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Soul & Science is an award-winning podcast where marketing’s brightest minds reveal what it takes to build breakthrough brands. Hosted by Jason Harris, each episode explores the balance between brand...
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Soul & Science is an award-winning podcast where marketing’s brightest minds reveal what it takes to build breakthrough brands. Hosted by Jason Harris, each episode explores the balance between brand building (Soul) and business performance (Science). From legacy brands to emerging disruptors, we delve into the insights, culture, and vision behind the most successful brand stories.
Soul & Science is a Mekanism podcast produced by Maggie Boles, Ryan Tillotson, and Lily Jablonski. The show is edited by Daniel Ferreira, with theme music by Kyle Merritt.
Brought to you by Mekanism.
show less
Soul & Science is a Mekanism podcast produced by Maggie Boles, Ryan Tillotson, and Lily Jablonski. The show is edited by Daniel Ferreira, with theme music by Kyle Merritt.
Brought to you by Mekanism.
Soul & Science: Fast Forward Your Marketing Mind
Soul & Science: Fast Forward Your Marketing Mind
Straw Hut MediaEpisodes & Posts
Episodes
Posts
26 JAN 2026 · Agencies obsess over the pitch. Clients obsess over whether you actually understand the business.
In this episode, Jason Harris sits down with Robin and Stephen Boehler, founders of Mercer Island Group and authors of It’s Not About You: Winning New Business in a Crowded Agency World, to unpack why most agencies lose new business before they even walk into the room—and what the winners do differently.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Most clients can’t name agencies—your agency brand has to earn recognition
✅ Strategy (not creative alone) is the biggest predictor of winning the business
✅ “Prospect-friendly” means leading with the client’s business, not your credentials
✅ Great Q&A is preparation (and skipping the gimmicks)
Memorable Moments:
💡 “Clients can’t name any agencies 95% of the time.”
💡 “Your agency acting like a brand is critically important.”
💡 “Creative without strategy turns everything into subjective opinions.”
💡 “Chemistry can disqualify you if it’s bad.”
💡 “It’s not ‘which one’—it’s the why.”
Order a copy their book, It’s Not About You: Winning New Business in a Crowded Agency World on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-About-You-Business/dp/1965629075
Brought to you by https://mekanism.com/.
12 JAN 2026 · Purpose can fuel performance—but only when brands truly understand who they serve.
In this episode, Jason Harris sits down with Carter’s CMO Sarah Crockett to explore how modern parenting is reshaping brand expectations—and what it takes to connect with one of the most values-driven and overwhelmed consumer groups today.
Sarah shares how her career has been guided by purpose, and how that belief is now shaping Carter’s approach to storytelling, value, and trust. Together, they unpack the cultural shifts defining millennial and Gen Z parents—from slowing down and letting kids be kids, to demanding authenticity, affordability, and emotional connection from the brands they invite into their families’ lives.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Purpose creates stronger, more resilient brand connections
✅ Modern parents value trust, authenticity, and emotional resonance
✅ Slowing down can be a powerful cultural differentiator
✅ Not every marketing investment should be measured the same way
Memorable Moments:
💡 “Purpose can fuel performance.”
💡 “Trust is the most important value when you’re building a relationship with a child.”
💡 “Let kids be kids.”
💡 “Beware the lollipop of mediocrity—lick it once and you’ll suck forever.”
Brought to you by https://mekanism.com/.
5 JAN 2026 · Marketing is being rebuilt by AI—but the most important decisions still can’t be automated.
In this episode, Glassdoor CMO Eric Petitt joins Jason Harris to explore what it takes to build a resilient marketing career in an AI-shaped world. Drawing from more than two decades of experience across mission-driven companies like Mozilla and Glassdoor, Eric shares how marketers can stay adaptable, creative, and deeply human as the industry evolves.
They unpack why data should define problems—but not dictate solutions—how understanding how you think matters more than mastering every new platform, and why character, conviction, and taste are becoming the true differentiators in modern marketing. The conversation also examines how organizing teams around outcomes can unlock speed, clarity, and shared ownership—and what that shift means for developing the next generation of marketers.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Data defines problems—but gut shapes solutions
✅ Resilience comes from stretching skills without losing your core strength
✅ Character, taste, and conviction are marketing’s hardest skills
✅ Outcome-driven teams move faster and create clearer ownership
Memorable Moments:
💡 “We use data to define problems—and our gut to shape solutions.”
💡 “The soft skills are becoming the hard skills.”
💡 “Curiosity is a choice—and it builds resilience.”
💡 “Only boring people are bored.”
Brought to you by https://mekanism.com/.
28 DEC 2025 · Amber Balcaen didn’t just have to prove she could win races. She had to prove she was worth backing.
In this episode of Soul & Science, Jason Harris sits down with Amber Balcaen, a third-generation race-car driver who made history in 2016 as the first Canadian female to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race in the United States. With a background in dirt racing, Amber became the first in her family to transition to asphalt stock cars and has since made more than 40 starts in the ARCA Menards Series.
