Confessions of a Marketer

<p>Allies in Action™, a new web forum created from a strategic partnership between <a href="https://aperturevc.docsend.com/view/2wcp9ie6fd87pwm3" target="_blank">Aperture VC</a> and <a href="http://www.impactroiglobal.com/" target="_blank">Impact ROI LLC</a>, held its inaugural event on July 8. The Zoom-based event featured a prestigious group of speakers from the venture capital, real estate, healthcare, management consulting and media/publishing industries. Read the full press release <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/aperture-vc-and-impact-roi-announce-strategic-partnership-launch-allies-in-actiontm-web-forum-on-racial-and-economic-equity-2020-07-21" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p><strong>July 8 Forum</strong></p><p>In the wake of the death of George Floyd, advocates for racial and economic equity have called for companies to take leadership. This means going beyond supportive press releases and new CSR programs, to the commitment for strong diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, measurable DEI personnel growth, supportive public policy advocacy, and strategic investment in new innovation models for the emerging “Multicultural Mainstream.”&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Speakers</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-rochlin-2095818/" target="_blank">Steve Rochlin</a>, CEO, IMPACT ROI</p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-greene-4a63553/" target="_blank">Bryan Greene</a>, Director of Fair Housing Policy at National Association of REALTORS®</p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackiecopelandcarsonbio/" target="_blank">Jacqueline Bouvier Copeland</a>, CEO, The WISE Fund</p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritseerumi/" target="_blank">Ritse Erumi</a>, Technology Fellow, Future of Work(ers), The Ford Foundation</p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=Melissa%20Potter&amp;origin=GLOBAL_SEARCH_HEADER" target="_blank">Melissa Potter</a>, Head of Social Impact and Communications, Odyssey Impact</p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamcrowder/" target="_blank">William Crowder</a>, Founder, Aperture Venture Capital</p>

On Episode 162, Marty McDonald is in to discuss digital marketing in the COVID-19 era and lots more. Marty is co-founder and CEO of Bad Rhino, and full-service social media marketing agency. He likes developing unique and customizable strategies for his clients. I wanted to get together with him to discuss his approach and also find out his point of view on marketing in the COVID-19 era.

Links of Interest

• Marty McDonald on LinkedIn
• Bad Rhino

On Episode 161, Travis Chambers is in for a discussion about Quantitative Creative. Travis runs Chamber.Media and says there’s a science behind creativity and content. We dig into that and also find out how he approaches the creative process—and he shares some advice for all of you.

Links of Interest

• Travis Chambers on LinkedIn
• Chamber.Media
• Made to Stick on Amazon
• Purple Cow on Wikipedia

On Episode 160, Naira Perez is in to discuss Instagram stories, her firm Spring Hill Digital--and lots more. We talked way back in the pre-COVID days, but the discussion is really valuable for all of us right now. I will say up front, that Instagram is not my specialty, so I learned a lot from Naira. We discuss how companies can use them to their advantage to get engagement, how she has used them with her clients, and other platforms that are getting her attention. Plus, we learn how she ended up in Portland, Oregon.

Links of Interest

• Naira Perez on LinkedIn
• SpringHill Digital

On Episode 159, we have a really important discussion with Ian David on ageism in advertising and marketing--and his collective called FEARLESS. Ian has worked with a variety of the biggest brands in the world as a copywriter and creative director. A couple of years ago, he found himself out of work and was sending out resumes everywhere--and got little response. He realized that it was because ad agencies are obsessed with youth. So, after some thought, he created FEARLESS--a network of freelance ad talent dedicated to helping ambitious clients achieve outrageous goals. On his website for FEARLESS, he says “Ad agencies are obsessed with youth. We’re obsessed with talent.” We have a chat about his background, the underpinnings of FEARLESS and ageless creativity, how he’s organizing FEARLESS, what success looks like, and also how he sees the need for big thinking increasing as we (hopefully) emerge from the COVID lockdown sometime soon. If you’re of a certain age--really, if you’re of any age--this is an important discussion.

