Épisodes

  • How to Turn Social Media Virality into Community | Angela Trotti, Consultant + Founder of Jelly Seashells

    How to Turn Social Media Virality into Community | Angela Trotti, Consultant + Founder of Jelly Seashells
    Oct 8 2026
    In this episode, we sit down with Angela Trotti, founder of Jelly Seashells and social media consultant, for a conversation that spans agency life, in-house brand management, and building a creator business from scratch. Angela started her career in a nonprofit, found her way into social media through an agency — where she and Cassie first crossed paths — spent six years leading social for Mental Floss under Minute Media, and eventually turned a love of seashells and the Florida coast into a growing creator brand with surf retreats in Costa Rica and Portugal and a consulting practice of her own. She gets refreshingly honest about what brands consistently get wrong when briefing creators, what it actually takes to make social content feel native rather than forced, why going viral is only the beginning of building something lasting, and the one piece of advice she would give anyone sitting on an idea they have not launched yet.Key Takeaways:// Going viral is the starting point, not the destination. Any piece of content can blow up at any moment. What separates creators who build lasting careers from one-hit wonders is what they do after the moment — how they show up consistently, stay true to their voice, and turn casual viewers into a real community.// Community means giving people something to walk away with. An engaged audience watches and reacts. A community comes back because they know they will leave with something — an idea, an experience, a connection. Angela built hers through workshops, surf retreats, and being genuinely reachable through DMs.// Brands need to trust the creators they hire. The briefing process often fails because brands say they want something authentic and then hand over a bullet list of required talking points. If you hired a creator because their audience trusts them, let them lead the creative direction. That trust is exactly what you are paying for.// Brand guidelines exist to help you play, not just to restrict you. Knowing your brand's lane is what makes it possible to jump on a trend in a way that feels earned rather than desperate. The brands that do it well are the ones who have done the foundational work first.Connect with Angela: LinkedIn | Instagram | Jellysseashells@gmail.com____Join the MHH Collective! The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collectiveSay hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠Join the MHH Collective: ⁠Join now⁠Get the latest marketing trends, open jobs and MHH updates, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow MHH on Social: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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    21 min
  • A Brand Reputation and Communications Masterclass | Kamara Turner, McDonald's

    A Brand Reputation and Communications Masterclass | Kamara Turner, McDonald's
    Oct 1 2026
    Kamara Turner is back for her third appearance on Marketing Happy Hour, and this time she is bringing insights from her newest chapter: Supervisor of U.S. Enterprise Communications at McDonald's, where she has been navigating the world of internal and corporate communications after years of brand and external PR experience at Walgreens, PepsiCo, Ulta Beauty, and The Coca-Cola Company. In this conversation, Kamara opens up about what it is like to communicate for one of the most personally meaningful brands in the world, how she thinks about the difference between building a community versus an engaged audience, her nuanced approach to using AI as an organizational tool without letting it replace her writing, and the career lesson that has stuck with her most: not all great ideas will see the light of day, and that is okay. She also shares a standout influencer campaign from her Pulse and Perspective newsletter and walks through how she keeps cross-functional stakeholders aligned when everything is moving fast. Key Takeaways:// When you work for a brand everyone already knows, your job shifts from introducing to nurturing. At McDonald's, Kamara is not building brand awareness from scratch — she is maintaining and deepening a relationship that people already have deeply personal feelings about. That requires a fundamentally different communications mindset.// Community means pouring back into the people who support you. An engaged audience watches and listens. A community leaves with something — an idea, a resource, a tangible value. If you want to build one intentionally, start by asking what you are going to give people, not just what you want them to do.// Data is your best tool for getting buy-in. When you can back an idea with consumer insights and hard numbers, you are no longer just pitching a concept — you are connecting it to the business. In a comms role where numbers can feel foreign, leaning into data is what separates ideas that get approved from ideas that stall.Connect with Kamara: LinkedIn | Pulse and PerspectiveKamara’s Episodes: Mastering Your Brand Communications and PR Strategy | The Strategies You Need for Brand Communications and PR____Join the MHH Collective! The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collectiveSay hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠Join the MHH Collective: ⁠Join now⁠Get the latest marketing trends, open jobs and MHH updates, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow MHH on Social: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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    24 min
  • Why Your Personal Brand Is Your Most Important Career Asset | Cassie + Ally

    Why Your Personal Brand Is Your Most Important Career Asset | Cassie + Ally
    Sep 24 2026

    In this solo episode, Cassie and Ally pull back the curtain on the career strategies they have been teaching inside their Denison Edge sessions and the MHH Collective, and share how they got there in the first place. From navigating the overwhelming landscape of marketing paths as a student, to making the ask in a way that actually works, to building a LinkedIn presence that keeps you top of mind, to landing your first speaking engagement, this episode is a practical and honest conversation about the moves that have shaped both of their careers. They also walk through exactly how they built the expertise and personal brand that led to ongoing teaching opportunities with Denison Edge, and share what is coming up this fall and into 2027 for anyone who wants to go deeper with them.

