Marketer’s Alchemy: Turning Data Into Gold – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, Kathryn talks with Alejandra Denda, CMO of The Federal Savings Bank, discussing the importance of data in marketing and strategic modernization of traditional brands. She shares insightful experiences from her time at CPG brands like Huggies and underscores the necessity for educational outreach and a holistic consumer experience in home lending. Alejandra also talks about what she’s currently teaching her students at Northwestern and what it means to build brands in today’s environment.

Alejandra:

“There's like tons of data in today’s environment and sometimes it can be overwhelming. But I think the most important piece, for us, it's to start defining a clear goal. In any type of process is what are we trying to look at? So we start always with a goal in mind and then look at kind of like gather the data from the different sources. So as I mentioned, kind of like website analytics, GA, the CRM system, social media, consumer surveys. So it's a mix of really omni-channel, digital data, and also brick and mortar data from sales and from other teams and organizations and put all that together and we start working as a team understanding findings. So there's a lot of all types of whiteboarding exercises of getting all the data, consolidating, sharing, and understanding how we are going to process the data, what's kind of the insight behind that, and then building a roadmap of execution.”

Episode Breakdown: 

[02:12] Alchemy Unveiled: Data is key

In today's data-driven landscape, understanding customer behavior through metrics like engagement, campaign performance, and lead generation is key to developing targeted, effective solutions. By combining data from various digital and brick-and-mortar sources, businesses can refine their brand strategy, optimize customer engagement, and modernize their approach to better connect with diverse consumer segments, ensuring that values and new digital strategies are seamlessly integrated for future growth for both traditional and iconic brands.

[12:59] From Nuggets to Campaign Gold: From mortgage to diapers 

Don’t think a mortgage and a box of diapers have anything in common? For Alejandra, a successful diapers campaign for Huggies demonstrated the importance of timing and emotional connection by engaging expectant parents months before their baby's arrival, mirroring strategies in mortgage marketing where understanding the right moment to communicate, such as during the pre-approval process, is key. Both industries rely on tailored educational content and partnerships to build trust, enhance consumer experience, and navigate complex journeys, while also maintaining strict privacy and compliance standards.

[28:26] Gold Rush: Teach what you know

With a wealth of experience, Alejandra now gives back by teaching what she knows. Her "Branding in the Digital Age" class explores how to build brands in today's dynamic landscape by combining traditional models with modern tools like AI and social media, emphasizing the importance of brand fundamentals, purpose, and inclusivity. It also highlights the challenges of navigating global markets, cultural differences, and emerging technologies, particularly AI's potential to enhance predictive analytics while ensuring ethical practices and diversity in marketing strategies.

Links & Resources:

Connect with Kathryn

Connect with Alejandra

Learn more about Deluxe

Learn more about The Federal Savings Bank

In this episode, Kathryn sits down with Jasper Martens, CMO at PensionBee. They talk about the challenges of making unexciting products more compelling, the importance of data-driven insights and use cases, and the success of PensionBee’s unique, customer-centric campaigns.

Guest Quote:

“So that's when we started to realize that emotion plays a big part in what we offer. We started to remove the product more and more from our advertising and focusing more on the emotional layer…So completely going on the actual message you're trying to portray. And I think that's been the biggest learning for me as a financial marketer is, yes, it's great to focus on problem-solution, but if you really want to establish yourself as a direct to consumer proposition, you've got to do more than just showing that, you have to hone in on what does the product actually do to your customer in the end?”

Episode Breakdown: 

[04:30] Alchemy Unveiled: Beehive data

It’s not enough to have customer data; it needs to be tailored and personalized. PensionBee focuses are three main data sources they dub “the beehive”: marketing channel data, transactional data, and behavioral data. This data helps Jasper and his team focus on what the customer actually does than simply their demographics.

[16:19] From Nuggets to Campaign Gold: It’s all about the feels

When your product resonates with consumers emotionally, you’re working on a whole new level. Jasper and his team ran the Believe in the Bee campaign solely transfixed on how their product made their customers feel, focusing on the emotional messaging instead of product features. 

[26:46] Gold Rush: An exciting retirement option

What’s Jasper's secret sauce? Taking a product that is centered around a seemingly boring product like retirement planning and making it exciting. That’s what he’s looking toward for the future of PensionBee and its offerings.

Links & Resources:

Connect with Kathryn

Connect with Jasper 

Learn more about Deluxe

Learn more about PensionBee

In this episode, we’re joined by Michael Freeman, VP of Marketing at Airbase. Michael discusses how Airbase aims to deliver greater value and differentiation in the market, emphasizing the importance of listening directly to customers and the role of clear positioning. He also highlights the necessity of asking the right questions about your data and how those insights can lead to increased customer success.

