Episode Transcript
Don Mock
We’re back, Rob, we’re back,
Rob Broadfoot 00:23
and you’re sorting. You may have noticed a big difference. Mm,
Don Mock 00:28
hmm. It took us a little we took a little siesta, you know, for those that have been binging, right? And
something is different, dun, dun, dun, kicking and screaming into the 21st Century,
Rob Broadfoot 00:39
right? That’s right, we now come with a visual aid. I now comes with a visual aid,
Don Mock 00:44
I know. So you everyone can see our unusual tics, you know,
Rob Broadfoot 00:51
our gray beards,
Don Mock 00:52
put the put the handsomeness on, on blast, all that good stuff, you know. So
Rob Broadfoot 00:56
we might lose some followers. I’m not sure this is gonna be an interesting it’s gonna be interesting to
see what happens.
Don Mock 01:01
Yeah, absolutely. Well, hey, always, you know, always moving and grooving and iterating and trying
different things. And, you know, trying to broaden horizons, things we ask of our clients as well.
Speaking of broadening horizons, I think that kind of ties into today ‘s topic, right? I believe so
potentially, yeah, today, I thought we’d talk about because something interesting happened to me. I’ll
share the story, brand allegiance, right? People’s brand allegiance, right? And sort of, we’ve worked
with a lot of brands, you know, B to B, B to C. You know, there’s a lot of methodology on, like, what you
fall in love with, you live with for life, or even there’s a whole aspect to college is really the formidable
time when you start to really lean into things, right? And so Hey, get ’em in college, and then they’ll be
with you forever. You know that type of thing, right? Which is kind of interesting, right? So for the first
time in like 25 years, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen me without this product, but for the first time in
like, 25 years, I am not wearing a pair of Adidas sneakers, and I will not bend and contort my foot up to
the camera so everyone can see what I’m wearing. But I am wearing a pair of Pumas. Believe it or you
Rob Broadfoot 02:14
know what? It’s funny, you said that that was literally I was gonna say, Don’t tell me you went Puma.
Oh, I should have made you guess I was gonna get. But I promise you, I was getting, I was thinking, I
don’t know
Don Mock 02:23
you know me really well. Yeah, I have been in Adidas guy forever. Absolutely love Adidas. And, you
know, feet, I mean, footwear, you know, comfort, walking, running, doing what it playing sport, you
know, you just kind of get into the, you know, it’s like, hey, Nike ‘s fit my feet really well. Do you know
people just love, you know, you kind of get in that, you get in that vibe. And for whatever reason, I was
like, You know what? I’m gonna I had some time, and I was at DSW shout out because discount shoe
warehouses. I don’t even know what DSW stands for sure. I just made that up. Totally made that works.
And was like, I take some of these, you know, it’s like, there they are. There’s the Adi ‘s that I always
buy, you know. And it’s kind of, what color do you want, you know, that type of thing, right? And I always
buy, like, two of everything, because I would just love them so much, right? And then, you know, you go
back and you want to buy them, and they never have them, or whatever the deal is, right? And even if
they keep the same model, they kind of tinker with it, and it’s a little bit different here and there. So for
the first time ever, I was like, I’m buying effing Pumas, you know, and they are unbelievably
comfortable. That’s crazy living dangerously out there. I know, I know, but it made me think about like,
other brands, you know. Now, you know. Okay,
Rob Broadfoot 03:33
but wait, yeah, okay, well, when you went to this to the DSW, yeah, did you, did you know you were
gonna break the mold? Did you were you like, you know, what? I’m feeling something different today.
I’m gonna look at, were you open to it? Or did they catch your eye when you were walking? Or, how did
it walk us through how it happened?
Don Mock 03:49
Okay, I will say that it wasn’t a full surprise. It wasn’t a shock to the system. I think going in, I was
definitely open. It was, hey, I’ve been wearing these, you know, for ever in a day, I was like, you know, I
what else is out there, you know? And, hey, I don’t want to sound like an old man with a hearing aid and
a cane and a walker here, you know what I mean. But like, you know, hey, is there anything else out
there? Like, no one’s wearing sketches, you know what I mean. I’m not doing old man slip on ‘s and shit
like that.
Rob Broadfoot 04:18
Yet, right on the Sketchers.
