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We’re back with Scratch after the long summer break! For our first episode after the break, we’re thrilled to sit down with Andrew Davies, the CMO of Paddle, a leading payment infrastructure provider designed specifically for SaaS companies. Paddle takes care of the tricky stuff—payments, taxes, subscriptions—essentially all the payment logistics, so businesses can focus on what really matters: growth. In our conversation, Andrew dives deep into the art of building a brand-led B2B business and tells us why long-term brand investment is key to true marketing efficiency.
One of the key takeaways from this episode is Andrew’s insight on how B2B marketers can learn from B2C and lifestyle brands by focusing on people, not just businesses. We also discuss the challenges in educating boards and CEOs about modern marketing approaches, the importance of long-term brand investment, and the evolving role of CMOs as commercial operators. Another recurring theme from this episode (something that we’ve heard quite a few times now) is the importance of understanding the broader business ecosystem and speaking the language of top business leaders. We also touch on overlooked growth opportunities, the evolving role of CMOs, and how critical it is to align your team on messaging and the overall brand story. If you work for or own a B2B brand, then this episode is for you!
Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/Jv422AbPnP4
📚 Chapters:
🖊️Mentioned in the show:
Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Andrew Davies of Paddle in this episode.
Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.
Find Andrew on LinkedIn.
Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.
Say hi at [email protected], we’d love to hear from you.
Rival is a marketing consultancy for brands that want to challenge convention in their category. We’re on a mission to understand what challenger brands do differently to grow in categories that are being disrupted, and use a challenger playbook to deliver outsized impact through an integrated, tech-enabled approach. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.
We're joined by the Co-founder of Hyrox in this episode, Moritz Fuerste. Hyrox is a global fitness race that combines running with functional exercises. Hyrox is experiencing explosive growth in cities worldwide, with participation skyrocketing to over 210,000 athletes across 30 cities in the 2023/24 season and events selling out rapidly. Their origin story stemmed from identifying a gap in the fitness market for a measurable, repeatable sport that is accessible to everyone. Moritz discussed the model his team has used for a community-driven growth strategy that focuses on organic social media and partnerships with local gyms. This approach has allowed Hyrox to educate potential customers about their new product while creating a mutually beneficial relationship with fitness centers.
We break down Hyrox's unique marketing playbook, which focuses on event-centric promotion and word-of-mouth marketing over paid digital advertising. Moritz explains how their long purchase cycle is similar to buying a car, and how this has influenced their marketing approach. He also touches on the challenges of balancing mass participation with elite competition in their messaging & comms. As Hyrox continues to grow, they're now focusing on maximizing reach through live streaming of major events, seeing this as a key channel for media exposure. Throughout the episode, Moritz emphasizes the importance of adapting messaging, trying new things, and being willing to make mistakes in building a successful challenger brand.
Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/m8FSZUGMUP4
📚 Chapters:
🖊️Mentioned in the show:
Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Moritz Fuerste of Hyrox in this episode.
Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.
Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.
Find Moritz on LinkedIn.
Say hi at [email protected], we’d love to hear from you.
Rival is a marketing consultancy for brands that want to challenge convention in their category. We’re on a mission to understand what challenger brands do differently to grow in categories that are being disrupted, and use a challenger playbook to deliver outsized impact through an integrated, tech-enabled approach. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.
We’re joined by the CMO of Fever-Tree, Jeremy Kanter in this episode. Fever-Tree is a global brand that sells premium drink mixers designed to complement the world’s finest spirits 🥂✨. We discuss, 1 - How incumbents view innovation, 2 - The signs that a category is ripe for disruption, and 3 - What it truly takes to build an authentic premium brand. As Jeremy reveals in this episode, customers often don't think about your products as obsessively as you do; They make decisions based on what’s top of mind for them, and their previous experiences with the brand. So, if you want your customer to ‘stick’📌& have a ‘high lifetime value’, then you need to ask yourself if your product is superior to the rest.
Fever-Tree has an obsessive focus on using the best ingredients and processes, which has allowed them to deliver a noticeably superior & better-tasting drink than their competition. They recently overtook Schweppes to become the top tonic water in the US. Jeremy tells us how we need to be “unreasonable” about quality and not accept the category norms because it’s the job of marketers to find innovative ways to add value. We dive into what it takes for a brand to be recognized as “premium” in its category, and how to mobilize ‘advocates’ to build the grassroots support your brand needs, especially in its initial stages 🌱🤝. Jeremy's marketing model begins with an exceptional product, developing channel/ritual advantages, cultivating advocates, and only then moving to broader advertising & comms. If you are in a crowded category and want to stand out with a premium & differentiated brand, then this episode is for you! 🌟🚀
Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/8HRwwHaR_rE
📚 Chapters:
🖊️Mentioned in the show:
Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Jeremy Kanter of Fever-Tree in this episode.
Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.
Find Eric on LinkedIn.
Find Jeremy on LinkedIn.
Say hi at [email protected], we’d love to hear from you.
Rival is a marketing consultancy for brands that want to challenge convention in their category. We’re on a mission to understand what challenger brands do differently to grow in categories that are being disrupted, and use a challenger playbook to deliver outsized impact through an integrated, tech-enabled approach. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.
In this episode, we are joined by the SVP of Brand Marketing and Communications at Grindr, Tristan Pineiro. Grindr is an online dating & meetup app predominantly used by gay and bisexual men and the trans & queer community. Tristan’s marketing philosophy is to understand and align the three brand truths - who you say you are, who people say you are, and who you really are. He emphasizes that finding the authentic, true brand narrative serves as the foundation for a successful marketing function 📈.
Throughout the episode, he advocates for a ‘social-led’ marketing discipline, which means that you create engaging content to drive brand affinity while focusing on insights around how the most engaged users actually use the product. He breaks down the mental models that he uses to get buy-in from leadership on brand positioning while balancing commercial realities with the brand's purpose. We also discuss how Grindr uses content to extend the brand’s story across different channels & markets 🌍. If you want to learn how your team’s content efforts can help in building an authentic yet differentiated brand, then this episode is for you!
Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/RjxLbD5yss8
📚 Chapters:
🖊️ Mentioned in the show:
Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Tristan Pineiro of Grindr in this episode
Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn.
Find Eric on LinkedIn.
Find Tristan on LinkedIn.
Say hi at [email protected], we’d love to hear from you.
Rival is a marketing consultancy for brands that want to challenge convention in their category. We’re on a mission to understand what challenger brands do differently to grow in categories that are being disrupted, and use a challenger playbook to deliver outsized impact through an integrated, tech-enabled approach. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.
In this episode, we are joined by the CMO of Tomorrow.io, Dan Slagen. Tomorrow.io is a global weather intelligence brand that provides predictive insights to help major brands and governments mitigate operational risks from weather events. Despite being a Series E company with a marketing team of just 4 people, Dan shares how they have built a major brand around their service through 1- Creative storytelling, 2- Leveraging media coverage, and 3- Establishing "weather intelligence" as a new category altogether (which they now lead) ⛈️.
Dan discusses the marketing principles and practices that allow his lean team to punch above their weight 👊. He covers multiple key strategies, including a strong alignment with the sales team & building processes around AI/automation. He also emphasizes the importance of balancing short and long-term initiatives, taking creative swings with a test-and-learn approach, and the importance of speaking the language of the CEO. At the end of the episode, he shares the playbook he uses to maintain a CEO mindset as a CMO and the importance of understanding the CEO's priorities; after all, he is the author of ‘Understanding Startup CEOs’ 📚. If you’re in a mid-senior marketing position and want to learn how to build trust and have a better relationship with the rest of the leadership, then this episode is for you.
Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/MP9CdTW2VaI
📚 Chapters:
🖊️Mentioned in the show:
Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Dan Slagen of Tomorrow.io in this episode.
Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, and LinkedIn.
Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.
Find Dan on LinkedIn.
Say hi at [email protected], we’d love to hear from you.
Rival is a marketing consultancy for brands that want to challenge convention in their category. We’re on a mission to understand what challenger brands do differently to grow in categories that are being disrupted, and use a challenger playbook to deliver outsized impact through an integrated, tech-enabled approach. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.
In this episode, we talk with Andrew Garrihy — The CMO Coach (https://cmocoach.co/), an international marketing leader and executive coach who specialises in helping CMOs lead with clarity, confidence and courage. A veteran global CMO who spent several years working in senior marketing roles at major Chinese companies like Huawei and Didi. Andrew shares his fascinating experiences navigating the complexities of Chinese business culture as a Western executive. He provides invaluable insights into understanding the mindset and values that shape the Chinese professional environment, such as the emphasis on collective wisdom, respect for hierarchy, and the relentless pursuit of progress.
He walks us through the "agile marketing" framework he implemented at Huawei, where they would launch around 50 new smartphone products per year, with about 3 being major flagship launches that required launching across 15 European countries, with only 90 days to plan and execute on all campaigns. This approach included long-term strategic planning with extreme agility, continual testing, and dedicated innovation budgets. Andrew also talks about his new passion project, the CMO Coach, which aims to provide mentorship to emerging marketing leaders to maximize their potential.
Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/mmRPhJxDZb8
📚 Chapters:
🖊️Mentioned in the show:
Learn more about Andrew Garrihy, The CMO Coach, who helps CMOs and marketing leaders build confidence and impact at The CMO Coach. https://cmocoach.co/
Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Andrew Garrihy from the CMO coach in this episode.
Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.
Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.
Find Andrew on
LinkedIn.
Rival is a marketing consultancy for brands that want to challenge convention in their category. We’re on a mission to understand what challenger brands do differently to grow in categories that are being disrupted, and use a challenger playbook to deliver outsized impact through an integrated, tech-enabled approach. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.
Jose Moreno, the CMO of USA Pickleball, joins us in this episode to share USA Pickeball’s journey from a small governing body (with just 4-5 employees a few years ago), to now leading the charge as the fastest-growing sport in America. How did they do this? - By building a strong sense of community around the sport. Jose emphasized the importance of constant listening and adapting to authentically 'build credibility' with their player base, instead of simply dictating from the top down.
The brand built credibility in the niche through strategic partnerships with brands from other industries, like Fortune Tires and Skechers. Additionally, Jose shared insights on the challenges of prioritizing and executing as a small marketing team to keep up with the surging demand, cautioning against trying to be "all things to everybody". The conversation is full of useful tips and insights from USA Pickleball's journey to becoming the top contender in the rapidly growing pickleball world, highlighting the significance of community, authenticity, and strategic prioritization.
Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube 📺: https://youtu.be/yxN4dLvYJBM
Mentioned in the show 🖊️:
Challenger brand: North face
📚Chapters:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:04:10 - Favourite challenger brand 👊
00:06:10 - What is Pickleball 🎾
00:17:36 - Positioning of the Pickleball Brand
00:21:11 - How to do More with Less 🤏
00:24:46 - A Typical Week for the Pickleball Team
00:29:57 - Product Innovation from Customer Feedback - Pickleball’s version
00:38: 40 Lightning Round ⚡
00:38:50 First Marketing Job 🧑💼
00:39:50 - Best Career Advice for Marketers
00:40:49 - Best Brand Campaign
00:41:50 - Pet Peeve of Marketing
00:42:38 - Best Marketing Tool ⚒️
00:43:01 - What should people do differently after this episode?
Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.
Find Jose on LinkedIn .
Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.
Say hi at [email protected], we’d love to hear from you.
Rival is a marketing consultancy for brands that want to challenge convention in their category. We’re on a mission to understand what challenger brands do differently to grow in categories that are being disrupted, and use a challenger playbook to deliver outsized impact through an integrated, tech-enabled approach. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.
Dylan Jones, the CMO of Podium Nutrition joins us in this episode to share the story of Podium - from a small CrossFit supplement brand to an emerging lifestyle performance brand, with ambitions to become the leading nutrition brand for Olympic athletes by the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The key? Focusing on lifestyle and entertaining content to build authenticity over traditional product marketing. Dylan talks about the importance of understanding the core "pain points" of a niche audience and creating valuable content & experiences around those points, rather than just “pushing products” like salesmen.
Podium established credibility within the CrossFit community through partnerships with influencers like Matt Frazier and Buttery Bros (who also later became equity owners). We learnt that brands should focus on developing a unique personality that entertains customers, not just ‘educates’ them. Furthermore, Dylan shares valuable insights on successfully transitioning from a niche market to a broader audience while cautioning against the dangers of "over-partnering." For marketers aiming to build culturally relevant brands with passionate ‘fans’, this conversation is packed with practical advice and insights from Podium's journey to becoming culturally relevant.
Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube 📺: https://youtu.be/-T4ZIQrbiRc
🖊️Mentioned in the Show:
📕Chapters:
(00:00:00) - Intro 🕰️
(00:06:55) - Favorite Challenger brand ⭐
(00:10:25) - What is Podium Nutrition? 🍏
(00:12:02) - Podium’s take on influencers 👩👩👧👦
(00:27:00) - Where do brands go wrong in expanding to new niches? 🌍
(00:40:25) - Playbook to beta test a new category 📊
(00:43:00) - How do you move to retail from DTC 🛒
(00:46:36) - Lightning Round ⚡
Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.
Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.
Say hi at [email protected], we’d love to hear from you.
Rival is a marketing consultancy for brands that want to challenge convention in their category. We’re on a mission to understand what challenger brands do differently to grow in categories that are being disrupted, and use a challenger playbook to deliver outsized impact through an integrated, tech-enabled approach. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.
In this episode, we are joined by Bryant Garvin, Head of Marketing & Growth 📈 at Ozlo Sleep. Bryan offers a fresh perspective on the age-old debate between brand building and performance marketing. He introduces ‘performance branding’ - an approach that focuses on building brand awareness through emotionally resonant & entertaining content, while strictly measuring & optimizing for performance metrics. This simple strategy has been key 🔑to the success of brands like Ozlo, and Purple, where he previously worked.
When you want marketing to be ‘successful’, you need to have some foundations in place. Bryan emphasizes starting with a strong, differentiated product as the core foundation for successful marketing, as a great product enables authentic word-of-mouth, customer advocacy, and a genuine brand story to tell. Additionally, he discusses the importance of creative partnership. A creative partnership means that a) you are working closely with creative partners who understand performance goals, b) you have a structured process for developing creative content, and c) you continually testing different variations to drive business results. After all, we are all spending real dollars on all the ‘brand stuff’ 💰. This episode is packed with valuable insights into building culturally relevant brands while driving measurable growth.
Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube 📺: https://youtu.be/PF7B7y7LvFw
🖊️Mentioned in the Show:
Chapters: 📕
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:30) - How Stanley Cups hijacked culture 🎭
(00:12:10) - What is Ozlo Sleep?
(00:15:23) - Performance Branding - How to get started 📈
(00:24:44) - Why constraints drive creativity for brands like Ozlo
(00:25:45) - Performance branding summarised - Ozlo’s take
(00:32:30) - What is the split between performance and brand for a modern marketer?
(00:34:30) - Why did the CMO & CEO of Solo Stove get fired?
(00:39:00) - Choosing the right creative partner 🤝
(00:42:00) - Role of the product in driving growth
(00:47:00) - What do you do post iOS 14? 🍎
(00:50:23) - Best career advice
(00:50:29) - All-time pet peeve in marketing
(00:50:55) - Best marketing resource
(00:51:05) - What should people do differently?
Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Bryant Garvin of Ozlo Sleep in this episode. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.
Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.
Find Bryant on LinkedIn.
Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.
Say hi at [email protected], we’d love to hear from you.
Rival is a marketing consultancy for brands that want to challenge convention in their category. We’re on a mission to understand what challenger brands do differently to grow in categories that are being disrupted, and use a challenger playbook to deliver outsized impact through an integrated, tech-enabled approach. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.
In this insightful episode, Ashley Boyce, CMO and co-founder of Noteworthy, takes us through their journey of building a perfume brand that dares to be different in the competitive $48bn fragrance category. Noteworthy is a challenger brand that’s empowering consumers to discover their unique signature scent using AI, moving beyond the traditional designer and celebrity endorsements. In the episode, Ashley discusses the importance of creating products that not only meet a tangible need but also carry a deeper meaning for consumers, similar to Dove's approach to female empowerment. She covers the role of storytelling in altering fixed consumer behaviors and the impact of platforms like TikTok in creating ‘ever-green content’. With over 14 years of experience at Unilever, she talks us through the differences in challenges & opportunities for challenger v/s incumbent brands.
In the second half of the episode, she talks about the brand's commitment to leveraging customer insights and how the DTC model allows for a more personal and interactive shopping experience. If you’re looking for insights on building something that’s different & stands out, tune in to this episode. We’re sure you’ll find something that you can take away & apply. 🚀🛍️
Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube 📺: https://youtu.be/UIaMkxgsOCc
🖊️Mentioned in the show:
Care of brand - Personalised Vitamins
📕 Chapters
Scratch is a production of Rival, a marketing innovation consultancy that develops strategies and capabilities that help businesses grow faster. Scratch is hosted by Eric Fulwiler, and he’s joined by Ashley Boyce of Noteworthy in this episode. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.
Find Rival online at www.wearerival.com, LinkedIn, Twitter.
Find Ashley on LinkedIn.
Watch the video version of this Podcast on YouTube.
Find Eric on LinkedIn and tweet him @efulwiler.
Say hi at [email protected], we’d love to hear from you.
Rival is a marketing consultancy for brands that want to challenge convention in their category. We’re on a mission to understand what challenger brands do differently to grow in categories that are being disrupted, and use a challenger playbook to deliver outsized impact through an integrated, tech-enabled approach. Past guests include CMOs from Mastercard, GE, Shell, Hyperloop, Adobe, PepsiCo, and Papa Johns.
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