4: Unleashing growth with the ‘yes, and’ strategy with Jenn Garbach, CMO at PNC Bank

Summary

Podcast Summary: Marketing Beyond with Alan B. Hart
Episode 4: Unleashing Growth with the ‘Yes, And’ Strategy with Jen Garbach, CMO at PNC Bank
Release Date: March 5, 2025

---

Introduction

In Episode 4 of Marketing Beyond, host Alan B. Hart engages in an insightful conversation with Jen Garbach, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at PNC Bank. Jen brings over two decades of experience in the financial and professional services industries, having held leadership roles at prestigious organizations like PayPal, Capital One, and Thomson Reuters. This episode delves into her journey, strategic initiatives at PNC, and her innovative approach to marketing through the ‘Yes, and’ strategy.

Jen Garbach's Journey to PNC

Jen begins by sharing her humble beginnings, recalling her first job as a cart pusher at Wegmans. This early experience instilled in her a strong work ethic and a passion for customer service. She transitioned from grocery stores to a consulting career at Deloitte, where she honed her problem-solving skills across various industries, including healthcare and financial services.

After earning her MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, Jen joined Thomson Reuters through their post-MBA rotational program, gaining invaluable global business and product strategy experience. Her tenure at Capital One marked a significant shift toward marketing, where she led large-scale transformation projects, particularly focusing on Capital One’s card business and the launch of new products like VentureX.

In June 2023, Jen took on the role of CMO at PNC Bank, where she leads a team of approximately 200 marketing professionals. Her extensive background has equipped her to spearhead innovative marketing strategies aimed at driving growth and modernizing the organization.

Rebranding PNC Bank: The 'Brilliantly Boring' Strategy

One of Jen’s most notable initiatives at PNC is the comprehensive rebranding effort, culminating in the tagline “Brilliantly Boring”. This bold move was aimed at differentiating PNC in a crowded banking marketplace dominated by larger incumbents.

Understanding the Need for Rebranding
[07:16] Jen Garbach explains, “For a 160-year-old organization, launching a new brand is a massive undertaking. We recognized that while PNC was growing steadily, we weren’t effectively communicating our national scale and unique capabilities to the market.”

Developing the 'Brilliantly Boring' Concept
The rebranding process began with extensive internal consultations and a listening tour to understand what made PNC unique. Two key insights emerged:

1. Empathy Advantage: PNC’s authentic commitment to building relationships and serving customers stood out.
2. Conservative Risk Profile: PNC’s steady and reliable management style was both a strength and a point of differentiation.

[10:14] Jen notes, “We translated ‘boring’ into a superpower, emphasizing our reliability and consistent delivery of excellent customer experiences. This unique positioning allowed us to stand out without directly competing on marketing spend.”

Implementation and Internal Reception
The campaign was not just external but also deeply embedded within the organization. Internal engagement was high, with “Brilliantly Boring” merchandise like T-shirts becoming the number one selling item in PNC’s internal brand store. This internal buy-in was crucial for the campaign’s successful rollout.

[11:36] Jen adds, “It’s not just an advertising campaign. Everyone at PNC embodies this philosophy in their roles, ensuring that our brand promise is consistently delivered.”

Marketing Strategy: The Iceberg Metaphor

Jen employs the iceberg analogy to describe PNC’s marketing strategy:

• Visible Tip: The external branding and advertising campaigns that the public sees.
• Under the Surface: The robust internal systems, data infrastructure, and processes that support and sustain the brand promise.

[13:14] Jen states, “You can’t just launch a creative ad campaign and hope it succeeds. The entire ecosystem behind it must be strong and aligned with our brand values.”

Her focus is on transforming PNC’s marketing department from a traditional delivery function into a dynamic growth engine. This involves enhancing internal capabilities, leveraging data for informed decision-making, and ensuring that every marketing strategy directly ties to tangible business outcomes.

Leadership and the ‘Yes, And’ Strategy

Jen’s leadership style is deeply influenced by the ‘Yes, and’ philosophy from improvisational theatre, which she applies to foster collaboration and innovation within her team.

[20:05] She explains, “The fundamental premise is to build on others’ ideas rather than shutting them down. It’s about starting with a ‘yes’ to keep conversations moving forward and creating an open environment for creativity.”

This approach has been pivotal in driving PNC’s marketing transformation. By encouraging her team to embrace possibilities and collaboratively tackle challenges, Jen has cultivated a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability.

Personal Insights and Advice

Jen reflects on her formative experiences, particularly her six-month study abroad in Quito, Ecuador, which taught her adaptability and resilience in unfamiliar environments. She emphasizes the importance of these traits in navigating the ever-changing landscape of marketing.

When asked about advice for her younger self, Jen advises:

[24:04] “Nobody else is thinking about you as much as you are. Advocate for yourself, but also give yourself grace. Let setbacks roll off and maintain perspective.”

