The Heart Of Marketing

Bernadette Jiwa joins The Heart of Marketing to share ideas from her new book Hunch: Turn Your Everyday Insights into the Next Big Thing. In it she busts some of the myths we believe about "creative genius" and how innovation really happens. "We covet groundbreaking ideas and the people who have them," Jiwa writes in the introduction. "We believe in superstars and visionaries, in the power of Eureka! moments and special circumstances that set great ideas and their creators apart. But when we dig deeper, we find that the secret of these visionaries isn't necessarily their pioneering nature, but rather that they made connections others overlooked." The good news is that YOU can learn how to make those connections and cultivate your intuition to transform your marketing and your business. Listen in to discover how. What you will learn: •    How ANYBODY can develop the "ordinary genius" that turns everyday insights into the next big thing •    Why hunches are more important than data in coming up with breakthrough ideas •    The reasons why data and technology can actually be the enemy of insight •    Three human characteristics that fuel intuition for birthing new business ideas •    How a brand or an idea becomes meaningful (and why it's critical to success) •    How to make your brand story much more than just a storytelling message About Bernadette Jiwa Bernadette Jiwa is a recognized global authority on the role of story in business, innovation, and marketing. She is the author of five best-selling books on marketing and brand storytelling, including: •    Marketing, a Love Story: How to Matter to Your Customers •    Make Your Idea Matter: Standing Out with a Better Story •    Difference: The One-Page Method for Reimagining Your Business and Reinventing Your Marketing •    The Fortune Cookie Principle •    Meaningful: The Story of Ideas that Fly Bernadette is based in Melbourne, Australia. She works with global brands like LinkedIn, Zappos, and Adidas to intentionally create products, services, and marketing that help them matter to their customers. She has been named one of the Top 100 Branding Experts to follow on Twitter. She also spoke at TEDx in 2012 about "The Secret to Spreading Ideas." Her new book titled Hunch: Turn Your Everyday Insights into the Next Big Thing releases in the U.S. on June 6, 2017.

Did you hear the news? Coca-Cola has eliminated its chief marketing officer (CMO) and in its place, drum roll, please, John Gregory Olson! (Well,  you're going to have to listen to what Coca-Cola is doing in the C-suite.) When you think about the role of the CMO, anyway, it's taking a beating. The average tenure for every big brand corporate CMO is, oh, about four years. They last less than a CEO these days. Think, too, about who reports up to the CMO. How about maybe 10 different departments and hundreds of employees in marketing in various roles? Heck, even public relations reports up into the marketing leadership in most organizations. On The Heart of Marketing, we've talked plainly about roles and responsibilities in the workplace. You might like: Episode 21: Specialist vs. Generalist Episode 102: Hear the CMO Whine? Episode 121: With Ann Handley on a variety of marketing topics   There are way too many things for a marketer to do. And, ROI is still an issue. Does your organization have a CMO? If not, which title is closest to that role and are they accomplishing what they need to to take  your brand to the next level? And, we have a shout out today to our loyal listener, Shakirah Dawud. She's the most wonderful copywriter who knows how to deliver value. Reach out to her at Deliberate Ink. Thank you, All loyal listeners! This is The Heart of Marketing, and I'm Jayme Soulati.

Did you recently hear of the trick Suave played on its consumers? Millennial women, actually. Unilever's Suave heard from its base that they wanted a higher end brand at value pricing. Now, we all know that Suave ain't no top-shelf Tequila. It's often relegated to the drugstore shelf or the supermarket shelves with rows and rows of like products (think Head and Shoulders). We're not making fun of the brand, just stating the facts, Ma'am. So, some clever marketer decided to do this (take a listen and find out, K?). And, as a public relations marketer, I have to say I am duly impressed with this campaign. All brands are interested in earning more customers. And, it's really funny to observe the category leaders try to lure the next generation of consumer to the check-out line. In this case, millennials are that newest generation, but they have no money! Remember? They're broke with college debt, and that's why they're asking for high-quality products at bargain basement pricing. (Say, whatever happened to Filene's Basement?) We have some fun at the expense of Suave, and we also share a number of other episodes for your listening pleasure. You might like: More on Influencer Relations Programs: Organic v. Paid, episode 88 Building Influencer Relations Programs, episode 94

If you're merely sharing on social media and not clueing into social listening, then it's likely your brand isn't powered up on social channels. There are way too many users on each social media channel and it's impossible to listen in on all the conversations without some help. As John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati suggest in this episode of The Heart of Marketing, it's also important to know your objectives when you use social media. It's also important to better understand your customer so you can offer the right goods and services your customer is demanding right there on Twitter. Every brand is suffering from negative customer sentiment; well, we only hear about the negative stories that impact a brand, right? The airline industry is one such vertical market truly suffering from poor customer service, irate customers and mission statements that fail to reach the frontline. If you enact social listening with tools, your brand can get ahead of the negativity with some basics. In this episode, we review a few tools to help you select social listening tools that are right for your objectives and budget. Take a look at this PC Magazine article with a plethora of options. Then, look into Sprout Social, one of the paid favorites, followed by Hootsuite, Clicky and Buffer. The tools available are numerous, too numerous to count. Ultimately, it's going to depend on the size of your brand or agency, the number of clients/companies you're listening for, the budget you have to spend on these expenses, and the demands by the client in a reporting mechanism.

Veggie balls at IKEA are a hot topic, so much so that the global retailer is putting more attention on its food menus to attract a growing market of folks who just come to IKEA to dine. Have you ever been to an IKEA, smack in the middle of nowhere to accommodate the massive warehouse and shopping experience people love to see and visit? Truly, it's not easy getting there, nor is it easy getting to the front doors depending on where you have to park. Imagine traipsing to IKEA just for dinner?! Well, that's what IKEA leadership began to see in the numbers of dinners served -- 650 million in one year, which caused the light bulb to turn on brightly. IKEA has been revamping the dining experience for customers to capitalize on people who enjoy the food, like the modular dining, and want to dink around in the retail side of things and then feed the kids. How is this a marketing story? You'll need to listen in to The Heart of Marketing and find out! And, while you're at it, you might tune in to episode 30-someting when we covered IKEA when it launched its brand new veggie ball story! We are John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati, co-hosts of The Heart of Marketing.

