Advertise on podcast: WORKING MEDIA with Rafael Bracero

#14 - Narrative Ads Founder Francisco Cheng

The ultimate challenge for modern CPG startups isn’t just creating a great product—it’s navigating growth, retail distribution, and fundraising simultaneously. In Episode #14, Rafael Bracero brings together the brilliant minds behind the upcoming CPG Convergence Conference (taking place June 25, 2026, in Los Angeles). Subriana Pierce (Navigator Lighthouse Foundation) and Chirag Sagar (Mission Matters Media) break down the blueprint for building multi-generational wealth on grocery shelves and securing high-impact capital. 📌 What You’ll Learn: The "Valley of Death": How to survive the cash flow crunch when scaling from local success to national retail accounts like Walmart or Kroger. Investor Metrics: The top data points VCs and Angel Investors look for beyond simple sales numbers. AI & Narrative Alignment: Leveraging cutting-edge AI tools to drastically cut marketing acquisition costs and create an "intention economy" for your brand. 🔗 Event Links & Resources: 🎟️ CPG Convergence Conference Registration: lu.ma/rmoecmqx 🌐 Navigator Lighthouse Foundation: navigatorlighthousefoundation.org 🎥 Watch the NLF Retail Success Video: NLF Spotlight Video If you found value in this episode, please Like, Comment, and Subscribe for more insights pulled straight from the marketing trenches! 💥

#12 - At the Nexus of Economics & Media Advertising - Brian Weiser - Founder, Madison & Wall OUR GUEST: Brian Weiser - Founder, Madison & Wall; xCMO at Simulmedia; xGroupeM; xDeutche Bank. OUR CONVO: BRIAN WEISER, often called “Madison Avenue’s De Facto Chief Economist” and a highly respected figure in the media and advertising industry. We discussed (taped in June 2023) Upfronts, Newfronts, the WGA strike and the current state of media buying for linear and CTV. GUEST CONTACT INFO: [email protected] NEWSLETTER SIGNUP https://madisonandwall.com/home

OUR GUEST: Marissa Gomes - Senior Director of Marketing, Kiva Brands; xMattel; xDelMonte OUR CONVO: In honor of Women's History Month, Marissa joins us in the podcast to tell the story of her career journey as a female marketing leader in CPG and drops some great nuggets of wisdom for up-and-coming female marketers. GUEST CONTACT INFO: Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/marissa-gomes-91a842 Guest Book Reco: Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't By: Simon Sinek https://simonsinek.com/books/leaders-eat-last/ https://www.audible.com/pd/Leaders-Eat-Last-Audiobook/0593291352?plink=mGBRpBqRAEYgW4Wb&ref=a_pd_Summar_c5_adblp13nvtcf_1_1&pf_rd_p=fbdf1dfd-e2e7-4467-a3d0-fc0dc177899c&pf_rd_r=AV83E9JDRA8QC45S3A68&pageLoadId=K7of14ZVGoLQ7Lw4&creativeId=bc14d9ea-6326-4915-8f44-2bb7a157715e

#10: The Hero's Journey - Ida Abdalkhani - CEO & Chief Catalyzer, Ability to Engage;  Board Member, Women Presidents' Organization; Speaker, TEDx;  Global Brand Manager, Secret, P&G OUR GUEST: Ida Abdalkhani - CEO, Ability to Engage;  Board Member, Women Presidents' Organization; Speaker, TEDx;  Global Brand Manager, Secret, P&G; Podcaster & Educator OUR CONVO: Ida joins the podcast to share her career and personal journey through the prism of the The Hero's Journey. Along the way, she imparts many insights along her path in a remarkable marketing career (encompassing innovation, strategy, research, GTM, etc.) and some advise for up and coming marketers. A quick primer on "The Hero's Journey" framework for context: https://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/2013/lessons/Heros-Journey GUEST CONTACT INFO: Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/idaabdalkhani linkedin.com/company/abilitytoengage/ P&G Podcast -  Learning from Leaders: https://www.pgalums.com/podcast/ P&G Alumni Global Conference 2021 Archive - Fireside Chat: Alumni for Good with John Pepper - https://youtu.be/s5i2FFajrjE Guest Book Reco: "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" by Greg McKeown https://www.audible.com/pd/Essentialism-Audiobook/B00IWZ6XGA?action_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp&shareTest=TestShare

