Marketing Beyond with Alan B. Hart

Starting her first company at age 15, Catherine Connelly is all about meeting new people. As the SVP of Marketing for The Meet Group, the top provider of live streaming video and creator economy solutions for a number of the world's top social apps, Catherine relies heavily on that connection to her users for audience engagement and growth.

In this episode, Alan and Catherine discuss her extraordinary career path, iOS changes, The Meet Group's differentiating model for monetization, and the importance of storytelling.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to update your tactics for performance marketing
• The future of social media monetization
• The importance of PR and storytelling

Key Highlights

• [0:42] First business at age 15 with her two brothers
• [04:25] Catherine's career path
• [12:24] Having a place to connect with others
• [15:48] Knowing where your users are; how to update your tactics
• [17:04] How iOS changes affect acquisition efforts
• [19:39] Monetization of The Meet Group
• [23:57] Catherine's role at The Meet Group
• [27:45] Best tactics for performance marketing
• [31:38] App Store optimization
• [37:31] PR, storytelling, and making viral or sharable moments
• [42:49] A moment that defines who Catherine is today
• [44:59] Catherine's advice for her younger self
• [47:22] What marketers need to learn more about: macro trends and think scrappy
• [49:54] The companies and causes Catherine follows: Oasis Consortium
• [52:40] The biggest opportunity for marketers today: Apple really makes things up

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Teresa Barreira is the CMO at Publicis Sapient where she works to transform businesses in the constantly evolving world.

In this episode, Alan and Teresa discuss her path to becoming CMO at Publicis Sapient, the new internship program she's launched, and why she believes that diversity and inclusion are not only HR functions.

Along with her passion for D&I awareness, Teresa is passionate about transforming businesses. In her eyes, an organization should be like an operating room, constantly evolving and gleaning expertise and counsel from the experts in the room to accomplish a goal. Marketing plays a large role in driving that change. She says, “marketing is not just about telling a story or managing the brand. It is now about transforming the business.”

Listen to the full conversation to learn how you can also defend, differentiate, and disrupt within your organization and industry.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why content is the king and queen of a service company
• Why diversity and inclusion doesn't only belong in HR
• Digital business transformation: defend, differentiate, and disrupt

Key Highlights:

• [01:35] Growing up in Portugal and coming to the States
• [03:38] From medical student to CMO
• [07:16] What Teresa loves about the services division
• [09:25] Selling a service as well as the people
• [10:30] Lessons learned by being your authentic self
• [15:40] Publicis Sapient's internship program
• [22:11] Diversity and Inclusion is a company-wide endeavor
• [26:34] An organization should be an operating room
• [28:00] What is a digital business transformation
• [32:22] Transforming McDonald's
• [37:00] What Teresa says is today's biggest opportunity for marketers

Resources Mentioned:

• Publicis Sapient
• Teresa Barreira
• Past experience: IBM, Accenture, Deloitte
• Services Marketing
• Internship program – 120 students, 9 in marketing, 90% first generation college students
• Tony Wells of USAA on Marketing Today Podcast Episode
• Travis Montaque founder of Holler on Marketing Today Podcast Episode
• Pod Model – Agile Approach
• McDonald's business transformation

Subscribe to the podcast:

• Listen in iTunes (link: http://apple.co/2dbdAhV)
• Listen in Google Podcasts (link: http://bit.ly/2Rc2kVa)

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Katie Krum started her career at PURE in 2006 as the sixth employee at the insurance start-up. She played a significant role in shaping the brand, and throughout this process, she discovered her passion for marketing. Katie eventually left to develop her skill set at Nickelodeon, Marriott, Under Armour, and Weber Shandwick. She now leads a "small but mighty team" as the CMO at PURE, where she oversees all aspects of marketing communications and PR. One of the driving factors that drew her back to PURE was her incredible boss and her determination to explore innovative approaches to generate interest in insurance. She firmly believes in the power of collaboration, as she sees teams achieve more together than as individuals.

