Scratch: CMO Interviews

“The Apple of Toothbrushes”: How Suri is Disrupting the $10 Billion Oral Health Care Industry

leanne@wearerival.com (Gyve Safavi, Viren Samani) — Wed, 1 Apr 2026 11:19:09 +0000

Gyve shares how SURI found its edge by listening closely to real customer frustrations and rethinking the product from the ground up, from design and performance to sustainability. Instead of treating sustainability as the headline, SURI builds products people genuinely want to use first, then makes them better for the planet.

It also dives into how SURI is translating that momentum into retail, competing on shelf through design, clarity, and brand recognition, while continuing to evolve as a work in progress, including early validation from Jony Ive that reinforced their belief in design as a core differentiator.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/0n5MyEr06NM

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Brands to watch

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Viren Samani, and he’s joined by Gyve Safavi of Suri in this episode

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn.

Find Viren on LinkedIn

Find Gyve on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Rival is a marketing consultancy for brands that want to challenge convention in their category. We’re on a mission to understand what challenger brands do differently to grow in categories that are being disrupted, and use a challenger playbook to deliver outsized impact through an integrated, tech-enabled approach. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.

If you’re interested in learning more about marketing from successful CMOs, we compiled a list of the top 5 CMO podcasts to listen to in 2024; check it out here 🔗 https://www.wearerival.com/content-hub-articles/cmo-podcasts-you-cannot-afford-to-miss-in-2024

“Listen Loudly”: How the World's Largest Credit Union Thinks Like a Challenger Brand

leanne@wearerival.com (Pam Piligian, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:21:44 +0000

The conversation explores why Navy Federal focuses on being "precious to few, but relevant to many". By prioritizing active duty military and their families, they build a foundation of trust that naturally scales to the broader veteran community.

In a landscape where brands often prioritize efficiency, Navy Federal focuses on authenticity. This philosophy shines through in their "brandformance" strategy, a blend of brand and performance that balances rational product needs with emotional trust.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️:https://youtu.be/jlpq3Mzc_hg

Favorite challenger brand: Rocket Mortgages

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Pam Piligian of Navy Federal Credit Union in this episode

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn

Find Pam Piligian on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Satisfy Built The Most Adored Brand In Running

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Daniel Groh) — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 17:04:37 +0000

Instead of following trends, Satisfy chooses to build a brand that’s different. Daniel said it best: “The easiest way to do something quite different is to not look at anything at all.”

In a landscape where brands benchmark competitors and chase fleeting trends, Satisfy focuses on culture. They hire for it before skill, treat customers as guests, and think in decades rather than moments.

This philosophy shines through in the Satisfy Pro Team. It’s not just a sponsorship roster, but a reflection of the brand’s commitment to process and discipline.

The key takeaway: Most brands chase relevance, but Satisfy builds consistency. They react to culture, while Satisfy hires for it. They aim for long-term impact, not short-term hype.

This conversation is a masterclass in long-term brand strategy and the discipline of saying no.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/CRUMwdDoj5o

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Satisfy Pro Team - https://satisfyrunning.com/pages/satisfy-pro-team

-Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Daniel Groh of SATISFY in this episode

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn

Find Eric on LinkedIn

Find Daniel on Linkedin

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Brompton Built One of the Biggest Brands In Cycling

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Chris Willingham) — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 13:06:33 +0000

In this episode of Scratch, Eric sits down with Chris Willingham, Chief Marketing Officer at Brompton Bicycle, to discuss the brand strategy behind Brompton’s global expansion. Chris shares how Brompton has grown from a distinctly 'British brand' into a global challenger across markets like China, Japan, the US, and Europe, and why international growth requires a clear point of view on what the brand stands for everywhere, not just what it sells.

They dig into how Brompton built a global brand platform designed to scale, including how the team grounded its positioning in both product truth and human truth. Chris explains the thinking behind Living Life Unfolded, why the brand shifted focus from the mechanics of folding to the experience that unfolds once you ride, and how Brompton balances global consistency with the flexibility needed to resonate locally. He also shares how the brand is being rolled out in phases, prioritising focus and internal alignment over big-budget launches.

The conversation also explores what this approach means for marketing leadership. Chris reflects on choosing agency partners that fit a challenger brand, the importance of distinctiveness and creative bravery in crowded categories, and how community and culture play a role in global relevance.

Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2WLVQ_mnJaM

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Favorite challenger brand: On
Amp By Rival
The Rival 50: The Best Challenger Brands of 2025

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Chris Willingham of Brompton Bicycle in this episode

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn.

Find Eric on LinkedIn

Find Chris on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Inside Webflow’s Bet on an AI-Native Web and What That Means For CMOs

leanne@wearerival.com (adrian rosenkranz, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Scratch, Eric sits down with Adrian Rosenkranz, Chief Revenue Officer at Webflow, to explore how AI is fundamentally changing the way brands grow, compete and get discovered. As large language models reshape how people find and evaluate products, Adrian argues that marketing is shifting from a game of clicks and traffic to a game of relevance and answers, where your website, content and brand have to work for both humans and machines at the same time. We’re effectively marketing to bots at this point!

They dig into what this means in practice for CMOs, from how SEO and content strategies need to evolve, to why many AI initiatives stall inside large organisations. If you’re currently trying to bring AI to your marketing team (Who isn’t?) then Adrian has some practical guidance and perspectives to share to ensure that your AI initiatives actually deliver something valuable.

The conversation also goes beyond tools and tactics into leadership, creativity and culture. Adrian reflects on lessons from Salesforce, the importance of narrative and design thinking, and why creativity, taste and speed of adaptation are becoming the true sources of differentiation in an AI-native world. It’s a wide-ranging discussion about how marketing, growth and brand leadership need to evolve for the next era of the web.

Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Favorite challenger brand: Ramp
Best campaign: Duolingo
Amp By Rival
The Rival 50: The Best Challenger Brands of 2025

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn

Find Adrian on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Rewriting The Sports Marketing Playbook: How Manors Is Becoming The Most Memorable Brand In Golf

leanne@wearerival.com (Viren Samani, Alex Ames) — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Scratch, Viren sits down with Alex Ames, Marketing Director at Manors Golf, the challenger brand bringing new energy, creativity, and cultural relevance to a sport long seen as elitist and inaccessible. Manors believes golf is a game to be explored, not mastered, and they are reshaping the category one cinematic campaign at a time.

Alex unpacks how Manors went from a small rebrand to a movement inspiring a new generation of golfers. He dives into the brand’s early struggles (“the Dark Ages”), how events helped them rediscover momentum, and how the team realised that attention—not product, was their true currency. He reveals the internal creative engine behind Manors’ iconic films, from Monday forensic reviews to Thursday idea punch-ups, and how viral thinking shapes every concept.

The episode covers everything from the Reebok partnership (and why they avoid “brand soup”), to location-led campaigns, to how everyday golfers and celebrities ended up sharing the tee sheet at Manors events. For marketers, the message is clear: if you want to change a category, change the story people tell about it.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: YT Link

📚 Chapters:

00:00 – Intro & Viren’s fanboy moment
01:38 – Challenger brand shoutout: Satisfy Running
03:03 – What Manors Golf actually does
05:24 – Why golf needed a cultural refresh
07:42 – Golf as exploration: the foundation of Manors’ brand
14:31 – How insights were reframed for a new audience
15:47 – How social media opened golf to younger players
16:36 – Why storytelling became foundational to Manors
18:55 – The “Dark Ages” & the moment everything shifted
21:22 – Why events matter for brand building
22:23 – Their unique influencer strategy (no follower-chasing)
24:55 – The community-first mindset
26:03 – The unseen advantage of having a strong brand
30:23 – How Manors built its content machine
32:36 – Inside the Monday forensic review & Thursday punch-up
34:51 – How virality informs campaign execution
39:48 – Hook-first creative thinking
41:40 – “Blow up the golf cart”: Reebok collaboration
55:32 – Most underrated channel for challenger brands
58:08 – Closing thoughts

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Rival 50 - The Top Challenger Brands of 2025 - Rival's brand index with Imperial College London
Future of the CMO Documentary - A documentary for CMOs about the future of the role featuring the CMO of Mastercard, Shell, Dr. Scholl’s and many more.
Satisfy Running – Favorite challenger brand reference for how to build culture around a sport:
Random Golf Club (Erik Anders Lang) – Referenced as one of the early lifestyle-led golf collectives before Manors’ rise
Arc’teryx – A key reference point for Manors’ positioning: “like Arc’teryx for golf.”
The North Face – Another anchor brand referenced to explain Manors’ performance-meets-lifestyle functionality.
Ryder Cup – Mentioned as the context for one of Manors’ biggest collection launches and a cultural moment in golf.
Golfers Journal – Inspiration for golf as exploration and the storytelling aesthetic Manners tapped into
Reebok x Manors “No Thanks, I’ll Walk” Collaboration: Campaign page.
Max Fosh (YouTuber) – Inspiration for using hook-first creative thinking during campaign development
Notion – The internal system powering Manors’ creative pipeline, punch-ups, and idea tracking.

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. This Scratch episode is hosted by Viren Samani, and he’s joined by Alex Ames, Marketing Director at Manors Golf.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Find Viren on LinkedIn

Find Alex on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com. We’d love to hear from you.

Roots before Reach: YETI's Playbook To Building an Iconic Brand

leanne@wearerival.com (Bill Neff, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Bill Neff, Head of Marketing at YETI, breaks down how the legendary cooler company became a culture-defining outdoor brand without relying on massive media budgets. From his Under Armour “locker room” days to leading one of the world’s most beloved challenger brands, Bill shares the operating system behind YETI’s rise, which is one built on community intimacy, real relationships, and equipment designed to last forever.

And this year, YETI made The Rival 50, our index of the world’s top challenger brands redefining growth, a recognition that reflects the consistency, courage, and craft behind their approach.

One key takeaway: Roots before reach. Bill explains why YETI invests four times more in community than brand, how third-party advocacy beats first-party hype, and why focusing on the micro-cultures around hunting, fishing, culinary, and outdoor craft fuels more growth than broad awareness ever could. If you’re building a premium brand or trying to scale without outspending your category, this conversation is your blueprint.

Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube ▶️: HERE

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro 🎙️
05:00 Challenger brand pick: Turtlebox 🏆
06:30 What YETI is today
09:00 Listening that guides expansion (cast iron) 📊
12:00 Depth via community
14:00 Under Armour lessons: “locker room talk”
16:30 Premium pricing & third-party advocacy 💵
20:00 Getting started with advocacy 🤝
23:00 People stories > product dumps
28:00 Community-first team structure (4x brand)
31:00 Mass brand without mass media
34:00 Wrap up

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

ANA Global Day of Learning (Association of National Advertisers)
Turtlebox, favorite challenger brand
Under Armour, Bill’s previous work experience
Sitka Gear, Bill’s previous work experience
Duck Man (YETI campaign)
Drake Magazine (endemic example)

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Bill Neff, Head of Marketing at YETI, in this episode

This episode was recorded at the ANA’s global day of learning.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Find Bill on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com. We’d love to hear from you.

From Cornwall to the World: How Finisterre’s community marketing strategy built a global brand

leanne@wearerival.com (Bronwen Foster-Butler, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Scratch, Eric chats with Bronwen Foster-Butler, CMO of Finisterre, the cold-water surf brand from Cornwall proving that purpose and performance can coexist. Bronwen shares how community became Finisterre’s real growth engine, from “creating through community, not for it,” to rethinking top-of-funnel marketing and focusing on relationships over reach. She shows how listening to your customers can lower CAC, build loyalty, and create true advocates.

Finisterre began with a simple insight: the surf industry’s glossy, tropical image that didn’t reflect the real, rugged world of UK surfers. Today, it’s a B Corp and leading challenger brand proving that you can grow profitably without losing your soul.

And finally, she dives into how a strong sense of place in Cornwall’s coastline and the shipping forecast origins of the Finisterre name and thus gives the brand its distinct voice. Ultimately, the takeaway for marketers is clear: scaling through a niche isn’t limiting but it is the future. Staying true to who you are as a brand, and give a platform to your community to carry the story forward.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: HERE

📚 Chapters:

00:00 – Devon vs Cornwall (and scones)
04:00 – Challenger brand spotlight: Snow Peak
07:36 – What is Finisterre?
08:09 – The founder’s cold-water surf epiphany
10:04 – Lessons from Lululemon’s turnaround
12:44 – Rebuilding trust through community
13:35 – “Create through community, not for community”
21:09 – Ocean meets mountain: Kendal Film Festival
23:50 – CAC, CLTV & data on community ROI
28:49 – Cornwall, heritage, and the Shipping Forecast
31:50 – Scaling through a niche
37:00 – Doing more with less: top-of-funnel investment
39:00 – Creative consistency and campaign focus
41:33 – Alignment, enrollment, and growth metrics
43:20 - Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Lululemon – Community-led brand lessons
Burberry – Global brand transformation
Snow Peak – Favorite Challenger Brand
Kendal Mountain Festival – Ocean & Seas collaboration
e.l.f. Cosmetics – “Too Many Dicks” campaign reference
BBC Shipping Forecast – The origin of the Finisterre name

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Bronwen Foster-Butler, CMO of Finisterre in this episode.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Find Bronwyn on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Inside Salesforce’s Marketing Machine: CMO Ariel Kelman on AI, Data, and the Future of Marketing

leanne@wearerival.com (Ariel Kelman, Eric Fulwiler) — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Scratch, Ariel Kelman, President & CMO of Salesforce, shows how a category leader can still think like a challenger through the power of education, not persuasion. Education beats persuasion when you make community the flywheel: by pairing product truth with peer proof through events like Dreamforce, Trailhead, and forums, so customers learn how to win with your product (not just why it’s great). That mindset turns advocacy into momentum.

But teaching only lands if the tech actually works in the flow of “work”, so Ariel’s rule is being able to put data before demos. He emphasizes the need to harmonize and govern customer data in Data Cloud so AI agents have context, then deploy them where they matter. For example, a product Q&A agent spun up in weeks drove 700k+ customer chats, and their website/service agents have resolved 1.6M cases because they understand real customer history, permissions, and next best actions.

Finally, as a brand, you need to be Customer Zero and balance quick wins with long bets. Dogfood your offerings first to iterate fast and convert internal proofs into external playbooks, then scale what works.

Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube ▶️: https://youtu.be/92Rfv19ypQE

📚 Chapters:

00:00 – Intro & Ariel’s challenger lens 🎙️
05:35 – Agentforce: AI agents in the flow of work 🤖
10:40 – Data Cloud: the prerequisite for accurate AI ☁️
12:56– Momentum: quick wins while building the platform 🚀
13:23 – “Infinite SDR capacity” & rethinking lead flow 🔁
14:39 – Autonomous vs. augmenting agents (Finnair) 🤝
26:54 – Customer Zero: dogfooding at scale 🐶
27:47 – Dreamforce: education as strategy 🎪
36:10 – Community as the marketing flywheel 🧑‍🤝‍🧑
41:35 – Salesforce’s AI point of difference (trust + data) 🛡️
45:21 – Cutting through AI noise with use-case education 📚

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Challenger brand mentioned: Ramp – spend management platform with software-defined controls
Salesforce Agentforce – AI agents embedded in Salesforce workflows
Data Cloud – Salesforce’s customer data platform (CDP)
Dreamforce – Salesforce’s flagship community conference
Finnair – Finland’s largest airline (Agentforce case mentioned)
Akamai – content delivery network (CDN) pioneer
Amazon/AWS – cloud infrastructure & services
Siebel – Oracle’s legacy on-prem CRM suite
Snowflake – cloud data platform & data warehouse
Apple – hardware, software & services (self-cannibalization mindset reference)

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Ariel Kelman, President & CMO of Salesforce, in this episode.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com & LinkedIn

Find Eric on LinkedIn

Find Ariel on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Ocean Bottle’s Secret to Scaling Impact With 2 Billion Plastic Bottles

leanne@wearerival.com (Will Pearson, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 8 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Scratch, Eric chats with Will Pearson, Co-Founder of Ocean Bottle, the brand turning reusable bottles into vehicles for global impact. One of the biggest takeaways from Will’s story is how Ocean Bottle has made impact completely non-negotiable in its business model; every purchase is tied directly to measurable change. Rather than chasing the traditional direct-to-consumer routes, the brand leaned into B2B partnerships as its true growth engine, scaling faster through collaborations like Ed Sheeran’s tour than through paid ads.

Will also highlights that in a purpose-driven category, the goal isn’t to outcompete others but to grow the category as a whole. Ocean Bottle’s marketing reflects this mindset, relying on storytelling backed by proof, from the Change Collective initiative to transparent reporting on every kilo of plastic collected. Ultimately, the key learning for marketers is clear: purpose isn’t dead; it is evolving. And partnerships are how purpose-led brands grow.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: [https://youtu.be/OQrmbdzNkg8]

📚 Chapters:

00:00 – Intro & Will’s background
03:25 – Challenger brand shoutout: Freaks of Nature
04:13 – Ocean Bottle’s mission & impact
05:11 – Balancing purpose and profit
07:22 – Competition (and why it doesn’t matter)
11:12 - Mobilising community for impact
12:48 – Launching B+ for leading B Corp brands
19:09 – Marketing evolution: from DTC to partnerships
22.05 – B2B growth channel (Ed Sheeran & others)
23:25 – Lessons learned from 6 years of marketing
25:13 – The next stage: scaling from 1M to 10M bottles
26:48 – Differentiating through product innovation
28:25 – Ocean Bottle’s culture of innovation
31:47 – Lightning round (pizza, campaigns, pet peeves)

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Freaks of Nature – reef-safe sunscreen brand co-founded by Kelly Slater
The North Face – Ocean Bottle brand partnership
Ed Sheeran – Ocean Bottle bottles featured on his tour
Nike - purpose-led brand reference
Patagonia – purpose-led brand reference

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Will Pearson, Co-Founder of Ocean Bottle, in this episode.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com & LinkedIn

Find Eric on LinkedIn

Find Will on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com. We’d love to hear from you.

How Barclays Adopts a Challenger Mindset to Innovate a 300-Year-Old Brand

leanne@wearerival.com (Lili Tomovich, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 12:20:00 +0000

In this episode of Scratch, Eric chats with Lili, the Chief Marketing & Experience Officer of Barclays US Consumer Bank, about how she brought a challenger mindset from the hospitality and entertainment industry into one of the biggest banking players in the world. Lili shares how her experience at MGM shaped her approach to customer experience, and how she’s transformed Barclays to be more customer-centric, putting real people at the heart of every journey. Innovation at Barclays doesn’t start with technology; it starts with people: Lili introduced live client call listening for executives and designed accountable customer journeys to keep the brand ahead in a fast-changing industry

The conversation also explores the delicate balance between digital efficiency and maintaining the human touch, why curiosity is now an essential skill for marketers, and the ways CMOs can leverage insights from outside their own category. Packed with practical advice and real-world examples, this episode is a must-watch for anyone looking to drive customer-focused growth and bring humanity back into marketing.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/MgNhEchujRY

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) – Intro 🎙️
(00:02:27) – Favorite Challenger-brand 🥤
(00:06:04) – Barclays US brand overview 🏦
(00:07:56) – Lili’s journey from Hospitality to Banking 🎰
(00:16:41) – “Make It Better” and mindset shifts 🚀
(00:18:43) – Customer journeys and accountability 🔑
(00:22:56) – Restoring humanity in marketing 🤝
(00:27:11) – Balancing AI efficiency with loyalty 🤖❤️
(00:33:11) – Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Lili Tomovich, the Chief Marketing & Experience Officer of Barclays US, in this episode.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com & LinkedIn

Find Eric on LinkedIn

Find Lili on LinkedIn

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

The Secret Marketing Playbook Behind Burger King, Popeyes, & Tim Hortons

leanne@wearerival.com (Daniel Blumer, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 11:57:41 +0000

Watch our documentary on the Future of the CMO from this link 📺: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXBKelmQomM

In this episode, Daniel Blumer, CMO of Restaurant Brands International (EMEA), breaks down how Burger King’s parent company keeps four iconic brands fresh in a noisy quick-service world. From ditching 1,000-slide reports to tapping local culture first, Daniel shares the practical framework that powers 7,000+ restaurants across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

One key takeaway: Stop averaging—start individualizing. Daniel explains how looking at every store’s micro-market unleashed hidden growth, and why “emotional first, functional later” has become the new rulebook for launching Popeyes or Tim Hortons in new countries. If you lead marketing for a multi-brand, multi-market business, this conversation is your cheat sheet.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/ws_GuCGOAlQ

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro 🎙️
(00:04:00) - Favorite challenger brand 🏆
(00:05:48) - Overview of RBI
(00:12:25) - Building Cultural Relevance 📊
(00:18:56) - Sales, budget & market-share framework 💵
(00:28:00) - Boutique agency network strategy 🤝
(00:33:12) - Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Liquid death

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, joined this episode by Daniel Blumer of Restaurant Brands International.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn

Find Eric on LinkedIn

Find Daniel on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Scratch Special: How Baby Eric & Baby Jenna Survived Cannes 2025

leanne@wearerival.com (Jenna Cummings, Eric Fulwiler) — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 12:05:43 +0000

This week, it's a Scratch special. Fresh off The Croissette at Cannes 2025, Baby Eric and Baby Jenna join us to share their key takeaways from the most talked-about event in all of marketing and advertising. As yes, we said Baby Eric and Baby Jenna. All courtesy of AI of course.

