The Marketing Share

What separates a brand flop from a phoenix-worthy comeback? (Spoiler: It’s not just a logo swap.) Fractional CMO and brand reinvention expert Todd Allard joins Barb VanSomeren and Alec Chung to unpack how brands pivot from public missteps to powerhouse reputations. From rebooting Lumber Liquidators after a multi-million dollar scandal over tainted wood imports to renaming Everest University post-...

Ever feel like your marketing metrics are just… noise? In this episode, fractional CMO and growth strategist Monique Olan joins co-hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren to cut through the clutter. We’re talking about how to ditch vanity metrics, align KPIs with real business outcomes, and turn data into your team’s storytelling superpower. Monique shares her battle-tested framework for diagnosing...

In this episode of The Marketing Share, our cohosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren sat down with Scott Cate—a tech veteran who’s been building software since the days of floppy disks—to chat about one of marketing’s most overlooked headaches: broken links. Scott’s company, 301.Pro, helps marketers like you turn those frustrating “404 errors” into opportunities. Imagine QR codes that actually work...

Is your CRM actually helping you close more deals—or just creating more headaches? In this episode of The Marketing Share , we sit down with Jason Kramer, CEO of Cultivize, to uncover the biggest mistakes businesses make with CRM systems—and how to fix them. Jason, known as The Yoda of CRM , shares how businesses can bridge the gap between marketing and sales, clean up messy data, and turn “dead”...

What does it take to future-proof your marketing strategy as Google evolves, AI reshapes search, and zero-click searches rise? In this episode of The Marketing Share , hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren chat with Corey Morris—CEO of Voltage Agency and **author of The Digital Marketing Success Plan —to unpack SEO’s evolution, zero-click searches, and Google’s volatile AI updates. The pivotal cha...

Ready to decode the CEO-CMO relationship and ramp up your company’s growth? In this episode of The Marketing Share , hosts Barb Van Someren and Alec Cheung sit down with John Short—founder of Compound Growth Marketing—to uncover how aligning with your CEO’s vision can fuel real, sustainable results. John shines a spotlight on why understanding your CEO’s perception of marketing—whether it’s brand...

How can loyalty programs become your most powerful tool for growth and retention? In this episode of The Marketing Share, hosts Barb Van Someren and Alec Cheung sit with Rob Reid, a leader in B2B retention and loyalty programs, managing over $200 million in business for hearing and audiology practices. Rob shares how he scaled Sonova’s loyalty program from 100 to nearly 900 members and reveals why...

What does it take for a new marketing leader to succeed in the first 90 days? In this episode of The Marketing Share, hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren tackle the pivotal early weeks of a marketing leadership role—from setting a pre-start game plan and conducting thorough “forensics,” to managing leadership expectations and quickly identifying performance gaps.  They draw on personal experienc...

In this episode of The Marketing Share Podcast, co-hosts, Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren, chat with Haley Exum about the importance of sales enablement . Haley shares her unique career journey and explains why sales and marketing need to work together more than ever. Together they dive into the essential role of sales training and why small businesses should be focusing on the right tools to leve...

What does it take to thrive in today’s fast-changing B2B marketing landscape? In this episode of The Marketing Share, hosts Barb VanSomeren and Alec Cheung sit down with Mike Maynard, CEO of Napier Group, to explore the evolving intersection of PR, storytelling, and Account-Based Marketing (ABM). Mike draws on decades of experience in the B2B sector to share actionable strategies for navigating ch...

What does it take to craft marketing strategies that truly resonate in the B2B manufacturing space? In this episode of The Marketing Share , we sit down with Chris Peer, founder of SyncShow, to explore the power of ROI-driven marketing and how a well-defined value proposition can set your business apart. Chris shares his insights from his years of experience working with manufacturing clients, hig...

What does the future of marketing look like in a world with fewer cookies and heightened privacy concerns?  In this episode of The Marketing Share , hosts Barb Van Someren and Alec Cheung interview Jeff Greenfield marketing expert and CEO of Provalytics to unpack the challenges and strategies reshaping today’s marketing attribution. Jeff shares his insights from years in the advertising industry,...