AI Preparedness and Marketing Trends

A significant portion of the conversation centers on AI preparedness in marketing. Jen discusses the dual nature of AI as both an opportunity and a challenge:

[25:16] “How can my team and I prepare for a future where AI’s role in marketing is still evolving? In a regulated industry like banking, adopting generative AI comes with constraints, but proactive learning and upskilling are crucial.”

She underscores the importance of balancing innovation with regulatory compliance, ensuring that PNC remains at the forefront of technological advancements while maintaining trust and reliability.

Opportunities and Threats in Modern Marketing

Jen identifies the rapid pace of change in data technology, privacy regulations, and customer expectations as both the largest opportunity and threat facing marketers today.

[30:27] “If you’re not building agility into your marketing strategy and capabilities, you risk being left behind. Conversely, those who can adapt quickly will lead the way in managing privacy, personalization, and data-driven insights.”

She emphasizes that agility and a robust marketing infrastructure are essential for navigating the complexities of modern marketing landscapes.

Conclusion

Jen Garbach’s strategic vision and innovative approaches at PNC Bank exemplify how effective marketing can drive substantial business growth. Her emphasis on authentic branding, collaborative leadership, and adaptability positions PNC as a forward-thinking institution ready to meet future challenges.

Notable Quotes:

• Jen Garbach [07:16]: “For a 160-year-old organization, launching a new brand is a massive undertaking. We recognized that while PNC was growing steadily, we weren’t effectively communicating our national scale and unique capabilities to the market.”
• Jen Garbach [10:14]: “We translated ‘boring’ into a superpower, emphasizing our reliability and consistent delivery of excellent customer experiences.”
• Jen Garbach [20:05]: “The fundamental premise is to build on others’ ideas rather than shutting them down. It’s about starting with a ‘yes’ to keep conversations moving forward and creating an open environment for creativity.”
• Jen Garbach [24:04]: “Nobody else is thinking about you as much as you are. Advocate for yourself, but also give yourself grace. Let setbacks roll off and maintain perspective.”
• Jen Garbach [30:27]: “If you’re not building agility into your marketing strategy and capabilities, you risk being left behind. Conversely, those who can adapt quickly will lead the way in managing privacy, personalization, and data-driven insights.”

---

This episode offers valuable insights into strategic rebranding, leadership in marketing, and the critical role of adaptability in today’s fast-paced business environment. Jen Garbach’s experiences and philosophies provide a roadmap for marketers aiming to drive growth and foster innovation within their organizations.

Transcript

[Jen Garbach]

Foreign.

[Alan Hart]

Are you ready to go beyond the basics of marketing? I'm Alan Hart and this is Marketing beyond, where we talk about the questions that spark change and share ideas that challenge the status quo. Join us as we explore the future of marketing and its endless potential.

[Host]

Today I've got Jen Garbach, the Chief Marketing Officer for PNC Bank. In this role, Jen leads a team of approximately 200 marketing professionals focused on brand and line of business marketing, paid and social media, direct marketing, and all digital marketing strategies. She's also helps oversee the bank's relationship with Arnold Worldwide, PNC's integrated marketing and advertising agency of record. Over the past 20 years, Jen has worked extensively in the financial services and professional services industries, spanning marketing, product management, strategy, technology, and customer experience. Prior to joining PNC In June of 2023, she served in leadership roles across PayPal, Capital One and Thomson Reuters. Jen began her career at Deloitte Consulting. I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Jen Garbach.

Well, Jen, welcome to the show.

[Jen Garbach]

Thanks so much. Glad to be here, Alan.

[Host]

Yeah, I'm excited about this conversation, too. Before we get started into talking about your career, I hear you were a cart jockey at a grocery store growing up. You have to tell me what that was.

[Jen Garbach]

Yes. I mean, you.

[Co-Host]

We've all got to start somewhere.

[Host]

Tell me about your first job.

[Jen Garbach]

Yeah, my first job was it wore one of those bright yellow vests that said helping hands. And I was a cart pusher for Wegmans. So for folks who don't know, Wegmans was a kind of regional supermarket that started in upstate New York and Rochester.

[Co-Host]

Where I'm from, they're expanding everywhere.

[Jen Garbach]

I'm like a raving brand advocate, but I started with a really unglamorous job. You know, the summers in high school where I push carts, empty trash, help.

[Co-Host]

Customers get their groceries into their.

[Jen Garbach]

The trunks of their car, and eventually worked my way up to being a cashier before I worked in the bakery. So, you know, humble beginnings.

[Host]

I never got to be a cashier. I did the bagging groceries and. And to this day, I'm a very strong critic of bagging groceries. I don't know about you, but rightfully so, I do.

[Co-Host]

I am a little bit judgy in.

[Jen Garbach]

Line of where the precision of scanning, lining up barcodes to enhance how quickly you can scan.

[Co-Host]

And then there's a strategy for packing.

[Jen Garbach]

Those bags, the weight distribution cans, produce on top. So, yeah, it's a real skill.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Jen Garbach]

Compliment your local cashier if they do a good job.

