Marketing Happy Hour - How to Build a Purpose-Driven Brand in a Growing Market | Jackie Widmann of BERO

Episode Date: November 21, 2024

In this episode, I’m joined by Jackie Widmann, VP and Head of Marketing at BERO, the groundbreaking non-alcoholic beer brand rooted in Tom Holland’s personal sobriety journey. Jackie shares how she and her team crafted BERO’s identity as “the new gold standard” in the non-alc space, built an integrated marketing strategy, and leveraged authentic storytelling to connect with consumers. Jackie reveals the tactics driving BERO’s buzz. Plus, she reflects on career lessons learned from roles at Anheuser-Busch, The Infatuation, and beyond. Key Takeaways: // Crafting a Brand Identity: Learn how non-negotiable elements like authenticity, quality, and storytelling defined BERO’s “new gold standard” positioning. // Leveraging Storytelling: Explore how Tom Holland’s personal journey with sobriety drives authentic consumer connections and sets BERO apart. // Marketing Strategy: Jackie breaks down BERO’s integrated approach across social media and NYC events like The Corner Store. // Building in the Non-Alc Market: Gain insights into educating consumers, raising awareness, and navigating growth in a burgeoning category. // Career Reflections: Jackie shares what she wishes she’d known earlier in her marketing career. Connect with Jackie: LinkedIn Follow BERO: Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | LinkedIn

I think that the biggest learning that I've had has just been do your research. Consumer insights matter. Customer feedback matters, especially before you actually hit the market. Welcome to Marketing Happy Hour. I'm Cassie, consultant, podcaster, and your host. Every Thursday, you'll hear episodes packed with insights from brand leaders on an array of topics, from crafting effective marketing strategies and hitting career goals to building leadership skills and launching

your own business. Inspired by those unfiltered happy hour combos with peers, this show is all about practical, empowering chats to support your professional journey. So grab your favorite drink and let's get to the episode. Okay, today I am very stoked. We're going to talk about a new brand coming out in the market. Jackie Woodman is the VP head of marketing for Bureau. And we're going to talk about, again, the launch, as I mentioned before, of this new brand, how the Bureau team created unforgettable experiential events throughout the launch, Jackie's advice on leveraging story to build consumer loyalty, as well as tips for staying ahead on trends and influencer marketing, and then just overall the

non-out category. This is a growing industry and so super stoked to dive more into that. But Jackie, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here. Yes, absolutely. So we both have something in front of us here that I have to talk about. We always talk about what's in your glass in this conversation, but Jackie, if you don't mind, share what you have in front of you. So I have a can of our noon wheat beer. It's a non-alcoholic beer, the brand which we'll get into, created by Tom Holland. This noon wheat I would say most resembles a Blue Moon sort of flavor profile. It has a little bit of a touch of that orange twist at the end. It's really, it's really, really

nice. It's the one I'm drinking the most right now, but we also have our Kingston Golden Pills, which is the most resembling of a lager style, classic European beer. That's the one that in consumer testing, people have said, whoa, are you sure this doesn't have alcohol in it? This really tastes like a beer. And then our Hazy IPA, I believe is the one you have. And that one is delicious and very much has that sort of mouthfeel of a heavier IPA flavor. It's really delicious.

Yeah, no, I do. I have the Edge Hill Hazy IPA and this, I took my first sip a few minutes ago and it's so good. I was going to say, if you can hear that, I love that. I will typically grab an IPA when I'm out. And so this is really great. And I feel like with the non-alk space, there's always this question of, to your point a second ago, does it actually taste like whatever it's trying to resemble? And I can confirm this tastes like an IPA. So fantastic job to your team. Cheers.

