The Multimillion Dollar Brand Mistake Most Companies Keep Making

Most companies are still spending millions on beautiful, polished content that almost nobody cares about. Shannon Watkins has sat at the top of the brands that figured this out and the ones that didn't.

Former CMO of Aflac, global CMO of Jordan Brand, and former global CMO at Fiserv, she's spent her whole career at the intersection of brand and culture, and she pulled up to Butternomics to break down what's really changing in how brands win. We get into the multimillion dollar mistake brands keep repeating, why people stopped trusting brand voices and started trusting people instead, and what brands are actually buying when they pay a creator.

Shannon breaks down the difference between brand, marketing, and advertising, why the agency model is getting disrupted in real time, and the earnings report move every creator should be using before they pitch a single brand. She also takes us through the road that got her here.

The pre-med plan she walked away from at Fisk. The worst assignment at Kraft that taught her the foundation of business.

The Powerade campaign built around Derrick Rose and a Tupac poem. The Teyana Taylor partnership at Jordan Brand that changed how she saw creators forever.

And now Watkins Brand Advisors, where she's helping CEOs, nonprofits, and creators figure out the problem behind the problem. This one's for the founders, the creators, and anybody trying to build something real around their creativity.

Shannon doesn't hold back. Watch the full episode and let us know what hit hardest.

Connect with Shannon Watkins on LinkedIn and Instagram, and check out Watkins Brand Advisors. #Butternomics #ShannonWatkins #BrandStrategy #CreatorEconomy #Marketing #Atlanta #BlackEntrepreneurs See for privacy information.