[Host]

For sure. For sure. For sure. Well, let's talk about your path. So from cart days to grocery stores to real jobs in the real world, I guess post college, I should say, what was your path? You're now the CMO at PNC bank. But like where'd you get your start? What were kind of some of the chapters along the way?

[Co-Host]

Yeah, well, we share a little bit.

[Jen Garbach]

Of our background in that I started my professional career out of undergrad at Deloitte Consulting. So I joined in the Boston office.

[Co-Host]

Back in the day, I shan't say.

[Jen Garbach]

How long ago, but did the traditional.

[Co-Host]

Tour through the junior analyst and consulting.

[Jen Garbach]

Ranks which were really fantastic experience where you get a ton of exposure, ton of access in those early kind of learning skills, but really tapped into something I didn't realize of my love of.

[Co-Host]

Large scale problem solving.

[Jen Garbach]

And I think that's one of the.

[Co-Host]

Fun parts about being in consulting is.

[Jen Garbach]

That you get to go into other clients and businesses and start to unpack.

[Co-Host]

What's the big problem?

[Jen Garbach]

What's the big challenge? So I spent four years with Deloitte across healthcare, financial services, traveling all over and like any good consultant, got sick of planes, trains and automobiles and went back to business school. So I went down to Duke and did my MBA at Fuqua where I focused on finance and strategy. Coming out of that program, landed one.

[Co-Host]

Of the post MBA rotational programs at.

[Jen Garbach]

Thomson Reuters, did business and product strategy.

[Co-Host]

Awesome experience when you get to rotate.

[Jen Garbach]

Across so many different parts of businesses.

[Co-Host]

And one of the first experiences I.

[Jen Garbach]

Had, truly operating in a global company and having the opportunity to work abroad. So that was a really fun tour stop but a great development experience I'd say as well. And then from there I joined Capital.

[Co-Host]

One where I spent over a decade of my career and that really started the transition into the marketing portion of my journey.

[Jen Garbach]

So I worked across every part of Capital One's retail and direct bank post ING acquisition, moved over into their card business, supporting small business card brand and acquisition, marketing market, card business where you've got the venture silver quicksilver behemoths. And at the time we were launching venturex and that's really where I'd say unpacked and found my love of leading large scale transformation efforts. So it was both really starting to dial into, you know, Capital One is a behemoth in hard marketing, in a very brand and marketing forward organization. So honed a lot of those skills but also really found the passion for.

[Co-Host]

Being part of leading those large transformative.

[Jen Garbach]

Efforts and you know, at the the end of a decade found Myself in.

[Co-Host]

The COVID era, where lots of folks.

[Jen Garbach]

Were considering their next great opportunities. And I was fortunate to land a.

[Co-Host]

Really cool role with PayPal, leading their.

[Jen Garbach]

Marketing transformation operations team. Spent over a year doing that, and then this fantastic current opportunity popped up to lead PNC's marketing efforts. So came here after a bit of a. I'd say a little bit of.

[Co-Host]

A zigzag journey, kind of accumulating a.

[Jen Garbach]

Bunch of general management and marketing experiences, but all in that vein of leading transformations of the.

[Co-Host]

From to of what's possible.

[Jen Garbach]

And that's really been the journey here.

[Co-Host]

At PNC and been a fantastic part.

[Jen Garbach]

Couldn't be happier to have landed where I am.

[Host]

Well, a lot of times when people are taking new jobs, they come in with like a mission or a charter. Was there something like that, like a goal that you were tasked with right out of the gate?

[Co-Host]

Yeah, it was clear.

[Jen Garbach]

Like coming into pnc, what was abundantly clear was that we had an opportunity to really elevate and modernize the marketing organization here. But, like, really acutely, the most, the prominent focus was the organization knew that we needed to take a new approach to our brand. And so the, the bigger opportunity is.

[Co-Host]

Modernizing the marketing organization, but the very.

[Jen Garbach]

Immediate goal was we need to relaunch our brand. So that was a pretty fun problem.

[Co-Host]

Statement, aspiration to walk into.

[Host]

Yeah, I mean, if for, you know, 160-year-old organization, if I got my history right, what's involved in launching a new brand? Like, how. How do you get started? It's, it's a lot of stakeholders, I would imagine so.

[Jen Garbach]

Yeah, it's, it's, it's big. It's daunting. For anyone who has been there and led through that, launching a rebrand is not for the faint of heart. But I will say, like, first it started with an organizational recognition that we need to do something different. Right.

[Co-Host]

PNC is the sixth largest bank in.

[Jen Garbach]

The U.S. we've been on a tremendous growth trajectory the last many years. We're a really stable, reliable banking foundation. But we're not quite, or historically hadn't quite been breaking through in the marketplace, signaling the national scale and capabilities that we bring to market. So the first thing is I walked.

[Co-Host]

Into a set of circumstances that were.