Cheers. So good. Thank you. Thank you for sending those over, by the way. I am so honored to try them. Okay. So I want to hear about your journey a little bit. How did you land at Bureau? Yeah, so I've had an interesting career path, not completely linear. I would sort of

describe myself as someone who is a marketing generalist, but has then had expertise in various parts of my career to date in kind of different areas. Most recently, I was working at Anheuser-Busch and I had been in a role on the marketing and innovation team working on a couple of new product launches in the beyond beer sector of the organization. So really focused on things that were incremental to the beer portfolio at Anheuser-Busch, right? So I worked on a tequila seltzer in a can, a couple of hard cocktails that were flavored malt beverages, and really working on how do we target different areas of the country,

test and learn with a pilot run of a new SKU, build everything from the packaging design to the brand positioning, launch it, learn from consumers locally in a couple of different key cities and markets, and then decide part of the team's focus was do these brands have legs to then scale nationally and become a big player in the portfolio so my most recent experience was very focused in beverage prior to that my first job out of college which ended up being a five and a half year stint I was one of the first five employees that a company called the infatuation I came on there back when it was at the time really a food blog on the internet that was writing great restaurants guides to where to eat and drink and find the best in your city. I came on to that team as the partnerships

manager there and was the first person that one of our co-founders had hired to really figure out, you know, they had an incredibly engaged community and audience across all these different platforms, right? They were early on the Instagram game with the hashtag eats, building community around people who love to go out and do great things in their city. But how do we monetize this and make it a platform that can scale and have legs? So what I did there for over the course of five and a half years was really help figure out how do we work with brands that may or may not be related to the food space, but build authentic experiences for consumers, create events, moments. We ended up creating a food festival called Eats Con that was sort of meant to flip the

traditional food festival on its head. How do we make this really immersive, interactive, work with cool brands, make you feel like it's a content playground and a place to try great food. So that was just one example, right, but working at the Infatuation I was able to really build integrated 360 co-marketing campaigns with tons of great brands so worked with Anheuser Busch quite a bit during my time there we did a bunch of programming with Bud Light back in the day we worked with Stella Artois a lot as well at Budweiser Don Julio was a longtime partner of ours we built a ton of event and social

content programming around beverage really but yeah had some amazing co-branded experiences that we created over my time there so really like built this expertise in how do you take a campaign idea extended to social media influence or amplification events and experiences that bring people out to share what they're doing and amplify a brand's message. And that was done through both our platform on the infatuation side, but also through those brands that we were working with. From there, I really realized that I'm just super passionate about the way

that all these elements and marketing levers kind of come together. So when I was thinking about leaving the infatuation and really what I wanted to do next, I realized how passionate I was about, you know, telling great stories and building 360 campaigns that really go through the line. So how do you, you know, connect with consumers both on social media, in real life, digitally, socially, really tell that story. And, you know, the beauty of this bureau role is that I'm getting to do all of that. But the way that I got connected with the bureau team, which is a great story. So I had been at Anheuser-Busch. I was building some really incredible brands. Wasn't really looking for any new opportunities, but I had a friend who

mentioned to me that there's a Slack community, which is a plug for Startup CPG. It's a massive Slack community that's done an incredible job of becoming a resource for marketers, operators, and founders. I was not a part of it. Hadn't even heard about it when I was at Anheuser-Busch. She sent me a message and was like, I saw someone in the marketing Slack channel within Startup CPG say that they're looking for a VP of marketing for a celebrity founded brand, venture backed. That's all he said. Would you be interested? And I was like, do you know this guy? Who posted this message? She was like, I don't know him. It just sounds like it would be up your alley. Are you interested? And I said, sure, you can send him my resume. We'll see if it leads

anywhere. That was in December of 2023. We started talking pretty immediately. He was interested in my profile based on my experience, both in beverage and in integrated partnerships previously and we really hit it off right away John Herman our CEO is a really fantastic leader comes from an incredible background and you know part of the application process was really first and foremost about like the vision and and belief in the non-alcoholic category but then secondarily meshing with the team we're really small and scrappy startup despite the fact that we've built quite quickly. So making sure that everyone can get along and work to build that vision together.

