Adam Belmont Podcast Transcript
Adam Belmont joins host Brian Thomas on The Digital Executive Podcast.
Brian Thomas: Welcome to Coruzant Technologies home of The Digital Executive Podcast.
Do you work in emerging tech, working on something innovative? Maybe an entrepreneur? Apply to be a guest at www.coruzant.com/brand.
Welcome to The Digital Executive. Today’s guest is Adam Belmont. Adam Belmont is a senior public relations and strategic communications executive helping brands across all industries build relevance, credibility, and momentum in the US market.
A trusted advisor to founders and leadership teams. Adam is known for bringing clarity to complex stories and turning strategy into communications that actually land. Throughout his career, Adam has led high impact PR and communication programs spanning executive visibility, national media relations, product and service launches, cultural storytelling and trend-driven campaigns. He pairs strong strategic instincts with a hands-on approach, equally comfortable shaping the big picture or rolling up the sleeves to execute every element of a communications plan.
Well, good afternoon, Adam. Welcome to the show.
Adam Belmont: Thank you so much. Pleasure to be here.
Brian Thomas: Absolutely my friend. You bet. Appreciate that.
We’re in the same time zone today. You’re in Dallas. I’m in Kansas City, which makes it nice. I’m usually traverse in the globe, so I appreciate that. Adam, I’m gonna jump.
Adam Belmont: Yeah, practically neighbors here.
Brian Thomas: practically just a few hour drive and I’ve done that before. So. Adam, jumping into your first question, you help brands build relevance and credibility in an increasingly crowded US media landscape.
What’s the biggest mistake companies make when trying to get their story out there?
Adam Belmont: Yeah, I mean, I think that the biggest mistake is companies talking about themselves instead of talking about the people they’re trying to connect with. So just like at I think about any social gathering, most people drift away from the person who only talks.
Talks about themselves. And the same thing happens with brands. Companies need to figure out why anyone should care about them in the first place and simply existing is not enough. So in thinking about having to position how to position yourself as a relevant and as relevant and as a solution to something that people are actively navigating in their lives and businesses.
I think another common mistake is hiding behind the company name too. So at the end of the day, people buy from people and brands that empower their leaders and team members to show up as humans build far more influence and trust. And I actually like see this on LinkedIn all the time. I don’t know about you Brian, but like post from businesses and the business handles fall flat.
But post from the team members who share their lived experience on that same thing have much greater potential and opportunity for connection. So I think there’s a, a big takeaway there just in terms of just being outside of yourself and, and how to humanize what you’re doing a little bit more.
Brian Thomas: Thank you. I appreciate that. And you’re absolutely right. It’s, you gotta get out there, you gotta tell your story and build that trust. You can’t hide behind the company name. And we’ve talked about that a lot here on the podcast. You’re a hundred percent right. People buy from people because they trust people, people they can resonate with hear their story and understand who that person is.
Hiding behind a company name is, is not the way to go. Absolutely agree. So I appreciate your insights and Adam, as a trusted advisor to founders and leadership teams, where do you see the biggest disconnect between business strategy and communication strategy?
Adam Belmont: That’s a good one. I think the biggest disconnect happens when communication is brought in after the business strategy has already been decided.
So too often communications teams are asked to execute a strategy rather than help shape it from the beginning. So, really all teams, including communications, every, all the functions received at the same table when the goals are being defined. Strategy is being laid out. And business strategy and communication strategy and all the other strategies, they don’t live in a vacuum.
They all influence each tether. And when communications doesn’t have a voice in those early conversations potential impact is always left on the table. So, I just think that strongest, the strongest organizations understand that how you position something is just as important as what you’re building.
Brian Thomas: Absolutely. Gosh, we could go through a thousand examples here as far as projects, rollout strategies, and you gotta have this, those big stakeholders, really all your stakeholders involved in that business strategy when you’re building that. And as you mentioned, if you don’t have a communications strategy or the communications representative there, when you’re building the business strategy again, destined to, to fail on that particular strategy.