[Jen Garbach]

Welcoming and ready to undertake this brand transformation. And then the second part of doing that was it starts with a really.

[Co-Host]

Healthy dose of introspection.

[Jen Garbach]

Right.

[Co-Host]

So coming in as a new leader.

[Jen Garbach]

There was this beautiful kind of symbiotic need. As I came up to speed on.

[Co-Host]

Pnc, and learned the stakeholders and the.

[Jen Garbach]

Culture that allowed me to go on.

[Co-Host]

A listening tour both just to learn.

[Jen Garbach]

About PNC as a whole, but use that as my learning about how we.

[Co-Host]

Talk about who we are as an organization and service. Some of the early insights that then.

[Jen Garbach]

Led to, you know, our new positioning, our new brilliantly boring branding. But yeah, it's been, it was a really fun opportunity, but it's one that really has taken a lot to unpack and sell in a pretty bold new positioning for us.

[Host]

Well, let's talk about the work. So it's got a tagline, I guess, for lack of a better way to describe it, brilliantly boring. And to talk about yourself in kind of like this self deprecating way is one kind of funny for a bank. But two, like where did that, where did that come from?

[Co-Host]

Yeah, brilliantly boring since 1865.

[Jen Garbach]

Well, yeah, it started with one, knowing that in a, in a world where we're up against really big incumbent banks who are significantly larger than us, were outspent. We don't, we didn't have like a distinctive edge in narrative.

[Co-Host]

We knew that we were looking to.

[Jen Garbach]

Thread the needle with easy know how.

[Co-Host]

Much are we similar to those big banks, which we are in terms of our services, our capabilities.

[Jen Garbach]

But then how are we really different from those banks?

[Co-Host]

Some in the good, which is we're.

[Jen Garbach]

Extremely relationship based, we serve our clients really well, but some challenging. Again, we don't have the budgets, the.

[Co-Host]

Spend to compete in that same way.

[Jen Garbach]

From a marketing standpoint.

[Co-Host]

So how do we thread the needle and go right in the middle and.

[Jen Garbach]

Say like our tactic to, to really.

[Co-Host]

Differentiate is to tell a story about.

[Jen Garbach]

Who we are that can't sound like any other bank that's out there. And as we went through, you know, this listening tour with our executives, a lot of different team members and asked about what makes PNC special. The two things that really emerged were one, there's this empathy advantage. Folks talk about the real authentic commitment.

[Co-Host]

To building relationships, serving our customers and.

[Jen Garbach]

Our clients in, in the truest form. And then there's this dialogue that would emerge around being true to ourselves, of our conservative risk profile, how we manage the business.

[Co-Host]

And oftentimes people would end the interview.

[Jen Garbach]

With this little kind of shrug of the shoulders and be like, I don't know, we're just kind of boring. And it came up enough that hearing that as, you know, a brand marketer, you're like, there's a nugget there. There's a real insight about how this.

[Co-Host]

Being boring is Actually our superpower.

[Jen Garbach]

And so working with Arnold Worldwide, who's.

[Co-Host]

Our agency of record and our really.

[Jen Garbach]

Talented team here, kind of turn that into. Nobody else is going out there telling some story about how they are a boring bank and how boring really unlocks brilliant outcomes. And that felt like a really ownable, unique space. And so that was the genesis of brilliantly boring. Since 1865, you know, we are a bank that has been around for 160 years. We are steady, we are reliable, and.

[Co-Host]

We'Re proud to wear that boring as.

[Jen Garbach]

A badge of honor and help tell everyone what that's going to enable for them when they, you know, when they come engage with us.

[Host]

Yeah, I think I even saw some, some situations where executives were walking around at the launch with like Chief Boring Officer tags on there.

[Jen Garbach]

That's right. We've got brilliantly boring T shirts. So, you know, you've had a little.

[Co-Host]

Bit of a cultural truth. Like we had a big moment internally.

[Jen Garbach]

But literally like the number one selling item in our brand store online internally is the brilliantly boring T shirt. And so we say, like, it's the ability to quite literally wear that badge with pride. And I love seeing it showing up in all sorts of like internal, internal chachi and, and whatnot. So it's really, it's struck a chord.

[Co-Host]

Right.

[Jen Garbach]

For folks that it speaks to. It's not just an advertising campaign. You can go talk to anyone at PNC and whether you work in, you know, data, credit, risk management, operations, like.

[Co-Host]

There are all these components of what.

[Jen Garbach]

We do that live into this boring philosophy of being steady and reliable and looking out for our customer. And what that enables us to deliver. Right, are the, the either brilliant experiences or set our customers and clients up.

[Co-Host]

For the things that they want to do so brilliantly in their lives and their businesses.

[Jen Garbach]

So it's been a very fun journey, an unexpected one, albeit, I don't know.

[Co-Host]

That I had my money on saying.

