StrategyCast

Ryan Coté is the director of digital services and partner at Ballantine, a third generation family-owned direct mail and digital marketing company based out of Fairfield, NJ. The business was started in 1966 by Ryan’s grandfather and great-uncle, and its mission is to make their clients’ marketing initiatives more successful through expert guidance, flawless execution, and remarkable service. He currently manages the growing digital marketing division, primarily responsible for sales and strategy.

Listen And Learn:

• His five effective paid online advertising strategies.
• The many ways he gets his message out across multiple mediums.
• The nuances of retargeting.
• The digital marketing strategies for lead generation.
• Why your website’s load speed and mobile speed are so important.
• How to boost your content with keyword optimization.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BALLANTINE, CLICK HERE.

TO FIND RYAN COTÉ ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Cheryl Leitschuh has spent 25 years focusing on leadership development for individuals, teams, and organizations. She has a doctorate in psychology and brings astute insights to complicated situations that provide targeted leadership results. As a Leadership Energy Guru and founder of The Leadership Energy Model, Cheryl is a nationally known speaker on cutting-edge leadership tools and resources. Her recent book, Straight Talk for Smart Businesswomen, became an Amazon best seller in five days in the leadership energy category.

Listen And Learn:

• The CALM model of success.
• Her five key takeaways that are the foundation of any entrepreneurial small business.
• How women small business owners approach business differently.
• The ways some women business leaders fail to be profitable because of “the emotional factor.”
• Insights into having intentional and focused sales conversations.

TO FIND CHERYL LEITSCHUH ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Bob Tipton, founder and CEO of Team Tipton and organizational transformation architect, has been working as an entrepreneur in professional services since 1986. He is a high-energy, innovative, and insightful transformational change architect, leadership facilitator, keynote speaker, and author. For over 30 years he has been refining Team Tipton’s innovative approach for guiding businesses through future-forward, results-focused transformational change initiatives. With a game-changing approach toward driving strategic growth and positive culture shifts, the Team Tipton model has been successful in sectors including government agencies, public works, utilities, nonprofits, healthcare, and education.

Listen And Learn:

• The importance of recognizing the energy we all bring into situations.
• The deep value of kindness.
• How we have to be brave enough to challenge our own beliefs.
• How to see the humanity in others.
• The psychology behind the need some people have to “always be right.”
• The power of the message in his book, What’s Right, Not Who’s Right.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ARC THRIFT STORES, CLICK HERE.

TO FIND BOB TIPTON ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Patrick Scott rarely does anything halfway. As a sophomore at Harvard, he took a job as a deliveryman for a student-run laundry service; a year later I was elected president of the Harvard Student Agencies, the largest student-run business in the world with over 600 employees and $5 million in annual revenue. After graduating from college, he entered a training program at Kraft Heinz; a year later he had redesigned and managed the forecasting process for sales to their largest client, Walmart. Patrick now works at the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, an organization that his younger sister, Alex, founded, and that is now one of the largest pediatric cancer foundations in the country. In his role, he leverages data to drive the organization forward – managing the Foundation’s Search Engine Marketing, implementing new Customer Relationship Management software, and developing Key Performance Indicators to use for visual management. He is passionate about confronting new challenges, reconceptualizing systems, and applying data creatively.

Listen And Learn:

• About the story behind the brand.
• How he balances – and benefits from – multiple generational business perspectives in the nonprofit world.
• How he has built the experiential components of the brand.
• Ways to leverages NetSuite.
• Orchestrating nationwide events to build brand awareness.
• How he ties the brand’s value proposition to an experience.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALEX'S LEMONADE STAND, CLICK HERE.

TO FIND PATRICK SCOTT ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Paul Duncan co-founded Pie Consulting & Engineering in 1999. As president and CEO, he is the managing partner and leads all aspects of the business including oversight of the corporate office in Colorado and regional offices in Minnesota, Texas, Florida, and California. He has consulted on projects nationwide with services on large commercial property, apartment complexes, specialized building performance testing, as well as large residential developments. Under his leadership, Pie has experienced an average annual growth of greater than 15 percent since 2010 including record performance in each of these years. He attributes the company’s strong performance to building a strong company culture based on values, and having an excellent technical staff and outstanding employees who share the same vision of making a difference for others.

Listen And Learn:

• His insights into working across multiple generations in the marketplace.
• The company’s four core values.
• The four topics his team addresses in every daily huddle.
• How he has integrated a business development staff across all boundaries within the company.
• How he deploys Emotional Intelligence and Competitive Intercept™ to build brand loyalty.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PIE CONSULTING & ENGINEERING, CLICK HERE.

