Podcasts about keurig green mountain

Since founding ICR in 1998, Tom and his senior team have grown the firm into one of the largest, most respected and most impactful agencies in the world. He has studied public companies, their value creation initiatives and communications strategies for over 30 years and has used his experience as a former sell-side analyst/investment banker to advise hundreds of high-profile companies spanning numerous industries. This includes Abbott, Keurig Green Mountain, Chipotle, Wendy's, Texas Roadhouse, and Legg Mason to name a few.   As a true partner to corporate clients, Tom's advice is solely geared toward building and preserving C-Suite credibility and reputation, which is a key driver of valuation and capital costs. This, in turn, leads to his clients becoming the employer of choice, the logical exit for companies looking to sell, and other untold opportunities for reinvestment and capital deployment.   Interviewed by Kate Doerge.

How do you convince investors to bet over $100 million on your innovative beverage company? If you're Matt Roberts, you start by making them a great cup of coffee. Matt is the founder of Cometeer Coffee, which markets innovative frozen coffee capsules crafted using premium coffee beans sourced from leading specialty roasters. The single-serve capsules can be used to make hot or cold coffee, and are produced using a proprietary process in which fresh beans are ground, brewed and flash-frozen to preserve flavors and aromas.  Launched in 2015, Cometeer was developed in partnership with coffee industry legend George Howell, who believes that the brand "will do for coffee what the bottle did for wine." He's not alone in his lofty expectations for the Massachusetts-based company, which has raised venture capital funding from coffee and tech heavyweights, including the founder of Keurig Green Mountain, the former president of Nespresso and lead investors in Blue Bottle Coffee, among others. Cometeer has built a thriving direct-to-consumer business and is gradually expanding distribution to brick-and-mortar retailers. The brand is currently available in over 500 stores nationwide including Sprouts, Central Market, New Season, and Gelson's. In the following interview, I spoke with Matt about how he identified the opportunity to disrupt the instant coffee category by delivering a high quality drinking experience, how Cometeer has crafted an effective consumer education strategy and how his constant desire to learn more has helped him become a better leader. Show notes: 0:35: Matt Roberts, Founder & CEO, Cometeer Coffee – Matt chats about growing up and launching Cometeer in Massachusetts, why the company is based in Gloucester and the city's history as “Freezetown USA.” He also talks about the science and process behind Cometeer and why “brew tech” is the company's stock in trade, what he considers to be the company's “moat” and who its' primary competitors are, and gives a brief, but informative, explanation as to how the company captures and preserves coffee at its peak form. He also discusses how scientific validation of the company's processing methods attracted tech and consumer brand investors, why education and trial remains Cometeer's biggest challenge, and its plans to create a mainstream offering. Matt also talks about Cometeer's relationship with roasting partners and coffee farmers, why he's bullish on climate-resistant coffee crops, how “the extended coffee TED talk” and the success of Nespresso have been effective in attracting new investors and how he talks to them about potential M&A deals, and how podcasts (like this one) have been instrumental in his personal education about business and leadership. Brands in this episode: Cometeer Coffee, Blue Bottle, George Howell, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, James Hoffman, Onyx Coffee, Nespresso

In his new book, the founder of Keurig Green Mountain shares his entrepreneurial story and his advice for becoming a more optimistic leader. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the cityCURRENT Show, we interview Kevin Hartley, the founder and CEO of Cambio Roasters, a pioneering coffee company known for its sustainable and eco-friendly practices. Kevin brings a wealth of experience from his previous roles, including as a key executive at Keurig Green Mountain, where he helped drive the company's market cap from $100M to $14B.Kevin shares his journey from the corporate world to founding Cambio Roasters, inspired by a desire to create a positive impact in the coffee industry. He discusses how Cambio Roasters is transforming the coffee market with innovative, recyclable coffee pods that offer superior taste without compromising on sustainability. Kevin explains the company's commitment to a triple bottom line approach, focusing on people, planet, and profit.Listeners will learn about the unique aspects of Cambio Roasters, including their use of locally-sourced Californian ingredients and the dedication to returning 20% of profits to coffee producers and their families. Kevin also highlights the company's mission to reduce the environmental footprint of coffee consumption while supporting fair labor practices.Throughout the conversation, Kevin delves into the challenges and successes of building a purpose-driven brand, the importance of sustainable practices, and the future of the coffee industry. He provides valuable insights into the development of eco-friendly packaging, the role of community support, and the significance of creating a positive work environment.Join us for an enlightening discussion with Kevin Hartley, and discover how Cambio Roasters is revolutionizing the coffee industry with a focus on sustainability, quality, and social impact.Learn more: https://cambioroasters.com/

Lori Tauber Marcus is a corporate board director, executive coach, founding member of The Band of Sisters, and an Executive Coach and Advisor for Crenshaw Associates, which provides world-class talent services for senior executives and leading corporations.  After 24 years in multiple roles at PepsiCo, including Senior Vice President, Marketing Activation, she served as SVP of The Children's Place Retail Stores and Chief Global Brand and Product Officer at Keurig Green Mountain. Lori also has significant board experience and presently sits on the board of directors for Fresh Del Monte Produce and 24 Hour Fitness. Lori is also one of the authors of You Should Smile More, a book that tackles gender bias in the corporate space. In this episode… Much can be learned from hearing a leader's whole story — every influence, moment, and mentor work to shape each person's career. For successful and inspiring leaders, their hardwon lessons are invaluable for the next generation. Lori Marcus spent her career serving major brands before turning her focus to executive coaching. She works directly with leaders, co-founded The Band of Sisters to help women in the corporate space, and sits on several leading companies' boards. Lori's upbringing, background, and early career taught her many lessons and shaped her future. So what can you learn from her story? In this episode of Next Wave Leadership, Dov Pollack invites Lori Tauber Marcus, Executive Coach and Advisor with Crenshaw Associates, back onto the podcast to speak about her own leadership lessons and personal journey. They go through her education, upbringing, and living in the time before social media. They also talk about how leaders perceive you and Lori's coaching style.

For Maggie Gross, BrandWorth started out as a question: How does a brand prove their value to a skeptical CEO or CFO who sees branding as a cost-driver?Maggie leads Brand practice at Deloitte. She has led strategy for brands like Dos Equis, Samsung, Keurig/Green Mountain, Lysol, and the Special Olympics. Her work with American Express on Small Business Saturday reframed the idea into the Shop Small movement – leading it to become a nationally-recognized holiday by Congress. Her work and ideas have been featured in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, and even spotlighted in the Smithsonian Museum.In this special Office Hours episode, Jim and Maggie help answer that initial question. Tune in to learn about the four drivers of brand value and how the right mix attributed to about $1BN in incremental revenue for brands and the companies that are doing it well. Plus – Jim shares the toughest brand he transformed at P&G.Learn more about BrandWorth at: https://www.deloittedigital.com/us/en/offerings/customer-led-marketing/make-brand-a-c-suite-priority.htmlSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Angelique Bellmer Krembs is a marketing expert and a founding member of The Band of Sisters. She spent 23 years at PepsiCo, leading turnaround and growth for many beloved brands, including Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and SoBe. She was also the CMO at News America Marketing, created a CMO Advisory practice, and was the Managing Director and Global Head of Brand at BlackRock. Lori Tauber Marcus is a corporate board director, executive coach, and a founding member of The Band of Sisters. After 24 years in multiple roles at PepsiCo, including Senior Vice President, Marketing Activation, she served as SVP of The Children's Place Retail Stores and Chief Global Brand and Product Officer at Keurig Green Mountain. Lori also has significant board experience and presently sits on the boards of Fresh Del Monte Produce and 24-Hour Fitness. Cie Nicholson is an investor, advisor, speaker, and another founding member of The Band of Sisters. Her career includes 11 years at PepsiCo, serving as the EVP and CMO of Equinox and Softcard. She presently serves as Public Board Director for Selective Insurance and also served as a Private Board Member for Heartland Food Group and the ANA (Association of National Advertisers). In this episode… The roots of sexism in the business world are often deeper than we realize. It's all too easy to identify the more obvious problems and be satisfied, but most are much more subtle. The only way to promote inclusion and diversity in the workplace is to confront the small and the large issues alike. This requires honesty from the people who are affected the most. The Band of Sisters is a collective of women in leadership with a common goal towards eradicating gender bias. They have come together to write a book entitled You Should Smile More that outlines the current state of gender bias in business and what can be done. It's filled with many real-world experiences, and now they share some of them with you. Dov Pollack interviews Angelique Bellmer Krembs, Lori Tauber Marcus, and Cie Nicholson of The Band of Sisters to talk about gender equality and how we can move forward. They discuss their book, some of the key takeaways, and how they wrote it. They touch on a host of important topics like speaking truth to power, cultivating a welcoming workplace, and why remote work can be so valuable. Hear it all on this episode of the Next Wave Leadership podcast.

Why do I feel like the Monster Beverage and Constellation Brands merger reports resembles a famous early 1800s French erotic painting? How's that for an odd introduction? Stay with me though because it will make more sense by the end of this episode. Last week, reports surfaced from Bloomberg that Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST), the maker of Monster Energy drinks, is exploring a business merger with beer, wine, and spirits brand portfolio Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ). This is a pretty wild business combination when you consider that both beverage CPG brand portfolios each have current market capitalizations of more than $40 billion. It's like the Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple Group mega beverage merger from 2018, but by a likely multiple of three times larger. While these Monster Beverage Corporation and Constellation Brands talks are not anywhere near finalized (or even official) and may not even end in any full merger or asset deal, I thought it would be fun to dissect its parts and get a deeper understanding of why these two beverage giants would even consider a deal. FOLLOW ME ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS LINKEDIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaschallmba TWITTER - https://www.twitter.com/joshua_schall INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/joshua_schall FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/jschallconsulting MEDIUM - https://www.medium.com/@joshuaschall

Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ: KDP) expects to have $20 billion in M&A capacity over the next three years, so I thought it would be fun to put on my CEO hat and go shopping! In January 2018, KDP was created when Keurig Green Mountain (owned by JAB Holding Company) agreed to combine with Dr Pepper Snapple Group. At the time of the deal, it was said to “unlock the opportunity to combine hot and cold beverages and create a platform to increase exposure to high-growth formats.” Over the last several years, KDP has proved its merger thesis and is now prepping itself for the next phase by becoming a modern beverage company. To give some additional information that might help you understand some of my M&A predictions, I run through a bit of the extremely intriguing yet secretive heritage of JAB Holding Company. Additionally, I breakdown the current cold beverage and coffee systems segments of the KDP portfolio. With KDP seeking sizable deals that are more complex, resulting in portfolio expansion, distribution scale, geographic expansion, and new capabilities, I focus on five main beverage categories (coffee, non-alcoholic beer and mixers, energy drinks, protein beverages, and water) and provide brands that I believe if acquired by KDP would support its M&A goals. FOLLOW ME ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaschallmba TWITTER https://www.twitter.com/joshua_schall INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/joshua_schall FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/jschallconsulting MEDIUM https://www.medium.com/@joshuaschall