[Jen Garbach]

I was going to launch a boring brand, but it's been probably one of the things I'm most proud of in my career and it's been a ton of fun along with the hard work to get here.

[Host]

Yeah. Well, you and I have talked about this before, but you think about marketing as kind of an iceberg floating in the, in the water. And you're. What we've been talking about is getting the stuff at the very top of the surface. The stuff that everyone sees, getting that right, getting that launch as you think about marketing and maybe the stuff that's below the waterline. Where is, where does marketing need to go now at pnc?

[Jen Garbach]

Yeah, the, it's truly like the tip of the iceberg analogy is the most appropriate one of we've packaged up this beautiful platform and narrative that we can.

[Co-Host]

Go forward with and then it's building.

[Jen Garbach]

That whole ecosystem underneath of, you know, you can't just go out with a really funny, creative ad campaign and hope that it's going to do the job.

[Co-Host]

You have to live your brand every.

[Jen Garbach]

Single day and the products, services, experiences that we're bringing to market.

[Co-Host]

So there's more to be done as.

[Jen Garbach]

We continue to elevate and create what I call the tentacles of the brand.

[Co-Host]

Internally and then within the marketing engine itself.

[Jen Garbach]

You hear me use that word engine. That's really the aspiration, moving from a place where we've maybe operated as a.

[Co-Host]

Delivery function and moved things through the.

[Jen Garbach]

Existing process and ecosystem and really reposition position. Marketing as an investment for growth, marketing as an engine to drive business outcomes. So we're looking heavily at, you know.

[Co-Host]

The internal capabilities, the process, the data.

[Jen Garbach]

All of our measurement infrastructure to make sure that we are, you know, upping the rigor, upping the understanding of how we are a data driven marketing organization, producing insights that tie to our marketing strategies and ultimately creating the accountability that.

[Co-Host]

The strategies that we deploy throughout the.

[Jen Garbach]

Entire, entire funnel are ones that are driving business impact in the short and long term and that we have the ability to learn from that, to report back on what's working, what's not, and.

[Co-Host]

Make the case for further investment and growth for the business.

[Jen Garbach]

So it's really trying to build, you know, we're the quintessential where we're driving.

[Co-Host]

The car while we're rebuilding the engine right now.

[Jen Garbach]

So there's a real delicate balance in how we do that. But it's, it's a very fun kind of leadership challenge and the team's been fantastic, really rising to the occasion as we undertake this.

[Host]

It's a lot of, a lot of work. I mean, all the things that you're talking about, the process, the, you know, the engines that you're trying to build. The thing that I do love about talking to you about marketing is that marketing is a big M, meaning it is actually driving growth. It's not just the pretty pictures and the, the wallpaper. If you.

[Jen Garbach]

That's right.

[Host]

And you're driving a lot of considerable change that's going to help the enterprise grow going forward. And you've talked about yourself as a change agent in multiple instances as you were going through Your career like Capital One, PayPal and now PNC. How do you like, as you step back and you maybe reflect or thought to other folks, like how do you think about people and how to they become a great change agent for an organization?

[Jen Garbach]

Yeah, I mean I'll start by saying like for me, I think there's just a fundamental thing that I'm motivated by which is seeing driving big improvements and change. I get really excited about working with a team and conquering the proverbial Everest. Like we want to go climb the mountain together.

[Co-Host]

We're going to have to train, assemble the right team, get all the right.

[Jen Garbach]

Gear like and go do that together. That is not a, a one person show climbing up, you know, in Everest together. So I think that's one just a bit of my wiring and I really enjoy that. It's not just about getting to the summit. It's like the process that we go about and the collective victory of when we're all standing up there together. Like, gosh, that's a really, it's a.

[Co-Host]

Really proud moment when we get to.

[Jen Garbach]

Take our selfie right, right from the top of the summit. There are a couple of things I reflect on learning about like how I.

[Co-Host]

Have found success in doing that and.

[Jen Garbach]

What'S kind of how I've sharpened the toolkit, so to speak.

[Co-Host]

One of those that's really important from.

[Jen Garbach]

A marketing perspective has been really adopting more of a general manager's mindset and recognizing that it can be very easy to get caught in all the jargon and the internalisms of marketing, of how.

[Co-Host]

The marketing process works, what advertising looks.

[Jen Garbach]

Like, how creative looks like.

[Co-Host]

And while lots of folks in the.

[Jen Garbach]

Business love to be on the receiving end of that and see that it's not ultimately actionable to them of the.

[Co-Host]

Difference between those strategies.

[Jen Garbach]

And so it's really understanding I need.

[Co-Host]

To serve as a translator.

[Jen Garbach]

Right. It's actually my job to understand the business outcomes that my business partners are.

[Co-Host]

On the hook for and how I.

[Jen Garbach]

Can time marketing strategies to drive those outcomes. I think one of the big pieces of that is finding that common language of what are the KPIs, what are the outcomes we're trying to drive? It's understanding that growth for a bank is measured in deposit accounts, balances, hard.