Together, Jason and Amber explore the parallels between racing and business: the discipline of consistency, the importance of feedback loops, and the mindset required to keep going when results don’t come easily. From cold-calling sponsors to refining her brand story, Amber explains how resilience becomes operational—and why the ability to assess, adapt, and implement is what separates short careers from long ones.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Performance earns attention, but sponsorship sustains opportunity
✅ Resilience works best when it’s treated as a system, not a feeling
✅ Strong brands attract partners instead of chasing them
✅ Long-term success is built through consistency, feedback, and adaptation
Memorable Moments:
💡 “If I wanted to be a race car driver, I first had to be a businesswoman.”
💡 “Resilience isn’t just emotional. It’s operational.”
💡 “Racing and business are so similar: it’s always assess and implement.”
💡 “Hold your vision.”
Brought to you by https://mekanism.com/.
14 DEC 2025 · Breaking into advertising can be tough—and standing out once you’re in is even tougher. But two young creatives are showing there’s a new path.
In this episode, Jack Westerkamp and Geno Schellenberger, co-founders of Breaking & Entering Media, join Jason to share how they built one of the most energetic and attention-grabbing brands in the industry by combining cultural instinct, social-first thinking, and a healthy disregard for the “traditional” career playbook.
They share how a pandemic Zoom interview series turned into a movement: raising their first $50K from friends and family, moving to New York on a leap of faith, bootstrapping their first office, and building momentum through daily content like Whiteboard News, Super Bowl coverage, and agency tours. Jack and Geno also open up about learning to run a media company for the first time—from managing a team, to keeping content fresh, to navigating an industry where algorithms, attention, and expectations shift constantly.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Energy is a differentiator—fun and momentum cut through a jaded industry
✅ Great content wins when it’s built for the busy professional: fast, social-first, and useful
✅ When the fall isn’t far, risk becomes a competitive advantage for young marketers
✅ Trust, instinct, and consistency matter more than having a five-year plan
Memorable Moments:
💡 “If someone gives you 60 seconds, you better give them something worth it.”
💡 “We didn’t have a master plan—we just believed there was something there.”
💡 “It’s not illegal to have energy in advertising.”
💡 “Life’s not about finding yourself. It’s about creating yourself.”
Brought to you by https://mekanism.com/.
8 DEC 2025 · Great brands don’t win by being faster or louder—they win by treating every customer as if they’re the only customer.
That philosophy sits at the core of this week’s guest, Doug Zarkin, Chief Marketing Officer at Take 5, an award-winning brand builder known for transforming legacy companies into modern-day leaders.
In this episode, Doug joins Jason to break down his “Thinking Human” approach—the method he’s used to reinvent brands like Victoria’s Secret PINK, Avon, Pearle Vision, and now Take 5. He shares what it really takes to move a brand out of the “friend zone,” build trust through emotional experience, and drive growth without racing to the bottom on price.
Doug also opens up about the realities of leading transformation: overcoming fear-based resistance, elevating customer experience at scale, and why marketers must rally both consumers and employees for change to stick.
Key Takeaways
✅ Treat every customer like they’re the only customer—that’s the root of brand love
✅ Brand reinvention succeeds when emotional experience matches business strategy
✅ The frontline team is your most powerful marketing channel
✅ Small, consistent improvements (“the sum of marginal gains”) outperform big swings
✅ Great CMOs lead by casting the right team—not by being the smartest in the room
Memorable Moments
💡 “It’s not about putting a brand on the brain—it’s putting a brand on the heart.”
💡 “Think of every customer as if they’re the only customer.”
💡 “You can’t lead a brand from a PowerPoint. You have to learn the business from the ground up.”
💡 “Speed is a cost of entry. Experience is the differentiator.”
💡 “If I’m the smartest person in the room, I don’t need to be in the room.”
Brought to you by https://mekanism.com/.
30 NOV 2025 · Exceptional performers aren’t defined by talent alone—they’re defined by how they think. And in marketing—where uncertainty, pressure, and change are constant—the right mindset is a competitive advantage.
In this episode, Dr. Bob Rotella, one of the world’s most influential sports psychologists, joins Jason to explore the mental principles that fuel greatness in sports, business, and brand leadership. Bob has coached champions like Rory McIlroy, Nick Price, and Ernie Els—but his teachings apply just as powerfully to CMOs, founders, and teams navigating high-stakes decisions every day.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Confidence is a leadership skill—and marketers have to choose it daily
✅ Process beats outcomes: breakthrough marketing comes from consistent attitude, not periodic wins
✅ Optimism fuels resilience in fast-changing markets
✅ Exceptional teams maintain belief through uncertainty, noise, and shifting conditions
Memorable Moments:
💡 “Fear and doubt kill more dreams than failure.”
