Is influencer marketing dead? Jordan Schwarzenberger, the man behind the Sidemen's evolution from creators to a multi-million pound enterprise, thinks brands have got content eco-systems wrong. In this episode of Building Brand Advocacy, we break down why the smartest brands are ditching traditional influencer marketing and becoming organic content engines instead.

Jordan reveals the exact content strategy that scaled the Sidemen from a YouTube group into a business empire and how any brand can steal from the creator economy strategy. We go deep on building a content hemisphere, why entertainment-first marketing beats ads, and how to turn community into customers through brand advocacy.

In this episode we cover:

• Sidemen evolution from creators to an enterprise business.

• The opportunity for brands to become content engines.

• Why influencer marketing is dead.

• Why brands and 10 years behind in content and how to create a solution to get ahead.

Whether you're a CMO, marketer or brand founder, this episode is your blueprint for building a content marketing strategy that actually compounds.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

02:38 Building the LADBible Agency

07:16 Scaling The Sidemen Businesses

11:16 Defining A Content Infrastructure

12:27 Side Plus Membership Model

17:27 How Brands Should Be Working With Creators

20:23 End Of The Transactional Influencer Model

23:04 Discovery IS Replacing Followers

26:07 The Influencer Economy Collapse

28:33 Traditional Campaigns Are Dead

30:04 Monoculture To Micro Communities

38:24 The CMO Playbook

41:40 Contribution Marketing To Serve Then Sell

🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.

CONNECT WITH JORDAN

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanschwarzenberger/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordanschwarz/

TiKTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jordanschwarzenberger

FOLLOW US

Verity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/

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AI for brands is already here. It’s making a shift and as marketing teams, we should be reactive. But the reality is that most brands are still figuring out where to start.

In this episode of Building Brand Advocacy, we break down the real state of AI for brands right now. What's working, what's just noise and how to make AI work for YOU without losing the human touch that drives real brand advocacy.

In this episode, we cover:

The current state of AI for brands

How to make AI work for you and your team today

How AI will reshape marketing resources and team structures

Practical ways to use AI in your day-to-day work life

Using AI to create real efficiencies across your content and marketing ops

How to build, scale, and manage an AI team from scratch

CHAPTERS

00:00 Build Your AI Native Dream Team

02:32 Manager of Infinite Minds

03:54 Onboarding and Feedback Loop

09:49 Future Proof Marketing Roles Form AI

15:14 Building AI Agents into Your Workflow

22:30 Repurposing Content With Agents

25:54 Scaling To 11 Agents

31:58 AI Native Mindset Shift

34:45 Create A Preference Sheet for AI

38:34 Training Cadence And Growth

Whether you're a brand team trying to do more with less, or a marketing leader figuring out how to upskill your team, this episode is your AI starter kit.

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CONNECT WITH PAUL & VERITY

Paul: www.linkedin.com/in/paulkarcher/

Verity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/

FOLLOW US

Subscribe: www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacy

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TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy

In this mastermind episode, Sophie Miller (founder of Pretty Little Marketer) breaks down the exact tactical steps she’d take to build a high-engagement community from scratch in 2026.

If you’re a brand, marketer or founder trying to turn followers into a real community engine, this episode is a step-by-step guide to catapult your community strategy.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

00:00 Introduction to community building

00:56 The Platform Strategy

05:06 Step 1: Connection Point

08:19 Step 2: Mission Sentence

11:09 Step 3: Connection To You, Connection To Each Other

16:24 Step 4: Thin Content

🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss an episode.

CONNECT WITH SOPHIE

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiealicemiller/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophiemillerrrr/

Pretty Little Marketer: https://www.linkedin.com/company/prettylittlemarketer/

FOLLOW US

Subscribe: ⁠www.youtube.com/@buildingbrandadvocacy⁠

Instagram: ⁠www.instagram.com/building_brand_advocacy⁠

TikTok: ⁠www.tiktok.com/@building.brand.advocacy⁠

Verity: www.linkedin.com/in/verityhurd/