Staying One Step Ahead to Create Brand Value with Jess Kessler of Audible

Jan 15

Jess Kessler is Head of Content & Creator Marketing at Audible, the leading producer and provider of audio storytelling.

In this episode of Let's Talk Limbic Sparks, Jess reveals how anticipating what audiences will want creates brand value. She shares details about her role developing marketing campaigns and supporting works by creators, including steps taken to gather insights to inform marketing activity and evaluate campaigns to inform future ones. We discuss the importance of recognizing how fast audiences change and the benefits of staying ahead.

Jess also shares how emotional connections with creators are formed and strengthened, especially when they show up authentically and give audiences more behind-the-scenes access to what they are all about. We talk about the value that comes from people having more opportunities to engage with creators through their work, social media, and up-close experiences that go deeper than a polished persona.

Key Takeaways and Soundbites:

“What we do on the creator side is we ensure that we're representing them authentically and that we're finding the customers who have the largest intent to listen to their titles.”

“We do voice of the customer social listening. We do surveys. We ensure that we have true authentic responses from the end user of our product. We take that into consideration, and we track that with the sales and revenue trends and we see where the spikes are. We make correlated or causation assumptions, then it guides us into thinking about our next campaign.”

“Engagement equals long-term value. The more people are willing to engage with a book, a podcast, and author, a narrator, the more their willing to come back and do more.”

“Authenticity is playing a more important role today for consumers. I'm a huge fan of Taylor Swift. I love the fact that she shows us behind the curtain. She is careful with what she shares, because she has a private life, but at the same time she really does allow her fans to feel a direct connection with her... this allows a level of relatability that makes people say, you're like me and I really like that - I resonate with you. I think that allows people to feel comfortable in spending money or engaging their time with the products that these celebrities are putting out.”

“When it comes to creating compelling campaigns, the first step is knowing your audience, and knowing what they want.”

"I learned through The Marketing Society that this overlap of consumer need and company need is called the Value Creation Zone. That's where most campaigns, projects, products are successful. What it really comes down to is if you an deliver to the audience what they want, and still have a happy CEO, a happy CRO, and a happy Brand Officer, then you're in good shape."

“The brands that do it the best are always one step ahead of the game. They're always delivering something that a customer maybe didn't know they need, or maybe that they didn't ask for yet... It's about finding that emotional connection, delivering on it, and satisfying a need before they even had a chance to ask for it.”

“Audiences change so fast, and we at times become very comfortable in our approach to things because they've worked or people have responded well to them... How can we adapt, and how can we be on the forefront?”

Here are some fun facts about Jess…

Jess is a creative and data-driven marketer with 15+ years of experience delivering global content, products, and brands directly to consumers. As the Head of Content & Creator Marketing for Audible, she leads a team in groundbreaking B2C and B2B campaigns with a focus on global scale. She is a proud executive partner to the Audible Product teams delivering innovative technology solutions that make content widely accessible around the world.

Prior to Audible, Jess held leadership positions at Cineverse, one of North America’s largest independent TV and film distributors across theatrical, home entertainment, SVOD, and OTT platforms, and at Paramount’s Nickelodeon where she marketed various properties including SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer.

Jess built her foundation in journalism and has been published in Maxim Magazine, Z!nk Magazine, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, The Brooklyn Heights Press, and The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. She has been a featured speaker at Content Marketing World and a guest on the podcast Real Creative Leadership. Beyond her favorite pastime of reading and listening to all forms of audio storytelling, Jess is a loyal Miami Hurricane, and an avid fan of movies, music, and all LEGO video games. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two kids.