And then also just belief in Tom and what we're building together, which, of course, I was super keen and excited about. So that conversation went for about a month, month and a half. And I left AB at the beginning of January of this year, 2024, and started with John and the team here at Bureau in February. So it's been kind of a 10-month sprint. And we finally launched the product a couple of weeks ago, which now feels like an incredible relief and really proud of what we've been able to share so far, but so much more to come. Yeah. It's been so fun just to watch the launch unfold and everything. And it just makes so much sense, which we'll get more into the brand story and everything here in a

minute. But I have to ask, I love the whole story about how you landed at Bureau. Do you feel like it being more of a, a cold outreach or a cold connection to a brand? What did you do to kind of stand out? You feel like, or what was that process like to be able to put yourself forward for this role? So it's really interesting because I've had some career opportunities that have come out of nowhere and then others where you're connected through someone you used to work with and whatnot. John and I did not know each other before we got connected, but I will say early on in the process, he sort of mentioned that if, and when this continues, we'll have you put together a bit of a 30, 60, 90 plan. We want to get a sense of how your brain works and how would you tackle this launch? And I took that. And over the Christmas break, I kind of went nuts. And instead of doing a two or

three page deck, I put together like a 40 page presentation with case studies of example work. It just, the more I learned from John in the process about what the vision was and, you know, realizing ways that I felt like I could really be this person that could help do the job really effectively. I got super excited. And so I remember I was with my boyfriend's family over Christmas break and I was like, I'm sorry, guys, I got to go work on my presentation. I'm really excited about this. And I remember his family even hearing me on calls in the other room. They were really excited about it for me. Um, and I think they could just feel my passion, both, you know, on my own personal life side of things, but also John and the team could just

feel how excited I was about, you know, what I felt like I could bring to the table, but also the brand that didn't exist yet, but we believed we could build once everyone kind of came together for this company to be started. Yeah. So going a little bit above and beyond sounds like that was kind of the first step initially. I got excited and for better or for worse, I tend to do things at 150%. So I, you know, the ask was simple and I took it to the next level, but I felt like I really wanted to show, you know, beyond this role, I wanted to relate back to past experiences I've had. So pulling in prior beverage case studies and ways that I've worked, not only in the creative and marketing space, but in the shopper and trade marketing space, or in the influencer and events and experiential in the shopper and trade marketing space or in the

influencer and events and experiential, like there's so many different things that relate back to beverage and the needs for this job. And I wanted to make sure that I had, you know, relevant examples that I could speak to really well that covered all of that, because really at a new company that is so small, there's so much to be done. And I don't think, you know, my experience at AB, had I not had that, I would not be the right person for this job. I needed that beverage bootcamp and understanding of the industry on a deeper level. But also a lot of the marketing experience I had prior to AB really helped me, you know, fill in the gaps with how do we take this to the next level and not just be another beverage brand, but really tell a story and create great content and, you know,

brand partnerships, events beyond. So speaking of just the launch and kind of preparing for that. So obviously just identity, whether it's visual identity, voice, et cetera, there's so many elements that come to creating a brand, right? And so Biro has this identity as the new gold standard and non-alcoholic beer. What elements in creating that were non-negotiable? Just thinking back to the early days of this brand and just emphasizing some of those attributes, et cetera, that you all wanted to put forward. What was the thought process there? I mean, I will say first and foremost, Tom is a visionary and he has been so involved in the process of getting this brand off the ground from everything, you know, inclusive of the packaging

design and the storytelling to how we show up and what our events end up looking like, which is a real pleasure for someone of his level of, you know, he is a world globally renowned celebrity and he is so passionate about this. So I think, you know, when is a world globally renowned celebrity and he is so passionate about this. So I think, you know, when we came together as a team and started to build Bureau, there were a couple of things that we were thinking about. I think we saw a clear opportunity in creating a brand that was a little bit more premium, elevated, sophisticated. And then the other thing I think is a lot of, you know, we looked at every brand in the space. We noticed a couple of things. The non-alcoholic newer entrance to the space, if you sort of lay them out in a lineup, there's something that's a little bit similar about the design of all of them.

