I posted two LinkedIn updates on 2026‑10‑09 reflecting on two speakers I encountered at the Drive conference: Dave Gerhardt and Texas A&M CMO R. Ethan Braden.
Dave Gerhardt is an amazing speaker. The man walks up to a mic and talks like he's leaning on your kitchen counter with a cup of coffee going cold in his hand, and I'd always figured that was just how he came out of the box.
He talks all about it in this episode: https://lnkd.in/gkPjCqNH
I do it at least 10x/day, and not just for work!
The secret is your heart.
It's not about outbound emails and nurturing and LinkedIn re-targeting.
He's doing it through big BRAND plays and working to change how people think and feel about Texas A&M.
Full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gAy8BmC7
From these observations I decided to focus on heart‑driven storytelling over AI‑generated drafts and to emulate Braden’s “big brand plays” for B2B marketing.