In this episode, Catherine Cote ‘18 is interviewed by Conor Hatton '22.  They speak about her time on campus, as well as the experience abroad that sparked her idea for Project Empathy, performance-based project in which people are paired up and tasked with telling each other's true, personal stories.  Thought-provoking and inspiring, Catherine's story highlights the wonderful impact that we can have on others when we combine our disparate interests and share them with the world. Interview originally recorded on May 1, 2021. Due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic, all interviews in season 2 are recorded remotely. --- Catherine: The Culture of Holy Cross is one of think about the other people's experience and also think about your own experience and reflect and how would that impact your worldview. Maura: Welcome to Mission Driven, where we speak with alumni who are leveraging their Holy Cross education to make a meaningful difference in the world around them. I'm your host Maura Sweeney from the class of 2007, Director of Alumni Career Development at Holy Cross. I'm delighted to welcome you to today's show. Maura: This episode features Catherine Cote from the class of 2018. Catherine can be described as the kind of person who makes the most out of every opportunity. She was drawn to Holy Cross because it provided the space for her to pursue her wide-ranging interests. She was a psychology major and Chinese and Education minor, who earned a business certificate through the Ciocca Center. Her interests also led her to participate in theater and study abroad in Australia. It was this fascinating mix of interests that when combined, inspired her to found her own company, Project Empathy, a performance-based project in which people are tasked with telling each other's true, personal stories. Maura: She is joined in conversation with Conor Hatton from the class of 2022. They speak about her time on campus, as well as the experience that sparked her idea for Project Empathy. Both having close ties to the Ciocca Center, they talk about the value of the business certificate program and how it's helped to prepare them for life after the hill.  Thought-provoking and inspiring, Catherine's story highlights the wonderful impact that we can have on others when we combine our disparate interests and share them with the world. Conor: Hi Catherine. I'm so excited to talk to you today. How are you doing? Catherine: Good, good, thanks Conor for having me. I'm really excited. Conor: So, I wanted to talk about first, obviously you graduated in 2018, so I wanted to start at the beginning and just find out why did you choose to come to Holy Cross. What's the story behind you coming to Holy Cross? Is it family? Was there anything else that might have led you to Holy Cross? Catherine: Yeah, wow. So I was a tour guide, so I definitely have this story locked and loaded from when I had to tell it to tour groups. I actually had this long checklist of items I was looking for in a college, which I'm sure a lot of people do. And it was things like can I study Chinese here, can I do theater without majoring in theater here? Do I have to declare a major coming in, or can I explore a little bit first? Catherine: I liked the small to medium size. So all my big, long checklist. And there were plenty of schools that checked all the boxes. And it was when I started getting accepted places, Holy Cross was actually my first college acceptance, which was great. But at the time I still wasn't sure if that was the place for me. I had seen a lot of different schools. It was actually when I came to campus for the accepted students day. It was like, "Okay, this checks all my boxes and stuff," but actually talking to the people who go here and being on campus and feeling this sense of almost like family, it sort of felt like. I said to my parents, "Hey, I think we need to swing by the bookstore on our way out, so I can get a sweatshirt." And my parents knew that that was like oh, if she gets a sweatshirt, that means she's committed. So yeah, definitely, that was how I ended up here. Conor: That's awesome. That's awesome. I mean, I'm sure it's a similar, not similar, I would say, but I would say for me, I was looking for a small school, as well, and I found that in Holy Cross. And I also found it within the Holy Cross community. I think Holy Cross also is able to open a lot of different opportunities for everyone. And obviously after doing some research about you, I know you went to study abroad in Melbourne, something that unfortunately I wasn't able to do because of the COVID pandemic. But I really would love for you to talk about your experience abroad and what it meant to you. Catherine: Yeah, oh wow. So going abroad, so I went abroad to the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia the second semester of my junior year. So that was from January to June 2017. Yeah, it was such an amazing experience. Catherine: I will say, so I did study Chinese as my minor. And it was always sort of a consideration maybe I would go to China to study abroad, but I have a lot of food allergies, and I was like maybe I don't want to risk that in a language I'm not fluent in. So I started looking at English speaking options. And Australia, it felt significantly far away enough and a different culture that I would still get that whole really immersive experience. Catherine: Yeah, and I also just really enjoyed... I liked that I only knew one other Holy Cross student who was going. That was a plus to me. We had each other if we needed someone, but really it was like I chose the option to live in a single, and I explored the city by myself and made new friends from other countries. It was a really great experience. Conor: That's awesome, and I think one thing I also want to go off of that is after reading on the website, so you founded Project Empathy, which I would love for you to explain because I don't want to be the one to explain it. But I wanted you to explain what Project Empathy is for the audience that doesn't know, and how you came about that idea because I think it's so interesting and amazing, especially in today's climate, for sure. Catherine: Thank you. Yeah, so Project Empathy, it's a performance-based project in which people are paired up and tasked with telling each other's true, personal stories. So at this point in 2021, it's a business. I founded it as a business in October 2020, but I did create it when I was studying abroad in Melbourne, Australia in 2017. Catherine: So that actually, it really came out of, like I said, I was living in a single. I was really trying to meet a lot of new people at the time, and I was, meeting hundreds of people every week, I'd say. But it was a lot of surface conversation. And it was also a lot of talking about cultural differences and like, "Oh, we're so different. Isn't that funny?" And that's fun conversation to have and to figure out what's considered so American, what's considered really Australian. And then also all these other different cultures who were also studying abroad in Australia. But one thing I was really missing was having these deep conversations with people. Catherine: And at the same time, I was also really wanted to be part of theater. Theater is a big part of my Holy Cross experience even though I didn't major in it. And I was like, yeah, I would really would like to be involved with some sort of performance, but at the same time I don't want to lock myself into a rehearsal schedule where I wouldn't have any time to travel. Catherine: And then simultaneously, as we know, that was when President Trump had just been inaugurated, which was causing a really big stir back in the United States, and I was sort of observing it from afar. It was kind of a weird vantage point. And people were really divided over social issues, political issues, and it sort of came to me one night. I was just sitting in my apartment, and I was like, you know what would be really cool if I combine all three of these things and created a space where people would be dedicated to listening to each other's experiences, views, opinions, and then they performed those views for an audience. Catherine: And it was sort of like the wheels got turning. Could I do that here? I don't know anyone here. Could I do that? And I ended up just reaching out to their, they have this office of student generated art. And I reached out and explained my situation. I'm a study abroad student, could I do this here. And they were like, "Yeah, just send an email. See what happens." Catherine: So I got to send out an email to their list, and I ended up getting, I think I got 16 responses. I asked for people who had a story to tell. So, I did get, people, when they responded that they had stories, they did. And I ended up meeting with them each over coffee. So it was an informal setting, and I asked them, "Okay, what story did you prepare to talk to me about today?" And the range of stories that people tell when you just give them that general prompt is amazing. Catherine: Mostly the stories that people told were something that they had to overcome or a struggle in their life that now they can look back on. Sometimes it was struggles that they were currently going through even. And actually they weren't even all about struggle, but it was all about identify, figuring out who you are, stories like that. Catherine: So what happened after those interviews was that I picked six people. I didn't think I could handle more at the time. I picked six people from that group whose stories were very, very different from each other. And I paired them up with people who I thought it would be a challenge for them to try to understand. And yeah, it ended up being better than I could have hoped. It was sort of an experimental idea at the time. And these six people just, they showed up. Catherine: We had six rehearsals, and during those rehearsals, we did empathy exercises that I cobbled together from the internet and my own imagination. And then we just did a lot of sharing and conversation, just deep conversations to understand each other. And then finally we ended up performing at this thing called PLOM, potluck open mic night. And it was again, super informal. There were just a lot of couches around. Everybody shows up with food. Catherine: So we ended up just saying, "Can we perform our stories at this open mic night?" And the organizer's said, "Yep, of course." And so again, it was really informal, but it was the perfect venue because people were open to hearing what these people had to say. Catherine: And yeah, one of the cool things about that venue too was that the organizers had scattered around these pieces of paper for people to just jot down how they were feeling about the performances. And those actually ended up being some of the first testimonials, which I'm sure you might have seen on the website, just anonymous people saying like, "This makes me feel like I want to have a relationship with my Dad again. Thank you." Or someone said, "The story about the pregnancy made me cry." It's like wow, all right, this is affecting the audience members in addition to the cast members. Catherine: So that's the origin story. And I could keep going, but maybe I'll pause. Conor: No, no that's great. And to be honest, you get a background of that from your website, but going in depth is truly amazing. I had no idea that it grew to that scale so quickly. Obviously I know you founded it as a company in October, so I just wanted to see what do you hope to build that into just in the future? Catherine: Yeah, so actually I'll fill in the gaps a little bit too. In between that first performance and founding it into a business, I did bring it back to Holy Cross and we performed it. I directed it, the cast performed it in 2018, again in 2019 after I had graduated. They sadly had to cancel 2020 for obvious reasons. And tomorrow they're actually performing it again. So yeah, it's really, really a nice feeling to have this all come full circle. Catherine: So I did actually end up thinking when it was being done again and again at Holy Cross, where the cast members were saying, "I would like to direct this now." I was like wow, I love that this is a tradition at Holy Cross where the cast members can continue the tradition, but this is really an affective way to scale it because then only people who have been in it are expressing interest in directing it. Catherine: And at the time that felt appropriate because they had been through it. They knew what it felt like. They knew the whole process in and out. But actually it was during the pandemic I think when I had a lot of time to think. I started thinking about what if I could create a kit, an instructional kit, for how to direct this. And then that way you wouldn't have had to be in it to direct it. Catherine: And also, I love directing it, but I can't direct them all. So yeah, I ended up making this instructional kit. I call it the performance package. And it has a hard copy of a director's guide. It just contains everything that I've learned about directing, and I've also brought in words from other directors from Holy Cross and the University of Melbourne too. I also have these back pocket cards that have comments and questions for just moving along deep conversations. And then also this big digital file of every digital item you might need to put this on at your school, your university, your theater. Catherine: And yeah, so the thought with that is that if I can sell this package to other schools, theaters, any community group that wants to do it, that I could... Yeah, it just increases it's scale and by extension, increase the impact that it can have. Conor: That's amazing. And I guess a follow-up question to that, do you find that the people that are participating in the theater, are they mostly people that are, I guess, actors, or do you find regular people that come in and just want to perform and talk about their own struggles or anything about themselves. Is it mostly one niche group, or do you find a variety of different people coming in? Catherine: I'll say it started out being just theater people because that was who I had access to through that student theater group, but it's been growing, which I'm really happy about. It's been growing into people who have no acting experience. I would like to see it continue to grow that way because this isn't really about acting. In fact, for some of the... So when I directed it in 2018, some of the students were like, "I feel really nervous. I've never given a performance before. Can I use index cards?" I'm like, "Yes, of course." That's not going to... I don't expect you to be a professional actor to tell someone else's story like that. Conor: Right. That's great, that's great. And I think opening it up is great. I saw in the email this week, that... It was so funny that our interview was today and then tomorrow is Project Empathy, and I got an email about it this week, and I saw it, and it just reminded me of today. Very funny. Conor: So I want to say and another question just tying it back to Holy Cross, so do you find that you took any lessons from Holy Cross and applied it to Project Empathy at all? Or is there any experiences at Holy Cross, obviously I know through Melbourne, but at Holy Cross that inspired Project Empathy or for Project Empathy to grow? Catherine: Yeah, nothing that I can directly tie, but I definitely feel like being at Holy Cross in general. Everyone's steeped in this culture of what can I do for other people and reaching outwards into communities. That's definitely reflected in Project Empathy. And I'll also say that the cura personalis thing, I've always loved that, the care of the whole person. And even just thinking about some of the classes that I took, I never would have taken if I didn't need to. Catherine: So, for instance, there was a comparative religions and worldview class I took, Professor Schmalz. Conor: Yeah, he's still at Holy Cross. Catherine: It was so great. And I loved it because it was like here are tons of different worldviews. Let's study them all. And I took a class called Cognition Across Cultures with Professor Anggoro in the Psych department. And that was like, wow. I loved thinking about the way other people think. So yeah, it wasn't necessarily a direct tie where someone said something and it inspired it, but it was very much the culture of Holy Cross is one of think about the other people's experience and also think about your own experience and reflect and how would that impact your worldview. Yeah, definitely. Conor: Absolutely. So I want to transfer now to more into your major and your professional life in marketing, so I just wanted to talk about how... So obviously you were a psychology major, Mandarin minor, education minor, so you were double minor. You also had the business certificate. So I guess I wanted to say, what class at Holy Cross made the biggest impact on you, and how has it helped you in your professional life today marketing? It's kind of a big question, but just in general. I don't want to put you on the spot too much. Just if you had some classes that had a big impact on you. Catherine: Yeah, if I can pick a handful. I don't think I can pick just one. Conor: Yeah, no that's completely understandable. Catherine: Yeah, so I majored in psychology, minored in education and Chinese, and then I had this business certificate on the side, which is so funny that that was a side thing because it was so impactful for my career. But I really always joke with people that yeah, these are all the things I studied, but they're really not discrete. Really the whole common thread here is I just like people and studying connection. Catherine: And so I feel like the classes that had the most impact on me were classes that connected those studies together if that makes sense. Like those two that I just mentioned, Comparative Religions, that wasn't even for a major or minor for me, but it had an impact. And then that Cognition Across Cultures was huge. Catherine: And actually, I'll also mention a class I didn't expect to have a lasting impact on me was Research Methods for Psychology. It's a required course for the major, and statistics. Yeah, I'll say statistics and Research Methods because those were both required courses for the Psych major. They definitely weren't my favorite at the time. I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a "math person." But I've used the statistics concepts and the research methods concepts in business, which that was not something that we expected to necessarily use them for. Catherine: And then I'll also say with the business certificate, the parts of that that I enjoyed the most were the workshops where we were in person and doing hands on projects. Like getting to hear from alumni in person. I loved that so much. But then the part that I didn't expect to impact me that much was the Excel course. I was like, "Oh yeah, this is required." And I use it all the time. Pivot tables and the kind of thing that I was not necessarily that excited to learn about. It's now I use it all the time. Conor: Yeah, I would say the same thing for me honestly. I took that my sophomore year, I believe, but for every job that I've had to work since then, I've had to use Excel, and now I'm like, well, I know how to use it. I did some in high school, but the certificate class that I took was great. Conor: So what challenges at all did you find taking your liberal arts education obviously like we talked about, you took a variety of different classes that peaked your interest, and that's the beauty of a liberal arts education. But what challenges did you find if any in regards to having a liberal arts education and entering the professional workforce? Did you find any challenges? And what helped you succeed in the business world with the liberal arts education? Catherine: Ooh, yeah, I feel like that's the big Holy Cross question. Conor: It is. Catherine: I'll just say I've been lucky that both of the places, or I guess all three of the places that became my internships, that I've been employed at, really valued the liberal arts education. There are some places that might want you to have had a business major or something. But I interned at a company called Jebbit when I was a junior, sophomore and junior. And they loved the different perspective I brought. They were a really small staged start up at that point, so they were like, "We want new ideas. We want new perspectives," which I thought was amazing. Catherine: And then my first job out of college, which actually shout out to the Center for Career Development that it was from my career... Crusader Connections post. I will say that I had to pitch myself to them. I had to say, "Here's my skill set. This is what I bring to the table," and a lot of that was I've had to do a lot of research of texts and research synthesis of different texts. I'm extremely organized because of this. I'm used to juggling multiple things. I don't have a one-track mind. Catherine: And I definitely pitched that I can bring new perspectives to the table thing too. And again, they valued that. And my current employer, I'll even say, I think put an emphasis on actually I would really like it if you brought different perspectives to the table. Actually, I work at Harvard Business School right now, Harvard Business School online. And my current marketing team, the organic team. I majored in psychology. One of my colleagues, I think was a video production major. Another was a visual art major. And my manager was a journalism major. Catherine: So I take pride in that in how we all have our different backgrounds, but we've built these skill sets in marketing, and we're able to come together, sort of like in a perfect storm. Conor: Yeah, that's amazing. And you speaking about skill sets, that was leading me to my next question. What skill sets do you feel like you take from that liberal arts education? Obviously in the small class setting, you're not really exposed to speaking in front of large groups, but at Holy Cross, one thing that I've spoken about with my friends and my family is one of the best things is public speaking. Holy Cross, a lot of classes make you speak in front of a lot of people. So I guess my next question is how did that skill set that you took from a liberal arts education apply to your job in marketing? Catherine: Yeah, definitely the public speaking part. Being able to give presentations, yeah. And I definitely, I don't want to sound pompous and all, but I definitely found that Holy Cross prepares you very well to go into the real world, the "real world" because you just have to practice it all the time. So definitely public speaking, research skills, for sure. Catherine: Actually, so in that first job, I specialized in search engine optimization in my first job out of college, which ended up being something that I didn't want to pursue as my career. But while I was there, I learned it a ton. And one of the things that I did while I was there was I had to do a lot of research about what would this specific audience type want to search for on Google. For instance, one of the audience types might have been certified personal accountants. And I'm not a certified personal accountant. I don't know any, and so I definitely feel like at Holy Cross, you had to put yourself in the other person's shoes and just dig into the research to try and figure out as much as possible. And then distill it into something meaningful, which that's just one example of having to search for things that certified personal accountants might be interested in. Catherine: But I also used that, actually it's even more applicable in my current job because I am a content marketer now, so I am writing blog posts, eBooks, things like that for Harvard Business School online, and our topics are often things that I don't necessarily know about. For instance, I wrote one a couple quarters ago about how a manager can increase the profitability of their organization, and that's not something I just know off the top of my head. And so I had to do all this research online. I also really dug into our course material. We offer online courses, so I have access to those, so I dig into that material. And then I learn how a manager could increase profitability of their organization and then distill it into this 1000ish word piece that's easy to digest and understand. Catherine: And I do feel like at Holy Cross, it was always like how do you distill all of this information that we just talked about or read and researched into the final paper or the final presentation or something like that. Conor: Yeah, I think that's the beauty of the Holy Cross education, for sure. I've seen that myself. Obviously I haven't entered the "real world" yet or the business world yet, but I know that it's really helping me pursue a professional career. And I think that goes into my, I'm also pursuing a business fundamentals certificate through the Ciocca Center, so it's something that's obviously we talked about a little bit different from when you experienced it, but would love to know what your favorite aspects of the business certificate program were if you remember. That was awhile ago, obviously. But what did you take from your experience of pursuing the certificate? Yeah, if you could just expand upon that. Catherine: Yeah, I'll start with my favorite part and then talk about what I got from it because I got so many things from it. But I think, maybe I'll pick two. I'll pick two. One was the Fullbridge Competitive Edge program. Have you done that? Conor: I did do Fullbridge, yeah. It was a great experience. So I did that my sophomore year, yeah, going into sophomore year, so summer before going into sophomore year. Catherine: Okay, and I think I did mine the summer after sophomore year? I stayed on campus for it. Conor: Okay, you did the May. Yeah. Catherine: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so I loved that. And you know the course of the program and how it goes, but a week-long 9-5 or 8-5 I think it was program every day. And my team, my Fullbridge team, I think that we were a success story in terms of how they wanted to pair up people who were very different from each other to work on the project, and we were. Our strengths and weaknesses were all different, and because of that, we worked very well together, and there was also some clashing that happened. Catherine: My biggest strength that stood out among my group was in the presentations. I really enjoy storytelling presenting, so I got to open it up. And I remember we did Tesla, and my opening line I was like, "Imagine the future," and diving into Tesla. And one of my team members, she was a math major and she was like, "I just want to present the graphs. I don't want to talk about anything else." We're like, "Okay, fair." And a history major who talked about the history of Tesla. And our other, who his interest was more in finance, so he really wanted to talk about the financial projections. Catherine: Yeah, so I really enjoyed Fullbridge, and even now just on social media, my team, we're just sort of following along with each other's lives and silently or not so silently cheering each other on. So yeah, definitely Fullbridge as well as the marketing boot camp too. I really enjoyed that as well. Conor: Yeah, I would say the same with my team members. We obviously saw each other on campus a little bit this semester, but in regards to the actual leaders of the program, the people working for Fullbridge, they still keep in touch with me, Carman, Franco, one of them. They still keep in touch, and I think that aspect of that program really was beneficial because it helped. It was my first experience in actually networking with people and understanding other people's professional careers. I think it inspired me to realize that hey, I don't have to go into a career path that I think I want to go into. You've just got to be open to new opportunities. Conor: So you talked about the marketing, it's now the marketing and communications workshop. Catherine: Oh. Conor: Yeah, so it's a little bit of a name change. But what did you say it was called back then? Catherine: Marketing Bootcamp. I don't even know if that was correct. Conor: No, no. So did that program itself help to inspire you to go into marketing? What was your inspiration behind going into that industry? Catherine: Yeah, so I did know before I took the bootcamp/workshop, I did know before that I was interested in it, but I wasn't quite sure how to get there, I guess. Like I said, I knew that I really enjoyed people and understanding the way people think. And my parents both worked in business, so I definitely had that oh, I know that this is something I can do. Catherine: Actually my Dad was a Psych major, and he ended up eventually becoming a Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, so I definitely had that vibe that I can do whatever want with a Psych major. And my Mom had, she had started her own ad agency. So I did have them as role models too. Catherine: So knowing that I wanted to work with people and just be thinking about the way people think all the time led me towards marketing. And then when I took the bootcamp or workshop, I got to hear from, I think it was Julie Halpin Anderson. Oh, and Brian Kelley, the CEO of Keurig Green Mountain, and we got to hear both of them speak and give advice to us. And it was like oh, wow, okay. These are Holy Cross alums, who are very successful in the marketing field. And the fact that they came back to give advice to some random Holy Cross students was like, this means a lot to them. You know? Conor: Yeah. I think that I see that all the time with the Holy Cross Alumni Network. I'm assuming this is probably one of your... Well, I don't know that was your first time experience at a Holy Cross Alumni Network, but how has the Holy Cross Alumni Network in general post-college, helped you in your professional career? Catherine: Oh yeah, in so many ways. I'll have to definitely talk about the Women in Business conference because I started attending that my sophomore year. I didn't know about it freshman year. My sophomore year I went to the first Women in Business conference, and it was this overwhelming feeling of I was supported. Literally sitting in the Hogan ballroom surrounded by all these powerful strong smart successful Holy Cross women, who were doing things in business. It was almost overwhelming. Catherine: So yeah, and actually some of my... Again, I talked about that silent or not so silent supporters on social media. So many of those people for me on LinkedIn are from the Women in Business conference, just people that I've met at these tables. Actually one woman that I met when I was a sophomore and I was still like, "I really don't know what I want to do, but these are the things I'm interested in." And she just talked to me about her career but didn't put pressure on me to figure it out then. She's just been saying congratulations on every single one of my job updates. I hope to eventually see her again in person. We obviously were virtual this past year. That network is just unlike any other. Conor: Yeah, and kind of going off that, to the Holy Cross student that might be listening on this podcast, when do you believe a Holy Cross student should start networking? What type of things do you like being asked by Holy Cross students if you've been asked by any? I don't know if you've interacted with any of the current student body, but yeah, just put yourself in the shoes, what do you feel like you should ask? Catherine: Well in terms of when you should start, just whenever you can. I'm not going to say you should've started already. That's not helpful. Whenever you want to make connections is the right time. I feel like with most Holy Cross alumni, they're just waiting to be reached out to. Especially if anyone who's listening wants to reach out to me, please do. I would love to talk to you. Catherine: In terms of things that I would want to be asked, I guess I don't even know. I guess I would just like to have a relationship with these people. Know them as people and then be supportive whenever necessary. Yeah, and I think that if you are a current student who's maybe hesitant to reach out to someone, just say even something as simple as, "Hi, I'm a current Holy Cross student, and I saw your LinkedIn profile or I heard that you're in this industry through the Center for Career Development or something like that. Do you have 15 minutes, I can pick your brain?" And most of them will say yes if they have time. Conor: Yeah, and I completely agree. I think every single Holy Cross alumni that has came back to help either the business program or an event on campus or even just seeing people at a football game, alumni they meet at the football game, I've had that happen. It's just every single person that I've come to loves Holy Cross and also understands, everyone's understanding of each other and understands the experiences that they're going through. Because they're all very similar. Everyone that went to Holy Cross back in the day knows the small schools feel that we feel now and the tight-knit community that is still there. We might have lost it for a year because of the pandemic, but I'm excited to come back to it, and I hope that you come back to campus as well. Catherine: Absolutely. Conor: I want to talk about in regards to the business program in general, how do you believe that... Like for those in the business program now at Holy Cross, what steps should they take to make sure that they get ahead in today's competitive business world? Whether it's the path that you took or maybe something that you wish you did when you were at Holy Cross? Just anything of that nature. Catherine: I'll say that just by being in the business program, you're already a step ahead. Because I would say that even students who don't do the business program, a Holy Cross education still really sets you up well for your future career. But being in the business program can give you concrete skills. So already ahead there. But one thing I think that you already mentioned is just to really lean on that network and leverage it. And by being in the business program, you just sort of have more of a natural tie to some people who maybe volunteer to come back and speak, or you just have an opening line with them, like I'm part of the business program at Holy Cross. I would like to talk to you about this. Catherine: Actually one thing I wanted to mention too is I'm part of the Holy Cross Startup Slack channel. And I know it's typically pretty quiet, but whenever someone posts, it's like swarm of support jumping down the message. And I didn't even know if it would get me any help, but I did post something awhile back being has anyone here filed a U.S. trademark before? It's a very complicated process, but I had never tried, and I didn't know if I needed a lawyer, so I posted in the group just to see if people said something. And this one alum, who I'd never met, had never heard of, he posted and he was like, "Actually, I'm a lawyer. Here's my advice." Non-legal advice, personal advice. "And if you have any questions, here's my email." Catherine: Being able to leverage the network in that way is huge. You just have this one-off question, ask it, someone will come help. And I also really want to be able to do that back flipped. I also want to be that person for other people. Did that answer your question? Conor: Oh yeah, absolutely. No, 100%, and that's something that we've had to utilize more than ever is Holy Cross is now have to use these online platforms because you can't engage with alumni in person. And that's something that I know the Ciocca Center has been transferring a lot of other different career development, everyone's switching to the remote format. And I guess going back to your professional life, how has that impacted Project Empathy in regards to obviously I know that Sunday, May 2nd, tomorrow, will be your next performance at Holy Cross, so how has that been adjusted accordingly? Catherine: Yeah, the performance that's tomorrow, Sunday, May 2nd, it is on Zoom. And I know that the current production team, there are two directors, a stage manager, and a producer, who are all seniors. And then they have a cast of 10 Holy Cross students. They have not been able to meet in person. I mean, as I'm sure you are aware, so they've been having all their rehearsals over Zoom. And then they actually, I think that they rented equipment from the theater department to be able to film in their own dorms, and then the stage manager edited them all together, so that they'll be presented as though you're watching one straight performance. Catherine: So really, just innovative solutions, I feel like. It, of course, it still stinks. You wish that this could all be in person, but I feel like people's spirits are still there, so the spirit of the project is still the same. It's just people had to jump around a little bit, make it work. Catherine: I'm hopeful that the next group that does Project Empathy. I haven't actually announced it yet, but they're hoping to do things on an outdoor stage, so it will still be COVID safe, but they might still be able to be in person. But again, it's just bending things, making it work, being innovative. Conor: Of course, I'm sure, no doubt that it will go successfully. I think that Holy Cross students are now experts at using Zoom, so I that- Catherine: Oh gosh, yeah. Conor: I think that will go well. So I have a couple just fun questions about Holy Cross. So what is your favorite memory on Mount St. James from Holy Cross in general? Whether that can be fun or academic or anything, just what is your favorite memory at Holy Cross? Catherine: My gosh, there are so many. Let me see, I, gosh. There are so many. I think that one that I'll pull out is I have always done the musicals with Alternate College Theater. And I think that when I was a senior, we did Legally Blonde, and we would always do this really intense warm up. It was a workout, just before every rehearsal to get us in the physical shape to perform. And we actually continued to do that warm up together after the show had ended because of the familial type of bond that we had. Yeah, so that's one. I just feel like any other memories that I have of Holy Cross that are with that familial bond, those are the things that stick. Conor: Okay, yeah. And I also wanted to ask, I don't know if you've been to Holy Cross lately, but the new arts center is just about... I don't want to speak for Holy Cross, but it looks like it's just about to be finished. The outside, at least. Catherine: Oh my gosh. Conor: And it's absolutely huge. I don't know, have you seen any pictures of it? Catherine: No, so I actually... It's so funny because we almost we treat it, at least people in my graduating class almost treat it as though it's a mirage because as freshmen, they told us, "Oh yeah, it'll probably be done by the time you're sophomores." And we're like, "We can't wait to perform in it." And then it kept getting pushed back, pushed back, postponed. And now that it's actually almost done, it's like I won't believe it until I see it. Conor: That's very... I would be, when we left for campus, the construction was just starting. But now it's this huge building. It's right next to the Hogan Campus Center when you're going up towards Hart. And it's on the left side. They took out the parking lot and put the building in. It's amazing, and they also have a deck on top, which it looks like it's being built in. It's supposed to be a deck that you can overlook the entire campus, which is something that is honestly, you don't really get that nice of a spot, you get it at Fenway, I guess, when you're trying to look over Kimball, but there's not a really great spot with a great view at Holy Cross. And I think that will be the new spot. Catherine: Wow. Conor: Yeah. Catherine: As soon as it's safe, I will be back to see it. Conor: Absolutely. Absolutely. And in the future, maybe Project Empathy will be able to perform there, and it will be a great success. Great success. Catherine: That would be amazing, yeah. Conor: So, I guess with the final-ish question, excuse me, but if you could go back in the shoes of a Holy Cross student now, what would you tell yourself? What advice would you give, especially, I know things have changed obviously. The world's climate has changed since you've graduated and a lot of different things, Holy Cross has changed. There's a new President now, different things, but in general, if you could go back in the shoes of a Holy Cross student, what would you tell yourself? Catherine: Gosh, I would tell myself soak it all in, which I know is super predictable of me to say, but really soak it all in. Trust your gut. It's okay to say no to certain things if your heart's not in it. I would say don't be so worried about ending up in the right job right after college. That was one of the things I was very worried about, and it all ended up fine. I would say your Holy Cross community is for life. So the friendships that you're building, but then also the relationships with your professors, and then also this unspoken relationship with all alumni, that's a for life thing. And so I feel like take comfort in that. Conor: Absolutely, absolutely. Well, I thank you so much for taking the time to join us. I had a great conversation. This was both our first time doing this, but I think it went well. I had a great conversation, learned a lot. And I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. I think it will go great. I'm going to try to attend, and excited to see you hopefully at Holy Cross in the future. Catherine: Yeah, definitely. Thank you so much, Conor, this was really, really nice, and yeah, again, I'm just so honored that you even invited me here. And yeah, thank you so much. Maura : That's our show. I hope you enjoyed hearing about just one of the many ways that Holy Cross alumni have been inspired by the Mission to be people for and with others. A special thanks to today's guests and everyone at Holy Cross, who has contributed to making this podcast a reality. If you or someone you know, would like to be featured on this podcast, then please send us an email at alumnicareers@holycross.edu. If you like what you hear, then please leave us a review. This podcast is brought to you by the Office of Alumni Relations at the College of the Holy Cross. You can subscribe for future episodes wherever you find your podcasts. I'm your host, Maura Sweeney, and this is Mission-Driven. In the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, now go forth and set the world on fire. Theme music composed by Scott Holmes, courtesy of freemusicarchive.org.

