of developers coding in the same language, or against the same software. So with all these different definitions—which one is the right one? Which definition of community can you observe and implement in your business to capitalize on the best parts of the concept? And to ultimately grow?
In this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we di...2022-08-2532 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 34 - Your Brand Is Not Your Branding (And Vice Versa)Brand and branding have the same root word, but they're by no means synonyms. And yet the number of times we hear people conflate these two words is sometimes astounding. Today we tackle a pet project and pet peeve of ours, which is the nuanced but crucial difference between these two words. We're so passionate about this topic in fact, that we pressed record in the middle of a debate to capture the essence of our conversation.
On this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, you'll hear us illustrate a few different definitions of what...2022-08-1826 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 33 - Perfecting Your Pitch in Uncertain TimesAs recession fears continue to muddy the waters of progress, your story is more important than ever. Your narrative—what you tell and sell in the market—will be responsible for the interest and investment you get in your next round—or unfortunately for some, the interest and investment you don't get... So on this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we take a page out of Sequoia Capital's playbook, and break down the actual pitch deck they ask for from companies pitching them, slide by slide.
We'll walk you through the narrative they ask for, w...2022-08-1137 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 32 - The Trap of Domain Expertise (When Your Focus Ruins Your Focus)It's common to want and need domain expertise, when you're problem-solving. We all look for experts who've solved problems like ours before, to help us solve our own problems. But is there a point where your problem is so niche or specific, that the domain expertise simply doesn't exist? Do we sometimes focus so narrowly, that we end up over-indexing on a single aspect of our problems, that ends up not really solving the problem at all? When your problem is multi-dimensional, it's crucial to create a hierarchy of those dimensions so that you end up solving the most...2022-08-0523 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 31 - Strahl Lightning Strikes to Prove Their Glassware "Unbreakable" | 2022 B2B Cannes Lions Minisode #4Identify your customer's problem. Create a category that solves it. Assign an enemy to the conversation. Then design a creative lightning strike that proves your category is the solution to your customers problem, and will help them defeat that enemy. Easy to say in a few sentences, but significantly harder to do. But when done well, it's a thing of beauty. That's why this week, we're culminating our series of minisodes covering some of our favorite B2B Cannes Lions award-winners year, with Norwegian glassware company Strahl.
The customer problem? Glassware in restaurants creates inefficiencies, can be...2022-07-2923 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 30 - Heineken Goes Green(er) with "Unwasted Beer" | 2022 B2B Cannes Lions Minisode #3When the pandemic hit, and the world went into quarantine, bars and restaurants were saddled with product they couldn't sell. Heineken decided that instead of letting their beer go to waste in bars and restaurants all over the UK, they would buy it back from their customers, and try to do something good with it. From this goal, the "Unwasted Beer" campaign was born. Heineken rescued their beer back and converted the beer that couldn't be consumed into green products like fertilizer, animal feed, biogas, and more. And then they won a Cannes Lions award for it, which brings...2022-07-2127 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 29 - Spotify's ABM Campaign Targets CMOs with Custom Hits | 2022 B2B Cannes Lions Minisode #2How do you tackle account-based marketing (ABM) when you're the largest music streaming platform in the world? If you're Spotify, you make custom music for the CMOs at individual accounts to showcase the power of audio advertising on your platform. And you use it to thank those marketing leaders for their investment. Then, once it's all said and done, you win a 2022 B2B Cannes Lions award in the "Targeting and Engagement" subcategory.
