Rising Stars: Meet Brandon Wasserburger

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Wasserburger.

Hi Brandon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve always had a passion for storytelling and I’m the son of an artist and an engineer so filmmaking was an excellent application of those two ways of thinking. I started my career in television, editing footage into what people see on TV. My work is on Netflix, the History Channel, HGTV, and others.

But my passion has always been with branded storytelling and gaining measurable results for organizations – especially ones driven by some kind of passionate mission to help humanity. So while I was in TV I started building a company on the side called Fire Tribe that took techniques from the entertainment world that captivate audiences and applied them to nonprofits and businesses around the country.

Fire Tribe has been in operation for over 10 years, and our work has touched multiple countries by shaping culture, helping raise hundreds of millions for nonprofits, and driving measurable sales for businesses. Today, my passion is to do this all from the Rockies. We serve a lot of Wyoming and Colorado, and I love the culture and rugged backdrop. It really moves my heart that I get to do what I do so close to where my grandparents and family used to farm and go to school.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Being able to do what I was born to do has certainly come with its pitfalls. I quickly became a workaholic and neglected my family severely.

Video editing requires a tremendous amount of time and mental energy. If you aren’t good at managing your time and lack the maturity to prioritize the people and relationships God puts in your life over selfish ambition you will inevitably inflict tremendous damage on your relationships and cause deep hurts.

That’s what I did. And I deeply regret this. So much time lost and wasted. But all I can do now is try not to repeat that and thank God my family has stuck with me despite my blunders.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I make what I call “video content systems” for brands. And I run a crew of people to do that. Many video production companies and videographers will make a video for a client, but that’s it. No follow-up, no focus on ROI. Just making pretty things. That’s rarely set well with me. I feel like in the age of social media we should be asking much more from our video content because everything is measurable.

So what really sets me and my company apart is we start with having extreme empathy for our clients and what they are trying to do from a business perspective (i.e. Grow, increase sales, re-brand, or just become a known authority). All of that is doable and measurable with video. The other thing we really focus on is combining an ultra cinematic and emotionally gripping style (TV techniques) with smartphone social media styles.

We do this because the “high art” we make, which clients hire us for and get excited about, isn’t always what is going to help them make more sales. Sometimes that just helps build their brand. They need smartphone footage paired with produced content to give them plenty to A/B test in a campaign.

Lastly, we have a crack marketing team that places all of the content we make in front of the eyes of the target audience. So we lead with empathy and design our content around client goals (elevating their brand with emotional storytelling and elevating sales with candid smartphone content). And distribute that content through paid and organic strategies.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
Apps:

– Google Task App
Helps me prioritize and capture tasks before I forget as well as helps me get my mind off work by dumping tasks that come to mind straight in.

Books:

– The Bible
Thousands of years of wisdom on how to connect with God, and lead with love and service while being a faulty human being is a pretty solid guide. I highly recommend it, even to the non-religious.

– Donald Miller
Storyboard, Business Made Simple, Marketing Made Simple, Blue Like Jazz
Anything this guy writes helps my business of storytelling and life.

Podcasts:

Jocko Podcast. Great for personal growth. Best ideas: Taking extreme ownership of your life, and discipline equals freedom.

Jordan Peterson. Brilliant philosophical and psychological insights into history, relationships, and life overall.

Lex Fridman Podcast. Fascinating interviews and debates that are actually fruitful for building a better humanity where everyone has a voice even someone you disagree with. It’s compassion, empathy, and anti-cancel culture all at work. It’s a beautiful podcast that everyone should listen to. Lex respectfully interviews people from all sides of the aisle in long-form to pull their full perspectives out and let viewers/listeners decide what ideas they agree with or don’t. So so good.

Taylor Welch. Marketing consultant with pretty solid content.

Pricing:

• Our projects start at $6,500
• Full Content Systems with Distribution: Starts at $8,000 per month

Contact Info:

• Website: www.firetribe.tv
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firetribevideo?igsh=dnluZDg3bGVvbXJ1&utm_source=qrP
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/firetribepro?mibextid=opq0tG
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-wasserburger-70894a81?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app