Who killed Duo? How Duolingo built a brand on entertainment
Uncensored CMO23 Apr 2025

Who killed Duo? How Duolingo built a brand on entertainment

Today, I’m joined by James Kuczynski, Creative Director at Duolingo, and Dan Salkey, Founding Partner at Small World, for a conversation on how to build truly entertaining brands.

Fresh off their SXSW panel titled "Entertain or Die", named after a report by Small World, we explore how Duolingo has built such a standout brand, particularly through the rise (and death...) of their iconic mascot, Duo.

In the first half of the episode, I chat with James about Duolingo’s brand success, why they decided to "kill off" their beloved mascot, and how giving creative autonomy to their team has been key to their growth. In the second half, I speak with Dan about the most entertaining brands in the world today—and the specific traits you can apply to make your own brand more entertaining.

Download the Entertain or Die report here.

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:47 - Part 1: James Kuczynski from Duolingo
01:22 - James’ background in marketing
03:23 - How James joined Duolingo
04:18 - What is Duolingo
06:34 - How Duolingo has used gamification to help people learn languages
09:47 - How is AI enhancing Duolingo?
11:20 - Is AI a threat to Duolingo?
12:13 - Why Duolingo created “Duo”, their mascot
15:47 - How the Duolingo owl evolved
17:56 - Duolingo’s April fools plans
20:00 - Why Duolingo killed off their mascot
23:57 - The results of Duo killing their mascot
25:08 - How partnerships have played a role in the success of Duolingo
28:02 - How Duo is bigger than A-list celebrities
29:26 - How Duolingo built such a huge social media following
32:08 - The importance of being in-house for growing Duolingo
33:17 - How Duolingo hires social media talent
34:34 - The thing that makes Duolingo stand out
36:32 - Part 2: Dan Salkey from Small World
37:15 - Why Small World created the Entertain or Die report
38:57 - How they identified the most entertaining brands on the planet
39:30 - What brands are the most entertaining?
40:41 - Why the most boring categories have most space to innovate
42:35 - The entertainment gap
44:07 - How can brands be more entertaining?
49:54 - Final advice on how brands can be more entertaining

Episoder(253)

Marketing the world’s most successful video games from Call of Duty to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater - Tyler Bahl, Activision

Marketing the world’s most successful video games from Call of Duty to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater - Tyler Bahl, Activision

In partnership with NBCUniversal, we sit down with Tyler Bahl, CMO of Activision, to explore what it takes to market some of the world’s most successful games, from Call of Duty to Tony Hawk Pro Skate...

30 Jul 202543min

Marketing secret sauce with Kraft Heinz CMO Todd Kaplan

Marketing secret sauce with Kraft Heinz CMO Todd Kaplan

In this episode, produced in partnership with NBCUniversal, we sit down with Todd Kaplan, CMO of Kraft Heinz, to uncover the marketing “secret sauce” behind some of the world’s most iconic brands. Tod...

23 Jul 202530min

How Guinness became No.1, the power of sporting partnerships & the “Diageo way” to build brands - Grainne Wafer

How Guinness became No.1, the power of sporting partnerships & the “Diageo way” to build brands - Grainne Wafer

In partnership with NBCUniversal, we sit down with Grainne Wafer, Global Category Director (Beer, Vodka, Liqueurs) at Diageo, to explore how one of the world’s biggest drinks companies drives growth a...

16 Jul 202535min

Why advertising is broken & how to fix it - Tom Goodwin

Why advertising is broken & how to fix it - Tom Goodwin

To celebrate 200 episodes, Tom Goodwin is back on Uncensored CMO. He's got a pretty strong opinion on the state of advertising. It's broken, and we need to fix it. Tom lays out where he thinks it's al...

14 Jul 202538min

e.l.f’s $1Bn Rhode deal, 25 quarters of growth & the ‘So Many Dicks’ campaign - Kory Marchisotto

e.l.f’s $1Bn Rhode deal, 25 quarters of growth & the ‘So Many Dicks’ campaign - Kory Marchisotto

In partnership with NBCUniversal, we sit down with Kory Marchisotto, CMO of e.l.f. Beauty, to unpack a 25 quarters of consecutive growth. From their bold “So Many Dicks” campaign to the $1B Rhode deal...

9 Jul 202539min

Why AI will be a creative game changer - Simon Morris, Adobe

Why AI will be a creative game changer - Simon Morris, Adobe

Simon Morris is Adobe’s VP of International Marketing, joins us to share how Adobe is empowering creativity at scale. We discuss the impact of AI on marketing, why creativity will always need human sk...

7 Jul 202531min

How to build a brand on TikTok - Sofia Hernandez

How to build a brand on TikTok - Sofia Hernandez

In collaboration with TikTok, System1 have launched a new research paper called "The Long and the Short Form of It", explaining how brands can navigate and excel in this of this new world of short for...

2 Jul 202533min

From CMO to CEO - advice from The Marketing Academy founder Sherilyn Shackell

From CMO to CEO - advice from The Marketing Academy founder Sherilyn Shackell

After 20 unhappy years as a headhunter, it took a near death experience for Sherilyn Shackell to launch The Marketing Academy, a non-profit organisation developing leadership talent in marketing. Laun...

25 Jun 202559min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
finansredaksjonen
pengepodden-2
pengesnakk
utbytte
rss-sunn-okonomi
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
liberal-halvtime
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
lederpodden
rss-politisk-preik
okonomiamatorene
rss-markedspuls-2