In this episode, Alan and Katie discuss the challenges involved in transitioning PURE from a company to a brand tailored specifically for high-net-worth families. Katie highlights the significant impact that service experiences have on driving progress. Katie's expertise from other industries is instrumental in bringing attention to PURE's distinctive "membership model" that sets them apart. Despite boasting a strong membership base with high renewal rates and an impressive net promoter score, consumer research revealed a lack of understanding of what PURE is all about to prospects and what they do for their members. This led to the launch of the "Join the Club" campaign, the development of a mobile-first brand book, and the redefinition of "excellent service." As a first-time CMO, Katie infuses the insurance industry, which typically lacks excitement, with her enthusiasm and fresh perspective. She actively spearheads transformative changes and anticipates significant shifts in marketing team structure, performance evaluation, and the utilization of AI.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why Katie returned to PURE
• What sets PURE apart in the insurance industry
• The benefits of having marketing communications and PR handled by one team

Key Highlights:

• [01:25] Katie’s dearest dad
• [05:00] Starting at PURE, leaving and learning, then coming back
• [10:15] Why did she come back to insurance?
• [12:30] What does PURE do?
• [15:15] How is Katie building the brand?
• [18:05] Research and ideation inform the plan.
• [19:10] The history of insurance and what makes it PURE
• [21:10] Benefits of blending marketing and PR into one team
• [25:10] First-time CMO excitement
• [26:00] Marketing is a team sport where we embrace crazy ideas.
• [28:50] Pat yourself on the back and be the one that shows up.
• [31:20] 3 important topics
• [33:45] State and brands to watch
• [36:45] The importance of post-pandemic reconnection

Thank you to our sponsor:

PartnerHero: to waive set-up fees, go to https://www.partnerhero.com/marketingtoday and mention “Marketing Today” during onboarding!

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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 audio content of others. The power of audio lies in the fact that "it can pretty much follow you throughout your day without interrupting whatever it is that you're doing at that moment in time." No matter how many people call him crazy, Hirsh sticks to the guiding principle that has gotten him here. "As long as you are true to yourself, you'll be a happier and more contributing person in life."

Highlights from this week's "Marketing Today":

• As an entrepreneur that has spent his life in innovation and forward-thinking, Amir has been called crazy plenty of times. 1:13
• 2020 saw the audio industry explode with more people connecting via audio and technology than ever. 2:20
• Podcasting doubled to 5.5 million podcasts in 2020 alone as more and more time has been spent at home. 2:54
• Consuming content through the ears rather than the eyes frees up the consumer to do so much more. 3:40
• Though Amazon was a little bit late to the audio game, it has positioned itself to be the 800lb gorilla in the room. 4:27
• Voice penetration through Alexa will allow Amazon to push audio content at an entirely new level. 5:36
• It's vital for marketers to think about audio as it becomes more available in all industries. 6:40
• People can connect with brands at a much higher rate through audio than just being bombarded with visuals. 7:10
• If you are not moving your ads into the audio dimension, you miss out on half of the consumers' attention span. 8:00
• Amir started Audioburst to help podcasts and other audio connect with internet searchers. 9:27
• By adding as much metadata as possible to the audio clips, Audioburst makes audio much more discoverable. 11:00
• Other than making it accessible, Audioburst aims to make audio easy to use on many different platforms. 11:42
• Currently, Audioburst partners with the likes of Samsung and Hyundai to integrate into multiple industries. 13:31
• Rather than answering questions with an automated voice, Audioburst provides an audio clip from an expert in that field. 15:15
• Audio finds its power in its ability to follow you around throughout the day without interrupting your activities. 16:44
• Brands and marketers should be open to opportunities both in audio and on audio. 17:56
• Opportunities in audio involve brands and marketers creating their own audio content, whether producing or being interviewed. 18:24
• Placing a brand around a playlist, podcast, or audio event is how brands can participate in audio. 19:28

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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 in horse racing, history, fashion, or the relationship between marketing and partnerships to amplify your brand, this episode is for you.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What makes the Kentucky Derby such a unique experience
• How a digital shift can amplify customer engagement
• What makes a good partnership
• Using partnerships to connect with your customers

Key Highlights:

• [01:41] Kristin's backup career as Bingo the Clown
• [02:55] How Kristin “fell into sports”
• [05:05] Why the Kentucky Derby is a unique sport
• [08:34] How COVID impacted the Derby
• [11:13] Partner shifts to digital and virtual activations
• [15:07] Cross-collaborations with partners
• [16:50] The new Jackson Family Wines partnership
• [18:36] The perfect blend of wine and racing
• [22:01] What makes for a good partnership
• [27:44] Kristin's advice to marketers identifying or negotiating partnership deals
• [29:11] An experience that defines Kristin, made her who she is today
• [30:40] Kristin's advice for her younger self
• [31:05] Kristin's recent impactful purchase
• [32:25] The brands, companies, and causes Kristin follows
• [33:50] What Kristin says is today's biggest threat and opportunity for marketers

Resources Mentioned:

• Churchill Downs
• Kentucky Derby
• Kristin Warfield
• NASCAR
• Woodford Reserve
• Vineyard Vines
• Jackson Family Wines
• Barbara Banke
• Kendall-Jackson
• La Crema

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