Don Mock 04:22
Um, but, yeah, it was just like, you know, Hey, man, everybody loves Brooks. You know, Brooks is such
a popular you know, and we’ve been doing, you know, we do a lot of photo shoots, you know, we do. I
mean, I don’t need, like, athletic shoes for competition, right? Meaning, like, I’m not in a Sunday rec
league for basketball. I’m not running a tournament, you know what? I mean? What I mean? I mean,
you know, I go for long walks and things like that. But, you know, I don’t need, like, high performing,
performer, right? Comfortable, yeah, however, like, you know, we’ll do, we’ll do a two or three day photo
shoot, and you’re on your feet, you know, in a concrete building, right? For eight, 910, hours a day. Day,
day after day after, you know what I mean? And it’s like, yeah, I mean, you just need cozy shoes. You
can’t wear, like, flip flops on something like that, right? So I think I was open to the idea, and it was like,
Hey, I just need some some cushioning, you know, things like and maybe a little bit too much
information. But I don’t have high arches. I have very low arches, right? So if you have like, a running
shoe, that’s like, super forced arch, sort of deal like that kills me, like I’m out, like, Nike ‘s actually don’t
fit my feet very well at all. I’m not a big Nike fan. So it was like, oh, man, everybody loves Brooks. I was
actually at the photo shoot and and it was food stylist Brooks, food assistant style. The assistant was
OC, the the cloud, or on, or whatever. Yeah. Photographer Brooks, digital tech, Brooks. Everybody’s
wearing Brooks. And I’m like, what?
Rob Broadfoot 05:44
I know that runners, I mean, Brooks is a, is a high, high quality running shoe, yeah, yeah. But I
remember people just casually wore, bro,
Don Mock 05:52
yeah. Was there? Like, like, oh, man, I need the support. The, you know, the I’m on, standing on some
metal diet, right? So I’m like, Okay, I’m gonna go and let me go look the snoop around. Yeah? Puma,
not high on the list at all, you know. So the concept of, like, switching brands was, was, was tickling
there, right? But not like, Oh, I’m going in and I’m going New Balance, all right,
Rob Broadfoot 06:10
yeah, you didn’t care which way you went. You were just gonna the shoes. You were gonna let the shoe
find you, yeah,
Don Mock 06:14
exactly. And I’m not going to, like the running store to run on the treadmill and test which shoe would be
good, you know. I just, I just want cozy shoes, you know, for first
Rob Broadfoot 06:22
Can I guess the color? Are they? Are they the Puma version of my leg up, but I’ll take them off. You
know what? I mean, like? Are they? They’re not. They’re not running shoes. Are they like? Are they?
Are they the Puma equivalent of the Adidas style that you used to wear? No, not
Don Mock 06:39
even oddball, yeah, oddball, okay,
Rob Broadfoot 06:42
I’m gonna guess the color, and I’m gonna say without hesitation, the color is green,
Don Mock 06:48
green. You are incorrect, sir,
06:52
whoa. What is this?
Don Mock 06:54
It’s a khaki.
Rob Broadfoot 06:56
It’s kind of, it’s giving, it’s giving pewter.
Don Mock 07:00
The kids would say, it’s a warm, it’s kind of a warm, grayish, okay,
Rob Broadfoot 07:04
but that’s more athletic than I thought you were about to show me. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. I
thought you were going to show me, you know, the Adidas version of the Puma. And I thought it was
going to be green with a white stripe reversed
Don Mock 07:14
out. But anyways, you know, so anyway, I love them. I mean, were they out
Rob Broadfoot 07:18
of they must have been out of Yeezys. Is that they didn’t have men your size.
Don Mock 07:22
Jesus, we can’t talk about that. That’s been canceled, right?
07:26
Yeah, I don’t they just,
Don Mock 07:29
it just kind of jumped out at me. I did try on some Brooks, I did try on some new balance, I tried on a
little bit of everything. So and was like, why not? Let me, let me give it a whirl. And, man, it was hard to
not buy those damn Adidas because they looked good and they’re cozy as can be. But I figured, you
know what track. But anyway, so that leads us to today ‘s topic in terms of, like, Are there any brand?
And I kind of sprung this on you. Didn’t have a lot of time to prepare any brands that you would like, just
absolute like, ride or like, I’m taking all the way to the end. You know what I mean? Any thoughts on
your side
Rob Broadfoot 07:57
of the fence?
Don Mock 08:02
Long dramatic
Rob Broadfoot 08:03
I mean, I think about it in a million different ways, right? So starting as like a kid, like I would, I would go,
you know, as a kid from Atlanta, Coca Cola. I love Coca Cola brand guy, you don’t drink Pepsi, no. Why
would you do that? It’s a horrible thing to do.
