Remarkable Content with Ian Faison

Caspian Studios, Ian Faison
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Marketing lessons from Hollywood, B2C, B2B and beyond! “A smart, goofy show that blends marketing, Hollywood, advertising and pop-culture. A must-listen for any marketer looking for fresh ideas.” - Oprah and Tom Hanks, simultaneously Hosted by Ian Faison and Meredith Gooderham and produced by Jess Avellino. Sound design by Scott Goodrich. Created by the team at Caspian Studios.

  1. What Mad Men Reveals About Persuasion in B2B Marketing | Fahad Muhammad (TealBook)

    3 DAYS AGO

    What Mad Men Reveals About Persuasion in B2B Marketing | Fahad Muhammad (TealBook)

    Most B2B marketing fails for one simple reason: it forgets how persuasion actually works. That’s why Mad Men still hits. Beneath the suits, pitches, and personal drama, it’s a masterclass in what actually moves people. In this episode, we break down its B2B marketing takeaways with the help of our special guest  Fahad Muhammad, Former VP of Marketing at TealBook. Together, we explore why fundamentals matter more than tactics, why emotion drives demand, and how originality is the only real advantage left in modern B2B marketing. About our guest, Fahad Muhammad Fahad is a revenue-centric and data-driven marketing leader with 17 years of experience in strategic marketing at severalSaaS/Tech companies ranging from start-ups, SMBs to enterprise organizations. Specializing in demand creation and generation, he takes a data driven approach to identify unique growth opportunities in order to drive revenue and foster meaningful connections with customers.  He is a diehard college football fan (Sun Devil for life!) and attends ASU's homecoming game each fall. An avid reader, he loves to read with a cup of his favorite coffee in hand. What B2B Companies Can Learn From Mad Men: Anchor on positioning before you touch tactics. Fahad’s biggest takeaway from Mad Men is that modern B2B often skips the hard thinking and jumps straight to execution. The show strips marketing back to its core, and the lesson is uncomfortable in its simplicity. As he puts it, “This discipline is around three core things. It's about positioning, it's about having a very compelling piece of creative… and then the last piece is really understanding who your audience is.” The danger for B2B teams is mistaking activity for strategy. If positioning is fuzzy, no amount of optimization will save it. Get the foundation right first, or everything else is just noise.Emotion is the real differentiator. Fahad makes it clear that cutting through the noise is about resonance. He says, “Something that does speak to us, no matter what medium [it’s in], is always going to cut through the noise.” Mad Men works because it understands human psychology hasn’t changed, even if the channels have. For B2B marketers, the lesson is simple: logic might justify the purchase, but emotion earns attention. If your message doesn’t connect at a human level, it won’t survive the noise long enough to matter.Originality beats borrowed playbooks. Fahad warns that one of the fastest ways for B2B brands to disappear is by copying what already worked for someone else. Mad Men celebrates originality because it shows how differentiation is built through conviction, not consensus. As Fahad puts it, “They're not taking the shortcut route of copy pasting or referencing creative… they are elevating themselves and going through their own version of creative.” In a world where everyone has access to the same tools, the only sustainable advantage is saying something true in a way only you can. That’s what people remember.Quote “  Everybody has the same access to the tools now. They can do the same thing. And the playing field is more level than ever. So how do you now cut through the noise? It still goes back to the core elements of: How strong is your positioning? How strong is your creative? Are you really thinking [that] this is going to cut through the noise and is it going to move people?” Time Stamps [00:55] Meet Fahad Muhammad, Former VP of Marketing at TealBook [01:37] Why Mad Men? [04:28] Role of VP of Marketing at TealBook [05:20] Behind-the-Scenes of Mad Men [09:21] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Mad Men [32:08] The Role of AI in Marketing [42:43] How to Connect Content to Your Marketing Strategy [45:44] Advice for First-Time VPs of Marketing [47:19] Final Thoughts and Takeaways Links Connect with Fahad on LinkedIn Learn more about TealBook 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 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 for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    48 min
  2. Dune: B2B Marketing Lessons on Finding Value in Unpopular Places with Madhav Bhandari, Head of Marketing at Storylane

