ARJUN:
William, I know you are a humble human being, but I find what you accomplished at Chipotle to be some of the most authentic branding work ever done, because the brand's character and the voice really blended. Getting into things, what would be some of the biggest success stories in your journey, and what were the secrets to get there? How do you get to that brand voice?
WILLIAM:
Looking at it in terms of that and maintaining the brand voice and what was developed, I believe it happened the way it did, and was sustainable for such a long period of time because we were doing it all wrong, according to how you're supposed to do it. Hopefully, they're continuing in that vein. It wasn't that we didn't develop the brand through committee or research or strategy. It was just this natural expression of our team. We knew who we were, and then we were just doing what we thought was fun and entertaining and cool.
When Chipotle started in 1993, there was absolutely nothing else on the landscape like it. It was truly revolutionary in what the founder had created. So when the momentum got rolling in terms of people discovering it and this new type of food, that’s delicious and made with all natural ingredients to the point where we were pushing into food with integrity, that was just self-perpetuating. So as far as the marketing wins, it gave us the freedom to not worry about, "I have to sell a burrito." It was, "How do I connect with my audience in an emotional way? How do I make this fun and entertaining and in a way that I would want to have it be fun and entertaining? And how would I want to be marketed to?"
It was really a very different way of approaching that equation of building the brand, because we weren't doing it consciously so much as just unconsciously trying to connect. I think that really is what came across over time, that people were truly interacting with a personality as opposed to an organization or a company.
I would argue now with my hindsight, and this is something that I speak upon a lot, all brands are personalities. As we interact with brands in the world, we all anthropomorphize them and connect with them on an emotional level as if you're interacting with a person. The brands that are really working on understanding who they are for their company, their customers, and are developing that, really have an opportunity to create powerful connections with their customers. That’s what we did at Chipotle. We did it very well, and we did it by accident. It wasn't by design. It was just, "Let's make cool stuff," and people started connecting and connecting and connecting. And we kept trying to do that because you love the juice, you love the recognition and the love that they would throw back at you. And it built this very powerful, emotional relationship with our customers over time.
I look at the period from when I started in 1999, until 2015, there was just a lot of love there and a lot of back and forth. It was this absolute connection with the customer, through this process of just trying to be spontaneous and doing that. The success story of that journey was creating something spontaneous and authentic, and people heard it, people felt it, and therefore connected with it on an emotional level. Then of course 2015 is when the E. coli incident happened. The lesson there was reflected in the emotional relationship that our customers had with us.
ARJUN:
Most brands are attention deficit. A new CMO comes in and wants to leave their individual mark. In that kind of environment, what was the secret to maintain what you just talked about over such a long period of time?
WILLIAM:
What’s also key is the absence of ego in the team. It's not about you as an individual. I think a lot of time what happens when you a new CMO comes in, they have to prove that they're good, and there's this fundamental insecurity underneath that. The individual needs to express themselves somehow at the detriment to the brand. But a solid person can come in and realize, "It's not about me. It's about this collective thing we're creating." As far as the organization of the brand, that must take precedence. I think that was probably one of the biggest lessons I learned over time.
Early on I was a creative. For the first 10 of my 19 years, I was the sole internal creative who was making all this stuff. It was a lot of collateral and in-store signage and posters. But as a creative, my ego was too tied to what I was doing. I needed that affirmation. You create and create, and you're thinking you're so important because you're perpetuating the brand, and making it real and tangible, and people are seeing your work, and they're thinking it's funny and all that.
But when I really started looking at the customer's overall experience overall and their interaction with the brand, I had this epiphany that what I was generating in terms of creative was just a fraction of the customer's brand experience. Where it was really happening was when they were walking into the restaurants. They were interacting with the crew, they were getting their food. That’s what was building that experience for them.
The best ad in the world could never make up for a crappy restaurant experience, and a great restaurant experience just eclipses the best ad you could possibly write. That was really where it was happening.
