Shows
Christopher Lochhead Follow Your Different™Listen To Your Top 3% Superconsumers And Find What's WeirdOn this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different, the script is flipped and we listen to Christopher Lochhead explore the critical theme of customer obsession, especially within startups on the Building with Buyers podcast, hosted by Anna Furmanov.
This conversation focuses on the importance of empathy, both for customers and within teams, and advocates for breaking down departmental silos to foster collaboration and drive sustainable growth.
You’re listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different pla...
2025-06-021h 00
Lochhead on MarketingComplexity Is The Enemy of Revenue: Why It’s Time to Shave The Marketing DogOn this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, it’s time again to shave that Marketing Dog with Christopher Lochhead.
If you’re an avid listener of the podcast, you probably think you’re experiencing déjà vu. But we think that people still don’t get this simple concept, that it merits a replay. It is also a good reminder for others who may be falling into the trap of overcomplicating their marketing strategies.
So strap in, and get ready for some timeless advice from yours truly.
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category de...
2024-04-1014 minLochhead on MarketingStop Trying to Fit In!On this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let's talk about why it's time to stop trying to fit in.
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind.
Everyone Wants to Fit In
There’s an ongoing trend in the business, startup and marketing world of companies trying to fit in. There have been studies that indicate that among the B2B tech space, as many as 70% of the brands are blue.
This urge to fit in seems to stem from a combination of several factors. One of whi...
2024-02-2110 minChristopher Lochhead Follow Your Different™How To Become A Category Pirate | Christopher Lochhead on Lenny’s Podcast with Lenny RachitskyThis week on Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different, we’re presenting to you Christopher's appearance on Lenny’s Podcast, hosted by Lenny Rachitsky.
Lenny Rachitsky runs the #1 Business Substack newsletter, Lenny’s Newsletter. It is legendary especially for people in tech marketing, product marketing, and startups. It’s so legendary that even Christopher pays for it. And now, he’s in it.
This is one of the more in-depth discussions Christopher has had with a very smart person about category design in a while. So settle in for a good listen and great lesson about category design.
You’re listening to Christophe...
2024-01-091h 48Christopher Lochhead Follow Your Different™A Wish for Different in 2024First and foremost, we at Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different would like to wish everyone from the bottom of our hearts, happy holidays. We hope that you have an opportunity to be with the people you love this time of year, and enjoy some happiness and peace.
That said, there seems to be a lot going on lately. Be it about antisemitism, diversity, equality, and inclusion, and sort of the core values that the United States will be governed by and will latch on to. So I wanted to take this time and have a talk between you and I.
...
2023-12-1845 minLochhead on MarketingA Wish for Different in 2024First and foremost, we at Lochhead on Marketing would like to wish everyone from the bottom of our hearts, happy holidays. Christopher Lochhead hopes that you have an opportunity to be with the people you love this time of year, and enjoy some happiness and peace.
That said, there seems to be a lot going on lately. Be it about antisemitism, diversity, equality, and inclusion, and sort of the core values that the United States will be governed by and will latch on to. So I wanted to take this time and have a talk between you and I.
You...
2023-12-1845 minLochhead on MarketingHow To Become A Category Pirate | Christopher Lochhead on Lenny's Podcast with Lenny RachitskyThis week, we're presenting to you Christopher Lochhead's appearance on Lenny’s Podcast, hosted by Lenny Rachitsky.
Lenny Rachitsky runs the #1 Business Substack newsletter, Lenny’s Newsletter. It is legendary especially for people in tech marketing, product marketing, and startups. It's so legendary that even Christopher pays for it. And now, he’s in it.
This is one of the more in-depth discussions Christopher has had with a very smart person about category design in a while. So settle in for a good listen and great lesson about category design.
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast...
2023-10-251h 48Lochhead on MarketingWhat Barbie Can Teach Tech CEOs About MarketingOn this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let’s take a look on what the movie Barbie did to reach such an overwhelming success, and what Tech CEOs can learn about their approach to marketing.
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind.
Barbie’s Approach to Marketing
Christopher Lochhead opens up the dialogue with pointing out the things that the Barbie producers did that made it a blockbuster win, particularly with what they did on the marketing side. According to Christopher, Barbie pulled off the greatest “lightni...
2023-08-1608 minLochhead on MarketingCFO To CMO (tough times) ConversationThis Lochhead on Marketing episode is a short one, almost like a bedtime story with Uncle Lochhead.
I recently did a post on LinkedIn that blew up in a way that I didn’t quite expect. It was meant to be a humorous post about Marketing, but it seems to have cut quite deep in some, and others found it relatable. I thought it would be fun to read to you so we could share a few chuckles about it.
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different min...
2023-04-1902 minLochhead on MarketingUntold lessons from the SVB bank run | Christopher Lochhead on Starting Greatness with Mike Maples Jr.Pirate Lochhead is sailing the seven seas this week, so we’re dropping a legendary conversation that he had recently with Mike Maples Jr. and Ann Miura on the Starting Greatness Podcast.
They discuss the recent SVB bank run that lead to a variety of situations and accusations by “experts” on social media. They also discuss what lessons a Founder can learn by studying the cause and effect of such crisis and circumstances.
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind.
How a crisis can make us better
M...
2023-04-1234 minLochhead on MarketingWhy Treating Your Creative Marketing Like It's Not Tied To Revenue Will Get You More Revenue | Christopher Lochhead on Modern Startup Marketing with Anna FurmanovPirate Lochhead is sailing the seven seas this week, so we're dropping a legendary conversation that he had recently with Anna Furmanov on the Modern Startup Marketing podcast.
They discuss creative marketing category design, guns, human composting and more. Yes, human composting. Just… listen, trust me.
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind.
What does “Creative” mean to you?
The conversation starts off with Anna asking for Christopher’s definition on being a creative.
Christopher shares that in order to consider something as being “creative”, it has to be som...
2023-03-2947 minLochhead on MarketingHow to be a Legendary Creator/Writer: Sachit Gupta & Christopher Lochhead Unpack #1 Bestseller Snow LeopardRecently, I was a guest with the legendary Sachit Gupta on his fantastic podcast called Conscious Creators, which I highly recommend. During our conversation on his podcast, we unpack Category Pirates’ most recent book Snow Leopard. Our producer Jason DeFilippo heard this podcast and thought it'd be a great idea to drop it here for you.
What you're about to hear is me and Satya go deep on what it takes to be a successful native digital creator slash writer.
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different min...
2022-11-161h 37Lochhead on MarketingCrossing the Chasm & 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Through the Category Lens with Matt Johnson of the One Book That Changed My Life PodcastOn this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, Matt Johnson and I have a conversation about the book that changed my life. In my case, it was two books in particular that changed my life. We look into them through a category lens perspective in Matt Johnson’s new podcast, One Book That Changed My Life Podcast.
Matt Johnson is the founder of PursuingResults.com. Matt and his firm were the original producers of my original Oddcast back in the Legends and Losers days, and he's taught me a ton about podcasting. He's got a legendary podcast called MicroFamous. Of late, he...
2022-08-3154 minLochhead on MarketingHow to Drive B2B Revenue Now with White Space MarketingOn this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let’s talk about how marketing can drive revenue with White Space Analysis.