There's an art and science to email marketing, and today on The Heart of Marketing your #RockHot co-hosts Jayme Soulati and John Gregory Olson share a few back and forths about an email that did and an email that didn't. What does it take for you to open an email and read it until the end? Have you ever said, yes, I need to speak with this guy? Or, maybe mostly, it's delete, delete. John and Jayme have a few stories to tell as to why one of their experiences worked while the other not so much. And, along the way we recognize one of our buds -- Jason Falls for his enthusiasm about an email that didn't! (Remember, Jason was our guest on a recent podcast episode, and we always love speaking with him 'cuz he knows his stuff.) Listen in today for a brief conversation about the elements that work and don't in an email you've received or sent recently.

Today on The Heart of Marketing, we have a shortie/mini conversation about a recent Wall Street Journal article relating to smart refrigerators. These new formerly called ice boxes, can now dual as a television, screen for viewing what's inside and when it spoils, a note-taking panel with calendar, and way too much more. The smart refrigerators are leading the way with the trend toward Internet of Things (or IoT, as it's known). Do you have designs on adopting a smart device to wire the inside of your home to the Internet? Bet you don't even know that your thermostat operates on WiFi and your 'ring video doorbell' is easily hacked. How about those cameras you have hooked up with audio in your kitchen to see what Kitty is getting into every day? Is IoT a marketer's dream or just another trend waiting to attract the masses? Take a listen and then tell us your opinion; we'd love to hear!

We are delighted to welcome Ann Handley to The Heart of Marketing today. She's interviewed by our also delightful co-host John Gregory Olson who is a self-professed "fan boy" of Ann and her work. Taken directly from her website: Ann Handley is a veteran of creating and managing digital content to build relationships for organizations and individuals. Ann is the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller  Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content (September 2014, Wiley) and co-author of the best-selling book on content marketing, Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business (2011, Wiley). She is the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs; a LinkedIn Influencer; a keynote speaker, mom, and writer. Today's Episode Ann and John share solid insight into the customer and the importance of creating value, always. When marketers put the customer first and the needs of the customer first that's when empathy occurs. Ann suggests that marketers need to slow down -- slow marketing. Slow marketing is where customer empathy, humanity and value are uncovered. It's when stories are created with the customer always first. Through a lot of buzzwords, John and Ann identify a few that bother. Omnichannel is one, but it's also spot on as there are way too many channels where customers are communicating with one another and brands. That's why stories are so important; take an opportunity to tell a story even with a simple caption on Instagram, Ann's favorite channel. Ann and John dive in to so much more; don't miss this really important conversation! Ann, we thank you for joining us on The Heart of Marketing. Now, everyone go buy Ann Handley's books, subscribe to Marketing Profs and attend the B2B Marketing show in Boston every year.  

Jay Baer, no he's not our guest today and we're working on that, has been writing about the popularity of video in content marketing. He shares a really nice piece right here you need to read or view on the topic. Today, John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati take a stab at exploring the new onset of 'vlogs' or video blogs versus blogs or web logs. There is more video streaming happening on practically every platform, and there are more folks taking a spin in front of the camera to push content. Did you know you can also do video with visuals, graphics and copy? You don't even need to be in front of the camera, right, John Gregory Olson? The growing trend toward the visualization of blogging and content marketing is providing more and more and more people with just what they want -- 'snackable' content in yummy, bite-sized chunks. Shall we say good bye to the 1,000 word long-tail blog post? What happens to SEO then? Well, that's a conundrum, isn't it? Google still wants to crawl your site and that means video isn't part of the SEO juice unless you put in a transcript. Video marketing is one of the hottest sills marketers need right now. If you are a video marketer, this is your standing invitation to come on our show.  The Heart of Marketing needs you! Take a listen today and get your vlogger hat going. Think of all the ways you can deliver more entertainment, or shall we say infotainment to your audience? Is video for you? Well, it has to be and you'll get there kicking and screaming! This is The Heart of Marketing.

Heading to a social media conference this year? How about a conference in marketing, public relations, SEO, content, email, or whatever your vertical is? Conferences are indeed best practice for in-real-life branding. You show up and immediately someone recognizes your face because of your avatar on Twitter or a Facebook post. (It's the coolest thing.) So, you show up, you network, you make a connection and you hit the social media sphere and share what you're learning. We got the idea for this episode from a reporter in the Wall Street Journal who wrote a jazzy piece about her attendance at social media conferences and how she used the experience to share business cards, network, grab some free books, and also be a presenter and thought leader. There are so many reasons why you need to attend a conference, and I don't want to give it all away in writing. It's a quick episode and full of energy! Take a listen! Shout Outs to: Rosemary O'Neill Mark Schaefer Adam Toporek John Gregory Olson (always gets a shout out) This is The Heart of Marketing.

She's the official Ambassador of Happiness with a Circle R after that, and we're so delighted to have Maura Sweeney on the show today. She rounds out the third episode in The Happiness Series on The Heart of Marketing, and what a way to finish...or start your happiness journey. Maura shares way too much sensory overload, so trust me when I tell you (this is Jayme Soulati with John Gregory Olson) that you're highly likely to listen to this episode twice. I've now listened to it four times, and I'm hearing things for the first time from expert-on-happiness-as-a-core-lifestyle Maura Sweeney. So many people experience life with a negative vibe. Is that a choice? Maura says it is. We all have the opportunity to live positive and with mindfulness about being happier. It is a practice that when exercised provides a balance of spirit, heart core, and positivity that leads us and others around us to feel light and free. Maura Sweeney has a variety of resources she shares on her website that you can tap into. We'd like to plug you into the Ambassador or Happiness today and every day: Maura4U.com Tweet with Maura here Listen to Maura Sweeney's podcast here Read and purchase her books Hire Maura for a keynote presentation Thank you, Maura for being our guest today! We heart you! And, You Might Like our Happiness Series: Are You Happy? Dean of Happiness at the Wharton School

We're in the second episode of The Happiness Series, and today John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati are discussing the definition of happiness. When you experience life at home, in the workplace or buzzing around the world, how do you comport your emotions? Laughter, mindfulness and happiness do contribute to a more healthful life. The Harvard Business Review did a cover story on 'The Value of Happiness, How Employee Well-Being Drives Profits," in January-February 2012. It also commissioned a happiness study, and we reference many of the findings in the study within this episode. So, as you experience life, some of what we mention today may help you take an inward look at your happiness quotient. And, if you're a leader in business, are you giving your star achievers a goal to accomplish? The values happiness bring are powerful especially in the workplace. There are wonderful tips today that may make you regard people's emotions differently. This is The Heart of Marketing.