    3 FEB

    Dune: B2B Marketing Lessons on Finding Value in Unpopular Places with Madhav Bhandari, Head of Marketing at Storylane

    Some of the most powerful ideas in marketing don’t come from marketing at all. They come from stories that refuse to play it safe. That’s the lesson of Dune, the sci-fi epic once considered unfilmable and now one of the most successful franchises of the decade. In this episode, we break down its marketing lessons with the help of our special guest Madhav Bhandari, Head of Marketing at Storylane. Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from world-building, pattern interruptions, and betting on emerging talent. About our guest, Madhav Bhandari Madhav Bhandari is the Head of Marketing at Storylane. He’s a a B2B marketer with 12+ years of experience helping startups grow from scrappy beginnings ($2M+ ARR) to category leadership ($20M+ ARR and beyond). Madhav built lean, high-performing marketing engines across both PLG / sales-led companies. His strength and philosophy is doing marketing that stands out. I focus on work that drives action and ties directly to pipeline. Madhav has helped many scale-ups grow beyond $10M ARR, either as a full-time leader or a hands-on advisor. I love taking on this challenge. What B2B Companies Can Learn From Dune: Show the product, don’t narrate it. Madhav’s first lesson from Dune is about restraint. The film works because it removes exposition and lets the audience experience the world firsthand. He draws a direct parallel to B2B marketing, saying, “ You've seen the B2B website homepages that are just full of jargon.  And I think now is the time to actually show the product.” Too many B2B teams rely on jargon, stock imagery, and abstract claims, forcing buyers to imagine value. The takeaway is simple: remove the guesswork. Interactive demos, real visuals, and tangible experiences outperform explanations every time. If buyers have to imagine what your product does, you’ve already added friction.Go where the work is unpopular but important. In Dune, the most valuable resource in the universe lives in the most unremarkable place. Madhav says, “ Unpopular but important projects, that’s where the largest customer growth lies.” In marketing, that means resisting the pull of flashy homepage redesigns and brand exercises when the real leverage sits deeper, product pages, conversion paths, and messy parts of the funnel no one wants to own. If everyone wants to work on it, it’s probably already optimized. The real upside lives where attention is scarce.Bet on emerging voices, not just famous ones. Dune didn’t rely on a single A-list star to succeed, and Madhav has seen the same dynamic play out in B2B. His experience is clear: “ anytime I've gone with… a very popular influencer… that I interviewed, those episodes the way I thought they would perform, didn't really perform that well. Bu what’s funny is that the people that are relatively unpopular but have done incredible work are the episodes that did fantastic.” Big names feel safe, but they’re expensive and often underdeliver. Audiences respond more to sharp thinking and real experience than borrowed fame. In B2B, the fastest way to build trust is to help your audience discover someone worth listening to, before everyone else does.Quote “ Today, in our world, sameness is risky… The worst that could happen … is it's gonna perform the same as if you would've not done that, and the best case scenario is it’s just gonna do insanely well.”  Time Stamps [01:03] Meet Madhav Bhandari, Head of Marketing at Storylane 01:08 Why Dune? 01:51 Role of Head of Marketing at Storylane 02:37 Breaking Down Dune 10:53 B2B Marketing Takeaways from Dune 25:18 Influencer Campaign Strategies 28:28 The Power of Brand Awareness 31:12 Storylane's Marketing Strategy 35:08 Creative Marketing Examples 38:37 Content Strategy and Founder Branding 45:25 Final Thoughts and Takeaways Links Connect with Madhav on LinkedIn Learn more about Storylane 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 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 for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    46 min
  3. MrBeast: B2B Marketing Lessons on Building Repeatable Content with Rodrigo Fonte, VP of Marketing at QuillBot

    27 JAN

    MrBeast: B2B Marketing Lessons on Building Repeatable Content with Rodrigo Fonte, VP of Marketing at QuillBot

