MATE 012 – Chris Rauschnot shares the marketing secrets of Las Vegas

Chris Rauschnot is a digital influencer, content producer and marketing consultant from Las Vegas, Nevada. I interviewed Chris at the Bellagio Hotel on The Strip, where he revealed the marketing secrets big brands can learn from Las Vegas. We also talked about influencer marketing, social media marketing, Pokémon GO, and why Chris decided to base his business in Sin City.

Chris Rauschnot
Chris Rauschnot

 

Topics and links:

  • Christopher Rauschnot describes himself as a digital influencer, brand advocate, writer, blogger and traveller. He works as a digital consultant in Las Vegas, Nevada.
  • Chris’s writing includes: blogging; reviewing products, services and travel experiences; covering celebrity appearances; and has recently been writing copy for products being launched on crowdfunding sites.
  • We recorded this episode of MATE at the Bellagio Hotel, with a beautiful view of the famous Bellagio Fountains.
Our view of the Bellagio Hotel Fountains from my hotel room, in Las Vegas.
Our view of the Bellagio Hotel Fountains from my hotel room, in Las Vegas.
Chris Rauschnot's article on HuffPost appearing next to Steve Ballmer's
Chris Rauschnot’s article on HuffPost appearing next to Steve Ballmer’s

 

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MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.

MATE 011 – Maneesh Sethi explains how to change your bad habits using Pavlok

Maneesh Sethi is a serial entrepreneur and a serial troublemaker. He’s the founder of Pavlok, a habit-changing wearable wristband which gives you electric shocks. His career is pervaded with shocking (no pun intended!) stories … like the time he bought his own private island; the story of how he wrote a best-selling book at 14 years-old; or when he had a heated argument with billionaire Mark Cuban on Shark Tank. Maneesh has spent time working with some of the all-time best business thinkers, and in this episode of MATE he shares the business advice he personally received from the likes of Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin and Richard Branson.

Maneesh Sethi recording MATE 011
Maneesh Sethi recording MATE 011

 

Topics and links:

  • What is bootstrapping a company?
  • The Outsiders, by William N. Thorndike, which analyses unconventional CEOs and what made them successful.
  • Maneesh explains why Series A parties are bullshit. You’re buying drinks with borrowed money.
  • Pavlok follows the growth philosophies outlined in Scaling Up, by Verne Harnish.
  • Hear the best business advice Maneesh ever received from Seth Godin

 

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MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.

MATE 010 – Bob Knorpp on building a successful brand, advertising and marketing strategy

Bob Knorpp is a consultant and a podcaster. He works with businesses to help them understand their brands and solve their big marketing problems. I met Bob on the sunny rooftop of his building in midtown Manhattan, where we discussed: what is a brand, how do you build a successful brand, how to develop effective content marketing and what happens if brands stop advertising? Bob is a self-taught marketing professional who also teaches a Master’s Degree at NYU.

Bob Knorpp recording MATE 010
Bob Knorpp recording MATE 010

 

Topics and links:

