   Leaner staffs, fewer journalists in the newsrooms, and a growing suspicion regarding the integrity of earned media have placed the PR profession in potential peril. But today’s guest, Bridgette Borst Ombres, remains optimistic about media relations. Some things have not changed in the profession, she says, including the ongoing challenge of attribution and measurement. But join us, as we explore what has changed in media relations including AI, the rise of live audio, niche publications, and paywall journalism. About our Guest: Bridgette Borst Ombres is a former TV news reporter turned PR and marketing professional with nearly 15 years’ experience working in communications across agency, corporate and nonprofit. Bridgette has media trained more than 350 spokespeople for organizations around the country and has consulted for brands such as Google, LG, Angry Birds, Vestas, Boy Scouts of America and Earth Day Network. Bridgette heads up The Commsultant, a boutique PR agency specializing in communications planning, thought leadership and media strategy. Through the years, Bridgette has worked to place hundreds of students and young professionals in internships and jobs. She is passionate about mentoring and professional development. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Bridgette lives with her husband, David and four-year-old daughter, Brielle. WVU Marketing Communications Today: Horizons is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

WVU Marketing Communications Today

Does PR have a Future?

   Heads up to agencies: Your business model needs an update. The needs of the workforce have changed—resulting in hundreds of vacant positions. The “pyramid” staffing structure itself is passe. Our guest Scott Gillum founded a new type of agency, for B2B markets, where employees are empowered to schedule their own workdays and trusted to produce their work “on demand.” He sees an agency like a professional sports team, where free agents sign up to deliver on specific client expectations. The result? Faster, lower-cost marketing results, enviable 86% client retention rates, and 100% employee satisfaction ratings on Glassdoor. Join us to learn the philosophy behind this new model, which could be a blueprint for the agency of the future. About our Guest: R. Scott Gillum is the founder of Carbon Design, a marketing services firm that specializes in personality-based marketing. Prior to founding Carbon in 2017, he founded and lead the Washington, DC office of gyro. The largest B2B agency in the world and Ad Age’s B-to-B Agency of the Year. WVU Marketing Communications Today: Horizons is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

The Marketing Agency of the Future

   Phone reps are no longer the front line of customer service. Customers now reach out to their suppliers first through digital channels. In turn, companies worldwide view their call centers not only as a cost center but also as a revenue opportunity. AI across the customer lifecycle is driving innovation in prediction, conversation and analytics, backed by a combination of cognitive engines and human assistance. Listen to our conversation with one of the leaders in what is being called AI-driven conversational engagement. Seb Reeve, EMEA Director of Strategy & Business Development at Nuance, is responsible for defining and evangelizing the Nuance customer care proposition worldwide – sharing how companies can create extraordinary automated experiences. If you are skeptical about the importance of this trend, consider that Microsoft is about to acquired Nuance for an estimated $19 billion, the 2nd largest acquisition in Microsoft history. Join us to learn about what’s new in customer engagement, and where it’s headed. About our Guest: In his current role at Nuance as EMEA Director of Product Management and Marketing, Sebastian Reeve is responsible for defining and evangelizing the Nuance customer care proposition across Europe, the Middle-East and Africa – sharing how companies can create extraordinary automated experiences which their customers actively choose to use rather than simply tolerate and complain about. WVU Marketing Communications Today: Horizons is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

Customer Service Goes ‘Digital First‘

   The tools needed to manage your customer data have changed dramatically since the days of “database marketing” in the 1980s. The latest iteration is a CDP, or customer data platform, the subject of our stimulating discussion with David Raab, a leading expert and founder of the CDP Institute. He explains how the tech landscape has become quite complex and continues to morph. The number of systems continues to grow, fed by a proliferation of channels, declining development costs, and easily available funding. Listen in to understand the customer data landscape, why it’s critical to marketing success, and where the technology is going in the future. About our Guest: David M. Raab is the founder and CEO of the Customer Data Platform Institute, a vendor-neutral organization with over 10,000 members, which educates marketers and technologists about customer data management. Mr. Raab was named the Customer Data Platform category in 2013. Mr. Raab has a long history as an independent consultant helping marketers to understand, find and deploy marketing technologies and vendors. His clients include Global 2000 firms in retail, financial services, telecommunications, publishing, technology, and other industries. He began his career as a marketer in publishing and continuities. Mr. Raab holds a bachelor's degree from Columbia University and MBA from the Harvard Business School. He has written hundreds of articles and blog posts on marketing technology and regularly speaks and teaches at events around the world. WVU Marketing Communications Today: Horizons is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

