Next-Gen PartnerOps Video Podcasts

Humanizing Brands: Authentic Stories for Connecting & Partnering

In this episode, Sugata Sanyal Founder & CEO of ZINFI, hosts a compelling discussion with Ademola Adelakun, Founder of A2 Media, and Will Taylor, Co-founder & Chief Partner Officer at Audience-led. The trio delves into the importance of humanizing brands through authentic storytelling for effective partnering. Key insights include how entrepreneurs establish a genuine online presence, the raw realities of building a business, and the evolving communication strategies within complex partner ecosystems. They emphasize moving beyond transactional interactions to foster genuine connections. Listeners will gain valuable perspectives on leveraging personal narratives and emotional impact to build trust and drive engagement, ultimately enhancing partnering efforts in today's multi-generational and multi-channel business environment. Tune in to discover actionable strategies for forging deeper, more meaningful collaborations.

Video Podcast: Humanizing Brands: Authentic Stories for Connecting & Partnering

Chapter 1: Cultivating Authentic Brand Presence

The discussion begins with the personal journeys of Ademola Adelakun and Will Taylor into the realm of online content creation, highlighting the initial hesitations and subsequent embrace of authenticity as a core tenet of their brand presence. As an engineer by background, Sugata Sanyal shares his discomfort with abstract online spaces compared to live audiences, leading to an exploration of how individuals and, by extension, brands transition into public online personas. Ademola recounts his early experiences with Will on Snapchat, where they organically built a community by simply "showing up as ourselves." Surprisingly, this casual approach led to a loyal audience that experienced the same authentic offline interactions as online, sharply contrasting with content creators who adopt personas that lead to burnout and negative real-life encounters. This segment underscores the foundational belief that genuine self-expression is preferable and essential for sustainable online engagement and humanizing brands.

Will Taylor further elaborates on his initial disdain for social media, particularly LinkedIn, finding it "cringy" and "dry." However, he quickly recognized an opportunity to learn and grow by sharing his experiences and hardships, embodying the principle that "the best way to learn is to teach." This vulnerability led to an expanding network, increased "luck surface area," and ultimately, the ability to build his business, a feat he believes would have been impossible without consistent online posting. Ademola and Will, having studied psychology, emphasize the importance of sharing emotions and being vulnerable to foster deeper connections and trust, ultimately allowing them to be more of their true selves online and off. This authenticity, they argue, brings significant business ROI by bridging gaps between people and creating relatable content, which is crucial for effective partnering.

The conversation also touches upon content creators' strategic choices regarding the type of content they share. Sugata probes whether Ademola and Will have ever deleted posts, revealing that while minor adjustments might occur, the core of their content remains. A significant point of agreement is the deliberate avoidance of political or religious content on professional platforms. Will argues that such topics, while necessary, do not "move anyone forward" in a social media context due to its one-way communication stream and the algorithm's optimization for "outrage." Ademola echoes this, stating that as a spiritual person, he aims to put out positive posts and avoids discourse that is "usually not productive," preferring to have such complex conversations offline. This strategic decision highlights a conscious effort to maintain a positive and constructive online environment, reinforcing the concept of authentic yet mindful self-expression essential for humanizing brands and fostering successful partnering.

Chapter 2: The Human Side of Entrepreneurship and Audience Engagement

The discussion transitions to the shared entrepreneurial journeys of the guests, resonating deeply with Sugata Sanyal's own experiences as a founder. They explore the raw reality of building a business, contrasting the perceived freedom with the intense workload and constant challenges, such as late payments or payroll concerns, that define the "roller coaster" of entrepreneurship. This segment highlights the courage it takes to share these vulnerabilities publicly, prompting a reflection on whether this openness is generational or a deliberate strategy. Will Taylor views sharing the founder's journey as an "effective business strategy," not manipulation, because, in an age of declining trust in corporations, individuals leading companies who share their human experiences become more relatable and trustworthy. This human element differentiates them from faceless entities and AI-generated content, compelling attention and building a deeper connection with the audience, which is crucial for effective partnering.