And we really wanted to create something that was unique, that was beautiful, that felt sophisticated and something that, you know, you would be proud to hold, but also tastes great. Obviously, the quality of the liquid is super, super important. But so I think we saw the premium, the premium path as kind of a unique opportunity, one that hadn't really been tapped yet. And that was a huge driving force in the selection of the color gold, the messaging around the new gold standard. Um, and then a lot of the other marketing sort of materials that we're using now. Talking about that, you know, I mentioned earlier in the episode, this idea of storytelling and how this is truly tied to a story, Tom's story specifically. I remember listening to his episode of the Jay Shetty podcast and hearing him kind of talk about this path to sobriety that he was walking down.

And so I love this idea that it is directly related to something that he's experienced personally. He has the story to share, but it's a story that other people can connect with too, as they're kind of walking through a similar path, for example. So how are you leveraging this story to build this authentic connection with consumer, whether it's through the messaging, through social, through some of those interviews that he's doing, what's kind of the detail there? For us, Tom's story is so incredibly authentic and genuine.

He went on his own journey of sobriety. He is not someone who preaches sobriety, which I think is a really beautiful thing about the brand and the world that we've created around it. We are not going to market saying that you have to be sober to drink a beer. What we're saying is that this should be an additive experience that enriches your life. It makes you feel included in places where oftentimes drinking any beer makes you feel excluded.

We are saying that this product can really add to the experience. It is a trophy. It's not a consolation prize. And I think for Tom and his version of the storytelling, right, he had been on his journey of sobriety and really hadn't found a product that he felt like represented him. And so him coming to the table with this idea to build his own and then us coming together as a team and creating this product, I think one, the product can stand alone, but two, Tom's authenticity is really just shining through. And so every story that he's told, whether it's on podcasts or on the late night talk show circuit, he has this ability to really bring people in. They feel his excitement. And

we had a truck that we wrapped with Bureau Branding that we were driving around New York with a driver. And Tom made a couple of deliveries to restaurants that decided to take the brand on himself. And we came in with cases. He's rolling push carts around New York City and Grand Central Station of all places. And capturing all of that and showing his dedication is what's made people fall in love with it. Well, and I love how you mentioned too, he felt like there was this gap in the market of specifically what he wanted. And chances are, I mean, we talk about this all the time with just product ideation and everything. If you feel like there's a gap in the market, chances are there's

other people out there that feel like there's not something specifically made for them, right? So I love this idea and I'm sure that's come out in just some testimonials that you've received and just reviewed so far, but it truly is a beautiful package. It tastes beautiful. And that's something typically in the non-alcoholic space right now with beer you're not seeing, it's more of that playful, you know, kind of less sophisticated. So I love this idea of kind of filling that space that you all saw in the marketplace. And one thing I will say too is since we've gone live and the product has become available and people have started to taste it, try it, engage with us on social, place orders, the comments and the DMs that we are getting to

the brand account, whether it's people who have been on their own sobriety journey or just people who love Tom and love his story and then try the beer and they love it too. We've sat in our office and cried. It's like, it's really amazing to just see the way that people relate to this journey of, you know, again, it doesn't have to be about sobriety. It could just be making yourself feel the best to be your best version of yourself. And that's what we're all about is really just feeling like you can take on the world and Bureau is here to help you do that. And the messages we've been getting from people after they become a part of the Bureau community, Club Bureau, as we like to call it, has been really incredible to see. Yeah. And I'm sure that's very encouraging for you all as a team just to see that impact so far. So kudos to you guys for that. Also, I have to add, fans are wild in the best possible way. And especially during holiday season, we've had a

couple people who have carved pumpkins with the Bureau logo embedded into the pumpkin design. We've had people bake beer bread with Biro in the ingredients. It is awesome just to see how creative people can get because they love someone dressed up as a Biro can for Halloween. We're like, and we're early days, but someone like us for Halloween, that's pretty amazing. Yeah, absolutely. It's the power of just a couple cans initially and they're, they're full in. That's amazing. And that gave me a really good idea to make beer bread with this. And I will definitely be gifting this stuff for the holidays. Y'all have some awesome merch too on the website as well. So I want to mention that to definitely check that out. If you have not already, it's wonderful. So yeah, I do like it. We've, we've seen a lot of people rocking the bureau hats around New York city bags that come with your order. Um, and we're loving it. It's they, they look great. Yeah, absolutely. So thinking about launch again, creating a marketing strategy around this launch,