But do expect serious, insightful, sometimes rogue insight and opinions as usual from the Rival team all about what CMOs need to know from Cannes this year.

What better way to discuss a major marketing event than in the shape of little babies, and we are emptying our diapers on the following:
The death of the big 6
AI reshaping the industry… or is it?
How Gen Z all hate their phones, and experiential is the new digitalAnd much much more. In the words of Baby-Eric: Burp your CMO and let’s talk takeaways because baby, we’ve got thoughts!

How Peanut Built a Social Media Network for 5 Million+ Moms

leanne@wearerival.com (Phoebe Corcoran, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Watch our documentary on the Future of the CMO from this link 📺: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXBKelmQomM

In this live-recorded episode, Phoebe Corcoran, Brand & Communications Lead at Peanut, tells us how a two-person marketing team fuels the world’s fastest-growing social network for women across fertility, pregnancy, motherhood, and menopause. We discuss how they used real-time user insights to create headline-grabbing ideas - from the #FourSmiles statue takeover that spotlighted post-partum depression to the raw, viral power of #InvisibleMothers, a campaign that generated 100 million+ impressions and global press.

Throughout the conversation, Phoebe shares the art-and-science balance that lets Peanut punch above its weight: mining community data for emotional hooks, knowing when to deploy “hero” creative versus hard-working performance assets, and orchestrating guerrilla-style out-of-home activations that cost peanuts yet earn national coverage. If you want to learn how to scale your business on startup budgets while resonating with millions, then this episode is for you.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️:

📚 Chapters:

00:22:20 – What you need to do differently ⚡
(00:00:00) – Intro 🎙️
(00:01:57) – Phoebe’s favourite challenger brands 🏆
(00:02:55) – What is Peanut? 📲
(00:07:30) – Invisible mothers campaign 😊
(00:14:25) – Choosing the best ideas 👀
(00:17:21) – Art & Science balance ⚖️
(00:22:20) – What you need to do differently ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com & LinkedIn

Find Eric on LinkedIn.

Find Phoebe on LinkedIn

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Cracking the $128Bn Pet Market with the CMO of Petsafe Brands

leanne@wearerival.com (Molly Landman, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 12:10:00 +0000

Watch our documentary on the Future of the CMO from this link 📺: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXBKelmQomM

In this episode of Scratch, Eric sits down with Molly Landman, the first Chief Marketing Officer of PetSafe, the 30-year-old pet-tech pioneer behind invisible fences, automatic litter boxes, GPS collars, and more. Molly explains how she inherited “the biggest pet brand no one knows,” why an early push into broad awareness failed to lift sales, and how a tighter focus on consumer jobs-to-be-done now guides everything from R&D roadmaps to TikTok creative.

She details the work of collapsing siloed teams into a single insights-to-activation engine, riding rivals’ top-of-funnel spend instead of out-spending them, and finding pockets of growth even as the overall pet-durables market turns negative. If you’re looking for lessons on brand refresh, gross-margin optimisation, or balancing performance with brand, this conversation delivers a practical, P&L-driven playbook.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/vIdrjkKh49A

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) – Intro 🎙️
(00:02:42) – Favorite Challenger-brand
(00:04:36) – PetSafe overview 🐾
(00:11:00) – Molly’s journey at Petsafe 📈
(00:31:36) – Growing with less in a shrinking category 💡
(00:38:25) – Taking the CMO role
(00:40:26) – Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com & LinkedIn

Find Eric on LinkedIn

Find Molly on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Tubi's Marketing Playbook to Disrupt the $109Bn Global Streaming Market

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 28 May 2025 12:15:00 +0000

Watch our documentary on the Future of the CMO from this link 📺: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXBKelmQomM

This week, we sit down with Nicole Parlapiano, CMO of Tubi, the leading free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) with the largest content library on the planet - 275 K+ movies and TV episodes. Nicole unpacks how she’s rewriting the rules of entertainment marketing: brand-first positioning, bottom-up cultural relevance, and creative swings that punch way above their media weight.

One of the key takeaways from this episode is Nicole’s conviction that the monoculture is DEAD - growth now comes from igniting micro-communities at scale. We also dive into how commercial acumen (private-equity roots, P&L obsession) makes a modern CMO indispensable at board level, why most brands misuse social media, and the power of constraints to unlock breakthrough creativity. If you’re building a challenger brand - or simply fighting for standout work - this episode is for you!

Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube ▶️: https://youtu.be/cBuq9amnM9c

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro 🎙️
(00:03:29) - Nicole’s background
(00:14:30) - Favourite challenger brand 🌶️
(00:17:03) - Challenging Convention 🌐
(00:26:02) - Rethinking social 📱
(00:33:55) - Creativity, risk & Super Bowl lessons 🎨
(00:38:32) - Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com & LinkedIn.

Find Eric on LinkedIn.

Find Nicole on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Midday Squares is Disrupting Big Chocolate using a Reality Show Model

leanne@wearerival.com (Jake Karls, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 14 May 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Watch our documentary on the Future of the CMO from this link 📺: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXBKelmQomM

On this week’s episode of Scratch, Jake Karls, the energetic co-founder and Chief Rainmaker of Midday Squares, joins Eric to unpack the reality-show marketing strategy that’s rocketing their functional chocolate bars onto shelves across North America. From filming therapy sessions to smashing Costco road-show records, Jake explains why attention is today’s most valuable currency and how being unapologetically authentic turns casual shoppers into lifelong fans.

If you want a front-row seat to a modern challenger playbook - complete with community gamification, LinkedIn power moves, and a sneak peek at the next growth phase - this episode is for you!

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/3I86AGZQRvY

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro 🎙️
(00:04:18) - Jake’s favorite challenger brand: Liquid Death 💧
(00:08:50) - What is Midday Squares? 🍫
(00:10:45) - The reality-show marketing playbook 🎥
(00:19:00) - Breaking Costco’s sales record & community gamification 🏬
(00:24:30) - Scaling a media-first model 📈
(00:30:30) - LinkedIn: the underrated channel 🔗
(00:33:45) - Data vs. creativity in marketing 📊
(00:41:00) - Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn.

Find Jake on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Polestar is Taking on EV Giants in a $785Bn Market

leanne@wearerival.com (Asa Borg, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 13:36:32 +0000

Watch our documentary on the Future of the CMO from this link 📺: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXBKelmQomM

In this episode, Eric sits down with Åsa Borg, the Chief Marketing & Commercial Operations Officer at Polestar, the Swedish electric performance car brand that's challenging the automotive industry. Since launching in 2017, Polestar has rapidly expanded to 27 markets globally with their lineup of electric vehicles. Åsa brings her wealth of experience from 20 years at Volvo Cars to this challenger brand, offering unique insights on the difference between marketing for an established brand versus building one from scratch.

One of the key takeaways from this conversation is how Polestar approached sustainability—making it core to their brand identity rather than just a marketing message. Åsa shares that transparency is a fundamental value for Polestar, especially in an industry that has historically hidden its environmental impact. We also dive into their decision to bring creative and media capabilities in-house, which has allowed for greater consistency, speed, and control over their brand expression across all 27 markets. Another fascinating aspect of our discussion explores how AI is being integrated into their marketing operations, from improving translation to maintaining brand tonality across markets. If you're interested in automotive marketing, sustainability branding, or building in-house creative capabilities, this episode is packed with valuable insights!

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/fSEW2Vl2Sf8

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro 🎙️
(00:03:02) - Åsa’s view on challenger brands in the EV space 🏆
(00:04:29) - What is Polestar?
(00:09:20) - Sustainability as a core brand value 📊
(00:13:08) - Creative campaigns and testing approach 🎬
(00:27:09) - Employer branding 🖨️
(00:34:50) - Åsa’s commercial responsibilities 💼
(00:37:03) - Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com & LinkedIn

Find Eric on LinkedIn

Find Åsa on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Building Intergenerational Brand Loyalty with the CMO of Consumer Reports

leanne@wearerival.com (Khalid El Khatib, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 9 Apr 2025 12:05:00 +0000

In this episode, we sit down with Khalid El Khatib, the Chief Marketing Officer of Consumer Reports, one of America’s most trusted and oldest consumer advocacy organizations. Khalid unpacks how he’s transitioning Conaumer Reports from a “publisher” mindset to a platform strategy that emphasizes product-led growth, user-centric advocacy, and yes, the iconic lab testing (including a cat-hair-laden robotic vacuum test).

One of the key takeaways here is how community can be a company’s competitive moat, and how bringing in fresh digital tactics doesn’t have to mean losing an 88-year legacy of credibility. Another recurring theme is the intergenerational aspect of CR’s brand story - how do you engage a loyal but aging membership and a new crop of digitally native consumers at the same time? If you’ve ever wondered how to future-proof an institution while staying true to its roots, then this conversation is for you!

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/K-OrSj6ioiA

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) – Intro 🎙️
(00:03:00) – Khalid’s favorite challenger brand 🏆
(00:06:45) – Overview of Consumer Reports 📋
(00:16:31) – Approaching community 🚀
(00:28:11) – Succeeding in a SaaS environment 🤝
(00:35:28) – What makes a good CMO ⚙️
(00:41:05) – Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Khalid El Khatib of Consumer Reports in this episode.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn.

Find Eric on LinkedIn.

Find Khalid on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Oddbox is Building UK’s Fastest-Growing Grocery Subscription

leanne@wearerival.com (Gastón Tourn, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 13:00:00 +0000

We’re excited to sit down with Gastón Tourn, the Chief Growth Officer of Oddbox, a subscription service rescuing produce that would otherwise go to waste. In this conversation, Gastón dives into the importance of genuine storytelling, the fascinating psychology behind “Veg Haters,” and why focusing on customer insight (rather than competitors) unlocks true growth potential.

One of the key takeaways from this episode is Gastón’s belief that marketers should read fiction writers—like Hemingway—to understand storytelling frameworks that connect on a deeper human level. Another recurring theme is his approach to balancing long-term brand-building with short-term performance—a common challenge for any marketer who needs to do “more with less.” If you’ve ever wondered how to turn customer complaints into an engaging campaign, or if you simply love the idea of “ugly” fruits and veggies saving the world, then this episode is for you!

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/DWQzGdyFj-U

📚 Chapters:

00:00:00 – Intro 🎙️
00:03:02 – What is Oddbox? 🥕
00:08:40 – Gastón’s favorite challenger brand 🏆
00:11:16 – Storytelling that matters – the Hemingway hack ✍️
00:23:10 – Focusing on customers, not competitors 🤝
00:34:03 – How to Approach ROI with the Board 🦟
00:40:25 – Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

The Long and the Short of it: Balancing Short and Long-Term Marketing Strategies

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn.

Find Gastón on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How ESL FACEIT Group Fuels the Largest Esports League on Earth

leanne@wearerival.com (Fabio Tambosi, Eric) — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 13:15:00 +0000

Check out our new podcast ‘Ripples’ on Microcultures from the links 🔗 below 👇

🎙️ Listen on Apple podcasts here
🎧 Listen on Spotify here

In this episode, we sit down with Fabio Tambosi, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing at ESL FACEIT Group (EFG)—the world’s largest esports and gaming ecosystem. Fabio shares his journey from a near-pro soccer career to marketing roles at Nike, Adidas, and Saucony before stepping into the high-velocity realm of esports.

One of the biggest takeaways from this conversation is Fabio’s approach to “unlearning” old habits. Drawing on his experience managing iconic sports brands, Fabio explains why empowering teams, trusting the community, and staying humble are critical for success in an always-evolving digital landscape. With more than 3.2B gamers globally, Fabio believes co-creation and community-led content represent the future of modern marketing—both in esports and beyond.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/xEKUBtePN3E

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) – Intro 🎙️
(00:04:20) – Fabio’s Challenger Brand
(00:06:56) – Overview of ESL FACEIT Group 🕹️
(00:09:20) – From Soccer Dream to Accidental Marketer ⚽
(00:18:43) – Unlearning & Asking ‘Simple’ Questions 🤔
(00:19:49) – Trusting the Team & Creative Process 💡
(00:24:21) – Why you need to empower your team 👥
(00:38:00) – Where Brands go Wrong 🏗️
(00:40:50) – Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Find Fabio on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Light Is Breaking Big Tech by Creating an Anti-Attention Smartphone

leanne@wearerival.com (Kaiwei Tang, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Check out our new podcast ‘Ripples’ on Microcultures from the links 🔗 below 👇

🎙️ Listen on Apple podcasts here
🎧 Listen on Spotify here here

In this episode, Kaiwei Tang, CEO & Co-Founder of Light, reveals how a 10-year-old “anti-smartphone” brand has cultivated a dedicated community by doing less. Light’s flagship product, the Light Phone, eliminates data-hungry apps, social media, and constant notifications—replacing them with practical tools and pure utility. Kaiwei shares how organic word-of-mouth, celebrity shout-outs, and unwavering brand values fuel Light’s growth in a world where “paid ads” often dominate the startup playbook.

From experiencing the anxiety of leaving your smartphone at home to feeling the freedom of minimal tech, this conversation uncovers how Light stands apart from Big Tech’s attention-driven business model. If you’ve ever wanted a more balanced relationship with technology—or you’re just intrigued by how a brand can shape culture through less, then this episode is for you!

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/3hXkhcYlNlc

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) – Intro 🎙️
(00:04:01) – Meet Kaiwei Tang and the Light Brand 💡
(00:17:02) – What Marketing is for Light 🚀
(00:24:51) – Jobs to be Done for Light 📢
(00:34:03) – The Future for Light 🔮
(00:40:00) – Lessons from a Product-Led Mindset 🛠️
(00:47:13) – The One Thing to Do Differently ✅

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities to help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and in this episode, he’s joined by Kaiwei Tang, CEO & Co-Founder of Light.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn.

Find Kaiwei on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Major League Soccer’s Full-Funnel Blueprint for Converting Viewers to Fans

leanne@wearerival.com (Radhika Duggal, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Check out our new podcast ‘Ripples’ on Microcultures from the links 🔗 below 👇

🎙️ Listen on Apple podcasts here
🎧 Listen on Spotify here here

In this episode, Eric sits down with Radhika Duggal, CMO of Major League Soccer, to discuss the league’s explosive growth and unique approach to sports marketing in the United States. Radhika brings insights from her time at household-name brands like JP Morgan and Pfizer, revealing how a data-driven approach helps MLS turn viral moments (like Lionel Messi’s arrival) into real, long-term fandom. She also shares why “customer obsession” is crucial in sports—especially as Gen Z and new digital habits transform the way fans consume and connect with their favorite teams.

From the balance of art and science in modern marketing to building genuine internal culture, Radhika explains how soccer is uniting people both in stadiums and behind screens, making MLS one of the most interesting “challenger” leagues to watch—no matter which sport you prefer.

▶️ Watch the video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/VLnp9neNIBA

📚 Chapters

(00:00:00) – Intro 🎙️
(00:03:59) – Radhika’s favorite challenger brand 🏆
(00:07:08) – Overview of Major League Soccer ⚽
(00:10:00) – Consumer behavior and data-driven insights 📊
(00:20:45) – MLS’s playbook to growth 📣
(00:29:28) – Balancing data, humanity, and team culture 🤝
(00:39:48) – Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the Show:

Modelo’s recruiter campaign
Bain Values Pyramid (Framework for consumer-facing value)
Liquid Death (Challenger brand)
Apple TV – Major League Soccer Season Pass

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn,

Find Radhika on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Standard Bank’s Marketing Playbook to Dominate South Africa’s $1.41Tn Finance Sector

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Diana Springer) — Thu, 6 Feb 2025 13:12:25 +0000

In this episode, Diana Springer, Group Head of Brand & Marketing at Standard Bank, talks about preserving trust while infusing fresh creativity into Africa’s largest financial institution. With a heritage spanning 162 years and 15M+ customers, Standard Bank has every reason to play it safe—yet Diana reveals how her team fosters innovation, internal advocacy, and an emotive brand narrative in a typically functional category.

From her agency background (Ogilvy, Saatchi) to the challenges of marketing a global, matrixed financial services group, Diana shares tactics for balancing brand consistency with the need for breakthrough creativity. Whether you’re a marketer in a highly regulated industry or just want to hear what it’s like taking a heritage brand forward, this conversation will both give you insight and inspiration.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/FqizjfWSSUs

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) – Intro 🎙️
(00:03:37) – Diana’s favorite challenger brands 🏆
(00:07:19) – What Fintech CMOs think about 💭
(00:09:05) - What Standard Bank Does 💵
(00:11:00) - Diana’s POV on Incumbent vs Challenger 👊
(00:15:35) – Storytelling and emotional resonance 💡
(00:23:17) – Resonance vs Relevance 🤝
(00:37:01) – Challenges to being brave 💪
(00:44:37) – Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Find Diana on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Investec Stays "Fresh" after 50 years with Challenger Thinking

leanne@wearerival.com (Abey Mokgwatsane, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 13:30:00 +0000

We’re back with Scratch! In this episode, we sit down with Abey Mokgwatsane, Chief Marketing Officer of Investec, an international bank and wealth manager that’s celebrating its 50th anniversary—and still thinking like a challenger. Abey shares how his team keeps the brand fresh by simplifying complexity, focusing on consistent storytelling, and staying true to the heritage that first propelled Investec into the private banking space. He also explains what it’s like to join a new industry as a “super sub” and how that outsider perspective drives authentic innovation.

One of the big takeaways from this episode is Abey’s focus on “making the complex simple and the simple exciting.” Whether it’s building a brand around the iconic zebra or doubling down on Investec’s legendary service culture, Abey’s mindset proves that consistency doesn’t have to mean boring. We also dive into what it means to remain “freshly consistent” instead of “consistently fresh,” a concept that’s helped Investec maintain its challenger DNA over five decades of growth.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/EGXZiOWQbsA

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) – Intro 🎙️
(00:03:30) – Abey’s favorite challenger brand 🏆
(00:04:50) – Overview of Investec 💼
(00:07:19) – Building a challenger ethos in finance 📈
(00:14:30) – Making complexity simple and simplicity exciting 💡
(00:21:30) – ‘Freshly Consistent’ vs. ‘Consistently Fresh’ 🔄
(00:27:20) – The ‘Super Sub’ approach to marketing ⚽
(00:46:18) – Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Four Seasons (service inspiration)
Adam Morgan’s “Eating the Big Fish” (challenger brand mindset)
KitKat (“fresh consistency” in action)

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities to help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and in this episode he’s joined by Abey Mokgwatsane, CMO of Investec.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Find Abey on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Tony’s Chocolonely Changed the $120Bn Chocolate Category

leanne@wearerival.com (Sadira Furlow, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we’re thrilled to sit down with Sadira Furlow, the Chief Marketing Officer of Tony's Chocolonely, an impact company on a mission to end exploitation in the cocoa industry. Tony's Chocolonely isn't just about making delicious chocolate—they're committed to making systemic change in the chocolate industry by producing ethically sourced chocolate and encouraging others to join their mission.

