Marketing with Wharton's Hip Hop Prof

Ricardo Marques, VP of Marketing at Michelob Ultra joins Barbara and Americus to discuss the brand's message that health, wellness, and balance should be at the core of all that we do. Enjoy the small moments, and don't take anything for granted. And this year's Superbowl campaign really drives that message home. There is a common misconception that amazing and elite athletes like Serena Williams, Peyton Manning, and Anthony Davis, are always working on their sport by constantly working out, dieting, and being very disciplined. However, through a number of interviews, the Michelob Ultra team found that even these superior athletes perform their best when they are happy and balanced. Not only is it okay, but it's also necessary to take breaks and relax every now and then. Otherwise, you just set yourself up for major burn out. Check out the "HAPPY" commercial here.Ricardo wraps by sharing that the brand has plans to continue to grow and that their Superbowl spot served as a great catalyst to continue spreading the message of joy, balance, and not to take life so seriously.

VP of Marketing at Chipotle Mexican Grill, Stephanie Perdue joins Barbara and Americus to discuss Chipotle and the restaurant industry coping with the Coronavirus pandemic. Back in March 2020, the restaurant industry was hit hard when social distancing and stay at home orders were rolled out, meaning they had to close their doors. Chipotle responded very well by realizing their Gen-Z and Millennial customer base was transacting through their phone and at the start of the pandemic, 20% of sales were digital. Chipotle was founded on the radical belief that real food is better for you and for the world. Sourcing real and sustainable ingredients and providing food with high integrity standards is what the brand stands for, and they wanted to promote and advocate this message for their first-ever Superbowl Ad. Going beyond product and service was what Chipotle wanted to drive home as the pandemic has brought to light many issues, yet we still have the power to mobilize and have a positive impact on the future.

In this episode, we are joined by Nicole Portwood, who is the VP of Marketing at Mountain Dew. This year, Mountain Dew launched a new permanent flavor in their lineup, and this hasn't been done in over a decade. Mountain Dew Major Melon is the brand's new watermelon flavored soda and for this year's Superbowl Ad they are doing something really fun. John Cena, WWE Superstar, and actor brings the larger than life flavor to fans nationwide. The commercial which aired during the first half of the game features hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of Mtn Dew Major Melon bottles, and the fan to correctly count and tweet the exact number of bottles in the ad could win $1 million dollars. Not only does Mountain Dew get to change one lucky fan's life forever, but they also have the opportunity to create engagement and conversations after the fact surrounding the positivity, joy, and fun of this commercial.

In this episode, Barbara and Americus welcome two guests: Raghuram Iyengar, Professor of Marketing at Wharton University, and Berkeley Dietvorst, Associate Professor of Marketing at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Algorithms are any step-by-step process that is consistent and that we don't deviate from. This can be something as simple as a recipe, or something far more complex such as computer algorithms that perform complex operations.There is a fair amount of ethical controversy surrounding the use of algorithms and in what context. For example, in a vaccination context, what would success look like and that really comes down to the eye of the beholder and their moral rules. Typically when an algorithm fails or is imperfect, we as humans lose trust and no longer want to use/interact with it. However, algorithms are great when set up correctly and maximize the variable as it is instructed to do. It's when an algorithm isn't given the right objective that we begin to run into issues.

In this episode, Barbara and Americus are joined by Steve Sadove who is the former Chairman and SEO of SAKS and now the Principal of his own firm. Steve talks about the resilient consumer and how our buying habits have shifted to contactless (online, digital, and mobile) due to the pandemic, and that the underlying momentum for this shift was already there and majorly accelerated due to lock down and stay-at-home orders. 80% of commerce still happens in a physical location, so in-store shopping is not going away anytime soon. In fact, Steve predicts that luxury, fashion, and beauty are all going to make a big comeback. They then switch gears to discuss the future of real-estate and how we are seeing a fundamental shift. Rental resets, shorter lease terms, pop-up shops, and businesses partnering together to keep their physical locations up and running are all emerging trends.

In this episode, Barbara and Americus welcome guest, James Zahn who is the Senior Editor of The Toy Book, The Pop Insider, and The Toy Insider at Adventure Media and Events, LLC. James shares that despite the assumption that the toy industry would have catastrophic drops due to the Coronavirus pandemic, that with families having the gift of time and spending more time at home, they began connecting and playing together more. However, there were certain waves of what toys and games became popular throughout the shifting landscape of the pandemic. James shares that in March/April 2020 games and puzzles really took off when stay-at-home orders were put into place. The second wave they saw was June/July when the weather changed and got warmer. Families were spending more time outside and so outdoor toys/activities/games saw a big sales increase.Barbara segways into the Netflix series The Queens Gambit, about a girl in a 1950's orphanage who reveals an astonishing talent for Chess. Companies all across the board have been selling out on traditional chess games and a company called Winning Moves came out with No Stress Chess that teaches you how to play using illustrated cards.

In this episode, Barbara and Americus are joined by VP, Ad Sales & Strategy at Roku Inc., Allison Levin. Allison shares that Roku is America's number one streaming service with 46 million active households, and more than half of those that no longer have access to linear. Meaning normal access to a cable subscription. She also shares that they believe all TV will eventually be streamed and served over an IP, along with all TV advertising being streamed. Consumer behavior has shown a steady trend towards streaming services, however, the Coronavirus pandemic served as a major catalyst and accelerated that trend. Cable services lost live sports, new programming, and folks found they could save money by opting for a streaming service that offered better content.In terms of advertising, businesses are becoming more strategic about where they're putting their ad spend dollars. With linear programming audiences headed in a downward trend, the budgets moved. The number one thing Roku sets out to do is to research and provide the data that supports this shift.

In today's episode, we are joined by Kathy Hines, VP of Global Marketing and Licensing at Dickies. Dickies started in 1922 as a workwear brand outfitting those on the frontlines and that's who they are at their core. Kathy speaks to something near and dear to her heart and that's the recent awareness that has been brought to light about the civil unrest in our country. Using their platform to shine a light on the Black Lives Matter movement, Dickies launched the content series "We Have Hard Work to Do" which seeks to highlight some black-owned businesses within their community and around the country. In addition, the company has recently launched their first-ever global campaign, United by Inspiration, United by Dickies, where they bring to life real stories about real people that exemplify the toughness and pride of Dickies. Across the countries, nationalities, and genders, people have been able to come together and share stories among the different craftsmanships and skilltrades.

Digital Undivided was founded in 2012 by tech pioneer, Kathryn Finney as a social startup with 501(c)(3) status that merges data and heart to develop innovative programs and initiatives that catalyzes economic growth in Black and Latinx communities.On this episode, we are joined by CEO, Lauren Maillian, who is a change agent committed to diversity, innovation, and inclusion. She explains that Digital Undivided is a non-profit social startup leading the shift towards inclusive innovation in both entrepreneurship and innovation across the industries. Lauren shares that the amount of women of color in the "million-dollar club" has more than doubled since 2018. However, looking back to their 2018 report, women of color raise on average $43,000 whereas their non-minority male counterparts raise on average $1.1 million. Taking these stats and information Digital Undivided seeks to create larger conversations in the media, with tech companies, and DC firms, etc. to actively shift and shape the perception of women of color and their abilities/expertise. And their success stories are truly inspirational, check out their case studies here.