    Key Takeaways:

    // Your first marketing role is a starting point, not a label. The landscape is broad and the paths are many — follow your curiosity, play to your strengths, and talk to people actually doing the jobs that interest you before committing to a direction.

    // The make the ask formula works. Be specific, be brief, make it easy to say yes, and follow up. Whether you are asking for a fifteen-minute coffee chat or pitching yourself for a collaboration, the people who make specific and well-researched asks are the ones who get responses.

    // Your personal brand is always working for you, or it isn't. Posting once a week — about what you are working on, what you learned, what you are reading, or what your honest take is — is the single highest-return habit for any marketer trying to stay visible and relevant.

    // You do not need more experience to start speaking. You need clarity on what you know. Getting crystal clear on your areas of expertise is what allows you to pitch yourself confidently for speaking engagements, teaching opportunities, and podcast appearances. A repeatable session on one topic is more powerful than a dozen half-formed ideas.

    // Podcasting is a gateway to speaking. You do not need to start your own show — pitching yourself as a guest gets you comfortable articulating your expertise, your elevator pitch, and your story in a low-pressure format.

    Enroll in Denison Edge Courses: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/denison-edge

    ____

    Join the MHH Collective! The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collective

    Say hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠

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    37 min
  • How to Monetize Your Corporate Marketing Experience | Allie Hartman of Creator Partnerships Lab

    How to Monetize Your Corporate Marketing Experience | Allie Hartman of Creator Partnerships Lab
    Sep 17 2026
    In this episode, we sit down with Allie Hartman, founder of Creator Partnerships Lab, who spent 16 years building influencer and creator marketing programs for brands like Dr Pepper, Snapple, Core Hydration, BaubleBar, and more before leaving her comfortable corporate role in April 2026 to go out on her own. Allie walks us through the career arc that took her from the Ad Council to Ogilvy to Keurig Dr Pepper, what finally pushed her to make the leap, and how she built Creator Partnerships Lab around a simple but powerful idea — that most brands focus on finding the right creators and completely underinvest in the infrastructure that makes those partnerships actually work. She breaks down the biggest misconceptions brands still have about influencer marketing, why relationship-first thinking will always outperform one-off posts, what fractional consulting actually looks like day to day, and the mindset shift she credits for finally getting clear on what people would pay her for. If you have ever thought about leaving corporate, monetizing your expertise, or building something of your own — this one is packed with honest, practical insight.Key Takeaways:// The infrastructure underneath the content is where most brands fail. Briefs, measurement frameworks, contracting standards, usage rights, approval processes — these are the things that make creator relationships actually work. Most brands skip all of it and wonder why their influencer marketing is not producing results.// Purpose is the intersection of your values and your expertise. Allie credits a Jay Shetty framework for giving her the clarity she needed to build her business. Once she understood that her purpose was to take 16 years of specialized expertise and make it accessible to as many people as possible, everything else clicked into place.// Start with the problem, not the product. Allie built her Creator Partnerships Operating System after listening to a creator friend complain about a brand that had no idea how to work with her. She identified the problem, realized she could uniquely solve it, and built the product from there.// Fractional consulting is the future of work for senior operators. Companies do not always need every senior role full time — their needs are cyclical. Fractional consulting gives brands access to director and VP-level experience at a fraction of the cost, and gives operators the autonomy, flexibility, and purpose alignment that corporate rarely provides.Learn More About Allie and Her Business: https://www.creatorpartnershipslab.com/mhh____Join the MHH Collective! The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collectiveSay hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠Join the MHH Collective: ⁠Join now⁠Get the latest marketing trends, open jobs and MHH updates, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow MHH on Social: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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    31 min
  • Why IRL Is Winning: How Lucky Strike Is Building a Brand Around Experience | Julie Zukof, Lucky Strike Entertainment

