We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anne Candido a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Anne, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a fun one – what’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?
Most people believe branding is something you do. But what we teach our clients is that branding is a philosophy…and this philosophy can be THE exponential game-changer for business. Especially B2B businesses! I grew up at P&G, so I know the power of branding and how it can elicit emotional connections which turn commodities into coveted products people desperately need in their lives. And despite what many B2B’s believe, this emotional connection is EXACTLY what can fuel their product and servicing offerings as well. We hear a lot of “I don’t have a sexy product”, or “I have a crowded/sleepy industry”, to which we reply “it doesn’t matter”. And why is that? Because you aren’t selling a product or your industry, you are selling how you make people feel. And this is what creates disproportionate value that your customers and clients will pay more for and more often. This leads to higher revenues and the ability to more efficiently and productively scale. All thanks to brand building.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am on a never-ending pursuit to find out why I am on this earth and what I can do with it. Because of this, my journey has been unconventional. I actually am an engineer by background (Go Flyers!) and spent my first decade at P&G in R&D. But, I wanted to be closer to the business, so I spent my second decade in Influencer Marketing. My calling throughout all of this was to build something. Initially, it was new product offerings, which I loved. But the calling evolved into something bigger…a calling to leave a mark, a legacy if you will. I have always been dissatisfied with the status-quo, so most of my efforts focused on transforming mindset, seizing new opportunity by reconnecting dots, and establishing new infrastructure by which to do this. Many of you are probably laughing at me right now going “In P&G? Good luck!”. And…you would be right. So, after two decades, I left P&G to build. And since then, I have built a branding and marketing agency with ForthRight People, a community focused on helping women rise with ForthRight Women, and in my spare time a Real Estate business. All of these embrace the tenets by which I was trying to build within P&G, but I have found the opportunity to create a much greater impact outside and with a prolific client roster, across industries and sizes. So, the pursuit continues as I learn, optimize, refine and enjoy the meaningful impact created as a result.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I am an avid learner. I consume podcasts, books and business related tv shows at a rapid pace. This was ultra critical for me when transitioning from P&G to the real world. Hearing people share vulnerably about their highs, lows and everything in between gave me comfort in knowing that EVERYONE has been where I am. It also helped me to see that the effort to do big things and create meaningful impact is not insignificant. And that I would have to cultivate the characteristics of perseverance, resilience, grit and courage in order to achieve the vision I had for myself. But it was possible if I believed it was. I sourced many of my mentors from this library including: Adam Grant, Ed Mylett, Reid Hoffman, Ray Dalio, Gary V, Tim Ferriss, Jay Shetty, Amy Jo Martin, Barbara Corcoran, Damon John, Michael Gervais, Michael Gerber, and Vishen Lakhiani. I am pretty sure too that I have seen every episode of Shark Tank and The Profit at least twice. This is also what sparked our desire to create our own podcasts, Marketing Smarts and ForthRight Women.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
This is one of my favorite stories to tell because it is a testament to networking. We equate it to the [drinking] game “Six degrees of Kevin Bacon”. About a year into my new gig as a “Brand Manager on Loan”, I decided I needed a partner to help expand the value I could provide to clients. I wanted someone who I was fundamentally aligned with when it came to branding/marketing principles but with a complementary skill set. I also wanted a woman because I felt that would be unique in our industry. So, I started networking…and the six degrees ensued. First, I met with a former agency colleague over lunch, who suggested I meet with a business owner in the industry, who suggested I meet with his wife who is also in the industry. April, my amazing co-founder, was also on her six-degrees journey which intersected at this person. As it turns out, I was more than happy to meet with April, but she was a bit hesitant to meet with a “former P&Ger” of which she still harbored a tad-bit of resentment for the company from her agency days. Luckily, our mutual connector reminded April of the commitment she made to “take all meetings” as she too was looking for a new growth opportunity. So, she reluctantly met with me for what she thought would be a quick 30 minute coffee. Three hours later, we were still talking. For me, it was love at first sight. For April, it took a bit longer to realize her perfect partner was a former P&Ger. But eventually she saw the truth and realized we had found our match. We like to say we are an unlikely duo (I mean…it is like a joke…a corporate person and agency person walk into a bar…), but that is what makes us so valuable to our clients. Our experience is vast, diverse and through different filters that give our clients a 360 degree purview they can’t get from anyone else.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://forthright-people.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forthrightpeople/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forthrightpeople.marketingagency/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/forthright-people/
- Podcasts: Marketing Smarts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-smarts/id1538045387 ForthRight Women: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forthright-women/id1675900916