Jess Weiner – Wild Business Growth Podcast #304: Cultural Expert for Brands, Talk to Jess Founder

How do you decide if a risk is worth taking as a brand? That’s the story of this week’s Wild Business Growth podcast guest, Jess Weiner. Jess is the Cultural Expert and Founder and CEO of Talk to Jess. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

• Episode Summary & Player
• Full Transcript
• Show Notes
• Wild Business Growth podcast Summary

Episode 304: Jess Weiner – Cultural Expert for Brands, Talk to Jess Founder

Jess Weiner, the Cultural Expert and Founder and CEO of Talk to Jess, joins the show to share her journey from playwright to advising the world’s leading brands on the issues facing women and girls today. Hear the story behind the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty and the rebrand of Barbie, how to establish yourself as an expert, how to get your first big client, how to decide if a risk is worth taking as a brand, and what happened when Jess missed that ferry in Crete. This episode covers everything from culture to the Greek Islands. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• When did Jess realize the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty would be so impactful
• What was the reaction from friends & family when she picked majors that wouldn’t make money
• IUPUI (said “Oo-E-Poo-E”)
• How did Jess revamp the Barbie brand
• What are some brand guardrails for culture
• How do you stay in the know with pop culture
• Hamilton
• How often does Jess’s last name get made fun of

Connect with Jess on LinkedIn, on Instagram @ImJessWeiner, and at JessWeiner.com.

Enjoy the shoooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail. You can also find the full transcript here.

Show Notes

• Intro & Dove Campaign for Real Beauty
  • [0:30] Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:39] Connect with Jess on LinkedIn, on Instagram @ImJessWeiner, and at JessWeiner.com
  • [1:41] Come on, Max
  • [3:00] What’s the story behind the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty
  • [4:25] Influencer, Entrepreneur
  • [5:54] Dove
  • [6:05] Wow
  • [6:07] CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods)
  • [6:18] How did Jess get involved with the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty
  • [7:01] When did she realize the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty would be so impactful
  • [7:31] Times Square

• The Talk to Jess Story
  • [9:54] Is it niche or niche
  • [10:14] How did Jess carve her path
  • [12:04] Internet
  • [12:40] What was the reaction from friends & family when Jess picked majors that wouldn’t make money
  • [13:03] CFO (Chief Financial Officer)
  • [14:48] Ingredients
  • [15:22] How do you establish yourself as an expert
  • [16:08] WOM (Word-of-Mouth Marketing), RFP (Request For Proposal)
  • [17:10] Talk to Jess
  • [17:24] Olivia Pope
  • [18:00] How do you get your first big client
  • [18:12] The ACT Out Ensemble
  • [18:42] Eli Lilly (Lilly)
  • [20:01] Fortune 100, Fortune 500
  • [20:26] Barbie
  • [20:40] IU (Indiana University), Kelley School of Business (KSB)
  • [21:10] IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis)
  • [21:42] IU Indy (IU Indianapolis)
  • [22:00] MaxPodcasting
  • [24:04] Ryan Gosling
  • [25:07] How did Jess revamp the Barbie brand
  • [25:18] Mattel, Monster High
  • [26:32] Millennials
  • [27:19] Brand Awareness Rating
  • [28:02] Barbie TIME Cover
  • [28:52] Issa Rae, President Barbie
  • [29:35] What drove the success of the Barbie rebrand
  • [30:45] The Wild Business Growth podcast is on YouTube! Subscribe @MaxBranstetter to watch full video interviews with Wild entrepreneurs like Jess
  • [30:46] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity. It’s where podcasting meets entrepreneurship – and terrible puns
  • [31:40] Such an honor speaking at Podcast Movement ’23 in Denver! Sign up to grab the slides from my session at MaxPodcasting.com/PM23

• Culture
  • [31:51] What are some brand guardrails for culture
  • [32:04] SFSN (Sounds Fabulous, Signifies Nothing)
  • [36:07] Cancel Culture
  • [36:21] SmartBrief, Super Bowl Ads
  • [36:48] How do you decide if a risk is worth taking as a brand
  • [39:41] Not again
  • [39:55] How do you stay in the know with pop culture
• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [41:55] So silly
  • [42:18] Hamilton
  • [42:28] How did Jess get stranded in Crete
  • [43:20] How does a bus get to/from Crete
  • [43:32] How long is the ferry from Athens to Crete
  • [44:08] What’s Jess’s favorite Greek phrase
  • [44:58] How often does her last name get made fun of
  • [45:52] The Wiener’s Circle (or The Weiner’s Circle)
  • [46:07] Connect with Jess on LinkedIn, on Instagram @ImJessWeiner, and at JessWeiner.com
  • [46:38] What are Jess’s Final Thoughts
  • [47:17] Follow the Wild Business Growth podcast and tell a friend about the podcast. And show love (or roast me) by leaving 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify
  • [47:27] The Wild Business Growth podcast is on YouTube! Subscribe @MaxBranstetter to watch full video interviews with Wild entrepreneurs like Jess
  • [47:31] Check out the Wild Business Growth podcast on Goodpods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [47:32] Connect with me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter (aka X), and Threads @MaxBranstetter and TikTok @WildBusinessGrowth
  • [47:33] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • [47:37] Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter and receive How to Edit Your Podcast in Audacity. It’s where podcasting meets entrepreneurship – and terrible puns
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – “Jungle Tribe” – provided by Jamendo

What is the Wild Business Growth podcast?

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur joins the Wild Business Growth podcast to share the wildly creative and unusual ways they grew their business – and teaches you how to do it, too. Hear the minds behind WordPress, Stacy’s Pita Chips, Drybar, NFL RedZone, Big Mouth Billy Bass, the voice of Bart Simpson, and more Wild stories. Hosted by Max Branstetter (that’s me), Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting.

How do you start a podcast?

Interested in starting a professional-sounding and professional-looking podcast for your brand, but don’t want to deal with the time commitment of all those behind-the-scenes details? I’ve got you covered. Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Jess Weiner on the Wild Business Growth podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, follow the Wild Business Growth podcast and tell a friend about it. And watch Barbie with them. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!