In our conversation, Sadira dives deep into the reality of building a challenger brand that's scaling globally while staying true to its core mission. She shares insights on how Tony's embraces boldness and risk-taking to drive meaningful change, the importance of storytelling in conveying their mission, and how they navigate the challenges of growth without compromising their values. One of the key takeaways from this episode is Sadira's perspective on being unapologetically mission-driven and how that translates into every aspect of their business—from product design to marketing strategies.

Another recurring theme is the significance of partnership and clarity when pushing boundaries, and how Tony's fosters a culture that isn't afraid to "call the lawyers" to make a statement. If you're interested in purpose-driven marketing or want to learn how to build a brand that genuinely challenges industry norms, then this episode is for you!

Send us a screenshot of your review at media@wearerival.com 👀🍫

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/1zQgayBpb7I

📚Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:07:30) - What is Tony’s Chocolonely?
(00:10:43) - Why is Tony ‘lonely’? 🌍
(00:19:11) - Perception vs. reality of a challenger brand 🔍
(00:24:03) - Creating bold marketing campaigns 🎨
(00:36:01) - Tony's as a real deal challenger 💪
(00:39:15) - The 'call the lawyers' mindset ⚖️
(00:49:29) - Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Sadira Furlow of Tony’s Chocolonely in this episode.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn.

Find Sadira on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

The BBC’s Blueprint for a Century of Brand Building With Its Chief Brand Officer

leanne@wearerival.com (Charl Bassil, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 13:20:00 +0000

In this episode, we’re thrilled to sit down with Charl Bassil, the Chief Brand Officer of the BBC, a globally renowned public service broadcaster (yes, the BBC) committed to enriching people's lives through programs and services that inform, educate, and entertain.

In our conversation, Charl dives deep into the art of nurturing brands for the long term, emphasizing the responsibility of brand custodians to preserve and grow what has been created. He shares insights on how marketers can think like farmers, cultivating assets that provide value over time rather than hunters seeking short-term gains. We also explore the importance of balancing risks and opportunities in marketing plans and uncover the secrets to gaining more buy-in within an organization.

One of the key takeaways from this episode is Charl's perspective on how brands can make people feel like they belong, turning the "others" into part of a community. We also discuss the evolving role of CMOs, the significance of maintaining authenticity in brand messaging, and how to remain relevant in a rapidly changing media landscape. If you're interested in long-term brand growth and making a meaningful impact, then this episode is for you!

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/9B9DrYcWnaU

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro 🎙️
(00:03:11) - Charl’s favorite challenger brand 🥨
(00:08:10) - The role of brand custodians 🌱
(00:12:43) - Nurturing brand for the long term ⏳
(00:29:43) - How to get more buy-in for brand ⚖️
(00:34:00) - Making people feel like they belong 🤝
(00:41:00) - Why the BBC is a challenger brand 👊
(00:46:35) - Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Favorite challenger brand - Olly’s
Episode with Boxraw
Absolut Vodka

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Find Charl on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

The Modern CMO’s Playbook to First-Party Data With the CEO of mParticle

leanne@wearerival.com (Michael Katz, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 12:20:00 +0000

We’re thrilled to sit down with Michael Katz, the CEO of mParticle in this episode. mParticle is a leading customer data platform that helps businesses unify and activate their customer data to drive better marketing outcomes. They specialize in integrating various data sources to create unified customer profiles, enabling companies to deliver personalized and efficient marketing campaigns.

In our conversation, Michael dives deep into the evolution of customer data management, sharing insights on how the shift from integration to intelligence is shaping the future of marketing. One of the key takeaways is his emphasis on the importance of building a strong first-party data foundation, which is crucial for businesses navigating the challenges of data privacy and third-party cookie deprecation. Another recurring theme is the collaboration between marketing and IT teams, highlighting the concept that "data is a team sport." MK discusses how aligning these departments can lead to better execution and more effective use of customer data. If you're a marketer looking to stay ahead in the rapidly changing landscape of customer data and marketing technology, then this episode is for you!

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/ECTN_VC5760

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro 🎙️
(00:02:28) - MK's favourite challenger brand
(00:03:50) - What mParticle does 🚀
(00:10:30) - The shift from integration to intelligence 🧠
(00:21:50) - Navigating data privacy and signal loss 🔒
(00:29:49) - Leveraging AI with transparency 🤖
(00:39:31) - Collaboration between marketing and IT 🤝
(00:39:55) - Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn

Find Michael on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Boxraw Is Fighting Its Way to the Top of the $1.3Bn Global Boxing Market 🥊

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Ben Amanna) — Wed, 9 Oct 2024 13:27:02 +0000

In this episode, we’re thrilled to sit down with Ben Amanna, the CEO of Boxraw, a pioneering boxing apparel and equipment company that’s aiming to revolutionize the sport. Boxraw specializes in high-quality boxing gear and lifestyle apparel, helping people around the world embrace boxing not just as a sport, but as a lifestyle 🥊.

In our conversation, Ben dives deep into the art of building an authentic lifestyle brand centered around boxing. He shares insights on community building, the importance of authenticity, and his vision for the future of boxing as both a sport and a culture. One of the key takeaways is Boraw's aspiration to be “the reason why the world got into boxing”, highlighting the significance of staying true to one's core values in brand building.

Another recurring theme in this episode is the emphasis on community initiatives like Sprint Club and Sparring Club, showcasing how fostering a genuine community can drive growth and resonate with a broader audience. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, brand building, or the sport of boxing, then this episode is for you!

Join our AMP Community from this link 🌱.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/RRm5Zv3oWCg

📚Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro 🎙️
(00:04:30) - Ben's favorite challenger brand 🏆
(00:07:00) - The vision behind Boxraw 🥊
(00:10:30) - Going back to authenticity 👕
(00:14:20) - The role of content and storytelling 📖
(00:23:35) - Lifestyle vs product brand? 🤝
(00:29:01) - Influencers in the boxing world 💡
(00:37:24) - Building communities to grow 🚀
(00:46:45) - Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Fav Challenger Brand: Satisfy running
Creed 3 x boxraw
Corteiz bolo campaign

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Find Ben on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

170% YoY Growth: Bespoke Beauty Brands' Secret to Disrupting the Beauty Industry

leanne@wearerival.com (Stacey Tank, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 12:20:00 +0000

We're joined by the CEO of Bespoke Beauty Brands, Stacey Tank in this episode. Founded by Toni Ko in 2019, Bespoke Beauty Brands, LLC is reshaping the landscape of affordable luxury beauty. The company blends its deep expertise in color cosmetics with the creative brilliance of artists like KimChi and Jason Wu, while embracing core values of creativity, inclusiveness, and self-acceptance. Stacey gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what has driven the company's success, particularly with the KimChi brand, which has achieved remarkable triple-digit growth year after year. She shares how authenticity and a commitment to building genuine communities lie at the heart of BBB's marketing strategy.

In the second half, we dive into the evolving world of beauty retail and how it's being reshaped by challengers & incumbents alike. Stacey explains how social selling is quickly becoming the “third leg of the stool” alongside traditional retail and e-commerce—a shift that has the potential to shake up long-established retail models. She also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a strong innovation pipeline to keep up with the fast-moving beauty industry. Success, Stacey explains, is all about finding the right balance between delivering short-term results and pursuing a long-term vision, while avoiding over-reliance on any single product or sales channel. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone interested in, or working in beauty, innovation, and community-building.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/ecL1gOGWntQ

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:40) - Favorite Challenger Brand ❄️
(00:05:58) - Overview of Bespoke Beauty Brands 💄
(00:09:25) - Advantages of being an incumbent 🚀
(00:14:18) - Journaling and Personal Growth 📓🌱
(00:19:03) - Role of Chief Transformation Officer at Heineken 🍺
(00:29:07) - How to Achieve 170% Growth? 📦✨
(00:39:00) - What Stacey’s Approach to Marketing is 📲🛍️
(00:42:33) - Why Organic Content is King ❌✅
(00:51:45) - Lightning Round ⚡ ⏱️

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Stacey Tank of Bespoke Beauty Brands in this episode

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn.

Find Stacey on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

The B2B Brand Playbook: Lessons From Paddle's Journey to Becoming a $1.4Bn Unicorn

leanne@wearerival.com (Andrew Davies, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 12:20:00 +0000

We’re back with Scratch after the long summer break! For our first episode after the break, we’re thrilled to sit down with Andrew Davies, the CMO of Paddle, a leading payment infrastructure provider designed specifically for SaaS companies. Paddle takes care of the tricky stuff—payments, taxes, subscriptions—essentially all the payment logistics, so businesses can focus on what really matters: growth. In our conversation, Andrew dives deep into the art of building a brand-led B2B business and tells us why long-term brand investment is key to true marketing efficiency.

One of the key takeaways from this episode is Andrew’s insight on how B2B marketers can learn from B2C and lifestyle brands by focusing on people, not just businesses. We also discuss the challenges in educating boards and CEOs about modern marketing approaches, the importance of long-term brand investment, and the evolving role of CMOs as commercial operators. Another recurring theme from this episode (something that we’ve heard quite a few times now) is the importance of understanding the broader business ecosystem and speaking the language of top business leaders. We also touch on overlooked growth opportunities, the evolving role of CMOs, and how critical it is to align your team on messaging and the overall brand story. If you work for or own a B2B brand, then this episode is for you!

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/Jv422AbPnP4

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro 🎙️
(00:03:40) - Andrew’s favorite challenger brand 🏆
(00:05:10) - What is Paddle?
(00:07:30) - Why does no one care about demand gen? 🤔
(00:10:45) - Brand focused data-points 📊
(00:19:00) - Building a community of raving fans 🎉
(00:25:31) - Under-considered opportunities to grow 🌱
(00:37:00) - Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Andrew on LinkedIn.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Hyrox is Becoming the Fastest-Growing Sport in a $6.73Bn Market

leanne@wearerival.com (Moritz Fuerste, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 12:49:58 +0000

We're joined by the Co-founder of Hyrox in this episode, Moritz Fuerste. Hyrox is a global fitness race that combines running with functional exercises. Hyrox is experiencing explosive growth in cities worldwide, with participation skyrocketing to over 210,000 athletes across 30 cities in the 2023/24 season and events selling out rapidly. Their origin story stemmed from identifying a gap in the fitness market for a measurable, repeatable sport that is accessible to everyone. Moritz discussed the model his team has used for a community-driven growth strategy that focuses on organic social media and partnerships with local gyms. This approach has allowed Hyrox to educate potential customers about their new product while creating a mutually beneficial relationship with fitness centers.

We break down Hyrox's unique marketing playbook, which focuses on event-centric promotion and word-of-mouth marketing over paid digital advertising. Moritz explains how their long purchase cycle is similar to buying a car, and how this has influenced their marketing approach. He also touches on the challenges of balancing mass participation with elite competition in their messaging & comms. As Hyrox continues to grow, they're now focusing on maximizing reach through live streaming of major events, seeing this as a key channel for media exposure. Throughout the episode, Moritz emphasizes the importance of adapting messaging, trying new things, and being willing to make mistakes in building a successful challenger brand.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/m8FSZUGMUP4

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:45)- Favourite Challenger Brand - Automotive Industry 🚗
(00:07:00) - What is Hyrox? 🏃
(00:11:50) - Hyrox’s Point-of-difference
(00:21:00) - Why Hyrox has never invested in digital marketing
(00:24:00) - What actually worked for Hyrox’s growth
(00:41:00) Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

CMO of Fever-tree episode - Jeremy Kanter
Fever-Tree

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Find Moritz on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Fever-Tree Became the Leader of the $9.5Bn Premium Mixers Category

leanne@wearerival.com (Jeremy Kanter, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 12:40:00 +0000

We’re joined by the CMO of Fever-Tree, Jeremy Kanter in this episode. Fever-Tree is a global brand that sells premium drink mixers designed to complement the world’s finest spirits 🥂✨. We discuss, 1 - How incumbents view innovation, 2 - The signs that a category is ripe for disruption, and 3 - What it truly takes to build an authentic premium brand. As Jeremy reveals in this episode, customers often don't think about your products as obsessively as you do; They make decisions based on what’s top of mind for them, and their previous experiences with the brand. So, if you want your customer to ‘stick’📌& have a ‘high lifetime value’, then you need to ask yourself if your product is superior to the rest.

Fever-Tree has an obsessive focus on using the best ingredients and processes, which has allowed them to deliver a noticeably superior & better-tasting drink than their competition. They recently overtook Schweppes to become the top tonic water in the US. Jeremy tells us how we need to be “unreasonable” about quality and not accept the category norms because it’s the job of marketers to find innovative ways to add value. We dive into what it takes for a brand to be recognized as “premium” in its category, and how to mobilize ‘advocates’ to build the grassroots support your brand needs, especially in its initial stages 🌱🤝. Jeremy's marketing model begins with an exceptional product, developing channel/ritual advantages, cultivating advocates, and only then moving to broader advertising & comms. If you are in a crowded category and want to stand out with a premium & differentiated brand, then this episode is for you! 🌟🚀

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/8HRwwHaR_rE

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:45) - Favourite Challenger Brand 👊
(00:08:55) - What is Fever-Tree? 🍷
(00:18:10) - When is the right time to innovate in a category?
(00:23:30) - How to build a premium brand? 💸
(00:31:15) - Customer advocacy: Fevertree’s Playbook 📖
(00:36:20) - Does a Grassroots Approach Always Work?
(00:42:00) - Fever-Tree’s Marketing Model 🌎
(00:45:30) - Lightning Round ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

CMO of Beavertown episode
Monzo bank
Cognitive bias page
El Bulli - Best restaurant in the world
Favorite challenger brand: Bare Biology

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn.

Find Jeremy on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

The Truth Behind the World’s Biggest LGBTQ+ Brand with the SVP, Brand Marketing of Grindr

leanne@wearerival.com (Tristan Pineiro, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 29 May 2024 12:35:00 +0000

In this episode, we are joined by the SVP of Brand Marketing and Communications at Grindr, Tristan Pineiro. Grindr is an online dating & meetup app predominantly used by gay and bisexual men and the trans & queer community. Tristan’s marketing philosophy is to understand and align the three brand truths - who you say you are, who people say you are, and who you really are. He emphasizes that finding the authentic, true brand narrative serves as the foundation for a successful marketing function 📈.

Throughout the episode, he advocates for a ‘social-led’ marketing discipline, which means that you create engaging content to drive brand affinity while focusing on insights around how the most engaged users actually use the product. He breaks down the mental models that he uses to get buy-in from leadership on brand positioning while balancing commercial realities with the brand's purpose. We also discuss how Grindr uses content to extend the brand’s story across different channels & markets 🌍. If you want to learn how your team’s content efforts can help in building an authentic yet differentiated brand, then this episode is for you!

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/RjxLbD5yss8

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:05:32) - Why Barbie killed it 🌟
(00:09:10) - What is Grindr 💡
(00:11:45) - Grindr’s Positioning 🎯
(00:13:30) - First 6 months as a CMO
(00:21:15) - Differentiation: Grindr’s perspective 🔍
(00:31:30) - Social-Led Marketing 🌐
(00:42:09) - Strategy - the Art of Sacrifice
(00:43:35) - Lightning round ⚡
(00:43:42) - Best Career Advice
(00:44:24) - Marketing Pet Peeve
(00:45:30) - One thing People Should do Differently

🖊️ Mentioned in the show:

Favorite challenger brand - Mattel
Who’s the asshole podcast from Grindr
Stats wrap report about Gay culture -
Grindr partners with HIV testing company

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn.

Find Eric on LinkedIn.

Find Tristan on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Creating Series-E Impact with a Pre-seed Budget with the CMO of Tomorrow.io

leanne@wearerival.com (Dan Slagen, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 15 May 2024 12:37:40 +0000

In this episode, we are joined by the CMO of Tomorrow.io, Dan Slagen. Tomorrow.io is a global weather intelligence brand that provides predictive insights to help major brands and governments mitigate operational risks from weather events. Despite being a Series E company with a marketing team of just 4 people, Dan shares how they have built a major brand around their service through 1- Creative storytelling, 2- Leveraging media coverage, and 3- Establishing "weather intelligence" as a new category altogether (which they now lead) ⛈️.

Dan discusses the marketing principles and practices that allow his lean team to punch above their weight 👊. He covers multiple key strategies, including a strong alignment with the sales team & building processes around AI/automation. He also emphasizes the importance of balancing short and long-term initiatives, taking creative swings with a test-and-learn approach, and the importance of speaking the language of the CEO. At the end of the episode, he shares the playbook he uses to maintain a CEO mindset as a CMO and the importance of understanding the CEO's priorities; after all, he is the author of ‘Understanding Startup CEOs’ 📚. If you’re in a mid-senior marketing position and want to learn how to build trust and have a better relationship with the rest of the leadership, then this episode is for you.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/MP9CdTW2VaI

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:06:00) - Weather Intelligence Brand 🌧️ - Tomorrow.io
(00:23:18) - Building a long-term marketing plan
(00:33:01) - Lean marketing - how to do more with less
(00:41:05) - How to decide what to not do?
(00:43:33) - Creativity in Campaigns
(00:47:12) - Taking big swings & innovations
(00:49:00) - Hiring AI Marketer 👷
(00:54:10) - Understanding startup CEOs

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Favorite challenger brand - Liquid Death
Understanding Startup CEOs book

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, and LinkedIn.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Find Dan on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

The $100Bn Secret for Marketing Chinese Brands with the Ex-CMO of Huawei & Didi

leanne@wearerival.com (Andrew Garrihy, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 1 May 2024 12:46:07 +0000

In this episode, we talk with Andrew Garrihy — The CMO Coach (https://cmocoach.co/), an international marketing leader and executive coach who specialises in helping CMOs lead with clarity, confidence and courage. A veteran global CMO who spent several years working in senior marketing roles at major Chinese companies like Huawei and Didi. Andrew shares his fascinating experiences navigating the complexities of Chinese business culture as a Western executive. He provides invaluable insights into understanding the mindset and values that shape the Chinese professional environment, such as the emphasis on collective wisdom, respect for hierarchy, and the relentless pursuit of progress.

He walks us through the "agile marketing" framework he implemented at Huawei, where they would launch around 50 new smartphone products per year, with about 3 being major flagship launches that required launching across 15 European countries, with only 90 days to plan and execute on all campaigns. This approach included long-term strategic planning with extreme agility, continual testing, and dedicated innovation budgets. Andrew also talks about his new passion project, the CMO Coach, which aims to provide mentorship to emerging marketing leaders to maximize their potential.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/mmRPhJxDZb8

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:07:00) - Andrew's Background 🎒
(00:08:30) - What Led Andrew to China 🇨🇳
(00:14:40) - The Culture Map - How to Thrive in Other Cultures?
(00:15:55) - How to Thrive in Chinese Culture?
(00:23:38) - How Do You Build a Brand in the Chinese Market? 📈
(00:34:39) - How Did Andrew Really Make It Work?
(00:40:03) - What Is the CMO Coach? 🧑‍🏫
(00:45:30) - Lightning Round ⚡
(00:46:00) - Best Career Advice
(00:46:10) - Marketing Pet Peeve
(00:46:50) - One Marketing Tool You Can't Live Without ⚒️
(00:48:10) - One Thing People Should Do Differently?

