The Dave Gerhardt Show — "How to Build a Brand People Pay Attention To"

Host: Dave Gerhardt (Founder of Exit Five)
Date: December 29, 2025 — Solo episode

Episode Overview

This episode of The Dave Gerhardt Show features Dave solo, diving deep into what he calls the “one big idea” for the week: why attention remains the name of the game in marketing and business. With signature honesty and directness, Dave shares personal updates, riffs on the evolution of brand, breaks down the importance of creativity and breaking through the noise, and answers several listener questions. Along the way, he illustrates his points with compelling stories from Drift, Exit Five, and the Savannah Bananas, and ponders the future of Exit Five.

Main Themes

• The Power — and Misunderstood Role — of Attention in Marketing
• Creativity, Branding, and Standing Out
• Lessons from Personal Experience and Industry Peers
• Listener Q&A on Beliefs, Strategy, and Broader Ambitions

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal & Podcast Updates (01:25-07:30)

• Dave’s Podcast Vision: Wants to ramp up podcasting in 2026 thanks to the deep, unique connection with listeners.
  • "You just never know who's listening." (02:35)
• On Doing More Solo Episodes: Motivated by both fun and flexibility.
• Recovering from Surgery: 25 days post-hip surgery, appreciating movement and normal life again.
• Life in Vermont: "I do really live up here in the woods...It's cold." (06:30)
• Exit Five Leadership Change: Announced Dan as CEO, reflecting on scaling and sharing the story’s LinkedIn traction.
  • "It just turns out, you just usually need better content, myself included." (08:05)

2. The Big Idea: Attention is Not a Dirty Word (07:50-20:20)

Why "Attention" Gets a Bad Rap

• Questioning Marketing Norms: "Why did we make attention a dirty word in marketing?... I could argue that attention is the name of the game." (01:45, 07:50)
• Dave reacts to inspiration from the Savannah Bananas founder on My First Million—importance of external inspiration and “crazy ideas.”
• Human-Centric Approach: B2B vs. B2C is a false dichotomy—everyone is selling to humans.

Examples of Attention-Grabbing Moves

• At Drift: Outpaced bigger names in awareness by embracing creative stunts (e.g., actors protesting with brand signs at conferences, local billboard arbitrage during the Super Bowl, guerilla book launches).

  • "We were able to come in and get more attention than everybody else...sucking the oxygen out of the market." (13:43)
  • "We hired a bunch of actors to go to the event and protest... I'm not saying this was right or wrong. I'm just giving you an example." (15:20)

• Rolling Up Small, Cheap Plays: E.g., putting book posters up around Boston for <$10k, leveraging those for viral LinkedIn content; Times Square billboard for an hour.

• Savannah Bananas Examples: Wild daily contests ("hairiest man in town!")—inspired by events like Amazon's invented "Prime Day".

Creating the Space for Creativity

• Encouragement to List Crazy Ideas: "It's okay to have bad ideas...eventually you’ll find a good one." (16:42)
• Permission vs. Forgiveness: Sometimes you need to act first, ask later.

What's the Real Role of Attention?

• Use attention-grabbing plays to earn the opportunity to share your product story—don't blend attention and sales messaging.
  • "Run a play that gets people’s attention and then use the attention to turn that into opportunity for your business." (20:00)
• Not all attention is equal: focus on your core audience, not just broad noise.

3. Listener Questions & Key Takeaways (20:20-35:42)

Q1: What Marketing Belief Have You Changed? (Joe, 21:30)

• Used to believe in the "one true playbook," now realizes every company is a different recipe.
  • "Sometimes all you have is three eggs, an onion, and some pickles. You gotta make that the meal." (23:00)
• Build both short-term results and long-term brand—both can (and must) be true.
  • "Yes, we need to deliver revenue now…At the same time, we need to build a brand." (24:00)
• Marketers must operate beyond just “marketing”—interacting with other functions across the company.

Q2: Ghosts of Marketing Past, Present, and Future (Craig, 25:39)

• Past: "Everything can work...It doesn't mean everything will work for your company."
• Present: AI is both overhyped and powerful; authenticity stands out.
  • "My content is standing out more because I write like a maniac, right from my phone." (26:05)
• Future: "Brand is the only moat. It's always going to matter most."