    Everybody talks about creativity, but very few are willing to measure it. The real advantage comes from combining imagination with obsession. That’s the lesson of MrBeast, the YouTube creator who turned data-driven storytelling into one of the most powerful media brands in the world. In this episode, we explore his marketing playbook with the help of our special guest Rodrigo Fontes, VP of Marketing at QuillBot. Together, we break down what B2B marketers can learn from engineering audience retention, building repeatable content formats, and investing just a little more effort to create work people can’t look away from. About our guest, Rodrigo Fontes Rodrigo Fonte is the VP of Marketing at QuillBot. He is a strategic marketing leader with over 15 years of experience building and scaling brands across both B2C and B2B markets. Rodrigo is currently driving growth in Generative AI and consumer tech at QuillBot (Learneo). He’s also leading the global marketing organization behind one of the world’s most widely used AI writing assistants, overseeing Brand, Media, Influencers, Social, SEO, ASO, Content, Product Marketing, and International Expansion. What B2B Companies Can Learn From MrBeast: Obsess over audience retention, not just reach. MrBeast doesn’t just aim for views, he studies exactly where attention drops and rebuilds content accordingly. Rodrigo says, “His data-driven customer obsession on every detail to make things work, I think that’s such an amazing thing for us marketers today to think [about].” B2B teams should move beyond impressions and focus on where prospects lose interest and why. Analyze content the same way you analyze funnels. Retention is the real signal of relevance.Show people something they’ve never seen before. Originality is MrBeast’s core advantage. He doesn’t just execute well, he starts with ideas audiences haven’t encountered. Rodrigo reminds us, “The fight for attention is brutal today.” If your content looks like your competitors’, it’s already invisible. Massive budgets aren’t required to execute original ideas, as MrBeast proved in his early viral videos. Novelty is a priceless strategic asset.Use culture as a creative multiplier. MrBeast often revamps formats by tapping into existing cultural moments (e.g., Squid Game, Willy Wonka). Rodrigo points out, “He can really revamp a format if he adds culture to [it].” B2B strategy doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel. Tie your ideas to what your audience already cares about instead of forcing attention from scratch.Quote “ Go deeper on what really, already has the attention of your target audience, instead of starting from scratch. What are they paying attention to already?” Time Stamps [01:03] Meet Rodrigo Fontes, VP of Marketing at QuillBot [02:13] Why MrBeast? [09:07] Why His Content Works [16:58] The Power of Effort and Originality [22:05] Repeatable Formats and Serialized Content [29:20] Lessons from Branded Content and Influencers [42:45] QuillBot’s Content Strategy [47:56] Advice for Marketing Leaders [51:12] Final Thoughts and Takeaways Links Connect with Rodrigo on LinkedIn Learn more about QuillBot 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 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 for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    52 min
  4. Summer House: B2B Marketing Lessons on Making Your Brand the Life of the Party with Chief Marketing Officer at Goldcast, Kelly Cheng

    20 JAN

    Summer House: B2B Marketing Lessons on Making Your Brand the Life of the Party with Chief Marketing Officer at Goldcast, Kelly Cheng