So that's when I realized I had to pull back my ego and my self-absorption and look at what that experience was for the customer, where the brand essence lies. At that point I came to understand, "For it to be branded in the restaurants, branded with our people in the restaurant in the line, it's got to be our culture." The brand has to come out of the culture because you're expecting these people in the line to interact with the customer in a branded way. You couldn't give them books saying, "Here's how to sound ‘Chipotle’." You had to say, "Let's create an atmosphere where people are feeling this thing in this language in this casual attitude, but being serious about what we're doing and being dedicated. Let's create a culture where it becomes natural for them to do that."
If CMOs come into a situation where there's something clearly broken and needs to be fixed, they need to do that. But if you're just imposing something so you can put your thumbprint on it, I don't think that's the smartest thing to do. You really need to look at where that culture is coming from. This gets into something I'm obsessed with right now, and it's about values. All organizations have values based on actions. You hear the word “values” and you think, "Oh, the company's doing good things." No, values can be bad things, too. For example, Philip Morris makes cigarettes. You can’t argue that’s a great thing to do. But that company has values or specific things they believe in, and they're trying to accomplish those things. So people start getting attracted to that and want to join that team. What forms around those values is a culture, and that culture of people starts developing and creates this inner connection between what they believe in and what they want to accomplish. Ultimately, brand is simply an external manifestation of that culture.
I entered into the equation thinking it's all about the creative and that's what branding is. Now I'm actually way out here on the periphery just trying to express what's happening on the inside. I think when CMOs come into an organization, they really need to be looking at those pieces. They need to decide what that core is and how they can best manifest those values and that culture to the outside world, and not just do it out of their desire to make an impression themselves, but to really create an authentic connection with the outside world to what's happening internally in the corporation and the organization.
ARJUN:
The impact you made is not just in the brand. You may remember back around 2005 you were kind enough to come to the University of Colorado and speak to a marketing class of more than 500 kids. I was the lucky professor of that class. I recently talked with six of them, and when they talked about your visit, they said you showed them that without feeling the passion, you should not be in marketing. Also, that feeling has to come from deep inside, and you can share it with pride. Those students are now amazing marketing professionals. Thank you for inspiring them.
Now let’s move forward to your current adventure. I call it that because with you, it's never a job. It's always something way more with your values. Tell me about that, and how you are taking your current opportunity to the next level.
WILLIAM:
I'm currently with Unbridled Solutions, one of the top 20 event companies in the country. That was sort of a natural extension. I took some time off post-Chipotle with the change in leadership and corporate structure there, trying to figure out where I wanted to go. One of the things that has bothered me over the last 10 years, which I was personally involved in, was the increased use of data in order to understand the audience in the advertising space. Let me say, I think the data is very important. As a marketer, you need to understand with whom you're speaking in order to have a rational dialogue with them, in order to connect with them in a way that is meaningful for whatever it is that you're offering to them.
But what I found disturbing was the creative was being driven solely by the data. More and more, you look in the advertising space, and there's so much overlap and repetition because so much of it is being generated out of the same space. What is the data telling us, and how do we create toward that? Here’s a great example of this. I'm seeing these collage videos people have done of COVID-19 advertising from completely different industries, and it looks like one spot. It's three minutes of all these spots edited together, and they look exactly alike. When you're driven by nothing but data, you're giving up your brand personality. You are trying to be everything for everyone because you're just chasing that dollar. I recognize, everyone needs to have sales. But everyone ends up sounding exactly the same because ultimately they're getting the same damn data.
It undermines the strength of the brand and undermines the position as a brand.
Think of a person you meet, that you find interesting. They're interesting because there's some solidity to their character. But if the people you meet try to be anything they need to be just to ingratiate themselves with you, it's like interacting with a salesperson, "Great, I'll buy a pair of shoes from you, but God knows, I'd never want to have a drink with you." Brands need to understand, you don’t want to be a shoe salesman. You want to be the guy people want to hang out with, because that's where continued loyalty and sales happen.
