404: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is Using Stories to Inspire Change with CMO Adam Vasallo

01/31/24 • 44 min

Adam Vasallo is not only a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, but he is also their Chief Marketing Officer. Since joining the organization in 2018, he has been leading his team in generating awareness for the mission, inspiring volunteerism, and bringing the organization’s brand and commitment to youth equity and empowerment to life on national stages. Prior to joining Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Adam spent 11 years at HSN, where he held several senior-level development and marketing roles, including Director of New Business Development and Entertainment Marketing. During his time at HSN, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America came to their offices to recruit mentors, and Adam, being a young professional who knew he wanted to give back, signed up to become a "big" that very same day. Adam is now a two-time Big Brother and is currently matched with his Little Brother, Giovanni.

In this episode, Alan and Adam discuss his experience as a Big, what Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is trying to accomplish through their new national campaign, and the innovative ways they are showing up in the culture. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America was founded in 1904 in NYC as an innovative alternative to the juvenile justice system. Over the past 120 years, it has grown from a small start-up to more than 230 agencies serving more than 5000 communities operating in all 50 states.

Currently, 1 in 6 American kids says they are growing up without a caring mentor. This statistic inspired Big Brothers Big Sisters of America's new campaign, “It takes little to be big." Created as a marketing platform without an ending, "It takes little to be big” is intended to be versatile, attract volunteers, and resonate with donors. Through market research, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America identified the main barriers people felt in regards to becoming mentors, then designed the campaign to intentionally change the narrative and encourage involvement. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is targeting specific pop culture spaces where mentorship is already happening, like sports, fashion, and music, to partner with existing brands and individuals who help advance their message in innovative ways.

In this episode, you'll learn:

Adam's experience as a Big and what it’s like to volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
The innovative ways Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is changing the narrative around mentorship
Inspiring volunteers and donors with the “It takes little to be big" campaign and culturally relevant partnerships

Key Highlights:

[02:30] Adam’s first experience with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
[04:15] From TV Journalist to CMO
[08:40] What is Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and why was it founded?
[12:30] "It takes little to be big."
[14:45] Alumni messaging specifically for volunteers and donors
[16:10] Barriers to overcome with recruitment and reactivation of volunteers
[20:40] Executing authentic cultural connections
[28:05] Understanding mentorship as a first-generation American
[33:00] Advice to his younger self
[34:45] Automations with authenticity and impact storytelling
[37:10] Intergenerational sneakerhead subcultures
[40:35] Maximizing time and riding the rapid change

Looking for more?

Visit our website for the full show notes, links to resources mentioned in this episode, and ways to connect with the guest!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, you'll learn:

Adam's experience as a Big and what it’s like to volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
The innovative ways Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is changing the narrative around mentorship
Inspiring volunteers and donors with the “It takes little to be big" campaign and culturally relevant partnerships

Key Highlights:

[02:30] Adam’s first experience with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
[04:15] From TV Journalist to CMO
[08:40] What is Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and why was it founded?
[12:30] "It takes little to be big."
[14:45] Alumni messaging specifically for volunteers and donors
[16:10] Barriers to overcome with recruitment and reactivation of volunteers
[20:40] Executing authentic cultural connections
[28:05] Understanding mentorship as a first-generation American
[33:00] Advice to his younger self
[34:45] Automations with authenticity and impact storytelling
[37:10] Intergenerational sneakerhead subcultures
[40:35] Maximizing time and riding the rapid change

Looking for more?

Visit our website for the full show notes, links to resources mentioned in this episode, and ways to connect with the guest!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

403: Leveraging “Jake from State Farm” and Prioritizing Contextual Relevancy with Alyson Griffin, Head of Marketing at State Farm

Alyson Griffin is back! She is a musician, mother, and marketing leader born and raised in Silicon Valley with over 25 years of experience leading marketing, branding, and thought leadership teams. Alyson originally planned on being a pharmacist, but she eventually realized it wasn't the right fit for her. As soon as she walked into her first advertising class, the rest was history. She eventually got her degree in communications and started at a PR agency right after graduation. She went client side with HP in 2000, where she worked her way up to VP of Marketing, then served as VP of Global Marketing at Intel Corporation until 2019. She left to do consulting when the pandemic hit, but it wasn't long before Alyson got a perfectly timed call from State Farm. Alyson joined the team as Head of Marketing in 2021, where she has been tasked with revolutionizing the 100-year-old brand.

