Marketing Today With Alan Hart

Seth Kaufman's career traces a steady and seemingly unstoppable ascent at PepsiCo. As an intern, he fell in love with the people, the brands and the culture before taking on (and conquering) challenge after challenge, including brand and innovation initiatives, developing channels strategies in sales, and frontline field work on the snack side — where he embraced and developed his strength as a people leader.Following his work in the field, he returned to headquarters, rebuilding PepsiCo's media offering in beverages and then running the namesake brand itself. From there, he assumed his current role as CMO PepsiCo North America Beverages.Seth's enthusiasm, empathy, passion, and appreciation for the people around him shine through in this wide-ranging and freewheeling podcast.Highlights from this week's “Marketing Today” podcast include:Accelerating PepsiCo's transformation journey across three dimensions: portfolio, marketing and talent. (4:55)The marketing perfect storm: From PepsiMoji to &

Rohit Bhargava is a trend curator, TEDx speaker and the author of five best-selling books, including the recent 2017 edition of “Non-Obvious: How to Think Different, Curate Ideas & Predict the Future” and “Likeonomics.”When Bhargava analyzes trends, he isn't thinking about the availability of flying cars you can control with your mind, he is operating more in the here and now. He does this because he believes the future is coming at us faster than ever before, “I'm describing something that is happening in the world, and all of my trends are based on something that's happening now. I specifically don't do 10-year predictions… And the reason I do it on such a short term is because I'm really describing the accelerating present.”He goes on to add: “This is stuff that … is going to accelerate in the next year and therefore really matter for your business.”Highlights from this week's “Marketing Today” podcast include:Kicking ass: Rohit

Dan Marks is the CMO for Hancock Whitney Bank, a regional player in the Gulf South area with a footprint spanning from Houston, Texas, to Tampa, Florida. In November of 2016, he was honored by the CMO Club with their peer-nominated President's Circle Award.Dan is always looking to the future and believes in the strength of the marketing stack, which he describes as “the next-generation way to talk about all the technically or digitally enabled technologies that are important to operating today and will become even more important to operating in the future.”Dan also believes in an agile approach marked by collaboration among segments of the company that aren't part of the marketing team: “For marketing to be successful, we can't operate in a vacuum.”Highlights from this week's “Marketing Today” podcast include:Dan's philosophy regarding teambuilding efforts: Finding the right fit in culture and in values. (5:02)Two elements that help manage balance in a company: 1) Building

Russ Findlay is the head of marketing for the U.S. at Hiscox, an international specialty insurer with a 115-year history. Prior to Hiscox, he worked in consumer packaged goods with companies like Unilever, Pepsi and IHOP. In this podcast, he discusses marketing in general and his career path from CPG to the world of financial services.For Findlay, working in financial services presents a unique challenge because of the intangible element inherent in the category: “Having a product that you can't see it, you can't hold it, you can't go to a store and look at it — it's something that you have to convey to the consumer and the consumer's mind,” says Findlay. He goes on to add, “That makes storytelling and how you bring the product to life even more important.”Highlights from this week's “Marketing Today” podcast include:CPG and financial services: how the product gets to market is surprisingly similar. (2:00)Moving from a role in CPG to financial services: the switch to

Tom Asacker is a keynote speaker and an adviser to executives and companies, and he is the author of five books, including “The Business of Belief.”He believes many marketers operate under the false assumption that people behave like computers, expecting them to make decisions based simply on the information they supply and then choose their product or service.According to him, it just doesn't work that way: “When you dig deep enough into it, you find out that human beings are driven by their perceptions and their desires. You add that up and you've got beliefs. Their feelings, their perceptions, their desires are what end up giving them this feeling of knowing,” says Asacker. “Then they look for information to validate that.” He goes on to say, “If you don't understand that … you have absolutely no chance in the marketplace.”Highlights from this week's “Marketing Today” podcast include:How's the water? — Understanding how decisions are

