Podcast Summary: Unemployable with Jeff Dudan
Episode: Are People More Important Than Brands?
Guest: Brooke Budke, Founder/CEO, Momentum Brands
Date: October 7, 2025
Host: Jeff Dudan
Episode Overview
This episode explores the burgeoning value of personal brands in business, particularly within the franchise industry. Jeff Dudan (Homefront Brands) interviews Brooke Budke, an accomplished brand-builder and fractional CMO, about the shift from traditional corporate branding to the authority and authenticity of individuals leading those brands. The discussion spans psychology, strategy, digital tactics (especially on LinkedIn), franchise leadership, the future of search and AI, and offline (guerrilla) marketing.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
Are People Becoming More Important Than Brands?
- Main Thesis: Consumers increasingly prefer to buy from and follow people—particularly founders—over faceless brands.
- Brooke: “There’s a Forbes study...80% of consumers today...would rather follow the founder of a brand than the brand.” (00:48)
- Psychology Post-Covid:
- Brooke: Human connection is crucial; people want to see leadership’s values and attitudes reflected online and align culturally before spending money.
- Brooke: “People are seeking human connection now more than ever before. And the leaders who are comfortable building a presence online and building an opinion are actually winning 10 times faster.” (01:22)
Leveraging LinkedIn for Authority & Business Growth
- Platform Insight: LinkedIn’s low creator percentage creates opportunity and high conversion for authority-building.
- Brooke: “1% of all users on LinkedIn will post and 99%...will consume. So conversion on LinkedIn is three times greater than any other platform.” (03:26)
- Brooke’s Experience: Built her business with no ad spend, solely through LinkedIn authority.
LinkedIn for Local & Consumer Businesses
- Local Targeting: Connect with local business owners, engage in their content, and be consistently visible in your community.
- Brooke: Rather than sell, “Become the expert and educator,” posting mostly value-adding content. (04:36)
Becoming an Authority Online: Content Strategy
- Brooke’s Authority-Building Framework:
- Define a Deep Target Audience: Go beyond demographics; understand values, beliefs, and influences.
- Five Content Pillars:
- Examples: beliefs, founder energy, habits, category expertise, and entrepreneurship.
- Consistency & Long-Game: “Authority is only built over time...it’s just doing what you say you’re going to do with great consistency.” (06:52)
Navigating Online Risks & Authenticity
- Fear of Posting:
- Brooke: “The top two fears every human being has is ‘I’m not enough’ and ‘If I’m not enough, I won’t be loved.’ And that’s why people don’t post.”
- Content Boundaries:
- Brooke advises: Avoid race, religion, politics in business content.
- Authenticity over AI/Assistant Copy:
- Brooke: “People know if it’s written by AI or an assistant and it’s not coming from the founder.” (10:54)
Testing, Engagement, and Viral Moments
- Content Testing:
- Sometimes unexpected posts go viral (“lighting tip” video: 1.5 million views); unpredictable, but underscores the value of repeated testing. (13:23)
- Formula: Post, Engage, Test, Repeat
- Brooke: “Post every day. Engage every time you log in...test content different times...and repeat what works.” (13:23)
Franchise-Specific Challenges: Balancing Brand & Franchisee Needs
- Franchisee/Franchisor Tension:
- Be authentic and congruent; don’t self-anoint or over-promote before the brand proves itself.
- Jeff: “We remind ourselves at home front brands not to promote until something's permanent.” (15:58)
- Brooke: “The most important thing...is that you must be a product of the product.” (19:30)
- Treat franchisees with respect, communicate consistently, and ensure alignment between public statements and real business progress.
- Be authentic and congruent; don’t self-anoint or over-promote before the brand proves itself.
The Future of Search, Social, and AI
- AI’s Impact:
- Shift from Google to ChatGPT and Gemini; importance of tagging/labeling content for searchability.
- Use of alternative authentic channels (Reddit, Quora, Wikipedia) for brand authority. (26:54)
- Voice Search:
- Growing relevance, especially for hands-free convenience.
- Organic > Paid Search:
- Focus on content creation and strategic SEO over traditional ad buys.
- Social Content as Search:
- User-generated content can drive major spikes (e.g., Chili's, Crumble Cookie on TikTok). (29:41)
Content Creation in Franchising: Training & UGC
- Teach Franchisees to Create Social Content:
- Host hands-on training using “private” or dummy accounts.
- Offer direct feedback, practical training in content creation, lighting, and engagement. (32:44)
Tech Monopolies & Disintermediation
- Industry Power Concerns:
- As platforms (Amazon, Google, TikTok) evolve, will they “own the customer” and squeeze out small operators?
