Suzie Bao, IW Group's new VP Account Director for McDonald's stopped by the Bad Pod to talk about...

• Joy work; engaging career growth and creativity with a focus on multicultural representation
• Lessons on finding mentorship early and often; the courage it takes to embrace people willing to tell you what you are bad at
• Accelerating and championing Asians in Advertising, a non profit organization dedicated to elevating traditionally overlooked voices and faces.
• Superpower: being a “fixer” and “client whisperer” — someone who packages an idea in a way that will get it across the finish line
• “It’s so nice to not be the only. I collaborate with clients that want to be a cultural icon.”
• Virtually every brand wants to capture the Gen Z audience. To them, multicultural marketing IS marketing.
• Learning by osmosis: "I know how to be an Account person. I’m NOT a strategist, so how can I become more strategist? I hang out with Strategists. I'm NOT a creative, so I hang out with creatives. I rather be around what I cannot do for a living."
• “Account is a thankless role and people often don’t fully appreciate it until I leave”

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You'll be glad you caught this one. Matt Johnson has paved his ad career as a strategist and now agency founder with determination, humility, and of, course, a heaping helping of creativity. He cut his teeth at some of the most iconic names in LA advertising; Goodby, 72&Sunny, 180LA, and now Haymaker

Matt tells us about sharing an alma mater with Dan Weiden and “growing up” in his career path alongside the rise of Jordan in the ‘80s when, for the first time, a single athlete was defining the culture of sports and beyond.

Episode Quotes:

• Almost leaving advertising: “when you’re a competitive person, and a really hard worker, advertising is really easy to get sucked up into because it’s such a tough business and demands a competitive fire.”
• “There’s never an end to the work… you could go forever.”
• "Strategy IS creative." Say it back.
• On new business: “Hire the partner not the idea”
• On modeling the agency: "Haymaker is a reflection of the founders’ partnership and friendship"
• Industry friction/ truth: “Not everyone can eat a Creative Idea”
• On life: “I found my way into opportunity and listened.”

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• Introducing our guest all the way from Lincoln, Nebraska… Clint Runge, CEO & Founder of Archrival!
• Turns out, advertising was a second chapter for Clint, who actually started out in architecture and design.
• Archrival is a youth culture agency setting out to reinvent how brands with the hearts and minds of young adults, teens to twenty-somethings.
• Clint and his team of 65 have worked with brands like Spotify, Adidas, and Epic Games, and they aren’t slowing down.
• “Rewriting the Ten Z playbook” - Vogue, March 2024
• Gen Z is breaking the traditional marketing funnel, moving away from a top-down broadcast model towards a bottom-up, grassroots approach to building brand identity
• We chat about the job search, career satisfaction, creativity vs creativity management

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After 3 years and over 60 guest interviews, The Bad Pod co-founder, Amelia is leaving the podcast.

AND Eric L. Hu, Head of Strategy FinTech at Walmart and our episode 37 guest from August '22, is taking over as co-host!

Eric & Brian talk with Amelia about the pod past, our futures, what makes the work "worth it," and what is most important in our professional lives.

Please join us in bidding a fond farewell to Amelia and wishing her all the best as she continues to dominate over at VML Chicago!

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Look no further than this episode's thumbnail image to see that Ryan Mack likes doing things differently. And it's that ability to go with his gut, even and especially when unconventional, that has ushered him through a truly inspiring career.

In his words, Ryan Mack's special talent is making small things medium. As the former President of Virtue Worldwide, he did just that, building Vice's agency into an advertising juggernaut.

As Chief Commercial Officer at Made In Network, he has overseen the brand-building of cultural superstars like Matty Matheson, Action Bronson, and many more. This episode is a masterclass in modern creator marketing and what big brands are missing in the conversation of how to stay relevant.

Episode Links:
Made In Network
Matty Matheson on YouTube
Babish Culinary Universe

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It's the Happiest of New Years here at The Bad Pod because we finally got to sit down with the co-founders of our long-time sponsors, Book 180!

Sarah Latz & Francesca Piancone were PR & Agency professionals who moonlighted as instructors at Chicago Portfolio School. And it's there where they first began to get the idea for another way to do this whole portfolio school thing, and where their friendship blossomed into a co-foundership.

And the results are in! It. is. working. Graduates of Book180's programs are getting hired. Listen in to get their expert take on what's working and not working in modern advertising education, hiring, job seeking, and more.

Episode Links:
Book180.com
Sarah Latz on LinkedIn
Francesca Piancone on LinkedIn

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In episode 65 of The Bad Pod, An Ad Pod, we delve into the mind of Ian Baer, an advertising maven with a storied 35-year career at the helm of industry giants like Publicis and TBWA. Ian recounts how the classic sitcom "Bewitched" sparked his initial fascination with advertising, setting him on a path to become a strategic powerhouse in the field.

From his early inspirations to his revolutionary work at Sooth, Ian provides a masterclass in advertising strategy and its evolution. Throughout our discussion, Ian shares his unique approach to dissecting popular campaigns, extracting strategic insights that have driven his success and led to transformative results in marketing effectiveness. Tune in for an episode packed with valuable lessons from a true industry veteran.

Episode Links:
soothbetold.com

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Allie LeFevere and her co-founder/best friend, Lyndsay Sanders, have been using clever concepts and witty wordplay to grow a wide range of brands, like Blue Bunny ice cream, Native cosmetics, the LA Rams, CMT, and a slew of other organizations across myriad industries.

We talk about why humor works, why brands are scared of it, the sweet spot that comes with knowing your niche, and how your side hustle doesn't have to be your career.

Episode Links:
Obedient Agency
Brandsplaining
Can they brand that? YouTube
Fangasm Pod

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