Peter Horst is a former CMO at The Hershey Company. Prior to that, he spent 12 years at Capital One and was CMO of TD Ameritrade. He discusses here a range of topics, but he speaks at length on the inherent challenge of applying big data and analytics to human behavior.“It's going to get increasingly more challenging to maintain that right balance of art and science, of machine speed and human insight,” says Horst. “All the analytics in the world still can't answer the question ‘Why?' And you can run into the risk of horribly missing the boat with the consumer.”He goes on to add, “We absolutely need to embrace all of what big data and analytics can do, but while also stepping back and bringing in a little bit of skepticism.” Highlights from this week's “Marketing Today” podcast include:Let's get digital: How CMOs should be thinking about digital. (5:30)Reach versus targeting: What are you trying to do and what's the tool you need to do it? (10:15) &nb

Laurel Hodge is director of creative strategy at the online image-sharing community, Imgur, which she says is “on a mission to lift people's spirits for a few moments every day.”But there's a lot more to it than that. Imgur has more than 150 million monthly active users, and among those, 86 percent are millennial men, the most ad-adverse and toughest audience to reach for marketers.With a new native advertising product called Promoted Posts, Imgur uses its cultural fluency to help brands connect effectively with this coveted target. “We help brands enter this space and connect with them [millennial men] in a way that feels authentic, in a way that they actually appreciate and enjoy,” said Hodge. She later adds, “When you use the language in an authentic way and you actually provide information that people want to hear — or information that is relevant to people — then you'll see some really great results.”Highlights from this week's “Marketing Today”

Molly Swenson is CMO of RYOT, an immersive media company founded in Los Angeles in 2012 and recently acquired by AOL and The Huffington Post.She's also a badass.Molly was a White House intern in the Obama administration, performed as a contestant on “American Idol” and designed philanthropic strategies for Kobe Bryant, Shakira and Ben Stiller. More recently, Adweek recognized her as one of 2016's Young Influentials — game changers under the age of 40 in the worlds of media, marketing, technology and entertainment.Molly believes that VR's impact as a medium for storytelling and the affect it has on people can't be overestimated and calls it “the tip of the spear” for RYOT.  Highlights from this week's “Marketing Today” podcast include:The “lightbulb” moment: How RYOT's focus shifted to VR films. (3:19)How RYOT judges success: Moving the audience from passive observer to active participant. (5:30)Moving into the CMO role: From wearing many hats to

Rachel Tipograph left her role as global director of digital and social media at Gap after a conversation with her boss where she asked, “How do we drive sales on the web, not annoy people, and even make Gap cool again at the same time?” His reply: “If you figure that out, that's a billion-dollar idea.”That conversation coupled with her recognition of the seismic upheaval underway in the digital marketing landscape led to the creation of MikMak — the first mobile video shopping network. Hailed as QVC for the Snapchat generation, MikMak works with brands to create short, shoppable, “minimercials” — all hosted by improv comedians. And it operates under the mantra of Watch – Laugh – Shop.Highlights from this week's “Marketing Today” podcast include:Two factors that helped launch MikMak — the explosion of influencer marketing and the unbundling of media. (3:10)Why e-commerce shopping should feel more like Netflix and Snapchat than Amazo

Meaning is the new luxury. It's not logos and labels but products that are made with thought and care — products that are authentic with great stories to tell, according to Bridget Russo, chief marketing officer at Shinola. “We've learned that place matters. For us, our home is Detroit. That story of provenance adds depth to our brand. But it has to be real. It's about finding out what the true, authentic story is and showing that it has greater impact than just selling product,” she said.Her leadership has helped Shinola position itself as a modern American design brand and a catalyst for economic revitalization. The company reported $100 million in revenue last year, up from $20 million in 2013.Highlights from this week's “Marketing Today with Alan Hart” podcast include:How Shinola and the city of Detroit worked together to bring a new luxury product to market. (4:45)How Shinola is constantly breaking new ground while not forgetting its historical products. (6:59

Roll Cast Advisors' Drew Miller believes marketing is all about relationshipsDrew Miller, founder and CEO of Roll Cast Advisors in Austin, Texas, thinks marketing done well forms meaningful relationships between companies and people. And meaningful relationships grow and thrive when companies deliver something that's really important to the customer.“You always want to know your customer, says Drew. “You want to speak in ways and at places that really matter to them. And increasingly do it in a way that it's a two-way street. The days of one-way conversations are long behind us.”Miller founded Roll Cast Advisors, a marketing and strategy consultancy, a little over a year ago after a 15-year stint in various marketing positions at Dell. Roll Cast Advisors seeks to help high-growth B2B companies create marketing strategies that achieve activation and deliver results.Highlights from this week's “Marketing Today” podcast include:How does a fast-growth B2B company determine whether th