On this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we talk through one of the best and most fun B2B campaigns we've...2022-07-1423 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 28 - Dole Creates a Category with Piñatex | 2022 B2B Cannes Lions Minisode #1Today, on The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we kick off a new four-part series on what SaaS companies can learn from this year's first-ever B2B Cannes Lions awards. In partnership with LinkedIn Think Tank, the B2B Institute, this year's Creative Lions celebrate creativity in B2B marketing. With all the lessons to be learned from B2B companies (particularly some with B2C marketing chops), we'll be covering four interesting campaigns and winners. We'll discuss how B2B SaaS companies can learn from these award winners, and apply the lessons to their business strategies, marketing, messaging, and...2022-07-0723 min
The SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 27 - "UnNew Outdoor" - A B2C Category Success Story (with Aaron Provine, President of Geartrade)Category creation isn't reserved for B2B folks alone. And we've talked at length how much B2B SaaS businesses have to learn from their B2C counterparts. Today, on The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we take a heaping dose of learning from today's guest, Aaron Provine, President at Geartrade—an UnNew Outdoor gear marketplace, based in Utah.
In this episode, we put Aaron in the hot seat, and grill him on where Geartrade came from, how their opportunity emerged, and the work his team did to set themselves apart and capitalize on that opportunity. Knowing they ne...2022-06-2342 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 26 - Punching Up By Selling Different (An Intel Messaging Teardown)Bad messaging can only survive at scale. On this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we examine an example of bad messaging from a company that has more reach than 99% of businesses in the world: Intel. An Intel display ad touting the promise of saving you time and money came across our path in the wild this week, and we had to talk about it.
Why would a company like Intel lead with such a simple, commonplace outcome? Are consumers disappointed when brands with past advertising clout release inferior advertising and messaging? What can SaaS...2022-06-1634 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 25 - How To Socialize Your Strategy (And How Not to...)Your brand and business strategy aren't created in a vacuum—but not everyone who needs to know it inside and out is there for the creation process. That means at some point, your strategy needs to be relayed from the few who created it, to the many who need to know it, live it, and breathe it—from your leadership team, to your investors, to your employees—and eventually, to the market.
The reality is, how you reveal your strategy to important stakeholders has a massive impact on whether or not it will be successfully, both internally and ex...2022-06-0244 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 24 - Which Marketing Role Should A SaaS Hire First?If your SaaS business is growing, your team probably is too. And in the early stages, it's most likely growing without a full blown marketing team. In fact, it may be growing without anyone in the marketing seat at all. But at a certain point; in an effort to grow more and grow faster—you're ready to hire that first member of your company's marketing team.
It's not an easy decision. And with marketing split into so many different disciplines, it's hard to know which role will be most impactful to your business at this stage. So on th...2022-05-2642 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 23 - Creeping on the Competition (with Russ Somers, CMO of Lytho)When it comes to monitoring your competition's marketing activities, there's a Goldilocks-like conundrum of finding the just right amount of time, effort, and influence. Spend too much time obsessing on the competition's latest market moves and risk chasing tactics unaligned from your strategy. Not enough time monitoring the market, and you risk being caught by surprise by disruptions, advances, or offers that make your brand relatively obsolete.
In this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, Lytho CMO Russ Somers joins Dustin and Mike to discuss the pros/cons, risks/rewards, costs and impacts of balanced...2022-05-0731 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 22 - Kill Advertising to Conserve Cash?When capital markets get puckered (that's a technical finance term), CEOs and founders second instinct, after cutting headcount, is to cease advertising as most CFOs and even CEOs treat advertising as a cost rather than an investment.
While that might seem like a good idea in the short term, in the long term it will damage your position, your sales, your ability to recover, and in the end your ability to raise more money. Several studies done on the 2008 recession and the more recent COVID crisis confirm the importance and benefits of maintaining or even increasing your...2022-04-2831 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 21 - The Clubhouse "Social Audio" Category ConundrumWhat the hell happened to Clubhouse, the world's first Social Audio app?
Instead of owning the Social Audio category, Clubhouse has surrendered category queen space and made Social Audio a product-feature on every other social media and technology app (Twitter Spaces, Facebook Audio Rooms, Spotify Green Room...). With audio still considered one of , if not the, next phase of immersive digital experiences, is it too late for Clubhouse to recover its top spot?
