Podcast
Future of Consumer Marketing
Hosted by The Global Talent Co. · EN
The future of consumer marketing is brought to you by The Global Talent Co.
15episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
You're Paying People to Buy Your Product. Here's How Rita Zahir Found Out
3w ago00:23:50Tap to summarizeRita Zahir, VP of Marketing and E-Commerce at Unique Vintage, delivers a data-dense masterclass on the one metric most e-commerce brands are still getting wrong: the difference between revenue and profit. With 20 years across Shoes.com, Famous Footwear, Polaris, and now a female-owned vintage-inspired brand, Rita breaks down why "let the algorithm handle it" is the most dangerous phrase in modern performance marketing — and how a combination of custom behavioral segmentation and contribution-margin-level analytics helped her team beat Meta Advantage+ ROAS by 30% during the most volatile periods of the calendar. This is a rare, practitioner-level conversation about the infrastructure behind profitable e-commerce growth. Topics Discussed Rita's 20-year e-commerce career: Shoes.com, Famous Footwear, luxury fashion, software, Polaris (Trans American Auto Parts), early-stage startups Current role: VP of Marketing and E-Commerce at Unique Vintage (2 years), plus concurrent consulting for luxury accessory startups Marketing philosophy: structured metrics (LTV:CAC, contribution margin) as the foundation for moving fast with brand equity intact The shift from ROAS and blended MER to profit on ad spend (POAS) and contribution margin as the real performance north star The algorithm's blind spots: contribution margins, inventory turns, return rates, and products that lose money after ad costs Dynamic product ads on Meta, Google Shopping, Pinterest, and Reddit — and why surrendering your data feed to the algorithm is a profitability trap Meta's Andromeda/Advantage+: why "feed it everything and let the algorithm decide" misses your highest-LTV customer segments Partner Genius AI: behavioral modeling and customer segmentation layering third-party data for years Partner Barkai: contribution margin per view/impression — a tool that calculates actual profit generated per ad exposure and flags products where every sale loses money Custom segmentation beating Meta Advantage+ ROAS by 30% during high-volatility periods One of five companies globally selected for Meta's Voice AI Beta "Bestsellers" that are secretly unprofitable when fully loaded with ad costs, conversion rates, and return handling Team building philosophy: "coach of the A team" — hire and develop people you're actively learning from Scaled a brand from under $5M to $16M revenue in under two years Hybrid work as the preferred model; global talent outsourcing for lean e-commerce teams 2026 goal: profitable, repeatable scale — a growth engine that can be systematized and replicated
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Less Mustache, More Grown Up: How Lyft Rebranded Without Losing Its Soul
4w ago00:26:51Tap to summarizeCass Zawadowski, Executive Creative Director at Lyft, takes us inside the most significant transformation in Lyft's 14-year history — a year-long rebrand that touched everything from color palette and logo to photography, brand strategy, and brand archetype. She walks through what it actually takes to evolve a beloved brand without losing the soul that made it iconic, how Lyft launched its first major brand campaign post-rebrand targeting young working adults in New York and San Francisco, and how an entire marketing org moved from AI skepticism to daily creative practice through a CMO-led "ground zero" approach. From the three pillars of brand longevity to the tension between cultural creativity and boardroom-measurable impact, this is a rare behind-the-scenes view of creative leadership at one of North America's most recognized consumer platforms. Topics Discussed Lyft as a global mobility platform: rideshare, Citi Bike (NYC), Divvy (Chicago), scooters, and the FreeNow acquisition expanding into Europe Cass's career arc: ad school in Toronto, agency work in Toronto, New York, Germany, and Seoul, then the move to brand-side The year-long Lyft rebrand (2024): "evolution not revolution" — new color palette, logo, photography, and brand strategy Brand purpose: "serve and connect"; value proposition: "expect more from every journey" New brand archetype and the shift from "less mustache to more grown up" Design agency partner: Koto (New York) for visual identity First post-rebrand brand campaign: Q4, young working adults (mid-20s to mid-30s), NYC and SF, "you have options — you're not on autopilot" The three pillars of brand longevity: stable purpose, flexible expression, evolving with culture Levi's as the benchmark example of brand longevity done right Hybrid work structure: Mon/Wed/Thu in office; offices in San Francisco (HQ), New York, Toronto, Montreal, Mexico City, and Europe Toronto as a fast-growing hub — new headquarters opening August 2026 Lyft Urban Solutions (LUST) team in Montreal: bikes and scooters division CMO Brian Irving's org-wide AI adoption: "ground zero, start fresh together" Driver AI tool: input available hours and earning goals → AI generates optimized daily route Creative Studio AI sprint (10-12 weeks, October): brainstorming, rapid prototyping, concept pressure-testing, A/B testing AI tool chaining workflow: Weavy → Figma → Google Docs 2026 goals: brand strength tied to business impact; scaling creative excellence across the entire marketing org
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Wait, This Is Made From Chicken Breast?