Guest Quote:

“People just jump into data without spending the time to ask the right question in the first place, or to understand how is this data created? What are the assumptions behind it? What do these things mean? And so, I just see people jumping in and just start building reports and pulling things out and then making inferences off those answers, which may or may not be accurate, but they're probably often or very often they're not actually answering the underlying question that the person has. So I think the way that people can combat this is before you jump into any data, really spend the time thinking about what question am I really trying to answer? What blind spots might I have or what are the ways that this data that I'm looking at or I'm going to go ask for, how does it get created? If I can understand those things, I'm much more likely to get results that truly solve my problem or give me the insights I need to make the right decision.”

Episode Breakdown: 

[03:27] Alchemy Unveiled

Helping customers control their destiny: When customers use efficient procurement tools and systems, they better understand where they’re hard-earned dollars are going. This essentially helps customers take control of their destiny.

[09:30] From Nuggets to Campaign Gold

Small teams can move mountains: When you have a scrappy, nimble team, competing against larger companies with more money, you have to be very clever and keep asking questions and dig deeper to uncover insights that help you make better decisions.

[13:52] Gold Rush!

Don’t jump into data without asking the right questions: Before you start running and pulling reports, understand how your data is created and the problems you are trying to solve. 

Links & Resources:

Connect with Kathryn Turnoff

Connect with Michael Freeman

Learn more about Deluxe

Learn more about Airbase

In this episode, we’re joined by Andrew Fujii, Director of Digital Marketing & Sales at Legal & General America. Andrew shares specific techniques for getting it right with targeted ads, experiments LGA has conducted to reach their audience in different life stages, and why it’s important not to assume you’re always right. 

Guest Quote:

“Trigger marketing for life insurance is really about life events. And so whether it is an individual getting married, having their first child, buying their first home, those are all really big triggers for having life insurance or starting the process of looking for life insurance. And luckily there are some platforms out there, Google ads, for example, they actually have a life events category. And in that life events category, you can drill down and actually see this person is having a child, they're buying their first home, different things like that. And Google's building that based off of all the search intent that that user has.”

Segments: 

[03:03] Alchemy Unveiled: Mixing Marketing Potions

Trigger marketing for life insurance is all about life events: Andrew gives us a deep dive into why life insurance is important at any life stage and how, contrary to popular belief, it’s relatively inexpensive for most people. 

[16:42] From Nuggets to Campaign Gold

Flipping the approach on its head: Through a particular campaign, Andrew and his team were not seeing the results they wanted, so they refocused their efforts and saw the kind of success they were hoping for all along.

[20:35] Gold Rush!

Don’t assume you’re right: Actually, don’t assume anything! Sometimes, what seems like the worst product or webpage can be your greatest asset in a given moment.

Links & Resources:

• Connect with Kathryn Turnoff
• Connect with Andrew Fujii
• Learn more About Deluxe
• Learn more about Legal & General America

We sat down with Isabel Rittenberg, CMO of Marble. Marble is a "wallet for your insurance," allowing users to manage all their insurance policies in one place. 

Isabel shares with Kathryn her career journey from ed tech to FinTech to her current role at Marble. She discusses Marble's data-driven approach to target customers throughout their insurance lifecycle and shares insights into their data organization and processing methods.

Isabel highlights Marble's extensive use of data to personalize marketing campaigns and target specific user segments effectively. She discusses the importance of leveraging AI to enhance the user experience, such as developing an AI bot to provide personalized insurance insights. Isabel also explains how Marble utilizes data to identify business opportunities for partners, such as targeting homeowners in tornado-prone areas for specialized insurance campaigns. 

Overall, the interview provides valuable insights into Marble's data-driven marketing strategies and Isabel's approach to leveraging data to drive business growth and enhance the user experience in the insurance industry.

Guest Quote: 

“We would rather go to a small, targeted group that matches our parameters, then do that sort of spray and pray technique I mentioned before: So, really great getting granular with our queries. It's not uncommon for us to end up with a targeted campaign that might only go to, let's say, 400 people. But, those 400 people fit exactly in the parameters that we have, and then the  engagement sort of speaks to this. The fact that we're targeting correctly, you know, we'll see… 40 to 50 percent open rates.” - Isabel Rittenberg

Time Stamps:

• (01:36): Isabel’s Morning Data Routine
• (04:31): A Very Specific Customer
• (08:35): The “Self-Identifying” Customer
• (09:45): How Isabel Pulls Her Data
• (11:59): Using AI to Ask Questions
• (15:00): Going with your Gut?
• (20:32): Data Creating Business Opportunities
• (26:43): Creating a Need in the Market
• (32:59): The Gold Rush

Links:

Follow Isabel on Linkedin

Follow Deluxe on Linkedin

On today’s episode, we sit down with Alec Hanson, CMO of LoanDepot. Alec, a brand evangelist and content creator for lenders, shares insights from his 13-year journey. He delves into the evolution of marketing, blending his extensive sales background with emerging digital strategies, including social media and video content creation. Alec's humorous approach and dedication to authenticity shine through as he discusses his path to becoming CMO and the importance of leveraging data in modern marketing.