Edward Johnson is the Procurement Manager at ON24, a cloud-based digital experience platform that helps businesses grow. Powered by AI, ON24 provides a system of engagement that enables businesses to scale conversions and drive revenue growth. The ON24 platform supports an average of four million professionals a month, equipped with global offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.  Edward is highly skilled in team and project management, facilities supervision, analysis, and problem-solving. Before working at ON24, Edward worked in facilities management for Dropbox and Keurig Green Mountain, Inc., and as a Construction Foreman for Rain Pro's. In this episode… In any industry, this holds true: you're only as good as your employees. However, there are certain principles a leader should uphold to cultivate healthy relationships and an exceptional work environment.  With 10 years of facilities management experience, Edward Johnson knows that a great leader should be able to mediate between tradesmen and corporate while building up their emotional intelligence to pivot during challenging times. He also emphasizes the importance of maintaining relationships — and trust — between all members of a team. According to Edward, you can improve these relationships by taking the time to appreciate a person and their potential, not just the transaction.  In this episode of Watching Paint Dry, Greg Owens sits down with Edward Johnson, Procurement Manager at ON24, to talk about the qualities of a great leader. Edward discusses his principles of leadership, the people that inspire him, and how facilities management is evolving. Plus, Edward shares all of the exciting things happening within the industry and how you can begin your career! Stay tuned.