Ademola Adelakun adds to this perspective, emphasizing that his intention in sharing the entrepreneurial journey is not to create an illusion of ease but to educate and level with people about its inherent difficulties. He challenges the "overnight success" myth, stressing that significant achievements often take years of planning, sleepless nights, and tireless effort. His posts convey that entrepreneurship is a "different game" and that individuals should "choose their hard," acknowledging that corporate life and business ownership present unique struggles. This candid portrayal manages expectations and provides a more grounded understanding of what it truly means to build and run a business, fostering a more informed and empathetic audience that appreciates the genuine struggle behind success, thereby facilitating better-partnering opportunities.

The hosts then delve into understanding their respective audiences and what drives their engagement. Ademola notes his audience primarily consists of marketers, social media managers, and, surprisingly, salespeople, who are often triggered by discussions around new technology and the potential extremes of its adoption, such as over-reliance on AI. His audience frequently expresses concern about technology replacing original thought and creativity, similar to how early pandemic sentiments about remote work eventually shifted to realizing the need for human interaction. Will’s audience is more mixed but predominantly comprises partner professionals and sales and marketing individuals. He began creating content by sharing his learning journey in partnerships, filling a "green space" where fewer people were active, and aiming to empower others by providing tactical takeaways and focusing on core revenue KPIs that secure jobs. Both maintain that while their audience is responsible, their authentic voice and strong takes are often what their audience needs to hear, even if it’s "hard love."

Chapter 3: Strategic Communication for Effective Partnering

The conversation takes a strategic turn, linking personal authenticity to the broader landscape of business partnering. Sugata Sanyal poses a crucial question about how brands communicate with entrepreneurs, particularly within partner ecosystems, contrasting individual posts' personal, empathetic tone with the typically "transactional" nature of brand communications focused on programs and promotions. Ademola Adelakun observes that many brands are stuck in a "short-term strategy mode," engaging in fleeting "creator partnerships" that yield temporary spikes but lack sustainable upside found in longer-term investments in people and brands. This highlights a disconnect between the authentic human connection valued by individuals and the often impersonal, metric-driven approach of larger organizations, suggesting that a shift towards more human-centric engagement could yield greater long-term benefits in partnering relationships.

Will Taylor provides a deeper analysis, attributing the transactional nature of brand communication to the necessity of producing "shareholder value" and hitting specific targets, which makes it challenging to track the ROI of "emotional stuff." He argues that while enterprises might strip away some humanity due to their structure, there is a significant opportunity for them to become their "own media company" or "journalist" by helping partners tell human-impact stories. He offers a compelling example of a solution allowing a local dental network to improve society. He suggests that emotionally resonant narratives, even if harder to track, are far more potent than transactional marketing in capturing attention and building stronger connections with clients and partners, ultimately enhancing partnering. This approach fosters deeper trust and serves as robust use-case information, differentiating them in a market increasingly saturated with generic, AI-generated content.

The discussion then expands to the complexities of communicating with a multi-generational workforce and diverse partner types within modern ecosystems. Sugata introduces the concept of a "five by five" matrix, combining five generations (Boomers to Alpha) with five partner types (affiliate, reseller, VAR, SI, MSSP/MSP), implying that each intersection requires tailored content and communication. Will highlights that partners often resist rigid categorization and that the go-to-market function is becoming increasingly unified, necessitating a blending of interaction approaches and multi-medium content distribution. He emphasizes that the winning strategy is the ability to take "one thing and do 20 things with it," effectively adapting a core message across numerous channels while maintaining its essence and relevance to each specific audience, which is critical for successful partnering. Ademola reinforces this by stressing the importance of adapting content to the "language of that platform" rather than simply repurposing and notes that while few companies currently master this diverse, authentic video communication across all intersections, there is a clear strategic imperative for them to do so to remain competitive and genuinely connect with their vast and varied ecosystems.