Dan Gershenson

Caliber Brand Strategy + Content Marketing

As your Fractional Chief Marketing Officer+ with senior strategic partners in tow, we give 2nd generation business owners in a family business with little or no Marketing Department the invaluable asset they need when it comes to positioning their brand in the marketplace, creating more soundly strategic and compelling content for digital media, discovering real insight from customer interviews and identifying the tactics that make the maximum amount of sense for their audience, goals and budget. That way, they can focus on a myriad of other day-to-day responsibilities, such as the business of running their business.

In Caliber, you don't have a Fractional CMO who's merely about planning and strategy alone. 

You've got a Fractional CMO who can ALSO DIRECT AND DELIVER marketing strategy, target audience identification, website writing and design, content creation, SEO, social media, eMarketing, reputation management and paid advertising. 

Brand strategy. Content development. Creative direction. A proven marketing system for success. Nobody in Chicago brings that combination together at a better value for small business owners than Caliber. NOBODY.

Investment:
Brand Strategy: $1,000 - $2,500 (one time)
Retainer: $30,000 - $60,000 per year (flat monthly fee). Saving you at least $300,000 from a CMO's average salary plus implementation help. Easily.

We currently have 4 slots open for a client who is ready to experience new, inspiring, creative, energizing and revenue-producing possibilities from our direction and thought partnership.

Chief Marketing Officer

Boost Marketing

As the primary point person for creative and strategic branding of this agency, I helped acquire or upgrade 14 clients within 2 years, including developing an entirely new revenue stream based on content marketing. Among 2 of the more heavily involved retainer clients in this program, business was increased by 44.84% and 60% over the previous year.

Client experience: FANUC, Stenzel Clinical, Enshu, SMW Autoblok, Eaglestone, Bloomingdale Signs, Exact Metrology, Colorite, Toshiba Machine, Main Tape, Lapreda

VP of Brand Strategy

Crain's Chicago Business

On a weekly basis, I contributed to Chicago's foremost business publication regarding useful branding and social media topics for entrepreneurs.

Contributing Writer

Personal Branding Blog and Personal Branding Magazine

Each week, I blogged at PersonalBrandingBlog.com, one of the Top 50 Marketing Blogs in the world. Additionally, I wrote each quarter for its print counterpart, Personal Branding Magazine.

The Creative Underground

Co-founding a traditional advertising agency provided me with the ability to grow exponentially as a writer, manager of creative teams, new business developer and builder of client relationships. 

During my time with the agency, my experience helped contribute to a biopharmaceutical company enjoying what was at the time its best period of plasma donation ever, a country club realizing a $700,000 budget surplus in a down economy, a gourmet deli with 26 locations growing its social media presence by thousands within 6 months and a craft beer company beating the likes of the "Big 3" brewers in head-to-head marketplace engagement. 

Client experience: CSL Plasma, DHL, American Bancard, MatchForce, Boca Lago Country Club, TooJay's Deli, Florida Beer Company, 5-Spice Asian Street Market, My First Home, C3 Cloud Computing, Mosaic Business Solutions, Insight Medical Consultants, China Northwest Biotech Corp., Sign-A-Rama, Vinn Vodka, South Florida Business Journal

Chief Strategic Officer

First Marketing

Client experience: Citibank, Farmer's Insurance, H&R Block, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo

Senior Copywriter

DDB Chicago

My experience at DDB showed me that traditionally conservative industries (such as financial, insurance and industrial) can be incredibly creative opportunities. My State Farm role allowed me to produce national advertising campaigns involving print, direct mail, radio, TV and recruitment advertising. It also enabled me to have a hand in rolling out new products for the company, such as State Farm Bank and State Farm Mutual Funds. For USG, I developed campaigns that were originally supposed to be of the typical "3-ad series" and expanded them into over a dozen trade publication print ads with several direct mail pieces to accompany the effort.

Client experience: State Farm, USG Corporation, Budweiser, McDonald's, The Home Depot

Austin Knight Advertising

As the chief Copywriter in the main hub of this mid-sized recruitment advertising agency's network, I was called upon to create new advertising campaigns and website content to help build the business of the Chicago office and several other offices around the country. It gave me the experience of not only understanding how to craft creative messages for many different clients, but also how to bring together the right mix of advertising components to fit under one brand umbrella seamlessly. Within my first four years, I was promoted to Associate Creative Director. 

