Devin Bramhall

Co-host: Don't Say Content. Marketing Advisor. Agency Growth Strategist. Former CEO of Animalz.

Your CEO doesn't hate marketing. They hate that you can't prove that it works.

I know because I've been the marketer pitching brilliant strategies that get shelved and the CEO wondering why marketing feels like an expensive black box.

After 15+ years building content strategies as a marketer and tripling Animalz to nearly $12M ARR as CEO, I realized the real problem:

We're optimizing for activities instead of outcomes. Checking boxes instead of driving growth.

The dirty secret? Most "content marketing strategies" are just glorified to-do lists.

My book "B2B Content Marketing Strategy" shows why "do more marketing" is killing growth and what to do instead.

Now I help companies stop doing marketing and start growing businesses as a fractional Chief Growth Officer.

If you're tired of: 
→ Defending your work instead of leading with it 
→ Following frameworks that feel like busy work 
→ Watching brilliant ideas die in committee

You're in the right place.

I help marketers ask better questions. Not “what content do we need?” but “what does the business need to grow?'"

Get weekly no-BS takes on growth: devinbramhall.com/newsletter

Chief Executive Officer

I used to think being a good marketing leader meant I had to be the smartest person in the room.

Spoiler: I wasn't. And trying to be made me worse at my job.

Here's what no one tells you about the shift from doing to leading, it's not about working harder or knowing more. It's about letting go of being right.

When I first moved into leadership, I apologized constantly. "Sorry, I don't have that data yet." "Sorry, let me circle back on that." I thought humility meant admitting what I didn't know.

Turns out, that just made everyone nervous.

The shift happened when I stopped apologizing and started owning my stance—even when I couldn't prove it yet. "Here's what I'm seeing. Here's the direction. Let's course-correct if we're wrong."

(Confidence isn't about being right. It's about having a POV and moving forward.)

But here's the part that actually broke me: letting go of execution.

I was still writing the copy. Still building the decks. Still the one "who could just do it faster." Classic Cinderella syndrome, if you're scrubbing the floors, you're not running the house.

And leadership? That's selling the strategy internally. Pitching to the CEO. Shaping the narrative before anyone else does. Your team can execute. You need to build the conditions for them to win.

The hardest lesson: You're not an IC anymore. Stop asking permission.

Don't say "I'd like to try this approach." Say "Here's what we're doing and why it's going to work."

Your CEO doesn't ask permission to make calls on incomplete data. Neither should you.

Marketing leadership isn't about having answers. It's about having conviction when no one else does.

Chief Growth Officer [Fractional]. Author: “B2B Content Marketing Strategy” out now on Amazon

Your CEO is asking you to "do more content" because they don't know what else to tell you.

They don't understand demand generation. Or brand positioning. And they definitely don't understand why the leads aren't converting.

So they default to: "We need more content."

And you? You're drowning in a backlog of blog posts no one will read, social posts that get 12 likes, and webinars with 3 attendees.

This is a leadership problem.

When leadership can't articulate strategy, they ask for activity. When they can't measure what matters, they count outputs. When they can't defend marketing to the board, they ask you to "do more" and hope something sticks.

I've watched this destroy marketing teams. The CEO who demanded 50 blog posts a quarter but couldn't tell me what outcome we were driving. The VP who obsessed over social followers while pipeline sat at zero. The board that wanted "more brand awareness" with zero patience for how long that actually takes.

When executives don't know how to evaluate marketing, they measure what's easy to count.

Stop asking for permission to do less. Defend focus instead.

The next time someone asks for "more content," I ask them:

More content to achieve what outcome? What are we trying to change about the business?

If they can't answer that, you have a strategy problem. No amount of content will fix it.

Ask me to be on your podcast, and I'll say yes.

Here’s why I’m saying that out loud.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the conversations I actually want to have this year and the rooms I want to be in. And when I look at most marketing podcasts, there’s a gap.

A lot of them talk about the work without ever having had to own it. Same advice, different guest. And most of it has never had to survive a CEO, a board, or a real budget.

