Any Insights Yet? with Chris Kocek – Details, episodes & analysis

What do forensic science and marketing have in common? More than you might think. 

Both require an ability to analyze evidence, challenge assumptions, and uncover hidden truths that are often hiding in plain sight.

Alina Burroughs, a forensic expert and star of the hit show Crime Scene Confidential, has spent years piecing together clues to solve cases, and as it turns out, many of those same techniques can also be applied to marketing. 

In this episode, Alina reveals how marketers and CSIs are both after the same thing - understanding motivations and finding the right guy (or gal). She also points out how forensic tools like “presumptive tests” can be used to help marketers make smarter decisions before going all in on an idea.

Throughout our conversation, Alina shares real-world crime scene stories that demonstrate the power of looking beyond the obvious and why it’s critical to challenge our own beliefs if we want to get to those breakthrough moments.

Some of my favorite aha moments from our conversation include:

• How crime scene investigators fight cognitive bias and why marketers should do the same
• The surprising role that gut instinct plays in forensic work and brand strategy
• What a “skin glove” is (warning: it’s both fascinating and unsettling)
• The importance of marketing from the outside in instead of inside out
• Why saying the “stupid” thing out loud can sometimes lead to the smartest insights

Show Notes:

Below are links to inspiring ideas that came up during our conversation.

Shows

Crime Scene Confidential Trailer

Brands

Liquid Death - Andy Pearson on Any Insights Yet?

Last Crumb Bakery

Books

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

Despite the billions of dollars spent on advertising every year, most ads go completely unnoticed. In fact, 85% of them don’t even hit the minimum threshold for attention. So how do you make it into the 15% that actually break through?

John Gibson, Head of Strategy at The Martin Agency, has spent his career answering that question, helping brands fight invisibility by uncovering complex emotional truths.

For Papa John’s, that meant moving beyond “better ingredients” to tap into something far more powerful—people’s deep, almost cult-like devotion to pizza. For OREO, it meant elevating a product ritual in something more emotive and universal. And for Mountain Dew? It meant going deep into the world of sleep to see if creativity could be sparked in the subconscious mind.

Throughout our conversation, John shares stories about the strategic decisions that led to these aha moments, and how The Martin Agency’s culture of curiosity consistently fuels big ideas. 

 Some of my favorite aha moments from our conversation include:

• The unexpected pizza rituals that inspired a fresh approach for Papa John’s
• The story behind OREO Grams and the Lady Gaga partnership
• How the challenger brand Unisom was able to “punch above their weight” in a crowded, competitive market 
• One of John’s favorite words and how it influences his approach to building great work
• The advice John received early on in his career about creative briefs

Show Notes:

Below are links to campaigns that came up during our conversation.

Campaigns:

Oreo Wonderfilled

Oreo Wonderfulled Chinese New Year Campaign

Oreogram with Lady Gaga

Oreo + Coca-Cola Besties Campaign

Papa John’s Better Get You Some

Unisom Eagles Saquon Barkley Trolls Giants Owner John Mara

Heinz: Draw Ketchup Campaign

There are a lot of strategy documents in the world. Briefs. Decks. White papers. Books. According to Alex M H Smith, most of them are full of shit. Impenetrable, calcified, piled-high bullsh*t.

That’s because, despite all their words and charts and graphs, these so-called strategies fail to inspire action.

And that’s what Alex wants to change in the world of strategy. With his book (No Bullsh*t Strategy) and his consultancy (BasicArts.org), Alex is on a mission to help brands differentiate themselves through bold, decisive action.

Some of my favorite aha moments talking with Alex include:

• The difference between a bullshit strategy and a no bullshit strategy
• How to redefine your competitive set to create a category of one
• The surprising lies that most marketers believe when it comes to targeting 
• How to maintain differentiation when when copycats come in with commoditized claims 
• How to reduce your strategy down to just one word

Show Notes:

Below are links to campaigns, books, and other inspiring ideas that came up during our conversation.

No Bullsh*t Strategy - Alex M H Smith

Atomic Habits - James Clear

Grenade Protein Bars - UK

Alex’s favorite recent good book - The Matter with Things by Iain McGilchrist 

For over two decades, Shobha Sairam has worked on a wide variety of brands at a number of agencies around the world, including Leo Burnett, Mother, Deutsch, and The Community among others. 

Most recently, Shobha has led strategy at 22 Squared Inc, based out of New York, where she and her team have breathed new life into brands like Baskin Robbins, Party City, Publix, and Toyota. 

Over the years, Shobha’s research for different brands has exposed her to a variety of sensitive and challenging subjects, including sexual wellness, banking, and the American Dream, and her process for getting to the heart of people's feelings around such complicated subjects is inspiring.

