Author: Drew Neisser

Discover the Funny, Creative Culture Behind the Success at Big Ass Fans

Posted on by Drew Neisser

It’s easy for B2B marketing to skew factual and dry, and it often forgets that on the receiving end of messaging and marketing, there are actual humans with senses of humor and personalities. Alex Reed, Global Marketing Director for Big Ass Fans, knows this well, and has used it to craft funny, innovative B2B marketing and branding that connects with his audience on an emotional level.

In this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Alex and Drew discuss the importance of using humor in marketing, share inventive ways to connect with customers, and examine why being relatable, funny, and approachable is extremely important, even if you’re an industrial-size fan manufacturing company.

 

 

This conversation is loaded with helpful insights into creative marketing, click here to listen now!

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What You’ll Learn

Customer Listening Drove Big Ass Fans to Get Creative

Alex shared a story of how the name went from the lackluster “HVLS Fan Company” to “Big Ass Fans”. There was no big secret to the company’s a-ha moment, they simply listened to customers who would call and ask “are you the guys that sell those big-ass fans?”. It was an early lesson for the company: pay attention to what your customers are saying and adjust to fit what they’re looking for can have massive payoffs. Alex also stresses that, in making these creative decisions, it’s important to run everything by his team; if he’s making a joke, it can’t be too uptight otherwise it won’t be funny, and it can’t be too crass otherwise it’ll be poorly received.

How Big Ass Fans Connects with Customers

Humor and creativity need to be ingrained in the company culture; a funny company name can only take a brand so far. “Big Ass Fans” can get a prospect’s attention, but there’s plenty more hard work that goes into landing a sale. Alex Reed and the marketing team committed to taking traditional outreach efforts and twisting them to deliver messages in a way that sets them apart. Rather than physical mailers, they produced a quarterly magazine that avoids being a catalogue and focuses on human interest pieces related to company employees or industries they service. The company used this to build up the ‘Big Ass Fan Club’ from the subscriptions, and now have a robust infrastructure for maintaining positive relationships with the customer base.

The Primary Goal for All Marketers

In reflecting on the lessons he’s learned as CMO of Big Ass Fans as a brand, Alex’s first piece of advice was that a marketer’s number one job is to stand out. Big Ass Fans delivers humor, and shares their company culture with the world, but Alex notes that there are plenty of ways to connect with your audience emotionally, you just have to find them. For more in-depth discussions surrounding marketing and Big Ass Fans, listen to the full episode.

Timeline 

  • [1:17] Drew ponders the use of humor in B2B marketing and introduces Alex as his guest for this episode
  • [4:00] Why Alex uses humor in his communication strategy
  • [8:08] Big Ass Fan’s innovative way of connecting with their customers
  • [15:20] The Big Ass ways of acquiring customers
  • [20:16] Using traditional media in nontraditional ways to connect with customers
  • [27:36] The role humor plays in acquiring customers and hiring top talent
  • [30:32] Alex shares his best lessons for marketing

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HealthSparq is Redefining Transparency in Healthcare Through Bringing People Together

Posted on by Drew Neisser

Risk is too-often considered a dirty word in healthcare sectors. Transparency in healthcare industries is sadly uncommon. For this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite Drew interviews a courageous thinker in healthcare that’s changing the way people think about risk-taking in healthcare, CMO of HealthSparq Burt Rosen.

Burt’s background in hospitality and education allowed him to see the massive gap in the healthcare industry – it’s wasn’t actually about helping and connecting people. By turning his company upside down and digging into the true goal of HealthSparq, Burt has launched a movement that strives to make healthcare less confusing and more transparent.

This interview will restore your faith in the healthcare system. Learn how an insatiable level of curiosity can make you successful in any industry, as well as how to know when your brand positioning has struck gold. Finally, hear the background story behind Burt’s “What’s the Fix?” conference.

Burt and Drew tackle big issues on this episode and help you unravel the transparency in healthcare issues. Be sure to give it your full attention. Click here to listen now!

