Beer & Brands

Beer & Brands is a video podcast series where Brand Federation and marketing industry leaders Kelly O’Keefe and Matt Williams discuss brands, brand strategy, and tactics over beers. Also, every month, members around the Federation share their "cold take" on current events in the business of brands.

Beers & Brands

Episode 26

2024 Naughty & Nice List for Brands

Join BF for a 2024 brand recap of ones with dissonance on what they're known for, ones who have done some really great work, and ones to watch next year.

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Cold Take #28

Beers & Brands

Omnicom & IPG

Matt Williams talks about the big news in the advertising industry earlier this week: the merger of two big holding companies, Omnicom and Interpublic.

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Cold Take #27

Beers & Brands

Starbucks, Nike, & Getting Brands Back to Their Core

Matt Williams applauds the first moves of the new CEOs at Starbucks and Nike: focusing on getting their brands back to their core.

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Cold Take #26

Beers & Brands

Brands & The New CEO Effect

Matt Williams and Rian Chandler-Dovis discuss the branding implications of the latest trend in the C-suite: new external CEOs coming in.

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Cold Take #25

Beers & Brands

Bandit Running

Bandit Running shares an important lesson for any challenger brand.

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Cold Take #24

Beers & Brands

Brands & Trust

A Gallup Report on confidence in US institutions spurs a hefty discussion by Kelly O'Keefe and Matt Williams on the currency of brands: trust.

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Cold Take #23

Beers & Brands

Gap & Reinvigorating the Flagship Brand

Matt Williams breaks down Gap's reinvigoration in the wake of their quarterly earnings that saw growth in all of their brands for the first time in years.

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Cold Take #22

Beers & Brands

Sesame Street, Raising Cane's, and Culture

Kelly O'Keefe and Rian Chandler-Dovis talk about how culture is the glue between brands and the integrity of organizations across time, media, and space.

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Cold Take #21

Beers & Brands

Howard Schultz's on Starbucks & Apple's iPad Crush! Ad

Kelly O'Keefe and Matt Williams found a through line that connects two branding new stories about two big brands: Starbucks and Apple.

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Cold Take #20

Beers & Brands

General Electric (GE) & Brand Portfolio Management

Kelly O'Keefe and Matt Williams unravel the business and brand strategy behind the break up of conglomerate, General Electric, into three separate brands.

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Cold Take #19

Beers & Brands

Boeing & Crisis Brand Management

Kelly O'Keefe and Matt Williams navigate crisis brand management with the "new CEO" of Boeing.

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Cold Take #18

Beers & Brands

Unilever & Ben & Jerry's

Kelly O'Keefe and Rian Chandler-Dovis discuss the branding implications for conglomerate, Unilever, after recent news of spinning off Ben & Jerry's.

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Cold Take #17

Beers & Brands

Walmart's Manager Academy

Matt Williams gives a high five to Walmart for their program, the Manager Academy, because of something we feel really strongly about at Brand Federation.

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Cold Take #16

Beers & Brands

Wendy's & Dynamic Pricing

Matt Williams explores the Wendy's dynamic pricing fiasco and what it meant for CEOs and when the pricing model makes sense.

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Cold Take #15

Beers & Brands

State of Work, Q1 2024

Rian Chandler-Dovis dives deep on the impact of return to office on productivity, communications on RTO mandates, and shifts in corporate real estate.

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Cold Take #14

Beers & Brands

M&A Branding Considerations with Capital One & Discover Financial

In this Cold Take, Kelly O'Keefe and Matt Williams discuss the branding implications after the proposed acquisition of Discover by Capital One.

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Cold Take #13

Beers & Brands

Reactions to Super Bowl 2024 Advertising

Kelly O'Keefe and Matt Williams talked all about Super Bowl LVIII Advertising: favorites, least favorites, and overall observations from the big game.

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Cold Take #12

Beers & Brands

Organic vs Manufactured Buzz

Kelly O'Keefe and Matt Williams talked all about buzz ahead of the Super Bowl tomorrow in their latest Cold Take.

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Cold Take #11

Beers & Brands

Follow-Ups on Apple & OpenAI

It's been a couple weeks into 2024, and Matt Williams has updates on some brands that we're watching on Santa's Watch List from the last Beer & Brands.

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Episode 24

Beers & Brands

2023 Naughty & Nice List for Brands

Brand Federation's third annual Naughty & Nice List for Brands is here! Kelly O'Keefe and Matt Williams made their list and they've checked it twice.

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Cold Take #10

Beers & Brands

Bridging the Gap Between CEOs and Their CMOs

In response to a recent McKinsey study, Matt Williams identifies reasons why there's a gap between CEOs and their CMOs and how to bridge the gap.

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Cold Take #9

Beers & Brands

Follow-Ups on Bud Light & WeWork

Matt explains how Garth Brooks shows Bud Light why it's better for brands to stand up for their convictions, not abandon them.

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Cold Take #8

Beers & Brands

Barnes & Noble & The Boundaries of Brand Identity

Matt Williams and Kelly O'Keefe discuss some lessons from a national book retailer's new brand plan.

