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This episode can be seen as a ginormous tease for those who are new to the podcast. It is concise brand insight overload. And, it sums up the reason as to why I created this show.
 
When I started this journey it was just a little idea that came out of a coffee chat with a friend who insisted that I just had to create a podcast. And since listening is a key aspect of building a brand, I did listen to her that afternoon, and a few months later launched the first episode of Hitting The Mark, relying on the kindness of strangers to sign up as guests to a show that did not even exist yet.
 
One year later we heard from some of the stars of the entrepreneurship world, some celebrated disruptors, and many passionate, up and coming founders who discovered their brand differentiators early on. All of them share the same contagious enthusiasm and drive to build meaningful, sustainable and admired brands.
 
If you had to pick only one episode to listen to, this is the one. Regardless if you are new to the show or if you want to revisit some of the most powerful advice and thoughts on brand building from these inspiring founders and investors.

Fabian sits down with Raquel Tavares, the founder and CEO of Fourth & Heart, an artisanal food brand based in Los Angeles, set on a mission to modernize ancient pantry food staples – starting with a line of grass-fed, flavored, pure spreadable butters known as ‘ghee.’
 

A fascinating story on how to make it in the food business while coming from a marketing background, how to utilize branding to introduce a product in a category unfamiliar to many shoppers, why crafting messaging from your heart is key, and how to juggle family and entrepreneurship.

Fabian talks with Scott Harrison, the founder of charity: water, one of the most trusted and admired non-profits in the world.
 

Solving the water crisis one donation and one well at a time, Scott and his team created a brand that breaks the stereotypes of what a charity is and how a charity acts. He re-branded ‘charity’ while creating a beloved brand of his own.
 

Charity: water is a champion in brand messaging, design, and storytelling while leading with technology and innovation. A paramount episode not to be missed.

In this 20th episode of Hitting The Mark, Fabian talks with the first founder of a ‘new green economy’ brand to make it on this show, Clement Kwan of bespoke lifestyle cannabis brand Beboe.

Clement comes from the world of high-end fashion. He helped reposition the Diesel brand for America, moved to Milan to take back the license for D&G (Dolce & Gabbana), and later became the president of Net-a-Porter, the biggest online luxury retailer on a global basis.

This episode shows what can happen when you follow your heart and how a brand is being built by adding one authentic layer of story, emotion, and design on top of another.

In this episode, Fabian talks with Mike Cessario who founded Liquid Death, the first irreverent bottled water brand that can compete with the cool factor of unhealthy brands from beer to energy drinks. Inspired by the death metal and punk rock culture, Liquid Death takes an extreme approach to branding and marketing, in stark contrast to aspirational health and wellness brands.

Launching into the water business with a brand named Liquid Death, while getting $2.3 million in funding from the likes of Michael Dubin, of Dollar Shave Club fame, and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, is nothing but a genius brand move and the more you listen to Mike (who is an alumn of my alma mater, ArtCenter College Of Design), talk about his brand, the more you will adjust your own point of view on branding and marketing. So go ahead and go punk rock with us and ‘murder your thirst’ for an insanely inspiring episode.

Fabian sits down with creative extraordinaire Michael Lastoria, who, after selling his New-York-based agency to beauty powerhouse Shiseido in 2017, is now Co-Founder of the counter culture pizza brand ‘&pizza,’ which has 36 locations in the U.S. and is rapidly growing based on its inherent brand thinking and employee-first commitment.

When your employees and customers alike start tattooing your brand mark onto their bodies, you know that you’ve been growing a special kind of brand. Full of energy and wisdom, Michael is sharing the stories and recipes behind &pizza’s brand success with you on this whirlwind of inspiration we call Episode 16.