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Redefining HealthSparq’s brand story in order to identify their true niche

Burt learned about the importance of connecting with people and caring for them during his careers in education and hospitality. When he joined the HealthSparq team he recognized the need for a massive redefinition of the brand. Rather than talk about the specifics of the tools the company offers, Burt wanted to talk about the impact the tools has on the actual human using them. That’s why HealthSparq’s tagline is now “Helping people make smarter healthcare choices.” No matter how powerful research tools or cost calculators may be, if they’re not helping people feel more comfortable and confident in their own decisions, the tool is not serving the greater brand purpose. Burt’s understanding of person-first business is unparalleled and you’ll enjoy hearing him passionately talk about this idea on this episode.

Transparency in healthcare is key because it’s so personal to people and their families

HealthSparq’s marketing team realized that healthcare should not be impersonal. Everyone has a healthcare story – they should be positive and comforting tales, not riddled with confusion and frustration. Burt believes that the professionals in the industry should be framing every decision in regards to the customer and patient. This underlying belief drives everything HealthSparq creates. HealthSparq knows that people of every age and from every walk of life want the same things. They want to be taken care of, they want good service, and they want transparency. Changing a decades-old industry is not for the faint of heart and to hear how Burt is conquering this task be sure to listen to this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

How a simple focus group idea turned the healthcare industry upside down

In every other industry, focus groups and panel questioning is commonplace. In the healthcare sector? Not so much. An idea for a public focus group left long-standing industry professionals baffled. When the first few HealthSparq-sponsored panels drew in massive amounts of feedback and stories it sent shockwaves through the industry. These panels soon morphed into Burt’s passion project, the “What’s the Fix?” conference. This conference, with the second one being held in May 2018, strives to connect actual people to industry leaders. Making people smarter about healthcare and the decisions they make for their families is always a move in the right direction. Burt’s excitement about the conference is contagious and this episode is sure to leave you inspired.

What You’ll Learn

  • [0:30] Drew’s introduction of Burt Rosen, CMO of HealthSparq, and why risk shouldn’t be a dirty word in healthcare
  • [1:40] Why Burt embraces risk in healthcare and what attracted him to the industry
  • [4:08] You can learn the skills necessary for any industry if you understand marketing and have an insatiable curiosity
  • [8:13] Identifying HealthSparq’s true niche through risk-taking rebranding
  • [12:01] Uncovering what people really want out of healthcare through public focus groups
  • [23:19] The importance of investing in face-to-face interactions with actual people
  • [26:24] Storytelling at HealthSparq and why it’s so critical for Burt and his team
  • [30:01] How a low-budget conference became a massive movement in the healthcare industry
  • [34:10] Everything starts with the positioning of the brand
  • [37:38] Burt shares what’s next for HealthSparq and the What’s the Fix? conference

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Top 4 Best Practices for Creating the Best Marketing Organization Structure, Learned from Mindtree’s CMO

Posted on by Drew Neisser

Drew’s conversation with Paul Gottsegen, Executive VP and Chief Marketing/Strategy Officer of Mindtree, will provide new CMOs with a step-by-step playbook for creating the best marketing organization structure possible. Paul provides listeners with 4 best practices to follow for ultimate success in digital, content, and social marketing.

Paul explains that “I’ve learned everything by making every mistake in the book.” Don’t repeat his mistakes, learn from his experiences. Those experiences have allowed him and his team to bring in over 100,000 sales pipeline leads over the past few years. The company’s stock value has quadrupled, and Mindtree has become a globally trusted brand.

Learn from one of the industry’s best experts on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite. Click here to listen now!

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#1: Find out what your CEO/Executive Board’s marketing expectations are

A CMO should not spend a single dollar or make a single decision until they determine what goals the company leadership team has for marketing. By having their expectations outlined ahead of time, you’ll save time, energy, and resources. Paul struggled with conveying the true importance of marketing to Mindtree’s executive board, but he summarized it by saying, “Marketing isn’t easy! If it was, everyone would be doing it in amazing ways. You just have to keep pushing good content, having great interactions, and build company credibility.” This mindset needs to be conveyed to company leaders before any of the other best practices can be implemented.

#2: Build the best marketing tech stack infrastructure you can afford

Once marketing expectations and goals are established, a CMO should focus on building the best marketing tech stack possible. Paul explains that marketing professionals should “hire and fire tech stack tools quickly; don’t just sign a longer contract for a better deal!” He goes on to explain that many organizations forget about the staffing needs that come along with every tech stack tool and that every tool should provide quality metrics. Your tech stack should always be evolving and changing to fit the needs of the company.

