Marketing Today With Alan Hart

Niklas Bakos is the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Adverty, a company that helps put advertisements in video games. In this episode, Alan and Niklas discuss what in-game advertising looks like and how e-sports has exploded in popularity. The conversation starts with why Niklas founded Adverty. Having spent most of his career in the gaming industry, he saw a huge opportunity for marketers to easily reach their target audiences and do it “at scale.”They discuss the e-sports revolution, why in-game advertising is more insightful than real-life street advertising, and how a marketer should be thinking about it. In this episode, you'll learn:How mobile gaming is the leading platform for advertisingHow in-game advertisements are more insightful than real-life advertisementsWhy e-sports is the next gaming revolutionKey Highlights:[01:12] Niklas's “big fat cat”[01:51] Why Niklas founded Adverty[03:26] What is Adverty[04:27] What in-game advertising looks like[09:06] The brain impression algorithm[14:

Kristin Warfield is the VP of Partnerships at Churchill Downs Incorporated, home of the Kentucky Derby since 1875. During her twelve years at the historic racetrack, she has championed significant growth in the track's partnership development and activation efforts. It includes new and expanded relations with Longines, the official timekeeper of the Kentucky Derby and title sponsor of the Kentucky Oaks; Woodford Reserve, the presenting sponsor of the Kentucky Derby; and MassMutual, among many other alliances.In this episode, Alan and Kristin begin with her trajectory to becoming the VP of Partnerships and why the Kentucky Derby is such a unique experience. Even though people come to the Derby for varied reasons, Kristin believes that “There's a party for everyone,” and makes it her focus to partner with companies to give them the experience they seek. Alan and Kristin discuss the shifts Kristin had to make to work with partners and what makes a good partner in the first place. For anyone interested

On this 256th episode of Marketing Today, Alan Hart and Eduardo Luz, Chief Brand and Concept Officer at Panera, discuss the pivots Panera executed during the pandemic, including how they positioned their mobile app and the innovations they implemented in their menu offerings.Eduardo sees the future of marketing as really honing in and connecting with your consumer. As Panera changed its menu and shifted to what Eduardo calls “warmer offerings,” they started to see the incremental success that has propelled their business forward. The conversation covers consumer behavior, and Panera's new company value: respect for the planet. To hear how Eduardo thinks about the future of consumer behavior and its impact on marketing, listen to Marketing Today.In this episode, you'll learn:Changes in direct-to-consumer interactionHow your company positioning impacts successWhy listening to your consumers is essentialHow Panera shifted during the pandemic How Panera leaned on its “promise” to expand its offeringsKey

On this 255th episode of Marketing Today, Alan Hart talks to Zach Harris, VP of Marketing for the Water Portfolio at PepsiCo Beverages, North America. Throughout the episode, Alan and Zach discuss how to brand water, their new launch of bubly bounce, and their other products like LIFEWTR and Aquafina. The conversation starts with Zach describing his career at PepsiCo, a company he's been at since he graduated college. He says these experiences have taught him that the role of a brand is really to keep the consumer “at the center of everything you do.” Because without it, you won't gain brand loyalty.From there Alan and Zach go deep into what it means to have purpose, both in your job and as a company, and how being a visible example of leadership is what ties a community together.In this episode, you'll learn:Why an informal network is important for your career growthWhy you should be a visible example of leadership in your communityHow to build trust among your customersHow to market a portfolio of prod

In this 254th episode, Alan Hart talks with Ryan George, Chief Marketing Officer at Docupace Technologies, a financial technology company focused on the wealth management industry.In this episode, Alan and Ryan discuss the B2B marketing space, Ryan's focus on content marketing and building expertise within an organization, and how that can be a natural, self-fulfilling prophecy for your success.At the beginning of the conversation, they discuss Ryan's transition from public relations to marketing, his role as CMO at Docupace, and how Ryan thinks about B2B marketing in today's world. From his perspective, “leads don't come overnight,” and it's the human connection that creates value and really draws customers to your product.Throughout the rest of the interview they talk about looking for “the kernel of truth” when people give you feedback, as well as Ryan's desire for people in other departments to make sure employees are engaged and have what they need. To find out how Ryan responds in both situations, take