What I like about the event space where I am now, is it’s the one place currently where creative can truly be an expression of the brand. Because that is the moment when organizations are trying to connect with their people and express their values and their goals for their people. It’s this inside audience, and it's really a great opportunity for them to explore why they even exist, what their mission is, what their vision is, and how they can share that with their teams in order to help perpetuate that idea of values that beget culture, culture begets brand. What I've essentially done is pull myself away from that external conversation of branding and creative and move toward the center, working on organizational values directly and how those companies, those organizations, are expressing those values to their internal teams.
It's all still who I was, but now I've moved it into this thing because I'm so hyper-obsessed with this idea of expression of values. I want organizations to be self-aware enough that what they actually do reflects what they actually say. So they walk the walk and talk the talk and are self-aware enough to say, "If that's us, then who are we as a person? How are our customers connecting with us and how are our people, our employees, connecting with us in a way that's more profound?" Ultimately it's going to be more profitable for them when they have a motivated and excited team connected to the sense of core values. Likewise, customers who understand what that is, and they're seeing that through the messaging and the branding and the advertising. All that goes on, and it ultimately becomes more successful for everyone, but living in a more authentic way, no matter what they may be doing.
ARJUN:
Let’s take it back a little. How did you get into this career of a brand voice? How did you get here?
WILLIAM:
It was by accident. This is really embarrassing. I graduated in the late ‘80s with a degree in economics. I was so focused on academics that I really wasn't thinking about what I was going to do beyond that, which is ironic because I always tell students to start thinking about what they really love and what they should pursuing.
After I graduated, a recession hit and jobs were scarce, particularly in New England, where I was living. For a while I worked as a writer for the Boston Redevelopment Authority, but then I lost that job and didn’t know what to do. A friend suggested I go into modeling. I thought that was dumb because I was a smart guy, but she said, “A smart man knows to use what he has when he's got it." I couldn’t argue with that, and I thought it might be free money. I ended up getting picked up by an agency in Milan. I said, “I can be poor in Boston or I can be poor in Europe. I choose Europe.” So I moved to Italy and was an international fashion model for about six years.
But during that time, I found that my true calling was creative. I spent my spare time painting and painting. My minor in college was art history, and it turned out I followed my passion because what I ended up doing for a living, in terms of branding, is speaking in metaphor and symbol.
I came back to the U.S., to Denver, and had no clue what I was going to do. A friend suggested I go into advertising. I thought, "Okay, I’ve got nothing to lose." I went to work for a small agency in Denver on the account side, which was totally wrong for me, but it got me into the system. Then one of our freelancers, named Dan Fogarty, became the first marketing director at Chipotle, and brought me in as one of the first hires to help build out the department. He really established the Chipotle voice, which was so snarky and fun, and so close to who I was as a person that it wasn’t a stretch for me to start writing headlines.
I thought the writing was easy. Then I taught myself design programs, and creating the early ads was simple. I just started doing and doing without thought. This wasn’t strategic, this wasn’t a discussion of the brand, and I wasn’t thinking of my career, I was just focused on having fun and creating fun things. This just started building up around me, and organically I became, literally, the brand voice at Chipotle. It was just me trying to express myself and it was beautiful. It was Nirvanic as a creative.
If I liked something, it went out the door. Even stuff that was marginal and slightly offensive on occasion. But you know, as a creative, if you don't occasionally cross over the line, you're irrelevant. You're boring, and no one cares. To be part of a relevant dialogue, occasionally that requires some mistakes. But that was a really beautiful space to be.
Then my public speaking began. I started speaking professionally about 10 years ago. That also grew organically. About five or six years ago an agency contacted me out of nowhere and said they wanted to represent me. I thought, "This is a thing?" It’s just me getting up and talking about what I know. But that helped in terms of me getting into the event space, because I have that experience as both the creator and the content for an event, and then helping executives learn how to express themselves in a natural way.
