Remarkable Content with Ian Faison

Advocacy, Pointy Characters, and the Brand Bank: B2B Marketing Lessons from Schitt's Creek | Jason Grunberg (Forter)

Have you ever seen Schitt’s Creek? No? You really need to watch it. That’s advocacy. And it’s older than marketing itself - somebody took a bite of something and said, “You gotta try this.” Jason Grunberg, CMO of Forter, didn’t watch the show until he got sick and had nothing else to do. By the time he was better, he was binge-watching instead of resting. In this episode, he breaks down what Schitt’s Creek teaches B2B marketers about pointy characters, ownable positioning, brand as a bank, and why the transformation story is the only story worth telling. Together, we dig into why “safe is not where we make really strong emotional bonds,” what the Rosebud Motel’s rebrand can teach any B2B company trying to differentiate, and why AI inflation has already made “AI” a meaningless differentiator. About our guest, Jason Grunberg Jason Grunberg is CMO at Forter, the identity intelligence platform for digital commerce. With a background spanning agency and in-house roles across B2C and B2B, he brings a rare perspective on what it means to treat every buyer as a consumer - because at the end of the day, a wrong decision costs someone their job, and nothing is more personal than that. What B2B Marketers Can Learn From Schitt’s Creek Advocacy is the root of every decision. Jason didn’t watch Schitt’s Creek because of the awards or the marketing. He watched it because people he trusted kept telling him to. His takeaway for B2B: “Advocacy has been a core part of marketing and brand forever for anything. This is coded almost into the human experience - advocacy is the root of like how we end up making decisions and choices.” Before you chase the next channel, ask whether you’re creating the conditions for your customers to tell their colleagues, “You really need to try this.” Pointy characters resonate more than representative ones. The safest instinct in B2B marketing is to round off your personas until they feel inclusive. Schitt’s Creek did the opposite - and it’s why strangers kept telling Jason the show was basically his family. Ian’s takeaway: “The more pointy you make it, the more weird, the more absurd, it actually will resonate that much better.” Stop asking whether every CIO will see themselves in your story. Make the character want something specific, and trust the audience to find themselves in it. Brand is a bank - and technology is never the real differentiator. The Rose Apothecary didn’t succeed because of its product formulas. It succeeded because of the experience, the distinctiveness, the emotional value. Jason connects it directly to his work at Forter: “Quality is replicable, at least now more so than ever. The brand has to mean something.” On technology positioning, he’s blunt: “If there’s always the push from your product team to be like, ‘This is the core differentiator,’ I’m like, ‘Cool. That is 2,000 lines of code deep. That sounds really replicable. And it doesn’t say I’m getting a raise if I buy this.’” “Safe is not where we make really strong emotional bonds. On the edges is where we do that - because on the inside, there’s a lot of edge. We’ve just been conditioned to not show it all the time.” - Jason Grunberg Time Stamps [1:25] Meet Jason Grunberg, CMO of Forter [2:17] Why Schitt’s Creek? The Show That Felt Like His Family [4:53] Jason’s Role at Forter: Decisions AI and Customer-Centric Marketing [5:56] What Is Schitt’s Creek? Character Development as a Foundation [12:11] Marketing Lesson #1: Advocacy Is Coded Into the Human Experience [15:56] Marketing Lesson #2: Pointy Characters Win — Stop Regressing to the Mean [23:14] B2B Is Still Consumer: Everyone Is a Person Making a Personal Decision [26:35] Marketing Lesson #3: Brand Experience — Rose Apothecary and the Bank Analogy [29:11] Marketing Lesson #4: The Rosebud Motel and the Power of Positioning [32:18] The Name, the Pun, and the Juxtaposition of Lowbrow and Highbrow [36:21] The Audacity of the Arc: Why Schitt’s Creek Ended on Purpose [39:07] Final Thoughts and Takeaways Links Connect with Jason on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgrunberg/] Learn more about Forter [https://www.forter.com/] About Remarkable! Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith Gooderham, edited by Jon Goldberg, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What Chipotle's "For Real" Campaign Gets Right That Most B2B Marketers Still Get Wrong | Alicia diVittorio (Silverfort)