[Co-Host]

Relationships, depth of relationship, not necessarily.

[Jen Garbach]

Not everyone can wrap their heads around what it takes to drive brand awareness and spend and brand equity and those things. So serving as the translation layer to help folks see these are, this is the work that we are doing in.

[Co-Host]

Order to drive your business outcomes.

[Jen Garbach]

And when we've been able to have those conversations, it's really built sponsorship from our business partners. And when our business partners become advocates for the work that we're doing, it.

[Co-Host]

Creates the virtuous cycle for further investment.

[Jen Garbach]

It's a lot more fun. But it's also where I just come back to again at the backbone of that is having really good marketing measurement. If I can't create that accountability and tell you whether the work I'm doing.

[Co-Host]

The dollars I'm spending are driving impact.

[Jen Garbach]

It'S what I call jazz hand marketing. I'm just kind of waving my hands and hoping you're going to believe the impact. And you can only get by on that for so long for borrowed credibility until you have to be able to show the real impact. So I think that's been one of the biggest learnings from the CMO seat, so to speak.

[Host]

Yeah, no, that makes sense. I mean, two things I might add, just about you as a person, because we've worked together a little bit is your philosophy on yes and is a magical pivot for conversations. And then the other thing is just your infectious like energy. You will. It's hard not to be your friend, Jen. Like I, I don't know how else to say.

[Jen Garbach]

I don't know if I can work that into like a year end review retroactively. But I'd like to cite that as a proof point. Yeah, but thank you. No, I think that's it. It's. I reflect on. I want to have fun with what I'm doing and work. And I define fun as it's the culture and the people I work with. But it's also. I define fun as I like having big problems, big challenging problems to have to break down. So I think that's some of like the, the energy that comes in of. I just, I enjoy doing that and I love that he called out yes. And it's one of those improv tactics. If anyone's done Improv workshop or brought.

[Co-Host]

One of those into work.

[Jen Garbach]

It's the fundamental premise of you gotta keep building from what other people offer. And I think it's one of the most broadly applicable strategies for building relationships. Because it truly isn't about shutting down.

[Co-Host]

Other ideas and saying no.

[Jen Garbach]

You can still be saying it has.

[Co-Host]

To happen in different circumstances, but you start with the yes of yes, it's a great idea and this is when.

[Jen Garbach]

We can get it done.

[Co-Host]

Yes, it's a great idea and here's.

[Jen Garbach]

What I need to be able to do that for you and it's, it's.

[Co-Host]

Opened a lot more doors to keep the conversation moving forward.

[Jen Garbach]

And if I go back to that continued transformation for PNC marketing from a delivery function to a growth engine that's.

[Co-Host]

Helping us as a team move from.

[Jen Garbach]

A place where it's a lot of.

[Co-Host]

No'S because we haven't been set up to deliver on that, we haven't had the capabilities and into a forward leaning.

[Jen Garbach]

Posture of yes, we can do that because we're, we're owning our own destiny.

[Co-Host]

And all the changes that we are building for ourselves so that we can.

[Jen Garbach]

Be drivers of growth, we can be high impact partners. So thanks for recognizing yes.

[Host]

And I love it. I love it. Well, one of the things we like to do on the show is get to know you a little bit better. We know you like to ride around on shopping carts. Curious how that's going to work out with your mom life and later with kids and them trying to do the same thing. But we'll leave that to the side. The question I like to ask everyone that comes on the show is like, has there been an experience of your past that defines or makes up who you are today?

[Jen Garbach]

I go back to one that once again, I am not going to date myself. But for a while ago, when I was in undergrad at Boston College, I had the opportunity to study abroad for six months and I did that in Quito, Ecuador. And it is continuously like one of those experiences I go back to as a quintessentially like, formative experience. Why?

[Co-Host]

So many reasons.

[Jen Garbach]

One, I went from, you know, to.

[Co-Host]

A third world country to study abroad.

[Jen Garbach]

I lived with the host family. I spoke Spanish with them every day. I took classes in Spanish. I stuck out like a sore thumb.

[Co-Host]

You can't get this through a podcast.

[Jen Garbach]

But I'm a particularly tall woman. I think on average I'm at least like 6 to 8 inches taller than the average Ecuadorian. So literally on every dimension, I stood out like, while I was there. And I feel like it was this amazing learning opportunity for me in adaptability, learning how to converse with a host family. You can take years of Spanish academically.

[Co-Host]

And then you show up with a host family and you're trying to expand. Explained that like, the hot water doesn't.

[Jen Garbach]

Work in the shower and like, you're fumbling for the right words, you know, learning how to navigate your way on public transportation and in taxis. And I feel like what I walked away with is, you know, I am a very high energy, high intensity person and I distinctly recall the Kind of some moments of like, oh, this is the universe helping me teach, like, teach me patience and adaptability, that it's worth.

[Co-Host]

Looking at this through another perspective.