  • How to demonstrate your value using an effective elevator pitch
  • The start-up world gets too bogged-down with what their product does (i.e. the functional benefit) rather than understanding who their customer is and what your brand means to them (i.e. the intangible benefits). Think like the customer: “What’s in it for me?”
  • “A brand is not what you say to people in your marketing communications, a brand is how you do business, a brand is your identity …” ~ Bob Knorpp
  • “Your brand is not your logo; your brand is the experience of the consumer with your product or with your service. Your brand is built up through experience, after experience, after experience. And ultimately the logo is just a reminder of an experience that you had.” ~ Bob Knorpp
  • What happens if brands stop advertising?
  • Who’s doing brand advertising well? Apple, Zappos and Amazon.
  • Seth Godin talks about being remarkable … i.e. something people remark on. Make your product experience amazing and the brand looks after itself.
  • Why you need brand advocates and how to generate them
  • “A great idea for an ad does not bring people to your product. What it does is it might incite a little bit of trial, and if they’re not having an amazing experience with the product they’re never going to come back.” ~ Bob Knorpp
  • The fancy Himalayan Rock Salt phenomenon
  • Using borrowed interest to build your brand, and why it’s not always the best idea.
  • What is the difference between brand advertising and direct response marketing?
  • “No matter how many different medias come into play, we do three things in marketing. We either brand, we do direct response or we do public relations … So, we have three initiatives. Every other thing that we do in marketing is a media choice. So, there is no such thing as digital marketing or social media marketing … These are just media choices that we can execute any of the three core initiatives of marketing across.” ~ Bob Knorpp
  • Why does McDonald’s need to maintain brand awareness through advertising when they are one of the most recognisable brands in the world?
  • Has anyone ever tried stopping advertising and seeing what happens? Yes, Pepsi skipped their annual Super Bowl campaign in 2010 and it was catastrophic to their sales.
  • What is a notary republic?
  • “The biggest challenge for marketers is to stop what they’re doing and pay attention to what’s going on around them.” ~ Bob Knorpp
  • Where did the name for the podcast The BeanCast come from? (And Bob explains why The BeanCast is a stupid name for a marketing podcast!)
  • Here’s a photo of the beautiful Manhattan cityscape view Bob and I witnessed, as we recorded this podcast:
Our beautiful view of the Manhattan city skyline from Bob's rooftop, while recording MATE 010 in the sunshine. ☀️🏙️
Our beautiful view of the Manhattan city skyline from Bob’s rooftop, while recording MATE 010 in the sunshine. ☀️🏙️
  • We’re starting to see more and more branded podcasts (in fact Bob has been involved in producing a few). Can these be successful marketing plays?
  • How to create successful content marketing
  • What’s exciting (and terrifying) your right now? Cognitive advertising. IBM has coined the term and is experimenting with cognitive advertising using their Watson initiative.
  • What’s pissing you off right now? The evangelists for specific marketing techniques: single-channel experts (e.g. social media experts, word of mouth experts). These approaches are plain ignorant and don’t consider the need to achieve overarching marketing objectives, regardless of the channel used.
  • Who should I interview next? Mitch Joel. “He will not only be your toughest interview subject, but he will put you on the spot, because he is one of the smartest people I know.” ~ Bob Knorpp
  • Mitch Joel also has a great podcast called Six Pixels of Separation

 

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Connect with MATE:

 

MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.

MATE 009 – Joel and Maria House on SEO mastery and how to travel the world with your business

Joel and Maria House are a Brisbane couple who are travelling the world with their SEO business. I asked them: what is SEO, why is it important and how do you master it? Joel and Maria share the key tips on how to structure your business to enable you to travel the world. And … we get really deep and meaningful to discuss life purpose, knowing your “Why”, and how to build a happy and fulfilling life. I met these fellow Aussies and recorded the first international edition of MATE at the WeWork coworking space in Dumbo, Brooklyn, New York, USA.

Joel and Maria House recording MATE 009
Joel and Maria House recording MATE 009

 

Topics and links:

  • Organic Google traffic provides the best business leads
  • What is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?
  • The top 10 links on Google get almost 3/4 of all click-throughs
  • What is Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising?
  • What’s the difference between Search Engine Marketing (SEM), SEO and PPC?
  • If you’re not on the first page of Google, you don’t exist!
  • White-hat SEO vs Black-hat SEO
  • The business life rule of: “Don’t be a dick!”
  • Why Maria and Joel work as a small company rather than a big corporation
  • Everything in New York City is on such a grand scale
  • Marketing in New York City is much more aggressive, direct and competitive than in Australia.
  • The economics of running a business in the USA vs Australia. A business needs only to be mildly successful in the USA to make radically more money than in Australia, due to the sheer difference in population!
  • Coupons and loyalty cards are massive in America. Every retail business category (e.g. drug stores, supermarkets, department stores, etc.) has their own branded loyalty card.
  • Casper mattresses advertise everywhere (including: subways, outdoor ads, taxis, social media, etc.) and are super-stringent at tracking all their marketing effectiveness coupon codes.
  • What’s it like being married and working together?
  • Do you ever have challenges switching off from work, given that you live together?
  • Why doing what you love makes it easier to focus and enjoy life more
  • The key tips on how to structure your business to enable you to travel the world
  • Why travelling while working is the best way to set yourself up for life
  • It’s important to know your overarching goals (knowing your “Why”), because it helps you make better decisions.
  • Joel and Maria started their careers by building an eBay business, after learning how to do so using a course called “eBay Magic”.
  • Why there’s no college or university degree for SEO
  • How big is the SEO industry? Apparently it’s worth $65 billion!
  • Sometimes you can better grow a business by niching it rather than expanding it
  • What have you had to sacrifice to build the business/life you want?
  • Being outside your comfort zone is where all the magic happens
  • Joel talks about the Tony Robbins documentary, “I’m Not Your Guru” (produced by Netflix).
  • It’s not achievement in life that makes you happy; it’s growth.
  • It’s not achievement in life that makes us happy, it’s the journey towards it. It’s who we become—or the process of becoming—that we gain fulfilment from.
  • Happiness is derived from the pursuit of meaningful goals
  • Maria and Joel call-out Gary Vee to come on MATE podcast!