In this 253rd episode of Marketing Today, Alan Harts talks with Erica Chan, who leads brand customer experience and insights at Alibaba Group, one of the world's largest B2B e-commerce marketplaces. On the show, they discuss the almost $24 trillion global B2B e-commerce market and how Alibaba is both globalizing and localizing their brand around the world. Alan and Erica break down the behemoth of an organization that is Alibaba and their transformation to going global as a brand. Erica says they realized they needed to transform the platform to make it truly “helpful and relevant” to today's businesses. The way the world does business is changing rapidly, and Erica sees digitalization and e-commerce platforms as a “gateway” to making this transition.Learn more about this, the future of B2B e-commerce, and virtual trade shows in Alan and Erica's discussion on this episode of Marketing Today.In this episode, you'll learn:How to go global while also going local with your brandWhy going digital and acc

On this 252nd episode of Marketing Today, Alan Hart speaks with Raja Rajamannar, the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at MasterCard. Alan and Raja discuss Raja's new book, Quantum Marketing: Mastering the New Marketing Mindset for Tomorrow's Consumers, which demystifies data-driven marketing and identifies emerging opportunities in the digital world.The conversation begins with the evolution of various marketing paradigms, from product to psychology, to emotion in brand messaging. Raja makes these shifts easy to understand and clarifies how marketers can leverage them in their strategies. Raja says over the years marketing has shifted to four paradigms, and marketing is going to go through “an unprecedented level of disruption as we enter the fifth paradigm.”Later in the episode, Alan and Raja discuss how today's technology demands greater creativity from brands to stand out. Even more fascinating is how emotions have dominated the marketing industry. Listen to Raja break down this change, what

On this 251st episode of Marketing Today, host Alan Hart talks to Dan Frohnen, the CMO of Sendoso. This leading sending platform helps companies stand out by giving them new ways to engage with customers through the buyer's journey.In this episode, Alan and Dan talk about what marketers should be thinking about to help companies deliver a better experience for their customers and their employees.The conversation starts with Dan's transition from the music industry to the tech industry and finally to his role as CMO at Sendoso. Throughout his career, he learned the importance of customer connectivity. For him, the details matter. It's more than just "spraying them with digital" to get them to act — and more about doing the research and understanding what they're looking for before offering a solution.Through the rest of the interview, Dan talks about the current state of ABM and how the virtual world has made it even more necessary to be intentional about your outreach. In this episode, you'll learn:What

On this 250th episode of "Marketing Today," host Alan Hart speaks with Paul Cowan, the CMO of FreshBooks, a cloud-based accounting solution for small businesses and self-employed professionals. Over the past 20 years, Paul has marketed everything from booze to SaaS products, learning that product experience and marketing go hand-in-hand.In this episode, Alan and Paul discuss the symbiotic relationship between product experience and marketing while touching on the intersection between marketing and community. They even talk of activism — or really slacktivism — and what it means for businesses.The conversation begins with an overview of how FreshBooks came to be and how Paul stepped into his CMO role during a company rebrand. Like any good CMO, Paul believes it's important for your customers to understand the pain you address, but it's even more essential for them to understand what makes you different. From a brand standpoint, Paul says marketers need to look internally and find what he calls the "bits of goo

On this 249th episode of "Marketing Today," host Alan Hart speaks with Jonathon Morgan, the founder and CEO of Yonder, an AI company that helps Fortune 500 communication teams identify and counteract online disinformation about issues that matter to their organization. In this episode, Morgan talks about the power of groups with extreme ideals and how thought radicalization can mean something different for marketers. Our conversation starts with understanding Yonder's mission and how the company originated. Early in his career, Morgan conducted internet research, advising the state department on how they could counter the impact of online radicalization worldwide. Morgan explains that the modern concept of the internet is based on a fundamental premise — "there is wisdom in the crowd." He soon found out, however, that "if you value crowds, you inadvertently value mobs," and that someone who manipulates social platforms can have an immeasurable amount of power in swaying the crowd's thinkin