Apr 1600:18:48Tap to summarizeCarmen Fadel, VP of Marketing at WILDE, takes us inside one of the most unusual products in the CPG snack aisle — a 100% all-natural chicken breast chip that is growing 50% year over year and landing on shelves at Whole Foods, Costco, Target, and beyond. She breaks down the brand's "chips and lips" obsession with driving trial, the "shock and disbelief" campaign strategy that turns first reactions into word-of-mouth, and how she used a mixed media modeling platform to turn top-of-funnel brand spend into a board-ready, data-backed argument. From a NASCAR partnership to AI-powered competitive tracking, Carmen offers a candid, practical look at what it takes to build a brand-new snack category from scratch. Topics Discussed WILDE's origin story: how founder Jason Wright created a 100% chicken breast chip with proprietary manufacturing 50% year-over-year growth and the surging consumer protein trend "Chips and lips" — the single-minded mission to drive product trial above all else "Shock and disbelief" — the campaign philosophy built around the "wait, this is made from chicken breast?" reaction Omnichannel strategy: TikTok Shop, CTV (Hulu), OOH, digital ads, and the Critical Mass approach WILDE vs. Quest and other protein chips — natural protein from chicken vs. added whey or pea protein The NASCAR partnership and what precision motorsport has in common with a chicken chip Life Time Fitness sponsorship and community-building through health and fitness events AI as a new SEO channel — why WILDE needs to show up when someone asks an AI for a high-protein snack Using Claude and AI tools for competitive tracking, ideation, and automation Mixed media modeling via Keen — connecting marketing spend to top-of-funnel sales data Carmen's non-linear career: stay-at-home mom of four, side agency, return to CPG, rise to VP of Marketing // Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. www.GlobalTalent.co // Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM
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We Sell Smokeless Fire Pits. But Really We Sell Togetherness
Apr 1000:24:46Tap to summarizeLiz Vanzura has spent her career turning around and launching iconic consumer brands — the New Beetle at Volkswagen, the civilian Hummer, Truly Spiked & Sparkling at Boston Beer, and three-plus years at Fanatics. Now she's CMO of Solo Brands, the platform behind Solo Stove, and she came in as a board member first during a company turnaround. In this episode, Liz shares the national loneliness study that became Solo Stove's core brand insight ('we sell togetherness, not fire pits'), how the Snoop Dogg campaign went viral and what it took to build something that actually sustained, and how 'Squash the Beef' at the Super Bowl Players' Tailgate introduced the new steel fire griddle to a massive audience. She also unpacks Solo Stove's AI roadmap — a media mix model, AI-personalized landing pages, and a digital AI assistant named Ember — and shares the Klarna cautionary tale about what happens when you push AI too far, too fast. Topics Discussed Liz's career arc: CMO at Volkswagen (New Beetle relaunch, 'Drivers Wanted'), Hummer (civilian launch), Cadillac, Boston Beer (Truly Spiked & Sparkling launch), and Fanatics Joining Solo Brands as board member during a turnaround — then staying on as CMO Solo Stove's pivot from 'world's #1 smokeless fire pit' to owning the entire backyard experience: griddle, pizza oven, misting cooler, and more The loneliness epidemic study that became Solo Stove's core brand insight: disconnection, parents texting kids to dinner, and the backyard as the perfect low-cost solution Three standout campaigns: Snoop Dogg 'Going Smokeless,' Grand Central Station National Family Day activation (Good Morning America), and Super Bowl 'Squash the Beef' griddle launch Sister brands in the Solo platform: ORU (inflatable kayaks), Isle (paddleboards), Chubbies (men's apparel), Cheekies (women's swimwear) AI roadmap: media mix model (MMM) with AI, personalized landing pages, and Ember — Solo Stove's AI-powered digital customer assistant The Klarna cautionary tale: what happens when a company replaces customer service with AI agents and has to rehire // Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. www.GlobalTalent.co // Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM
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From Farmer's Market to 16,000 Stores: Malk Organics' No-Filler Growth Story
