What better way to cap off day one of Twin Cities Startup Week than a happy hour conversation between Closers Media's Mickeli Bedore and Authentic Brand's Jennifer Zick.

Authentic Brand's Founder and CEO, Jennifer Zick, was thrilled to kick off Twin Cities Startup Week 2020 on the main stage for the marketing and sales track on September 8th. TCSW, originally scheduled to be in person, was in true 2020 fashion turned into a virtual meeting.

When does your marketing team transition from holding their breath to recognizing the need for your brand's voice? How do you create a publishing schedule when the world is changing daily? What are we seeing work for our clients in this time of chaos?

On August 20th, Authentic Brand hosted the fourth Integrator User Group event for companies powered by the Entrepreneurial Operating System.

It’s no secret that how much a person trusts a brand impacts whether they’ll purchase from it. Sixty-seven percent of respondents to the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer said they’d buy a product from a company with a good reputation, but also said, “unless I come to trust the company behind the product, I will soon stop buying it.”

On August 13th, the SANCTUARY community of marketing executives gathered for a collaborative conversation surrounding the daunting task of creating a 2021 marketing plan. A massive project each year, but made more challenging by the year of turmoil 2020 has shaped up to be.

On July 22nd, Authentic Brand hosted the third Integrator User Group event for companies powered by the Entrepreneurial Operating System®. The event drew nearly 100 EOS® Integrators from 24 states and 4 countries, all gathered to build connection, collaboration, and community.

There’s a delicate balance between progress and perfection in marketing. When businesses strive for perfection, decision-by-consensus slows or stalls efforts. Innovative products, campaigns, and services never make it to market or a competitor launches their offering first, diluting your offering and investments. On the flip side, there’s a risk of moving too quickly and promising something that the business can’t deliver on or launching something that doesn’t meet customers’ needs.

We’re halfway through 2020, one of the most multi-faceted years in our lifetimes. As businesses look to the second half of the year, they’re scrambling to adapt their go-to-market approach to navigate the disruptive economic environment. They’re asking tough questions about their relevance in this new market and whether their product or service needs to change. They’re looking for new opportunities to grow. The lesson that businesses will learn this year is one that has always been true. Focus is critical for sustained growth.

On May 21st, Authentic Brand hosted the first-ever Integrator User Group event for companies powered by the Entrepreneurial Operating System®.

On June 11th, the SANCTUARY community of marketing executives gathered for a critical conversation on equity and diversity in marketing. Our community came together, ready to embrace hard, humbling, and candid conversations as a step toward healing.

We are quickly approaching mid-year, and business leaders everywhere are thinking about how they move forward in an undefined new world. Whether a business has been booming, shuttered, or stalled, the second half of 2020 is going to be monumental in separating companies that will thrive from those that will merely survive.