    Reality TV isn’t just weekend entertainment. It’s a blueprint for brand building. That’s the lesson of Summer House, Bravo’s long-running hit that turns everyday interactions into year-round engagement. In this episode, we break down its marketing lessons with the help of our special guest Kelly Cheng, Chief Marketing Officer at Goldcast. Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from playing the long game with their audience, making marketing more human by building in public, and creating a steady stream of content that keeps you top of mind long after the season ends. About our guest, Kelly Cheng Kelly Cheng is a seasoned marketing executive with over a decade of experience driving growth and leading successful marketing strategies for high-performing technology companies. As the Chief Marketing Officer at Goldcast, she is responsible for spearheading the company's global marketing initiatives, including brand development, demand generation, and digital marketing. Prior to her current role, Kelly served as the VP of Marketing at Goldcast, where she played a pivotal role in the company's successful rebrand and the implementation of a data-driven marketing approach. Before joining Goldcast, she held marketing leadership positions at Wistia and Dynatrace, where she demonstrated her expertise in growth marketing, media optimization, and digital acquisition strategies. Kelly's diverse background also includes experience in media planning and digital marketing at PagerDuty and Havas Media Group. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Boston University, where she graduated cum laude and was recognized for her academic excellence. What B2B Companies Can Learn From Summer House: Build long-term relationships with your audience. Reality TV wins through continuity. Keeping familiar faces and building trust season after season. Kelly explains, “The continuity piece is really important. Throughout the nine seasons, there's a lot of OGs that have been around since season one, and you really, really build that rapport with the audience, and people are super invested in what you do next.” In B2B, the same applies. Consistency and ongoing storytelling help audiences feel emotionally connected, not just informed. Your series or campaign shouldn’t end when engagement dips. It should evolve, deepen, and reward loyalty.Build in public. Kelly draws a parallel between following a cast across nine seasons and showing your brand’s journey transparently. “You’re following on for nine years, learning about their development over time... It’s kind of like building in public…I could just put up a show and say watch me learn about AI in marketing and watch me win and watch me fail.” B2B marketers can use this approach to humanize their brand: sharing learnings, experiments, and even missteps. The more your audience sees your process, the more invested they become in your success.Capture year-round mindshare through consistent content. Bravo doesn’t just rely on one show. They have built an ecosystem that keeps fans engaged across formats and seasons. Kelly notes, “They’re just really, really good at turning out content that people want to consume to keep them top of mind… There’s an extra 10 months that you have to make sure that you have got air cover so people don’t forget about you.” The lesson: don’t go dark between campaigns. Extend your reach with follow-up content, micro-clips, events, and spin-offs. Sustained storytelling turns fleeting interest into durable brand awareness.Quote “I think there’s a lot of learning in making B2B marketing a bit more human and drawing those learnings from reality TV about building in public. Because at the end of the day, you’re selling software to help an individual that will ultimately help an organization.” Time Stamps [00:55] Meet Kelly Cheng, Chief Marketing Officer at Goldcast [01:08] Why Summer House? [07:13] What is Summer House? [17:37] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Summer House [36:43] Goldcast's Approach to Marketing [42:28] Goldcasts' Upcoming Agent Launches [43:29] Advice for CMOs [44:25] Final Thoughts and Takeaways Links Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn Learn more about Goldcast 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 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 for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    49 min
  5. Oura Ring’s ‘Give Us a Finger’ Campaign: B2B Marketing Lessons on Saying What Your Audience Already Feels with CMO & Creator of The Zero to One Marketer, Sylvia LePoidevin

    13 JAN

    Oura Ring’s ‘Give Us a Finger’ Campaign: B2B Marketing Lessons on Saying What Your Audience Already Feels with CMO & Creator of The Zero to One Marketer, Sylvia LePoidevin