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Nio
The culture map book
Build your dreams
FMML - Rival’s F*** My Marketing Life
Curo - Share of Search Brand Tracker

Learn more about Andrew Garrihy, The CMO Coach, who helps CMOs and marketing leaders build confidence and impact at The CMO Coach. https://cmocoach.co/

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Find Andrew on

LinkedIn.

CMO of USA Pickleball on marketing the fastest-growing sport in a $65Bn category

leanne@wearerival.com (Jose Moreno, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 12:45:00 +0000

Jose Moreno, the CMO of USA Pickleball, joins us in this episode to share USA Pickeball’s journey from a small governing body (with just 4-5 employees a few years ago), to now leading the charge as the fastest-growing sport in America. How did they do this? - By building a strong sense of community around the sport. Jose emphasized the importance of constant listening and adapting to authentically 'build credibility' with their player base, instead of simply dictating from the top down.

The brand built credibility in the niche through strategic partnerships with brands from other industries, like Fortune Tires and Skechers. Additionally, Jose shared insights on the challenges of prioritizing and executing as a small marketing team to keep up with the surging demand, cautioning against trying to be "all things to everybody". The conversation is full of useful tips and insights from USA Pickleball's journey to becoming the top contender in the rapidly growing pickleball world, highlighting the significance of community, authenticity, and strategic prioritization.

Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube 📺: https://youtu.be/yxN4dLvYJBM

Mentioned in the show 🖊️:

Challenger brand: North face

📚Chapters:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:04:10 - Favourite challenger brand 👊

00:06:10 - What is Pickleball 🎾

00:17:36 - Positioning of the Pickleball Brand

00:21:11 - How to do More with Less 🤏

00:24:46 - A Typical Week for the Pickleball Team

00:29:57 - Product Innovation from Customer Feedback - Pickleball’s version

00:38: 40 Lightning Round ⚡

00:38:50 First Marketing Job 🧑‍💼

00:39:50 - Best Career Advice for Marketers

00:40:49 - Best Brand Campaign

00:41:50 - Pet Peeve of Marketing

00:42:38 - Best Marketing Tool ⚒️

00:43:01 - What should people do differently after this episode?

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Jose on LinkedIn .

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Cracking the $45Bn Sports Nutrition Market with the CMO of Podium

leanne@wearerival.com (Dylan Jones, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 3 Apr 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Dylan Jones, the CMO of Podium Nutrition joins us in this episode to share the story of Podium - from a small CrossFit supplement brand to an emerging lifestyle performance brand, with ambitions to become the leading nutrition brand for Olympic athletes by the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The key? Focusing on lifestyle and entertaining content to build authenticity over traditional product marketing. Dylan talks about the importance of understanding the core "pain points" of a niche audience and creating valuable content & experiences around those points, rather than just “pushing products” like salesmen.

Podium established credibility within the CrossFit community through partnerships with influencers like Matt Frazier and Buttery Bros (who also later became equity owners). We learnt that brands should focus on developing a unique personality that entertains customers, not just ‘educates’ them. Furthermore, Dylan shares valuable insights on successfully transitioning from a niche market to a broader audience while cautioning against the dangers of "over-partnering." For marketers aiming to build culturally relevant brands with passionate ‘fans’, this conversation is packed with practical advice and insights from Podium's journey to becoming culturally relevant.

Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube 📺: https://youtu.be/-T4ZIQrbiRc

🖊️Mentioned in the Show:

Rival New VIS ID
Instagram reel
Favourite Challenger Brand: LSKD
Nike Kids Shoes Campaign

📕Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro 🕰️

(00:06:55) - Favorite Challenger brand ⭐

(00:10:25) - What is Podium Nutrition? 🍏

(00:12:02) - Podium’s take on influencers 👩‍👩‍👧‍👦

(00:27:00) - Where do brands go wrong in expanding to new niches? 🌍

(00:40:25) - Playbook to beta test a new category 📊

(00:43:00) - How do you move to retail from DTC 🛒

(00:46:36) - Lightning Round ⚡

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Blending Brand & Performance in DTC with Bryant Garvin of Ozlo Sleep, Purple Mattress

leanne@wearerival.com (Rival) — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we are joined by Bryant Garvin, Head of Marketing & Growth 📈 at Ozlo Sleep. Bryan offers a fresh perspective on the age-old debate between brand building and performance marketing. He introduces ‘performance branding’ - an approach that focuses on building brand awareness through emotionally resonant & entertaining content, while strictly measuring & optimizing for performance metrics. This simple strategy has been key 🔑to the success of brands like Ozlo, and Purple, where he previously worked.

When you want marketing to be ‘successful’, you need to have some foundations in place. Bryan emphasizes starting with a strong, differentiated product as the core foundation for successful marketing, as a great product enables authentic word-of-mouth, customer advocacy, and a genuine brand story to tell. Additionally, he discusses the importance of creative partnership. A creative partnership means that a) you are working closely with creative partners who understand performance goals, b) you have a structured process for developing creative content, and c) you continually testing different variations to drive business results. After all, we are all spending real dollars on all the ‘brand stuff’ 💰. This episode is packed with valuable insights into building culturally relevant brands while driving measurable growth.

Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube 📺: https://youtu.be/PF7B7y7LvFw

🖊️Mentioned in the Show:

Chapters: 📕

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:30) - How Stanley Cups hijacked culture 🎭

(00:12:10) - What is Ozlo Sleep?

(00:15:23) - Performance Branding - How to get started 📈

(00:24:44) - Why constraints drive creativity for brands like Ozlo

(00:25:45) - Performance branding summarised - Ozlo’s take

(00:32:30) - What is the split between performance and brand for a modern marketer?

(00:34:30) - Why did the CMO & CEO of Solo Stove get fired?

(00:39:00) - Choosing the right creative partner 🤝

(00:42:00) - Role of the product in driving growth

(00:47:00) - What do you do post iOS 14? 🍎

(00:50:23) - Best career advice

(00:50:29) - All-time pet peeve in marketing

(00:50:55) - Best marketing resource

(00:51:05) - What should people do differently?

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Bryant Garvin of Ozlo Sleep in this episode. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Bryant on LinkedIn.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Use AI to Disrupt the $50Bn Perfume Category with Noteworthy Scents

leanne@wearerival.com (Ashley Boyce, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 6 Mar 2024 17:18:13 +0000

In this insightful episode, Ashley Boyce, CMO and co-founder of Noteworthy, takes us through their journey of building a perfume brand that dares to be different in the competitive $48bn fragrance category. Noteworthy is a challenger brand that’s empowering consumers to discover their unique signature scent using AI, moving beyond the traditional designer and celebrity endorsements. In the episode, Ashley discusses the importance of creating products that not only meet a tangible need but also carry a deeper meaning for consumers, similar to Dove's approach to female empowerment. She covers the role of storytelling in altering fixed consumer behaviors and the impact of platforms like TikTok in creating ‘ever-green content’. With over 14 years of experience at Unilever, she talks us through the differences in challenges & opportunities for challenger v/s incumbent brands.

In the second half of the episode, she talks about the brand's commitment to leveraging customer insights and how the DTC model allows for a more personal and interactive shopping experience. If you’re looking for insights on building something that’s different & stands out, tune in to this episode. We’re sure you’ll find something that you can take away & apply. 🚀🛍️

Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube 📺: https://youtu.be/UIaMkxgsOCc

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Care of brand - Personalised Vitamins

📕 Chapters

(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:04:50) - Favorite challenger brand
(00:08:56) - What is Noteworthy?
(00:11:00) - Incumbent v/s Challenger - How do you go to market?
(00:19:40) - How does experience at Unilever affect your challenger marketing playbook?
(00:23:02) - Aspirational marketing at Noteworthy
(00:34:40) - How do you apply what you learn from customer insights?
(00:40:00) - Lightning Round
(00:40:14) - First Marketing Job
(00:40:24) - Best piece of career advice
(00:40:38) - Best Marketing Tool

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Ashley Boyce of Noteworthy in this episode. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Ashley on LinkedIn.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Who Gives A Crap Disrupted The $31bn Toilet Paper Industry

leanne@wearerival.com (Ronalee Zarate-Bayani, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 12:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Scratch, the Chief Brand Officer of Who Gives A Crap 🧻, Ronalee Zarate-Bayani, joins us to share how they've turned their unique brand identity and commitment to purpose into their superpower. You’ve probably seen Who Gives a Crap, you know, the colourful wrapped toilet rolls that decorate your cool friend's toilet? Well, you’ll be surprised to hear that Who Gives a Crap is leading the charge when it comes to disrupting and dominating the $31bn toilet paper segment. In this episode, Ronalee talks about the importance of understanding what makes your brand special and using that to stand out instead of focusing too much on the competition. She explains Who Gives A Crap’s business model of donating 60% of their profits to eco-friendly causes and how they navigate the challenges of balancing profit with purpose. She also tells us about the benefits of being a smaller, agile company that can quickly adapt and test new ideas in the market.

In the second half, she emphasizes the significance of not just winning customers, but turning them into advocates for the brand 🔈. We learned from her how it's okay for some marketing initiatives to fail, as these are opportunities for learning and growth. She demonstrates how embracing the company's unique strengths and values fosters creativity and innovation through examples. Additionally, she discusses how to strengthen the marketing function by being deliberate about distinguishing short-term from long-term revenues and plans. This episode provides valuable insights into building a profit-first yet purpose-driven brand ♻️.

Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube 📺: https://youtu.be/UIaMkxgsOCc

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

📕 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:50) - Favorite Challenger Brand 😊

(00:07:40) - What is Who Gives A Crap? 🚽

(00:09:40) - What is the difference between a Chief Brand Officer and Chief Marketing Officer?

(00:11:00) - Rules & Principles to Build a Profit-First Brand (Who Gives A Crap’s Edition) 💼

(00:16:20) - Leading with a Proposition that Customers Care About 💡

(00:20:30) - How do you Balance Messaging & Comms? 📣

(00:33:04) - How Constraints Drive Creativity for Who Gives a Crap 🤔

(00:35:52) - How does Marketing Drive Product Innovation? 🚀

(00:40:10) - Biggest Win Recently 🏆

(00:40:35) - Recent Struggle

(00:41:46) - The Best Marketing Resource 📚

(00:42:51) - Biggest Lesson You’ve Learnt in Your Career 🎓

(00:43:50) - One Thing People Should Do Differently ✨

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Ronalee Zarate-Bayani of Who Gives A Crap in this episode. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Ronalee on LinkedIn.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericfulwiler/

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Fuelling the Future: Unleashing the New Age of NASCAR Fandom

leanne@wearerival.com (Peter Jung, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 7 Feb 2024 14:00:00 +0000

NASCAR, a titan in the sports industry, is known for its rich history and thrilling races. Peter shares insights into how NASCAR continues to innovate and remain relevant in a rapidly evolving entertainment landscape. 🚗💨🎙️In this episode of Scratch, the CMO of NASCAR, Peter Jung joins us to dive deep into the world of sports marketing, brand evolution, and the key initiatives propelling NASCAR into the future. 🏁🌟

He discusses the importance of category disruption, the impact of viral marketing campaigns, and the strategic focus on diversity and inclusion to broaden NASCAR's fan base. He highlights the role of digital platforms and content creation in engaging new audiences, including a partnership with Netflix for the upcoming show "Full Speed," aimed at giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the sport. He also touches on the challenges and opportunities in sports marketing, the evolution of NASCAR's strategies, and the significance of building a strong community around the sport. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑❤

Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube 📺

🖊️ Mentioned in the show:

Challenger brand - Stanley
DEI initiatives
Tableau - can't live without it
NASCAR’s show - "Full Speed"
New media rights deal - NASCAR

📕 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:04:00) - Favorite Challenger Brand? 🥊

(00:11:00) - The NASCAR Brand and Business 🏢

(00:18:01) - The Changing Nature of the Sports Category 🏑

(00:22:20) - Approach and Priorities as the CMO of NASCAR

(00:26:30 ) - Approach to New and Emerging Channels 📈

(00:32:00) - In-house and External Structure for NASCAR

(00:35:10) - Exciting Developments for NASCAR - Full Speed 🚗

(00:42:35 ) - Lightning Round ⚡

(00:42:40) - First Marketing Job you ever had 💼

(00:42:55) - The Best Piece of career advice 🌟

(00:43:39) - Best Brand Campaign

(00:44:20) - Best Marketing Tool 🛠️

(00:44:50) - One thing people should do differently 🔄

(00:45:20) - Favourite moment from NASCAR’s Netflix show

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Peter Jung of NASCAR in this episode. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Peter Jung on LinkedIn

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Calendly’s CMO - Marketing a $3 Billion SAAS product like a Pro

leanne@wearerival.com (Jessica Gilmartin, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 16:00:00 +0000

🎙️In this episode of Scratch, the CMO of Calendly, Jessica Gilmartin joins us to discuss the evolution of their brand and their approach to building total customer-centricity.🌟📊 We’ve all used Calendly at some point in our work lives. For the uninitiated, Calendly is known worldwide for revolutionising the way we schedule meetings. It is more than just a tool—it's a comprehensive solution shaping the future of business interactions. In our discussion, Jessica tells us how Calendly continues to stand out in a competitive market. 🗓️💡 She shares her favourite marketing mantra: “Understanding your competitors is crucial, but it's the obsession with customer needs and experiences that truly drives business growth”.

She discusses the significance of integrating customer insights into every aspect of business operations, from product development to the messaging in marketing strategies. Understanding market dynamics and a strong partnership with the leadership team forms the core of Jesicca’s marketing approach. The discussion between Eric and Jessica also talks about how Calendly harnesses creativity within its marketing team, continually reinventing its approaches to maintain a strong connection with its customers. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑❤️🔍 Jessica also walks us through building Calendly's distinct market positioning, revealing how iterative testing and feedback (which are especially crucial in long B2B sales cycles) are key to refining their marketing strategies. 🤖🆕🚀If you’re in product/tech marketing, you’ll surely enjoy this episode.

🖊️ Mentioned in the show:

Favourite challenger brand - Brex
Cloze
Burger King Whopper Song

Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube 📺: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLajBNfOMgl2EYo1K29XNIoEMwqapDlQTS&feature=shared

📕 Chapters:

(00:04:30) - Favorite Challenger Brand 😊

(00:14:20) - How did the positioning develop for Calendly? 💡

(00:17:00) - How does Calendly understand its customers’ needs? 🤔

(00:21:27) - What are the different disciplines of Marketing that sit within Calendly? 📚

(00:23:00) - Being Idea-led v/s data-driven - Calendly’s take 💭

(00:27:30) - Tracking Results 📊

(00:29:20) - Creative destruction 💥

(00:36:20) - The next exciting thing for Calendly 🚀

(00:41:20) - Lightning Round ⚡

(00:41:56) - First Marketing Job you ever had 💼

(00:42:24) - The Best Piece of career advice 🌟

(00:42:48) - Best Brand Campaign - Burger King 🍔

(00:43:30) - Best Marketing Tool 🛠️

(00:44:00) - One thing people should do differently 🔄

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Jessica on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicagilmartin/

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericfulwiler/

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

David vs Goliath - DuckDuckGo’s Marketing Strategies to Take on Google

leanne@wearerival.com (Cristina Stanley, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 15:03:00 +0000

🎙️In this week's episode of Scratch, the VP of Marketing at DuckDuckGo - Cristina Stanley, joins us for an enlightening discussion on the strategies that have helped DuckDuckGo take on industry giants like Google Chrome & Safari. DuckDuckGo is an independent alternative to Google that prioritizes online privacy and does not spy on their customers. Cristina’s transition from CPG to tech offers a unique perspective on marketing's role in driving growth and innovation. Being a challenger brand, DuckDuckgo has had over 71 Billion searches since its inception, and it’s continuing to grow. She walks us through her process of scaling a brand from product-market fit to market dominance. She explains how marketing is not just a cost centre but has the potential to be a significant growth driver, especially in a landscape as dynamic as tech.

🔍 Being completely privacy-focused, she discusses attribution from non-digital channels and the importance of finding innovative methods to test the effectiveness of your campaigns. This episode is packed with insights for both marketers and privacy advocates. Through her experiences, we gain a deeper understanding of advocating for online privacy, challenging established tech giants, and creatively engaging with audiences while adhering to strict privacy standards. Tune in to get some valuable insights and join the conversation on the evolving landscape of ethical privacy practices in marketing in this brilliant episode.

Watch the video version of this episode on Youtube ⏯️:

📑Chapters:

(00:04:03) - Favorite challenger brand

(00:14:00) - Why Marketing isn’t an afterthought in tech

(00:21:00) - How did Duck Duck Go approach marketing while keeping privacy at its core?

(00:29:00) - How Duck Duck Go plays on a level playing field

(00:40:00) - The creative side of marketing for Duck Duck Go

(00:42:46) - Lightning Round ⚡

(00:42:50) - First Marketing Job you ever had

(00:43:02) - The Best Piece of career advice

(00:43:56) - Best Brand Campaign - Walmart

(00:45:20) - Best Marketing Tool

🖊️ Mentioned in the show:

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Find Cristina on LinkedIn.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

The 10 Biggest Marketing Lessons From 100+ Leading CMOs | Scratch by Rival

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 14:00:00 +0000

As marketers, we all want to know what truly drives the growth of challenger brands. We all want to see massive user growth, successful campaigns, and ultimately, we want marketing to have an impact. So why are these so hard to achieve?

In this fast-paced, ever-evolving world of marketing, the volume of information can be overwhelming at times and obsolete at others. It’s a daunting and steep learning curve for marketers who are on a mission to change their categories or their entire industries.

In this week’s episode, we take a deep dive into how to market like the best brands in the world and truly set yourself apart as a challenger brand. Distilling the knowledge of 65 episodes of Scratch and 100s of conversations we’ve had with the best CMOs in the world from PepsiCo to P&G, Beavertown to Bloom & Wild, we decode the 10 core principles of how to market like the best challenger brands in the world.

You'll hear from the likes of Gary Vee, Linda Boff, Rory Sutherland, and Jim Stengel on topics ranging from customer centricity to frameworks for innovation and the ability to understand and utilize data correctly. In this special episode, we cover all the timeless principles you need to be a high-performing modern marketer. Use this episode as a reference guide and drop in and out for the chapters and feel free to check out the full episodes all linked below.

Welcome to Challenger Marketing Decoded!

