Ep.12 / Ana Andjelic Shares The Secrets Behind the World’s Most Desirable Brands

Episode notes

Ana is a global brand executive, author of “ ⁠Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture⁠ ,” and “ ⁠The Business of Aspiration⁠ ” and has been recognized three times by Forbes for her CMO work. She earned her doctorate in sociology, and is a widely read writer of ⁠The Sociology of Business⁠ , speaker and advisor. Ana is known for her strong strategic POV within fashion, lifestyle and luxury, and she specializes in building business-driven cultural programs for brands. This conversation included: The Northstar that guides her is achieving freedom Chasing the ‘new’ led to a non-linear career path Her philosophy for modern brand building involves cultural programing with "cultural products" replacing traditional brand marketing Building brand worlds and narratives that create a lore and a myth "Hitmaking" by tapping into the zeitgeist In reality, the “most viable, feasible ideas win " not necessarily the "intellectually best" or "most creative" Common mistakes include brands repeating past successes or imitating competitors Key to her success is a combination of analytical and creative thinking ("left brain, right brain"), coupled with risk-taking, boldness, and decisiveness