On this 248th episode of "Marketing Today," host Alan Hart speaks with Amir Hirsh, the chief executive officer and founder at Audioburst. This AI-powered audio discovery platform helps connect content consumers with relevant audio clips.Our conversation starts with how people have a tendency to call Hirsh crazy due to his innovative and forward-thinking. Hirsh discusses how 2020 acted as gasoline on the audio fire and how "audio connects people much stronger and creates brand affinity." In the last year alone, the podcast industry more than doubled in size as more and more people crave content that doesn't hurl visuals at their eyeballs.We then dive into Hirsh's company Audioburst and how it has "built an AI engine that listens to that vast amount of content," analyzes, and cuts it into short clips to make it more discoverable on the internet. Hirsh explains the massive opportunities that await marketers who can create or participate in their own audio content, as well as sponsor and attach their name to the

On this 247th episode of "Marketing Today," host Alan Hart speaks with Julie Roehm, the chief marketing and experience officer at Party City. More than most, Party City had to make a massive pivot in response to the pandemic, as parties became all but outlawed.We start our conversation talking about Roehm's unusual path to where she is today, actually beginning with a degree in environmental engineering before moving to finance and ultimately marketing. Roehm then explains how each industry taught her to view challenges "as opportunities rather than an obstacle." Next, Roehm dives into the beginning of her marketing career at Ford Motor Company, stating, "that's where I started to get the taste for this out-of-the-box, different way of thinking about marketing." As she made the jump from company to company, Roehm stayed true to her No. 1 rule, "culture eats strategy for lunch."We then discuss the challenges presented by the pandemic to her current company, Party City, during a time when "pandemic and party we

On this 246th episode of "Marketing Today," host Alan Hart speaks with Minter Dial, the author of "You Lead: How Being Yourself Makes You a Better Leader." Dial knows and shares what it takes to use your authentic self to lead a successful brand.We start our conversation by talking about how the ongoing global pandemic has taken away Dial's source of energy, that being, talking and communicating with other people. Dial then dives into his new book, "You Lead: How Being Yourself Makes You a Better Leader," and how he hopes it will "change the way we lead, not just in business, but within ourselves." Inside each and every individual, Dial feels "that everybody has leadership potential," but before a person can lead, they must come to terms with their authentic self.We then break down the disconnect that exists between being authentic and professional, a lesson that he learned when bringing life to L'Oréal's brand. "Too often, there's no real link between who you are legitimately...and what you're doing professi

On this 245th episode of "Marketing Today," host Alan Hart speaks with Mauro Gatti, the chief creative officer at JibJab. Gatti is driven by his love for creativity and a desire to use that creativity to make the world a better place for all living beings that call this planet home.We start our conversation by diving into Gatti's life growing up in Northern Italy, an area full of workaholics, where he began working in his uncle's butcher shop as a 10-year-old boy. Though he grew up in a small town, Gatti believes that "the best part of Italy is the drive between different cities because there are so many different gems" and "driving around is a great way to discover the real soul of Italy."Gatti then discusses his meteoric rise in the creative advertising industry that took him from creating artwork for CDs in Italy to his current position as the chief creative officer for JibJab in Los Angeles, California. "We all have a gift. Maradona had that gift, Michael Angelo had that gift," and Gatti's gift is being a

On this 244th episode of "Marketing Today," host Alan Hart speaks with Clayton Ruebensaal, executive vice president of Global B2B Marketing at American Express. Ruebensaal talks about his experience developing brand strategies for premium brands and his vision for the future.We start our conversation with a dive into Ruebensaal's world-travel experience as a child, having grown up with a father in the foreign service. Ruebensaal discusses how his time spent in so many different cultures shaped his view of the world and brought about his interest in all people.We then speak on Ruebensaal's journey to the present day and the success that he has had with Ritz Carlton and American Express, where he works now, and attributes that success to his teams' ability to refresh the brand. "We reached into that history and found truths that we could bring to life," Ruebensaal claimed. He then breaks down the challenges that brands face when attempting to revamp and how "the difference between success and failure is the cha