Apr 100:22:12Tap to summarizeMalk Organics started at a farmer's market 11 years ago. When Jason Bronstad joined as CEO in 2020, the brand was in 1,200 stores. Today it's in more than 16,000 — across all 50 US states, in most major chains — with 17 SKUs, a new line of coconut creamers, and shelf-stable Tetra products built entirely on three ingredients: water, organic almonds, and salt. In this episode, Jason walks through the data discipline that turns shelf space into profitability, the counterintuitive decision to cut back to three SKUs before scaling to 17, and why 'liquid to lips' is still the most powerful marketing move in CPG — and why events, not in-store demos, are where that has to happen now. He also shares how AI is being used to measure the gap between the message delivered and the message received, and why dream culture is the key to keeping a remote team of 40 aligned across 14 states. Topics Discussed Malk Organics' founding story: from farmer's market 11 years ago to 16,000+ US retail doors under Jason's leadership since 2020 The data playbook for retail success: delivering profitability for shelf space and using consumer data to drive SKU decisions The counterintuitive scale-back: cutting to 3 core SKUs on joining before expanding to 17+ items across bases, seasonal, and shelf-stable formats New coconut creamer launch: listening to consumers who want to whiten their coffee and discontinuing a brown creamer that wasn't solving that need Why Malk is staying US-focused: 16,000 of 67,000 available US doors — a massive runway before going international 'Liquid to lips wins consumers' — and how event-based sampling at Expo West and Miami Food and Wine Festival replaced declining in-store demo traffic AI for leadership communication: using transcripts to audit the gap between message delivered and message received with retail partners and internal teams Dream culture: a Slack channel called 'dreams wins' where team members celebrate personal milestones, and how it keeps a 40-person remote team connected across 14 states
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From WWE to Trading Cards: Building the Low-Fee Marketplace Collectors Deserve
Mar 2300:26:37Tap to summarizeRob Kligman is the Chief Revenue Officer of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Inc. and the founder of Collectible Lane — a low-fee, AI-powered collectibles marketplace built to give collectors back control. In this episode, Rob draws on 30 years of advertising and sponsorship experience to break down how he built an authoritative brand voice before the app ever launched, why storytelling and FOMO are the only marketing engines that work in collectibles, and why his 6-to-9-month goal isn't to beat eBay — it's to earn the loyalty of 1% of the market. Topics Discussed Rob's 30-year career in advertising and sponsorship at MTV Networks, WWE, and Fortune 500 brand campaigns The founding insight behind Collectible Lane: inflated prices caused by seller fees pushing buyers to overpay Passion-point lane structure — dedicated ecosystems for trading cards, video games, comic books, and more 'Behind the Lane' branded entertainment arm: using storytelling to create FOMO around collectible items Pre-launch content strategy: 6 months of snackable 15–20 second videos on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook AI-powered listing in under 10 seconds: how the platform pivoted to remove the biggest friction for sellers PSA and CGC grading partnerships as an anti-fraud and confidence-building mechanism for buyers Remote-first team of ~5 people across the US and India building toward a US-only Phase 1 launch
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AppLovin, AI Bowls, and the Measurement Stack Running Ollie’s Growth
Mar 2300:25:49Tap to summarizeOllie’s subscription model doesn’t just deliver fresh dog food — it runs machine learning models on photos of your dog’s teeth, tracks body condition and stool health, and feeds all of it into a wellbeing score that adjusts portions over time. Kalina Fridrich, VP of Growth and Retention at Ollie, joins The Future of Consumer Marketing to break down how a direct-to-consumer pet wellness brand is building a full-stack growth engine on top of that data. She covers the launch of “Feed the Obsession,” Ollie’s new brand campaign hitting TV for the first time; why AppLovin has emerged as a breakout performance channel for a health-app-native audience; the AI-generated dog bowl ad that went so viral on Meta they manufactured it and added it to the member experience; and the three-layer measurement stack — media mix modeling, multi-touch attribution, and direct customer surveys — that Ollie uses to make weekly channel decisions across a rapidly evolving media mix. TOPICS DISCUSSED Ollie’s product model: algorithm-powered fresh dog food subscription, personalized portions based on app health data collected from vet tech–trained machine learning models In-app AI: visual models analyze dog teeth photos; a wellbeing score aggregates body condition, stool health, and teeth data into a single interpretable metric for dog parents The “Feed the Obsession” brand campaign: new brand refresh with TV spots, merging brand awareness investment with a performance marketing engine for the first time Performance channel breakdown: Meta remains core for the primary demo (women dog owners, higher household income); AppLovin emerging as a breakout channel for app-native, health-data-engaged audiences AI in performance marketing: AI-generated heart-shaped dog bowl ad on Meta drove social engagement — Ollie then manufactured it as a real product and used it as a member gift Brand partnerships as acquisition and awareness levers: Van Leeuwen (dog ice cream in retail), Embark (dog DNA kit), Fi (dog GPS wearable) Media measurement stack: media mix modeling + multi-touch attribution + first-party customer surveys (how did you hear about us?), triangulated weekly for channel optimization 2026 goals: scaling reach and awareness, TV investment, GEO/SEO growth, pairing brand investment with a disciplined performance engine while maintaining PNL health