When Kembrel Jones joined the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business in 2008 as the new dean of students, he was charged with "lightening things up" at the stodgy elite business school. Essentially, the campus was a dull and boring place. The students weren't showing enough school pride, and there weren't enough programs to keep them happy. Administrators were actually peering down the road into the future knowing that alumni giving looked pretty bleak. Without happiness on campus, wallets would stay closed after graduation. Then along cam Kembrel Jones to bring in the champagne, open his heart and cell phone to 1,700 MBA students and to create a big, happy family. In this episode of The Heart of Marketing, John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati launch the happiness series with this short piece on what Mr. Jones saw and did to change up the attitude on the Wharton School campus. Listen in and then take an introspective look at your own business and see if your team is happy. If not, then you're going to take away some solid tips on how to create an atmosphere built on smiles. You Might Like Bloomberg Businessweek "Dean of Happiness"

Ever wonder whether you should write a book and if that's a good idea? In this mini (we try to make it a shortie), John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati share some solid reasons why you ought to write a book for instant cred, the experience, and the knowledge that it could lead to, well, leads. Because Amazon Createspace has made it easier to self-publish a book, many are doing just that, but the work isn't done when that book is hot off the press. Book marketing is the most important aspect of your book and the most challenging. Because there are so many titles nowadays, you need to ensure your book resonates with someone about something. Once the book comes off the printer, perhaps you want to use Braughler Books (Jayme Soulati used David Braughler twice already), then what are you going to do? We have one idea! Run and get your copy of Mark W. Schaefer's book, "Known." The craziest thing about that book? We probably mention it about 10 times on this show because Mark took the best word ever for the title of his new book (which he hinted about in episode 100 on The Heart of Marketing). Mostly, we laugh and banter A LOT in this episode, but, promise, you will learn several tips about to book or not to book!  

We've been doing a lot of talking about customer experience and often the stories we share are the ones we read. Today is no different as we grabbed a story from Fast Company to share with you the customer experience philosophies of Warby Parker and Union Square Hospitality Group (which owns Shake Shack, btw). Fast forward.... Jayme Soulati ponders during this episode while John Gregory Olson waxes and wanes about Neil Blumenthal of Warby Parker and Danny Meyer of Union Square Hospitality. Putting Customer Experience To Work Jayme is pondering because she believes the really solid philosophies about customer experience shard today by the two executives are basic. Why wouldn't you know to teach servers to look patrons in the eye when taking an order? How come having a greater degree of hospitality is anything new or finding people who are proactive, curious and passionate about Warby Parker is something difficult? In your business, do you have the people it takes to bring your own philosophy about customer experience to the forefront? We'd like to hear about it, even if it's just a short story. As you can see, John and Jayme can build an episode out of just powder! You Might Like How Vitamin Water Caters to Hustlers Cultivating Love is What Brands Should Do Putting an Emphasis on Small Businesses with @JasonFalls

Cultivate love? It's not an esoteric thing, and we can honestly say so because we swiped that phrase directly from Fast Company. We owe this podder to our favorite business publication for giving us this idea for an episode. How Brands Cultivate Love In the Fast Company story, three brands were interviewed. On today's show, we talk about two of them -- Casper and Soul Cycle. And, John Gregory Olson, co-host, shares his favorite story about Dutch Bros. cultivating love for its brand, too. When you listen, and it doesn't matter how large your brand truly is, you can get basic heart core ideas for how your brand can cultivate love every day with all of your audiences. Maybe you've heard of Casper? The mattress company you buy online from? Its website is extraordinary with such transparency and reviews flowing in by the day. It has a majority of 5-star reviews and tons of YouTube videos documenting the unpacking procedure. How does Casper cultivate love for its disruptive brand? You gotta take a listen to find out! On the other side of sleep is exercise. Soul Cycle is all about the customer engagement and giving fitness instructors freedom within framework. We love that. The entrepreneurial spirit squared; each experience on the spinning cycle is different, up to the fitness instructor yet still conforming to company values. There's a ton of discussion, too, about company values, so when you listen do recall the values you put on your employees and the heart core of your company, too. This is The Heart of Marketing with Jayme Soulati and John Gregory Olson.

Today's episode is all about how you ensure your online reputation stays positive. Jayme Soulati, our illustrious co-host tells all about how you can begin to DIY your page one Google presence with a bunch of tips. Here's the secret she uses -- Brand Yourself. You can enjoy a free or premium level services from this online reputation management platform, but Jayme recommends premium if you have a lot to solve. In this episode of The Heart of Marketing, Jayme shares a DIY case study for which she created a variety of assets, content, backlinks, site maps, and all for the purpose of moving a negative ranking down to the bottom of the first page. Did it work? You'll have to listen. Don't understand a thing written here? Listen in, and you will! John Gregory Olson attempts to chime in with some poignant questions, but Jayme insists on carrying the show; because it's her birthday month, after all! Here are some resources you can use in your own quest to have a sparkling online reputation: Moz Search Engine Land Search Engine Journal Yoast plug in for WordPress Enjoy, and go be #RockHot!

There's something about Pinterest … It is different from other social media platforms out there on 'The Webz'. If you are thinking about marketing your business, your brand or your service on Pinterest, good for you! A unique marketing opportunity awaits. But to succeed, you need to understand the different mindset of Pinterest users. And you need to understand the different kind of culture and interaction out there. Don't let that intimidate you, though. Because in this episode, we've brought in a Pinterest marketing expert to point you in the right direction. Get the inside scoop from our guest Alisa Meredith. She shares tips, strategies and examples for how companies are driving amazing amounts of traffic to their websites from Pinterest. Episode highlights: How Pinterest users use Pinterest and interact on the network The 'long game' benefits of Pinterest marketing Which businesses are best suited to generate leads from Pinterest Real world examples of Pinterest marketing success stories The anatomy of creating highly 'pinnable' images for Pinterest More on Alisa Meredith Got a question for Alisa Meredith about Pinterest? You can find her in many places IRL and on the Interwebz, too: She has recently written a book on Pinterest Promoted Pins, which has established her as a Pinterest marketing authority. She has been a featured blogger for HubSpot, Tailwind, Social Media Examiner, and of course her own blog at alisameredith.com. She is also an in-demand speaker. She has presented at the Agents of Change Conference, Social Media Examiner's Success Summit, and will appear at the upcoming Social Media Marketing World conference in San Diego this year.