So everything I've done has been completely by accident. And it's gone okay. At times I wish I would have had a more deliberate life, but I don’t know. I would've probably been miserable.
ARJUN:
Thank you for sharing that. Even though you are being very humble, I think that’s an amazing example of you seeing opportunity and trusting yourself. But I also should emphasize when opportunities come, that’s not an accident. They are accidents if you don’t seize them, but in your case, you did.
Speaking of opportunities, here's a goofy question. If today’s William, with his wisdom and experience, could talk to the young William who was ready to go to Milan or just beginning his career, what one piece of advice would you give that young man?
WILLIAM:
I said it just now, about being more deliberate. I think I would have told my younger self to be a little more intentional in what you're doing. I look at my path, and I've been incredibly fortunate in terms of what has come before me. I’ve accidentally had these things happen over the years, and when they did, I would say, "Look at this, a door is open. I'm going to walk through that door." I wasn't thinking about, "Okay, what are the next steps?” When I look back at my life, I realize I did some really stupid things, and it worked out okay. But as a father, I'd be freaking out if that was my son. So part of me would tell that younger William, "Just take a step back. Be a little more intentional. Be a little more aware of what the next steps and possibilities are." Because I could arguably be in a much better position financially right now. I'm okay, but I could be in a better position had I been thinking a little more strategically.
I also would have told him, "Buy Amazon immediately. As soon as that thing goes live, buy as much Amazon as you possibly can." I definitely would have told him that.
ARJUN:
That one falls under the category of “if only.” William, I feel your success has to have a process, or a non-process, because when someone has a long pattern of success like you, it doesn’t happen by chance. I always love to understand processes that people follow. So a question I ask every person is, "When you begin your day, what is the first thing you do? And what's the last thing you do before you're winding down? Is there a pattern or a routine you can share?
WILLIAM:
What I'm doing professionally is tied profoundly to what I feel and believe personally because I'm based on this idea of values. As a creative, once you open that door, you can't stop the flows. It'll just keep coming up in your life. When you try to ignore it, or you're not satisfying it, it will show up someplace else.
I like order, so when I get up in the morning I'm putting the kitchen back together, putting the dishes away from the dishwasher, but ideas are coming to me, so I quickly write them down. I need to do that in that moment. It’s like those moments in the shower when ideas pop into my head. I have to get those down then because I know I'll forget them later.
I'll get distracted by 10 million things, because there's a lot of distraction in our world. Even though I'm working from home, my God, is it distracting. I don't want to lose those ideas, so I immediately get that stuff down. That sort of starts the day in terms of getting that raw intuitional stuff that just is coming out of your unconscious brain. Get that down as quickly as possible so you don't lose it.
Then in in the evening, I've been writing a lot, but not the way you wanted me to write. You and I talked about a branding book, and you gave me a brilliant arc on how to do that. But after that discussion, I realized I really didn’t want to write that book. There are just so many books like that. I have stacks of them, which I’ll never read.
So I’ve been working on a novel. It’s been in my head for nearly two years, and I’m about 65,000 words in. The ideas that come to me in the morning are things I need to integrate into that, so I work on it every night. That creative process has been very cleansing and inspirational for me, because with all the chaos that’s going on, I needed to find someplace where I could escape. This is a very powerful and constructive space where I can escape, but still be creative. I can generate something that I think will ultimately have value. If not philosophically, economically.
ARJUN:
William, this was incredible. I loved your sharing that core marketing starts from understanding how I want to be marketed to, because that's where respect starts. You also talked about how having an egoless team who still are passionate, who still care about the brand, is very important, but it's not personal egos. It's all about the brand. Another one-liner which I think all of us need to remember is, best ad cannot make up for a crappy restaurant experience. You were smart to realize what you didn’t want to do. I applaud you for figuring that out and working on the novel instead. I wish you the very best with that, and I thank you for sharing such important nuggets in this conversation. Thank you.