Editor's Note: After a year-long family-related sabbatical, the WORKING MEDIA podcast is back and stronger than ever. We are kicking it off with an interview we conducted last Fall with the multi-talented Nikki Mamuric. There are a lot of exciting upgrades to share about the new & improved podcast which we will be sharing in upcoming episodes so stay tuned! 09: Brand Innovation - Nikki Mamuric - NPD Director & Fmr. Brand Director, Sargento Foods; Fmr. Marketing Director, L'Oreal; P&G Alum OUR GUEST: Nikki Mamuric, NPD Director, Sargento Foods Inc. & AdWeek Executive Mentee OUR CONVO: Nikki joins the podcast to share highlights from her distinguished marketing career (starting with our days as ABMs at P&G) and encompassing her brand innovation leadership at companies ranging from CPG food to health & beauty. GUEST CONTACT INFO: Linkedin linkedin.com/in/nikkimamuric

OUR GUEST: Kris Holmes Author of "Ignite Your Career!: Strategies and Tactics to Unleash Your Potential" Principal & Executive Recruiter, O'Connell Group, LLC OUR CONVO: Kris returns to the podcast by popular demand to offer a deep-dive conversation into career best practices for mid-career marketing professionals drawn from her best selling book "Ignite Your Career!: Strategies and Tactics to Unleash Your Potential" Our conversation is divided in 3 parts: 1) Getting the Job  2) Keeping the Job & Navigating the Culture 3) Leveling up your Marketing Career  GUEST CONTACT INFO: Website www.igniteyourcareerbook.com Email [email protected] [email protected]

OUR GUESTS: Dan Terek, Dir. of CTV/OTT Strategy, MNTN Mouton Hennessee, Account Exec / Partnerships, MNTN OUR CONVO: Performant CTV & recent rebranding of Steelhouse to MNTN CONTACT INFO: DAN TEREK [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-terek https://nrfconverge.nrf.com/    Webinar: "The Top3 Connected TV KPIs & Benchmarks Every Retailer Needs to Know" by Dan Terek MOUTON HENNESSEE [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/mouton-hennessee LINKS: https://mountain.com https://deadline.com/2021/06/mntn-acquires-ryan-reynolds-maximum-effort-marketing-1234780296/ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/ryan-reynolds-maximum-effort-marketing-mntn-acquisition-1234972384/

OUR GUEST: Austin Strauss, Director of Programmatic, iNvolved Media OUR CONVO: Programmatic Advertising - Present & Future Trends GUEST CONTACT INFO: linkedin.com/in/austin-strauss-b329bb168 [email protected]

OUR GUEST: Aparna Mukherjee, JSK Stanford Community Impact Fellow; Civic Technologist aka Hypewoman for Local + Democratic Voice; Priors: @NYTimes @Bloomberg @WSJ @McKinsey  OUR CONVO: Clubhouse, Cause Marketing & Micro-Influencers GUEST CONTACT INFO: @aparnamuk (Twitter; IG) https://jsk.stanford.edu/fellows/class-of-2021/aparna-mukherjee/ MORE INFO: https://haas.stanford.edu/news/more-35-colleges-and-universities-take-part-nations-largest-deliberative-democracy-event-young Clubhouse: FutureProof (Saturdays eves) - co-hosted by Aparna M.

OUR GUEST: Mike Burkenbine, CEO of Becket Film Fund OUR CONVO: We discuss Mike's impressive CPG & entertainment market research career (Nielsen, Kellogg, Dole, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Activision) culminating in his current venture as CEO of the Becket Film Fund which focuses on independent feature film development with a equity prism by leveraging minority and under-represented talent in feature films that have shown to significantly increase box office and ancillary revenue.  GUEST CONTACT INFO: Linkedin linkedin.com/in/mburkenbine Website https://www.becketfilmfund.com

OUR GUEST: Kris Holmes (Principal & Executive Recruiter, O'Connell Group, LLC) OUR CONVO: We discuss marketing career best practices from veteran marketing recruiter Kris Holmes and her best selling book "Ignite Your Career!: Strategies and Tactics to Unleash Your Potential". GUEST CONTACT INFO: Linkedin linkedin.com/in/kris-holmes-966548 Website oconnellgroup.com  (Company Website) Email [email protected]

OUR GUEST: Varun Ganapathy, Director Of Strategic Partnerships - Conversational AI at DMI (Digital Management, LLC) OUR CONVO:  Varun works at the intersection of AI and customer experience and we discuss the changing landscape of CX (and its key role in managing brands) and how AI is enabling new ways to better serve CPG, service sector, and even public sector clients & cover several related use cases. GUEST CONTACT INFO: linkedin.com/in/varunbganapathy

OUR GUEST:  Rodney Gurdal (Mattel Licensing) OUR CONVO: Rodney Gurdal is our guest. Rodney is a Marketing MBA turned Data Scientist, with knowledge of a wide range of analytical tools and techniques, backed by over 20 years of real-world business application across several industries. Experience includes Mattel, Honda, and Viacom. He also currently serves as principal consultant at Forty Two Consulting. GUEST CONTACT INFO: linkedin.com/in/rodneygurdal