Tag Archives: CMO

How the Eagles’ Jen Kavanagh Makes Marketing Fly with Fans

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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 to share. For example, if the team wants to highlight leadership, they will focus on the team’s captains. If they want to showcase the experience of being a rookie in the NFL, they will focus on newly drafted players. And if they want to highlight a particular cause, they will find players who authentically align with that cause.
  • She’s buoyed by how both the NFL and the club value the contribution of women and believe in diversity of thought and POVs.
  • Jen and E.B. also discuss the Eagles’ pro-social efforts, such as:

Finally, social media marketers will appreciate how they’ve tapped into @YouTube and TikTok to grow new audiences and fans.

 

 

And of course E.B. asks Jen if she was involved in getting #TaylorSwift to proclaim her fandom for the Eagles and reveal that her lyric was about the team!

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Key Moments:

[00:01:32] Taylor Swift’s Eagles fandom!

[00:04:05] Non-linear career paths can lead to great new opportunities

[00:08:30] Overview of marketing the Philadelphia Eagles pre- and post-SuperBowl™ !

[00:11:47] Creating cultural connections with new football fans in Ghana, New Zealand and

[00:18:05] Eagles’ brand purpose — including Eagles Autism Foundation fundraising and sustainability (Go Green!)

[00:20:15] Home town help to curtail gun violence in the Philadelphia area

[00:25:22] YouTube and TikTok strategies and content development.

[00:28:36] Girls’ access to sports bras to support their pursuit of the sport and the power of women in sports, like star agent, #NicoleLynn

[00:32:12] Leadership success and team support (and memorializing Jen’s invite to E.B.!)

Connect with Jen on LinkedIn
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Museum of Ice Cream’s CMO with the Scoop on Tasteful Marketing

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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 philosophy and how she guides teams with her brand of can-do motivation. She also mentions her love of dance and ballroom competitions.
What she doesn’t mention is the personal hurdle she survived just after landing her Museum of Ice Cream role: her husband took a near fatal fall in their home and was actually pronounced dead three times before making it out of ICU. Through it all, Levzow applied her own can-do attitude to him – and to her own spirit – always believing and encouraging he would not just walk again, but thrive. As a post-note, she recently shared a video of his first time back on the dance floor six months later, if a halting version of the Rumba. That was joy.

Here’s a topline of our conversation flow:

00:1:55 What’s an “experium”? How and why this combo museum and experience center unites and inspires throughout the entire MoIC portfolio, down to the marketing

00:03:43 On the importance of experiencing joy together.

00:05:05 How a banana forest can lead to mental and physical health. “We want people to set their phones down and look at each other and play together.”… And what dopamine means to the brand.

00:09:00 The personal side: Dancing during her downtime and working her way to the C-Suite

00:11:12 Career experience and advice based on “Figure it out, volunteer, and learn it.”

00:15:30 How a brick and mortar got built, survived and thrived: “Coming out of the pandemic people really needed connection. We welcome everyone and attract a lot of families and young adults (on a date night), as well as tourists.”

00:18:46 Using data to “target for good” not evil: “People don’t mind giving as long as they’re receiving something in return.… A company that sells ice cream, let’s say (!), can target mothers with children who may be looking for something to do during vacation time. By showing them ads for this idea, we could help them bond with their children and provide an enjoyable experience. Data-driven targeting can also be used to target tourists who may be visiting a certain area, helping them have a great experience while visiting the area.”

00:20:20 The media methodology for Museum of Ice Cream (a la podcasting?!) “We do keep an eye on what’s emerging but …we’re very particular about where we spend our time because it is about resources. You can’t be everything to everyone, even though everyone is welcome… and we are an immersive brand, so seeing pictures or video helps explain to someone who may not have any idea what the museum of ice cream is. … And we track and tag everything.”

00:23:30: Is the metaverse a “thing” for MoIC yet?

00:25:10 – Partnerships – from creating a Kendra Scott mini-museum outpost of “Bananas and Baubles” to Black History Month with Ida’s, a local Black-owned ice cream shop, the Wishingrad’s Three Wishes cereal being a “no-brainer.”

Kendra Scott x Museum of Ice Cream – South Congress Back Room

00:28:29 Brand purpose must be genuine. –  “Don’t say you’re for everyone. Show you’re for everyone. We want to make sure you can see yourself in our advertising. …We often check ourselves and make sure we’re doing the things we set out to do and are true to ourselves.”

00:30:38 Employing and encouraging Radical Candor – the right way  — “It is a true form of empathy: if I tell you where you’re at and let me tell you what I’m seeing and let’s talk that through…. I’m never just being direct without being behind them pushing…or catching them. People did that for me. …And I believe that radical candor also works both ways. As a leader, I want my team to be able to provide me with feedback as well.”

0033:25 – A shout how to Bobby Shaw as one mentor example

00:34:48 Advice on pushing oneself up the hill – especially for women: “Raise your hand. Learn it! Don’t be afraid to ask questions and take risks. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. I always said, “yes” and then figured it out. You build your career that way. Our founder said, ‘I’m going to build this…’ even when people said she couldn’t. And look at us today.”

00:36:20 The most important question: Favorite flavor!

Connect with Erin and Museum of Ice Cream:
Levzow: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinlevzow/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/museumoficecream/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/museumoficecream/
Connect with Insider Interviews:
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mossappeal
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CMO Minjae Ormes with the Scoop on Making a Visible Difference

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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 of 2019 — on learning to adapt to new cultures and countries are as insightful as her marketing approaches are. So, since she made the time for me on her actual birthday this week, we made sure to discuss not just her shift from event marketing to mass media, etc., but — like in my last episode with Sree Sreenivasan — the absolute need to embrace empathy in our professional and personal paths.
  • I think you’ll get her tone from this quote: “How do we first and foremost create the kinds of experiences that people expect now across the industry? Just the simplicity, the seamlessness, but also the humanity with which you show up as a brand and a business.”
  • She also explains their pandemic pivot: “going into April, our traffic and some of the KPIs were actually picking right back up, which told us that phone services are one of those things that people rely on, no matter what happens, if not more so now. It’s been an interesting exercise, both in listening, but also… as all of us as marketers can’t really do create a production the way we used to it created spaces for us to think about what’s old is new and new is old again, and different ways to ultimately listen to consumers and what they’re telling us implicitly and explicitly for us to follow their lead.”
  • Another visible difference in Minjae’s approach? Making a difference in people’s lives. Literally. Hear her description of their pro-social campaign, #VisibleActsofKindness, and the story of one customer that moved her most, plus how they supported volunteers forced to immediately return from Peace Corps volunteering.
A final note, while Visible’s difference is that it has no brick and mortar locations, many of its parent company retail stores were looted and stripped bare during protests this week. Verizon also just donated $10 million to social justice organizations, including the Urban League and NAACP. So to honor the legacy of necessary change that we will hopefully learn from the death of Floyd, I am publishing on his memorial date so these words might inspire some to consider how they listen, and how they market to all people, with respect.

 

What Is It Like to Be a Girl of Color?

These middle school girls in Brooklyn are speaking up about being a girl of color in America.

Posted by Global Citizen on Tuesday, June 2, 2020