Brand Connections
Authentic Relationships That Drive Results
Cultural intelligence meets strategic execution. Josh decodes what makes audiences tick, then builds bridges between brands and communities.
Connection isn't a metric you can buy or a KPI you can optimize. It's the moment when someone sees your brand and thinks, "Oh, these people get it." When your message doesn't just reach them—it recognizes them.
The difference between brands that blend into the noise and brands that become part of people's identity stories? Understanding that connection happens in the gap between what people say they want and what they actually need to hear.
Josh doesn't build brand awareness. They build brand resonance—the kind that makes consumers become advocates, employees become ambassadors, and partnerships become platforms for cultural change.
The Connection Paradox: Why Trying Harder Makes You Less Relatable
Here's the thing about brand connection that most marketers get backwards: authenticity can't be performed. The harder you try to be relatable, the more you sound like that friend who laughs too loud at their own jokes.
Real connection comes from understanding the cultural psychology behind why people connect with brands in the first place. It's not about being likable—it's about being useful in the context of how people actually live their lives.
The Thrive Global Case Study: When Wellness Means Different Things to Different Humans
At Thrive Global, Josh faced a challenge that perfectly illustrates the connection paradox. Same company, same wellness mission, but two completely different audiences who needed to hear entirely different hero stories.
For consumer-facing campaigns, brands wanted to position their products as personal wellness enablers. The narrative: "This smoothie/app/supplement seamlessly adds wellness benefits to your already-great life." The consumer is the hero; the product is the sidekick.
For employee-facing wellness programs, those same brands needed to be the caring employers who provide comprehensive wellness programs because they genuinely care about their people's holistic wellbeing. Here, the company is the hero; the employee is the beneficiary.
The strategic insight: Connection isn't about having one authentic brand voice—it's about understanding which facet of your authentic identity resonates with each audience's specific psychological needs.
The Cultural Intelligence Factor: Reading the Room at Scale
Brand connection in 2025 requires something most marketers don't have: the ability to read cultural currents at scale. It's not enough to know what your audience demographics want—you need to understand how they're feeling about themselves, their world, and their relationship to brands right now.
The Trevor Project Transformation: From Crisis Brand to Joy Platform
When Josh repositioned Trevor Project from crisis intervention to affirmation and joy, they weren't just changing messaging—they were reading the cultural moment.
LGBTQ+ youth were tired of only seeing their community in contexts of struggle and trauma. The media landscape was saturated with "It Gets Better" messaging that, while well-intentioned, reinforced the narrative that being LGBTQ+ meant enduring pain until some distant future when it might get easier.
Josh's cultural intelligence insight: young people weren't just surviving—many were thriving. They needed brands that celebrated their joy, not just acknowledged their struggles.
40% brand awareness increase
The connection outcome: LGBTQ+ youth finally saw themselves reflected in marketing that recognized their full humanity—their struggles and their superpowers.
The Hero Narrative Evolution: Who's the Main Character?
One of the sneakiest aspects of brand connection is understanding who gets to be the hero in your brand story. Get this wrong, and your messaging feels either patronizing or self-congratulatory. Get it right, and your audience sees themselves in your success.
The Dual Wellness Heroes Strategy at Thrive Global
Josh mastered something most marketers struggle with: code-switching between hero narratives based on audience psychology.
Consumer Hero Narrative: "You're already someone who makes thoughtful choices. Our product just makes those choices easier to sustain." The consumer is the protagonist; the brand is the helpful supporting character.
Corporate Hero Narrative: "We're the kind of company that invests in our people's wellbeing because it's the right thing to do—and because it drives better business outcomes." The company is the protagonist; the employee experience is the proof point.
"The genius of this approach: it avoided the trap of trying to be everything to everyone by instead being the right thing to each specific audience. Different heroes, same underlying values."
The Connection Architecture: How Relationships Actually Scale
Most brands think about connection as a volume game—reach more people, create more touchpoints, generate more engagement. But sustainable brand connection works more like network effects: the right connection with the right people amplifies exponentially.
The Prevention Philosophy That Changed Everything
At Trevor Project, Josh pioneered what they call "prevention over intervention" strategy. Instead of just reaching LGBTQ+ youth in crisis, they focused on affirming young people before they ever reached a crisis point.
But here's the connection multiplier: they didn't just expand their direct audience. They equipped the adults closest to LGBTQ+ youth—parents, teachers, coaches, mentors—with tools to create affirming environments.
The strategic insight: instead of trying to reach every LGBTQ+ young person individually, reach the people who influence their daily experience. Create brand connection at the community level, not just the individual level.
The amplification effect: Every adult they equipped to be more affirming could impact multiple young people. Every teacher who learned inclusive language could transform an entire classroom dynamic.
The Measurement Challenge: What Connection Actually Looks Like
Here's where most brands get connection wrong: they measure awareness when they should be measuring advocacy. They track engagement when they should be tracking emotional investment.
Real brand connection creates what Josh calls "identity integration"—when people don't just buy your product or support your cause, but see your brand as part of their own story.
• Young people started sharing Trevor content during celebrations, not just crises
• Parents began proactively seeking Trevor resources before problems emerged
• Partner brands approached Trevor for collaboration, not just sponsorship
• The organization became synonymous with LGBTQ+ joy, not just survival
The 23% purchase intent increase among female Millennials wasn't just about wanting the product—it was about seeing Chanel as a brand that understood their values and aesthetic without pandering.
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Transform Your Brand Connections Strategy
Ready to elevate your brand connections approach? Let's discuss how Josh's expertise can drive real results for your organization.