#133: Marketing's Fixer | First Round President & CMO Nick Tran

About this episode

How do you market a brand when everything is on fire?

This week on Soul & Science, Jason Harris sits down with Nick Tran, President and CMO at First Round — the joint venture between Diageo and Main Street Advisors for spirits brands Cîroc and Lobos 1707 — to talk about his reputation as a “fixer” for brands in crisis and the importance of unlearning everything we think we know about marketing as culture and technology evolve at breakneck speed. From putting out fires at Taco Bell and Samsung to skyrocketing TikTok and Hulu into broad cultural relevance, Nick is at his best when the stakes are high and the old playbook no longer applies.

Nick explains why today’s marketers need to rethink how brands earn attention, moving beyond traditional advertising to create experiences and communities people actively want to be part of. He shares how that philosophy is shaping his turnaround of Cîroc, how world-building can bring brands to life, and why creating real-life experiences is more important than ever in the post-COVID world. Plus, he tells the story of how Samsung narrowly avoided involvement with Fyre Fest and reveals his unconventional secret to solving the toughest problems: taking a nap.

Key Takeaways

✅ Sometimes you can learn more from a crisis than a classroom 

✅ A single great campaign isn’t enough; you need to build a brand world

✅ CMOs can’t rely on KPIs as a substitute for common sense

✅ Marketers must unlearn old approaches as the way people consume content evolves

✅ The more isolated people feel, the more valuable in-person experiences become

Memorable Moments 💡"Life is a team sport, and it's best played with people."

💡"You can’t buy your way to getting attention anymore." 

💡"A brand’s soul is created when someone first feels an emotional attachment to it." 

💡"If Fyre Fest goes well the first year, we’ll talk next year…" 

💡"The CMO’s job is more about influencing the other C-suite than actually marketing."

Brought to you by Mekanism.