Colleen is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Denver, working as the SVP of Business Development at ImmersiveWorlds. She not only founded Total Well-being, one of the nation's leading providers of corporate well-being consulting, but has worked with corporate giants like Coors Brewing Company, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Boeing, and Keurig Green Mountain to name a few. Colleen will discuss her experiences throughout her 20 years in the wellness industry and what it means to be a boss-ass businesswoman. LinkedIn: Colleen Reilly Colleen Reilly Bio:Colleen is a strategic consultant and advisor to Health Improvement Solutions and their clients. As a passionate advocate for positive lifestyle change for nearly 20 years, Colleen has become a sought-after expert, speaker and consultant to forward thinking leaders, companies, government agencies and higher education institutions.  She has an extensive background driving thought leadership, providing insights on employee health, productivity, engagement, efficiency and energy management. Colleen demonstrates drive and ability to strategically and creatively design, develop and implement transformational cultural change within organizations, specifically during her tenure with Nelnet, the leading student loan company.  As Director of Benefits and Well-being, she was able to reduce healthcare costs by 10 percent in the first two years and maintained a flat trend for the following 7 years.  Reilly's experience also includes time at the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, where she consulted with more than 60 Fortune 500 clients including but not limited to, Boeing, Morgan Stanley, Walt Disney Company, Exxon Mobile and Astra Zeneca. Colleen also spent time leading the Health & Productivity department with Coors Brewing Company, saving nearly $16M over 5 years as well as being instrumental in earning Coors the 2002 Gold Well Workplace award, recognizing Coors as one of the healthiest workplaces in the United States.Colleen Reilly holds a bachelor's degree in Combined Science (Chemistry/Biology/Physics) from Santa Clara University and both a Master of Business Administration and Master of Science Management with an emphasis in sports and wellness management from the University of Denver. She is also a certified health coach, marathoner, avid cyclist and group fitness instructor and yoga guide.  She formerly served on the board of the Colorado Governor's Council for Physical Fitness and was an adjunct faculty member at the University of Denver, teaching a course titled, “Philosophy of Wellness.”  She is a Colorado native and lives in Denver with her husband and 3 children.Make sure to subscribe & review Lady Empire above for the opportunity to be featured! 

