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“When a brand gets clear on why they exist and what kind of contribution they want to make to society, that automatically puts them into the better-for-you space.”
David Lemley is a brand strategist with a strong history in restoring growth to declining brands, developing new brands, and accelerating growth on established brands. He is the president and head of brand strategy for Retail Voodoo, a firm that helps specialty food and beverage brands address their toughest growth challenges. David focuses on the growing Better-For-You category and has worked with big brands like Starbucks and REI and Kind Bars to name a few. He loves nothing more than to dig in deep to figure out what it takes to build a strong and lasting brand. His expertise in brand strategy, innovation, consumer markets, and consumer behavior builds brand awareness and equity.
- Defining what makes a Better-For-You brand.
- His philosophy for making your competitors irrelevant through positioning.
- The differences between making assumptions versus implementing strategies when marketing better-for-you brands.
- The importance of figuring out your brand’s mind, body, and spirit.
- Creating “impressive brand story telling.”
“Yes, you have the data. But you have to be able to decipher it; is there a compelling story there?”
Michelle Howard is a senior product marketing manager at Xactly. She is responsible for the go-to-market strategy for numerous products, including Xactly Insights, Xactly SimplyComp, and Xactly Objectives. She has a strong background in product marketing for software companies in the events, telecom, internet marketing, and insurance industries. Michelle is a keen observer of trends in data application, most specifically in how it can solve complex needs and identify key problems. She is an expert on the benefit of using real-time data insights to proactively identify important areas of focus, understanding the intersection of pay and performance across sales teams, leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to predict sales rep attrition, and in using benchmarking data elements like tenure and pay mix to identify when your team will hit optimal sales performance.
Listen & Learn:
- How COVID has impacted the buyer mindset.
- How sales reps can control their sales cycles, spikes in performance, and avoid “the hockey stick.”
- How to use data analytics to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time.
- How brands can look at their sales funnel and help their sales reps leverage AI to predict attrition.
We use data to strategically increase the stickiness of your sales and marketing efforts. Call LORI JONES today at 303-678-7102 to learn more.
“If you say you’re innovative and then force everyone to call your 1-800 number, then you’re not doing what you say you can do.”
Maddy Martin is the head of growth and education at Smith.ai, which provides integrated phone and web chat services for solo and small businesses, including their virtual receptionist and intake service, live website chat, and Keypad cloud phone system. She has spent the last decade growing tech startups from New York to California and has expertise in digital marketing, small business communications, lead conversion, email marketing, SEO, and event marketing.
Listen & Learn:
- How to boost your ROI with proactive follow-through.
- What customers expect from a brand’s responsiveness.
- The pros and cons of chat, text, and emails.
- How to get your marketing automation, texting, chatting, Facebook messenger, and opt-in game dialed in to effectively respond to your customers.
- How to develop a system of responsiveness.
“Brand is in the mind of the consumer.”
Magda Houalla is the director of marketing strategy at AspireIQ, the leading influencer marketing platform empowering businesses to generate branded creative at scale. Magda plays a pivotal role in ensuring all existing and new brands using the AspireIQ platform are set up for success by aligning their needs with best practices and world-class strategy. Her guidance has helped brands such as Zevia, Freshly, Bed Bath & Beyond, L.L. Bean, and Walmart both expand their Influencer programs and increase campaign ROI.
Listen & Learn:
- What brands should consider when reaching out to macro-, micro-, and nano-influencers.
- Taking a community-first mindset.
- The worst mistake a marketer can make when dealing with an influencer.
- How to measure the results of your influencer program.
Take a full-funnel approach and maintain brand continuity with a strategic influencer approach. Call LORI JONES today at 303-678-7102 to learn more.
“Feedback is a gift.”
Driven by a determination to make the world a better place, Chris Yoko is focused on helping people, and the organizations they belong to, pave the road to a more utopian world. As president and CEO of Yoko Co, he helps like-minded organizations build and champion themselves using their most powerful asset, their web presence. Throughout his career, he has worked with some of the planet’s largest brands, like Ritz Carlton, Pampers, and Living Social. Chris excels at aligning strategy and execution with goals and objectives, solving unusual problems, and helping to create a remarkable experience. His background encompasses a well-rounded mix of media, sales, marketing, and entrepreneurial experience. When Chris isn’t fearlessly leading, you’ll likely find him on the ice playing hockey, with his nose buried in a book, or playing and exploring with his incredible wife and two daughters.