Some of my favorite aha moments talking with Shobha include:

• The surprisingly complex reasons people have sex and how those reasons led to the evolution of the K-Y brand
• Moving beyond the classic problem-solution formula that most brands adhere to 
• The impact Gen Z has had on brands and storytelling across multiple categories  
• Re-framing the banking industry away from the standard idea of “financial freedom” toward something more poignant and provocative
• Transforming “What is” to “What If” in creative briefings and client work sessions to consistently get to more effective, engaging work

Show Notes:

Below are links to campaigns and other inspiring ideas that came up during our conversation.

Oatly - Forced Perspective Campaign

Shobha’s most recent favorite book - The Sword and The Scimitar

Most ad agencies have clients. That’s not exactly the case with Bullish Inc. 

Started in 2015 by Michael Duda and Brent Vartan, the co-founders of Bullish asked a provocative “what if” question that re-envisioned what an agency could be to help maximize a new brand’s success.

Their question: “What if we invested in early stage brands by providing actual money along with world-class strategic and creative services?”

That question and their counterintuitive approach to brand-building has led to some impressive results for brands like Warby Parker, Harry’s, Casper, Peloton, Hu, Care/of, Nom Nom, and many more.   

Some of my favorite aha moments talking with Brent include:

• Exploring immutable human desires like family, honor, idealism as key starting points for brand-building.
• The role of vengeance as a rallying cry for brands and consumers 
• How chasing after the lowest cost per acquisition is not always the best way to grow a brand 
• The evolution of ecommerce to consultative commerce 
• Brent’s secrets for getting consumers let down their guard during research

Show Notes:

Below are links to campaigns, books, and other inspiring ideas that came up during our conversation.

Jolly Rancher and the Jolly Rancher

Sunday Lawns - The Old Way Campaign Spot

The Psychology of Columbo

Brent’s favorite recent book - Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

Curiosity, conviction, and a desire to get out of one’s comfort zone - these are just a few of the characteristics that Seth Gaffney and Marika Wiggan look for in strategic candidates at Preacher, and it’s this non-traditional approach to finding talent and building campaigns that has led to Preacher’s continued success, winning them Small Agency of the Year for four of the last five years.

Some of my favorite aha moments from our conversation include:

• Discovering the very different ways Seth and Marika broke into the world of advertising
• Scrappy techniques for learning about customer pain points and mapping out the customer journey 
• The way Preacher is leveraging AI in their strategic work 
• Funny and insightful stories from their work on Tommy John, Tecovas, Favor, WeTransfer, Sport Clips, and Foot Locker    
• The personal advice from parents that have shaped their approach to the work they do every day

Show Notes:

Below are links to campaigns, books, and other inspiring ideas that came up during our conversation.

Clipper Confessions - Tashanee Williams and Zachary Stubblefield understand from first hand experience with focus groups that bad research environments lead to bad answers which result in bad learnings and bad representation. So they took focus groups out of the focus group facility and into the Barbershop with Rich “Smash” Payne. Questions include: “What’s the dopest thing about black culture?” and “If a CEO was sitting in the shop right now, what advice would you give them to better support black people?” The answers are nuanced, rich, and revealing.

A few campaigns from Preacher:

Tommy John Campaign - No Adjustment Needed

Vital Farms Campaign - Bullsh*t Free Eggs

Tecovas Campaign - Don’t Go Gently

Favor Campaign - How Texas Orders In

Foot Locker - The Heart of Sneakers

A few campaigns that Seth and Marika admire:

IKEA - Proudly Second Best

Amazon - Spend Less on Your Kids

Capri Sun - Wireless Kid-Noise Canceling Technology 

Favorite Books

Marika’s favorite recent book - Big Swiss

Seth’s favorite recent book - Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest

Introducing Any Insights Yet? with Chris Kocek.

The best work in advertising doesn’t just stand out—it challenges the status quo. 

And that’s exactly what Gordy Sang and Brian Siedband do with every client and every campaign at Quality Meats. Whether they’re working on a GoDaddy spot for the Big Game or a provocative box of chocolates for U by Kotex, Gordy and Brian (and their distributed team of strategists and creatives) always bring an unexpected twist to their creations, sparking conversations, and getting people to say, “I can’t believe they did that!”

Their “going cowboy” approach is one of the many reasons they’ve been racking up awards, including Adweek’s 2024 Small Agency of the Year award and A-List Standout and AdAge’s Small Agency of the Year, and in this conversation, you get a peek inside their process. 

