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On this episode of Into The Scrum, Doug catches up with Jeff after his 10-day soccer tour of England and Wales. They pair talk about pitching with passion, how and why Toyota came on board to sponsor Jeff's road trip, the importance and necessity for shifting your brand away from dad content and toward individual interests, and finally they tease out an upcoming Dad 2.0 Summit sponsor announcement. Also, VOTE!

After a quick chat about where Jeff has been (with Toyota in Texas on assignment for Gunaxin) and where he's going next (England to binge watch live soccer), Doug kicks off a discussion about the rise in social media marketing budgetary spending after reading a new Marketing Week article. He also talks about scrubbing off the dead skin on Twitter to see who is going to hang around to listen and who was only around for a follow. Jeff then asks a question about the future of social media that cannot be answered: do kids give a crap about social media and are they evolving to tune out sponsored content on social?

Happy Labor Day, influencers! On this episode, Doug and Jeff talk about our oldest kids working and working with our kid(s) on sponsored trips and campaigns. Toward the end of the chat, Jeff offers some practical real life tips on empowering kids to take ownership of their lives and or family life both at home and on the road.   Feedback welcome @IntoTheScrum on Twitter or email ListenToTheScrum@gmail.com

After a two month summer break, Doug and Jeff are back in Into The Scrum Towers to record the 25th episode of the podcast that attempts to life all dad blogger boats. They pair recap their summer adventures (including Jeff's Hanes x National Park job booked during Dad 2.0 in NOLA), look ahead to the University of Maryland chapter of Camp Kesem that Doug, Jeff and the #Dads4Kesem crew helped to launch during their Hadrian's Wall hike in July of 2016, and announce the Dad 2.019 Call for Speakers!

This week, Doug and Jeff talk about the Dove Men+Care #DearFutureDads campaign run by the City Dads Group, the Dad 2.0 Summit $169 Father's Day sale and the 15 billion dollars spent on dads this year. Jeff reminds dad bloggers who booked gigs this month to follow up with those brands and PR reps to stay top of mind for the next campaign(s)!

This week, Doug and Jeff use a Stephen Colbert sponsored bit for T-Mobile from 4 years ago as a starting point for a discussion that aims to encourage content creators to push the envelope a little more to take sponsored content into brand new places. Tell us about your most ambitious creative pitch! Hit us up on Twitter and Facebook!

Doug & Jeff sit down with One Good Dad's Mr. Jason Greene to talk about the Mom 2.0 Summit experience. Jason's been to three, including the most recent in Pasadena earlier this month, and already bought his ticket for 2019 in Austin, so we wanted to know: why is a dad blogger making the significant investment to attend Mom 2.0? And more importantly, what are you wearing?! Talk back to us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

ITS is legal here in the states and we use our newfound freedom to discuss the best practices, evergreen debate, and the relative struggle to compete in a modern blogger business world regularly using sharing circles, click clubs, and follow-for-follow schemes to artificially boost social media amplification, stats, and engagement. Are we crazy for suggesting that the puritanical path isn't the most perfect way forward to grow, be seen, be paid and be professional? React to this episode on Twitter and Facebook!

The ITS duo pick up with Doug recanting his experience at the Erma Bombeck Writer's Workshop in Dayton which springs the idea of a Pitch-a-Palooza at Dad 2.0, a constructive event for guys to hone and harness the power of their personal elevator pitch. Jeff then talks about his time in San Diego with the #KiaFamily and tees up his next adventure on the new Carnival Horizon ship in Europe before giving advice on turning one great thing into many. Tweet us your thoughts on the show @IntoTheScrum!

The special guest on Into The Scrum this week is John Dominguez, Product Communications and Social Media Manager for Kia Motors America. John talks with Doug & Jeff about how his American Studies major in college, love of music, and unconventional route to marketing has helped guide his career as well as his wildly successful #KiaFamily influencer program. You'll also discover what John looks for in a storyteller and influencer, how you might come to work with Kia, why Kia has doubled down as a sponsor of Mom 2.0 and the Iris Awards (the nominations for which are announced this week), and which year was the best year in the history of music. Tweet us your thoughts on the show @IntoTheScrum!

On this episode of ITS Doug and Jeff interview LunchboxDad.com's Beau Coffron. The three discuss Beau's foray into blogging and social media, and how he successfully balances family life, blog life, and work life. Beau also shares his experience working with some of the biggest brands in the world, investing in himself and his business, and the small details that separate him from the competition. Finally, Beau shares some Instagram and Facebook tips and tricks with Into The Scrum listeners. Find Beau Coffron at LunchboxDad.com and on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Doug and Jeff talk about how some of the best dad blogs (and dad-owned brands like The PopLyfe Shop) have grown to showcase fatherhood as a lifestyle...and have found that a very marketable thing indeed! Jeff talks about his recent Instagram Story Takeover of the Fatherly account and a month long IG project with a photography brand, and announces an Instagram specialist as the first ITS guest! Send your questions to us via email, Twitter or Facebook for Lunchbox Dad Beau Coffron who will be appearing on episode 18 (March 19th) to talk about fatherhood as a lifestyle, juggling a 'job job' with a successful side hustle and a family, Instagram for business, Facebook growth tactics, or anything else you'd like to know!