Listen & Learn:
- What you can learn from negative reviews.
- Setting up systems to enable your team to ask for customer reviews.
- The social listening tools Chris recommends to monitor your brand’s online reputation.
- How a well-deployed reputation management approach can build brand ambassadors.
- Recommendations for creating a reputation management approach.
- Why reputation management starts with listening.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOKO CO, CLICK HERE.
TO FIND CHRIS YOKO ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.
“Start with your existing customers – keep your contracts, see how you can be of service, see the problem areas that you can solve – and you will see organic growth.”
As founder and CEO of Industrial Strength Marketing, one of North America’s top B2B marketing agencies, James Soto brings 17+ years of experience and perspective working with iconic industrial brands, media, and trade organizations helping them address the challenges they face in this new era of disruptive business models, generational change, digital marketing transformation, and Industry 4.0. James is a three-time Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Company leader, keynote speaker, and recognized contributor to Fabtech, HubSpot, Modern Machine Shop, Mashable, and LinkedIn events. He is also a prolific visionary, responsible for branding and co-producing Manufacturing Day, the largest industrial sector promotion in US history; and he is co-founder of Nashville Made, a community focused on making way for makers and manufacturers to thrive in Nashville’s urban core. He is, as he puts it, “Born industrial. Raised digital.”
Listen & Learn:
- The importance of understanding patterns in customer behavior.
- How marketers should take a “trial and learning” approach.
- How the past can inform how we approach the future.
- How to connect and empathize with the fears customers might be having during COVID.
- How marketing leaders can be of service to their teams and to their customers during times of crisis.
“It’s surprising what a machine can do just as well if not better than us.”
Neil Sahota is an IBM Master Inventor, United Nations A.I. subject matter expert, professor at UC Irvine, and globally recognized speaker and author. Neil is a founding member of the UN’s Artificial Intelligence for Social Good Committee, and author of the book, Own the A.I. Revolution, a best-seller that provides a future-forward look at A.I. Neil’s work experience spans multiple industries including healthcare, retail, travel and transportation, energy and utilities, automotive, telecommunications, media/communication, and government. Prior to his current role, he was a thought leader, consultant, and practice leader in IBM Global Business Services, where he led the sales and delivery of consulting engagements in business strategy, new product development, revenue optimization, process improvement, and business/system integration.
Listen & Learn:
- How A.I. can boost profitability and grow your business.
- Using A.I. to understand buyer behavior.
- When A.I should be deployed and when it shouldn’t.
- Using artificial intelligence can transform the customer experience.
- The key components marketers should be considering when deploying A.I. strategies.
- What agencies and big brand marketers are doing to integrate customized A.I. programs into their strategies.
Call LORI JONES today at 303-678-7102 to learn more about the tools you need to understand buyer behavior and segmentation and move your customers through the sales funnel.
“By allowing the consumer to initiate that communication, that outreach, it is so powerful because when they’ve chosen to engage, they are already interested.”
Karen Kelly is a former JWT advertising executive whose award-winning brand campaigns span from Domino’s Pizza to Rolex. In 2010, Karen launched one of Boston's most profitable photography studios from scratch, crafting the original “For Life” industry brand. She has been honored to headline national media conferences and to have co-created three sold-out Boston workshops on Sales, Branding, and The Client Experience in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Today, Karen is the CMO of Tapple, a mobile-first technology platform used to engage audiences, gather first-party data, and drive conversions at live and virtual events.
Listen & Learn:
- How to segment your audience in real-time.
- Creating conversions all along the funnel.
- How to present consumers something fun, quick, and personalized to drive an incentive.
- Why personalization is key to digital marketing.
We can help you close the gap between awareness and consideration and acquisition. Call LORI JONES today at 303-678-7102 to learn more.