Links of Interest

• Ian David on LinkedIn
• About Ian David
• FEARLESS
• How Agencies Are Addressing Ageism (AdWeek)

On Episode 158, Naomi Liu is in to discuss marketing operations. It’s hard for me to sum up our discussion. It’s really about so much more than marketing operations. We talk about her background, how she views marketing operations, how marketing operations interacts with the rest of marketing, the key skill sets for marketing ops, and balancing the right-brain and left-brain. In addition, and here’s where we really go beyond the subject, we learn about her journey as a woman in tech--and how she has battled imposter syndrome. Plus, we explore the idea of being a “boundary spanner”--and I think it’s clear Naomi is one. This was a wonderful discussion--and it was so great to catch up with a colleague from a decade ago.

Links of Interest

• Naomi Liu on LinkedIn
• EFI
• Imposter Syndrome (Psychology Today)
• Why Every Sales and Marketing Team Needs a “Boundary Spanner” (HBR)

On Episode 157, Iain Preston, chief client success officer for EMEA at Wunderman Thompson joins us. We talked as COVID was making headlines and had client success and modern marketing as the focus of the discussion. But we started off talking about the dot-com boom and bust of 20 years ago, how empathy is so important in this global health crisis. And we also talked about how your life outside of work is so important and we’re all human. Plus, we cover the needs of the modern marketer, how to consider the customer experience, collaboration inside of WPP--and of course his role in ensuring customer success. We close with a discussion about how Wunderman Thompson has been working with brands during the COVID-19 crisis.

Links of Interest

• Iain Preston on LinkedIn
• Wunderman Thompson Appoints Iain Preston as Chief Client Success Officer, EMEA (Little Black Book)
• Say hello to Iain Preston

On Episode 156, Larry Ludwig is to chat about affiliate marketing, plus the early days of the web and web development. Larry has had a long career at the forefront of technology, digital marketing, and online business. It all started when he went to work for an ad agency in 1994. He helped create some of the first websites for the likes of JPMorgan Chase, LensCrafters, Minolta, T. Rowe Price, IBM, and ING Bank. We have a brief chat about the early days of the web. In December 2009, Larry created the website Investor Junkie to help satisfy his own needs and the needs of others to find unbiased investment content. From scratch, he created the leading investing review and comparison site, generating revenue only from affiliate marketing. And that is the subject we dig into, along with a bit about SEO, building an audience, and conversions.

Links of Interest

• Larry Ludwig on LinkedIn
• Ludwig Media

On Episode 155, Dave Woodward of ClickFunnels is in to talk about Traffic Secrets and the book of the same name. Dave is chief revenue officer and a partner at ClickFunnels, a company that promises that you are “just a few simple clicks away from a beautifully-designed website marketing funnel.” I wanted to get to the bottom of that--and get a view into the book the head of ClickFunnels, Russell Brunson, wrote recently--Traffic Secrets. So Dave and I chatted a while back. You’ll get a view into Dave’s background, how ClickFunnels grew to $100 million in less than five years, a little about direct response advertising, and what is happening with ClickFunnels. This was recorded before COVID-19 had started to take over the world, but it’s still brimming with great thinking.

Links of Interest

• Dave Woodward on LinkedIn
• ClickFunnels
• The Book: Traffic Secrets

On Episode 154, Xenia Muntean is in to talk about her manifesto--important reading if you’re in the content business (aren’t we all in it?). We talked a while ago--way before COVID took over our lives, and that’s why it’s taken some time for me to get to this very valuable discussion. Xenia runs Planable--a social media collaboration and approval platform. And she has a new book, “The Manifesto on Content Marketing Teams,” which lays out how teams should work together in the new world of content marketing.

In our chat, we learn about Planable, the key points of the books, the biggest hurdles content teams face, and how marketing teams can connect content and social media marketing to the results of the business. Plus, we delve into process, technology vs. phone calls and face-to-face conversations (remember, this was pre-COVID), and we get her view on where marketing is headed.

Links of Interest

• Xenia Muntean on LinkedIn
• Planable
• The Manifesto on Content Marketing Teams