💡 “How you think about yourself has to match the dream of you—and the dream of your company.”
💡 “If you want to be exceptional, you can’t think like the middle.”
💡 “Blind faith is seeing success long before anyone else can.
”Brought to you by https://mekanism.com/.
16 NOV 2025 · When you’re up against giants, speed and creativity become your superpowers.
Recorded live at Advertising Week New York 2025, this conversation with Drew Panayiotou, CMO at Keurig Dr Pepper, dives into how Dr Pepper’s challenger mindset—and relentless creativity—turned an underdog into a market leader.
From transforming Best Buy’s digital future to guiding Pfizer through the pandemic, Drew has built a career on driving growth through agility and purpose. He and Jason explore how to turn legacy brands into modern disruptors, why longevity beats reinvention, and what it really takes to build raving fans in a world that rewards speed over substance.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Challenger energy fuels creativity, not chaos
✅ The best campaigns evolve—they don’t reset
✅ Great brands grow by deepening relationships, not widening reach
✅ Progress beats perfection in a world that never slows down
Memorable Moments:
💡 “The best brands don’t chase new fans—they obsess over their raving ones.”
💡 “Marketers get bored faster than consumers ever will.”
💡 “Agility isn’t about moving fast—it’s about moving together.”
💡 “It’s not funnel thinking anymore. It’s a flywheel.”
Brought to you by https://mekanism.com/.
9 NOV 2025 · Energy gets attention. Trust builds loyalty.
In a world obsessed with virality, longevity still wins. The best brands aren’t just loud—they’re reliable, repeatable, and relentlessly consistent.
With a background in digital strategy and brand storytelling, Sara Kear, Chief Marketing Officer at Condado Tacos and Tequila, has turned a regional taco spot into a fast-growing national brand built on creativity, consistency, and community.
In this episode, Sara joins Jason to talk about balancing creative energy with operational discipline, rebuilding a brand after rapid growth, and how structure can actually unlock innovation. She shares lessons from Condado’s rebrand, the role of “flavor rebellion” in defining identity, and how listening—to both teams and guests—became the company’s most powerful growth strategy.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Consistency is the foundation of brand trust
✅ Creative limits can expand, not restrict, innovation
✅ Listening to your audience reveals what data can’t
✅ Growth without structure risks brand identity
Memorable Moments:
💡 “A million small moments make up the feeling of belonging.”
💡 “We outgrew our brand before we realized it—so we paused to rebuild.”
💡 “Confines create creativity. When you define the sandbox, you can scale.”
💡 “Fun brings people in. Trust makes them family.”
Brought to you by https://mekanism.com/.
3 NOV 2025 · Empathy at scale isn’t easy—but it’s the heart of BetterHelp’s mission.With two decades of marketing leadership at Facebook, The RealReal, and Beyond, Sara Brooks has helped brands grow from startup to IPO and beyond. Now, as Chief Growth Officer at BetterHelp, she’s using data and storytelling to make mental health care more accessible around the world.
In this episode, Sara joins Jason Harris to talk about leading with empathy in a data-driven world, the power of authentic storytelling, and how vulnerability has become one of the most effective tools in brand building. She also shares lessons from campaigns with Lewis Capaldi and college athletes that prove empathy—and humor—can coexist with rigor and scale.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Empathy and data aren’t opposites—they’re accelerants
✅ Authenticity can’t be automated, but it can be scaled
✅ Vulnerability builds affinity faster than perfection
✅ Destigmatizing mental health starts with honest storytelling
Memorable Moments:
💡 “When you feel better, everyone in your life feels better as well.”
💡 “Vulnerability isn’t a risk—it’s the whole point.”
💡 “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Just get started.”
💡 “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?
”Brought to you by https://mekanism.com/.
Soul & Science is an award-winning podcast where marketing’s brightest minds reveal what it takes to build breakthrough brands. Hosted by Jason Harris, each episode explores the balance between brand...
show more
Soul & Science is an award-winning podcast where marketing’s brightest minds reveal what it takes to build breakthrough brands. Hosted by Jason Harris, each episode explores the balance between brand building (Soul) and business performance (Science). From legacy brands to emerging disruptors, we delve into the insights, culture, and vision behind the most successful brand stories.
Soul & Science is a Mekanism podcast produced by Maggie Boles, Ryan Tillotson, and Lily Jablonski. The show is edited by Daniel Ferreira, with theme music by Kyle Merritt.
Brought to you by Mekanism.
show less
Soul & Science is a Mekanism podcast produced by Maggie Boles, Ryan Tillotson, and Lily Jablonski. The show is edited by Daniel Ferreira, with theme music by Kyle Merritt.
Brought to you by Mekanism.
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| Author | Straw Hut Media |
| Organization | Straw Hut Media |
| Categories | Business , Marketing , Design |
| Website | www.spreaker.com |
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