Dani Kimble

Two years into running my marketing business, I almost quit.

Not because I lacked clients - but because I was buried in one-off requests for ads, SEO, and lead gen.

The problem?

Most of those tactics were built on shaky ground. 

No positioning. No story. No brand foundation. Which meant no real scalability.

So in 2023, I rebuilt my business around what was missing: brand strategy.

And in 2025, I layered in AI to help clients actually execute that strategy.

Today, I help businesses stop wasting money on disjointed marketing and instead:

Build a brand foundation worth recommending
Create a strategy that scales with them
Activate their story with an AI-powered system that turns strategy into consistent, on-brand execution

My core work:

Brand Audit – diagnose strengths + gaps
Brand Strategy – positioning, messaging, POV, story
Brand Activation + AI – a clear marketing plan + custom GPTs trained on your brand to help your team execute

Because brand strategy alone isn’t enough.

And AI alone is just noise.

But brand + AI together? That’s the multiplier that makes marketing work.

👉 Visit azeliestudio.com or DM me to see how your brand can run smarter, not harder.

Fractional CMO

5 kids later, and I finally gave myself permission to take a real maternity leave.

With my first four, I was back at my laptop within weeks. 

Answering emails from the hospital bed. 
Hopping on calls between feedings. 
3AM work sessions while everyone was asleep.

I wore the hustle like a badge of honor.

Baby #5? He slowed me down in the best way. 

He's almost a year old now - and for the first time, we've truly been home. 

Did I still tinker during nap times? Of course. 😉

Taking on a few little projects. Experimenting with AI. Posting here and there. Sending my weekly newsletter. Studying and obsessing over where branding and marketing are headed. (What a time to be in this industry!)

But those things? They filled me up. 

They didn't feel like obligations. They were curiosities I got to explore on my own terms.

The difference between "I have to" and "I want to" is everything.

I used to measure success by how quickly I could "bounce back."

Now I'm realizing success might look more like staying still long enough to actually rest and enjoy the season you're in.

To the families wrestling with that same guilt - it's okay to redefine what this chapter looks like for you.

You're not falling behind. (I know it can feel that way...)

You're exactly where you need to be. ♥️

P.S. Feeling ready (and really excited) to tip-toe back into a balanced work mode for 2026 - rested, with our little crew settled into a good rhythm here. Here we go!

Brand & Marketing Strategist @ Azelie Studio

"Do minifigures sleep with their eyes open?"

That's how the LEGO Group opens a job posting.

They're hiring a writer for their customer experience team. And look at the real customer questions they lead with:

"What are you doing to protect the polar bears?"

"Are there minifigures with prosthetic limbs?"

"My kid wants to know if minifigures sleep with their eyes open."

And then this: "If questions like these make you smile instead of sweat, you'll click perfectly with our team."

This is not corporate HR speak.

But here's the line that really got me...

Buried near the bottom:

"Children are our role models. Their curiosity, creativity and imagination inspire everything we do."

That right there is the culture filter.

More than a copywriter, they're hiring someone who sees the world through play.

The hiring manager literally says you might spend your day "playing with LEGO bricks for research." 

Most companies display values on a wall and call it culture. Then post job descriptions that sound like they were written by a compliance bot.

LEGO wove their entire brand philosophy into a job posting.

Warmth. 
Empathy. 
Imagination. 
Curiosity.

Not efficiency metrics. Not deflection tactics.

No wonder their customer service team is one of the most beloved in the world.

Job postings are brand moments. Most companies treat them like paperwork.

What does yours say about your culture when no one's watching?

📸 Pictured: the Kimble R&D department hard at work. ;)

Skull logos. Tallboy cans. A tagline that says "Murder Your Thirst."

This is a water company. Valued at $1.4 billion.

Liquid Death built a billion-dollar brand by doing something most companies are terrified to do:

They rejected everything their category stood for.

Every other water brand plays the same game. Clean. Pure. Blue. Natural. Soft pastels. Earthy imagery.