    Every marketer wants to create a campaign that cuts through, but most B2B brands try to do it with more spend, more channels, and more polish. The real lever is simpler: say something people actually feel. That’s the lesson of Oura Ring’s ‘Give Us a Finger,’ a campaign that nailed cultural timing, sharp copy, and product-specific boldness without losing its soul. In this episode, we explore its B2B marketing takeaways with the help of our special guest Sylvia LePoidevin, CMO & Creator of The Zero to One Marketer. Together, we break down what B2B marketers can learn from making your copy the multiplier, leading with tension, and turning cultural insight into measurable demand. About our guest, Sylvia LePoidevin Sylvia LePoidevin is a B2B SaaS marketing leader who has gone from the first marketing hire to CMO at two companies now valued over $2 billion combined.  Most recently, Sylvia was the CMO at Kandji. She joined as employee #4 and helped scale the company from pre-seed to an $850M valuation with global offices across the US, London, Sydney, and Tokyo. A former early hire at DataFox (acquired by Oracle’s AI group) and FloQast (now valued at $1.6B), Sylvia has spent her career building go-to-market engines from zero, often without playbooks, resources, or precedent.  Her passion is helping founders and scaling teams build with the buyer first, using messaging, content, and community as multipliers for growth. Raised in remote Africa before moving to the US alone at 17, Sylvia credits her resilience and outsider perspective as her greatest assets in navigating zero-to-one challenges in both life and business. What B2B Companies Can Learn From Oura Ring’s ‘Give Us the Finger’ Campaign: Make your copy the multiplier, not the footnote. Sylvia’s first lesson from ‘Give Us a Finger; is that the words are the performance channel. She says, “You think so much about the budget and the metrics, but if you put half as much of that effort into just like what the freaking copy is saying, that can change the unit economics of your whole campaign more than anything.” Oura didn’t win because they spent more, they won because the headline is sticky, visual, and instantly understandable. In B2B, it should be the same. Before you tune targeting or add spend, pressure-test the message. One sharp line that people repeat will outperform five “optimized” versions nobody remembers.Lead with tension. What makes this campaign work, in Sylvia’s eyes, is that it taps a real, shared feeling in the market. She grounds it in one clear idea: “The whole concept of ‘Give Us the Finger’ is sort of an act of defiance against aging.” That’s why it resonates beyond the cult fans. It’s selling an attitude, not a tracker. For B2B marketers, the move is to find the tension your buyers already live in and build the campaign around that. When the audience feels seen first, the product lands as the natural weapon.Keep the wrinkles in your writing. Sylvia loves this campaign because it doesn’t feel sanded down into safe brand mush. Her takeaway is blunt: “ AI takes the wrinkles out of your writing… People are now looking for the wrinkles because it shows that it's real.” Oura’s creative has an edge, personality, and a little defiance, which is exactly why it sticks. In B2B, where everything tends to sound committee-approved, the fastest way to disappear is to over-smooth. Let your voice have texture. Keep the sharp edges that make your brand human. That’s what people notice, trust, and remember.Quote “ 95% of your buyer is not in market at any moment, only 5% is. And it's very lucrative and tempting to pour all of your resources into that 5% and try to capture the existing demand. But eventually it's going to cap out. And to really achieve that hockey stick, long-term growth, you need to invest in the 95%.” Time Stamps [00:55] Meet Sylvia LePoidevin, CMO & Creator of The Zero to One Marketer [01:26] Why Oura Ring’s “Give Us the Finger” Campaign? [04:32] Sylvia’s Career Journey in Content Marketing [05:47] Inside the Strategy Behind Oura Ring’s ‘Give Us the Finger’  [10:52] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Oura Ring’s ‘Give Us the Finger’ Campaign [26:48] A Content Marketing Playbook for First-Time CMOs [31:47] Modern Marketing Strategies That Actually Work [40:26] The Hidden Power of Internal Influencers [43:55] AI in Content Creation: What to Use, What to Avoid [49:29] Final Thoughts and Takeaways Links Connect with Sylvia on LinkedIn 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 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 for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    51 min

  6. 8 JAN

    BONUS: The New Marketing Role You Should Be Hiring For

    Emily Kramer, founder of MKT1 and a longtime voice in modern B2B marketing, joins Ian Faison to unpack how AI is reshaping marketing teams, roles, and expectations. They explore Emily’s concept of the “gen marketer”,  and why traditional silos and specialist-heavy teams struggle in today’s high-velocity environment. Key Takeaways Marketing teams need more generalists who can connect strategy, creativity, and distribution.Speed to execution matters more than perfect alignment across functions.Big marketing wins come from coordinated campaigns, not isolated tactics.AI increases the value of orchestration and taste, not specialization alone.Marketing leaders should think in portfolios of bets, not incremental activities.Quote “Every big initiative needs to have a chance to really win — not just deliver incremental results.” Episode Timestamps (03:51) What the “Gen Marketer” role actually means (10:04) Why speed matters more than perfect alignment (16:42) Escaping random acts of marketing with big bets (24:58) How CMOs should think like producers or VCs (31:37) When founder-led marketing works (and when it doesn’t) Sponsor Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com — the pipeline generation platform for revenue teams. Turn your website into a pipeline machine with PipelineAI. Engage and convert your most valuable visitors with live chat, chatbots, meeting scheduling, and intent data. Visit Qualified.com to learn more. Links Connect with Ian on LinkedIn Connect with Emily Kramer on LinkedIn Dear Marketers Podcast  MKT1 Unboxing Learn more about MKT1 Learn more about Caspian Studios Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    40 min
  7. KPop Demon Hunters: B2B Marketing Lessons on How to Go Golden with Fractional Head of Marketing, Ray Lin