Client experience: Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Clinic, Nortel, IKEA, Hitachi Microsystems, US West, Salomon Smith Barney, Harris Bank, Advocate Health Care, 1996 Democratic National Convention

Associate Creative Director

HERE'S YOU:
The leader of a closely held family business that's been very successful for years but needs to keep evolving and elevating. You have a good management team but don't really have a marketing department. So your marketing requires a stronger foundation, leveling up from where you've been and an optimized connection to results so you know what's working best. 

HERE'S WHAT KEEPS YOU UP:
Having to explain to your staff to prepare for layoffs. Having to explain high staff turnover to stakeholders. Not being seen as a leader in the industry. Uncertainty on where to spend marketing dollars. Missing goals as a result of not retaining enough clients and repeat business. A lead cycle that feels very unpredictable. Not knowing what content to produce yet knowing you won't have enough time to produce it anyway.

All while you're experiencing light website traffic, little engagement on social media, zero presence on the first page of Google for key search terms, inconsistent email outreach, no solid sales process and more. 

HERE'S YOUR CURRENT PROCESS:
You throw things against the wall to see what sticks and say, "Let's do that." Or "Here's this hot thing that everybody's doing. Let's do that too." Not exactly a system.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'D LOVE:
A strong brand that improves the memorability of your services among your best possible customers, no matter where they are in their decision-making process. As a direct result, your marketing has a true impact in driving bottom-line revenue and growth.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED RIGHT NOW:
A full assessment of the marketing methods you're currently using. Recommendations of exactly what you need to change in order to make it successful. 

If you like what you hear, you'll need implementation of any and all tactics recommended: Writing, SEO, social media, email, paid advertising, everything. All of which is tied together in a compelling way that speaks to your ideal customer's real problems and questions. 

HERE'S ME:
Dan Gershenson. I'm different from every Fractional CMO in that I actually strategize AND create the novel solutions for your brand AND oversee everything from my team AND have a proven marketing system. By the way, I'm one of just 23 Master Consultants who can utilize that system in the world.

HERE'S OUR NEXT STEP:
1) Discovery Meeting.
2) If you like that, we deliver a brand strategy within 2 weeks. 
3) If you like that, then and only then do we talk about an engagement.

Serious? Then let's talk at Dan@HighCaliberBranding.com / 773.MY.CMO.16.

Chief Executive Officer

I unfollow any marketers who can’t speak plain English. 

I don’t have time to understand deeply technical critiques of people who don’t “get it” but you offer nothing clear as an alternative. 

It’s not that we’re stupid. God forbid we have mastery in particular things but not everything. 

Thought leadership only occurs when you are leading. Otherwise it’s just thoughts primarily for yourself - some might call that a diary or therapy. 

The moral: Our challenge and goal in 2026 with content is not to whine into the void but to ask how we are helping people solve problems, moving them just a little bit closer to a solution and asking if we’re talking with them rather than to them. 

I’m excited for the opportunity. If you’re not, now is a good time for self-reflection on why not.

I help small businesses without in-house marketing expertise to create compelling stories that attract the highest qualified prospects which lead to even bigger revenue opportunities.

Beyond your family and friends, there's a certain next level of people in your tribe who you don't have to guess too much where they stand. 

This group should be harder to get into. 
I refer to it as The Exceptional Tribe.

You've spoken with members of your Exceptional Tribe enough to know they're genuine in their thoughts, actions and beliefs in you without agenda. 

1 hour isn't spent with them talking for 55 minutes and you for 5. You get their business and they get yours. There's no "keep my eyes out for you" BS or "I got a guy" with them. You two can have a candid conversation about where each other wants to go in business and in life. You can talk about your struggles without judgement. You don't have to make up "wins" just to feel like you're keeping up. 

And you will never, ever stop learning about one another in the Tribe - your new goals, new programs/offers/events, new potential introductions to be made, etc. Their wins are your wins. And their content should be something you WANT to share rather than HAVE to share. 

It goes without saying but I'll say it - if this person isn't enjoyable to interact with regularly, there's no way on God's green Earth they will be granted admission. That's a Connection. And that's not even CLOSE to the same thing.

Hardcore for you? Maybe your filter isn't tight enough. 

