Category: Show Notes

Rich Honiball, is the CMO of the Navy Exchange (NEX), which generates over $2 billion in sales through over 300 retail stores worldwide that range from a 200 square foot “Micro Market”, a 24/7 vending operation, to a 200,000 square foot flagship store “that looks like a department store attached to an electronics store attached to a home store attached to a drug store.” In this episode, you’ll learn how NEX generates extraordinary brand loyalty through user-generated content and a fanatical devotion to customer listening and customer service.

When Elissa Fink joined Tableau she was one of 40 employees that helped orchestrate a user conference for 200. Ten years later Tableau has a staff of over 3,200, a user conference for 13,000 and revenue that exceeds a billion dollars annually. It’s an amazing success story that Elissa has not just witnessed – she’s played a vital role, bringing a combination of enthusiasm, smarts, willingness to try new things and a deep appreciation for using data to make informed decisions. If you aspire to be a leader at a fast growing organization, then this is a must-listen episode.

Gina McDuffie is the CMO of VER, formally known as Video Equipment Rental, the leading, global provider of production equipment serving the television, cinema, corporate, live events and sports broadcasting markets. Well known in production circles, Gina took on the challenge of helping VER rebrand and reinvent how it markets its products and services.  She is responsible for marketing and revenue generation at VER, a winner of the Rising Star award from The CMO Club and all around terrific person.  After you listen to this podcast, you will understand why I immediately nicknamed her “Gina the Builder” and will want to emulate her success.

The notion of having a large-scale content studio in-house would be radical for many brands but that’s just the opening scene for David Beebe who “set out to establish [Marriott] as the largest producer of travel lifestyle content.” A veteran of Hollywood, Beebe has turned Marriott into a content powerhouse by “not asking for permission all the time” and by focusing initially on “really premium storytelling.” Noting that successful content needs to be scalable, built around a community and have a commerce component, Beebe advises, “You’re not making a commercial, you’re not talking about yourself and your features anymore.”

Lamenting the fact that the healthcare industry “says the same thing and blends into this mush,” Arra Yerganian is “working to change the conversation” about Sutter Health. To achieve this goal, Yerganian is “leaning in when others lean away” and seeks to “embrace the digital experience and create one-to-one relationships for the 3.5 million people that we serve.” Believing that this promise needs to go deeper than marketing, Yerganian works in “really close partnership with Sutter’s patient experience folks, executive leadership and operations” to “lay the foundation for a new [customer] experience.”

With over 70% share of the premium tequila market, it would be easy for Patrón’s CMO to rationalize a conservative marketing approach. Instead, Lee Applbaum believes that success can only be found by “challenging long-standing norms in luxury and in spirits marketing,” and by “always staying ahead of the curve.” To these ends, Applbaum is focused on showcasing Patron’s authenticity as a handcrafted tequila via advertising, influencer programs, social media and an innovative Oculus VR experience.