I’ve been a marketer, then a CEO, and now I work as a fractional CGO. I helped grow a content business from $1.8M to $12M. I’ve had to explain why things failed, not just why they should work. I’ve had to decide what to stop doing when the math didn’t work.

And that changes how you talk about growth.

I know why leadership doesn’t trust marketing. I know why good strategies get shut down. And I know what actually changes those conversations. It’s not more activity, and it’s not better decks.

I’m not interested in checklist episodes or framework tours. I care about how growth actually works inside companies. Where it breaks. Where marketing loses credibility. What it’s like when you’re responsible for the outcome.

So yeah. That’s the ask.

If you run a podcast for B2B marketers or founders who want a real conversation and not another playbook recap, I’d love to join.

DM me if it makes sense.

For B2B marketers feeling overwhelmed...

Don't do more.  
Do less.  
That's strategy.

I was on IN CLEAR FOCUS with Adrian Tennant talking about my book, and this keeps coming up. Marketers asking what to do with shrinking budgets, impossible timelines, and pressure from all sides.

My answer pisses people off: Stop.

Don't add one more thing. Don't optimize one more channel. Don't layer on one more tactic because some newsletter said you should.

Think for yourself.

Look at what's actually in front of you. The resources you already have, the people inside your company, the relationships you've already built.

Work with that.

When I was CEO, I turned "outcomes over activities" into our operating mantra. When clients said "I want thought leadership," I'd ask: "Why? What outcome are you trying to achieve?"

Sounds obvious. But most marketers skip this because they're too busy executing someone else's playbook.

Here's what I know after growing a company from $1.8M to $12M:

The smartest strategy is the fewest actions that deliver the greatest results.

Not the longest content calendar.  
Or the most channels.  
And not the busiest team.

The question isn't "What should I be doing?"

It's "What outcome am I trying to drive? And what's the simplest path there?"

Keyword-based content plans? Those worked when you had growth-at-all-costs funding and could throw money at ranking.

That model died in 2023.

But most marketing teams are still operating like it's 2019. Writing more articles. Posting more content. Cranking the wheel harder.

And wondering why nothing's moving.

Because activity doesn't equal impact.

Your CEO doesn't care how many blog posts you published. They care whether those posts influenced pipeline, shortened sales cycles, or reduced CAC.

So if you're drowning right now, here's your permission slip:

Do less. Think more. Start with what works.

Don't go to playbooks. Don't look at what anyone else has done.

Look at what's physically in front of you and build a strategy to do less and accomplish more.

That's the shift I cover in 𝘉𝟚𝘉 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺 (you can find it on Amazon). Moving from predictable, exhausting activity loops to strategies that actually create leverage.

If you're tired of running in circles, maybe it's time to stop running.

Full episode is linked below if you're curious.

(Thanks to the Bigeye team for having me on.)

No alternative text description for this image

Here's everything I'm using to build my business.

People keep asking how I'm managing the consulting, the newsletter, the courses, the membership I'm launching.

The answer: eight tools and a clear hypothesis about what you need.

What I'm testing:

Courses on Maven using the frameworks I use with clients (how to get C-suite buy-in, how to build a growth strategy, that kind of thing). A newsletter. And advisory sprints for people who need focused help right now. A membership for marketing leaders who want strategic coaching without agency pricing. 

I'm not guessing. I'm testing with real people and iterating based on what I learn.

The 8 tools:

-Zoom – client calls, meetings
-Granola – meeting notes (I know Zoom does this, but the UI is better)
-Squarespace - for my core website 
-beehiiv – newsletter, courses, membership platform
-Stripe – cuz payments
-Ordinal – where I collaborate and schedule my LinkedIn content
-PhantomBuster – LinkedIn growth
-Alertmouse – tracks when people mention my name or key phrases

That's it. No complex funnels. Just what I need to get products in front of people and learn what resonates.

Most people spend months planning in private, then launch to crickets because they built what they 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 people wanted.

I'd rather build fast, test real demand, and adjust based on what works.
That's what building in public gets you: immediate feedback instead of assumptions.

I'll share what I learn as I go.

