---
title: Bozoma Saint John INBOUND17 Spotlight - Session Recap | Niswey
description: Bozoma Saint John INBOUND17 spotlight session was all about bringing personality to brands. If you missed it be sure to catch up on our session recap.
---

[Blog - Digital Marketing Agency, Niswey ](https://www.niswey.com/blog)

# [Bozoma Saint John INBOUND17 Spotlight - Session Recap | Niswey](https://www.niswey.com/blog/bozoma-saint-john-inbound17-spotlight-session-recap)

 Written by [Boris Poonia](https://www.niswey.com/blog/author/boris-poonia) | Sep 28, 2017 12:53:34 PM

With the third day of INBOUND17 in full flight, we were excited for the agenda for the day. One session that we were particularly interested in was the Bozoma Saint John Spotlight. We’d previously also been blown away by her keynote at Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference, so we knew we were in for something special.

Currently the Chief Branding Officer at Uber, Bozoma is responsible for ensuring consumers love Uber’s brand as much as they love Uber’s service. She’s developed a reputation in the industry as a marketing and advertising wizard. And she has the work experience to back it.

> What a resume! [@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#INBOUND17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [pic.twitter.com/UhCCLAHCUr](https://t.co/UhCCLAHCUr)
> 
> — Samantha Travelstead (@stravelstead84) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/stravelstead84/status/913046982452707333?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

There was a lot of excitement to see Bozoma and it was evident.

> Stoked to hear [@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) speak in a few minutes 🙌🏼😍 #[#INBOUND17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> — Julia Morse (@jm_704) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/jm_704/status/913044915608784896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

> Pumped to hear [@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) at [#INBOUND17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw). She’s already starting with the best Twitter handle in the business.
> 
> — Mike Nagel (@TheMikeNagel) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/TheMikeNagel/status/913047220592799744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Then the show got on the road. She started off by elaborating a bit about how brands are like people.

> “I believe brands are people. They have hopes, dreams, failures… Even [@Uber](https://twitter.com/Uber?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)” — [@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#INBOUND17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> — Lindsay LeCain (@LALALecain) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/LALALecain/status/913048056018427906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

> .[@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) at [#INBOUND17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) talking how culture makes a brand [pic.twitter.com/S3TP4vz1Nq](https://t.co/S3TP4vz1Nq)
> 
> — Stefan Palios (@stefanpalios) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/stefanpalios/status/913049041445031937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Why bias is sometimes necessary:

> “Like any good story teller I am bias and unapologetic in my bias.” – [@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#INBOUND17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> — HubSpot @ #INBOUND17 (@HubSpot) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/HubSpot/status/913048346528542722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

> “Without the storytellers unique perspective the story falls flat” – [@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [pic.twitter.com/oJDqrLp8xt](https://t.co/oJDqrLp8xt)
> 
> — Anushka Maya (@anushkamaya) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/anushkamaya/status/913049353778077698?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

After talking about how bias is important, she went on to share a little bit of her past experiences:

> .[@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) “Because of my differences my classmates asked benign but ignorant questions.” [#INBOUND17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> — Alex Plaxen (@APlaxen) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/APlaxen/status/913049724164374528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

> [#babypics](https://twitter.com/hashtag/babypics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) from [@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ❤️My father had 4 daughters he’s a very blessed man. [#INBOUND17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [pic.twitter.com/TfEnF164lY](https://t.co/TfEnF164lY)
> 
> — Samantha Travelstead (@stravelstead84) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/stravelstead84/status/913049814287470593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

> “I wonder what my grandmother would think. She was married to a chief, and now I am a chief!” [@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#INBOUND17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [pic.twitter.com/NLDl4Xy5G7](https://t.co/NLDl4Xy5G7)
> 
> — Shena Lohardjo (@helloimshena) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/helloimshena/status/913050494758735873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

And enlightening us about her approach to everything in life:

> “I want to say things that make my story relevant, make people sit up, pay attention and give me a chance.” [@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#INBOUND17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> — Lindsay LeCain (@LALALecain) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/LALALecain/status/913050311194968064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

> “I want to say things that make me equal.” 👊🏼[@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#inbound17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/inbound17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [pic.twitter.com/t8uYeaNq3V](https://t.co/t8uYeaNq3V)
> 
> — Char (@CharlaCharChar) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/CharlaCharChar/status/913050624467652608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Further, she gave some pretty insightful pointers on how to bring personality to brands, looking at it from the perspective of the brain, trying to appeal to both the emotional side and the rational side.

> .[@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) “The right side of our brain cares more about the human reaction than the mechanical.” [#INBOUND17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> — Alex Plaxen (@APlaxen) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/APlaxen/status/913051513853038593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

> “The right side of the brain is full of emotion. It knows its wrongs and wants to make it right.” [@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [@Uber](https://twitter.com/Uber?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#INBOUND17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> — Ashley @ #INBOUND17 (@dashofsocial) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/dashofsocial/status/913051574137737217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

> Your brand needs to appeal to both sides of the brain – [@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#INBOUND2017](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND2017?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [pic.twitter.com/to6sP0cgie](https://t.co/to6sP0cgie)
> 
> — Vessel (@VesselConnects) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/VesselConnects/status/913052327258574859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

> Tech connects us to other human beings but emotion connects us to each other. [@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [@uber](https://twitter.com/Uber?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#INBOUND17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND17?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> — Ashley @ #INBOUND17 (@dashofsocial) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/dashofsocial/status/913054338242764801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

In the end, she left us with a final piece of motivation, direct from her Instagram page:

> THE most motiving [#MondayMotivation](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MondayMotivation?src=hash) courtesy of [@badassboz](https://twitter.com/badassboz)‘s [#Instagram](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Instagram?src=hash). [#INBOUND17](https://twitter.com/hashtag/INBOUND17?src=hash) [pic.twitter.com/O4cODCg1tz](https://t.co/O4cODCg1tz)
> 
> — Hack.Diversity (@Hack_Diversity) [September 27, 2017](https://twitter.com/Hack_Diversity/status/913059697200115712)

A magnificent Spotlight session by a truly unique personality, Bozoma’s talk left everyone with a sense of inclusion as she shared her life stories as well as some much-needed insight about her approach to branding. After keeping the audience mesmerized for the entire 30 minutes, we expect she’ll probably be remembered as the best storyteller at INBOUND17.

You can watch her entire keynote here:

To stay on top of all our coverage of INBOUND17, including session recaps and more, visit our dedicated INBOUND17 page.

 

[View full post](https://www.niswey.com/blog/bozoma-saint-john-inbound17-spotlight-session-recap)

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