The Marketing Marriage

What if someone told you that they could solve your biggest business problem in five days? With 12 strangers that never met and are not part of your company. Does it sound like a bad informercial? We sit down with Barbara Soalheiro -  the founder of Mesa Company and the creator of Mesa Method to talk about how her approach solves complex challenges in record time for companies like Google, Meta, and Coca Cola, among others. In this episode, we discuss the magic of building with others and debunk the romantic fantasy most of us have about the creation process. 

Before founding Mesa, a former journalist, Barbara was editor-in-chief of Colors, the groundbreaking magazine founded by Tibor Kalman and Oliviero Toscani. She is also a writer. Her book Como Fazíamos Sem... won a Jabuti, Brazil’s most prestigious literary prize, and is present at libraries in every public school in the country. She is also a partner at FLAGCX, an ecosystem of companies accelerating change in the creative industry, with offices in NY, LA and São Paulo

You can follow Barbara on IG 
@bsoalheiro
@mesa.company

The second half of our chat with Shawn Hoy, who was behind some of the most iconic Nike and Saucony products, gets more personal and vulnerable. Despite being told he was an "acquired taste," he decided not to change who he was and instead invest in spending time with people so they'd get to know him and where he was coming from. Which ain't that easy when you come from Boston, where sarcasm is a love language. Shawn opens up about mastering patience, how he went from golden child status to getting it all wrong to getting it mostly right again and how the lessons learned changed his career trajectory.  

You can connect with Shawn on IG @shawnhoy77. He is private but will accept if intrigued. 

There is no brand without a product, and there is no product without a brand. They need to live in harmony. But. Too often, the product and the brand teams don't work together. The outcome? A subpar and disconnected customer experience. In this conversation, product guru Shawn Hoy (accompanied by his snoring bulldog Mack) spotlights the importance of trust and a common level of understanding of the "why" as prerequisites for a harmonious (business) marriage. We talk about the power of conviction and why it's important not to have a plan B sometimes. 

Professionally, Shawn is a self-described stand-up comedian and youth soccer coach trapped in the career trajectory of a product and merchandising professional. He's been fortunate enough to have traveled on the dimes of McKinsey, Bain, Nike, Saucony, and now DSW. His singular professional motivation: doing things that have never been done before. 

You can connect with Shawn on IG @shawnhoy77. He is private but will accept if intrigued. 

We continue the conversation with Nike veteran Cory Hansen, who has spent his professional life crafting art from words. In this episode, we talk about some of his favorite work charged with emotional appeal and about the benefits of having his scripts voiced over by none other than the Shoe Dog himself - Phil Knight. You'll also learn why other people taking credit for your work can in fact be a great opportunity. And if you wonder why this master of words doesn't believe in being on social media, make sure you listen until the end. 

Creative copywriting can sometimes sit somewhere between serving as a translation service and acting as a lawyer for your clients. In a world where everything seems important, a copywriter needs to determine what is essential and make it compelling. In this episode, we're talking to Cory Hansen, who spent the first decade of his career in advertising before joining Nike, where he worked on pretty much anything that needed writing. He led the Brand Writing Department and steered the voice of the Swoosh Brand. We caught up with Cory about some of his most iconic work, including the 2014 World Cup and the Breaking 2 marathon moment. We talk about why it's important for a copywriter to be analytical, and about how to cope with the fact that a lot of your ideas won't ever see the light of day.