Today on Uncooked, Heidi Waldusky returns to have a conversation about the merit behind nostalgia marketing and how brands can benefit from the hype. During our conversation we’re looking at what nostalgia marketing really is in today’s world and how it creates brand loyalty by association. We also discuss the importance of understanding your brand’s personality and how considering the context of your nostalgia marketing in the bigger cultural picture.  As the former Associate Publisher, Heidi led the Ad Age rebrand in 2017, working to freshly position Ad Age to lead an industry in the throes of constant reinvention. A former executive creative director, her recent agency tenures include Story Worldwide and Havas, where she helped spearhead the addition of clients such as Beefeater, Keurig Green Mountain and Liberty Mutual Insurance. She relies on her team-building background daily to encourage new ideas and shape current ones for the better   You can connect with Heidi in the following ways: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiwaldusky/   What burning questions do you have about branding and the marketing industry? Leave a review with your question and I’ll pose it to our community. If you’d like to learn more about how I help brands needing a strategic unlock go to www.brandcrudo.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today’s episode of Uncooked, Heidi Waldusky from Ad Age and Jacqueline riff on a few emerging trends headed our way in 2021. Listen in as we discuss the pressure of appointment-only shopping, the positive impact of pandemic dining, the love some fans have for branded merchandise and finally, whether or not we should be doing workout routines at our desks. As the Associate Publisher, General Manager of Marketing and Brand for Ad Age, Heidi’s priority is to collaborate across disciplines to achieve continued success for the legacy media brand. She led the Ad Age rebrand in 2017, working to freshly position Ad Age to lead an industry in the throes of constant reinvention. A former executive creative director, her recent agency tenures include Story Worldwide and Havas, where she helped spearhead the addition of clients such as Beefeater, Keurig Green Mountain and Liberty Mutual Insurance. She relies on her team-building background daily to encourage new ideas and shape current ones for the better   You can connect with Heidi in the following ways: www.AdAge.com  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiwaldusky/   What burning questions do you have about branding and the marketing industry? Leave a review with your question and I’ll pose it to our community. If you’d like to learn more about how I help brands needing a strategic unlock go to www.brandcrudo.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tommy is the Co-Founder of The RoundTrip Group (RTG), a marketing, advertising, media and sales consultancy firm based in the New York City area. RTG's goal is to help marketers better sell to their customers, agencies better sell to clients, and vendors better sell to agencies. By quickly and clearly identifying simple solutions to today's complex business challenges, RTG helps businesses in the industry "sell-in" and "sell-through" more effectively, thus driving profitability. Additionally, Tommy is also a Strategic Advisor to Glewed.TV, a privately-owned ad-support video on demand platform that is revolutionizing the streaming space. Prior to founding The RoundTrip Group, Tommy spent 24 years in the media industry driving business growth via communication solutions for some of the world’s most well-known brands.  Throughout his career, Tommy has been known as strategic, innovative, transformation expert who has a knack for quickly identifying and simplifying business challenges and coming up with innovative communications solutions that are laser focused on driving positive business outcomes for his clients. Tommy began his career in 1995 in the media department at the Grey Global Group (prior to acquisition of the group by WPP) in New York.  During his first 3 years at Grey, Tommy helped develop and modernize communications plans that propelled Procter & Gamble’s Pantene to the #1 hair care brand in the United States.  During his time with Grey he also managed the ConAgra portfolio of food products helping to successfully launch the well know Marie Callender’s frozen food line. In 1999, Tommy helped start up a youth and entertainment company, GWHIZ Entertainment, funded by Grey Global Group.  During his tenure there, he helped grow the agency from 1 client to over 15 in a 5-year span working with clients such as Dairy Queen, W Hotels, Topp’s Confection, D-Lish Fragrances, Konami Video Games and US Cellular.  He was part of a team that created the first in-game advertising experience in the industry via a partnership with Reebok and Konami and he also developed and executed the industry-first “wireless scavenger hunt” using SMS for US Cellular.  In 2004, Tommy was recruited by Publicis’s Starcom Mediavest Group to transform their unprofitable operation in Puerto Rico. As the VP, Managing Director of our Puerto Rico office, he helped to not only establish SMG as the first stand-alone media agency in the marketplace, but also helped transform the profitability of the operation by securing new business, diversifying their service offering and restructuring marketplace deals.  During his tenure, Tommy helped to elevate the talent and product across some of our most well-known global brands in the world including P&G, Kraft, Kellogg’s and Visa.  Under Tommy’s leadership the media team won a Cuspide, Puerto Rico’s most celebrated industry award. In 2007, Tommy relocated to Mexico to take on the challenge of recapturing the Coke business in their largest market in the world.  For three years Tommy transformed and led a team that won back the business in unprecedented fashion – in less than 3 years and without a pitch.  The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta cited this as a “first-ever” in their organization.  During his time running the Coca-Cola business he helped grow market share across the beverage portfolio to over 80% and more importantly grew Coca-Cola’s water brand, Ciel, and won the monthly share game against Danone’s long established Bonafont brand.  His team also won silver at the Circulo Oro Festival for Media Innovation for work done on behalf of Coca-Cola’s energy drink, Gladiator. During his last two years in Mexico, Tommy led business development discipline in LATAM for SMG as part of the Global Growth Team.  In 2010, he helped lead the Mexico office to an incredible 9 wins during that year picking up clients such as Banamex, Burger King, Subway, Expedia and Cadbury to name a few.  In 2011, he continued helping the region grow landing a big regional win in Mead Johnson and expanding the Subway business to include 6 additional markets.  Tommy was also instrumental in helping establish both a Content and Data & Analytics discipline within Latin America for SMG. In 2012, Tommy returned to the United States to run Mediavest’s business development practice.  During his time in this role, Mediavest experience unprecedented growth winning over $2.5B dollars in billings by winning clients such as Honda, Converse, Travelers, Brown Forman, Bloomin’ Brands, and Keurig Green Mountain.  In 2013, Mediavest won Adweek’s Agency of the Year as a result of its massive growth. In 2014, Tommy returned to the world of day-to-day business management where he oversaw the global businesses for Mondelez and Brown Forman and the domestic business for Sprint.  As an SVP, Global Managing Director, Tommy was responsible for the operations, talent and product for Mondelez across 40+ countries in the regions of North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.  For Brown Forman he oversaw the communications, which included both above the line media and below the line events.  Tommy led the Sprint business during a transformational time when they were looking to prepare themselves for a sale and/or merger, thus there was a massive focus on communications that could be measured and attributed to sales.  Sprint eventually merged with T-Mobile. In 2017, OMD tapped Tommy to take over and transform the Nissan business in North America.  He quickly shifted the team’s hub from Los Angeles to New York in order to have better connectivity with the clients.  Tommy helped assemble a new team of cross-athletes who were fluent in offline and online channel planning.  With this newly built team they transformed how they approached business, building a unique communications framework that was grounded in building brand over time and driving sales over night.  The use of 1st, 2nd and 3rd party data was essential in driving both targeting and messaging decisions.  Lastly, and most importantly, Tommy’s team regained the confidence of the Nissan clients so much so that Nissan renewed its contract with OMD for another three years. Tommy is originally from Charleston, SC and attended the University of Florida in Gainesville where he graduated with High Honors with a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising.  He’s been married to his wife, Meredith, for over 15 years and they have a thirteen-year-old son, Gaven.  Tommy’s passions include scuba diving, traveling, music and gardening.  www.theroundtripgroup.com Full Transcript Below Roy (00:01): Hello, and welcome to another episode of senior living sales and marketing. I'm rolling. Uh, we are very fortunate enough today. We have an awesome guest, uh, Tommy Nolen. He is the seat, uh, the co founder and the chief marketing officer of the roundtrip group. They are a marketing advertising media and sales consultancy firm based out of New York city. So I'm not going to waste any more time. I want to get straight to Tommy. He's got a lot of great things to talk to us today about marketing, uh, to the, uh, senior, to the baby boomer population and some great advice on how we could put that to work, to help us in the senior living space. So, Tommy, I'm going to turn it over to you, if you would tell us just a little bit, you know, kind of about your background and how you got here and a little bit about what y'all do. Tommy (00:58): Great Roy, uh, well, uh, first off, thanks for having me on, I'm happy to be here this morning and, uh, hopefully, uh, in part, a little bit of wisdom and a little bit of what we've learned at the roundtrip group, uh, you know, in, in terms of, uh, marketing to seniors and really kind of the future generation of, of your customer base. Um, just to quick, quick bit on, on how I got here, you know, as you said, I'm the cofounder of a marketing consultancy and, you know, our focus is on helping people sell better. Uh, we say we like to help marketers better sell to their customers, agencies, better selves and their clients and, uh, vendors better sell to agencies. And, um, you know, we, we look at ourselves as a, as a collaborator, not a competitor, um, in the industry. Uh, and we started at about a year and a half ago. Tommy (01:53): Um, prior to that, uh, I spent about 25 years in the advertising business partner. Uh, Barbara Martinez spent about 30 years in the business. And, um, you know, uh, during that time I worked with some of the largest, uh, I would say most sophisticated marketers in the world. Um, people like Proctor and gamble, uh, Nissan Coca Cola, the up, you know, well known brands that you've, uh, you've heard of. Um, and, you know, I would say, uh, you know, each with a different approach to talking to consumers, but, um, uh, also allowing you to learn different things along the way. Um, you know, during my 25 years, uh, I worked in big agencies. I ran agencies, uh, ran business domestically, regionally, globally, uh, lived in Latin America for eight years. So, um, you know, my, my entire career, um, has been selling in, in some way shape or form, and the most effective way to do that is to really, uh, understand your customer. And, and, um, as you, we recently just finished a project where, uh, we had a lot of focus on kind of the baby boomers understanding them and, uh, and what that means for marketing. Roy (03:12): Yeah, no, I'm going to just give you some kudos. You're doing a good job. I drive a Nissan and I do drink a lot of Coke, so whatever, whatever you did to help them is work. And so, yeah, I'm not going to let you off the hook too. You know, we, uh, we had a talk last week a little bit, and so I'm still jealous. I talk every day about, um, you took, you had an opportunity to take a gap six months and, um, I guess this was when you were a little younger, but you were able to travel around, um, uh, what were you in Europe when you were traveling? Tommy (03:48): Uh, no, I actually, and you know, the, the ironic thing is my business partner at the time was my boss and she was the one that, uh, allowed me, uh, take a six month leave of absence. And I traveled, uh, across Asia, uh, Australia and, um, a couple of parts of Africa and, you know, uh, I always say to people, um, it was, uh, something that I'll never look back on and, or Brett, um, I, you know, never wanted to be somebody who said, I wish I would have, uh, and, you know, uh, while a lot of people, I think, uh, thought I may have been making a mistake in my career. Um, I think it was the exact opposite whenever I, uh, you know, had my resume out there and would talk to people. Uh, they actually didn't want to talk about my job experience. Tommy (04:38): I wanted to talk about my, my travel and, you know, their, their, their comment was always wish I had to get to that. Um, it was, uh, it was a great experience, um, enables you to understand, uh, that, you know, in the end, uh, consumers around the world or are a lot more similar, uh, than they are different. Um, and, uh, it was a, you know, a trip I'll never forget, uh, had some amazing experiences, uh, hiked, Kilimanjaro, um, you know, Trek, the great wall of China. Uh, I was a scuba diving and the great barrier reef. So, uh, it was a triple the lifetime. And, uh, one that I would recommend anyone who, uh, maybe has the opportunity to do it, take it. Roy (05:30): Yeah. I was going to say, we don't offer too much employment advice here, but if you're, if you're a younger person listening to this, if you have the opportunity, uh, fake it, you won't regret it. That's for sure. Well, let's get back to, um, you know, our consumer, our, I guess our approach in this industry has changed a lot from, you know, back in the day where people didn't really understand what senior living. So when they came in, we were able to explain it, basically, this is where you live, this is where you eat. And now we've kind of evolved into, you know, our consumers are very, very smart, do a lot of research and, um, you know, they know our product inside and out. So we kind of have to change our approach to start where they are. And, um, you know, instead of selling, uh, basically selling the structure, you know, to sell that dream. And so anyway, I wanted to talk to you about, uh, you were, your client was actually more of a, um, a medical, they had more of a medical model than what we do in senior living. But I think after we talked a lot of the lessons that y'all learned about the consumer for this, uh, really apply to the senior living space. Tommy (06:52): Yeah, that's right. We were, um, we're working, doing a little work, uh, on behalf of a healthcare provider, uh, in South Florida. And, you know, there, uh, I would say primarily a, a treatment facility, um, you know, really focused on accepting Medicare and Medicaid, um, and has built a great business, uh, you know, uh, amazing business. But I think, uh, one of the things that, you know, they're recognizing is that, uh, um, you know, the, the world is changing and, uh, you know, um, their core consumer today is really, what's known as the silent generation, that generation, uh, born between 1928 and 1945, but a generation that kinda drew grew up in, uh, the industrial age. Um, and what is happening is that they realized in the next 10 years, uh, you know, the silver tsunami, if you will, is going to be crashing down upon them, um, there will be a 40% increase in the number of people, uh, starting to, uh, age in if you will, to their services. Tommy (08:03): And these people are the baby boomers, uh, you know, generation that we've, we've heard about, uh, for, for decades. Um, you know, the size of them, uh, is, is enormous. And the reality is, is the baby boomers are completely different from the silent generation, right. Um, and, and, and that's a, that's a result of their life experiences. And, you know, what worked to attract, uh, you know, your current customer, if you will, the silent generation, I think this is very applicable to the senior living community, um, is not necessarily what's going to work to attract if you will, your future consumer, which is the baby boomer generation. Roy (08:47): Yeah. I think that was the most, um, poignant thing that you said in our previous conversation was that, you know, whatever we don't want to misquote you, you said it very good, but it was some basically is like, whatever we've done to get to this point, if we expect to get to 20 more years, we are going to have to change our focus and our, the way that we market to our consumers. Tommy (09:12): That's right. And, um, you know, I'll talk a little bit about just, just some of the experiences that shaped boomers, um, and, and, and again, how they're very different from the silent generation, right? If you think about silent generation, again, they kind of grew up in that industrial age. Um, and when we think about the baby boomers, right, they grew up in, in really, what's now known as the digital age. Um, and, you know, they are first and foremost, a generation of learners. Um, you know, according to a Pew research study in 2005, uh, the baby boomers are the most educated group to ever, um, move into retirement age. Um, you know, uh, a high school education was, was not, if you will, kind of the, the goal for the baby boomer generation, right. Uh, higher education became the norm, um, you know, going to college and, you know, always with the idea of being better than your parents. Tommy (10:14): And, and, uh, you know, again, the parents kind of got the high school education. Um, you know, they either worked in a factory, managed the factory, you know, they were in that industrial age and, and, you know, the world was baby boomers was, was quite different. And, you know, in addition to just going out and attaining, you know, college education, um, they didn't stop there. Uh, you know, uh, their careers started, uh, like I said, in the early days of the digital revolution and, and, you know, we're in multiple waves of that now. So continuing education was critical for them, um, you know, really to kind of keep up and, and, and keep up with where the world was moving. So, you know, that became kind of the secondary piece of their education, right? So it was first off, they go to college. Now they're doing continuing education courses, um, as part of their careers. Tommy (11:07): Um, and then, you know, if you look at, uh, you know, the, the learning, um, that they've embarked on in their life, it hasn't stopped. Uh, according to USA today in 2009, there were over 400,000 students above the age of 50 enrolled in community colleges. Right? So again, these are people taking courses for, um, you know, maybe a second career, uh, maybe just a topic that they're very interested in, but these, these, uh, these people who are coming into retirement age, um, they are highly educated. They are learners. Um, they thrive on, uh, you know, knowledge. Um, and I think that was the first that's first experience that, that you have to think about, um, that, that kind of shapes them. Uh, now a second, Roy (12:01): Sorry. I was just gonna say, before we move on that I, you know, I can identify with that because of, you know, I've been a lifelong learner. I was kind of slow to do my undergrad and did it at night for many years, and then graduate at night. But, um, you know, you, people don't think about the learning that we do on the job. Like when I first started working, I mean, you know, we basically had a big chief tablet and a number two pencil, and now we've got computers, we've got zoom and, uh, you know, teams and all this electronic, um, all these electronic tools at our disposal and also my partner, she is a writer. And so, you know, she's always in seminars and conferences to, uh, you know, keep up with what the latest trends are, you know, whether it's digital or print, whatever. So definitely can, uh, identify with that for sure. Tommy (12:59): Yeah. And that's a, that's a great, great point, Roy, and that leads me to my, my sort of second, um, experience, if you will, that shape boomers. And, you know, I think that, um, you know, unfortunately stereotypes are real right. And, uh, I think a lot of times people have a perception that, um, the older generation is not necessarily, um, open to change, uh, you know, and not necessarily media savvy. Um, and it couldn't be further from the truth. Right. Um, really, when you think about it, the baby boomers were the pioneers of media expansion. Um, you know, they were the drivers of, uh, cable TV, uh, the drivers of, you know, the internet mobile. Um, you know, if you think about it, two of the most well-known tech pioneers, um, you know, in the world, Steve jobs and bill Gates, they're boomers. Right. Um, and so one of the things that you see is that, you know, um, boomers are, are, have always embraced, learned, and incorporated, um, you know, kind of new technology and media into their life. Tommy (14:15): Um, it's really second nature to them. Um, if you think about, you know, in their very, very early, early years as a kid, you know, it was radio, right? And, and now you think to where we are now, um, the, the proliferation, um, and, and just quite frankly, the sophistication of media has changed tremendously. Um, and they've been along that journey the entire time. Um, and really, you know, they've used this media and this technology to actually create a life that, you know, is really works for them. And it's a life of personalization. Um, it's a life of convenience. Um, you know, if you look at, uh, you know, gate out there today around the baby boomer, boomer generation, 75% of these boomers use social networks to keep in touch with their friends and family, um, they're actually heavier users and spend more time on social networks than the younger generation do. Tommy (15:17): Um, it's, it's been a great tool for them, right? It's a, it's a way to keep up with family all across the country or across the world, friends, you know, from, you know, that you've reconnected with that, that were childhood friends all the way up to, you know, your, your friends that you made throughout your work life. So, um, and these guys aren't afraid to, to, um, use the tools, um, online they're online consumers, you know, 84% of them plan trips, 64% of them, you know, buy flights online, a heavy percentage, actually do grocery shopping. Um, and I think, you know, one of the things that's very interesting and, uh, I think it's something important to consider, particularly in the senior living world, they have the greatest adoptation of voice devices, things like an Amazon echo, um, more so than the younger generation as well. So, you know, media expansion and, and, and learning, and, you know, embracing new media and new technology is second nature to them. Roy (16:20): Yeah, not again, I can just speak from my personal experience that, you know, I'm kind of at the, uh, the last, uh, at the, I guess the last of the baby boomers and my mother happens to be kind of in that first class, you know, the first group of M and a, as she is on Facebook, you know, she has friends that they have kept up since high school. Some of her work friends that, you know, she was with 40, 50 years ago and they, um, you know, they chat weekly for sure. And then just, uh, you know, going through this pandemic, the, the next step for her is she's actually started ordering a lot more groceries online. So yeah, it's, it's amazing. I never would have thought she would do that, but she has adapted to it very well. They don't always know how to use it. And sometimes the, uh, remote and I have to go back over there and like, I can't get this DV thing to work with. They, they have such a complicated setup that, uh, you know, you have to have, uh, an associate degree in engineering just to get the TV and the cable thing to come along. Tommy (17:29): Yeah. Well, I mean, yeah, it is, uh, you know, and even something like pandemic rice has kind of accelerated that, right. Um, with a lot of, uh, of the older folks, um, being very cautious about going out, Hey, they, you know, shopping online and, and getting your groceries delivered to you. Right. It's, um, it's, in some cases may have forced the behavior. Um, but, but again, I still think a high percentage of them were already doing it. Um, and, and the pandemic might've just, you know, put a few more of them over the edge, but, you know, they, they are, um, very, very comfortable with new media and technology. And I think that's a, that's a, uh, a perception or stereotype if you will, that, um, you know, that they're not, uh, sophisticated in that sense, that that's really important, particularly for, um, folks in your space to understand. Um, because I think the tendency is to want to use kind of the, the traditional channels and the traditional means to connect with them. Yeah. Roy (18:31): And I think it's also good to realize that they're savvy enough, that they're doing a lot of research online, you know, about the different community services and things like that. So it's kind of, double-edged, you know, we have to remember that to reach out to them, but we also have to remember that, that, you know, when they walk into one of our communities, that they are armed with a lot of information about not only our particular community, but the competitors in the area as well. Tommy (19:01): Absolutely. Absolutely. Um, and, and, you know, when I, uh, you know, I I'll say towards the end of our conversation, when I, I want to kind of lay out some of the, you know, tips, if you will, for, for the, the, the audience out there on how to, to think about leveraging this knowledge and their marketing. Um, that's certainly a place that we're going to go because, uh, research is key for them, again, goes back to being a lifelong learner. Right. Um, you know, I think another important, um, experience that, uh, the senior living, uh, marketing community needs to think about, and, and not only the market community, quite frankly, that the operational community of these senior living facilities is that, um, this is a generation that believes they will be middle-aged forever. Um, you know, uh, the silent generation, right. Uh, the, I'll say, you know, story of retirement was, you know, finish up your, your, your job. Tommy (20:05): That's been a hard job, right. You know, potentially again, and in, you know, manual labor, um, you know, finish that up and go sit on the front porch in a rocking chair, um, you know, at your, your home that you've lived in for 30 years and, and just, you know, spend the rest of your, your, your years sipping lemonade and, and, you know, watching the birds fly around. Right. Um, that's not the boomer generation of all that, that was kind of the ideal for the silent generation, but the boomer generation, you know, um, they, again, feel like they're going to be middle age. Uh, you know, when you think about it, it's the first generation that's really been to a degree, I'll say obsessed with health proactively, um, thinking about their health, uh, you know, they, they grew up in the age of, you know, chain fond that Richard Ronan, Olivia Newton, John, right. Tommy (20:59): Exercising, you know, exercising, uh, you know, not just, Oh, I'm, I'm walking somewhere, but like making a point of here's my exercise routine. Um, and you, you know, watching their diet, uh, you know, watching what they eat. Um, you know, if you look at the information out there today, 40% of maybe more members plan to work until they die, uh, you know, um, they're, uh, they're a group that oftentimes they retire and they're 66% more likely than the previous generation to retire and then decide this isn't for me and return to work. Um, and so, you know, I, I think when you think about, um, you know, who these people are, they're, they're active, they're proactive quite frankly. And, um, you know, for them, it is, you know, how do I, how do I, um, you know, stay, uh, and keep my lifestyle is as normal as possible. Um, and, uh, you know, being active is what makes them happy. Uh, you know, this isn't a generation that's ever kind of been lazy and sat around. So, um, I think it's very important when you think about the offerings and your, your, your facilities, that you have a lens of who these people are and what they're seeking. Um, and I think that's very important because, you know, if it's just a community where we're going to just sit around, it might not be for them. Right. Roy (22:39): Yeah. And I think that need to stay busy and, you know, feel useful. Everybody wants to feel useful. I think, you know, just kind of thinking, as you're talking that the silent generation, you know, they were good with that it's retirement setting in the chair. And, you know, they, most of them had had physical jobs that probably took a toll on their bodies too. So they were, you know, tired and worn out when it was time to retire. Whereas with this baby boomer generation, lot of us, you know, office jobs. And so I think it, um, we're not ready to sit in a rocking chair and just give it all up. I mean, we want to remain useful, remain relevant, even, you know, through the later years of our life. And so many people are, I mean, you know, my stepfather, he worked probably, I think until he was 85 years old and, you know, got up every day and did the same thing. He slowed down a lot after that. But, uh, up until that point, you know, you couldn't, you couldn't pry him away from you, what he was doing. Tommy (23:49): Yeah. It's, um, it's almost like a, you know, they had the reverse in terms of careers, you know, the silent generation was, as you said, labor hard work, uh, versus the boomer generation was kind of sedentary in the office, sitting behind a desk and, you know, they're looking for the exact opposite experience in retirement. Um, so yeah, it's a great, it's a great point. Uh, you know, but again, it's one of the things that, uh, you have to think about when you're attracting this future customer. Right, right. Um, you know, one other thing that I, I think is, you know, I know you're based in the, in the Dallas area in Texas. Um, and I think, you know, uh, uh, parallel, but I'll draw to, you know, the project that we're working on this, this, this client was based in South Florida. Uh, and I think one of the things that, um, you have in both of those, uh, areas or regions is a huge Hispanic population, which quite frankly, is a, uh, an extremely important, um, you know, group consumer group in America now, uh, they, they're about 20% of the population, I think, over 60 million. Tommy (25:10): And, uh, you know, I think there's some learning that, that we have to think about here as well. And one of those is that, you know, this is a, uh, when we think about boomer generation, right. Um, in terms of language, oftentimes, um, they are second or third generation now, the Hispanic consumers. Um, and I think early on in our marketing, we thought, well, if it's a Hispanic consumer, we must speak in language to them, but, uh, meaning in Spanish and our messaging needs to be in Spanish and all of that. Um, but I think one of the things is important to understand is the boomers, uh, the Hispanic population, um, within the boomer generation. A lot of these are second and third generation. I kind of say English is not a secondary language. It's just a second language and they use it. They're completely comfortable with it. Um, often times they've used it, uh, you know, throughout their working career. So I think it's just a very important, um, element to think about and marketing, because, you know, the message you deliver in the language that a true delivered in is very important. Um, and you can't ignore the Hispanic consumers, um, any longer, just the sheer size of them, uh, and, uh, you know, their, their growth in the United States. Uh, and I think they will be a future consumer, uh, in, in senior living facilities, uh, as well for a long time Roy (26:44): Rent. Yeah. I think especially the, you know, California and through the, the Southern Southwestern and Southern States for sure. Tommy (26:56): Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Um, Speaker 3 (26:59): So, so, you know, there's, yeah, Tommy (27:02): All these real, I'll say learnings and or experiences that we've been talking about. And, you know, what I kind of say to people is, you know, when you're marketing and you're targeting people, um, it's about understanding who they are. And oftentimes we get caught up in understanding who they are at a point in time. Um, but I think with this generation, it's kind of very important to understand, um, what made them, who they are at this point in time and it's those experiences. And I think we can look at how these past experiences have shaped them and anticipate kind of their future expectations in terms of meaningful engagement and marketing and what their expectation is. And I think that's kind of a really important thing for us to consider and, you know, really, I have five takeaways if you will, for, you know, marketers out there, um, thinking about the, the older community and things that they need to keep in mind when I'm there, they're trying to connect with them, they're trying to sell their products and services. Tommy (28:18): Okay. And, and I would say, number one, you have to embrace technology and digital, right. Um, don't, don't be scared of it. Don't get caught up in the, the stereotypes. Um, because, you know, as we discussed earlier, um, this generation, they're not afraid of, of, uh, technology, they've adapted to it their entire life, uh, and, and that's where they are. Um, and I know that, you know, oftentimes, you know, maybe we'll think about, well, you know, they prefer to talk to somebody that's not always the case. You know, maybe they want to inquire about information or set up an appointment, you know, via text or email versus calling a number. Right. And I think that's something important to think about. And when you're doing outreach, you know, it may not be necessarily, uh, a traditional way of doing it, whether it's, you know, direct mail, um, you know, or something like that, uh, or, or in, in print and in magazines, you might need to think about, you know, more digital, uh, communication with them. Tommy (29:26): So I think, you know, first and foremost, you need to embrace technology in your facilities. Um, but also in your communication, like I kinda was thinking the other day. Right. And, and again, one of the reasons that voice technology is so popular with this generation is you think about, uh, what you can do with voice, right. I don't have to pick up a newspaper or I don't have to, you know, kind of go on my phone and, you know, and, um, I hate to admit it, but my eyesight's going, it's much easier for me to ask, you know, Alexa, what's the weather, um, or you've gotten a lot of appointments set up, right. I can set up an, a reminder, uh, you know, right then and there. So, you know, it's interesting, you know, I think about a facility where, Hey, maybe every room has an Amazon echo in it. Tommy (30:18): Right. Keeping people on track appointments, social events, whatever. Um, but it's really easy. So I think in the end, you guys have to embrace technology and embrace digital when you're thinking about the senior living, uh, you know, community these days. For sure. Um, you know, the other thing that embracing on of digital does is it unlocks personalization. And one of the things that you start to learn when you're studying the baby boomers is that they often feel, um, I will sort of say left out by marketers. Um, you know, they don't feel like marketers cater to them. They don't feel like marketers are, um, delivering personalized messages to them. Um, and quite frankly, it's a little bit frustrating to them, right. Uh, and so they do like personalization. And the one thing that, you know, um, you know, digital does, is it unlocks personalization, right? Tommy (31:34): Um, you know, you may prefer a facility for one reason, or maybe investigating a facility for one reason, but somebody else may have a completely different reason for, or rationale for doing it. And, you know, there's a lot of data out there and it enables me to deliver a different message to try and attract one consumer to my facility versus somebody else. So I'm highlighting different features. So it's not a one size fits all message. So, you know, again, if you go back to starting to embrace digital and technology, it unlocked personalization, which is one more way that you connect with consumers and I'm sure you see it all the time. You know, if you're on a phone call with somebody you're trying to understand what their hook is or why they're interested in the facility, and then you go deeper on that. Roy (32:26): Right. Yeah. And I was just going to kind of extrapolate that to the digital that, you know, and I'm not an expert by any means, but I do know that, you know, we can tailor our messages to key words that are, or, you know, even with some online platforms, if you look up, uh, if you look up something, it will send you a related message based on, you know, kind of what you're interested in. I get those all the time. And so I, you know, like you said, if we're looking for security or maybe, you know, more help, whatever the consumer is looking for, we can tailor a message exactly to that. Tommy (33:07): Yeah. And, and the bottom line is everyone, not just boomers, everyone responds to a message that's relevant to them, right. Or is more likely to respond to a message that's relevant to them. I, you know, the, the easiest analogy, um, is, Hey, if I just had a car accident and my car has been totaled, that's what I'm paying a lot more attention to all the car ads that are out there. But if I just bought a new car, you know, and you're showing me car ads, I'm not paying attention to it. So, you know, having something that's relevant to somebody certainly, uh, makes them stand up, take notice. Um, and, and, uh, you know, and quite frankly want to research, which leads me to my next point or next really kind of key thing, which is give them information, do not hold back. Uh, I think that oftentimes, and, and I know this, you know, from my, my automotive experience, right. Tommy (34:06): You know, uh, dealers, you should just say, Hey, get them, get them to the, just figure out a way to get them to the lot and I'll take care of it. Right. And you know, what we had to kind of explain to them is, Hey, it's a different ball game now, guys, um, there's so much data and information out there by the time somebody gets to a lot, they already know what car they want. They know what price there is fair, and they're willing to pay for it. Um, and you know, they want the experience to be fast and simple, right? They're not there to get any more information from the dealer because all of that information is available out there, uh, you know, online and, you know, again, being a generation of learners, they're used to investigating learning, reading. Um, and so I think you have to think about that in your communication. Tommy (35:00): Um, and particularly on something like, uh, you know, your website, uh, you know, I actually believe that, you know, in this situation, and, and it's not often that I say this, you know, I'm usually, I usually subscribe to the less is more, but I think for something like this, providing them more information is better. Um, you know, and I kind of say to people, um, a lack of information in their mind would either equate to, you know, um, would either frustrate them or, uh, equal you're hiding something, some sort of mistrust. So put it all out there, make sure that your, your website and, and, and all of your, you know, communication about your facilities is very, very detailed. Give them the opportunity to go deep. Um, you know, I think that's so important for this generation. Uh, you know, don't, don't, don't just be surface level. Roy (35:58): Yeah. And that's important. I mean, even in my life, I will, uh, you know, when I'm making a decision and I'm doing my research, I may pick up on something, a feature service that one company has that I see on their website or in their ads that, um, the competitor didn't show. And then, you know, you'll get the phone call after the sale. And it's like, uh, you know, I bought with somebody else and they're like, Oh, well, could you tell me why? And when you explain it, then they say like, Oh, well, we do that too. And I'm like, well, but I didn't know that because all the research that I did, it never really came out and said it, but your competitor was very upfront about all the services that they had. Tommy (36:40): Yeah. And it doesn't mean, you know, you're going to have, you know, everybody's going to get the complete answer that they want, and they're not going to have questions. Right. But, you know, again, the reality is these are people that figured it out. Right. And they, they, they, they want to be, they want to have as much information as possible in making a decision. And quite frankly, they'd rather sit with the information, be able to digest it on their own terms at their own pace. Right. Versus having to call somebody, you know, you're getting it verbally, you know, versus I can see it. Right. It's okay. I can see it, I can make my notes. So, so, you know, I, I just think it's a really important thing to, to think about. Um, probably hasn't been a traditional practice. Um, but I think he got a, you gotta be willing to go really deep, um, uh, with the information you're providing them. Tommy (37:29): Right. Um, you know, I think one other thing that's really important for, um, facilities probably to think about as well. Um, and, and mind you, the research that we were doing was, was for, uh, you know, a treatment facility for, for lack of a better term. And I know that senior living facilities aren't necessarily the same, but I think that it's very important given that these guys believe they're going to be middle-aged for life. Right. And they're very proactive that, you know, these facilities think about, you know, uh, I, I would say both, I kind of say reactive care, getting, promoting reactive caregiving, but also, you know, proactive kind of activities that keep your residents happy, healthy, you know, and social, right. Again, just, just knowing how active these, these, these baby boomers and want to be and anticipate being, um, I think you have to, you know, when you're marketing yourself, you have to quite frankly, create an create and communicate a vibrant community, not a quiet sort of sedentary community, uh, for lack of a better term, because it is a completely different generation, right. They want to be active. They want to know all the things that there are to do. Um, socializing is very important to them. Uh, and so I think that's an important thing and may not be how, um, senior living facilities have always, you know, marketed themselves. Roy (39:18): Right. Yeah. That's, that's important to be sure and highlight, you know, a, a lot of these, you know, communities that I deal with, they have a lot of great stuff, a lot of activities, but sometimes in our messaging that becomes very secondary and a lot of the consumers, adult children, you know, they just don't realize how robust the, um, the life can be. If, if the resident she used to make ma chooses to make it that way. Tommy (39:49): Yeah. I mean, you know, I, uh, I have a 95 year old grandmother that's, um, in a, in a, in a facility and she's been there for years, but, you know, whenever I go visit or I talked to her, you know, she's always talking about, you know, the card games with her friends, you know, uh, you know, unfortunately right now, in, in, in the pandemic, you know, one of the biggest things she just is, is being able to go, uh, you know, to dinner with her friends, you know, because they're kind of serving them in their, in their apartments. But, um, you know, the social aspect is really important. Um, and I think that's what keeps, keeps them going and, and, you know, uh, it's what they seek out. And I don't think, as you say, it should be a secondary thought in, in your marketing. Um, I think you need to bring that to the forefront, uh, quite frankly. Um, so I think that's a really important thing for, um, you know, and a difference between, into the silent generation and the boomer generation. I mean, just think about the names, right? Silent generation, boomer generation, right. Silent, quiet. I just want to be quiet and, you know, boomers like I'm here. Notice me, so, you know, it's in the name. Roy (41:05): Yeah. That's a good analogy. I like that. Tommy (41:10): Um, you know, I think the other, the final piece right. Is, and again, it doesn't apply to all facilities, but just be mindful of language. Right. Mindful of, uh, you know, um, uh, I would say in your, um, in your collateral, in your, you know, channels, things like that, um, you know, do you need to have, uh, you know, language that, that caters to bilingual people, um, and, you know, you probably want to have, uh, Hispanic versions of that, if that is something that somebody prefers that language, but also I'll take it, you know, beyond just language, Spanish, English, something like that, but also the words that you use. Right. Um, you know, I'll say one of the things that we were, uh, you would often see, probably not as, as common in the senior living, but what we're seeing with this, this, uh, you know, kind of, uh, medical, um, facility, we were working with, everything was patient patient patient, and that has a very kind of negative connotation. Tommy (42:23): And we were like, you know, the, the, these people are members of your community, right? They're, they're not, everything is not doom. And gloom patients just has kind of the connotation of being sick and being reactive. Um, and so I think it's important that the, the language that you use, right. Um, know we always, you know, kind of have a thing in, in the marketing world, everything communicates right. And language is important and words matter. Um, so I think it really has to do go through your, your copy with a fine tooth comb. Um, you need to train your staff right on how to communicate, because let's face it. If, if somebody's coming to visit a facility to, to check it out, um, your staff, you know, who's taking them around, they're, they're the frontline of marketing for you, right. And the language that they use, um, the, the, the positivity, the energy, all of that stuff communicate. Tommy (43:23): Um, and, and I think that's very important sometimes it's, you know, uh, you know, overlooked, but, you know, I'll kinda kind of go to what I think is just a phenomenal story and marketing. Um, and, and the consistency that they've built, and it is company chick filet, right. You don't go to a chick filet without somebody saying, it's my pleasure. Right. They have trained their staff so well, right. To communicate, to have smile, you know, the positivity. Um, I think that's, you know, and, and I'm, and I'm shocked, right? That, that more companies don't focus on that because your frontline workers are really one of your biggest forms of marketing and communication. Roy (44:15): Yeah. And we do, uh, you know, we do miss the point on that a lot that, you know, I talked to him, you know, my customers, a lot about the receptionist being one of the most important contacts in this whole marketing process, because they're going to be the person that you talk to when you call to set up an appointment to go in, or they're going to be the first person that you see when you walk in. So really, um, letting you know, messaging to all the employees about how important it is to have that positive, upbeat, because I do a lot of mystery shopping, a lot of in person. And when you are touring a community, the energy and the, like you said, the positivity of the person that's taking you on this tour, it's very important. I mean, it can change the dynamics because I've been in the same community with somebody who wasn't as good and the community tended to be Bleaker. And, um, then with somebody who was really positive, upbeat, it just, it changes the whole dynamics of what, how you perceive things. Tommy (45:25): Yeah. And I think, you know, um, you're right. And I think the point here is everything communicates. Um, I used to have, uh, one of my old CEOs who said that constantly everything communicate. And I think oftentimes we think a marketing is, you know, the ad I put out right. Or, um, you know, my website, but it's so much more than that. Um, and all of the touch points that the consumer engages with, from, you know, a website, uh, uh, quite frankly, even a, uh, another resident, right. You know, word of mouth, you know, it's one of the most powerful, um, you know, forms of marketing, but everything that, uh, is a touch point with your, you know, facility is, is a point of marketing is a point of communication and, and has the opportunity to either, you know, have a customer think very positively about you and, and, and, and the, the messages you're trying to send, or it can be very negative. So I just think it's a huge thing that often just gets overlooked. And, uh, and I think when you're talking about senior living facilities, the people are so important. Um, the people are what bring me energy. Um, the people are what bring the positivity. Um, and, you know, I can't stress that enough. Right, Roy (46:58): Right now it's a very important part. Well, Tommy, I do appreciate you coming on and sharing this insight. Um, you know, about the marketing to the baby boomers, it's going to be important, you know, for us to stay on point and be sure that we change our messaging, you know, for this group versus the silent generation. So, uh, before I let you tell everybody how they can get ahold of you, if you don't mind it, is there a tool or kind of a, or something that you do every day that you just don't think you could do without? Tommy (47:36): Um, yeah. I, you know, this may not be the traditional answer, but, um, uh, music is extremely important in my life. Uh, it's, it's been something that since I was, uh, you know, a young teenager, um, I've always, I've always listened to music, loved music, uh, you know, explored different varieties of music. And, um, I don't know that I could live without Spotify. And so every morning when I, when I get set up in my office, the first thing that I do is, you know, I, I get my computer open. Um, I get Spotify on and I, you know, depending on if I'm, you know, trying to be focused on something, if I'm researching something, you know, the music that I put on my, my Barry, but, uh, you know, that's a, that's a critical app for my, uh, productivity, if you will, um, on a daily basis. Yeah. Roy (48:35): Oh, no, I agree. I could not live without my music every day. And it's something about it. Just even if you're a little bit sluggish, if you get some good music on a good song comes on and no matter the genre just seems to pick you up, lift your spirit positive outlook. So that is awesome. Well, uh, if you wouldn't mind just tell everybody, uh, first off, who is your customer, what you can do for them, and then also just a, you know, how they could reach out and get ahold of you. Tommy (49:06): Yeah. We work with, um, we work with a wide variety of, uh, I'll say customers, right. Um, and, and we are truly collaborators, not competitors in the industry, but, you know, we work with, with, uh, any type of marketer who's looking to sell better. Um, and you know, we do work all the way from, you know, branding work and helping them position themselves in the marketplace and finding kind of a white space to, um, Hey, you just need, you need help actually. Uh, where, where should I be placing this message, you know, given who my consumer is. And, and, you know, so, you know, we work with, we work with actually agencies. We work with media vendors. Um, we also work with clients direct. So, uh, you know, we have a broad customer base, um, in terms of, you know, where, where you can find us. Tommy (49:59): Um, you know, probably the easiest thing to do is go to our website, which is www.theroundtripgroup.com. And there, it talks about who we are talks about our services, um, is all the information on how to contact, you know, uh, all of us in the organization. And so, you know, I would encourage any of the listeners out there if, uh, you know, you to need, or you just want to have a conversation and see if, if we might be right for you and can help you, uh, go to the website and don't hesitate to reach out to any of them. Roy (50:36): All right. Well, again, I want to thank Tommy Nolen with the round trip group, be sure and reach out to him and, uh, you know, see how they can help you. Uh, you can also find us www.seniorlivingsalesandmarketing.com, also Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Uh, you can also reach out to me@royatseniorlivingsalesandmarketing.com. It's been a pleasure Tommy, and until next time everybody take care. Thanks a lot.    

