Asterios Kokkinos, a freelance creative director and copywriter who works in the advertising industry, joins me on this episode of We Built This Brand to discuss one of the most challenging and critical elements of building a brand - getting people to pay attention to you. Asterios shares how he was able to break into advertising through his stand-up comedy career, and how humor not only helps develop effective content but also drives relationships and projects forward. We also discuss the risks brands take when advertising in a highly-politicized culture, and the different strategies brands will take to either mitigate or embrace risk depending on their positioning. Asterios also gives an insightful look into his creative process, including the approach he takes for effective B2B sales copy that makes it the easiest form of content for him to create.

**Highlights**

(00:00) Intro
(01:29) Chris introduces Asterios, who is a freelance copywriter and creative director in advertising
(03:00) How Asterios wound up going from stand-up comedy to advertising
(07:11) Asterios explains how creating a viral video comes with inherent risk
(12:34) How positioning can reduce or even eliminate the risk of traditional advertising
(14:29) Chris and Asterios discuss the recent Bud Light controversy and the phenomenon of seeing market leaders struggle in our fast-moving culture
(21:42) Asterios describes how so-called “edgy” brands are using the illusion of edge, but not actually risking controversy
(24:23) Chris and Asterios discuss the political minefields that exist in advertising today and how risk is often avoided by the fact that most advertising ideas don’t come to fruition
(28:41) Asterios’ creative process for coming up with advertising pitches
(32:49) How Asterios approaches sales content writing and why he feels it’s the easiest content to write
(39:45) Asterios’ favorite brand right now and why he feels their advertising strategy strikes a good balance

**About Asterios**

Asterios Kokkinos is an advertising creative with nearly fifteen years of experience writing for the biggest companies on the planet. He enjoys Babylon 5, yelling at the TV with his elderly father, and naps.

**Links Referenced**

‣ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asterioskokkinos/
‣ The Loudest Podcast: https://www.asteriospodcasts.com/
‣ Loudest Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@theloudestpodcast