We talked about how to drive short-term revenue via category design a few episodes ago (LOM 151). Today, we provide you with more options to make that cash register sing as soon as possible.
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind.
White Space Analysis & White Space Marketing
Let's talk about White Space Analysis and White Space Marketing. Essentially, it is doing data science analysis on consumers and the...
2022-08-1012 minLochhead on MarketingThe Three Stages of a Legendary Career: What Star Wars Can Teach UsOn this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let’s talk about the three stages of a legendary career. Let’s also talk about the lessons we can learn about it from a source you wouldn’t think about at first, Star Wars. Yes, that Star Wars.
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind.
Three Stages of Legendary Career: Star Wars Style
So how do we discuss legendary careers using Star Wars?
Well, if you look at it on a higher level, the three stages of having a legen...
2022-07-1317 minLochhead on MarketingHow To Drive Short Term Revenue NowOn this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let’s talk about how to use category design thinking to drive short term revenue.
We talked a lot about what to do in a recession on our last episode, and on this episode, we're going deep on a very specific topic, about how to make the cash register sing immediately.
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind.
Short Term Category Design
One of the things that we hear about category design is category design is too expensive. Only big...
2022-06-1721 minLochhead on MarketingWhy Most Marketing Fails, and what CEOs and CMOs need to know to fix itOn this episode, let’s talk about why most marketing fails, and what we can do about it.
Speaking of marketing, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making our new books into bestsellers at Amazon Books. You can check the whole list Category Pirates mini-books at Amazon Books, and expect more in the near future!
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind.
The Marketing Folklore
When most people say marketing, they usually have a preconceived notion to what it is. Th...
2022-02-0208 minLochhead on MarketingThinking About Thinking Is The Most Important Kind Of ThinkingIn this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let’s talk about why thinking about thinking is the most important kind of thinking.
Context Matters More Than Content
This might be obvious, but it bears repeating: context matters more than content. In any strategy discussion, the context of which is what leads to some kind of outcome or content.
Most people, particularly those who are entrepreneurial, have a strong bias to action, which can be healthy and powerful. However, it does have it downsides sometimes.
“A strong bias to action means that sometimes, and I know I've been guilty of this more...
2021-10-2017 minLochhead on Marketing112 Maybe The Only Career Advice That MattersThese days, we hear a non-stop barrage of career advice. Some of them is good, but a lot of them are not. In this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let’s talk about what might be the only career advice that matters.
Relationships, Marriages, and Divorce
By now, you may have heard of Bill and Melinda Gates are getting a divorce, and that Jeff Bezos and McKenzie Scott got divorced a couple of years ago. You might be wondering why we brought this up.
You see, these people are some of the wealthiest entrepreneurs and biggest philanthropists ever. According to hu...
2021-06-0907 minLochhead on Marketing110 Category Creation: How To Dam The DemandWith Category Design or Category Creation strategy, we often talk about the distinction between capturing existing demand, and creating new demand.
In this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let’s talk about an in-between strategy that category designers use as a powerful tool in creating demand. That is to dam existing demand and redirect it in their own way, like the way a dam redirects water.
Damming the Demand
Marc Benioff, found of Salesforce.com, used this approach when marketing his new category. Bear in mind that when he launched Salesforce Automation as a CRM, CRM was already an established ca...
2021-05-0511 minLochhead on Marketing109 Want To Do Legendary Marketing? Do The OppositeIn this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let’s talk about how to stand out. In many ways, if you want to do legendary marketing, you need to do what the opposite of what most people do.
Doing the Opposite
As part of the mega category people refer to as Creators, there was something that we’ve noticed:
People spend a lot of time telling other people how awesome they are.
When you start looking at creator marketing, what you’ll see is a lot of creators just touting their best achievements and how great they are. Ergo, you should consum...
2021-04-2810 minLochhead on Marketing108 Advice for 30 Year Old MarketersIn this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, let us talk about some advice for 30 year old marketers.
I have been asked this question a bunch of times, so I just put together my response as a LinkedIn post. A lot of people though it was a great list, so I thought I’d share it with you.
Making the List
As said earlier, this list was originally a LinkedIn post, and it’s a list of practical advice for 30 year old marketers. There were some who asked if it was in a certain order, and one outright challenged me to do s...
2021-04-2107 minLochhead on Marketing105 Value is 100% PerceptionIn this episode, Christopher Lochhead talks about value, and how it is 100% dependent on people’s perception. That is to say, nothing has any intrinsic value until someone believes it has value.
You can also learn about one of the greatest stories about how an entrepreneur and category designer created value, that is to say, the perception of value for a product that left a lot of people scratching their heads.
Gary’s Pet Rock
Gary Dahl and his pet rock is an amazing study on how people assign value to something based on their perception.
In 1975, Gary Dahl thought it w...
2021-03-3108 minLochhead on Marketing104 Languaging: How Category Designers Use Language to Change the FutureIn this episode, Christopher Lochhead talks about language. Specifically, a concept that most entrepreneurs and marketers don't know much about: Languaging.
Languaging and Creating Context
Languaging is the strategic use of words and language to change and create the future.
As any category designer worth their salt should know, how you frame a category could make or break them. Having a great context for your category is a must if you want to be ahead of the pack.
What better way to add a strategic context than to use statements that will make customers relate to your category. If you d...
2021-03-1707 minLochhead on Marketing099 Why CMOs Get Fired: Results Do Not Equal No Results Plus An ExcuseOn this episode, let's talk about producing legendary results in the context of CMO tenure. According to the Wall Street Journal, based on research from Spencer Stewart, the median tenure of a CMO was only 27 and a half months in 2019, which was down from 31 months in 2017. This is in stark contrast to the CEO's average tenure of 88.4 months or about seven and a half years. CFOs have roughly 63 months or nearly five and a half years.
Success is about producing legendary results. So on this episode, let's talk about that.
Marketing Is A Constant Revolving Door
One legendary marketing consultant...
2021-02-1015 minLochhead on Marketing097 You Are What You Subscribe ToToday, let’s talk a little more about your career. My brother from another mother and co-creator of our new newsletter category pirates, Nicholas Cole has an interesting insight: “you are what you subscribe to.” Christopher thinks he’s right.
So in this episode, find out what media Christopher consumes that he finds life-changing.
“The content we subscribed to, the content we consume, it affects how and what we think about. Our thoughts affect our actions and our actions affect our outcomes, both professionally and personally.” - Christopher Lochhead
F*ck The Hustle Porn Stars
If you’ve been a long time liste...
2021-02-0310 minLochhead on Marketing095 How To Secure Your Financial FutureIn 2019, CNBC reported that 27% of Americans “would have to borrow or sell something to pay for a $400 emergency. Further, Nation.com reports in 2018, 4% of American adults reported not having enough food and by July of 2020, that figure had exploded to 11% and they say it will probably continue to increase as the pandemic worsens.
Most recently, Pew Research finds that one in four American adults have had trouble paying their bills since the coronavirus outbreak started. So the reality is, this pandemic has exposed how financially vulnerable many of us are.
So in this episode, let's talk about your career and ho...
