Huddlers in the News

Listen Here | From Renegade Thinkers Unite, Episode 219: Powering 2021 B2B Marketing with Conversational AI

In the premiere episode of Renegade Thinkers Live, Drew was joined by CMOs Rashmi Vittal (Conversica) and John McCrea (Amplify.ai), to discuss all things conversational AI. We take stirring things up quite literally here at Renegade, so in this episode, we sipped in the latest AI marketing insights along with Letherbee’s original label gin (which was amazing, by the way).

It was a fun episode, filled with AI conversational marketing use cases, wisdom from Dr. Benjamin Franklin, and a Live audience Q&A. Even Google Chrome makes an appearance! Tune in to hear some incredible use cases, learn why John and Rashmi both say that “bot” is a terrible word, and see just how Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs) can transform B2B marketing in a digital-first world.

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

Listen Here | From Renegade Thinkers Unite, Episode 218: Awareness Matters: How One B2B CMO Cuts Through

What happens when you pair an identity security company and Terry Crews? An impressive, wildly successful influencer marketing success story, that’s what. It was the final piece of the “Let’s boost our brand awareness” puzzle that Ping Identity CMO Kevin Sellers was looking for. They had already identified their new brand identity and got internal support, now it was time to go big.

This episode is all about the courageous, artful, thoughtful, and scientific marketing that goes into building brand awareness, all in the service of driving new customer acquisition. As Kevin shares, “You can’t win business if you don’t even get a chance to bid on the deal.” Tune in for an inspiring story about brand differentiation, with ingenious marketing executions and measurable results.

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

Acquiring new customers—so-called "new net logos"—has been the prime directive in the B2B tech realm. From private equity to venture capital, from startup to IPO, value was based on the ability to add customers at an ever-increasing rate. When the pandemic struck, adding customers became increasingly challenging, except for essential sectors including security, cloud or remote work capabilities such as Zoom. Attention turned to existing customers, with retention being Job One and upselling the tactic for stability if not growth.

For Carlos Carvajal—who started at K2 Software as CMO in November 2019—the focus on customers began as a research exercise to identify new messaging. What K2 learned proved to be far more important as the pandemic took hold. Fortuitously, the business process-management and automation company was increasingly delivering software to help automate essential, mission-critical processes. Packaging this insight into a new product, K2 had a powerful story to tell existing customers. It drove engagement and revenue and preceded K2's acquisition by Nintex in October.

Read the full Q&A on Ad Age: How App for Mission-Critical Processes Drove Customer Retention for Software Company

Listen to the Episode: B2B Partnerships That Matter

Listen Here | From Renegade Thinkers Unite, Episode 217: Precisely How to Change Your Brand Name

Would CMO Kevin Ruane recommend renaming a brand during a pandemic? No, he wouldn’t; but they had to do precisely that when Syncsort acquired the data and software division of Pitney Bowes in December 2019. The company had 6 months to change the Pitney Bowes name—6 months that just so happened to coincide with all of the disruptions of 2020.

In this episode, Kevin shares how Syncsort became Precisely, a global leader in data integrity committed to its “Trust Your Data” message. Tune in for tried-and-true best practices for B2B brands undergoing a name change, like when to get employees involved (hint: early and often) and how to successfully transition old brand equity over to a new, purpose-packed brand.

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

Listen Here | From Renegade Thinkers Unite, Episode 215: Litmus Testing Your B2B Email Marketing Strategy

This September, Litmus released the results of its latest state of email survey: 77% of marketers say email is one of their most effective channels, and 78% suggest that it’s been vital to their overall success. This should come as no surprise, especially given that Litmus surveys have also found email has a staggeringly high return on investment: $42 ROI for every $1 spent.

The survey came out with the launch of Litmus’ first-ever Litmus Live Everywhere, a free, virtual event to replace their in-person one (which typically costs ~$1500, by the way), as well as a new product and certification program. Needless to say, Litmus has been busy.

In this episode, CMO Melissa Sargeant joins Drew to discuss all things email marketing, like how Litmus markets to marketers, common mistakes, and why batch and blast is dead. This episode is jam-packed with insights from the CMO of one of the leading email marketing tools of today. Don’t miss it!

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/

When IBM sold its marketing software division to investment firm Centerbridge Partners in July 2019, the new owner essentially created a 1,000-person startup. It was given a new name, Acoustic, but lacked a culture, brand equity and a cohesive product offering. With only a few months to maximize the pedigree of IBM Watson Marketing, the clock was ticking.

This was the challenge for Norman Guadagno, Acoustic’s first chief marketing officer. Guadagno, facing a “build the plane while flying it” scenario, luckily started on the same day as the chief human resources officer—giving the pair the opportunity to craft a culture together. This partnership allowed marketing to impact the entire organization, helping Guadagno deliver on Acoustic’s new promise, “Marketing technology reimagined.”

Read the full Q&A on Ad Age: How an IBM Spinoff Preserved Culture and Brand Equity on the Fly

Listen to the Episode: Spinning a New B2B Brand Out of IBM

After successive years of double-digit growth, Centro, a digital advertising software company, expected more of the same in 2020. Marketers and their agencies were spending heavily through the Chicago-based company’s digital buying platform and relied on company employees to help execute their buys. The partnerships were fueled by a near-weekly parade of face-to-face industry events.

When COVID hit, the events, travel and entertainment industries stopped spending overnight. Like so many others, Centro’s Chief Marketing Officer Katie Risch was forced to regroup.

Read the full Q&A on Ad Age: How Customers Helped a Digital Software Company Navigate the Pandemic

Listen to the Episode: B2B Marketing to the Rescue

Listen Here | From Renegade Thinkers Unite, Episode 211: B2B Partnerships That Matter

Like many B2B companies, K2 Software has really zeroed in on what makes its low-code process automation platform mission-critical for its customers. Unlike many B2B companies, K2 had already started shifting its strategy and messaging in 2019, months before the far-reaching effects of COVID were on anybody’s radar. In the scramble to prove that its product or service is essential during a downturn, K2 was ahead of the game.

In this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, K2 CMO Carlos Carvajal shares how the company’s recent brand transformation and various internal and customer partnerships have helped them navigate the challenges of 2020 and transform automation for the better. Be sure to tune in to hear about the success of K2’s virtual event, the launch of a new sub-brand, how K2 celebrates customer success, and more.

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegade.com/podcasts/