Don Mock 08:21
There’s like, one restaurant in Atlanta famous for having Pepsi, yeah, right across the street from the
Pepsi Bottling Company, yeah, like a distribution hub, or whatever it is. So
Rob Broadfoot 08:30
but, and all Atlanta ‘s are like that, yeah, we’re all Coca Cola snobs, but, but, but it’s a great product
and, and one that hasn’t changed, right? So brands evolve over time. You think about, like, fashion or
apparel or things like that, yeah, yeah, they’re changing and evolving and but Coca Cola is, it’s your
granddad’s Coca Cola. I mean, yeah, like, it just is what happened when they tried to change it,
massive revolt, and that didn’t work. Yeah? I mean, I would say that’s interestingly, a brand that has
remained the same, yeah, for
Don Mock 09:05
now, they innovate in the margins, though. They innovate around,
Rob Broadfoot 09:10
right? I guess what I mean is you can always the classic Coca Cola is always going to be the hero,
yeah, the hero. I mean, I’ll, I’ll mess with a Coke Zero. I’m not afraid.
Don Mock 09:19
Yeah, as long as it’s ice cold, the minute that goes room temperature, it doesn’t
Rob Broadfoot 09:23
taste like, yeah. So that would be one, I would say,
Rob Broadfoot 09:32
other brands you mentioned music before we started chatting and like so, so I play guitar, not well, and
I’m not going to play on this podcast. You’re a great guitar player, but I started out as a, I started out as
a Fender
Don Mock 09:44
guy, yeah, I was wondering if you’re gonna say fender or Gibson. I was
Speaker 1 09:48
well, alright, I started out as a Fender guy. I got my first strat when I was in 10th grade. Okay, right? As
a birthday present. Yeah. I. And then I only relatively recently,
Rob Broadfoot 10:05
went to Gibson, started playing Gibson bought a Les Paul, yeah, I don’t ever play my fender anymore.
Are you serious? Yeah, it’s crazy to me, and people are. I mean, obviously this is an age old argument,
fender versus Gibson. But like, there’s something for me, personally about that the Gibson that just the
the tone, the tone and the weight and just the playability and everything, it just, and it’s just, to me, it’s,
it’s less Paul is more iconic, just from a straight like, yeah, of course it is. You know, historic perspective
is more iconic than a Stratocaster, yes.
Don Mock 10:43
Now gib remind me, Gibson is the one goes out of tune a little bit easier than a Fender does. Or am I
Rob Broadfoot 10:49
crazy? Yeah. I mean, yeah, generally speaking, it does, yeah. You got to think all the time, yeah, it’s
amazing. So I kind of jump I kind of jumped ship. There I went. Now I still have, I’m not getting rid of my
fender. Mind you? No, no, no, no, no, keep them both. You’re not throwing out the Adi to shit, but
Don Mock 11:05
you’re not reaching for the fender anymore. You’re not like a die hard fender. That’s fascinating.
Rob Broadfoot 11:13
I think one thing, one thing that you said though at the beginning, the idea of get them in college and
you’ll have them for life, yeah, now, now it’s get them when they’re four, and you’ll have them for life.
Yeah, social media and tick tock and Instagram. Amount of like you’re right? Who knows what, the
amount of revenue that’s generated through social media platforms for companies these days, but
there are so many brands that you would never have access to, yeah, that now it’s, and you get them
and get them literally when they’re, when they’re,
Don Mock 11:45
well, I remember reading, you remember when Twitch started, right? Yeah. And it was like, wait a
minute, what we’re like, streaming our own game, like we’re creating our own network, or something.
Like, it was just a strange kind of sit right? And State Farm Insurance was a big sponsor, you know
what? I mean, they were sponsoring, you know, and it was like, what in that? What there is, like, you
have 12 year olds that are like, What are you doing State Farm you know? I mean, this is totally not the
target audience, but it feeds into exactly what you’re talking about, right? Which was, hey, it’s not about
the 12 year old signing up for, you know, renters insurance or automobile insurance. It’s about, hey,
being the brand that’s associated in the periphery with all of the rest of their Twitch brands and
everything like that, and being cool and being ready in the consideration set when they’re ready. Yeah,
it was like, wow, that’s actually for like, a, I don’t want to say stodgy, because they, you know, they do
the NFL, and they have, you know, Jake from State Farm, you know, but for being kind of a, you know,
quasi boring industry, right? Insurance, you know, it was like, Man, that’s pretty kick ass, and that’s
pretty future forward of them in terms of from a media spend, you know, I mean, so
Rob Broadfoot 12:55
you got to get, I mean, I’ve got, I’ve got daughters, as you do, and their brand loyal, but they’re, but I
conversely, their brand loyalty lasts a year or a year and a half, and then they and then they go, and
then there’s a new shiny object. Then there’s a new it’s aviator nation this year. Yeah, now it’s polo, or
what I
Don Mock 13:15
mean, it’s well, but that that ties into what you said earlier, though, about fashion. You know, I mean
fashion, fashion is, we’ve talked about this, I think on the podcast, fashion is kind of the opposite of
graphic design, right? Because fashion is inherently destructive. Its purpose is to be seasonal, right?