Meet Dave Moran. A superior strategic problem solver and “innovation architect” with a 35-year marketing consulting track record of driving profitable growth for large corporations and startups. In 2012, Dave and a partner founded Deep Relevance Partners (DRP), a communications strategy firm. DRP's expertise is integrating leading-edge marketing science approaches with consumer strategy expertise to develop powerful consumer ideas that drive behavior change and in-market growth. A highlight of Dave's career was as a Director of Keurig Green Mountain from the 1993 IPO to the 2016 sale. Today Dave is going to talk to us about how a company-wide commitment to “Total Innovation” fueled explosive and disruptive growth for Keurig Green Mountain. It is an insider's story on what Forbes called “one of the most successful acquisitions in the history of the US Food and Beverage Industry.” Chapters 00:00 Sabir Welcomes Dave Moran 06:20 Has Marketing Changed Over the Years? 12:09 How Dave Moran Got Involved with Keurig Green Mountain 16:00 The Value of Honesty 20:02 Why Entrepreneurs Need to be Persistent 21:18 Confidence, Not Arrogance 25:33 How Green Mountain Discovered Keurig 32:35 The Concept of Total Innovation 35:29 How Keurig Began Focusing on the Consumer Market 36:56 Making Walmart Wait 39:03 Coffee on College Campuses 41:23 Are You Ready for Walmart? 44:00 The Razor and Blade Model 47:51 How to Deal with Massive Growth 53:50 Keeping Your Vision Simple 58:02 Sage Advice from the Man Behind Keurig Green Mountain Need Help Growth Hacking Your Business, Visit Sabir on the Web at GROWTH by Sabir. Prior to founding DRP, Dave was a leader and growth driver of three highly successful marketing consulting organizations: Marketing Corp of America, Cambridge Group and Fusion 5. He is an expert in generating growth through consumer insight, superior communication and innovation. Dave is a Synectics trained and experienced facilitator of group brainstorming, collaborative team strategy development and senior management problem-solving sessions. Dave received a B.A. in Management and an MBA from Texas Christian University (TCU). He was awarded the Tandy Marketing Fellowship and earned Beta Gamma Sigma, National MBA Honor Society, honors. In recognition of his innovation results, Dave was selected by Tom Peters to facilitate his In Search of Excellence Innovation Leaders' Summit. He was a long-standing member of the Board of Directors of Keurig Green Mountain (KGM). He was Chair of the CSR Committee and member of the Compensation/Organization and Governance Committees. Dave is also an Advisor to Prevu (prevuapp.com), a NYC based real estate startup with a disruptive model. Dave is a Director of Shepherds, Inc, a Connecticut based non-profit organization that sponsors and mentors “at risk” inner city students through private high schools. Visit Dave on the Web at deeprp.com. Watch all video episodes of #ThisWeekWithSabir with $100,000+ Insights from Growth Hackers here. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sabir-semerkant/support