[Jen Garbach]

So that is truly just one of.

[Co-Host]

Those experiences of like, I lived in.

[Jen Garbach]

A totally different environment than what I was used to day to day, but helped me, I reflect on that, of being adaptable, then starting my career in consulting and learning how to be much more malleable and receptive to other perspectives. Seeing just a different slice of life and, and things through other people's perspective. So it's one I've really carried with me. I look back with like tons of fond memories, but I think was a really core just learning experience. So I think that's, that's probably the one that I think of most when you ask that.

[Host]

Awesome. Well, if you were starting this journey of career and life all over again, what advice would you give your younger self?

[Co-Host]

Someone summed this up for me in the, you know, the bumper sticker advice later on.

[Jen Garbach]

But I would go back and say.

[Co-Host]

Nobody else is thinking about you as.

[Jen Garbach]

Much as you are. And there's like a great like take to that and a tough take to that. Like, you know, the, the great take to that is advocate for yourself.

[Co-Host]

Don't like nobody else is thinking about you as much as you are.

[Jen Garbach]

So if you want that job, that promotion, that thing like advocate for yourself.

[Co-Host]

Don'T assume other people are spending that.

[Jen Garbach]

Much time thinking about you. And on the flip side, nobody's thinking about you that much.

[Co-Host]

So give yourself a break. Right.

[Jen Garbach]

No, you know, something goes wrong, like let it, let it roll off a little bit. We carry that meeting that didn't go well. That interaction that was wonky.

[Co-Host]

Seldom are they life changing and something.

[Jen Garbach]

Other people are carrying through. So that's been one that I like to. And even now just remember, like, nobody's thinking about me as much as I am. And, and that's okay. I think that's where the green or good. I don't think people need to think about me that much.

[Host]

Yeah, I tend to agree with that in general. Well, is there a topic you think marketers need to be learning more about now? Or maybe something you're trying to learn more about yourself?

[Jen Garbach]

You know the one I'm spending a.

[Co-Host]

Good amount of time on and forgive me for sounding semi cliche here, I'll.

[Jen Garbach]

Try to nuance it.

[Co-Host]

AI preparedness.

[Jen Garbach]

I have a love hate relationship. And we've talked about this, Alan. I have a love hate relationship with all of the obsession and conversations over AI and marketing.

[Co-Host]

The thing I'm really trying to learn.

[Jen Garbach]

More about is how can I, how can my team, how can we be more ready for this nebulous future where there's actually a complete lack of clarity of what that's going to look like when the AI takes over? I absolutely believe that it is an attainable future. I operate in a regulated industry where there are lots of constraints about how we will continue to adopt like generative AI in particular. And so thinking about, okay, we may not be ready to adopt and move.

[Co-Host]

Into all sorts of new capabilities just.

[Jen Garbach]

Yet, but there are certainly things that we can be doing to prepare as.

[Co-Host]

A team and make sure that we.

[Jen Garbach]

Are learning and up leveling and creating the conditions of success for when we are ready to move in and start adopting some of that technology. And I'll tell you, it honestly feels like the place that there's like a.

[Co-Host]

Gap in the conversation because there's a lot that's forward looking, painting the big.

[Jen Garbach]

Picture of how utopian marketing is going to be when we're all using all.

[Co-Host]

Of these new capabilities and platforms.

[Jen Garbach]

But I also know from the journey.

[Co-Host]

We'Ve all lived through over the last.

[Jen Garbach]

20, 30 years of marketing evolution that always comes with, here's how the roles.

[Co-Host]

Are evolving, here's how the skills are.

[Jen Garbach]

Evolving and how can we learn from that and pair. So that's a place I'm just trying to spend more time on the really.

[Co-Host]

Pragmatic, one foot in front of the.

[Jen Garbach]

Other, like, how can we get smarter collectively, how can we get, how can we get ready?

[Host]

Right, yeah. And I agree with you, I mean there is a lot of AI in the universe right now and in the marketing lexicon, if you will. And I think to your point, a lot of folks are at that stage of trying to figure out how to be prepared. There's various ways to use it. Back office, I think front of office has still got a little bit of ways to go. Although it's coming, it really depends on the sector or industry that you're in, how fast you're going to be able to move to because of regulation, et cetera. So yeah, it's a, it's a tricky one to figure out, but if you're sitting idle, that's the worst thing that you could.

[Jen Garbach]

That's right. Yeah, that's right. Because the moment's just going to pass you by. Yes. And I think that's the other thing is in it's continuing to live through.

[Co-Host]

Or lead through the ambiguity of like you just don't know when the moment's gonna arise. So how do you set yourself up.

[Jen Garbach]

For having the best chances for success when, you know, one day like the, the permission is granted, the organizational readiness is there of like, let's go.

[Co-Host]

We can't just be thinking then about.

[Jen Garbach]

Like, ha, wish we had, wish we'd been planning for this. But yeah, if there's a. You can over prepare too. We're planning for the, the unknown.

