The Kula Ring

Sales and marketing alignment is huge, and historically, sales and marketing haven’t been best friends. Steven Nghe, Head of Marketing and Communications at Kloeckner Metals, discusses when Kloeckner Metals realized that sales and marketing has changed, and they needed to change with it. He discusses the digitalization of more multidimensional and complex marketing practices that need to be enhanc...

When all the players in the industry are using the same visuals, how do you stand out? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Monique Elliott, SVP of Global Marketing at Schneider Electric, Industrial Automation, discusses their challenger approach to bring industrial automation to life through different visuals that also appeal to the end-user. She also discusses how core campaign pillars are used to...

In this episode of The Kula Ring podcast, we're joined by marketing leadership expert and organizational psychologist Thomas Barta. He's worked with hundreds of companies over his 20-year career to facilitate and lead organizational transformations. On the podcast, Thomas shares how marketers can build better relationships with the C-suite and achieve buy-in on their ideas. Diving deeper, he share...

Our latest guest on The Kula Ring is Mike Currie, the General Manager of the Desktop Printing Unit at Nexa3D. He works in the 3D modelling business, making industrial 3D printers to bring the next generation of ultra-fast printing to the marketplace. In this episode, Mike talks about how he is creating and setting up his marketing and sales teams for success through leadership, empowerment and col...

This week on the Kula Ring, we talk to Ken Novak, the owner of HATCH quantified. Ken walks us through the HATCH methodology, and how he works with organizations to understand their individual audience’s needs, drivers, motivators, and challenges in order to craft and execute strategies that will help them stand out in the market. We talk to Ken about psychology’s role in digital strategy and dive...

In this week’s episode of The Kula Ring, we talk to John Weiler, SDR Manager at Path Robotics. John talks to us about the fast-paced world of growth, experimentation, and innovation in the VC (Venture Capital) world. This episode dives into how Path Robotics has seen shifts and changes in its operations over the pandemic and how they have overcome those challenges, with a particular focus on their...

It’s all about understanding and respecting the nuances between local and global markets to stay agile, shares our latest guest, Ashley Riley, the Director of Global Marketing Campaigns and Content at Nilfisk. In this week’s episode of The Kula Ring, Ashley talks about the power of process and alignment, specifically referencing the RACI setup to keep team members informed and accountable on where...

Brian Baker, the founder of DoDecaHedron Design is our most recent guest on The Kula Ring podcast. He’s worked in the travel industry, spending time at Travelocity, owned an agency, and now has found his way into the building materials industry.

Jerry Bernhart, the Principal of Bernhart Associates Executive Search, is our latest guest on The Kula Ring Podcast. Jerry started recruiting in the marketing space in the late ’80s, but when the internet interrupted and changed the world, Jerry knew there would be a huge need for marketers so he jumped all-in and focused more on recruiting, working with organizations like HotJobs, and Monster.

Matt Canter, our latest guest on The Kula Ring, dives into the objectives and key results methodology he and his team are applying to their marketing strategies to target and grow Greenfield Global’s four main pillars: customer experience, retention, acquisition, and brand positioning. Matt has a diverse work background with unique experiences in several industries including sports marketing, cann...

Joseph Lewin, the Marketing Manager at CADENAS PARTsolutions, the latest guest on The Kula Ring, shares that niching down is a necessity for manufacturing marketers. He describes his unique process called The Brand Compass, which helps companies align their brand messaging company-wide. Learn from Joseph as he shares his knowledge on brand positioning and his success using highly targeted niche ma...

This week on the Kula Ring podcast we sat down with return guest Sangram Vajre, the co-founder of Terminus. He chats us through his latest book, ‘MOVE: The 4-question Go-to-Market Framework,’ which was created to propel businesses forward in their go-to-market process. Sangram pulls excerpts from this book and shares his knowledge with Jeff and Carman on how marketers can approach their go-to-mark...