In case you missed it, there is a mini renaissance happening. In our world ruled by emails, social media posts, text messages and emoji we are seeing a return of the handwritten note. Call it a mini-renaissance of analog communications to distinguish your brand in the digital world. In this episode we take a look at the resurgence of the simple handwritten note and how to use it to stand apart from your competition. Join us for a look at how going 'old school' gets you to the head of the marketing class. Episode highlights: The trend towards more handwritten communications Why a handwritten note is remarkable today Four ways a handwritten note makes a powerful statement about your brand Three tips for writing a note that resonates with your audience When was the last time you received a handwritten note? As a marketer, receiving a handwritten note makes a great impact; as a professional, sending a handwritten note is the best way to make an impact. The art of communication does, in fact, include letters, although the cost of a stamp is nearly an obstacle. And, speaking of stamps, make the extra effort to choose stamps that say something. You can always buy the flag roll, but isn't it more fun to send a stamp with something special on it because having the circus, an artist, Elvis, flowers, and sports always speaks greater on an envelope than merely Old Glory. In this episode we have a few shout outs, too: Adam Toporek is CEO of CTS Solutions, and he has been on this show in the past speaking about customer service. Adam recently shared a story of his own on the art of the handwritten note. You can access that right here. And you can find our episode with Adam about customer service right here, too. John Gregory Olson, our cohost, mentions Paperless Post. Jayme Soulati, our cohost, loves Levenger, a gorgeous writing utensil and office accessories for the professional company, as well as Cardthartic. a lovely card company with the most unique and special messages you can find to send. Mark Schaefer is always our inspiration, too. With his Content Shock approach and his tips for realtors on taking better Instagram pictures, Mark provides some fodder for today's episode.   And...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE HEART OF MARKETING! WE ARE TWO! Thanks for listening! Now, go write a handwritten note!

This episode has a ton of casual banter that truly gets relevant to the topic today. John Gregory Olson is an incredible writer with a style and tone that is unique, special and engaging. Co-host Jayme Soulati has always known this about John, and she's consistently nudged him to consider becoming an author. After two full years of The Heart of Marketing, publishing weekly without skipping a beat, John Gregory Olson has finally agreed that becoming an author is where he wants to be and go. We talk about that decision, the podcasting journey, and Jayme asks the questions that provoke John into sharing why this podcast has made him a better writer. In addition, John shares insight into why he will be that author although marketing books are a dime a dozen these days. This is more an escape from our usual fare, but it brings more inside perspective of your co-hosts on The Heart of Marketing.

You may have already been introduced to none other than Mr. Jason Falls, the Louisville-based guru of anything and everything digital marketing; however, in today's episode of The Heart of Marketing, we snare Jason unplugged. He's with Jayme Soulati (and John Gregory Olson), who leads Jason through a litany of topics on: The future of social media Can small companies compete with big brands on social The top 5 things you need to be present What is conversation research AND...what the heck is Holy Smokes Marketing?! Jason is an international speaker, influencer, and A-lister (because that's what everyone in the lead is called, apparently) who is an authority for you to know and hear. He has recommitted to small businesses to educate them about everything they're missing and everything they need to know to continue immersion in learning. Don't miss this episode as it is certain to be informative and current. Meet Jason Falls His blog is full of teaching tips. Book him to speak at your next gig. Get small business insight on lead nurturing.

Mini-episode alert! This is probably the shortest episode on The Heart of Marketing; yet, it's chock full of solid ideas for all sizes of company on how to spend $10,000. From Inc. magazine, we got this idea and decided to do our own brainstorm on how to spend $10K across the organization or just in our own marketing department. John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati proffer some ideas, and they may be ones you would consider or not. Do listen in because every business often puts its own doorstep last on the list of cash infusion or business strategy. While $10,000 is not a ton of money in business, it will ensure: 1. Consultant time with a possible gap analysis 2. Planning 3. Tradeshow participation 4. Or...just ask the team! Thanks for listening!

Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus. P.T. Barnum. The Greatest Show on Earth. Disney on Ice. Monster Truck. Do you know these brands and film? Indeed. Iconic they are and if there's one family on Earth that has endured decades of entertainment success and crisis it's the Feld Family -- owners of Ringling Bros. In the late 19th century, P.T. Barnum defied odds as the greatest circus master of all time. As technology advanced, so too did the circus. Today, the Feld family has overcome a variety of crises -- most notably whether or not to keep the elephants in its circus -- and the need to acquire a diversity of products and shows to keep people coming to the big top. Is your brand a juggling act? Listen in to The Heart of Marketing today and get some thoughts going around your big top to ensure that you're continually reinventing to be absolutely creative to keep the customers rolling in. Disruption is not going away...how you manage to handle it is up to you.

You know that company Snap Inc., formerly known as Snapchat? Well its campaign to launch Snap Spectacles is pure PR genius, and the textbooks will tell the tale time and time again. The beauty of scarcity and gamification is what made the launch of Snap Spectacles so sweet. With Snap Bots popping up with 24-hour notice in innocuous places, peeps were clamoring and racing and competing to sweep up multiples to keep, sell and laud over others unable to get in on the fun. In this episode of The Heart of Marketing, John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati weave the stories as told in the Wall Street Journal and also showcase the campaign elements that make this strategy such a success. There is so much fun in this strategy, and the timing couldn't be better as Snap Inc. readies for IPO. Take a listen and get in on some of the cleverness that should have the marketing team sweeping the PR Anvil Awards. Oh, and if you grab a pair of the specs and have a story to share, please be sure you fill us in on your experience; we'd love to know!