Anything you're curious about?

Here I am reading Glassdoor reviews about me out loud.

Yes, really.

From 2020-2022, when I was CEO of a content marketing agency, my former employees had *opinions* about me.

So I pulled out the meanest ones and decided to read them on camera.

At the time? I was devastated. Rookie CEO. Didn't know this was normal.

Now? I can giggle about them.

Some of these were harsh but fair. Others... well, you can decide for yourself.

If you've ever been the villain in someone else's work story, you'll get it.

Stay tuned for part 2.

Juliana Casale

Building a Beverage Brand

Hi! I’m the founder of Balloon, a Toronto-based sparkling water brand that I launched in October of 2023.

I’m having a blast figuring out how the CPG space works. Even if the brand flops, I am learning so much along the way.

One day I would love to work on the fizz biz full time, but I have a ways to go before I can give myself a paycheck so I’m a copywriter/content marketer by day 😁.

Okay, back to the career stuff:

Once upon a time in Arlington, Massachusetts, a little girl dreamed of becoming a marketing thought leader.

Hahaha. Can you imagine? No, I wanted to be a bridal shop owner.

Like many people, I stumbled into marketing early in my career. It’s a hard gig for many reasons, but I keep doing it because it’s about people - who they are, what they think, what they need and how to give it to them. 

Marketing is also about words, and as an English major I am really into those. 

If you’re looking for someone who can growth hack, eat spreadsheets for breakfast and gain your business thousands of followers in a month, you are reading the wrong profile. 

I have 13+ years of experience working across a variety of marketing platforms with a focus on boosting site traffic organically, leading visitors down the sales funnel in a thoughtful way, creating optimized (but human-friendly) content, and maximizing retention opportunities through product marketing. 

I'm laser focused on the customer experience, dedicated to building mutually beneficial relationships between sales, product, partnerships and customer success - and I know how to get shit done. 

Skills: 

- Marketing strategy
- Copywriting (case studies, newsletters, blog posts, interviews)
- Content promotion (social media, email)
- Sales enablement (acquisition and retention/upselling)
- Co-marketing + business development
- Building customer communities
- Event management
- Social media
- Video production
- Creative direction
- Website design 
- CRO

Public speaking:

- Guest speaker at Woodbury University's Coms 360 Media Professions class, September 2021 

- Member of Shine Speaker Bootcamp class of September 2019; see attached video

- “Customer-Centric Marketing Campaign Design” MBA guest speaker at Babson and social media/content marketing at Fisher College, both in October 2018

- Guest speaker on digital media at Emerson, April 2018 

- Guest speaker on adtech at Northeastern, October 2016

Freelance Writer

My business made 5 figures last year. I didn't make a profit, and I couldn't pay myself. If you look at my 12-month sales revenue, it's not super exciting. 

BUT what I'm starting to see, that IS getting me excited, is repeat wholesale orders. 

- Nutraviva in the West End is on their 4th order

- Vincenzo's in Waterloo just placed a 3rd order

- Shopify's Toronto office just ordered *75 cases* (my 1st pallet order!!), up from 50 last time

I was expecting the year to start off slow (January isn't typically peak sparkling water season), but the momentum is already building. 

2026 is going to be a big one for Balloon 🎈, I can feel it ❤️ .

So much can happen in 24 hours. 

This all went down on Friday: 

- My dream retailer saying no for the second time (rrrrrrghhhhhh)
- Another retailer dropping Balloon 🎈due to slow sales (they had the old branded cans and didn't ever try the new flavours so I don't feel AS bad as I could about this one, but the store is in an excellent location that I am super bummed to lose)
- Found out from the warehouse we're sold out of 2 SKUs (this should never, ever be a surprise and something I will be working hard to remedy ASAP)

BUT ALSO ON THE VERY SAME DAY:

- Balloon got into its first gas station. In the United States. Making my brand multi-national. 

I spent the morning/afternoon feeling frustrated, stressed (and frankly a bit incompetent), but seeing these photos that evening put THE biggest smile on my face. 