In this episode, Liz Shovlin, the Director of Sales & Marketing for Americas at Nicomatic talks about how niche marketing and traditional sales have helped her build and expand the Nicomatic brand in the Americas. She goes into detail describing the multi-faceted marketing approach she uses that incorporates a mix of social media, content, and traditional sales to deliver the right messages to spe...

Hello, manufacturing marketers! Today, I’m pleased to present you with another fine episode from the Kula Ring vault. This conversation with Sander Arts, founder of Orange Tulip Consulting, author, and former VP/CMO with NXP semiconductors gets to the heart of how to tell a better narrative and stay away from the ‘speeds and feeds’ style of marketing that plagues so many B2B industrial organizatio...

Hello, manufacturing marketers! We’re excited to bring you a fresh episode from the Kula Ring vault today with a 2019 interview we conducted with Brittney Zeller, formerly the Marketing Technology and Analytics Manager at American Air Filter. Brittney is now the Director of Marketing and Communications for the Americas, and the lessons she shared are no less relevant today. Learn how AAF chooses m...

Hi everyone! Thanks for joining us for another episode from The Kula Ring archives. Today, we’re excited to bring you a conversation with Augie Ray, Senior Research Analyst & Executive Advisor of Customer Experience at Gartner, Inc.

Hi everyone! With the Kula Ring audience growing so much over the past while, chances are Dear Listener that you might be new here! With that in mind, we are going to be periodically sharing with you some brilliant insights manufacturing marketers need now that come from Kula Ring episodes you probably haven't heard yet.

On the Kula Ring podcast this week, we had the opportunity to speak with Jim Cahill, the Chief Blogger and the Head of Social Marketing at Emerson Automation Solutions. Since 2006, Jim has been cultivating Emerson’s social media presence and digital brand. Over his 33-year career at the company, Jim has witnessed a lot of change in marketing, starting with the introduction of internet marketing in...

Using asymmetric marketing can help you stay agile in a highly competitive market, says David Koerner, the VP of Global Marketing for 75F. He and his team have found success by applying an asymmetric lens to their marketing efforts to attract and convert their customers. David believes that marketers need to think outside the box—he talks about examples from Burger King, Five Guys, and Southwest A...

“You have to talk to engineers to get the right information,” says Sannah Vinding, the Executive Director of Product Development and Marketing at VCC, our latest guest on this week’s episode of The Kula Ring podcast. Sannah has a unique mix of skills with a background in mechanical engineering, and a passion for marketing, she shares her tips and advice on how to better engage and target engineers...

‘Video is the strongest tool to build a brand,’ says our latest guest Vern Oakley, the CEO and Creative Director of Tribe Pictures. Vern is a video marketing expert with over 30 years in the industry creating films, videos, and commercials. Vern talks about why he believes video content is a powerful tool for your marketing strategy. He shares tips on being authentic on camera and how to work with...

Staying agile in a competitive market can be a challenge, says our latest guest Paul Dailey, the Director of Product and Market Strategy at Outback Power. Over the past five years, Paul has been focused on transitioning to new technologies and growing Outback’s available market. Paul talks about marketing in a growing industry and the importance of establishing a value proposition as customers’ op...

David Roberge, the Marketing Manager at Industrial Packaging, takes a different approach to sales by using video. In this week’s episode, David dives into how he and his team have seen positive sales and engagement growth using video as part of their sales content marketing strategy. Learn from David how he uses customer feedback and queries to create targeted video content his customers want.

Among the manufacturing marketers we talk to, developing technical content that is engaging and meets engineers at their level is a significant challenge. In this week's episode, Adam Kimmel—a technical content writer for engineers and founder of ASK Consulting Solutions—shares the tricks of the trade. Learn from Adam how to translate engineering knowledge into engaging content people actually wan...

It’s all about being customer-centric, says our latest guest, Kevin Must, Corporate Marketing & Communication Manager for Cold Jet. In this week’s episode of The Kula Ring, Kevin talks with Jeff and Carman about how data segmentation is helping him and his team understand their customers and their ideal audience better.