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True leadership is about providing support, stepping back, and giving your employees the platform to present their own wins to executives. Dessie Brown shares his playbook on team empowerment.

Most marketing leaders try to build brands from behind a desk—crafting slogans in isolation and hoping operations can deliver. But real differentiation isn't built in a boardroom. It's forged on the front lines by the team members engaging with guests every single day. In this episode, Evan Pardue breaks down how merging Customer Experience (CX) with Brand leadership transformed their entire growth strategy.

Most restaurant marketers spend millions trying to convert one-time visitors into second-time diners, completely ignoring the macro-habits of human behavior. In this episode of the podcast, fractional CMO and industry veteran David "Rev" Ciancio breaks down why chasing first-time drop-offs is "fundamentally stupid" and reveals the exact data-driven playbook he used to unlock $300,000 in revenue from just three emails. From bridging the gap between brand storytelling and hard performance numbers to aligning operations with marketing ("markerations"), Rev delivers an unfiltered, high-stakes masterclass on scaling multi-unit restaurant concepts.

How does a 47-year-old San Diego breakfast institution scale into Boise, Dallas, Houston, and Lafayette, Indiana without losing the coastal, community-first identity that built it? This episode breaks down inheriting a brand with zero digital marketing history, the "progress over perfection" testing culture built from scratch, why overthinking can be a leadership Achilles heel, and the hard conversations every marketing leader has to learn to have with a lean team.

Moving from 30 locations to 1,000 means giving up control over detail. Discover the guardrails and trust models required to empower a team to move fast without executive sign-off on every asset.

This episode is part of our series on high-stakes marketing leadership. Follow the show to catch every unconventional strategy from the front lines of brand growth.

How do you take the keys to an established regional brand and upgrade the engine without crashing? Adam Williamson, Director of Marketing at Pizza 73, joins Caleb Clark to reveal the high-stakes playbook for moving beyond transactional marketing into true cultural relevance.

Tom Lockwood, Marketing Director at Hopdoddy Burger Bar, shares insights into innovative marketing strategies, including gamification, customer experience, and team leadership. Discover how a passion for quality and hospitality drives success in a competitive industry.

Are you trapped in execution instead of leading? Christina Lang (VP of Global Marketing) reveals how to escape "The Doer’s Trap" to become the strategic architect your organization actually needs. In this episode, we break down the Unconventional Playbook for navigating the most complex role in the C-suite, winning the war of internal influence, and why the most successful leaders master the Confidence Game.

In an era where foot traffic is down and macroeconomic pressures are mounting, restaurant brands can no longer rely on "better ingredients" alone to win. Jennifer Kern, CMO at Qu, joins Caleb Clark to pull back the curtain on why the modern CMO must bridge the gap between marketing, operations, and technology. From reducing tech debt to leveraging edge computing for "always-on" stability, this episode is a masterclass in building a unified commerce foundation that drives bottom-line profitability

Jessica Pellow breaks down the strategic shift required to enter new markets, the criticality of an ego-free leadership team, and the personal philosophy that forced her to step into the high-stakes world of P&L management to accelerate her career.

CMOS AND EXECUTIVES: PAY ATTENTION. 🚨 Evan Jones, Global CMO of a world-famous brand, is revealing the secret to transformation: STOP treating marketing as a "just a marketing thing". Transformation requires 100% buy-in. Are you willing to give up 10, 15, or 20% of your perfect idea to get the whole company behind you?

Jake Karls, Co-Founder and Chief Rainmaker of Mid-Day Squares, reveals the playbook behind scaling a CPG brand from a family kitchen to 10,000 stores across North America. The secret isn't massive ad spend; it's being "unapologetically authentic" and turning consumers into "sneezers" (powerful brand evangelists).

Avery Akinini, CMO of VaynerMedia, reveals the playbook behind the agency's massive scale and evolution. Avery shares the mantra: "9.8 times out of 10, we will figure it out," emphasizing that you must stretch yourself to unlock big opportunities. Learn the "clouds and the dirt" operational strategy, the necessity of rapidly pivoting your teams (from Web3 to AI) , and the essential skill needed to get the CFO's buy-in. Avery also discusses her personal evolution from a perfectionist to an inspirational leader of 200+ people.

In a market dominated by massive competitors, how does an iconic 60-year-old Canadian brand like Boston Pizza not only survive but achieve its best sales growth in over a decade? James emphazises that programs fail when they can't be operationalized at the restaurant level. He details his leadership philosophy built on truth and trust , explaining why this foundation is non-negotiable for mobilizing teams and 99.9% franchise-owned restaurants.