Which is a fantastic business model, because then you just keep, you know, re upping the situation,
right? There is an argument to be made for a graphic design or design and brand, you know, to be
timeless, right, to not be fad driven or seasonal, you know. So I think something else that’s kind of
interesting about brand loyalty and brand adherence is we’re talking about our particulars and like, Oh, I
got this guitar, or, Oh, I like these shoes, or, you know, I mean, like things like that. But I think also,
potentially, I’ve got some friends of mine where it’s like, oh, only BMW, because I was in a BMW in the
worst car accident of my life, and it saved my life, right? So there’s something interesting about not
necessarily trauma, but some type of external trigger, not based on biases, yeah, that will then
formulate, boom, I am with this brand forever, you know, so or conversely, the opposite could happen. I
got the worst food point. I’m making this worst experience ever, and I got the worst experience ever at
XYZ restaurant. I won’t put anybody on blast like I will never eat there again. You know, that type of
thing, right? So there is something kind of interesting about that as well. So I
Rob Broadfoot 14:40
so cars. What’s your Do you have? Are you brand loyal with cars at all? No, no,
Don Mock 14:45
for whatever reason, all we have are Fords. Now we have literally three Ford ‘s, right? But there was a
time in my life we didn’t have any American cars, you know, I think, why do you have three Fords? I
don’t know. I don’t know how that happened. I mean, here. Like, if I was to backtrack. So one of the
Fords is an old classic truck, right? So it’s a 1967 Ford, right? And that’s just, you know, I’ve always
wanted an old classic car of sorts, yeah. I mean, so since forever, so, and it was a toss up between that
and a 1950 or 52 Chevy pickup, because I love how I love the front ends of those and how curvy and
crazy, voluptuous, those are so when it comes to classic cars, like I am, I love the Ford Ranchero. I
love, you know, the 50, you know, 56 Fairlane. I like a 57 you know, like, it doesn’t matter, it’s, I’m all
over the place in terms of, it’s just kind of the design esthetic. It’s not about this one had a better
electrical system, or this one always broke down, or what you know, like, which is
Rob Broadfoot 15:41
interesting that you’re agnostic, because, mean, for Chevy is about as Die Hard of a rivalry, is it? Yeah,
Don Mock 15:49
yeah, sure. So you know. But I think you know we were going to get the lightning, you know, it was all
about the electric truck and things like that, right? And it was too big for my wife, so we ended up
getting the mock E instead, right? Because that was like, and that was not a spur of the moment kind
of, but was like, Oh, what’s this thing on the lot over here? You know, it was like, What in the world
now? So that ended up happening. Then, for whatever reason, during covid, we pre ordered a Bronco,
right? And was like, Hey, let’s build your own Bronco. Crazy covid purchase, yeah, we’re all trapped in
our we’re trapped in our house, you know, doing whatever. And it was like, hey, you know. And then it
was like, Oh, it showed up. Okay. Like, well, let’s go test work. I guess we’re buying a Brock, yeah? But
we, I mean, but before that, I had a mini mini Cooper, right, which is owned by BMW. I had a BMW
before we had we’ve had a Mazda. Yeah, we had a Toyota. I mean, we’ve been kind of all over the
place. I mean, I don’t need to keep going backwards, but, like, we’ve had all sorts of different brands,
you know? I mean, there are definitely some that I think are better than others. But also, I think it’s with
cars. There’s a season to your life of what you need, right? There’s freedom. Let me get away from my
parents. You know, there’s, I have children. I’m transporting things from places to, you know, like things
like that, right? So cars are kind of different. I don’t know, what about you? I mean, where are you at on
the brand? So we
Rob Broadfoot 17:15
were also growing up. We were, we were all Volkswagen. Our family was all Volkswagen. That’s
interesting. We had two Volkswagen rabbits, okay? We had a golf. We had, yeah, well, the, I think the
rabbit became the golf, golf, yeah, became the golf, and then it became the TDI, I think, yeah, we had a
Volkswagen van
17:34
again. Did you nice,
Rob Broadfoot 17:36
yeah? Like the 80s version, yeah? Like, not the cool, full Volkswagen, yeah, no, I know what you’re
saying. It was actually the first car I ever drove, which is terrifying. Wow. Not, not the first one that I
drove on a daily basis, but the first one I ever operated, okay, manual? Was it manual? Oh, yeah, dude,
it had and it was like, from the floor. So yeah, the big four foot high stick shift.