Liquid Death looked at all of it and said... nah.

Heavy metal fonts. Cans that look like they should come with a hangover. "Death to Plastic" as a rallying cry.

The water itself? Completely unremarkable.

The brand? Impossible to ignore.

Look at this ad below....

They're not trying to win over Michael W. They're using him to attract the people who think his disgust is hilarious. 

When we build brand strategy, one of my favorite exercises is mapping the trade-offs. What your brand refuses to be. What customers you're okay losing.

Most companies try to appeal to everyone... and end up blending into the noise.

Liquid Death made a different bet: Be sooo specific that some people hate you... and the rest become obsessed.

So, what are your trade-offs? What's your brand saying no to?

January 5th: New year, fresh goals, ready to finally get ahead.

January 21st: 5 of 7 Kimbles have been down with a virus, one by one. Sick days. Snow days. Early dismissals. Zero routine. Winter break vibes are back. 😅

I used to think the goal was to find the rhythm. Get the routine locked in. Then the real work could begin.

Turns out, there is no "normal" week waiting on the other side.

Most days actually hum along just fine. But I'm learning to build a life that bends when it needs to... and that's not plan B. That's just... how it works now.

The margins are where the magic happens for me. The 90 minutes at wrestling practice. The work sessions during nap times. The early mornings before the house wakes up.

Perfect conditions aren't coming. And I think I'm finally okay with that.

So to the ones already re-adjusting their 2026 goals:

Same. ♥️

How's your January going... really?

P.S. They're all back to school today (we'll see if anyone calls home 🤞). Even managed to sneak this lunch box note in for my daughter - the real priority this morning. Ha!

Nobody budgets for confusion. But everyone pays for it.

I talked to a CEO last month who'd cycled through three marketing directors in 5 years.

She said each one "just didn't get the brand."

I asked for their brand materials to do an audit.

What I got back was a target market bio and a few ad samples:

CFO
age 45-48
Husband and father of 2
Listens to business podcasts
Attends industry conferences

The ads? Generic stock photos and taglines that could've belonged to any competitor.

That was it. The entire brand foundation.

No story. No stakes. No reason a prospect would choose them over anyone else.

So every new hire started from scratch. Every campaign needed six rounds of feedback because "it doesn't feel right." The sales team was making up their own pitch on the fly - and every call sounded different.

Here's the thing no one talks about:

Clarity is infrastructure.

You can't build momentum on a foundation that shifts every time someone new walks in.

Confusion doesn't show up as a line item on the balance sheet. It shows up as prospects who can't explain you to their boss. As talent that leaves because the vision keeps changing. As years spinning instead of scaling.

Three directors. 5 years. And the real cost wasn't in the severance... it was in the momentum they never got to build.

Confusion tax at its finest.

P.S. 📸 The Kimble creative department hard at work... and also what your sales team looks like without brand clarity. ;)

Founder @ Kennedy Creative | Helping B2B leaders dominate their category on LinkedIn and convert influence into revenue through content and outbound

Most executives treat LinkedIn like a resume.

I treat it like a revenue engine.

I work with enterprise B2B executives and founders in the 7–9 figure range to turn authority into measurable growth.

Through The Creative Catalyst Method — a system built on content + outbound — my clients transform visibility into deal flow, building 7+ figure pipelines in as little as 6 months.

And the results speak for themselves:
	
• 30+ MQLs generated in less than 60 days
• Clients getting 3+ leads every week with content + outbound
• A 5-figure deal closed by an agency in under 60 days
• $100K pipeline built in less than 90 days for a SaaS company

What makes this possible isn’t just content.

It’s the combination of strategic positioning, executive voice, and consistent outbound touchpoints that makes your brand unforgettable — and turns authority into revenue.

If you’re an executive ready to move from authority → pipeline → growth, let’s talk.

👉 Book a call or connect with me here on LinkedIn.

Doug Kennedy

I have one memory of my grandfather.