The 2016 POTUS election created a firestorm among advertisers; so much so that the new whisper on the street is that advertisers are missing the mark. What's the mark, you might ask? Why, it's Middle America -- that mark! Advertisers have always targeted coastal elite as their consumer of choice. Those folks who walk Michigan Avenue, Rodeo Drive and 5th Avenue with disposable income for luxurious products, you know, all the gorgeous people who inhabit the nation's largest metropolises. Today? After the election that brought the U.S. Donald Trump? NOT SO MUCH. Advertisers are definitely in a hot spot spiral without a connection to the new mainstream -- those consumers who live and breathe the fresh air of small-town and rural America. That's the new consumer, and advertisers haven't a clue how to relate with them. While Jayme Soulati heads down about three rabbit holes this episode, John Gregory Olson shares his professorial approach to what's happening and why voice of customer is so important with which to align. For sure the main point emanating from this episode is 'Get Local.' Advertiser? You're gonna have to do just that and that goes for brands, companies, businesses and the like that want to better understand the new mainstream. Collect your data. Plot some inference. Draw conclusions. And revamp the strategy. It's the only way to get in touch with the new normal.

Today's very special guest is ringleader Ms. Lorraine Ball, an 'old-school marketer' with Round Peg in Indianapolis. To get the very most from Lorraine's expertise, Jayme Soulati segmented the interview into three distinct sections: 1) What is consumer-driven content? 2) Website design and some tips for businesses 3) Future of social media -- any ideas? Lorraine has lots to say on each, and she provides excellent tips on ensuring the customer, web visitor and peruser of the Interwebz have a lot of content with which to interact, share, like, and basically help nudge to the top of the news feed. She gives perspective and concepts about specialty campaigns and how to think differently about each -- you know there's always a contest, submit your photo, or other way to interact to promote consumer-driving content, right? You'll get some good insight here, and we do encourage you to take a look at Lorraine's website because it's extremely well done. http://roundpeg.biz You're listening to The Heart of Marketing.  

CMOs are whining, and how do we know that? Just read any industry publication, like this editorial from Rance Crain in Advertising Age about CMOs missing the mark with advertising, how to reach consumers, programmatic advertising, and more advertising disrupting consumers on every platform and channel.  Here, Mr. Crain shares the latest conundrum in the marketing sector by the president of the Association of National Advertisers who 'unfolded a barrage of litanies on the failings of marketing.' Woah! Is your CMO the best human capital you can get for your business? If you look around, you'll see a ton of infighting in the C-suite where CEOs are losing trust in their CMOs ability to unite the disparate factions in the marketing realm. There are so many specialty disciplines and a 'chaotic supply chain' that CMOs and their teams are being too tactical and less visionary and strategic. How do marketers reach we consumers with the ad messages and storytelling they think we want to hear? In this episode, we address the great, big whine and then look at some suggestions in the Heart of the Matter for how your organization can insulate from the negative vibe and get beyond the budget wars in programmatic, social, direct, inbound, advertising, social marketing, PR, and more! You may like: Specialists vs. Generalists -- Episode 21 is our most popular download to date! The Almighty Consumer Hates You Advertiser is also popular and looks at the disruption by advertising across the social divide.

Marketing is enduring a highly disrupted phase, and the confidence in its abilities is waning in the C-suite. This episode of The Heart of Marketing with John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati is a conversation about the current state of marketing oriented to the confusion of people-based marketing. It's not what you think! People are not the priority of people-based marketing; advertising dollars are. Advertising is struggling to keep its foothold of power, and many larger corporations are whining about the ad blockers and lack of attention by consumers. What does this mean for smaller businesses? John and Jayme provide some encouragement about doing traditional marketing well. Get messaging in order; develop the standard marketing and public relations programs that communicate and touch people directly. Ensure brochures are thoughtful and targeted with a call to action. Make your marketing effort sustainable by getting back to the heart core of your business with values-based marketing that delivers a solid customer experience.

Getting to 100 anything, years, days, podcasts, pennies, and blog posts is a celebratory milestone we all have to commemorate. On The Heart of Marketing podcast, John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati are doing just that with a special, special guest Mark W. Schaefer, the international influencer, thought leader and digital marketing guru and author we so love. Mark shares his visionary thoughts about a variety of topics including: His new book coming in 2017 about 'being known,' a project he announced right here (!) and whether anyone can become known Discussion about what it means to be a heroic brand and being human with servant leadership graciousness. How finding a sustainable interest  keeps passion and voice alive Why he elected not to update his website for three years And, so much more Mark Schaefer owns one of the most influential brands in marketing today, and  you can follow him everywhere on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, for sure. He shares his stories about teaching at Rutgers and elsewhere; he shares news of his global speaking engagements; he writes a ton; he shares observations from the front; and he also shares guffaws with Tom Webster on his podcast The Marketing Companion. We're so thankful to be celebrating our 100th with Mark Schaefer and YOU! Tune in; this is a can't miss episode!

Podcasting tips come pretty easy to The Heart of Marketing co-hosts John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati. In this episode, we take a look over our shoulders and remember our faves and how we got to this mile marker on our journey to 100. We've never skipped a beat; publishing weekly since Feb. 2015, and we're still going strong because we love what we do. Our bootstrap operation is still that. We don't have the funding to do a mass market appeal, so we rely on word-of-mouth marketing to take our show to wider audiences. We so thank you for supporting our weekly podcast! Please share it with friends, sign up for our weekly episodes (via http://getheartmarketing.com), and send us a suggestion for a show topic, too. Today, you'll hear our 10, or so, suggestions on why our podcast is a success. What did we do to make it, bring it live, keep it fresh? I, Jayme Soulati, have my cohost to thank profusely for his work as the Chief Technical Officer who has mastered all the behind-the-scenes tech stuff. If I hadn't found John Gregory Olson via serendipity, this show could not have been possible. There's a lot to running a podcast, and there's a lot more to keeping it alive. Take a listen today; we do our customary banter and show our love for one another and YOU. Thanks for listening; now go be #RockHot!

This is probably the shortest headline we've ever written for a Heart of Marketing episode, and rightly so, we're talking about making the pitch, the ask, the sell, the cold call, and whatever else you'd like to say about some kind of sales. Everyone sells every day; from the elementary school kid selling magazines and sorority fundraising for a cause-related campaign to the employee wannabe trying to get a foot in the door. Is your pitch perfect? Probably not, and that's why this episode should give you some tips on: 1. Personalization 2. Research beforehand 3. How to write the pitch 4. Whether a deck is in order 5. Using email -- how about the subject line? 6. Cold calling -- what do you say first? Well, you get the drift, and we often forget that being short, concise, simple, and appreciative are some of the ways to make the best pitch perfect. At the end, there's a final thing you have to do and that's to 'say thanks.'