In this episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, Dustin and Mike discuss what worked in the past, what works now, what d...2022-04-2029 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 20 - PR: FTW or WTF?Four of our current/recent clients that have established market traction and are realizing message-market fit from our work with them are now plotting next steps to activate their category and their positioning into the larger market.
Driven by their need to increase awareness among a larger group of prospects (plus some pressure from the board), and after realizing the limits of demand gen, content, and SEO-driven thought leadership, PR ultimately comes up as a relatively cost-effective alternative to paid media campaigns. This is brand-level thinking (which is why we’re talking about it).
In thi...2022-04-1544 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 19 - When the Brand Strategy Rubber Hits the Road (with Bridget Quinlan, CRO at PFL)When an early stage company pursues a new category design strategy, leadership in the Sales, Product, Marketing, CS, and Development departments response can be summed up as, "Great, now what?" Now What is the gap jump between strategy and tactics, between idea and action, and it can feel massive and intimidating.
In this episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we talk to Bridget Quinlan, the Chief Revenue Officer of PFL.com. In the year since DRMG worked with PFL on their category design strategy, Bridget and her team have done a masterful job of bringing the n...2022-04-0742 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 18 - Mosaic's Co-Founder on the Road to their Series B RoundFinance people are notoriously skeptical when it comes to anything associated with the word brand. In their world view, something as esoteric as brand had better be supported with concrete KPIs to back up the investment.
As veterans of Palantir's FP&A department with a big idea for a new SaaS product, the Mosaic team were convinced that they had solid product market fit, but they were also acutely and painfully aware that they lacked a compelling way to tell and sell their story to investors and the market.
On this episode of The SaaS...2022-03-3125 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 17 - Product Positioning Will Never Build a BrandPositioning your company through the lens of your product is limiting. It creates a narrow focus for your customer to approach your company through; one that over-indexes on product features and benefits but never raises above that level. Product positioning is crucial for product marketing, but to impact the rest of the business and build a brand, SaaS businesses need to focus on leveling up.
Brands are built on potent ideas planted in the mind of the consumer through market penetration and repetition. If you're changing your story every six months, as some product positioning experts recommend...2022-03-2126 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 16 - B2B Super Bowl Ad Strategies - The Best & The RestLast month's Super Bowl featured more new advertisers than any Super Bowl before. And of those new advertisers, we saw the most B2B companies we've ever seen, ponying up the cash for their first ever ad in the big game. On this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy show, we take a look at a handful of the most intriguing B2B brands that prioritized a Super Bowl as part of their strategy this year.
We talk about the ads, who hit, who missed, and discuss the strategy behind the play. Without the segmentation of...2022-03-0938 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 15 - Has the Startup Culture of Collaboration Gone Too Far?We've worked inside, outside, and all around organizations of varying sizes for a combined several decades. And in recent years, particularly in the world of software, we've witnessed firsthand a continued rise in a culture of collaboration. In software, it makes sense. Many organization start out flat, with founders coming into leadership roles by virtue of their ideas. Decision-making becomes a team exercise, and collaboration thrives.
In most cases, collaboration is helpful. Two heads are better than one, they say. But even more recently we've come to wonder—has the startup culture of collaboration gone too far? Ar...2022-02-0831 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 14 - Our B2B Brand Strategy Crystal Ball for 2022Strategic thinking requires looking into the future. We're no savants or soothsayers, and we (unfortunately) don't actually have a crystal ball. But at DRMG we're always looking ahead and keeping our ears to the ground, in an effort to continually help our clients skate to where the puck is heading.
So on this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we go around the table to lay out our predictions on what we see coming in the B2B brand strategy space, for the year ahead. 2022 will, no doubt, be a year of continued change. Of...2022-01-2651 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 13 - Saving Time and Money Aren't Superpowers...A series of tweets from a young SaaS founder made its way across our desks this past week, and we couldn't help but comment. Because in that series of tweets was a declaration that product market fit comes from saving people time and money. An emphasis on efficiency as the best way to frame, position, and message yourself for succeed in your market. And to be frank—we wholeheartedly disagree.
