In the latest episode of the ThinkNow podcast, we sat down with Jim Blair, the Assistant Dean Chair of the Faculty and Associate Professor of Marketing at Eastern Kentucky University, to unpack one of the most talked‑about (and often misunderstood) topics in marketing and leadership today: personal branding.

In a world where everyone has a platform, Jim challenges the idea that personal branding is about self‑promotion or perfectly curated personas. Instead, he reframes it as something far more strategic, human, andsustainable, especially for leaders, researchers, and professionals navigating increasingly complex markets.

Below are some of the most compelling themes from the conversation, and why they matter right now.

Personal Branding Is Not a Logo, It’s a Reputation

One of the strongest points Jim makes early in the conversation is that personal branding isn’t about visuals, slogans, or social media aesthetics. It’s about what people consistently experience when they interact with you.

Your personal brand exists whether you actively manage it or not. It’s shaped by how you communicate, how you show up in moments of uncertainty, and how others describe you when you’re not in the room.

For professionals in insights, marketing, and research, this is especially critical. Trust, credibility, and clarity are core currencies and personal branding plays a direct role in all three.

Personal Branding Is Contextual

A key insight from the episode is that personal branding is not one‑size‑fits‑all. How you show up depends on your role, your audience, and the cultural context you’re operating in.

Jim emphasizes that effective personal brands are adaptive, not performative. They evolve as people grow, as industries shift, and as expectations change.

This idea closely mirrors what we see in multicultural research: identity is layered, dynamic, and situational. The same is true for personal brands.

Leadership, Trust, and Long‑Term Impact

Perhaps the most resonant part of the conversation is the link Jim draws between personal branding and leadership.

Strong leaders don’t build brands to be admired; they build brands that:

· Create clarity

· Earn trust

· Invite collaboration

Personal branding, when done right, becomes a leadership tool. It helps teams align, organizations communicate more clearly, and ideas travel further.

Listen to the full podcast episode with Jim Blair, the Assistant Dean Chair of the Faculty and Associate Professor of Marketing at Eastern Kentucky University, to hear real‑world examples, nuanced perspectives, and practical guidance on building a personal brand that actually lasts.

For years, multicultural marketing was treated as an add on. Something layered onto a broader strategy. But in a country where diversity is now the engine of growth, that approach is no longer enough.

In this episode of The New Mainstream Podcast, Mario Carrasco speaks with Arnetta Whiteside, SVP, Multicultural Consulting, Publicis Media at Publicis Groupe, about how brands must rethink culture, representation, and who truly holds power in the marketing ecosystem.

The conversation closely aligns with ThinkNow’s The World in One City initiative, which positions Los Angeles as the place where cultural, identity, and consumer behavior shifts appear first, before spreading across the United States.

Representation is not visibility. It is influence.

One of the key takeaways from the episode is the distinction many brands still miss. Representation is not just about who appears in ads. It is about who shapes the insights, who defines strategy, and who makes decisions.

Arnetta emphasizes that when communities are visible but not influential, brands lose credibility. That disconnect leads to weaker engagement and declining trust.

This mirrors what ThinkNow sees in Los Angeles, where only a minority of residents feel brands represent them accurately, despite the city’s outsized cultural influence on the rest of the country.

Culture is not a segment. It is the system.

Another central theme is that culture can no longer be treated as a niche. In markets like Los Angeles, identity is layered, fluid, and contextual. People move between communities, languages, and cultural signals daily.

Brands still relying on rigid demographic frameworks are optimizing for a consumer that no longer exists. Those that treat culture as an operating system, not a campaign, are building lasting relevance.

The cost of misunderstanding the new mainstream

The episode also makes one thing clear. Choosing not to adapt is no longer neutral.

When brands fail to understand the communities driving growth, they lose legitimacy. When lived experience is absent from strategy, attention fades. And when cultural complexity is ignored, competitors move faster.

From conversation to action

The episode closes with a clear message. Inclusion is not just a value. It is a business advantage when backed by structure, data, and informed decision making.

Listen to the full episode of The New Mainstream Podcast with Arnetta Whiteside and explore how culture, power, and representation are reshaping marketing in the United States.

In this episode of the podcast, Mario Carrasco sits down with Carlos Guerrero Anderson, a strategic insights leader whose career spans entrepreneurship, healthcare market research, and now patient advocacy within a nonprofit organization.

Carlos’s story is a clear example of how insights expertise can move beyond business outcomes and become a force for meaningful social impact.

From Latin America to the U.S.: A Career Built on Data and Purpose:

Originally from Venezuela, Carlos built a successful career in market research before moving to the United States. For years, he helped brands and organizations better understand their audiences and make data-driven strategic decisions.

But his professional path took a pivotal turn when he chose to apply that expertise to something deeply personal and urgent: health equity.

Today, Carlos is part of the Hairy Cell Leukemia Foundation, where he has transformed his background in insights into a mission-driven role focused on amplifying the voices of patients living with a rare disease and ensuring their experiences are seen, understood, and represented.

Research That Listens, Not Just Measures:

One of the key themes in the conversation is how traditional research often overlooks small, diverse, or medically vulnerable communities.

Carlos explains why, in the context of rare diseases, collecting data is not enough. True understanding requires listening to emotions, cultural barriers, access challenges, and structural inequities that directly affect patients’ lives.

In this space, insights are more than numbers. They are stories, contexts, and decisions that can influence diagnosis, treatment, and quality of life.

Representation, Empathy, and Action:

Throughout the episode, it becomes clear that representation is not an abstract concept. In healthcare, it can determine whether patients feel invisible or truly supported.

Carlos shares how his work helps bridge the gap between institutions, physicians, researchers, and patients by using data with empathy and purpose. It is a powerful lesson for anyone working in research, marketing, or strategy.