Incorporating technology into culture doesn’t have to take away from the humanistic aspect. In fact, Colleen Reilly, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Immersive Worlds, would say it’s just the opposite. Technology opens up new worlds of possibility for creating a human centered and connected culture. Colleen has had a robust career in the wellness industry for over 20 years. She not only founded Total Well-being, one of the nation's leading providers of corporate well-being consulting, but has worked with corporate giants like Coors Brewing Company, Mayo Clinic, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Boeing, and Keurig Green Mountain to name a few. In today’s episode, Colleen shares an overview of her extensive and varied career in the wellness industry, including her start with Coors Brewing and the professional twists and turns she experienced after leaving. She discusses her thoughts on the industry’s current climate and recent shifts, including employees now looking for wellness as a cultural norm in their workplaces. Colleen explains how she sees technology integrating with culture and her opinion that advanced tech can increase the humanistic element of wellness rather than take away from it. She gives a few concrete examples of how virtual reality initiatives are accomplishing this task. Finally, she briefly touches on the fourth industrial revolution and its implications on wellness before highlighting a few of her most important tips and action steps. This episode is sponsored by Health Enhancement Systems (HES).  I’m thrilled to announce HES is launching a new emotional well-being campaign called Work of Art on May 1. I’ve been anticipating the release of Work of Art for a while and I’m implementing it for a client later this year. Be sure to check it out at myWorkofArt.com. HES has agreed to award 1 FREE Work of Art implementation to a Redesigning Wellness podcast listener. This is the only place you can get the address and enter the random drawing, go to hesonline.com/jen and register. The winner will be announced Friday, May 1! Enter here for the Work of Art giveaway from Health Enhancement Systems For links mentioned in today's episode visit: http://bit.ly/Redesignpod To join the Redesigning Wellness Community visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

Cam Brown is the founder and CEO of King Fish Media, a leading marketing agency specializing in content based solutions. His broad range of experience includes designing and managing large scale integrated programs for a wide variety of industries. He also works with King Fish clients on increasing conversions for their customer acquisition, retention and sales strategies. Cam brings over 25 years of print, interactive, video, live events and marketing/ advertising experience with industry leaders such as Ziff Davis Media, Arnold Advertising and The Robb Report. At Ziff Davis, Cam founded and headed the first ever-custom media business unit at the company. Cam often provides strategic marketing consulting to the investment and venture capital community for emerging companies, advising them on their communication strategies. He serves on the Advisory Board of Give Us Your Poor, an organization that brings together the latest research, multimedia, celebrities, citizens, homeless people, and partner organizations to help end homelessness, and is an Advisor to FreePriceAlerts.com, a price search engine that notifies online shoppers via any device when the lowest price for products is available to them. Founded in 2001, King Fish Media is a leader in strategy, content marketing and custom design, having created profitable programs for companies such as Ameriprise, Boston Private, CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, Commvault, IBM, Intershop, Janus Capital, Keurig Green Mountain, Nasoya, Nuance, Parexel, QOL Medical, Risk Strategies Company, Zappos, and others. King Fish Media is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

A few months since closing its merger, Keurig Dr. Pepper reported its first quarter of results for the combined entity. The union of Keurig Green Mountain and Dr. Pepper Snapple created a company with $11 billion of annual revenue and a portfolio of 125 brands. How are things shaping up for the No. 3 beverage company? Tune in to find out. Stock: KDP Check out more of our content here: TMF's podcast portal YouTube Twitter Join Our Motley Fool Podcast Facebook Group LinkedIn Or, reach us by email @ IndustryFocus@fool.com Thanks to Slack for supporting The Motley Fool. Slack: where work happens. Go to slack.com to learn more.