Nope. Yep. Nope. Yep. Everybody got choices? Chipotle didn't just sell burritos - they rebuilt trust with two or three words and some really clear visuals. No freezers. No can openers. No microwaves. Just a brand that went back to its roots and dared to say one thing loudly instead of everything at once. In this episode, we dig into what B2B marketers can learn from Chipotle's "For Real" campaign with our special guest Alicia diVittorio, Head of Global Corporate Marketing at Silverfort. Together, we unpack why "confusion equals no sale," what it really means to take a competitive stand without being obvious about it, and why the best copy - like "Microwaves Not Welcome" - has a point of view that nobody else can own. About our guest, Alicia diVittorio Alicia diVittorio is Head of Global Corporate Marketing at Silverfort, where she oversees brand, communications, PR, analyst relations, and content marketing including web and social. With a background in both brand and comms, she brings a rare perspective on the intersection of provocative positioning and human storytelling in B2B marketing. What B2B Marketers Can Learn From Chipotle's "For Real" Campaign: Go back to your roots - that's why they fell in love with you. Chipotle didn't invent a new brand. They reminded people of the one they already had. Alicia's takeaway for B2B: "Sometimes you really have to remind yourselves of your core value and make sure that comes to the top. That's why people fell in love with you in the first place." Before you evolve your messaging, ask whether you've drifted from the thing that made you matter. You get one message. Use it. Chipotle's campaign works because it says one thing — real ingredients - and doesn't look back. Ian's biggest takeaway says it plainly: "You get to tell people one thing at a time. Just stop trying to tell people two things or three things or whatever. You get one message and that's it." Everything else fades. Hit your one thing and make it interesting. Point of view beats positioning. "Real ingredients, real flavor" could be anyone. "Microwaves Not Welcome" can only be Chipotle. Alicia connects it directly to her comms background: "If we don't have a unique point of view, no one cares. You sound like everyone else. You gotta be provocative if you want to stand out." The difference between good copy and great copy is the same as the difference between a statement and a stance. Quote "Confusion does not equal a sale. We just do so much in B2B and it can be extremely overwhelming. I gotta take that back to the team." - Alicia diVittorio Time Stamps [1:12] Meet Alicia diVittorio, Head of Global Corporate Marketing at Silverfort  [2:22] Why the "For Real" Campaign: The Song, the Simplicity, the Lesson  [4:12] What Is Chipotle's "For Real" Campaign? A Brief History  [6:44] Going Back to Your Roots — What Chipotle Did Right  [15:40] Competitive Positioning Without Being Gross About It  [19:00] "Microwaves Not Welcome": The Power of a Point of View  [22:44] Targeting Multiple Demographics With One Idea  [26:49] The Bag Problem: Great Campaign, Missed Real Estate  [30:13] What B2B Marketers Should Steal From Chipotle  [43:10] Final Thoughts and Takeaways Links Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-divittorio/] Learn more about Silverfort [https://www.silverfort.com/] About Remarkable! Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today's episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith Gooderham, edited by Jon Goldberg, and our theme song is "Solomon" by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What TED Talks Get Right That Most B2B Marketers Still Get Wrong | Varun Kohli (Cequence Security/GetReal Security)

18 minutes. One idea. No call to action. And somehow, one of the most trusted brands in the world. TED didn't build its reputation by saying more — it built it by saying less, better. The format was the brand. The editing was the strategy. And the trust was earned before a single word was spoken. In this episode, we unpack what that means for B2B marketers with the help of our special guest Varun Kohli, CMO at Cequence Security/GetReal Security. Together, we explore what enterprise marketers can learn from TED's obsession with brevity, the danger of diluting a brand you've worked hard to build, and why the best content makes your audience calmer or more confident — not just informed. About our guest, Varun Kohli Varun Kohli is an independent CMO with over a decade of experience leading marketing at enterprise security and technology companies. With 10 exits under his belt, Varun brings a rare combination of strategic vision and executional depth to the CMO role. He currently serves as CMO at Cequence Security/GetReal Security. What B2B Marketers Can Learn From TED Talks: * Build trust before you speak. TED's red dot, the curated room, the format itself - all of it was designed to signal what audiences could expect before anyone took the stage. Varun draws the lesson directly for marketers: "Trust was designed much, much, much earlier before the first word was spoken. As marketers, you need to earn that trust. If you are waiting for that trust to be given to you when you start speaking, it's already too late." In B2B, your website, your content format, and your