2021-01-2718 minLochhead on Marketing091 The Marketing Multiplier EffectOn episode 90, we talked about how complexity is the enemy of revenue and how to shave the marketing dog down. Now let's talk about what we do once we shaved the dog down. We talk about the powerful marketing execution concept called the multiplier effect. The concept means taking our precious marketing dollars and getting maximum impact for them.
“Imagine you're going to make a $10,000 investment in some kind of marketing initiative. The question is how do you make it feel like a hundred or a hundred thousand dollar investment? How do you make it feel like a million or a...
2021-01-1312 minLochhead on Marketing090 Complexity Is The Enemy of Revenue: Why It’s Time to Shave The Marketing DogIf you’re currently doing a big initiative, say a new product launch, a new campaign, a sales kickoff or a lightning strike, let’s talk about why you are also, most probably, making a huge mistake. Shit sometimes, gets too complex and we know that complexity is the enemy of revenue. So on this episode, let’s talk about why it’s time to shave the marketing dog.
Doing Too Much
There’s 99.9% chance you are doing too much in marketing. Christopher candidly shares that sometimes in life, it is not about winning the activity. For contests, as a matter of...
2021-01-0814 minLochhead on Marketing089 The Future Needs YouJust because it turned January 1st and we're into a new year doesn't mean anything is going to change unless people make it change. We are all in a cocoon time and it means that we, as marketers, entrepreneurs and category designers can design the future of our choosing.
The Future Is Not Like The Weather
Christopher poses his observation on some people and how they comment about the future. Some people wish to have a better 2021 but do not think about who is responsible for positive change to happen.
“I think it's important to underscore that the future does no...
2021-01-0613 minLochhead on Marketing087 Marketing is what you do when you have a shitty product, right?“Marketing is what you do when you have a shitty product.”
Says an ex-CEO/Software Engineer who found himself wrapping his company around the lamppost, with his entire executive team leaving, and his investors getting f*cked up. In spite of many stories like this, there are still a lot of people in Silicon Valley (and in the business world in general) who believe the best product wins and that marketing isn't worth very much.
So in this episode, we dig into a research project involving one of the world's greatest violin players and the Washington post. They prove that the...
2020-12-2311 minLochhead on Marketing086 Are You Wasting Your Career?According to the January 2018 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person changes jobs 10 to 15 times within their career. If you take it from that perspective, if you’re 25 years old and you are serious in your career, you still get seven chances to do something legendary in your career before you hit the big 6-0.
So in today’s episode, we ask, are you wasting your career?
Make Every Career Count
You get a very few chances to do something legendary, so make them count. Mike Maples of podcast Starting Greatness says “start or join a company worthy...
2020-12-1814 minLochhead on Marketing085 Justice Deposits: How NetFlix, Twitter & Costco Are Leading Conscious Capital & You Can TooIn June of 2020, Netflix announced that it was moving 2% of its cash equal to about $100 million to bolster black owned and black run banks, allowing these banks to lend more. The way this works is pretty simple: when we make deposits in a bank, that allows them to make more loans. More and more corporations and nonprofits are jumping in to join the movement.
In this episode, let's go deep on the power of justice deposits.
Corporations Joining The Movement
After NetFlix’s announcement, Twitter announced its plan to move 1% of its cash or 100 million to community development financial institutions. Co...
2020-12-1617 minLochhead on Marketing084 Creating a Category? Do NOT listen to customersIn this episode, let's talk about why, when you're designing a new category, you need to be very careful who you listen to. Often times, listening to customers is the worst thing you can do.
Whose Feedback Matters?
Christopher shares one of the things that they discussed in their book Play Bigger, that new categories are often only obvious in hindsight. He further advises that if you're designing a new category, it's critical to be very, very careful whose feedback you listen to.
"You don't never forget. Nobody wanted a horseless carriage, never forget." - Christopher Lochhead
Breakthrough in Hindsight
...
2020-12-1105 minLochhead on Marketing083 The Problem With Your Marketing PlanOn this episode, let's talk about what the problem with your marketing plan might be in specifically three areas. Number one, calling it a “plan” might be a problem. Number two, it's actually a legendary marketing plan that is about more than just marketing. Lastly, number three, your relationship with your CFO and finance team might be a problem, but I'm hoping it won't be when we're done.
Create A Marketing Framework
Chris describes what a “plan” entails and how an actual marketing plan should be fluid and should be consistently open for changes and adjustments. He suggests calling it more of...
2020-12-0913 minLochhead on Marketing082 How Category Designers Do Acquisitions: Why Salesforce/Slack Is a Savvy DealMost people look at acquisitions through a spreadsheet lens. Of course the financials matter for mergers and acquisition deals, but when viewed through a category design lens, acquisitions look very, very different. In this episode, we break down the differences using the Salesforce / Slack Deal as an example and Google purchasing YouTube way back 2006.
Two Types of M&A Deals
First one is category consolidation deals, which is usually done in market categories that are slow or have no growth. The second type of M&A deals are category acceleration deals, which happens in early or high growth market categories.
...
2020-12-0413 minLochhead on Marketing081 Marketing Fail: Sherwin-Williams Vs. Ocean SprayIn today’s episode, we dig into two how two companies approached a viral situation. First, Ocean Spray’s positive trendjack in response to Nathan Apodaca’s viral TikTok video. Second, is how Sherwin-Williams fired an employee who created viral Tiktok videos mixing paints. We ask the seminal question, how can you be more like Ocean Spray?
Marketing Wins and Fails
When Nathan Apodaca’s Tik Tok video went viral (he was skateboarding, drinking his Ocean Spray, singing Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams”), newly appointed Ocean Spray CEO, Tom Hayes took action. It was the trendjack of the year and Tom Hayes took it...
2020-12-0209 minLochhead on Marketing080 3 Ideas To Have A Legendary Marketing Career to 50 and BeyondAt a time when career uncertainty is high and the need for economic security has maybe never been higher, let's talk about three ideas on how you can have a legendary marketing career to 50 and beyond. If you're younger or older than 50, Chris has got some ideas for you in this episode.
Ageism In Business
During the last episode with Dave Gerhardt, CEO of Privy, there was a question that popped up around the possibility of having a career in marketing past the age 50. Chris thinks there's ageism in business broadly and certainly, in the tech business as well. He f...
2020-11-2513 minLochhead on Marketing078 Oceanspray’s Radically Generous Marketing TrendJackThis is a super fun episode. Christopher Lochhead talks about what was almost for sure, the most fun marketing trendjack of 2020. On September 25th, Nathan Apodaca was going to work when his truck broke down. He grabbed his longboard skateboard and his bottle of Oceanspray and shot a video of himself going to work, drinking his juice while smiling and singing Fleetwood Mac's classic song “Dreams.” The video went viral and Oceanspray and Fleetwood Mac just pulled off a feel-good trendjack of 2020.
Trendjacking In Past Episodes
If you’re a long time listener, you might remember Episode 23 with the legendary Paul M...
2020-10-2112 minLochhead on Marketing076 Fighter or Farmer Chief Marketing OfficerIn today’s episode, Christopher Lochhead's answer addresses a listener question, “what kind of CMO should we hire?” He further discusses what’s the difference between a fighter and a farmer CMO and what you, as a marketer, should keep in mind when you plan to pursue this role.