🎧Listen to this episode on your favorite platform - https://link.chtbl.com/scratch

⚡️Mentioned in the show:

CMO Mindmap - https://www.wearerival.com/content-hub-articles/rival-cmo-mindmap

Jobs to be done Framework - https://www.wearerival.com/content-hub-articles/ep-19-how-to-apply-jobs-to-be-done-to-brand-building-with-bob-moesta

BRIDGE by MENA fintech association - https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/fintech/mena-fintech-association-mfta-establishes-bridge-fintech-marketing-working-group-and-appoints-eric-fulwiler-as-chair/

Episodes from the show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OPw54tqxq0&list=PLajBNfOMgl2EYo1K29XNIoEMwqapDlQTS&index=20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_n0VhdyyYk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62GtGz-fEeo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPt1fSGx2jI

https://youtu.be/nVbx9Rvlb_4?feature=shared&t=1156 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdZK9QP7IWM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8q1qNRBUug

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx4lar_bCCU&list=PLajBNfOMgl2EYo1K29XNIoEMwqapDlQTS&index=18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmUvxucIJl4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYDaO-BUCgs&list=PLajBNfOMgl2EYo1K29XNIoEMwqapDlQTS&index=30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkfrqXylt84

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU0pcEs1Ub4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX8gU6yOoXw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8EqSgJw0JE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbh2xFaPgJA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzy9ObAwCWY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JjI-KKt2jc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27kph5ACL7w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZbioThkpa8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaLosX00540

📕Chapters

(00:00) Introduction to show

(07:06) Framework for innovation with Eos and General Electric

(20:30) Relentless focus on the customer with Smile Direct Club, Activision, and Martin Lindstrom

(44:09) Seeking out new, different perspectives and ideas with Rory Sutherland, PepsiCo, and Mastercard

(01:03:20) Moving fast on the things that matter with Seedrs, Gary Vaynerchuk and Jim Stengel (P&G)

(01:17:20) Be creatively brave with Mint Mobile & Magnolia Bakery

(01:30:40) Managing the people/ Building a team - with, Gymbox & Flywire

(01:51:27) Brand differentiation with Formula-E, Beavertown & HereWeFlo

(02:08:30) - Double down on the data with Resident & Bloom & Wild

(02:20:12) - Stay on top of your craft with Hubspot

(02:25:49) - Love what you do

1BN Views and Counting: WorldChaseTag’s Marketing Playbook for Disrupting the Sports World

leanne@wearerival.com (Rival) — Wed, 6 Dec 2023 16:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Johnny McMahon, the GM & Chief Content Officer of World Chase Tag joins us to discuss how content has been a key pillar in the explosive growth of World Chase Tag. Over the course of 11 years, World Chase Tag has grown to a remarkable level. 🌍📈The stakes of the sport are extremely high, with viewership over 1 Billion in 34 countries with 3.6M followers. 📺🌎 For those of you who don't know what World Chase Tag (WCT) is, it's the same 'Tag' you played as a kid, but on a whole new level, blended with elements of parkour and freerunning. In WCT, stuntmen, parkour experts, ninja runners, and athletes from all walks of life compete with each other in an extremely fast-paced format. 🏃‍♂️💨

How did they get here? 🤔

In the world of sports, having great content is key to drawing viewers and fans, and World Chase Tag (WCT) has mastered this art. They create high-energy, fast-paced exciting content, with a presence spanning across multiple platforms. Their standout content on TikTok and YouTube features thrilling 20-second chases between athletes. 📹These short, bite-sized snippets are perfect for sharing, enabling WCT to reach new audiences through their socials. They smartly use dramatic moments like player injuries as eye-catching thumbnails and hooks for their videos, which has contributed to them achieving over a billion organic views online. 👀📈

Aside from an impeccable content strategy, Johnny walks us through the key pillars that have contributed to WCT's growth, such as licensing, athlete engagement, and the organization's global marketing approach. He believes that in sports, you can market to everyone everywhere, and having a target audience is only going to limit you. 🌐🎯

He finally shares insights into the future plans for WCT, including live events, sports betting, and a deeper focus on athletes' personal branding, drawing parallels with strategies used in other successful sports leagues. This was a fascinating episode, and what's more fascinating is some of WCT's content that we watched in preparation for this episode. We've attached the links below the chapters (watch these clips at your own risk, because you will definitely be hooked on their channel once you do). 🎥🔗

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/QWDYPGgwnPk

📚 Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:04:24) - What is World Chase Tag?
(00:10:20) - 3-5 Pillars of Growth for World Chase Tag
(00:14:00) - Acquiring customers from other sports
(00:16:00) - How do influencers promote World Chase Tag
(00:21:00) - How World Chase Tag balances quality & quantity of content
(00:29:00) - What strategies has World Chase Tag taken from other sports?
(00:33:30) - LIGHTNING ROUND ⚡

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

- Clips - Worldchase tag - Tiktok - 1 , 2 , 3 , Youtube shorts - 1, 2

- Distribution Deal News

- TwitchCon - WCT

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Find johnny on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Building One of the Fastest-Growing Challenger Brands in Personal Care with HereWeFlo

leanne@wearerival.com (Susan Allen, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 16:00:00 +0000

In this insightful episode, we join Susan Allen Augustin, co-founder of Here We Flo, as she shares the journey of her brand in the ever-evolving personal care market. Here We Flo stands out in the crowded personal care category with its unique focus on sustainable, natural products for period care, sensitive bladders, and sexual wellness.

Susan discusses the intricacies of building a unique brand voice in the personal care sector, focusing on authenticity and relatability. She highlights how Hereweflo effectively employs humor, inclusivity, and storytelling to captivate a wide range of customers, especially the Gen Z audience. Additionally, she delves into the brand's deliberate expansion into retail, covering both UK and US markets, highlighting the significance of a physical presence as a vital complement to their online platforms.

A significant part of the conversation is dedicated to the role of sustainability in Here We Flo's business model. She talks about how brands need to meet customers where they are in their sustainability journey, and how being sustainable is not an ‘ego thing’. Join us in this episode to explore Here We Flo's unique marketing philosophy and discover insights that can help your brand thrive in a competitive market.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube▶️: https://youtu.be/_JjI-KKt2jc

🖊️Mentioned in the show:

Ruka Hair

Hood Greetings

WhoGivesaCrap Tube Campaign

📕Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:20) - Favorite challenger brand

(00:07:30) - Here We Flo’s Plans for 2024?

(00:09:30) - How does Here We Flo come up with “good ideas”?

(00:13:20) - Effect of ‘culture’ on marketing

(00:22:39) - Here We Flo on Sustainability behavior

(00:32:00) - How to think above the line?

(00:36:17) - Lightning Round ⚡

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Susan Allen Augustin of Here We Flo in this episode.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Find Susan on LinkedIn

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Gymbox Delivers Massive Campaigns With Minimal Budgets

leanne@wearerival.com (Rival) — Wed, 8 Nov 2023 16:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Scratch, Rory McEntee, Marketing Director of challenger fitness brand Gymbox, joins Eric for an engaging discussion on what it takes to cut through the noise as a marketer and have an outsized impact with your campaigns. Rory shares his passion for orchestrating unconventional campaigns that surprise audiences, taking risks that incumbents shy away from.

With 20 years under their belt, Gymbox has built a reputation for experience-led classes and irreverent, cheeky marketing. Rory attributes their success to embracing budget constraints and thinking differently. He relies more on instinct than data, noting that the customer is often wrong. His advice to marketers looking to stand out? "Do things you would not normally do. They may scare you, they may not work, but you might just hit on something."

He encourages marketers to “ask for forgiveness, not permission”, and progressively build trust with leadership to get creative ideas approved over time. He believes that successful challenger brands are the ones that are unconventional and fresh in their creative campaigns and media choices. Join us in this episode to explore Gymbox's unique marketing philosophy and discover unorthodox insights that can help your brand thrive in a competitive market.

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube▶️ : https://youtu.be/K8EqSgJw0JE

Mentioned in the show:

Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:30) - Favorite Challenger Brand

(00:06:20) - Doing More with Less

(00:10:20) - How to do ‘Cool’ Stuff?

(00:22:30) - Does Marketing Really Drive Business Results?

(00:35:25) - Being Idea & Value Led

(00:40:30) - Lightning Round

"Scratch" is a production of Rival, a marketing consultancy and technology company that builds challenger brands, strategies, and capabilities to change categories.

In every episode, Eric interviews the CMO of some of the world's biggest or fastest-growing challenger brands, exploring their innovative marketing strategies that challenge established incumbents. Immerse yourself in the world of challenger brands and learn valuable marketing lessons from industry experts, as you discover their secrets to success.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Find Rory on LinkedIn.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Yonder Is Building a Challenger Credit Card to Crush AMEX

leanne@wearerival.com (Tom Davies, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Welcome to another episode of Scratch, where Eric is joined by the brilliant Tom Davies, Marketing Head at Yonder. Yonder is a challenger brand that offers a modern rewards credit card with no foreign exchange fees, worldwide travel insurance, and many more benefits.

Tom & Eric discuss the importance of creativity in marketing and the pivotal role it plays in brand positioning & differentiation. Tom sheds light on how the CEO at Yonder has given him creative freedom that helps them think & act outside the box, moving beyond the often restrictive traditional marketing metrics & measurement models. Tom provides an insightful walkthrough of Yonder's strategic identification of a market gap in the perception of credit within the UK, meticulously crafting its unique selling proposition, offerings, and messaging to seamlessly align with this discerned opportunity.

Together, they dive into the innovative campaigns led by Yonder, aimed at resonating with the daily experiences of their audience. Tom highlights the importance of building an internal culture that supports creativity, which in turn, leads to a more dynamic and engaging marketing narrative. They discuss how this open approach not only boosts brand engagement but also fosters a collaborative atmosphere within the marketing team. Through examples like the 'Make it Rain' campaign, Tom illustrates how associating positive, enjoyable experiences with a brand can create a lasting impression beyond conventional marketing metrics. The episode illuminates the delicate balance between nurturing creativity and achieving business growth, offering a wealth of insights for challenger marketers navigating the currents set by their established counterparts.

Chapters:

(03:00) - What is Yonder?

(04:23) - Favorite Challenger Brand

(06:25) - Driving Cultural Change Around Credit and Rewards

(21:31) - Building an Early-Stage Marketing Practice

(26:20) - Building a Community Around the Brand

(43:30) - Lightning Round

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube 🎬

"Scratch" is a production of Rival, a marketing consultancy and technology company that builds challenger brands, strategies, and capabilities to change categories.

In every episode Eric interviews the CMO of some of the world's biggest or fastest-growing brands, exploring their innovative marketing strategies that challenge established incumbents. Immerse yourself in the world of challenger brands and learn valuable marketing lessons from industry experts, as you discover their secrets to success.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Find Eric on

and tweet him

@efulwiler

How Beavertown’s Creative Marketing Disrupted the Beer Market in the UK

leanne@wearerival.com (Tom Rainsford, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Welcome to another episode of Scratch. In this episode, Eric sits down with the brilliant Tom Rainsford, the Marketing Director of Beavertown Brewery. Beavertown began its journey as a small-scale brewery and has impressively ramped up to an annual beer production of 5 million litres, solidifying its place in the craft beer world. Apart from his monumental success with Beavertown, Tom is also a co-founder of the Giffgaff Mobile Network. His creative prowess extends even further: he's been ranked among Creative Review's 'Top 50 Creative Leaders' and has held positions as a Director of Brand Engagement & culture @Giffgaff.

Diving into the conversation, Tom unravels the intricacies of brand positioning and the importance of being culture-forward in advertising. Together, Eric and Tom explore the significance of connecting with consumers on a genuine level. Emphasizing the critical role of authentic brand storytelling, Tom sheds light on the challenges and rewards of crafting unforgettable advertising campaigns.

The duo then discusses Beavertown’s distinctive branding approach, showcasing the potency of insight-driven creativity. Furthermore, Tom reflects on the pivotal role of community in fostering brand loyalty and engagement, emphasizing the need for brands to resonate deeply with the cultural zeitgeist for enduring success.

Watch the video version of this episode on Youtube 🎬 - https://youtu.be/hzy9ObAwCWY

Chapters:

[03:18] Story of Beavertown

[07:30] - The why of disruption

[14:30] - The importance of having a Goliath

[22:20] - What did your learning contribute to Beavertown?

[27:00] - Is creativity dead?

[33:00] - Staying relevant in an ever-evolving market

[41:45] Favorite challenger brand

"Scratch" is a production of Rival, a marketing consultancy and technology company that builds challenger brands, strategies, and capabilities to change categories. In every episode Eric interviews the CMO of some of the world's biggest or fastest-growing brands, exploring their innovative marketing strategies that challenge established incumbents. Immerse yourself in the world of challenger brands and learn valuable marketing lessons from industry experts, as you discover their secrets to success.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Inclusive Marketing is Driving HiBob’s $2.5B Valuation in HR tech

leanne@wearerival.com (Sarah Reynolds, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 4 Oct 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Welcome to another episode of Scratch, where Eric is joined by the brilliant Sarah Reynolds, who serves as the CMO at HiBob. Sarah is an award-winning B2B SaaS marketing executive and a well-known diversity and inclusion advocate. They take us on a journey into the realm of inclusive marketing and the significance of LGBTQIA+ leadership within the marketing industry.

Together, Sarah & Eric explore the intersection of diversity and marketing strategies. Sarah places a strong emphasis on the vital role that inclusive marketing plays in establishing a more extensive market presence. They delve into the various challenges and opportunities faced by a trans, non-binary CMO, underlining the pressing need for increased diversity within the C-suite. They also articulate how inclusive marketing is not only ethically sound but also a smart business strategy.

Sarah generously shares their insights on strategies to steer clear of "purpose-washing" and maintain authenticity in brand messaging. They provide invaluable best practices and principles to ensure a brand's purpose aligns seamlessly with its actions. Additionally, they underscore the significance of practicing what you preach by "eating your own dog food." They discuss a systematic approach to fostering an inclusive organizational culture, encompassing both top-down and bottom-up initiatives. We really enjoyed recording this one, and are sure that you'll find Sarah’s insights and perspectives truly enlightening.

Chapters:

(3:40) Favorite challenger brand

(7:20) Opportunity for more LGBTQIA+ individuals?

(10:40) How to be more inclusive?

(18:25) How do you actually drive change in your organization?

(32:30) Prioritizing what needs to be done

(37:00) Lightning Round

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Find Sarah on LinkedIn.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Google's Ad Scam & What it Means for Marketers | Scratch Special with Dr. Augustine Fou

leanne@wearerival.com (Dr. Augustine Fou, Jenna Cummings) — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 13:10:00 +0000

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Jenna Cummings, and she’s joined by Dr. Augustine Fou.

In today’s special episode of Scratch, Jenna is joined by Dr.Augustine Fou, a leading expert in the area of digital ad fraud. Dr. Fou has been on the front lines of digital marketing for nearly 3 decades assisting government, regulatory bodies, and corporations in how to prevent and detect the nexus of cybercrime and ad fraud.

He joins us to discuss the latest in the Google ad fraud case which was brought to light by the team at Adlytics, who uncovered that Google has been running most of the ads you pay for as an advertiser (50-90%) on a network of third-party websites and mobile apps called "Google Video Partners" (GVP), where it’s virtually impossible to skip the ad. This means that as an advertiser, you’re paying for views that are not real. Jenna and Dr.Fou explore the implications for marketers, how you can start to build your own checks and balances, and how to not become addicted to phantom volumes when you run ads. This is a must-listen for digital marketers everywhere!

Smart link: https://link.chtbl.com/scratch

📕Chapters:

00:00 Intro

03:14 Dr.Fou’s Favourite Challenger Brand

06:00 Google’s Ad Fraud - The Overview

13:00 Double Verify have been grading their own homework, and it isn’t good

20:20 Google will do the right thing when shown the right data

23:41 What alternatives do we have to verify the ad numbers?

28:45 If you’re not willing to do the work, you don’t deserve to be a digital marketer

32:50 Spend less. You should be buying less and testing more

40:04 You can’t reduce carbon emissions in your ad buys by outsourcing this to other vendors

Mentioned in the show:

Fou Analytics' fraud verification
Search Discovery - Atlanta
Camelot - Strategic Marketing in Dallas
Adalytics' report on Youtube Ad Fraud
Craig Silverman reports

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Find Jenna on LinkedIn

Find Dr Fou on Linkedin

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to View Branding as a Science with Martin Lindstrom

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 6 Sep 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Welcome to another exciting episode of Scratch, where we had the pleasure of hosting the brilliant Martin Lindstrom, a Marketing Expert and Author hailing from Lindstrom Company. Martin's reputation precedes him, known for his influential works including "Buyology," "Small Data," and "The Ministry of Common Sense."

But that's not all; Martin's influence extends far beyond the pages of his books. As the founder and chairman of Lindstrom Company, he leads a pioneering branding and culture transformation firm that operates across five continents and in over 30 countries. Over the years, he has been the go-to consultant for the crème de la crème of Fortune 100 companies, helping them navigate the ever-evolving landscape of branding and culture.

Together, Eric and Martin dive into the world of marketing, exploring the delicate balance between creativity and data-driven science. Martin underlines the crucial role of putting consumers at the heart of your strategy to build a powerful brand. He also highlights the hurdles that creativity encounters in today's ever-evolving marketing landscape.

Additionally, Martin shares valuable insights into the role of a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) in the intricate web of today's business world. Throughout the episode, there's a strong emphasis on the profound impact you can make in the world by aligning your work with a greater purpose. We really enjoyed recording this one, and are sure that you'll find Martin's insights and perspectives truly enlightening.

Mentioned in the show:

📲AMP community for CMOs - If you’re a brand-side marketer and want to join, check it out here - https://www.wearerival.com/amp-group
Walmart’s failed innovations
Indian challenger brands - Dabbawallas

Chapters:

(6:10) What do you think of an incumbent becoming a challenger?

(17:32) Customer-focused examples

(20:32) Everyone talks about being customer-centric, How do you get there?

(25:32) How do you define marketing?

(34:32) What do you think of creativity in marketing?

(38:27) What should people do to be more respected to be a CMO?

(46:00) Rapid Fire

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Find Martin on LinkedIn.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How Delightful Customer Experiences Powered Bloom & Wild to 20M Deliveries

leanne@wearerival.com (Charlotte Langley, Eric Fulwiler) — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 12:56:31 +0000

In the final episode before the summer break, we’re joined by Bloom & Wild’s Chief Customer Officer, Charlotte Langley. She reveals the strategies and insights that have driven 20m deliveries and 100k 5-star reviews for the letterbox flower brand.

As the CCO, she shares exactly how she approaches the vital role of being the voice of the customer, bridging the gap between commercial needs and customer desires; a responsibility she carries with utmost dedication whilst pairing commercial savvy with creative acumen.

Charlotte also shares some of Bloom & Wild’s codified principles around team structure, customer centricity, and creative thinking that have allowed Bloom & Wild to become one of the biggest success stories not only in the category but also in the D2C space.

What truly sets Bloom & Wild apart is their commitment to going above and beyond for their customers. By employing high-powered data analytics and leveraging their genuine care, they proactively address potential issues like late deliveries and repeatedly “surprise & delight” customers. The future looks bright as the company blooms to encompass broader gifting categories, all whilst preserving the emotional connection that lies at the heart of its exceptional customer experience.

Tune in and share this episode with a marketer you know that will love it!

👂🏻 Listen on your favorite platform 🎧 : https://link.chtbl.com/scratch

📕Chapters:

00:00 Episode intro

02:30 Guest intro

04:53 One Challenger brand you’re passionate about right now?

07:15 Tell us about your role/remit as Chief Customer Officer.

10:45 Do you own a revenue target within the business? Does that sit with someone else?

12:29 You also oversee product which is quite unique in terms of the role - was it always structured this way or did you create this?

16:00 Commerical understanding is key when you’re trying to be a marketer who matters at the C-suite level.

17:16 What are the principles/practices that have contributed to Bloom & Wild’s incredible growth over the past decade?

23:40 Is there a process/budget around this strategy of “surprising & delighting” customers?

26:56 How do you balance being data-driven and being idea led when it comes to product innovation?

29:42 You tested bricks & mortar retail as a channel, what made you decide to cut it even in light of traditional wisdom?

32:38 How are you thinking about the next 10 years of growth to become a true rival brand?

36:50 How do you “stretch” the Bloom & Wild brand to spread into new categories?

39:55 Lightning round- Biggest Win?

40:33 - Biggest struggle?

41:00 - Best marketing resource

42:38 - Biggest lesson you’ve learned?

43:26 - One thing CMOs should do differently after listening to this?

❓Mentioned in the Show:

📲AMP community for CMOs - If you’re a brand-side marketer and want to join, check it out here - https://www.wearerival.com/amp-group

Pentire Drinks: https://pentiredrinks.com/

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Charlotte on Linkedin. @charlottelangley

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Formula E’s CMO on Building the Most Exciting Challenger Brand in Sports

leanne@wearerival.com (Henry Chilcott, Eric Fulwiler) — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Welcome to another enlightening episode of Scratch! In this episode, Eric is joined by the brilliant Henry Chilcott, the Chief Marketing Officer at Formula E. Henry unveils the fascinating realms of electric racing and sustainability, sharing valuable insights on what it means to be a challenger in a category dominated by an incumbent.