brand presence are all making a promise before a prospect ever reads a word. * It's not about what to say - it's about what not to say. TED's 18-minute constraint isn't a limitation; it's the point. Varun sees the same discipline as a requirement for B2B content: "It's not about what to say. It's also about what not to say. That is where us marketers lose our audience - we try to cram too much into a very small space." The best content finds the one problem that resonates and doesn't look back. Spend more time editing than you did creating. * Make sure your tagline can only belong to you. Brevity without distinctiveness is just noise. Varun shares the litmus test he runs with his teams: "When you're creating these short taglines or headlines, you should always ask - if I remove my logo and slap a competitor's logo on it, is it still true? If it is true, you did not choose the right words." Keep rewriting until no competitor's logo fits. That's when you've arrived. Quote "Great marketing is not about shouting the loudest. The great marketing part is resonating with your buyer. If you can do that, they'll come knock on your door." Time Stamps [1:28] Meet Varun Kohli, CMO at Cequence Security/GetReal Security [3:06] Learn and Unlearn: How Varun Thinks About Walking Into a CMO Role [7:25] What Are TED Talks? A Brief History [15:31] B2B Marketing Takeaways from TED Talks [30:21] TEDx: Brand Dilution or Smart Distribution? [42:52] The Competitive Logo Test [43:30] Final Thoughts and Takeaways Links Connect with Varun on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kohlivarun/] Learn more about Cequence Security [https://www.cequence.ai] About Remarkable! Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com [http://caspianstudios.com]. In today's episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is "Solomon" by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How Willy Wonka Built a 50 Year Brand on $3M | Kevin Rippon (Juniper Square)

A $3 million movie. Two big-budget remakes. And somehow, the original still wins. Fifty years later, kids who've seen all three versions of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory keep coming back to the 1971 film, not because it has better effects, but because it was built on something the others weren't. In this episode, we break down what that something is with the help of our special guest Kevin Rippon, Head of Marketing at Juniper Square. Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from taking a distinct position, leading with credibility over spectacle, and structuring content that gets to the point fast. About our guest, Kevin Rippon A respected and resilient marketing leader, Kevin has held positions in product marketing, growth, digital, brand, creative, and experiential at different career stops with companies ranging from asset management to fashion to vertical SaaS. Kevin currently oversees Marketing at Juniper Square. What B2B Companies Can Learn From Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory: * Know your positioning and take a stand. Gene Wilder's very first scene as Willy Wonka, the cane, the limp, the unexpected somersault, wasn't an accident. It was a declaration. Kevin draws the parallel directly: "The marketing parallel is knowing your positioning or taking a position that's distinct and different." In B2B, most brands try to appeal to everyone and end up resonating with no one. The ones that win commit to a clear, unmistakable point of view, and don't apologize for it. * Start with a credible message, then dial up the spectacle. The original Oompa Loompas were real actors. The CGI version in the remake looked slicker yet felt fake. Kevin sees the same trap in B2B content: "Start with a credible message and then work your way up from there in terms of spectacle." Great content isn't about how produced it looks. It's about whether the audience believes it. Credibility is the foundation; everything else is amplification. * Don't needlessly preface, let content run downhill. Willy Wonka gets to the point fast. A few lines from Grandpa Joe and you're already inside the factory. Kevin has made this a governing principle at Juniper Square: "A principle that we actually have at Juniper Square that we set is don't needlessly preface or over preface things. I firmly believe in content like running downhill." Too much B2B content spends the first half justifying why the reader should care. The best content starts in the middle of the thing they already care about and never looks back. Quote "Do you have something to say about a particular topic? How can you establish the credibility around it? And then how do you sound different from everyone else, even in your language choices?" Time Stamps [01:41] Meet Kevin Rippon, Head of Marketing at Juniper Square [01:57] Why Willy Wonka? [03:58] The Role of Head of Marketing at Juniper Square [07:42] Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory: The Story Behind the Story [13:12] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory [43:39] Willy Wonka as Branded Content [48:46] Final Thoughts and Takeaways Links Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-rippon/] Learn more about Juniper Square [http://junipersquare.com] About Remarkable! Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com [http://caspianstudios.com]. In today's episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is "Solomon" by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Marketing Lessons Everyone Missed in The Devil Wears Prada | Ritu Kapoor (Fractional CMO)