what was the process for developing a fully integrated strategy that resonates with your target consumer, but is kind of touching these different channels that you have available to you? Yeah. So, you know, we wanted to make sure that we had a week with Tom in New York City that we needed to maximize that week and really storytell as much as possible. We're primarily available online at bureaubrewing.com. So knowing that that's the destination, we're really leveraging a lot of social media and digital content to drive people to our website to learn more about the product. And whether that's through a photo shoot that we did in Malibu at the end of the summer, where we got video and photo content that we could use to fill out, you know, all of the assets and places where we would need content to tell the story of Bureau and sort of

where we see us showing up. So that was one piece. The second piece was once we had the content, right, beautiful shots of product photography, video of beer pouring out of the can into glassware. We also have branded glassware coming soon to our website, which will be really exciting. We get all that content, right? And then it's like, okay, what's the cadence? What's the rollout? So we really wanted to make sure that this was super integrated. So beyond just launching organic social content on our channels, we worked with Tom really closely to figure out what his teaser strategy would look like. But so I think social content was a huge piece, right? We also built a ton of influencer kits. So tried to be strategic about working with folks who either have a relationship with non-alcoholic products in some capacity or have been shopping in that space.

But also folks that are into food and beverage and could review and taste and try. And then also folks that were friends of Tom, friends of the company, really looking to get the word out. That was one piece of the strategy as well. And then we had a week in New York, right? So PR was a huge piece of that. So in addition to a handful of embargoed pieces that went live across Food & Wine, Fast Company, Forbes, which had pre-interview capture with John, our CEO, and Tom, you know, telling the story of why we're here, what we exist to do. We also had a ton of other coverage that came through once we officially announced on October 16th. So the press pickup was

pretty massive. And then that followed with a week in New York City where we had two events. And then we also had this truck rolling around New York City with branding and captured a lot of content of that with Tom deliveries, as I mentioned. But the two events that we had were really awesome and sort of served different purposes. The first one was meant to be a little bit more of a food and beverage industry event. So we got the opportunity to partner with Chase Sapphire on an event at the Corner Store in downtown Manhattan, which is like a very new, cool, buzzy hotspot. Not only have they agreed to take in the Bureau product, but we used that event as an opportunity to really invite food and beverage executives in Manhattan and beyond who we wanted to show the fact that Bureau is a great brand for your bar or restaurant. And that was the

perfect environment to do it. The whole space couldn't be more Bureau. It was just like moody lighting, very chic, very cozy, very cool. And we decked it out with Biro. We had this incredible photo moment, a beautiful wooden custom-made wall that like had down lighting on all of the cans and packaging. And so, you know, not only was it socially shareable and fun to look at, but it was a great sort of jumping off point for Tom to meet face-to-face with a lot of different food and beverage executives and hopefully get Bureau on menus across the city. So that was the first event. And we had a couple of days of back-to-back press. We also had a team dinner, which was really nice, where Tom actually had his parents fly in and his three brothers and some friends,

plus our full-time team at Bureau. And we all had dinner on Wednesday night, which was a great opportunity to get a little more intimate time with everyone, just celebrate the success of getting a brand to market in such a quick amount of time and with such a force beyond it. And then we had an event on Thursday that was more our official launch party, and that was more friends of the company, agency partners that helped us build this brand from day one. Some influencers, a lot of press and media. We had Bobby Flay moderate a little bit of a chat between our founder Tom and John and it was a really great conversation to just sort of kick off the brand. Those were sort of the key moments that happened that week

and then there were a few other things that happened, content creation for big partners, strategic moments that will come into play later in January, which I can't share yet. Tom was on a handful of different morning shows as well as late night. Seth Meyers, they willingly included a clip of Tom making some deliveries in the late night segment, which got a ton of awesome commentary from fans and the public alike. And it was really fun. Yeah, that's so good. And I love this idea, how you mentioned you had kind of a partner industry event, and then you had these other kind of micro slash macro events for different groups and stuff. We used to do that. I worked