#3: Focus on building a competitive brand

Clear marketing expectations and having the right infrastructure then allows a CMO to focus on building a competitive, trusted global brand. Paul explains that small marketing organizations shouldn’t immediately focus on going toe-to-toe with brand 10x-20x larger than they are. That growth will come in time. However, every brand does need to focus on telling a better story that explains why YOU can solve a customer’s problem better than anyone else. Marketing can and should be about more than securing contracts. It’s about building a reputable, trusted, expert brand. All of this can be accomplished by following these 4 best practices, fully explained in the audio for this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

#4: Don’t be afraid to partner with experts and empower your team

Even the CMO of Mindtree wasn’t afraid of turning to outside experts when he and his team hit a wall. There are thousands of qualified professional marketers that can provide third-party insights into your organization. Empowering your team to become experts in different areas is also immensely beneficial to a marketing organization’s structure. Specialties are great, employee silos aren’t. Your team should be just that, a team, all focusing on one common goal. This final best practice is best heard from Paul himself, so don’t miss this episode.

What You’ll Learn

  • [1:38] Drew’s guest introduction and why this episode is a playbook for marketing organization structure
  • [4:45] Paul’s biggest challenges as a new CMO and how he learned the best marketing lessons
  • [10:50] Hidden costs to tech stacks that often go overlooked
  • [13:37] How can a small B2B company develop a competitive brand?
  • [17:58] Making Mindtree’s tagline, “Welcome to possible,” become reality
  • [20:26] Paul’s proudest moment of marketing execution at Mindtree
  • [23:57] Utilizing metrics and how to drive more leads to the sales pipeline
  • [30:12] The biggest area of uncharted territory in B2B marketing
  • [34:23] Paul’s 2 do’s and 1 don’t for CMOs

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Discover How Lucidchart is Mastering the Art of Viral Marketing Campaigns

Posted on by Drew Neisser

When you think of Lucidchart, you probably think of the massively popular “doggo meme videos.” These viral marketing campaigns are the result of Lucidchart taking risks and creating a culture of experimentation within their company. What started out as a simple idea from a team engineer has morphed into a global campaign that introduced Lucidchart to hundreds of thousands of new viewers.

On this entertaining and educational episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Drew and Lucidchart’s CMO, Nathan Rawlings, discuss the 3 major ideas behind a viral marketing campaign. Throughout the conversation, they discuss how the “doggo meme videos” became a staple in Lucidchart’s marketing portfolio.

Don’t miss the conversation behind why your website must be rock solid before launching into a campaign strategy and how to effectively track the impacts of a digital marketing campaign.

This podcast episode will leave you laughing and inspired – it’s one you don’t want to miss. Click here to listen now.

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Before you can begin thinking like a Renegade, your company’s digital infrastructure must be built and optimized correctly

Even the best viral marketing ideas will fall flat if your company does not have a stellar website. Combining best practices for SEM and SEO optimization, refining your blocking and tackling techniques, and understanding what your target market is looking for are crucial. This is where data and metrics trump creativity. If your website doesn’t flow well and give people the answers they’re looking for even the best demand generation strategies won’t succeed. Nathan experienced this firsthand when he joined the Lucidchart team. He walks listeners through the process of tweaking your website on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

Brand awareness can be created through viral marketing campaigns, like Lucidchart’s wildly successful doggo meme videos

Creativity can be found anywhere when brainstorming for ad campaigns. Lucidchart’s team desired to reach out to potential customers and go beyond the low hanging industry fruit of people already creating diagrams.  Thus the “doggo meme” diagram videos that describe the “internet love language for dogs” were born. Each video has millions of views and as a result, the company’s global brand awareness has skyrocketed. A combination of endless internet memes, pop cultural awareness, and a willingness to produce great content simply for the sake of brand awareness allowed this viral marketing campaign to flourish. This campaign is shaping the way Lucidchart looks at customer engagement and you don’t want to miss hearing Nathan talk about the videos with passion and excitement. Be sure to give your full attention to this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

Finding the intersection between culture, product, and storytelling comes after your team has built a culture of experimentation

Nathan explains to Drew that “drawings are the most natural form of communication.” Even before Lucidchart developed the meme diagram videos they had developed a culture of experimentation within their team. No idea was ever too simple or too outlandish to be considered. Nathan urges other CMOs to be human in their storytelling and to always seek out ways to communicate authentically with audiences. Drew also states that you can test a lot of things on the internet, and to not be afraid of the potential (minor) fallout if a digital campaign falls flat. When creative teams who are willing to take risks and try unconventional strategies are united with powerful technology strategies, brilliant ideas are able to flourish.

