Duolingo CMO on why playing it safe could be killing your brand
Notes de l’épisode
Duolingo has built one of the most distinctive brands in modern marketing, not by playing it safe, but by creating the conditions for its team to move quickly, take risks and occasionally embrace a little chaos.
Manu Orssaud, Duolingo’s Chief Marketing Officer, joins Jon Evans to unpack the strategy behind the brand’s biggest moments: from the apparent death of Duo and its rapid-response iPhone content to a Bad Bunny campaign built at the speed of culture.
But this is not simply a conversation about being funny on social media. Manu explains the culture of trust required to take creative risks, how to sell bolder work into the business, and how Duolingo measures whether marketing is actually working.
They also discuss behavioural science, the limits of brand safety, handling the AI backlash, and why the next phase of Duolingo marketing may involve a little less chaos.
A masterclass in building a culturally relevant brand without losing commercial discipline.
Timestamps
00:00 - Trailer
01:03 - How do you pronounce Hermes?
02:55 - Duolingo’s iPhone Duo response
04:42 - The culture of trust that enables Duolingo to move fast
05:56 - Has Duolingo ever crossed the line with their social content?
07:55 - The benefits of taking risks
10:31 - The impact of the death of Duo
14:11 - Duolingo’s Bad Bunny campaign - moving at the speed of culture
16:28 - The origin story of the Duo brand mascot
23:05 - How Duolingo uses humour
24:12 - Emigre Sponsor
24:50 - How Duolingo tracks marketing performance
26:15 - Selling risky campaigns into the business
27:06 - The next phase of Duolingo marketing - less chaos
30:37 - How Duolingo is managing this transition
32:56 - Behavioural science insights that have grown Duolingo
34:37 - Duolingo’s AI backlash
38:09 - Going against what your shareholders want
43:46 - What makes Manu a successful CMO
47:47 - The power of constraint
48:46 - Duolingo’s 5 second Super Bowl ad
50:27 - The best advice Manu has ever been given
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