Together, they explore the dynamic interplay between high performance and sustainability, emphasizing its significance in establishing a strong brand identity. Henry sheds light on the strategic approaches and innovative initiatives undertaken by Formula E, highlighting the power of disruption in today's competitive business landscape. Join them as they delve into captivating topics such as audience engagement, content creation, and the broader implications of being an innovator within a sport that has such a foothold in the consumers' minds. Get ready for a thought-provoking discussion filled with valuable takeaways that can help you adapt and scale your marketing strategies. Tune in, we had a lot of fun recording this one!

Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube.

[If you’re a brand-side marketer and want to join the AMP community, check out the application form here - https://www.wearerival.com/amp-group ]

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(4:10) What challenger brand are you passionate about?

(7:45) Where is Formula E right now?

(11:00) How did you differentiate your brand?

(15:30) What role does 'purpose' play in your marketing strategy?

(29:30) How do you know when to stick with tradition and when to make changes?

(36:30) Media company marketing model

(44:00) Lightning round

Mentioned in the Show:

"Scratch" is a production of Rival, a marketing consultancy and technology company that builds challenger brands, strategies, and capabilities to change categories.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Henry on Linkedin.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Launch One Of The Biggest Games In The World With Matt Webster of Activision

leanne@wearerival.com (Matthew Webster, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 15:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Scratch, we had the pleasure of talking to Matthew Webster, the Vice President of Global Marketing for Activision and Call of Duty, about the launch of one of the biggest games in the world, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. With a career spanning over 15 years, Matthew has led global marketing at Twitch, Spotify, PlayStation, SoundCloud, and Ticketmaster, and has a wealth of experience in transforming challenger brands into industry giants. He shares his insights on understanding and connecting with your audience through testing, research, and community engagement, and also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a strong in-game experience.

Additionally, the conversation touches on the value of strategic partnerships and collaborations within the gaming industry, including working with franchises like World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch. Matthew highlights the benefits of learning from successful brands and leveraging their expertise to drive innovation and growth. The episode also explores regionalization strategies, influencer marketing, and the importance of staying agile and open to emerging opportunities in the ever-changing landscape of the gaming industry.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

[If you’re a brand-side marketer and want to join the AMP community, check out the application form here}

Chapters:

[03:20] Intro

[04:20] What challenger brand are you most passionate about?

[08:20] How do you balance between being relevant and driving scale for a game like Call of Duty?

[13:30] What process did you go through when you were new to this role?

[24:00] What are the ways that you find to stay on top of all the changes happening in the MarTech Ecosystem?

[27:20] A billion-dollar revenue in 10 days, what's next? Where do we go from here?

[32:05] What lessons have you learned from COD's launch that can apply to other marketers?

[33:40] What is the flywheel for my business?

[34:40] Lightning Round

"Scratch" is a production of Rival, a marketing consultancy and technology company that builds challenger brands, strategies, and capabilities to change categories.

In every episode Eric interviews the CMO of some of the world’s biggest or fastest-growing brands, exploring their innovative marketing strategies that challenge established incumbents. Immerse yourself in the world of challenger brands and learn valuable marketing lessons from industry experts, as you discover their secrets to success.

Find Matthew on Linkedin.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Build Brand Buzz with the VP Head of Brand of Papa Johns, Jaclyn Ruelle

leanne@wearerival.com (Jaclyn Ruelle, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 7 Jun 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Welcome to another episode of Scratch, where Eric is joined by the brilliant Jaclyn Ruelle, VP head of Brand @Papa Johns, the mastermind behind Papa Johns exceptional campaigns. Jaclyn unravels the secrets of creating a buzz around your brand and igniting captivating conversations among your consumers.

Together, they explore the art of truly understanding your customers and consistently delivering content that sparks their curiosity. Jaclyn emphasizes the significance of strategic communication methods, including new channels which are still growing, in establishing a robust online presence. Moreover, she sheds light on the concept of identifying your brand's "carrier pigeons" – the key individuals who can ignite a ripple effect of excitement and viral discussions.

They discuss various metrics to measure ‘talkability’ such as the "Impact ratio”, and “Attention Score” - a valuable tool for evaluating campaign performance by considering factors such as engagement and media spend. She also talks about recognizing the need for a quick and decisive team to launch impactful campaigns, especially during major events like the Super Bowl. Additionally, they stress the importance of active listening and contributing meaningful insights to discussions, all while extending your brand's reach for a lasting impact.

[If you’re a brand-side marketer and want to join the AMP community, check out the application form here]

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube 🎥.

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(04:00) A Challenger Brand you're really passionate about

(14:25) How do you start with 'getting a deeping understanding' your consumer?

(19:30) How do you decide what to say, where to say it, and when to say it?

(25:48) What metrics do you look at to understand whether or not you're driving 'talkability' around the brand?

(34:02) Is there a case study that you can point to about driving buzz?

(42:48) Lightning Round

"Scratch" is a production of Rival, a marketing consultancy and technology company that builds challenger brands, strategies, and capabilities to change categories.

In every episode Eric interviews the CMO of some of the worlds biggest or fastest-growing brands, exploring their innovative marketing strategies that challenge established incumbents. Immerse yourself in the world of challenger brands and learn valuable marketing lessons from industry experts, as you discover their secrets to success.

Find Jaclyn on Linkedin.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How To Build an Iconic Brand with CMO of PepsiCo Int’l Beverages, Mark Kirkham

leanne@wearerival.com (Mark Kirkham, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 24 May 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Join us for another insightful episode of Scratch, hosted by Eric Fulwiler, with special guest Mark Kirkham, the CMO of PepsiCo International Beverages. PepsiCo is an iconic brand, recognized globally for its diverse portfolio and commitment to societal impact. Mark shares his wealth of marketing knowledge on building a brand that goes beyond just products and stands for a purpose that resonates with its consumers. He emphasizes the importance of being relevant, differentiating your brand, and aligning your actions with your brand's broader mission.

Mark also talks about the strategic marketing choices brands need to make to establish themselves as 'iconic', the balance between global scale and local relevance, and how to prioritize in a world filled with marketing opportunities. He underscores the importance of understanding your consumers, learning from failures, and always questioning your brand's relevance to your audience. This episode is packed with invaluable insights into PepsiCo's mission to connect with its consumers on a deeper level. The discussion highlights the significance of purpose-driven branding, customer understanding, and the right cultural fit in the dynamic landscape of marketing consumer goods. Be sure to tune in and learn from one of the best in the business!

[If you’re a brand-side marketer and want to join the AMP community, check out the application form here]

Chapters:

[03:57] Intro

[05:40] What is the one challenger brand you’re passionate about?

[09:08] How important is authenticity for challenger brands?

[14:25] How does a day look in the life of the CMO of Pepsico?

[17:49] How do you get the insight onto ‘what you need to do’ to be relevant and iconic?

[21:09] How do you use ‘purpose’ in your role as a CMO of so many brands?

[29:30] How do you actually become iconic?

[33:30] Do you have a framework to split investment between splitting things that are actually going to work, and innovating and trying out new things?

[39:20] Driving global scale and local relevance at the same time

[40:50] If you left Pepsi tomorrow, and started your own company, what would you do in the first 30 days to build an iconic brand from scratch?

[43:40] Lightning Round

Watch this episode on Youtube 📺:

"Scratch" is a production of Rival, a marketing consultancy and technology company that builds challenger brands, strategies, and capabilities to change categories.

Find Mark on Linkedin.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Marketing strategies for Scaling the largest fintech in Europe: Lessons from Bitpanda's Unicorn Journey

leanne@wearerival.com (Magdalena Hörhager, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 10 May 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Join Eric in this insightful episode of Scratch as he interviews Magdalena Hörhager, the VP of Growth at Bitpanda. Bitpanda is a challenger brand that’s had a metoeric rise to become one of the most significant and trusted investment platforms in Europe. Magdalena sheds light on Bitpanda’s marketing strategies that focus on trust, consistency, differentiation, and cultural relevance.

Magdalena emphasizes the importance of having a product that speaks for itself and encourages word-of-mouth marketing and stresses on the need to be agile and creative while setting up tracking and KPIs from the outset. She also discusses why hiring the right people, establishing processes, and organizational structures is a must, along with measuring the effectiveness of campaigns to ensure they resonate with the target audience.

The discussion also covers the challenges faced by traditional financial institutions, the impact of regulations on growth, and the value of building a strong brand identity that is culturally relevant. The episode is packed with valuable insights into Bitpanda's mission to make investing accessible to everyone. The discussion underscores the importance of data-driven marketing strategies, having a strong brand identity, and customer-centric approaches in the competitive fintech landscape.

[If you’re a brand-side marketer and want to join the AMP community, check out the application form here]

This episode is a must-listen for those interested in understanding the workings of a successful fintech unicorn and the intricacies of marketing a hyper-growth start-up.

"Scratch" is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that helps businesses grow faster by developing effective strategies and capabilities.

Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction

04:50 - What is BitPanda?

06:25 - Ice breaker - What challenger brand are you the most passionate about?

08:50 - Scaling to 4 Million Customers

13:12 - What are the key pillars in your marketing Playbook?

15:50 - What is the balance in being culturally relevant?: Top-Down (Global to Local) or Bottom up (Local to Global)

21:25 - What are the things that a head of marketing or CMO of a pre-revenue business should be focused on?

24:35 - What advice would you give to early sage marketers?

27:14 - What changes in terms of priority after revenue starts coming in?

30:45 - What changes with 7-figure customers, and unicorn status- for a marketer?

36:30 - How do you make change happen fast?

39:00 - Lightning Round

Every week, Eric interviews the CMO of a challenger brand, exploring their innovative marketing strategies that challenge established incumbents. Immerse yourself in the world of challenger brands and learn valuable marketing lessons from industry experts, as you discover their secrets to success.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and in this week’s episode, he’s joined by Magdalena Hörhager, the VP of Growth at Bitpanda.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Reinventing the $50B Radio Industry for the Digital Age with Richard Stern, CEO of Tunein

leanne@wearerival.com (Richard Stern, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 15:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Eric invites Richard Stern, the CEO of TuneIn, to discuss how TuneIn is revolutionizing the radio industry through digital transformation. TuneIn is a challenger brand with a mission to disrupt traditional radio broadcasting, allowing listeners to tune in to shows from anywhere in the world without being restricted by geographical limitations.

With 75 million monthly active users, TuneIn has become one of the most widely used streaming audio platforms globally. Richard highlights the importance of offering a better user experience to encourage adoption, using examples from industries like Uber, Casper, and Apple to illustrate how disruption can lead to innovation. He emphasizes that a great product should serve as its own marketing, providing an exceptional user experience that attracts and retains customers.

During the podcast, Eric and Richard also discuss the marketing challenges faced by traditional radio broadcasting, the role of brand in the connected home, and the value of companionship provided by radio listening. Tune in to this insightful conversation that highlights TuneIn's mission and the future of radio in the digital realm.

"Scratch" is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that helps businesses grow faster by developing effective strategies and capabilities.

👉If you’re a brand-side marketer and want to join the AMP community, check out the application form here

Chapters:

(00:00) Rival AMP Community

(5:23) What is one challenger brand that you’re passionate about right now?

(9:35) Does Tesla actually do marketing?

(14:00) Mattress wars

(23:55) Home of Storytelling - Audible

(24:05) What problem are challenger brands trying to solve

(27:00) Being customer-centric the way Amazon is

(28:10) Early days of Uber

(31:55) What is the mission for Tune in

(36:55) "People don’t change for more good, they only change for much better"

(45:00) One thing people should do differently after listening to this episode

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and in this episode, he’s joined by Richard Stern, the CEO of TuneIn.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Find Richard Stern on LinkedIn

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How To Grow Sustainably in High-Growth Categories

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Diego-Tarek de Aristegui) — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 16:00:00 +0000

In this insightful podcast, join us as we delve into the world of sustainable growth and quick commerce with Diego-Tarek de Aristegui. Explore the challenges and opportunities associated with transitioning people's buying habits from brick-and-mortar to online commerce, and learn why business acumen and data visualization have become essential skills for marketers in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Diego shares invaluable insights on the importance of quality and customer experience, as well as the importance of establishing a purpose-driven company for long-term success. Learn how to distinguish your brand, strike a balance between short-term and long-term metrics, and avoid the creation of deal addicts through excessive promotions.

Throughout the conversation, we talk about how sustainable growth varies based on your place in the market. Don't miss this captivating discussion that will inspire you to think differently and drive meaningful impact in the marketing industry.

Scratch is a production of Rival 🚀, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities to help businesses grow faster. Scratch is 🎙️ Hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined Diego-Tarek de Aristegui.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn 💼 , Twitter 🐦.

Watch the video version 🎥 of this Podcast on YouTube .

Find Eric on LinkedIn 🌐 and tweet him @efulwiler 🐦 .

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you 😊 .

How Marketing Can Make a Difference with Sophie Collins CMO of MPB

leanne@wearerival.com (Sophie Collins, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 16:00:00 +0000

In this exciting episode, we welcome Sophie Collins, an accomplished marketing leader and CMO at MPB, the world's top platform for reselling camera gear. With her extensive experience as VP of digital for DAZN and a decade-long stint as Managing Director of performance marketing for Neo @ Ogilvy, Sophie shares her insights on how marketing can drive positive change and how businesses can start with an authentic ‘purpose’. She provides valuable advice to marketers who are passionate about making a difference, regardless of their leadership positions.

(00:48) Icebreaker - tell us about a challenger brand you really love

(03:50) Intro to MPB

(08:05) Where do you start with developing an authentic practical purpose for your brand

(12:09) How closely does authenticity and commercial purpose have to be in your mind?

(13:50) How does someone who isn’t CMO have an impact?

(20:50) How do you think about marketing in having a positive impact in the world

(24:20) What organisations and places should marketers look at to get more into the world of sustainability

(26:50) One thing (or two) things people should do differently after they listen to this

👉Want to join Rival AMP? Join us here.

Mentioned in the show:

Flo

Riley

Circular Economy Network, Recurate, mentioned in ZAG 50

Conscious advertising network

Breaking barriers

Creatives for Climate

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Replicating Lightning in a Bottle Moments and Explosive Growth with Kate McCutchen, CMO Seedrs

leanne@wearerival.com (Kate McCutchen, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 8 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000

In this week's episode, we are joined by Kate McCutchen, the CMO of Seedrs and Global Head of Marketing for Republic Retail. As Republic looks to revolutionise the way ordinary individuals can invest in the best startups and VC funds, Kate is leading the charge with their marketing. Drawing on over 15 years of experience at Apple, Samsung, Amazon Fresh, Square and Away, she has a wealth of insight and experience in what it takes to grow a business in a new market and capture lightning in a bottle, at scale. It was such a masterclass for marketers who are trying to deliver growth at a global level.

Amongst other things, we discussed:

Why she thinks paint brands like Coat are incredible challengers in a redundant space
How to launch businesses like Square, Amazon Fresh and Republic into new markets successfully
The one mindset modern marketers need to have in order to capture the viral moments

Mentioned in the show:

💻 Republic website

🎨Coat paints

🍺Union DC website

⚡️Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Kate McCutchen of Seedrs.

👉Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

👀Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

👉Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

👉Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How To Build The Fastest Growing E-Commerce Business In North America With Gil Efrati, CMO Of Resident

leanne@wearerival.com (Gil Efrati, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 1 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000

In this week's episode, we are joined by Gil Efrati, CMO of Resident. Resident was, at one point, the fastest growing e-commerce brand in North America, and in this episode, Gil explains exactly how you get to that size and scale.

Gil has an incredible perspective on the role of data and why being “data-led” is really not a buzz word for Resident but an executable strategy.

Hear about how Resident leverages data in their creative campaigns and how brands can differentiate themselves in this crowded space.

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and in this episode, he’s joined by Gil Efrati, the CMO of Resident.

Mentioned:

👉Make America Sleep Again

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.

Find Gil on LinkedIn

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Community is the Future of Marketing with Mark Schaefer

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, mark schaefer) — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 16:20:53 +0000

Watch the Future of the CMO documentary here 🎥 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXBKelmQomM

In this week's episode, we are joined (for the second time) by Mark Schaefer - author, acclaimed marketing consultant, keynote speaker, podcaster, and university educator. He is the author of 10 books and he joins us today to discuss his latest book, “Belonging To The Brand; Why Community Is The Last Great Marketing Strategy”. In the episode we uncover the 3 mega-trends are that providing the “perfect storm” for community based marketing to win, how to build a sustainable community, and the common pitfalls that CMO’s face when building these communities.

Mentioned in the show:

📕Mark’s New Book

🌹LEGO’s Adult Flowers

📰NY Times The Loneliest Generation

🚨New Episode every Wednesday! Subscribe 🚨

🎧Smart link: https://link.chtbl.com/scratch

⚡️Learn from the best challenger marketing strategies & tactics from CMO’s of global brands, every Wednesday on Scratch.

⚡️Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing consultancy that builds challenger brands, strategies, and capabilities to change categories.

👋Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

👋Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

📩Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Win in the New “Experience” Era with Adobe's Executive Creative Director, Adam Morgan

leanne@wearerival.com (Adam Morgan, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 8 Feb 2023 14:26:04 +0000

Adam Morgan is the Executive Creative Director Adobe, and with 26 years of experience in the creative industry he's seen many new "eras" of marketing come and go. In this episode we discuss what mindset you need to succeed in the "experience" era, why the next-gen CEO will be a creative, and why he's pushing to have more creative people making business-critical decisions.

Aside from leading Adobe's creative efforts, Adam is the author of ‘Sorry Spock, Emotions Drive Business: Proving the value of creative ideas with science, and is the host of the Real Creative Leadership Podcast

Connect with Adam on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/admo3/

Discussed in the show:

Adam Morgan - Sorry Spock Emotions Drive Business (Book)

Simon Sinek - Infinite Game (Book)

Chip Heath & Dan Heath -Power of moments

Real Creative Leadership Podcast

🚨New Episode every Wednesday! Subscribe 🚨

🎧Smart link: https://link.chtbl.com/scratch

⚡️Learn from the best challenger marketing strategies & tactics from CMO’s of global brands, every Wednesday on Scratch.

⚡️Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing consultancy that builds challenger brands, strategies, and capabilities to change categories.

👋Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

👋Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

📩Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Adapting Your Mindset When Moving from Incumbent to Challenger with Kelly Starman, CMO PartsSource

leanne@wearerival.com (Kelly Starman, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 1 Feb 2023 17:30:02 +0000

In this week’s episode, Eric talks to Kelly Starman CMO of PartsSource, a leading online healthcare marketplace for mission-critical healthcare products and services. Kelly is a results-focused marketing executive with two decades of driving growth and leading high-performing teams at GE, Athena Health and Phillips. As a result she has a wealth of knowledge on what it takes to be a successful marketer in organisations of different sizes, and how to balance speed and process effectively. It was really interesting to hear about her own personal strategies for innovating, being effective and what frameworks she uses when it comes to budgeting for her global marketing teams.

Connect with Kelly on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kstarman/details/experience/

Smart link: https://link.chtbl.com/scratch

New Episode every Wednesday! Subscribe

Discussed in the show:

HBR After Hours

Atomic Habits

Learn from the best challenger marketing strategies & tactics from CMO’s of global brands, every Wednesday on Scratch.

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing consultancy that builds challenger brands, strategies, and capabilities to change categories.

Today's episode was hosted by Eric Fulwiler.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Make an Impact by Being Scrappy with Delbert Ty of Coffee Meets Bagel

leanne@wearerival.com (Delbert Ty, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, Eric talks with Delbert Ty, CMO of Coffee Meets Bagel, a challenger online dating app. Delbert came up through the ranks at Procter & Gamble, working on some of the biggest brands in the world for one of the biggest marketing organizations in the world. It’s fascinating to hear how he, as a disruptor and innovator, was able to navigate the organization and do some really exciting work. He also shares how he was able to turn a new telco brand in Singapore into an overnight success with one campaign, and how he’s approaching his new role at CMB in much more crowded and advanced category. We love his approach and his prompt of actually doubling down on ideas that people think are crazy. It’s what leads to impact!