In business today, gratitude is something oft forgotten and quite necessary. There are cultures very oriented to gift-giving as gratitude. We recognize the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans for example, and in this episode we share a story about professional tennis players who receive generous gifts from Asian fans. We also talk about the Twitter thank you, why gratitude is part of value and our 5 Pillars of Heart Marketing, and also about customer delight. In this (time stamp) month of giving thanks, John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati want to express sincerely how much we appreciate YOU, our own fans and listeners for your time to hear us wax and guffaw about the very disrupted space of marketing. We HEART YOU! The Heart of Marketing, the world's very best podcast for small to medium businesses.

Don't get caught up in the opening today when Jayme Soulati goes squarely down the rabbit hole to the delight of John Gregory Olson who has to show his technical expertise by playing audio emojis every two minutes. Heh. Today is a volley where we lob a thought back and forth about traits of a marketing leader. John starts with Jayme's favorite – strategy, planning, data, and analytics. Frankly, Jayme thinks he's wrapping four traits into one. Each cohosts on The Heart of Marketing raise solid leadership qualities you need in your organization from the marketing department. John is a goal-setting guy, so that's an obvious quality. But, turning data into insights to make customers lives better is also critical. Flexibility and focus come to mind and a disciplined mind is helpful in ignoring day-to-day minutiae. The two discuss a variety of traits across leadership, team building and creativity of a marketing leader. Be sure and listen to the 'Heart of the Matter' at the end where John and Jayme provide a wrap-up viewpoint with a twist in perspective.    

That title is not really link bait because in this episode of The Heart of Marketing Jayme Soulati does speak about developing and writing a 10-minute presentation for an actual panel at SMI-Dayton, a new social media conference held in October 2016. When creating engaging and inspired content, it's important to remember the following tips: 1. Listen to the podcast (because it's a shortie as begets the length of the presentation Jayme developed). 2. Create a story, and that's what John Gregory Olson liked about what Jayme did for her presentation titled, "First Comes Love." 3. Write in your head because most really good writers are always multi-tasking in their heads while in the shower, on a hike, working out, driving, etc. 4. Find your heart core from which your story and creativity emanate 5. Listen to the podcast (LOL) Jayme gives more tips in this episode, and if you'd like to see a copy of her presentation deck, you can do so on LinkedIn, SlideShare and The Heart of Marketing website, too. We also want to shout out to Michelle Mazur who was interviewed by Jayme in a previous episode. Michelle is a professional speaking coach, and she's got a few books and courses to help you become a better speaker. In the past, we did do a very popular episode on SlideShare, and we invite you to take a listen to it; it's evergreen. Thanks for listening!

We've been talking influencers for many episodes now, and this conversation is about how you build an influencer relations program. We kinda wend our way there with solid tips in the Heart of the Matter, so listen to the end! John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati are co-hosts of The Heart of Marketing. With Jayme's perspective and orientation to public relations, and John's orientation to marketing, each brings thoughts on defining influencers and who they are. Both agree, influencers are NOT free! To build a program: Define your goals and set strategy Determine outcome and ability to measure Find the influencer with the right chemistry for your program Execute some test tactics to see if the fit is right Launch wider and see how it goes You'll get more out of this episode because we cover a lot of ground. Take a listen and let us know how you like it!

When you think about how you interact with your customers, what value do you offer to them? We think customers are pretty much spoiled and expect to receive intense value in business offerings. Since the great '08 recession, businesses had to re-jigger the value proposition and lure customers in with coupons, discounts, BOGO offers, charitable contributions, sales and giveaways (TOMS, Warby Parker), and so much more. Before you can become a values-based business, you need to understand what value means to you in business. We're talking about the emotional intangibles here, so please take a listen and get thinking about your own value proposition. In this episode of The Heart of Marketing, we look deeply into the Harvard Business Review about an article on value. When you visit http://getheartmarketing.com you will find an image of the pyramid featured in this article we reference. Perhaps you can find the value in your business and offer that up to your customers and audience.

Authenticity means trust and having integrity, and that applies in your workplace culture and even in your own life. John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati tackle this esoteric topic and try to put some arms around its definition with examples of those brands that have lead us all astray with lack of authenticity. The co-hosts spend some time dissecting the Wells Fargo debacle and discuss other brands that have recently had run ins with lack of authenticity, too. When you think of authenticity, it begins with self. Once your authentic self is established, then you need to present that in various settings that may require a blending of core values with workplace culture. There are so many angles to this topic, and the most important one is to understand the definition of authenticity as it relates to you -- where you live, where you work, and where you're going.  

Tiny Abayomi-Paul has cancer, and she's not afraid to say so. She's also one of the most intelligent entrepreneur marketers in the Heart Marketing Community and beyond. This episode is her story and our gift to her to more widely share that story and help make the ask for Tinu to fund her cancer treatment. This is a cancer fundraising story with a marketing twist because our friend, a marketer, needs your help, please. Tinu has a page at Give Forward that her friends set up. She shares images of chemo and rest days, and she shares updates of her progress. Regardless, her journey ahead is a rough one with uncertainty over how much energy it will take to heal while attempting to find the funds to pay for the treatment and without ability to service clients in her business. Tiny has given John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati the opportunity to share her story, raise the awareness about the cancer conversation, and to invite our peers to help a marketer in need. We, John and Jayme ask politely if you'll do that? Will you please Give Forward to help Tinu Abayomi-Paul meet her fundraising goals for medical necessity? Any of us who go it alone as the sole or primary breadwinner in a family are fearful of the what-if situation. That's why, when Jayme heard Tinu was ill and in need, she immediately invited Tinu to the show. What is the name of our show? The HEART of MARKETING. We could not say no to this heartful story of a marketer who is fighting cancer. Give Forward Here's Tinu's Fuuuuudge Cancer Campaign page Tweet with Tinu Here's Tinu's Blog with stuff from her journey.

