Shop Talk | Agencies, Brands & the Digital Front

OUTdrive Episode 72 with Randy Herbertson

As America moves toward a post-pandemic world, hybrid workplaces, Zoom meetings, and social selling are here to stay. Whether you have embraced the transition to a more digital mindset or not, your customers have, and your brand needs to meet them where they are. For this episode of OUTdrive, I sat down with Randy Herbertson, an agency owner and an established thought leader in digital and innovative marketing.

Randy is a recognized brand strategist and creative director with over 25 years experience in marketing and innovation. He is also a business entrepreneur and founder of The Visual Brand (TVB), a marketing agency operating in Westport, Connecticut that specializes in new products, concepts, and services for existing companies. His team’s impressive portfolio includes collaborations with brands like Benjamin Moore, Smirnoff, Volvo, and many others. Prior to creating TVB, Randy filled roles as a corporate facilitator, consumer insight specialist, and creative strategist. Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Randy earned a degree in marketing and international business at the University of Colorado (at Boulder). Outside of work, Randy is an active member of the community, serving on a number of boards and as an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University.

With a background in client, agency, media and digital realms, Randy brings perspective from a diverse range of companies and industries to this episode of OUTdrive. We tackle topics from fine tuning brand insights to preventing burnout in this 24/7 virtual society.

SHOW NOTES

• How Randy got started in marketing and his path to entrepreneurship.
• Randy’s speciality in the “non-iterative” and what he loves about being an independent agency owner.
• Details behind the structure of The Visual Brand (Randy’s agency), employing people of diverse talents, and investing in what Randy calls “people development”
• Randy’s career voyage from his hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan with stops in Colorado and California to settling and building his business in New England.
• Examples of clients who navigated the COVID-19 pandemic to their industry advantage
• Randy outlines the differences between marketing with larger companies versus smaller businesses and getting to the core of what your clients really need from an agency.
• Randy considers the pros and cons of working on a tight deadline versus having an endless timeline that can hinder momentum.
• Randy and Cliff discuss the digital revolution. They touch on how advancements in technology pushed innovative ideas, utilizing outsourcing to your advantage and the challenges of navigating the virtual elements of business.
• Randy shares his “life hacks” for managing a true work-life balance, specifically for business owners and entrepreneurs.
• Understanding the “why” and the insights behind the branding process.