Don Mock 17:56
Yeah, those
Rob Broadfoot 17:58
things are crazy. So we were all Volkswagen, and then my first car was a Jetta,
Don Mock 18:03
okay, my first car was a Volkswagen. Actually, I had two Jettas after that, okay.
Rob Broadfoot 18:09
And then after that, I went Toyota, okay, and now I’m Toyota for life. Are you really? Yeah, I love them.
Well, you,
Speaker 2 18:22
you had a little dip back into V i had a dip because I had a jeep. I had a jeep. You had a jeep. And didn’t
you have the, did you have
Rob Broadfoot 18:28
I had the I did have the Volkswagen Atlas, yeah, for like, six months, that was like, I went back to the
Volkswagen was, like, it was cars,
Don Mock 18:36
horrible. I think that’s a snake bit car. A lot of sorry, Volkswagen. Yeah, we’re gonna lose our
Volkswagen sponsorship. You know, that’s fine, but, yeah, but you’ve got a Toyota now,
Rob Broadfoot 18:46
so they run forever. I’m not a car guy. Admittedly, I’m just not a car guy. I don’t It’s not where I spend my
money. It’s not like, yeah, so, yeah. So I’m Toyota. I am
Don Mock 19:00
not a mechanic, but I would love, in another life, I would love to be a mechanic. As crazy as that sounds
like. I love tinkering and messing around and stuff, you know, things like that. So it’s fun. Do we go
Rob Broadfoot 19:10
to mechanics anymore? I feel like mechanics are, well, like the body shop, right? Like, does anybody
go to the body shop or the or the, like, local mechanic? I feel like they would that happen anymore
Don Mock 19:22
if people didn’t, yeah, yeah. I mean, people go to that kind of stuff, yeah, absolutely, you know. I just go
take it back to the dealer and let them, I know. Well, there’s a lot of that, of course, you know. So there’s
a lot of that, but yeah, cars are definitely something that people will fall in love with, have a bad
experience with, or have a great experience with, and be absolutely brand loyal to that, you know. So,
yeah, it’s interesting. I don’t know, you know it, there’s a lot. You know, a brand is more than a logo. You
know what? I mean, it’s, it’s the internalized sum of all experiences associated with that brand. I mean,
Starbucks sells a cup of coffee, but their brand doesn’t sell coffee at all. You know, their brand sells
indulgence and inspired. Moments. And, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, that kind of stuff, right? So
that’s, that’s a whole nother podcast in terms of, like, the difference between a logo and a brand and
things like that, you know. But it’s, but it’s interesting, just sort of brand allegiance, as we kind of get,
you know, just like, Oh my God, for the first time in 20 some odd years, I’m not wearing Adidas, and I
still love Adidas, and I still have Adidas, like, I threw them all out, you know, just like your fender, it’s not
like,
Speaker 2 20:21
it’ll, it’ll always have a special place, yeah,
Don Mock 20:26
in the bottom of the closet, in the dark dust, all right, is that? Is that it for the maiden voyage. I think
that’s what we got video. I can’t look at you any longer. This is weird to me. It’s too long. It’s too long.
Well, well, get rid of my paper mache project at some point. Yeah, behind me as the decorating smaller
headphones commands, no, I like. I want them bigger. I want big cans. Is what I want up top, you know,
so I’m just gonna leave that one right there. Yeah, all right, where can everybody? Where can
everybody find us? Mr.
Rob Broadfoot 20:59
Rob, well, soon you’ll be able to find us on YouTube. Yeah, as horrifying as that sounds, display here,
but of course, on all the socials in at mock the agency.com, we’re not hard to find.
Speaker 2 21:09
No All right, until next time. Until next time. Yeah, now we gotta dance.
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