Dr. Heidi and Cy Wakeman, President and Founder of Reality-Based Leadership, talk restoring sanity to the workplace. Cy Wakeman is a drama researcher, global thought-leader, and New York Times best-selling author who is recognized for cultivating a counter-intuitive, reality-based approach to leadership. Backed by 20 years of experience, Wakeman’s philosophy offers a new lens through which employees and executives alike, can shift their attention inward, sharpen their focus on personal accountability, and uncover their natural state of innovation simply by ditching the drama. Deemed “the secret weapon to restoring sanity to the workplace,” Wakeman has helped companies such as Pfizer, Facebook, Caterpillar, New York Presbyterian, Catholic Health Initiatives, Eli Lilly, Keurig Green Mountain, and Nationwide learn to harness energy wasted in workplace drama and reinvest that effort into achieving profound business results. Cy Wakeman has been featured on the TODAY Show, the AskGaryVee Show with Gary Vaynerchuk, Business Insider, SHRM.com, Forbes.com, The Huffington Post, and many more. In 2018, she was voted both Top 100 Leadership Expert to follow on Twitter and #10 on the Global Guru’s list of Top 30 Leadership Professionals. Website: http://www.realitybasedleadership.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CyWakeman Twitter ID: @CyWakeman Instagram : @CyWakeman This episode is brought to you by my wellbeing tech of choice, Oska Pulse. It has helped relieve my chronic pain caused by Lyme disease so that I can get back to work, and life in general. Oska Pulse is a Pain Relief and Recovery Device using Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF). It creates an electromagnetic field that pulsates while it modulates the damaged cells to squeeze the toxins out and opens the cells to allow nutrients (potassium, sodium and magnesium) to flow into the cell. The Oska Pulse puts the damaged cells in the best situation to repair themselves and then replicates the electrical signals your body creates to fix the damaged cells.   Click here to get yours today with my Ambassador discount. Or enter 2BU as a discount code at OskaWellness.com ShortLink is http://bit.ly/EDS-Oska

This week on "Money Talks," hosts Bil Lako, CFP®, and Troy Harmon, CFA, CVA, are joined by our Chief Economic Adviser, Roger Tutterow, Ph.D., to discuss the latest minutes from the January Federal Open Market Committee meeting, jobless claims and interest rates. The experts also delve into a discussion on how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changes, for businesses and corporations may affect the economy. They discuss how companies may take advantage of corporate tax rates, the repeal of corporate AMT, the reduced tax rate for repatriated profits, and increased Section 179 and bonus depreciation. The experts also answer listeners’ question on Keurig/Green Mountain’s plans to buy Dr Pepper Snapple, the latest scam affecting taxpayers, and the $8-million-dollar-question of, "When is the recession?"

The "Money Talks" experts answer listeners' question on Keurig/Green Mountain’s plans to buy Dr Pepper Snapple, the latest scam affecting taxpayers, and the $8-million-dollar-question of, "When is the recession?"

The buying spree at JAB Holding Company continues. After spending tens of billions of dollars scooping up coffee brands and restaurant chains, Dr. Pepper Snapple will become the latest addition to the empire after it merges with Keurig Green Mountain, a previous JAB acquisition. Here’s what investors need to know. Thanks to LegalZoom for supporting The Motley Fool. Get special savings by going to legalzoom.com and use “Fool” at checkout.

Microsoft buys playfab, DrPepper mergers with Keurig Green Mountain to become new company, Boring Company flamethrower sells, Panera recalls cream cheese, Tyson Foods invests in science meat, Tencent goes commercial --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dollarsandcents/support

Dr. Pepper Snapple teams up with Keurig Green Mountain. Jason Moser and Taylor Muckerman analyze the deal, as well as Lowe’s new $5 billion stock buyback plan and the disappointing news on U.S. consumer savings.  Plus, we unveil The Motley Fool’s $10,000 College Student Award! For more details go to www.fool.com/competition.

Banker to the world Bill Rhodes, President and CEO of William Rhodes Global Advisors, on the global economy, China, and outlook for NAFTA and TPP.Mark Gurman, technology reporter for Bloomberg, on how Apple built a chip powerhouse to threaten Qualcomm and Intel.Tom Halverson, President and CEO of CoBank, on the disconnect between the nation’s rural economy and the whole U.S. economy, rural broadband internet, and NAFTA.Ed Hammond, deals reporter for Bloomberg, on Keurig Green Mountain buying Dr. Pepper Snapple.

Employee engagement—everyone agrees it’s important for productivity and retention, but not everyone is able to describe it or measure it. To help us boost engagement at our organizations, representatives from Keurig Green Mountain join us for Episode 43 of HR Works: The Podcast for Human Resources. The company is known a great place to work and a place that has nourished employee engagement to a high degree with some unique programs, including their Community Action for Employees (CAFE) volunteerism initiative and team-building "source trips."

Ahhh, plastics. Ever heard of 'em? Many thanks to one of our listeners for suggesting we cover this topic. As such a huge issue, we think it deserves TWO interviews! Our guests--Andrew Almack, who works leads Plastics for Change in India to increase plastic recycling via the informal economy, and Monique Oxender, Chief Sustainability Officer at Keurig Green Mountain who has been working on the recyclability of those K-Cups we're sure many of you enjoy--provide us with diverse and interesting insights on plastics. After listening you'll never look at plastic - or that confusing number inside the recycling logo - the same way again. Want to join us on an episode? Tag us on Facebook (@sustainabilitydefined) or Twitter (@sustaindefined) and share with 5+ people and we'll bring you on to describe why you love sustainability... and bad jokes. Thanks for helping us spread the word about the show! ----------------------------- SustainabilityDefined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com

Dave & Buster's racks up big earnings. Restoration Hardware gets hammered. Keurig Green Mountain goes cold. And Disney gets ready for its Shanghai debut. Plus, Motley Fool columnist Morgan Housel shares some surprising insights on risk. For a preview of our Fool Fest Digital Pass, go to digitalpass.fool.com/money .    

Chipotle serves up some reassurance. Keurig Green Mountain perks up. And Kinder Morgan oils down its dividend. Our analysts discuss those stories and CNBC's Carl Quintanilla talks big banks, stock market surprises, and Star Wars. 

On this episode of Slate Money, Felix Salmon of Fusion, Cathy O'Neil of mathbabe.org, and Jim Ledbetter, host of the podcast Inc. Uncensored, discuss: • The acquisition of Keurig Green Mountain by JAB Holding Co. • Yahoo's ongoing struggles • The merger of chemical manufacturing giants Dow Chemical and DuPont Check out other Panoply podcasts at itunes.com/panoply. Email: slatemoney@slate.com Twitter: @Felix salmon, @mathbabedotorg, @JHWeissmann Podcast production by Zachary Dinerstein Slate Money is brought to you by Braintree. Looking to set up payments for your business? Braintree gives your app or website a payment solution that accepts just about every payment method with one simple integration. Plus, we'll give you your first $50,000 in transactions fee­free. To learn more, visit BraintreePayments.com/slatemoney. And by ZipRecruiter. With ZipRecruiter, you can post your job to over 100 job sites with a single click and an interface that's easy to use. And right now, you can try it for free! Go to ZipRecruiter.com/slatemoney. And by The Message, an original science fiction podcast from Panoply and GE Podcast Theater. All of Season 1 is available now, so listen and find out why a 70-year-old alien recording seems to be killing people. Search for The Message on iTunes.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An international coffee conglomerate adds Keurig to its portfolio for $13.9 billion. And at Amazon, its Prime TV service just got even better.

Keurig Green Mountain spikes 75% on buyout news.  Oil drops to its lowest point in nearly seven years. Plus we dip into the Fool Mailbag.

Best Buy stands its ground. Keurig Green Mountain rises as short-sellers flee.  Plus we analyze the latest public offerings from Square and Match Group.

Following the underwhelming debut of its Keurig 2.0, Keurig Green Mountain has pegged its future success to the Kold beverage system. Meanwhile, Skullcandy moves forward with its expansion efforts as its multi-year turnaround seemingly takes hold. With both stocks suffering significant losses year-to-date, is this the right time for investors to buy?

Option Block 406: Selling Nonsense Apple Puts Trading Block: Earnings today after the bell: Twitter, Amazon, LinkedIn, Activision. Traders silenced: CME to close most futures trading pits. Open-outcry trading stood no chance, says futures 'father' Melamed.     Odd Block: Upside calls trade in Youku Tudou Inc. (YOKU), put sellers in Apple Inc. (AAPL), and puts trade in Oasis Petroleum Inc. (OAS)   Xpress Block: A recap of Idea Hub, Trade and Probability Calculator and All-in-One Trade Ticket.   Mail Block: Listener questions and comments Question from Mark Brant - @Options (14,922 AGNC Mar 22 calls went up in 1 giant block marked buy-write with 360800 shares going up marked derivative.) Where did it "go up" and where was it "marked"? Where are you seeing these trades? Thx!     Around the Block: Earnings - Before the bell today: ISE, Sprint, Keurig Green Mountain. On Friday, February 6:  CBOE

Option Block 406: Selling Nonsense Apple Puts Trading Block: Earnings today after the bell: Twitter, Amazon, LinkedIn, Activision. Traders silenced: CME to close most futures trading pits. Open-outcry trading stood no chance, says futures 'father' Melamed.     Odd Block: Upside calls trade in Youku Tudou Inc. (YOKU), put sellers in Apple Inc. (AAPL), and puts trade in Oasis Petroleum Inc. (OAS)   Xpress Block: A recap of Idea Hub, Trade and Probability Calculator and All-in-One Trade Ticket.   Mail Block: Listener questions and comments Question from Mark Brant - @Options (14,922 AGNC Mar 22 calls went up in 1 giant block marked buy-write with 360800 shares going up marked derivative.) Where did it "go up" and where was it "marked"? Where are you seeing these trades? Thx!     Around the Block: Earnings - Before the bell today: ISE, Sprint, Keurig Green Mountain. On Friday, February 6:  CBOE

We analyze the latest results from Under Amour, Michael Kors and Keurig Green Mountain.  Plus we dip into the Fool Mailbag.

3rd-quarter GDP grows 5%. Keurig Green Mountain recalls 7 million machines due to reports of burn-related injuries.  Plus we dip into the Fool Mailbag and discuss the state of hedge funds.

China cuts interest rates.   Best Buy surprises investors.  Keurig Green Mountain tumbles.  And Jack in the Box heats up.   Our analysts discuss those stories.  Plus, Motley Fool CEO Tom Gardner talks with Whole Foods co-CEOs John Mackey and Walter Robb.

On today's rebroadcast, Crystal King tells us how she began her career in the start-up world, crafting years of experience building brands via traditional and digital means, to becoming the Senior Social Media, Communications & Marketing Expert at Keurig Green Mountain. Crystal shares with us what she feels are the necessary skills needed to succeed in social and what her team is accomplishing at Keurig Green Mountain through listening and helping customers tell their love stories. Crystal's passion is clear; tune in to discover what motivates her, explore what she thinks are the challenges in today's social space and learn tips on how to get higher customer sentiment.

Today we talk about the recent correction small-cap companies are going through, Morgan steps all over one of Mark's joke's, what to do about the struggling retail sector, and how you should react to Coke’s newest deal with Keurig Green Mountain.

On today's show Crystal King tells us how she began her career in the start-up world, crafting years of experience building brands via traditional and digital means, to becoming the Senior Social Media, Communications & Marketing Expert at Keurig Green Mountain. Crystal shares with us what she feels are the necessary skills needed to succeed in social and what her team is accomplishing at Keurig Green Mountain through listening and helping customers tell their love stories. Crystal's passion is clear; tune in to discover what motivates her, explore what she thinks are the challenges in today's social space and learn tips on how to get higher customer sentiment.