Emily Steele interviews Umaimah Sharwani, founder of Paro, a food brand specializing in South Asian flavors. Umaimah shares her journey of creating Paro out of homesickness for her mother's cooking and her experience scaling digitally native brands. We cover various aspects of building a food brand, including the importance of being retail-ready.

Emily Steele interviews Leslie Bailey, co-founder and CEO of Indy Maven and Maven Space. Leslie shares her entrepreneurial journey, discussing the challenges and rewards of starting both a digital media brand and a coworking space. We dive into the importance of finding community and support outside one's immediate circle and being willing to make mistakes and pivot when necessary.

Emily Steele interviews Alisha Espey, the Program & Events Director at the Downtown Davenport Partnership. We dove into one of the area’s biggest festivals, Alternating Currents and all the details that go into drawing big crowds and executing on powerful partnerships across the city. Alisha discusses how she and her team create awareness and leverage local expertise for community-driven events.

Emily Steele chats with Casey Harrison, CEO and founder of Polished Strategic Communications located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Casey shares her journey to founding her own communications agency and touches on the incredible clients she’s gotten a chance to work with like Women's Equity Brunch, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, Business Equity for Indy and Indy Crew.

Emily Steele chats with Erica Jacobs, the marketing director at Nightingale, a thriving ice cream sandwich company based in Richmond, Virginia, with a growing national presence. They delve deep into the unique aspects of marketing a frozen product with seasonal fluctuations and explore the innovative partnerships Nightingale has forged with influencers and other brands.

In this week’s Local Marketing School episode, Emily Steele interviews Jennifer Magley, a dynamic speaker, author, and Chief Brand Officer at The Basketball League and Basketball Super League. Jennifer shares insights from her experiences as an emcee and host, emphasizing the value of surprising and delighting audiences.

Emily chats with Kelly Bennett, brand strategist and advisor at With Kelly Bennett and host of the Emerging Brands Podcast. Kelly Bennett is a brand strategist and advisor launching CPG food & beverage brands. We chat through ways to position your brand for success in terms of packaging and branding as well as how to prioritize storytelling and the purpose when marketing your brand.

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Brandon Puszkiewicz, a program manager for the Indiana Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Scott Soltys-Curry, creator of the Indianapolis Coffee Guide. Brandon and Scott share insights on the power of community, the importance of being connected to your collaboration, and how small ideas can lead to large-scale positive change.

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Sara Croft, the Co-Founder and CEO of Five Four, a growth agency for early-stage founders and founder-led businesses. Sara offers insights on experimentation, community-led growth, and preparing clients for fundraising, product launches, and revenue growth.

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Jessyca Dewey, the founder of The Y Collective, a social-first digital marketing agency working with CPG better for you brands. She discusses her journey from working in-house at brands like Califia Farms and VaynerMedia to starting her own agency, emphasizing the importance of integrated marketing approaches for smaller brands.

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Rachel Greiner, the marketing and social media manager at Experience Grand Rapids. She discusses the Brewsader app, which highlights the city's breweries and encourages people to visit them all, and the Flights of Flavor program, which showcases food and drink flights at local establishments.

Stay up to date with the latest trends in travel marketing and learn how to adjust your strategy to ensure you’re making the most of your marketing efforts.

Travel micro-influencers have authority and influence within the travel industry. Learn how to tap into their follower base to promote your destination.

Travel influencer marketing began with bloggers but has grown to include any creator who has built an audience surrounding their travel content.

Discover the rising impact of local influencers in successful marketing strategies.

Learn how you can find influencers in your area. Plus, get tips on vetting and engaging them to maximize your marketing efforts' impact.

Des Moines Symphony offers a memorable night out with hummingbirds sharing their experience.

Word-of-mouth marketing has been around as long as people have. Today we can communicate in a multitude of ways both verbally and digitally. Let’s compare the two.

Explore Madison with hummingbirds and share your travel experiences online.

‘DDP’ gifted hummingbirds tickets to attend the Alternating Currents Festival and share about their experience on Instagram!