The Kula Ring

Marketing plans developed last year for 2020 look drastically different now because of the pandemic—not just in the tradeshow arena, but also how new markets are identified. In this episode of The Kula Ring, Jaclyn Wallace, Director of Marketing for Nederman Division North America, covers a variety of topics including how the pandemic is forcing marketing and sales to effectively adapt into the di...

In lean manufacturing environments that focus on product development, how can organizations prevent marketing from becoming an afterthought? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Heather Smriga, Marketing Communications Manager of EaglePicher Technologies, shares how the company’s Voice of the Customer research is fueled by feedback across the enterprise and provides insights on how leveraging differe...

Customer demand for real-time data is driving manufacturers to build web-enabled systems to share information more efficiently across channels. In this episode of The Kula Ring, John Joyce, Global Marketing Director of Brennan Industries, talks about how he helped his organization make data more accessible to their distribution channels and partners. He shares insights on how leveraging data impro...

Leading up to the ManufacturED Summit on October 21, 2020, Jeff and Carman talk to Rob Atkinson, Founder and President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), on how U.S.-China relations are affecting manufacturers, particularly North American firms with supply chains in China. Rob shares insights on how manufacturers are economically decoupling from China while participati...

Leading up to the ManufacturED Summit on October 21, 2020, Jeff and Carman talk with Stephen Gold, President and CEO of the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI). MAPI is the organization behind the ManufacturED Summit. Topics that will be covered in depth at the Summit are previewed on the podcast, including 5G’s impact on manufacturing, the future of the U.S.-China supply...

In celebration of the first 100 episodes of The Kula Ring, co-hosts Jeff White and Carman Pirie reflect on three game-changing lessons shared by podcast guests over the years. First, reconsidering marketing projects—apps, Ecommerce builds—as iterative, evolving “products”; a conversation with Monique Elliott, former Chief Marketing Officer at ABB Electrification Products, Industrial Solutions. Sec...

To celebrate 100 episodes of The Kula Ring, co-hosts Jeff White and Carman Pirie share lessons from remarkable podcast guests on customer feedback across the manufacturing enterprise. They reflect on insights from Greg Palmer, Director of Marketing at National Nail, on how to develop a customer-centric approach to product development and marketing. They share thoughts from Tim Bay, Head of Digital...

To celebrate The Kula Ring’s 100th episode, co-hosts Jeff White and Carman Pirie reflect on account-based marketing insights from exceptional guests. They share lessons from Sangram Vajre, Co-Founder of Terminus, on the strategic nature of ABM; Daniel Englebretson’s 100% win rate using ABM with Phononic; and Fabio Luz’s pilot ABM campaign success at Schneider Electric.

While some manufacturing organizations are reeling from trade show and conference cancellations, others are finding new ways to connect exhibitors, peers, and prospects. This week on The Kula Ring, Michelle Edmonson, Senior Director, Exhibitions Operations and Marketing at The Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), talks about transforming The International Manufacturing Technology Show’s...

Is the key to being a successful manufacturing brand actually getting out of manufacturing? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Carl Breau, the CEO of contract manufacturer Saimen, and Jean-Luc Hébert, Vice President, International Sales & Marketing, discuss how manufacturers are handing over production to contract manufacturers so they can shift their core competency to marketing and product develo...

Manufacturing marketers rely on trade shows, but many have been cancelled since the pandemic began. How can marketers replace an in-person trade show presence, at least in the short term, and connect with prospects remotely? Jim Cermak, host of the Trade Show University podcast, talks to Jeff and Carman about how manufacturers are adapting to trade show cancellations and how to translate the eleme...

Industrial marketers eager to provide useful content to prospects can only get so far with lunch-and-learns and coffee mugs. This week on The Kula Ring, Adam Beck, Director of Marketing at CADENAS PARTsolutions shares how the company’s tool for creating 3D CAD models enables engineers and other stakeholders to create content marketing assets that improve lead generation.