Get Clear On What You Want
Christopher discusses two things: first, identify the background of the CMO. This is highly specific based on the company and the current stage of the company and its category. Secondly, Christopher points out that it's very important that the CMO knows who he is, his strength...
2020-09-3010 minLochhead on Marketing074 Marketing is Sales at ScaleWelcome to Lochhead on Marketing. In this episode, Christopher Lochhead answers the question, what is the most important skill for marketers to have?
Sales Skills
Christopher shares that his frequent answer to the most important skill for marketers to have is sales skills. He says that a lot of marketing people have no sales experience at all.
"Marketing is actually sales at scale." - Christopher Lochhead
The Best Marketers Are Salesmen
Christopher recounts that the best marketers he know are those who have sales experience even at a young age.
"I think legendary marketers, and frankly, legendary executives, for that...
2020-09-0407 minLochhead on Marketing073 Noble PurposeAs this theme kept on coming up in Follow Your Different episodes, whether he spoke with entrepreneurs or venture capitalists, Christopher decided to finally talk about the purpose of business. Specifically, he dives into what his friend Gil Spencer calls a noble purpose and how noble purpose can tie to building categories companies brands.
Mission-Driven and Mercenaries
A noble purpose is a cool way of thinking about things that we do hear about in business and entrepreneurship. Sequoia Capital and many others, talks about it a lot. The discussion revolves around this notion of being mission-driven. Are you a mission-driven...
2020-08-0511 minLochhead on Marketing071 We Reserve The Right To Refuse ServiceOne listener writes: “This is such a confusing time and people are on edge. There's a lot of arguing and mistrust in the US. It seems like we see more people acting out. In our case, we've had some customers behave really badly. When is it okay to turn a customer away?”
In this episode, Christopher shares his views on this matter about your right, as a business, to refuse service to customers.
What The Law Says
The law states that you are allowed to refuse anybody’s service, but you can't do it on the basis of color, race, gender...
2020-07-1718 minLochhead on Marketing069 How To Write A BookIn this episode, Christopher answers an email question from an entrepreneur who wants to become an author. We dive deep into the process of becoming an author, from pitching to publishers or agents, to actual writing, to marketing and promoting. He also talks about the pros and cons of self-publishing versus or seeking the help of top-tier publishers.
The Process of Becoming An Author
Christopher shares the question he recently received: “Did you write a book proposal before getting started on the writing? Or did you write the book first? What were your first steps in acquiring representation, slash a pu...
2020-07-0727 minLochhead on Marketing068 Behind The Mic: Inside The 1st Marketing PodStorm / Jaime Jay, Jason Defillippo & Christopher LochheadWe are on our 30th episode of the World's First PodStorm! We would like to thank everyone who went through the storm with us!
Today, Lochhead on Marketing producers Jason DeFillipo and Jaime Jay joins us and takes us behind the mic. We go deep into the challenges, the wins, and the lessons in creating this PodStorm. We talk about a lot of other matters which you’ll find relatable!
Challenges with Production
Making a podcast comes with its challenges, even more so if it's the world’s first 30-day PodStorm. Timing is one of the main challenges in production. Jaso...
2020-06-1639 minLochhead on Marketing067 Peanut Butter & Lightning Sandwich A New Model For Marketing Execution | Marketing PodStorm #29https://lochhead.com/peanut-butter-lightning-sandwich-a-new-model-for-marketing-execution/
We get a shit ton of marketing messages a day. Some experts say we get 40 to 60,000 messages a day if you include everything — from banners on the internet emails, logos on coffee cups, t-shirts, you name it.
Today, let's talk about the typical marketing execution. It's predicated on a model called reaching frequency. It's a very old idea that states the more people see our brand, hears our message, hears our point of view, the better. Let’s find out what peanut butter and lightning sandwich is and why that's a new model for marketing execution.
Freq...
2020-06-1514 minLochhead on Marketing066 Questions and Cocktails: FB Live Q & A (Part 8) | Marketing PodStorm #28During the PodStorm, we're doing a live Facebook Question and Answer session, every Friday, 11:30 a.m. PST. We are now on our last week for PodStorm Q&A and we hope to hear from you if you want us to do more live Q&As!
Today, podcast living legend Jason DeFillippo of Grumpy Old Geeks joins us to answer some questions about the importance of internal communications, how public relations and investor relations should work together, and a whole lot more!
Importance of Internal Communications
One listener asked about Christopher’s thoughts on the importance of internal communications and what fu...
2020-06-1420 minLochhead on Marketing065 Questions and Cocktails: FB Live Q & A (Part 7) | Marketing PodStorm #27During the PodStorm, we're doing a live Facebook Question and Answer session, every Friday, 11:30 a.m. PST. We are now on our last week for PodStorm Q&A and we hope to hear from you if you want us to do more live Q&As!
Today, podcast living legend Jason DeFillippo of Grumpy Old Geeks joins us to answer some questions about social cause marketing, lightning strikes, and a whole lot more!
What have you learned after Calling For Unity?
Christopher shares that he received a number of backlashes after he called for unity on his post A Call For...
2020-06-1318 minLochhead on Marketing064 The Secret Hack To Becoming A #1 Author & Podcaster, In 13 Minutes or Less | Marketing PodStorm 26In this episode, Christopher Lochhead shares a secret hack to become a #1 author and podcaster in 13 minutes or less. Basically, the secret hack is to hire a 16-year-old Tiktoker and let her create funny content for you. You can also explore posting provocative poses, drinking provocative drinks, and being in provocative places.
If you know Christopher well, you will be certain, there is sarcasm in the above paragraph. Today, he will discuss the real deal on reaching the top of your game. It doesn’t include any secret hack or how-to of sorts, but a real-life narration of his personal ex...
2020-06-1223 minLochhead on Marketing063 The Magic Triangle | Marketing PodStorm 25https://youtu.be/eCp9QLs340s
In this episode, let's talk about the magic triangle — how the company, the product, and the category come together to make you the category queen or category king in your market category.
Product Design
Product design is the purposeful building of a product and an experience that solves a problem. Most companies, though, opt for a product-market fit. Christopher believes it a dangerous idea because it insinuates that there's a market out there who would automatically consume whatever is offered to them.
“Typically what happens is: entrepreneurs start with a problem or something they're work...
2020-06-1109 minLochhead on Marketing062 How to be a Category Designer | Marketing PodStorm 24https://youtu.be/Rk9HcOU80Rs
In this episode, an incredibly important topic, we discuss how to be a category designer. Moreover, we dig into how to become the person that drives a new strategy for your company and introduces the world to something new, something different, something that makes a giant difference.
Category Design: A Discipline
Christopher narrates a portion of the book Play Bigger which states: "Category design is the discipline of creating and developing a new market category and conditioning the market so it will demand your solution and crown your company as its King."
“A category de...
2020-06-1016 minLochhead on Marketing061 Market Categories Are Not Like The Weather | Marketing PodStorm 23https://youtu.be/vzkEJSwqotU
Have you ever noticed how people talk about market categories? People involved with the business perpetuate one of the biggest lies in business. As published in a lot of major publications, these “business writers” say market categories are like the weather, we cannot control it.
Today, we will dig into why Christopher thinks its a lie standing in plain sight. We're going to talk about how we can actually design market categories and not be the victim of them.