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Pants Science, Physical Catalogs, and the Return of Analog Marketing
Mar 2000:28:56Tap to summarizeIn this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Andres Figueira sits down with Renee Halvorsen, CMO of Marine Layer — the San Francisco-based casual apparel brand built on California cool, signature softness, and a marketing philosophy of radical authenticity. Renee pulls back the curtain on how a brand founded on a founder’s obsession with his favorite worn-out T-shirt has grown to 54 stores while leaning hard into analog marketing at a moment when everyone else went digital. She digs into the physical catalog as Marine Layer’s not-so-secret weapon (eight per year, mailed to homes), the anatomy of the “Pants Science” campaign that turned Flex Terry pants into a multi-channel hit, and why their Holiday 2024 personalization pop-up in San Francisco became the #1 traffic location in their entire retail fleet — complete with a line around the corner and an impromptu visit from the city’s mayor. She also outlines Marine Layer’s measured AI strategy: protect human authenticity on the front end (real models, real copy, no faking it) while embracing speed and efficiency on the back end through CRM analytics, SQL acceleration, and Vizcom for internal product visualization. And she makes the case that 2026 is a new frontier — one where in-store traffic is outpacing online, email is losing its grip, and digital saturation is breeding consumer distrust. Her prescription: rethink every channel touchpoint from scratch. Topics Discussed Physical catalog as Marine Layer’s primary growth channel — 8 per year, mailed to homes, enabling longer-form brand storytelling that digital can’t replicate Brand voice engineering: what it takes to make marketing sound like a trusted friend instead of a pitch, across catalog copy, in-store, and digital The “Pants Science” campaign: comedy creators, a branded scientist character, TV, and email used to drive sell-through on Flex Terry pants Creator partnership strategy: lifestyle alignment as the selection filter, then full editorial freedom as the execution model AI in two lanes: protecting front-end human authenticity (real models, real copy) vs. accelerating back-end CRM analytics, SQL analysis, and product visualization via Vizcom The Holiday 2024 SF personalization pop-up: patches and embroidery on Cloud Nine fleece, #1 fleet traffic, organic creator amplification without formal partnerships, unannounced visit from the San Francisco mayor 2026 channel rethink: in-store traffic growing faster than online, email engagement declining, digital saturation creating consumer distrust, and what Marine Layer is doing about it
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Kate Gagnon: Why Organization Is an Operating System, Not an Instagram Moment
Mar 1700:31:18Tap to summarizeKate Gagnon is the VP of Marketing at Neat Method, the largest home organizing brand in the United States. With 15 years of experience as a hybrid marketing leader and startup advisor, Kate leads marketing across two distinct businesses: an in-home organizing service delivered through 100+ franchise owners nationwide, and a direct-to-consumer product line launched six years ago. In this episode, Kate unpacks the brand’s core philosophy — organization as an operating system for your life, not an aesthetic endpoint — and walks through what it means to market the same brand to two fundamentally different audiences. She breaks down the “New Year, Meet Me” January campaign, Neat Method’s counterintuitive channel stack (Pinterest as a silent DTC conversion engine, email as the strongest repeater), and the AI measurement problem that’s still standing between home organizing and a fully AI-assisted customer experience. Topics Discussed Kate’s background: 15 years as a hybrid marketing leader and startup advisor; joined Neat Method just over a year ago; attracted by a company culture that was enthusiastically embracing AI from day one Neat Method at 15 years: the largest home organizing brand in the US, serving clients across the US and Canada; product line launched six years ago after organizers spent time in tens of thousands of homes and identified unmet product needs Two business lines, two very different audiences: (1) in-home organizing service via 100+ franchise owners (2–10 organizers each); (2) D2C e-commerce for DIY customers; corporate team of approximately 18 people The service