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Building Winning Marketing Strategies with Lori Asbury · We Built This Brand

• 0:00
  Lori Asbury: So the tactics
• 0:00
  are all the fun stuff, right?
• 0:01
  It's doing the video, it's doing the
• 0:02
  social, it's doing the digital campaigns.
• 0:05
  But, but all of that without
• 0:06
  a strategy doesn't work.
• 0:07
  Chris Hill: Yeah, and I don't
• 0:08
  know, I would, I would say the
• 0:09
  strategy is the fun part for me too.
• 0:10
  Lori Asbury: I love the strategy.
• 0:12
  That's me.
• 0:12
  That's always on Lori's plate.
• 0:14
  Chris Hill: Welcome to
• 0:15
  We Built This Brand.
• 0:16
  I'm your host as always, Chris Hill.
• 0:18
  And today we're talking with Lori Asbury.
• 0:21
  She's the founder and CEO of of
• 0:23
  CMOco and Lori started her career
• 0:26
  in marketing and TV advertising.
• 0:28
  Eventually that journey led her to
• 0:30
  Knoxville, Tennessee, where she became
• 0:32
  the senior vice president of marketing,
• 0:33
  creative and brand strategy for HGTV.
• 0:36
  After her tenure there, she
• 0:38
  decided to strike out on her own
• 0:40
  and start CMOco, a full service
• 0:42
  marketing and advertising agency.
• 0:44
  In this episode, we get into the
• 0:45
  details about her journey, what kept
• 0:47
  her in Knoxville all these years, and
• 0:49
  some of her agency's recent work with
• 0:51
  the Smoky Mountain National Park.
• 0:53
  And LCUB as they started their transition
• 0:55
  into selling high speed broadband
• 0:57
  internet services to their community.
• 0:59
  We'll also talk about CMOco's
• 1:01
  recent rebrand and the importance
• 1:03
  of that change to the business.
• 1:05
  To be very frank, I'm
• 1:06
  very grateful for Lori.
• 1:07
  She invited our team up to her office
• 1:09
  where we got to record this interview.
• 1:11
  And I thought this
• 1:12
  interview was a lot of fun.
• 1:13
  The conversation was really good.
• 1:15
  And I think you'll get a lot out of it,
• 1:17
  as I always hope you do in these episodes.
• 1:19
  So, without further ado, here's
• 1:22
  my conversation with Lori
• 1:23
  Asbury, founder and CEO of CMOco.
• 1:27
  All
• 1:32
  right, well, welcome
• 1:32
  to We Built This Brand.
• 1:34
  I'm here today with Lori Asbury of CMOco.
• 1:37
  Lori Asbury: Hi, good to see you.
• 1:38
  Thank you for having me.
• 1:39
  Chris Hill: Absolutely, Lori.
• 1:40
  Thank you for having us out here.
• 1:41
  Lori Asbury: Yeah, you bet.
• 1:41
  You bet, I appreciate it.
• 1:42
  Welcome to our offices.
• 1:43
  Chris Hill: Thank you.
• 1:43
  They're very nice.
• 1:44
  It brings back a lot of nostalgia for
• 1:46
  me as we were talking, getting ready.
• 1:48
  I used to work at the AT& T
• 1:49
  office just across the way.
• 1:51
  And yeah, I just remember going in
• 1:52
  there every day, even driving over
• 1:54
  here today, like from my house to here.
• 1:56
  It's like, Oh man, I know.
• 1:57
  I remember this.
• 1:57
  Lori Asbury: This location is awesome
• 1:59
  actually, because it's super centrally
• 2:00
  located and you have easy access to
• 2:02
  40, easy access to the Pellissippi.
• 2:04
  So in terms of going out.
• 2:05
  to be able to see clients
• 2:06
  it make it very convenient
• 2:07
  Chris Hill: Oh I was so upset
• 2:09
  when they moved us to the
• 2:10
  downtown office with no windows.
• 2:11
  Lori Asbury: I started in
• 2:12
  my business was downtown.
• 2:13
  Chris Hill: Oh yeah.
• 2:13
  Lori Asbury: Yeah, and it was
• 2:14
  just and I was actually living
• 2:15
  in Lenoir City at the time.
• 2:16
  So imagine Lenoir City all the way to
• 2:18
  downtown every day was a bit of a drive.
• 2:20
  Chris Hill: Yeah,
• 2:20
  Lori Asbury: so it was nice
• 2:21
  to be able to move out West.
• 2:23
  Chris Hill: That's awesome.
• 2:23
  Lori Asbury: Yeah,
• 2:23
  Chris Hill: that's awesome.
• 2:25
  Well, we're here today to talk about
• 2:26
  some You, your background, CMOco., um,
• 2:29
  I think where I always like to start is
• 2:30
  just to learn a little bit more about
• 2:31
  your background, where you come from,
• 2:33
  and what led to you starting CMOco.
• 2:35
  So, to start out, where
• 2:37
  did you get your start?
• 2:38
  Lori Asbury: So, do you want
• 2:38
  the long or the short version?
• 2:41
  I've been doing this a long time.
• 2:43
  I'll let you decide.
• 2:44
  Actually, I, um, I'm very blessed
• 2:46
  to be able to have worked in
• 2:47
  actually my field of study.
• 2:48
  Which was kind of rare, I know a lot
• 2:50
  of people go into a specific field in
• 2:52
  college and don't actually end up working
• 2:53
  in that field, but I did, um, I went
• 2:56
  to the University of Oklahoma for my
• 2:57
  undergrad and I majored in journalism,
• 2:59
  radio, television, and film, and out
• 3:02
  of school I started working in video
• 3:04
  production, actually for a toy company.
• 3:06
  Producing and writing and,
• 3:07
  you know, training videos
• 3:09
  for that company, Salesforce.
• 3:10
  And then from there, I went to a TV
• 3:13
  station back in Oklahoma City and worked
• 3:16
  in a local TV station, actually on the
• 3:18
  promotion and advertising side though.
• 3:20
  So making promos for the shows
• 3:22
  that ran on that local station.
• 3:23
  Station and, and a lot of news promotions.
• 3:25
  So working in newsrooms and working
• 3:27
  with news writers and news producers
• 3:29
  to actually promote the newscasts.
• 3:30
  Mm-Hmm.
• 3:31
  and my career just really kind
• 3:32
  of, you know, focused in that
• 3:33
  direction for a long time.
• 3:35
  So I went from Oklahoma
• 3:36
  City to Miami, Miami to.
• 3:39
  I have to keep this clear,
• 3:41
  Miami to Chicago, Chicago
• 3:42
  to New York, New York to D.
• 3:44
  C., D.
• 3:44
  C.
• 3:45
  to Atlanta, Atlanta to Knoxville.
• 3:48
  So all really in the media side,
• 3:51
  all working for, uh, either local TV
• 3:53
  stations and then I actually started
• 3:55
  working for owned and operated groups.
• 3:57
  So I was head of marketing and
• 3:58
  advertising for, uh, A Fox owned
• 4:00
  and operated stations group.
• 4:02
  And what brought me to Knoxville
• 4:03
  was to head up marketing
• 4:04
  and advertising for HGTV.
• 4:06
  Chris Hill: That's really cool.
• 4:07
  Lori Asbury: Yeah.
• 4:07
  So it's been a long ride, but a lot
• 4:09
  of fun and I've learned a lot of
• 4:11
  really great things along the way.
• 4:12
  And the other thing that was
• 4:13
  really, to me, that's been super
• 4:15
  instrumental, I think, and just helping.
• 4:17
  Kind of build my career, but also kind of
• 4:19
  build my perspective as having worked in
• 4:22
  so many different cities because there's
• 4:23
  just so many different cultures that
• 4:25
  exist throughout the country and trying
• 4:26
  to get kind of in the mindset, especially
• 4:28
  if you're working at the local level and
• 4:30
  trying to market to a local audience.
• 4:33
  It's really kind of understanding
• 4:34
  the culture and their
• 4:35
  mindset within that culture.
• 4:36
  So it's been really fun.
• 4:37
  Chris Hill: Right.
• 4:38
  It's, it's a very, like, depending
• 4:39
  on where you go, you know,
• 4:40
  traveling all over the world.
• 4:41
  I think before we had this
• 4:43
  conversation, you were in Europe
• 4:44
  for a little while as well.
• 4:45
  Lori Asbury: Yes, I was, uh huh.
• 4:46
  Chris Hill: You'll, you'll know, like,
• 4:47
  it feels like you're almost going
• 4:49
  state to state depending on what part
• 4:51
  of Europe you're in or wherever else.
• 4:53
  But, um, yeah, learning those
• 4:55
  different cultures can be just
• 4:56
  as exotic in the United States,
• 4:58
  I think, as traveling abroad.
• 4:59
  Lori Asbury: Yeah, a hundred percent.
• 5:00
  Because when I was consulting, when
• 5:01
  I was head of marketing for Fox
• 5:03
  owned and operated stations group.
• 5:04
  Now this was a while ago, but, you
• 5:07
  know, they owned and operated 35
• 5:08
  TV stations across the country.
• 5:10
  And so it wasn't cookie cutter.
• 5:11
  It wasn't like you went into one market
• 5:13
  and said, okay, this worked in Atlanta.
• 5:15
  Now we're in Birmingham and you
• 5:16
  need to implement that same thing.
• 5:18
  Now there may be some subtleties that,
• 5:20
  that could work or translate across,
• 5:22
  you know, both towns, but certainly
• 5:23
  if you were in New York and wanted to
• 5:25
  apply what you did in, in Birmingham,
• 5:27
  it would be a significant shift.
• 5:29
  So it, it really was
• 5:30
  interesting to really kind of.
• 5:32
  Have to understand audiences and
• 5:34
  behaviors and really kind of what
• 5:35
  motivates people in certain, you know,
• 5:38
  in a variety of different cultures and
• 5:40
  in towns and across the United States.
• 5:42
  Chris Hill: Yeah.
• 5:42
  Well, what did you like
• 5:43
  about moving to Knoxville?
• 5:44
  I mean, HGTV, I remember having had
• 5:47
  a really interesting strategy with
• 5:48
  bringing you all here instead of
• 5:50
  New York or another major market.
• 5:52
  Yeah, well,
• 5:53
  Lori Asbury: I came long after they
• 5:54
  had already moved here, obviously.
• 5:55
  So yeah, I mean, it was
• 5:58
  Interestingly enough, it was kind
• 5:59
  of a transitional time in my life.
• 6:01
  I had just had my, my daughter, who was
• 6:03
  my second child, and I actually was going
• 6:05
  through an unexpected divorce at the time.
• 6:07
  And so just coincidentally, I had
• 6:09
  an old friend that I had worked
• 6:11
  with in Chicago and he was now
• 6:13
  president of Scripps Networks.
• 6:14
  And he had reached out to me a few, I
• 6:17
  want to say a few months prior to kind
• 6:19
  of the shift in my life and, and had
• 6:21
  said, Hey, we're, You know, maybe looking
• 6:23
  to expand our marketing department.
• 6:26
  And we've got an on air
• 6:27
  group and an off air group.
• 6:28
  And we need somebody to kind of come
• 6:30
  in and oversee, you know, kind of unite
• 6:33
  the two groups, make sure our messaging
• 6:35
  in terms of how we're promoting the
• 6:36
  network is very consistent and congruous.
• 6:38
  And, you know, I had just, uh, I
• 6:40
  just had my daughter, so I wasn't
• 6:42
  really looking for full time work.
• 6:43
  I'm set up, you know, just down the
• 6:44
  street, so I'll, I'd be willing to come
• 6:46
  consult or something and then kind of
• 6:48
  my life blew up, if you will, and, and
• 6:50
  he, I called him back and said, are you
• 6:52
  still, are you still looking for somebody?
• 6:54
  Because I will definitely,
• 6:55
  um, be interested in talking
• 6:57
  to you about that job.
• 6:58
  So believe it or not, I did go through
• 6:59
  that process, that interview process,
• 7:01
  and it brought me to Knoxville and it was
• 7:03
  just really one of the biggest blessings.
• 7:05
  So I had a great run.
• 7:06
  Over at HGTV.
• 7:08
  Yeah, and which was a lot of fun.
• 7:09
  I was there for not a long
• 7:11
  time about four years.
• 7:12
  Chris Hill: Mm hmm
• 7:13
  Lori Asbury: And there was a lot of
• 7:14
  organizational change just in how they
• 7:16
  were siloing the brands and moving
• 7:18
  things around And so I actually ended
• 7:20
  up losing my job over at HGTV and
• 7:22
  that's when I went out and started
• 7:24
  this company So every everything that
• 7:27
  happens in your life, you know leads
• 7:28
  you to the next thing and I always think
• 7:30
  that it's you know meant for a purpose.
• 7:33
  Right.
• 7:33
  Yeah.
• 7:33
  So I had a great, great
• 7:35
  experience over there.
• 7:37
  I met some amazing people, people
• 7:39
  that I'm still very close, much
• 7:40
  in close contact with today.
• 7:42
  And, you know, it's been, it's been great.
• 7:44
  Chris Hill: Yeah.
• 7:45
  It kind of feels like HGTV is kind
• 7:46
  of like Whittle Communications 2.
• 7:48
  0 in Knoxville.
• 7:49
  Yeah.
• 7:49
  Big media organization comes in,
• 7:51
  takes over the town, and then
• 7:53
  just kind of, you know, moseys on.
• 7:55
  Lori Asbury: Yeah, now no one's here.
• 7:57
  It's, it's pretty much,
• 7:58
  it's pretty much shut down.
• 7:59
  But it really was a great opportunity
• 8:01
  because they were recruiting, you know,
• 8:04
  uh, senior level and, and, you know,
• 8:06
  experienced and trained media people.
• 8:08
  So they were having to
• 8:09
  recruit from outside the area.
• 8:11
  And then, you know, they have to, they
• 8:12
  have to pay those kind of executive
• 8:14
  salaries that, you know, Coincide with
• 8:17
  what the industry is, if you're, you
• 8:19
  know, a television executive, or I'm,
• 8:21
  you know, an advertising executive,
• 8:23
  or what have you, and you can, so in
• 8:24
  order to recruit people here, and then
• 8:26
  you get to Knoxville, and the cost of
• 8:27
  living, and the style of living is so
• 8:29
  amazing, no one wants to leave, you
• 8:31
  know, so it's like how you got here, you
• 8:33
  know, it brought me here, and I didn't
• 8:34
  want to leave, to be honest, you know,
• 8:36
  once I came to Knoxville to work for
• 8:38
  HGTV, and, and then that, you know, You
• 8:40
  know, I lost my job in that transition,
• 8:44
  it really was, how do I make it work?
• 8:46
  And I also had two small children at the
• 8:48
  time, and I was raising them by myself,
• 8:50
  so I wanted to make sure that I, you know,
• 8:52
  was in a place where I felt like I could
• 8:54
  raise them comfortably, but also something
• 8:57
  that was familiar to me, because I grew
• 8:59
  up in the Midwest and this felt like home.
• 9:03
  Chris Hill: You're in Knoxville, you
• 9:03
  have this transitional period in your
• 9:05
  life, and then you decide to start CMOco.
• 9:08
  What was that initial journey like?
• 9:11
  Lori Asbury: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:11
  So, it was really interesting.
• 9:13
  It was just kind of all by
• 9:14
  happenstance, if you will.
• 9:15
  I had a friend of mine that I
• 9:18
  was connected to through HGTV.
• 9:20
  She was getting her executive MBA at HGTV.
• 9:23
  at UT, and invited me to come down
• 9:25
  and watch her do a presentation.
• 9:27
  She had worked in my team over at
• 9:28
  HGTV, and she introduced me to the
• 9:31
  executive director of the MBA, of the
• 9:33
  executive MBA program at UT, and he
• 9:35
  happened to be a Cornell graduate.
• 9:37
  I got my MBA at Cornell, and so we were
• 9:40
  connected that I was like, oh, you're
• 9:42
  a Cornellian, and we got to talking,
• 9:44
  and I think when I, I, Lost my job.
• 9:47
  I had reached out to him and said,
• 9:49
  Hey, I'm looking for new opportunities.
• 9:51
  Can we get together for coffee?
• 9:52
  And so he and I met and then he ended up
• 9:55
  introducing me to a gentleman in town who
• 9:57
  owned a marketing company or really more
• 9:59
  of a web development and design company.
• 10:02
  And, um, we started CMOco.
• 10:04
  together, um, and so we did that in 2011.
• 10:06
  And then in 2015, I ended up
• 10:09
  buying out his share of the
• 10:11
  business and going out on my own.
• 10:13
  Yeah.
• 10:13
  In 2015.
• 10:14
  All very amicable, all great.
• 10:15
  He's a great friend.
• 10:16
  Still a super dear friend of mine,
• 10:18
  but it was just time for me to kind of
• 10:20
  take the business to the next level.
• 10:21
  And I just, you know, we felt
• 10:23
  that it was probably the best way
• 10:24
  for me to do it, uh, by myself.
• 10:26
  So yeah, it's all good.
• 10:27
  That's neat.
• 10:28
  Yeah.
• 10:28
  That's really cool.
• 10:29
  So 14 years.
• 10:30
  We're going on 14 years
• 10:31
  starting, 14 years it'll be, uh,
• 10:32
  starting our 14th year in May.
• 10:34
  Chris Hill: That's so exciting.
• 10:35
  So every moment, every business I feel
• 10:37
  like has this moment of what I would call
• 10:39
  moment of validation with the business.
• 10:40
  You know, you're starting it, you're
• 10:42
  not sure if it's going to work out,
• 10:44
  and maybe that was a little different
• 10:45
  working with a web designer who
• 10:46
  already had some business coming in.
• 10:48
  But like, what was that moment for
• 10:49
  you where you were like, Oh, this
• 10:51
  isn't just something I'm going
• 10:52
  to do until I find my next job.
• 10:54
  Lori Asbury: Yeah.
• 10:54
  Chris Hill: This is
• 10:54
  going to be real for me.
• 10:56
  Lori Asbury: Well, I think I was extremely
• 10:57
  determined first and foremost, because
• 11:00
  I really felt like I didn't want to go
• 11:02
  back to working in corporate America.
• 11:05
  I wanted to be an entrepreneur and have
• 11:07
  my own business for a lot of reasons.
• 11:09
  One, I felt like ultimately that was
• 11:11
  the best way for me to have financial
• 11:14
  freedom and financial independence.
• 11:15
  But also, I felt like it was going to
• 11:17
  give me The best opportunity to be a
• 11:19
  present parent, um, to be able to have
• 11:21
  some flexibility and, and, you know,
• 11:23
  build my, a team around myself so that
• 11:25
  I could leave the office and go to a
• 11:27
  ball game or, you know, go to a horse
• 11:29
  show or go do something that my kids
• 11:31
  were doing and be a present parent.
• 11:32
  And that was extremely important to me.
• 11:33
  So that was one of the main
• 11:35
  motivating factors for doing it.
• 11:37
  But I think.
• 11:38
  Really, it's been a journey.
• 11:40
  There's no doubt.
• 11:40
  So, to be honest, it's so interesting
• 11:43
  how the company has ebbed and flowed.
• 11:45
  Initially, it was successful right
• 11:47
  out of the gate and very strong.
• 11:49
  And in fact, I think that's what
• 11:52
  inspired me to kind of take the
• 11:55
  business and go out on my own was
• 11:56
  because I was, you know, Developing the
• 12:00
  company, we were growing very quickly.
• 12:02
  I was passing through work to my
• 12:04
  partners, not making a lot on the margins.
• 12:06
  I felt like if I internalized that,
• 12:08
  started building my own staff.
• 12:10
  Initially, my partner company was
• 12:12
  the, my backend infrastructure.
• 12:15
  And, um, and I would bring accounts,
• 12:17
  manage the accounts, do the strategy,
• 12:18
  but pass through a lot of the execution.
• 12:21
  And so I decided, you know, I
• 12:23
  think I can, Start to build my own
• 12:25
  support staff, manage the execution
• 12:27
  more in house and make more money.
• 12:29
  And so, uh, in doing so, you start to, you
• 12:33
  know, reduce your profit margins, right?
• 12:35
  You're building your staff, you're
• 12:37
  bringing on more people, you've got more
• 12:38
  expenses, you've got bigger overhead.
• 12:41
  So, after we kind of expanded and I
• 12:43
  started hiring staff, there was, there
• 12:46
  were a few years that were tight.
• 12:47
  But we never missed payroll.
• 12:49
  We never were in the red.
• 12:51
  We were always operated in the green.
• 12:54
  And then it wasn't honestly until
• 12:55
  about six, seven years in that we
• 12:58
  really started to hit our stride.
• 12:59
  And to be honest, interestingly
• 13:01
  enough, the last two years have
• 13:02
  been our very biggest years.
• 13:04
  And this year's pacing to be even bigger
• 13:05
  than than last year, which is great.
• 13:07
  We thought COVID was going to be tragic.
• 13:10
  You know, because the first thing
• 13:11
  people love to do when things get
• 13:13
  tight is cut their marketing budgets.
• 13:14
  We did have some clients come to us, some
• 13:16
  retainer clients come to us and say, hey,
• 13:18
  we're going to have to pause our services.
• 13:20
  And so we were just trying to be scrappy
• 13:22
  about things that we could do, um, you
• 13:24
  know to make up for that lost income.
• 13:25
  But those clients actually came
• 13:27
  back to us within like three or
• 13:28
  four weeks and said, you know what,
• 13:29
  we need to continue to move on.
• 13:31
  Continue to market in this downturn
• 13:33
  economy and just, you know, push through.
• 13:35
  And so we were able to maintain those
• 13:37
  accounts, but we also did generate some
• 13:40
  really clever partnerships that proved
• 13:42
  to be pretty lucrative for us during that
• 13:44
  timeframe to help us not only maintain any
• 13:47
  income that we did lost or that might be
• 13:49
  strained, but to also grow the business.
• 13:51
  Chris Hill: That's really cool.
• 13:52
  Yeah.
• 13:53
  So, what, what kind of
• 13:54
  customers do you serve?
• 13:55
  I know we talked a little bit about
• 13:57
  serving a lot of the businesses here
• 13:59
  in East Tennessee, but like, tell
• 14:01
  me a little bit more about that.
• 14:02
  Lori Asbury: Yeah.
• 14:02
  So, to be honest, it's
• 14:03
  completely all over the map.
• 14:04
  So, we're not industry specific
• 14:06
  and we do have extensive experience
• 14:08
  in some industries, but we're,
• 14:10
  we're really very diverse.
• 14:12
  Our client portfolio is extremely diverse.
• 14:15
  So, we have both, uh, business facing.
• 14:17
  Organizations that we work with and,
• 14:19
  and consumer facing organizations,
• 14:21
  but anywhere from a hair salon
• 14:23
  to a composite manufacturing
• 14:24
  company and everything in between.
• 14:26
  Um, so it's, it's really fun.
• 14:29
  That's what keeps it really interesting.
• 14:30
  We're, you know, charged with getting
• 14:33
  our arms around companies very
• 14:34
  quickly, really, really being forced to
• 14:36
  understand their business, understand
• 14:38
  the nuances, understand a lot of the
• 14:41
  unique differences that apply to specific
• 14:43
  industries, you know, make sure that
• 14:45
  we understand it so that our tactics
• 14:46
  and our strategies are applicable, but
• 14:48
  it does keep it really interesting.
• 14:50
  It keeps my team on their toes and we
• 14:52
  really do a lot of market research.
• 14:55
  A lot of industry research.
• 14:57
  We're very focused on strategy first.
• 14:59
  So I would say what really differentiates
• 15:01
  us between a traditional advertising
• 15:03
  agency, where an advertising agency,
• 15:05
  I feel is more focused at a point in
• 15:07
  time in an organization's life cycle.
• 15:10
  So a company may come to an ad
• 15:12
  agency and say, I need a campaign
• 15:14
  to launch this specific product or
• 15:17
  to address the specific service.
• 15:19
  And it's going to be a
• 15:20
  campaign for a point in time.
• 15:22
  In most cases, we're working
• 15:24
  with companies where.
• 15:25
  We're their strategic partner.
• 15:27
  We're working with them long term.
• 15:29
  We are their marketing department.
• 15:31
  We just don't happen to sit
• 15:32
  inside their organization.
• 15:34
  And we always like to start
• 15:35
  with a strategic plan.
• 15:36
  So we always like to say, you know, where
• 15:39
  is this company in its current life cycle?
• 15:41
  How is it differentiated?
• 15:42
  What is the competitive set look like?
• 15:44
  What marketing tactics are
• 15:46
  you currently using, if any?
• 15:48
  What are the goals of the organization,
• 15:50
  both quantitatively and qualitatively?
• 15:52
  We look at everything in a very deep dive.
• 15:54
  And we actually write.
• 15:55
  15, 20, 30, 40 page strategic plan,
• 15:58
  um, and we use that as a road map
• 16:00
  to really keep us on point and
• 16:02
  to make sure that every marketing
• 16:03
  tactic that we're employing is
• 16:06
  rooted in something thoughtful.
• 16:07
  Chris Hill: Yeah.
• 16:08
  Lori Asbury: So it, it, it
• 16:09
  does differentiate us and
• 16:10
  then we get to the tactics.
• 16:11
  So the tactics are all
• 16:12
  the fun stuff, right?
• 16:12
  It's doing the video, it's doing
• 16:14
  the social, it's doing the digital
• 16:15
  campaigns, but, but all of that
• 16:17
  without a strategy doesn't work.
• 16:19
  Chris Hill: Yeah, and I don't
• 16:20
  know, I would, I would say the
• 16:20
  strategy is the fun part for me too.
• 16:22
  Lori Asbury: I love the strategy.
• 16:23
  That's me.
• 16:24
  That's always on Lori's plate.
• 16:25
  Everybody else kind of, you know, they all
• 16:27
  participate in developing the strategy.
• 16:29
  We kind of divide and conquer,
• 16:30
  but I love putting that together.
• 16:32
  And I love kind of, you know,
• 16:34
  really focusing on, okay, what's
• 16:35
  the ideology of this organization?
• 16:37
  And really, What is the path forward
• 16:39
  for this company to be successful?
• 16:41
  And to me, that's a lot of fun.
• 16:43
  Chris Hill: Yeah, and I like that
• 16:44
  approach a lot because, um, there's
• 16:45
  nothing worse than someone coming
• 16:46
  to you and saying, I've got 100,
• 16:49
  000 to spend on an ad campaign.
• 16:50
  Just go spend the money.
• 16:51
  And you're like, well, I don't
• 16:52
  know a thing about your business.
• 16:53
  Lori Asbury: Right.
• 16:54
  I would take that money, however.
• 16:55
  Chris Hill: Oh, of course, of course.
• 16:57
  Lori Asbury: Exactly.
• 16:58
  But, and we would come up with
• 16:59
  a way to make it successful.
• 17:00
  But, but no, exactly.
• 17:02
  I think that That is, and a lot
• 17:03
  of people do want to jump to
• 17:05
  that, and that's something that
• 17:06
  we really try to warn our clients.
• 17:08
  They get very excited about, let's just
• 17:11
  do this, let's just push email campaigns,
• 17:13
  let's just post social media posts, let's
• 17:14
  just, and that's all good and well, and
• 17:16
  we say yeah, we're going to do that,
• 17:18
  and we can start doing that immediately.
• 17:20
  But let's take the time to develop a
• 17:22
  strategic plan because I think once we
• 17:24
  get into not only your business, but
• 17:27
  your space and your competitive set,
• 17:29
  we really find a way to have a clear
• 17:32
  message and one that is compelling
• 17:35
  to their target audience that will
• 17:36
  hopefully drive leads and sales.
• 17:38
  And without that, you're just
• 17:41
  throwing stuff up against the
• 17:42
  wall and seeing what sticks.
• 17:43
  And so it's, it's inefficient.
• 17:45
  Chris Hill: Let's talk about some examples
• 17:46
  of that, just the diversity you've done.
• 17:48
  You came into this, you mentioned, well
• 17:50
  actually not just mentioned, I saw on
• 17:51
  LinkedIn you were sharing about the, um,
• 17:53
  the Smokies campaign that you've done.
• 17:55
  And of course I love the Smokies
• 17:56
  and you know, that new, I think
• 17:58
  it's, correct me if I'm wrong,
• 17:59
  but I think it was for the new.
• 18:01
  Um, Parking Passes.
• 18:02
  Lori Asbury: For the
• 18:02
  Parking Tab Program, yes.
• 18:03
  Chris Hill: Which was a big push
• 18:05
  and a big change for the park.
• 18:07
  I think a good one and a needed
• 18:08
  one.
• 18:08
  Lori Asbury: Oh, a hundred percent.
• 18:09
  Yeah.
• 18:10
  The park's an amazing brand.
• 18:11
  I mean, you know, it, it's, it's like we
• 18:13
  started from a great place to begin with.
• 18:15
  And actually, I don't know if you
• 18:17
  know this or not, because a lot of
• 18:18
  people, when I tell this to people,
• 18:20
  they're just surprised, but the Great
• 18:22
  Smoky Mountains National Park has more
• 18:23
  visitors than Yosemite, Yellowstone,
• 18:26
  and the Grand Canyon combined.
• 18:29
  So they have a lot of traffic
• 18:31
  coming through the Great
• 18:32
  Smoky Mountains National Park.
• 18:33
  There's no entry fee and there's
• 18:35
  no, there's no paid parking
• 18:36
  or there was no paid parking.
• 18:38
  And just the wear and tear on the
• 18:39
  park kind of, you know, warranted
• 18:41
  that, you know, it was time to
• 18:43
  create a parking tag program.
• 18:45
  Uh, very reasonable, very affordable.
• 18:47
  The people at the park are so smart.
• 18:49
  They are, they had, Done lots of
• 18:51
  studies, lots of research, planned,
• 18:53
  you know, planned for this for a long
• 18:55
  time and we were just honored to be
• 18:56
  able to kind of, you know, help them
• 18:58
  with their messaging and making sure
• 19:00
  that their message got to consumers.
• 19:02
  It was just a very comprehensive public
• 19:03
  service campaign that ran over two states.
• 19:06
  So, over Tennessee and North Carolina
• 19:08
  where the park stretches, they had
• 19:10
  already worked on some of the messaging
• 19:12
  in advance of working with us, um, Park
• 19:14
  it Forward was the, was the slogan of
• 19:17
  the campaign and yeah, which was really
• 19:19
  great and it allowed us to, to to really
• 19:21
  have a lot of legs with that and do some
• 19:23
  really fun, creative things with it.
• 19:25
  But there's just so many great
• 19:26
  stories to tell from the park
• 19:27
  and people love the park and they
• 19:28
  want to be engaged with the park.
• 19:30
  And just to tell about all the great
• 19:32
  things that, that exist in the park and
• 19:34
  to do that and to say, Hey, you know,
• 19:35
  your parking tag, you know, your 5 daily
• 19:37
  pass or your 15 pass for the week or
• 19:40
  your 40 tag for the year, you know, is,
• 19:42
  is really a small price to pay for all
• 19:44
  these amazing benefits that you get.
• 19:46
  And for us to be able
• 19:47
  to maintain the park.
• 19:48
  in the manner in which it needs
• 19:49
  to be maintained given the traffic
• 19:52
  that's, that's through there.
• 19:53
  But
• 19:53
  Chris Hill: right.
• 19:53
  And I mean, that's a challenging campaign
• 19:55
  too, because as I'm thinking about
• 19:57
  it, like recalling from my own family,
• 19:59
  having conversations around, well,
• 20:00
  this is a great thing for the park.
• 20:01
  No, no, no, no, no.
• 20:02
  It's terrible.
• 20:03
  It costs money.
• 20:03
  Why would you want this?
• 20:04
  And like all those things, um, you have
• 20:07
  to have a compelling message for that.
• 20:10
  Lori Asbury: You do, you do.
• 20:11
  And I think that was the whole
• 20:12
  vision from the park behind them
• 20:15
  making sure that they communicated.
• 20:17
  What the program was for
• 20:19
  and what it would benefit.
• 20:20
  And they've been extremely diligent
• 20:22
  and, and extremely transparent, which,
• 20:24
  you know, is the most important thing
• 20:26
  I think you can do in a public service
• 20:27
  campaign is just to be open and honest
• 20:29
  and direct about, you know, what the,
• 20:31
  what the proceeds will, why they're
• 20:32
  needed and what they'll be used for.
• 20:34
  Um, so they've been extremely
• 20:35
  transparent and the campaign has
• 20:37
  just been a blast to work on.
• 20:39
  And, you know, we were able to
• 20:40
  leverage, you know, television and
• 20:41
  radio and, Multiple forms of digital
• 20:44
  and to be very honest all of the
• 20:46
  response was overwhelmingly positive
• 20:49
  I mean very few very few negative
• 20:51
  sentiment very positive people
• 20:53
  understood it If and in fact if
• 20:55
  people commented and anybody commented
• 20:56
  negatively like on a social post there
• 20:59
  were ten people to Answer to that
• 21:01
  negative comment saying this is yeah.
• 21:03
  So like I said, it was a great I mean, we
• 21:07
  really, I feel, to be honest, the brand
• 21:09
  is so fantastic, like, we were starting
• 21:12
  from such a great place, but it was
• 21:13
  really a true pleasure to be able to work
• 21:16
  with such smart people over at the park
• 21:18
  that they had the foresight to be able
• 21:19
  to think, hey, this is a public service
• 21:21
  campaign that needs to be evangelized.
• 21:23
  And so we were just honored and blessed
• 21:25
  to be able to help them execute that.
• 21:27
  Chris Hill: Yeah, because if you
• 21:28
  didn't have that awareness campaign,
• 21:30
  I think the challenge, especially
• 21:32
  for locals, would be just showing
• 21:33
  up to the park and getting a ticket.
• 21:34
  Lori Asbury: Right.
• 21:35
  And being surprised and then being angry.
• 21:37
  So to be able to inform people,
• 21:39
  educate people, let them know exactly
• 21:40
  what they needed to do in advance.
• 21:42
  And they actually had
• 21:43
  no problems last year.
• 21:44
  And so this year we've run a campaign.
• 21:47
  In fact, we're in the process
• 21:48
  of that campaign right now.
• 21:50
  A much shorter, a much more condensed,
• 21:52
  it's just a more of a reminder campaign.
• 21:55
  Yeah, because the campaign that we
• 21:57
  ran last year was pretty comprehensive
• 21:58
  and we did get a lot of reach,
• 22:01
  frequency, messaging out there,
• 22:03
  uh, to be able to tell that story.
• 22:04
  And then obviously the press was
• 22:05
  great in supporting us and getting
• 22:07
  that story across, you know, local
• 22:08
  media and that type of thing.
• 22:10
  So, um, There weren't a lot of
• 22:12
  people that didn't know about
• 22:13
  the Parking Tab program, so.
• 22:16
  Chris Hill: It's a program well run.
• 22:17
  Lori Asbury: Well, yeah, it definitely is.
• 22:18
  They've done a great job.
• 22:19
  And we've been, like I said,
• 22:20
  so honored to work with them.
• 22:21
  Chris Hill: And then also you
• 22:22
  mentioned Lenoir City Utility Board.
• 22:24
  I've mentioned AT& T already,
• 22:25
  so you can probably guess.
• 22:27
  Lori Asbury: Telecom.
• 22:27
  Telecom, in my background.
• 22:29
  Chris Hill: I had Chattanooga
• 22:30
  as part of my sales territory.
• 22:32
  Right as I came into that market
• 22:34
  was right after they had put
• 22:36
  fiber in the ground there.
• 22:37
  Yep, for EPB.
• 22:38
  For EPB.
• 22:38
  And we lost a lot of business.
• 22:40
  And we lost a lot of
• 22:43
  business to other places.
• 22:44
  But the interesting thing about my
• 22:46
  account base during that time was
• 22:48
  I also had electrical companies.
• 22:50
  I had Sequatchee Valley Electric.
• 22:52
  Um, I had, uh, was it Holston?
• 22:55
  I think Holston Electric.
• 22:56
  Yep.
• 22:56
  And then, um, and then I had
• 22:58
  LCUB for a little while, too.
• 22:59
  So, I've actually been on the
• 23:00
  other side and had conversations
• 23:01
  with smaller organizations.
• 23:04
  It's been interesting to see how
• 23:05
  that conversation has evolved over
• 23:06
  the years because at first it was
• 23:07
  like, no, we don't want to, we don't
• 23:08
  want to We don't want to touch that.
• 23:09
  We don't want to mess it.
• 23:10
  But you know what, actually,
• 23:12
  Lori Asbury: right.
• 23:12
  Well, when
• 23:12
  they see, you know, there's, there's
• 23:14
  actually a lot of reasons and we're just
• 23:16
  getting deeper and deeper into the kind of
• 23:18
  the broadband space, not just through LCB,
• 23:20
  but through some other clients as well.
• 23:22
  But you know, when COVID hit, it
• 23:24
  really exposed how many people, uh,
• 23:27
  in, in rural and underserved communities.
• 23:31
  We're not connected.
• 23:32
  And they had no access
• 23:34
  to broadband at all.
• 23:35
  And so, it's been a big federal
• 23:38
  government push to make sure
• 23:39
  that every American is connected.
• 23:41
  And so, there's a lot of municipalities,
• 23:44
  a lot of utilities, a lot of rural
• 23:46
  telecoms, telecos are starting to
• 23:48
  get into the broadband game because
• 23:50
  there's a lot of government funding
• 23:51
  that's about to hit the market.
• 23:52
  What's interesting is a lot of
• 23:54
  these municipalities and, and you
• 23:56
  know, smaller telecoms or electric
• 23:58
  co ops that are getting into fiber.
• 24:00
  You know, it's, it's their first
• 24:01
  time in a competitive marketplace.
• 24:03
  You know,
• 24:03
  they're not, they're used to being
• 24:06
  a monopoly, you know, based on
• 24:08
  where, you know, based on their
• 24:10
  service area or what have you.
• 24:11
  So it's new territory for them.
• 24:13
  So not only are they looking for
• 24:15
  guidance from an infrastructure
• 24:17
  build out and how to build a fiber
• 24:18
  optic network and tapping into.
• 24:21
  You know, consultants and organizations
• 24:23
  within the fiber space, but they're also
• 24:25
  looking to how do I message this and
• 24:27
  how do I market this and how this is the
• 24:29
  first time I actually have to go out and
• 24:31
  compete for business, you know, so it's
• 24:33
  a completely foreign territory for them.
• 24:35
  So it's really been a great
• 24:37
  opportunity for us to walk
• 24:38
  alongside LCUB in this process.
• 24:40
  And they were our client prior
• 24:43
  to getting into broadband.
• 24:45
  And so, you know, we had to go
• 24:46
  and pitch the broadband business.
• 24:48
  Um, you know, that's something
• 24:49
  that was very unfamiliar to
• 24:50
  them and getting in a consumer.
• 24:52
  Kind of, you know, marketplace
• 24:54
  where they actually had to compete.
• 24:55
  So we went and pitched the business.
• 24:58
  Fortunately, we won that business,
• 24:59
  but there again, I'm super blessed
• 25:02
  with great clients, but they're
• 25:03
  very great strategic partner for us.
• 25:06
  But it's been an education process.
• 25:08
  I think on both sides, we've learned a
• 25:09
  lot from them on kind of what goes into
• 25:12
  kind of building out that infrastructure
• 25:13
  because it's a four year build out.
• 25:16
  And so our job is to create awareness,
• 25:20
  but not create demand so quickly that
• 25:22
  people are frustrated and waiting
• 25:23
  forever to get it, you know, because
• 25:25
  there's, it's, there's just a timeline
• 25:27
  by which some people will get it.
• 25:28
  So the, the, obviously the goal is to
• 25:30
  serve those most underserved first.
• 25:33
  So, you know, who doesn't have
• 25:34
  it, you know, who's not able
• 25:36
  to have access to broadband.
• 25:38
  and get those people connected first.
• 25:39
  And so the beauty of it is though with
• 25:42
  the digital tools that we have at our
• 25:44
  disposal now, we can easily go in and
• 25:46
  just hyper target by zip code advertising.
• 25:49
  And so we're not creating,
• 25:51
  you know, too much demand.
• 25:53
  We're, we're trying to
• 25:54
  make overall awareness.
• 25:55
  So we're, it's coming, it's out there.
• 25:57
  So we have done some just overarching
• 26:00
  You know, big campaigns where we'll run
• 26:03
  a spot in a big event like March Madness
• 26:06
  or, you know, the Super Bowl or an NCAA
• 26:09
  event and just to have mass awareness,
• 26:12
  but really where we're pushing, hey,
• 26:14
  you're now live or it's coming quickly.
• 26:16
  We use our more hyper
• 26:18
  targeted digital tools.
• 26:19
  So it's been a great, um, kind of
• 26:21
  a great experiment for us as well.
• 26:24
  Chris Hill: And it's, uh, from what I've
• 26:25
  seen, it's a very savvy campaign too.
• 26:27
  Like the, the, the media you've
• 26:29
  produced for it and everything,
• 26:30
  which you have to be to compete
• 26:32
  with, you know, Cox and yeah.
• 26:34
  Whoever, I think it's Cox that's the cable
• 26:36
  competitor in that area and unfortunately,
• 26:38
  Lori Asbury: AT& T.
• 26:39
  No, AT& T.
• 26:39
  I mean, there's, there's probably 15.
• 26:41
  I can name off the, you know,
• 26:42
  there's, there's a lot of, uh,
• 26:44
  internet providers out there.
• 26:46
  And that was part of what we pitched to
• 26:47
  LCUB was like, you, you have to know that
• 26:51
  you're now in a competitive environment.
• 26:53
  Competitive environment in which you're
• 26:54
  competing against global companies,
• 26:56
  Chris Hill: right
• 26:57
  Lori Asbury: but it also gave them a
• 26:58
  unique value proposition, you know,
• 27:00
  people don't want to deal with a global
• 27:01
  company They get frustrated by it.
• 27:03
  You know, everyone dreads having to
• 27:05
  pick up the phone to AT& T and waiting I
• 27:07
  mean, I have to got AT& T's my provider.
• 27:09
  They've been great But I mean you pick up
• 27:11
  the phone you're on, you know How long is
• 27:13
  it gonna take for you to reach somebody?
• 27:14
  Yeah, will my issue be resolved and
• 27:17
  our overarching message is about LCUB's
• 27:20
  broadband is that it's local and that
• 27:23
  it's from a utility provider that you've
• 27:25
  known and trust and that's been with
• 27:27
  you for years and, you know, so that's
• 27:29
  been one of our overarching themes.
• 27:32
  We're a local provider that you can
• 27:34
  pick up the phone and reach somebody.
• 27:35
  Chris Hill: Yeah, and having worked for
• 27:38
  corporate companies in rural communities,
• 27:41
  because that's a lot of the business
• 27:42
  that I served in telecom, was working
• 27:44
  for like Windstream Communications.
• 27:46
  My first sales territory was Windstream
• 27:48
  Communications in London, Kentucky.
• 27:51
  Hazard, pretty much that whole
• 27:52
  triangle between that and Lexington.
• 27:55
  Um, it was an experience and those
• 27:58
  people, they want people they know and
• 27:59
  trust and that trust means a lot to them.
• 28:01
  So building that and generating that,
• 28:04
  especially when it's like a local company,
• 28:06
  because I, the other thing I know too
• 28:07
  from working with power companies is
• 28:09
  They also have a very local feel that
• 28:13
  you don't get from the phone company.
• 28:14
  Lori Asbury: A hundred percent.
• 28:15
  And you hit the nail on the head,
• 28:16
  and that's actually some of the
• 28:17
  language that we even use in our
• 28:18
  television spots, is we work where
• 28:20
  you work, we live where you live,
• 28:23
  Chris Hill: we've been
• 28:23
  Lori Asbury: with you for
• 28:24
  years, we're with you now.
• 28:26
  Chris Hill: That
• 28:26
  Lori Asbury: people, you hit the
• 28:27
  nail on the head, people in rural
• 28:29
  communities live differently.
• 28:31
  And they're very much
• 28:33
  connected to their community.
• 28:35
  Um, they know everybody that
• 28:36
  lives in their community.
• 28:37
  They trust people in their community.
• 28:40
  And they want to give business
• 28:42
  to people in their community.
• 28:44
  So that was something that we
• 28:44
  definitely wanted to make sure
• 28:46
  that we Hit that message home.
• 28:49
  Competitively priced,
• 28:51
  just like everybody else.
• 28:52
  So we're right there, you know,
• 28:53
  they're right there in the
• 28:54
  game as it relates to pricing.
• 28:56
  So really, what is the differentiator?
• 28:58
  It's, you know, fiber, obviously,
• 28:59
  to the home, which is not the
• 29:01
  case in some of their competition.
• 29:04
  They'll say it's fiber, but
• 29:05
  it's not true fiber to the home.
• 29:08
  As LCUB is offering and now KUB is
• 29:10
  offering and so, but also just the
• 29:12
  experience, the overall experience
• 29:15
  of being able to have your broadband
• 29:17
  fiber from a utility company that
• 29:20
  you know and trust is what we felt
• 29:22
  was really the key differentiator.
• 29:24
  Chris Hill: Yeah, I think, I think
• 29:26
  it definitely, um, you know, again,
• 29:28
  going back to the, the materials and
• 29:29
  stuff that I've seen in the footage,
• 29:31
  it's like, yeah, you're hitting
• 29:33
  that nail on the head as you talk.
• 29:34
  Lori Asbury: Well, thank you.
• 29:35
  And we've worked with some
• 29:36
  great partners along the way.
• 29:37
  So we do all the ideation, the The
• 29:40
  creative in house, all the script writing,
• 29:43
  all the design, the look and feel of
• 29:45
  all the spots, we source the production.
• 29:47
  In this particular case, we worked
• 29:48
  with PopFizz Productions on the,
• 29:51
  um, on the actual production.
• 29:53
  So they helped us with the shoot and
• 29:54
  the editing, and they've been great
• 29:56
  partners with us on this campaign.
• 29:57
  In fact, we're doing a shoot
• 29:58
  on Thursday with them for LCUB.
• 30:01
  That's
• 30:01
  Chris Hill: exciting.
• 30:02
  Lori Asbury: Yeah.
• 30:02
  That's really cool.
• 30:02
  Another, we're having, uh, doing
• 30:04
  some customer testimonials.
• 30:05
  So some of the people that are
• 30:06
  now live that were, had no service
• 30:08
  whatsoever, um, and were really
• 30:11
  completely isolated during COVID.
• 30:13
  And what's interesting, it's
• 30:14
  just right off of road area.
• 30:16
  Chris Hill: Oh yeah.
• 30:16
  Lori Asbury: I mean, even in those
• 30:17
  pockets back there, it's there.
• 30:19
  They had nothing.
• 30:20
  And, you know, and some of the
• 30:21
  bigger, um, you know, companies
• 30:24
  were wanting to charge astronomical
• 30:26
  rates in order to connect them.
• 30:27
  And they were just, they'd have to take
• 30:28
  their computer and go to Waffle House.
• 30:31
  But, you know, a lot of these
• 30:32
  places weren't open during COVID
• 30:34
  and, you know, people still had
• 30:36
  to work or still had to do school.
• 30:37
  And so they were very isolated.
• 30:39
  Chris Hill: I can definitely speak
• 30:41
  to people just trying to get DSL in
• 30:42
  areas where it wasn't provided yet.
• 30:44
  And the, you know, Horror show
• 30:46
  that that was in price if you
• 30:47
  even tried to price it out.
• 30:49
  Yeah.
• 30:49
  So I know, I know exactly
• 30:50
  what you're talking
• 30:51
  Lori Asbury: about.
• 30:51
  Like thousands and thousands of dollars.
• 30:53
  Chris Hill: Yeah.
• 30:53
  Lori Asbury: No way could an
• 30:54
  average person afford to, to,
• 30:57
  to pay for the line to be run.
• 30:59
  Chris Hill: Yeah.
• 30:59
  Lori Asbury: Yeah.
• 31:00
  Chris Hill: And the logistics sometimes,
• 31:01
  like, I always was perplexed by it.
• 31:03
  Thankfully, I got to see behind the
• 31:04
  scenes at AT& T and understand why.
• 31:06
  It's way too nerdy for this podcast,
• 31:08
  but, but it, but you know, like once you
• 31:11
  understand what they're doing, like it
• 31:12
  makes sense as to why it takes a little
• 31:14
  while, but also like it does become
• 31:17
  that much more frustrating when you
• 31:18
  know the people to call or when people
• 31:20
  know, you know, the people to call.
• 31:22
  to get that stuff done.
• 31:23
  So the fact that they're
• 31:23
  doing that's really awesome.
• 31:24
  Lori Asbury: No, it is neat and it's,
• 31:25
  it's just, it's evolving so much now.
• 31:28
  In other words, like you said, utility
• 31:30
  providers, smaller rural telecoms, they're
• 31:33
  all getting into the business because of
• 31:35
  this federal funding that's coming in.
• 31:37
  And so, I mean, there's a very big
• 31:39
  push through the infrastructure
• 31:40
  bill to be able to have every merit.
• 31:43
  American Connected.
• 31:44
  And so, we've learned a lot in this
• 31:46
  process, um, which has been great,
• 31:48
  and we're even doing a deeper dive
• 31:50
  into it because we're trying to
• 31:51
  leverage what we've done for LCUB
• 31:53
  to get more broadband business.
• 31:55
  We're really educating ourselves
• 31:58
  in kind of what's going on with the
• 32:00
  government funding and the BEAD program,
• 32:02
  which is the build for broadband.
• 32:04
  If I say this per, it's building,
• 32:07
  I, you'll have to Build Back
• 32:08
  Chris Hill: Better, I think.
• 32:09
  No, well,
• 32:10
  Lori Asbury: it's Build America, Buy
• 32:11
  America, that's, there's the BABA
• 32:12
  requirements, but then there's BEAD, which
• 32:15
  is, I'll have to look it up, but anyway,
• 32:18
  it's the BEAD funding, it's, it's, yeah.
• 32:21
  We'll
• 32:21
  Chris Hill: put the, we'll
• 32:22
  put the acronym in the screen.
• 32:23
  Yes, I'll have to tell
• 32:25
  Lori Asbury: you.
• 32:25
  Or I can tell you when I can look at it.
• 32:27
  This is my, this is my old lady
• 32:29
  brain not computing because I was
• 32:31
  talking about it this morning.
• 32:32
  But that's the government funding.
• 32:34
  It's under that, it's under that,
• 32:35
  um, it's something equity, something,
• 32:40
  uh, oh, broadband, equity, access.
• 32:44
  Development or something like that.
• 32:46
  Okay, but don't quote me on
• 32:49
  that as I say it into a podcast.
• 32:51
  But yeah, that's the, that's kind of
• 32:53
  the umbrella that the funding's under.
• 32:54
  So, it's just coming out
• 32:55
  Chris Hill: there.
• 32:55
  It's cool.
• 32:56
  That's cool.
• 32:57
  One of the other big things
• 32:58
  that has happened here at CMOco.
• 33:00
  recently is you've had a rebrand.
• 33:01
  A little bit of a rebrand.
• 33:03
  And, um, we'd love to learn.
• 33:04
  Our third, actually.
• 33:05
  This is, we built this brand.
• 33:07
  Oh, your third.
• 33:07
  Yeah.
• 33:08
  Um, since it says we built this brand,
• 33:09
  we'd love to talk to you more about
• 33:11
  what that branding was, what it's gone
• 33:15
  to, and, um, and the reason for that.
• 33:18
  Lori Asbury: Sure.
• 33:18
  I mean, I think a lot of it is just
• 33:20
  the evolution of the industry as well,
• 33:21
  is making sure that we're aligned
• 33:23
  with the direction of our business
• 33:25
  and making sure that we communicate
• 33:27
  and articulate What we offer.
• 33:30
  I think initially we thought CMOco
• 33:33
  as in Chief Marketing Officer Company
• 33:35
  that everybody would get that.
• 33:36
  Well, no one got it to be honest.
• 33:38
  And so we had our initial
• 33:40
  brand was, it just had CMOco.
• 33:43
  It didn't have any kind
• 33:44
  of a defining statement.
• 33:45
  Then we evolved it to have CMOco.
• 33:48
  We added a mark to our logo.
• 33:50
  In fact, it's the one that
• 33:51
  you're, you're, um, Yeah, you're
• 33:54
  Chris Hill: cozy,
• 33:55
  Lori Asbury: cozy standing and we had, uh,
• 33:57
  chief marketing officers for hire that,
• 33:59
  which kind of helped define what the CMOco
• 34:01
  was, but really now we kind of feel like.
• 34:04
  Uh, you know, going into our 14th
• 34:06
  year in business now that we're
• 34:08
  relatively established, we really are
• 34:10
  a marketing and advertising company.
• 34:12
  And we feel like just adding marketing
• 34:15
  and advertising to our brand name
• 34:17
  kind of helped even define us further,
• 34:19
  simplified it, was a little bit more
• 34:21
  modern, a little bit more direct.
• 34:23
  And we're not worrying so much about
• 34:24
  making sure everybody knows what CMOco.
• 34:26
  stands for.
• 34:27
  Chris Hill: Yeah.
• 34:27
  Lori Asbury: Right.
• 34:28
  Chris Hill: Yeah.
• 34:28
  Yeah.
• 34:29
  Cause then.
• 34:30
  Anytime you have to explain what your
• 34:31
  brand is, I feel like that's right.
• 34:34
  Just instruction that you're going
• 34:35
  to have to continue to improve it.
• 34:37
  Lori Asbury: A hundred percent.
• 34:38
  So you can either choose to embrace it,
• 34:39
  which we did for a few years, and now
• 34:41
  we're moving on and we're just focusing
• 34:43
  on what the things that we're good at,
• 34:45
  which is marketing and advertising.
• 34:46
  Chris Hill: I think that's really
• 34:47
  cool and it's showing because
• 34:48
  as you mentioned earlier, like
• 34:50
  the last two years have been.
• 34:50
  Yeah.
• 34:51
  Lori Asbury: Been our biggest years.
• 34:52
  Chris Hill: Yeah.
• 34:52
  Lori Asbury: Yeah.
• 34:52
  Chris Hill: That's really great.
• 34:53
  And a lot
• 34:53
  Lori Asbury: of that too is just due
• 34:55
  to a lot of the, the digital, you know,
• 34:57
  a lot of the digital, uh, advertising
• 34:59
  that we're doing now and just the
• 35:00
  direction of digital and the direction
• 35:02
  of our, of advertising as an industry.
• 35:05
  Chris Hill: Tell me more about
• 35:06
  Lori Asbury: that.
• 35:06
  Yeah.
• 35:07
  Uh, it's so much more fun.
• 35:09
  To be honest, and a lot of people I
• 35:10
  think, you know, maybe who are, you
• 35:12
  know, seasoned in marketing, you know,
• 35:14
  maybe had a little bit of fear about it.
• 35:16
  I think it's fantastic.
• 35:17
  It, it, it holds us accountable.
• 35:20
  Um, it allows us to measure our campaigns.
• 35:22
  Um, it allows us to more easily prove
• 35:25
  a return on investment for our clients
• 35:28
  who are investing money in advertising
• 35:30
  and want to know Really kind of what
• 35:32
  they're getting for their, for their
• 35:33
  dollar, more so than TV, more so than
• 35:36
  radio, more so than print for sure.
• 35:38
  You know, we're able to run, uh, digital
• 35:41
  campaigns, a variety of different types
• 35:44
  of digital campaigns, hyper targeted
• 35:47
  to unique audiences, whether it be a
• 35:49
  business facing organization, we can
• 35:51
  identify their target customers with
• 35:54
  database IP web addresses to, you know,
• 35:58
  that, to a list and technology to be
• 36:00
  able to serve, uh, display advertising
• 36:03
  to devices within a certain address.
• 36:05
  We can get that hyper focused to
• 36:08
  zip codes, to mobile conquesting.
• 36:10
  When somebody enters a zip code or enters
• 36:13
  a location, they're able to start being
• 36:15
  served ads based on their geolocation.
• 36:18
  There's so many great tools out there
• 36:20
  now and, and with it comes really
• 36:21
  great data and really great analytics.
• 36:24
  And
• 36:24
  so we're able to really measure.
• 36:26
  Consumer behaviors, consumer
• 36:28
  patterns, their engagement, the
• 36:31
  way they're engaging with companies
• 36:32
  and we're able to trace a lead.
• 36:35
  So we're able to say they clicked on this
• 36:37
  ad, they went to a landing page, they took
• 36:38
  an action and therefore we're able to then
• 36:41
  more quantify our return on an investment.
• 36:44
  So it's really transformed our business.
• 36:46
  Again, we love it because we're
• 36:49
  able to say this, this, this.
• 36:50
  It's working.
• 36:52
  We can prove to you, you know, based
• 36:54
  on the analytics and the numbers.
• 36:56
  Now there's, there's other
• 36:58
  barriers that come into play.
• 36:59
  So once you drive a lead to somebody,
• 37:00
  what happens to that lead once they get
• 37:02
  there is sometimes out of our control.
• 37:04
  A lot of times it's out of our control.
• 37:05
  But at least we can say
• 37:06
  we're pointing people.
• 37:08
  To, to a brand or to a business
• 37:11
  and say, Hey, you know,
• 37:12
  we're getting traffic there.
• 37:13
  We're getting you audiences.
• 37:14
  We're getting you eyeballs.
• 37:15
  We're getting you new exposure.
• 37:17
  You know, we, we certainly, especially if
• 37:19
  we're their marketing partner, partner, we
• 37:22
  work with them on what's that experience
• 37:24
  like once they do get to a business, but
• 37:27
  it's pushing them through the funnel.
• 37:29
  And it's doing it in a way
• 37:31
  that we can really track and
• 37:32
  measure almost immediately,
• 37:34
  Chris Hill: which
• 37:34
  Lori Asbury: is just fantastic.
• 37:35
  You can't do that with TV or radio,
• 37:37
  and there's a great place for TV and
• 37:39
  radio and we use it all the time.
• 37:41
  But digital just gives
• 37:42
  us a lot more weapons.
• 37:44
  You know, to be able to use and really
• 37:47
  allows us to, um, serve ads to a more
• 37:50
  refined audience who's going to be more
• 37:52
  likely to engage, more likely to converse,
• 37:55
  to convert into a paying customer based on
• 37:58
  their behaviors, their preferences, their,
• 38:01
  you know, the things that they enjoy.
• 38:03
  Uh, doing in life.
• 38:04
  Chris Hill: Yeah.
• 38:05
  I mean, TV and radio has always struck
• 38:06
  me as more of a branding awareness play.
• 38:08
  I'd say the same for podcasting
• 38:10
  too, if I'm being honest.
• 38:11
  But, but yeah, the technology that's
• 38:13
  there, like you're right, like I've
• 38:14
  spent a lot of my career in the
• 38:16
  digital space in addition to telecom.
• 38:18
  So like being able to help people
• 38:19
  see and track a return on investment,
• 38:21
  it's just, it's something really
• 38:22
  rewarding about saying, see,
• 38:23
  we did this and that happened.
• 38:25
  You don't have to guess
• 38:26
  where it came from.
• 38:27
  Lori Asbury: Exactly.
• 38:27
  And the other thing that, That I think is,
• 38:29
  you know, definitely worthy of mentioning
• 38:31
  is artificial intelligence because a
• 38:33
  lot of people got, are afraid of that.
• 38:34
  And to be honest, I was scrolling
• 38:37
  through Instagram last night.
• 38:38
  I saw an ad for, uh, an AI logo creator.
• 38:42
  Okay.
• 38:42
  So it's like you, you, all you
• 38:44
  have to do is go into this app, you
• 38:45
  type in the name of the company.
• 38:47
  So in this example, it was like Max.
• 38:49
  And then it was like, it's a beer.
• 38:52
  And then out spits 500 logos, you
• 38:54
  know, within using this AI technology.
• 38:57
  And of course, my reaction as a, as
• 38:59
  an owner of an ad agency is like,
• 39:00
  Oh, Oh my gosh, this is terrifying.
• 39:02
  This can take away our logo
• 39:04
  development and our brand work.
• 39:05
  And, but I think you have to embrace it.
• 39:07
  I think you have to say, well, how
• 39:08
  can we leverage this technology
• 39:10
  to be more efficient on our end?
• 39:12
  And not to say that you take, you know,
• 39:14
  Away and remove the creative process or
• 39:17
  the creative director or the people, but
• 39:18
  you use that technology in addition to.
• 39:21
  And you get a much better result.
• 39:23
  I was
• 39:23
  Chris Hill: just having this conversation
• 39:24
  the other day about AI, but like, I
• 39:26
  think the one thing that tech people
• 39:27
  are figuring out, because we do a lot of
• 39:29
  content in tech already, tech people have
• 39:31
  figured out that when you develop with
• 39:33
  AI, you're really there to understand
• 39:35
  it better than it understands itself.
• 39:37
  Yeah.
• 39:38
  So that you can correct it.
• 39:39
  Like when developers are using it for
• 39:40
  code, yeah, they're the lazy developers
• 39:42
  out there that just say write me
• 39:43
  this piece of code and it helps them.
• 39:45
  But there's also developers that
• 39:46
  are in there going write me this
• 39:47
  piece of code, checking the code,
• 39:49
  and then making sure things go on.
• 39:51
  And I feel like marketers, or at least
• 39:53
  the, we'll say not, not marketers
• 39:55
  specifically, but People in this
• 39:57
  space, I feel like a lot of times
• 39:59
  will think of it as just a lazy tool.
• 40:01
  It's a cheat.
• 40:02
  It's a shortcut.
• 40:03
  But they don't think about, oh, well,
• 40:04
  if I use, you know, if I do what these
• 40:06
  developers are doing and check the
• 40:08
  work or learn to refine my prompts so
• 40:11
  they get me better answers or learn
• 40:14
  to, um, use AI in a different way
• 40:16
  and learn the limitations of it so
• 40:17
  that you can better leverage that.
• 40:19
  Like, and granted the limitations
• 40:20
  are like Going away very quickly.
• 40:23
  Yeah.
• 40:23
  And it's kinda scary in its own right.
• 40:24
  Yeah.
• 40:24
  But like learning those limitations
• 40:26
  and learning where it's good and
• 40:27
  where it's not, I think that's where
• 40:28
  marketers can find the most value in it.
• 40:30
  A hundred percent.
• 40:31
  Yeah.
• 40:31
  But it's a skill.
• 40:32
  Lori Asbury: It is a skill
• 40:33
  and it's a new skill.
• 40:33
  And we use two AI platforms
• 40:35
  actually to help us with
• 40:36
  content creation and ideation.
• 40:38
  Uh, not in the writing side so much.
• 40:41
  We've used it in the writing
• 40:42
  side, and then it's like.
• 40:43
  Oh, that was kind of clever.
• 40:45
  How can we take that
• 40:45
  and then build upon it?
• 40:47
  But on the creative side, so for graphic
• 40:49
  design or even video production, like we
• 40:51
  can easily put in, you know, images or,
• 40:54
  or stock video or video that we have,
• 40:56
  video assets that we have put text in and
• 40:59
  let AI kick out a product and it's fine.
• 41:01
  It's a good starting place, but
• 41:03
  it certainly isn't the end result.
• 41:05
  Yeah.
• 41:05
  We always have to go back and say,
• 41:06
  yeah, like that doesn't look right.
• 41:08
  That does it.
• 41:08
  It absolutely isn't the right tone.
• 41:11
  I mean, So you totally
• 41:13
  hit the nail on the head.
• 41:14
  It's, it's like, it's a marriage
• 41:15
  between the technology and the crafters.
• 41:18
  You know, you have to still have
• 41:19
  the skill set of people to be able
• 41:21
  to appropriately run and use the
• 41:25
  technology and make sure that it's
• 41:26
  applied, uh, in a way that's relevant.
• 41:29
  Chris Hill: Right.
• 41:29
  Lori Asbury: And, um, so we're embracing
• 41:32
  it as much as we can and, and using
• 41:34
  the tools to help us make our, run our
• 41:36
  business, business more, more efficiently.
• 41:38
  If I can use AI to kick out 40 different.
• 41:42
  display ads.
• 41:43
  And that's a starting point for me.
• 41:45
  I mean, it saves me time
• 41:46
  that I would spend in labor.
• 41:48
  And it's not to say I'm not, I'm not
• 41:49
  going to have that labor, but it keeps
• 41:50
  my labor being more effective and
• 41:52
  more efficient because I can put them
• 41:53
  onto higher priority projects that
• 41:55
  are higher margin project projects.
• 41:58
  So, um, we've loved it.
• 42:00
  We embrace it.
• 42:01
  I mean, we're always
• 42:02
  looking for new tools.
• 42:03
  Um, you know, we have over 18
• 42:05
  digital products that we offer
• 42:06
  on the, on the, on the ad side.
• 42:08
  Um, but we're always looking for,
• 42:10
  um, and trying to learn what other
• 42:12
  technologies out there that can
• 42:13
  just help us do our jobs better.
• 42:16
  Chris Hill: Are you all developing
• 42:17
  any sort of like AI policy for your
• 42:19
  company or have you considered that yet?
• 42:20
  No, I
• 42:21
  Lori Asbury: haven't.
• 42:21
  And maybe I should.
• 42:23
  Maybe I should.
• 42:24
  I will say one of the things that I've
• 42:26
  prided CMOco on and I hope that, you know,
• 42:29
  This is a reflection in the way I run my
• 42:31
  business and hopefully it is since we've
• 42:33
  been in business now going on 14 years.
• 42:35
  And certainly the people that know me
• 42:37
  will say this, I'm extremely ethical.
• 42:39
  And so we, we would not turn
• 42:41
  over our work to AI completely.
• 42:43
  We definitely, we use it actually
• 42:45
  more as an idea starter for us.
• 42:48
  So like, even if we're trying
• 42:49
  to come, cause we'll brainstorm
• 42:51
  as a team all the time.
• 42:52
  So that's one of the things about, you
• 42:54
  know, Our business is that, you know,
• 42:55
  when we were, when we were separated
• 42:57
  by COVID and having to work remotely,
• 42:59
  it didn't last very long for us.
• 43:00
  We tried to get back to the office as
• 43:01
  soon as possible because we're extremely
• 43:03
  collaborative and things will come up.
• 43:05
  And, but it's like, Hey, let's jump in
• 43:06
  the room and let's brainstorm this idea.
• 43:09
  And sometimes we get stuck, right?
• 43:10
  So it's like, okay, we're trying to
• 43:12
  write a script or come up with a concept.
• 43:14
  Okay.
• 43:14
  Put it in, you know, the, Chat,
• 43:17
  chat, chat, what's it called?
• 43:19
  Chris Hill: GBT.
• 43:20
  There you go.
• 43:20
  Chat gibity.
• 43:21
  Chat gibity.
• 43:22
  Lori Asbury: I can't ever say it.
• 43:23
  Put it in there.
• 43:24
  See what it says.
• 43:25
  And it's an idea starter.
• 43:26
  It's never where we would land.
• 43:28
  You know, so.
• 43:28
  And I'm, of course, always going to
• 43:30
  deliver on what somebody's hired us to do.
• 43:32
  Sure.
• 43:33
  And put our brain powers behind it.
• 43:34
  But, but I, again, not using the
• 43:37
  technology, not embracing the technology,
• 43:39
  not leveraging it to make us be better
• 43:41
  at what we do to me would be foolish.
• 43:43
  Chris Hill: Agreed.
• 43:43
  Agreed.
• 43:44
  Yeah, it's definitely had its
• 43:45
  economies of scale, so to speak,
• 43:47
  like there are definitely things
• 43:48
  where even in our business, like
• 43:50
  we found it's really useful.
• 43:51
  It's really handy, but we try to
• 43:53
  make sure anything we do with AI,
• 43:54
  we're disclosing to our clients.
• 43:56
  We're using it here.
• 43:57
  If you want us to, we can do this.
• 43:59
  We've had some clients just
• 44:00
  go, use it wherever you want.
• 44:01
  I don't care.
• 44:02
  Lori Asbury: It's a really
• 44:02
  great idea, actually.
• 44:03
  No, no, that's a, that's a good idea.
• 44:04
  Yeah.
• 44:05
  Yeah.
• 44:05
  That, that
• 44:06
  Chris Hill: just direct upfront,
• 44:08
  Hey, here's where we're using it.
• 44:09
  And you'd be surprised.
• 44:09
  I'm surprised by the results.
• 44:11
  of our the responses, I should
• 44:13
  say, of customers with that.
• 44:15
  But I mean, again, we
• 44:16
  may be the expectation
• 44:17
  Lori Asbury: now.
• 44:18
  I mean, I think so many businesses are
• 44:19
  using it in so many different ways.
• 44:21
  It's crazy, but, but no, definitely.
• 44:24
  And honestly, I think if we don't
• 44:25
  embrace it and we don't try to find
• 44:27
  a way to, to, to, um, Utilize it in
• 44:31
  our, and especially in what we do,
• 44:33
  um, in, in the creative process,
• 44:36
  that's responsible in a way that's
• 44:38
  transparent in a way that's relevant.
• 44:40
  Then, you know, we're just, we're gonna,
• 44:42
  we won't, we won't sustain ourselves as
• 44:44
  an agency in the long, in the long haul.
• 44:47
  So we're always looking.
• 44:48
  for the next thing.
• 44:49
  In fact, it was funny because I had
• 44:51
  made a Facebook post just on my personal
• 44:53
  page about having gone to the Highlands
• 44:57
  over the weekend and I built a bonfire.
• 44:59
  I said, so we built a
• 44:59
  bonfire or something.
• 45:01
  Next thing I know, I got served
• 45:02
  an ad from Pinterest that said,
• 45:04
  Oh, inspired for Lori bonfires.
• 45:07
  So they're even keyword texting,
• 45:09
  you know, there's so much keyword
• 45:11
  scanning going on and that's all
• 45:12
  artificial intelligence technology.
• 45:14
  Of course, I'm in my morning meeting
• 45:17
  saying, How do we get that technology so
• 45:19
  that we can leverage that for our clients?
• 45:21
  Because it's, it's just fascinating.
• 45:23
  There's just all the content that's
• 45:25
  being served now and, and, and the,
• 45:28
  the use of social platforms and how
• 45:30
  people are revealing about their
• 45:32
  behaviors and what they're doing in
• 45:34
  life and the things that they enjoy
• 45:36
  just through keyword searching, that's
• 45:37
  all being scanned, you know, and it's
• 45:39
  all repurposing itself into, you know,
• 45:43
  Chris Hill: It's a blessing and a
• 45:43
  curse because there are times where
• 45:45
  it's like I want this to track me and
• 45:47
  there are times where I don't like one
• 45:48
  of the things I did way back in 2016.
• 45:50
  I just said I'm turning off YouTube
• 45:53
  tracking me on anything that I do just
• 45:54
  because I didn't want, um, you know,
• 45:57
  I just wanted to see what it was like
• 45:58
  without the algorithm for a little bit.
• 45:59
  And it's been an interesting experience
• 46:01
  compared to what other people have
• 46:02
  had with it as a result of that.
• 46:04
  But yeah,
• 46:05
  Lori Asbury: no, it's interesting
• 46:07
  because I agree at first it's creepy.
• 46:09
  You know, to be totally frank, it's
• 46:11
  like creepy, but then on the same token,
• 46:14
  let's not take it to that refined of
• 46:15
  a level because that is, to me, it's
• 46:17
  just amazing that it's, it was clearly
• 46:19
  picking up because I mean, I got served
• 46:21
  that ad right after I made that post.
• 46:22
  So it was clearly picking up on a keyword.
• 46:25
  But what to me is interesting is that
• 46:26
  Facebook as a platform is stripping
• 46:29
  away a lot of its advertising profiling.
• 46:31
  So it's, it's getting super broad,
• 46:33
  so you can't go in, this is social
• 46:36
  Facebook and Instagram, you can't go in.
• 46:38
  And set parameters around
• 46:40
  campaigns like, like we used to.
• 46:42
  So you can target, you know, men of
• 46:44
  a certain age, maybe a certain income
• 46:47
  level, but you can't get down into
• 46:48
  behavioral patterns or preferences
• 46:50
  or like you used to be able to.
• 46:52
  And like we can with other
• 46:53
  digital products, Facebook is
• 46:55
  stripping that all away in the
• 46:56
  interest of equity and fairness.
• 46:57
  So, but.
• 46:58
  I think it's crazy because to
• 46:59
  be honest people want to see ads
• 47:01
  that they have a preference for.
• 47:03
  I would much rather be served an ad
• 47:05
  for something that I'm interested
• 47:06
  in versus something that I'm not.
• 47:07
  Like why am I being served an ad that
• 47:09
  doesn't even completely, I mean people
• 47:11
  expect now to be served ads that really
• 47:15
  are relevant to them or that would
• 47:17
  interest them or engage them, you know.
• 47:19
  That's why I get served a ton of
• 47:21
  clothes ads on Instagram because
• 47:22
  I'm like the person clicking
• 47:23
  those ads and buying that stuff.
• 47:25
  And it just, it captures that information
• 47:28
  and it captures my patterns and it
• 47:29
  starts to serve me more of those ads.
• 47:31
  So, I mean, you're going
• 47:32
  to get served ads anyway.
• 47:34
  Why not get served ads that you really
• 47:36
  would much rather see or have an
• 47:37
  affinity for than ads that you wouldn't?
• 47:39
  Chris Hill: Yeah.
• 47:39
  And broadly speaking, that's why I
• 47:41
  like keeping tracking on in most cases.
• 47:44
  Like YouTube was just a special
• 47:46
  case because I was just wondering.
• 47:48
  What would happen there?
• 47:48
  But you're right.
• 47:49
  Like as a marketer, I guess
• 47:50
  it's the marketer in me that
• 47:51
  just goes, Oh no, no, no.
• 47:53
  I need, I need to support my team.
• 47:54
  Lori Asbury: Yeah.
• 47:55
  You know, well I get you.
• 47:56
  I mean, I, I feel you.
• 47:57
  Cause I, I did turn off, like
• 47:58
  I made sure that I like turned
• 47:59
  off my microphone on my, on my
• 48:01
  phone for Facebook and Instagram.
• 48:03
  Cause they listen too.
• 48:04
  It's all open to you as well.
• 48:06
  So if you have, if you go into your
• 48:07
  apps and you have your microphone
• 48:09
  on, when you have that app open and
• 48:11
  you're talking to anybody or what
• 48:12
  have you, it's listening and it will
• 48:14
  serve you ads or listen to what your
• 48:16
  preferences are or what have you.
• 48:18
  It is a little Big Brother
• 48:19
  ish and it's very scary.
• 48:20
  So, you know, you, it can't be stopped
• 48:22
  at this point because we all have
• 48:24
  digital, we're all connected, right?
• 48:25
  But, um, you can monitor it to an
• 48:28
  extent or try to mitigate some of the,
• 48:30
  uh, Invasion of privacy, if you will.
• 48:32
  Chris Hill: Yeah.
• 48:33
  Some of that privacy is important.
• 48:34
  Lori Asbury: Yeah, exactly.
• 48:35
  Chris Hill: Yeah.
• 48:36
  Um, well, as we wrap up, I always like
• 48:37
  to ask, it's kind of my closing question,
• 48:39
  um, what brand do you admire the most?
• 48:41
  We've talked a lot about CMOCO today,
• 48:44
  but what brand do you have right now?
• 48:46
  It could be a fashion brand.
• 48:47
  It can be anything.
• 48:48
  Like what, what brand would you say
• 48:49
  like, ah, this is my favorite right now?
• 48:52
  Lori Asbury: Well, I don't want to be
• 48:53
  biased, but I'm going to be biased.
• 48:54
  My favorite brand is the
• 48:57
  University of Oklahoma.
• 48:59
  It truly is my favorite brand.
• 49:01
  I obviously, I have a preference for it
• 49:03
  because that's where I went to college
• 49:04
  and I have a strong, you know, passion
• 49:06
  for the school, but as I experience and
• 49:10
  interact and engage with that school
• 49:11
  today, it's completely different than
• 49:13
  it was when I obviously was there.
• 49:15
  I don't even want to say how many years
• 49:16
  ago, it's been so long, um, but how, how
• 49:20
  the, how the school has segmented itself.
• 49:24
  Uh, from athletics, and not just from
• 49:26
  athletics overall, but each individual
• 49:28
  sport, and also through the colleges.
• 49:31
  So, I, I'm very, you know, uh, active
• 49:34
  and involved with, um, the Gaylord
• 49:37
  College of Mass Communication,
• 49:39
  which is the journalism school,
• 49:40
  which is where I graduated from.
• 49:42
  I mean, I'm only involved to an extent
• 49:43
  that I can't be there, obviously, so
• 49:45
  I'm involved financially and supporting
• 49:47
  through the alumni organization.
• 49:49
  My son is actually at the
• 49:50
  University of Oklahoma right now.
• 49:52
  I brainwashed him out of the womb.
• 49:54
  Um, and he's also in, in the Gaylord
• 49:56
  school, but, but they do a phenomenal job
• 49:59
  of, of, of really having people understand
• 50:04
  the full experience of what goes on
• 50:06
  there as a university, and they do it so
• 50:09
  brilliantly through their social media.
• 50:11
  Um, and so it's really
• 50:12
  easy to be connected.
• 50:13
  And I'm not saying that any other,
• 50:15
  any other university does it
• 50:16
  any worse or better, because I'm
• 50:18
  sure they do a phenomenal job.
• 50:20
  This is just my own personal experience.
• 50:22
  The media departments that they
• 50:24
  use to produce content on their
• 50:26
  social platforms is, Mind blowing.
• 50:29
  And I know they use a lot of student
• 50:30
  based support, and then they probably
• 50:32
  also have to have some professional
• 50:34
  help, but I mean, it's just incredible,
• 50:36
  um, in the way they tell the story.
• 50:38
  It's consistent across, across the
• 50:40
  entire university, but the way it's
• 50:42
  segmented into individual sports or
• 50:45
  individual colleges or the university
• 50:48
  as a whole is all extremely congruous.
• 50:50
  And so the, the brand experience
• 50:52
  overall, It's very impressive,
• 50:55
  Chris Hill: um, but
• 50:55
  Lori Asbury: I will admit
• 50:56
  I'm a little biased.
• 50:58
  Chris Hill: That's okay.
• 50:59
  I mean, this is, this is what's
• 51:00
  your favorite brand is and what
• 51:02
  might bring you inspiration.
• 51:03
  It's
• 51:03
  Lori Asbury: not necessarily a business
• 51:04
  brand or a, or a consumer, you know,
• 51:07
  uh, a product or, you know, that
• 51:09
  type of thing, but it's definitely
• 51:11
  a brand that I'm engaged with a lot.
• 51:14
  Follow and, um, think they do a great job.
• 51:16
  My daughter's going to a different
• 51:17
  school, so we'll see how that goes.
• 51:20
  Chris Hill: That's great.
• 51:21
  That's great.
• 51:21
  Yeah.
• 51:21
  Well, that's, that's really interesting.
• 51:23
  Um, well, Laurie, thank you.
• 51:25
  Lori Asbury: Thank you for having me.
• 51:26
  I appreciate it.
• 51:27
  This has been a lot of fun.
• 51:28
  Chris Hill: Absolutely.
• 51:28
  Um, before we go, How can
• 51:30
  people connect with you?
• 51:31
  How can people connect with CMOco?
• 51:33
  Lori Asbury: Yeah, for sure.
• 51:34
  We'd love for you to connect with us.
• 51:35
  You can always email me
• 51:36
  at laurielori at cmoco.
• 51:39
  com just to get in contact with us.
• 51:41
  Our website is cmoco.
• 51:43
  com.
• 51:44
  And yeah, feel free to
• 51:45
  touch base with us anytime.
• 51:46
  We'd love to help anybody with any of
• 51:48
  their marketing or advertising needs.
• 51:50
  You know, I think we Our boutique
• 51:52
  by design, like, of course, we want
• 51:54
  to grow and are continuing to grow.
• 51:56
  But what we think sets us apart
• 51:58
  is that we are able to be truly
• 52:00
  collaborative partners with our clients.
• 52:02
  And we really do try to maintain
• 52:04
  a relationship in which we really
• 52:06
  are like their internal marketing
• 52:08
  team that just doesn't happen to
• 52:09
  sit right inside their company.
• 52:10
  So
• 52:11
  Chris Hill: that's great.
• 52:11
  Yeah, that's great.
• 52:12
  Alrighty.
• 52:13
  Well, Lori, thank you so much.
• 52:14
  Thank
• 52:14
  Lori Asbury: you so much.
• 52:14
  I appreciate it.