Why You Should Care About CDPs

   The role of the PR professional is changing fast. No longer limited to media relations or crisis management, these days PR people have evolved into larger and more strategic roles as “communicators,” who handle multi-channel messaging to a variety of important audiences, or “publics.” Our guest, Bonnie Harris, explains what’s driving this change, and where it’s likely to go next. About our Guest: Bonnie Harris is the founder of Wax Marketing, Inc. an integrated marketing agency based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Harris and her team designed and implemented IMC strategies for clients across the United States, focused primarily on midsized companies in the healthcare, technology and manufacturing industries. Prior to founding her IMC practice, Harris worked in the technology industry for 16 years, eventually rising to the role of vice president, where she oversaw sales, marketing and operations for nine profit centers in eight states. She received her master’s degree from the West Virginia University IMC program in December of 2007 and completed her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Minnesota in 2001. WVU Marketing Communications Today: Horizons is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

The Power Communicator Returns!

   Bot-generated fraud on digital advertising will waste $42 billion by 2022, according to Jupiter Research. A shocking sum. Our guest, Dr. Augustine Fou, explains why and how ad fraud is perpetrated, and what can be done about it. Listen in to learn how we marketers must change our thinking about ad metrics, and update our media buying strategies altogether. About our Guest: Dr. Fou has been on the front lines of digital marketing for 25 years. It is from that vantage point that he studied and documented the nexus of cybercrime and ad fraud. As an investigator, Dr. Fou assists government and regulatory bodies; as a consultant he helps clients strengthen cybersecurity, and mitigate threats and risks, including the flow of ad dollars that fund further criminal activity. Dr. Fou was the former Group Chief Digital Officer of Omnicom's Healthcare Consultancy Group, a $100 million group of 8 agencies serving pharma, medical device, and healthcare clients. Dr. Fou also taught digital strategy and integrated marketing at Rutgers University and NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies. Dr. Fou completed his PhD at MIT in Materials Science and Engineering at the age of 23. He started his career with McKinsey & Company and previously served as SVP, digital strategy lead at McCann/MRM Worldwide. WVU Marketing Communications Today: Horizons is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

John Wanamaker Was Right! How Fraud Wastes Your Digital Ad Dollars

   The marketing world has embraced loyalty programs ever since the launch of the American Airlines AAdvantage program in 1981. But these transactional rewards programs are headed for the trash heap, says our guest Ajay Row, a longtime authority on retention and loyalty, based in Mumbai. Join us to learn the strategy behind loyalty marketing programs and the strategy that is likely to replace them. The key lies in figuring out who’s valuable to you, what’s valuable to them, and how you can deliver and extract more value in the relationship. About our Guest: G. Ajay Row Entrepreneurial executive with 35 years’ experience in data-driven, digital, loyalty, analytics and CRM across a variety of industries and several countries. Launched among the first CRM, loyalty and data-driven marketing programs globally in the 1980s, have since implemented programs across 65+ countries. Built several companies, two to exit, and numerous case studies. 11 years with the Taj and then the Tata Group responsible for CRM. 5 years at ITC. Full-time consultant for several years. WVU Marketing Communications Today: Horizons is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

Are Loyalty Programs Doomed?

   Why do walled gardens exist in the first place? The answer is quite simple, because they can. When it comes to advertising, giant firms like Facebook and LinkedIn hold all their own cards. And with the demise of 3rd party data and cookies, the amount of data they have on users who readily allow access to personal information is unprecedented. But we are learning that this may spell bad news in the future for us marketers. Listen in to this episode with Heather Blank on how Walled Gardens will impact the future of advertising. About our Guest: Heather Blank Heather Blank has over 20 years of experience scaling and innovating the go-to-market strategies of digital enterprises. A background in both client-side and in-house technology roles gives her a unique perspective and solutions-oriented approach to product innovation. Heather started her data career running the first digital CRM program for PETCO Animal Supplies and has worked to build successful data businesses for Responsys, Oracle Data Cloud, Datalogix and MediaMath. In her current role as SVP Data Solutions at Revenue Vision Partners, she helps clients in retail, financial services and adtech develop data monetization strategies. Heather graduated with a B.A. in journalism from the University of Arizona and lives in San Diego with her husband and two children. WVU Marketing Communications Today: Horizons is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

Are Walled Gardens the Future?

   In this provocative episode, database management expert Theresa Kushner explains why she believes that the marketing profession as we know it today is obsolete. What does this mean for the future of the marketing discipline, and for organizations as a whole? Listen here to find out. About our Guest: Theresa Kushner Theresa Kushner turned her master’s degree in journalism from UNT into a career in high technology. For over 25 years she has led companies – like IBM, Cisco Systems, VMware, Dell/EMC, and NTT DATA – in recognizing, managing, and using the information or data that has exploded exponentially. Using her expertise in journalism, she co-authored two books on data and its use in business: Managing Your Business Data: From Chaos to Confidence (with Maria Villar) and B2B Data-Driven Marketing: Sources, Uses, Results (with Ruth Stevens). Today, as the “Data as an Asset” lead for NTT DATA, Theresa continues to help companies gain value from data and information. For her efforts in leading analytics, Theresa was inaugurated into the Analytics Hall of Fame at Pace University in New York in March 2019. She currently serves as an AI/Analytics consultant in the Data & Intelligent Automation group with NTT DATA. WVU Marketing Communications Today: Horizons is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

Is Marketing Dead?

   During the pandemic, we’ve all be watching with horror as stores close and shopping behavior has turned upside down. Amazon’s sales are up 40% in the last 12 months. What’s the future of retail, we have to ask? Join us for an engaging discussion with Paul Leinwand and Samrat Sharma from PriceWaterhouseCoopers’s as they discuss the future of consumer markets and where the consumer shopping experience is headed. Paul Leinwand is global director of the Strategy& unit of PwC based in Chicago and teaches strategy and management as an adjunct at Kellogg Graduate School of Business. Samrat Sharma also works at Strategy& and has an MBA from Carnegie Mellon. About our Guests: Paul Leinwand Paul Leinwand is a thought leader on strategy, growth, and capability building for Strategy&, PwC's strategy consulting group. Based in Chicago, he is a principal with PwC U.S. Paul advises clients on the topic of strategy, growth, and capability building, with a focus on the consumer product and retail sectors. He is the co-author of three books, Strategy That Works: How Winning Companies Close the Strategy-to-Execution Gap (Harvard Business Review Press, 2016), The Essential Advantage: How to Win with a Capabilities-Driven Strategy (Harvard Business Review Press, 2010) and Cut Costs and Grow Stronger (Harvard Business Review Press, 2009), as well as several articles in the Harvard Business Review and strategy+business. Paul earned an MBA with Distinction from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Washington University. He currently teaches at Kellogg as an Adjunct Professor of Strategy. Samrat Sharma Samrat Sharma is the US Enterprise Strategy & Growth Leader with Strategy& and PwC and the global leader of CMO Advisory, where he specializes in developing new business models to drive growth and reduce costs for CPG clients. He has roughly 20 years of consulting and industry experience in North America and emerging markets. His wealth of expertise includes growth strategy, innovation and business transformation, go-to-market capabilities development such as marketing, revenue management, customer/channel management, and digital transformation with a focus on commerce, data & analytics. Samrat has been featured in publications like Harvard Business Review and Strategy+Business. He earned his Bachelors in Commerce from the University of Delhi, and his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. WVU Marketing Communications Today: Horizons is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

The Future of Retail

   Design thinking has been around a while, and it sounds alluring, but there’s still some confusion about what it means to marketers. Roger Mader sets us straight in this podcast, explaining the skills and tools of design thinking that apply to marketing practice, and how it can be used to improve marketing results. In short, he describes a process for predicting your customers’ future needs and interests and serving them better than the competition. Join Roger, Managing Partner at Ampersand and professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York, to hear where design thinking can take marketers, on the sub-series, Marketing Horizons. About our Guest: Roger Mader is on a mission to “make better”—to equip leaders and entrepreneurs, experts and students to change the world. Declare purpose. Make a promise. Act on principle. Measure performance. Learn. Grow. Roger serves as the Managing Partner of Ampersand, a global team of partners who help big companies act small, and small companies get big. Ampersand uses design practices honed in the field, in collaboration with teams to conceive, test, iterate and launch new offerings and experiences. He serves on the graduate program faculty of the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. His course on Strategic Innovation introduces teams of students to Ampersand’s 4D method to design breakthroughs for corporate sponsors, including Accenture, Cap Gemini, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Deloitte, EY, Lippincott, McKinsey, RGA and SYP. His writing includes Purposeful Enterprise, a thesis on the power of purpose to guide strategy, attract demand and compel people on a shared mission. WVU Marketing Communications Today: Horizons is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

Design Thinking: What Does It Mean to Marketers?

   Behavioral science is a relatively new field, with huge implications for marketing. Neuromarketing can actually help you develop more persuasive communications that will increase your response rates. Join Nancy Harhut, Chief Creative Officer at HBT Marketing, as she explains how she persuades her target audiences successfully, using the lessons of behavioral science, on the sub-series, Marketing Horizons. About our Guest: Getting people to take action is what Nancy’s all about. Her specialty is blending best-of-breed creative with decision science to prompt response. A frequent speaker at industry conferences, Nancy’s shared her passion with audiences in London, Sydney, Moscow, Madrid, Stockholm, Sao Paulo, Berlin, and all over the US, including SXSW. Along the way, she's been named Online Marketing Institute Top 40 Digital Strategist, Ad Club Top 100 Creative Influencer, and Social Top 50 Email Marketing Leader. Prior to co-founding HBT Marketing, Nancy held senior creative management positions with Hill Holliday, Mullen and Digitas. She and her teams have won over 200 awards for digital and direct marketing effectiveness. WVU Marketing Communications Today: Horizons is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

Hack Human Behavior to Increase Marketing Results

   Learn about the power of guest posting (guest blogging) and why it's an important tool for marketers of all levels to utilize. Use it for brand recognition, building backlinks to your site, sharing your knowledge and expertise on certain topics, and increasing your trustworthiness in your business niche. Discover why it's valuable for freelancers and solopreneurs to implement as well! Join Rebecca Reynoso, Senior Editor + Guest Post Program Manager at G2 for "What is Guest Posting and Why You Should Start Using it for Your Brand" on the WVU Marketing Communications Today podcast. About our Guest: Rebecca Reynoso is the Senior Editor and Guest Post Program Manager at G2. She also works as a freelance editor and writer for a few small- and medium-sized tech companies, including Sales Hacker, Nextiva, and Databox. Outside of work, Rebecca enjoys watching hockey, cooking, and spending time with her family and cat. WVU Marketing Communications Today is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

What is Guest Posting and Why You Should Start Using it for Your Brand

   Chatbot technology in B2B is developing quickly beyond customer experience to becoming an important part of Top of Funnel (TOF) tactics. Join Koen de Witte, Managing Director at Leadfabric, and Drift's exclusive certified partner in Europe, to hear his insights around next-generation Chatbots in the sub-series, Marketing Horizons hosted by Ruth Stevens and Cyndi Greenglass. About our Guest: Koen de Witte is one of the leading martech experts in Europe. He runs a martech services company, Leadfabric, that helps B2B companies across Europe select and install the right marketing technology — CRM, campaign automation — to manage their prospecting and current customer marketing efforts efficiently. Leadfabric also offers full demand gen services to clients — in fact, his was the first full-service B2B demand gen agency in Europe, started in 2008. He’s also a leading expert on chatbot technology, being a certified partner of Drift, one of the leading chatbot providers. WVU Marketing Communications Today: Horizons is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

Humanizing Chatbots with Next-Generation AI

   Healthcare is one of the largest industries and with so many options (as well as “Dr. Google”) it’s important for marketers to know the strategies to reach patients. Christopher Caserta, Vice President for Strategic Development at United States Medical Management, joins us to discuss how marketers are changing the healthcare industry, as well as how the industry has evolved on the WVU Marketing Communications Today podcast. About our Guest: Christopher has over 20 years of executive-level experience within acute- and long-term healthcare, senior living, and consulting. His diverse expertise includes strategic and growth roles within hospital systems, Accountable Care Organizations, care coordination systems, ambulatory centers, senior housing, home and community-based services and skilled nursing rehabilitation. Christopher is a native West Virginian and proud 2010 Master’s graduate of the Integrated Marketing Communications program at West Virginia University. WVU Marketing Communications Today is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

The Monstrous World of Healthcare and how Marketers are Changing the Industry

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