    Why IRL Is Winning: How Lucky Strike Is Building a Brand Around Experience | Julie Zukof, Lucky Strike Entertainment
    Sep 10 2026

    In this episode, we sit down with Julie Zukof, VP of Brand Marketing at Lucky Strike Entertainment — the umbrella brand behind Lucky Strike, AMF, Bolero, and the Professional Bowlers Association — to talk about one of the most interesting brand stories happening in culture right now. Julie brings a background spanning advertising agencies, brand strategy, wellness, and in-house marketing, and she breaks down why bowling is having a genuine cultural moment, how Lucky Strike is building an entertainment ecosystem that goes far beyond the lanes, and what the rise of IRL and screen-free experiences means for every marketer paying attention to where consumer behavior is headed. She also gets into how to balance nostalgia with evolution when marketing a legacy brand, why Gen Alpha is becoming the consumer insight conversation every marketer needs to be having, and what she actually looks for when building a marketing team. If you are thinking about brand experience, community building, or how to keep a legacy brand culturally relevant — this one is packed with transferable lessons.

    Key Takeaways:

    // People want to participate in brands, not just buy them. The most powerful brand experiences right now are the ones that create genuine participation — bowling leagues, pop-ups, partnerships, ecosystems. Consumers are no longer satisfied being passive buyers.

    // Screen-free experiences are up 500%. The same pattern that caused community to decline in the TV era is now playing out with phones — and brands that offer genuine IRL connection are seeing a direct surge as a result. Experiential is not a trend. It is a response to a real cultural shift.

    // Nostalgia plus experience is the most powerful Venn diagram in marketing right now. Gen Z is the most nostalgic generation ever studied. Brands that sit at the intersection of something familiar and something worth showing up for in person are winning across categories.

    // Gen Alpha is already making purchasing decisions — and most brands are not ready. Kids are telling their parents where to go for birthday parties, weekend plans, and experiences. Understanding how this generation consumes media and makes decisions is one of the most important consumer research conversations happening right now.

    Learn More About Lucky Strike: https://www.luckystrikeent.com/

    ____

    Join the MHH Collective! The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collective

    Say hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠

    Join the MHH Collective: ⁠Join now⁠

    Get the latest marketing trends, open jobs and MHH updates, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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    22 min
  • Making Your Marketing Feel Like an Invitation, Not an Ad | Ashley Johnson of Visit Newport Beach

    Making Your Marketing Feel Like an Invitation, Not an Ad | Ashley Johnson of Visit Newport Beach
    Sep 3 2026

    In this episode, we sit down with Ashley Johnson, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer of Visit Newport Beach, who has spent twenty years building some of California's most beloved destination brands, including sixteen years at Visit Laguna Beach, where she became President and CEO at just thirty three years old and won an Emmy for a children's educational campaign that used storytelling to change visitor behavior. Ashley brings a perspective that translates far beyond the tourism industry: she breaks down what it actually means to sell a feeling rather than a product, why the best marketing feels like an invitation rather than an advertisement, how her in-house team of seven executed over twenty two campaigns in a single fiscal year, and what she has learned about imposter syndrome, leadership, and hiring in two decades of leading teams.

    Key Takeaways:

    // Sell the feeling, not the feature. Nobody books a vacation because of a beach photo. They book because they can picture themselves there. The strongest marketing makes the consumer the main character of the story, not the product.

    // Great marketing feels like an invitation. Give people enough information to feel comfortable, enough inspiration to get excited, and then get out of the way and let them have their own experience. Overly prescriptive marketing removes the magic.

    // Market with your community, not around them. The biggest mistake a brand can make is building a strategy that ignores or inconveniences the people closest to it. When locals see your marketing and think "yes, that is exactly us," you have done it right.

    // Storytelling can change behavior. Ashley's Emmy came from a seven-minute educational video for school groups that made kids want to protect tide pools before they ever visited. Great storytelling does not just inspire — it influences what people actually do.