“Targeted AI is like a laser-guided nuclear bomb.”
Casey Carroll is the founder of Action Advertising Agency, a Washington state-based firm that works with small- to medium-size businesses nationwide to double (or even triple) profits through both innovative and exclusive advertising campaigns. His passion is for conversion and sales, and he proudly goes against the norm by focusing on just two things: cost per acquisition and return on ad spend. Casey has helped dozens of clients double their monthly collections (some much more) and to turn their ineffective acquisition strategies into profit powerhouses. He is a sought out speaker and has been on numerous interviews as he helps audiences scale their business.
Listen & Learn:
- Targeted AI’s impact on revenue and profitability.
- The importance of LinkedIn in the B2B environment.
- Why it’s more important to test for avatars and the messaging-offer than for red versus green.
- The steps a brand should take to determine their correct social marketing mix.
- Attracting buyers at the right stage of the conversion funnel.
- The myths surrounding where you should be finding your audience.
We focus on the right part of the funnel at the right time using the right platform. Call LORI JONES today at 303-678-7102 to learn more.
“It’s key to understand how you can repurpose the skills, capabilities, and resources in your organization to solve new problems.”
Graeme Strachan is a management consultant with a passion for helping companies succeed by aligning operational reality to strategic intent. Working across industries as diverse as financial services, mining, education, digital media, and the not-for profit world for 20 years, he is known to bring breakthrough-thinking to solve complex business problems. Graeme is committed through client work and community involvement to making Denver a better place to work and live. As CEO of ViTL Solutions his job is to support and develop the company’s team so each individual is enabled and enthused to deliver outstanding results for their clients.
Listen & Learn:
- How companies can traverse the value gap once the COVID crisis is over.
- Ensuring that you can create as much value as possible for the costs of your goods and services.
- Solving new problems for new and existing customers.
- Understanding how you can repurpose the skills, capabilities, and resources in your organization to solve new problems.
- How your value proposition changed because of COVID.
- Why straight talk, reassurance, and consistency is important during the COVID crisis.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT VITL, CLICK HERE.
TO FIND GRAEME STRACHAN ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.
“When you are experiencing disruption and change, there is no better time to disrupt and change.”
Shawn Rogers, vice president of corporate marketing at TIBCO, is an internationally recognized strategist, thought leader, speaker, and author specializing in artificial intelligence, machine learning, analytics, business intelligence, Cloud, IoT, Big Data, and social media technologies. He has founded and sold two Internet/media start-ups and co-founded the BeyeNETWORK. Shawn guided the company's international growth strategy and helped the BeyeNETWORK grow globally making it the largest and most-read online community covering analytics, business intelligence, data warehousing, and data integration.
Listen & Learn:
- What smart companies are doing to keep their brands vibrant during the COVID crisis.
- Why brands need to shift their focus to include a more service-oriented message.
- There’s a time to drive our businesses and then there’s a time to be part of a community and look for ways to help that community.
- How to use the current crisis to differentiate your brand.
- Why it’s important to have a handle on the analytical environment that impacts your business.
- Why it’s important to be beware of the data changes that are impacting your businesses during the COVID crisis.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TIBCO, CLICK HERE.
TO FIND SHAWN ROGERS ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.
Taking control of the narrative surrounding your brand is more important now than ever. I give advice on providing straight talk to your customers and your team during COVID-19 on part one of my new marketing mini-series.
Listen & Learn:
- Without consistent communication, a bad storm will only become worse.
- How to manage your reputation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Straight talk is the rule of the day: Be real, reassure, and be consistent.
- Tips to drive your marketing and crisis communications in today’s uncertain marketplace.
“You can grow your audience and email list by thousands of prospects.”
Liam Austin, co-founder of Entrepreneurs HQ, is a virtual event planner and host, an online conference consultant, and a virtual summit strategist for people and businesses looking to increase their authority, grow their email lists (and audience), build a network of influencers, and generate additional revenue. The Entrepreneurs HQ community attracts experts to cover key topics of interest to their audience of 150,000+ small business owners, and he works with key partners to help promote these virtual summits, giving free value to audiences while partners benefit from exposure and revenue. His career has spanned the globe, from Australia to Europe to America, and he has been featured in multiple publications including BRW, The Australian, Inc., Startup Smart, Real Estate Business, and others.
