More Guts. More Brands.

Celebrating brands who take a deep look inside and choose 'human- first' innovation and marketing strategies.
More Guts. More Brands.

What is a Gutsy Brand?

Some brands just seem to ‘get’ people. They connect in all the right ways and have loyal, avid followers.

When we look at what they have in common, they dive deeper than others to understand people at new, multi-dimensional levels, and they act on what they discover. Above all we see four characteristics:

Lead with Empathy

They seek deeper understanding and connection with people

Demonstrate a Pioneering Spirit

They identify new problems to be solved and refuse to be limited by ‘what is’

Stand Behind Bold Ideas

They make courageous decisions and aren’t afraid to ride them out

Seize opportunities where others see tradeoffs

They embody a ‘yes, and…’ mentality instead of ‘yes, but…’

What is a Gutsy Brand?

Sign-up for Gutsiest Brands updates and receive a free download of the “It Takes Guts To Win” infographic.

What’s New From Gutsiest Brands?


S2E1: Listen, Learn, and Take Action
with Attica Jaques

S2E1: Listen, Learn, and Take Action
with Attica Jaques

(Former) Head of Global Brand
Marketing, Consumer Apps, Google

S2E2: Tiny Wins with
Rochelle Wainer, Ph.D.

S2E2: Tiny Wins with
Rochelle Wainer, Ph.D.

SVP, Global Insights and Analytics
Kids2 (Baby Einstein)

S2E3: Coming Soon

S2E3: Coming Soon

Featuring Joanna Lepore
Global Foresight Director,
McDonald's

Top 5 Lessons From Gutsy Leaders

Brandon LarsonHead of Brand StrategyMicrosoft

Brandon Larson

Head of Brand Strategy

Microsoft

Nick GrahamGlobal Head Insights & AnalyticsMondelēz

Nick Graham

Global Head Insights & Analytics

Mondelēz

Lauren WangCEO & FounderThe Flex Co.

Lauren Wang

CEO & Founder

The Flex Co.

Todd KaplanCMOPepsi

Todd Kaplan

CMO

Pepsi

Craig DubitskyChief Innovation StrategistColgate-Palmolive,

Craig Dubitsky

Chief Innovation Strategist

Colgate-Palmolive,

Lesson One: Be Gutsy
Once you’re able to locate what your audience needs at a deeper level, I think the gutsiness comes naturally. Once you connect to that deep need and you feel it the way they feel it, you can’t help but move towards them.

Brandon Larson

Head of Brand Strategy

Microsoft

Lesson Two: Understand The Whole Person
The whole idea of a consumer and a shopper is just so archaic because, news flash, people don’t just consume and shop. They are fully rounded human beings that do lots of things.

Nick Graham

Global Head Insights & Analytics

Mondelēz

Lesson Three: Break The Norms
The first step in business is to understand the landscape in which we’re working. Once you understand that reality, [you should] understand the rules of that reality better than anyone and decide which of those rules you want to follow and which of those rules you want to break.

Lauren Wang

CEO & Founder

The Flex Co.

Lesson Four: Walk A Mile
I don’t know how you can be a marketer and not be empathetic. That is literally our job, to better understand what’s going on in our consumers’ heads, hearts, lives, and feelings. We need to be empathetic so we can provide good services that help address where they are failing, what they need, and how to connect all those dots.

Todd Kaplan

CMO

Pepsi

Lesson Five: Find The Gap
If you can figure out something people are going to like or hopefully love before they know about it, there’s incredible power that comes with that. How do we do that? It’s really about appreciating the gaps in people’s lives.

Craig Dubitsky

Chief Innovation Strategist

Colgate-Palmolive,

Catch up on Season 1 below!

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Share your story!

Ready to share your wisdom? The Gutsiest Brands podcast offers an opportunity for leaders to share their own brand and leadership experiences and stories with an audience of senior executives and c-suite leaders. This podcast is a way of demonstrating our passion for brands who share our beliefs that being gutsy and human-centric has benefits for consumers, employees, and businesses. Sharing your story helps more brands deliver refreshingly human experiences.

Join us for an episode in just three simple steps!

  • We’ll schedule an intro call to discuss interview format and key talking points

  • We’ll share a discussion guide for you to review

  • We’ll record the interview and edit for publication

Are you ready to share your wisdom?

Share your story!

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