Alec highlights the crucial role of data in driving marketing decisions. From analyzing sales metrics to tracking customer behavior, Alec emphasizes the power of data-driven insights in shaping effective marketing strategies. He shares innovative approaches, such as leveraging AI for copywriting and customer service, to enhance efficiency and engagement.

Alec showcases successful campaigns driven by data insights. By targeting specific customer cohorts and delivering educational content, Loan Depot engages potential homebuyers effectively. Alec emphasizes the value of transparency and customer-centric marketing, debunking myths around data-driven approaches. Through candid discussions and practical examples, Alec underscores the importance of continuous improvement and staying ahead in the dynamic landscape of marketing.

Guest Quote: 

“With these kind of early indicators of people's activity, you know, we're able to send very specific messages (without creeping them out) that let them know that we have resources they may not have thought about.  And so, you know, we take on the form of education and, and kind of articles and blogs or videos that explain like tools and resources that are available to them.  And then it's an aha moment for a lot of our customers.”

Time Stamps:

• (00:21): Alec’s Humor in Making Marketing Content
• (01:46): From Mortgage Broker, to CMO
• (03:24): What data do you look at every day?
• (05:05): “If your marketing is good, sales is easy.”
• (07:27): AI Tools in the Marketing Mix
• (09:01): Making AI immediately cost effective
• (10:08): A not-so-lifetime purchase
• (13:43): A high quality of data, for Marketing Gold
• (16:03): Gary Vaynerchuk, and Unique Messaging
• (19:49): No more “Bad Marketing”
• (20:29): The Gold Rush

Links:

Follow Alec on Linkedin

Follow Deluxe on Linkedin

Today’s marketing frontier exists at the intersection of art and science - a realm where marketers have the power to turn their data into pure marketing gold.

Welcome to "Marketer's Alchemy," the podcast that unravels the mysteries and nuances that lead to transformational data-driven marketing. 

Within each episode, we will shine a light on the synergy between creativity, innovation, and analytics - revealing the alchemy that will elevate your marketing to the next level.

Explore with us, as we uncover invaluable lessons from seasoned marketing leaders who will illuminate the path to market success. We’ll demonstrate how data fuels innovation and propels campaigns to victory across a diverse array of industries. 

Marketer's Alchemy" is your front-row seat to the future of marketing, brought to you by Deluxe, a trailblazing force in data and marketing.

In this episode, Kathryn chats with Natalia Lumpkin, VP of Consumer Insights at PepsiCo. Natalia shares her inspiring career journey from studying law and political science in Poland to landing her current role in the US. They discuss the critical role of data analysis, balancing intuition with concrete data, and ever-evolving consumer behaviors, especially focusing on Gen Z. Natalia also covers the integration of digital and in-store experiences to engage consumers and build long-term loyalty.

Guest Quote:

“ I think we're not in a shortage of data…However, all of these data sources are really important for us because this is what feeds the intelligence and overall capabilities to then generate and produce actionable insights. In most places that I've been in, we have way too much data that we can absorb. So it's very important to not just have access to data, but be very clear about what we want to do with that data and collect it, not for the sake of having it, but actually for the sake of pairing it with tools and capabilities that really help us understand what we can go and do with it.”

Episode Breakdown: 

[03:56] Alchemy Unveiled: Picking up the crumbs left behind

There is no shortage of data, so the question becomes: what are we going to do with the data we have? Natalia and her team focus on the information that consumers leave behind about their behavior, likes and dislikes, and leverage this data to better inform the entire customer journey.

[18:10] From Nuggets to Campaign Gold: Getting to know Gen Z

To fit in the moment, you need to have the right product. What PepsiCo is learned is that Gen Z is all about relevant, personal experiences, so tapping into the consumer where they are at the right time is key. Both in-store and online experiences are essential for better understanding and interacting with Gen Z to create the types of experiences they are looking for through products.

