Story & Lesson Highlights with Kevin Perlmutter of Near New York City

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Kevin Perlmutter. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Kevin, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
I’ve never been one to just accept the status quo. I’m always curious, and I’m strategic. I like to ask questions, gather inputs, consider the context and the desired outcome, and then I like to connect the dots in unexpected ways. If there’s a better way forward, that’s the path I’m taking or recommending.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
In 2019, I decided to forge my own path. For the first time in my life, I was an entrepreneur. I wasn’t walking away from my career as a brand strategist; I was taking the first steps to evolve and improve brand strategy for my entire industry.

After working with my newfound behavioral science mentors, I experienced a massive shift in perspective. Suddenly, I was learning more about how our brains work, and the power of our instinctive emotional responses to everything we encounter throughout our days. I was learning about how our conscious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are largely driven by our subconscious instincts.

For a long time, I was a traditional brand strategist. Once I recognized the inextricable link between emotion and behavior and realized that this is insight that most people leading brands, or consulting for brands, are unaware of. I knew it was time to break free from the status quo – not just for myself, but for my whole industry.

I then created Limbic Sparks Brand Strategy – the non-traditional approach to brand strategy that puts emotional insight at the center of how brands attract and retain customers. It’s all about using emotional insight-rooted brand strategy to create Limbic Sparks – what you feel when your emotional motivation meets brand desire.

Soon after, I wrote and published BRAND DESIRE: Spark Customer Interest Using Emotional Insights. This book puts forth a simple, yet powerful premise: brand leaders who understand and address the emotional motivations of their customers, lead the brands that thrive.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who taught you the most about work?
From my earliest days, I was entrepreneurial. It was my dad who instilled in me a strong work ethic. He taught me that we don’t just get handed things in life, we have to work for them. He encouraged me to work hard in my jobs, and at the same time to be sure to take care of myself. He helped me recognize and crave a sense of pride in accomplishment. My dad’s mentorship fueled my approach toward advancing my career, and has been an underpinning in my career evolution and growth.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Throughout my career, there have been ups and downs. At times, giving up seemed like an easy choice, but it’s never one I seriously considered. In fact, I’ve learned how to make the most of challenging situations – they become my catalyst as I enter a new phase of growth. I always go back to my core values and prioritize my time on what’s most important. Giving up, for me, is not an option, but I’m always open to reevaluating my next move given new context and emerging insights.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Making the transformation from being a traditional brand strategist to one that is championing a behavioral science understanding approach, is the foundation of what I’m doing right now. It came out of the realization that most of my industry is operating with limited insight in the area that matters most – understanding customers and what make them tick.

While so many in my industry – from brand leaders to brand and marketing consultants – think they understand customers, they really don’t at the level they should or could. They rely on surface-level customer profiles, but not a deep understanding of the people’s emotional motivations – the drivers of our decisions and behaviors. They over prioritize what they want people to know about their brand’s offering, and under prioritize knowing what matters most to their customers. They are so busy asking “what’s our why?” that they forget to ask “who’s our who?”.

The result is brand messaging that is less relevant than it could be, marketing that just passes people by, and brand experiences that aren’t helping people feel the way they want to feel. Understanding the emotional motivations of your customers is not just a nice to have for brand leaders, it’s critical input for successful brand and marketing efforts.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
My hope for the work I’m doing today – as a behavioral science-rooted brand strategist and as the author of BRAND DESIRE – is that I will have made a dent on my industry. My focus right now is on evangelizing a new way forward – one that puts emotional insight at the center of how brands attract and retain customers. I’d like to be remembered for helping my industry evolve, with more people embracing a Limbic Sparks Mindset – an approach to brand leadership that uses emotional insight to address how
people want to feel, so their brands more effectively ignite interest and spark desire. It’s why I wrote BRAND DESIRE, and what anyone can learn from it. It will not only help brand leaders be more successful in their roles and their brands be greater drivers of value for their companies, it will help customers have better brand experiences that meaningfully improve their lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.limbicbrandevolution.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinperlmutter/
• Other: https://BrandDesireBook.com