So, I appreciate that. And Adam, many companies still treat PR as a reactive function. How should leaders think about communications as a proactive growth and positioning stool instead?
Adam Belmont: Yeah, I mean, I think communications isn’t something you should think about only when something is broken or when a company finds itself in hot water or a crisis situation. I like that. It shouldn’t operate like a maintenance light that comes on. In the car when there’s a problem. And honestly, sometimes I’m guilty of it. Most people, even when the engine light is on, they still ignore it for, for some time.
So communication at the end of the day is designed to be a steady, always on engine that hums in the background and, and sometimes moves to the foreground.
But all of it together consistently builds momentum and credibility over time. So it’s and I think sometimes also the best communications doesn’t always feel like something proactive like, oh, it is just kind of, when it’s working, it’s working and it’s, and, and it, it doesn’t always have to be loud.
And when done well though it compounds, you know, the impact grows, reputation grows. But it, it doesn’t always have to scream itself from the rooftops. Which sometimes I think it can make it a dis deceiving in the sense of, of if it’s working or not, or what’s happening, and I think also with the infusion of the, of AI communications matters even more.
And what others say about your company now directly influences search results. Generative summaries that that pop up. So I mean, there’s no stronger validation than credible third party commentary. And the AI platforms out there are increasingly prioritizing exactly that.
Brian Thomas: Absolutely. AI is just, per proliferation of AI is incredible. And you’re right now, and I’ve had guests on talked about, SEO and now it’s AI, SEO, and there are a lot of other things that influence,
Adam Belmont: yeah, GEO Generative,
Brian Thomas: yeah. Engine
Adam Belmont: Optimization, right?
Brian Thomas: Yeah. So that is important, but I liked how you highlighted reactive versus proactive. Calm shouldn’t be something that you just focus on during a crisis or when, as a, the. Proverbial word when crap hits the fan, right? It’s important that you are proactive and you integrate your daily comms as part of that process and strategy.
So, I appreciate that. And Adam, the last question of the day as we look ahead, what will separate brands that truly break through from those that get lost in the noise, especially as AI generated content and media saturation continue to rise?
Adam Belmont: Yeah, I mean, it’s just getting more and more competitive out there, Brian. I mean the, the brands that breakthrough will be the ones that prioritize communications like we’ve been talking about here. Long term, rather than treating it as a short term tactic, they’ll treat communications as a core BI function, not as an afterthought.
They’ll invest in clarity and credibility instead of simply producing more content. We don’t need more content out there all the time. There’s not, there’s an overload of content it has to it. Putting out content is not enough. It has to be something. Interesting. It has to be something that cuts through in some way.
It can’t just be more busy for busy’s sake. And the companies that, that will be successful will empower the real human voices within their organizations to show up, help build authority, help be a help, be an advocate for the company, but in a, in a way that only humans can be. And I think they’ll, they’ll recognize that the communications and PR strategies, again, increasingly influence how AI models interpret, how they surface, how they validate their brand in the marketplace.
So, you know, AI is far from the enemy, but there’s certain ways to leverage it as well. So it, it can work for you and not against you.
Brian Thomas: Absolutely. And again, we talked about AI just a few minutes ago, but you’ve gotta have AI as part of your, your comm strategy and, and understand how that is working. You talked about how brands that are gonna break through are the ones that prioritize their communications, treated as a core business function as, as we talked about.
And your communication and messaging needs to have meaning and not just put out content out there and just add to the noise. So I really appreciate your insights. And Adam, it was such a pleasure having you on today, and I look forward to speaking with you real soon.
Adam Belmont: Yeah, thank you, Brian. It was great chatting with you. Talk soon.
Brian Thomas: Bye for now.
Adam Belmont Podcast Transcript. Listen to the audio on the guest’s Podcast Page.