Connect with Delbert on Linkedin and Twitter - https://www.linkedin.com/in/delbertty/

Smart link: https://link.chtbl.com/scratch

Discussed in the show:

Notion's Campaign

Polestar

Coffee Meets Bagel

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing consultancy that builds challenger brands, strategies, and capabilities to change categories. Today's episode was hosted by Eric Fulwiler. Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Baking Virality with NYC's Most Famous Bakery

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, Eric speaks with Eddie Revis, CMO of Magnolia Bakery in NYC. Eddie is “on a mission to show the world that marketing doesn’t have to suck” and he is certainly doing that at Magnolia! He and the team have been launching some amazing campaigns that have been getting mainstream attention and going viral in the US. How does he do it? It’s all about plugging the brand into culture and never stopping at just a good idea, but always pushing towards a great idea.

Connect with Eddie on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardrevis/

And check out some of the recent campaigns from Magnolia

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/amp/food/story/viral-muffins-youtube-star-reprises-role-unveil-latest-86881947

https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/tula-skincare-magnolia-bakery-1235307230/

https://patch.com/new-york/parkslope/banana-pudding-beer-here

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com , we’d love to hear from you.

How Mint Mobile Drives Business Innovation Through Marketing with CMO Aron North

leanne@wearerival.com (Aron North, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000

In today's episode we have Mint Mobile's CMO, Aron North, join us to discuss everything from how Mint started as a "side hustle" within the business, how they are using marketing to drive true product innovation, and how creative Ryan Reynold's is as a part owner in Mint.

Links to anything mentioned in the show:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/mint-mobile-llc/videos/native/urn:li:ugcPost:6943242261367308288/

https://www.mintmobile.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aronnorth/

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

You can also watch this podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Wearerival/

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Today's episode was hosted by Eric Fulwiler.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How To Be An Adaptable Brand In Ever Changing Environments With Margo Kahnrose of Skai

leanne@wearerival.com (Jenna Cummings, Margo Kahnrose) — Wed, 4 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, Jenna sits down with Margo Kahnrose, CMO of Skai. They discuss what it's like to grow a brand and own a place in the market when consumer's have unlimited choices and how you can keep your brand relevant in this ever changing world. They also cover how the rebrand from Kenshoo to Skai was conceived and why it was necessary along with the changes that all companies in AdTech and Marketing Tech are facing.

Smart link: https://link.chtbl.com/scratch

Connect with Jenna here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/Jennacummings

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Connect with Margo here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/margokahnrose/

Check out Skai here - https://skai.io/

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Today's episode was hosted by Jenna Cummings.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Crocs Are(n't) Cool, The Top 3 Challenger Themes for 2022 - Scratch Special

leanne@wearerival.com (Jenna Cummings, Eric Fulwiler, DuBose Cole) — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. In today's episode, we record at our first live event (Zag Out) and wrap up the top Challenger themes of the year and what the key takeaways are for your brand. It was an incredible conversation in front of a live audience and we debated everything from if Crocs are cool or not to if we should be investing in Pickleball... tune in for a special Scratch this week!

Links to stories/topics discussed:

https://stockx.com/en-gb/crocs-classic-clog-cinnamon-toast-crunch
https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/eos-launches-bless-fing-cooch-shaving-cream-line-inspired-tiktok-creator/1712417
https://www.wearerival.com/content-hub-articles/pragmatic-purpose-theres-more-than-one-way-to-save-the-world
https://starface.world/
https://www.tiktok.com/@liquiddeath/video/7018963011213823237
https://www.crtz.xyz/password
https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/corteiz-clint-and-the-future-of-streetwear
https://usapickleball.org/what-is-pickleball/
https://www.pickleballengland.org/
https://www.instagram.com/usapickleball/?hl=en
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/11/pickleball-pro-sport-popularity-growing/672001/

How to Build a Unicorn with Richard Davies of Allica Bank

leanne@wearerival.com (Richard Davies, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 7 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, Eric talks with Richard Davies, CEO of Allica Bank and ex CEO of Revolut and OakNorth. Richard has helped build three unicorn challengers in the fintech space (the third being as a non-exec for World Remit), but he’s also spent time at big incumbent banks. He has a unique perspective on not only what it takes to build a unicorn, but also what the biggest differences are between how incumbents and challengers go to market and approach growth. Eric and Richard also dig into effective org design models for product and marketing teams and how the Spotify squad model has had a big impact on how he’s approached building teams. Read more here - https://productschool.com/blog/product-management-2/spotify-model-scaling-agile/.

Connect with Richard here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-davies-1323b2/

Check out Allica here - https://www.allica.bank/

Smart link: https://link.chtbl.com/scratch

How to Institutionalise Innovation with Maja Neable of BMO

leanne@wearerival.com (Maja Neable, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 13:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, Eric talks to Maja Neable, Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer Banking & Chief Data & Analytics Officer at BMO Financial Group about let’s say… one of the more innovative marketing campaigns we’ve seen recently! In spring 2022 BMO decided to tap in to the gaming community by creating a discord to help educate and advice this community on personal finance matters.

There is a lot of insight into how you create an innovative environment for your team, and how to navigate meet your customers where they are - they might even be on the discord!

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing consultancy that builds challenger brands, strategies, and capabilities to change categories. Today's episode was produced by Leanne Kilroy and hosted by Eric Fulwiler.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Smart link: https://link.chtbl.com/scratch

Additional links:

https://www.bmo.com/main/personal

How Digital Banks Can Cross Over to the Physical World With Coenraad Jonker, Co-Founder and CEO, Tyme Bank

leanne@wearerival.com (Coenraad Jonker, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 14:15:00 +0000

Welcome to another episode of Scratch! In this week's episode Eric Fulwiler is joined by Coenraad Jonker, Co Founder & CEO of Tyme Bank, the leading challenger bank in South Africa with 6 million customers.

Tyme has just expanded in the Philippines to help 52.1 million unbanked citizens. At Singapore Fintech Festival, our conversation covered the origin of Tyme, how they built a successful challenger product and brand and how they plan to become a true rival brand.

This is a fascinating conversation, tune in!

How to Get Marketing a Bigger Seat at the Table with Allison MacLeod CMO of Flywire

leanne@wearerival.com (Rival) — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 15:00:00 +0000

Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Today's episode was produced by Leanne Kilroy and hosted by Eric Fulwiler.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to develop the non-marketing skills needed to be a CMO with Mosala Phillips of Old Mutual Limited

leanne@wearerival.com (Mosala Phillips, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 9 Nov 2022 15:10:00 +0000

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to grow a business at the right cost, not all costs with Rand Fishkin of SparkToro

leanne@wearerival.com (Rand Fishkin, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 2 Nov 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at

media@wearerival.com

, we’d love to hear from you.

How to market the future with Rob Miller of HyperloopTT

leanne@wearerival.com (Rob Miller, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 15:00:00 +0000

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at

media@wearerival.com

, we’d love to hear from you.

How to create purpose-driven branding with David Aaker of Prophet

leanne@wearerival.com (David Aaker, DuBose Cole) — Wed, 5 Oct 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Grab your free e-book here!

In this week's episode, DuBose talks to David Aaker, Vice Chairman at Prophet. David is a legend in this field, and he shares his knowledge on creating a strong brand purpose for your company, no matter what you offer. Can all brands have a social purpose? Does work across different sectors and where do you even start looking for what fits your brand?

To find out more and to connect with David Aaker, follow the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidaaker/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidAaker

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AakerOnBrands

Hashtag: #AakeronBrands

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find DuBose on LinkedIn and tweet him @dubosecole.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Adapt to Constant Change with Sam Dulka of Dubai Economy & Tourism

leanne@wearerival.com (Sam Dulka, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 13:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, Eric talks to Sam Dulka, Associate Vice President of Global Business Marketing at Dubai Economy and Tourism. Tune in for a really interesting conversation about how Dubai has established itself as a challenger brand in the last few years and how you have to find channels of meaningful influence with the audience you are trying to reach. The team at Dubai tourism think of Dubai as a product, relating it back to Apple but with different features. There are some really good pieces around adapting to change and why all marketers have to keep this in mind. Enjoy, and let us know what you think!

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Build a Customer-Centric Marketing Strategy with John Sheldon of SmileDirectClub

leanne@wearerival.com (John Sheldon, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 7 Sep 2022 13:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, Eric talks to John Sheldon, CMO of challenger brand SmileDirectClub and owner of one of the best Linkedin headers we’ve seen…John describes himself as a “CMO and innovation Leader, a customer data 'truffle pig', and someone who’s focused on creating irrational brand love.” Love it. There’s a TON of great advice and insight in this episode on what it takes to not just build a successful challenger brand, but also build a successful challenger marketing team. Hint: it all comes down to how well you understand and can consistently deliver on the needs of your customer…

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Own a Point of Differentiation in a Crowded Market with Grant Johnson of Emburse

leanne@wearerival.com (Grant Johnson, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Learn more about how to stand out and why every contact matter by listening to this week's conversation with Grant Johnson of Emburse.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Launch a Challenger Brand with Fiona Parfrey of Riley

leanne@wearerival.com (fiona parfrey, Eric Fulwiler) — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 23:00:00 +0000

Riley is a sustainable menstrual product company that operates on a subscription model, whereby individuals manage mensutral health needs, coupled with a strong B2B model, whereby companies stock period products in employee toilets. This break from the traditional in-store purchase model requires a change of culture and a destigmatisation of women’s issues and women’s health - and Riley is up for the challenge.

Learn more at https://weareriley.com

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How “Share of Heart” Leads to Share of Market with Deniz Güven of Platform XIT

leanne@wearerival.com (Deniz Guven, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Reach out to Deniz on LinkedIn and learn more about Platform XIT here.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com we’d love to hear from you.

How to Build a Brand to Disrupt an Industry with David Brear of 11:FS

leanne@wearerival.com (David Brear, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 13:00:00 +0000

This week, Eric talks to David, a giant in the fintech industry, about disruption, why 11:FS produces a huge amount of content and why you should, too.

Reach out to David on LinkedIn.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Drive Brand-Led Growth in B2B with Anna Griffin of Intercom

leanne@wearerival.com (Anna Griffin, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 13:00:00 +0000

This week, Intercom's Anna Griffin talks to Eric about how she sees the role of CMO in challenging the status quo, what she's curious about, and the question every CMO needs to be asking themselves.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Introducing Punchy: Marketing News With the Gloves Off

leanne@wearerival.com (jenna, Eric Fulwiler, DuBose Cole) — Wed, 1 Jun 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Introducing Punchy: Marketing News with the gloves off, recorded LIVE each week. This week, Rival's co-founders, Eric Fulwiler, Jenna Cummings and DuBose Cole, discuss TikTok, NFTs and Mayonnaise.

Jenna’s rave this week is about Algorand. Check it out here - https://www.algorand.com/

Listen to Punchy every week.

How to Land a Successful Rebrand with Mai Fenton of Superscript

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Mai Fenton) — Wed, 18 May 2022 13:00:00 +0000

This week Eric chats to Mai Fenton of Superscript, a customizable bespoke insurance company for small businesses. Mai joined a few years ago as the first CMO, and oversaw a major rebranding from Digital Risks to Superscript. By 2020, the name Digital Risks no longer represented the brand, as its customer base shifted from purely digital and technology businesses to all kinds of businesses seeking customizable insurance. It was clear the company needed to rebrand to unlock growth opportunities and challenge the insurance market.

In today's episode you’ll hear some of Superscript’s engaging radio and podcast spots. To learn more about their rebrand, click here.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Introducing Spark: Research into what Drives Successful Challenger Brands

leanne@wearerival.com (Rajesh Bhargave, Eric Fulwiler, DuBose Cole) — Thu, 12 May 2022 11:00:00 +0000

Listen to our live conversation with Professor Rajesh Bhargave and Rival Co-Founders DuBose Cole and Eric Fulwiler as we present the findings and implications from our Q2 report.

How to Humanize B2B Marketing with Martin Häring of Temenos

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Martin Häring) — Wed, 11 May 2022 13:00:00 +0000

As CMO of Temenos, a world-leader in banking software, Martin knows a thing or two about the B2B space. He argues that marketers need to innovate constantly but, more than anything, need to be focused on the customer experience.

Three things Martin recommends:

Don't think about leads, think about your customer
Don't think about B2B, think about B2H or to B2P (Business to Human or Business to People)
Don't invest in push marketing, instead focus on pull marketing

To connect with Martin, find him on LinkedIn

To learn more about Temenos, visit their website: https://www.temenos.com/

How to Apply Behavioral Economics in Marketing with Rory Sutherland of Ogilvy

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Rory Sutherland, DuBose Cole) — Wed, 4 May 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK and author, talks with Eric and co-host DuBose Cole about everything from payment models to a London shop called Bacon Sandwich. Rory is fascinated by the intersection between behavioral science and advertising. A true advertising legend, Rory's latest book is Alchemy: The Magic of Original Thinking in a World of Mind-Numbing Conformit (2021).

How to Compete in the Future of Marketing with Mark Schaefer

leanne@wearerival.com (mark schaefer, eric fulwiler) — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Marketing strategist, author and adjunct professor, Mark Schaefer argues that the CMO must be in charge of the entire customer experience, and how some brands - like Glossier and Everlane - are doing it right.

In a world where isolation and loneliness are on the rise, community is more important than ever. Mark argues that consumers want to believe in the brands they support, that they to want to participate in and to belong to a brand. Belonging is such a human drive - and Mark believes that beyond purpose, companies will need to start using technology to connect to people in deeply personal ways.

For more from Mark, check out his podcast, his books, and his blog at Businessesgrow.com.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter. Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler. Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you. If you prefer to watch this episode, visit (and subscribe!) to Rival's YouTube channel.

How to Achieve Goals Through Defining Outcomes with Yonca Dervişoğlu of Google

leanne@wearerival.com (Yonca Dervişoğlu, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 13:00:00 +0000

This week, Yonca Dervişoğlu talks to Eric about so many things from how she makes sure she has time to spend on her prioritises, how the pandemic has helped her connect to her teams, and how she approaches new roles and new challenges.

Yonca discusses how her family and childhood experience moving from Istanbul to California - with its often unbridled optimism about technology - have shaped her and led her to where she is today, the CMO of many markets for Google, and how this has informed her priorities for EMEA's role in the future of technology. While EMEA can tend towards being overly concerned with new tech, Yonca actively seeks to push the region to embrace a more active role in new technology with a focus on the values particular to it, including privacy and equality.

This is a great conversation for anyone interested in the bigger picture. If you want to hear more from Google's head of marketing for EMEA, you can find Yonca on LinkedIn.

How to Apply Jobs-to-be-Done to Brand Building with Bob Moesta of The ReWired Group

leanne@wearerival.com (Bob Moesta, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Bob Moesta talks about how he overcame a disability to be a hugely successful businessman, marketer and educator. Bob is one of the authors of the Jobs-to-be-Done theory, which posits that consumers hire products or services to do jobs in their lives. According to Jobs-to-be-Done, companies need to better understand how their products and services fit into people’s lives.

Bob talks about how to apply the theory to brand-building and reminds marketers that they need to be in lockstep with those creating the product. Bob insists that marketers tend to over-emphasize the who and ignore the when, where and why of consumption.

Bob and Eric could have easily filled three podcasts - so if you want to hear more, send us your questions for Bob at media@wearerival.com and we’ll have a special Q&A episode of Scratch with Bob.

To hear more from Bob, check out his most recent book, Demand-Side Sales, look out for his upcoming Learning to Build, and check out his new podcast The Circuit Breaker. You can reach out to Bob on LinkedIn.

How to Transform a 100-Year-Old Brand with David Rubin of The New York Times

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, David Rubin, Dean Aragon) — Thu, 7 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

In today’s episode, Dean Aragón joins Eric in a conversation with David Rubin, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of The New York Times, the storied newspaper with many millions of paid subscribers. The paper’s first CMO in its 100+ year history, David talks about how celebrating the NYT’s product leads to the business’ success.

There was lots of pushback when the New York Times made the controversial decision to place a paywall in front of some of its products back in 2011. But the decision to charge readers for the news paid off and now it has paywalls to aspects of its core product, Cooking, Games, and the newly acquired Athletic. How does the NYT convince customers to pay for their product when there is so much free news out there? The answer comes down to quality. David and his team highlight “how the sausage is made” in the brand’s ad campaigns, emphasizing that subscribing is the best way to help in its journalistic mission, and help maintain the journalism’s unparalleled quality. (And for all your Wordle aficionados, David insists that the game did not become more difficult after being purchased by the Times. Tell that to my mom, David.)

How to Make Martech Work For Your Team with Scott Brinker of HubSpot

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, scott brinker) — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Scott Brinker, known as the “godfather of martech” and currently VP Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot, talks to Eric about everything marketing technology from how to stay on top of it all to how best to implement changes in your organization.

Scott explains that the No Code movement represents a fundamental shift towards empowerment of business users and marketers. It’s not just about letting people build software applications without having to code them, it’s about allowing the average person to self-service their ideas.

And while culture change and adoption of new technologies and workflows are necessary, it inevitably requires a huge investment. Scott’s tips for success include:

Make sure you’re allocating the space in people’s responsibilities to learn new tools, technologies and approaches
Once you have the tools and people know how to use them, you have to make sure from a process re-engineering perspective, you actually look at how people will use these new tools and determine where the constraints are and work to see how to overcome those constraints working collaboratively with the new technology and getting things done.

While Scott admits the world of marketing technology is too large to stay on top of at this point, he also lets us know how he does his best.

To see the famous Marketing Technology Landscape Graphic click here.

For more from Scott visit www.chiefmartec.com

Find him @chiefmartec on Twitter or on LinkedIn.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Balance Profit with People and Planet with Rupen Desai of Dole

leanne@wearerival.com (Rupen Desai, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Rupen Desai, CMO of Dole Sunshine Company, talks about a world in which we stop considering shareholders' profits above all else and start considering the overall global benefits of business decisions to the environment and to human rights. He insists that while profit should not be the end all be all of business, true sustainability does not need to come at its expense. If you are curious about how to shift your business towards being truly purposeful and doing better for the planet and its people, this is the conversation for you.

Dole has produced some pretty remarkable advertising in the last few years. To see their Malnutrition Facts campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZSBEyblzw0. Learn more about Dole’s mission here: https://sunshineforall.com/en/our-promise

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Run Your Marketing Like a Scientist with Jeremy King of Attest

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Jeremy King) — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 14:00:00 +0000

This week, Eric talks to Attest CEO and Co-Founder, Jeremy King, about how data leads to better, smarter business decisions with no guesswork. He argues that with the right data, business leaders and marketers are able to know precisely when certain risks are justified and when they’re not, and they are able to understand their target audience, not just their current customer base.

Coming from a background in both science (as an undergraduate) and business (at Harvard Business School, no less), Jeremy approaches business problems in novel ways, recalling cases from both business school and the natural world to gain new perspectives on seemingly unsolvable issues. Rather than operate on intuition and our unspoken but ever-present biases, Jeremy insists that businesses should operate like scientists in a world where data is king and bias is a crime. This conversation will undoubtedly inspire you to see the ways in which data can help you make better decisions.

To get in touch with Jeremy, find him on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremykingjk/

And to learn more about Reach 2 Academy Trust, visit https://www.reach2.org/

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Succeed in a New Era of Marketing with Raja Rajamannar of Mastercard

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Raja Rajamannar) — Wed, 9 Mar 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Raja Rajamannar is a true giant in the field of marketing. President of the World Federation of Advertising and CMO of Mastercard since 2013, Raja argues that there is no such thing as brand loyalty. Raja warns marketers not to mistake consumers liking your brand for consumer loyalty to it. What marketers confuse for brand loyalty is merely brand stickiness. Marketers need to understand the true drivers for customer choices in order to leverage them and encourage stickiness.