Doug and Jeff convene at the Soho Grand Hotel in NYC to record the first ever live, in-person episode of Into The Scrum (please forgive the shaky audio). During the 32 minutes chat, they recap a wildly successful Dad 2.0 in New Orleans, discuss the forthcoming Nintendo Labo add-ons for the Nintendo Switch gaming system (the reason Jeff was in the big city), and urge our fellow dad bloggers and influencers to let the good times roll post NOLA Dad 2.0 but to keep on getting after it in their 2018 entrepreneurial pursuits!

Doug and Jeff chat one last time before convening at Dad 2.0 in New Orleans, about a recent Washington Post article discussing 'the end of authenticity' in mom blogging, what it means for online dad influencers and storytellers, and how the timing of this piece by The Post couldn't be more perfect as the Kiadvisory panel takes shape 72 hours out from the Summit at the Ritz-Carlton in the French Quarter. Into music by John Cullimore of Chibi Kodama.

As the Dad 2.0 team of Doug, John, Samuel and others put the finishing touches on the 2018 edition of the annual Summit, Jeff and Doug give Into the Scrum listeners a sneak peek of one of the exciting new panel discussions happening in New Orleans on the afternoon of February 2nd 2018. The Kiadvisory Brand Relationship conversation will feature our own Jeff Bogle and Doug French on the dais along with Kia's John Dominguez, Shelley VanWitzenburg from A Magical Mess and Jessi Sanfilippo, co-founder of Totally Profesh and proprietor of SHUGGILIPPO. On this episode, we talk about what we'll be talking about on that panel. We also get Doug's hot take on whether Die Hard, Die Hard 2 and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas are indeed Christmas movies, hear about Jeff's wish for a bread-free plate full of cheesesteak meat, and briefly touch on a disappointed day of sports in the Wonderful World of Jeff. Opening theme music by Chibi Kodama.

On the final Into the Scrum of 2017, Doug and Jeff talk about the peaks and valleys along the path of a professional blogger, and about how slow periods can be used to spur on change. Doug quotes Winston Churchill about kites flying higher into the wind, and Jeff realizes that he's going to be okay, nay, better for having struggled at the end of '17. Jeff would like to write more like he did in this piece about a Manchester United football match and he will build a living byline resume web presence, like Michael J Solender's, to more easily sell himself as a freelance writer capable to covering any number of topics for publications and digital outlets. Now we want to hear from you! What's your dad blogger resolution for 2018? Share with us on social media and we might read out your response! Tweet @IntoTheScrum, share with us on Facebook and check us out on Instagram. Email the show at ListenToTheScrum@gmail.com.

Doug recaps the many successes of Giving Tuesday and Grateful November, and Jeff talks about how he pitches tourism boards and brands, being mindful of telling an engaging story of the unique story he wants to tell. Jeff then threatens to quit the show as Doug disrespects his favorite sport! Tweet @IntoTheScrum. Interact with Into The Scrum on Facebook and check us out on Instagram. Email the show at ListenToTheScrum@gmail.com.

On this very special Thanksgiving edition of Into The Scrum, Doug and Jeff shout out the special men and women who have, through sheer generosity and kindness of heart, helped pave their weird, winding and sometimes wild paths through the blogging, social media, and conference creation worlds. We encourage everyone listening to take to a public platform (or do so in private, if you wish) to make sure your special people know that and why they are special! Who has helped you get a gig, get better at your gig, made a key introduction, or simply edited all your spelling errors that one time? We're spreading the #Grateful love on social media this week, Gratitude Week! Tag @IntoTheScrum on Twitter with your #Grateful tweets! Opening music by Chibi Kodama.

On this episode of Into the Scrum, Doug & Jeff talk about the need to push ourselves out of our comfort zones. Doug recommends using November to move forward into new territories in our personal and professional lives. Jeff talks about how he finally did just that by sending out his 1st picture book manuscript to literary agents. Tweet @IntoTheScrum to tell us what you want to accomplish this month. Interact with Into The Scrum on Facebook and check us out on Instagram. Email the show at ListenToTheScrum@gmail.com.

This week we're stuck in the algorithm as we talk about how social media influencers must do battle with the changing algorithms of Facebook and Instagram, and the noise of Twitter, to get their messages heard and to help amplify members of their community. Tweet @IntoTheScrum and let us know if you get political and if you've noticed losing out on work because of it. Interact with Into The Scrum on Facebook and our Instagram page. Email us at ListenToTheScrum@gmail.com. Thank you for listening.