Marous Brothers doesn't market like most companies.

No complicated funnels. No massive ad budgets. No endless performance marketing experiments.

Instead, they've spent 46 years building one of the Midwest's most respected construction brands through reputation, relationships, storytelling, and yes, construction site signage.

In this episode of Marketing Moves, host Ashtyn Morris sits down with Joel Maas, Director of Marketing at Marous Brothers Construction, to discuss what it takes to market a company whose work shapes skylines, restores landmarks, and delivers billions of dollars in projects across the country. From iconic projects like Hotel Cleveland and Porsche Beachwood to the future of AI in construction, Joel shares how his team approaches marketing in an industry where trust is everything.

In this episode, you'll learn:

 → Why showcasing great work is often more powerful than creating marketing from scratch

 → How Marous Brothers grew from two brothers doing carpentry work to more than $3.5 billion in completed projects

 → Why signage remains one of the most effective marketing channels in construction

 → How AI is helping construction companies scale without sacrificing quality

 → The role storytelling plays in winning projects, attracting talent, and building credibility

 → How Marous Brothers approaches marketing across 16 different industries and audiences

 → Why recruitment has become one of the most important responsibilities of modern B2B marketers

 → How landmark projects become long-term marketing assets for a brand

Whether you're in construction, professional services, manufacturing, or any relationship-driven industry, this conversation offers a refreshing perspective on building a brand through trust, expertise, and long-term thinking instead of chasing the latest marketing trend.

Most companies don't need a full-time CMO. They need the right one, part of the time.

In this episode of Marketing Moves, host Ashtyn Morris (VividFront) sits down with Aurora Toth, Area Managing Partner & Fractional CMO at Chief Outsiders, one of the nation's leading on-demand executive growth firms to unpack what it actually takes to walk into a stuck company and walk out with a growth story.

In this episode, you'll learn:

→ Why the CMO seat has the shortest tenure in the C-suite, and what marketers can do about it

→ What "results, not consulting" actually looks like when you're inside a client's business

→ How the Growth Gears framework turns vague marketing budgets into measurable revenue

→ Why mid-market CEOs don't trust marketing, and how to change that conversation

→ What fractional executives do differently than traditional consultants or full-time hires

→ How to diagnose an underperforming brand before you ever touch the strategy

→ The biggest marketing mishap Aurora sees over and over (and it's embarrassingly fixable)

If you're a mid-market CEO, a marketer trying to earn a seat at the table, or someone curious about the fractional model, this episode is required listening.

Rob Reznick (Beacon) and Anees Pretorius (Bean AI) walked away from San Francisco to build referral infrastructure and AI-powered accounting software right here in the Midwest, and they're not looking back.

What happens when two founders, one building referral infrastructure, the other reimagining accounting with AI, both bet on Cleveland?

In this episode of Marketing Moves, host Ashtyn Morris (VividFront) sits down with Rob Reznick, Founder of Beacon, and Anees Pretorius, Co-Founder & CEO of Bean AI, two builders who walked away from the coasts to build something real in the Midwest.

In this episode, you'll learn:

→ How Beacon is turning your personal network into a revenue-generating machine

→ Why human referrals matter more, not less in the age of AI

→ How Bean AI is automating the workflows that bog down finance and accounting teams

→ What it actually takes to sell an AI product to risk-averse Midwest buyers

→ Why both founders made a deliberate bet on Cleveland, and what they think the city still needs

→ How to approach marketing when trust is your core currency

If you're a founder, marketer, or operator building in the Midwest, or anywhere people keep calling a flyover city this episode is required listening.

There's a med spa on every corner. So how does one brand rise above the noise, earn 1 million+ patients, and maintain a a near 5-star satisfaction rating across 15 locations, all while keeping clinical credibility intact?

In this episode of Marketing Moves, host Ashtyn Morris (VividFront) sits down with Ruth Barnum, VP of Marketing & Aesthetics, and Johanna Maas, Director of Marketing at Apex Skin, leaders of an all-women marketing team redefining what healthcare marketing looks like in 2026.

In this episode, you'll learn:

→ How to market a healthcare brand without sacrificing clinical trust

→ Why the line between a healthcare decision and a lifestyle decision is completely blurred in 2026

→ What happens when marketing outpaces clinic execution (and how to fix it)

→ How dual leadership between marketing and operations drives real growth

→ What it takes to scale a dermatology brand in one of the most competitive markets in the country

→ Why an all-women marketing team is changing the playbook for healthcare brands

If you're in healthcare marketing, aesthetics, or scaling a service brand in a saturated market, this episode is required listening.

What happens when a political science grad with a construction background gets handed the keys to a data center? You get one of Cleveland's most fascinating business stories.

In this episode of Marketing Moves, host Ashtyn Morris (VividFront) sits down with Kevin Goodman, Managing Director and Partner at Blue Bridge Networks, a Cleveland-based data center, managed IT, cloud computing, and cybersecurity company. Kevin shares how he went from battling cancer and losing his construction company to spending 21 years building Blue Bridge into a regional powerhouse, all without a traditional tech background.

In this episode, you'll learn:

→ How to market a highly complex technical business in plain human language

→ Why relationships and board service outperform cold outreach in B2B

→ What the rise of AI really means for cybersecurity (beyond the hype)

→ Why 95% of Blue Bridge's lost clients leave because of their OWN success (M&A)

→ How a non-technical founder can lead and grow a cutting-edge IT company

→ What "love and service" has to do with building a pipeline

Whether you're in B2B tech, professional services, or just trying to grow a business in a noisy market — Kevin's approach will challenge how you think about marketing, culture, and legacy.

Giovanna Knudsen didn't follow the playbook. She rewrote it.

After ditching a veterinary career in college, Giovanna bet on herself opening a boutique fitness studio in the middle of a pandemic with a signed lease and a world shutting down around her. Six years later, she's running two businesses, curating a 15,000 sq ft wellness hub with 12 women-owned businesses under one roof, and building one of the most community-driven fitness brands in Northeast Ohio.

In this episode, host Ashtyn Morris sits down with Giovanna to talk about:

— Why opening during COVID was the beginning, not the end

— How multimodality became her secret weapon against fitness trends and churn

— The community-first marketing strategy that turns members into lifelong brand advocates

— Why being "off the beaten path" actually made her easier to find

— How a referral system with non-expiring credits keeps members coming back on their terms

— What TikTok, local collabs, and rubber ducks hidden around the studio have to do with retention

— The moment reformer Pilates made her studio feel whole for the first time

— How she's building a brand her daughter can be proud of

Whether you're a fitness entrepreneur, a small business owner trying to grow through community, or a marketer looking for proof that word-of-mouth still wins, this one's for you.

Mike Linton didn't stumble into the C-suite. He earned his way there across five CMO roles — Best Buy, eBay, Farmers Insurance, Ancestry, and more, by treating marketing as a growth engine, not a line item, and by learning the hard lessons early.

From washing clothes in P&G training programs to negotiating with the Rolling Stones in Amsterdam (without a signed contract), Mike has seen it all. And he's built a framework along the way that has outlasted every trend, every platform shift, and every AI hype cycle.

In this episode, host Ashtyn Morris sits down with Mike, and the host of CMO Confidential to talk about:

— Why all marketing is performance marketing, just with different time horizons

— The career loss that changed how Mike interviews for every job

— Why firing your agency on day one is one of the biggest CMO mistakes

— The "averaging is killing us" principle that transforms how you think about LTV

— What a corrupted Rolling Stones disc at 11:30pm taught him about risk

— How to speak finance fluently enough to own a seat at the table

— What the future of marketing looks like in the age of AI and bot-first content.

Whether you're a new marketer building your foundation or a seasoned leader navigating the modern C-suite, this conversation is packed with the kind of real-world insight you won't find in a textbook.

https://cmoconfidential.com

Jeff didn't set out to build a viral candy brand. What started as late-night cooking sessions in college, during COVID, while working full-time, slowly became something much bigger: a real business rooted in craft, community, and genuine storytelling.

Instead of chasing trends or running ads, Jeff leaned into the process. He showed people how candy is made, shared the mistakes along the way (including the corn syrup incident that changed everything), and built an audience that actually cared. Over six years, that approach evolved into a full business, and eventually led him to a historic space he hustled his way into, one unforgettable auction story at a time.

In this episode, host Ashtyn Morris sits down with Jeff to talk about:

— What those early days of building in public actually looked like

— The craft lessons that shaped his product and his brand

— Why organic content and genuine community are his most reliable growth engine

— How he went from lemon drops in his kitchen to opening a physical location

— The auction story that landed him a historic building, and a new business partner

— How he's using storytelling to preserve a space and revitalize a community

Whether you're just starting out or grinding through year three wondering if it'll ever click, this episode is for you.

Zero Doubt Club didn’t set out to be just another fitness brand. What started as personal training and health coaching quickly evolved into a full ecosystem designed to make healthy living simple, sustainable, and actually doable.

Instead of overcomplicating fitness and nutrition, they built two complementary brands: Zero Doubt Club, focused on coaching and accountability, and Zero Doubt Kitchen, a locally sourced organic meal prep service delivering clean, ready-to-eat meals straight to your door every week. Along the way, they’ve also developed a smart, community-driven marketing strategy that’s helped them grow organically and build real relationships with their audience.

From weekly meal drops to corporate wellness programs, they’re helping individuals and companies remove friction and finally stay consistent with their health.

In this episode, host Ashtyn Morris sits down to talk about:

— How Zero Doubt Club approaches personal training and health coaching differently

— Why consistency, not intensity, is the real key to results

— The role of meal prep in eliminating decision fatigue

— How Zero Doubt Kitchen sources, prepares, and delivers clean meals weekly

— How they’re leveraging social media to connect with existing and prospective customers

— The structure behind their corporate wellness program and why businesses are investing in employee health

— Simple ways to start improving your health without overhauling your entire life

Whether you're trying to get back on track, optimize your routine, or build a healthier lifestyle that actually sticks, this episode keeps it real and practical.

Brent Zimmerman didn't take the typical path into craft beer. After years in finance on Wall Street, he walked away from an investment opportunity in 2013, and decided to build his own brewery instead.

What followed is one of Cleveland's most interesting brand-building stories: Saucy Brew Works, launched in Hingetown in 2017, has grown into a multi-location hospitality company through organic growth, crowdfunding, and strategic acquisitions. Brent has raised over $20 million through crowdfunding and has continued to expand the Saucy brand into new categories, including Saucy Seltzer, a premium hemp-derived THC beverage line navigating a rapidly evolving and highly regulated market.

In this episode, host Ashtyn Morris sits down with Brent to talk about:

— Why he passed on investing in a brewery to start his own

— How internal culture became the foundation for scaling across locations

— The brand architecture behind Saucy Brew Works, Saucy Seltzer, Saucy Coffee, Urban Meyer's Pint House & Cartridge Brewing

— What crowdfunding $20M actually taught him about community-building as a marketing strategy

— Navigating THC beverage marketing amid evolving regulations, including the recent Ohio hemp-derived THC legislation that has put brands like his in limbo

— Why he's still betting on Cleveland!

Whether you're building a brand, scaling a business, or just trying to figure out what's actually working in marketing right now, this one's worth your time.