In this episode, Alan and Alyson discuss her non-traditional path from pharmacy school to technology to insurance, and of course, we talk about Jake! State Farm has seven iconic brand assets, the most famous and well-cultivated being Jake from State Farm. Alyson tells us the story behind the iconic Jake character, the strategy behind it now, and how he is helping the brand resonate with Gen Z. After realizing that they had the older audience well secured, State Farm began to focus on expanding to the younger generation and investing in future demand generation. They have several diverse partnerships and spokespeople, from Disney to NBA 2K to Jimmy Fallon, that help the brand connect with the public and, specifically, young people. Like most insurance companies, State Farm leverages humor in these marketing efforts, but what sets them apart is maintaining contextual relevance and strategically utilizing their assets, like Patrick Mahomes, to reach the audience he is most relevant with, people watching Monday Night Football. Alyson also tells us why sports play such a large role in the marketing strategy and how her team is working with large media partners to cobrand and integrate naturally into entertainment content.

In this episode, you'll learn:

The story behind Jake from State Farm, why he is so unique, and how they are leveraging the asset to reach Gen Z
How they are creating future demand through strategic partnerships and doubling down with gamers
Why State Farm prioritized maintaining a large presence in sports

Key Highlights:

[02:30] Intergenerational music lovers
[04:48] From musician to future pharmacist to marketer
[06:40] From Intel to State Farm
[08:45] Gaining confidence through change
[10:20] Why insurance relies on marketing so much
[11:30] Jake was real!?
[15:45] Jake has entered the metaverse.
[17:15] Jake is playing NBA 2K.
[23:45] Jake has entered the Swiftverse.
[24:30] Diverse, yet values-aligned, partnerships
[29:05] How State Farm thinks about marketing overall
[32:45] Why sports are a strategic marketing move
[34:55] Only Murders in the (State Farm insured Building
[37:55] What shaped her risk tolerance, vision, and passion?
[39:15] “Have confidence and trust your gut."
[39:55] Leveraging AI while staying true to the brand and jumping on trends
[42:30] Positive PR stunts
[42:25] Acting Swiftly

Looking for more?

Visit our website for the full show notes, links to resources mentioned in this episode, and ways to connect with the guest!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

405: How to Be Your CFO’s Best Friend with Thumbtack CMO, Llibert Argerich

Llibert Argerich is a hardworking triathlete from Andorra, one of the smallest countries in the world. At 11, Llibert lost his father and learned his work ethic firsthand as he watched his mother raise three children on her own as a waitress. His desire to expand his worldview beyond the valley has led him to live in five different countries on two continents over the last 20 years. After completing his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Toulouse in France, Llibert started doing market research for a small start-up, but it didn't take long for him to fall in love with marketing. After moving to London to learn English, he got his “lucky break” by faking it until he was making it and got hired on at Expedia. From there, he went to work for eBay, where he was able to achieve his 16-year-long goal of moving to the US. Most recently, Llibert served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Udemy before he was hired as Chief Marketing Officer at Thumbtack in August 2023.

In this episode, Alan and Llibert discuss how he approached his first 100 days at Thumbtack, his view on integrating brand and performance, what is and is not working in marketing today, and how to become your CFO’s best friend. Llibert also outlines the guiding principles and operating philosophy that Thumbtack implements based on data and testing to determine how they spend marketing dollars.

Thumbtack is a platform that connects homeowners to professionals in the home service area, making it a dual-sided marketplace. As CMO, Llibert oversees the entirety of the marketing and communications platform, and he is also the DIR (Directly Responsible Individual) for the consumers and all company metrics that link to the homeowners (the demand-side consumer). Llibert tells us he and his team have found a more functional synergy by leveraging the Directly Responsible Individual structure rather than breaking the team into supply and demand sides. Marketers are often unfairly categorized as either performance experts or brand experts when in reality, they should be fluent in both languages. Llibert believes that true success will come from a 360-degree approach that leverages various channels to meet consumers where they are and can measure impact and performance across the whole spectrum.

In this episode, you'll learn:

Llibert's approach to his first 30, 60, 90, and 100 days in his new role
Structuring marketing to benefit both sides of a dual-sided marketplace
Thumbtack's guiding principles and operating philosophy that drive brand and performance

Key Highlights: