Insider Interviews with E.B. Moss
Insights and information on the business of media, marketing, advertising and entertainment through personal conversations between senior executives and marketing executive host, E.B. Moss. From the competition in creating television, best practices in audience targeting and research, and trends in voice and audio, to outdoor, retail and everything in between: Insider interviews draw out the leaders and the lessons.
S2 E37 · Fri, April 11, 2025
Rishad Tobaccowala on Rethinking Work, Leadership and Humans in Business
What happens when leadership loses its way — and work loses its soul, let alone its staff? In S2 Ep37 the impressive Rishad Tobaccowala, futurist, author, and former Chief Strategy / Growth Officer (now Senior Advisor) of Publicis Groupe joins me on Insider Interviews to offer a refreshingly human take on the future of work. And yes, we have a musical interlude…. The author of “Restoring the Soul of Business” and his latest, “Rethinking Work,” explains what it really takes to stay relevant in marketing — and business in general. As Rishad says, “Change Sucks. But irrelevance is worse!” First, I found out that we are both quadruple espresso fans, so if you wonder where Rishad gets his energy…. THEN I discovered we both had a thing about MATH that changed our respective trajectories*. But, after comparing our coffee rituals we go full steam into how companies need to evolve old leadership styles —from “bossing” to inspiring. Rishad shares why corporate models are in urgent need of a reset, and how flexibility, curiosity, and a human-centered approach must replace outdated hierarchies. Think “fractional workers” and project-based teams meets AI. Rishad urges organizations to stop clinging to legacy systems and start designing for the future. But, as this is primarily a show about media, marketing and advertising, (he is, after all, being inducted in the Advertising Hall of Fame) he also explores how storytelling goes hand in hand with tech and remains a marketing essential — not despite the data age, but because of it. Discover the “5 Cs” of embracing the future in Marketing. Interestingly, as former Chairman of Razorfish, his imprint may have been made on Anthony Yell, who – per Epi 30 – clearly agrees in Collaboration and merging Creativity with tech and storytelling! <img decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1621" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Yell-Quote-2-ig-300x300.png" alt="Quote from Anthony Yell, Razorfish" w
S2 E36 · Tue, March 25, 2025
Wendy Lund on Why Marketing Women's Health is a Win-Win for Women & Business
Wendy Lund isn’t just a powerhouse in healthcare marketing — she’s also a longtime family friend, thanks to her working alongside my sister Lisa years ago — also in healthcare marketing — then becoming neighbors and “besties.” As a result, I also know Wendy is a longtime advocate for women’s health, and is as passionate about promoting good information as she is about, well, her dog, Yogi! Yogi And that is one cute dog: spoiler alert in case you miss the video. As Chief Client Officer of Health@WPP , former CEO of GCI Health, and former Chief Communications Officer at Organon, Wendy has been a force in transforming how we talk about — and invest in — women’s healthcare. In May 2025 she’s being honored with the Pinnacle Award by MM+M for her leadership and impact. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1606" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/health-at-sxsw-300x163.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="163" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/health-at-sxsw-300x163.jpeg 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/health-at-sxsw-1024x555.jpeg 1024w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/health-at-sxsw-768x416.jpeg 768w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/health-at-sxsw-1536x832.jpeg 1536w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/health-at-sxsw.jpeg 1600w" sizes
S2 E35 · Tue, March 11, 2025
Blueprints for Startup Success from CEO Mack McKelvey
Mack McKelvey, Founder and CEO of SalientMG , joins me to explain why “being uncomfortable” has been a great recipe for success throughout her award-winning career in tech and marketing. With remarkable candor, Mack reveals how disruption propelled her from big tech brands like Lucent, Verisign, and British Telecom to the startup world, where she mastered being an “intrapreneur” before launching her own ventures. While I almost give away what my initials (E.B.) stand for, Mack shares the fun but sobering story behind her own name change—and a realization about “what’s in a name.” It definitely ties in with how it took a name change for this powerful woman, appropriately featured during Women’s History Month, to go to game changer. She ultimately created SalientMG in order to offer “the kind of firm I could never find when I was on the inside”—a company staffed entirely with senior practitioners who understand the daily realities of startup marketing. This same commitment drove yet another one of her startups just last year, but this time in the form of a community appropriately called “StartUp Marketer,” that democratizes access to marketing expertise with everything from templates to live advisors. <p class="white
S2 E34 · Tue, February 04, 2025
Behind the Billboards: Inside OOH Innovation with billups
Out-of-home advertising isn’t just about billboards anymore. With data-driven targeting, creative innovations, and deep measurement capabilities, the OOH industry has transformed into a sophisticated media channel that deserves a bigger seat at the table. In this episode of Insider Interviews , I got to explore the great outdoors with David Krupp, Global CEO of Billups, and Jaime Byrdak, CEO of North America, to go beyond the boards and explore how out-of-home (‘OOH’ and ‘DOOH’) is making an undeniable impact on today’s media mix. David and Jaime bring decades of experience in the industry, having worked together for 20 years in the industry before bringing their considerable chops to billups , Ben and Heather Billups’ eponymous agency — a name that works pretty darn well for working with billboards! The company itself is only a couple of decades old but already claims nine patents that solve for the challenges of measurement and capturing data-driven insights in OOH. Probably good reasons it also claimed a spot on the 2024 list of fastest-growing companies among the Inc.5000 of companies “building the future.” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-1552" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/billups-Attention-Dashboard-300x150.png" alt="" width="382" height="191" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/billups-Attention-Dashboard-300x150.png 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/billups-Attention-Dashboard-1024x511.png 1024w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/billups-Attention-Dashboard-768x384.png 768w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/billups-Attention-Dashboard-1536x767.png 1536
S2 E33 · Wed, January 15, 2025
From ‘Digibabble’ to Digital Reality: Sable & Paskalis on Marketing News for 2025
For my 2025 kickoff of Insider Interviews marketing luminaries Lou Paskalis and David Sable joined me for one of the most candid conversations on the media and ad world for an incredibly candid conversation on the media and ad world that cuts through what David famously coined as “digibabble” years ago. We moved from their personal passions (don’t get David started on The Doors!) to how advertising evolved in the tech era… to its future, jam packed with opinions based on their decades of award-winning experience. (Lou, who previously ran global marketing at a couple of small brands you may have heard of, like Bank of America, American Express, and where I first met him, E.J. Gallo, is now the strategic mind behind news assessor Ad Fontes Media , The street cred of David – a top voice on LinkedIn, thanks in part to his terrific blog, “ Imagine ,” stems from being former global CEO/Chairman of Y&R (now VMLY&R) and board member for a ton of big companies like American Eagle and Ethan Allen. He is now Vice-Chairman at the forward-thinking mid-size holdco, Stagwell , where Lou is also an advisor, I discovered!) What informs a lot of the conversation is David’s explanation of how Stagwell flipped the traditional agency model on its head: Instead of buying up creative agencies, founder Mark Penn premise to build around tech.”… We began by buying tech, aggregating tech and creating a tech platform. Then we went out and wrote in the creative pieces of business.” But as David emphasized, “Tech leads the way for everything. But our model, which is the model that’s working the best, is that tech is an enabler: Our job is to tell stories and to tell them well.” <s
Bonus · Mon, January 13, 2025
Fast Forward: Reality Bytes from CES 2025
Fresh from the floor of CES 2025, I grabbed about 10 minutes each with two brilliant minds in technology and innovation who shared fascinating insights about where we’re headed in this AI-driven world for a fast but powerful bonus episode. Andrew Klein , who leads creative technology and innovation at PMCI (Publicis Media Content and Innovation Team), dove straight into how generative AI is becoming increasingly woven into our daily lives. Andrew Klein, SVP, PMCI at CES 2025 He painted a vivid picture of our near future, where wearable AI technology won’t just sit on our desks but will travel with us through our days via glasses, earbuds, and head-mounted displays. His most striking observation? “I think we’re going to have more conversations with AI, potentially, than we would with people. Especially when you think about digital communication.” Klein shared fascinating insights about the emerging convergence of crypto and AI, describing a future where we’ll essentially subscribe to different AIs like we currently follow social media accounts or news sources. These AI agents, running 24/7, could serve as everything from market analysts to personal companions. When our discussion turned to the critical issue of trust in AI systems, Klein highlighted how major platforms are starting to prioritize transparency by clearly identifying AI-driven interactions. <img loading="lazy" decoding="asy
S2 E32 · Mon, January 06, 2025
Jason Brown: Simplifying Advertising Success at Spectrum Reach
Navigating the chaos of the advertising world can be daunting (for advertisers AND journalists!), but Jason Brown, Chief Revenue Officer of SpectrumReach , helped simplify our wild industry in this Epi 32 of Insider Interviews – just like he and his team do for their 20,000+ advertisers nationwide. From big-picture strategy to the nitty-gritty of local targeting, Jason shared how the sales arm of Charter Communications delivers on its mission to simplify and supercharge advertising success. How does Spectrum Reach make it all work? Well, think premium inventory, measurable outcomes, and advanced targeting. Plus a new partnership with Amazon Ads that lets them do all of the above on an even bigger scale. As Jason put it: “We harness the chaos of bringing in all these different types of inventory into one cohesive buy from end to end.” (And the same attitude prevails company-wide, thanks to, for example, their investment in Xumo to help subscribers harness the content discovery maze!) Speaking of helping: Jason explained the Spectrum Reach approach to educating and supporting small businesses — a lifeblood of local advertising, via a program called ‘ Pay it Forward ‘ and their Spectrum Ad Academy . That is familiar territory to Jason, though, grew up with a father who went from film producer to community activist and shaped Jason’s perspective on “doing well by doing g
S2 E31 · Wed, December 18, 2024
How Givsly Taps Brand Values to Drive Business Growth
We’ve heard “doing good” can be good for business. But Chad Hickey, CEO of Givsly, is helping brands do more than “good,” but to align their values with consumers to drive growth and meaningful impact. And in just six years his company has directed over $2 million to nearly 500 nonprofits and likely made 8 out of 10 consumers happier! On this last 2024 episode of Insider Interviews , I couldn’t think of a better way to give back to YOU, my valued readers, listeners and watchers, than to have Chad share how Givsly helps companies weave their corporate values into traditional business activities—like events, marketing, and advertising — and thrive. Because, he emphasizes, “8 out of 10 consumers say, ‘I will buy from a brand based on if they support me or shares the same values as me’. …If brands aren’t paying attention to that, they’re losing out on business.” I’m one of the 8: I met Chad during a 212NYC holiday party that added a Givsly style “giving back” layer — assembling comfort bags earmarked for the formerly incarcerated. It made my evening — and upped my appreciation for the organization, so I begged Chad to tell me more. So, listen to all his actionable insights, but here’s the topline: Rethinking Events: Making Connections With Meaning We’ve all done the industry happy hours with similar players and same conversations but Givsly will incorporate some way of giving back. “We can merge the traditional world of dinners and concerts with what I think is a more advanced way of speaking to people based on who they are as a person and what they value as a human being, connecting in a deeper way as humans and not just businesspeople.” Marketing With Impact: Why Swag Is Out The antidote to of a cabinet full of branded water bottles? Givsly’s “Season Without Swag” initiative, which allows brands to offer donations aligned with a c
Bonus · Fri, November 22, 2024
Another Parry with USA Fencing’s Phil Andrews: Bonus Replay
I’m heading off to the Sports Business Journal’s 25th annual celebration tonight (11/22), toasting “40 Under 40” in Sports Marketing, which includes the CEO of USA Fencing , Phil Andrews. So, in homage, and since his triumphant return from the Olympics and Paralympics which took place after this recording, I’m sharing a replay of our Insider Interviews episode, ICYMI! And, if you were living under a rock, know that history was made. I asked Phil for his recap and he said: “We made history at Paris 2024 on and off the piste , sharing the gold medal lead for the first time and an historic all-American final. Back home we had 35,000 people try Fencing over the Games, moved from 12th to 6th in our media share and have seen 12.7% growth in the business post-Games; while we’ve signed 4 new partners , including a record breaking deal with Italian brand Macron who are seeing the benefits from our expanded presence.” — Phil Andrews Wow. So, to better understand how niche sports like fencing can not only stay relevant but grow their fanbase, here’s Phil Andrews, who I called the British Ted Lasso for bringing a Midas touch to the world of parries and ripostes as CEO. I also encourage you to visit the team News site to really see why Phil is being honored: from promoting the sport to a diverse community to growing sponsorships to innovating ways to increase awareness through sweepstakes and experiential marketing. He is, himself, gold. In advance of the Paris Olympic Games , Phil and I explored how he’s applying creative strategies to boost awareness, revenue, and membership in a sport that still takes some explaining. Which he does beautifully. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-1444 " src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Palombo-Epi-23-300x300.png" alt="" width="393" height="393" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Palombo-Epi-23-300x300.png 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Palombo-Epi-23-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Palombo-Epi-23-150x150.png 150w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Palombo-Epi-23-768x768.png 768w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Palombo-Epi-23-650x650.png 650w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-cont
Bonus · Sat, November 02, 2024
Marathon Marketers: A Bonus Run Thru the TCS NYC Marathon Expo
In a fast run through the Javits Center prepping for 120,000 visitors, here’s a BONUS episode with exclusive behind-the-scenes conversations with sponsors of the TCS New York City Marathon! Thanks to NY Road Runners – the creator of the largest marathon in the world — I spontaneously interviewed five lead NYRR partners about why these brands invest in events. Gain insights from representatives of TCS, New Balance, United Airlines, MasterCard, and Citizens Bank, as they discuss their motivations and the impact of their sponsorship. Highlights include New Balance’s massive retail setup, TCS’s Future Athlete Project showcasing innovative sports technology, Mastercard’s data on the marathon’s economic impact on small businesses, United Airlines promotion and travel tech and Citizen’s goal to “edutain.” Each brand shares unique perspectives, from fostering community involvement to leveraging technology for enhanced health and well-being. Join us for a 15-minute deep dive into the world of marathon sponsorships! Javits Center Prep, United Airlines Tech, Bib Pick Up, New Balance “Run Your Way” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1435" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/mastercard-booth-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/mastercard-booth-300x200.jpg 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/mastercard-booth-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/mastercard-booth-768x512.jpg 768w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/mastercard-booth-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrr
S2 E30 · Tue, October 29, 2024
Leading Razorfish Creative with Tech & Brand Purpose
Learn why I asked Razorfish Chief Creative Officer, Anthony Yell , for a Vulcan mind meld. He’s not your typical CCO. With a reverence — and professional envy — for drummers who keep things moving, he is a digital marketer who dances to a different beat: Anthony credits a passion for Legos (!), emblematic of analog games, as an antidote to screen time and keeping him balanced in his work at the digital-first shop. As a multi-Cannes Lion and Clio winner, it must be working. But his understanding and application of cutting-edge digital strategies and tech applied to creative and communication, like Meta’s new Orion glasses and neural interfaces, has also made him a sought-after panelist at conferences from SXSW to AdobeMax . This S2 / Epi 30 of Insider Interviews is one of the most info and insights packed, ever. Anthony even shared the crib notes on the four waves of the future of tech from his recent session with Chris Duffey , called: “Future You; Future Proof — a Creative Playbook for the Next Decade.” Part of that future-proofing for brands, per Anthony, and the key to thriving, is having a marriage of performance with brand purpose. It’s the mantra of the new Razorfish . New, because, as Anthony explains, the agency has kept pace with change and evolved its own purpose — but finding that what’s old can be new again, too, resurrecting its original 1995 name brand. And now he ensures that “creat
S2 E29 · Tue, October 15, 2024
Advertising Week Perspectives from Four Media Pros
What do you get when you combine a Grammy winning billionaire rapper with the content marketer of a multi-billion dollar brand… A multicultural content amplifier expert with a free wheelin’ media pro? You get insights from four incredible individuals who gave spontaneous Insider Interviews to me during Advertising Week New York 2024. Guests and Highlights 1. Kris Magel, VP, Head of Global Agency Partnerships – Freewheel: Kris discusses his new role and how Freewheel is making things easier for #CTV providers and advertisers. H e explains the company’s efforts to “demurkify” the programmatic advertising space and make it more transparent and controllable for both publishers and agencies. And to really clarify? Catch his analogy to his martini-loving 84-year-old Aunt Pat. Trust me. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1377" src="https://insiderintervi
S2 E28 · Fri, October 04, 2024
Trends in Out of Home Media: Being Everywhere with OMG President Jill Schnitt
I connected with Jill Schnitt , President of Omnicom’s Outdoor Media Group (OMG), to explore how they’re connecting with audiences on every step of the customer journey through innovative uses of Out of Home (OOH) and Digital Out of Home (DOOH) media. Jill shares insights on everything from how her team leverages programmatic Digital Out-of-Home (pDOOH!) to the creative campaigns that literally make brands jump out, whether in Times Square or at a gas pump. Jill breaks down the evolution of OOH, where digital formats and data are reshaping the landscape and the growing role of retail media in OOH strategies to reach consumers enroute to and at the point of purchase. We talk giant Doritos chips on buildings to the Sphere in Las Vegas as examples. My view of the Luxor wrapped in Doritos! “Out of home is an ‘I made it’ moment. Whether you’re a Fortune 100 company or a new DTC brand, it’s a moment for brands to put their message out in an authentic and brand-safe way.” — Jill Schnitt pDOOH! Jill shares how OMG has developed the first retail-based programmatic product, helping clients reach consumers at critical points in their journey. Learn about the value of proximity to the point of purchase and how data is transforming the way brands connect with their audiences. She also opens up about bal
S2 E27 · Thu, September 26, 2024
Customizing Tailored Brands: Matt Repicky on Marketing Men's Fashion
Matt Repicky, Chief Brand Officer of Tailored Brands – known for Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank – shares what he’s learned about making iconic brands more culturally relevant. With a career trajectory that included Accenture to Amazon, a stint in Pharma, even leading global brand marketing for the Barbie brand at Mattel, I call Matt a “marketing polymath.” (Don’t blink and miss his star turn in “ Tiny Shoulders ” – the great documentary on evolving Barbie’s very shape.) Learn what Matt’s learned — going from dolls to men. In his current home of the past five years he’s been modernizing marketing for men’s fashion, which he’s done through keeping tabs on culture and leveraging customer insights, evolving the brand messaging with a refreshing use of humor … He’s taken the Men’s Wearhouse from “like” to LOVE. Matt has also switched up the overall Tailored Brands media mix – from heavy direct mail to embracing TikTok and Pinterest and podcasting. When he shared his POV on DOOH I had to pop in with my new segment called, “The Inside Scoop!” For its launch on Insider Interviews , I happened to speak to Barry Frey, the CEO of trade association, DPAA , for a five minute download on how DOOH is doing attribution and programmatic,
S2 E26 · Thu, September 05, 2024
How #1 Podcasts Get Made - and Found: Jason Hoch and Mathew Passy
Get two insider scoops in Epi 26 on how to create — then share — top podcasts: First up, podcast veteran Jason Hoch , creator of many number one shows, shares with host E.B. Moss how he made stuff work at HowStuffWorks …. Then Jason tells how serendipity led him to collaborate with Tenderfoot TV to make the groundbreaking show, Atlanta Monster …and what he thinks are the ingredients for not just chart-toppers, but compelling stories that are essential listening today. Jason’s success continued at Imperative Entertainment with Boomtown , (soon to be cross-over IP as a TV show!) which was an eye-opening experience and led him to launch his own company, Wavland , to capture real human narratives. Boomtown But first, Jason had to get a passport… then learn why E.B. calls him the Forrest Gump of podcasting…. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-1333" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/jason-all-over-300x155.jpg" alt="" width="379" height="196" srcset="https://ins
S2 E25 · Wed, August 28, 2024
CNN and NPR Executives on Amplifying Trust Thru Audio
Steve Lickteig has the monumental task of ensuring that CNN’s podcasting content is as compelling and trustworthy as its news broadcasts. Gina Garrubbo leverages the value of NPR being one of the most trusted brands in the world to entice sponsors. These two highly respected executives spoke with me spontaneously during the recent Podcast Movement conferences held in Washington, DC, on all things podcasting for a well-rounded Episode 25 of Insider Interviews . The Multifaceted Role of a Podcast Executive When asked about his daily responsibilities, Steve Lickteig explained how an Executive Producer has to be multifaceted: “It’ll be a mix of editorial, listening to shows and giving notes, conceiving of new shows or new ideas within shows… plus meeting with the sales and marketing sides of the organization.” Given the need for synergy between the editorial and business aspects of podcasting, “You have to know everything — from making the show to understanding the download numbers and marketing attached to it.” For example, he emphasized that because listeners are “making a very conscious decision to listen to that show” that intentionality translates to high engagement and trust, which are invaluable for both content creators and advertisers. The payoff has been clear, as he shared his pride over the growth of such shows as “Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta” and especially creating a franchise off the popularity of “5 Things.” Those, along with shows like Anderson Cooper’s “All There Is” (and, as I got to mention in reference to my brother – who worked on the show for 15 years!, “The Situation Room”), offer brands lifestyle content that feel “safe” if they are headline-averse. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-1303 alignleft" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CNN-podcast-parade.jpg" alt="" width="373" height="232" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CNN-podcast-parade.jpg 1244w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CNN-podcast-parade-300x187.jpg 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-c
S2 E24 · Tue, August 13, 2024
Premion Explains the CTV Ad-Vantage
Content USED TO BE “king”. But according to Premion, the Customer rules over all in the land of CTV, streaming and local Advertising. Learn about all the advantages of streaming media. New research out of Premion and Advertiser Perceptions revealed significant trends in ad spend shifting towards streaming and away from traditional media channels and increases in CTV budgets overall. (See links and download their survey results for free, here !) Their former head of sales, John Vilade, has a knack for explaining complex concepts like targeting, programmatic buying, and brand safety in a way that’s warm and relatable. That dovetails with Premion’s goal of simplifying streaming advertising for local and national spot advertisers — acting as a ‘liberator’ for local advertisers, making advanced advertising techniques accessible. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-1269" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/PREMION_Advertiser_Perceptions_CTV-OTT_Survey_2024_page-0022-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="464" height="261" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/PREMION_Advertiser_Perceptions_CTV-OTT_Survey_2024_page-0022-300x169.jpg 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/PREMION_Advertiser_Perceptions_CTV-OTT_Survey_2024_page-0022-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/PREMION_Advertiser_Perceptions_CTV-OTT_Survey_2024_page-0022-768x432.jpg 768w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/PREMION_Advertiser_Perceptions_CTV-OTT_Survey_2024_page-0022-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/
Fri, August 09, 2024
How Podcasting Drives Brand Love and Real Love
In this bonus episode of Insider Interviews , I’m narrating an article I published in trade pub, The Customer , on how podcasting drives real love… and emotional connections. I’ll describe a personal story about how my podcast actually helped a friend find love! But it’s really more about the importance of humanizing content and creating brand appeal. I explain my approach that generates this kind of response form guests: Getting Angie Hicks, John Vilade, Cherian Thomas and Lou Paskalis to laugh! Learn about the power of branded podcasts in raising brand affinity and engagement, supported by research from Signal Hill Insights. And the article — and this episode — highlights the effectiveness of podcasts in creating deep, parasocial bonds with audiences and exactly why authenticity and quality production are critical for building brand loyalty. Research and quotes are included from Sounds Profitable , Signal Hill Insights , JAR Audio’s Jen Moss , Heather Osgood of True Native Media … and you’ll learn who I personally fangirl about. (Are you listening, James Cridland ?! See you at Podcast Movement 8/19/24!) Read along at https://bit.ly/PodcastingForLove or watch the video on my YouTube playlist of Insider Interviews . Or just do what resonates in those ears: sit back and listen! </
S1 E23 · Wed, July 10, 2024
Winning at Sports Marketing: Phil Andrews on Taking USA Fencing to Olympic Heights
Ever wonder how niche sports like fencing stay relevant and grow their fanbase? In Epi 23 of Insider Interviews, I chat with Phil Andrews, who I call the British Ted Lasso for bringing a Midas touch to the world of parries and ripostes as CEO of USA Fencing . Fresh from transforming USA Weightlifting, Phil is now wielding his marketing saber to make fencing a “thing” with record-setting results. In time to understand the sport in advance of the Paris Olympic Games , Phil and I explore how he’s applying creative strategies to boost awareness, revenue, and membership in a sport that still takes some explaining. Which he does beautifully. For this audience, he also shares his data-driven approach to attracting sponsors, revealing, “We have to, to be candid, fight dirty a little bit. We don’t have the brand of a New York Yankees or even a USA Gymnastics where you’re buying brand and eyeballs. But we have data, we have people, and we have a direct road to them.” This innovative thinking has led to partnerships with brands like Naked Wines, Avis, and Hilton. Phil even teases an upcoming sponsorship that’s perfectly on-point: the “Official Fence of Fencers.” Talk about targeted marketing! <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-1239" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/usa-fencing-sponsors-1-300x174.png" alt="" width="471" height="273" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/usa-fencing-sponsors-1-300x174.png 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/usa-fencing-sponsors-1-1024x593.png 1024w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/usa-fencing-sponsors-1-768x445.png 768w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/usa-fencing-sponsors-1-1536x890.png 1536w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/usa-fencing-sponsors-1.png 1616w"
S2 E22 · Thu, June 06, 2024
How to Maximize Streaming Revenue and Creator Power: Lessons from Digital Native Braden Blacker and Media Maven Evan Shapiro
At an age when most are consumed with after-school activities, 17-year-old Braden Blacker is consumed with generating a billion-views a month. The entrepreneurial high schooler is disrupting the creator marketing industry, helping manage staggering monthly viewership for top influencers like The Botez Sisters and Sketch, across platforms like YouTube and Twitch. Listen to Braden to understand how to maximize visibility and influence in the digital media world. And in an almost impossible feat, Evan Shapiro has corralled the comparative sizes and revenue of every media entity onto a single sheet of paper, making this cartographer a media maven about where the money is and where it may be going. Listen to Evan to learn about CTV (connected TV) and the where ad money is coming from… and going to — like YouTube and Amazon — in the streaming world. In this must-listen episode, you’ll first hear from media maven Evan, on some key shifts in the streaming and connected TV ad landscape, why “interoperability” is essential for CTV platforms looking to compete with giants like Google and Amazon…and he describes the influx and opportunities around ad dollars from small and mid-sized businesses into CTV … IF traditional media companies innovate and collaborate around data to enhance user experience. If you w ant some of the retail media budget on connected television, you have to move fast. Collaboration around data is key to improving user experience. — Evan Shapiro The conversation then pivots Braden, who explains how being the child of successful entreprene urial media executives — Andy Blacker and Liz Sarac
S2 E21 · Thu, May 30, 2024
Navigating CTV and Thriving with AI - POVs from the Pundits
Can AI revolutionize media without sacrificing creativity and jobs? My latest episode was recorded spontaneously at the Streaming Media Conference in New York, starting with media cartographer Evan Shapiro to explain and caution us about the current media landscape, especially regarding connected TV challenges. Evan, who helmed and shaped the conference, walks the innovation talk, opting to spark debate and dialogue instead of the usual talking head format. “We wanted this to be a collision of different points of view and honest conversations about the real problems the media universe is facing right now,” Evan explained. Per his keynote conversation with Paramount Advertising COO Steve Ellis, Evan stressed how interoperability will be the lifeblood of premium CTV content to stay competitive against tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Walmart…or face big changes in business. “The notion of interoperability now is just table stakes. If you’re gonna compete against Google and Amazon on connected television, that’s how you’re gonna have to operate.” Catch Evan’s POV on that, the new Nielsen Gauge, and more in his extensive content offerings: https://linktr.ee/ESHAPTV Next, Robert Tercek joined to tackle some of the most controversial topics in artificial intelligence and media, from legal battles over using copyrighted works for training LLMs to fears of AI displacing jobs. <img loadi
S2 E20 · Tue, May 07, 2024
Triton Digital CEO, John Rosso, on Navigating Audio Waves
To learn about how audio and advertising is evolving — in an enjoyable way — there’s really no one better to hear from than John Rosso. While I’ll forever be grateful that perhaps helping him pivot to avoid a close encounter with potato salad (you’ll just have to listen to understand) led me to work for him at then Citadel Media, he has since continued to hold pivotal roles and helped shape the audio landscape. For example, during his current tenure as President/CEO of Triton Digital , the company has acquired a cutting edge service to aid in contextual ad buying and just launched open market capabilities with the Magnite Clearline platform. Oh, and improved upon audience attribution for podcasting. “If you want to not just know how many listeners or how many downloads your podcast has, but you want to go a layer deeper, much deeper and understand the demography, the socioeconomics, the behaviors and intents of your audience, we have a product that does that.” See what I mean? Certainly Triton Digital’s streaming rankers are well known, but their technological advancements in audio have been game-changing; if you’re in media or marketing you won’t want to miss his take on the their innovative contributions to content management, ad technology, and audience measurement. Rosso also walks us through the nuances of programmatic audio advertising and how it’s transforming from a secondary stream to a dominant force in the industry. We also dissect the emerging trends, including the rise of programmatic guaranteed deals with local advertisers, and the complexities of ad placement in a fragmented podcasting world and the integration of linear broadcast spots into digital ecosystems. Ever wonder how to navigate the terrain of YouTube as best practices for podcasters? Or what’s best
S2 E19 · Tue, April 30, 2024
Angi's Angie Hicks on Home - and Brand - Improvement
Hear from the Angie behind Angi – the home services powerhouse formerly known as Angie’s List . Imagine being a shy recent college grad and launching a service business — by knocking on doors…. Now imagine evolving it into an international corporation. Angie Hicks describes this remarkable entrepreneurial story – and why she is encouraging others on their own business path – in the skilled trades. Oh, and why she would never encourage anyone to try to hang wallpaper with their spouse! Marketers will appreciate this informative conversation around Angie’s 25+ year story of brand building, innovative growth strategies, and how tenacity can make all the difference in scaling a startup into an industry leader. It’s fun to hear how Angie applied scrappy early stage local marketing tactics — and the difference it made when she placed her first major media with an NPR sponsorship that helped explode the brand’s early visibility! Everybody said that little ad wasn’t going to work, but you know what? It worked. And the phone started ringing, and we started selling memberships. And within the year, a thousand homeowners had joined in Columbus. Maybe I was a fearless marketer that I was willing to try anything. Gotta love audio. It’s part of why Angie is now hosting her own podcast, “Trade Up with Angi,” which I’m proud to have produced through Moss Appeal , with Steve Lack as expert editor. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-1161" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/tradeup-H-epi1-300x168.jpg" alt="Trade Up Key Art - Epi 1" width="452" height="253" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/tradeup-H-epi1-300x168.jpg 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/tradeup-H-epi1-1024x574.jpg 1024w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/tr
S2 E18 · Tue, April 02, 2024
Podcasting Evolutions: Pivots in AI, AdTech and Monetization
Some of podcasting’s pros shared what’s new in the industry that’s making life easier for creators, advertisers and fans! While at Podcast Movement Evolutions in Los Angeles, I spoke with Justine Benjamin of AdsWizz/Simplecast, Todd Cochrane of Blubrry Podcasting, and Sam Sethi – who I know and love from his own co-hosting of PodNews Weekly Review podcast, but now also the founder of a whole new way to monetize podcasts. Here’s what you’ll learn from these on-the-fly conversations with industry trailblazers who are shaping the future of podcasting: First up, Justine Benjamin, the global head of marketing for Adswizz and Simplecast, part of the SiriusXM family, helps simplify the complex ecosystem of podcast technology. She discusses the strategic union of Adswizz’s enterprise-level monetization platforms with Simplecast’s podcast hosting and distribution services. Justine’s insights on global trends and the need for education to bridge the ad dollar gap in podcasting are invaluable. “We want to make sure that the challenges that you’re facing, whether it be around <span class="sc-ldFCYb jcofox" data-wor
Bonus · Fri, March 22, 2024
BONUS - A Holistic Approach to Podcasting Per Sounds Profitable, Signal Hill Insights and Audacy
Another Podcast Movement show is coming up — the “ Evolutions ” version, out of Los Angeles, with a focus on creators. I’ll be sharing some takeaways from that conference in an upcoming episode. But in the meantime, here’s a repeat episode to get you in the mood, with still highly valuable info gathered in June ’23 during the main P odcastMovement conference – with a focus on the business and production. You’ll hear all about how a “holistic” approach applied to the business of podcasting helps leverage all aspects of it to drive growth. In this episode of Insider Interviews I spoke with three phenomenal experts during the conference in Denver who explained this holistic approach. Bryan Barletta, Partner, Sounds Profitable Bryan Barletta and partner and research guru Tom Webster have been making waves in the audio industry with their advisory services focused on growing audience and revenue for podcasters. (You heard me speak with Bryan Barletta on Insider Interviews three years ago and with Tom when he was at Edison Research.) Bryan described his aim to carve out a home for all podcast pros, to educate and elevate the industry. He emphasized that podcasting deserves to be treated as its own channel, optimized based on how people listen. “We’re entering the ‘why’ phase: ‘Why uniquely podcasting? Why start here?’,” he posited. The answer? “The ad tech, the mindset, the education is now here. And that’s why we need to treat it as its own channel and not try and tag it onto other channels to find its own value.” Bryan expects now, at 20 years in, we’re finally entering the “2.0 era” where ad tech and mindsets are catching up to podcasting’s distinct value. How can we look at measurement objectively? What is the truth behind “churn”? Bryan describes the biggest opportunities and challenges in the business of podcasting, including the status of programmatic. Then, in an unexpected question tossed at me, we discuss the opportunity for political ad messaging in podcasting…. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-931 " src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ThePodcastOpportunity-SP-300x163.jpg" alt="" width="376" height="204" srcset="https://insiderinter
S2 E17 · Tue, February 20, 2024
Understanding Video Commerce - with Shoppable Video pro Cynthia Nelson
Before she became an expert in video commerce, Cynthia Nelson participated in developing some of the first e-commerce and shopping sites, which paved the way for platforms like Amazon. Now in Epi 17 of Insider Interviews with E.B. Moss she offers practically a master class in the evolving world of shoppable video — or as she prefers to call it (and hear why): “video commerce.” After a stint in early Silicon Valley days (think pre-eBay/HSN!) Cynthia tackled a new approach to packaging content for Spanish-speaking parents with a TV meets 360-platform, Todo Bebe. And now, through her current consultancy, Luminación , she’s bringing all her content, culture, and commerce expertise together, and advising on best practices of making video shoppable. “Why “video commerce”? Because it’s not just shoppable video. It’s live shoppable video. It’s one-to-one shoppable. It’s VOD. It’s advertising — ads that are shoppable.” Listeners will learn the importance of a well-thought-out strategy in the still growing area of video commerce, with examples like Walmart as a company that learned to strategically approach shoppable video after rigorous testing and adjustments. And hear why there’s a big role for #AI in video commerce — with impact on creative development, analytics, and customer interaction. We discuss Cynthia’s recent investments, including BINJ , an advertising MarTech platform, and Recurved , a tool automating pro forma financial projections for startups. There’s a little envy as Cynthia explains how she has launched her “digital nomad” lifestyle… but even that is representative of a core skillset that brands need, too: being nimble. Learn why it’s also important to be adaptable, form partnerships, maintain resilience as an entrepreneur. It doesn’t take a lot of tech (see Talk Shop Live example), but it does take patience and strategy. And, as discussed in all Insider Interviews episodes, what is the role of genuine brand purpose? For Cynthia Nelson, who was awarded with
S2 E16 · Tue, January 23, 2024
The News on News, Brand Safety and Media Buying
CES (now an acronym, but AKA the Consumer Electronics Show) has grown beyond just a cool tool and tech showcase to being a place ripe for conversations on cool marketing and ad tech. It was a watershed moment for the attendee count of my media industry cohort, with many remarking that it was like a reunion from the old cable conference days. I took advantage of seeing friends before leaving Las Vegas to have three enlightening discussions: From Prohaska Consulting and E.W. Scripps’ effort to Rebrand the News and rehabilitate its brand safety perceptions, to Marketing Architects’ construction of proprietary software and its All-Inclusive TV business model, to Barometer’s ability to highlight podcasting’s potential through AI, each of these companies are driving a necessary evolution. “Too many companies have provided too big of an easy button to let buyers just block news. It’s just a media planning miss that people aren’t doing their jobs properly from a reach and frequency and delivering ROI.” – Matt Prohaska, Prohaska Consulting No Alternative Facts About Quality News Segment 1: I chat with Prohaska Consulting CEO Matt Prohaska and Brian Norris , Chief Revenue Officer of E.W. Scripps about an initiative they’re working on called “Rebranding News.” Their new research shows that one third of U.S. marketers are completely blocking news from their media buys over perceived brand safety issues. [ DOWNLOAD at Prohaskaconsulting.com ] However, blocking entire news categories means missing out on reaching valuable, engaged audiences and quality journalism. Brian credits Scripps with delivering “unbiased news from the middle” to what are increasingly “younger, more affluent, multicultural streaming audiences.” He explained that Scripps helps advertisers “combat polarization” with context to make informed brand safety decisions, instead of just completely accepting or rejecting news. Matt and Brian explain the importance of educating advertisers how not all news content is created equal, and there are plenty of brand sa
Bonus · Wed, January 17, 2024
Bonus: Tech, Sounds, and Observations at CES with ThoughtLeaders
I strolled CES with thought leaders David Berkowitz , founder of Serial Marketers, AIMG and FOAF, Jeff Minsky , Founder, Mediawhizards, LLC, and longtime media sales pro, Kathy Newberger . In this bonus episode, we touched on a wide range of topics shaping the future of the industry…and covered some literal miles, too. We compared firsthand experiences, some cutting-edge technologies, innovative products, and inspiring activations from global companies. David Berkowitz explained his own AI Marketers Guild and what’s intrigued him – like AI-powered beauty makeovers to AR projected in Zoom rooms. Is there still a place for the IOT of refrigerators?? [00:03:55 → 00:04:10] “Things like a beauty app that analyzes your face and gives you some real insights that maybe you never had. Your dermatologist might not have access to this tech yet, and yet you can get it on a consumer app, which is crazy.” — David Berkowitz But, as David says, “what I think a lot of people miss about CES is it’s ultimately about people’s lives, about people’s lifestyles…like how are we going to shop? How are we going to cook, how are we going to drive? How are we going to communicate with each other?”” Speaking of communicating, Raoul Davis did a great job representing NTT Sonority’s sound zone technology followed by SoundFun’s spokesperson on their helpful TV speaker. Then, I was photo and audio-bombed by Jeff Minsky and invited this longtime CES observer to drop in and discuss trends, of course, including SK’s presence and its sustainability efforts in media. [00:09:59 → 00:10:36] “CES is a microcosm of a global economy. First, we had RCA, Magnavox so America was the core center. Then you had Japan, with Sony and Toshiba, and then you had the rise of Korea. You see China all over the place. Now, SK – a South Korean based multinational conglomerate – has a presence that has to be a million plus dollars.” — Jeff Minsky Finally, as she does so well, Kathy Newberger shared some observations as a first-timer and talked about the strong presence of media and marketing pros at CES and shared highlights from panels and sessions, including savvy insights from “media cartographer” Evan Shapiro.
Bonus · Mon, January 08, 2024
Bonus: Previewing ‘24: E.B. Moss and Cynthia Nelson on Media Trends and Takeaways
Kicking off 2024, my fellow podcaster – but really more known as the expert in shoppable video, Cynthia Nelson – turned the mic on me, inviting me to guest on her show “ Let’s Talk About Live Shopping .” Being in the hot seat myself was instructive as I thought back to the many takeaways of my inspiring guests in the media and marketing landscape this past year. Then we vamped about what’s coming down the pike as I head to CES this week! (I encourage listeners to catch the last couple minutes to see if you can spot the AI version of me!) First, Cynthia asked me to reflect on podcasting’s continued evolution. I shared some points from Sounds Profitable’s Bryan Barletta , a past Insider Interviews guest. As we hit the 03:00 mark, I noted the trend research he and Tom Webster recently shared with the help of another past guest, Paul Riismandel of Signal Hill Insights , on how people are consuming podcasts in video form. (Note: People increasingly “ listen” on YouTube while multi-tasking, as formats merge.) Around the 06:44 mark, Cynthia asked about the fuzzy definition of the fast moving category of retail media . (Here’s an article I wrote about that.) As lines blur across channels, retail media represents the personalized targeted impressions served to consumers on their path to purchase. This stretches from out-of-home displays driving awareness to retail media networks architected by heir apparents like Walmart and Target (and of course the mac daddy, Amazon.) I passionately relayed the research I could recall from a chock-full interview with Lou Paskalis on news media’s high ROAS and its ability to capture lucrative unduplicated audiences. Yet misperceptions linger, undeservedly tarnishing outlets. Quality checks through firms like Ad Fontes help instill confidence for brands to proudly and safely reinvest in news. And hint: that’s one of the things I’ll be speaking with Matt Prohaska about in a
S2 E15 · Tue, December 12, 2023
The Hispanic Star - Claudia Romo Edelman on Marketing Inclusivity
Did you know being “Hispanic” is not a thing in Europe? Just ask Claudia Romo Edelman. While living in many countries — as a Head of Public Relations for the World Economic Forum, to a Marketing Professor in Geneva — she was simply Mexican, no different from how her friends from Venezuela or Guatemala were identified by their own nationalities. Then, Edelman moved to the U.S. and got a new label – “Hispanic” or “Latina.” She’s embraced the description with the same spirit she welcomes any respectful nod to her heritage. For her, it’s all about just making sure she and the LatinX community are part of a broader, more inclusive narrative. In fact, all humans should be respected equally – in society and in marketing. So, she founded “ We Are All Human ” to advocate for diversity and inclusion. In an incredibly insightful conversation Edelman, we discussed her remarkable journey – from growing up with a professional basketball player-turned economist-turned actor mom (talk about a role model!) to her own impressive path from Special Advisor at the UN to “Founder/Factivist”…. An Empowering Hispanic Star Edelman’s experience gives her a unique perspective on brand purpose, which she eloquently shared during our discussion. One of many fascinating parts of our conversation was about her involvement insuch influential pro-social campaigns such as Product Red and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She described the significance of these initiatives then what sparked her commitment to elevating the perception of the Hispanic community by founding “We Are All Human” – and supporting the “Hispanic Star” initiative — which aims to unify and empower the Hispanic community. Edelman addressing the Hispanic Marketing Summit held at the UN 12/23 “Purpose-led branding is not just a trend; it’s a necessity for survival in today’s market.”
S2 E14 · Tue, November 14, 2023
How to Leap into Good Branded Entertainment
Can branded entertainment be “bingeable?” If it’s engaging and the characters are relatable! What if no one watches? They will if that branded content is made — then promoted — by Leap Media. That’s what I learned from speaking with Chris Pizzurro, Co-Founder and Principal of Leap Media Group , and Michele Fino, Head of Branded Entertainment at Crackle. Here’s how they do it: Chris Pizzurro has had an award-winning career in media, including a dozen years at Turner Broadcasting where he was involved in an early-stage form of branded entertainment. (And, he shared some great stories about working with Ted Turner at TBS!) “We were actually doing branded entertainment in the 2000s with TBS’s Dinner and a Movie .” — Chris Pizzurro For the next dozen years, he was SVP at ad tech services company, Canoe Ventures, which really advanced digital ad insertion, scoring an Emmy® Award and inclusion on five patents while there. From that background, Chris realized that “Clients are willing to pay extra to have their brand associated with entertainment, whether it’s in a movie or adjacent to one.” He’s applying that insight now at Leap Media Group, delivering a brand of their own: the “LFBE” – Long-Form Branded Engagement. Chris describes these “as a subset of branded entertainment and shoppable TV”. “In long-form brand engagement, it’s about involving brands from the outset, creating narratives around them, and incorporating calls to action for tangible ROI.” — Chris Pizzurro In addition to making branded entertainment that is good quality content, Leap’s point of differentiation is putting equal focus on the distribution and promotion of that content to drive awareness, viewership and ROAS — Return on Ad Spend — from tune-in ads on Crackle to host-reads in Peter Greenberg’s radio and podcast show, Eye on Travel . After all, even if a show is well-made, if no one sees it — like “a tree falling in the woods making no sound” — it doesn’t matter how good it is. So, as he has written, “We just don’t buy ad inventory on FAST Channels and make shows that are on FAST Channels, we’re ON shows that are on FAST Channels.” Leap’s shows, created in conjunction w
S2 E13 · Wed, November 01, 2023
Broadcast AND Streaming: Locality's Power Duo of Local Advertising
When you think about it, national advertising can definitely build awareness — or brand equity. But as Keith Kazerman, President of Locality Streaming pointed out, every purchase made actually occurs LOCALLY. Hmm. There was a lot more food for thought in Episode “lucky” 13 when I sat down with Keith and his counterpart, Ann Hailer, President, Locality Broadcast. Ann and Keith are like a “Local Ads Power Couple.” They are so on the same page about the of power of pairing broadcast and streaming you’ll hear that they sometimes finish each other’s sentences. We need more of this approach in our fragmented media world, so tune in to also hear how they seamlessly leverage linear and digital to offer up what they call “Precision Reach.” Or, fine-tuned targeting plus scale. Advertisers shouldn’t have to pick, and broadcast still has a very long tail. So, Locality formed out of CoxReps and Gamut a few months back now representing some 300 broadcast stations and more than 150 publishers for the one-two punch of streaming AND broadcast premium and exclusive ad inventory. Here’s what else you’ll hear and learn: [00:02:07] “ T he state of local TV is fantastic . As we look at content and the relevancy and recency of local news, and local sports with the return of NFL and college football, there is an uptick in viewership and engagement…” — Kazerman [00:06:00] “Broadcast groups leverage all of their owned and operated content in ways that that local content can reach consumers, even if it’s not over the air.” — Hailer Both agree it’s Broadcast AND Streaming, not versus, which is what enables “<a href="https://www.cynopsis.com/07-27-
Bonus · Mon, October 23, 2023
NFL, Group Black and SXM on Adding the Human Element to Sports, Multicultural and Podcast Marketing
In this bonus episode of Insider Interviews, captured during Advertising Week 2023, I spontaneously interviewed three impressive executives on how each injects the human touch to various aspects of culture in media: Sports, Multicultural and Podcasting content. First, Marissa Solis, SVP of Marketing for the NFL, discusses how the NFL is incorporating AI to generate game highlights, enhance player safety and even to to engage younger audiences, all while still maintaining a human touch on and off the field. “Through the power of AI technology, we were able to take the game in real time and animate it in Toy Story world, so that somebody could be watching the same exact game, but in ‘Andy’s room.’… We’re very excited about the power of the technology, but we know there’s a lot of implications. So we always want to proceed with a bit of caution, again, because we don’t want to ever lose sight of the human element and the positive human outcomes that could come from the technology.” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1005 alignleft" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_1634-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="225" height="300" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_1634-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_1634-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_1634-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:
S2 E12 · Mon, October 16, 2023
Lou Paskalis: Championing Marketing and Making News
It’s a jam-packed Epi 12 with my longtime industry friend, Lou Paskalis, CEO and Founder of AJL Advisory and strategic advisor to Ad Fontes Media. We had a lively stroll down memory lane (and, yes, I sing to him), reminiscing about working on promotions for E&J Gallo Winery/Food Network years ago to rubbing elbows at Cannes Lions this past year. On the carpet at Cannes 2023. (E.B. and Lou) Then he shared some solid food for thought – especially around the gauntlet he’s become known for throwing down lately: supporting quality journalism through brands investing in the news media. He himself has been making the news with his plain-spoken POV, as evidenced by articles in AdAge to Fast Company , from mentions in the Swisher/Galloway podcast Pivot to being an inaugural honoree of the “ Purpose Beyond Profit ” awards for his, well, purpose-driven advocacy. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-945" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Pastis-Strip-on-Papers-300x151.jpg" alt="" width="609" height="306" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Pastis-Strip-on-Papers-300x151.jpg 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Pastis-Strip-on-Papers-1024x515.jpg 1024w, https://insiderinterviews.blubr
S2 E11 · Wed, October 04, 2023
T-Mobile's Cherian Thomas on Driving Brand Love with Digital Out of Home
Head of marketing for T-Ads, the advertising solutions division of T-Mobile, Cherian Thomas describes the evolution of his rideshare entertainment platform, Octopus, to creating brand love across all digital out of home screens. In this upbeat but informative conversation with the high-energy “Doctor Thomas,” Insider Interviews host E.B. Moss also gets the download on DOOH from DPAA CEO, Barry Frey , to offer listeners and viewers a complete picture of the state of screens today. QUOTES AND TIMESTAMPS 00:02:23 – “By the digitization of out-of-home, we mean a modern-day digital advertising business.” 00:03:10 – “DOOH is becoming very powerful especially with its ability to target audiences, that heretofore was not available.” 00:04:20 – ” I’ve seen these crazy billboards where it almost looks like things are flying off of the screen. It’s really amazing what can happen now with digital billboards.” 00:11:49 – “While trying to market our app to consumers, we had to identify who is the ideal target audience. And then you look and you’re like, wow, that’s the Uber and Lyft rider!” 00:13:56 – “If we can delight riders in their Uber and Lyft journey, well, what’s the next phase?” “The numbers don’t lie: actual consumer spending is four times larger in store than it is online.” 00:16:56 – “The numbers don’t lie: actual consumer spending is four times larger in store than it is online.” 00:18:52 – “Well, it turns out advertisers and brands also have similar pain points when it comes to them spending dollars and getting their brand out there or hitting performance metrics.” <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-969 " src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/E.B.-Cherian-screen-grab-1024x538.png" alt="" width="564" height="296" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/upload
S2 E10 · Wed, September 06, 2023
Why a Holistic Approach to Podcasting Means Business
A “holistic” approach sounds so virtuous – in a yoga pose kind of way. And when it’s applied to the business of podcasting it takes on an even healthier stance. Three wise guests explained exactly what it takes to approach podcasting as a unique medium and leverage all aspects of it to drive growth. In this episode of Insider Interviews I spoke with three phenomenal experts during the Podcast Movement conference in Denver who explained this holistic approach. Bryan Barletta, Partner, Sounds Profitable Bryan Barletta and partner and research guru Tom Webster have been making waves in the audio industry with their advisory services focused on growing audience and revenue for podcasters. (You heard me speak with Bryan Barletta on Insider Interviews three years ago and with Tom when he was at Edison Research.) Bryan described his aim to carve out a home for all podcast pros, to educate and elevate the industry. He emphasized that podcasting deserves to be treated as its own channel, optimized based on how people listen. “We’re entering the ‘why’ phase: ‘Why uniquely podcasting? Why start here?’,” he posited. The answer? “The ad tech, the mindset, the education is now here. And that’s why we need to treat it as its own channel and not try and tag it onto other channels to find its own value.” Bryan expects now, at 20 years in, we’re finally entering the “2.0 era” where ad tech and mindsets are catching up to podcasting’s distinct value. How can we look at measurement objectively? What is the truth behind “churn”? Bryan describes the biggest opportunities and challenges in the business of podcasting, including the status of programmatic. Then, in an unexpected question tossed at me, we discuss the opportunity for political ad messaging in podcasting…. <figcaption id="caption-attachment-931" class="wp-c
S2 E9 · Wed, August 09, 2023
How Five Companies Thrive with Brand Purpose
It’s been a record-setting hot summer. That got me thinking about the environment. And that got me thinking about ESG — the Environmental, Social and Governance factors companies can get valued on — by the Street and by the Consumer. And THAT is part of Brand Purpose. So, what are the ways “purpose” shows up at a company — inside and out? And, how does a company authentically spotlight its brand purpose to that outside world? Over the past eight episodes of this Season 2 of Insider Interviews , that’s exactly what I asked each of my world class media, marketing and advertising industry guests. So, here’s a cool compilation of the wisdom of purpose and marketing pros, pulled from those episodes. You’ll hear again, in this order, from: [3:10] Ad agency legend turned head of the Baglivo Group and higher ed evangelist as CMO of Pace University , Mary Baglivo ; [6:25] Head of marketing for the largest B-Corp (listen and learn about that term!) — Danone, NA’s Linda Bethea ; [13:45] Queen of fun and experiential marketing, CMO Erin Levzow of Museum of Ice Cream ; [16:40] Representing the audio side, Chief Insights Officer of Cumulus Media/Westwood One , Pierre Bouvard ; [18:20] Finally, Nicolle Pangis , CEO of Ampersand , the largest TV rep firm in the US., adds very personal insights for how she applied lessons learned about work-life balance just in time to help her survive and help her whole team thrive…and keep the customer satisfied “on purpose”, too. Each of these leaders shares their definition of brand purpose and how gets implemented in organizations and how brands can make a positive difference in society. We talk about the importance of ESG and how to make consumers aware of that meaningful work…and how to feel meaningful at work! <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-771 " src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/E.B.-MaryBaglivo-recording1-scaled-e1691553662541-300x190.jpg" alt="" width="313" height="198" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/E.B.-MaryBaglivo-recording1-scaled-e1691553662541-300x190.jpg 300w, https:
S2 E8 · Wed, June 07, 2023
How the Philadelphia Eagles' Jen Kavanagh Makes Marketing Fly with Fans
The Philadelphia Eagles SVP of Marketing, Jen Kavanagh, shared her approach to expanding the club’s brand and engaging with a now international fan base. Get insights on how Jen’s marketing team is turning the Xs and Os of this pro NFL team into dollars and cents and fan xoxos! Grab a seat. Jen Kavanagh tells Insider Interviews host E.B. Moss how marketing the Eagles has changed since their appearance in the #SuperBowl, and the imperative of balancing the star power of individual players with promoting the brand overall. It always comes back, Jen says, to connecting with fans and building relationships that are not just “transactional”. Hear how she strives to build relationships with the club’s 10 million global fans — from watch parties to cause marketing in their home town of Philly. Also: Jen’s journey is a testament to the idea that not all careers are linear and staying open is key in this marketing game. She began in digital, working on multi-platform strategies and translating that into a television environment when she worked for NBCU’s Oxygen. She then worked as a consultant, helping C-suite executives better understand how the coming digital disruption would impact their businesses. Given her lack of specific experience in sports, Jen was initially hesitant to tackle the role, but she leveraged that deep experience in digital marketing and what was zero experience in sports marketing, has gone to overseeing strategic development, original content, digital platforms, community relations, media, data, and insights for the NFL club. And, in five years the passion she developed for the game has turned in to “an obsession.” Jen explains how her marketing team supports the football team — from events at their beloved stadium, “The Linc”, to tackling appropriate messaging and promotions from the US to the newly added countries of the franchise: Ghana, Australia, and New Zealand. For example, they’ve brought in well-known music artists popular in those areas to entertain fans during games and make cultural connections. The team has organized watch parties and flag football pursuits; for New Zealand, E.B. suggested they may need to train U.S. players in the haka ! What goes into the decision to feature certain players – like super star Jalen Hurts (and hear about his new graduate degree OFF the field!) vs team initiatives. Hint: they’re driven by the marketing message that the Eagles want
Bonus · Tue, May 23, 2023
Putting Personality into B2B Content to Drive Likes -- and Business
In this bonus episode of Insider Interviews , I’m not interviewing anyone. I’m having a brisk 20-minute conversation with Julie Livingston of Want Leverage Communication, discussing the art and value of adding personality to your B2B content — and especially to your company podcast. Taken from Julie’s LinkedIn show, “PR Patter,” these are some of the tips I shared for infusing B2B content with personality and approachability — as your best “never knew what hit ‘em” way to appeal to prospects. I hope you’ll listen to (or watch ) the full episode for the details, but here’s the headline: “People buy from people they like” (and also gets you more “likes”!) You’ll learn why humanizing a brand and its executives helps create a better connection with the audience — or prospects. Then we’ll discuss the differences between branded podcasts and B2B podcasts, adding personality, using storytelling, getting good guest …and getting the most out of your host… and even simple tech tips for putting your business in its best light. Remember, there’s a time and a place for sales brochures, and for leveraging audio for technical explanations. But that place is not your podcast. So: Get Emotional. There are great lessons on what drives purchases from an emotional perspective. See this presentation by Binet and Fields on the Principles of B2B Marketing. For my part, I’m not speaking to what drives a B2B buyer — like “fear of losing one’s job” or “fear of missing out”. I’m speaking about the fear of not being oneself. Or rather, the fear many exhibit of vulnerability in a business setting. Where’s the story? Where’s the humor? Where’s the human side? That is what we buy when we feel comfortable with someone. And that is what B2B podcasts can stand to offer a little more of. Branded or B2B? Well, it’s kind of a Venn diagram. Your branded podcast can be for B2B purposes, but it’s often more story-driven content that could easily be B2C — or B2B2C! There are great companies that specialize in crafting endearment of a brand wrapped in a Trojan Horse of great storytelling. I’m all for that. Think the beloved Trader Joe’s show. Or Trailblazer s with Walter Isaacson, which is a BTYB from Dell. There’s a reason iHeartMedia just announced Ruby , a studio dedicated to creating branded podcasts, so go on in; the water’s great! This POV is more focused on what I see as the traditional B2B audio content that is courting business customers, most frequently done as an interview to inform, and hopefully entertain — or “edutain.” <img
S2 E7 · Tue, May 09, 2023
Why Nicolle Pangis Recommends Balanced TV Advertising and a Balanced Home Life
Nicolle Pangis is an evangelizer of balance: between linear and digital television advertising, between tech and creative, between quality data and privacy. And balance between work and life. It’s the “ands” that drive her – apropos the company name of TV ad sales platform, Ampersand, where she has been CEO for the past five years. Insider Interviews podcast host E.B. Moss spoke with Pangis about a range of topics impacting the ad and marketing industry: from the latest advances in media measurement to the importance of embracing retail media networks. Additionally, this fast-moving leader who previously headed up digital shop 24/7 and GroupM’s Xaxis, discussed the ah-ha moments that sparked a commitment to promoting greater work-life balance for both she and her team, and building a more equitable industry. A perfect lead in to this conversation? You’ll hear first from More Labs VP of Marketing, Lydia Boychuk, who walks us through how she drives trial and word of mouth — or “sips to lips” — for their nutritional supplement start up company focused on well-being. Boychuk discusses how she balances retail and DTC marketing with podcast advertising. Speaking of which, “sleep better,” “focus more,” and prevent that post-partying head with 20% off any purchase, thanks to Lydia. Use promo code insider20 at morelabs.com! In the ever-evolving world of TV advertising, Ampersand stands out as the biggest company you’ve never heard of. With the ability to aggregate and activate data on a household level, their potential for creative and technical implementations is vast. But with the industry becoming more fragmented, can they navigate the challenges ahead and continue to deliver relevance without crossing the line into creepiness? Find out in this thought-provoking conversation, which is a must-listen for anyone interested in the evolving landscape of television advertising and marketing in general…and personal well-being! Relevancy of advertising is good; a creepiness factor is bad. – Nicolle Pangis Timestamped summary of this episode: Introduction and how to support Insider Interviews at buymeacoffee.com/mossappeal Insider Interviews podcast host E.B. Moss first speaks briefly with VP
S2 E6 · Thu, April 13, 2023
Museum of Ice Cream CMO, Erin Levzow, on Marketing Joy
Since Insider Interviews is about giving you the “insider’s scoop” on media and marketing, who better to give us the scoop than the CMO of Museum of Ice Cream , Erin Levzow ? In today’s world, we’re often so focused on work, responsibilities, and obligations that we forget to take time to have fun and experience joy. Levzow explains how MOIC became an in-demand destination for reconnecting with your inner child, or with your children, and eat ice cream while doing it! Learn from someone whose job it is to market fun about why joy is so important, mentally and physically. And learn how just raising your hand can spark success. Levzow, whose years of experience marketing everything from Caesars to Del Taco have earned her scores of awards, explains how the museum, under the Figure Eight umbrella, was created by Maryellis Bunn, another inspiring woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer : If that sounds childish, well, Bunn had the last laugh, with lines around the block on any given day. Levzow was cut from similar cloth, even citing a favorite book about improv that preaches the power of saying “ Yes, and .” The plucky CMO explains how she applied “yes” throughout her career, even at times when she didn’t “know.” Moss with panelists: Kaye, OK Cupid, Levzow, MOIC, Benders, B Code Media, Bethea, Danone Levzow’s route to this C-suite, a year after winning a “ 40 Under 40 ” award, started by first saying yes to half a dozen different gigs and residing in as many states, often with toddlers in tow. She describes her leadership phi
S2 E5 · Wed, March 22, 2023
Five Podcast Pros Discuss the Business of Podcasting
In a spontaneous episode I discussed five different aspects of the business of podcasting – from using AI to “audio or video?”, to leveraging the star power and engagement power of podcasting. You’ll hear from: Michael Kaye, Director of Brand & Communications for OkCupid , an online dating app; Brandon Reed, Host, formerly tired dad, and creator of 12 Hour Sound Machines , a viral podcast that helps people sleep; Bona Rai, COO and Co-founder of Capsho , the tool that helped E.B. use AI to generate these very show notes (!); Chris Whitman, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of GlassBox Media , think ‘music label-meets-podcast marketing machine’; A.J. Feliciano, Head of The Roost Podcast Network from Warner Bros Discovery, that started the groundswell of podcasts leveraging video and has his finger on the pulse of monetizing best practices to meet the consumer where they’re consuming content. It’s five inspiring chats that reveal the brilliant possibilities of audio and video for the future including: How OkCupid leverages podcasting for success – earned or owned? The business model behind the 12 Hour Sound Machines podcast What Capsho is, and how this new tool taps AI to help podcasters save time How GlassBox Media cracks the code on growing podcast awareness and ups the value of creator IP A spontaneous interview at the Sounds Profitable
Wed, March 15, 2023
Westwood One’s Pierre Bouvard on Making Good Audio Impressions
Pierre Bouvard has some words of wisdom for media buyers out there…if you’re not buying audio (yes, all audio), you’re leaving reach and engagement on the table. As Chief Insights Officer at Cumulus Media/Westwood One , Pierre has seen the proof and has busted the myths surrounding audio advertising—and particularly the misconceptions about AM/FM radio. “Radio is perceived as much smaller than it really is. But the data tells us that ad-supported AM-FM streaming is actually bigger than ad-supported Pandora and Spotify combined. That blows people away.” After stints at Coleman Insights and TiVo, he has become the audio industry’s most revered evangelist and research mind. Now leading Westwood One’s full-service advisory—the Audio Active Group—he provides advertisers with media planning recommendations, creative best practices, and measurement services. This episode will certainly delight the research aficionados—and may just convince the audio skeptics. We also dig into: What we mean when we say ‘audio.’ Pierre breaks down the composition of the entire audio universe. Tactical scoop about media planning tactics and why an omnichannel approach works best. What the heck is ‘eyes on glass’ and what does it tell us about the effectiveness of TV? Pierre’s pragmatic POV on brand purpose reminds brands to go back to basics. While he does a lot of work recommending media, he drops some facts on why creative trumps everything. Why it’s time for advertisers to stop testing and start committing budgets to podcast advertising. (Learn about the “5% rule”!) Plus, hear the story of how Pierre ‘broke the internet’ and E.B.’s voice impression of Bette Midler… Just sayin’. This was a fun (and extremely informative) conversation. I hope this inspires you to learn more about the power of audio advertising. Mentioned in this episode: Dig into these findings on <a href="https://www.insideradio.com/free
S2 E3 · Wed, March 01, 2023
Danone's Conscious Marketer, Linda Bethea
Did you know there’s a lot more to Danone than Dannon ? Do you know the definition of a B Corp ? Oat or Soy … or a new low-sugar non-dairy milk ? Linda Bethea, Head of Marketing for Danone North America—a top 15 Food and Beverage company in the US—gives us the insider’s scoop on all of the above and how she markets all TWENTY of Danone’s brands. She is shaping the marketing strategy for some of the most loved CPG products in the country—from Danimals to Evian Water and (my personal favorite) Stok Coffee. Since Danone is the country’s LARGEST B Corp (listen and learn!), we explore the role of brand purpose in marketing today. Something that runs deep at Danone, going back half a century when the CEO started the concept of a “Dual Project” where companies care about societal value as much as shareholder value. Consumers want brands that take a stand and have a strong point of view. Building brands with purpose that positively impact the world is core to everything we do at Danone. Linda has enjoyed an impressive marketing career across CPG categories, from potato chips to liquor, and now leads a massive team that’s moving the Danone name into the future. That means pushing the envelope on product development, navigating the ever-changing marketing landscape, and finding unique brand partnerships that align with the corporate mission… all while continuing to “delight” consumers. Heads up, there will be a lot of (brand)name-dropping in this episode! Linda and I get into: How consumer tastes and trends drive innovation and marketing creativity Linda’s path from soda to spirits to spirited field work that that supercharged her path to leadership and taught her how to negotiate and get things done Cool ways Danone is raising the sustainability bar, like rescuing fruit and repurposing bottles into shoes…and how those efforts influenced her home life Her definition of brand purpose and how proper marketing of it impacts consumer choice and company values What’ my on my plate as an ova-lacto-pesce-vegetarian, and is the demand for plant-based foods today just a trend or…? Why she’s bullish on audio when it comes to winning the consumer attention game (this will really resonate when you catch my NEXT podcast interview — with Pierre Bouvard , Head of Research for Cumulus Westwood One!) How she earned the nickname of The Velvet Hammer… <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-786" style="font-weight: 400;" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Linda-Evian-261x3
S2 E2 · Wed, February 15, 2023
Ad Industry Legend Mary Baglivo on Leadership and Brand Purpose
How an unconventional journey to the C-suite of major ad agencies led to finding personal brand purpose I remember Mary Baglivo in our Rutgers days as fun but focused. Yup, there are stories I can tell. But the stories we focus on in this episode are how she turned her intellectual curiosity, which skewed more to classes in Art History than Business, into a career that included running three major ad agencies and earning innumerable industry accolades. An aspiring writer trying to make it in New York, Mary took a job at an ad agency. While learning on the go she caught the advertising bug, so much so that she moved from Madison Avenue to grad school followed by an ad agency gig in the Windy City that she couldn’t refuse. That determination, and a knack for helping develop distinctive ad campaigns and insight-based marketing strategies, was recognized pretty quickly and helped her thrive in a male-dominated industry. She ultimately held President and C-level positions at leading global advertising agencies like JWT, Saatchi & Saatchi, and Euro RSCG Chicago. “Defining a ‘brand’ is challenging. Clarifying your own brand is super important. A brand is more than its product attributes, obviously. It’s more than what it looks like. It’s certainly more than what an influencer portrays. It’s definitely got to be emotional, and probably involve all the senses in some way, shape, or form.” After years of developing consumer brands like credit cards and cereal, Mary found her personal brand purpose – using her marketing expertise to help universities, museums, and foundations communicate their purpose. Now, in addition to running the Baglivo Group – with a focus on key client Pace University – she is a sitting board member for multiple organizations, including the New York Women’s Foundation, and is intent on lifting up other women in business! “The key job of a CEO is to make sure that their people are feeling good, are happy and motivated, and have the opportunities to learn.” Mary and I dig into: An explanation of brand purpose and how it differs from but informs brand identity The moving target elements today of a solid brand campaign The increased consumer mandate for purpose and ESG and the question of how/if that can be marketed Can a person be a “brand” and how that applies to good leadership. The best advice she received as a leader How observing and working for people like “the most powerful woman in advertising,” Charlotte Beers, shaped her own leadership style and career Her work with the Block and its impact on diversity messaging through art The time and place for AI – yes, even in classrooms. </li
S2 E1 · Wed, February 01, 2023
Jarl Mohn on Art and Artful Management
Just skim the career path of my first guest for Season 2 of Insider Interviews and you’ll understand why it was worth the wait of my past year on hiatus: It’s Jarl Mohn , former President and CEO of NPR…and E! Entertainment Television, the network he also created ! Jarl’s career includes being hand-picked by former radio buddy, Bob Pittman (currently CEO of iHeart Media), to be the first EVP/GM of MTV and VH1. He also spent many years on the boards of The Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, the EW Scripps Company and Scripps Networks, and KPCC Southern California Public Radio where he honed his love of public radio. And, while Jarl hung up his pundit placard to focus on hanging art as he and his wife Pamela endow museums and support emerging artists, his 50+ years in media and venture capital have taught him a thing or two about content and management. He shares 35 minutes of brilliance and humility — from how his years in foster care sparked an escape route to radio, how quality will separate winners and losers in today’s content wars, and how art can literally change the way we think. We go head to, literally, toe on the big picture of media, right down to why his face is on my feet. Yeah, you’ll have to keep listening for that one. Or watch the video on YouTube , since good content should span all platforms! The following is a highly edited transcript, including a multitude of links to important resources mentioned. Career Path – Radio to Television E.B.: Jarl, you were my first boss in the cable industry. You started E! Entertainment Television and I was there in the Greg Kinnear and Howard Stern days. Can you share a little chronological route to your career? Jarl: I began my career as a disc jockey when I was 15 years old. I ended up ultimately, in New York at WNBC doing afternoons when I was 25 then got into the programming side of the business, became a general manager and bought some radio stations. Then one of the people I had worked with at WNBC, Bob Pittman, hired me, along with Tom Presto
Trailer · Mon, January 02, 2023
Trailer for Insider Interviews Season 2
Get ready! Here’s what to expect for the next season of interviews featuring leading media, marketing and ad execs who share the “insider’s scoop” on the industry. HINT: Expect to hear from renown leaders like Jarl Mohn who ran NPR and Mary Baglivo who ran Saatchi & Saatchi, to NFL marketers like Jen Kavanagh and Marissa Solis, to CMOs like Linda Bethea of Danone. Season 2 of Insider Interviews will be jam packed, so please follow now, or subscribe wherever you like to listen to #podcasts. But all of the Season 1 episodes are still informative for anyone interested in learning from major brands, publishers and media pros! Oh, and if you’re curious, you’ll learn what E.B. was up to in 2022 while Insider Interviews was on hiatus. She’s available for more content marketing for your company, including getting you started with your own B2B podcast!
S1 E45 · Thu, December 30, 2021
Ringing out the Old with News from E.B. Moss
For the past 44 episodes of Insider Interviews I’ve put a lot of well-known media and marketing folks in the hot seat …And today’s guest is … E.B. Moss. Me. Because as we ring out the old and ring in the new I’ve got some news for you. This nice round number, episode 45, will be temporarily one of the last for Insider Interviews for a while, as I embrace something really new. A fractional (year long) assignment as Senior Vice President of Content and Community at Brand Innovators . They create a community for marketers and and media folks through an incredible number of events and panel discussions, fireside chats, activations, tent poles, content articles, you name it. In looking back to look forward, as I wrote in The Continuum recently, I had some wonderful conversations. After launching with programming pro, Gary Krantz, talking about audio and the evolution of radio and podcasting my very next episode was in March of 2020 was Shelly Palmer, the pundit, who accurately predicted that we all better have our tech set up well to work from home. Check. In episode 7, Claude Silver, the Chief Heart Officer of Vayner Media, emphasized the need in our increasingly isolated environment to build relationships. And then Arra Yerganian educated us in episode 22, about the social determinants of health as we’re so impacted by our surroundings. (I hope you’re creating a safe space for yourself and finding ways to bring joy into your world, even as we have to isolate a little bit longer now.) On the DEI front Robyn Streisand, founder of The Mixx, is doing a terrific job at educating brands on how to embrace diverse communities and market authentically. And then, hats off to KoAnn Skrzyniarz, for building Sustainable Brands and emphasizing brand purpose and the business value of embracing sustainability and purpose-driven messaging. Talk about influencers. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-329 alignleft" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/RPA_epi23-JoeBaratelli-header-300x169.png" alt="" width="384" height="215" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-con
S1 E44 · Mon, December 20, 2021
OAAA's Anna Bager on Out of Home Improvement
For the past several years, Out of Home advertising (OOH) had back-to-back growth. Then, like so many changes in our daily habits, travel slowed, media habits shifted and signage became less of commodity. But, as Anna Bager, the CEO of the OAAA – the trade association for outdoor advertising recently shared: Part of that is tempering excitement over new technologies with a focus on society’s heightened need for humanity and real connections. The right strategy helps brands ensure they’re reaching consumers where they are, providing an experience that’s contextual and relevant. This conversation with Anna expresses the “what’s old is new again” value of OOH and its ability to offer that “where they are” connection with consumers and provides an experience that’s contextual and relevant, privacy-compliant AND hyper-local! NOTE: It’s a terrific complement to Epi 43 with the CEO of Captivate which focused on how their form of digital place-based advertising — in-elevator media — also had to shift its “place” and pivot during the pandemic. In both cases you’ll hear about the value of both digital engagement and innovation and good old purpose driven messaging. (And if you want to learn about the IAB — Anna’s previous home before her focus on out of home — check out Epi 20 with David Cohen!) We discuss: The evolution of OOH from static hiway signs (think Burma Shave!) to interactive digital takeovers (think Times Square!) How the medium survived the downturn in travel during the peak pandemic months by doubling down on its track record asa public service tool… How OOH supports both “brand and demand” marketing. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-702" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/TImesSquare-300x170.jpg" alt="" width="558" height="316" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/TImesSquare-300x170.jpg 300w, https:
S1 E43 · Thu, December 16, 2021
Captivate's Marc Kidd on Elevator Advertising Surviving 2021's Ups and Downs
Marc Kidd, CEO of Captivate , lost sleep thinking about the lost foot traffic in office buildings when the pandemic hit. After all, his company specializes in programming the video screens in elevators. But, this son of famed NCAA football coach, Roy Kidd (as in Roy Kidd Stadium), is not one to panic at fourth down. In our conversation for Epi 43 he shared how Captivate evolved its Digital Out of Home (DOOH) offerings to include home and play locations, with an upswing in results for sales and marketers alike. “There was a high stakes game on a really bad weather day and I said, ‘Dad, it’s raining, the wind’s blowing. What decision are you going to make about the coin toss?’ He said, ‘You don’t worry about the things you can’t control.’ It has always reminded me that there are things in life you have no control over … like a pandemic.” Marc is not a stranger to having to pivot. Hear what happened when his college plans to work alongside his dad got waylaid… and he briefly considered accounting for a career! Luckily, he found his footing in sports marketing…then broadcasting, giving him the foundation for a storied career that included helping create the NCAA corporate partner program and the Breeders Cup’s World Thoroughbred Championships, WAC corporate partner programs and iHigh.com. Now at Captivate, he had some tough calls to make in the past two years for the greater good, but like all boats when the tide rises he ultimately helped the elevator advertising business stay the course through more innovation. Sample image from Captivate screen content Listen and learn about: How Captivate transfigured awkward social spaces! The evolution of DOOH (Digital Out of Home) itself and its use in brand and awareness marketing The guiding path to advertising effectiveness and strategizing content QR codes and other ways of building real attribution <dl id="a
S1 E42 · Thu, December 02, 2021
Building Brand Relationships with Original Podcasts
Podcast pro Steve Pratt, VP and Co-Founder of the multi-award winning Pacific Content, told me his company no longer makes branded podcasts. They haven’t for a few years. They make “original podcasts with brands.” And win awards doing it for brands like Ford Motor Company, Rocket Mortgage, Morgan Stanley, Slack, and Red Hat. The difference? These are no “thinly veiled infomercials. Instead, Pacific Content works together with their partners to “make a show that’s designed as something that only that brand can make; you give a gift — or create a significant amount of value — for the people that the brand wants to have relationships with.” And that, says Pratt, is how and why a brand makes a show that solves for their specific business problem, AND makes them into “media companies,” too. But don’t forget about the marketing. Good content that isn’t salesy has to go hand in hand with good marketing that doesn’t just try to “interrupt.” So, excuse me (!), but marketers should listen to this informative conversation all about connecting the dots between business objectives and audience preferences via podcasting. Steve should know: his company of “50 passionate podcast nerds” is focused exclusively on original podcasts that promote brands with authenticity and without compromising quality. Steve and I also discuss: How Dell Technologies’ podcast, Trailblazers with Walter Isaacson, became a “masterclass” on disruption and innovation, and sold listeners on Dell without selling products (and you can hear Dell Global Marketer, Rachael Henke , talk about this in Epi 6 from 5/20!) Creating a branded podcast strategy like a Venn Diagram between business goals and listener interests How podcasts drive loyalty Opportunities for “brands as media companies” Branded podcasts vs. Advertising in another podcast: What’s the litmus test? (And when Steve suggests brands call <a href="https://bit.ly/Ins
S1 E41 · Thu, November 18, 2021
Innovations in Leveraging Audio for Brands
Bart Roselli of Veritone One has seen the audio space grow exponentially in his over 15 years of media, marketing strategy, and account management experience. Now, as SVP Growth, he leverages his breadth of knowledge to enhance agency-media vendor relationships and help ensure client goals are set smartly for the space, and fulfilled across multiple channels of audio opportunities…including having an eye towards integrating Veritone AI technology to enhance performance. After comparing notes on our common ground of NJ to CA lives, in Episode 41 Bart explains the evolution of audio ad tech to how audio is also bought, sold and marketed differently these days. “It’s not a one size fits all media world anymore. It used to be radio, print, and tv. Then digital started to evolve and now you have different tracking elements as we’re moving towards a cookieless space. So marketing has evolved.” Hear how to keep up with all the changes as Bart and I also discuss: How audio marketing has completely evolved in via multi-touchpoints Following the dollars via advances in digital tracking From compliance to engineering, how the backend of Veritone’s digital infrastructure “takes a village” The changes in how people consume media – including the impact of the pandemic on podcasts – and how brands need to fit into lives and attention spans differently Embracing change (a la 37 with Joe Jackman ) but why Bart says, “If you’re reading about it in the trades you’re behind” Utilizing artificial intelligence and synthetic voice to super-serve clients (while avoiding “deep fakes!”) Bart’s stance on the brand and demand continuum Tapping data as the modern version of a crystal ball to navigate millions of shows to pick up and coming winners and properly message in the right podcasts The difference between embedded and digital ad insertion – and use cases for each (You can take a deeper dive into ad sales from Bart on the Podcast Advertising Playbook episode with Heather Osgood.) The reality of CPM pricing and me
S1 E40 · Thu, November 04, 2021
Cadillac CMO Melissa Grady Dias on Marketing a Maverick Brand
A milestone! It’s Episode 40 of Insider Interviews ! And for that, who better to interview than Cadillac’s Global Chief Marketing Officer, Melissa Grady Dias , who is, herself, marketing a milestone: the launch of what will be the first all electric line of luxury brand vehicles (EVs), starting with the Lyriq ! This episode was recorded in September, and since then the new Lyriq has sold out of pre-sale reservations. So how did it get so popular? Why is Cadillac “the maverick” of the GM brands, and how does its marketing deliver on its corporate parent’s promise to be the most inclusive company in the world? For the past two years, Melissa Grady Dias has held the key. She is a marketer’s marketer, a master of math and of insight-driven creative. With a heart. That “brand and demand” combo (as I’ll write more about in The Continuum ) is what’s helped infuse those corporate cause-oriented values into everything from gaming tie-ins to 6-second ads, to experiential marketing with Michelin-rated chefs. To hear Melissa be moved by the definition of equity and inclusion is to understand what “drives” (sorry) much of the brand messaging, but messaging that is always backed by data. As she explains: “I try to understand how and where my audience is consuming media, and how they’re entertaining themselves. Then I try to be in those places, but to do it in a different way, so that it really breaks through.” While always in pursuit of an advertising career, (“I used to watch Who’s the Boss and I loved Angela and I wanted to be like her,” she confesses) Melissa almost took a wrong turn. But discovering Database, Direct, and e-Commerce studies in a Masters program led her to expertise in performance marketing and technology. Her passion for good creative added the rest of the fuel. After discussing how she “followed her career north star to OnStar” we took some deep dives into how she is marketing the 125-year old brand, including: What it means to “show up differently” and how the Cadillac marketing team approaches the funnel differently, too (hint: upside down!) With GM looking to go all EV and towards a 0, 0, 0 world (zero emissions, zero crashes, and zero congestion) how Cadillac, historically an innovator brand, is at the forefront of that effort: Just why Cadillac overall — from the Escalade to the XT6 — is like the maverick of GM brands, while still infused with corporate cause-oriented values. “Cadillac is also
S1 E39 · Thu, October 21, 2021
The Visible Marketing Wisdom of Pearl Servat
When I met Pearl Servat three years ago, Visible was brand new in the world of wireless carriers, and Servat was generating content about it. Now she is fairly new in an elevated role as Head of Brand Marketing and Demand Gen for the disrupter division of Verizon Wireless , and gives good content herself in our conversation about driving customer connections. Servat honed her PR chops in the entertainment and brand world under the mentorship of marketing heavy hitters like Pat Kingsley (PMK-BNC), but made the switch, as they say in the world of carriers, to helm “brand and demand” marketing. In Epi 39, she discusses both her own evolution, and that of Visible. Hear how she leverages partnerships with like-minded brand ambassadors and ensures the first all-digital wireless carrier in the US doesn’t forget its mission of kindness and transparency: “I essentially sit at the intersection of where I’ve always loved to be. Between brand building and conversion and acquisition, driving and growth.” Mission First, Marketing Next. Servat explains that Visible’s mission drove her to lead efforts to connect people during some of the scariest days of the pandemic. Hear how a simple email campaign that Visible sent asking how customers were holding up during the pandemic had unexpected impact. Staying true to its DNA, the brand launched the #VisibleActsofKindness campaign and garnered over 2 million organic interactions. Hear her perspective on the importance of both brand and demand marketing, as her title implies, AND experiential marketing — such as when they turned Los Angeles bus stops into mock living rooms, and even ski lifts settings giving customers a tactical connection with the all digital brand in lieu of physical retail locations. “It’s beyond just retaining the consumer for us…We truly try to be as intentional as we can at every touch point with the brand. So, it doesn’t just start and stop with marketing.” Partnerships that Matter Partnerships and brand ambassadorships help extend the reach of the brand. Servat emphasizes the importance of partnering with people who live by the same mission as the company. Potential partners have seen the work Visible is doing and reached out to the company, interested in collaboration—the mission drives these kinds of partnerships. Staying on trend? Servat credits her team, modestly saying she’s not “nearly as hip and cool as they are.” And on working with marquee names like Kevin Bacon and Dan Levy? Well… “When it comes to talent partn
S1 E38 · Thu, October 07, 2021
PR Pro Katie Kempner on Earning Media with Personality
Katie Kempner may have appeared in the cult-classic films Scam and Class of Nuke ‘Em High , but she’s much better known for her corporate communications credentials. In Epi 38, she switches roles from interviewing others, or landing her clients interviews as a PR phenom , and sits instead in my guest seat. Kempner and I took a few fun minutes at the top to discuss our mutually limited—yet memorable—acting experiences (see bonus image, below), but then dove in to how taking a risk paid her career-making dividends, and her tangible takeaways about earned and owned media today. Stumbling into her Niche When her prospects as an MTV VJ or starlet seemed slim Kempner took a job at a staffing company to avoid having to return to her parents’ home after college. An opening at one of their client’s shops, the then still nascent advertising agency CP+B , changed her career path forever; Kempner talked her way into a role working with their new business division! Kempner stayed with the award-winning agency for almost 20 years, and its acquiring company, MDC , from its roots as a small Miami office to regional powerhouse to a global super machine. But… She always dreamed of starting her own firm. Solid relationships with her employer allowed her to launch Kempner Communications and keep CP+B as her first, and biggest, client. How she lives the “ reinventionist ” philosophy of one of her current clients and my previous guest, Joe Jackman! (Check out Epi 37 if you missed it.) I am the product of hard work and being in the right place at the right time. Me
S1 E37 · Thu, September 23, 2021
Joe Jackman Reinvents How Brands Embrace - and Thrive on - Change
Not many people – or brands — love change as much as Joe Jackman. The CEO of Jackman Reinvents has been a valued advisor to major retailers like Staples and brands like Flow Water, to B2B companies and to private equity partners. In this episode hear how he uses insights about trends and human behavior to drive change – or reinvention – and why that’s essential for a brand today. Jackman believes that moving from town to town as a kid with his retail exec dad emboldened him and taught him relationship skills. To the envy of any who have experienced “imposter complex,” Jackman has confidently embraced change professionally, moving from creative to CMO to CEO, admittedly making it up as he went along at many of the stops along the way. Learn what’s needed for companies to thrive, and the consequences for those that choose to emulate ostriches. This 40-minute conversation is filled with insights – or, as Jackman calls them when working with clients, “nuggets you can actually hang a strategy off.” I encourage a full listen, but here are some unmissable elements and Jackman Takeaways: Change has been coming fast and furious for many years, but the pandemic has compressed the need for speed to do things differently now; not just in people’s lives, but in the dynamics of the marketplace Jackman Takeaway: “ If you’re not changing and evolving, you’re stuck. That would probably be the best scenario. But the more common scenario is you’re moving backwards or, in business terms, you’re waning or dying.” Joe Jackman explained his personal path and how an appreciation of change took him from creative director to business owner after stints helping launch brands like Joe Fresh (no relation!). Jackman Takeaway: “I said, why can’t I be a brand strategist? What do I need to know? Who do I need to learn from? And then, eventually, I just thought, ‘Why can’t I shape strategy at the very highest level?” That attitude led to becoming a “reinventionist” – and the definition thereof: Jackman Takeaway: “It’s a word I made up, but basically the definition is to just be really good at making change happen and to great benefit. The world needs more people with the skills and in the mindset of making change.” Learn which immutable
S1 E36 · Thu, September 09, 2021
A Super Hero of Good Storytelling: Shaleen Desai, SVP, Warner Bros. Animation
Shaleen Desai is like a caped crusader for content. This SVP of Adult Animation is super focused on solid stories and shares how he is bringing super heroes and more to animation…and beyond. In his career of 20+ years and counting in Hollywood, Desai has been with Letterman, Viacom/CMT, Fox 21 and gone from working with Jason Bateman at Aggregate to Warner Bros. on “Batman” and other IP. Overall, whether it’s animated or audio his focus is making sure Warner Brothers Animation products will resonate anywhere as just good storytelling! While Insider Interviews listeners heard from Desai in Epi 33 – which was taken from his NATPE ContentCast panel about crossover IP — in this episode 36 Desai gets the chance to go more in-depth around how Warner Bros. Animation and Blue Ribbon Content work with the overall organization to tap top talent — from development to writers to the stars behind the mics. For example, when you hear those words, “I’m Batman” in a forthcoming scripted podcast it might be spoken seriously by Winston Duke on Spotify … or by a campier Jeffrey Wright in a version called Batman the Audio Adventures on HBO Max. [Since this recording earlier in September it was announced that The Audio Adventures will launch on 9/18 — which is (who knew?!) “ Batman Day “!] And of course, there’s always animation, with Batman, Caped Crusader headed to Cartoon Network and HBO Max soon. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-557" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/BatmanCapedCrusader_60a47868bdee69.13382775-194x300.jpg" alt="" width="194" height="300" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/BatmanCapedC
S1 E35 · Thu, August 26, 2021
B2B Marketing Expert Ruth Stevens Rants and Recommendations
Today’s episode could be a lesson plan about B2B Marketing because my guest, Ruth Stevens , has been teaching business to business marketing at NYU, Columbia, and B-schools around the world. And that’s in between being one of the foremost consultants in the space. So, Stevens calls BS on certain approaches to B2B we all better sit up and listen. Hear about the “fails” AND the best practices for what makes customers sit up and listen, too! Stevens went right from business school herself to TimeWarner’s Book of the Month division, “thinking that I was joining one of the great book marketing companies in the world. I learned I was actually in one of the great direct marketing companies in the world.” After seven years of getting schooled in DM she mastered B2B first at Ziff Davis then IBM, simultaneously writing columns as well as teaching others at night. In one example of her “no BS advice” articles, which appear everywhere from Biznology.com to HBR.org, Stevens says, “Don’t Be a Jerk on LinkedIn”, and advises sellers everywhere not to jump to the pitch. (“Building relationships on social media is hard. People get lazy and go straight to being the seller, and skip the personal establishment part. They’re also just sorely tempted by how easy it is to just make a mass pitch using LinkedIn Sales Navigator.”) And, heed Stevens when she notes: Today the ability of the salesperson to guide a purchase in their direction, but also to understand more deeply the needs of the buyer, has been eroded. So the marketer needs to step in and provide the educational content. This has driven the huge rise of B2B content marketing to allow that researcher better understanding of how to solve a problem or how your solution can be helpful, and to guide them toward calling you. Companies’ approach to client retention is also in need of schooling: Another area where I see B2B companies failing, or sub-optimizing, is retention marketing and it just drives me crazy because this is where the bulk of profits arise. Most companies organize it to be the responsibility of someone called ‘account management’, which is an important function, but marketing is not being asked to support it. Stevens feels for the challenges faced by marketers and sellers these days in getting to know or reach know the buyer and ever-expanding buying groups — especially in enterprise purchasing: Marketers need to try to replicate that old relationship building aspect by identifying the members of the buying circle and either find out through outbound calling, for example, or social listening, or infer what their agendas are, because each member of the buying circ
S1 E34 · Thu, August 12, 2021
Jennifer Grimson On Building Wealth - and a Podcast
Jennifer Grimson was brand new to the podcast space when I met her two years ago at the last in-person Podcast Movement event. Fast forward and she became my spontaneous guest for Epi 34 of Insider Interviews discussing her approach to marketing the now successful Micro-Empires Podcast about her path to rebuilding wealth. And, since podcasting adds such a personal touch, she gives us insights about her very personal story from filing for Chapter 13 twice to being having million-dollar + in assets. Grimson explains how she taught herself to rebuild her wealth AND how to build a podcast starting at any point in your life. “I’m living proof of that story…I lost everything. No home, no job, no car, no money, no place to live, and two children to raise. That happened to me twice…and the second time I was 41 years old.” Her A-Ha Moment: “I realized that if I wanted security and to build wealth, it wasn’t just going to be through one thing,” Grimson explained. “I was going to have to create little pockets, which I call ’empires’. And once I got started I was able to create $1.4 million in income producing assets in four years.” Moving Past the Shame “The podcast came about because people kept asking me about how I’d done that; of course I’d kept my story a secret because I was so ashamed of it, like a lot of people who share my story. I wanted to share what I had done, but more importantly, sharing those tools and real steps for anybody to take, whether it’s their mindset or literally taking steps to build wealth.” Lessons Learned: “I think the first lesson is you don’t abandon yourself, which is such a powerful thing. Think about it: I treat my friends and family better than I treat myself. I don’t say things to other people that I say inside my head. And I think that’s true all around. So finding a way, whether you believe it or not, whether you think you deserve it or not, of believing in yourself. … I just had to put blinders on and move forward … It’s not actually rocket science. It might be hard. But it’s not difficult to understand.” After Grimson explained her three lessons of coming from nothing to financial resolution — assess, ask, act — she went on to explain how learning to be a podcaster — or learning ANYTHING — is to dive in. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-500 alignleft" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Micro-Empires-Podcast-Jennifer-Grimson-300x300.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Micro-Empires-Podcast-Jennifer-Grimson-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Micro-Empires-Podcast-Jennifer-Grimson-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp
S1 E33 · Tue, July 13, 2021
The Business of Taking Podcasts to TV and Back: a Panel of Experts
I had the good fortune of being asked by NATPE – the global trade association focused on the business of content, to help produce the first ever conference in the media/marketing industry dedicated to the topic of iterating IP from podcasting to TV and back again. What the heck does that mean? Well, it’s basically around how TV shows are turning into podcasts to find new audiences and podcasting content has turned into TV shows and films. Think Homeland, Dirty John, even Dirty Diana! So of course I made myself one of the moderators (oh, and a did a little co-hosting with actor Amy Hill (“Magnum, P.I.”)). But I wanted my panel to feel a little more like a podcast. So you’ll hear some mini-1:1s with major insights from Steve Wilson , Chief Strategy Officer of QCode Media , Shaleen Desai , SVP of Adult Series for Warner Brothers Animation and their Blue Ribbon Content podcast division, Juleyka Lantigua-Williams (yes, from my “bonus episode,”) of Lantigua-Williams & Co., and Glynn Washington , Host/Executive Producer of Snap Judgment Studios. There’s good news/bad news: This conference streams free on July 14, 2021 . If you missed the full four hour event you’ll want to join NATPE and to play that – and their myriad other conference about the content business, on demand. The good news is that at least you can hear some of THIS panel right here. The bad news? The audio is lifted right off of the conference recording. So some of the quality of the sound might not be perfect, but the quality of the content is excellent. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-476" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/two-way-with-E.B.-300x125.jpg"
Bonus · Fri, July 02, 2021
On ContentCast and Lantigua-Williams Redux!
It’s been a busy couple of months for me in podcasting… so I didn’t get to podcasting! Here’s what I mean: This is a BONUS episode…actually a republication of Epi 12 featuring my interview with Juleyka Lantigua-Williams from exactly one year ago. She is a force to be reckoned with, a holder of two masters and embracer of two kids and a proud publisher of a show with 1 million downloads now. Yup, “ Latina to Latina ” just crossed the million listen mark this week. But there’s more you can hear in my interview with her as part of CONTENTCAST next week! Whaat? Well, I’ve been busy with podcasting…and TV…in producing the first-ever conference about the intersection of those platforms as cross-over IP. That means a HECK of a lot of companies are turning popular podcasts into TV or film content and TV companies are expanding their shows into fan engagement podcasts. Trust me, it’s all the rage. Want to hear it from the experts? Then register for free and catch this huge conference created by NATPE , the global content trade association, on July 14th, 2021: https://natpe.com/contentcast . Just look at the SPEAKERS tab! See what I mean? From Kevin Pollak to Glynn Washington …the heads of SiriusXM to Tegna to iHeartMedia to Triton Digital to…well, you get the picture. Did I mention I also corralled my friend Amy Hill into hosting?(And yes, you heard us chat around a year ago on my other podcast, “It’s Quite A Living!” Keep your friends close….) So, that’s why this is Epi 12 REDUX. What Juleyka had to say a year ago is still important and appropriate today…only the numbers have changed. (But there are also twice as many podcasts published now as there were then! Yup, we also have Edison Research and Nielsen sharing info at ContentCast. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-472" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/panel-recording-marketing-300x151.jpg" alt="" width="619" height="312" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/panel-recording-marketing-300x151.jpg 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/panel-recording-marketing-1024x517.jpg 1024w, https://insiderinterviews.
S1 E32 · Thu, June 17, 2021
Having Sway - Agency CEO Danielle Wiley on Influencer Marketing
In 2020, Danielle Wiley was included in the revered “Top 50” list by Talking Influence. And the agency she founded, Sway Group was selected by Chief Marketer as one of just three influencer agencies of the “ 2020 Chief Marketer 200 ”. So it’s a safe bet that she has something to say about #influencermarketing. And that’s what she did, in Epi 32 of Insider Interviews. I’d had the chance to experience Wiley’s thoughts last year when she contributed to The Continuum, a publication about brand + demand marketing, which I’m privileged to edit. In that article she explained how to look at the KPIs of influencer marketing a little bit differently, and the varied ways to determine impact and engagement. We touched on that in this conversation, but a 30-minute conversation gives you a chance to understand much more — not just about this food writer turned marketer, but things like how cause-marketing is another essential ingredient in influencing consumers. And these days, Sway has evolved to embrace that (and she shared case study examples) as well as digital advertising, both programmatic and paid social, and built what was a natural extension: a content studio . One of my favorite discoveries about Wiley (aside from learning about our common roots working at Food Network in the early days!) was that she was a baker and a cheesemonger at one point. I believe that takes the cake for eclectic pasts among my podcast guests. Her culinary chops have served her well, though, as she can name several brands in or around the category as clients, including Igloo, Coleman, and Domino’s . If that didn’t get you hungry to hear more, here’s what else we discussed: Wiley’s evolution from a baker and blogger to early stage expert in social media to our common ground in marketing chefs like Emeril as “c-hunks”! Her observation of the power of engagement with popular bloggers — and the infusion of trust vs. the singular appeal of celebrity In its infancy influencers were treated more like journalists. Brands were just sending them product and expecting that they would get reviews out of it. That worked …for a short period of time. …Then they realized ‘if we’re just sending them a box of Mac & Cheese, we can’t have control over messaging…’. And we started paying them. How the transition from providing product to bloggers to hiring them necessitated greater trust and authenticity in the influencer, and the path to creative content was laid How Sway itself evolved away from the “Hollywood agent” business model to be able to scale and replicate requests — whether for moms of bedwetters or people who picnic with pizza How brands solve for the demand for conten
S1 E31 · Thu, June 03, 2021
Macmillian's Kathy Doyle on Leveraging Publishing with Podcasting
Kathy Doyle embodies the early bird that catches the worm. Early into her freshman year of college she aimed to give the commencement speech for her class in four years’ time. She got the honor — and forty-eight hours later was offered her first job in media. Then, as you’ll hear her describe in this episode , Doyle was part of the earliest team building out The Wall Street Journal Online (yes, I sing the dial up tones for her). Then, being an early riser, she started to listen to podcasts well before Serial was even a thing. And guess what? She was an early-stage employee on the podcast team of Macmillan Publishing. The Macmillan division of morphed out of a prescient move to team up with Grammar Gi rl podcast phenom Mignon Fogarty – and quickly evolved into the Quick and Dirty Tips Network of short form helpful content. (Perhaps it’s fitting that Doyle’s career was launched with a speech.) Now, with the addition of a narrative network, their podcasts garner millions of monthly listens – and recently also scored an inaugural Ambie Award for their stunning show, Driving The Green Book . Macmillan is the only one of the “big five” publishers with its own podcast network. As Doyle says, “It’s been our vision to serve our authors the best way possible. And audio emerging the way that it did certainly created an opportunity for us to use podcasting as best advantage whether that’s through an audio book excerpt or interviews or guest series…” In a media world where everyone is aiming to flow content cross platform it’s a surprising exclusive advantage. (As a matter of fact, we discuss the conference I’m producing for NATPE about the proliferation of TV brands leveraging podcasting, as well. Please register free to attend ContentCast on July 14 th !) While she provided many serious business takeaways, we also learned how one phone call, and frequent dog walking, helped lead to Doyle’s career success, and of the drama of “dial-up days” during early-stage internet jobs. And you won’t believe what’s got Doyle’s gobsmacked about podcasting these days (yes, I checked the spelling, Grammar Girl fans out there): the evolution of the host read ad. I know, I wasn’t expecting that answer either. But you’ll appreciate how she illustrates the issue with an example from a men’s underwear advertiser. In all seriousness, host read ads are a major topic in the business of podcasting as we balance the goal for perceived alignment with an influential personality with personalization enabled by co
S1 E30 · Thu, May 20, 2021
E.B. Moss is "Talking Business" (AND Content Marketing and Podcasting!)
For this quick but special episode of Insider Interviews I was in the guest seat! In highlights from my appearance on Ken Kraetzer’s show, “Talking Business” for CBSI, Ken interviewed ME to get my recommendations about how businesses can get in to the world of podcasting, best ways to leverage social media — and social audio — and why it’s key to create content across all platforms. You’ll understand in just a few minutes how it all comes together for the show I’m producing for trade association, NATPE — their first-ever conference on the intersection of TV and Podcasting! (I’m very proud of this project and working hard to create a chock-full of takeaways agenda for content creators, marketers and producers across both screens.) Ken also got a little bit of my life story — at least my career path, as well as a story about the good-news/bad-news of tech, when I recently confused a “Zoom friend” with an “IRL” friend! You can catch the FULL VIDEO of my interview with Ken on YouTube where we also discuss social audio and social media best practices! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6PU_IDU9iA&t=27s Here are some links to topics discussed: NATPE’s July 14th “ContentCast” Conference David Berkowitz’s Serial Marketers (Start with the newsletter. You’ll thank me.) Erica Keswin on Rituals (Of course I’m going to point you to my podcast episode with her!) Susan McPherson’s book, The Lost Art of Connecting And check out PodcastMovement (I’ll be doing a virtual preso at the August event on B2B podcasting, but read their daily newsletter for great scoop. If you found this helpful, or liked any of my Insider Interviews episodes, feel free to “buy me a coffee!”: https://buymeacoffee.com/mossappeal If I can help you connect YOUR podcast/tv/content dots, or just get started, please reach out to me at podcasts@mossappeal.com Please follow on: Twitter : @mossappeal @InsiderIntervws IG : <a href="https://www.inst
S1 E29 · Thu, April 22, 2021
Bryan Barletta and Ryan Rose: Succeeding as New Podcasting Entrepreneurs
Bryan Barletta of Sounds Profitable is known for being a guy that explains complicated podcasting ad-tech in a helpful, generous way. Ryan Rose of JoneKiri is an up-and-comer in the industry who has already made a mark by helping talent communicate across multiple platforms. Both started in podcasting. Both quit their day-jobs in podcasting mid-pandemic (!) to launch their own businesses. And both are succeeding wildly. In this conversation they discuss with host E.B. Moss everything from how advertisers can go beyond traditional podcast ad exposure and pricing, to the implications of a “cookie-less world” to the better mousetrap of content marketing cross screen*. These are smart young turks who share a lot of wisdom. We discuss: How Bryan went from McDonalds to History Major to a major force in the developer space before landing in podcasting…and starting Sounds Profitable Why this quote from his recent newsletter post sums up Bryan’s mission…and value: When buyers have a hard time translating tools, metrics, and services between advertising channels we get friction, and friction prohibits more buyers from choosing podcast advertising as a viable channel. But that friction can be soothed with education. How slowing down to focus on that education in the business can help speed up revenue Why Megaphone , Advertisecast and Podcorn got snapped up… And why HotPod and PodNews are read voraciously… The imperative for diverse podcasters and the effort to support them by, e.g., former Insider Interviews guest, Juleyka Lantigua-Williams Our “surprise mystery guest”, Ryan Rose makes his entrance and explains the what (and pronunciation!) of JoneKiri (hint: discipline and passion…) The opportunity for talent to help offer presence across podcasting + + +…all screens! Why a “cookie-less world” is not such a bad thing…especially in the podcasting world. (Guess who answered THAT one?!) Why Bryan thinks Ryan “fits into a category of people that I think are going to be the next and hottest things in the next two years in podcasting” and why Ryan thinks beyond the pre- or mid-roll, and in fact staked his current career on it The world beyond the CPM or CPA Why they think I’m great. (Kind of love that.) There’s a lot more. These are smart guys. You’ll want to listen. Again. And maybe again. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-418 alignright" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/b-ryans-screengrab-epi29-1-300x150.jpg" alt=""
S1 E28 · Thu, April 08, 2021
Sustainable Brands CEO, KoAnn: Helping Global Brands Thrive in the 21st Century
KoAnn Skrzyniarz has been making a strong case for building Sustainable Brands in global conversations with some of the world’s biggest advertisers. It’s all about the business value of environmental and social purpose. And the data is on her side. In time for Earth Month, or any time, in Epi 28 KoAnn (frequently known by just her first name) shares not just the “whys”, but some recent “hows”: how sustainability has moved the needle for leading brands and how to be resilient in a “VUCA” world. A what ? Listen; she’ll explain, and we also discuss: The impetus for creating Sustainable Brands – and if its mission has changed more than 15 years later? What kind of changes has she seen in the brand and media marketplace in terms of embracing brand purpose “Twenty years ago it was not recognized that companies that understood how to innovate for environmental and social benefit were going to be the companies that survived and thrived in the 21st century.” Is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a good description? (Hint: KoAnn explains why it’s more a “business opportunity” and why the ANA [Association of National Advertisers] uses he notion of ‘good growth’. ) How companies should integrate their brand marketers and strategists, the product and service positioning teams AND the sustainability/procurement/diversity teams Is our current focus on brand purpose just another trend? How does it compare to the green rush of the 2007 timeframe or rallying around Hurricane Katrina? Have companies evolved in their mission-driven work? The data supportive of sales driven by environmental and social value propositions; What kinds of brand transformation are happening — and at which companies? How have companies like Clorox and P&G navigated the road to sustainability? And what is a Brand Transformation Roadmap? How has Sustainable Brands itself pivoted during
S1 E27 · Thu, March 25, 2021
Robyn Streisand on adding DEI to the Marketing Mix - an Insider Interview
When Robyn Streisand went from the client side to her own marketing agency, The Mixx , the opportunity to certify as a woman-owned or LBGT-owned business did not exist. 25 years later, she has helped both brands as well as other agency owners to leverage DEI — Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — in media and marketing. Part of that help came about through her creation of Titanium Worldwide , billed as “the world’s first collective of certified-diverse independent agencies,” to help make DEI more easily “front and center” for clients. Given today’s times with its heightened sensibilities, she couldn’t have been a better move if she’d had a crystal ball. After all, marketing comes down to “ People … People Who Need People” to buy things… And embracing people of all stripes and varieties to drive business opportunities is what Streisand does flawlessly. For Episode 27 of Insider Interviews with E.B. Moss , hear what this marketing maven says about: The value of certifications — for business owners to the brands who are seeking diverse suppliers — from WBENC , which certifies businesses as woman-owned and operated, to NGLCC (the ‘ LBGT Chamber of Commerce’), to the NMSDC , which has the largest number of certified minority-run businesses; “Now I have a certificate that says I’m woman-owned or I’m gay owned and all of a sudden, it’s a new day. It gave us an opportunity to register our company in these portals that help diverse suppliers get found [by Fortune 1000 companies.]” How the rise in both consumer demand and procurement department mandates that purpose be built into marketing created a bit of a COVID silver lining for The Mixx and Titanium Examples of brands embracing DEI — and how the anniversary of Stonewall sparked the start of more and more inclusive marketing efforts around more and more groups How pressure from the streets is being matched by pressure from The Street — Wall Street! The added pressure to recognize the power of Gen Z which “is coming like a bat outta hell!” The essential need to communicate authentic brand purpose “The benchmarks of success around purpose “must be front and center on brand websites: ‘We see you. We appreciate you. We embra
S1 E26 · Thu, March 11, 2021
Heidi Zak, ThirdLove CEO: On Supporting Women with Brand Purpose
Heidi Zak has been in finance, in retail and in tech. Like most women, she’s also been in plenty of dressing rooms trying to find the right bra, leading her to build ThirdLove , one of the largest online bra and underwear companies in America. Close encounters with the NOT ThirdLove kind of shopping experiences, meaning the universal ick-factor of cold hands and awkward measurement moments with in-store underwear salespeople, were part of Zak’s a-ha moment. So, putting all of her professional and personal experience together, she created a brand that disrupted an entire industry — to the great relief of uncomfortable women everywhere. Her first-to-market service as a DTC bra retailer hit some, ah, curves, along the journey but Zak has been named everything from Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs to a Fortune “40 Under 40”, and more. Part of the accolades stem from how Zak has embraced not just brand marketing but brand purpose. Inclusivity at ThirdLove means being the only brand to offer more than 80 bra sizes, including their unique half cup sizing – and donating over $40 million worth of products to women in need. It has also helped evolve an old school industry previously defined by a narrow concept of beauty with a focus on inclusivity. “We didn’t want to look like any other bra brand which mostly photographed skinny, generally white women with small boobs and generally did it in a really sexy way. So, we set out to build something radically different from scratch…. Back then there were barely any plus size models.” Further iterating on inclusivity, ThirdLove launched a new initiative during COVID-challenged 2020: The TL Effect , to support entrepreneurial women of color. “…Brand purpose has to be authentic, true to who you are and what you stand for, and what you’re building. Otherwise it can fall flat, or a consumer sees through it.” While Zak and I commiserated about finding a proper fitting and comfortable bra I was a bit discomfited to discover that this rock star CEO/mom of two has managed to use her homebound pandemic time to also hyper-organize her home, when I haven’t even organized my sock drawer. In a conversation perfectly apropos Women’s History Month , hear how, in addition to organizing her home, this efficient CEO/co-founder has organized her company for success through adapting to the changes of the pandemic. Envy aside, we discussed: Her path from small town Main Street to Wall Street, Herald Square to Silicon Valley How an encounter with the founders of Lyft drove her to solve another consumer problem, one bra at a time “In 2012, if y
S1 E25 · Thu, February 25, 2021
RAB CEO Erica Farber on A Sound Strategy Using Radio
In interviewing the Radio Ad Bureau’s CEO, Erica Farber , my worlds collided: it’s a podcast, but about radio, the medium I grew up in and started my career in. Certainly radio IS about community, but it was still surprising to discover zero degrees of separation with Erica and two important people from my past: my dad and my first female boss, Joan Gerberding as well as a recent Insider Interviews guest and radio aficionado, Carl Fremont ! Erica and I took the conversation from the evolution of radio to the present, to how it’s defined today – audio? is digital radio still radio? – to its challenges, success stories, and current career opportunities. We discussed: What is radio today? It’s broadcasting, but Radio is also available on any platform: If you want to hear it on your smart speaker…If you’re sitting in front of your computer or in your automobile. It’s multi-platform and available in any form and full of diverse content. It is a companion. It is a trusted source of information, news and entertainment. It’s available 24 seven. And there’s no cost to access it. The ways everything is audio-focused today – with sound and voice ; The power of personalities; Why Theater of the Mind is still key to listener engagement/conversion; How radio served — and recovered from — the Pandemic; I’ve never been so proud to say I work in radio as I have since March 2020. No one knew what to do…But radio rose to the occasion and stations did what they do best: they put their arms around their communities, consoled listeners and brought some humor and information. …They said to businesses that were open, ‘let us help you communicate to the market your protocols’. How can we raise money to feed or clothe people, to help people keep their homes? We have example after example of retailers who said that if it wasn’t for local radio they would have lost their business. The role of the RAB as a nonprofit trade association; Overcoming the digital divide and big brand success stories; (Reference: P&G and Radio ) What makes good creative (Resources Referenced: The Radio Ranch and Wordsworth & Booth ) Radio research; (Resources Referenced: RAB Resear
Thu, February 11, 2021
CMO Kim Wijkstrom: Start with the Brand Story not Silver Bullets
Joakim (Kim) Wijkstrom, SVP / CMO of Vanda Pharmaceuticals , has learned to “Think Different” and have “Lending Done Human.” He has sent little, teeny Absolut bottle-shaped Christmas sweaters to readers of the New York Times , and leveraged Andy Warhol style pop op to promote schizophrenia drugs. A Swede who grew up in West Africa, Kim also opened the Latin America markets for two TBWA\Chiat\Day clients. If that sounds like the start of a good story, then that’s the point. Because for this marketer it always starts with the story, not the silver bullets. Kim has developed a “cultural curiosity” from both moving around and a liberal arts degree, which has been a big asset in his marketing career: “I think advertising lends itself naturally to someone who is interested in how we shape and creatively express our worldview, how we understand the things around us, how perceptions are shaped. So, I think it made sense for me to land there. But as it turns out, I’m half a humanist, half of something more analytical. Perhaps I was never going to be the next Leonardo…[but] you figure out the way to take whatever you’re equipped with and put it to use where it is best applied.” This attitude is also encompassed in his top performing article in The Continuum , the publication I edit about “brand and demand” marketing. In that, and in this follow-up conversation about the origins of his branding philosophy, Kim sticks with the story that brand always must start with the story! The delivery tactics — what he has called the silver bullets – are secondary. But when you’re talking to a storyteller you cover a lot of ground. We also discuss: How movies are an analogy for Kim’s point of view about storytelling first Why our obsession with technological solutions to everything don’t drive brand loyalty (“You can now have your car tell you that you’re low on milk because your smart refrigerator is coupled with your car, and so forth. But are you going to buy the refrigerator based on that? Do you think it’s a quality refrigerator?”) Why too much emphasis on bells and whistles and focus on demand or performance-driven marketing “offends” him (“Fundamentally, all marketing is for performance purposes… to grow your market share. You need to start with what is it you’re trying to say and why would it be compelling to people, as opposed to just being the method by which you can deliver the message.”) Why even DTC companies’ product is often the story… such as Warby Parker’s design How our obsession with metrics and attribution is not wrong but often misses the point entirely, focused on the ROI, as opposed to just “can you see if it’s working?” (“If people are talking about your TV spot or have a positive
S1 E23 · Thu, January 28, 2021
RPA's Joe Baratelli on Doing Good (Marketing) to Do Well
Thanks to Los Angeles-based agency RPA , “ We Are Farmers, buh bi dum dum dum dum dum ” has become a bit of a jingle earworm. Great awareness and brand recognition for the insurance company. Joe Baratelli, EVP and Chief Creative Officer of the agency that’s been his home for almost 35 years, walked me through that and other creative concepts and their business results. It starts, he suggests, with the mantra of the organization: People, Relationships and Results. (Note: You can also read a summary of this conversation in the new publication, The Continuum .) Now, in an era of ubiquitous focus on health, though, the AOR of Farmers and Honda wants to expand its portfolio to include more healthcare clientele. Joe also explained how RPA has started to accomplish that — and did well by doing good for UNICEF and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. It’s heartwarming work and their pillars of focusing on people and relationships definitely shine through. Sample of UNICEF #VaccinesWork art If you’re in advertising or #marketing, this is one to save as a download. Joe and I talk about: How respecting your co-workers AND the audience for the campaigns yields results How they applied that to the UNICEF #VaccinesWork campaign and leveraged our inclination to protect our kids from danger to drive inoculations that protect them from dangers we can’t see. Brilliant! The elements that went into a worldwide campaign and its efficacy in changing minds How marketing #vaccines is similar to…or different from… marketing other clients like Apartments.com, Honda, or Farmers, for example. How DID they evolve their Farmers campaign as times have changed over 10 years on the account? What behavioral scientists can tell you about human nature…to inform creative campaigns How pro bono work, such as for PBTF and the stunning collection of compelling animations they did to ease kids into understanding their diagnosis led to a healthy set of new clients… Oh, and yes, I managed to sing the Farmers jingle. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-324" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/screenshot-E.B.-joe-300x166.jpg" alt="" width="373" height="206" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/screenshot-E.B.-joe-300x166.jpg 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploa
S1 E22 · Thu, January 07, 2021
CMO Arra Yerganian on Standing Up for Better Healthcare Marketing
Arra Yerganian thinks healthcare has always been a little upside down, controlled by physicians instead of the the patients. Ya think? But I misspeak – at least while speaking with Yerganian: he actually banned the word “patients” when he was CMO at both Sutter Health and One Medical. He explained that the word comes from Latin for “‘a place of suffering’ and that should be a temporary state at best.” Instead, he said, “We used the person’s name, so it wasn’t a dehumanizing experience to come into the doctor’s office.” I liked this guy immediately. But there’s more to marketing healthcare than nomenclature. Yerganian is on a mission to raise awareness of the biggest issues impacting health for all of us: our Social Determinants of Health — or SDOH. Basically, if my zip code is wealthier than yours the overall population is likely healthier. I likely am more informed about and have better access to healthier foods or fitness facilities, I might have access to more parks for fresh air, and of course the income to afford anything from childcare to catch up on sleep and even infant mortality rates and so on. So how can we democratize health? For Yerganian, it’s awareness, it’s education, it’s communication. He also notes that, apropos our recent civic dis-ease and disease, “beyond the pandemic, the great challenge that we’ll have is the behavioral health crisis that’s affecting our country.” He shares the details of best practices and how to get on a healthier collective path overall in this Episode 22 of Insider Interviews. (Hint: stand up more for healthy behavior in every sense of the meaning.) NOTE: I’m proud to be Editor in Chief of The Continuum , about awareness and performance marketing. In Issue 2 posting in late January you can also read this interview along with the POVs and suggestions from other notables in the health and wellness marketing space. But, dear listeners, you get the advance insights here when you catch the full conversation with Arra Yerganian. He and I discuss: <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-315" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Untitled.jpg" alt="" width="798" height="345" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Untitled.jpg 2546w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Untitled-300x130.jpg 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Untitled-1024x443.jpg 1024w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Untitled-768x332.jpg 768w, https://insi
Thu, December 17, 2020
JibJab’s CEO on Strong Brands and Floppy Jaws
For Episode 21 I spoke with someone who’s been an animated head more times than he can probably count: Paul Hanges is CEO of JibJab , which is famous for its personalized e-cards and satire animations that lets your head be the star! If you haven’t heard of JibJab you may have had YOUR head in the sand; they’re the OG of digital branded content. It was born in 1999 to brothers Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, perhaps best recalled from their 2004 glory days of being featured on everything from The Tonight Show to ABC News for then viral political satire, “This Land.” Hanges, who was promoted from COO 18 months ago, says they’re proud of being dubbed the “original online cockroach” for their longevity and survival of dot-com and economy busts. In our conversation he explains why JibJab is still hot more than 20 years since its inception. They’re even having something of a renaissance with the resurrection of their trademark Year in Review video after a six-year pause. (But how could you NOT do a recap of a year like 2020? For Chief Creative Officer Mauro Gatti and lyricist Scott Emmons it probably almost wrote itself! And I’m proud to offer my big head/floppy jaw cut here for your amusement by way of example!) Hanges also explains the appeal of low-tech animation and their trademark “big heads and floppy jaws,” how they survive as a subscription model and why they walk away from brand dollars if not aligned with their mission – “to make billions of people happy by allowing them to be funny, wherever they’re having that conversation.” Here are the highlights – but do hear all Hanges has to say in this very “animated” conversation: How it all started – yes in the proverbial garage Why, in a world of “deep fakes and augmentation” the appeal of JibJab is the personalization and NOT to replace reality. “We want to provide utility to help people say happy birthday or anniversary or other big moments.” How personal micro networks add up to eyeballs at scale – and 1.3 million paying subscribers; How they’ll leverage the rights to hits like “<a href="https://www.jibjab.com/search?term=old%20to
Bonus · Thu, November 26, 2020
Bonus: Shelly Palmer, Erica Keswin, Claude Silver on Creating Connections
Shelly Palmer: It was fascinating to me to see the speed with which people were willing to adopt bad lighting, accept it, bad camera, angles, bad makeup hair, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. Everybody’s fine with it. And I think it’s fantastic because the most important thing is that we all get together. Erica Keswin: From a brand perspective, how are you going to be remembered during this time in terms of what you did, what you said, what you supported and how you brought your human to work? Claude Silver: Let’s not deny the fact that you and I are talking through a screen rather than in person and call it what it is, but also communicate trust, empathy and vulnerability. Those are just some of the takeaways from three past episodes of Insider Interviews and as a special little bonus edition for Thanksgiving I am sharing back some of these words of wisdom from Shelly Palmer , Erica Keswin , and Claude Silver , who each happened to talk about how we can create connection and how that helps brands and employees thrive. Especially in tough times like this pandemic. Highlights of the highlights: Palmer: “People are quickly adapting to and evolving into good citizens in video chat. It’s fantastic. …And the other thing I love about what’s happening right now is formality has gone out the window. …They’ve been willing, accepting of technical glitches that you would never have accepted before. It really reminds me dramatically reminds me of the change in video grammar in 1980, oddly enough. …And I think what is most important thing is that we all get together; that we figure out how to be social animals in a time when, when coronaviru
S1 E20 · Thu, October 22, 2020
IAB CEO David Cohen on the Pulse of Digital Marketing
When David Cohen joined the IAB as President, the US was two weeks into stay-at-home mandates. While that may have curtailed in-person conferences the industry association is known for, it upped the focus on all things digital. Not long after, the ante was also upped for Cohen personally when he was named CEO following the 14 year run of Randall Rothenberg. Pressure? Not to hear Cohen, who has helmed major agency divisions and had $20B in media spending under his purview during his days at MAGNA and UM. But pandemic-influenced strategy changes? Definitely. In support of its mission to “empower the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy” – let alone during a COVID economy — Cohen has “brought an unprecedented number of industry captains into their leadership councils and transformed the timeliness of their strategic initiatives.” Those words from Rothenberg’s commendation of Cohen on his promotion sparked a song from me. Of course. No one is safe. But that didn’t curtail a compelling conversation about more serious matters, such as Cohen telling me about the advantages that came with adapting to the digital world as early as the 90’s and how he – and the IAB overall – are continuing to innovate with today’s current technologies for marketers. I also put Cohen in the same hot seat he put recent panelists in when moderating a Reach Conference talk himself, asking what he would most like to see fixed in our current digital eco-sphere. Cohen moderating Reach Conference panel We also discuss: Cohen’s A-ha! Moment – from the Yellow Pages! The lessons he learned after joining the IAB family that every marketing agency should know “Pulse studies” on changes in consumer consumption trends to media buyers/seller polls The IAB’s Brand Disruption Summit How to navigate through your Brand and D
S1 E19 · Thu, October 08, 2020
VAB CEO Sean Cunningham on Marketing Premium Video
Sean Cunningham is the son of a radio personality and the husband of grammarian. That may be why he expresses himself so fluidly and works hard to offer clear explanations about the video landscape at the same time. Those personal aspects combined with deep professional experience in the ad industry and as a strategic media advisor help him helm the VAB, the source for insights-driven research and thought leadership about premium video. As its president and CEO , Sean is laser-focused on maximizing outcomes and championing the medium as a must-have for building high-value brands and driving growth. It’s not easy in our changing environment, but the mantra at the organization is to simplify what is a very complex ecosystem and offer insights that help all those in the business of video to thrive. They’ve kept up a steady pace of conferences and reports even during trying times, even as consumers have made a steady diet of video during these at-home days. In Episode 19 of Insider Interviews , Sean tells host E.B. Moss about the definition and best practices around marketing with premium video (spoiler alert: the VAB defines it as multi-screen content that’s professionally produced programming in any form — linear, tablet, laptop, mobile, etc.). Sean and E.B. also discuss: Our radio dads!…and what happens around Sean’s dinner table… The lessons he learned on the agency side that all media sellers should know The role of media in building your brand during the COVID-19 pandemic The power of including authentic messaging around diversity & inclusion VAB and IAB – important bedfellows The changes in consumer habits that marketers need to consider How to put your best foot forward to advance a career in this industry. Resources Mentioned: thevab.com IAB Social Media Links: Twitter – VAB Sean Cunningham LinkedIn <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-273 alignleft" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/E.B.-sean-recording-300x122.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="325" srcset="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/E.B.-sean-recording-300x122.jpg 300w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/E.B.-sean-recording-1024x415.jpg 1024w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/E.B.-sean-recording-768x311.jpg 768w, https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/up
S1 E18 · Thu, September 24, 2020
The Scoop on Healthcare Marketing with PHM's president - Andrea Palmer
Andrea Palmer, now President of Publicis Health Media (PHM ) has wanted to be in Healthcare Marketing since her college days despite the field not always getting credit for being dynamic or embracing creativity. With PHM’s reputation for having their “finger on the pulse” (sorry), she’s proven those perceptions wrong and inspired many to follow or stick to the healthcare marketing path. In Episode 18 of Insider Interviews , in which I perhaps sing again (umm, twice, I’m just sayin’) Palmer clearly demonstrates just how creative and important messaging around healthcare can and should be. It’s certainly an area that’s very top of mind with us all these days and Palmer makes it digestible. You’ll pick up on why she rose through the ranks quickly at PHM — the strategic media planning and buying agency within PHCG, and the only global media agency solely dedicated to the health and wellness space. This industry trailblazer of nearly 20 years shares what’s currently happening in the healthcare media space, along with some interesting projections from PHM’s prescient “Disruptors List.” Get the insider scoop on what inspiring innovations emerged from the “Shark Tank”-type element of their industry-convening Health Front, and what we should be concerned about. Palmer is determined to ensure the right information is getting out there and helped drive home PHM’s mission to equip brands AND people with the tools and communications they need to make healthy decisions. We learn why it’s important to create content with conscience and why brands need to listen to other voices than their own. What we talked about: What’s happening in healthcare marketing</l
S1 E17 · Thu, September 10, 2020
Frito-Lay SVP Marissa Solis on Pivoting Big Brands
Marissa Solis was about six months in to a big new role at one of the biggest snack companies in the world when one of the world’s biggest crisis hit. That’s not hyperbole. As the new head of all marketing initiatives, media, sports, and partnerships for the core brands of Frito-Lay North America , including Doritos, Cheetos, Tostitos, and dips, it was definitely not hyperbole. That was Marissa’s new reality and she had to help smoothly and quickly do the equivalent of turning a battleship. But this dynamo had previously been tapped to lead the creation of a cross-functional Hispanic Business Unit at PepsiCo and had helped double beverage sales among U.S. Hispanic consumers in a short time, so she was the right woman to face down a pandemic. Her throughline — and recipe for success? It always has to start with the consumer. In Episode 17 Marissa explains her whirlwind responsibilities, the massive changes facing brands today, and how those Frito-Lay brands speak to specific audiences. We also talk about how COVID-19 has impacted campaigns from a Super Bowl sponsorship to a new direct to consumer approach. This is a great reminder for brands about the need to engage with consumers where they are. And right now, that is at home…with a pro-social commitment to community. For example, a big Cinco de Mayo campaign was planned and poised to roll out to retail…and instead quickly became Salsa for Cinco benefitting the Hispanic community — which has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Listen to the evolution of the #AmplifyBlackVoices campaign which included letting PepsiCo ad space be used instead by Black artists to showcase their work. There’s much to digest in this episode! So grab a bag of chips, click play, and enjoy! What also talked about: The importance of being agile in today’s marketing world Pivoting to the direct to consumer space The “Pantry Stock Phenomenon” The different personalities of Frito-Lay brands</s
S1 E16 · Thu, August 27, 2020
Tom Webster Has the Insider Scoop on Audio Research
Tom Webster, SVP of Edison Research, describes his job as “telling the stories of numbers.” He definitely make numbers come alive, and he’s a great storyteller overall. So you’re generally okay with Tom as your guest if you didn’t discuss podcast topics in advance. My industry acquaintance may be self-effacing, but he has a steel trap mind for the insights Edison regularly uncovers about all things audio, and he shared quite a few in our ad hoc but fascinating conversation for Insider Interviews . The custom market research company helmed by Larry Rosin may be best known as the sole providers of exit polling data during U.S. elections, but Tom is best known for his big research reveals on webinars (now Zoom presentations) or at conferences. Research junkies lean in to hear which platform has the biggest “share of ear” and how differently are consumers engaging with Alexa. Basically, he’s the go-to guy for sharing and interpreting our evolving involvement with radio, podcasting, voice…even IoT and our social media habits. As Tom describes it, “I make sure that the data that we collect on behalf of our clients is understood contextualized, put into action and valued, and that people come back for more.” Here’s what’s “more” about Tom and a topline of our discussion: Little known fact? Tom likes words as well as numbers. This former English Lit professor is also the principal author of some widely cited studies and the co-author of The Infinite Dial, America’s longest-running research series on digital media consumption, and The Mobile Commerce Revolution. In Episode 16, Tom shares some insider scoop from Edison’s audio research – and his considered POV on the current state of radio broadcasting and the growth of podcasting (including some tips that can help you grow your own podcast). [00:01 – 03:25] Opening Segment More about Tom Webster, his role in Edison Research and a moving from academia to a marketing career [03:26 – 17:20] The Insider Scoop on Audio Research About Edison Research’s broader offerings – like that exit poll and vote count data – and Tom’s area of focus: Audio More insider scoop from Tom WebsterVoice vs. Audio The growth of “smart speakers.” Where are we – if anywhere — with an FM chip for mobile phones? The general state of radio The uptake on podcasting (Joe Rogan
S1 E15 · Thu, August 13, 2020
NPR's Michael Smith on Marketing Digital to Diversity
Michael Smith joined National Public Radio as chief marketing officer at a time when the nation — and the world — had just entered crisis mode. In addition to adapting to his new job he’s needed to shift the company’s marketing message, outreach and the very stance the brand has taken over the past years. Part of that shift was motivated by more digital audio listening given more at-home workers during our pandemic. The parallel motivation was to amplify more multicultural voices and drive greater diversity within the halls of the company itself. In Episode 15, Michael shares his observations, his approach and some insider scoop from his winged-back chair in New Jersey. For example, he explains how different audiences respond to NPR’s content. Michael tells us that “among regular users when we look at people of color versus white listeners, their satisfaction levels are actually higher. So it’s an exciting thing in the sense that if we can get more people to know that we’re there and to get us into their consideration set, when they come, I think they’re going to love it.” Michael had primarily been focused on network video, developing strategies to reach younger and more diverse audiences on streaming platforms for Cooking Channel, and Food Network — where he and I worked together during the last big crisis for the country, 9/11! He has quickly learned to apply his know-how to linear radio and on demand audio. “When they start to know some of these shows where there are young, diverse hosts, a Sam Sanders or [they get to know the] hosts of Pop Culture Happy Hour , that creates so much more engagement than when they just see the three block letters, NPR.” The fast 35-minute discussion includes suggestions all brands can appreciate from a world-class marketer like Michael Smith. We talked about: The challenges most media companies are facing right now How to move from linear to on demand streaming digital platforms Balancing linear, podcasting and the NPR One app How has Coronavirus Daily evolved as a show…and the ongoing need for that content? <
S1 E14 · Fri, July 31, 2020
Podcast Prognostications with RAIN's Brad Hill
This episode is made up of two discussions about podcasting: A casual conversation with RAIN News president, Brad Hill around fun moments from the industry and projections for its success… and a more formal discussion — actually a few segments grabbed from RAIN’s Global Podcast Leadership Summit. Insider Interviews host, E.B. Moss was the moderator on a panel about podcast advertising, featuring Art19’s Lex Friedman and Targetspot’s Dave Sosson — and a few of their insights were captured here. You’ll learn how the summit had to pivot — and lessons for good zooming — as well as: the kinds of media categories that podcasters are selling against — think paid social — and how they compare; how host read ads are great, but how do they fit in to a targeted buy Interesting projections from the IAB and the new categories opening up for — and of — podcast advertisers SHOULD there be a “PAB” And what is “giide”? NOTE: Read RainNews.com to catch more takeaways from all the 8 sessions of the recent summit. And ask E.B. about using giide.fm for your media company!
S1 E13 · Thu, July 16, 2020
Lawrence M. Kimmel on Direct (Marketing) from the Heart
How do you circulate a message that even the Pope shares — and ultimately get 2 billion impressions across hundreds of countries around the world? Ask Lawrence M. Kimmel. His Rung-UP team created the #WeRemember campaign for World Jewish Congress. What marketing advice would this former Chairman of the Direct Marketing Association give politicians to help them appeal more to the public? And, what does Larry think are standout marketing tactics these days? I asked Larry all of that – and he answered specifically and thoughtfully in Epi 13 of Insider Interviews . He also shares what led him to create Rung-UP, a strategic marketing consultancy…and why he calls it the first “C2C” agency. You’ll immediately value Larry’s creative vision, branding and marketing expertise when you hear him discuss these elements as well: How the current pandemic is affecting global consumer behavior His personal experiences that impacted his evolution into a mission-driven clientele — and lessons from his father, Howard Kimmel, who put his lifeblood into building affordable housing Rung-UP’s work with the World Jewish Congress and how he came about the campaign #WeRemember Why a C2C approach is so important for those in the “C-Suite” His tips on branding and marketing a politician How advertising has changed and become more complicated throughout the years Why both traditional and digital channels are important in advertising Instagram stories or TikTok? And will he still embrace Facebook? Is there a place for traditional direct mail? His predictions for consumer behavior in the future The ripple effect of brands’ response to consumer buying habits His recommendations for companies who need to do better in bringing more of a multicultural team — and what young entrants to a career in media should focus on. Be informed and inspired by Larry Kimmel, who is living and working this reality: <
S1 E12 · Thu, July 02, 2020
On Creating the Podcast Company Lantigua Williams & Co
Get the “insider scoop” on how to dive in to creating a place in the podcasting world. The talented Juleyka Lantigua-Williams, Founder/CEO of Lantigua Williams & Co., an award-winning and Peabody-nominated digital media studio, walked us through her anxiety through her achievements. While she’s humble enough to just describe herself as someone who builds teams that create podcasts, those teams have turned out hit after hit in three short years. But Lantigua-Williams has the chops, from 20 years of experience as a writer, reporter, editor, syndicated columnist, book editor/scout, lecturer, and audio producer! The differentiator for this company? Its mission to support and amplify the creators and stories “from the margins” – which often means by and about women of color. These shows include Latina to Latina , which just passed 100 episodes, 70 Million , and Feeling My Flo . But Lantigua-Williams also does consulting and white-label production services for clients like Macmillan Podcasts ( Driving the Green Book) , the Phi Beta Kappa Society, WHYY, KQED, and Civil Beat. Another secret weapon for success is Juleyka’s authenticity and generosity. She’s set a tone of sharing — which you’ll hear candidly in this conversation and can read in her posts on the company site and elsewhere, like this very guide to “centering marginalized people in your podcast.” Listen and learn the ins and outs of producing a show and starting a company as Juleyka shares her knowledge and expertise including: How Juleyka embraces her BFF, named “Insomnia”, and sidekick, Perfectionism The path from intern to producer to company founder – as a “hyphenated American” The first step to starting any company Staying true to Juleyka’s vision for her company How some shows came about (umm, conversations around astronauts menstruating in space?) and upcoming projects Supporting women of color Getting to “scale” and getting revenue Follow on Social Media Twitter @JuleykaLantigua LinkedIn Twitter @LanWilCo <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-194" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/EPI12-Juleyk
S1 E11 · Thu, June 18, 2020
Agency CEO Carl Fremont On Brand and On Demand
Back in January I had the good fortune to get seated next to someone I’ve long admired — Carl Fremont — on our return flight from CES. If you’ve been to CES you know it’s non-stop learning about what’s trending. And my non-stop flight next to Carl made for even more learning as we recapped what we’d each just experienced, and then he was kind enough to share his own projections for the future of the media and advertising industry. I immediately understood why Quigley-Simpson had made Carl CEO just months before. So, for this episode of Insider Interviews I asked him to share a lot of those thoughts so more people outside of row 8 could benefit from his insights. Carl has held senior roles in the media/marketing industry for decades, and explained how his longest tenure – 16 years with Lester Wunderman – gave him skills that are still applicable today. Hear how the former Chief Digital Officer for MEC and Chief Media Officer for Digitas describes direct marketing and performance marketing, and the importance of brands optimizing every channel possible – including how to capitalize on eCommerce. Long an advocate of supporting women and diversity in the industry, Carl discusses how this transformative time is also a time to embrace change in order to evolve and benefit business. He shares a moving story of his own diverse background and how a discovery of his father’s past dovetails with his own unique hobby tied to vintage radios. We are all fortunate that Carl loves sharing knowledge, and listeners will benefit from priceless marketing and advertising advice. And yes, I found an opportunity or two to sing to him…. Please listen – and share – Carl Fremont’s thoughts on advertising trends, common brand pitfalls and diversity including: Is “direct marketing” different from DTC? How the pandemic accelerated the emergence of alternative channels for businesses Creating a harmonious consumer experience What you can do to speed up purchasing path Authenticity: How to build it and what it truly means Mistakes brands make and how you can avoid them The pros and cons of third-party eCommerce platforms Considerations for building your own eCommerce platform The holistic approach to promoting your brand What omnichannel really means Influencers: Does scale matter here? Diverse creative staff to reflect diverse consumers How mentoring benefits companies – and oneself. Social Media Links: Linkedin @carlfremont Quigley-Simpson Twitter @Quigley_
Bonus · Thu, June 11, 2020
A Little Bonus News from E.B.
Normally I come out with a new episode of “Insider Interviews” every Thursday, but did you know that I also have another podcast? It’s sort of my personal passion project and it’s called “ It’s Quite a Living “, and it’s with “my friends in high places”. They’re really casual conversations about some high profile people who happen to be my friends. Now, that one comes out every other Tuesday . So I’ve decided to make “Insider Interviews” — the B2B one speaking with those in media marketing and advertising — come out every other Thursday…at least through the summer . Of course, if an eager sponsor* wants me to produce more frequently bring it on! Otherwise, you’ll hear Episode 11 NEXT Thursday. Frankly, it’s been a LOT to create, host and post two podcasts a week, even though I love it — especially during our current times, and especially since I seem to be developing a reputation for singing to my guests. Listeners understand that…. But do stay subscribed because you won’t want to miss the CEO of Quigley Simpson, Carl Fremont , who will be my very interesting next guest! And now you have some time in between to catch up on the past 10 episodes with amazing folks like Minjae Ormes of Visible, Claude Silver of Vayner Media, Sree Sreenivasan (don’t miss his #NYTimesReadalong on Sundays!), Rachael Henke of Dell Technologies, and guests from NYI , Tidal Wave Productio
S1 E10 · Thu, June 04, 2020
CMO Minjae Ormes - Making a Visible Difference
My work is creating content that drives change. Mostly for businesses. But I have always shared my perspective through content: journalism, blogs, podcasts — even just journaling. I had to balance the “best practices” of regularity in my podcast publishing schedule, with bigger things in mind. The crisis in America. I only had Tuesday available to record for this week, which was #BlackOutTuesday. And, on top of that, today – the Thursday I publish – is also the memorial for a martyr to racism, George Floyd . If you – as most listeners to this podcast – work in media, marketing or advertising, chances are you know of Minjae Ormes. Most recently global head of partnerships for YouTube, and for the past couple of years chief marketing officer of disruptive phone service from Verizon, Visible . She personally has been visible for her innovative, and appropriately “disruptive” approaches to marketing the new service, but more recently she’s been seen in various trades and on panels describing how they’ve embraced broadcast TV campaigns for the first time. That said, Minjae is also widely respected as a mentor to women in business, and a role model as leader. E.B. and Minjae Ormes after our first interview in 2019 Her thoughtful comments – both in this interview as well as in sharing more of her personal journey the first time I interviewed her in March o
S1 E9 · Thu, May 28, 2020
The Scoop from Sree On Giving Away Good Content
As we crave connection during these isolating times, Sree Sreenivasan has stepped up to bring people around the world together, sometimes several times a day. While almost 80 straight days in a row of recording his Global COVID-19 show drove his family to furlough him from his own home during livestreaming hours, this social and digital media expert, known by many as “@Sree”, has an expanded family of connections that faithfully gather round for a dose of positivity. And every Sunday, they tune-in again for his New York Times “readalong,” now five years running, with his own scintillating and scholarly guests perusing the paper and op-eds alongside him. So, that’s 80 days in a row and literally twice on Sunday. Did I mention his 21 years of conducting Social Media Weekend gatherings to educate on the latest tools and tactics? How about his frequent appearances on radio, or CNBC as a tech-expert? Hear why this the former chief digital officer for The Metropolitan Museum of Art is now focused on the art of generous content both altruistically and, candidly, as a business development vehicle for his digital marketing and virtual event business . Less generous, perhaps, in his opinion of social ISSUES, Sree’s stories – from adjusting to new countries and his quirky love of comic strip Calvin and Hobbes to how he adopted new communication tactics to connect people through every crisis of the past two decades – are equally passionate. The throughline is also his ardent belief in journalistic integrity, veracity and humanism. We joke about how his livestreams and social sharing are the perfect outlet for a man who likes to talk, but with Sree, people want to listen. He’s learned the art of that, too. Listen to the inaugural Marshall Loeb visiting professor at Stonybrook University, and former Columbia University journalism professor, Sree Sreenivasan , and you’ll hear why. We also discuss: His humble and sometimes humiliating path to acculturating to America The evolution and promise of his Global COVID-19 Show How reading the New York Times out loud on Facebook Live become bigger than he could have imagined How he competes with – or defers to his wife, Roopa How that love for Calvin and Hobbes has played a role in his life
S1 E8 · Thu, May 21, 2020
The Scoop on the Comic Book Business, with Darren G. Davis
The world of comic books and graphic novels is serious fun. Meaning, both serious and fun. From a serious shift in the revenue model as paper product has gone digital and the edutainment factor of non-fiction hand-drawn histories, to the wildly wicked fantasies spawned by Barbarella type heroines to fictionalized lives of heroes among us. Darren G. Davis, president of one of the leading producers of both the serious and the fun books, TidalWave Productions , made a spontaneous appearance for Episode 8 of Insider Interviews with E.B. Moss – who was actually his former boss at the start of his career in entertainment, and now counts herself as a friend to the seriously funny founder! In an office surrounded by framed super heroes, acquired during his days at DC Comics, and signed comic book covers from his biographical spins on everyone from Hillary Clinton to Barbara Walters, Davis both reminisced about our days at E! and his path forward from there, dished the dirt, and shared breaking news of stranger than fiction comics to come. Hint: Thought you’d heard the last of Stormy Daniels?…. Davis described the evolution of some of the iconic titles he’s created or developed over the past 20 years, including the top-selling “10th Muse” for Image Comics, and the niche he carved out in the fiction world via successful collaborations with iconic larger than life real characters ranging from William Shatner (Star Trek) and Adam West (Batman), to Vincent Price, William Nolan (Logan’s Run), Roger Corman, and now even the infamous Tiger King! Listen for some of these moments, but it’s a breezy 35-minutes and you’ll want to hear all the fairly unfiltered anecdotes of this side of the content business: 03:45 Leveragin
S1 E7 · Thu, May 14, 2020
VaynerMedia's Claude Silver on Being Heart at Work
Phrases with the word “heart” in them are too many to count; it’s our most treasured reference as it aligns with love, soul, happiness…basically anything positive (unless tied to “attack”.) But tie it to “Silver” and you have a whole added meaning for positivity, because then you’re talking about Claude Silver , Chief Heart Officer of VaynerMedia, a full service digital agency “built for the now.” It’s a fairly unique title, but trust media trend-shaper Gary Vaynerchuk (AKA Gary Vee ) to assign that role to his “number two” person. And so, I couldn’t help but bookend my podcast interview with Silver with a serenade, because her actual job is to encourage “courageous conversations” to ensure the whole company works towards the goals of empathy, heart, speed, hustle, and winning. Silver’s background in positive psychology and leadership positions in strategy at leading ad agencies in the US and UK make her uniquely qualified to inspire healthy attitudes at work, among all people, and encourage transparency. With that mindset, I braved a tune or two, but in between asked some serious questions. Here are the time codes and topics we covered, but I encourage you to hear all the parts in between, because, as the song goes, one is silver and the other’s gold: 5:50: Silver describes a day in her life as the person in charge of “people and experience” 7:20: The difference between classic “HR” and the VaynerMedia approach 10:30: How to “scale culture” 13:00: The VaynerMedia difference versus other agency holding companies 17:00: What VaynerMedia looks for in candidates 19:00: Ageism – at Vayner? In the industry overall? 21:30: Career Pivots 25:35: Silver’s suggestions for brands in a COVID-19 world – and beyond 31:30: Silver’s (s)heroes and thoughts on leadership 35:10: Personal thoughts on parenting today And, you might want to fast-forward starting at 36:30, because that’s where I sing to Silver again….
S1 E6 · Wed, May 06, 2020
Global Branding Meets Customer-Focused Creative
Rachael Henke’s short title is just “brand” at Dell Technologies . Her formal title is long, but it’s a big job, for a big company: Director of Global Brand Advertising Content and Customer Engagement Storytelling. That means, per Henke, “everything we do is to elevate the brand.” While most everyone has heard of “Dell,” her job is to ensure everyone knows the larger entity – created from the merger with EMC some three years ago — is actually “Dell Technologies” and that it’s gone from primarily computers to being “an end to end essential technology partner”. While computers are, as Henke says, “still a very critical part of our business, we really want to focus [on the] B2B space, showing how we’re driving innovation and emerging technologies across areas like cloud storage and AI.” For Henke, that means that while being part of the brand team for a 150,000-person global company is impressive enough, she’s also, necessarily, a woman who can use “hyperconverged infrastructure solutions” in a sentence. But it’s still a human-oriented brand, evidenced from top-down actions like Michael Dell donating $100 million dollars to pro social initiatives during our current COVID-19 crisis. So, in Episode 6 of Insider Interviews , Henke explains how her team approaches brand storytelling – turning complicated offerings into human-oriented content. Here’s a topline of our conversation, edited for clarity: “Every day is different”: Henke’s days involve “conversations about what products are going to launch… and how that will turn into the vision where we’re going… a lot of conversations around messaging and with customers to understand how our technology gets used.” Applying Th ose Conversations To Content: Like TV spots that take the figurative (“is your business going in circles?”) and make it literal, like spokesperson/actor Jeffrey Wright going in circles and upstairs and coming back to the starting point, their B2B brand campaigns aim to showcase how they deliver on solutions, what’s innovative, “and connecting that solution to work f
S1 E5 · Wed, April 29, 2020
The Scoop on Why and How to Use B2B Podcasts
Those tracking the uptake of podcasting, such as Triton, Edison Research and Podtrac , have encouraged advertisers to embrace the medium, especially since it hit critical mass of 100 million+ monthly listeners! But what about brands who want their OWN podcast for B2B purposes? In 15 minutes I’ll walk you through the WHY and the HOW of creating a B2B podcast for your company. And if you’re still overwhelmed let me know and we’ll handle it all for you! Here’s the scoop and the Episode 5 topline: Why a B2B podcast? You have to be everywhere your customer may be, including in their ears, even if you’re speaking to a vendor, an agency or a potential new hire. “Picture a company’s most savvy seller whispering about a value proposition in the prospect’s ear”! Humanize an executive to drive trust and transparency Leverage the best platform for explanatory journalism! Attract employees by painting an audio picture of the company environment, like Xandr did with their Unsponsored Content show, or provide a thought-provoking platform to spotlight divisions or clients, such as the Floor 9 podcast from IPG Media Lab does! Caveats: Expectations should be managed: this is a longtail marketing tactic with a limited pool of listeners Start with the strategy! WHO do you want to have listen? WHY? WHAT with your content me? As Gimlet Managing Director, Matt Lieber, was cited , “What makes for a successful branded podcast are a lot of the things that make for a successful podcast period. If a brand wants to make a commercial that’s 20 minutes long, it will fail.” The What: Most B2B podcasts are interview style, except for those companies who may have a high-profile personality at the helm. (Think Gary Vee of Vayner Media!) What informative content is endemic to your brand’s expertise? (Example: ReWork podcast on productivity, from SaaS platform Basecamp). <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-127" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/EB-Moss-Amanda-Goetz-Tori-Riess-Nicole-Vellucci-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="407" height="4
S1 E4 · Wed, April 22, 2020
The Scoop on TV Advertising from a Data/Research Exec's POV
As VP of data and research for NYI – the ad sales interconnect in the country’s biggest DMA, Betsy Rella likes finding the stories in the numbers – the takeaways she extrapolates from surveys and data sets that NYI can use to grow the advertising business. And, at a time when the world, literally, is home and when those numbers say that New Yorkers are consuming more video than ever, that information is key. Since everyone in media/marketing is also playing catch up on their knowledge base and business insights, I asked Rella for a download on trends in consumption and a 101 on how media buys are planned and sold differently these days. Always wanted a solid definition of “Impression-Based Buying”? You got it. How that differs from “Holistic Media Planning”? Done. We also talked about the very definition of TV today, how media companies need to assess all the ways and places people are consuming video (and whatever they call TV), the rise of CTV (“connected TV”) and why Cuomo Prime Time is consistently topping the ratings along with all kinds of news programs. It’s actually a little beyond a “101”, so get the “201” on today’s shifts in media buying and planning from a data and research exec who has worked at ABC, Lifetime, MTV, Weather Channel, Ispos and TiVo! Listen to the full podcast, and please subscribe wherever you love to listen ( And speaking of RATINGS – a bunch of stars for Insider Interviews with E.B. Moss on Apple would be appreciated!) Key takeaways: On TV: “You could be watching on your TV set, you could be watching on your phone, you could be watching on your computer, you could be watching on your iPad. And Nielsen classifies different types of households: a home that is a cable home or an over
S1 E2 · Wed, April 08, 2020
The Scoop On Growing Brand and Work Relationships…Even From Home
Ironically, at a time when we cannot physically touch, adding a human touch is more essential than ever — especially at work, even while we WFH. I turned to Erica Keswin, a “workplace strategist,” bestselling author and advisor to major companies aiming to improve performance by improving relationships. There are plenty of tech stack suggestions for working from home , but once the software or the scanners are set up, how do we tackle the human side of remote work now and pivot in how we communicate? Zooming in on Workplace Strategies with Erica Keswin and E.B. Moss As a deeper dive to her recent webinar with The Female Quotient on some of the tenets of her last book, Bring Your Human to Work , Keswin shared more suggestions that companies can bank on. While her advice spans all industries, frankly everything a brand marketer does in today’s COVID-19 environment has to be run through the lens of humanity. The following time codes are points in the podcast of particular interest: (2:30) “The definition of being human means honoring relationships — with colleagues, your boss, the people that work for you, your customers.” (4:30) The impact of technology on our relationships – good and bad: “When ‘left to our own devices’ we’re not connecting”. (7:55) Why bringing your human to work helps employee attraction and customer retention (8:30) Why communicating a brand’s values has to “get off the walls and into the halls”; in other words, from a framed set of platitudes to a select
S1 E2 · Wed, April 01, 2020
The Scoop from Shelly Palmer on WFH Tech and Staying Connected
One of the smarter ideas I’ve had recently was to invite the even smarter Shelly Palmer to guest on this episode of the Insider Interviews podcast. I had an ulterior motive: I’d been challenged by my work-from-home (WFH) tech set up and he is the go-to guy for keeping us all on point. Palmer, of CNN, CNBC, Fox 5 NY contributor fame, advises companies on their “digital transformation” and was also a LinkedIn Top Voice in Technology. And I needed help. Our conversation went from scientific explanations to fun anecdotes about his own podcast on the Westwood One network, Think About This with Shelly Palmer and Ross Martin, to the topic of his most recent interactive online chat , hosted on his new tech-focused social network, PGX: what a post-Corona Virus society might look like. Palmer is not shy about airing strong opinions without much prompting. You’ll hear thoughts, recommendations and advice on: On Choosing One Tech Tool Over Another: (“In some cases, it’s just personal preference. In others it has to do technologically with where you are and what you’re trying to do.” He uses Zoom for meet-ups with 150 or so attendees and Webinar Jam for one-to-many.) On Adapting to Technology: (“People have been accepting of technical glitches that they never would have before… like when smartphones [drove] vertical video. It’s been fascinating to see how fast people are willing to adopt bad lighting, camera angles, and bad hair. It’s fantastic because the most important thing is that we figure out how to be social animals in a time when COVID-19 is forcing us to be less social.” On Using A Personal Tech Stack More Personally: ( “ If you’re working for a bigger corporation, they’ll likely dictate the VPN and office suite you’re going to use. [A good choice] for small collaborative companies is Google Suite and have Slack running to interact with clients without having to send email. But a lot of clients are using Microsoft Teams. But when you’re working totally by yourse
S1 E1 · Thu, March 19, 2020
The Scoop on Success in Radio and Podcasting - with Gary Krantz
With more media consumption projected during our current crisis — and radio and podcast hosts perceived as companions — I thought it was a fitting time to speak with someone who has spent an entire career in audio – from on-air in college to the C-Suite of major radio networks, to delivering multiplatform content aligned with high wattage personalities: Gary Krantz, chief executive officer of Krantz Media Group LLC (KMG). Proof positive? One of the last times I hung out with Gary was alongside classic rock legends like Alice Cooper, Jimmy Page and Brian May, in London. But I digress…. Conal Byrne of iHeart Podcast Network with Gary Krantz Krantz has taken entertainment companies and brands from conventional broadcast to digital business models and helped fuel the radio careers of such notables as Carson Daly, Ryan Seacrest and Rachel Maddow. In a conversation for Insider Interviews podcast, he explains how he leveraged his stick-to-itiveness to go from unpaid “gopher” to ultimately help run MJI Broadcasting (later acquired by iHeartMedia , where he became executive vice president of their Premiere division), on to president of Air America to chief digital media officer at Westwood One . We learn how his gut instincts led him to syndicate some of the biggest names and events on air and ultimately adding to the utopian landscape of podcasting, with the launch of half a dozen new podcasts, some in conjunction once again with iHeart, including The Fred Minnick Show and Politicon, hosted by Clay Aikens. You’ll want to listen to the whole conversation to get the inside scoop on radio from the 70s to today, and making moves in podcasting and syndication. Here are the pictures, as promised in the episode! <img width="225" height="300" src="https://insiderinterviews.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Brian-May-on-S
Bonus · Thu, March 05, 2020
TV Measurement Today: The Definition of Success from A+E Networks
These days, every video provider is looking to land ad dollars with a one-two punch of broad but targeted reach for brand awareness, matched with proof of performance — or business outcomes — via addressability or attribution . A+E Networks calls the combo “Precision + Performance.” In this bonus episode of Insider Interview s I thought it was important to get some terminology down for future episodes dealing with the business of television today. So, Ethan Heftman, senior vice president of Precision + Performance took me through the group’s approach to me and also discussed A+E’s first-to-market guarantees to advertisers of some select business outcomes. (The following overview of the conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.) I asked Heftman for specifics, starting with the way A+E defines attribution . “For us, it’s … tying a media exposure on A+E Networks to a specific business outcome,” he explained. “It’s going beyond simply the discussion of what type of media metric we delivered [like an “impression”] to what type of action or behavior that impression caused. For example, is it fueling a behavior at the top of the funnel — the awareness area — or the middle, the consideration area. Or, is it impacting the bottom of the funnel, a sale or specific outcome type?” A+E markets its Precision + Performance product as impacting outcomes in each of those three areas, versus just the expected top-of-funnel. Historically, “television hasn’t been properly credited with outcomes in the real action area: driving a web visit, driving a store visit, driving a specific sale,” Heftman said. Next, Heftman explained A+E’s view of precision and performance . “ Precision is our advanced audience targeting tools; that is, through the use of advanced data sets — whether it’s MRI, set-top-box data from an MVPD…, Axiom or Polk data, or first-party data that an advertiser provides us,” he explained. “ Performance are the tools that we use to discuss, find, and prove specific outcomes within that purchase funnel. The better job you do of identifying and finding those discreet audience segments, the better job you do of picking dayparts and programs that deliver against them, the better outcomes you will have.” Sort of like this: If I’m watching Married at First Sight on their Lifetime network — and I’m not saying I do…well maybe I do — A+E is willing to guarantee to the national retai
Trailer · Wed, March 04, 2020
Insider Interviews with E.B. Moss
I’m a radio brat. We hijacked the common military slang for those who moved around a lot. In our case it was my Dad getting hired and the next bigger radio market…and the next bigger radio market. So, being “raised in radio” explains a little about the origins of this podcast – interviewing those in the media, marketing, advertising and entertainment industry. Because after following in my dad’s footsteps to a radio career, I also found my own footing in television, publishing…and, yup, digital audio. But just for backstory, my fledgling radio career in local New Jersey stations DID lead to a decent career in doing voiceovers in San Francisco…and even landing the same agent as Casey Kasem in Hollywood! But that’s where it stopped…until I went behind the scenes, marketing radio, then television at E!, Lifetime and Food networks…and guess what? Then audio companies, too, like Westwood One and AdLarge. That led me I began writing about the media and marketing industry …and then as Managing Editor/Head of Content Strategy for Jack Myers’ MediaVillage most recently I began interviewing everyone from agency leaders like Sir Martin Sorrell and brand experts like Bozoma Saint John; from the chief marketing officers of SAP to Sam’s Club, the NFL to Hershey’s…. All of this has helped me gain a pretty good understanding of not just how to speak with executives in almost any area, but to really recognize that today, companies all have to be able to embrace audio AND television AND print AND social media to get their business message out there. So that’s what I’ll doing: using audio, and some long form show notes with lots of links to help you navigate information and interesting stories from thought leaders in all areas of the industry… with a little insight on who they are personally… and hopefully a little fun along the way. And, if you ever want to talk local radio from South Jersey to Southern California, let me know! If you have a suggested executive to profile, let me know! If you read that I’ll be interviewing someone (I’ll post via Twitter and other platforms), let me know what questions you want me to ask! And all I ask is that I you listen to this all new Insider Interviews podcast, with me, E.B. Moss, and subscribe, share and, most of all enjoy! E.B.
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