    Connect with Visit Newport Beach: @visitnewportbeach

    Connect with Ashley Johnson: @missashleytaylor

    ____

    Join the MHH Collective! The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collective

    Say hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠

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    20 min
  • What Every Marketer Can Learn from the Restaurant Industry | Brianna Keefe of Toastique

    What Every Marketer Can Learn from the Restaurant Industry | Brianna Keefe of Toastique
    Aug 27 2026
    In this episode, we sit down with Brianna Keefe, founder and CEO of Toastique — a fresh, made-in-house cafe concept that started as a single 1,000 square foot store in Washington D.C. in 2018 and has grown to over 65 locations across 25 states, entirely through franchising and word of mouth. Brianna opened her first store at 24 with no formal marketing plan, no app, and no third party delivery — just a highly shareable product, a commitment to quality, and an instinct for community. She opens up about how grassroots marketing and in-person community building became the foundation of Toastique’s entire growth strategy, what the pandemic taught her about the strength of the brand she had built, how she has had to evolve as a leader as the business scaled, and the customer service principles she swears by that any business in any industry can apply. Key Takeaways:// Word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing channel you have. Toastique spent nothing on marketing for its first year and a half. The product was shareable, the experience was memorable, and customers did the rest. Brianna's belief: if you focus on quality and experience from day one, that becomes embedded in the culture of the brand.// Grassroots marketing compounds over time. Before apps, third party delivery, or a formal strategy, Toastique built its presence by showing up in the community — catering office breakfasts, doing pop ups in residential buildings, and connecting with neighboring small businesses. That foundation still drives some of their strongest growth today.// Product presentation is a marketing decision. Toastique was built from the beginning around food that looks as good as it tastes because people eat with their eyes first. The visual shareability of the product meant customers were doing organic social marketing without being asked.// Be knowledgeable about what you sell, at every level of the team. Toastique requires every team member to pass an 80-question product knowledge quiz before working the register. If someone cannot answer a customer's question confidently, the experience breaks down — no matter how warm the greeting was.// Personalization at scale is still possible. Remembering names, orders, and personal details — and following up on them — is what turns a transaction into a relationship. In hospitality and in marketing, that memorability factor is what keeps people coming back.Connect with Brianna: LinkedIn____Join the MHH Collective! The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collectiveSay hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠Join the MHH Collective: ⁠Join now⁠Get the latest marketing trends, open jobs and MHH updates, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow MHH on Social: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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    24 min
  • How to Turn Your Brand's Most Loyal Fans Into Your Best Marketing Channel (Lessons from Disney’s D23)

    How to Turn Your Brand's Most Loyal Fans Into Your Best Marketing Channel (Lessons from Disney’s D23)
    Aug 20 2026
    In this episode, Cassie and Ally are fresh off attending D23, Disney's biennial fan expo in Anaheim and one of the largest brand-driven community events in the world, and they're breaking down everything they observed through a marketing lens. From Crocs building a racetrack-themed booth to Marvel turning a line into a fully immersive story experience, to Disney transforming what could have been a standard press announcement into a 15,000-person live spectacle hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, this episode is packed with concrete, transferable lessons on experiential marketing, merchandise strategy, fan engagement, and community building at scale. Key Takeaways:// Exclusivity and urgency are your most powerful tools at a live event. The activations that drove the longest lines at D23 weren't just pretty, they offered something you could only get there, only that weekend. Limited drops, early access, collectible items, and mystery products created genuine excitement and organic content without a single paid push.// Turn your announcements into experiences, not press releases. Disney could have dropped its park and film news on social media. Instead they put 15,000 fans in a room with live performances, a talk show format, and the actual people behind the projects. The fans became the news cycle. // Merch is a marketing signal, not just a revenue line. The resurgence of vintage Disney t-shirts under Bobby Kim isn't just a product strategy, it's a cultural statement about where the brand is going. Limited drops, nostalgia, accessibility, and wearability all work together to turn a t-shirt into a conversation starter. // Peeling back the curtain builds deeper brand loyalty. Disney's Imagineering booth let fans meet the people behind the parks, ask questions, and see physical models of projects still in development. Access to the process is one of the most underused tools in brand marketing.// Community is the most durable marketing engine you can build. D23 exists because of Disney's fan community, and that community does an enormous amount of Disney's marketing for free. Cassie and Ally are a perfect example — two marketers who attended, created content, and will talk about this event for weeks. Building a community that shows up for you, on and offline, is a long game worth investing in.// Maintaining the status quo is the riskiest thing you can do. Bob Iger's philosophy, that staying still is more dangerous than taking risks, is the through line of everything Disney presented at this event. New stories, new formats, new access, new product. The brands that keep pushing are the ones that keep their audiences leaning in.____Join the MHH Collective! The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collectiveSay hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠Join the MHH Collective: ⁠Join now⁠Get the latest marketing trends, open jobs and MHH updates, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow MHH on Social: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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    28 min