It's like the old saying about New England, "Don't like the weather? Just wait 5 minutes." The highs and lows of being a founder are truly wild. 

(Note: If you ever find yourself inside the Mini Mart at the Cloverleaf BP in Southfield, Michigan, please go in and send me a pic!).

On Wednesday I booked a last-minute booth at Canadian Health Food Association’s trade show in Vancouver, which is taking place 4 weeks from now. 

Cue the scramble to:

- Buy plane tickets & secure a place to stay
- Submit the food sampling form
- Get booth insurance 
- Order marketing materials
- Get cases of Balloon 🎈 to my distributor’s Markham warehouse so they can freight them to the show for me
- Start retailer outreach

I spent this morning at brunch with friends and this afternoon in my Toronto warehouse, making sure I have enough inventory. 

TBH, I love this kind of stuff. 

I did a whole talk at Fuckup Nights Toronto last year about how I was a startup addict; the adrenaline that comes from hustling under deadline is hard to beat, especially when it’s the success of YOUR business on the line. 

I can’t wait to hit the show floor in February ✌️.

Since I launched Balloon 🎈 I've felt pressure from incubator/accelerators, retailers, investor groups and grant givers to position it as 
"innovative."

Here was the formula for being an innovative beverage brand in 2025:

1. Add a functional element like probiotics, energy, fiber, adoptogens, etc to fizzy water
2. Reinforce that it's "better for you" by using alternative sweeteners like stevia, monk fruit or erythritol instead of sugar

There's obviously a big consumer demand for this, and I know many amazing founders who are building and kicking ass in this space. 

But here's where things get interesting: 

- LaCroix/Bubly/Perrier/Polar own zero sugar/zero calorie
- Coke/Dr. Pepper/Sprite own high calorie/high sugar
- Who's owning the non-functional (or what I like to call "dysfunctional" 😁) middle ground?

Everyone and their grandmother comments on how saturated the beverage category is, but I think there's a ton of room for innovating in the blank space between no sugar and tons of it. 

It's a super simple idea that doesn't attract VCs and probably won't land me on Dragons' Den, but it's a hill I'm willing to die on as I build my brand.

I just got a no from my dream retailer - the same one I got a no from two Falls ago when Balloon 🎈 was just getting started. 

I was so optimistic with the rebrand and new flavors that they’d say yes this time 😕.

Wanna try Balloon 🎈 IRL?

I’ll be slinging sparkling water at the following places, starting tomorrow:

Saturday, Jan 17
Vincenzo’s (Waterloo)
11 am - 4 pm

Wednesday, Jan 21
CommerceTO
5:30 - 8:30 pm

Thursday, Feb 12
East Room (Claremont Location)
5 - 8 pm

Demos are one of my favorite founder activities, I love seeing peoples’ reaction after the first sip and getting real time feedback. 

Hope to see some of you out there! 

#toronto #demo #dohashtagsactuallyworkonlinkedin

Okay, LinkedIn. I’m facing a big decision and I need all of you to weigh in.

When I launched Balloon 🎈 in 2023, I rolled out three flavours:

- Fruit punch
- Green apple
- Mango

And last year, I added two more as a small batch test:

- Pink lemonade
- Lychee 

5 SKUs cost a LOT to produce and store, plus the odd number makes sample packs/boxes awkward. 

This year I want to return to three flagship flavours and leave a fourth spot open for a limited edition seasonal (summer/winter).

Green apple and Lychee are clear bestsellers, and Pink lemonade is on tap as the summer seasonal, which leaves one last spot open in the core lineup. 

So here’s the big question: 

👉Do I keep Mango or Fruit punch??👈

They both drive the same amount of sales, so it’s going to come down to a popular vote. 

Please comment and let me know which one you prefer!

I may or may not have snorted aloud when I read the cost of “earning” recognition in a Canadian business magazine. 

$7,000???

taplio

The Battle

Devin Bramhall

Juliana Casale

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreDevin Bramhall's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJuliana Casale's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Devin Bramhall

Juliana Casale

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Devin Bramhall's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJuliana Casale's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreDevin Bramhall's LinkedIn Performance