Stephen Denny: Consultant + Speaker. We create Giant Killers.
To be specific, we help brands struggling with the, “We’re #2… and we hate it,” trap, spotting macro consumer and work trends and then applying the resulting insights to impact client performance, from go-to-market tactics to higher level marketing strategy.
The roster of companies Denny has consulted for, spoken to, or advised includes Hewlett Packard, Logitech, Leo Burnett, The North Face, Jabra, GN Resound, Barco, Altria, Nuance Imaging, The Motorcycle Industry Council, and others, from start-ups to Global 500 players.
Prior to consulting, he was a 20+ year senior marketing executive at Sony, Onstar, Iomega and Plantronics.
His 2011 book, Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath In Your Industry, is a deep dive into how smaller, nimbler brands out-maneuver the giants they face in the marketplace. Hailed as one of the “10 Books You Have to Read” by Advertising Age, Killing Giants explores how over 30 brands from 13 countries, from the townships of South Africa to Silicon Valley to Brazil to elsewhere, leveraged any one of ten big strategies to not just survive, but thrive in true “red ocean” conditions. This is a big part of how we create Giant Killers.
“Some of the best stories in the book describe triumphs by small, foreign companies that understand their own turf. For example, during apartheid, South African cosmetics maker Black Like Me produced marketing that recognized the misery of township life. Search engine Baidu plays to its customers’ sense of identity by reminding them it’s stronger than Google in Chinese.” – Inc. Magazine
https://www.inc.com/magazine/20110401/book-review-killing-giants.html
“I jumped at the opportunity to read Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry, and why I am glad to report Stephen Denny not only knows what it’s like to be the small guy up against monster-sized competitors, but has valuable insights for us all.” – Advertising Age
https://adage.com/node/1260351/printable/print
His newest book, Unfiltered Marketing: 5 Rules to Win Back Trust, Credibility, and Customers in a Digitally Distracted World, is based on five years of global research, and presents a modern-day blueprint for leaders competing for attention and trust in a technologically immersed age.
“Denny and Leinberger will take you on a journey of personal and professional transformation to help you help those who matter most. You’ll learn how to rehumanize engagement with an audience of audiences. The result is the cultivation of a more meaningful and productive community where trust, truth, and the value of connection thrive once again.” – Brian Solis – Digital Anthropologist, Optimist, Human Being and author of Lifescale
https://www.briansolis.com/tag/unfiltered/
“Denny and Leinberger capture the profound truths and deep realities of leading and marketing in a rapidly evolving world of digital platforms. The raw transparency we are experiencing through these platforms change the game entirely. It’s no longer a manipulative ‘battle for the mind’ as Trout and Ries once said. It’s a battle for hearts and raw conscience.” – Blake Irving, former CEO of GoDaddy
He has lived and worked in both the US and Japan, has an MBA from the Wharton School, and lives just south of Denver, CO.