Penna Powers - Make the Podcast Bigger

S2E8: Personal and Professional Branding with Entrepreneur and Pro Skier, Julian Carr

On the season two finale episode, we chat with Discrete Clothing and Cirque Series Founder Julian Carr. An accomplished skier, Carr owns a world record for doing a front-flip off a 210-foot cliff in Switzerland and sending a 140-foot cliff in a competition at Snowbird Resort. When he is not in an inverted free fall, Carr serves as an ambassador for Protect Our Winters (POW) as well as The Climate Reality Project. Born in Salt Lake City, Carr created a name for himself by skiing in seven Warren Miller films. Carr is joined by runner and copywriter Kendall Tingey to chat about personal and professional branding. Inside this episode, we hear from Carr about his background in skiing, his many accomplishments and of course, branding. Listen to discover how Carr finds the time and inspiration to manage three different brands, how it affects his personal life and how one person is able to do it all. For an incredible conversation, be sure to tune in to today’s episode. (more…)

S2E7: Listening Habits and Trends in Digital Audio Media, With Brian Rustad

On this week’s episode, we welcome Brian Rustad, senior account executive at Pandora. Pandora is a leading music and podcast discovery platform, providing a highly-personalized listening experience to approximately 70 million users each month. As the largest streaming music provider in the U.S., Pandora connects listeners with a personalized audio entertainment experience. We, along with the Vice President of Channel and Content Management Marc Stryker, discuss the various listening habits for individuals and the current trends in the digital audio media space. We also dive into why the audio message is still relevant in advertising today, how the smartphone has transformed listening consumption and how the decreased attention span of individuals has impacted the marketing industry today. Brian also shares more about Pandora’s Music Genome Project and how they use data to personalize music consumption for their listeners. For an incredibly insightful conversation, be sure to tune in. (more…)

S2E6: Creative Advertising Within the B2C Space with Tara Haynie Formally of Chatbooks

Today, we are happy to welcome Tara Haynie, the VP of marketing at Beauty Industry Group. When we recorded, she was the director of marketing at Chatbooks. Chatbooks is a company that has made it incredibly easy for its customers to print out photo collections directly into a photo album format and take a digital roll of pictures and turn it into something physical. Their company ethos revolves around helping their customers recognize how amazing their lives are today by paging through these memories. Their motto is ‘Live Happy.’ Tara talks about her experiences working at the company and in conjunction with some of the world’s largest brands. She tells us about Chatbooks’ ideal customer and how they aim to reach and engage them. We chat about advertising strategies and Tara is kind enough to share some interesting advice for young PR and marketing hopefuls. For this great conversation with Tara, take a listen! (more…)

S2E5: Deciphering Data to Gain Valuable Consumer Insights, With Jason Alleger

On this week’s episode, we chat with Jason Alleger, Penna Powers alum and current manager of consumer insights and strategic planning for Traeger Pellet Grills. Jason is also an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University, where he teaches MBA courses on advanced analytics and insights. This week we pass the mics off to Vice President of Channel and Content Management Marc Stryker and Senior Digital Media Strategist Nicholas Giustino. We’ll discuss the power of getting the right consumer insights, making sense of data overload and finding the signal in all of the noise. We also hear from Jason about how to keep your competitive advantage in a saturated market, understanding how brands become part of our identities and why a good team culture is paramount for company success. For an insightful episode, be sure to tune in. (more…)

S2E4: The Evolution of Social Media in Communications, with Zach Whitney of UDOT

On this week’s episode, we chat with Zach Whitney. He is the Digital Communications Specialist for the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT). Zach is an experienced storyteller and a firm believer that everyone has an interesting story to tell. After graduating from the University of Utah with a degree in Mass Communication, Zach worked as a news reporter for several years before transitioning into a career with UDOT. This week, Penna Powers’ Media Strategist, Nicholas Giustino, joins as co-host to discuss public involvement communication. Inside this episode we hear from Zach about his background in storytelling, and why it is so important to understand social media and adopt it at a leadership-level. We discuss the power of Facebook groups and the new changes that could work to your advantage. Zach also shares more about the challenges of communicating from a government-level, his favorite social media platforms, and what is expected for the future of these channels. For an incredible conversation and an inside look at the ever-changing landscape of social media, be sure to tune in to today’s episode! (more…)