Today we are changing the name of our podcast from Avid Impact to Marketing Today with Alan Hart. Join Alan in the coming weeks for interviews with top marketers and thought leaders. Don't miss your change to learn from the best in the industry. Subscribe to Marketing Today with Alan Hart.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/marketingtodaySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Become a member today and visit https://plus.acast.com/s/marketingtoday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vishal Khanna, Digital Marketing Director at Wake Forest Innovations, 2015 Content Marketer of the Year sat down with Alan Hart. Vishal discusses how the content marketing at Wake Forest Innovations produced ROI results that beat out IKEA, Marriott, Emerson, CSC and GoPro. The results were 600%+ increase in marketing qualified leads and a doubling in revenue. Content development, SEO, Inbound Marketing and Email all played a role.  Find out what you need to know in this episode of the Marketing Today Podcast. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/marketingtodaySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Become a member today and visit https://plus.acast.com/s/marketingtoday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steven Handmaker, Chief Marketing Officer of Assurance, one of the largest and most awarded independent insurance brokerage operations in the U.S., sat down with Alan Hart. Steven discusses how Assurance has become recognized as a "best place" to work and what is marketing's role in driving a "rock star" culture. We move to talk about the world of B2B marketing, the future and the war for talent in marketing today. Find out what you need to know in this episode of the Marketing Today Podcast.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/marketingtodaySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Become a member today and visit https://plus.acast.com/s/marketingtoday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 2 with Kimberly Whitler, Forbes contributor and Assistant Marketing Professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, sat down with Alan Hart to discuss her recent research looking at company performance, corporate board composition and the CMO. Did you know purely analytical CMOs are correlated to poor company performance? What is the future of markting leadership? Plus case studies from Buick and Allen Edmonds. Find out what you need to know in this episode of the Marketing Today Podcast.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/marketingtodaySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Become a member today and visit https://plus.acast.com/s/marketingtoday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 1 with Kimberly Whitler, Forbes contributor and Assistant Marketing Professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, sat down with Alan Hart to discuss her recent research looking at company performance, corporate board composition and the CMO. Did you know purely analytical CMOs are correlated to poor company performance? Did you know that marketing experience on the board can increase company performance? Find out what you need to know in this episode of the Marketing Today Podcast.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/marketingtodaySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Become a member today and visit https://plus.acast.com/s/marketingtoday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Honey Maid is a classic, all-American brand that's been part of families lives since 1925. But by 2013 it was seen as old-fashioned. Our challenge was to re-position Honey Maid as a modern snacking brand for today's families. We drew a parallel between the brand and modern day families, recognizing that despite a lot of change over the years, what defined each of them as wholesome hadn't changed. This is Wholesome moved a nation with its message of love, earned 361 million media impressions and delivered an advertising contribution of 13%.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/marketingtodaySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Become a member today and visit https://plus.acast.com/s/marketingtoday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Balach, senior brand manager of Extra Gum, sat down with Alan Hart to discuss his recent Effie win. Gum had been in a 2-year decline. Extra, one of the category's largest brands, had been declining for even longer. That changed dramatically when Extra stopped following the conventional gum script and started to infuse the brand with meaning that transcended the category and touched peoples hearts.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/marketingtodaySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Become a member today and visit https://plus.acast.com/s/marketingtoday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark-Hans Richer of Harley-Davidson spoke to Alan Hart about what many scoffed at a few years ago: Take a brand with an aging owner base and made it a must-have product for young adult riders. In 2008 we made some big moves with product introduction of Dark Custom, which -- as a strategic initiative -- has now won a 2015 Gold Effie for sustained success in the market for its 7 year run.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/marketingtodaySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Become a member today and visit https://plus.acast.com/s/marketingtoday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tips, advice, and insights from the industry's top, award-winning marketers. “Oscar's problem with the healthcare industry is that it's viewed as inhumane. The industry doesn't really focus on the individual, and it's hard to navigate,” says Veronica Parker-Hahn, Vice President of Marketing at Oscar Insurance speaking to Alan Hart. “And we saw a great opportunity to bring a human component to healthcare.”Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/marketingtodaySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Become a member today and visit https://plus.acast.com/s/marketingtoday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.