Are you struggling to scale your demand generation efforts?  In this episode of The Marketing Share , our hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren chat with Carly Botelho, Director of Demand Generation at Intellimize, about practical tips on building and scaling demand generation from the ground up. Carly breaks down the key steps to get demand generation running smoothly, from setting up the right t...

As a new marketing leader, how do you ensure your creative vision aligns with the financial health of your company?  In this episode, hosts Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren dive deep into the answer to this question with Darren Ferry, a fractional CFO and former GM, with over 20 years of experience working with startups and scale-ups across North America.  In this conversation, our marketing and fi...

In this episode of The Marketing Share, hosts Alec and Barb sit down with seasoned fractional CMO, Andy Culligan, to explore the complexities of modern marketing leadership.  Andy breaks down why building an effective marketing team is more challenging than ever. With specialties like paid ads, content creation, and marketing ops under the marketing umbrella, it’s unrealistic to expect one person...

Attribution in marketing refers to the process of assigning credit to various touchpoints along a consumer's journey that contribute to a desired outcome, such as a purchase or conversion. It's crucial for CMOs to grasp this concept because it provides clarity on which marketing efforts are most effective and justifies budget allocations. When CEOs inquire about attribution, they seek da...

There's a very common mistake that first-time marketing leaders tend to make. Unfortunately, you don't realize you're doing it till you find yourself on the defensive.  In this episode, we talk between ourselves as co-hosts and marketing leaders ourselves about what we've learned regarding this blind spot, including why it happens and how to avoid it.  Explore the video content...

In this Marketing Leader Interviews episode, meet Kyle Rutledge, a digital marketing professional with over a decade of experience across in-house, agency, and contract roles. Kyle shares his journey from a self-taught video producer to leading the marketing department of a seed stage SaaS startup. He offers valuable insights into the fast-paced world of agency work, the challenges of transitionin...

What exactly does a Creative Director do? And when should I consider hiring a marketing agency? In this episode, we get answers to these questions from Matt Kuttan, a creative director who has worked at many top marketing agencies and on a number of well-known brands. Matt discusses the Chief Creative Officer role and how marketing agencies have changed over the years. He explains a key industry s...

Should I hire a good writer who can learn my industry, or turn an industry expert into a good writer? This is a common question many marketers face. In this episode, Janine Kalbach, owner of WriteRN, shares her insights on writing and marketing, particularly in specialized industries like hers (healthcare). Janine discusses her unique background as a nurse turned writer and the journey that led he...

One of the big draws to working at an early stage startup is getting to build the marketing function from ground zero. However, the challenges are also significant. Competition is high, awareness is low, and winning often depends on a few good moves and the right focus. In this installment of our Marketing Leader Series, we speak with Mike Harmon, a 4X founding-level marketer at venture-backed com...

This February 2024, Google (and Yahoo) will be implementing changes that affect email deliverability, especially to personal accounts. While B2B users won't be quite as impacted, these changes are good indicators of how large email providers continue to work to reduce spam. To help marketing leaders understand the impact of these changes on outbound marketing and how best practices should be...

Managing a department requires more than broad functional or technical knowledge. You also need to convey intangible qualities such as leadership, authority, and influence. These often get described as “having executive presence.” However, what does this term really mean and how do you know if you have it? If you don't, how can you work to improve your executive presence? This episode’s guest...

Few leaders would argue the value of having a strong brand. Yet for CMOs, tying brand investment to performance has always been a challenge.  We have used measures like aided and unaided awareness, but these can feel soft and at odds with the ground level priorities of an organization. Plus, many companies with low overall awareness have strong businesses, especially in niche markets. So, how can...

Branding is usually an understood and accepted marketing objective at the C-level. At the same time, demand metrics such as pipeline performance and funnel optimization are what most marketing leaders are measured against. Can marketing do both? Should they, especially if the company is earlier stage? In this first of two episodes on brand and demand, we speak with Beth Hunsicker Parker, founder o...