Q3: What's It Really Like Being a LinkedIn “Thought Leader”? (Finn, 28:30)

• Treats LinkedIn as a business blog; immense leverage for relationships, leads, and credibility.
  • "Imagine you had this one channel that was so obviously and insanely effective, it just literally printed money, printed relationships, always did something for you." (29:30)
• Values authenticity and niche expertise; dismisses detractors.
  • "Anyone who pooh-poohs on those types of people who write on LinkedIn—respectfully, shut the fuck up." (31:20)

Q4: Would You Move Exit Five Beyond B2B SaaS? (Tom, 32:00)

• Ponders expansion to broader categories (fitness, parenting), but is focused on deepening the current community and business right now.
  • “We’ve learned a lot about building community. Could we have a little dad fitness community right now?...Absolutely.” (32:30)

Q5: Hip Hop Lightning Round—Jay-Z Albums (Jorgen, 33:45)

• Picks The Blueprint over Reasonable Doubt—nostalgia as primary driver.
  • "My answer to this is Blueprint…from the production, the whole thing, it's just to me, his best album." (34:50)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Creative Attention:

  "Why does attention have to be a dirty word in marketing? The whole point of marketing is to get more people to understand that our product exists."
  —Dave (19:23)

• On Inspiration from Outside the Industry:

  "Find inspiration from outside your industry...I love this idea of, let's get back to thinking about attention, how do we stand out, especially in a world of sameness and AI slop?"
  —Dave (11:32)

• On Strategy:

  "There really isn't one playbook...I like knowing the rules of the game, but then going in different companies, industries, and adapting."
  —Dave (23:50)

• On Authenticity vs. AI Content:

  "I've been noticing...my content is standing out more because I write like a maniac, right from my phone."
  —Dave (26:12)

• On LinkedIn as a Platform:

  "LinkedIn is an incredible tool...It just literally prints money, prints relationships, always makes something happen for you."
  —Dave (29:35)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:25 — Personal intro, solo format, house/family/life post-surgery
• 06:45 — Announcing Dan as CEO, lessons about LinkedIn content vs. algorithms
• 09:30 — The weekly “big idea”: why attention is everything
• 13:43 — Drift story: beating competitors with creativity, not just features
• 15:17 — Examples of guerrilla stunts, creativity in action
• 16:39 — Call to audience: keep a running “bad ideas” list
• 20:00 — Difference between attention and immediate sales tactics
• 21:18 — Listener Q&A begins
• 23:37 — No single marketing playbook—adapting to the kitchen you inherit
• 25:39 — Ghosts of Marketing: past (everything works), present (AI/realness), future (brand is the moat)
• 28:30 — What it's like being a “LinkedIn thought leader”
• 32:00 — Expanding Exit Five beyond B2B SaaS
• 33:45 — Jay-Z opinions: Reasonable Doubt vs. The Blueprint

Tone & Language

• Casual, direct, humorous; classic “Dave” style—self-aware, sometimes self-deprecating, conversational, jargon-light, and authenticity-heavy.
• Frequent use of personal anecdotes, analogies (especially food and music), and “real talk” moments.
  • "Respectfully, shut the fuck up." (31:23)

Action Items & Closing

• Main Takeaway: Don’t dismiss the importance of attention—embrace creativity and experimentation to break through sameness.
• Listener Call to Action: Share your attention-getting examples with Dave (email or LinkedIn DM).
• Subscribe to Dave’s Newsletter for more ideas: exit5.com/newsletter
• Marketing Leadership Retreat: event coming March in Arizona (exit5.com/retreat)

Summary

If you want to “build a brand people pay attention to,” this episode is Dave Gerhardt at his most honest and actionable. Much more than tactics, it’s a wake-up call to think creatively, be brave about standing out, and to see attention not as a “dirty word,” but as table stakes for effective marketing—regardless of industry or budget. The personal stories, practical advice, and answers to real listener questions make this an essential listen for marketers and business leaders who want to lead with intention—and get noticed for it.

Contact Dave:

• Email: dave@exit5.com
• LinkedIn: Dave Gerhardt