How Courageous Leadership Shapes Customer Affinity | with Ryan Berman
Brand to Fan Show Ep22
Ryan Berman, Founder of Courageous, joins the podcast for a great conversation on the power of courage, authenticity, and the importance of creating fans for your brand.
Episode 22:
Welcome back to the "Brand to Fan Show," where we dive deep into the world of branding, fandom, and everything in between. We have a fantastic episode lined up for you today! The incredible Ryan Berman, a fearless expert in all things courage, joins us.
In this episode, we'll explore the pivotal role of courage for both brands and fans. We'll discover how knowledge, faith, and action are the secret ingredients to true bravery while uncovering the distinction between bravery and courage. It's a thought-provoking conversation that inspires you to step out of your comfort zone and embrace courage as a key element in your life.
That's not all! We'll also discuss the power of authenticity and storytelling in brand narratives. From the importance of aligning values internally and externally to the impact of social media and crowdsourcing on forcing change, we'll explore how brands can connect with their audience on a deeper level and create compelling stories that resonate.
And let's not forget the thrilling topic of experiential marketing. As people seek escapism now more than ever, we'll delve into how brands can unlock unique experiences for their fans, internally and externally, to captivate and create lasting connections.
Ryan and I touch on several other topics (it’s more of an equal opportunity interview, he gets in his questions!), like leadership vs ownership, the fast-paced world of business, and the importance of clarity, conviction, and cost when it comes to successful marketing. Plus, we'll hear how the recent ownership change of the Washington NFL team landed for this life-long fan.
So buckle up because this episode is packed with insights, stories, and a healthy dose of inspiration. Get ready to dive into the courageous world of branding and fans with our amazing guest, Ryan Berman.
“If you don’t realize how important it is to unlock your own fans, your own internal audience, first, you’re going to have a hard time over a long period of time alone, unlocking everybody else.”
The Guest: Ryan Berman
Ryan Berman is the founder of Courageous; a think-feel-do change consultancy based in Southern California. With 25 years in creative business, Ryan believes your “future is safe with change”. Ryan is a speaker, practitioner and authority on the subject who has been featured in Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Inc and Forbes. Ryan has spoken on the topic all over the country including at Google, Procter & Gamble, Kellogg’s, Kraft Heinz, Logitech, Discover Card and charity: water. Ryan also hosts The Courageous Podcast where he talks with leaders from around the globe to uncover what it means to be courageous in today's world. His book, Return On Courage, shares why companies need to unlock courage while providing practical tips on how organizations can operationalize courage today. Learn more at couragebrands.com
WHERE TO FIND Ryan:
Listen to the latest episode of The Courageous Podcast!
Check out Ryan’s Book, Return on Courage.
TL;DL (too long; didn’t listen)
My key takeaways from Episode 22 with Ryan Berman
At the show's start, Ryan mentioned different states of courage: feeling stuck, scared, stale, spinning, or safe. This set the foundation for the rest of the episode.
Ryan discussed the recipe for courage, emphasizing that it requires knowledge, faith, and action. It's not about having one or two of these elements but all three to move forward courageously. He also differentiated bravery, which is a momentary impulse driven by intuition and instinct, from courage, which is intentional and requires all three elements.
Ryan shared a bit about his past life in the agency world and how he became frustrated with brands creating inauthentic narratives. He highlighted the power of social media and crowdsourcing in bringing about change when customers don't resonate with a brand's values.
He stressed the importance of values for brands, as customers need to identify and connect with a brand's values to feel a deeper connection. Experiential marketing is in demand as people seek escapism in a heavy and challenging world. Business leaders must be thoughtful in unlocking external and internal escapism for fans and customers.
In this Episode (Time Stamps):
[00:00:00] Welcome to New Brand to Fan Show Episodes.
[00:05:14] Relevance of experiential brand activation in business.
[00:07:40] Leadership is key, align internal and external narratives.
[00:11:23] Reflecting on the ownership change of Washington Commanders (NFL)
[00:13:48] Early values and shared misery build community. Villain verification clarifies purpose in business.
[00:17:41] Twitter's ownership's actions are affecting loyalty.
[00:21:36] Bud Light advertising changes tune during NFL season.
[00:26:08] Knowledge, faith, and action equal courage.
[00:29:00] Being in business is challenging now. Fast-paced changes require clear values and courage from marketers. Leadership is about setting the groundwork for success.
[00:34:04] Identity evolves with legacy, history, and leadership.
[00:41:14] New Washington NFL team owner prioritizes city and growth.
[00:46:16] Recounting Landon Donovan’s iconic World Cup goal.
[00:47:58] Ryan discusses the importance of courage and values.
WHAT ARE YOU A FAN OF?
In the spirit of staying consistent, which is identity, I am absolutely a fan of Josh Harris, who just took over control of the Washington Commanders. There was an article that came out after he had bought the team. And of course, one of the very first questions they asked him was, are you going to keep the name? And he basically said, “We're going to listen to the city. And that's not our first priority, but we're going to listen to the city and we're going to go from there.” And that was the ultimate tell, right? The ultimate tell.
He's like, it's not about me. There's clarity and priority in who he's serving. He's going to serve the city. And he said, we're going to do the work. We're going to build the culture. He didn't say we're going to win tomorrow. He just said we're not going to cut corners. We're going to listen.
So I'm a big fan because I feel like he's not making it about him. He's going to do it the right way and make sure that the city is bigger. He's from there; you might as well have thrown him in the back of the car with me in the Jeep on the way to the games because I know he felt what I felt growing up. And I think that's why a lot of us are excited it's almost like priorities are right, and then hopefully good things will come of it because of it.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FANWEAR ITEM?
I have a 2003 Landon Donovan signed Jersey. And, like, this jersey, it's long sleeved. If it was raining out, you would not be very fast. It's amazing how far soccer jerseys have come because it's like, “wow, you played in this?”
One of the cooler side projects that I've been able to work on has been writing Landon's memoir. To now have a real relationship with him and to learn his story, which is not your atypical story, I'm proud to have that jersey. I'm very honored to be able to help tell his story.
Show Credits
Brand to Fan Show is produced by Teague FC and supported by FanWagn
Audio production by Bryan Griggs / Griggs Production
Producers: Kimberly Voorhis and Carrie Hellbusch
Video Editing by Garrett Teague
AI assistance from Pictory.AI and CastMagic
And I’m your host, Lauren Teague.
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