On this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we dissect a common misconception we regularly run into: the idea that leading with messaging on saving ti...2022-01-2027 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 12 - The Baggage of Titles and the Future of Marketing - With Winston Binch of GALE PartnersGeneral Mills recently introduced their new "Chief Brand and Disruptive Growth Officer" after doing away with the CMO title internally earlier last spring. The oddity (and length) of the title gave us some thoughts—and we knew our friend Winston Binch would have some too. With a storied career in creative, brand, marketing, and experience, Winston works with some of the biggest B2C brands in the world as the Chief Brand and Experience officer at GALE Partners.
We took time to consider the impact on the B2C space of the ever-changing marketing leadership title, as we...2022-01-0743 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 11 - Finding Product-Market Fit In A Lightning Fast WorldProduct-market fit. The perpetual pursuit of any SaaS company. Make sure your product matches the needs of your market—and you'll see predictable, repeatable, and scalable revenue as a result. Easy to talk about. Not always so easy to achieve.
On this week’s episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we dive into the concept of product-market fit. What does it mean? How do you achieve it? Why is it important? How does it relate to its equally (if not more) important cousin, message-market fit? And how do both concepts—and your ability to achieve them—impact y...2021-12-2031 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 10 - Strategy Isn't Marketing's Problem (Or is it?) - With Mike Troiano of G20 VenturesTwo weeks ago, we talked about strategy belonging to the CEO—not marketing. A listener and friend of the show found himself yelling at that episode, and told us so on Twitter. We loved it. Enter Mike Troiano. Mike is a graduate of Cornell and the Harvard Business School. He's a TechStars mentor, a Board Member of Hometap, RippleMatch, Fetcher, and Hack Diversity. He's a venture capitalist at G20 Ventures. And he's also our guest on today's show.
In this episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we air out our friendly disagreement with Mike Troiano, and co...2021-12-0941 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 9 - What The Hell Is "Product Led Growth"?!A buzz-phrase echoing the Zoom halls of many (if not most) software companies today is "Product Led Growth." It's a phrase, an acronym (PLG), and a directive that many of our clients are running into and up against. So on this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we meet the topic head on. We answer the question of exactly what the hell Product Led Growth is, and discuss whether it is in fact a new trend, or maybe just an old idea that's been reimagined.
We also dive into the pros and cons of SaaS...2021-11-1636 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 8 - Strategy Isn't Marketing's ProblemA LinkedIn comment section caught fire this past week, as Drift's Chief Brand Officer Dave Gerhardt posted his take on a proper order of operations: First you develop your strategy. Then you create your positioning. And last you write your messaging. And while we here at DRMG agree wholeheartedly, this order of operations unfortunately falls into Marketing's lap in its entirety. And it shouldn't.
Our very own Dustin Robertson responded: "Don’t confuse strategy as a marketing problem. It's the CEO’s job to drive this. We often hear, "We need better messaging." But the root cause is t...2021-11-0518 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 7 - "Liquid Death" Murders Their Message (And Your B2B Brand Can Too)What do Tony Hawk's blood, vegan cannibal restaurants, pop punk bands singing hate mail songs, and killer baby names all have in common? They're brilliant lightning-strike-level marketing and messaging brought to bear by B2C canned water brand, Liquid Death. Last week, on The SaaS Brand Strategy show, we were clear that B2B marketing has a lot to learn from B2C marketing. This week, we deep dive on exactly what we mean by putting Liquid Death's strategy and tactics under the microscope.
While not all B2B brands can (or want) to take their positioning...2021-10-2850 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 6 - What Can B2B SaaS Marketers Learn From B2C Marketing?This past week, the SaaStr conference returned. And we couldn't help but notice the event felt a bit quiet. Great content that attendees enjoyed—but no marketing lightning strikes that made headlines (or even made their way to social media). It got us thinking—why isn't B2B marketing more... exciting?
In this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we dive into our combined B2B and B2C experience to compare and contrast the types of marketing that do and don't happen in their respective worlds. We discuss some reasons why those things do or d...2021-10-2036 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 5 - Why Did SurveyMonkey Rebrand As "Momentive"?A big part of branding is what we call things. We're the first to admit that names are important. Whether you're deciding what to call your brand, your product, or your category, there's a lot that goes into a name. On this week's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we talk about everything that does (and sometimes doesn't) go into names.
Through the lens of the recent rebrand by SurveyMonkey, transitioning into their umbrella company Momentive, as well as companies like Dunkin' Donuts, Burlington Coat Factory, and more, we talk about how and why brands change...2021-10-1338 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 4 - Category Benefits Go Beyond Just the BucksWe're no stranger to the benefits of building a category. And the primary benefit we see most businesses seek, when it comes to developing a SaaS Brand Strategy, is the dollars. Straight up growth. But over the years, we've seen the results of category design expand far beyond the bucks.
On today's episode of The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we take a rapid fire approach and dive a layer deeper to delve into the benefits of category design that aren't just growing your business. Everything from organizational alignment to recruiting efforts, product roadmaps to investor conversations.
2021-10-0424 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 3 - Category Creation: Unlocking the Attention Economy with Hybrid ExperienceA first for The SaaS Brand Strategy Show, we bring on guest Nick Runyon, President at former DRMG client PFL. On today’s episode, we get into the category creation process with Nick, and unpack PFL’s business. We talk about their progression and evolution through the years, the category they started with, and the category they ended up with after their engagement with DRMG.
You’ll hear about the major unlock the teams encountered through interviewing PFL stakeholders and customers: that today’s world is an Attention Economy. And that the best way to gain people’s attentio...2021-09-2427 minThe SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 2 - Strategic Narrative, Category Design, or Brand Strategy? Which is it?A veritable debate has broken out amongst some of the brightest minds in the SaaS messaging and positioning space. Writer and business veteran Andy Raskin is pushing the importance of "Strategic Narrative." The writer of Play Bigger, Christopher Lochhead, continues to stake his flag on the "Category Design" mountain. Around here, at DRMG, we use the language "SaaS Brand Strategy" (or SBS)—the category we're creating.
Today, we dive head first into the debate to elevate the value of each of these perspectives, and ask the question: Are any of us right or wrong? And what is th...2021-09-0835 min
The SaaS Brand Strategy ShowEp. 1 - CMO Churn is the CEO's FaultCMO tenure at businesses is shrinking faster than any other leadership role. Nationally, it's shrunk to 36 months. In tech? Some statistics say it's as short as just 18 months.
It's clearly a bad trend with more than one cause. Today, on the debut episode of the SaaS Brand Strategy (SBS) show, we take a look at those myriad causes and the symptoms of that shortened CMO tenure in the SaaS space. Plus we'll ask (and attempt to answer) questions like:
Why do SaaS CEOs offload strategic business narratives to their marketing leaders?
What do marketing leaders need to...2021-08-3031 min
Launch Your Life PodcastPivoting to Passion with Kim Walsh PhillipsHave you ever felt like you have a calling to do something greater and create an enormous impact with the things you are passionate about? Most of us will answer yes to these questions, but so few respond and take the first step--because exciting as it may seem, these two are always scary: change and the unknown. But how long will you wait and deny yourself the chance to a better and purpose-filled life? In today’s podcast, I have a fantastic conversation with Kim Walsh Phillips. She is a living testimony that it’s possible to pivot...2021-03-2342 min
HazeTheOfficialDreamwest Vs. EverybodyDreamwest Vs Everybody is Haze's First Single, Released From His Follow Up 2015 Project. Written & Performed by HazeTheOfficial (Kwesi Callender), Produced by DRMG DSP. DVSE is the fourth track from the Dreamwest 4 Mixtape. All Rights Reserved By 2016 Dreamwest Records & Music Group (DRMG DSP)2016-12-0102 min