[Host]

Well, are there any trends or subcultures.

That you follow you think other people.

Should take notice of?

[Jen Garbach]

Well, I'll give you one that's really timely and it'll depend on our timing.

[Co-Host]

Of when you actually release this podcast.

[Jen Garbach]

Alan. But I am really enjoying the super bowl frenzy right now. And of course all of our feeds have blown up with what are we expecting with all of the ads? But the one that I'm that really caught my attention was the tracking of.

[Co-Host]

Super bowl ad performance and general likability.

[Jen Garbach]

So ad age had something out like this week on, you know, increasingly super bowl ads are becoming less and less likable and it, it does a bit of a throw back to the, you know, golden era. So, so to speak of the early 20th of, you know, when there was just a lot more kind of creativity, a lot more like there were more risk and things feeling a little bit more boilerplate. So I'm, I'm interested there to see what's going on because I think there's like a broader reflection of the macro.

[Co-Host]

Environment we're in today where a lot.

[Jen Garbach]

Of folks are like, threading the needle, but take even like recent days out of that. That felt like a little bit of a trend of recently last couple of years watching the super bowl of ads and what's really breaking through anymore, what's falling flat, what's just expanding, affected. So I'm, I'm eager to see some of the, the data and measurement on.

[Co-Host]

The other side of this year. And I'm curious if we're going to.

[Jen Garbach]

Hit any point of inflection in how that's showing up for, like, how folks are thinking about truly. Is that the, the hallmark moment for a brand? Is that the place to be showing up?

[Co-Host]

Who is it for?

[Jen Garbach]

So, God, I got the super bowl on my mind mostly because, like, I, I don't have skin in the game.

[Co-Host]

For the actual game itself, so I.

[Jen Garbach]

Got to have something to look forward to.

[Host]

Yeah, exactly. I mean, as a marketer, it's like the one time in the year, well, maybe there's a couple now like Grammys and and, and things like that. But like one time in the year where you're really looking forward to watching some ads, so. And geeking out on ads. But me too, me too. This will come out after that. So those that are listening, you'll have already seen all the great work that's out there, but we'll come back to it at some point in the future on the podcast, I'm sure. Well, last question for you. What do you feel like is the largest opportunity or threat facing marketers today?

[Jen Garbach]

I think it's the combination of the pace of change of data technology privacy and also the just constant change in.

[Co-Host]

The regulatory privacy landscape.

[Jen Garbach]

I think that's both opportunity and threat. So you knew I was going to double edge this one. Alan of I think one, if you're not ready and building agility into your marketing strategy or marketing capabilities, like all of the underlying mechanics of how you run your engine, we're going to get caught flat footed not being able to respond to that.

[Co-Host]

Now the flip side of that is.

[Jen Garbach]

If you can build, if we can build that marketing engine with agility, I.

[Co-Host]

Think there's a ton of opportunity to.

[Jen Garbach]

Learn and I think the kind of like what winning looks like is the.

[Co-Host]

Ability to really be on the forefront.

[Jen Garbach]

From a customer's perspective of managing privacy.

[Co-Host]

Preference, personalization, all those dynamics.

[Jen Garbach]

But I think that's, I think that's.

[Co-Host]

The biggest challenge right now is there's.

[Jen Garbach]

Just so there's so much that we have access to as marketers. There's, you know, the veritable playground of.

[Co-Host]

Like data and insights and personalization.

[Jen Garbach]

But also at a time where all.

[Co-Host]

Of those same things that we want.

[Jen Garbach]

To activate on under the microscope for privacy and access and folks wanting to throttle what they can do. So I think that's just going to continue to be a really a needle.

[Co-Host]

That we have to thread.

[Jen Garbach]

But I think building again, building for agility will be an advantage and those who aren't, I think are going to be in a world of hurt as.

[Co-Host]

It'S really hard to then be on.

[Jen Garbach]

The the receiving end of all of.

[Co-Host]

Those changes if you can't build in the adaptability.

[Host]

Yeah, I, I tend to agree with you. Well Jen, thank you for coming on the show. It's been awesome.

[Co-Host]

Thank you for having me.

[Jen Garbach]

This has been fun.

[Alan Hart]

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed are the speaker's own and do not represent the views, thoughts and opinions of Deloitte. Material and information presented here is for general information purposes only and does not imply endorsement or opposition to any specific company. Product or service. Hi, it's Alan again. Marketing beyond is a Deloitte Digital Podcast. It's created and produced by me with post production support from Sam Robertson. If you're new to Marketing beyond, please feel free to write us a review and subscribe on your favorite listening platform. I also invite you to explore the other Deloitte Digital podcast@deloitte digital.com US podcast and share the show with your friends and colleagues. I love hearing from listeners. You can contact me at marketingbeyondeloit.com you'll also find complete show notes and links to what's discussed in the podcast today, and you can search our archives. I'm Alan Hart and this is Marketing Beyond.