Brand and performance · Episode 60 · Season 4 · ·
Brand Building Starts with Story and Technology Serves That Purpose
Darren D'Altorio, SVP of Paid Media at Wpromote, on why studying journalism and falling in love with Nike as a kid shaped his conviction that great marketing is fundamentally storytelling, why human emotion is the unchanging constant beneath all technological change, and how to keep the spirit of curiosity and creativity alive in a performance-driven world.
Darren D’Altorio, SVP of Paid Media, Wpromote. In conversation with John Horsley.
Brand Building Starts with Story and Technology Serves That Purpose
0:0040:00Why journalism, Nike, and the unchanging nature of human emotion are the foundation of great performance marketing
Darren D'Altorio grew up picking golf balls out of the rough and selling them back to golfers, found his way into social media marketing through web analytics at a TV station, taught himself Facebook Ads and Google AdWords, and has been at Wpromote since 2013. He leads the paid media organisation across 200-plus clients spanning CPG, retail, and consumer brands.
In this conversation he argues that while the technology of marketing changes constantly, the human emotion that drives purchasing decisions does not. Great brands stand for something, inspire a feeling of purpose and belonging, and build communities around a story. That conviction, rooted in his journalism background and the brand love he developed for Nike as a kid, is the throughline beneath all the performance marketing complexity.
What shaped your philosophy on how brands should show up online?
“I studied journalism and for me building a brand is really about telling a story and having a community that feels like they are part of something bigger than the individual. Great brands stand for something, inspire, create a feeling of purpose and belonging. I think about Nike. I drew the Nike swoosh on every notebook as a kid.”
The journalism background and the Nike love story are the two pillars.
What stays constant as social evolves?
“The technology changes, marketing gets conflated with data, everything is data-led. But humans really do not evolve at the same pace as technology. Our minds, the way we make decisions, root back and tie back to emotions. What has largely remained the same is that the work we do is a human powered endeavour for humans on the receiving end.”
The unchanging anchor beneath all the platform evolution.
What concerns you about AI and avatar influencers?
“You are starting to now see content that is avatar-based influencers. There is a real paradigm shift in what is reality and how we perceive it. At a philosophical level that is an interesting debate. But in a pure business context, it is always powerful to remember that people want to feel inspired and have emotional connection and resonance.”
The commercial consequence of the philosophical question.
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“I started at a TV station working on content production and got into web analytics. Taught myself Facebook Ads, Google AdWords. Joined Wpromote in 2013. But the through-line was always the same: the brand story and the emotional connection. Technology made it more measurable. It did not change what it was for.”
The consistent thread from TV station to paid media leader.
How do you keep the creative spirit alive in a performance world?
“We try to keep that fun spirit in this business and have fun with our clients and drive results. I really want to help brands go inward and understand who are you, what do you stand for, how do you want to attract and build that community. Then translating that through the tools and tactics. The joy is in marrying the story to the data.”
The balance that defines his approach to performance marketing.
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Read the full transcript
Lightly edited for readability
John Horsley What shaped your philosophy on how brands should show up?
Darren D’Altorio I studied journalism. Building a brand is about telling a story and building a community around something bigger than the individual. Great brands stand for something. Nike. I drew the swoosh on every notebook as a kid. That is emotional memory. That is what good branding creates.
John Horsley What stays constant as technology changes?
Darren D’Altorio Humans do not evolve at the same pace as technology. Our decisions are rooted in emotions. That never changes. The work we do is a human powered endeavour for humans on the receiving end. Technology is in service of that truth. It does not replace it.
