In this episode of The Speed of Culture podcast, Suzy founder and host Matt Britton speaks with Gail Hollander, chief marketing officer at The J.M. Smucker Company. Hollander discusses the importance of understanding cultural truths, how to remain relevant in a fast-evolving CPG landscape, and the art of balancing short-term wins with long-term brand equity….Read More
“We’re not saving lives,” Michael Sugar, film producer and founder and CEO of Sugar23, said in the latest installment of video series Resume Rewind, sponsored by entertainment wiki hosting service Fandom. “We’re making movies and TV shows, and we need to enjoy it more.” Sugar’s dream job as a kid was to be a film…Read More
In this episode of the Brave Commerce podcast, hosts Rachel Tipograph and Sarah Hofstetter sit down with Michael Kassan, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures, to discuss his dynamic career in the commerce industry. Kassan shares the thought process behind launching 3C Ventures, a company focused on the 3 C’s–consulting, convening, and co-investing. He explains…Read More
Many years from now, a group of Brazilians will find themselves at a celebration, dancing with the kind of joy only truly happy souls can experience. The music will flow with a cadence that beckons everyone to celebrate the things worth celebrating. Then, a song by Brazilian musician Jorge Ben Jor will begin to play….Read More
I’m listening more than reading these days, and I find that a good audiobook can make a real impact on the way I absorb and learn from a book. It’s a once in a century sort of shift in this medium.
My new book is now available in audio. It’s not on Audible, at least not now. Audible has exploited their dominant position and the offer they make to authors is unfair and almost untenable. I’m not sure their monopoly is as secure as they hope though–all of us have a podcast app on our phones, and services like SupportingCast now deliver books seamlessly to a podcast app–at the same time they bring authors closer to listeners.
SupportingCast makes it easy for audiobook creators to produce updates and reach the audience after the book is published–something that’s impossible with a print book, and forbidden by Amazon/Audible.
I think we’re about a year away from the majority of audiobooks being narrated by AI. One more upgrade in quality and they’ll deliver a better, cheaper alternative than all but the most skilled narrators. Reading the new book cost me my voice for more than a month, but I wasn’t happy with the AI version of me, so here I am.
With each section, I asked myself, “Am I doing the reader a service?” Just as typography took over from calligraphy, I think it’s likely that the answer one day soon will be, “actually, the AI can do this with more clarity.” But as long as I had the mic, I was eager to do the best I could.
As always, AI replaces mediocre work long before it provides a realistic or better alternative to the nuance, passion and insight that a human brings. But the arc here is clear.
Thanks for supporting the work.
And Stategy Week continues on LinkedIn. Don’t miss these (if you come live, you can ask questions, but they’ll all be recorded as well).
With no more debates or other match-ups between the candidates, we’ve officially reached the doldrums phase of the presidential election cycle. That’s reflected in the ratings for the week of October 14, as all three evening news broadcasts saw week-to-week declines in total viewers. In a bright spot, though, the CBS Evening News with Norah…Read More
Stephen Curry has the magic touch for three pointers, as any Golden State Warriors fan knows, but he can also tiptoe through a room full of lasers, a la Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible. And, separate but related, he has serious amphibian energy. The hidden skills of that particular basketball legend aren’t the only off-court…Read More
Where competitors like Asics and New Balance have found success in striking a balance between their performance wear and streetwear offerings, Saucony is finding its footing with the latter, under the direction of new global chief marketing officer (CMO) Joy Allen-Altimare. Since joining the 126 year-old footwear brand in June, Allen-Altimare has forged partnerships that…Read More
The numbers Interpublic Group (IPG)’s third quarter net revenue decreased by 2.9% to $2.24 billion, while organic growth was flat year on year. For the first nine months of the year, net revenue was down 0.9% to $6.75 billion, with organic growth of 1%. Its performance trails peers Publicis and Omnicom, which last week reported…Read More
A former general counsel for the Florida Department of Health said he resigned rather than “complying with the directives” of DeSantis’s executive staff to send more cease-and-desist letters to TV stations running the ad. The Washington Post reports that the letters that threatened Florida TV stations with criminal penalties, if they aired a political ad…Read More