So when I found this photo of me with him, surrounded by all the Kennedy men, it stopped me. 

(Some tears were shed)

My grandfather must have passed shortly after this photo was taken. 

My dad took it in the early 90s and I’d never seen it before.

He recently uploaded a bunch of old photos to OneDrive. I sat down one night to look through them and didn’t expect it to hit like it did.

It made me think about legacy in a quiet way. 

Not the big stuff. 

But just the everyday moments.

No lesson or corny analogy today fam. 

Just one of those photos that makes you pause and think about life. 

If you have a photo or memory that makes you think about legacy, I’d love to see it in the comments. 

P.S. I’m the redhead LOL.

No alternative text description for this image

10 reasons why being a dad with small kids makes snow days better:

(No I wasn’t doing donuts at City Hall in Philly) 
	
1. You wake up already winning. Endless coffee is on the menu. 
	
2. Two inches of snow feels like a national holiday. (In this case, we got 8.)
	
3. Sledding/shoveling becomes cardio you didn’t schedule.
	
4. Coming back inside feels heroic.
	
5. Snow forts start outside and somehow end up in the living room.
	
6. Couch cushions turn into architecture.
	
7. Games last longer because no one’s in a rush to be anywhere.
	
8. Snacks disappear faster.
	
9. Time stretches in a way it rarely does.
	
10. Everyone crashes early, worn out in the best possible way.

Snow days hit different when you’re a dad.

They slow you down without asking permission.

You stop thinking about what you should be doing and start noticing what you’re part of.

Years from now, they won’t remember the snow totals.

They’ll remember you were there.

What did you do in the snow yesterday?

10 years ago (crazy to say), I was packing up my life to spend a year in Paris for an internship that completely changed me.

It was wild.

Yes, I:

• Went to museums
• Drank so much espresso I got dizzy
• Ate pain au chocolat on the Champs-Élysées

But I also:

• Learned a new language
• Met my current pastor (on another continent, somehow)
• Helped build a church under a bridge in a gypsy camp
• Built habits I still carry today

That year gave me so many memories.

It rewired how I see the world, faith, work, and what’s possible when you say yes before everything makes sense.

Lately, I’ve had that same feeling again.

Something about 2026 feels different.

People feel locked in and excited about what’s coming.

For most, that energy will fade after a few weeks. Life will creep back in and the same ole patterns will return.

But I don’t know.

This feels like an adventure year.

The kind you don’t fully understand until you’re already in it.

You feeling it too?

360Brew sounds like a solid cup of coffee while I’m knocking out LinkedIn posts.
 
It’s also the name of the new algorithm model for LinkedIn. 

Feels about right for 2026 (can I get an amen?). 

Regardless, here’s what I’m focusing on this year:

1. Ownership.
2. Real stories.
3. Saying things plainly.
4. Sharing how I actually think.
5. Showing skill through the work itself.
6. Talking with people, not performing for them.
7. Posting even when it feels repetitive or boring.

Some people are pumped about what’s changing. Others feel like they’re getting crushed.

To me, it still comes back to doing the work and showing up like a real person.

What are you doubling down on this year?

You’re not where you want to be because you’re not desperate enough to get there.

That stings. But it’s true.

We can go as far as we want to go. 

The scary part? Personal responsibility.

Want to make more sales?
→ Contact 50 people a day, not 10.

Want to build your brand?
→ Spend less time making another reel and more time having real conversations.

Want to scale your business?
→ Stop hoping for “one big break” and start stacking small wins, daily.

The people who hit their goals aren’t necessarily smarter or more talented.

• They’re hungrier.
• They’re more consistent.
• They do the uncomfortable work, over and over.

The gap between where you are and where you want to be isn’t strategy.

It’s desperation.

How badly do you want it?

One of my coaching clients got their first inbound lead after two weeks of consistent posting.

I know people will say inbound on LinkedIn doesn’t work. 

“It takes months!”

“Only big accounts get inbound leads.”

It’s not true.

