Stephen Surman

I am proud to support the amazing work of the United Horse Coalition! Please help us share the Equine Resource Database so that we can help educate horse owners and support at-risk horses. -- The United Horse Coalition (UHC) has announced the addition of a new searchable category to its Equine Resource Database (UHCERD), specifically designed to assist equine owners facing a domestic violence crisis. This new category will help connect victims in need with rescues, sanctuaries, and programs that offer temporary emergency boarding or foster care for their equine(s), ensuring both the safety of the equine and the well-being of the owner.   This resource expansion comes in response to a growing recognition of the urgent need for specialized equine assistance in domestic violence situations. Many victims delay or avoid leaving abusive environments due to fear for their animals’ safety. By including this new category in the UHC’s centralized, searchable directory of programs equipped to provide crisis boarding, UHC aims to remove this barrier and support safe transitions for both horses and owners. https://lnkd.in/e6h7QKSQ

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“We didn’t chase virality, we earned it.”   Dove x Crumbl Cookies is one of our boldest and most craveable collaborations yet. I recently sat down with John Dioso at Ad Age and @Natalie Silverstein at Collectively to talk about the partnership: Community-first: After the buzz from our Dove Holiday Treats collection, fans wanted more seasonal, culture-driven moments – we delivered with a skin treat no one saw coming Creators led the way: From Turn Up Twins launching the collab in their usual Crumbl drop slot to Walmart parking lot hype, this was made with and for superfans Retail exclusivity with Walmart drove real fandom and real results This social-first sensation didn’t just show up in culture, it converts at shelf too. In its first month, the collaboration drove three times the sales of any previous Dove launch, with over 50% of buyers new to the brand. While the initial “leak” was strategically planned, the momentum was fueled by the fans and resulted in more than 5,000 user-generated posts.   Thanks to John Dioso and Natalie Silverstein for the chat - more learnings and full conversation at the link here: How Dove, Crumbl Cookies and Walmart won over Gen Z with an unexpected partnership - Ad Age Huge thanks to the team that made this collab possible Anna Hart Rachel Goldman Gaurav Raisinghani Dana Paolucci Edelman Collectively   #Dove #letschangebeauty #Unilever #CrumblCookies #Walmart

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Most companies segment their market the same way their competitors do. By region. By product usage. By industry vertical. And then they wonder why their product innovation feels incremental. If your segmentation looks like everyone else's, your products will too. On March 18, PDMA Minnesota Chapter is hosting Michael Wynblatt for a conversation that challenges that directly. Michael has served as VP of Innovation at Ingersoll Rand and Eaton, and most recently as CTO at Donaldson. His teams have brought more than 50 innovations to market. He knows what separates segmentation that sparks real innovation from segmentation that just fills a slide deck. You will walk away knowing how to build a segmentation that your competitors cannot copy and your product team can actually use. 📅 March 18 ⏰ 5:30-7:00pm CDT 💻 Virtual Ask yourself: does your segmentation actually change what you build? If you had to think about it, that's your answer. This session is for product, innovation, and strategy leaders who are done with segmentation that looks good on a slide but drives nothing. 🔗 Registration link in the comments

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Why Athletic Directors Overspend on Legacy Brands & Their “Logo Tax” • 💰 Use-It-or-Lose-It Budgets Athletic budgets reset yearly — if ADs don’t spend it all, they risk losing funding next year. That creates pressure to overspend now, even on overpriced gear. • 🏆 Brand Pressure & Recruiting Legacy brands (Nike, Adidas, UA) are marketed as status symbols. ADs feel the need to “keep up” with rival schools to attract athletes and please parents. • 🏷️ The Hidden “Logo Tax” Schools pay extra for the brand name — not better performance. This premium eats into budgets that could be used elsewhere. • 📉 Lack of Industry Knowledge Most ADs aren’t apparel buyers. Without visibility into direct-to-manufacturer pricing or negotiating power, they often accept marked-up pricing as normal. • ⏳ Convenience Over Cost Efficiency ADs are busy — it’s easier to order the rep’s full package deal than piece together cost-effective solutions. But this shortcut usually costs more. • 🔥 Emotional Spending New gear boosts morale, creates excitement, and fuels school pride. That emotional payoff often wins over budget discipline. Stop paying the logo tax. Get full control of your apparel budget today. Aaron

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Panel highlight yesterday with Fast Company There is an emotional inflection point for consumers point that can shift entire industries. For GoodRx it’s the moment a customer goes up to the pharmacy counter to get their prescription and plays a game of roulette on whether they will be able to afford it. More than a billion prescriptions every year are left at the counter because the customer has to walk away in that moment. They have built a business to flip this script and empower the customer to know the price, make it affordable and give them access to the medicine they need. At Bobbie it’s the guilt can parent feels the first time they need to supplement with formula. Our hope is can flip that script and give them confidence in that choice with transparency, education, and access to support from our Care Team, our content and our services with lactation consultants. Ryan Sullivan always a pleasure!