While they’re both quick to say they don’t have a ton of business acumen, they’re clearly doing something right, because a lot of businesses are lining up to do business with them, including Regal Cinemas, Doordash, Saxx Underwear, and Cava, just to name a few.

Some of my favorite aha moments from our conversation include:

• Their approach to breaking rules and telling stories with a twist.
• How being bluntly honest with German Doner Kebab led to a different campaign approach in the US.
• The Huggies diaper innovation that led to a simple, yet catchy song (and several innovative campaign extensions).
• Their attention-getting Valentine’s work for U by Kotex to help normalize periods
• Why they believe the big idea isn’t dead.

Show Notes:

Below are links to campaigns and other inspiring ideas that came up during our conversation.

Campaigns

German Doner Kebab

Huggies Baby Butts Song

Marquee Sports Network Just “Gets” Cubs Fans

U by Kotex Period Sex Chocolates

Phasy Chocolates & Functional Foods

Chicagwa campaign

Movies & Shows

Severance Trailer

Swiss Army Man Trailer

Face Off Trailer

Best of Ali G

Any Insights Yet: Dan Cohen at Saatchi New York (Season 1, Episode 7) 

Books

Alphabutt Baby Book

Butts on Things by Brian Cook

How do you take a challenger brand from number two and make it number one? 

And how do you do that with a relentless focus on positive behavior change?

Those are the kinds of challenges that Mark DiMassimo and Lesley Bielby love to tackle at DiGo Brands, and over the past twenty years, they have elevated  and re-energized numerous better-for-you brands, including Weight Watchers, Crunch Fitness, The Partnership to End Addiction, The Bronx Zoo, and Better Help, just to name a few.

Whether they're making award-winning ads or redesigning a brand's identity from top to bottom, their work combines the latest findings from behavioral science with a unique blend of humanity, humility, and just the right amount of absurdist humor. 

Our conversation takes some wonderfully unexpected twists and turns as we try to decipher the motivating emotions surrounding embarrassment and the importance of teamwork when it comes to new business pitches.

Some of my favorite aha moments talking with Mark and Lesley include:

• Their “go-for-the-jugular” approach when it comes to customer research
• How they turned HelloFresh from a challenger brand into the undisputed category leader
• The key research findings and creative executions that allowed Better Help to connect with a wider audience 
• The insightful and entertaining ways they transformed Crunch Fitness into a national brand
• How Mark’s experience in his grandparents’ hair salon and Lesley’s experience as a hypnotherapist have shaped their approach to strategy and creativity

Show Notes:

Below are links to campaigns and other inspiring ideas that came up during our conversation.

Campaigns

Visit Oslo

Movies

“Easy A” Trailer

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” Trailer

“The Holdovers” Trailer

Podcasts

Any Insights Yet? Episode 10: Andy Pearson at Liquid Death

What is risk?

For most people, a risky situation is one where you’re exposed to danger.

Put another way, it’s the possibility of something bad happening.

But for Andy Pearson, VP of Creative at Liquid Death, the definition of risk takes an interesting detour. For Andy, the real danger is not that something bad will happen, but that nothing will happen at all.

No reaction. No learning. No breakthroughs.

Just a boring piece of creative, dead on arrival, completely ignored.

That’s why, over the course of his career, Andy has developed a habit of pushing himself into uncomfortable situations and doing “scary stuff” so that he can explore ideas that most people won’t even consider.

But scary stuff isn’t the same as doing anything. 

There is always a Liquid Death Logic underneath every idea that helps the team connect the dots between dumb ideas and smart ideas in unexpected ways.

Some of my favorite aha moments talking with Andy include:

• Andy’s favorite activations at Liquid Death and why he loves them
• One of the scariest things Andy did early on in his career before Liquid Death that has shaped his outlook on risks and creativity
• The questions Andy likes to ask in brainstorms to push ideas even further
• How Liquid Death manages controversy and consistently transforms hate into something great
• The intriguing parallels between one of Andy’s hobbies (ultramarathons) and building a brand

Show Notes:

Below are links to campaigns and other inspiring ideas that came up during our conversation.

Campaigns

Mike Cessario getting a fan’s face tattooed on his body

Limited edition corpse paint with e.l.f. beauty

The Yeti Casket Cooler

The “Freeze to Death” Cold Plunge Tank

Limited edition Hot Fudge Sundae flavor with Van Leewan Ice Cream

A partnership with Burton to create an unrideable snowboard called the Death Trap.

A contest where you could win a free L-39 Aero jet called The Dehydrator. 

Cards Against Humanity Saves America

Movies

The Voyage Out by Barlow Jacobs (Coming Soon)

Books

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall