Press Play: Video Marketing Leaders Derek Gerber

Thanks for joining us for the first season of the Press Play Podcast!  For more information about Explainify and the Press Play Podcast, check out our website!  https://explainify.com/

On this week’s episode of the Press Play Podcast, Alex Matulionis joins host Derek Gerber to discuss all of the exciting things happening at CaptivateIQ. Alex is a software engineer with CaptivateIQ, and he is on the frontlines of all the business’s recent and upcoming developments.  You don’t want to miss this episode! 

Shownotes
(0:37) Introducing Alex Matulionis and CaptivateIQ 
(4:36) Partnering with Workday
(5:42) Using education as a marketing tool
(10:19) Full-stack development
(12:50) A deeper look into CaptivateIQ
(15:29) What’s next for CaptivateIQ?

Links
Derek Gerber
Alex Matulionis
CaptivateIQ  

Quotes
“If you need anything for calculating sales commissions and incentivizing your salespeople, CaptivateIQ is the way to go.” (5:09) - Alex Matulionis

“Our platform is super flexible and very dynamic, and it can do quite literally anything you want it to do.  However, that’s a tricky problem to solve because with a lot of moving parts, it takes someone who almost has omniscient knowledge of the system.  So we’re working tirelessly on improving the whole user experience.” (14:39) - Alex Matulionis

In this episode of the Press Play Podcast, Derek Gerber talks with someone who played a significant role in shaping the childhood of Derek’s generation. Tom Bancroft spent over a decade with Disney as a Supervising Character Animator before founding multiple production companies, including Pencilish Animation Studios, where he currently acts as the Chief Executive Officer.  

Whether you realize it or not, you are likely already familiar with Tom’s work. His time at Disney later became known as the Second Golden Era for Disney animation. He animated characters for several well-known Disney movies, including The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Tarzan, Mulan, Atlantis, Brother Bear, and Pocahontas. He also created Mushu, a dragon character in Mulan.  

Shownotes
(0:38) Introducing Tom Bancroft
(8:37) Crowdfunding in animation
(16:48) Bjorn the Last Unicorn and Mind Over Murphy
(21:38) What sets Pencilish apart?
(26:23) NFTs
(32:05) Closing thoughts

Links
Derek Gerber
Tom Bancroft 
Pencilish
Pencilish YouTube
Bankrupt Brothers Animation Podcast   

Quotes
“How many movies can you think of from when you were a kid that are still around today and people know about them? It’s a very rare occurrence, and so for me to say I have five or six movies that people still really remember is kind of amazing at my age.” (4:26) - Tom Bancroft

“We also now have an army.  We not only got them to invest and help us get going, but we have this army of shareholders that hopefully are not only fans of me or animation, but of this company that they now co-own with us, and so they want it to succeed.” (14:27) - Tom Bancroft

“That’s what we’re talking about is cutting out middlemen nowadays and going direct to our audience.  And we can do that now because guess what.  We all have a distribution system in our hands, and it’s in our pockets all day long.” (30:50) - Tom Bancroft

In this week’s episode of the Press Play Podcast, Derek Gerber sits down with Ayla Acosta, an Account Service Executive in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ corporate partnerships department. The pair discusses the importance of synergy and alignment with corporate partners, resuming in-person programs and activations, and why video should be an essential part of marketing programs.  You don’t want to miss this episode!

Shownotes
(0:39) Introducing Ayla Acosta
(2:01) Synergy and collaboration
(3:15) Adapting strategies for an evolving world
(6:59) How video impacts corporate partnerships
(9:03) Reintegrating in-person programs
(12:57) What’s next for Ayla and the Diamondbacks?
(14:50) Sports betting 
(16:43) Final thoughts

Links
Derek Gerber
Ayla Acosta 

Quotes
“You need to make sure that you’re collaborating correctly with all of your partners.  You know, we call it a corporate partnership because it is a partnership at the end of the day.” (2:10) - Ayla Acosta

“When we’re looking for new partners or we’re looking to continue working with our current partners, we just have to make sure that alignment is there between our organizations.” (2:38) - Ayla Acosta

“You’re trying to use video to portray events and emotions, and you want to do that in a way that words can’t.  So if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million.” (7:31) - Ayla Acosta

“We’re trying to utilize videos for a lot of our press releases and any big news that we have coming out because we want to showcase what the experiences are, not just tell you what it is. Because if we feel like we can show you, you’ll have a better idea of what to expect.  You’ll get more excited about it and want to come and be a part of it.” (7:43) - Ayla Acosta

“One thing that I’ve noticed about the Arizona Diamondbacks and something that really drew me here to begin with was just how much we play into our fans.  It’s all about fan experience.” (10:16) - Ayla Acosta

In this week’s episode of the Press Play Podcast, Tim Torigian joins host Derek Gerber to discuss marketing best practices. Tim is the Director of Corporate Partnerships for the New England Free Jacks, a professional rugby team based in Boston, Massachusetts, which recently completed its first season hosting home games.  Thanks for listening!

Shownotes
(0:38) Introducing Tim Torigian and the New England Free Jacks
(5:57) How digital marketing is spreading the Free Jacks name
(8:54) Showcasing partners
(13:24) The challenges of marketing a team in a major market
(17:00) What’s next?  
 
Links
Derek Gerber
Tim Torigian
New England Free Jacks  

Quotes
“We can talk to people not just in New England, but we’ve got fans all over the county, if not all over the world, because our players are coming from all over the world.” (7:07) - Tim Torigian

“As much as we liked being partners with [Delta], and it’s such a great value, but, you know, we love having them out at games.  We try to almost return the favor.  We want to make it so when people come out to a Free Jacks game, they have that same experience that they would have if they’re flying Delta.” (7:50) - Tim Torigian

“Whenever we have someone who we think is going to be a good fit and we have some great conversations, there’s no shortage of creativity.  And kudos to our team and our management.  They give us a lot of flexibility and say ‘If you guys have a good idea, let’s run with it.  Let’s see what can happen.’” (11:32) - Tim Torigian

Summary
On this episode of the Press Play Podcast, Rick Girard joins host Derek Gerber to discuss hiring best practices. Rick is the CEO of Stride Search Inc., specializing in helping startups make the correct hiring decisions. He also hosts the podcast Hire Power Radio, and he is the author of Healing Career Wounds.  Tune in to hear about how to ensure you are hiring the best candidate every time!

Shownotes
(0:38) Introducing Rick Girard and Stride Search
(5:55) Success stories
(7:44) The Great Resignation
(9:20) Successful education and marketing strategies
(10:46) Interviews must connect with corporate values
(14:27) What to expect from the HireOS 
(19:28) Closing thoughts

Links
Derek Gerber
Rick Girard
Stride Search  

Quotes
“We make [hiring] decisions based on whether or not we like somebody, or whether or not they bring the skills that we need.  So we make decisions based on irrational thought patterns that essentially put us in bad positions, and it doesn’t really put us in a position where we’re setting ourselves up for success.” (4:43) - Rick Girard

“If you want to be successful as a company, people need to be aligned with the values of the company at its core.” (11:12) - Rick Girard

“You should be getting an ROI out of every person that you bring on board.” (13:35) - Rick Girard