Hang on to your seat, #RockHot listeners! This episode of the Heart of Marketing, our 90th, please note, is chock full of rabbit holes, a sound bite from a thought leader you may recognize from the marketing realm, discussion about what's behind the PPC click, how customer shopping is driving marketers crazy...AND...what do we mean by higher purpose in business? Whew. Seriously. Jayme Soulati, cohost, raises points about small businesses that decide to launch PPC campaigns without purpose. The problem becomes that lack of substance behind the click due to the lack of strategic purpose in developing the campaign to begin with. John Gregory Olson, cohost, raises a Millward Brown study of the top 50 fastest growing brands and shares how many bring value and purpose to customers.  At the very end of the day, we ask 'why.' Why is your business a business? Why do you do what you do for customers? And, why are customers delighted about your product and service? Purpose-driven business is not just purpose-driven marketing. It goes deeper, and that's why John raises the 5 Pillars of Heart Marketing in this episode. If you take anything away from this episode besides John razzing Jayme into fits and giggles, you'll ponder whether your business is managing to a higher purpose. (Do take a look at John's link about higher-purpose customer service; the link is accessible via his name above.)

One of our synergistic items is the fact that Jayme Soulati and John Gregory Olson have both worked directly in legal marketing. Jayme was a consultant with LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters for 12 years total, and John worked directly at Thomson. Each stint was oriented to software marketing and working with influencers to promote the brand without promoting the name of the brand! The opportunities for legal software marketing are endless, and in this episode with a B-to-B bent, we explore many: Case studies White papers Blogs and tips series Annual meetings and tradeshows Association thought leadership Speaking engagements and presentations See? Each of these tactics on their own can be inserted into your own marketing strategy with ease. B-to-B marketers still regard their challenge as different from B-to-C marketing. It very well may be; however, we're hopeful you'll find these suggestions helpful in boosting your own strategy to get in front of customers. If not, give us a shout! You can find us right here!  

Organic influence is rarely addressed on this whole influencer relations spectrum. Most of the relationships brands have with influencers is all about the paid opportunity. You know, when a fairly large brand hires influencers to stump for that brand and the influencer gets paid to do so? There has to be a disclaimer for that or else the FTC will breathe down the necks of brands and influencers, too. That said, P&G launched a huge influencer campaign with mommy bloggers. The brand was touting its new diaper and moms were all over it. Turns out the diaper wasn't working and babies behinds were getting painful rashes. Ouch. P&G turned it up a notch and enlisted support from an entire cadre of mommy bloggers to listen and turn it all around. That's a good paid influencer story. What's a good organic influencer story? In this episode of The Heart of Marketing, Jayme Soulati shares her story about becoming an influencer in public relations via development of her personal brand as a blogger. You'll hear about how that happened and the result. This influencer thing? It's all the rage right now, and in Episode 86, we share some good thoughts about the topic, too. In this episode, we give a shout out to Mark W. Schaefer and his cohost Tom Webster on The Marketing Companion podcast who just realized the fun of audio emojis. John Gregory Olson is the KING of audio emojis and has been doing them for exactly 87 episodes! When you listen, think of what we say as this: 1. Does my business need a boost with an outside influencer to help share stories about my brand to their customers who may become mine? 2. Do I have a budget to spend on a paid influencer campaign? 3. Can I do organic influence based on my ability to parlay my personal brand throughout a wider net? If you're stuck with this whole influencer thing, give us a shout. We can help you on the show with some thoughts because 3 heads are better than 1!

Mega churches are little cities. In fact, they are large corporations with tens of thousands customers, two-to-three hundred staff and internal marketing teams that function like an agency. Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota is no different. Our illustrious co-host on the Heart of Marketing John Gregory Olson is a congregant there and, moreso, he's a videographer operating cams and production for the weekly services. Our guest today is Kevin Weiers, a visual brand marketing professional for Living Word. What Kevin says is cookie cutter. You can pick it up and transfer it seamlessly to your own branding and visual marketing to rock the customer engagement. Here is only a smidge of what you will glean today from Kevin: 1. Get a response. Marketing is all about earning a response and rebranding is not always the answer. 2. Brand consistency is important across all the channels. 3. Empower the client and customer to evoke emotion. 4. Ask for feedback! Before a rebranding, which can easily fail, do the research. 5. Make a connection to the vision. We're so thankful of Kevin's time to be with us today. He shares some #RockHot insights that teach, and you can be his student. Take a listen! You can connect with Living Word Christian Center, Minnesota this way: Facebook -- https://facebook.com/livingwordmn Instagram -- @livingwordMN Twitter (in the title)

This episode of The Heart of Marketing with John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati explores the circle of influence, that old-new buzzword coming back and remaining in vogue. Back in the day, when social media was nascent, Klout took control of influence. Then folks began to dissect this gamification as foul. Triberr roared with bloggers and an influence program that paid bloggers to write for startups and brands wanting more clout. Kred was born to compete with Klout, and ohmygoodness, each of these three still exist but are mere shadows. Then Facebook reared its _____ head (you fill in the blanks), to adjust its algorithm (surprise!) again by putting friends and family first at the chagrin of publishers. What that means is the need to develop an influencer campaign. If you'd like to learn more about what that looks like or even means for your business, listen in. We'll take a look at: 1. Vetting an influencer 2. Disclaimers for influencers you hire 3. What does influencer mean, really 4. Some tips on launching such a campaign 5. Why you may consider it  

IDG is the world's largest tech and data company, or some such big descriptor, and is a large global Fortune company. Like other companies, it has a culture and it has a brand; yet, the two were misaligned. Sound familiar? We've done a Culture Series on The Heart of Marketing where we explore how culture aligns with brand and mission, vision, values. IDG looked across its corporation and realized how siloed it had become. Customers knew one specific product solution, but had no idea about others the company offered. That's a branding fail! No cross selling could occur well. There was splintered messaging, employees were uninformed, there was no chief marketing officer at the helm, and a series of other 'nots.' It was time to take action, and how did IDG do so on a global platform? EMPLOYEES. A very grassroots approach using employees was how IDG launched a brand culture revamp. Brand Ambassadors were its secret sauce, and these people were not from the marketing department!  The brand ambassadors were authentic, and became authentic influencers, too. This episode is a must-listen because it's a perfect example that you can't be too large and still need to align brand culture with mission, people, vision, customer, and values. Right? You Might Like Brand Amplification with @danielghebert of Post Beyond Our co-host @digitaljgo shares his rebrand story The pros and cons of patriotic branding