Raja shares his advice for marketers just getting started building their careers. The most important thing is trying to stay ahead of the curve - grounded in commercial realities. The second thing is to have formal internal and external mentors. Third thing is networking, both internally and externally. All of this is facilitated by a strong work ethic, dependability and know-how.

If he could start over from the beginning, Raja would spend a lot more time learning about technology and consulting, where marketers gain exposure to multiple industries at once and thus huge amounts of learning.

Raja’s advice for marketers:

Learn: Dedicate time and effort to learning and staying on top of things around them
Broaden: you should have multi-industry experiences
Broaden: If you’re in the US, leave! Don’t restrict yourself to your surroundings.
Broaden: Don’t stay put in marketing. Stints in sales, finance, technology, data will help you understand your role. You have to be a general manager with deep marketing expertise.

To learn more about Raja’s industry-shaping ideas, check out in his latest book, Quantum Marketing.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Activate Your Brand Purpose for Profit with Jim Stengel of The CMO Podcast

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Dean Aragón, Jim Stengel) — Wed, 2 Mar 2022 14:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, Eric and co-host Dean Aragon are joined by a giant of the marketing world, Jim Stengel, the former CMO of Procter & Gamble, author of Unleashing the Innovators (2017) and Grow (2012), and host of The CMO Podcast. Jim insists that most marketers aren’t curious enough about what’s around the corner, and get too bogged down in short-term priorities. He explains how to balance focusing on today, tomorrow and long-term goals, especially as an incumbent business. (Hint: look at your calendar and leverage your team.)

The conversation includes a discussion of the importance of reputation, trust, and the art of listening, as well as what Jim would spend the first 6 weeks doing at a new role. Finally, Eric, Dean and Jim wrap up by talking about the importance of brand purpose and why it sometimes falls apart.

For more from Jim, listen to The CMO Podcast or visit The Jim Stengel Company.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Harness the Viral Power of TikTok with Soyoung Kang of eos

leanne@wearerival.com (Soyoung Kang, Eric Fulwiler, Carly Joy) — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Soyoung Kang, CMO at eos, a company known for its lip balm, talks about how she embraces the unknown by constantly calibrating and always choosing the option that will teach the most. By embracing the unknown early and always budgeting for experimentation, Soyoung helped eos become a giant on TikTok, where it has nearly 900k followers, and Instagram, where it has 1.7M.

Soyoung and Eric discuss eos’ Bless Your F*ing Cooch Campaign, which pulled directly from a TikTok user’s unsolicited - and very enthusiastic - endorsement of eos’ shea butter shaving cream. This campaign caused sales of the shave cream to truly skyrocket and cemented eos’ place as a social media darling. Eos ran with it, making an ultra-limited edition shaving cream bottle with Carly Joy’s exact instructions on it in lieu of the classic usage directions on the bottle. "

She explains the importance of experimentation in marketing and how to do it well: make sure everyone on your team is on board, identify expectations, and set parameters so you will know if it’s been successful.

Soyoung insists that marketers need to understand that they are never in complete control of the narrative - and that the true gift of social media is that it puts brands in conversations with consumers, and this leads to not just better marketing but better products and happier people.

Find more from Soyoung on here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soyoungkang1/

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Focus on Marketing Fundamentals with Scott Monty

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Scott Monty) — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Scott Monty talks about his journey from premed student to marketing expert, and the elephant in the room - his amazing voice. He explains how understanding timeless human nature and psychology is key to effective communication and marketing. He encourages marketers to focus less on the platforms and more on the fundamentals, on storytelling and connecting to people.

Scott deeply believes in the often dismissed importance of taking the time to take stock and acting with integrity and warns of the danger of talking about brand purpose without truly embracing it at all levels of the business. He warns of the danger of “purpose” being the CSR of 2022.

Of the friction between the need to keep up with the latest marketing trends - from NTFs and beyond - to taking stock and doing things well, he says, “if you are confident in your purpose, in the values that drive your business, then moving quickly shouldn’t be a problem.” We couldn’t agree more.

To hear more more Scott, subscribe to his newsletter at www.timelyandtimeless.com and visit his website at www.scottmonty.com.

www.scottmonty.com

Newsletter - www.TimelessTimely.com

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Stay Ahead of the Disruption Curve with Chris Skinner

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Chris Skinner) — Wed, 9 Feb 2022 14:00:00 +0000

This week, Eric talks to Chris Skinner of The Finanser. Chris is well known for his extensive writing, speaking and advising on the disruption necessary in the banking and fintech worlds and is a proud self-proclaimed troublemaker because “the more trouble you make the more you can fix things.”

In this week’s conversation with Eric, Chris explains everything from why he focuses his lens so intensely on the future, to why the financial world isn’t as complicated as it might appear. He also explains the mechanism behind his staggering productivity and offers a truly global perspective on purpose-led banking.

Chris’s next book - Digital For Good, If You Don’t Stand for Something You Fall Down - to be published in the second quarter of 2022 - will provide an in-the-round global perspective on purpose-driven banking and finance.

It’s a conversation you won’t want to miss.

For more from Chris visit: The Finanser and Chrisskinner.global

And to learn more about Chris’s children’s book series, Captain Cake and the candy crew, visit www.Captiancake.com.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter. Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler. Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Build a Media Company Around Your Brand with Robert Rose

leanne@wearerival.com (Robert Rose, Eric Fulwiler, Joe Pulizzi) — Wed, 2 Feb 2022 14:00:00 +0000

In today’s episode, Eric talks to author, podcaster and content marketing expert, Robert Rose about everything from whether your marketing function can become a profit center to the fate of traditional advertising as we know it.

As promised, here are Robert’s recommended business books, his "mini-marketing-MBA":

The Practice of Management – Peter Drucker

The Management of Marketing Costs – James Culliton

Marketing Management – Philip Kotler

Thinking About Management – Theodore Levitt

The Marketing Imagination – Theodore Levitt

Marketing Myopia (White Paper) – Theodore Levitt

Integrated Marketing Communications – Don E. Schultz

Innovator’s Dilemma – Clayton Christensen

The End of Competitive Advantage – Rita Gunther McGrath

Discovery Driven Growth – Rita Gunther McGrath

Different – Youngme Moon

For more from Robert Rose, check out his brilliant podcast This Old Marketing with Joe Pulizzi, which has been downloaded more than two million times, or his website.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How ‘Batshit Crazy’ Advertising Can Actually Work with Abba Newbery of Habito

leanne@wearerival.com (Abba Newbery, Eric Fulwiler) — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Abba came to Habito from a background in media and is now proud to make “batshit crazy mortgage ads” that speak to Habito’s strong purpose of setting people free from the hell of getting a mortgage. Abba explains that everything they do creatively comes from customer insights and admits that they do it “in a ludicrous manner.” There are, for example, TV ads showing animated characters being gruesomely killed by their mortgages, and the admittedly gorgeous print campaign depicting the mortgage kama sutra, and the erotic novel called The Road to Completion that promises “to put the moans back into your mortgage.”

Abba is a “huge evangelist” of purposeful marketing but admits that telling people about doing the right thing can be really boring. It’s a big challenge to make purpose interesting. If you can get people to engage in your ads so much that they complain about them, she maintains, you’re doing a good job. “Every moment of making a Habito ad is terrifying”. She talks about some huge risks they’ve taken, and some they’ve had to reject. VCs do not want to take massive creative risks, so making incredibly risky advertising was never the obvious choice for a VC-backed start-up like Habito.

Abba discusses her approach to Habito’s relationship with its creative agency, Uncommon. She is “inherently biased” in favor of creative agencies as that is where she came up, and she trusts the level o creativity that comes out of agencies. Her advice for working with a creative agency is to constantly share the work as it is being produced - even in the roughest state - so there are no surprises or disappointments.

Abba finishes up by talking about how they test their ads once they’re ready to make sure they’re doing exactly what they want to do and then they tweak them based on people’s reactions. One thing is for sure: whatever they're doing, it's working.

See Habito’s “batshit crazy” advertising here, look at their mortgage kama sutra here, and read The Road to Completion here.

Follow @habitomortgages on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/habitomortgages/?hl=en
Follow Abba @Peckham79 on Twitter https://twitter.com/peckham79?lang=en
Or find Abba on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abba-newbery-8216905

Scratch is made in partnership with Attest, a consumer research platform with access to over 110 million consumers across 50 markets. Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Today's episode was produced by Leanne Kilroy and hosted by Eric Fulwiler.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How To Build a Trusted Brand with Tina Cassidy of GBH

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Tina Cassidy) — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 14:44:24 +0000

Tina Cassidy, CMO of GBH talks to Eric about the rebranding of Boston’s public broadcaster and the largest creator for public media in America. Trust is not only central to GBH as a company, it is central to GBH’s mission as a source of trusted news and information. It goes without saying that we find ourselves in an ever-changing information landscape where news is no longer traditionally produced or consumed, and the news media is increasingly seen as divided and divisive. Building trust with this new generation of consumers has been central to Tina’s mission at GBH. Through a commitment to transparency when it comes to gathering information from consumers and truly living its values, GBH has remained a deeply trusted media source. Get in touch with Tina at tina_cassidy@wgbh.org and find GBH on Twitter https://twitter.com/GBH

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How To Build Community Around Your Brand with James Kyd of Xero

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, James Kyd) — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 14:00:00 +0000

This week, James Kyd of Xero talks about how the online accounting platform with over 3 million customers has successfully built a community around the brand. By fostering a deep commitment to understanding the “real human costs” of running a business, Xero has nurtured a community composed mostly of accountants and small business owners. This dedication to understanding and addressing consumers’ needs is highlighted in Xero’s brilliant Behind Small Business Campaign, which tells the real stories and motivations of the people behind Britain’s small businesses.

James and Eric talk about how Xero’s marketing function remains innovative. How do you keep a team of 150 marketers aligned? By making sure the brand’s values are not just celebrated but lived within the company. James explains that the marketers are encouraged to experiment in a culture promoting curiosity over perfection. Creating an environment where people feel psychologically safe and are encouraged to “bring your whole self to work” means that Xero’s employees are more attuned to people’s real experiences elsewhere, and including their customers and the world around them. By keeping “the real costs of business” and customers’ lived experiences at the core of everything they do, Xero fosters meaningful relationships with and among their customers.

You can get in touch with James on Twitter or find him on LinkedIn.

How To Use Creativity to Deliver Business Results with Zaid Al-Qassab of Channel 4

leanne@wearerival.com (Zaid Al-Qassan, Eric Fulwiler, Jeff Wilson) — Wed, 5 Jan 2022 14:00:00 +0000

In this wide-ranging conversation, Eric talks to Zaid Al-Qassab, CMO of Channel 4. With his rich career history, Zaid offers insight into the burning issues on the minds of every marketer, from in-house vs. agency, how to market in a post-third party data world, and how to marry the best of the challenger and incumbent models.

While Channel 4 has two in-house agencies, 4creative - a full-service creative agency that produces more than 600 ads for Channel 4 every year - and 4Studio, a new digital content agency that also serves as a profit center - Zaid claims he is agnostic about the superiority of the in-house vs. agency model. In the case of Channel 4, the speed and frequency at which the company must churn out unique content means that an in-house model works best, while companies looking for content that takes more time to simmer may find that the agency model better suits their needs.

Zaid discusses how in this post-cookie, post-third party data world, there must be transparency and opt-in from customers when brands extract value from their audience, and that this involves the audience extracting value from the brand. And how the rules of marketing are unchanging in a changing digital landscape whether you’re a start-up starting with nothing or a billion-dollar business. According to Zaid, you must:

Understand what the business objectives are
Really understand your customer
Be excellent at extracting insight as to what motivates them
Engage the customer wherever they are receptive with consistent messaging and with execution that is engaging

Is it possible to be as successful as an incumbent while having the agility of a challenger? Eric and Zaid talk about the difficulty (the impossibility?) of combining the competitive advantages of small challenger brands - namely, speed and lack of risk - with the advantages of incumbents - size, scale and resources. Challenger brands can be more provocative: products can be trialed and fail easily because volumes are smaller and the risk is smaller. While it’s hard to achieve, Zaid argues that it is possible where everyone in the organization is incredibly clear on the objectives and there’s a small number of measures of what you’re attempting to deliver.

To wrap up, Zaid gives invaluable advice to those looking to make a difference in Diversity and Inclusion. (Hint, hint: it’s about following your passion.)

To watch some truly incredible, inspiring, and just all around brilliant work to come out of Channel 4’s in-house agency, 4creative: see the Paralympics spot here and their ad for their Big Beautiful Weirdos campaign highlighting Channel 4’s motto, Altogether Different, here.

To find a career at Channel 4, visit: https://careers.channel4.com/4jobs

In this week’s Organization We Sponsor, Eric talks to Jeff Wilson of One Percent For the Planet, a nonprofit consisting over 10,000 members, inspiring businesses and individuals to support environmental nonprofits. Businesses can get involved with an annual commitment of donating 1% of sales to environmental causes. Individuals can commit to donating 1% of income or volunteering.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Take a Take a Brand from Start-Up to IPO with Jasper Martens and Rachael Oku of PensionBee

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, jasper martens, rachael Oku, Lucy Cutter) — Wed, 8 Dec 2021 14:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, Eric talks to the nicest people in the business, Jasper Martens and Rachael Oku from PensionBee, about how the company has managed to stay true to its customers along the journey from launching as a small fintech start-up to going public. Rachael and Jasper talk about how letting their brand purpose guide both their company culture and marketing has given their brand a distinct voice that resonates so well with so many. Watch how PensionBee uses its own employees and real customers in their IPO marketing, as they do in nearly all their customer-facing marketing. Learn more about their Fossil Fuel Free plan, which Rachael discusses in the episode (and which seems like a pretty great thing) here. And hear about how making mistakes and being able to scale quickly can be the best way to innovate in an ever-changing marketing landscape.

In this week’s organization we sponsor, Eric talks to Lucy Cutter, President of Bloom, a professional network for women in communications, dedicated to promoting gender equality in the industry. Their mission is to, “to future-proof women’s careers, spearhead industry change and pay it forward,” goals we at Rival get behind. Please check out Bloom and how you can be a part of positive change at https://www.bloomnetwork.uk/what-we-do.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Scale Your Brand Purpose with Linda Boff and Zara Mirza of GE

Wed, 1 Dec 2021 14:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode of Scratch, Eric talks to GE CMO, Linda Boff, and Global Head of Brand Marketing, Zara Mirza, about GE’s Purpose Campaign and how discovering and amplifying its brand purpose keeps a global company like GE in touch with its many employees, teams, partners, investors, and customers. Eric’s favorite video to come out of the Purpose Campaign is the brilliantly produced Employee Takeover by Chief Test Pilot, Jon Ohman, which you can watch here. Not only is it fun and informative, but it beautifully showcases the brand purpose - “We rise to the challenge of building a world that works” - through the lens of one employee in a way that recasts the immense scope of the company’s mission to a very human, very compelling scale.

As promised, here are some links to keep the conversation going:

Here’s Linda’s truly delightful interview with The Future of Storytelling, in which she outlines her 8 Mantras of Branding.
Zara mentioned GE’s just-launched campaign, Next Engineers, which is committed to increasing diversity in young engineers.

In this week’s chat with an organization doing good in the industry, Eric speaks to Co-Founder and CEO, Molly Johnson-Jones of Flexa, a start up seeking to bring total transparency to those looking for flexible roles and allows businesses to verify their ability to offer flexible working to their employees. Flexible working is the new frontier, one that Rival practices and preaches. Check out how Flexa makes a difference at https://flexa.careers .

How To Build A Sonic Brand with Dean Aragón and Jane Keate of Shell

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 14:35:47 +0000

In today’s episode, Eric talks to the brains behind one of the world’s biggest brands, Shell. Jane Keate, Shell’s Global Brand Standards and Assurance Manager, and Dean Aragón, CEO & Vice Chairman of Shell Brands International, explain how a brand as massive and well-known as Shell connects to its employees, customers and external stakeholders through its all-in approach to sonic branding, and how building a distinctive yet flexible sound helps deepen and humanize the brand’s identity while also fulfilling marketing’s ROI goals. We talk about the way Shell’s sonic branding adapts for use, geography, and mission so that it is never out of place or time and why this is so key for Shell’s messaging. Listen to the Shell's sonic branding for yourself:

Watch the Sound of Shell show reel here, and watch the Making of the Shell Sonic Brand here.

To end today's episode, Eric talks to Paul Skinner of Marketing Kind, a community of marketers and change-makers who believe marketing and narrative-building can be an important part of the solution to the many societal and environmental problems we face. Working with Ian Goldin, former VP of the World Bank, Marketing Kind asks, Can we rescue humanity? Follow Paul on LinkedIn to receive invites to Marketing Kind's gatherings. In this month's Coffee with a Cause, on Friday, 26th November, Eric will host a gathering with Matthew Powell of Breaking Barriers, to help refugees gain the skills they need to secure longer term employment.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

How to Make NFTs Work For Your Brand with Gary Vaynerchuk

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jake Dubbins) — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 14:00:00 +0000

Gary Vaynerchuk is truly an epic interview with so much insight and foresight into the world of business and branding. Eric and Gary go back over a decade, as Eric was one of Gary’s first hires for VaynerMedia back in 2010, and would go on to launch VaynerMedia in EMEA in 2016. In today’s catch up, Gary and Eric talk about NFTs, and how harnessing their power can turn your marketing function into a profit generator. Gary sheds some fascinating light on what some still see as a subject irrelevant to marketing, and the whole interview is really worth a listen (or two) to make sure you and your business aren’t falling behind.

GaryVee, chairman of VaynerX, reveals the thinking behind his NFT venture, VeeFriends, and how he used NFTs to market his latest book, Twelve and a Half, so successfully that he may not be able to fulfil pre-orders. We’re so glad this book - which speaks to the emotional skills necessary in life and business - is coming out, because in a world that seems to value profits over people, Gary truly stands out as proof that empathy and human connection are essential to lasting success. To know Gary is to know he truly practices what he preaches and insists upon kindness and empathy in everything he does. To the nicest guy in the business, thanks again for the chat and always inspiring us to be better.

As promised, here are the takeaways Eric and Gary want you to know about how to use NFTs to market your business:

Search #NFT on Twitter and follow 50 to 100 people.
Join 5 to 7 discords of NFT projects: go to cryptoslam.io or OpenSea, look at the top 100 projects on both those platforms. Choose 5 -7 in the top 100 that you like and join their discords.
Most importantly, spend time education yourself about NTFs. Gary recommends at least 3 hours, but ideally 5 - 10 hours a week, until you get to about 25 - 50 hours of education about NFTs, and now you’re in the game.

At the end of this week's episode, we wanted to highlight an organisation we at Rival are proud to sponsor. Eric talks to Jake Dubbins from The Conscious Advertising Network, a voluntary coalition of over 70 organisations set up to ensure that the ethics of the advertising industry catch up and align with the technology of modern advertising. Read about their six manifestos: diversity, informed consent, anti ad-fraud, hate speech, children’s wellbeing and mis/disinformation, and how you can join them to make the world of advertising a better place.

Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.

Say hi at media@wearerival.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Scratch Teaser

leanne@wearerival.com (Eric Fulwiler) — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Introducing Scratch, a podcast by Rival. Learn what the world's most successful marketers do differently. Rival is a marketing consultancy for brands that want to challenge convention in their category. We’re on a mission to understand what challenger brands do differently to grow in categories that are being disrupted, and use a challenger playbook to deliver outsized impact through an integrated, tech-enabled approach. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns. If you’re interested in learning more about marketing from successful CMOs, we compiled a list of the top 5 CMO podcasts to listen to in 2024; check it out here 🔗 https://www.wearerival.com/content-hub-articles/cmo-podcasts-you-cannot-afford-to-miss-in-2024