- Brooke tempers: Privacy may become a premium; anti-tech, high-experience brands may thrive as a counter-trend. (37:00, 42:42)
Human Touch vs. Automation
- Balance Needed:
- Some automations improve efficiency; but “the emotional IQ of a human being will never be replaced.” (48:27)
- Conversion Optimization Example:
- Autoresponders, text with “human” tone, and automating lead follow-up can dramatically lift franchise performance. (51:00–52:44)
Guerrilla Marketing Tactics: “Enter to Win”
- Brooke’s Strategy:
- Set up at local events, do an “enter to win” with a main and “runner-up” prize for all.
- Simple, low-cost gifts prompt people to visit the business, experience the service, and reinforce the brand.
- Brooke: “49 people walk in with something saying, I won...it wins every single time.” (54:47)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Brooke: “People are seeking human connection now more than ever before...Leaders who are comfortable building a presence online and building an opinion are actually winning 10 times faster.” (01:22)
- Jeff: “When you talk about founder energy and then couple that with beliefs...Do you give guidance to your clients about what to stay away from?” (09:12)
- Brooke: “Race, religion, politics – off limits, in my opinion, in business.” (10:15)
- On Virality:
- Brooke: “I posted on LinkedIn...about how to turn your face to the light...Fifteen million impressions... Who’s to say what will work?” (13:23)
- Franchise Wisdom:
- Brooke: “If you can be a product of the product...your franchisees will be appreciative of you building a brand so long as you stand behind everything.” (20:44)
- On Search:
- Brooke: “Google is now searching even on LinkedIn...Every picture I post, I use alt captions and text to code the picture so that when somebody even searches for me, it’s going to...pull my name in from everywhere.” (23:43)
- On Content Training:
- Brooke: “[At franchise training], they had to physically do the work and post it. It gets over their fear... [and] you’re teaching them how to fish.” (32:44)
- Jeff on Simplicity & Monopolies:
- “The more hands that you have to pass through to get your customer, the less money will be left for you or for the benefit of the customer.” (34:26)
- On Privacy:
- Brooke: “I would say people’s privacy is going to be a premium...there will be...services you can pay for that...scrape down my pictures, get rid of my stuff.” (39:44)
- On Automation:
- Brooke: “The emotional IQ of a human being will never be replaced by automation.” (48:27)
- Guerrilla Tactic:
- Brooke: “49 people walk in with something saying, I won. And it is the entry to win first place, second place, and it wins every single time.” (54:47)
- Lightning Round—What Business Would You Start?
- Brooke: “If I were to start a franchise brand, it would be a car wash...I would market and brand the car wash and teach people how to take care of themselves through washing them, their cars.” (65:22)
- Final Impact Question:
- Brooke: “If you were to continue living your life exactly as you are right now, where would you end up?” (67:48)
- “It shows you: are your patterns...a direct reflection of where you want to go? ...If we are courageous enough...to change them, your future is untapped.”
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:48 — Are people more important than brands? The 80% statistic
- 01:22 — The psychology of post-Covid buying: human over brand
- 03:26 — LinkedIn’s 1% creators and opportunity for authority
- 04:36 — LinkedIn for local business strategy
- 06:52 — How to build authority: audience, content pillars, consistency
- 10:15 — Content boundaries for leaders (race, religion, politics)
- 13:23 — Viral moments, content testing, “post, engage, test, repeat”
- 19:30 — Franchise-specific leadership: product of the product
- 23:43 — Future of search, tagging content for AI/LLMs
- 32:44 — Social content creation for franchisees: hands-on training
- 34:26 — Tech monopolies/disintermediation: risks and opportunities
- 37:00 — The coming premium on privacy
- 42:42 — Convenience, voice search, and the changing consumer journey
- 48:27 — The limits of automation in marketing and sales
- 54:47 — Guerrilla tactic: enter-to-win, low-cost, high-impact
- 65:22 — If Brooke started a new business: car washes & personal development
- 67:48 — Brooke’s impact question: habits and destiny
Overall Tone & Takeaways
Informal, high-energy, and candid—Jeff and Brooke riff with warmth and expertise, blending high-level marketing theory with actionable advice and tangible anecdotes. Listeners are left with clear strategies for building authority online, the importance of authentic leadership, actionable guerrilla marketing tactics, and a sense of optimism about staying relevant amid technological disruption.
Brooke’s ethos: Be authentic, stay focused on service and long-term trust, and remember—people buy from people.
Find Brooke Budke & Momentum Brands:
- themomentumbrands.com
- LinkedIn: [Brooke Budke]
For more:
Summary by AI podcast assistant; episode edited for clarity and conciseness.