On this 243rd episode of "Marketing Today," host Alan Hart speaks with Esperanza Teasdale, vice president and general manager of the Hispanic Business Unit for Pepsico Beverages North America. Teasdale is responsible for the overall strategy, engagement, and sales for a Hispanic business unit that brings in over $2 billion per year.We start our conversation with Teasdale's experience from growing up with two parents that had both immigrated to the US from Ecuador in search of a better life. Since they both had demanding blue-collar jobs, Teasdale "grew up as a latch key kid," taking herself to and from school as a child, essentially responsible for herself. Teasdale then discusses her engineering education, spending time in manufacturing environments after graduation until attaining her MBA and ultimately moving onto sales. Once Teasdale realized that the sales sector wasn't for her, she moved to marketing.We then dive into the Hispanic business unit and the "untapped potential" that led to its creation. Now

On this 242nd episode of "Marketing Today," host Alan Hart speaks with Rob Holland, the CEO at Feedback Loop, a technology growth company that provides rapid consumer feedback through its agile research platform.We begin the interview with Holland's upbringing in Staten Island and eventually to the West Coast, but wherever he went, it never seemed to be permanent. Holland believes "being comfortable with mobility has been a real game-changer," allowing him to adapt quickly to new environments. We then move to Holland's financial background and how it helped him when making the transition to managerial positions. Though he started in finance and eventually found his way to the marketing side, Holland has "always been connected to the consumer in some way."Holland then dives into Feedback Loop, defining agile research as a tool that "provides directional guidance early and often to guide decisions that might otherwise be made by opinion or rank, rather than data." Holland has seen first-hand that "the whole ide

On this 241st episode of "Marketing Today," host Alan Hart speaks with Ashley Reichheld, principal at Deloitte. Reichheld discusses the findings of Deloitte's 2021 Global Marketing Trends Report and dives deep into a few of its seven trends.We start our conversation with Reichheld's background of traveling. She talks about her experiences living and working in over 40 countries across six continents and how it helped her gain insight and perspective into different cultures. From there, we dive into the meat of the interview, Deloitte's 2021 Global Marketing Trends Report. With this report, Deloitte aimed to dispel some of the uncertainty that this past year has brought to marketing.Reichheld then discusses her favorite trend category, trust, and how "overall, trustworthy companies outperform their competitors by 2 ½ times." For a long time, public trust in corporations and governments has been on the decline and presents both a threat and opportunity to marketing departments worldwide. Deloitte uses its metri

On this 240th episode of "Marketing Today," host Alan Hart speaks with Rodney Williams, president and CEO of Belvedere Vodka. With a bevy of experience leading successful marketing campaigns across a plethora of industries, Williams is truly an expert when it comes to closing the gap between a product and its consumers.To start our conversation, Williams discusses his business school experience and the nonprofit sector before he began his journey to become a marketing expert. In school at Northwestern, Williams quickly learned that "you have a strong chance of getting a good grade by joining a group with people that don't think like you." This experience helped him understand a simple fact of life; to truly be successful, you must be open to the perspectives of others.We then dive into Williams's experience working for large companies like Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble. It was his success at these companies that taught him both "the element of brand-building where you're really fundamentally problem-

On this 239th episode of "Marketing Today," host Alan Hart speaks with Rizwan Merchant, CEO at Media Merchant. Merchant is the first guest from Pakistan and brings over a decade of experience in the Pakistani Media Industry. Today, we talk about the 2016 ANA Transparency Report and how these issues are still present today, four years on.We start our conversation with the exploding media industry in Pakistan, which has gone from less than $100M in advertising expenses to over $550M in just ten years. With that massive growth has come a plethora of problems, not only in Pakistan but also for marketers worldwide. Merchant has seen "exactly what goes on behind the doors." Merchant then takes us through the ANA Transparency Report that came out in 2016, which identified a myriad of problems and fraudulent practices among the agencies that bridge the gap between the media houses and advertisers. The advertisers have forgotten that "agencies are there in the business to make money as well," so their intentions may h