The Naughty and Nice Brands of 2022 with Matt Williams
b'This week we have a special holiday\\xa0episode of the On Brand podcast with the\\xa0\\u201cNaughty and Nice Brands of 2022.\\u201d This seasonally appropriate snapshot of brand behavior was developed by the smart folks at Brand Federation. The consultancy\\u2019s\\xa0Chief Growth Officer Matt Williams joined me to discuss which brands have been naughty and nice this year.\\n\\nAbout Matt Williams\\nMatt Williams is Chief Growth Officer for Brand Federation, a brand strategy consultancy in Richmond, Virginia. Prior to joining Brand Federation in 2019, Williams was CEO of the Martin Agency, one of the world\\u2019s most recognized advertising agencies, where he managed strategy development for world-class brands like GEICO, OREO, UPS, Discover Financial, Walmart, and more. Williams also is a Clinical Professor in the marketing department at the Mason School of Business at William & Mary. He teaches in the MBA program and is the developer and Faculty Director of the school\\u2019s Online Masters in Marketing.\\nThe Naughty List\\n2022 was the year of billionaires behaving badly. Here are a few of the ones we talked about.\\nTwitter, Elon Musk\\u2014The world\\u2019s richest man, Elon Musk, created a $44 billion cash bonfire by buying and systematically destroying Twitter. \\u201cThe \\u2018Chief Twit,\\u2019\\u201d as Williams called Musk, \\u201cdeserves a boulder size lump of coal.\\u201d\\nFTX, Sam Bankman-Fried\\u2014Good virtual eye contact; work to bring your hands up and into gestures to reinforce key points. Brands built on false promises don\\u2019t stand long. Matt and I further discussed what this meant for \\u201cthe brand of crypto.\\u201d\\nTheranos, Elizabeth Holmes\\u2014Holmes, a self-made billionaire who served as CEO of Theranos, built the company into a promising brand\\u2014on a foundation of lies. It collapsed because of dishonesty, lack of transparency, and overall bad behavior at the top, and it earned Holmes an 11-year prison sentence this year.\\nHow about some nice brands and billionaires?\\nThe Nice List\\n\\u201cThe words\\xa0\\u2019nice\\u2019 and\\xa0\\u2018billionaires\\u2019 aren\\u2019t typically heard together,\\u201d joked Matt as we began our discussion of the other half of the list. However, several billionaires and brands used their powers for good this year.\\nPatagonia, Yvon Chouinard\\u2014Patagonia\\u2019s founder, Yvon Chouinard, built a worldwide brand known for sustainability. This year, Chouinard transferred his ownership in the outdoor apparel company, valued at $3 billion, to a trust designed to protect the company\\u2019s independence and donate its profits \\u2013 often north of $100 million annually\\u2014to protecting our planet. Brands built on purposeful behavior endure.\\nDolly Parton, Doggy Parton\\u2014Country music icon and entrepreneur Dolly Parton launched her Doggy Parton collection of pet dog accessories, merging her love of animals with her can-do philanthropy. A portion of every sale supports animal rescue efforts. Jeff Bezos even recognized the power of Dolly Parton, writing her a check for $100 million to spend on charitable causes.\\nEileen Fisher, Eileen Fisher\\u2014\\u201cFashion isn\\u2019t always nice,\\u201d Matt began. However, Fisher built a fashion empire that supported more realistic apparel for women of every age and body type. And instead of taking her company public, she began transferring ownership to employees in 2006. Today, as Fisher steps away from the brand\\u2019s leadership, employees own nearly half the company.\\nWhat brand has made Matt smile recently? As always, with the list focus of this annual episode, I was worried that I\\u2019d taken all of Matt\\u2019s \\u201csmiles.\\u201d However, he assured me that he had one left. And a timely one at that with the World Cup\\u2014USA soccer. \\u201cThey represent great brand behavior by seeking pay equity for their women\\u2019s team.\\u201d\\nTo learn more about Matt Williams, check out the Brand Federation website.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'