Friend of the show, Tom Carusona, CMO of Insomnia Cookies, drops by for a full episode with the guys. The trio offer snap decisions on the state of influencer marketing. Tom talks about the key ingredients of making Insomnia a cult brand and shares stories about brand essence, pajama parties and other tasty marketing programs. John’s asks an unattainable Jerk to be a guest.

Key topics & chapter markers

(00:00) Too many marketers/Intro

(01:30) Influencer marketing — more than just Kardashians

(07:44) Stuck in the 70s, wishing for watercooler conversations

(12:17) Cultivating a cult brand

(21:54) Owning the night

(26:12) Covid and The Cookie Lab

(29:54) Positioning products for brand authenticity

(33:15) Do cookies translate in Canada and the UK?

(37:06) Warm cookies and cold pucks

(39:54) Aramark: a bigger brand with bigger implications

(43:40) Getting into marketing

(47:14) Dear Hopelessly Unattainable Guest

Background Content

"The State of Influencer Marketing 2023" - Influencer Marketing Hub

"The Case for and against Micro-influencers" - Digiday

"Hubspot State of Marketing 2023" - Hubspot

"Insomnia Cookies teams with Justin Jefferson for special launch" -Bake Magazine

"The secret ingredient to Mets '19 turnaround" - MLB.com

Connect with Brian and John on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianmarks13/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-l-young/