Standards shape industries, but tastemakers decide what those standards are. That’s the real lesson from The Devil Wears Prada. What looks like a simple workplace story is really about judgment, brand influence, and how standards shape decisions for years. In this episode, we break down the marketing lessons behind the film with the help of our special guest Ritu Kapoor, Fractional CMO & Ex-CMO at Observe.AI. Together, we explore what B2B leaders can learn about the power of taste, the long arc of brand influence, and knowing when to break the right rules. About our guest, Ritu Kapoor Ritu Kapoor is a Fractional CMO and Ex-CMO at Observe.AI [http://observe.ai]. In her previous role at Observe.AI, she led brand, product marketing, and go-to-market strategy for AI agents transforming customer service. At Observe.AI, she was building a modern GTM engine for the AI-first enterprise, driving a repeatable demand-generation motion, launching next-generation agentic AI products, and leading a comprehensive corporate rebrand that reflected the company’s expanded mission and rapid customer adoption. Previously, Ritu served as Chief Marketing Officer at Productboard, the product management platform used by teams around the world to build customer-informed products. She led global marketing functions that helped product and engineering teams better align around customer needs and business outcomes. Across her career, Ritu has driven both organic and inorganic growth; shaped product roadmaps and narratives; built scalable global marketing and customer success functions across EMEA, APAC, and the U.S.; and created operational efficiencies that accelerated sales velocity, improved deal sizes, and enabled faster enterprise launches. She is proud to have built and led high-performing global teams and successfully launched more than 30 enterprise products and platforms, including ten first-generation offerings, four acquisitions, and five new software categories. What B2B Companies Can Learn From The Devil Wears Prada: * Taste is the real moat. In The Devil Wears Prada, Miranda’s authority didn’t solely come from her position at Runway. As Ritu explains, “Her influence isn't from authority. Her influence is from judgment.” The same applies in B2B marketing. The best marketers aren’t just executing playbooks, they’re deciding what’s worth attention and what isn’t. In a world where AI can generate endless content, the real advantage is taste: knowing what’s actually good, what’s differentiated, and what deserves investment. * Brand influence starts long before the buying moment. The famous blue sweater scene captures a core truth about marketing: decisions are shaped long before someone thinks they’re making them. Ritu frames it directly for B2B: “You can't influence somebody when they're just about to buy. The influence starts years later.” By the time a buyer enters the market, their mental shortlist already exists. That’s why brand work (content, storytelling, and consistent presence) creates leverage long before the sales cycle begins. * Break one rule and commit fully. Great marketing rarely comes from following every best practice. As Ritu puts it, “The magic really is to know which rule to break.” The key is conviction. The brands that stand out aren’t optimizing for average outcomes; they’re willing to take a focused leap. Quote “ We've spent so much time creating hype that nobody trusts vendors anymore… We don't lead with honesty, and we've lost the biggest thing, which is buyer trust…  Pick one thing that builds the trust. You have to find that one anchor of trust, and you have to completely go to it.” Time Stamps [01:15] Meet Ritu Kapoor, Fractional CMO & Ex-CMO at Observe.AI [01:57] Why The Devil Wears Prada? [11:23] How to Pitch Your Vision [21:19] The Story Behind The Devil Wears Prada [28:37] B2B Marketing Takeaways from The Devil Wears Prada [48:38] 2026 Content Strategy Tips [50:28] Final Thoughts and Takeaways Links Connect with Ritu on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritu--kapoor/] About Remarkable! Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com [https://www.caspianstudios.com].  In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK.  Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.