Listen & Learn:
- Establishing authority and rapport with your audiences through video during a virtual event.
- Leveraging your audience to create virality and grow your brand ambassadors with virtual meetings, events, and conferences.
- Virtual meetings can make it easier to attract top speakers and influencers to your event.
- How virtual events can generate revenue.
- The cost of a virtual event cost.
- Keeping up with technology and improving your interactive virtual events.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ENTREPRENEURS HQ, CLICK HERE.
TO FIND LIAM AUSTIN ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.
“Only collect the data you intend to use.”
Scott Cohen is a proven email marketing veteran with 15 years of experience as both a brand-side marketer and email marketing agency executive. Currently, Scott is the senior email marketing manager at purple, where he combines his award-winning copywriting chops and industry-renowned email marketing strategy and execution expertise into building, growing, and optimizing a $100MM+ email marketing program.
Listen And Learn:
- Where most email programs fail.
- How to build an effective list.
- Why he prefers a single opt-in approach.
- Measuring KPIs.
- GDPR regulations.
- The need for direct and explicit opt-ins.
- How email marketing ties into the larger customer experience.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PURPLE, CLICK HERE.
TO FIND SCOTT COHEN ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.
“Eventually the good messaging will resonate and spread with good people.”
David DeCamillis is vice president of Sales and Marketing at Platte River Networks, a Denver-based IT Managed Services firm. He has quite the story to tell about how his company “survived the Hillary Clinton email scandal.” During that tumultuous time, his firm was dragged headfirst into the international crisis that included paparazzi, congressional and federal investigations, and death threats. But he and the company survived through timely crisis management, dedication, and perseverance. David is well-known for his expertise in security enhancements, employee training, social media damage control, media management, website preservation, client communication, and more. He serves as president and founder of Denver Technology Partners and the Denver Biz Tech Expo.
Listen And Learn:
- Insights into handling damage control in the media and on social media.
- Managing messaging with internal and external audiences.
- The impact of a crisis on Google searches, reviews, and rankings.
- The importance of hiring a media and PR firm BEFORE a crisis.
- How to push out positive and uplifting stories as part of a crisis and rebranding strategy.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PLATTE RIVER NETWORKS, CLICK HERE.
TO FIND DAVID DECAMILLIS ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.
“During this time period, business continuity is key.”
Listen And Learn:
- Creating continuity and strengthening your brand with both external and internal stakeholders.
- How you can positively impact the bottom line while important sales opportunities are being compromised.
- Unique ways of staying in front of and interacting with your customers.
- Recommendations for increasing blogging and video, social, and digital strategies.
- Ways to extend your message beyond the show floor.
Helping you create continuity and strengthening your brand during a global crisis. Learn more by calling the Avocet Communications team today at 303-678-7102.
“Brands are no longer what we tell people we are. Our brands are what people tell each other they are.”
Filip Keuppens is a former U.S. Army soldier, professional mogul skier, and rugby player, coach, and referee, and the vice president of global sales and marketing for the Pickle Juice Company. Founded in 2001, The Pickle Juice Company brings consumers the only purpose-built, isotonic sports beverage on the market that helps combat the age-old problem of muscle cramps and dehydration. Filip has been with the company since June 2015 and is responsible for identifying expansion opportunities internationally and domestically. He has spent his career in sales, first for H.J. Heinz Co., followed by Warner Home Video and 20th Century Fox, where he was selling DVDs. The Pickle Juice Co. job is the perfect way to combine his interest in the food and beverage industry with his sports background. And, he especially likes that he is with a company that is on the forefront of pioneering a new category in sports nutrition.
Listen And Learn:
- The power of letting your product speak for itself.
- His process of “product discovery.”
- How he has created a powerful brand ambassador program.
- Why user-generated content is so much more powerful than brand-generated content.