What You’ll Learn

  • [0:30] Drew introduces his guest for this episode, Nathan Rawlins, CMO of Lucidchart
  • [1:03] How are marketing and torturing marshmallow peeps connected?
  • [4:11] The marketing strategies going on behind the scenes at Lucidchart
  • [5:30] Successful demand generation method examples
  • [6:16] Search engines are ground zero for marketing and why you have to master the basics
  • [10:16] Why practical effectiveness sometimes trumps creativity
  • [11:49] The genius idea behind the “doggo meme” campaign
  • [17:13] Memes are great, but some of Lucidchart’s ideas weren’t as successful as the “doggo speak” campaigns
  • [18:21] How Lucidchart measured the impact of the meme videos
  • [22:03] How viral videos can increase morale and allow people to have fun communicating
  • [25:26] The future of Lucidchart’s meme videos
  • [27:58] Had Lucidchart not taken a risk with the meme videos, they would have never discovered the rich vein of viral marketing
  • [29:53] Drew summarizes his conversation with Nathan and outlines 3 major points for successful viral marketing campaigns
  • [32:06] Have a strategy to try many different marketing tactics

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The Best Practices for Bold Marketing Strategies, Learned from Marketo’s CMO

Posted on by Drew Neisser

Marketo’s bold marketing strategies are well known across the marketing industry. For this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Drew interviews their CMO, Sarah Kennedy. He also introduces a new segment on the podcast, Renegade Rapid Fire, where listeners can get to know Sarah in an informative and engaging Q & A session. Discover her best advice for CMOs, why she chose a career in marketing and her recommendation for a book that will renew your courageous marketing spirit.

Sarah left a 10-year tenure at a previous company and leapt into a five-month interview process at Marketo in order to diversify her experiences and pursue bold marketing. She is passionate about building an empowered and talented team as well as removing the shackles of perfectionism that plague the marketing industry.

You don’t want to miss the insights Sarah brings from Marketo into this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite. Discover why CMOs should be called to lead with conviction and the critical importance of risk-taking and experimentation through marketing.

This interview will unveil Marketo secrets that will push your own company to greater success. Click here to listen now.

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Why “fearless and bold marketing” is the mantra guiding Marketo into the future

When Sarah Kennedy joined the Marketo team, she immediately recognized the need to build a stellar team and fully understand the current Marketo brand story. Once she accomplished those tasks, she wanted to be able to have a single direction that would guide the company forward. That’s when “fearless marketing” was born. CMOs are born to lead, not waffle on ideas, and Sarah pursued fearless marketing relentlessly. She wanted to always circle back to customer engagement while also telling an even more powerful brand story that had been told in the past. Marketo has taken fearless marketing and turned it into an all-encompassing identity and even leadership summit events. Be sure to catch the full story on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

Learn from Sarah’s 15 years of experience at top marketing companies to discover what makes a fearless marketer

The definition of a “fearless marketer” is a CMO that is not afraid to experiment and take bold marketing risks. By setting aside fear of failure, CMOs are able to pursue THE idea they truly believe in. Fearless marketers aren’t afraid to experiment with platforms and strategies that other companies are ignoring. Bold marketing decisions, even if they fail by conventional standards, allow companies to learn and grow. Having the right infrastructure in place to be able to learn from mistakes is critical. Sarah shares all of this advice and more, so be sure to give this episode your full attention.

CMOs are called to lead with conviction and empower their teams to pursue bold ideas without fear of failure

Sarah believes that it is a moral imperative for CMOs to empower their teams to make bold marketing decisions. When Drew asks her about the most Renegade thing she’s ever done in marketing, she explains that it’s any time she steps up and serves as a voice for both the customer and her team. Sarah also explains that CMOs should never doubt their ability to succeed. This interview is filled with even more inspirational advice that will leave you hungry for success and it should not be missed.