This Kind of Paradigm
Christopher cites several examples stating that market categories are not like the weather.
Here’...
2020-06-0911 minLochhead on Marketing060 10 Commitments Companies Must Make to Advance Racial Justice | Marketing PodStorm 22https://youtu.be/ZNBeBX2n-Io
In this episode, let's take a look at Mark R. Kramers's article for Harvard Business Review article entitled The 10 commitments companies must make to advance racial justice. Mark is a senior lecturer at Harvard University.
Although Christopher does not agree with Mark’s article in its entirety, he believes these are very powerful ideas worth discussing and advancing inside our companies. Frankly, these commitments should be a must for all business people.
Racial Justice On a Marketing Podcast?
Mark's list is fascinating and you might be asking why are we discussing this on Lochhead on Mar...
2020-06-0814 minLochhead on Marketing059 Questions and Cocktails: FB Live Q & A (Part 6) | Marketing PodStorm 21During the PodStorm, we're doing a live Facebook Question and Answer session, every Friday, 11:30 a.m. PST. This is the sixth part of the series.
Today, podcast living legend Jason DeFillippo of Grumpy Old Geeks joins us to answer some questions about the gig economy, key traits of a good marketing professional and staging a lightning strike.
Gig economy as displaced creative hubs
The term gig economy has received a lot more negative heat. Christopher says he agrees and disagrees with Jason’s opinions, as he stated in his podcast Grumpy Old Geeks about the gig economy. Jason also gave a...
2020-06-0724 minLochhead on Marketing058 Questions and Cocktails: FB Live Q & A (Part 5) | Marketing PodStorm 20During the PodStorm, we're doing a live Facebook Question and Answer session, every Friday, 11:30 a.m. PST. We did our first and second one last week. We’re going to share with you our third one in this episode.
Today, podcast living legend Jason DeFillippo of Grumpy Old Geeks joins us to answer some questions about marketing and generating revenue in times of crisis, becoming a CMO who is hard to fire and masterminds for executives of color.
How do brands figure out what to do and say?
Given the current situation of the world, Christopher firmly believes there is no...
2020-06-0622 minLochhead on Marketing057 Why Most Marketing Is Bullshit: 5 Marketing Lies | Marketing PodStorm 19Christopher Lochhead debunks five marketing lies in this episode of Lochhead on Marketing. He talks about why so much of marketing thinking is actually bullshit.
Five Marketing Lies and Why
Number one, great marketing is about marketing into an existing market to increase market share.
“Most legendary innovators, creative creators, entrepreneurs, social change, agents, and so forth, did not play by the rules. They establish their own rules. They designed a new way of thinking As a result, they created new market categories. They did not compete in somebody else's game by somebody else's rules.” - Christopher Lochhead
Number two, mark...
2020-06-0510 minLochhead on Marketing055 How To Fight Injustice w/ Legendary Marketing | Marketing PodStorm 17Today, let's take a look at the role of marketing in driving real, dramatic, impactful, important social change. We dig into topics like the battle against AIDS, the women's movement, and even the founding of the United States of America as actual acts of legendary marketing, and what you might think of as category design.
It moves the world
Christopher believes that legendary marketing does more than just drive sales. Legendary marketing does more. Marketing a provocative point of view creates a new category of social fabric that drives real societal change
“I would argue to you that the greatest mar...
2020-06-0314 minLochhead on Marketing054 Why You Need A Big Hairy Audacious Goal | Marketing PodStorm 16https://youtu.be/4t9Z3V-CQEo
We are hoping you read Jim Collins two legendary books Built to Last and Good to Great. These are game-changers with insanely great research about businesses. In those books, he introduces the concept of a BHAG, which is an acronym for big, hairy, audacious goal. In this episode, let's talk about why you need, what legendary author Jim Collins calls, a big, hairy, audacious goal.
Man On The Moon Mission
One of the greatest examples of a BHAG is when John F. Kennedy said: USA is going to put a man on the moon...
2020-06-0209 minLochhead on Marketing053 Little Marketing Ideas, Legendary Results | Marketing PodStorm 15https://youtu.be/FFag2a148Qc
In this episode of the PodStorm, let's talk about some little marketing ideas that can produce legendary results. Christopher shares two stories to depict this: the first, about how legendary guitar brand Fender got 500,000 emails almost overnight during the pandemic, and how Colgate got kids to brush their teeth with ice cream.
Fender Got 500,000 Emails During C19
Christopher narrates stories from his friend and copywriter Cole Shaefer of Honeycopy.com about Fender, a legendary guitar company that makes guitars and amps and other various musical equipment. Recently, they proved that radical generosity and thoughtfully a...
2020-06-0109 minLochhead on Marketing052 Questions and Cocktails: FB Live Q & A (Part 4) | Marketing PodStorm 14During the PodStorm, we're doing a live Facebook Question and Answer session, every Friday, 11:30 a.m. PST. We did our first and second one last week. We’re going to share with you our fourth part of the Q&A session in this episode. Today, podcast living legend Jason DeFillippo of Grumpy Old Geeks joins us to answer some questions about lightning strikes, taglines, how to launch a new category, and much more.
How long does a Lightning Strike Last?
Christopher answers this question about marketing lightning strikes: it ranges from a day to a week. He further says that th...
2020-05-3118 minLochhead on Marketing051 Questions and Cocktails: FB Live Q & A (Part 3) | Marketing PodStorm 13During the PodStorm, we're doing a live Facebook Question and Answer session, every Friday, 11:30 a.m. PST. We did our first and second one last week. We’re going to share with you our third one in this episode. Today, podcast living legend Jason DeFillippo of Grumpy Old Geeks joins us to answer some questions about podcasting, creativity and a whole lot more!
Podcasting at home
Christopher, together with Jason, answers a question posted in Follow Your Different Facebook Group asking if “this is the right time to go podcasting.” Both went into an interesting discussion about content creators levelling up the...
2020-05-3022 minLochhead on Marketing050 How to Discover a New Category| Marketing PodStorm #12https://youtu.be/M-ZwX6Qcbmk
In this episode of the PodStorm. let's talk about how to discover a category, create massive differentiation, and build a super valuable company, particularly in challenging times.
Designed, Not Discovered
Christopher gets all sorts of questions such as “how do I know if I have a category?” “I think I might have something, how do I discover a category?” “How do I know if this is a new category?” “How do I redesign an existing category, etc.” The first thing Christopher shares to us is: categories are not discovered.
“They are created, they are designed and legendary entr...
2020-05-2908 minLochhead on Marketing049 Do A Marketing Stunt | Marketing PodStorm #11https://youtu.be/tiY3tLnVud0
In this episode, let's talk about the power of a well-timed stunt to gain attention, rise above the noise, and drive revenue. This is how we get our creative juices flowing. Do something that is maybe a little provocative, maybe a little risque. It should be designed to get a lot of attention, and maybe even drive some PR.
Black Friday Sale, Not!
Christopher shares about different brands and their provocative stunts. Max Temkin, founder of the Cards Against Humanity appeared on Follow Your Different Episode 60. Max and his team probably are the masters in...