Just keep going:

• Optimize your profile so it clearly says who you help, what problems you solve, and why your perspective matters
• Post consistently in the same lane so your message compounds instead of resetting every week
• Talk about real problems your buyers already think about, using language they actually recognize

Most people quit right before LinkedIn starts working for them.

DM me if you want to join my LinkedIn 1:1 mentorship.

“Building authority is like how my grandma baked her blueberry pie.”

The sentence just came out of thin air on a client call the other day. 

(Not even sure if I had the analogy all worked out)

Later, I thought: “wow that’s actually pretty good.”

Everyone loved my grandma’s blueberry pie.

It was one of her things. 

At family gatherings or church events, someone always asked if she brought the pie.

That pie was part of her reputation.

Here’s the recipe for both (simplified):

1. The crust sets the foundation. Clear values and a point of view give everything else something to stand on.
	
2. The structure keeps it repeatable. A simple framework makes the work sustainable over time.
	
3. The blueberries deliver the value. They’re the reason people remember it and come back.
	
4. The butter adds personality. You can feel the care and intention behind the work.
	
5. The sugar creates connection. It invites conversation and brings people together.
	
6. The lemon juice adds contrast. Stories and lived experience keep it from feeling flat.
	
7. The egg wash finishes the presentation. Details matter when you want to be taken seriously.
	
8. The thickener is consistency. Showing up the same way over time is what builds trust.

*See the instructions below to put it all together. 

She never called it branding, but she built trust the same way strong personal brands are built.

- One clear recipe.
- Executed consistently.
- Long enough that your name becomes shorthand for quality.

That’s how personal brands actually last.

Low engagement doesn’t always mean your content failed.

It usually means the right people are watching quietly.

If you only optimize for visible reactions, you optimize for the wrong audience.

Here’s how to think about who’s actually on the other side of your posts:

The 3 Audiences Reading Your Content

Even heading into 2026, a lot of us are still mentally parked in 2025 (somewhat). 

- Closing loops.
- Tying things up.
- Making sense of what actually happened.

Right now looks a lot like:

• Looking back over performance data
• Following up with leads that went quiet
• Analyzing what worked and what didn’t
• And, of course, going through the books

That last one mattered more than I expected this year.

The margin for “I’ll clean this up later” disappears fast. I wanted clarity and confidence that I wasn’t missing something small that could turn into something painful later.

So I asked for help.

I reached out to We Got Your Books, and it was one of the better decisions I made in 2025.

They had a clean report for me in just a few days (it literally blew my mind). 

If you’re looking for support, reach out to 
Emma Smith.

Clean books change how you think. And how you plan what’s next.

The posts that gets likes and the posts that gets DMs are built for two different jobs.

Applause content feels good.

• Broad advice
• Clean conclusions
• Everyone nods along
• The loop closes

People leave thinking, “That was helpful” and then they move on.

DM-driving content does something else.

• It introduces tension
• It speaks to a specific problem
• It leaves the loop open

Instead of satisfaction, it creates recognition: “That’s exactly what I’m dealing with.”

That’s why posts like: “5 habits of successful CEOs” can rack up engagement…

…but posts like: “Most founders try to fix X, but the real issue is Y” quietly build pipeline.

One resolves curiosity. The other sharpens it.

A few simple shifts that change everything:

• Stop teaching. Start diagnosing.
• Share the what and why. Save the how.
• End with a question only the right person can answer.

This isn’t about tricking people.

It’s about writing content that does the job you actually want it to do.

Applause content has a place. So does DM content.

The mistake is expecting one to do the other’s job.

If you’re posting consistently and not seeing inbound, it’s usually not a volume problem.

It’s a positioning problem.

taplio

The Battle

Dani Kimble

Doug Kennedy

Followers

Posts

Engagements

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Performance ScoreDani Kimble's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDoug Kennedy's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Dani Kimble

Doug Kennedy

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Dani Kimble's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDoug Kennedy's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreDani Kimble's LinkedIn Performance