in the restaurant industry, food and bed for a long time. And we did the same thing with launches, we'd have these like multi day stretches where it's very specific, very intimate with those specific people so that they know each other. And then we can kind of connect one-on-one and know our intention going in. I feel like we don't do a lot of that with like general brand launches anymore. So I love, I love how you guys kind of broke it up that way versus just having one big celebration that week. I think that's great. Yeah, I think the Monday event was really special. And what I didn't mention actually is that Chase is a great partner of ours, but our product will be available in the Sapphire Airport lounges across the country. It's coming pretty soon. So this was sort of a kickoff to that

with that team. And it was really fun to sort of bring everyone together but yeah it was even for a kickoff with the F&B industry audience it was still a relatively small event Tom got to meet almost every single person who came there we had Grant Wood our brew master do a little bit of a tasting moment let everyone know what flavor notes they should be expecting in each in each of our SKUs and it was just a great kickoff to what was a really insane and awesome week. So I want to talk a little bit to you about the non-ALC space, that industry specifically. I feel like there may be some people listening who can kind of relate to being in an industry that's

still awareness wise, it's growing. People are still not quite sure if it's right for them or what have you. So what has that been like kind of using your marketing channels to educate the consumer on who the non-alcoholic space is for? No, it's not just for people who have completely cut out alcohol. It's a really good option for sober, curious people as well. So how are you using your content to kind of both educate, but also, of course, raise awareness for the brand specifically within that space? Non-alcoholic beer is one of the fastest growing categories right now within the industry. And one that we believe is really trending in that direction. It's not a fad. This is really here to stay. Consumer behavior has just changed quite a bit. We really don't want it to be a health-centric conversation. It's really more about a lifestyle and living this life enriched and, you know,

positioning our product as the trophy that we believe it is. It's a delicious beer. It's just not alcoholic beer and it tastes like it's alcoholic equivalent. There's so many occasions that we feel like we can play in really, really authentically. And I think the storytelling that we're doing across our social channels and our website really, really speaks to that. And I think it resonates with a lot of people who just want to be able to effectively live their best life, but they don't, you know, they don't want to have to give anything up and they shouldn't have to. So just overall too, like if you're looking back at this launch as a whole, what would you say if you were to give advice to other marketers approaching a launch of their brand? What's some advice for them that you'd share? I know that's kind of a loaded question, but just in general, whether it's

the way that you're looking at the launch, you're approaching it, some things to consider that maybe you didn't know early on. If you could just share one thing there, what would you say? I think that the biggest learning that I've had has just been do your research and consumer insights matter. Customer feedback matters, especially before you actually hit the market. One thing that we invested in upfront, and I will plug our Consumer Insights partner, his company is called Nickworks, and they were fantastic. But we worked with Nick and his team to build out a consumer testing cohort that could be the early receivers of the liquid and do some sampling and tasting and give feedback on each SKU as we iterated on the different versions,

but also on the packaging, looking at other competitors in the landscape, what resonates, what doesn't. And I think those insights are really valuable. And you can learn a lot about, you know, are people not gravitate, are a certain subset of consumers not gravitating towards NA? If no, what's the blocker for them? Is it because they're afraid of the stigma? Is it because they don't like the packaging? Is it because of something else? Or the liquid is not really their vibe? How do we then create a brand that can sort of combat all of those blockers and really become something that welcomes new consumers into our world? So we did a lot of that testing early on. It was something I fought for and I think it was really worthwhile just to sort of validate what we all believed we were creating. Nothing changed

drastically. I think that was my biggest learning was just, you know, consumer insights are really, really valuable. Customer feedback too on the B2B side. We sent samples to tons of distributors and close partners of business before we launched. And I think listen to your consumers, listen to your trusted partners and advisors. And the combination of those two things, if you can do it in an effective way from a cost perspective, is really valuable. Yeah. And then, you know,