For example, if you had 5-10 of these, that's just fine. If you had more than 100, it might be time to kick a few out of the Tribe.

I've already brought this to fruition on LinkedIn through my Sales Navigator List of 100-125 Exceptional Tribe members. 

But there's always room in my Tribe for special people who give so much more of a damn beyond the status quo events and meetups. 

My game is leveling up on this in 2026 in a way it never has before. Where will you be? 

Will you be committed to be a relentless study of others so you are able to help them grow? And in the same breath, will you put aside that "giver" bullcrap to demand more of others the way you deserve so you can meet your goals through intention rather than karma? 

If we're going up together next year, I can't wait to talk to you. Now.
But rest assured - only so many people are getting in the elevator with us. 

#TheExceptionalTribe

theexceptionaltribe.com

The Exceptional Tribe is comprised of close relationships with the following:

I don't really think it's AI Vs. Human. 
It's more Qualified Human Director Vs. Idiot. 

I was talking to my Dad last night about an experience he had in which an AI Customer Service Rep was so good, he had a better conversation with that than any human. The Rep was able to answer all of his questions, make suggestions and basically become his new best friend. 

He talked to the thing for 45 minutes. It was not frustrating. It was so wonderful that he wanted to leave an AI a 5-star review for its supervisors. 

Think about this - your parents who typically call you with questions about their computer and the Internet and other things with switches and electricity are now having a better experience with AI customer service than humans. 

Now, let's remember there were surely humans who directed that AI. Qualified humans who knew what to upload and how to coach the AI on an ongoing basis from here. It's NEVER a set-it-and-forget-it. 

In contrast, my Mom, in the very same conversation, told me about how she had interacted with a human customer service rep to order flowers for a friend's anniversary and, because there was a language barrier, the flowers arrived looking half-dead and the recipient's name was spelled wrong. 

This was the third try.

Those people were idiots. If they directed an AI, the AI would probably get it wrong too. Because the output is only as good as the quality of the input. 

We will only see more of this as remarkably unqualified people try to pretend that they are experts in things they have never known. Like writing. And design. And programming. And strategizing. 

At Caliber, we are not mere "writers" but content directors and content creators. We are humans who create for humans and direct other humans. But we are also so much better positioned to direct AI in the future because we have that foundation of expertise.

And now you know why we don't fear the future one bit.

Good news: No whining about algorithms or visibility was done in the making of this video. 

That's a self-imposed limitation from those who either don't want or don't know how to do anything about that problem. Fortunately, we do. 

If you want to take back control of your brand instead of blaming an unknown entity behind a curtain, one of the best ways is to "atomize" your content to places far beyond a single time and channel. 

Our best audience has different preferences for interacting with us. That's not a complication. It's an opportunity to expand reach, visibility and influence on our terms. 

This video speaks to not only why this is vital in our approach but several ideas to meet people where they "live" rather than making them jump through hoops going from one channel to the next or preventing our value from being experienced at all through gating.  

#contentmarketing
#contentstrategy
#contentdevelopment

Executives: You do realize that quality leads are not just people who want to buy from you this second, right? 

No, seriously. Let’s make we understand this because if so, that thinking is screwing up everything for you in mind-blowing ways.

It will kill your business to focus this narrowly at the expense of all else. 

You do not control the timeline and motivation of purchase. Nope, not even with that really good offer (that only works if they’re already right there and need a little extra push - not “Hmm. I never thought about this. You’re hired!”).

A person searching for clarity on a problem or several problems is worthy. They may still not have created a shortlist of vendors yet. That could come over the next 3-4 months. Making a selection could take another 3-4 months. 

The good news is education early in the process is not without a purpose for you. They want answers. Why? They’re absorbing downloadable assets. Why? It’s to learn, yes, but what else is going on? 

See, that’s worth a short discussion for me. Others more jaded may see it as wasteful because heaven forbid they’re not a buyer yet - but that’s a huge potential mistake on their part. 

I have the discipline to illuminate a path forward to an answer without trying to sell too early. It’s worth talking it through for 15 minutes or so. 

Because having a problem and looking for a solution to that is not the same as wanting to hire a partner. 

Those who appreciate this dynamic in a complex sale are better clients for us. 

When you meet the moment for where people are in their journey with intelligence, custom content and ongoing understanding, the opportunities for dialogues and demos can multiply. 