experience: organizer comes in, scopes the project, delivers a proposal covering organizer time and product, then executes — highly personalized to how the client actually lives (family with kids, single professional, active athlete, etc.) Repeat and concierge model: many clients return for refreshes; Home Concierge option for weekly or monthly maintenance visits (grocery put-away, mail sort, system reset) Marketing philosophy: organization as an ongoing operating system, not a one-time Instagram moment; personalized to each client’s goals and life; framed around systems, routines, and rituals rather than aspirational aesthetics Product design principles: timeless, neutral colorways (metal, natural fibers, interesting textures); multipurpose across rooms and life stages; designed so products purchased for a pantry can migrate to a closet, office, or living room shelf without looking wrong Book launch: Neat Method published a book last year targeted at DIY customers who want to do their own organizing projects The category creation challenge: most people don’t know you can hire a home organizer — service-side marketing must simultaneously build the category and build the brand The “New Year, Meet Me” January campaign: rather than making organization the resolution itself, the 2026 iteration connected organization to other resolution goals — family dinners, morning workouts, marathon training — positioning organization as the enabling system, not the endpoint Problem-aware vs. solution-aware framing: many service prospects know their home is disorganized but don’t know a professional organizer exists; D2C prospects know they want a product but need guidance on what and how; content strategy differs accordingly Channel breakdown: Instagram (largest and most established audience; doubles as franchise recruitment channel); TikTok (fastest growing, most scaling potential); Pinterest (sneakiest best performer — organizing education content is evergreen and compounds over years); Email (strongest channel for D2C repeat purchases) Service-side acquisition is word-of-mouth first: referrals drive most inbound; social and paid support awareness for those who haven’t been referred yet AI use today: marketing research, competitive data synthesis, meeting notes and action items; exploring AI home design tools but the measurement precision required for organizing is not yet replicable — cabinet hinge clearances, exact product dimensions — though Kate believes it’s coming Geographic and growth focus: primarily US and Canada; international demand exists but not currently being pursued; tariff environment creating headwinds for the consumer products business in 2026
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Stop Optimizing for CAC. Start Optimizing for LTV
Mar 1000:26:42Tap to summarizeBryce Winkelman joined Typeform as CRO 14 months ago — a profitable, 150,000-customer form and survey platform with a footprint in 98% of Fortune 500 companies. Before Typeform, he was the 10th employee at Qualtrics, which he helped grow through $700M+ in revenue, an SAP acquisition, and an IPO. In this episode, Bryce unpacks how Typeform is repositioning from world-class form builder into a full flow activation platform, why they’re pivoting marketing investment from paid toward AI-visible organic, and the specific frameworks they use to test and scale new channels — including a LTV-first take on marketing efficiency that flips the conventional CAC optimization model. Topics Discussed Career arc: 10th employee at Qualtrics through $700M+ revenue, SAP acquisition, and IPO — then Quantum Metrics and SeekOut before Typeform Typeform’s two growth engines: PLG self-serve (1-50 employee organizations and solopreneurs) and sales-led enterprise (98% Fortune 500 footprint) Product repositioning: from form builder to “flow activation” — lead routing, nurturing, payment processing, and AI-moderated research via Insight Flow Marketing channel strategy: paid as the primary and most predictable engine, now shifting investment toward SEO, AIO/AEO, UGC, influencer content, and owned community Reddit and third-party communities as non-negotiable infrastructure for AI search visibility The Get Real campaign: surveying 2,000 marketers on AI usage using Typeform itself, publishing a report that generated millions of impressions while demonstrating the product’s video/audio response capabilities AI inside Typeform: Glean deployed across all systems and every employee, full AI chat experience in the product, AI-first brand messaging on the website New channel testing: Uber ads (validated), TikTok (doubling year-over-year), sports sponsorships, ABM, Typeform-hosted events Channel testing framework: define success criteria and hypothesis upfront with FP&A, ring-fence incremental budget, deploy, measure, then scale or shut down The LTV-over-CAC reframe: willing to increase CAC significantly as long as LTV is rising — optimize for revenue and ICP quality, not cost efficiency
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