- How he uses micro-specialization to inspire big business gains.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PICKLE JUICE COMPANY, CLICK HERE.
“Build a cult following around one singular passion point so that you can attract ardent fans and push others away.”
Prentice Howe is the principal at Door No. 3, an advisory firm to challenger brands. Based in Austin, Texas, the award-winning advertising agency works with growth clients including Mighty Swell, ShippingEasy, Cirrus Logic, Texas.gov, Drunken Sailor Whiskey, Northstar Financial, American Bank, and Centennial BANK. The services Door No. 3 provides include strategy, brand positioning, integrated campaign development, and media planning/buying. Prentice is also the host of The Empowerment Challenger podcast, where he talks with founders, marketers, and thought leaders to explore the tactics that challenger brands leverage to steal market share and topple giants.
Listen & Learn:
- Embracing challenger brands.
- The five personality steps of an empowered challenger brand.
- Challenger strategies that help brands grow.
- Attracting the most ardent fans.
- How “compulsive servitude” builds audiences and advocacy.
- Don’t be afraid to steal market share from the behemoths.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT, DOOR NO.3, CLICK HERE.
“Don’t dress copy up with nonsense; nonsense is a turn-off.” Author Nick Usborne.
Nick Usborne has been working as a copywriter and trainer for 40 years. His 2001 book, Net Words, paved the way for a new generation of online writers and copywriters. Nick coaches his clients to rise above what he calls the “manipulative approach” and instead to engage in what he calls, “Conversational Copywriting,” a more transparent and ethical approach to selling. Nick is about a no-hype, high-engagement, trust-building way to sell online. He has spoken at numerous conferences and conducted in-house seminars and training sessions for many companies, including Yahoo!, Intuit, Walt Disney Attractions, John Deere, National Cancer Institute, and the Information Technology Media Advisory Council. Bestselling author Seth Godin called Nick, “an astute, insightful and original mind.”
Listen & Learn:
- The 7 steps to developing a conversational voice in your writing.
- How to engage your customers on an emotional level with your copywriting.
- Why people are turned off by gobbledygook, sales pitches, and false friendliness.
- The value of “people first” writing.
- Writing should be about the reader, not about the company.
- Why it’s important to listen for emotional drivers.
Powerful marketing copy that’s people first. Call Lori Jones today to learn more. 303-678-7102
“Reusing content is the best way to keep costs down.”
Mickey Burnett is partner and vice president of marketing and sales of EVOLVE Brands, a start-up plant-based, organic snacking company with brands Supernola and Gorilly Goods. Over the course of his 20-year career, Mickey has been a high-performing consumer package goods marketer and has managed legacy brands, acquired brands, and is known for developing and launching sustainable innovation across various categories. Prior to EVOLVE Brands, he led the brand marketing team for Mike’s Hard Lemonade, including the segment-leading White Claw Hard Seltzer. Before Mike’s, Mickey spent eight years with The Hershey Company developing global innovation, managing the Halloween and Valentine’s portfolios, and leading the post-acquisition national launch of Brookside.
Listen And Learn:
- How to cultivate your tribe.
- How to grow foundational customers.
- How to engage your audience with snackable content.
- Bring consumer insights to life.
- Creating frequency.
- Reusing content is the best way to keep costs down.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT, EVOLVE BRANDS, CLICK HERE.
“Never waste an editor’s time.”
Dex McLuskey is managing partner at Context Content, a creative content marketing consultancy targeting the financial services, technology, and healthcare industries. This former editor for such noted outlets as Bloomberg News, has had a storied career in PR, media relations, and corporate communications. Prior to Context Content, he was senior director of Public Relations and Corporate Communications at Janus Henderson Investors in Denver. While in that position, Dex devised and implemented a comprehensive digital-first, multimedia content marketing strategy that was unprecedented at the company. Today, with Context Content, he develops and executes bespoke content marketing and communications strategies using online video, audio, social, broadcast and digital print media.
Listen & Learn:
- Why it’s important to take a news-centric approach.
- Tips for writing effective bylined articles.
- How to build trust and credibility with editors.
- Why traditional PR methods have become increasingly redundant.
