Author Archives: Nick Westergaard

As a communication instructor at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, I look at a lot of writing. Recently, while grading an executive summary assignment (students were asked to summarize an article for a fictitious superior) a couple … Read More →

“I joke that I’m good at impressions — you have to do voices.” Why would a marketer need to be good at doing impressions? As founder of Cobblestone Creative Co, Kate Boyd uses this skill to help mirror the voices … Read More →

“A story lets you address problems in a very human way.” While traditional business books, textbooks, and case studies help us learn key concepts, they often miss what’s going on behind the scenes. The story arc or narrative. This week, … Read More →

“Content is expanding — it’s shifting. It used to be 2D and flat.” Now we have VR, AR, MR, and XR. What’s a marketer to do? Luckily, we can get this entire world demystified for us by extended reality expert … Read More →

“Brands that endure have long-term ambitions. They make a durable difference.” When it comes to celebrating your brand’s legacy, age is relative. In some industries it’s a benefit while others are looking for the latest, greatest thing. But your legacy … Read More →

“Brands today are more dynamic than ever before. We need to keep the idea of brand from being esoteric.” And we need better tools for managing and measuring brand impact across platforms. That’s exactly what Luke Beatty does as CEO … Read More →

“Brands aren’t logos or static concepts. They’re value systems.” Mario Natarelli has branded everything. From Fortune 500 companies to entire countries. Regardless of how different the individual clients may be, the frameworks remain the same. Author and brand strategist Natarelli … Read More →

“Everything is an ad.” At times it seems as though our industry is in the midst of an existential crisis. Who are we? What do we really do? Are branding, marketing, and advertising still the best descriptors? Kevin Kelly, President … Read More →

This past year, I began teaching MBA business communication at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business. The focus of the curriculum is writing and presenting. This skillset is unique in that employers consistently cite it as important while … Read More →

“The only exciting thing celebrity has is the privilege of platform.” To build something from this privilege, you need to understand your personal brand. Show business and personal branding are two topics Phil Pallen is uniquely qualified to talk about. … Read More →