The Marketer Exchange

In this live episode of The Marketer Exchange , recorded at the University of Tennessee’s Marketing and Sales Innovation Alliance Conference, host Zach Thompson sits down with UT Haslam alum and Intuit marketing leader Danielle Franklin DeSarzant to explore what it takes to stand out in a social first, highly competitive environment. The conversation centers on a core challenge facing marketers to...

In this episode of The Marketer Exchange , I’m joined by Brookney Chamberlain, CEO of Asen Marketing, for a wide ranging conversation on what consistently drives marketing performance over time. Brookney brings 17 years of agency experience to the discussion, having grown from intern to CEO, and her perspective is grounded in seeing what works, what fails, and why. We talk about the foundational e...

In this episode of The Marketer Exchange , Zach Thompson is joined by Nora von Arnim , Strategy Director at RAPP, for an in‑depth conversation on customer experience, strategy, and the realities of agency work today. Nora shares how strategy teams operate inside a modern marketing agency, working at the intersection of client services, data, marketing science, and creative. The discussion explores...

What is digital nomad life really like beyond the Instagram highlight reel? In this episode, I sit down with Benjamin Jones-Gerrard, a marketer who has lived and worked full-time in his self-converted campervan across Europe for the past three years. Benjamin shares the reality of running a marketing career on the road, from client work and Wi‑Fi logistics to building a sustainable skill set that...

What does paid social actually look like in 2026? In this episode, I sit down with Katt Wade, a UK-based paid social specialist who has worked agency-side, spent seven years at eBay, and now works in paid social for Primark. We discuss: The difference between always-on vs campaign-based marketing What agency life really looks like day to day How AI and automation are changing Meta and paid social...

What does it really take to build a brand that lasts and a marketing career with purpose? In this episode of The Marketer Exchange, Zach Thompson sits down with John Carroll, Executive Director of City Leadership and the leader behind the “901” campaigns including Choose901, Teach901, Serve901, and Give901. This conversation explores marketing strategy, storytelling, and purpose-driven leadership...

In this episode, I sit down with Joe Johnston, Head of Conversion Optimisation & Experimentation at Launch, a UK-based performance marketing agency, to explore what really drives results in digital marketing. We move beyond “spray and pray” tactics and into the discipline of experimentation: forming hypotheses, A/B testing, and building a long-term CRO program that improves performance across...

Former Knoxville Smokies social media manager Lindsey Archer (now with the Charleston RiverDogs ) joins us to talk about what it really looks like to run social for a Minor League Baseball team, from pulling tarp and shooting content to planning campaigns and measuring impact. Starting as an intern while studying marketing at the University of Tennessee, Lindsey worked her way up to Community Rela...