we're recording this at the end of 2024, headed into 2025. Now that the initial launch is semi behind you, right? What are you focusing on in terms of marketing moving forward going into the new year for the brand? Yeah. So we have a new campaign that is going to come going into the new year for the brand yeah so we have a new campaign that is going to come out in the new year it's around dry january but it won't be using the language of dry january we're really trying to flip that on its head a little bit and make that month become a more approachable moment where bureau can be at the center of it so excited for more to come on that. Stay tuned. But beyond that, we're launching with a handful of major retailers. I can share that we are launching nationally with Target in January. So you will be able to find Bureau at stores

across the country beginning in the new year and a handful of other regional retailers as well. And I think beyond that, from a marketing perspective, we are really focused on leaning into the lifestyle where we can find opportunities to kind of embed Bureau into different subcultures. So whether that's golf or tennis or paddle or the on-premise restaurant and bar drinking occasion, I think those are kind of our focus points when it comes to how we show up. We really believe that Bureau has a right to win in the on-premise environment. And so you will see us showing up in as many relevant restaurants and bars as humanly possible. And we hope to be on every menu in the NA section and beyond, you know,

in 2025 and following. Yeah. Well, congrats to all of you on the success so far. I can't wait to just see what you all continue to do moving into 2025. It's so exciting. It's so fun as a marketer to kind of watch a brand come out into the world and like how it evolves and changes and some of the marketing scope, how that develops as well. But looking forward to that. But I got to ask you before I let you go, a career related question that I love to ask on the show. And that is what do you know now that you wish you knew earlier on in your career? really high stress or sort of overwhelmed by what was ahead like I wish I could tell that version of me that it's all going to be okay I really believe that everything happens for a reason like I ended up here at bureau doing this job for a reason life happens the way that it's supposed

to and you have to believe and trust that but I think if I could tell my younger self something to sort of apply to my own experience in the workplace, it would just be, you know, ask for feedback, don't have an ego, and really make sure that, you know, you work with the people around you to be the best version of an employee, a coworker, as you possibly can. Some of my colleagues from past jobs are some of my best friends in the entire world. And I think that that's really important. You want to like the people that you work with and respecting and appreciating the people you spend the most time with out of mostly anyone else in your life. We spend a lot of time working. You really need to build those relationships. They're important. And so I think, you know, what I would tell to

younger folks is really invest your time in understanding how people's brains work, learn how they think, learn how they like to communicate. It may be different than how you like to communicate, but it will serve you really well as you build your own career over time. Amazing, yes, great advice, such a good reminder. And I also have to ask too, just how can we follow along with you specifically? How can we follow Biro across digital channels? Where can we find the with you specifically? How can we follow Bureau across digital channels? Where can we find the brand in you personally? Yeah, you can follow me on LinkedIn, Jackie Widman. You can also follow me on TikTok.

I don't do very, I'm not very good at TikTok. It's an area that I'm trying to do more on. My Instagram is private and I just keep that more personal. So I would say follow me on LinkedIn for all updates on professional and TikTok is more of a fun. I'm trying to be cool like the Gen Z kids on. I'm sure you're doing great. And then Bureau is Bureau Brewing, correct? Okay, awesome. Follow us at Bureau Brewing on all social channels. You can find us on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube.

And as we get into 2025, we'll have a lot more content, both shorter and longer form video coming. And we're really excited to invest in content as a great way to tell the story of who we are and what we're here to do. For sure. Well, Jackie, thank you so much. Thank you for sharing just the story and the process with us today and your personal story as well. It's very inspiring. So thank you for being here. Awesome. So glad to be here. Thank you for inviting me. And I hope that everyone gets a chance to check out Bureau and check us out for what we're up to in 2025 and beyond. Absolutely. We'll have all the links to Bureau and Jackie's

channels below. So definitely check that out. Thank you again, Jackie. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you so much for tuning into this week's episode. If you enjoyed this conversation, I would love your feedback. And if you're ready to take things to the next level, sign up for my weekly newsletter in the show notes. You'll get weekly career and marketing insights straight to your inbox. And if you have an idea for a future Marketing Happy Hour episode, shoot me an email. Hello at marketinghappyhr.com. Thank you again, and I'll see you next Thursday.