The Great Brand Secret: Know Exactly Who You Are ft. Grace Kao, CMO of Snap

When every company starts looking like a tech company, a media company and an entertainment company at the same time, brand clarity becomes mission critical. In this episode of Marketing Vanguard, host Jenny Rooney sits down with Grace Kao, CMO of Snap, to talk about what it takes to build a brand people actually understand and want to spend time with. Plus: a breakdown of Snap’s push toward chat, real-world connection and why marketers should be asking the question, “How do we actually add something?” Grace Kao is Chief Marketing Officer of Snap, where she leads marketing across Snapchat and the company’s broader brand portfolio. Her career began almost by accident after she stepped away from graduate school and joined BBDO as an executive assistant on the Apple account. From there, she built a career across agency and brand roles spanning PlayStation, Yahoo, Pandora, Instagram, Spotify, and Snap. Across those chapters, Grace has consistently gravitated toward brands with strong identities, youth audiences, and clear points of view. At Snap, she is focused on keeping the brand rooted in friendship, creativity, and real connection while exploring new ways for brands, creators, and communities to participate on the platform. What You'll Learn: Why brand clarity becomes more valuable as businesses stretch across categories How relationships and people can shape a career more than a perfect plan Why challenger brands and youth culture have more pull How Snapchat is moving beyond passive consumption toward active participation Why brand marketing has to match the creative standard of the community How chat, Maps, and IRL experiences can create new roles for brands Why unexpected partnerships can make audiences see a brand differently Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.