But only if you scrap that stupid “the only good lead is a buy now lead” thinking today.

DDB and FCB have been part of the advertising industry's legacy for decades. My time at DDB was one that changed me forever. The people there pushed me to be better and not just settle for "good enough." Which wasn't surprising since it was also the ad agency that gave us the ultimate champion of creative work, Bill Bernbach. 

I can also remember staring up at that building with the "FCB" logo on it as a kid in college, dreaming of what it would be like to work there as a Copywriter.

It's a sad and terrible point in time to see thousands of people lose their jobs and these legendary companies' names retired in the process. The people who remain are hurting too.

But if there's a silver lining they can't recognize soon enough, I have learned that we are NEVER defined by our companies we belong to or serve. 

It is not a "family." If it were, nobody would leave or be asked to leave. 

Because that's not what happens in a REAL family, where you do anything for each other and recognize we are all imperfect on the way to forgiveness and redemption.

Our talent and skills are portable to the destination lucky enough to have us. 
The right employers and clients will always appreciate that.

#DDB #BillBernbach #FCB

The predictions about SEO and AI are semi-meaningless to me because they center on things we can't control. I'm not big on that. It's reactive. Not proactive.

I'm far more interested in creating content that speaks to both of these sides of the equation while monitoring how things change. 

That's more proactive and exerts greater control over your brand's visibility and message versus waiting to see how the fish are biting. 

So let the losers waste time telling us what's dead or dying. I'd rather be aware of writing to humans first, particularly those who represent your best potential customers. 

Nothing is more boring to me than a conversation that starts with, "Well, I saw this guy speaking about it and he said..." 

Who gives a damn? Is he able to actually CREATE content toward that end or he just getting a high trying to be Search Nostradamus?

Speaking is easy. Predicting is easy. Creating slop from a non-human is easy. Creating content for humans is a skill and a knife that always has to be sharpened. There's a reason why those of us who have been creators for many years prior to ChatGPT, Claude and the rest of them are more sought after than ever - we can write to the compelling and extraordinary differences you offer without requiring artificial help.

We stay aware of what's resonating and what's not, absolutely. BUT that can be every bit in the context of how the topic at hand is viewed by real people with real questions and problems desperately requiring a smart, clear, captivating answer. 

NOT just what's resonating with search engines and algorithms.

Are you going to respond to their questions and problems by saying, "Well, let's see what the algorithm says how I should write it for the purpose of reach and visibility" first and foremost? 

A real content developer with a mind for strategy doesn't. Thank goodness.

#contentdevelopment
#seo
#searchenginevisibility
#contentstrategy
#ICP

Thankful for his wife for her support on his entrepreneurial journey. 
#Unfollow
Recognized for an award and so humbled by it. 
#Unfollow
Brags about lack of sleep due to his love of what he does.
#Unfollow

Relentless curation is the only way to improve your experience here on LinkedIn so the people who elevate your knowledge, insight and growth can rise above all the others in your feed. It ain't a one-time thing. 

It doesn't mean you don't care about other people. It means you care about the right ones versus those who are so self-indulgent that they wouldn't care if your business was hit by a meteor.

You actively create and preserve the experience you deserve to have here.
Or you don't and just wander through it.
That's not solely about LinkedIn.

#tightenthecircle
#LinkedIn

You’re an adult man or woman who cares about the number of cartoon thumbs and hearts that accompany your posts to validate your thoughtful content’s worth. 

Stop the madness. You’re better than this. 

Diversifying and adapting your story across channels - and delivering real insight within the same place versus BS gating and hoop jumping elevates the narrative of your brand. It gives you many “at bats” with content instead of all the eggs in one basket, one time. 

It’s not tactical. It’s strategic and practical for how people interact. 

Don’t get me wrong. Everybody enjoys being liked, loved and cared about after putting deep thought (not sarcastic cheap thought and whining about algorithms) into what they write. 

But let’s get a grip. I’ll trade 100 likes for 5 discovery meetings.

The way you grow your business is the way YOU grow YOUR BUSINESS. 

“I built my business by…”
Seriously. Nobody cares. 

It’s not the same set of circumstances, people and challenges. 

It’s a business. Not a damn pie recipe. 

Everyone who thinks there’s a one-size-fits-all, usually the ones speaking from a stage, are King or Queen of Fullacrap Mountain.