Think about your colon health. This episode is about that. If you're 50, you know you're supposed to have a baseline colonoscopy about that time, right? Well, hats off to the makers of Nolan The Colon, a 20 ft. inflatable colon wending its way to a venue near you. Traditional public relations (PR) has always worked, but it got put aside during the onset of digital marketing. Now that we're in the post-social media era (where social media is no longer new and it's become integrated into the rest of the marketing world), marketers and public relations professionals need to be creative again and use the media tour, the event strategies, and the unique to entice consumers to pay attention. It's all about clutter right now, and when an event strategist uses good old public relations, hat's off! Jayme Soulati is a veteran PR professional and John Gregory Olson is a digital marketer who integrates all the blended marketing into his campaigns. Together they are The Heart of Marketing, and this podcast would not be alive and well without you. Listen in for ideas you may want to consider for your business, whether or not it's health oriented or not. Because, consumers like a walk through a polyp-littered colon, right?

It is our great pleasure to welcome Director of Marketing Daniel Hebert of Post Beyond to the show today on The Heart of Marketing. Jayme Soulati and Daniel cover an amazing length of ground today, and you will not be disappointed with many of the following: 1. How Post Beyond helps clients target employees to spread the brand beyond the confines of the company 2. Whether it's a good thing to worry about the competition over customers 3. If disruption is creating a forward-thinking clarity or confusion? 4. Breaking silos to effectualize better sales enablement 5. My favorite question, "Is blogging dead?" This and more are what Daniel and I wax about while John Gregory Olson jumps in with his attempted funnies. There are a ton of tips here, too, and my favorite part of the interview is the very end! Thank you, Daniel Hebert of Post Beyond!

Yoga classes at the grocery store? It sounds like a weird idea. But some supermarkets are making a play to transform themselves into a place where customers will want to hang out rather than just pick up groceries and go straight home. And they're getting creative with the idea. Some of them are offering fitness classes, wine bars, facials, child care, and even putting greens, to lure customers away from online stores. It's all part of a strategy to make the grocery store a social destination by creating experiences that can't be had online. It makes you wonder … Is this a smart idea? Or is it taking experiential marketing to the point of the absurd? That's what we seek to answer in this episode. Join us for the conversation (and quite a few laughs). Episode highlights: Rethinking your business model Adapting to customer mindsets Consistency and brand experiences Building a destination community Why yoga pants stink

We all know John Gregory Olson as the #RockHot co-host of The Heart of Marketing with moi, Jayme Soulati, the ORIGINAL #RockHot whatever. Today is a special episode because I get to put John in the hot seat to pull his personal branding story from the trenches. Small Business Re-brand Every small business, and heck, even larger ones, has to endure a re-brand every now and again. John has done it now twice with an initial website migration and now with a domain change that required more content migration and starting from essentially scratch. Why Re-Brand? When you listen, you'll hear tips from a pro on the following: Whether a site migration is a negative for domain authority What is the why about whether a re-brand is necessary How podcasting has helped with writing power to revise a dead blog Naming the new entity and how message mapping is helpful Listen in today as Jayme takes the reins from John (who really doesn't like it too much), and John becomes a masterful storyteller (while still poking fun at me, heh) about rebranding his website and blog. Thanks for listening, heart marketers!

Bet you didn't know that gems in this case means the real deal -- baubles, jewels, and even more to the point -- engagement rings! There's a young man disrupting the traditionally stodgy jewelry industry with his house calls, custom designs based on storytelling the romance, intricate one-of-a-kind wedding sets for the bride and groom, and an infusion into the family jewelry business (we hasten a guess). Zameer Kassam is a millennial with a Harvard Business School education. Slated to jump into his family jewelry business, he decided to sow his oats elsewhere. But, his designer mentality beckoned, and he began designing custom engagement rings for friends who took his nuptual business viral. You know how word of mouth works, right? Assam is bucking all the traditional roadblocks and taking the customer experience to the comforts of home. Using imagery, stories, interviews, and video all in the name of love, Kassam is developing a customer experience for life. He'll not only get the wedding ring to design, but what happens when it's the 10-year-anniversary, when the babies are born and when it's Mother's Day? Probably the most uncomfortable customer experience for a man is having to open that door into a jeweler for the first time to find the engagement ring. POUNCE! The poor guy is assaulted by lurking sales professionals wanting to lure him into an expensive bauble with no prior knowledge. Enter Kassam. He's taken the jewelry-buying experience to new and comfy heights. The professionals writing about him suggest it's a new way to do PR. I disagree, but not so much in this episode. We in PR have been telling stories for years; it's just the packaging of the storytelling that makes people think it's new. Thumbs up for Kassam, for sure. He's finally disrupting an industry so staid and old guard that hopefully those guys will sit up and take note. It's about time. How can your business disrupt the tried, true and tired? Think on it as you listen to this week's episode of The Heart of Marketing with John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati. Thanks for listening! Resources Read the Forbes post on Kassam's story. A Word of Mouth episode to learn more about viral marketing. On Digital Heart: Meaningful Experiences Helpfulness and Branding on Soulati.com

Marketing funnels are not dead, contrary to what many think. Our guest today, Jeremy Reeves, is a direct-response copywriter who writes for the sales funnel. He has been so successful that in his career he has generated some $50 million for his clients...wowza. He is a podcaster, guest blogger, social media pro, and as stated an expert in funnels. How can you not listen? John Gregory Olson tries really hard to get Jeremy's secret so The Heart of Marketing can be as successful, or perhaps just a smidgeon of that success, and he does succeed in getting Jeremy to spill: Jeremy knows something about building trust to get the customer to tap into the funnel and the product at the narrow bottom. Jeremy says that funnels need to be transparent or the intention needs to be such. Funnels should add value, and customers should trust you and want to click deeper because everything you present and position needs to work hand-in-hand with the pillars of heart marketing (OK, maybe that's what Jayme Soulati said). There is so much more Jeremy covers in today's episode on The Heart of Marketing podcast.  If you have a question about funnels and whether you have to do one for your business, then this episode is for you. And, as you listen, please don't miss The Wizard of Oz connection, courtesy of John Gregory Olson! It's his fault this episode is chock full of laughs (but only in the middle and end, heh).