What You’ll Learn

  • [0:30] Drew introduces his guest for this episode, Sarah Kennedy, CMO of Marketo
  • [2:07] Drew gets to know Sarah through his new segment, Renegade Rapid Fire
  • [11:25] The most intriguing part of Marketo culture that drew Sarah in
  • [13:55] How the fearless mentality was created at Marketo
  • [16:53] Sarah’s definition of a fearless marketer
  • [23:20] CMOs are called to lead with conviction & stick to the ideas they truly believe in
  • [27:07] Content marketing and brand stories at Marketo
  • [32:54] Sarah’s final words of advice for CMOs
  • [34:19] Drew summarizes his conversation with Sarah Kennedy

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How Dropbox is Channeling Global Creative Energy Through a Bold Rebranding Effort

Posted on by Drew Neisser

Few companies have mastered the art of channeling creative energy through a focused rebranding effort better than Dropbox. On this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Drew interviews CMO of Dropbox Carolyn Feinstein. Their shared love of creative energy and authentic storytelling makes for a podcast episode you don’t want to miss.

Carolyn discusses her passion for connecting deeply with consumers through stories as well as why Dropbox chose to “fix something that wasn’t broken” all on this episode. Be sure to listen to discover how Carolyn’s team shifted the market’s perspective about the well-loved company and its offerings.

With over half a billion worldwide users, Dropbox is among the best for workflow technology companies. Their ability to roll out massive internal changes while simultaneously conveying the right story to loyal consumers is encouraging.

Hear all about the challenges tackled, lessons learned, and joyful successes on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite. Click here to listen now.

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How did Dropbox approach such a massive project? By following these three main ideas

Carolyn’s team is passionate about storytelling. She explains to Drew on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite that connecting people to one another through quality products and touching stories is the best way to begin a rebranding project. After realizing that Dropbox wanted to reinvent itself, Carolyn followed three main ideas that dictated their path: the art of storytelling, achieving buy-in from internal audiences, and listening to the voice of loyal customers. To hear how she skillfully knit these steps together into one successful mission be sure to listen to this episode.

Rebranding should not be incremental – bold actions conquer fear and allow your company to make huge strides forward

Dropbox’s biggest success throughout the rebranding process was persuading every member on the team that bold actions were the way to achieve ultimate success. Drew is also a huge proponent of the idea that incremental steps don’t move companies forward. Carolyn knew she needed to snap people to attention and have them understand that Dropbox is more than cloud storage. While there will always be some concerns about restructuring a brand’s identity, moving forward with confidence is the ultimate way to launch your company into the next chapter of success. You’ll surely learn from this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite so be sure to give it your full attention.

The crisis of modern work is “death by distraction” – hear how Dropbox is channeling the world’s creative energy and allowing people to work to their full potential

The modern workplace is plagued with notifications, emails, and deadlines. Carolyn and her team at Dropbox recognized this issue and wanted to solve it. Their solution? Streamlined services and products geared at freeing teams from monotonous and time-consuming tasks so they can unleash their creative energy. The goal? Global teams working on a united platform to create projects that will change the world. That’s why Dropbox continues to be a leader in workplace technology and creative storytelling. This interview is one you don’t want to miss.

What You’ll Learn

  • [0:30] Drew asks the question, “if it’s not broken, should you break it anyway?”
  • [2:00] Carolyn’s go-to story to share with marketers
  • [6:16] The biggest moment for Carolyn when she was with Electronic Arts
  • [11:03] The massive rebranding project Carolyn helped Dropbox navigate
  • [14:27] Shifting the consumers’ perspective of Dropbox
  • [16:57] How Dropbox handled the fear of changing a well-loved brand
  • [21:40] The internal rollout of Dropbox’s rebranding project
  • [23:57] Dropbox is becoming an eponym and approaching the level of Google or FedEx
  • [26:00] The art of a living, dynamic workspace product
  • [28:15] Distraction = death in the modern workplace, and how Dropbox is unleashing global creative energy
  • [31:08] The biggest lessons learned throughout this bold rebranding mission and the 3 main measures used to measure a storytelling effort
  • [35:06] Drew summarizes this inspiring episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite

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