 

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Connect with MATE:

 

MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.

MATE 008 – Tommy McCubbin on why advertising sucks, avoiding start-up mistakes and podcasting

Tommy McCubbin—advertising Creative Director, dad and podcaster—joins me on MATE to discuss why he thinks advertising sucks, how to avoid the #1 start-up mistake and share his thoughts on podcasting. We jump right into his controversial opinions about the advertising industry and why traditional ads don’t work. Tommy reveals the harsh truth behind why his start-up failed and the warning signs he ignored. And we also talk about exciting new technology, trends in podcasting and how to succeed with side projects.

Tommy McCubbin recording MATE 008
Tommy McCubbin recording MATE 008

 

Topics and links:

    • Tommy’s podcast: Future Sandwich.
    • Family (not work) is the only thing that ultimately matters.
    • Writing lists to be productive
    • OmniFocus, the to-do list app mentioned in MATE episode 004, with Leigh Price.
    • Written lists reduce stress and get things out of your head
    • Why traditional ads suck (why we should be creating platforms and products instead of campaigns).
    • What does an advertising Creative Director do?
    • Why is advertising work called “the creative”?
    • Advertising teams were originally organised into departments by discipline; there’s a documentary film about it called Art & Copy.
    • The shift towards everyone in an ad agency being “creative”.
    • Happy Wife, Tommy’s gift reminder app (which has since been shuttered).
    • WhisperTip, bringing pub sports tipping to the 20th century.
    • Why you shouldn’t fall in love with your start-up idea
    • Prove your concept by trying to extract cash from people for your start-up prototype
    • Friends are the worst judges of your start-up because they’re inherently biased
    • The Future Sandwich podcast was modelled off Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
    • The trend of narrative journalism in podcasts (i.e. shows with a “story arc”).
    • Recent Future Sandwich episodes:
    • Here’s the video of PJ Vogt talking about how the best podcasters on Earth don’t even really know what they’re doing:

$5 cash for 5x episodes of MATE ad-free
$5 cash for 5x episodes of MATE ad-free

 

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MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.

MATE 007 – Tarron Newman on revolutionising Australia’s emergency management with data

Tarron Newman—Co-founder of RIPE Intelligence—joins me on MATE to discuss how he revolutionised Australia’s emergency management with data. Through the creation of their product, EmergencyAUS, Tarron and his co-founder Luke were able to collate public emergency data when government agencies could not. Today, EmergencyAUS is the most popular national emergency information app in Australia. In episode 7 of MATE, we talk about how they created their product and built their company. We also explore the highs and lows of life as an entrepreneur. And … Tarron tells me the deep, dark, secret that his ‘I made it moment’ is the day he buys his helicopter. 🚁

Tarron Newman recording MATE 007
Tarron Newman recording MATE 007

 

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Connect with MATE:

 

MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.

MATE 006 – Ryan McLeod on designing and coding Blackbox, the frustratingly innovative iPhone game!

Ryan McLeod—designer and developer of Blackbox for iPhone—talks to me via Skype about how and why he came up with this crazy idea for an iPhone puzzle game. We talk about some of the design challenges he encountered while making Blackbox, and explore what life is like as an indie developer (when the hordes of fans come bashing on your door wanting new levels!). Ryan also discusses the principles of good design, and what it’s been like creating an interaction-heavy game without a formal design background. It’s a fascinating and hilarious chat!

📲 DOWNLOAD Blackbox, the iPhone puzzle game (FREE on the App Store).
🎥 WATCH VIDEO of this episode on YouTube (the video of our Skype call).

Ryan McLeod recording MATE 006
Ryan McLeod recording MATE 006

Note 1: You should download the game Blackbox (it’s FREE) on iPhone before listening to this episode, as it will give you some context for the discussion I have with Ryan.

Note 2: Since I recorded the video from my Skype call with Ryan, I decided to test out a video edition of MATE for this episode. You can watch the discussion on YouTube if you’d like some additional visual stimulation.

 

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Connect with MATE:

 

MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.

MATE 005 – Saul Flores on strategy, innovation and what he learned at Stanford Business School

Saul Flores—Chief Strategy Officer at DT—chats today about business strategy, the myths of innovation and what he’s learned through some of his crazy jobs in management. Saul has a Master’s Degree and is also a Stanford Business School graduate, and he shares his wealth of knowledge from these endeavours. We also talk about how he’s done so well in his short career, how to optimise for the best business outcomes and what it means to be a “highly trained logical-cynic with pragmatic-idealism”.