Aaron Lichtig, Vice President of Growth Marketing shares how Xometry uses a digital approach on going to market as a network-based manufacturing platform. The two-sided network uses content marketing to attract customer demand, and partner acquisition marketing activities to secure the supplier side of the business. Xometry’s overall marketing is based on Google’s See, Think, Do, Care model, which...

What is the role of a B2B2C marketer? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Dirk Mortensen, Marketing Manager for ARB 4x4 Accessories, North America, talks about his move from B2B to B2B2C marketing. He talks about making the shift from a heavy metrics-driven B2B background in business equipment to creating B2B2C marketing programs for consumer goods where success is more dependent on emotional connec...

The last decade has seen a dramatic change in the way manufacturers, marketers, and agencies approach the web. In this episode of The Kula Ring, Eoin Vincent, Senior Global Marketing Technology Manager at Olympus, shares his experience creating successful manufacturing marketing content over the last 11 years. He talks about how he manages his team as the work becomes increasingly digital and the...

While other industries are overloaded with content, manufacturers operating in niche verticals have the unique opportunity to own the content space. In this episode of The Kula Ring, Trout River Industries Owner Darrin Mitchell talks about how the company’s 6-million-view YouTube channel and content marketing strategy have transformed the manufacturer from the “underdog” to industry authority.

Digital marketing enables manufacturers to fine-tune their tactics down to their best-fit accounts, but it can also create a false expectation that each marketing engagement can provide a guaranteed ROI. In this episode of The Kula Ring, Ahsan Javed, manufacturing marketer veteran, talks about his customer collaboration framework and how his background in engineering and marketing guides his itera...

How can manufacturers optimize their ecommerce presence and avoid conflict with their sales channels? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Kevin O’Boyle, InterMetro Industries’ Director of Marketing and Digital Business Solutions, talks about guiding the manufacturer’s channel conflict strategy during a recent ecommerce launch.

B2B manufacturers launching ecommerce environments need to shift how they sell and interact with customers in the marketplace. Chris Rice, Director of eCommerce, Sales, and Marketing, shares his top 5 must-do tips for getting an ecommerce operation underway at a B2B company.

B2B manufacturers with limited addressable markets are expanding their reach by translating best practices from sales relationships into automated environments. Andrew Vocaire, Director of Digital Strategy at Ravago, a global plastic production and distribution company, shares insights into the company’s experimentation with digital tools and processes to acquire market share.

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is designed to reach your best-fit accounts with highly focused and relevant messages. But what happens when your target accounts don’t convert on the products or actions you serve them? Sergio Lemus, Senior Manager, Demand Generation at Cooper Lighting Solutions, shares conversion challenges from the company’s first ABM campaign, and how they turned things around to...

A secure supply chain enables consumers to authenticate products at point of purchase, which adds value. Mark Manning, Founder & CEO of iTRACE Technologies, talks about creating a “digital twin” of a product in a blockchain ledger and using the iTRACE app to deter counterfeit production in a manufacturer’s own supply chain.

More than most industries, manufacturers know that innovation is key to survival. But what value is placed on marketing efforts during this transition? James Soto, Founder & CEO of Industrial Strength Marketing, talks to Jeff and Carman about how B2B industrial marketers are leading the digital transformation charge and why they need to bring executive leadership on side to foster innovation and e...

COVID-19 has created a huge disruption in marketing, one we haven’t seen since the recession in 2008, says Ryan Carlson, Head of Market Development for Healthjump. He shares insights on how to evolve your brand marketing when your customer base is facing a new reality.

When it comes to creating account-based marketing (ABM) campaigns, more companies are stuck in strategy mode versus putting a program into practice. Fabio Luz, Latin America Media Team Leader and North America Digital Media Strategist at Schneider Electric, shares his account-based marketing pilot process, which helped the company identify target accounts and move them down the sales pipeline.