2020-05-2808 minLochhead on Marketing047 We’re in a cocoon | Marketing PodStorm #9https://youtu.be/Y0oQrse3rVo
It appears that we are in a great time of transition. There is that “before February” and then there is “whatever comes after Coronavirus.” The present moment seems like we're in a cocoon. We are at a cocoon time — an incredible in-between zone — where, in business sense, there is a good chance to have massive winners and horrible losers.
Let's talk about the mindset required to become one of those massive winners.
There’s No “Going Back”
We hear a lot of talk in the media, about opening back the economy and “going back to work.” Christophe...
2020-05-2609 minLochhead on Marketing046 Don’t stand in front of an empty fire place & expect it to be hot | Marketing PodStorm #8https://youtu.be/lEm9N828oRU
Today on our Marketing PodStorm, let’s talk about why standing in front of an empty fireplace expecting it to be hot is kind of dumb. You see, oftentimes, CEOs, CFOs, and even CMOs cut down marketing during a downturn.
Marketing In Desperate Times
We understand that some of our business is in a situation where budget cuts are needed to ensure survival. However, Christopher points out that it is not one of the wisest moves to cut down the marketing budget, especially in times that you need income.
“Decreasing marketing investments at a time...
2020-05-2507 minLochhead on Marketing045 Questions and Cocktails: Facebook Live Q & A (Part 2) | Marketing PodStorm #7During the PodStorm, were doing a live Facebook Question and Answer session, every Friday, 11:30 a.m. PST. Here is the second part of our recording, for Q&A about marketing and category design. We talk about all things ranging from new category creation, how to craft problems positively, and creating demand during a crisis.
How to know if you have a new category?
As counterintuitive as it might sound, now is a great time to launch a new category. Christopher encourages you to ask yourself a couple of key questions: number 1, “what problem do I solve?” or “do I solve that i...
2020-05-2421 minLochhead on Marketing044 Questions and Cocktails: Facebook Live Q & A (Part 1) | Marketing PodStorm #6During the PodStorm, were doing a live Facebook Question and Answer session, every Friday, 11:30 a.m. PST. We did our first one, we’re going to share it with you in two parts. We talk about CEOs who don't get marketing, the relationship between CMOs and CEOs during times of crisis, and more about evangelizing the brand.
What do I do if my CEO doesn’t get it about marketing?
Christopher shares that very little happens without legendary marketing. He stresses the difference of working on something exponential versus something that is incremental. In marketing terms, the more exponential it is...
2020-05-2317 minLochhead on Marketing043 Drive Revenue Now | Marketing PodStorm #5https://youtu.be/3yCPhiRlVuE
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing, where we are trying the first world's Marketing PodStorm — 30 days of strategies and ideas to help you create the future that you want because we believe that nothing legendary is going to happen, at any kind of scale, without legendary marketing.
Today, let’s talk about a few, very simple ideas that can help drive revenue for both B2C companies and B2B companies.
Get Radically Visible
As we are trying to come back and slowly opening up the economy, Christopher encourages B2C companies to get radically visible in thei...
2020-05-2208 minLochhead on Marketing042 Marketing Simple | Beware The “Bag Full of Door Knobs”| Marketing PodStorm #4https://youtu.be/itibVmOMixM
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing, where we are trying the first world's Marketing PodStorm — 30 days of strategies and ideas to help you create the future that you want because we believe that nothing legendary is going to happen, at any kind of scale, without legendary marketing.
Today, let’s talk about marketing simple aka beware the bag full of doorknobs.
Biznobabble
A lot of companies communicate and market in very confusing ways. Christopher says a lot of companies share their marketing messages in a “carnival barker kind of approach.”
“A lot of companies, even if they are a litt...
2020-05-2108 minLochhead on Marketing041 Marketing Lightning Strikes| Marketing PodStorm #3Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing, where we are trying the first world's Marketing PodStorm — 30 days of strategies and ideas to help you create the future that you want because we believe that nothing legendary is going to happen, at any kind of scale, without legendary marketing.
In this episode, let’s discuss if you are either part of the noise or how you can rise above the noise with the power of a marketing lightning strike!
Reach and Frequency
It turns out that most marketing executions are predicated on an ancient idea on reach and frequency. The theory is, the more...
2020-05-2012 minLochhead on Marketing040 Making Your Market Category A Must Have | Marketing PodStorm Episode 2https://youtu.be/myKVAJ6nFb0
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing, where we are trying the first world's Marketing PodStorm — 30 days of strategies and ideas to help you create the future that you want because we believe that nothing legendary is going to happen, at any kind of scale, without legendary marketing.
In this episode, let’s talk about, arguably, the most important issue facing your marketing as you go forward powerfully: is your category a must-have, a nice to have or a don’t really need to have?
Customers Prioritize Categories When...
Christopher shares an important insight from a lot of CEO...
2020-05-1906 minLochhead on Marketing039 This Recession Will Not Stand, Man | Marketing PodStorm Episode 1https://youtu.be/2AGtzxRtxWM
Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing, where we are trying the first world's Marketing PodStorm — 30 days of strategies and ideas to help you create the future that you want because we believe that nothing legendary is going to happen, at any kind of scale, without legendary marketing.
In this episode, let’s talk about what is possible: it is possible to emerge from this downturn as a stronger business because this recession is not going to stand, man!
The HydraFacial Story
The legendary Peter Drucker once said: “the entrepreneur always searches for change, response to it and exploi...
2020-05-1813 minLochhead on Marketing038 The Future Needs YouToday, let's talk about why the future needs you and frankly, why the future needs some legendary marketing. Entrepreneurs, pay attention to this episode because the future needs you and your innovations to move the human race forward.
Going Back To How It Was
We hear a lot of discussion about how the business people plan to reopen businesses and how the entire workforce will get back to work. Christopher candidly gives his viewpoint for this: there is no going back to how it was before.
“I think frankly, there is nothing to go back to. It's not about going back...
2020-05-0707 minLochhead on Marketing035 Your Brand Will Be Defined By What You Do During CoronavirusExtraordinary times call for legendary leadership. In this episode, we talk about why your brand will be defined by what you do during coronavirus. This is a moment of truth. What leaders do in moments of truth define who they become and what happens to our brand.
“I think people are going to remember what you did or didn't do during this crisis. How companies treat humanity during this crisis will have a long term impact.” - Christopher Lochhead
Focus on People
Christopher had been speaking with entrepreneurs about the discussions they should focus on to make a difference during this...
2020-04-0209 minLochhead on Marketing034 Digital Leadership & Why Leaders Over-CommunicateExtraordinary times call for legendary leadership. Because of the Coronavirus, shit is getting very weird. As Hunter Thompson said, “When the going gets weird, the weird turns pro” which is why it’s time to become a Digital Leader and over-communicate.
Primary Mode of Communication
In times of crisis, people need to both see and hear from their leaders. Former navy seal and former Chief of Staff for 4-star General Stanley McCrystal, Chris Fussell was on FYD episode 38 and he made a comment on digital leadership in an article he wrote on NY Times.
He made a comment on “digital leadershi...
2020-03-3110 minLochhead on Marketing032 Want to do Legendary Marketing? Learn to Sell!Did you know, one of the top reasons why CMOs and marketing leaders get fired is: the sales force thinks they are a joke. In this episode, we talk about why it is important for marketers to become great at sales.