[34:16] Gold Rush: Be the choice on the consumer journey

Consumer intelligence and empathy create more meaningful and delightful products. Natalia’s focus is always how to address unmet needs that elevate brand experiences. By focusing on quality, innovation, and omnichannel integration, she aims to enhance value, deliver unique moments of indulgence, and cater to diverse consumers across all touchpoints.

Links & Resources:

Connect with Kathryn

Connect with Natalia Lumpkin

Learn more about Deluxe

Learn more about PepsiCo

Get all the latest updates on pepviz

In this episode, Kathryn sits down with Tiffany Grinstead, VP of Personal Lines Marketing at Nationwide. Tiffany provides insights into innovative ways Nationwide is using data to improve customer experience and prevent losses and shares a behind the scenes look at their first-party, third-party, and zero-party data. She also talks about  how to create personalized customer journeys, why balancing data with qualitative research is essential, and dig into Nationwide's innovative weather alert opt-in pilot program.

Guest Quote:

“That message at the right time is really important. And, you know, that's where your data has to also kind of be melded. And I love the alchemy piece of it, right? With your market research…And to some extent, you can look at the data and it'll give you a certain amount of information, where they are in your journey, what might interest them, what they respond best to. And the more you sort of store those things and then use them for the next time, the better the experience becomes for the person. But it doesn't actually end up negating the need to do really good and smart research to understand what the options are in messaging for different kinds of people. And to be able to then use technology to amplify those in different ways that feel tailored more to the one to one.”

Episode Breakdown: 

[02:23] Alchemy Unveiled: Data and the customer journey

Insightful campaigns require not only data but also critical thinking, A/B testing, and an awareness of qualitative signals, which together help refine messaging and resonate with customers no matter where they are in their journeys.

[12:55] From Nuggets to Campaign Gold: Right message, perfect time

Sometimes, your customers seem to get lost in translation. Well, that’s because they are! Understanding your data and why your customers behave the way they do allows greater insights into programs that actually help them. Take Nationwide’s smart home program and their new pilot program, which notifies customers of severe weather conditions so they can prepare and protect themselves and their belongings at the exact moment it matters.

[19:35] Gold Rush: Be a partner to your customers

Nationwide is evolving beyond its traditional “repair and replace” model to a "protect and prevent" philosophy, actively helping customers safeguard their valuable memories and investments with preventive tools like free in-home monitoring devices for water and fire risks.

Links & Resources:

Connect with Kathryn

Connect with Tiffany

Learn more about Deluxe

Learn more about Nationwide

In this episode, Kathryn chats with Llibert Argerich, CMO at Thumbtack. They discuss Thumbtack's mission to connect homeowners with professionals, how the company leverages vast data resources to enhance user experience, the use of AI for personalized customer interactions, the importance of data governance, and the benefits of symbiotic partnerships with brands. Llibert also emphasizes the need for marketers to embrace change and leverage AI to increase productivity and efficiency.

Guest Quote:

“We have so many open fronts with AI…Traditional search is really telling us, I need an electrician. And then we make the matching on the backend with electricians, but you don't always know that's an electrician that you need. So allowing customers to really state their problems in a way that is natural, whether that's long query strings or uploading an image, uploading a video, and having AI  understand that and then making the right assumptions, connections, and ultimately connecting with a pro, that's a big, big, improvement and I think forward that we're basically just working on right now to really help customers get to that right solution with minimal effort.”

Episode Breakdown: 

[01:49] Alchemy Unveiled: Navigating a two-sided marketplace

On Thumbtack, there is a two-sided marketplace connecting homeowners to local pros and vice versa. By leveraging a blend of first-party and third-party data, including behavioral insights and property details, Thumbtack personalizes both the user experience and communications, making it easier for homeowners to find the right professional for their needs and for pros to grow their businesses.

[11:12] Nuggets to Campaign Gold: Marrying seasonal moments with customer needs

Thumbtack's seasonal campaigns align with key home maintenance periods, like spring cleaning, and are tailored to individual homeowner needs based on their living situations and preferences. They utilize advanced data-driven tools and personalized communication to simplify home management, proactively connecting homeowners with the right professionals, and measuring effectiveness through detailed user engagement and predictive modeling.

[31:23] Gold Rush: Don’t be afraid of change

Embrace change and don't fear AI; instead, leverage it to become more efficient, productive, and valuable, especially in creative fields where adapting can open up new opportunities. Thumbtack is focused on digitizing home services with AI-enhanced search, better homeowner-pro connections, and tools to help pros manage their businesses, aiming to bring more of this $600 billion industry into the digital era.

Links & Resources:

Connect with Kathryn Turnoff

Connect with Llibert Argerich

Learn more about Deluxe

Learn more about Thumbtack