    6 JAN

    KPop Demon Hunters: B2B Marketing Lessons on How to Go Golden with Fractional Head of Marketing, Ray Lin

    Most B2B brands think growth comes from turning everything up: more campaigns, more hustle, more competitive swagger. But the brands people actually follow know when to slow down, tune out the noise, and get real. That’s the unexpected lesson of KPop Demon Hunters, a movie that uses K-pop stardom, rivalry, and emotional honesty to show what makes an audience stay loyal. In this episode, we break down his marketing lessons with the help of our special guest Ray Lin, Fractional Head of Marketing. Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from pacing for quality, standing for something bigger than the rivalry, and making vulnerability a trust engine that drives demand. About our guest, Ray Lin Ray Lin is a mission-driven marketing leader who turns messy funnels into clean revenue. Over 13+ years across SaaS, marketplaces, and wellness tech, he’s built demand gen and ABM machines that actually align with sales—and he’s unapologetically pro-AI when it lifts both creativity and efficiency. A Bay Area native and former sports writer turned “accidental but strategic marketer,” Ray believes great marketing is H2H—human to human—before it’s ever B2B. He’s led and rolled up his sleeves across demand gen, digital, ABM, field, performance, growth, content, product marketing, and lifecycle CRM, with 8+ years inside B2B2C marketplaces like Grubhub, Wellhub and SeatGeek. If your pipeline’s leaky, your teams are siloed, or “content” isn’t moving deals, Ray’s the marketing leader who fixes the system, centers the customer, and gets momentum back on the scoreboard. What B2B Companies Can Learn From KPop Demon Hunters: Work smarter, not harder. KPop Demon Hunters shows that momentum dies when you confuse output with impact. Ray pulls a direct B2B parallel: “one of the lessons that come from Golden is working smarter, not harder… [Marketers] a lot think that extra 10 attempts at ad creative or 10 extra emails that you queue up in your CRM are gonna make all the difference. When in reality, it’s about quality, not quantity.” For B2B, this movie is your warning label: speed without intention burns out the team and blurs the story. Make fewer bets, make them sharper, and give your work room to land.Compete with conviction, not contempt. The movie’s diss track, Takedown, is a trap: when your identity becomes anti-them, you shrink your own story. Ray says it plainly: “Don’t let competitive obsession poison your well.” The point isn’t to never compete, it’s how you compete. If your positioning is mostly about your rival, you’ve already let them write your narrative. Lead with what you stand for, and you won’t need a villain to feel heroic.Let vulnerability be your differentiator. The movie’s emotional turn lands because the heroes stop performing perfection and start telling the truth. That’s the B2B move too: honesty travels farther than polish. Ray says, “ The power of vulnerability and transparency… can really skyrocket a B2B brand.” In B2B, authenticity isn’t a vibe, it’s a trust engine. Build a brand worth believing in.Quote “Always be ready. You don't know what's gonna be a hit and what's not going to. And when it does happen, know how to capitalize on it. And the multiple prongs, the octopus of this behemoth that is KPop Demon Hunters, I think, is that it has all these tentacles… [and] is what makes it so powerful. You can't plan for the success of one tentacle without thinking at least about the others.” Time Stamps [00:55] Meet Ray Lin, Fractional Head of Marketing [02:15] Why KPop Demon Hunters? [05:10] Role of a Fractional Head of Marketing [06:20] Behind the Scenes of KPop Demon Hunters [16:00] B2B Marketing Lessons from KPop Demon Hunters [27:00] High Concept Storytelling in Media [40:57] Final Thoughts and Takeaways Links Connect with Ray on LinkedIn 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 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 for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    45 min
  8. Massimo Bottura: B2B Marketing Lessons on Turning Mistakes Into Michelin-Level Moments with VP of Marketing at Riverside, Abel Grünfeld