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Cold Take #7

Beers & Brands

Delta Airlines & Admitting Mistakes

Kelly O'Keefe discusses an important lesson for brands to admit their mistakes with an example of an airline that met some unintended brand turbulence.

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Cold Take #6

Beers & Brands

Taylor Swift & The Eras Tour

Ashley Devereux, a brand strategist at Brand Federation, highlights three lessons brands can take from Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.

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Episode 23

Beers & Brands

Speaking Brands and Marketing with a Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Kelly and Matt are joined by Keith Middleton (Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Fahrenheit Advisors) who shares insight into how CFOs see branding and marketing.

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Cold Take #5

Beers & Brands

Smucker's & The $5.6 Billion Hostess Acquisition

Kelly O'Keefe, Matt Williams, and Keith Middleton give their thumbs up on Smucker's acquisition of Hostess for $5.6 billion dollars.

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Cold Take #4

Beers & Brands

Smucker's & Core Weeks

Rian Chandler-Dovis shared her cold take this week on return-to-office policies and a new Gallup report on remote work.

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Cold Take #3

Beers & Brands

WeWork & Mutant Brands

Matt Williams cites WeWork as an example of what happens when branding is used to cover for a crappy business.

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Cold Take #2

Beers & Brands

Airbnb & Maui Wildfires

Kelly O'Keefe shares his "cold" take on a brand's response to wildfires in Maui, Airbnb.

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Episode 22

Beers & Brands

Zooming in on Remote Work

Rian Chandler-Dovis joins Kelly and Matt to discuss her podcast, remote work, and a video conferencing platform,

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Episode 21

Beers & Brands

Brands - Know and Stand Up for Your Values

Kelly and Matt discuss the overlap with values and brand strategy, how to respond when a brand's values are threatened, and how to prepare to defend them.

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Episode 20

Beers & Brands

Effective Content Marketing

Ron Carey joins Kelly and Matt to talk about the effective of use content marketing, the impact of AI on content and brand, and Tilt Creative + Production.

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Cold Take #1

Beers & Brands

Anheuser-Busch & Dylan Mulvaney

Kelly and Matt share their "cold" take on Anheuser-Busch's partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, the reactions it got, and how the brand responded.

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Episode 19

Beers & Brands

Brand Strategy Fundamentals: Research

Kelly and Matt welcome Erin Bishop this month to discuss why research is essential, how it’s done, and what it means for brands.

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Episode 18

Beers & Brands

Lean Branding: Brand Building on a Budget

Kelly and Matt discuss the concept of lean branding, how startups can start building a brand, and this month's winners and losers.

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Episode 17

Beers & Brands

Brands and Creative Expression

Dave Muhlenfeld, co-founder of English Major LLC, discusses the creative process and plays a juicy jingle about the jingle that inspired his career.

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Episode 15

Beers & Brands

2022 Naughty & Nice List for Brands

Kelly and Matt made their lists and they've checked them twice. They're gonna tell you about the CEOs and brands that have been naughty and nice.

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Episode 14

Beers & Brands

Unlocking Value Where Brand Meets Culture

Kelly and Matt chat with Laura Bowser (Managing Director of the Human Capital practice at Fahrenheit Advisors) about brands and culture.

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Episode 13

Beers & Brands

University Branding and Big Marketing Ideas

Kelly and Matt meet with Kevin Best (AVP, Marketing at VCU), and chat about marketing the brand of a university, the brand of football, and Richmond.

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Episode 12

Beers & Brands

Lessons from Four Years in Business

Kelly and Matt reflect on Brand Federation's first four years, offering valuable insight to both brand and business leaders.

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Episode 11

Beers & Brands

Presenting Strategically & Quitting Quietly

Kelly and Matt go way beyond "knowing your audience" in this insightful discussion about preparing and delivering persuasive presentations.

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Episode 10

Beers & Brands

Marketing in a Recession and Virtual Culture Building

Brand Federation partner Rian Chandler-Dovis joins Beer & Brands to help brand leaders navigate marketing in a recession and remote work.

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Episode 9

Beers & Brands

Balancing In-House Resources with Outside Expertise

Kelly O’Keefe and Matt Williams are at Isley Brewing addressing a thorny marketing question: Should I keep this project in-house or hire outside experts?

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Episode 8

Beers & Brands

Making the Brand Argument with Senior Leaders

Kelly and Matt visit Richmond’s Castleburg Brewery to share practical advice with marketing leaders who face branding skepticism from senior executives.

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Episode 7

Beers & Brands

We Stand with Ukraine

Kelly O'Keefe and Matt Williams discuss the role of brands beyond commerce, their responsibility, and their influence.

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Episode 6

Beers & Brands

Exploring Brand Purpose

In the wake of investor unrest about Unilever's performance, Kelly and Matt discuss purpose branding and its role in business strategy.

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Episode 5

Beers & Brands

Naughty and Nice List for Brands 2021

Just in time for the holidays, Kelly O'Keefe and Matt Williams visit The Veil to "unveil" the brands that made their naughty and nice lists in 2021.

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Episode 4

Beers & Brands

Great Reprioritization, Political Brands, and Meta

Kelly O'Keefe and Matt Williams look at what's ahead for brands in 2022, explore the Great Reprioritization, breakdown political brands, and rip Meta.

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