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Tony Rogers and Kurt Kane on Courage and Storytelling

Two of my favorite marketers recently did an episode of the CMO Moves podcast together. Among other things, they do a great job of describing the strategic value of story. Kurt Kane recently moved from CMO to President at Wendy’s, and Tony Rogers went from CMO at Walmart to Chief Member Officer for Sam’s Club.

Early in the conversation, Tony describes Wendy’s approach as courageous because, he says, “It feels like you guys have decided on a personality for the brand and you really stick to it.” He asks if that is the key to all the earned media that Wendy’s has been enjoying.

Kurt responds that it all comes back to storytelling. He points out that being really direct and behaving as a challenger to the QSR category has been an authentic part of the Wendy’s story going back at least as far as the iconic “Where’s the beef?” commercial in 1984. He explains how understanding that story dynamic, and using it to embrace the conflict inherent in the brand, gives them the confidence to double down on the story, especially in social media.

Here’s the link to the podcast.

Both Tony and Kurt have been through Character Camp a number of times over the past 14 years. Each time I go through the story framework process with them, I get new perspective on ways that effective and experienced leaders can leverage the stories of their brands.

I hope you find their conversation as interesting as I did.

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“For B2B businesses, Character is a powerful tool. I have used Character three times in my leader marketing roles, 2x were in B2B businesses. The Character work was the foundation of a transformation in product innovation/commercialization, rebranding, M&A, sales growth, and employee engagement. Character’s work helped us take dead brands and make them relevant again and helped us establish lesser-known brands with high share in a B2B market. What’s so unique is that you don’t create something that the ‘marketing talking heads’ think the company needs, you use the history, culture and DNA that is already part of the company to bring out the true story that is unique to only your brand. The Character team is so special, genuine, and has the perfect mix of creative and business knowledge to lead cross-functional executives through this process. ”
—Melissa Minihan, Head of Digital Commerce & Marketing, Veritiv Corporation

“Character gets to the heart of what good storytelling is all about. They’ve helped Wendy’s focus on what makes us unique, different and special and that’s helped us to get people’s attention, keep their interest and keep the business growing. We compete with much larger brands, but by being overt about how we want to attack those differences, we’ve been able to have a lot of tension and conflict in the story that we are telling. That allows us to keep the story fresh and to fuel it. The more we do that the more positive attention we get as a brand and the more the brand continues to grow, which, in turn, builds our confidence in our storytelling and keeps the courage level high.”

—Kurt  Kane, President U.S. & Chief Commercial Officer, Wendy’s Corporation

“I’ve been through Character’s story framework process four times in my career, and it has always added extraordinary value. It was a central piece of Walmart’s rebranding effort in 2006, as we sought a new articulation of our brand narrative and our purpose. It’s an equally powerful tool for us now, as Walmart defines its place in a rapidly transforming retail environment. And we are currently using it to do the same for Sam’s Club.”

—Tony Rogers, Chief Marketing Officer, Walmart

“Character’s approach to brand building is unlike any other in the business. Jim and his team use the timeless truths of human storytelling to unlock story potential and connect deeply with brand audiences. I’ve worked with Character throughout my career, and my experience with Tabasco was as fascinating, inspiring, and productive as ever. 

Character worked with our team not only to help us re-examine and re-articulate the elemental truths of our iconic global brand but also to develop and apply practical tools that make the brand story framework user-friendly for our entire organization. 

I whole-heartedly recommend Character to any brand marketer who is looking to make intuitive and durable connections with their consumer.”

Lee Susen, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Tabasco / McIlhenny Company