TO FIND PAUL DUNCAN  ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Rick Gemereth is the chief information officer and senior vice president for Lionel, the iconic American designer and importer of toy trains and model railroads, based in Concord, NC. Rick provides corporate technology leadership and oversees many of the company’s business processes, including ERP and financial systems integration, as well as many other technologies used to streamline the business. Rick’s core focus at Lionel is aligning information technologies with the culture of the workforce in pursuit of the business vision. He is a proven manager who orchestrates solutions that improve the productivity and quality of life for the employees and the customers, and ultimately have a direct impact on the financial success of the organization.

Listen And Learn: 

• How he continues to market the I.T. department inside the organization so he can extend its reach.
• Ways he has kept a multi-generational, nearly 120-year-old brand relevant and vibrant.
• The importance of focusing on the memories the brand creates.
• How technology has reinvigorated the Lionel brand.
• Why it’s important to “simplify and standardize.”

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LIONEL LLC, CLICK HERE.

TO FIND RICK GEMERETH ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Ted Mann is the CEO of Slyce, the market leader in image recognition and visual search. Slyce has created the first computer vision system for visual product search and has led to customers like Macy's, Home Depot, JC Penney, Neiman Marcus, Best Buy, and Urban Outfitters to deploy image recognition in their apps. Before Slyce, Ted founded SnipSnap, the first mobile app to let consumers save printed coupons to their smartphone and redeem in store. At the time SnipSnap was acquired, it was profitable and the app had five million users, who redeemed more than 250 million coupons. Prior to starting SnipSnap, Ted was digital development director at Gannett, where he led the development of the company's first hyper-local network, daily deal websites, and blog operations, in addition to managing the core news websites.

Listen And Learn:

• How he has differentiated Slyce’s technology in a noisy and very competitive marketplace.
• Visual search and its impact on human behavior.
• How even small retailers can adapt and incorporate a visual and voice search strategy that works for them.
• It’s more than the technology; it’s about solving customers’ problems.
• How product recognition technology is transforming the whole self-checkout, scan-and-go experience in grocery stores.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SLYCE, CLICK HERE.

TO FIND  TED MANN  ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Erik Reynolds, vice president of product marketing and communications for Loot Crate, is an 18-year veteran of the video game, tech and entertainment industries. Erik has worked with some of the most impactful brands and talent to help them craft the public story of their IP, and deliver those narratives in an engaging and audience-friendly manner. From executive producing an hour-long special about 50 Cent and hip-hop’s influence on video games for Spike TV to scripting and shooting BTS materials for dozens of games, Erik has leveraged every channel for storytelling to get the job done. Previous collaborators and represented brands include 50 Cent, Katy Perry, Mr. Miyamoto, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, and more than 100 other games/IP launches supported in his career generating billions in revenue for the companies he’s represented. 

Listen And Learn:

• The one question that should guide all business decisions.
• How brands can “put currency back in the trust bank” and create loyalty and affinity with customers.
• The importance of defining the character of your brand.
• The elements of impactful crisis communications.
• How the company has grown to have over 500,000 subscribers around the world since 2012.
• How to take a holistic approach to e-Commerce.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LOOT CRATE, CLICK HERE.

TO FIND ERIK REYNOLDS ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

 “Give your teams time to be thoughtful.”

Erika Eklund is director of communications at HGA Architects and Engineers, a national multi-disciplinary design firm rooted in architecture and engineering. The company has more than 850 people in 10 offices from coast to coast and works to make a positive, lasting impact for clients in healthcare, arts and culture, community, corporate, education, government, and energy markets. In her role Erika oversees firm-wide internal and external communications, including brand strategy and media relations. She has an extensive communications and external relations background with creative organizations, and previously served as business developer for HGA’s Arts, Community and Higher Education Practice Group.

Listen And Learn:

• The unique challenges of creating a communications strategy for a professional services company.
• The “rings of influence” that help build a brand.
• Tips for aligning sales and marketing to grow your brand’s top of mind awareness.
• Why it’s important to deliver the unexpected along the way.
• Her strategies for selling expertise and thought leadership” rather than on selling a product.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HGA ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS, CLICK HERE.

TO FIND ERIKA EKLUND ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

As chief marketing officer and chief operating officer at Steiner Sports, Kelvin is at the intersection of sports marketing and finance. A CPA, former CFO, and business owner, he utilizes his extensive experience in business consulting to help businesses grow and profit by identifying and leveraging sports, athletes and major events with a constant eye on the bottom line. Kelvin helps companies – from new startups to Fortune 500s – monetize their marketing spend by determining what sports marketing strategy will benefit the company the most, providing access to the right athletes and properties at the right time, negotiating contracts for the best deals, and measuring and analyzing results to ensure ROI.

Listen And Learn:

• How small and large brands can benefit from sports marketing.
• The benefits to smaller brands of using event marketing to earn implied endorsements.
• Using sports marketing to build audience affinity.
• His recommendations for integrating a sports marketing approach your marketing mix.
• How the power of sports marketing can enhance any product or service.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT STEINER SPORTS, CLICK HERE.

TO FIND KELVIN JOSEPH ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.