The only thing our clients have in common is that they start with a strategy rather than Hot Tactic du Jour. 

Other than that, everybody is different. 
EVERYONE.

If I listened to every person on here, I would do nothing out of paralysis by analysis. Just accept the fact that anything you do has been, is and will be challenged or labeled "dead." OK?

Your North Star comes back to your purpose and who you serve best. 

That's fair, right? I don't think that's terribly controversial or should invite a lot of internal debate on that alone. Let's take another step.

Would you agree that your company should know what it stands for and its reason for being? Would you agree that it would be to your advantage that you understand who sings your praises and spends the most with you?

Good. Because these alone should not be hard to agree to. 

Knowing this much, you can next likely also agree that your point of difference is not merely what you do. Nor should the people you serve be a random wheel of People I Can Help Today. 

If you're unclear on those, combining that wandering in the wilderness with conflicting views on LinkedIn will be a colossal trainwreck. Simply put, you won't find the unequivocal answer here. You'll find opinions here. 

So what do you do? Abandon LinkedIn altogether? No. Collect the points of view but don't feel that you have to decide based on that alone. You don't. 

A serious strategy to move forward on that's truly customized for your company will give you a much better sense of the path to follow. Whether's it's a high-level view or an in-depth series of interviews, we've found that being an objective party without allegiances to this or that individual/department illuminates that path. 

We're not spouting opinions or crafting headline bait for clicks. We're drilling down into what we see, hear and uncover - and then making recommendations based on that. Don't agree with it? OK. Keep the findings anyway. Agree with it? OK. Let's talk about how we put these recommendations in motion. 

Just don't agree on the latter and say, "Well, I read on LinkedIn..." I'm sure you did. But I can find a different viewpoint that sounds valid too. 

The question is whether or not you believe in having a real expert to work with is better than following the Post du Jour. Because as far as this party is concerned, if we get started, that's never up for debate.

#brandchampionroadmap
#strategyfirst
#paralysisbyanalysis

I used to work with a guy who said we needed more “junk food” social media posts. I don’t know what the hell he was talking about then nor do I now. 

I do know what junk social media posts are, though. You’ve seen them. Hopefully you’re as tired of them as I am. 

They’re the posts trying to be too sarcastic, too clickbait, too rage bait, too hook-ish without any story, too cute, too one liner, too smartass, too “I don’t know who needs to hear this” and too whiney. And of course, too AI generated. 

Those of us who are skilled in story and purpose value the at-bats we get with you and don’t take them for granted. 

We don’t do junk food/junk posts to get cheap emoji highs and thrills from our BFFs, golf buddies and moms. 

You want throwaway crap? Don’t hire us. Please. 

Elevating the quality of content for our clients and their potential clients keeps our chops sharper in a sea of lame alternatives to creating and collaborating. 

It’s content fueled by who they are and what their audience craves knowing. 

Being seen or not won’t matter worth a damn if your motives for creating content aren’t genuine in the first place. 

#contentcreation
#contentstrategy
#LinkedIn

No, no. We wouldn’t want to understand intent or any one of 30+ signals to indicate where someone might be in their thought process. 

That might offer a clue of insight and we sure as hell don’t want that. 

Let’s assemble Mission Impossible teams instead to get into offices after dark so we can implant tiny cameras and listening devices to see and hear things they’re talking about internally. 

Yes. We know there are private channels, communities and discussions happening that we can’t access that include touch points we can’t know in great detail. 

But labeling things as “dark” areas we can’t know while ripping on the things we can learn to any degree with the technology we have is purposeful head in the sand lunacy. 


#Signals
Steven Eror 🧠🔑🎮

Head of Partnerships at Signals | Empowering Agencies and Channel Partners to Drive Growth | Helping Partners Scale with Signal-Led Growth

Sports. Algorithms. AI. Post visibility. Cheat sheets. Marketers quibbling about what words we use. 

I get it, LinkedIn. It’s what you do. 
But I hope you took some time today to think outside of the bubble. 

About Australia. And Brown University. You know. Real life. 

It’s never easy for us to just shut it off and work. And I hope it never is.

I promise you I will never use the word human-centric. I don't even know what that means. No, we cater to garden gnomes and llamas.

Sorry, I have to get my one of these out per day. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

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