Marketing Is Sales Scaled
If you think about what marketing is, it is actually selling at scale. Christopher thinks that in 30 to 90 seconds, a marketer should be able to lay down a point of view that captures the imagination of the audience. If you can't, you have a serious “sales” issue.
“I think, as counterintuitive as this might sound, the nu...
2020-03-0606 minLochhead on Marketing030 How To Make Marketing DecisionsIn this episode, let’s talk about the strategic lens required to make marketing decisions.
Marketing Decisions
Marketers, over and over again, continue to make this big mistake: they come up with marketing decisions without having a discussion around its context. Context, in terms of the “lens” they will use to come up with the decision.
“If you’re a regular listener and if you know me, you know one of my favorite expressions is, thinking about thinking is the most important kind of thinking.” - Christopher Lochhead
Overly Simplistic Lens
When people go and make a decision, they have an implied as...
2020-01-1607 minLochhead on Marketing029 Disagree and CommitEvery big decision involves a group of people.and so, in business, if you’re going to do something legendary, whether its a strategy or a campaign, it will be a group decision.
In this episode, Christopher Lochhead shares why it is a legendary business trait to be able to get people to disagree and commit.
Everybody has a Marketing Opinion
Recently, Christopher had a discussion on with legendary tech executive Elisa Steele on Follow Your Different Episode 129. She talks about the power of being able to disagree and commit. She also talks about the importance of being a consensus bu...
2020-01-1410 minLochhead on Marketing028 Is Your Marketing Plan Radical Enough?In this episode, Christopher Lochhead asks the question, “is your marketing plan radical enough?” Most marketing plans are predictable, uncreative and safe. He will share today how to do away with your usual marketing plan and craft a radical one.
3x CMO
Being an advisor to a lot of companies, Christopher shares how he has been part of creating, reviewing and critiquing a lot of these companies’ marketing plans. He further says that there are three things about these marketing plans: they are predictable, uncreative and safe.
Safe as in, most CMOs are more concerned with making their “internal customers” happy. The r...
2020-01-0713 minLochhead on Marketing026 Ryan Reynolds Legendary Peloton Trendjack For Gin BrandOn episode #023 with Paul Maher, we popped the hood on the secret marketing / PR black art of Trendjacking. Recently, actor Ryan Reynolds (aka Marvel’s Deadpool) who also owns the brand, Aviation American Gin, just pulled off the trendjack of the year. Let’s break down the 8 reasons why this was a legendary trend jack.
The Peloton Ad
The Peloton Ad shows a rich couple, with the husband, giving his thin wife an exercise bike. There was a public uproar as reaction to the ad. In fact, Business Insider reported: “Peloton's nightmare before Christmas: $1.5 billion vanished from its market value in 3 d...
2019-12-1210 minLochhead on Marketing022 Is Your Marketing Better or Different?Christopher Lochhead discusses differentiation or differentiators of a brand, product or company. He further shares what legendary marketers do, makes their marketing better or makes it different?
Differentiators
We often hear this word a lot in marketing: differentiation. Christopher poses the question when speaking about a product or brand differentiation, is it really different or is it better?
In reality, when most CEOs, CMOs, entrepreneurs and product investors say differentiators, what really comes out of their mouth is better. Christopher however, believes making a difference is the better choice.
True Differentiation
Christopher suggests a brainstorming session with people in order t...
2019-10-2207 minLochhead on Marketing021 Is Your Brand Blue?In today’s episode, Christopher Lochhead dives down deep into the power of colors and how it affects your brand marketing. In a world where almost all brands are Blue (and some are red), how do you make your brand different and stand out?
What’s With Color Blue?
Christopher recently represented a tech company with a stand-out logo, it's color pink and orange. According to this company, 70% of B2B company logos are blue.
Christopher researched this claim and indeed found out, 33% of the world’s top brands companies are blue. Some 29% are red, 28% are black or grey and 13% are yel...
2019-10-1511 minLochhead on Marketing018 Personal Branding is BullshitIn this episode, Christopher Lochhead talks about a giant topic in business today, personal branding. He further shares the difference between a brand and a person. Moreover, he discusses why legendary executives and marketers don't give weigh to personal branding much.
Personal Beef with Personal Branding
Personal branding has become a giant issue in business today. It seems like people cannot fire up their social media, such as Linkedin and even Amazon, without personal branding. The idea started around the late 80s or early 90s and has become effed up overtime.
Christopher lays out his argument on the difference between...
2019-09-2410 minLochhead on Marketing017 Frame the Problem and WinIn this episode, Christopher Lochhead talks about why the company that frames and markets the problem, the most effectively, wins. To illustrate, he cites a music company, m, and ho they recently pulled something off in the marketing and PR point of view.
Frame the Problem, Not the Solution
Wise marketers and category creators have a strategic way of creating legendary marketing. One of these is framing the problem. This strategy is a sure-fire way to win a category.
“When the world agrees with you about the problem that you solved, and thinks about the problem, exactly the way you wa...
2019-09-1910 minLochhead on Marketing016 Category Creation CourageIn today’s episode, Christopher Lochhead talks about why courage is a critical ingredient for legendary marketing and category design. He poses the question: “What does it take to make legendary marketing happen?” and he shares some except his book Niche Down to answer this.
Break From The Pack
What does it take to break from the pack? The pack, which usually means the general public, the people who think and does the same kind of marketing. What do we need to enable us to design a category and from then, execute to dominate that category?
On Christopher’s second book, Ni...
2019-09-1708 minLochhead on Marketing015 Product-Market Fit Is A Dangerous IdeaIn most industries, product-market fit is an unquestioned gospel, even in Silicon Valley. On the contrary, Christopher believes that product-market fit is a dangerous idea. Why? Because legendary marketers create and design their own category, as opposed to competing in an existing category.
Product-Market Fit
In the tech startup world, achieving product-market fit is often considered a major milestone. However, Christopher argues that product-market fit is one of the most dangerous ideas in business today.
“The problem with product-market fit is that language can trick marketers into thinking that what you’re doing is building a product and you’re trying...
2019-09-1212 minLochhead on Marketing014 Don’t Take My Word For ItIn this episode, Christopher Lochhead talks about how marketers strategically use language. Legendary marketers create a new language that educates the world on how they want their product or service perceived. Customer’s adaptation to that language is also a great tool to measure success.
How People Perceive Us
Christopher recently had Lee Hartley Carter on Follow Your Different Episode 099. Lee and her firm specialize in language strategy. We can infer that marketers pay very close attention to the use of words.
Christopher reminds us that the usage of some phrases undermines a person’s credibility. Some examples include phrases such...
2019-09-1014 minLochhead on Marketing013 Committees Kill Legendary MarketingIn today’s episode, Christopher gives us a rundown on why he thinks committees kill legendary marketing.
Why is so much marketing, shitty?
Christopher Lochhead candidly shares his honest observation on the industry today: a lot of marketing efforts suck. Aside from bad creatives, much of this onslaught of marketing stems from their inability to make a difference in designing and dominating a market category. Who’s to blame? Christopher says its the committees.
“This is probably true for most major initiatives in business, but it’s especially true in marketing because, fundamentally, legendary marketing is about leadership.” - Christopher Lochhead
T...
