#853: Sköna CEO Jenny Sagström on design consistency in high-growth brands

The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®: Expert Mode Marketing Technology, AI, & CX

The Agile Brand

Business, Marketing

4.9 • 113 Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2026

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the race for B2B growth, we often prioritize speed over everything else. But what's the real cost when your brand starts to look like a collection of spare parts cobbled together by different teams? Agility requires a strong, foundational framework to enable speed without sacrificing coherence. It's about empowering teams to move quickly and independently, while still ensuring every customer touchpoint feels like it comes from one unified brand. Today, we're going to talk about why brand and design consistency is often the first casualty of high-growth B2B environments, and paradoxically, one of the most critical assets to protect. We'll explore how that fragmentation happens, from different teams launching products to rapid hiring, and discuss why building a consistent brand isn't just a "nice-to-have"—it's a direct line to building trust and long-term value with your customers.To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Jenny Sagström, CEO at Sköna. About Jenny Sagström Jenny is cofounder and CEO of Sköna, a B2B creative agency that’s been building brave brands for innovative technology companies since 2004. Jenny entered the agency world in 1998 with Kraftverket in her native Stockholm, Sweden, shortly after graduating with a BA in Economics and International Relations from the University of Reading. In 2000, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to work at Corsi & Partners, where she was responsible for a multitude of clients, including the Oakland Raiders. Since founding Sköna, Jenny has helped lead it from a two-person shop to a flourishing global business, where she currently oversees strategy, account management, and global expansion. An occasional public speaker, article writer, and podcaster, she spends her spare time skiing, tinkering with (and even completing!) DIY projects, and enjoying the company of her husband and two daughters. Jenny Sagström on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennysagstrom/ Resources Sköna: www.skona.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://aglbrnd.co/r/2868abd8085a9703 Drive your customers to new horizons at the premier retail event of the year for Retail and Brand marketers. Learn more at CRMC 2026, June 1-3. https://aglbrnd.co/r/d15ec37a537c0d74 We’re proud to be a media partner for #MAICON26 - Oct. 13-15! Learn how AI can power your marketing and business and help you grow smarter. Use code AGILE150 to save! https://aglbrnd.co/r/7fe458ced0f04658Reach your customers with Reddit. Spend $500 in ad spend, get $500 back in ad credit! Learn more: https://advertalize.com/r/491818c79fb1873f Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Transcript

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0:00.0	In the race for B2B growth, we often prioritize speed over everything else.
0:04.0	But what's the real cost when your brand starts to look like a collection of spare parts cobbled together by different teams?
0:10.0	Agility requires a strong foundational framework to enable speed without sacrificing coherence.
0:16.0	It's about empowering teams to move quickly and independently, while still ensuring every customer touchpoint
0:21.5	feels like it comes from one unified brand. Today we're going to talk about why brand and design
0:26.3	consistency is often the first casualty of high-growth B2B environments, and paradoxically, one of
0:32.8	the most critical assets to protect. We're going to explore how that fragmentation happens
0:37.3	from different
0:38.2	teams launching products to rapid hiring and why building a consistent brand isn't just a nice
0:44.5	to have. It's a direct line to building trust and long-term value with your customers.
0:52.0	Welcome to Season 8 of the Agile Brand Podcast.
0:55.0	This season, we're going all in on expert mode Martec, AI, and customer experience,
0:59.7	talking with the people and platforms behind the brands you know and love.
1:03.2	Again, I'm your host, Greg Kilstrom, and I help Fortune 1000 companies make sense of
1:07.5	Martec, AI, and marketing ops.
1:09.7	Hit subscribe or follow to make sure you
1:11.2	always get the latest episodes and leave us a rating so others can find us as well.
1:15.6	And make sure you check out our sponsor Tech Systems, an industry leader in full-stack technology
1:21.0	services, talent services, and real-world adoption. For more information, go to techsystems.com. Now let's dive in.
1:30.7	Tell me discuss this topic. I'd like to welcome Jenny Sagstrom, CEO at Skona.
1:35.7	Jenny, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. Great to be here. Yeah, looking forward to
1:41.0	talking about all this with you. Before we dive in, though, why don't you give a little background on yourself and you're all at Skona?
	...

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