Saul Flores recording MATE 005
Saul Flores recording MATE 005

 

Links and resources:

Thomas A. Edison Laboratories (Image source: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.nj1222/photos.112609p)
Thomas A. Edison Laboratories (Image source: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.nj1222/photos.112609p)

 

Quotes:

  • “Getting the job a McMaster-Carr was turning point number one [in my career]. Stanford was [the second] big turning point for me.” ~ Saul Flores
  • MATE: “Do you experience impostor syndrome?” SF: “Constantly. I think that’s been a factor in every new job I’ve ever had.”
  • “I was 27 when [DT’s CEO] Brian reached out to me, 28 when I started at DT and still 28 when I started as Strategy Director.” ~ Saul Flores
  • MATE: “Looking back at your career, and education, do you have an ‘I made it’ moment?” SF: “Not really. I think the more I’ve worked the more I’ve realised there’s more to do.”
  • “You’re a highly trained logical-cynic, and a value you have is pragmatic-idealism. What the fuck does that mean?!” ~ Adam Jaffrey
  • “Innovation is solving a problem that hasn’t been solved before, or a different way of solving the same problem, in a way that you get value from it in a marketplace.” ~ Saul Flores
  • “Innovation is mostly iterative, it’s mostly collaborative, and it’s rarely some brand-new invention the world’s never seen before.” ~ Saul Flores
  • “The reality of it is, there’s no one silver bullet that makes you innovative. It’s an organisational design process. There’s culture, there’s resourcing, there’s structures, there’s technologies, there’s tools, and … there’s a commitment. The most important ingredient is failure. You just have to fail a bunch if you want to try something new.” ~ Saul Flores
  • “I think ‘fast-mover’ [instead of first-mover] is important. So, when you know a move is a good move to make, get there quickly. You don’t have to be the first one. If you’re optimising for first, you’re not optimising for a lot of other things, like: do it well, do it cheaply, server a real need, etc.” ~ Saul Flores
  • “I don’t like to predict the future, I really try not to. I hate writing a 3-year roadmap for a client because I’m just making it up at that point, and they’re never going to follow it anyway.” ~ Saul Flores

 

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Connect with MATE:

 

MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.

MATE 004 – Leigh Price on social analytics, working in start-ups and being a nerd

Leigh Price—self-proclaimed social analytics nerd—explains what the field of social analytics is, what it’s useful for and why businesses should use it. We talk about good reports (and bad), and Leigh tells us why he loves working in start-ups. Towards the end, Leigh makes some fascinating predictions about the future of social media. He also reveals a to-do list app, which he endearingly promotes with the statement: “It has changed my life! Look at me, I’m raving about it. I spent 200-fucking-dollars on this thing [app]!”

Leigh Price recording MATE 004
Leigh Price recording MATE 004

 

Links and resources:

 

Quotes:

  • “We wouldn’t include anything in a report if it didn’t include an insight.” ~ Leigh Price
  • “The really interesting things happen for the people who live in the space that’s in between being ‘just outside your comfort zone’ and ‘I’m fucking terrified!'” ~ Adam Jaffrey
  • “I think I’m lucky because I’m a massive fucking nerd. I love talking about this stuff with anyone. It’s genuinely interesting to me to hear what people are doing [with these tools].” ~ Leigh Price
  • “If people need help, they’ll tell you what they want. In a sales role, you just have to listen to what people are saying. They will tell you quite explicitly what they’re trying to do.” ~ Leigh Price
  • “Reports should be insight-driven, not vanity-driven.” ~ Leigh Price

 

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Connect with MATE:

 

MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.

MATE podcast is now live on iTunes

Great news … MATE podcast is now live on iTunes! Subscribe right now and if you like what you hear, please leave a nice review.

Get it on iTunes badge

It’s taken over a year of planning (actually, most of it was procrastination), but about a month ago I snapped into gear and started producing episodes. Just last week the email came through confirming we’re live on the iTunes Store. MATE podcast now has three episodes produced and we’re well on our way to becoming Australia’s best marketing and technology podcast. Stay tuned, there’s plenty more on the way … 😉

MATE podcast iTunes approval email
MATE podcast iTunes approval email
MATE podcast is now live in the Podcasts app (iPhone 6s Plus space grey)
MATE podcast is now live in the Podcasts app (iPhone 6s Plus space grey)