2019-09-0512 minLochhead on Marketing012 Category Creation Economics 101In this episode, Christopher Lochhead talks about the powerful, surprising winner-take-all realities of categories and why you want to be the category queen/king in your market. Christopher layout facts and data on category creation economics that you’ll find beneficial for your business, whether you’re in the tech industry or not.
Winner Takes All
In Christopher’s first book Play Bigger, they wrote about a research project they conducted on thousands of tech start-ups from 2000 to 2015, determining the market cap or valuation. Specifically, they wanted to know the percentage of the total value goes to the leader or catego...
2019-09-0314 minLochhead on Marketing011 The Perception of Your Product is Your ProductIn this episode. Christopher Lochhead talks about what your real product or real service is. He discusses why product development and marketing should team because the perception of your product is your product.
Marketing Defined
One CEO, who is also a good friend of Christopher, once stated that “Marketing is what you do when you have a shitty product.” He was telling Christopher about their competitor who had a significantly inferior product but is, at that time, out-marketing them. Additionally, quite a lot of people in Silicon Valley also think this way.
Wikipedia defines marketing and product as such: “In market...
2019-08-2809 minLochhead on Marketing010 Artificial Intelligence In MarketingIn this episode, Christopher Lochhead shares two eye-opening stories about Artificial Intelligence in Marketing. First is about Nike buying an AI marketing analytics company and second, Chase Bank using AI to write marketing copies. He further discusses how these two leverages technology to produce massive results.
Nike Acquires AI Startup
Tech Crunch reported that Nike announced its acquisition of the Boston-area startup Celect. This is to help Nike beef up its predictive analytics strengths. The startup’s tech focuses on delivering data insights based on structured and unstructured retail data.
"What we do know is Nike spent a lot of mo...
2019-08-2612 minLochhead on Marketing009 Marketing Strategy vs. TacticsThe difference between Marketing Strategy and Tactics, oftentimes, confuses most people. In this episode of Lochhead on Marketing, Christopher Lochhead talks about some of the pressing questions people have on strategy and tactics.
Quoting Dushka Zappata
A good friend of Lochhead, Senior Communication and PR Executive Dushka Zappata helps shine a light on this confusion marketers have about strategy and tactics. She has 20 years experience in the tech industry and she amassed 140 million views in Q&A site Quora with her writing.
Strategy
Dushka Zappata answered the distinction between strategy and tactics. According to her, strategy answers the question “why?” To give a...
2019-08-2104 minLochhead on Marketing008 7 Recession Marketing IdeasChristopher Lochhead discusses some of his marketing ideas timely for a potential (we hope not, but economists say otherwise) recession. Here are 7 recession marketing ideas for our listeners that you might want to consider for your business.
1. Never Let A Good Recession Go To Waste!
History proved that recessions are the impetus for change. With change comes both threats and opportunities. Ordinary business people usually panic and focus on threats. However, legendary marketers focus on both. Recessions are a great excuse for taking action, especially those that should have been taken anyway.
“Get on your recession planning now! Do not wa...
2019-08-1920 minLochhead on Marketing007 Category Creation is the StrategyIn this episode, Christopher Lochhead discusses why category creation is the new growth strategy for legendary marketing.
Great companies do not focus on incremental growth, rather, they focus on being exponentially different. These leading companies introduce people to new businesses and provide them with new ways of doing things.
Making A Different Future
Legendary companies shape our lives and design a different future. They are on a mission to make the future different. Further, these companies create something exciting — a new way of living, thinking and doing business — category creation. Through category creation, these companies are pioneering the way to the futu...
2019-08-0617 minLochhead on Marketing006 Peanut Butter vs. LightningIn this episode, Christopher Lochhead looks into the age-old marketing approach of peanut butter marketing and why it is not an applicable strategy in today’s world. Instead, he introduces us to the concept of lightning marketing, as mentioned in his first book “Play Bigger.”
PB and Lightning Defined
In Lochhead’s book “Play Bigger,” he defined the terms Lightning Strike and Peanut Butter marketing. With the traditional Peanut Butter approach, marketers spread the marketing and PR across all sorts of markets—over a long period of time—with the hopes that somewhere, somewhat, the message would “stick.”
“Peanut butter marketing does not break t...
2019-08-0611 minLochhead on Marketing005 Mystery ShoppingRetailers or B2C market often uses the term mystery shopping. It is a concept to understand the customer’s journey in your services. For the fifth episode, Lochhead tackles the importance of mystery shopping for your company.
Embracing Mystery Shopping
Retailers employ the concept of mystery shopping—where they pay someone to visit their store and document their experience. This is also applicable to online retailers as they commission mystery shoppers to test their website. It is important for marketers to look into the “funnel” and the “journey” because the key trick is simplifying the process.
“I think it’s really critical...
2019-08-0607 minLochhead on Marketing004 5 Traits of Legendary BrandsIn this episode, Christopher Lochhead discusses the 5 traits of legendary brands—different, stands for something, point of view, consistent and prioritizes category creation. We’re positive marketers will learn a lot from this mindset-oriented podcast!
1. Be Different
Legendary brands are unique, interesting and groundbreaking. Marketers must continuously ask themselves how to become different from their existing competitors.
“When you hear most CEOs, CMOs, entrepreneurs, business people, talk about their differentiators—most of what comes out of their mouths is a comparison from their competition—as opposed to a distinction from their competition.” - Christopher Lochhead
2. Stand-up For Something
Moreover, legendary brands have a missio...
2019-08-0612 minLochhead on Marketing003 What is category creation?On today’s episode of Lochhead on Marketing, Christopher Lochhead delves into the concept of category creation. He discusses why legendary entrepreneurs, CEOs, and marketers see category creation or category design as the new approach to winning.
What is it?
Category design is a new management discipline that is focused on creating and monetizing new markets. Moreover, Lochhead sees category creation or category design as a radical differentiation of oneself.
“Winning today is not about beating the competition. The most legendary entrepreneurs, CEOs and marketers are the people who invent a whole new game by defining a new market category, deve...
2019-08-0608 minLochhead on Marketing002 10 Attributes of Legendary MarketingFor the second episode of Lochhead on Marketing, Christopher Lochhead dives into what makes Legendary Marketing, legendary. He discusses the 10 attributes of legendary marketing — which range from creating demand, dominating a niche market to leveraging technologies and changing the world.
1. Creates Demand Rather Than Capturing Demand
In all imaginable areas—books, conversations, podcasts or discussions—marketing is described as “having a market and capturing the demand to increase revenue and growth for your company.”
Legendary marketing, though, is more interested in creating new demand. They are focused on setting that agenda.
2. Designs and Dominates a Giant Category That Matters
Legendary marketing design...
2019-08-0511 minLochhead on Marketing001 Who is this podcast for?It’s an awesome day to be legendary! This is the first episode of our new podcast, Lochhead on Marketing, hosted by our very own, Christopher Lochhead. In this episode, he talks about who is this podcast for and what sets it apart from other marketing podcasts.
Join us as we define what makes this podcast, different—ultimately, what makes it legendary!
Who’s Who in Marketing
Entrepreneur and VC partner Christopher Lochhead is an advisor to over 50 venture-backed startups. He is a former three-time Silicon Valley public company CMO and co-author of two bestsellers: Niche Down and Play Bigger.
To add...
2019-07-2613 min