Soul & Science : #100: From Viral Content to Retail Scale | Black Rifle Coffee CMO Donny Jensen
SHOW NOTES
How do you build “America’s coffee” without getting lost in politics?
Donny Jensen, CMO of Black Rifle Coffee, joins Jason Harris to share lessons from a career that’s spanned Nike, Red Bull, Beats by Dre, Spartan Race, and now one of America’s fastest-growing coffee companies. Donny explains why brand is the ultimate differentiator, how Black Rifle balances irreverent viral content with disciplined growth marketing, and what it means to stand for veterans and first responders without playing politics.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Below $1B, CMOs must know the growth levers themselves—not just manage from the top
✅ The sweet spot is a hybrid model: in-house talent plus specialized agency partners
✅ Brand is the moat—when ads shut off during COVID, Spartan’s traffic kept coming because of brand strength
✅ Plan your own calendar: cultural relevance matters less than staying true to your brand moments
Memorable Moments:
💡 “If you don’t know performance and growth, you’re at a massive disadvantage as a CMO.”
💡 “We want to be America’s coffee, America’s energy—positive energy, every time you encounter us.”
💡 “A great brand gets you the retail meeting. It makes everything easier.”
💡 “My dad paid me a dollar an hour to sweep on his job sites—I still work like nothing is owed to me.
”Brought to you by Mekanism.
Donny Jensen, CMO of Black Rifle Coffee, joins Jason Harris to share lessons from a career that’s spanned Nike, Red Bull, Beats by Dre, Spartan Race, and now one of America’s fastest-growing coffee companies. Donny explains why brand is the ultimate differentiator, how Black Rifle balances irreverent viral content with disciplined growth marketing, and what it means to stand for veterans and first responders without playing politics.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Below $1B, CMOs must know the growth levers themselves—not just manage from the top
✅ The sweet spot is a hybrid model: in-house talent plus specialized agency partners
✅ Brand is the moat—when ads shut off during COVID, Spartan’s traffic kept coming because of brand strength
✅ Plan your own calendar: cultural relevance matters less than staying true to your brand moments
Memorable Moments:
💡 “If you don’t know performance and growth, you’re at a massive disadvantage as a CMO.”
💡 “We want to be America’s coffee, America’s energy—positive energy, every time you encounter us.”
💡 “A great brand gets you the retail meeting. It makes everything easier.”
💡 “My dad paid me a dollar an hour to sweep on his job sites—I still work like nothing is owed to me.
”Brought to you by Mekanism.
Soul & Science
Does marketing live in the heart, or in the head? Should you trust your instinct, or your integers? If the answer is both, should you lead with one more than the other? As a creative agency, Mekanism has been asking these questions of ourselves and our clients for over 10 years. Join co-founder and CEO of award-winning creative agency Mekanism, Jason Harris, on his quest to answer these questions with the world’s leading marketers from the brands we’ve all come to love. Named CEO of the Year by The Drum Magazine, Jason will draw from his experience during these easily digestible 20-minute episodes to explore the Soul of these famous brands and the Science of staying relevant, exploring how they’ve become culture defining emblems in our modern world.
Brought to you by Mekanism
Brought to you by Mekanism
LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE APP