- Learn how to build credibility, authenticity, and gravitas with bylined articles.
- Why it’s important to use more than one medium to tell your story.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT, CONTEXT CONTENT, CLICK HERE.
TO FIND DEX MCLUSKEY ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.
“An agency should be working WITH you, not FOR you.”
Chris Ruszkowski is a senior executive with over 20 years of marketing experience and a proven track record of results-orientated advertising and communications programs. Chris' experience is built on a foundation of 12+ years of advertising agency account management, tactical execution, and strategic planning experience at McCann Erickson, Frankel and McClain Finlon Advertising. This agency experience is paired with over 10+ years of restaurant marketing leadership at Quiznos, the pioneer of the toasted sub. He was most recently the SVP of Marketing at Quiznos. Chris currently conducts brand strategy consulting and resides outside Denver, Colorado with his family.
Listen & Learn:
- How clients benefit from their agencies presenting multiple creative approaches.
- Why it’s important to involve an agency early in the process.
- Ways to inspire the creative process.
- How to get the “juice” out of your agency.
- The five questions to ask when shopping for an agency to market for your brand.
- Why it’s a good idea to have your agency “walk the halls” of your company.
“Be bold, be creative, and listen to your gut.”
Having worked with Olympic level athletes in the hunter/jumper world to teaching English in an urban setting to being an executive assistant at one of the world's largest bicycle manufacturers, Sophie Coffey likes to say that she is a product not of the classroom but of the real world. Her extensive experience and nimble ability to adapt shows in the work she produces. Be it crafting a compelling brand strategy, creating a strong social media presence, or pulling a killer shot of espresso, Sophie has a proven track record of results. She is an expert in content creation, brand strategy, email marketing, project management, social media management, SEO/SEM/PPC, and paid social.
Listen & Learn:
- Her step-by-step branding positioning playbook.
- Why it’s important to reverse engineer your strategies by keeping an eye on the competition.
- The importance of messaging and copy to your brand at the ground level.
- The need to establish brand guidelines.
- How good positioning strategies fail.
- How to “be bold, be creative, and listen to your gut.”
TO FIND SOPHIE COFFEY ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.
Brand positioning is defined by your mission, vision, and values. Call LORI JONES and the team at Avocet to learn more. 303-678-7102.
“Customers are telling retailers what they want; the retailers aren’t receiving that feedback.”
Matt Rhodus is director and industry principal for Strategic Initiatives at NetSuite, the world’s leading provider of cloud-based business management software. Matt helps lead and manage the retail apparel, footwear, and accessories vertical and the cross-functional team that represents the NetSuite AFA across all products. He is focused on closing new business, delivering growing existing business, delivering product to meet current and future customer needs, solutions Innovation, sales and pipeline building, market position, messaging and awareness, as well as customer delivery and success.
Listen & Learn:
- What rapidly changing consumer expectations mean for retailers.
- Exploring “the mind gap” between consumers and retailers.
- Why there needs to be a retailer revolution.
- Why creating a strong brand is not all about sales.
- Why shiny new technologies are not the silver bullet.
- The importance of creating a simple and streamlined retail experience.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT, ORACLE NETSUITE CLICK HERE.
“Underneath all the metrics and reviews is a treasure trove of data that can be leveraged by a demand gen marketer.”
Adam Goyette, vice president of demand generation at G2Crowd, is a growth marketing B2B SaaS expert with 15+ years of experience. He has spent his career developing digital, social, and content marketing strategies that drive customer engagement, lead generation, and revenue growth. Adam does not believe in “fluffy marketing goals,” but, instead, is all about alignment and outcome, and about marketing strategies that create an ownership mindset all the way through the sales funnel.
Listen And Learn:
- The value and authenticity behind negative reviews.
- How to pick the right review site for your brand.
- Using the data behind the reviews to drive and get higher-quality conversions.
- How a mix of positive and negative reviews helps promote the authenticity of a brand.
- How to use B2B review sites to enhance the buyer’s journey.
- 70% of B2B buyers do their research online and then reach out to your company when they are ready.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT, G2, CLICK HERE.