Shows
UpLevel ViewAI Adoption That Actually Works: How Hanna House Went from Pilot to PlaybookWhat happens when a nonprofit embraces AI not for the hype, but for the help? In the latest episode of the UpLevel View podcast, Brandi Pack and Ken Callander sit down with Cristal Cardenas Sanchez, Director, Research & Evaluation, Hanna Center, and Marissa La Brecque, VP of Research and Training, from Hanna Center, to talk about how their grassroots AI pilot turned into a full 2026 roadmap. Hear how they're using GenAI to streamline operations, spark new ideas, and even open the door to a broader range of grant opportunities, without losing sight of their mission. Highlights
2025-11-1032 min
Brand FrontlinesBackstoryBackstory is the backbone of our brand building method. A brand is a story told in the marketplace and this is the story. A backstory validates the platform and instigates the messaging. A good backstory marries meaning and emotion and inspires the team. We share our process for creating a solid backstory.
2022-07-0830 min
Brand FrontlinesThe Secret History of Storytelling in MarketingWe believe a brand is a story told in the marketplace. But when we got started, marketing and storytelling were worlds apart. Here is the tale of how we made the connections and built a methodology that now leads the industry (along with many other brilliant marketers).
2022-06-1027 min
Brand FrontlinesBrand ThemesBrand Themes are the strengths that drive your brand story. And they are keystones to your messaging. Nail these foundational drivers and deepen your relationship with customers, hone your communications, and get clear on your strategy.
2022-04-2936 min
Brand FrontlinesBrand PromiseTake the word promise at face value. When you're articulating a brand promise, it should be something that you can deliver on all the time. The promise of a brand is the most important unmet need you can deliver for your customers. We talk about what it is, how to define it, and maximize it. We also share some examples of successful and not so successful brand promises.
2022-04-0124 min
Brand FrontlinesBrand ArchetypesA full transcript of the episode: INTRO TO ARCHETYPESM: Welcome to Brand Frontlines, the podcast wher brands building gets real. I'm Marissa La Brecque, founder of Hyperflore.E: And I'm Eric La Brecque, principal of Applied Storytelling.M: Today we're doing something a little different. Usually we cover one element of the Brand Wheel in each episode. The Brand Wheel is our organizational system for a brand. But today we're going to keep on personality, which we covered last time. We didn't have time to get to archetypes, w...
2022-03-1125 min
Brand FrontlinesBrand PersonalityBrand personality is vital. It can be one of the most differentiating parts of a brand. It is the guidance for the visual identity. And it is more forward than ever in the age of social media and hypercommunication for brands. We talk about what brand personality is and how to develop it (including a starting exercise). Then we talk to Cynthia Murnane, a heavy hitter visual strategist, who has developed brands from BP and Charles Schwab to cultural institutions like the Henry Ford Museum and the Smithsonian Museum of Art.
2022-02-181h 01
Brand FrontlinesPositioningBrand positioning is a marketing cornerstone concept. It is one of our core elements. Where does a business sit in the field of their competitors? Positioning is raw differentiation. When do you use it? When do you downshift it? How do you deliver a true, exciting, visionary positioning statement? Let's talk about it.
2022-02-0435 min
Brand FrontlinesBrand Core & Drivers[00:00 - 05:12] Eric: Hello, welcome to Brand Front Lines with your hosts, Marissa and Eric Labrecque, me. Thank you so much for listening. If you're enjoying the podcast, by the way, please subscribe and rate and share it with any marketing nerds, you know. Marissa: And check us out on Instagram @brandfrontlines where we are continuing the conversation with some practical exercises and tools, so you can apply all of this to your own brand or your clients’ brands. Eric: So, this is our first season, and in this season, we're...
2021-11-1932 min
Brand FrontlinesThe Brand WheelIn this episode we present our blueprint for a well-made brand- the Brand Wheel.We also talk to Jennifer Neeley, a highly-regarded digital strategist and UCSD instructor in influence marketing. CHECK OUT THE BRAND WHEEL HERE-Eric talks about his controversial branding work for the city of Dearborn. -9:00 the invention of the Brand Wheel -9:46 Why the brand pyramid doesn’t really work for us. -12:00 How the Brand Wheel supports a brand story. -14:00...
2021-03-261h 01
Brand FrontlinesThe Visz + The MishVISION: Your biggest, boldest goal expressed in as few words as possible.A vision is vital to the forward movement of a company. It is the beacon on the hill. The mission is the path to get to that beacon.Vision is not differentiating but it must be big and bold and visionary. It is almost impossible to create a vision that is too big. Some you may never fulfill, you’ll always be reaching for them. The vision is also basically the brand story plot line.The minimum bold vision should push th...
2020-12-0457 min
Brand FrontlinesWhat is a Brand?This episode explores the most fundamental question, what is a brand?Our answer: A story told in the marketplaceStories have been used in the marketplace since there have been marketplaces. These stories are used to add value to products. What is the difference between a traditional marketplace and the modern market?-You aren’t eye to eye with the customer.-There’s a great deal of media-You aren’t necessarily in the same community or context What is a brand st...
2020-10-1642 min
No Ounce WastedTables Turned- Host Bryan Mayer is in the Hot SeatNo Ounce Wasted Radio Show Butcher's Guild co-founder Marissa La Brecque turns the spotlight on host Bryan Mayer and introduces listeners to the man behind the mic. A longtime advocate of responsible sourcing and whole carcass utilization, Bryan is well-known in meat as a connector- of people, ideas and solutions. Bryan Mayer - With well over a decade of butchery and teaching experience, Bryan has been at the forefront of the craft butcher movement in the US. Receiving training from master butchers, raising livestock, working on kills floors, behind butcher counters, and on kitchen prep lines, he has been able t...
2020-05-1900 min
Flipping the TableEp#40 - Marissa La Brecque & Jennifer Breckner - Slow Food Nations SpecialTwo veteran chapter leaders, Marissa La Brecque and Jennifer Breckner, share the highs and lows of movement leadership at the local level.
2019-07-2532 min