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As a marketing leader, I’ve seen multi-crore campaigns fail for one simple reason: The brand was talking about itself. One book that fundamentally reframed how I look at communication is Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller. At its core, the book introduces the SB7 (StoryBrand 7-Part Framework) — a structure inspired by classic storytelling: 1. A Character (Customer) 2. Has a Problem 3. Meets a Guide (Brand) 4. Who Gives a Plan 5. And Calls Them to Action 6. That Helps Them Avoid Failure 7. And Ends in Success Simple. But powerful. What Makes This Book Strategic — Not Just Creative Miller makes one argument very clear: - Customers don’t buy the best product. - They buy the product they understand the fastest. Clarity reduces cognitive load. Confusion kills conversion. In boardrooms, we often debate brand architecture, feature hierarchy, and campaign tonality. But in reality, most websites fail within the first 5 seconds because they don’t answer: -What do you offer? l How does it help me? l What should I do next? Real Usage Cases (Where This Framework Works) #Website & Landing Page Optimisation When we repositioned the messaging for a consumer-facing brand, the shift was simple: * From: “We are India’s fastest-growing X platform.” * To: “Sell your car in 24 hours. Zero paperwork stress.” The hero section moved from brand achievement to customer outcome. Bounce rates dropped. Conversion rates improved — not because of design changes, but clarity. - #Sales Decks & #Investor Pitches Instead of leading with market size and valuation narrative, we structured the pitch like this: * The customer problem (pain quantified) * Current frustration in the ecosystem * Our role as the guide * A simple 3-step solution * Risk of inaction Result? Conversations became sharper. Decision-making cycles shortened. Internal Brand Alignment One underrated impact of *Building a StoryBrand* is internal clarity. When marketing, product, and sales align around: - Who the customer is - What problem we solve - What success looks like Execution friction reduces dramatically. The Leadership Takeaway The biggest mistake senior marketers make is assuming complexity signals sophistication. It doesn’t. Clarity scales. Confusion costs. In high-growth environments — especially in India where consumers are hyper-exposed to options — brands that win are the ones that communicate simply, repeatedly, and confidently. This book is not about storytelling as art. It’s about storytelling as a conversion system. And in 2026 — where AI can generate content in seconds — clarity will be the ultimate differentiator. If you’re leading marketing, ask yourself: Are you the hero in your messaging? Or is your customer? Because the moment you become the hero, you’ve already lost the story. #MarketingLeadership #Brand #Marketing #BrandStrategy #Storytelling #CMO #CustomerCentricity #thoughtleadership

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For the past year, we’ve been quietly rebuilding something. Not just new colors. Not just new packaging. A rethink of how apples are sold — and how they should be shopped. It’s almost time. 👀🍎

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🚀 AI is propelling forward at an unprecedented pace, ushering in a transformative era where marketing lies at the core of this evolution. Gone are the days of lengthy research and analysis; AI now accomplishes in minutes what once took weeks. This technology is revolutionizing our approach to learning, analysis, and decision-making, providing marketers with instantaneous insights that previously demanded extensive team efforts and time-consuming cycles. From conducting category and competitor SWOT analyses to generating dynamic content, AI is enhancing our capacity to adapt and personalize on a grand scale. The rapidity at which this occurs is setting a new standard in the industry. Engaged in an "AI for strategic content marketing" program led by Lisa Peyton (linkedin.com/in/lisapeyton), I am immersed in endless possibilities. A big unlock is the creation of an AI Companion 💁, an AI-powered simulation mirroring your target audience and persona. This digital companion serves as a surrogate for your ideal consumer, enabling internal teams to pose open-ended queries, test creative messaging, solicit feedback, and identify pain points. Essentially, it acts as an ever-present consumer focus group, not dictating actions but rather guiding and inspiring your ideation. Remarkable. The current challenge lies not in whether to embrace AI, but in how swiftly we can integrate it into our mindset, workflows, and teams. This shift transcends mere tool adoption; it signifies a shift in perspective. Interested to learn how others are embracing this change? What transformations are unfolding in your sector? #AI #MarketingInnovation #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfWork #MarketingLeadership #CustomerInsights #GrowthMindset

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