    16/12/2025

    Massimo Bottura: B2B Marketing Lessons on Turning Mistakes Into Michelin-Level Moments with VP of Marketing at Riverside, Abel Grünfeld

    Sometimes the biggest creative breakthroughs start with a mistake, and no one proves that better than Massimo Bottura. The three-Michelin-star chef behind some of the world’s most iconic dishes built his reputation on turning accidents, constraints, and tradition itself into something entirely new. In this episode, we break down his marketing lessons with the help of our special guest Abel Grünfeld, VP of Marketing at Riverside. Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from transforming mistakes into memorable stories, using constraints to spark better ideas, and leading with calm adaptability when things inevitably go off script. About our guest, Abel Grünfeld Abel Grunfeld is Riverside’s VP of marketing and first employee. He is a growth strategy expert, specializing in scaling our digital presence and building an efficient marketing pipeline.  What B2B Companies Can Learn From Massimo Bottura: Turn mistakes into magnetic storytelling. Massimo Bottura’s most iconic dish was born from a dropped lemon tart, which is proof that imperfections can become brand-defining moments. Abel explains, “ [It’s] very inspiring to take this high stress environment… and transform it into something that actually is unique, much more creative, much more powerful in terms of storytelling.” In B2B, the same principle applies. When a campaign breaks, a launch misfires, or a plan goes sideways, don’t hide it. Shape it into a story. Audiences connect most with brands that reveal the creative, human process behind the work. Your “oops” moment might become your most memorable asset.Use constraints to fuel creativity. In high-pressure kitchens, limitations create innovation, not less of it. Abel notes, “Your constraints are your advantage… By being very intentional and aware of what your constraints and disadvantages are, you can be really focused on how to use these to actually create some sort of playing field where you can be more successful.” B2B teams often don’t have unlimited budgets, bandwidth, or time. That’s not a disadvantage, that’s focus. Constraints sharpen your narrative, strengthen your positioning, and force bold creative choices. The boundaries become the catalyst.Plan for surprises and lead through them. Massimo Bottura thrives by embracing unpredictability, treating chaos as a space for invention. Abel shares, “You always plan, but you cannot always control the outcomes… you need to plan to be surprised… and  to figure out how you make the most out of any situation.” For B2B marketers, this is the mindset shift. Markets shift. Teams change. Campaigns don’t go as expected. The brands that win are the ones that stay calm, adapt quickly, and turn the unexpected into momentum. Build flexibility into your strategy so you can transform disruption into differentiation.Quote “Real creativity, very often, it's a coincidence of different factors.  There's an unintentionality behind creation that when you plan everything out, you'll never come to that result. When you allow space for exploration, for playfulness, for doing things that you never planned… sometimes they're better than what you actually can envision and visualize yourself.”  Time Stamps [00:55] Meet Abel Grünfeld, VP of Marketing at Riverside  [00:52] Why Massimo Bottura? [01:59 The Role of VP of Marketing at Riverside [03:02] Behind the Scenes of Massimo Bottura: The Italian Culinary Genius [14:58] Marketing Lessons from Massimo Bottura [26:19] Where are B2B Companies at with Video? [32:07] The Importance of Video Content [41:34] Content Strategy at Riverside [44:47] Simplifying Video Production [47:07] Consolidating Video Creation Tools [49:07] Final Thoughts and Takeaways Links Connect with Abel on LinkedIn Learn more about Riverside 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 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 for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Marketing lessons from Hollywood, B2C, B2B and beyond! “A smart, goofy show that blends marketing, Hollywood, advertising and pop-culture. A must-listen for any marketer looking for fresh ideas.” - Oprah and Tom Hanks, simultaneously Hosted by Ian Faison and Meredith Gooderham and produced by Jess Avellino. Sound design by Scott Goodrich. Created by the team at Caspian Studios.

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